“Will that help?” Nolan asked, as though he was seriously considering it.
“Probably not, but it’d be funny.”
Nolan snorted, grunting with effort as he shuffled just a little further forward. Finn heard the sound of the net being cut, then an otter squeaking and a sack rustling.
“Holy shit, did thatwork?” he asked, shocked that it was over so quickly.
“He cooperated,” Nolan said. “Because I’m a strong leader with great management skills. Also, he’s passed out.”
“Ah.”
“Pull me up?” Nolan asked, trying to scoot back on his own but not getting far.
Finn tightened his grip on Nolan’s ankles and then pulled, hauling him back up the edge of the bank with a grunt of effort. It was lucky Nolan was as light as he was, or this could’ve gone either way.
Nolan rolled onto his back, panting harshly to catch his breath, sack clasped tightly in his hand. Finn took it from him, enjoying the warmth of his skin as their fingers brushed together.
“You’recoveredin mud,” he said, nodding to Nolan’s t-shirt. There was more mud and leaves on it than actual fabric right now.
“Happens when someone drags you through it,” Nolan said. “I don’t care. I’m a superhero.” He grinned up at Finn.
Warmth bloomed in the middle of Finn’s chest, a little bubble of happiness welling up at the look on Nolan’s face.
It was hard to believe Nolan haddonethat, but giddy excitement was building in the pit of Finn’s stomach as he thought about it. Nolan had beenawesome.
It was kind of hot?
Really hot, actually. At first, Finn had thought Nolan was just looking for an escape from his boring life. He’d expected him to hang out at the sanctuary and cuddle the occasional fluffy animal, but no.
No, he’d jumped right in when one needed saving.
He reallywasa superhero, and Finn’s little crush on him had just surged into full-blown admiration. And a sudden desire to get into his pants. Well, a stronger desire. Nolan had been cute from the beginning, but this had beenhot.
One thing at a time. They had an otter to get back to the sanctuary first.
“Well, you get naming rights, since you’re the one who rescued him,” he said, taking the sack from Nolan and closing it safely in the cage. He offered Nolan a hand up.
“Are you sure it’s a boy?” Nolan asked, peering over at the cage as he let Finn lever him off the ground, still trusting him completely not to let him fall.
That feltreallygood. Nolan’s trust felt like it was usually a hard thing to earn, but there wassomethingbetween them. Right now, Finn wanted to reach out and grab whatever it was, flushed with the joy of a successful rescue.
If he thought Nolan would have been cool with being pulled in for a desperate, needy kiss, he wouldn’t have hesitated. But Finn still couldn’t quite figure out whether or not Nolan was interested, and he didn’t want to risk upsetting him right when he’d just had a great moment.
“I have no idea,” Finn said, realizing Nolan had asked a question. “But I don’t think we need to impose human gender norms on otters. The otter has no idea what it is.”
“Would it be too cutesy to call it Ollie?” Nolan asked, seriously considering the lump in the cage.
“You’ve met a snake calledButtercup. Cutesy is kind of our thing,” Finn pointed out.
“Ollie, then,” Nolan said, more confident this time.
“I like it.” Finn grabbed the cage. “Come on. I’ve got a clean shirt in the car you can change into.”
“See? Superhero.” Nolan beamed at him, following as Finn began to climb back up to the lookout.
