[Fic] Gástgerýne - Part 1/5

[jie-jie.livejournal.com]

Title: Gástgerýne
Author: Jie Jie
Pairing: Colin/Ryan
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 2430
Summary: Set during the Britline era. Ryan and Colin seek shelter from a storm inside an abandoned lighthouse. But are they truly alone in there?


Warning: This fic will eventually contain character death and supernatural themes. You have been warned! ^_^  This is my first attempt at writing something that's (intended to be) a bit spooky, hope you like...


Gástgerýne


“You just missed the turn off.”

“No I didn't,” Ryan said as he followed the course of the road. Colin twisted in the passenger seat, looking back at the slip road they had just sped by.

“I'm sure that sign said Heathrow.”

“It did,” Ryan said with a grin that warmed Colin's insides. “But we're not going to the airport today.”

“Okay,” Colin said, deciding that the quickest way to get answers would be to humour his best friend. “You do know our wives are expecting us home tomorrow?”

Ryan shook his head, looking more and more pleased with himself. “I called Pat, and Deb, and let them know filming's gonna run for another two weeks.”

“Even though we wrapped yesterday,” a smile curved Colin's lips as he began to see what Ryan had planned. “So, Hat Trick and co. think we've flown back to the states, our wives think we're filming. What are we actually going to be doing?”

“Shacking up by the beach,” Ryan said casually. “If you've got no objections, of course.”

“Sounds good to me,” Colin settled back in his seat. He had been dreading the flight home. This relationship with Ryan was still relatively fragile and new. They hadn't spent much time talking about the future and he didn't quite know if it could survive outside the bubble of filming Whose Line. He didn't want to think about that. “Wake me up when we get there.”

*

The cottage that Ryan had rented was small and cosy with only the most basic of modern conveniences. They dropped their bags inside before heading out with the intention of finding the beach or getting lost in the attempt.

“This way,” Ryan held out his hand. Colin took it without hesitation, lacing their fingers together. They walked in comfortable silence, through the English country side, heading towards the sound of the ocean.

“Do you ever wish it could always be like this?” Colin asked as he look down at their joined hands. It was so simple in England. They were free to be themselves, to be together. Still, in the back of both their minds there was always the constant guilt, the thoughts of those waiting for them across the Atlantic and the masks that they would have to put on once they returned to distant shores.

“You know I do, but – ”

Okay, I know, I know,” Colin interrupted hastily. He kicked the ground as he walked sending up a spray of dust and sand. Ryan stepped in front of him, forcing him to a standstill. With his free hand Ryan firmly lifted Colin's chin. The shorter man kept his eyes stubbornly on the ground.

“This summer's been amazing, Col,” Ryan said, his voice full of sincerity. “And we've got two weeks left. I don't want to spend it fighting with you.” Colin looked up and saw the turmoil in his lover's eyes. He suddenly felt very childish. With a smile he stepped in closer and pressed a chaste kiss to the corner of Ryan's mouth.

“No, you're right,” he said. “We'll worry about all that when we come to it.”

Ryan didn't say anything in response. Instead he grabbed Colin and whipped him around, Hollywood style, before kissing him thoroughly. By the time he was released Colin was feeling weak at the knees and giddy, the moment of seriousness now a distant memory.

“Wow,” was all that Colin could think to say. The breathless grin on Ryan's face showed he was not unaffected. A gust of wind rushed over the two of them, instinctively they pressed their bodies together, sharing body heat. When the wind dropped they stepped apart, sharing a sheepish smile.

“Can you smell that?” Colin breathed deeply through his nose, relishing the tang of salt and seaweed.

“Let's go!” Ryan tugged Colin along, heading towards the sound of the sea. They struggled up a sand dune and paused as they reached the crest, taking in the view.

“Wow,” Colin said again. The beach was empty and stretched out in a smooth golden line towards the horizon. The view was broken only by a long causeway which curved in a graceful arc out into the ocean. On the end of the causeway stood a black and white striped lighthouse, standing firm against the breaking waves.

“Looks like we got the place to ourselves,” Ryan murmured as he wrapped his arms around Colin's waist.

“No funny business,” Colin said firmly. “We'd just end up getting sand in places where it really doesn't belong.”

“Can't blame a guy for trying.”

They made their way down onto their beach and headed towards the surf. Colin took off his sandals and rolled up his jeans before wading out into the ocean. Ryan laughed as he watched him hop from foot to foot in the freezing cold surf.

“Come on Ry, get out here!”

Ryan crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “Not a chance.”

“It's refreshing!” Colin said, trying not to let his teeth chatter. Ryan just laughed to himself and started to walk away. After a few seconds Colin dropped his act and gave chase. A grin curled his lips as he caught Ryan by the waist and tackled him to the ground.

“No fair,” Ryan gasped as he twisted in Colin's arms, trying to avoid eating a mouth full of sand. “I thought you said no funny stuff?”

“Ah, what do I know?” Colin opened the top button of Ryan's shirt and pressed a kiss to his collar bone. Ryan's hand snaked up to caress the back of Colin's neck, sighing as he relished the sensation. Colin reached down and rubbed the growing bulge in his lovers pants. Ryan groaned and arched his back, fingers digging into the soft, damp sand. He stilled under Colin's talented hands as he caught a glimpse of the darkening sky.

“Uh, Col?”

“Mm, what Ry?” Colin asked distractedly, his attention focused more on Ryan's body than his words.

“I think it's going to – ” At that moment the heavens opened and freezing cold rain pelted down on them.

“Fuck!” Colin scrambled to his feet, trying to simultaneously put on his shoes and pull Ryan up from the ground. He glanced around the abandoned beach in the hopes of shelter. His dark eyes fell on the lighthouse. “In there!”

They clambered up the slippery rocks, helping each other along the way, until they were on the relatively flat surface of the causeway. Colin took Ryan's face between his hands and pressed their mouths together, tasting each other and the rain water that dripped down their cheeks.

“Sorry,” Colin breathed as they finally separated. “I've just always wanted to kiss you in the rain.”

“You, my friend, are a total sap,” Ryan said, the words tempered by the softness in his green eyes. A crack of thunder stirred them back into action. They raced flat out towards the lighthouse, laughing breathlessly as they fought to overtake the other. Ryan's long legs won out and he reached the building first, wrenched open the door and ran into the darkness. Colin got there only a few seconds later. He paused in the doorway, leaning up against the cold brickwork as he gasped for breath. The building was dark inside and he couldn't see anything beyond the small patch lit up through the doorway. A hand fisted in Colin's shirt and tugged him inside just as a fork of lightning tore through the sky. In the brief flash of light Colin caught sight of a soaked Ryan smiling at him and the small, round, dilapidated room in which they stood.

“I have the best ideas,” Ryan said self deprecatingly. A gust of wind whipped through the room, making both of them cringe as it cut through their wet clothing. They reached for each other in the dim light but before Colin could take hold of Ryan's hand the wind howled again. This time it caught hold of the lighthouse door and it slammed shut with a crash that echoed through the building.

“Maybe not,” Colin dead panned as they were plunged into darkness.

“Hang on a sec,” Ryan said. “Ah, got it!” There was a click and then the bright yellow flame of Ryan's zippo lighter flickered into life.

“That's better,” Colin hoped that his voice didn't betray just how shaken he'd been by the darkness.

“Somehow I don't think this place is going to have much in the way of electricity.” Ryan's smile was eerie in the flickering light. He cupped a protective hand around the flame and moved to crouch by some rusted junk, piled up at the back of the room. Colin watched in curious silence as his lover worked. After a few minutes Ryan made a triumphant noise and the light became much brighter.

“Who needs technology?” Ryan asked as he held up a tarnished oil lamp, a flame burning merrily behind the dust covered glass. He wrinkled his nose as he caught the odours of damp and singed dust.

“I don't think this place get many visitors,” Colin said as he examined the exposed brickwork, peeling paint and the rusting wrought iron spiral staircase that curled up the wall of the building. He moved to the centre of the room and tilted back his head, looking up at the empty space in the centre of the building. “Ry, come look at this.”

Ryan moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with Colin, following his gaze. There were several small windows higher up in the lighthouse, allowing shafts of light to penetrate the gloomy space. They could just make out the wooden floorboards of the lantern room at the top of the spiral staircase. It was an amazing space and Ryan couldn't resist checking out the acoustics.

“Hello?” He shouted loudly, snickering as Colin jumped and punched him in the shoulder.

“Hello?” This time both men jumped.

Colin's fingers dug into Ryan's arm. “What the fuck was that?”

“I don't know,” Ryan said quietly. He frowned, considering for a moment before shouting again. “Is anyone there?” There was a moment of silence before the voice came again.

“Is anyone there?” Although the words were the same as Ryan's there was a tone to it that was foreign, almost feminine. Colin felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He took Ryan's hand and pulled him towards the door.

“Let's get out of here,” he said quietly.

“It's just an echo Col,” Ryan replied, though he didn't sound totally convinced.

“Still, I'd rather take my chances with the rain,” Colin said firmly. He was spooked and his need to get the hell out of the lighthouse outweighed his need to seem fearless in front of his friend. Ryan could see Colin's discomfort and squeezed his hand in a gesture of silent support.

“Okay, let's go,” he said, moving towards the door. “But you get to warm me up when we get back to the hotel.” Colin wasn't about to argue with that. He wrapped his arms around himself as he waited for Ryan to open the door.

“What's wrong?” He asked with trepidation when nothing happened. “Ry?” When Ryan turned to look at him Colin felt his heart sink, he knew what was wrong just by the expression on his face.

“The door's stuck.”

“Let me try,” Colin said as he moved to stand in front of the door. Ryan lifted the lamp higher so that he could see what he was doing. Colin gripped the door handle, turned it and pushed. The door didn't open.

Ryan snorted. “What, did you think the door just didn't like me or something?”

“You never know,” Colin smiled despite his misgivings. “Okay, you hold down the door handle, I'm going to take a run at it.” Ryan set the lamp down on the floor on the other side of the room. The last thing they wanted to do was start a fire. He took up position and watched Colin with concern.

“Be careful.”

Colin flashed him a reassuring smile before setting his shoulders and turning his full attention to the door. He ran at it as hard as he could given the small space and threw his whole body at it shoulder first. The door held fast and Colin's momentum sent him sprawling backwards on the ground. He clutched his shoulder, grimacing at the deep throbbing pain. It didn't seem like he'd be trying that again any time soon. Ryan dropped to his knees beside Colin, helping him to sit up and checking him for injuries.

“I'm fine,” Colin reassured him. “Just banged my arm a bit. Ow. And I think I twisted my ankle when I landed.”

“Did you feel the door give any?” Ryan asked, manoeuvring their bodies so that they could rest their backs against the wall.

“No, it was solid,” Colin said quietly as he laid his head against Ryan's shoulder. His dark eyes focused on the lamp which flickered on the other side of the room. “What are we going to do?”

Ryan closed his eyes as the seriousness of their situation began to hit home. They were trapped inside a lighthouse with no provisions. Their damp clothing made the cold seem even worse and their only sources of light and heat were an old gas lamp and a zippo lighter. The worst thing of all was that there was very little chance of rescue. The beach had been deserted and it was obvious from the state of the lighthouse that it had been decommissioned years ago. No one would even notice that they were missing. Their wives thought they were filming for another two weeks, the Whose Line cast and crew thought that they had left the country. Suddenly his idea of a secret rendezvous was not looking so good.

He wrapped both of his arms around Colin, pulling him as close as possible, sharing both comfort and body heat. What were they going to do?

“I don't know, Col. I really don't know.”

To be continued...