I know what you did in that cabin
challenge requirements:
Starring: Paul & Gatesy
Location: Desert Island
Time: 2002
Words & Stuff: push, crack, dunny, history, clear, information, crutch, calendar
Saying: "What do you want?"
"Sorry mate, but I'm afraid I won't be able to come on that cruise with you. Khym's getting pretty close and she's really moody. I don't want to leave her in case I miss it." Richard explained.
"Oh," Paul couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice. He had really been looking forward to spending some quality time with his friend, but it had all come to a grinding halt.
"I'm sure you'll easily find someone else to go with you."
"Yeah, I guess, but I really wanted to be with you."
"I know Paulie, me too. If it wasn't for another little one coming along so soon I'd drop everything at the chance, you know that."
"I know."
"Look I've gotta go. Sorry again Paul. I'll see you when you get back, and I expect to get at least one postcard from you, okay?" Paul could almost hear Richard smiling.
"Well, I'll try I guess!" Paul grinned cheekily.
"Oh, you!"
"Love you Richie."
"Ditto little fella. Bye love."
"Bye." Paul hung up the phone with a sigh. Now who was he going to ask? He definitely couldn't ask Tim, so who else was there? Mikey was too busy, Wil got on his nerves too much with the constant pick-up lines, Mark was touring� Suddenly it hit him. He grinned and flipped to 'G' in his little black phonebook. He picked up the phone and held it to his ear with his shoulder, gripping the book in one hand while he dialed the number with the other. The phone began ringing. He put the book down on the coffee table and swapped ears. After five rings someone picked up at the other end.
"Hello?"
"Gatesy! Mate, it's Paul. I was wondering if you'd like to come on a cruise with me?"
The cruise-boat left on a beautiful clear day, the sun pouring from the sky like honey. The rest of the journey around the South Pacific had been reported as having perfect weather as well. They couldn't have chosen a better time for the trip.
Gatesy and Paul were lying on deckchairs near the pool, having decided to work on their tans a bit. They were both wearing fairly baggy board-shorts; Paul, because he was still very self-conscious about his body - he didn't know if Gatesy had a reason or not. Paul was stretched out with one arm above his head, his eyes closed behind his dark glasses. He opened his eyes when Gatesy spoke.
"Thanks again for inviting me Paul. You have no idea how much I needed a break from the other guys. You're a guardian angel." Paul couldn't restrain a blush rising to his cheeks. He'd had a bit of crush on Gatesy for quite a while but knew nothing would ever come of it because of the age difference. He hadn't been committed to one partner since Tim, so he was pretty much available; he got together with Richard every now and then, but Gatesy was another thing all together. He also didn't feel ready to become committed again quite yet. Even after 8 years it was still too soon, or he hadn't found the right person yet. No one could equal the passion he and Tim had, but no one could equal the violence and hurt their relationship had held so vehemently either.
"And you're saying you won this in a radio competition?" Gatesy asked in amazement.
"Yep. Pretty good, eh?"
"Hell yeah! Hey this is like 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'!"
"You don't actually like that shit, do you?"
"Yeah! I love all that scary stuff! I love that feeling, that rush of adrenaline; imagine how intense it'd be in real life!"
"Believe me, you don't want to feel it. In theory it might sound good, but once it's really happening to you you'll definitely change your tune." Gatesy gave him a strange look and Paul looked away quickly, glad for his dark glasses. "So, uh, do you wanna have a swim or something?" Paul got up from his deckchair and stretched his back.
"Sure!" Gatesy was instantly on his feet and he walked towards the edge of the pool. Paul walked up behind him, grinning. Gatesy was just about to turn back when Paul gave him a huge push, sending him hurtling head of heels into the pool with a gigantic splash. Gatesy rose to the surface and shook the water from his previously quite curly hair. "Bastard!" he chuckled. Paul stepped forward, leaning over and laughing at him. Before he knew it Gatesy had grabbed him by the ankles and pulled him in too. Gatesy held him under momentarily before letting him surface. He rose to find Gatesy had him almost trapped against the wall between his arms. His eyes froze on Gatesy's and he stopped breathing, unable to pull his eyes away from the unwavering gaze. Paul could feel himself heating up at the closeness of their bodies and could sense Gatesy moving slightly closer. Suddenly he pushed Gatesy away and sent a huge wave of water spraying straight at his head. The moment was broken, just like that, and instead turned into a fully-fledged water fight.
The two men walked down the hallway, still laughing and breathing heavily from their energetic water fight. Paul rubbed his hair with the towel he was holding.
"Okay, okay, you won!" he finally admitted after 5 minutes of Gatesy trying to convince him. They came to the door to their luxury cabin, Paul unlocked it and they went in. It was divided into three rooms; two with a double bed in each of them and the other one was the bathroom. "So we're going to the bar tonight?" Paul asked. Gatesy nodded. "I'll have the first shower if that's alright?"
"Yeah, go for it. Just don't take too long, I need to go to the dunny."
"Sure mate." Paul smiled and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He stripped and got into the shower, turning the taps on and relishing in the feel of the water running over his body. He began to lather the soap, massaging it into the smattering of dark hair covering his upper torso and working it over the rest of his body. Inadvertently he found himself thinking of Gatesy in his board-shorts and then wearing nothing at all. It surprised him a bit because it was hardly ever anyone but Tim in his fantasies.
He closed his eyes and imagined Gatesy's hands on his bare skin. He ran his hands down his own body, taking his already erect penis into his hands and stroking it familiarly. Now it wasn't his hands touching him anymore, it was Gatesy, and he bit his lip to restrain a loud moan as Gatesy's mouth replaced the hands and took in his entire length. He felt the tongue rapidly driving him closer and closer towards the edge, his now rock-hard erection throbbing desperately for release. Gatesy began deep throating him and he couldn't hold back any longer, gasping out loud as he came to a shuddering climax.
Paul's breathing slowed and became even. When he opened his eyes he was disappointed to find that it had all been in his mind, but he was surprised that he had actually fantasized about his friend. It had been so real. He sighed and finished his shower, then got out, wrapped a towel around his waist, and walked back into the bedroom. Gatesy was sitting on his towel on the edge of the bed, obviously absorbed in his thoughts. Paul smiled. He looked so adorable with his chin resting on his thumb and forefinger, yet so deep at the same time: a totally different person to whom he portrayed to other people. Finally Paul took another step forward and touched Gatesy's shoulder. He looked up, his eyes focused on Paul, and then he smiled impishly.
"It's all yours mate," Paul said. His heart was racing at the memory of where he had imagined those sensuous lips to be, but he tried to push the thought out of his mind at least until Gatesy had left the room.
"Thanks." Gatesy rose from the bed, grabbing his towel and entering the bathroom.
After heading to the information desk and finding out exactly where the bar was, Paul and Gatesy headed in that direction. It didn't take them long to find it. The bar was reasonably full, with about 12 couples dancing and the rest sitting drinking at the tables or the bar. Paul was feeling unusually confident. He looked at Gatesy and smiled, knowing what he wanted to do. They walked over and got a couple of drinks, then Paul grabbed Gatesy's hand and pulled him to an empty space and began dancing. Gatesy copied his movements and Paul moved so their bodies were rubbing together. Paul ran his hands up and down Gatesy's body, smiling as he felt Gatesy begin to harden against him.
Paul ran his hands over Gatesy's chest to his face and tugged gently on the curls at the back of his neck. The look on Gatesy's face was priceless. Paul pulled him down and ever so lightly ran his lips over Gatesy's. He could feel a slight vibration coming from him and knew from experience that he was moaning. Paul moved in again and kissed him, letting the tip of his tongue slide into Gatesy's mouth and along his lips before pulling away again. Paul continued this pattern, kissing him for longer each time and grinding their bodies together until they were almost totally out of control.
"Oh God Paul, what do you want?" Gatesy gasped finally. Paul smiled sweetly and rocked into him, rubbing their straining erections against each other. Gatesy had gotten his answer and with a final lingering kiss they made their way back to the cabin, almost unable to keep themselves from tearing off their clothes and going for it before they even got there.
Gatesy woke up with a dull ache numbing his body. He smirked as he remembered what had happened the previous night. It had been so amazing and very very intense. He could feel Paul's body on his own, the body heat transferring over to him as he slept. Gatesy opened his eyes and looked down. Paul was lying with his head on Gatesy's shoulder. He looked so beautiful and perfect. Gatesy couldn't believe his luck. He leant in and gently kissed Paul's slightly parted lips. Paul began to stir, responding to the sensation.
"Tim," he murmured. Gatesy froze. He knew about Paul and Tim's history. Richard had deliberately told him the whole story before they had left. Richard thought it would be good to get Tim off his mind for once, and Gatesy could help that to happen. Gatesy couldn't let this get to him, he had to help him. Gatesy looked around the room, trying to think straight. Finally his eyes rested on Paul's jacket lying on the floor. There was something poking out of the pocket. He carefully slid out from under Paul and went to retrieve the object he had seen. He pulled it out and frowned. It was a small plastic bag, almost empty, but with a small amount of white powder in the bottom. Paul had been on crack the previous night. Finally it dawned on him that maybe Paul hadn't really wanted him that night, it was just the drugs doing the talking. He couldn't help but feel hurt, but he had to ask Paul himself. Gatesy pulled on his boxer shorts and walked back over and sat on the bed, studying Paul's face before shaking him gently.
"Paul, wake up. I need to talk to you." Paul frowned and his eyes flickered open. He saw Gatesy and his mouth instantly dropped open, his eyes wide.
"Oohh fuuucck," he groaned, burying his face in the pillow.
"Paul, you were on crack last night weren't you?" Paul could hear the hurt in Gatesy's voice. He hadn't meant it to happen. It was wrong. He didn't want to pull Gatesy into his problems, he was too young to have to face things like that yet. Paul rolled over to face Gatesy.
"Yes. Mate I'm so sorry�"
"I thought you really felt something for me." Gatesy's voice broke and he looked away quickly. God, he looked so heartbroken. Paul suddenly had the urge to tell he did mean something to him, but he couldn't completely admit it to himself yet, let alone Gatesy. And still, he was too young for him. What would people think of them? Gatesy looked up, obviously looking for that answer, that reassurance that everything was okay, but Paul couldn't give it to him. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. "I see," Gatesy whispered. Before Paul had a chance to change his mind Gatesy had walked into the next room, grabbed some clothes and entered the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.
"Shit, what have I done?" Paul asked himself, burying his head in his hands.
Gatesy avoided Paul for as few days, even when he tried to get him to talk to him. It was clear to Paul that he had ruined a really great friendship, all because he wanted to get his mind off Tim and feel happy.
On the fifth day of the cruise they stopped off on a small somewhat deserted island and were allowed to go for a walk after being on-board for so long. Paul didn't have anything else to do so he decided that he might as well take a look around. It was either that or mope around feeling miserable and this was obviously the better choice. Paul got off the boat and began walking. He didn't know how long he walked for, he just kept going. Eventually he stopped and lay down on the warm golden sand, leaning back against an almost upright boulder that was jutting out of the ground. He closed his eyes and began to hum. The humming soon turned to singing; a song he hadn't sung for a long time. When he'd finished he took a deep breath. It felt as though his whole perspective had changed, just from being able to sing that one song. All the tension that had been racking his body had been released.
"That was beautiful," I voice said from beside him. Paul opened his eyes and was shocked to find Gatesy sitting next to him. Paul didn't say anything for a moment, just stared out at the waves crashing in huge swirls and dying out as they lapped up onto the shore.
"The last time I sang that was right after�" He stopped.
"I know," Gatesy said. Paul sent him a look that said 'how?' "Richard told me everything. He made me promise not to say anything, but I can't keep anything from you Paul," he paused, "That morning when I woke up with you beside me� Well it wasn't so much the crack that bothered me, although it did hurt, it was more that you� I kissed you and�and you said Tim's name. I realised you hadn't ever really wanted me." Gatesy looked down at his hands sadly.
"Gatesy, don't�"
"It's true Paul, you don't have to lie to me. You could never want me over Tim." Gatesy was obviously trying hard not to cry. Paul moved closer and touched his arm.
"Gatesy, I just�it's just been so long, that's all. I didn't know what I was looking for, even when it was right before my eyes. And now I've found them, the person for me, I've found the one. It's�it's you Gatesy. I'm in love with you." Paul gulped, he couldn't believe he'd just said that, but the most mind-blowing thing was that it was completely true. Gatesy looked up at him uncertainly. "I love you," Paul whispered, determined to say it as many times as he had to in order to make Gatesy believe him. Slowly a tiny smile appeared on Gatesy's face.
"I love you too." Paul focussed on Gatesy's lips and unconsciously licked his own. Even after all that honesty he still wasn't confident enough to make the first move. A minute passed and still nothing had happened. Gatesy was sitting there grinning like a little schoolboy. It was though he knew exactly what he was thinking and was using that to torture him. Suddenly Paul couldn't stand it any longer and he leant in, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss. Gatesy obviously decided it was his turn to take over as he slid his arms around Paul and stood him up, laying him back against the boulder. Paul looked up at him and couldn't help but giggle at the impish grin painted on his face. Gatesy leant in until their bodies were pressed end to end and then moved his lips to Paul's neck, not touching him, just caressing his skin with his hot breath. He rocked up against Paul rhythmically as he took Paul's earlobe into his mouth, smiling as he felt Paul's arms moving around him, gripping him closer. Paul was so hard it was almost painful. He'd had enough of the torture so he grabbed Gatesy by the hair at the back of his neck and gently but insistently brought him in for a long drugging kiss.
All thoughts of Tim were banished from his mind as Gatesy's hands ran over every inch of his body and eventually came to rest on his belt buckle. Paul groaned impatiently and almost instantly his fly was undone and his pants pulled down to his ankles. The cold sea air hit his half-naked body, sending a shiver of excitement through his body. He looked down just as Gatesy took him into his mouth. Paul cried out, almost coming straight away at the feel of his mouth on him. He could feel Gatesy laughing and he moved his hands down to his head, tangling his fingers in Gatesy's luxurious curls as his expert tongue drove him crazy. He almost passed out when Gatesy slid his fingers up the underside of his shaft and then began probing gently inside him with his index and middle finger. The mouth was removed and Paul groaned in protest before Gatesy took him into his hand and stood up to face him, letting Paul taste himself in his mouth. He returned the kiss hungrily as his fingers automatically moved to Gatesy's fly. Paul slid down his jeans and underpants and instantly began stroking firmly up and down Gatesy's shaft, trying to speed him up. Gatesy closed his eyes, a look of intense pleasure on his face.
"Please�Gatesy�" he gasped between kisses. Gatesy moaned and lifted Paul up before sliding fully into him. Both cried out loudly at the miraculous sensation and Gatesy began to thrust slowly inside him. It had been so long since Paul had felt such exquisite pleasure. He never thought he'd feel like this again, but now it was even better. Gatesy's strokes began to pick up pace and Paul wrapped his legs around Gatesy's waist, allowing him deeper access. Paul moved his hips in time with Gatesy's, matching his thrust for thrust and feeling him to move deeper inside of him with each stroke. Gatesy continued stroking Paul, they're lips meeting over and over as the pleasure intensified. Paul's mind felt as though it were about to explode and finally he couldn't hold back anymore. He threw his head back and yelled out Gatesy's name; the contractions of his muscles around Gatesy's shaft causing him to come moments later. Gatesy leant his head forward on Paul's shoulder, Paul mirroring the action, both gasping for breath. Eventually Gatesy slid out of him and moved in to kiss him tenderly. They looked into each other's eyes and smiled.
"I love you Paulie," Gatesy murmured.
"Love you too." Paul grinned. Things were going to be different from now on, he could tell.
Paul and Gatesy walked along the shore in silence with their arms around each other. Both were absorbed in the sensation of just being together. They didn't need words. Gatesy looked down at Paul and he looked back and smiled sweetly, both moving in for a soft kiss at the same time. Paul reached up to Gatesy's hand resting on his shoulder and played with his fingers, cocking his head to kiss each one. He turned back to find Gatesy laughing at him and he blushed. It seemed that he was getting more sentimental in his old age. He never would've done a thing like that before, but somehow now everything had changed.
They walked for quite a while and then suddenly stopped at the boulder they had been at before. Gatesy frowned and they both looked around.
"Uh�where'd the boat go?" Paul asked.
"We'll go around again, we probably just missed it," Gatesy reassured him, but Paul could see the worry on his face. They began walking again, faster this time, and before long they were back at the boulder. "Shit," Gatesy swore under his breath.
"Oh my God, they've forgotten us, haven't they?"
"I think we're in trouble Paulie."
"What're we going to do?" Paul could feel an aura of dread crashing over him. Right when he'd finally found happiness again for the first time in 8 years it was all going to be stolen from him in that instant.
"I don't know."
After panicking for an hour or so Gatesy finally calmed Paul down a bit and talked him into preparing somewhere to shelter during the night in case they weren't rescued before it got dark. Well the people on the boat would have to eventually realise two of their guests were missing wouldn't they? But still, it was better to be safe than to take the risk in presuming they would be found so soon.
"I'm just going to go see if there's anything for us to eat around here. Will you be okay?" Gatesy asked. Paul nodded.
"Don't be too long," he said, slipping his arms around Gatesy and running his thumbs slowly up and down the back of his neck.
"I won't. You just keep making that canopy. We've got to get it finished before it's too dark. There's some more leaves over there if you need them." Gatesy pointed to a small pile underneath a nearby tree. "I'll be back soon babe." Gatesy kissed him briefly and then disappeared into the foliage. Paul sighed and sat down again on the sand. He began weaving the long thin leaves together. Fairly soon his fingers became quite used to the process and the canopy was growing steadily. Before he knew it he had finished the whole thing almost entirely by himself. He secured it to a tree so it would shelter them from the weather, then looked around restlessly, uncomfortable now that he didn't have anything to do.
Eventually he decided he'd make a fire. He wandered around collecting pieces of driftwood until he had a considerable pile, and then used various other things, including his trusty lighter, to get the fire started. Before long the flames were licking away happily at the blackening wood. Paul was just walking back to their camp with another load of wood when he heard a loud yell coming from the trees.
"Fuck, Gatesy!" Paul shouted, dropping the wood and heading into the jungle. "Gatesy?! Where are you?!"
"Over here!" came a muffled cry to his left. Paul ran through some ferns and almost stumbled on top of Gatesy in his hurry to stop. Gatesy was gripping his left leg with both hands, his face contorted in agony. Paul flopped down beside him and ran his hands lightly over Gatesy's face as though to make sure he was really there.
"Oh my God�oh my God�" Paul whispered repeatedly.
"Paul, I�I think I might've broken my ankle. My foot slipped and I heard this loud snap and then my ankle collapsed beneath me."
"I�um�I need to see it. We need to get back to the camp." Gatesy didn't argue. Even though Paul was panicking an awful lot, his reasoning always seemed to be intact. After a lot of struggling they got Gatesy to his feet, and he leant heavily against Paul for support. The pain searing through Gatesy's ankle and leg was excruciating, but he had to keep moving. His breath was coming out in short sharp bursts with every step, and sweat was beading on his forehead from the strain, but they slowly hobbled their way through the trees.
Paul had made a splint for Gatesy's ankle and secured it, trying to cause as little pain as possible. He couldn't sleep so he made a crutch and was in the process of making a second one so Gatesy could at least be mobile. Gatesy was leaning back against a thick tree trunk, a fine sheen of sweat covering his body. His eyes were closed and his hair was sticking to his damp face. Paul studied his lover worriedly. He certainly didn't look like he was improving. Paul wanted to wake him, just to make sure he was okay, but he knew that he needed his sleep to help the healing process move along.
Paul finished making the crutch and then moved to sit next to Gatesy. He wrapped his arms around the sleeping form, nuzzling his face into Gatesy's neck and kissing his unshaven cheek lightly, being cautious not to wake him. Before long Paul had drifted off to sleep as well, having been unaware of just how tired he had been.
The next day he woke up to find Gatesy cradling him in his arms and gently stroking his hair. Paul looked up at him and smiled, then he remembered what had happened.
"Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?"
"It kills," Gatesy smiled "But other than that, yeah, I guess I'm okay. I see you made me a couple of presents." He nodded towards the crutches.
"Well I thought you might need them." Paul squirmed slightly in Gatesy's lap, moving up so their faces were closer together. He smirked as he felt Gatesy stiffen beneath him. Gatesy glared at him playfully. "It was purely unintentional, I swear!" He held up his hands in innocence. "It's not my fault you get so easily turned on!"
"Well if you weren't so Goddamn sexy!" Gatesy ran a hand along Paul's thigh, feeling him shiver at the sensation. He brushed his hand over Paul's groin and smirked. "And it seems I'm not the only one who gets turned on so easily!" Paul whacked him over the arm, a blush rising to his cheeks.
"Let's stop this now. We both know we can't do anything with you like this," Paul reasoned and began to move out of Gatesy's arms, but was pulled back before he had the chance to escape.
"Oh no you don't you little bugger! Come over here and give us a kiss!" Paul giggled and did as he was told.
Paul looked at the calendar he had been etching on the boulder each day that passed and sighed.
"12 days," he stated grimly, turning back to Gatesy, who was standing behind him, supported by the pair of crutches.
"Yeah," Gatesy muttered as they began to make their way back to the shelter.
"Do you think they've forgotten about us totally or something? I mean, it's not like we're important or anything!"
"Don't think about it Paul. We just have to wait. They're sure to come along any day now and find us. I mean, we've put ourselves in the most obvious place; they couldn't miss us."
"I'm just so sick of this."
"I know honey, me too, but we can't do anything about it." What if they never came? What if they still hadn't noticed their absence? Or even worse, what if they knew they were gone, but simply didn't care? Paul didn't want to think about it, but questions kept running endlessly through his mind, and before long he was beginning to believe that what they were implying was actually true.
They'd been surviving, just. They mostly ate oysters and small fish they found in rock pools at low tide, but still, it wasn't enough. Also, Paul often refused to eat, using the excuse that he wasn't hungry, when it was obvious by the noises made by his stomach that it wasn't the case. In truth, Paul simply wouldn't eat because he felt that if one of them should survive it should be Gatesy, and so he did all he could to keep him safe and healthy. In the meantime, Paul was getting thinner and thinner as time went on. His skin was blotchy and pale, and he looked sick. He was physically weak and didn't have much energy so he was easily worn out doing the daily chores. Gatesy tried to get him to eat, but he wouldn't be persuaded.
Richard began to get worried when he hadn't seen Paul, or Gatesy for that matter, for a whole month. Sure he'd asked Gatesy to help Paul take his mind off Tim, but couldn't he have done that at home instead of taking him away to God knows where and not telling a single person about it? He'd tried to ring Paul every day after he hadn't heard from him after the cruise, but always got the answering machine and Paul never rang back. He tried to ignore his worries and stay away, but eventually he went around to Paul's place. No one was home, and it seemed, going by the responses to the questions he asked neighbours, that it hadn't been occupied since he had left weeks ago. Eventually Richard couldn't stand not knowing and he rang around and found the contact number for the cruise Paul had gone on.
"Hello, my name's Richard Fidler and I'm making an enquiry about two of my friends who took your cruise four weeks ago. Their names were Paul McDermott and Steven Gates." There was a pause while the woman looked them up.
"I'm sorry Mr. Fidler, but there are no Paul McDermott's or Steven Gates' on our list. I think you must have the wrong cruise."
"No, I know this is the specific one. They must be on the list. They won the holiday in a radio competition. Please look again, I have to find them and I'm really worried." There was a short silence.
"Oh my God."
"What? What?!" Rich demanded.
"They weren't on the list. We don't put competition winners on the list, God knows why not, but I remember them!"
"Listen, do you know where they are? Did they get off the boat?"
"Oh God this is horrible! I don't remember them being onboard after the fourth day of the cruise. We stopped off on a small island. I thought everyone had gotten back on the boat, but seeing as your friends weren't on the list�" she trailed off. Richard let this sink in. His face hardened and he clenched his teeth tightly.
"You're saying�you�lost them?!"
"Please sir, stay calm, we'll do something about it�"
"You lost them!?!?" Richard's voice was growing louder and louder and he was on the verge of hysterics. "You left them on an island and forgot about them!?!?"
"Please, Mr. Fidler�"
"I'm calling the police! This just isn't right! You can expect to hear a lot from me in the future." Richard slammed the phone into the receiver, fuming with rage.
"Well we obviously can't do anything about it now!" Gatesy argued "You should've gotten some more wood before it got so dark!"
"Well how was I to know we'd run out!?"
"I told you about it Paul!"
"Well why didn't you get some!?"
"You know I can't! I mean, look at me! I'm going around on crutches! How do you think I'd carry wood with these two stupid things!?"
"Oh so they're stupid are they? Well I'm sorry for considering your mobility Mr. Gates of Heaven! Don't use them if they're so stupid!" Paul growled, putting his hands on his hips.
"Fine! I'll just sit here and do nothing! You can do all the chores from now on! And don't complain because that's what you wanted!" Gatesy stared at the dying fire and poked it with a stick.
"Fine!"
"Fine!!!"
"FINE!!!" Paul snarled and began to walk off down the beach.
"Where do you think you're going?" Gatesy snapped. Paul turned back to him, scowling.
"What do you care? I'm getting us some wood so we don't freeze to death!" Paul turned on his heel and disappeared into the darkness. Gatesy sighed. He hated fighting with Paul, but whether it was because of the situation or what, they seemed to be doing it more and more often over the tiniest little things. And Paul was getting frighteningly skinny. It was as though he was slowly withering away. But still, as hard as Gatesy tried to get him to eat, he wouldn't have more than a mouthful every meal and then gave the rest to Gatesy, which he had no choice but to eat before it went off.
Gatesy looked up as he heard a snap and saw Paul, his arms loaded with a large pile of wood. It was much too big a pile for him to be carrying, especially in the state he was in. Gatesy opened his mouth to make a smart remark, but then he saw Paul's face. He was deathly white and he looked very distant. He stopped in front of Gatesy and dropped the wood, staring straight ahead.
"I�" he began to say, but then his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed to the sand.
"Oh my God! Paul!" Gatesy scrambled towards him, ignoring the searing pain in his ankle, and rolled Paul onto his back. "Shit! Paul, wake up!" He shook him, desperately trying to get some response. "Please, wake up Paul! Don't do this to me mate! I love you!"
"What happened?" Richard yelled as he ran up to them, closely followed by a large search party. Gatesy turned to him and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Please, you've gotta help him! He hasn't been eating and he was carrying some wood and he just collapsed. I don't know what to do!" Gatesy was fairly close to crying and Rich put his arm around him as various medical people swarmed around Paul's body.
"It's okay mate, you're gonna be okay now. They'll look after Paul." Rich and Gatesy looked on worriedly as the people checked Paul out to see what was wrong with him. After a few minutes a man turned to them.
"He's going to be okay. He didn't have much energy in the first place from his lack of eating, and carrying that wood caused him to pass out. He should wake up within a couple of hours. As soon as he does we have to get some food into him. He's dangerously thin and it may do his body damage if we don't do something about it soon." Gatesy and Richard nodded and the man turned back to what he was doing.
"Thank God, I was so scared he was going to die or something," Gatesy said.
Someone came over and looked at Gatesy's ankle. They redid the splint and lay him on a stretcher next to Paul's, then carried them back to the boat. When they got inside Richard and Gatesy each took their place on either side of Paul, each holding a hand. About an hour later Paul finally woke up.
"Hey," Gatesy murmured.
"Hey," he replied croakily, smiling up at him, then he saw Richard. "Rich?"
"Hi love." Finally it dawned on Paul that they weren't on the island anymore. He looked at his surroundings, not quite sure whether to believe his eyes or not. "I was worried about you when you didn't ring so I did a bit of research and eventually found out what happened. I got to action straight away finding you. You'll be okay now. You're going home." Paul looked to Gatesy in amazement and he nodded. Richard kissed Paul lightly on the lips and gave his hand a squeeze before leaving them alone in the cabin. Paul stared at Gatesy.
"I can't believe it!"
"I know, I feel the exact same way. I keep thinking 'what if it's a dream?'" Suddenly Paul's face fell.
"Oh fuck, mate, I'm really sorry about before when I went off at you. I didn't�" Gatesy cut him off.
"Shhh, it's okay. It was stressful for us both. We weren't ourselves. Being there for so long had to eventually get to us, but now it's over." Paul smiled. Gatesy was just too forgiving of him. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have him.
"I love you." Paul said, cupping his face in his hands. He sent Gatesy his puppy-dog look and he melted.
"I love you too." As they kissed, all the worries and stress they had been feeling left their heads for the first time in four weeks. They were together and they were safe, and nothing else mattered anymore.
THE END
