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Four days later, their routine hadn't changed much -- the rations were holding, and Klaus had forged into the woods some -- but mostly he'd stayed nearer the shore, not wanting to have Dorian too far from his sight.

So, he'd taken some line that *had* been inside of the boat, rigged a hook, and had begun to fish -- good nutrition for them both, and better than those bars. Their life-boat didn't have a skillet, but it did have a metal dish, so the cooking and eating was done in that.

Life was simple, lazy, and a bit dull.

It was all right, in Klaus's opinion.

"I caught two today," he smiled as he approached their shelter -- which Dorian only came out of now that the sun was setting, golden hair fairly shining with fire as the crimson rays reflected back off of those golden curls.

"*I* found little packets of salt hidden away in one of those compartments," Dorian told him proudly, smiling. "That ought to be a treat for the fish, hm?" His face wasn't nearly as red anymore, barely a pale pink, only lightly sun tinged.

"Good -- a little flavor on our food won't kill us," he uttered, sitting down cross-legged in the sands as he reached for the knife they had and started to gut and clean the fish.

"That's REMARKABLY disgusting, darling," Dorian noted with a sigh, wrinkling up his prettily pink nose.

"You've watched me do this the past three nights," he was reminded.

"I thought it was disgusting then, too," Klaus was informed.

The German man smiled as he looked over at Dorian. "Would you rather eat these two fish with everything still inside of them? Nein, so, don't complain about a little fish blood."

"Yes, Klaus," was the most obedient answer. "Though I'm sure it would be easier to eat them if I didn't see their guts first," Dorian teased.

"Hmn, then turn around," Klaus warned him, as he started to carefully de-bone it. "Why don't you start the fire?"

"That sounds like a perfect suggestion," Dorian agreed, moving to their small pile of driftwood. Gathering it had been fun and effortless, and the economy sized book of matches they'd found in the boat had made starting a fire even easier than that. "Hmmm, they'll be delicious! The last ones were. You catch the best kinds of fish, Klaus."

"They're certainly cleaner than the animals running around here." He'd seen a few crashing through the underbrush, smaller animals -- rats, a smattering of other mammals and lizards, some kind of pig. "The salt will help."

Dorian's agreement was quietly given, the other man concentrating on their fire. It was small to accommodate their modest metal dish, but it was more than enough considering they didn't need a fire for their own warmth. It had been freezing some mornings in the Berkshires, but this small tropical island had certainly been pleasant, weather-wise. He hoped they continued to be lucky -- it was still hurricane season, after all.

With their luck, something Klaus considered a major victim of Murphy's law and bad karma at some point in his life, one would probably end up perching right over their current island home.

It didn't take long for Klaus to finish with the first fish, putting one side of its body on the dish with a little of the fresh water. "That should be just fine," Dorian sighed, taking one of the little salt packets and sprinkling it over the thing. "It looks delicious. Especially since you got rid of its guts, darling."

"We could eat them, but it's just not worth the trouble." And it would probably only make them both sick, and what was the sense of that?

"I'll forget you even made that suggestion," he was told firmly. "Because caviar is one thing, but random fish guts is entirely something else altogether."

"I've never liked caviar, either," the German shrugged. "Eating that instead of meat makes as much sense as substituting wine with dog-piss."

The way that Dorian's nose wrinkled was absolutely adorable. "Thank you for that enlightening comment," he declared, sighing as Klaus placed another slice of fish into the little pan to be salted.

"Can you say I'm wrong?" Klaus challenged, smiling a little grimly at him as he started on the next fish.

"Not with a straight face," Dorian admitted. "One *should* like caviar, I suppose, but in the end, I simply can't get past the fact that it's fish eggs. Rotten fish eggs," he decided. "Elegant, I suppose, but lacking beauty and *taste*. Cheese and fruit is better."

"And I'm sure you've found ways to make that very elegant." That was wryly said -- how funny that they were talking about food while they prepared their measly meal of fish.

"Darling, anything's more elegant than rotten fish eggs," Dorian informed him. "Truly. This, for example, is purely gourmet in comparison. Well... maybe not, but it *tastes* a lot better. What's that saying? Hunger's the best sauce."

"Those ration bars are certainly starting to taste good," was the returning agreement as he started to de-bone the next fish just as carefully as the first. "Tomorrow I'm going to start a fire burning and leave it burning -- a signal in case anyone passes by."

"It's a good idea," Dorian agreed. "D'you think anyone'll notice? That we're gone, I mean. Jamesie'll just *die* if we aren't where we should be..."

"He'll suspect I've done something horrible to you."

That gained Klaus a sigh. "Oh, dear..."

Looking up at his companion, Klaus tried to crack a comforting smile for Dorian. "It means, though, that at least he'll put more effort into trying to find us."

"With any luck, they'll have noticed the boat was missing and have some idea of where to start looking," Dorian decided.

"What 'they'?" Klaus asked after a moment, slicing that fish neatly and carefully laying the half on the dish that was now sizzling.

"The ship crew. I'd think they'd keep an eye on their lifeboats and such, wouldn't you?"

"I'd hope they do." Because *they*, personally, had made no friends on the ship who'd notice them being missing. They kept to themselves, so hopefully the missing life-boat would be realized...

Dorian nodded. "Well, if they don't, you'll shortly get to see me looking rather *odd*. I'll bet you have a *lovely* dark beard, but mine comes in all straggly and *curly*, and if you laugh, I shall simply be required to scruff you with it or something."

Klaus snorted unhappily AT that -- he was already starting to feel a little scruffy along his chin. "I hope you didn't try to grow it out on purpose."

"God forbid, no, darling! Well, it *was* for a purpose, but it wasn't something I liked, so I've decided it doesn't count. Can you imagine? It was just awful." Dorian sighed. "I rather hope we get rescued before we're more than scruffy. Four days is an awfully long time to go, you know. You actually look enchantingly *shadowed*, however."

"Only you would say that," he was told with gentle confidence and a shake of Klaus's head. "What were you growing a beard for?"

Dorian grinned. "For one of those things you don't like to talk about, darling. Generally, I prefer to do things romantically, but sometimes, practicality works just as well." If not better... but he wasn't going to admit to that!

"Oh." Klaus dusted a bit of sand off the last half's scales, and looked at the fire for a moment. "Ja, don't tell me about things you've stolen."

"I've stolen at least one thing you hadn't ought to mind hearing about too much," came a teasing offer.

It certainly caught Klaus's attention. "What's that?"

"Your heart." It was pure kitsch, sappily romantic, and Dorian looked so damned pleased with himself that it was almost laughable. "I love you awfully, Klaus."

The edges of Klaus's lips curled upwards just enough to make Dorian completely delighted with the reaction, and Klaus tossed the last part of their soon to be dinner onto the plate. "It wasn't stealing, I don't think. I noticed, and just let you take it."

"Oh, well... it's mine now, stolen or not," Dorian told him cheerfully. "You know, Klaus," he continued, face becoming serious as he seasoned the last of the fish, "my face doesn't hurt anymore..."

"It doesn't?" It actually took him a moment to register what that meant, or could mean, but when it had been placed in his mind, Dorian could *feel* the intensity of his gaze. "I'm glad... it doesn't hurt anymore. I hate to see you hurting..." The knife was cleaned quickly with a splash of water that he'd boiled earlier in their dish, and wiped dry, set aside. Then he moved back beside Dorian and the fire just a bit away from their shelter. "That's good." /Can I kiss you?/

"Tonight," Dorian whispered, leaning closer. "Can we...?"

"Ja." He wanted to add his own 'please' to it, but there was no need to vocalize it, not as he pressed his lips against Dorian's cheek for a light kiss. "As long as you think you can...." /I just hope I can./

The blond man seemed almost shy as they sat there side by side, a stick they had sharpened and burned being used to move their fish around in the little pan. "Good," he whispered, already thinking about it. "Oh, good..."

"It won't hurt you, will it?" Klaus asked after long moments of sitting shoulder to shoulder in silence with Dorian. "If we... I know how badly you were hurt when..."

A finger came up, lightly placed upon his lips. "No," Dorian said solemnly. "It won't. That... we won't think about that. It was wrong, not like things will be with you and me. So it won't hurt. I promise." They'd found tubes of various medical creams and other things among the small first-aid box, and one of those would do for lubricant, he was sure. If they wouldn't, there was always the aloe, though Klaus would surely protest the use of the aloe since one of them could get burned again. Still...

The German man swallowed, looking down for a moment, and kissed the finger Dorian pressed against his lips. Then he moved closer, an arm sliding behind Dorian's back. "But will it feel good?"

"It will feel *very* good," Dorian whispered, thumb rubbing across Klaus's lower lip. "I know it will."

Another kiss, softly placed against the pad of his thumb. "I've never done this before."

"We'll explore it, then. Go slow," Dorian promised solemnly. "It's not really that much different than what we do already. Just... pleasing one another, Klaus. Making things right. Making things good. That's all."

"I've never understood it, and I still don't." And he still had, in his mind, the rough pain of having a finger twisting about within his body -- and that was just a finger -- his cock could do so much more damage, so much more pain to his dear companion... "Is... there a way for you to control what... what's going on?"

Smiling, Dorian nodded. "Yes. I... if you're comfortable with it. I can... we can... I can sit atop you," he fumbled out finally.

"Sit..." Klaus couldn't echo the rest, just looked as Dorian for a moment. Dorian had been over him before, laying warmly on top of him, a comforting presence... "I can't see why I'd be... uncomfortable with it."

"We'll be naked. Sometimes, that changes things. Before, we always had on at least a few items of clothing," Dorian offered.

Pants and shirts, even if pushed to where they wouldn't be a bother, or a heavy blanket, all of which were used as a floor... "I'm comfortable with you against me. More than... more than ever."

"Good," was the soft reply. "I love you. It will all be just fine," he declared. "Our fish is done, darling."

"And salted -- it'll be a good change." With a stick that was more blunted, he speared the smaller of the two pieces that had already been cooked, and took a bite.

Chuckling, Dorian poked its other half and nodded agreeably before taking a bite. "Should be. How is it?"

"Salted fish," Klaus shrugged. "It's good -- just enough water in the dish this time, and the salt helps. Tastes better every day."

With a visible grin, Dorian bit into his own. "Mmmmmm," he declared, chewing and swallowing. "You know, by the time we leave, we'll be able to cook fish like nobody's business."

"Fruit would be nice with it -- later tonight I'll look for fruit." Plus, they both needed it -- something citrusy so they wouldn't end up with scurvy or something like that.

"Before," was the reply. "We'll look together. Maybe there'll be pineapple or something near the spring?" They'd found running water the day before, a clear stream that gathered in a pool at the foot of a small waterfall. "We could go swimming, maybe."

"Swimming..." Definitely a safe thing to do together, safer than swimming in the ocean with its salt and snagging creatures, its strong currents. "Yes. After we eat then -- are you sure you face is all right?" It still looked red.

Dorian shrugged. "It's stopped hurting. It should be *fine*, darling."

"Good. As long as it's stopped hurting..." It couldn't be any worse than those horrible cuts had been at first, the worry that they'd gone clean through his companion's cheek...

The scars had been the worst of the burning, most sensitive, but even they felt better now, his face not so tight, the pink cheeks no more than just that -- pink. "Eat your fish," he prompted teasingly.

"Hmn -- if you start to eat your nutrition bars in the mornings," Klaus teased back, taking another bite of his piece.

Dorian's nose wrinkled, lips pursing slightly. "If only they didn't taste like cardboard," he sighed.

"Cardboard that's good for you -- if we just eat fish, we'll probably become fish, at this rate." More teasing, to keep Dorian happy and smiling, while he worked mentally through his fears of hurting the man in what they were going to do.

"I'd make an *awful* fish," he admitted. "Probably something totally ridiculous, too. You'd be a shark," he decided. "A very marvelous shark."

"Hmn, a stereotypical one eyed shark with one messed up fin," Klaus scoffed, taking another bite of the fish -- the fourth would finish it off, and there was one more piece for him.

"All right, so a pirate, then. The Dread Pirate Klaus, king of the seas!" Dorian declared extravagantly. "And I could be your arch-nemesis. That's better than cabin boy, I think," he said. "We could secretly be lovers and rule the oceans together!"

"Hmn, I don't take well to being compared to an disreputable ancestor." That, too, was smiled, so Dorian could tell that Klaus was relaxed and enjoying their banter as he took the last bite and chewed slowly. "You'd make a better pirate."

Blue eyes fairly sparkled in the firelight. "Raiding, thieving and all around having a marvelous time?"

"While wearing tight pants and a blousey shirt," Klaus agreed, stretching for a moment. "It's going to be a nice, calm night again. I wonder if it ever rains here."

"It must," Dorian decided, "for it to be so lush. Maybe it just isn't the season for it?"

"Don't tell me things like that. If you do, that means the next season we'll probably be flooded right out." If they were still there, which he hoped, despite the beauty of the area, that they weren't.

"I suppose we'll just have to go building a hut or something. Sort of a modern Robinson Crusoe, you think? Or... mmmm, Swiss Family Robinson!"

"Swiss Family Robinson...? You mean those people from the book who built their own semi-modern house... Dorian, I doubt it's possible." He was still intensely proud of their shelter, which was fairly comfortable.

"Probably not, but we can still probably do a lot to keep us high and dry, darling," Dorian pointed out.

"Soon -- once I've figured out a steady source of food, because we're not getting enough right now." Otherwise, food wouldn't have been such a factor in their minds.

"There's bound to be something other than fish, you know. All of those pigs running about and such," the blond man murmured.

"Then we need to work on weapons to get them with -- we can sharpen sticks and harden their tips in the fire..."

Wryly, Dorian said, "I'm not sure I want to get very close, Klaus!"

"Then I can hunt those, and you can fish," he suggested next.

Dorian *definitely* didn't want him hunting alone! On the other hand, he really didn't want to watch pigs bleed, either... "Well, with any luck, someone'll find us soon," he declared, starting on his second piece of fish.

Klaus followed suit, too, though he took Dorian's piece from him, and gave Dorian his own, larger, piece. "That's what I'm hoping most, but a backup plan has never hurt."

"Klaus," Dorian began with a frown.

"What?"

"Give me back my fish. This is *your* fish. I don't want your fish, I want my fish," he was informed firmly.

"You didn't finish breakfast," Klaus reminded him, "so you need it more than I do."

"Klaus..."

"Dorian." Said back to him in the same tone Dorian had used on him.

Still frowning, blue eyes fairly gleamed at him. "I'll eat it," he declared with a sigh. "But only because you want me to."

"I won't do that again if you eat everything you're supposed to. We've been fine with four days, but we might be here a lot longer, and you need to be healthy." It didn't really matter if his own health suffered, as long as Dorian was all right.

"And *so* do you," he was told firmly. "We'll go scavenging for fruits and such, though, and it'll get better." Dorian was such an optimist!

Such brightness was hard to deny -- to denounce Dorian's better temperament would harm them both permanently. So Klaus nodded and gave a bit of an agreeing grin as he quickly ate his second piece.

By the time he'd finished, Dorian was working on the last of his own, and was smiling. "Come on. We'll leave the fire and light part of the driftwood to light our way there. Maybe it'll help to find fruit, and we can go swimming. We should probably take..." He'd have flushed, if his cheeks weren't already so pink. "Something with us."

"Take something with us...?" Klaus asked, while he moved to grab a piece that would suit as a torch.

"The aloe, or maybe one of the other tubes..." Dorian offered a little shyly. It wasn't that he wasn't accustomed to sex; he was, it was just... well, it was Klaus, and with everything that had gone before... "For lubricant."

"Swimming?!"

"No!" Dorian groaned, and he *did* flush, then, face lighting up with heat. "For... for... YOU know!"

"I... I guessed -- there, though...? It's so..." Open, he wanted to say. So many directions that needed to be watched!

"On the rocks just above. It'll be beautiful and the moon will be bright," Dorian offered quietly. "And it will be all right, there..." It wouldn't seem furtive or quick, just... open. Just them.

An elevated position was always safer than a low-lying one... "Will you be able to relax there?" In the end *he* didn't matter -- Dorian did.

"Yes," Dorian replied solemnly. "I will. Will you?"

"If you can," was the predictable answer.

"I don't really think it'll be a problem for me," came the tentative response. "I think I could relax with you most anywhere..."

They were still seated near each other, so Klaus pressed a kiss to the edge of Dorian's lips. "Just with you."

"Let's go, darling," Dorian whispered. "Let's go swim, and... I'll stop in the tent. Come on..."

"Before we come up with a reason to not," Klaus agreed with a soft smile, tentative and hard to give when paired with his too true comment. Standing up, he pulled Dorian with him -- so they were together and closer than ever.

"Kiss me again?" The question was a little husky, softly spoken, and arms wrapped around him slowly. "It will be all right, Klaus. I promise you."

Familiar touch, well-known, calming voice; both washed into his mind and comforted more than Dorian could know. But he felt it, Klaus relaxing and then moving his lips to press them against his companion's... no, lover's mouth. Dorian was a lover, just as possessive as he could be, at times. /We promise each other so much.../

Promised it and would die to fulfill it. "Love you," Dorian whispered, hands sliding down to his hips, touching, light, *good*. "Adore you. Klaus... It will be all right. Come on." Carefully, he took the other man's hand, smiling at him bravely. "Fetch fire with your wood here and we'll go..."

To the little spring, where they would... and he wouldn't hurt Dorian. Not ever again, not ever!

Funny how they could relax together, no matter where or how, and how Dorian always seemed to keep him focused when they started something together. He caught Dorian's eyes out of the corner of his eye, and smiled as he led Dorian over to the driftwood and grabbed a piece. "I'll light this, and you... get the other."

It only took a moment; less than that, really, and then it was in his hand and he was with Klaus again, walking towards the underbrush. The tropical jungle was wild, but they'd beaten through a small path the bushes and trees days before, so it wasn't difficult to head towards their source of fresh water, hand in hand, the tube tucked carefully into Dorian's pocket. "A bath will be nice," he declared inanely, smiling at Klaus, trying to set him at ease.

"Bath -- soap would make it a bath. We're just planning on splashing around in our drinking water source," Klaus snorted gently.

"I suppose we could try scouring off with sand as we do with our dish," Dorian offered a bit dryly, "but I rather think it'd be horridly unpleasant."

"I was just going to say it might work," Klaus laughed, shaking his head again. "As long as we avoid anything sunburnt, it shouldn't be too unpleasant."

"You do me and I'll do you," Dorian offered mischievously as they strolled into the clearing where the pool of fresh water lay.

The waterfall wasn't much -- just a short spill over into the little pool, perhaps as much as six feet, perfect to serve as a shower. It *was* beautiful in the silver moonlight, however, the pool itself reflecting light from its perfectly clear water, the heady scent of tropical flowers heavy on the air.

His comment got the desired reaction from Klaus -- a blush that warmed the German's cheeks. Yes, soon they would be 'doing' each other....

"We're lucky to have found this place," he tried to comment off-handedly as he started to remove his shirt.

"Mmmm." It was a quiet noise of agreement as Dorian began to strip as well, blue eyes trained on the other man. "Klaus, if you want to stop at any point, all you have to do is tell me so..."

"I remember," Klaus murmured, watching Dorian a bit more than absently. "But I'm... are you sure you'll be okay...?" He was hoping beyond hope that Dorian was right and that it wouldn't be like what the Stasi had done.

"Mostly certain," Dorian replied, shoving at his pants. They came down with an unexpected ease, dropping to the grassy floor of the little glen, shirt dropped atop them. "I think I'll be fine."

"So, if you need to stop, just do -- I'll know to back off," Klaus said agreeably, staring at his lover's body while he finished shucking off his own clothes. He was still a divestmentphobe, unless it was for a clear purpose... and the purpose now was *very* clear.

Dorian nodded. "I'll tell you. Perhaps I'll say..." His lips curved up in a smile. "Hm, why not... Achilles."

Stepping out of his trousers, Klaus nodded to that suggestion -- even as he quickly made his way into the small pool of water. "So, you'll say it to... stop everything?"

"Yes," Dorian replied quietly, watching the other man slip into the cool, clean liquid, following after him slowly. "That's just exactly what I'll do."

The water was *crisp*, and it felt almost like what he assumed stepping into glass would feel like -- enveloping and chilly -- but the chill was a nice reprieve from dry, sweltering heat. "If you need to. And... you'll be on top." Twice the protection, Klaus though, from something going wrong.

Dorian's agreement was that soft word again. "Yes. Klaus..." Carefully, he moved closer to him, an arm wrapping around the other man's waist, legs moving lazily to keep him afloat. "I love you." It threatened to melt the man, being told that again and again like Dorian did -- weakened him to the core, and he didn't care at all that it did. The strength it took to keep afloat was little, though Klaus made sure Dorian's grip was just a loose one. "Kiss me," was the demand, given with an absolute surety that it would be granted. "Kiss me and kiss me and kiss me..."

"Would it be better to do that on land?" Klaus asked, before he took a brush of a kiss, careful.

"For now," Dorian told him, "we can do just as we like right here. I doubt we'll drown, darling. When we do that... then, we can slip to shore."

It seemed reasonable that way -- once Dorian had even gently insisted. "Kissing you... is a pleasure I can't do without now." The earl's lips were warm, even when chapped from too much sun, and they parted just enough for his tongue to slip between them, caressing within. From there, it was a tangle of mouth and tongue mingled with hands that stroked over the width of Klaus's shoulders, touching him with an obvious want. Response came by way of gently nibbling teeth, nudging legs pressing lightly to Klaus's as they remained there, treading water easily together.

A few days without touching with such intent had put Klaus a bit down from where he'd been in his ability to take easily those heady touches. Dorian's teeth catching onto his bottom lip got a soft moan in response, and Klaus sliding one hand firmly along Dorian's spine to better mould their bodies together. His free hand went out, into the water, to better keep them afloat. Swimming... was something perhaps that they shouldn't have even bothered with -- he wanted to be on stable ground then and there, to be able to see how he touched Dorian.

It seemed that Dorian understood that need, for he pulled back slightly, mouth swollen from the sheer force of those kisses, a little breathless. "Let's move that way," he murmured, pointing in a direction where the clear pool of water was a bit more shallow, more likely to allow them to stand than not.

At least it would allow them an easier time of touching each other again. The sheer need that lurked in the back of Klaus's mind, to do those things, was frightening at times. To know that, given the option, he would probably spend all hours of the day, all days of the week, doing that...

"This is better," he decided, as they reached a point where he could put feet down and not be under the water, footing firm enough on silt and rocks.

"Much," Dorian purred, his own toes finding a proper footing. "Now, then, I believe we were right about... here?" He leaned forward and kissed Klaus again, bringing his knees up to clutch at Klaus's thighs. His arms still wrapped carefully around those broad shoulders kept him stable, and it felt so *good* to press himself completely against the lean length of the other man's body!!

It almost completely unbalanced Klaus, but he was more than grateful for that pressing contact -- Dorian might as well have not bothered to find footing, for all that his feet weren't touching the bottom of their little pond anymore. Klaus was pleased where the thief's knees were, though, where his arms were, where his lips were pressing, again and again...

"Love you." It was a fair litany, singing in his ears, the feel of Dorian's mouth fluttering kisses over his face unspeakably delicious. "Love you. My Klaus..."

Overwhelmed by those kisses, he could only drudge up the effort to reply, "Ja, yours." As if Dorian needed to be told -- the teasing comment about having stolen his heart was true, the utterances of having him... yes, all true. Otherwise they would never have gotten further than that night in the bathroom, where Dorian had caught him touching himself.

Slowly, as he wrapped his arms around the small of Dorian's back to hold him up, Klaus started to back up -- towards the shore.

"And I'm yours," Dorian told him, moving to nibble lightly where throat met jaw, mouth caressing past there to his ear. "Always, Klaus. Forever, and I'll never, ever leave you..."

Would it have been the same between them if they'd been lovers before the Stasi had brought about changes? Would it have been the same if Klaus had been able to deny an overwhelming need to protect, to *have* Dorian just for himself? Probably not, but what they had, the way they were... "Ohhhh, ah, Dorian..." He kept backing up, until there were water-smoothed rocks against his back.

The taste of Dorian was pure hunger, the steady rock of hip to pelvis unmistakably desirous of more. One slim thief's hand reached out, finding a hold on one of the rocks to hold them still as he moaned against Klaus's lips, sighing against them a moment later. "Up on the rocks," he whispered to his lover, parting from him. "I'll be back in just a moment."

"Where are you going?" Klaus asked hazily, not yet moving as Dorian pulled back.

A smile that was purely born of adoration and need crossed the other man's lips. "To fetch something from shore, darling. I'll be right back. Promise."

Something... *that* something. Klaus watched, still breathing a little hard, as Dorian moved out over the water; once he was near the shore, Klaus turned, and climbed easily up the sloped rocks, up to the flat area atop the rise. He seemed almost a silvered god there in the moonlight, water spilling so close to him, the occasional splash making its way over the rock in a chill little wash. It was nothing but purely appreciated as Dorian turned back, a small, slim tube in hand, and looked at him for just a moment before slipping back into the water and silently swimming over to the rocks.

He pulled himself up beside Klaus, looking at him steadily. "It's almost difficult to believe you're actually human, love. You're so beautiful here this way..."

"Beautiful? Me...?" Klaus smiled slight at him, already pulling his gold-and milk-hued lover near. One hand cupping the side of Dorian's face, the other lightly at his waist. "Nein -- you're the one who might as well be a part of the water."

"Beautiful," Dorian informed him again lightly. "A living work of art, almost. A divinely made water god come to life to take a mate..."

Sometimes it was better to just let Dorian flatter him -- because how could he be *that* and be missing an eye? How could he be *that* and be missing a hand, bear so many scars... But arguing would have ruined the mood, and his own need to make Dorian entirely happy. Usually when they were both naked there was a sheet, or something, but not now -- not it was just the stone beneath his back, slightly cool, and Dorian kneeling beside him. "Why look for a mate, when all I want is here in you?"

The slow curve of Dorian's lips said much, the spark of his eyes undeniable even in the flat pale light. "Because I *am* your mate, darling. And I'll always be," he purred, leaning in to kiss the other man delicately.

The hand at his waist, Klaus's right hand, pulled Dorian's body nearer -- but not yet touching his. Without water between their naked bodies, it was somehow a thousand times more overwhelming to have his lover that close. "Always," came the aching whisper of agreement against Dorian's mouth.

Easily, Dorian allowed that kiss, opening to it, his arms wrapping tightly about Klaus's neck, the entirety of him yearning to be held snugly against the other man's body. He could resist only so much and so he slid forward slightly, pressing them chest to chest, wanting so badly for more. When Klaus next tried for more contact, it was the unexpected meeting of their hips, sliding together almost like two puzzle pieces -- and how much Klaus wanted to join with Dorian! He gasped at the rub of erections, slicked with water more than anything else. "Dorian..." It wasn't a request for him to stop -- it was a request for something coherent.

"Yes," Dorian promised him in a single breath. "Yes, *Klaus*..." His hand slid down, caressing over the stiff, slick, heated length of him, slowly but surely coming from root to tip. "Is this what you want?" he whispered, trembling a little with the strength of his emotions. "Is this what you *need*?"

"Uhn, gott, yes!" He tried to not move his hips at all, but they twitched upwards a little, into Dorian's grasp. "I want to do that to -- *with* you so badly..."

"Then we will," his lover almost groaned, reaching for the tube. "Klaus... you need to touch me. There... if you can..."

"Touch.... t-touch you where?" Klaus asked, wanting desperately, clarification.

Taking the other man's hand, Dorian gently guided it between his thighs and farther back, touching fingers between his own cheeks. "Here. With this..." He indicated the tube. "To make sure that I... I'm able to take you in. To make me slick. And I'll do you, here..." His second hand lightly caressed over the length of Klaus's erection, trembling only slightly.

Klaus could feel his own hand shake a little as he coated two fingers on his good left hand with the slick stuff -- probably something they shouldn't be wasting, but it wasn't a real waste if it felt so good as it did. Of course fingers would ease the way, but just one finger had hurt so much for *him*....! "I love you," he murmured, sliding those two fingers up along the crevice between firm muscles.

"Oh, Klaus..." The way that affected Dorian was so *obvious*, the entirety of him seeming to melt with the sound of those words. "Beyond knowing, yes... yes, yes, yes, Klaus, *please*..." His own fingers were still stroking slowly over the blood-filled throbbing jut of flesh so blatantly needy between Klaus's thighs, tenderly moving upon him. "Please, I need you so much... so many ways..." His wet head dropped forward upon the stone, water-damp corkscrew curls spilling around him. "Please..."

If Dorian's pace had been just a bit faster, Klaus would have been worried about reaching completion -- with his lover writhing and moaning just kneeling partly over him, so blatantly beautiful... Hard to resist. "You... okay?" he asked as he slid one slicked finger in to the second knuckle.

The little mewled sound that he gave seemed as if it was meant to be agreement, and the slight shift of his hips was an obvious one. "Yes!" he finally managed to groan, eyes slitting open to watch Klaus. "Oh, *yes*... Only you, Klaus," he whimpered. "Only you, ever. Ever..."

"Only you." He meant it just as much as Dorian's words, as he slipped that finger in a little, moving it very carefully -- with no idea of what he was supposed to look for, if anything at all, or what he was supposed to do.

"Just a little more!" It was a whimper, pleading. "Just a little... little... AHHHH!! OH, *GOD*!! Yes, Klaus!!!"

Obviously, he had found whatever he was supposed to look for, and equally obviously, it must be *good*.

Though in particular, nothing felt too different from anything else -- it was all hot, all clenching around his slicked finger. But he didn't stop, because obviously he was doing something right. "Can I... add my other finger...?"

"Yes..." It was a raw little sound, Dorian looking at him, hand moving to the tube to squeeze some of the slick ointment out onto his fingers. "Yes... you can, please, Klaus. I'd... unnnnh..... Oh, I'd love it if you did!!"

At first Klaus didn't think a second one would fit in -- but he tried, pressing it close against both the tiny hole and his other finger. When it slid in, his blond lover gave a sound that was purely pleasure, entire body arching with the feel of it. "Hah!!"

"It isn't too much?" Klaus asked, desperate for the reassurance that Dorian was all right with having that done to him.

"So good," Dorian whined softly, shivering. "So *good*... Klaus... Oh, *GOD*, how I want you, need you... love you..."

"You're amazing," he whispered tensely, watching the blond's face flicker with expressions. Now that Dorian was so intensely distracted he'd stopped touching Klaus, which was just as well. There was enough visual stimulation to keep him hard for weeks.

"Now... Klaus?" Dorian panted out, wanting more. He knew it would be all he could do to get his legs beneath him, to get himself atop Klaus and settled there, but he wanted Klaus so *much*...

"What... what do I do?" It sounded pathetic, but he *needed* to be told exactly what Dorian wanted him to do....

"On your back, darling," the British man murmured, lightly pushing at him so that he laid flat. His brains felt utterly scrambled with desire, but he pulled himself together enough to only let out a little moan of loss when Klaus removed his fingers. "Huunh..."

"If it hurts," Klaus reminded him shakily.

Moving over him, Dorian paused, kneeling up. *He* seemed the God in that moment, blond and ravishing and silver in the moonlight, shimmering with cool moisture, a thing made up of exquisite purity. "I'll tell you," he promised in a whisper, reaching for Klaus's heated erection and taking it in hand before settling down slowly so that it met his own flesh, lightly placing it between his cheeks. "Tell me the same, Klaus..."

Klaus was barely resting his weight back on one elbow, caught in looking up at Dorian's pleasure-caught frame. Just beautiful to have that kneeling atop him, to have that... He shuddered visibly, a tensing of muscles, when Dorian guided his cock towards its destination. "I will." Though he couldn't see how it could hurt *him*.

Momentarily, Dorian paused there atop him, thoughts scattered with sudden panic. /It's Klaus,/ he thought taking in a deep breath. /It's Klaus, and he'd die before he'd hurt me.../ With that, he slowly moved downward, pressure opening him up, making him gasp as the soft tip of that stiff erection sank past the scarred ring of resisting muscle meant to hold him out! "Ohhh!"

"Nnng!" Klaus's voice caught between a gasp and a choke as he froze, keeping himself unmoving. Such a tight, tight clutch around him as Dorian controlled the actions.

The other man's name was a shaky sound on Dorian's lips as the blond moaned, sliding slowly down that hard flesh until Klaus was deep inside of him -- so impossibly deep that he felt as if he was going to simply tear apart with the tension and the want and... yes, the fear. "Klaus," he whispered, leaning down and pillowing his head on Eberbach's scarred chest. "Hold me, Klaus. I'm afraid I'm going to fly apart!"

Fly apart... Klaus understood that, since he was nearly going to shatter from the *amount* of sensation that came from Dorian's bottom resting against his hips, the shuddering heat that clutched at him. The plea in Dorian's voice un-paralyzed him enough to get his arms to work for him, sliding around Dorian's shoulders to do just that. "It.... it's all right. It's just me, Dorian."

"Yes..." The whisper was shivering agreement, Dorian trembling against him. "Just you. Just.. oh, *GOD*, Klaus! So... so hot, so *much*, so much of you... so deep... ohhh..."

"It, it isn't too.... ah, too much?" Klaus asked disjointedly. It took hard concentration to keep his voice working, to speak when he wanted to move his body against Dorian's.

A shift proved that it wasn't too much at all, breath shuddering loose from the man straddling him. "Nnnnn, *Klaus*, God, *yes*!"

Klaus's hands, unsteady, stroked against Dorian's back, over the smooth skin as he stopped hugging the man quite so tightly near him. "How... are you?"

"Feels so good," Dorian groaned out, shuddering. It hurt a little, too, but he would never, ever tell Klaus that! Besides, the wonder of it more than made up for the small amount of pain, and the little shivers working through him could certainly be put off to pleasure!

"Can I.... m-move yet? Christ, you feel so hot, Dorian!" He couldn't help that it felt so good, that he wanted to grasp Dorian's hips and grind up into him.

"Y...es, please *GOD*, do it, Klaus!" That reply was barely moaned out, the slim blond man writhing atop him. "I... need you so..."

"It's... so..." Powerful, he wanted to say, as he arched his hips minutely so that their bodies pressed closer still, and then parted. He needed to kiss the other man, needed badly to do that, and yet he needed to watch Dorian's face, to make sure everything was okay...

It gained him the softest sound of pure pleasure, Dorian shifting above him. "Kiss me," he whispered, shivering. "Kiss me and touch me... here..." A nimble-fingered hand took Klaus's own, lightly placing it on Dorian's cock, the flesh desperately hard and needy. "God... *yes*..."

That was familiar, though it was hard to work on stroking Dorian where the man liked it best -- around the head and beneath, he always remembered that -- while he rocked minutely into the man kneeling over his groin. "Lean... lean down, so..." So he could take Dorian's mouth in his.

It seemed so easy for Dorian to obey, and for a moment, he honestly thought he'd melt into the German man with the sheer bliss of being kissed that way. "Nnnnnmmmm!"

Linked completely to each other, groins melted completely, mouth against mouth... It was more than Klaus had ever felt in his life, more pleasure in one complicated act than he'd ever thought possible. Each straining shift brought new pleasure, a quickening of pace; and all the while he stroked at Dorian's fluid-slick cock while his mouth ate at Dorian's. It wasn't like every sick fear he'd had -- it didn't feel all powering to indulge in the act, and Dorian wasn't being hurt, and that made it so much better!

Panting slightly, Dorian pulled back from him, mouth swollen, and smiled. "Do you... like it?" he managed to ask, a steady writhe of hip and thigh continuing to build pleasure between them. "Do you want more of it? Do you want more of *me*...?"

"Yes, yes, more of you, Dorian, it's..." It was beyond the ken of coherence for him, and it showed in the way he tried to form more words, but ended up just smiling breathlessly at his lover.

Returning it, Dorian shifted up, sitting on him fully. He shook his hair back over his shoulders, hands lightly placed on Klaus's abdomen as he nearly *purred* with satisfaction. It was so *good* to feel Klaus in him, to feel it not hurting, the way that everything rubbed so perfectly. "Good," he cooed quietly. "Ohhh, so *goood*..."

"I could... oh, do this for hours," Klaus moaned disjointedly, shuddering at the race of feeling he got from Dorian's hands on his stomach. He finally rested a hand on Dorian's hip, other still stroking firmly, shakily at the earl's hard cock.

The purely luscious sounds he dragged from Dorian were so good for him, freeing him of his worry as the other man rose and fell on the stiffness of his erection, shuddering steadily. "Please... please, please, please, *yes*, God, more...!"

He couldn't think of anything else to do for Dorian -- other than rock his hips up firmer, and stroke faster, matching the two paces -- oh, he wanted to give in to his nearing release, but not unless Dorian went first!

It wasn't much of a stretch for Dorian to do just that. The feel of Klaus deep in him, nudging at the all-too delicious nub of his prostate; the realization that he *could* do this after all; the sheer *freedom* of who and what they were together... It all combined, mixing in him until he was nearly incoherent with joy, and when he came, it was with a cry that echoed back over the water and into the trees, the entirety of him going stiff.

If he were ever to black-out during sex, then would have been the time. But he didn't; the release, a sudden rush of need that had to be let loose, hit him hard, and left him drifting when Dorian rolled forwards a little, resting entirely atop him. "Ach, da.... darling..." It was awkward for him to say, but it was something, as he stroked gently with heavy-feeling fingers.

"Perfect," Dorian whispered, rubbing his cheek against Klaus's shoulder. "'S just so perfect..."

"Felt.. feel so good," he sighed, voice nearly slurring the words right together.

"Garrison," a voice said clearly from the other side of the brush, "I'm utterly *certain* that I just heard a *howl*."

Klaus tensed immediately -- shit, there *were* other people there, and their clothes were on the other side of the little pool!

"I can't imagine that it would be a *human*, Jackson," came the assurance. "We're probably going to be eaten by some ridiculous tropical animal or something!"

Not only were they together, and naked, but the were still *together* -- his cock, softening, was still within Dorian' tight clench... He had to do something.

"Don't come into the clearing!" he called out to them. "Wait a moment!"

"Well," a third voice declared, deep and calm, "it looks as if Jackson was right. How remarkable. You'll have to eat your words about the animal, Garrison."

"Shut up, Orville. Who are you?" the voice who seemed to be Garrison called.

Klaus started to sit up, Dorian still a motionless blanket of body atop him. "Civilians -- we were stranded here a little while ago -- hold on a moment, we've been... swimming." /Come on, Dorian, get up, help me here.../

"This is either very good or very bad," Dorian whispered, shifting slowly off of him. "Back into the water?"

"Ja, and over to our clothes," Klaus finished, barely a whisper.

"Civilians, eh? Hm, odd, that." That one was Jackson. "Well, odd that you'd say it, all the same. Decent yet, are you?"

"Not yet..." Both he and Dorian slid quietly into the water, and he swam forward quickly, over to the other side of the pool and then out of it, trying to sort out their clothing.

"Here, those are my pants," Dorian whispered. It was going to be *hellacious* to dress like that when they were both wet!!!

They were handed over as Klaus stood and struggled first into his underwear, and then his pants. Somehow, if the pants had been wet, too, it might have been easier. But at least it was something, and he jerked his shirt on quickly, absently pulling up his eyepatch to dry the skin beneath. Trying to not watch Dorian in his rush to dress, too -- why was it that everything they tried ended up interrupted somehow?

"Are you finished dressing yet?" came the call from one of those voices.

"Er... yes!" Dorian declared, buttoning up his shirt. "We're mostly decent now!"

"Oh, *GOOD*," was the proclamation, a rustle of leaves sounding before three men revealed themselves from the surrounding vegetation.

Klaus took a stance between over relaxed and ready to attack, edging himself nearer his lover. But the three men coming out of the bushes didn't *look* threatening at all -- rather, they looked like doddering old scientists or professors.

"How remarkable," the second voice said, squinting at them. *He* was obviously Jackson, as declared by the stitchwork on his white lab coat. "This is the first time we've gone for a walk and found people on the island."

"We were in a lifeboat, and we ended up here," Klaus said warily. "What government do you work for?" /Please don't let this be Cuba.../

"Oh, no government, dear boy, no government," the one with Garrison on his coat declared. "It's a private island, and our lab's well tucked away in the brush. Come along and we'll feed you and let you take a bath and perhaps contact someone to fetch you?" he offered.

"That sounds all right," Dorian agreed, glancing to Klaus.

"Who do you work for?" Klaus asked, still intensely suspicious -- there would be nothing worse than walking right into a trap!

"Oh, for ourselves," the one named Orville declared. "Governments are too corrupt to bother working for them."

The German eyed the three men for a moment, and then nodded once. "Thank you, then, for the offer of aid."

Dorian nearly sighed with Klaus's expression. "I'm dying for a hot bath," he told them, smiling.

"This, you may have," Orville replied, nodding. "We have much of the commodity of hot water."

"We need to make a call to Europe," Klaus uttered, grasping Dorian's hand between them to keep him close when they followed after the man. This was a good turn of events, it seemed!

"That would certainly be acceptable," Garrison informed them. "We have the proper equipment to do such a thing..."

"And then some," Jackson muttered.

"...and so we'll be glad to help you in any way it may be possible for us to do so!" the little man with the bowl-cut hair and large nose finished, glancing at his comrade.

"Thank you," Klaus said again, "Lets go now...?" Because he and Dorian were standing in wet clothing, and he wanted to be able to get back to Germany soon, now that the option was there.

"Of course," Orville agreed, turning to begin their journey.

Klaus gave the hand he held a firm squeeze, and looked over his shoulder to make sure that Dorian was okay with how things were going -- did he sense anything wrong with those three? Other than odd appearance, of whom Klaus knew they should be no judge, they seemed... all right.

Dorian seemed to think so, too, as they tromped through thick foliage and grasses on a path that was nearly impossible to see. Big leaves whacked their faces every now and then as they followed the men in their white coats silently, listening to their babble.

"Remarkable..."

"Can't imagine..."

"But there you have it, all the same!"

"Excuse me, but what are you fellows having such trouble imagining?" Klaus asked politely.

Glancing back, Jackson peered at him dimly. "Oh, that anyone could be stranded on our island. It's an oddity. One rarely finds people stranded on deserted islands anymore outside of classic novels."

It was hard to not sigh, as he continued to follow the men. Yes, it was unlikely, but... but he and Dorian *lived* the unlikely life! "Shit luck, I think of it as. And since you're here, it isn't really stranded."

"Excellent point, my boy. Bright," Garrison told the others, nodding. "It isn't deserted after all."

"Just seems like it," Dorian agreed.

"We didn't explore too far in from the beach since we couldn't see a glow from your compound when the sun set," Klaus told them. "More shit luck, since we've been eating fish and ration bars since we ended up here."

"The fish really weren't so bad," the blond pointed out to Klaus. "Especially once we found the salt..."

"Which was only this evening," Klaus pointed out, stroking his thumb over the back of Dorian's hand. "It hasn't been all bad." The pool, the talking, the *respite* from worry, the sex, oh god, they'd finally done it, hadn't they? Yes...

They'd DEFINITELY done it.

"Good, good. It's an abundant sort of island," Jackson told them, nodding at the silent Orville. "Isn't it? That's why we chose it!"

"What do you do?" he asked absently, still stroking his hand over the back of Dorian's. When they got a chance alone, he had so much to thank Dorian for, so much...

"Research," Orville rumbled, nodding his bald head. "We do private research."

Vague. Vague, but Klaus wasn't about to press it too far. "We won't disturb your work for long, then -- just until we can get out of here."

"Yes," Dorian agreed. "My accountant will come running when I call..."

"That's all right," Garrison told them. "We've got a few extra quarters for when family comes to visit." There was nothing at all suspicious about that until the lot of them stopped in the middle of what appeared to be an empty clearing.

The empty clearing put Klaus on edge, and it was more than obvious that the German *was* tense, as he verged closer to the trees and underbrush again. "So, where is your base...?"

"Right here," Garrison said, hitting a red button on a small contraption drawn out of his pocket. The grass lifted up, revealing a mechanical door -- obviously an elevator. "As I said. We work for no government. They're too corrupt. And they'd like too much to get their hands on things we choose to do."

"Wise to keep it hidden, then," Klaus said, edging forwards only after one of them started to go in. There was no way he was going to let himself and Dorian end up boxed into a fort that he couldn't see...

"WE thought so," Jackson agreed, even as Dorian's hand clutched Klaus's more tightly.

/This is so odd. Not threatening, really, but... FRIGHTENING, nonetheless,/ he decided, shivering.

As the other two moved into the doorway before them Klaus could only try to soothe Dorian's nerves with his touch from one hand, mulling things over. Perhaps it had been better when they'd thought the island stranded...

Still, it was a chance they'd have to take, and so they stepped into the elevator and Dorian shivered only a little as it began to take them down. /What an odd place,/ he thought, staying very close to Klaus. /So strange../

"We will show you to your quarters, and then send the message you wish when we arrive below," Orville told them politely.

"We only need one room," Klaus said as he made sure that Dorian was still comfortably close to him, almost protected in that small space.

That didn't seem to faze any of the old men, one of them just nodding slowly. "We expected as much," Garrison replied solemnly. After all, it wasn't as if what the two of them had been doing was in much question...

Dorian flushed slightly and glanced up at Klaus. "We'll be off your hands before you know it," he promised.

"Hopefully James won't charter some tug-boat to come get us," Klaus sighed. It would be *cheap*, if slow as hell, and he wasn't in a mood to put up with shitty thrift.

"Well..." Dorian said thoughtfully. "I'm sure he won't. After all, we'll have been missing for at least a few days. Poor Jamesie is probably frantic..."

"Good." Then they might be something better, faster -- a plane would be good, the faster they could get *home*.

"We hope our hospitality will be enough," Jackson said as the elevator came to a stop. "We aren't accustomed to having company."

"I'm sure everything will be just fine," Dorian replied with a smiled nod. "Thank you."

Hopefully they *were* just scientists, hopefully they weren't luring Klaus and Dorian into a trap, hopefully...

"Yes, thank you -- anything you can do for us will be more than enough."

"Just don't wander down the third hall to the left and everything should be just fine," Garrison told him. "That's where the research labs are."

"We won't leave our room," Klaus assured him. "We're not here to look around -- we just want to get home."

Jackson chortled at that. "Excellent. Just excellent!"

Smiling, Dorian hid his shivers. Creepy old men!

Shortly the two of them were escorted to a fairly comfortable, if stark room by the three old scientists, and Klaus wasn't going to any issue of question in his mind. No, he wanted a bath, and to sleep in a bed, call James, or Bonham, or someone, and to get back *home*! "Thank you, again, for helping us," he murmured graciously.

"No problem," Orville told them with calm inflection. "Would you like to send your message now?"

"Yes, please!" Dorian sighed, smiling charmingly at the lot of them. "We would appreciate that terribly much if you don't mind. Urm... 's there a phone, or...?"

"We'll just.... send a message for you," The one with the big nose said cryptically. "If you'll give us a number and a name to call, we'll set up transmission for you..."

"That's more than fine," was the agreement from the Briton, Dorian stepping close to Klaus. "Please, call Mr. James. You may reach him at 00-44-0845-773 3377... perhaps I should write that down..." Dorian muttered.

"I won't forget it," Orville promised with a nod of his head, and then the scientists left them alone! Blessedly!

Klaus made sure the door was locked, and then turned his attention back to Dorian. "You're all right?" was his first, concerned and wary question.

"A little nervous," was the reply, arms wrapping tightly about the man. "But fine, other than that. You were marvelous, Klaus. Just marvelous," he sighed, holding tight.

"Marvelous...?" That was almost confused, before he realized that Dorian was talking about... Oh. The German let himself smile ever so slightly, pulling Dorian comfortably close. Ah, but it was good to hold Dorian, to be sure that they would soon be back in Europe. "You were always marvelous, still are. That was..." He pressed his cheek against the side of Dorian's head, golden and very wet curls clinging. A nervous half-sigh left him. "Thank you."

"I think," Dorian murmured, holding tightly to him, "that we might as well go ahead and trust these strange gentlemen. After all... even 'f we don't, it'd just mean we'll be nervous for days. What do you think?"

"I'll trust them only because there isn't anything else to do." They were outnumbered, even if it was a small number and no hardship for Klaus to take out, but it was also a small bastion of civilization into which they were being invited. "I don't give a shit if they have other motives, or are working for someone. I just want to get back to Europe." And there was the side thought that it was roughly time to get a 'replacement' eye that would save him the trouble of the marring eye patch. Yes, it would be good to go back to civilization, and going back home changed nothing as far as being with his new lover and companion.

"For now..." Dorian smiled up at him. "Let's go to bed. I'm sure you'll enjoy sleeping in one as much as I will, at this point..."

"Have I ever said I have something against sleeping in a bed?" Klaus asked rather rhetorically. Better a bed than a tarp and emergency blankets on the sand!

"Not even once," Dorian agreed, kissing the corner of his mouth lightly. "I can't wait to curl up and be comfortable with you," he sighed. "Seems like forever since we slept in one..."

"Hmmn, yes -- but let's shower first...? I... don't really want to get the sheets dirty, and I'm sure we would," Klaus reminded him. Playing through the pool of water was completely different from *bathing*! And both of them, he was very sure, needed a bath. Was he the only one who could still smell a little sex off of them both?

It didn't seem to matter to Dorian, though, for he only kissed him once again. "Together?" he asked, smiling slightly, the scars on his face momentarily seeming brighter beneath the fluorescent lights.

Not that Klaus noticed it on Dorian's face, or cared at all. "Ja, together. 't'll save water and time," Klaus excused, though Dorian could read it for just that -- an excuse, and not even a full-hearted one, since Klaus started to pull Dorian towards the bathroom.

He stripped as he went, dropping dirty clothing to the floor with a little laugh, and by the time they actually reached the shower, he was entirely naked and trying to make certain that Klaus was the same. "Hmmm, it'll be nice, having soap, shampoo..." He sighed almost lustfully. Bathing was close to heaven!

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you wanted the shower more than me," Klaus murmured in slight amusement, as he disrobed only a little hesitantly. "Start the water?"

"If I can have you both together..." Dorian drawled, reaching in to quickly turn on the hot water. "Well. There's nothing wrong with *that*, now is there?"

"As long as I'm included." As long as he could be near Dorian, as long as he could touch him and be close, know that he was safe... They were going to go back home soon. Gently, he urged Dorian into the shower, snagging the rather simple soap and shampoo in there.

Unable to help himself, Dorian moaned with what was unmistakably pleasure the very moment that the hot water hit him. "Oh, GOD, that's marvelous, darling," he sighed, eyes closing in pleasure. "Hmmmmm...."

"'s odd to get a real shower," Klaus murmured, closing the shower's door behind them to better seal in that heat -- he realized only then how *cold* and unregulated their temperatures had been, even in that climate, and in just what odd places sand could stick.

"I think," Dorian told him, frowning, "that I have sand up my..." That more or less proved that their thoughts were running along similar lines.

"Doesn't surprise me," Klaus said with a straight face and a furious flushing in his cheeks as he handed Dorian the shampoo, already lathering his own.

"NOTHING surprises you, darling," Dorian teased, happily going at his own washing, delighted to be getting clean again. "Ohhh, this is magnificent!"

Klaus tilted his face up into the stream of the water for a moment, eye closed tight against it as he washed out the shampoo from his hair. Then as an afterthought, he removed the patch, now wet, and carefully cleaned over the socket and spacer it hid. Hopefully Dorian wasn't watching.

He needn't have worried; even if Dorian had seen, he wouldn't have been put off by the sight. Still, the blond man was washing diligently, and carefully didn't look. He knew that Klaus didn't want him to see, and that was more than enough for him.

They'd certainly gained a good sense of each other's preferences and limits when they'd been in America together -- and now they were working on the barriers of intimacy, something Klaus was glad to be working down and scared of all the same. But Dorian loved him with a fierce devotion, and he knew and had said that he loved Dorian...

And they managed well together, in ways Klaus would never have expected before the Stasi had come along and changed everything so drastically.

He finished washing before Dorian, but couldn't help that he lingered in the hot water that came down, lingered until Dorian, too, was done.

"Mmmm. So tired," Dorian sighed, wrapping wet arms about Klaus's waist, the water still running over them. "I'll sleep awfully well, I think."

"How about you get dried off first, then sleep?" Klaus offered gently, reaching for a towel that was awkwardly draped over Dorian's shoulders.

"Can't I just stay right where I am?" the thief chuckled, drawing back to smile up at him.

"You can still hang onto me in bed, you know. Sheets, warm, a mattress... Aren't your finer, decadent senses screaming at you to dry off so you can get in a *bed*?" Klaus purred, only *half* teasing him.

"Yowling," Dorian drawled in reply, smiling at him. Of course, it would *still* be awfully nice if Klaus dried him off, he decided...

"Then what's stalling you?" The edges of his mouth were coming up again, in that oddly pleased smile that he got from looking at Dorian for very long.

With a curious little pout, Dorian chuckled, still not letting go of the other man. "I want *you* to dry me off and put me to bed, darling. Won't you, please?"

When it came to doing things for each other, Klaus seldom asked why; this, too, would be left unquestioned. The towel around Dorian's shoulders was let slip a little, and Klaus gathered the edges in his hands to start drying Dorian carefully with it. "There isn't a blow dryer; we're going to have to go to bed with wet hair..."

Sighing, Dorian accepted his touch, letting Klaus towel him off slowly and thoroughly. "I doubt it'll kill us considering the last few nights. It'll be so nice to get home. What say we skip Greece altogether and go back to Germany, Klaus?"

"I was just going to suggest the same thing to you in the morning," Klaus smiled a bit hesitantly. "Do you mind if we did that?"

"Hmm, no," Dorian sighed as Klaus stood, leaning forward and kissing him lightly. "I wouldn't mind at all. I would imagine you're ready to go home." So was he, for that matter, but for the moment, Klaus's needs were more important.

"Terribly. I've missed Germany... And you must miss England," was the quick observation as he shifted a little to dry the backs of Dorian's thighs and over his buttocks.

"Hmm, but we can go there later," the blond man said. "For now, let's go home." Home, after all, was where Klaus was. It always would be. Besides that, it was past time that Klaus discovered whether or not his father had disowned him -- a horrid thought, but one that was most present in Dorian's mind.

Klaus was sure to avoid making any decision that would lead him to finding out; and if he did, or already knew, he might never tell Dorian. After all, he had a small barren apartment in Bonn, and Dorian had a fairly spacious flat... "America was nice, but only for a vacation," the German agreed, moving the damp towel to soak up excess from Dorian's thick hair.

Another humming sound came from Dorian by way of agreement, the British man sighing with pleasure. "You spoil me awfully, you know. I appreciate it, Klaus. I appreciate *you*. I love you."

"How do I spoil you?" Klaus half-demanded, still toweling the blond's hair.

"What you're doing now," Dorian sighed. "I love it, but oh, it spoils me so that I don't want to do it for myself!"

"It's not spoiling when it's deserved and when I enjoy doing it to you," Dorian was told in Klaus's most contemplative tone as the towel was set aside and then he picked up another to start briskly drying himself. The touch of Dorian's fingers stopped that, the towel stolen lightly away along with a brush of lips and nose that caressed him tenderly.

"Let me."

"Let..." Klaus echoed it once, halfway, and then stood still. Not perfectly stiff, just... just still for Dorian, still looking at the thief. "All right."

His acquiescence gained him another kiss, a buss of lips that followed along behind the towel. Every motion made was a tender one, caressing over scarred skin, lean belly, hip and thigh. The way that Dorian touched him was almost worship, and his kisses followed the drying trail, planting themselves lightly everywhere that his hands had been. Front, back, and finally all of his hair was ruffled dry, and those arms wrapped about his neck, lips lightly touching his ear. "Bedtime?"

"You.... are an evil man," Klaus shivered as he wrapped his arms around his lover. That was just lovely to feel, Dorian all wrapped around him. "Yes, bedtime."

"I'm your evil man," Dorian promised him softly. "Always, Klaus."

"Dry enough for clothes...?" Klaus asked softly, a whisper as if someone could hear them. It would have been rude, in his opinion, to sleep nude in the bed provided by a kind host; though their *clothing* was fairly dirty still.

Kissing the tip of his nose, Dorian shook his head, knowing full well the way his lover's mind worked. "No. No clothes. They're in miserable shape, darling. It'd be perfectly awful of us to sleep in them."

"Hmn, I suppose you're right," Klaus murmured, starting to back Dorian out of the bathroom. He frankly wasn't sure he could lay nude with Dorian and *sleep*. The way those blue eyes drooped, though, said much, so perhaps... just perhaps it would be possible.

"So tired," he sighed. "I hope Jamesie comes soon..."

"He'll probably come on wings once they call him," Klaus smiled ever so lightly, as they neared the bed, letting Dorian lay down first. "Hopefully."

Curling up on his side of the bed, Dorian sighed softly, eyes already closed. "Mmmhmmm," he managed by way of agreement, arms stretching out, reaching for Klaus even though sleep was so close already. The German let Dorian settle against him, as was their habit now, and simply closed his eyes. They were still safe, they were in a bed, and sleep really wasn't as hard to grasp as he'd first feared...

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