Ten Days (8/10)

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Title: Ten Days (Day 8)
Rating: NC-17 for this chapter (yes, it's why you think! At last.)
Genre: Drama; friendship
Characters: Colin, Ryan, Jeff, Greg, Brad, Wayne
Pairings: Ryan/Colin and Greg/Jeff
Summary: Surviving for ten days in the wilderness is hard for one person. Is it possible for six?
A/N:Whole lotta stuff going on this week. School's started, so posting will be sporadic at best. After this story's done, I've got quite the list of ficlets and perhaps some long works as well to begin working on. Don't worry, Ten Days will be finished eventually! Can't even imagine how it's all going to end? Yep, me neither :)


"It's still raining?" Greg asked the obvious to no one in particular as the gray sky began to show patches of light that indicated dawn. Drizzling rain made it impossible to tell what time it was exactly.
The ground was soaked. The guys' clothes, which had only just finished drying from the other rainstorm, were sopping wet and musty-smelling. Actually, they all smelled pretty awful. The idea of stripping off their clothes entirely was becoming more and more appealing.
Sleep had been utterly unsatisfying; Greg was pissed off and disoriented after hours of fading in and out of consciousness. "Let me just say, I completely understand the true meaning of wet dreams now."

"Evidently California was saving its annual three inches of rain just for us," quipped Ryan. "Because, you know, Seattle doesn't get its fair share of rain already."
Tempers were frayed. The combination of suspense, soreness and hunger was the quickest method to destroy someone from the inside out, and Ryan didn't know how much longer they could stand it.

"I want breakfast," whined Jeff. "Isn't there anything to eat at all? It doesn't have to be dry. Or filling. Or even food."

"There's one protein bar left," Colin said without lifting his arm from where it was stretched across his eyes. His head felt like a professional wrestler was standing on his skull. "And we're not eating it yet. There might be a handful of those gourmet nuts, though."

"Now there's a male stripper name," snorted Greg.

"What, Protein Bar?" said Ryan dryly.

"Gourmet Nuts. When we get out of here, I call dibs on that name and I'm heading to Vegas." Greg was trying not to crack himself up again, but he couldn't help it if he was fucking hilarious.

"If you're Gourmet Nuts, I'm Lightning Rod," Jeff contributed with a slight wince at the memory of that single too-close bolt striking the tree.

Groaning, Colin said, "Don't encourage him."

Ryan nudged Colin, trying to lighten the mood. "Oh, come on. Usually you'd be the one coming up with stupid double-entendre names."

"Brad's actually better at that," Colin admitted. "My field is mostly bad puns."

Ryan laughed suddenly. "Brad's fucking Weird Newscaster names, remember? When he used to play the anchor? This was almost twenty years ago and I can't remember the last time I had any good sex with my wife, but the name Chester Snapdragon McFisticuffs will stick in my head forever. Makes me so mad."

"That sentence would sound so weird out of context," Jeff commented with an exaggerated grimace.

"It's hardly better in context, kitten," pointed out Greg.
To his surprise, he realized he felt good right then. Physically, the situation was still pretty bad, but being there with Jeff less than a hand's length away and seeing Colin and Ryan happy together at last made him smile. Weirdly enough, this was the most alive he'd felt in a long time.

A bird was screeching its song somewhere in the distance. Yes, it was definitely morning. Time for food by anyone's biological clock. The last of the meaty walnuts were split between the four and eaten; it didn't do anything except sharpen the hunger pains and confuse their brains into thinking more food was coming.

Finally, Jeff rose from the ground impatiently. "I can't sit here anymore. This is insane. There could be food ten minutes away from here!" He waved his arm around in a wide sweep, indicating the area.
He was right, they knew that. But since Jeff was the only one of them in any shape to be walking around, he'd have to go alone. It was dangerous, too risky to wander solo, but he had to try.

"Come on, lovemuffin. Don't make me stay here and be their third wheel," Greg pleaded with him. There really wasn't a better option, though. Greg was just as willing as anyone else to risk his life for the chance at finding food, but he had just a sliver more pride than Jeff did. He wouldn't admit he was nearly ready to break down. "You can eat me. That's almost as fun."

Jeff smirked affectionately, but he slowly released his hand from Greg's grip. He looked at Colin and Ryan questioningly, and they shrugged. "It's your call," Ryan said.

"I promise not to come back empty-handed," he assured them with a grin, and left the camp.

Greg heaved a melodramatic sigh despite the stab of protest in his chest. "Why does he feel like he needs our permission to do stuff?"

"You mean your permission," Ryan corrected with a knowing look.

"Whatever." As if I could stop him anyway

"I don't blame him for going. I'd go too if I could," Colin told them. "Anything not to feel so helpless. It's the worst thing to be sitting here with people I love in pain, and I could do something if I weren't so damn scared." Having riled himself up, Colin kept on going with his spiel: "He's taking the chance. So either he's gone insane and is about to burn this forest down himself, or he's so in love with you that he'll risk his life to prove it. Either way, he's not a coward. So congratulations," he said bitterly to Greg, who was stunned by the normally sanguine Canadian's outburst.

Ryan looked hurt. "What, you don't think I'd do it for you if I could?"

"I know you would! That's the fucking point!" Colin was almost shouting now. "You've more than proven you love me, okay? But me, what have I ever done to prove it to you? I've never been brave enough. Even after all these years." His last word choked off a little as Ryan wrapped his arms tightly around Colin's quivering body.

"I'd never ask you to give anything up for me," Ryan said quietly. "I can read you like a book. You showed you love me a long time ago. I can't explain it-- it's just there in everything you do."

Colin gave a tearful half-smile and rubbed his face tiredly. "Damn. I feel so old right now."

Greg, who had stopped listening, was silent. He hunched over and squeezed his eyes shut with the resentment and guilt boiling inside. Of course Colin's initial assessment was the truth. The words "so helpless" and "he's gone insane" kept ringing in his ears.
Why else would Jeff have gone? He had snapped. Greg's detached cynicism and general unpleasantness had driven him away at last. Just like he knew it would...
No. Even he knew, deep down, that that wasn't the truth. No matter how bad it got, Jeff had always stayed. Even before they were anything more than friends, he'd stayed.
Greg knew Jeff knew he loved him. So why was this suddenly bothering him so much? Why did he feel like he was being abandoned? Why did the doubt persist, festering inside him so much that he couldn't breathe?

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Jeff found himself humming quietly after he was a good twenty-five minutes away from the others. He realized he hadn't heard any music for the--seven? Maybe eight?--days they'd been out in the woods. But then again, he hadn't showered or changed clothes in that period of time either, so music wasn't exactly on the top of his list of things to think about.
He wanted nothing more than to have Greg with him in their own private section of the forest. Alone, together. But that would have only made things worse.
It had, in fact, taken every ounce of strength to walk away from the group without him, but Jeff couldn't stand to see Greg in obvious mortal danger, pretending like he wasn't hurting both inside and out, for another minute. That was the truth.
Maybe it would have been easier if Jeff didn't still feel somehow responsible for keeping Greg alive. If he failed, nothing else would matter to him again. Nothing.
The universe seemed to be dragging the whole thing out in a cruel game of who-can-stand-the-longest-to-watch-their-lover-die. A wave of dizziness enveloped him suddenly, but it quickly passed.

Games are usually our specialty, he thought to himself ironically. Guess this is what we've been training for. But there's no points to the winner this time,right? Not that it matters.
He needed a drink. Water would have to suffice for now, so he sipped slowly and pretended it was vodka. Even though the rain had quit, the air was still fairly cold and damp. That couldn't be good for somebody with a cough.
Jeff glanced at own injured arm. It looked somewhat worse than Ryan's leg did, but he didn't think it was broken as Colin had initially assumed. Definitely bruised badly, though, and swollen and scraped to hell. Maybe it was dislocated at the elbow. Could that even happen?

Noticing a couple of bushes brightly dotted with the berries they'd been eating, he cheered a bit. He picked a good bunch and stuffed his mouth with a handful. Amazing. Everything tasted better when you were starving. He couldn't imagine turning down anything edible if it were offered to him.
The things people took for granted...it made his head swarm just imagining everything he missed. It brought back the rush of lightheadedness, and he sank down to the ground to prop himself against a tree. Okay, so going for a long walk when you hadn't eaten enough in a week to sustain the life of a squirrel wasn't the best idea. He'd just have to rest. Wait it out. They'd come after him eventually.

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Ryan looked at Colin, eyes bulging slightly with a mix of confusion, amusement and pleasure. Was he dreaming? "Hey Col?"

Colin turned to face him, confirming what Ryan had thought he'd seen before. "Yeah?"

"You, uh...you're naked."

Without missing a beat, Colin answered, "I'm fully clothed. You're just hallucinating your mind's deepest desires." He grinned a little, unable to resist the absurdity of the current situation. It was pretty ridiculous. "You like what you see?"

"I fall asleep for ten minutes," Ryan said, purposely ignoring the question, "and you're stripping for Greg?" Truthfully, it was hard to look Colin in the eye when other parts were fully in view, but he managed to maintain his dignity.

"My clothes weren't going to dry with me in them," Colin pointed out. It had thankfully quit raining sometime after Jeff had gone and the remaining three had decided to nap to forget their hunger. Miraculously, the sun had appeared and warmed the area about fifteen degrees in just an hour's time. "Hell, this is Canadian summer. I'm taking advantage of it. And who's watching us, anyway?"

Ryan's face warmed the slightest bit. A certain lower region of him did as well. "You're insane."

"I don't care. It feels great and those clothes were starting to grow spores," was Colin's final answer. After pondering for a moment, he added, "Don't tell me you haven't been wanting to say 'fuck it' and just strip."

"Not really," Ryan muttered. "I hadn't even thought about it. Until now."

Colin was approaching him with a teasing smile. "What was that last bit, Ry?" He adjusted his position to reveal that he was fully erect. "Until...this?"

God dammit. Sweating slightly, Ryan nodded. Injured leg be damned, he began to remove his jeans. Colin lay a hand on top of his (which was already dangerously close to his crotch), stopping him mid-movement.
"Let me help you with that," Colin said in a hushed tone.

He guided the waistband of the pants slowly down Ryan's long legs. He couldn't help wincing briefly when he saw the black-and-blue ankle, but quickly he regained his composure and gently finished removing the barrier of clothing.
The t-shirt came off too, a bit awkwardly in the hurry. When only socks and dark gray boxers remained between them, Ryan let out a shiver that had almost nothing to do with the chill in the air.

"I can't believe Greg's still sleeping," he moaned quietly, laughing.

Colin didn't so much as glance at Greg, determined to finish his job at hand. "You're still such a stick," he informed Ryan, whom he now saw looked skinnier than he had in years.

"And you still just glow," Ryan retorted, running his hands over the smooth bald scalp. His breath caught in the back of his throat when Colin's hand moved without warning to pull the shorts off, purposely brushing his erect cock along the way. "Jeez! Sorry. Don't tease me..."

Grinning innocently, Colin took as long as humanly possible to toss aside the boxers with a flourish. "No bald jokes. That's not the kind of head we're focusing on right now." Flashing, playful dark brown eyes met clear, lustful green ones. "Now, let's see how I can help you. Need something to distract from your leg, maybe?"

Ryan couldn't answer. He was completely hard; burning, resisting the urge to groan as Colin's hand motions suddenly turned into a flash of teeth, then a stroking tongue. "Please," he managed to gasp.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Colin took Ryan all the way to the back of his throat, sending bursts of pleasure through both of them. Ryan lay flat on his back, trying to stay still so he could savor the feeling as long as possible.
He came just as the last trace of wet lips vanished, leaving behind the feeling of cold hands between his thighs.

"Fuck!" Ryan cried in satisfaction, panting.

"Shouldn't we at least wait a few minutes?" was Colin's witty reply.
He always had loved sending Ryan over the edge with laughter. Now he'd found something that felt even better.

"Very funny." Ryan sighed with bliss, letting the last little shivers wash over him. He mimed smoking a cigarette, which made Colin smile. "Too quick."

"We had to be," Colin pointed out, gesturing to where Greg lie in a fetal position. Then he considered it again, creases of concern starting to form. "You think he's okay?"

Ryan shrugged. "Just in case he is, let me at least have my boxers back." He snatched the shorts from between Colin's fingertips, easing himself back into the fabric. Everything else could dry as long as the sun was out.

Colin followed suit. Then he called out: "Greg? You awake?"

After several full seconds, there was a raspy, sarcastic answer. "I am now." It was followed by a deep, violent coughing fit.

"Shit," muttered Colin. This was what he'd been afraid of. Ryan began to ease into a standing position, frowning, but Colin gently pushed him back down. That would only exert the sprain, and Ryan knew it. Colin felt Ryan ebbing with sympathy; it both touched and pained him. "Don't. It'll be fine."

"Did Jeff come back?" Greg wanted to know.

Colin and Ryan exchanged confused looks. "No," said Colin. "Why would he? It hasn't even been two hours, I bet."

"But he always comes back," Greg insisted. Irritated, he sat up, and promptly noticed his side was once again bleeding. A small but steady trickle of blood oozed from the hot and fleshy puncture wound. "Fuck. I thought this was over!" He tried to re-tie the bandage, and when he couldn't, he threw the bloodstained gauze to the ground in frustration.

"Hey, be careful," Colin warned him. Resigned, he fixed the bandage himself. "Listen, what do you mean he always comes back? Why would he come back?"

"I--" Greg held up one hand to signal for them to wait while he caught his breath. "It was just a feeling. Kind of a dream. Like he's trying to get to me or something." He rolled his eyes, realizing how stupid it sounded.

Another brief glance between Ryan and Colin. "I mean, it's not impossible," Ryan figured. "We should at least go look for him."

"We nothing," Colin said adamantly. "You're not walking anywhere. You aren't either, Greg. Don't get any ideas."

Ryan huffed. "And you're not going alone," he countered, crossing his arms.

"Wayne and Brad?" Greg suggested, quickly remembering their promise to signal the two if anything went wrong.

Colin nodded. "Okay. We signal them with the fire, they show up. Then what?"

Greg was already striking a match. "We'll find out." The fire was lit, hissing from the wet ground. Colin grabbed some of the green wood they'd gathered in a pile and added it to the pit.

"We're just waiting, then?" said Ryan impatiently.

A distinct sound of snapping twigs caught their attention suddenly.
Not the movements of a little forest animal, and definitely not the wind. Fast, like something running toward them. Something with a purpose, something with intent to kill. Looking for prey.
They fell silent.

"Fuck," Colin whispered. "You really think it's the mountain lion?"
Neither of the other two answered. They held their collective breath, and as the sound drew closer, they anticipated the worst.

Instead, they were greeted by a very out-of-breath and grinning Brad, who burst through the tangle of bushes, momentarily joined by Wayne.

After enduring the shouting of Colin and Ryan and the death glare of Greg for a full minute and a half, Wayne profusely apologized for scaring them, elbowing a giggling Brad in the ribs.

"We weren't expecting you yet," Colin explained once he'd calmed down. "We just put the signal up."

"Oh, well. We were on our way here anyway," Brad explained excitedly. Then he stopped. "Where the hell's Jeff?"

"That's why we needed you two here," Ryan told them. "He went off about two hours ago, and we had just now realized that he probably shouldn't have gone alone."

"Something's wrong," Greg insisted, sounding certain this time. "You have to go look for him."

Shaking his head, Wayne looked dazed. "Damn. We can't just keep everybody together? Especially now, of course."

"What do you mean?" Colin inquired.

Wayne and Brad shared their giant grins once more.

Brad spoke up, voice almost shaking with excitement:
"We found a way out of here."

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