Fic: Overcome: Enceinte

[kalimyre.livejournal.com]

Overcome: Enceinte

By emilyfairy and kalimyre

Pairing: Ryan/Colin

Rating: Is likely to venture into NC-17 again.

Summary: Ryan and Colin on Survivor. No, really.

Notes: We're moving into the post-game section now, while they hang out in the crew camp and wait for it to be over. The timeline will move a bit faster because of this. It's still exchanged comment fic, so watch here for updates! ^_^

Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five | Day Six | Day Seven | Day Eight | Day Nine | Day Ten

~~~

The first day they woke up together in the little cabin was also the first day that Ryan really felt like himself again, the residual weakness from being sick leaving him sleepy and loose limbed, reluctant to leave the bed. Or that could have been because of Colin lying beside him, arms snug around his waist, breath soft and warm across his chest. He wriggled a little, relishing the feeling of being really clean, wrapped in softness and the comforts of modern living.

"Hey," Colin mumbled, shifting but not opening his eyes. "Knock it off. Sleeping."

Ryan laughed and stroked a hand down Colin's back, softly at first. Then again, trailing his fingertips along the back of Colin's neck, threading through the fine hair at the nape, scratching lightly down the slim indentation of his spine. Colin made a low growling noise and leaned into the touch, and Ryan could feel Colin's smile against his shoulder.

"I'm glad you're here," Ryan said. "Did they do that for you? Vote you off on purpose?"

Colin nodded and lifted his head, propping his chin in one hand. "After I threw the challenge, yeah."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "You lost the challenge on purpose?"

"Yes," Colin admitted, lowering his gaze briefly. "I just... I was worried about you." And for a moment his face was unguarded, his eyes dark and open, showing more than he probably meant to.

"Hey," Ryan chided, pulling him close. "Didn't we do this already?" But he made no objection when Colin snuggled close, pressing his face against Ryan's chest and taking a deep breath. "I wasn't even that sick," Ryan added, which was kind of a lie, but he was feeling much better and Colin didn't really need to know how bad it had been.

"Were too," Colin mumbled, but Ryan could feel the tension easing his his shoulders, loosening beneath his massaging hands.

"Yeah, well..." Ryan shrugged, and then sat up in the bed, blankets pooling around his waist. "What do you say we get some breakfast?"

Colin brightened, grinning up at him, lying sprawled across his lap. "Eggs? Bacon? Coffee?"

"Oh yeah."

They'd fed Ryan in the medical tent, of course, once he'd been able to keep solid food down, but that was his first meal in the main mess tent and he had to force himself to go slowly in deference to his still recovering stomach. Colin had no such restraint, and gobbled the food eagerly, making an actual moan at his first taste of coffee that had Ryan wanting to drag him back to their cabin.

Then it was another shower for both of them, and waiting until the bathroom was deserted to sneak into a shower stall together. Colin found the razors and shaving cream, and he insisted on shaving Ryan while they stood in the spray, running careful fingers over his face and handling him with infinite patience, as if he was precious and breakable and completely irreplaceable. Ryan had to close his eyes after a while, not quite able to handle the look on Colin's face, the fear of losing him and the gratitude and the sheer joy at being so close.

Ryan took his turn next, revealing Colin's smooth jaw with careful swipes of the razor blade, pleased when the familiar face looked as it should again. Colin had looked just plain weird with a beard, not to mention the heavy salting of gray hair that did strange and worrisome things to Ryan's guts because they'd wasted so much time. So many years they could have had this and didn't, so much they'd refused to see.

Now, though, there was so much to revel in, so many simple pleasures. Clean laundry was first on Colin's list, and he borrowed Ryan's clothes (having trimmed down enough to fit into them, much to his pleased surprise) until his own were clean. There was good, hot food and regular showers and a soft bed every night and the crew mostly left them alone, once they'd signed all the appropriate paperwork to cover the network's collective asses.

Ryan knew there was still a lot undecided, and he worried about things, about what they'd do when this waiting period was over and they could go back to their lives. About how the rest of their little tribe was doing, especially Dave. Colin had told him about Dave's reaction to him leaving, and about telling Mark Burnett all Dave's problems. Still, despite those worries there was so much happiness in slipping off to their cabin and closing the door whenever they felt like it, in sitting together by a fire at night and listening to the tinny music coming from the crew's little portable stereos, in waking together every morning and kissing lazily, wrapped in sheets and quiet peace.

It was three days before Ryan remembered that the rest of their tribe was here too, and that meant the people already sent away before him, like Matt and Eric. He would have gladly forgotten all about them, except for the morning when he and Colin were sitting in the mess tent, eating breakfast and idly stealing each other's food, and Eric was suddenly there, sitting down across from them and glaring at them both.

~~~

*cue the ominous music*

^_^