"Don't sit up," came the soft words, Klaus's voice dry and exhausted sounding from right beside him.

"I think I'm going to throw up," Dorian whispered to him. "Shit. I couldn't help it. Sorry."

"'s all right." Though, from something in Klaus's voice, it didn't *sound* like things were all right. "Just stay still. 's a small boat, and if we move a lot, it'll only rock more."

"*ROCK*!?" Dorian asked, blue eyes flying open wide. "What do you mean, *rock*!?"

"After they knocked us out, they fastened down the tarp and lowered us in. It's nearly dawn now." Which meant that the cruise ship was long gone.

"Oh, *shit*," Dorian declared again, groaning. "Dammit. We're going to *have* to sit up and see where we are, Klaus. Drifting along in the Atlantic Ocean in a lifeboat's not my idea of fun."

"No, and neither is being concussed," Klaus agreed in that same even tone; he stayed where he was, still laying down, even as he reached an arm to dip down and unfasten the tarp.

It was, at least, a lifeboat built for eight, and not the two that they were, so there was a little more room, and (Klaus assumed) supplies if the Soviets hadn't removed them first.

"At least we shouldn't be *too* far from land, should we? We took off late, and we could still see some of the islands when we were watching at sunset..." Dorian sighed, reaching up to hold his head.

Light crept in slowly, and when Klaus had unfastened a bit of the tarp, he sagged back down to cover his eyes for a moment, feeling his pulse throb loud in in skull with every breath he drew.

"You see where we are."

Peering up, Dorian groaned, the intense feeling of nausea rising further as he squinted against the bright light beginning to fill the world with its glow. "I... I think I see an island...!"

"Oh, 's good," Klaus sighed, still laying prone on the sloped bottom of the boat.

"It would probably be a good idea if we found some paddles or something. Do these things come with oars?" Dorian asked, laying back down and swallowing, hard.

"I n' know." Klaus didn't shift for a moment, and when he did it was with complete grogginess. "Check 't the back...?"

"I don't think they'd fit," Dorian muttered, squinting. A look to the side proved that the things were strapped on either side of the boat -- four oars, so that would be all right, if they could just handle them. "They're on the sides."

"'n kay..." Klaus groaned tightly as he finally did sit up -- and it was for Dorian to see his pale face streaked with blood in the rising morning light.

He couldn't help the horrified whisper that escaped him at the sight. "Oh, *Klaus*..."

"Was...?" Klaus steadied himself with a hand against the bottom of the boat, drawing his legs up beneath him for a moment before he repositioned to rest back on both hands, only partly sitting up. "'m okay..."

"Your head..." Dorian whispered. "You've got blood all over you. Oh..."

He shifted the tarp so it was in the boat with them, too, and drew a breath of crisp, slightly humid air. "Scalp wounds... 's just a lot of blood. 'm all right."

Shivering, Dorian reached for an oar, popping it loose from the tight strictures holding it to the side of the boat. "We might as well row. We can take care of it when we reach the island, see if we can find fresh water..." If they couldn't...

Klaus looked hazy enough that he could have gone to sleep again; Dorian had a suspicion that Polar Bear had been the one to knock Klaus out, and Mischa had likely put the aching knot on his own blond head. Still, the German man hung on, and nodded to Dorian's suggestion, prying an oar from his side loose, too.

"If you aren't up to this, darling..." Dorian began.

"'ll try." That he didn't get an instantly snapped affirmation as Klaus blinked for a moment, trying to sight the land, and then dipped his oar into the mostly calm water, said a lot.

With some care, Dorian set his own oar into the slot for it and began to row as well, remaining silent as they moved slowly towards land. /With any luck, it'll have some form of population,/ he thought to himself, glancing over to check on Klaus every so often.

Klaus was barely keeping up with Dorian's slow, even strokes; though, once he was aware of the blond man watching him, he pushed onwards, rowing harder. "Sooner we get to shore, sooner we can rest..."

"Don't outdo yourself," Dorian warned with a frown as they kept on. The water was beginning to push them towards land, itself, the tide coming in and sending them towards the beach a little better.

"I shouldn't 've... made you come with me, we should've... just gone back to the cabin..." And they'd be sleeping, peacefully, comfortably, *safely*.

"It'll be all right," Dorian told him firmly. "I *wanted* to." He *had*, natural curiosity unbearable for him.

"Now we're..." Now they were *somewhere*, paddling a life-boat towards unknown shore, and he felt as if he'd pass out if he stopped rowing.

"Who knows?" Dorian asked. "Maybe behind that fringe of trees is a bustling city somewhere!" Though God knows it didn't look like there was a bustling *anything* there...

"Maybe." The grim tone to that word sounded doubtful. "'n we get to shore, we can use the boat for shelter..."

"If there's no one there," Dorian agreed. /And if there's no one there, we'll have to set something else up for shelter that'll be sturdier. We've got the tarp, at least..../

"'t leas' 'til 've got more... energy..." Klaus closed his mouth, swallowed, and then returned his attention to the tug and push of the rowing -- as long as he could keep his muscles moving smoothly...

They finally reached the beach, both pushing themselves to do it, and Dorian jumped out to tug it farther out of the water. "We're here, Klaus. We're..." Once the boat was safely there, he couldn't hold it back any longer. He leaned over and threw up -- mostly water, a bit of whatever remained of a late lunch from the day before. What was worse was that he knew Klaus must be feeling even more horrible than *he* did!

Klaus, though, stumbled to his feet, one hand cradled up against the side of his head once he was sure his oar was inside the boat, and he began to pull it even further up onto the shore -- each slow, methodical step made to carry it beyond the reach of the tide.

Swallowing hard, Dorian trudged to help him until they had the thing quite beyond the water for the moment. "You can rest now," he whispered to Klaus. "I'll take care of the rest."

"All right." And Klaus sat down on the sand with a heavy thump.

Silently, Dorian climbed into the boat and began rustling through compartments. There, he found blankets, medicine, food, and even gallons of water, all of which he promptly tossed into the tarp and lowered to the ground. "Klaus, can you move far enough to get out of the sun?"

Slow to react, but he did, rising with a slight stagger from sand that refused to grant firm traction, before he backed up towards the tree-line. "We c'n use the boat for shade..."

"Yeah," Dorian agreed, wondering how in the hell he was going to get the boat up there by himself. "For now..." He walked to the treeline, dropping the tarp there before going to help Klaus to it. "Come on."

"'re we getting the boat...?" He asked hazily.

"I'll get it in a minute," Dorian promised, though he was damned near ready to drop.

"Wish 's was Greece... less heat, l's fucking bugs..." Klaus sat down on the slightly grassy ground, cross legged, leaning forwards a little to control the ache of his skull.

"Hold on," Dorian said, quickly spreading out the tarp. "Can you move over? I'll cover you with a blanket and you can use the other for a pillow..." Later, he'd get Klaus's hair clean. Now, though, he needed to get him comfortable and to move the boat...

"Move over...?" Klaus got up again, but looked confused as to where he was supposed to move.

"Onto the tarp, darling," he was prompted, Dorian helping him to move. "Lay back, now. I'm going to cover you up..."

The easy acquiescence was worrying, as was the fact that Klaus did lay down and let Dorian cover him. "'n't sleep... 'ren't.... not supposed to sleep?"

"No," Dorian agreed. "But for now, rest. Doze. I'll wake you once I take care of the boat..." God, that worried him! Klaus was much worse off than he was, and if Klaus died....

"N... 'n right." Klaus closed his eye, carefully, dilated gaze focused on Dorian as the lids closed around it.

"Be right back," he promised again, heading to drag the boat farther up. It took some work -- a lot of it, in fact, and he was sick again, though it was no more than a dry heave. By the time he got back to Klaus again, he nearly fell down beside him, panting. "Wake up," he muttered, shuddering.

It was the shudder more than the mutter that stirred him back, and Klaus looked a little more alert when he started to prop himself up with a protesting noise. "Hn?"

"Don't sleep," Dorian sighed, closing his own eyes.

"Hmn...?" /But you.../ But Dorian wanted to sleep. "C'n you?"

"Hm-mm," Dorian replied, voice negative. "It'd be a bad idea..."

"'n we 'n't sleep," Klaus decided, sitting up a little more. "Food...?"

"And medicine," Dorian declared, eyes still closed. "And water. Ought to take a look at the knots on both of our heads..."

"Open y'r eyes."

"I'm awake," he was informed, aquamarine seeming to peer out from under golden lashes. "'m just not functioning. Don't wanna."

"Sit up," he instructed slowly, doing so himself, just a bit more.

"Bossy," Dorian muttered, obeying slowly.

"Ja." His own head was still reeling. "'ll lay here. F'r a bit."

"Sounds good," Dorian agreed, stomach seeming to dance wildly as he reached over to pluck through the things he'd gotten out. "We've got antibiotic ointment, water, all sorts of meds, and some food. Probably oughta take care of your head now..."

"Hurts less now," Klaus uttered, shifting again to share the blanket with Dorian. Though, it didn't help much, since he was starting to feel unhappily warm again.

"I feel like my brains are squishing out," Dorian muttered, sighing as he reached for the water. "Here..." He began tearing a strip off of his shirt, since the fabric was fairly fragile.

"Don't use fr'sh water... " Klaus scolded. "'s for drink'n."

"And for *wounds*," Dorian chided back. "If you get an infection and die on me, I'll have to use sea shells to slash my own wrists, and I'd just as soon not."

"But 's water out there," Klaus gestured to the ocean.

"Yes," the blond man replied. "Dirty nasty salty stuff that's got God knows what in it. I'm not using it," he told Klaus firmly, opening the bottled water with one hand.

Klaus looked reluctant abut that idea, but he started to move off of the tarp a little so that Dorian could wash the wound.

"There..." That said, Dorian went to work, gently cleaning the thing with fingers that only lightly explored, washing out blood and getting down to the goose-egg that seemed huge when compared to his own. "Oh, darling. It's *nasty*," he sighed.

"'n press so hard," Klaus winced, trying to not jerk back.

"I'm almost done. You can press on me in a moment," came the promise. Dorian's own wound had bled little, but just enough to matt the hair down beneath the top of his curls. "Hold on." A quick rummage through the small amount of medical supplies revealed a tube of bacitracin which was promptly put to use. "There. All better."

Klaus looked a bit silly, hair half-wet, eyes still barely focused, but he took the tube from Dorian, and the water. "Soon... 'll go find civilization." God willing, civilization would find them first.

"After... ow... after we rest. *Out* of the sun," Dorian muttered, letting Klaus take care of him. "I'm really going to do something to make both of them miserable next time we see them!"

"'re doing it? 'n even think of what 'm going to do." That was almost growled, and it was a comfort to hear Klaus growl anything, while he worked on Dorian's wound.

"Ouch," Dorian declared again, wincing. "Almost done yet??"

"'m I hurting you?" The rich voice was thick with concern as he dabbed on the antibiotic ointment, backing off from touching almost immediately.

"Not really," Dorian sighed. "It hurts enough all on its own, darling. Ouch," he declared again with another release of breath.

"'m kay," Klaus uttered as he moved to sit closer to Dorian, closing the container of water. "Food?"

"Yeah. Storable stuff. Here," Dorian sighed, reaching for it and handing it over. He DEFINITELY didn't want any. Not yet...

It was some sort of foil-covered vacuum-sealed grain-bar, a box of them. He opened one, broke it in half, and offered half to Dorian. "You eat first."

"Nn-nn." That was flat denial, the British man looking at it as if it was a snake. "If I eat it, I'll throw it up."

"You f'l sick?" Klaus asked, looking at him worriedly. "'s probably 'cause we haven't eaten since supper."

"Puked twice already," was the reply. "Sort of. I'll be all right.."

Being told that, though, didn't soothe Klaus's nerves an ounce -- he settled down right beside Dorian, hip against hip, and reached for the bottle of water. "Drink."

"I don't want to," Dorian almost pleaded, but he took it all the same and swallowed a bit, closing his eyes. It wanted to come right back up, and he shivered. "Unh..."

Klaus put one clammy, too warm hand on the back of Dorian's neck, trying to comfort. "Can't get dehydrated. Want to try to move into deeper shade...?"

"I think... here's fine," Dorian sighed, laying back. "I just need to lay down. Probably shouldn't sleep, either of us, but..."

"We won't sleep," Klaus sighed, laying down with Dorian, and taking a deep drink of the water. "We won't sleep."

"Just for a minute," was the whispered promise. "We'll only lay here for a minute..."

Just a moment.

When Klaus was next conscious, it was a hazy red-blue darkness that was descending on them, and it was chilly outside.

The sun he'd seen rising was setting now.

"Dorian..." His head hurt less, though it made him not less worried about the other concussed man -- neither of them should have slept!

"Hmmm?" It was a sleepy sort of answer, Dorian giving a soft sigh. "Klaus?"

Fingers touched at his cheeks, and slightly reddened skin. "Oh, you're sunburnt..."

"Ahhh..." Oh, that little sound wasn't so good. "Ouch. That hurts..." The British thief opened his eyes, blinking. "God, did we sleep all day?"

"Yeah -- looks like the shade ran from us, too, at some point... Let me see if there's anything for burns in the aid kit," Klaus murmured, moving away a little to get the box.

His skin felt awfully tight and hot to the touch, forcing him to give a little impatient sound of pain. "Did it get you, too?" he asked Klaus, trying not to frown. He had a feeling that would hurt!

"My face feels warm, so I'd guess so -- does it hurt so badly...?" He fumbled open the box, and started to search through what they had.

"Feels as if I've been fried. If I were fried potatoes, I'd be dubbed done," was the wry response.

"That's not good," Klaus uttered, picking up a small tube of aloe -- enough for one of them to use for a couple of days... /I don't need it,/ he decided, tossing it to Dorian. "Here."

Dorian *would* have smiled at him, but that would've been unpleasant. "Could you do it? You can see better than I can where the burns are..."

/I don't want to hurt you..../ But he moved close, smearing some of the warm clear-green goo onto his fingers, and then began to smooth it lightly over Dorian's cheeks, chin, and spots on his forehead. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah," Dorian admitted. "My head's not pounding so badly and I'm a little hungry. Not so queasy. Oh, that feels good," he sighed. "How are you?"

"My head aches, my eye's bothering me a little, but other'n that, I'm fine." His fingers rubbed gently for a moment more. "Tilt your head back -- your neck's burnt."

A little gasp sounded as Dorian obeyed, lip bitten between white teeth. "Damn, things that hurt that way shouldn't feel so blessedly *good*," he muttered. "I'm all ashiver. Nerves ought to differentiate better than that..."

"If it hurts, how can it feel good?" He kept his two fingers moving, smoothing the aloe gel over the reddened skin, too warm beneath his touch.

"I don't know," Dorian admitted. "Probably because I feel oversensitive, I guess."

"Oversensitive how...?" he pressed, wondering. Pain couldn't feel good, could it...? And if it did, would that mean some of the things he and Dorian had done had really hurt...?

"Like when you're sick and someone touches you and it almost feels good even though you're too sick to enjoy it," Dorian sighed. "Oh, it feels so much better now that you've got something on it. I'll do you, now, Klaus?"

"I don't think I'm really badly burnt," he told Dorian, even though he held still for the other man to inspect. "I can't think of any real examples that I've felt of that, except..." When they were in the hospital, and Dorian let him hold his hand.

"Except?" Dorian asked, dabbing a little of the gooey aloe onto his face tenderly.

"It felt good in the hospital to hold your hand."

With those words, the blond thief almost visibly softened. "Oh, Klaus. I love you so."

"Ja, I know," he said, and Dorian's fingers could feel his smile. It still didn't explain why telling Dorian that had gotten such a reaction, but... but he supposed from Dorian's words that it'd been all right.

Lightly burnt lips pressed to his own, then, before Dorian spoke. "I suppose we should do something about somewhere to stay for the night, even if we've already slept. I doubt we'll find civilization in the dark, darling..."

"Let's see what we can rig with the boat and this tarp," Klaus suggested.

"All right," Dorian agreed, rising slowly. "It's a clear night, Klaus. We could always just sleep on the tarp and blankets 'til morning..."

"And wake up late and sunburnt again," Klaus shoot his head 'no'. "If we rig a shelter now, while it's dark, Dorian... we can sleep through the day, and explore when the sun isn't out, or early or late..."

Ahh, Klaus was so perfect that way! He nodded, shaking out their blankets. "All right," he agreed, glancing towards the wild vegetation where forest met beach. "Do we want to move nearer all of the bushes, there?"

"Yes," Klaus told him, starting to stand up. A mostly empty stomach caught up to him fast, and he sat back down again. "We're going to eat first.... and I'll see what I can do about finding us food."

"We have enough here to last at least several days. Tomorrow, we'll look for something else. Who knows?" Dorian drawled. "Maybe they'll have fishing line hidden in the boat."

"That's an idea, actually..." And even if all they caught was one or two fish, it'd be enough for both of them to eat! But for now, he moved to snag the box of food-bars.

A quick search revealed that one box was some form of fruit bar, and one of those was quickly given to Dorian, another opened for himself. They ate them slowly, careful not to eat too much at once and make themselves ill. "Mmm," Dorian declared around a chewy mouthful. "Not bad. Could be much worse..."

"MRE," Klaus nodded solemnly, swallowing. "These will keep us alive, though, so who cares. Tomorrow, we'll have to see where we are, if we're near anything else..." If there were people, and he hoped they wouldn't be there *long*.

"You know, I don't see even the faintest glow of electric light in the sky, Klaus. If there was a city here, there would be, wouldn't there?" Dorian asked.

"Probably. Even a town would do me right now, though."

Golden curls shivered as a warm wind blew past. "I'd think even a village would cast off *some* sort of light..."

"Maybe," Klaus sighed, looking out and over towards the tree-line. Common sense told him Dorian was right, but hope and stubbornness...

"At any rate, let's rig the boat and tarp together against one of the trees for now? Tomorrow, we can search for civilization and fresh water..."

Klaus finished chewing his bar, and moved to his feet again -- feeling much, much better to have something in his stomach. "Pick a sturdy-looking tree."

It only took a moment to determine which one of the palm trees seemed sturdiest and Dorian nodded to it, moving to tug at the boat. "Shall we lean this up against it and then wrap the tarp to provide a sort of shelter?"

"Lean the boat against it on its side," Klaus murmured, already dragging the heavy thing up the beach further. It would be good protection from evening winds... "Tack the tarp down against the side and use something to prop the tarp up at the other side..."

"Like a tent," Dorian noted, grunting slightly as they tugged the boat into place. "We can tie the tarp the way it was originally..."

"On just one side," Klaus clarified. Now, the fun part would be getting it up on its side...

Dorian seemed to agree, for he paused, frowning at it as they stood near the tree. "Well..." A moment of pause, and Klaus sighed, moving to get his grasp on the side farthest from the tree, using a heel to lever down the near side. With care, Dorian began pushing as well, until they very shortly had the thing toppled over on its side, despite its hefty size. Thank God it was aluminum! "There!"

"Not so bad," the German mused, pulling it back so that it rested on the tree more. "That will make a good shelter for us!"

"Good!" Dorian declared with a sigh. "Now, the tarp..." Would be less trouble...

They moved it in place easily by each of them holding a side, and then fastening it in place. "You know, as a team, we only get better and better..."

The urge to say 'I told you so' was swallowed as Dorian smiled at him, moonlight spilling down on the beach as the silvery round glow of it made itself known. "Now, then. Shall we get our blankets?"

"And all the other supplies." Dorian carried over the blankets, and Klaus took the food and first aid. "We'll manage here, just as well as we do anywhere."

"Good. Then there's no reason to put off what we were planning for tonight... is there?" was the husky question given in response. He was feeling *much* better, and Klaus looked as if he felt better, too. That combined with the sheer *romance* of where they were would be enough for Dorian to forgo the worry of getting sand in odd places or... or worse ones about where they might be...

"What...?" Klaus looked at him in complete confusion -- had he agreed to something, while freshly concussed, that he didn't remember?

"Making love?" Dorian asked him softly.

Technically, he'd agreed for that to have happened the night they were left unconscious in the boat. Technically... /I want to, there's no one here.../ "You still want to?"

"Yes." The reply was given quietly, Dorian standing close to him, the blankets only scant feet away, waiting to be moved inside of their little tent. "Very much so." Even though his heart was beating as if it would burst with what was either excitement or fear, he *did* want it with every part of him. "Though I might want to wait at least until my skin doesn't feel as though it's going to fall off of my face," he sighed a bit sheepishly. "It does hurt awfully, all tight and hot and unpleasant."

"Then we'll wait," Klaus soothed, snagging the blankets. "We'll sleep for a bit tonight, and then we'll explore a little. In the morning we can see just how bad the burn is."

The thief couldn't help but smile a little at that, even if it pulled his face a bit tight. "How we can even think of sleeping..." he began.

"Rest then -- I still have a headache," Klaus shrugged, tossing the towels under their little shelter. "I'd like to go out and look around in a couple of hours, while it's still dark."

"That sounds acceptable," Dorian agreed solemnly. "Until then, we can just lay together..." That sounded like such a beautiful idea!

"You know I'd never pass on a chance to hold you," Klaus purred a bit softly, waiting for Dorian to duck in first.

Obediently, the blond man slipped into the makeshift tent and they spread out the blankets carefully before Dorian laid down, waiting for Klaus to come in after him. Once he did, and once they were both side by side with Klaus's arms around him, he relaxed, sighing slightly with pure pleasure. "Oh, Klaus..."

"Hmn?"

"Do you think there's anyone on the island besides us?" Dorian asked.

"I hope there is." Though the lack of evening glow that Dorian had pointed out to him seemed to be a hard truth -- that they were alone on the island, except, probably, for a few animals.

"Mmmmm." For a while, silence reigned, and they laid there quietly together, but Dorian finally shifted, his back to Klaus's chest, rear pressed to him lightly. "I think I like laying this way. Do you mind?"

Through the lean muscles of his back, he could feel Klaus's body freeze for a moment; then, the exhalation of a tense breath. "You don't mind?" he finally asked when he drew in air again.

"It's just how I want to be with you," Dorian sighed quietly.

"Be with... when...?" He couldn't even form it into a full and proper sentence -- just vague questioning that he hoped Dorian would understand.

"Always." That answer was a bit vague, Dorian's arm moving back to rest against his own. "As soon as my skin doesn't feel so tight, though. If that's what you mean..." It made him nervous, but oh how he wanted Klaus!

Shifting just a little, Klaus slid an arm beneath Dorian's head, fingers resting lightly against Dorian's chest. "It... it's no rush. We're... I mean, we're stranded here right now, and I... 'm not sure either of us are ready for this."

"If you're not, then tell me," Dorian said quietly, nuzzling back to him. "I don't want to push you just because I'm ready for something. I... I've wanted you that way a long time, and I think -- no, I KNOW -- you can make everything right again somehow."

"I want to make things right for you again," Klaus murmured softly, right into Dorian's ear as they pressed closer to each other. Once settled in, it took every thought in Klaus's mind to keep from getting hard, with Dorian's ass pressed back against the cradle of his hips. "You're so much to me."

THAT admission sent an outright tremor through the British man, sinuses tingling. "I know," he whispered, and he did, always had, or had at least HOPED. "I love you so, Klaus."

"I know." Love, though... it was intangible, and though Klaus suspected he did love Dorian, there was no surety. And he couldn't say it unless he was sure, not unless he was sure and knew that saying it wouldn't hurt Dorian.

With a sigh, Dorian closed his eyes. He wasn't sleepy, but resting wasn't out of the question, and he was safe in Klaus's arms. There was no reason *not* to do so. /One day, I hope.../

The German man laid there, holding Dorian so close, trying to not concentrate on any of the myriad of thoughts in his mind. If he spoke, it would only drive them both into a rut again. One of many, though the one of need and want didn't hurt them so badly -- it just hurt him to realize and know there was so much wrong, still. /Take it one day at a time, Eberbach, and this will never change. Every day is one more day ignoring that there's something wrong with us, something more wrong than what we do when we're alone together./

"Klaus?" It was a whisper, inquisitive, willing to be still if no answer came in return.

"Ja?" the slow, bare answer he got in return came as a tickling breath against his tightly curled hair.

"What are you thinking about?" Dorian asked softly.

To tell him, to not answer at all, or to lie...? /I can't lie to him, not ever.../ "About how I wish things were different. Not different... I mean, if everything was still the same, and you and I were together." If they were both 'normal' and un-hurt, if he still worked for NATO, if Dorian was still laughing, flirting, wildly daring...

"Like this, then? Except..." The thief paused momentarily. "Except like we were before. But this way." /Like I wished for so long.../

"Yes," Klaus murmured quietly, still not moving -- somehow, it was easier to say without the weight of Dorian's eyes on him. "I wish we were." Because he was nearly always aware that they weren't the way they should have been, that circumstances had twisted each of them.

"Can you be happy since we aren't?" The question was spoken so quietly, and meant to the depths of him. Without Klaus, there was no happiness. Without Klaus, there was no safety. Without Klaus...

He wasn't sure there was a Dorian anymore.

"I'm happy now, Dorian." As if to assure the other man, he nuzzled a soft, tentative kiss behind Dorian's ear, pushing aside strands of thick curls. "I just worry about you. And me. If we can really... function."

"Mmmm." It was a sound full of understanding, and he wriggled back more closely against Klaus, sighing. "I think we can. We don't seem to do too badly," he noted.

"Not too badly, but..." Klaus's rich voice trailed off into a sigh. "I worry."

"Because we aren't like we used to be. We... can't be that anymore, though. Not now. Maybe not ever, so we just have to go forward as best we can, don't you think?"

"I know -- but sometimes I..." Just got stuck in his thoughts. Like now -- dwelling on the past when he sanely knew he should be resting, relaxing, trying to conserve energy, before he went out to explore a bit of the area.

"Get caught in a rut, so to speak," Dorian said for him.

"Ja." He pressed a little closer, burying his face against Dorian's hair. "I think if we weren't making such an effort to not let that happen, we'd... not be able to do what we do."

The reply was firmly spoken. "Then we just have to keep it in mind, then, darling. That's all."

"I'm glad... that you're doing so much better than you were at first." Doing so well, that Klaus was able to take long moments to work on both their problems, and occasionally just his own -- while still keeping a keen eye on Dorian. "I really..." /Just say it, oh, *dammit*.../ How hard to say, words that he'd just balked minutes before at saying. He didn't know, he wasn't sure, he was afraid... /Trust him to not abuse it, trust him to help the way you help him, trust him to always be there.../ "Love you."

He could feel the stiffening of the other man's spine, the dreadful *stillness* as Dorian's breath seemed to stop coming for just a moment. "K Klaus...." Klaus. *KLAUS* had said... and he...

"That... that's all right, isn't it? If you don't... I mean, I won't, if..." Oh, *shit*, why had the other man gone so stiff and still in his arms? "Dorian?"

"*Klaus*!!!" His name was spoken so sharply, the other man turning in his arms rapidly enough to almost bump their noses together. "Oh, Klaus, Klaus, *yes*, Klaus!"

From stillness that had made him worry, to this, ecstatic joy...! Klaus held him in return, twice as tight, shaking a little. "I didn't mean to say... it, but I'm worried... and if something happened and you didn't know..." It would have killed him, to have felt such love given to him, and been unable to return it to Dorian.

The feel of wet tears against his throat was probably almost enough to scare him clean to death, but Dorian couldn't help himself, and it didn't matter that it hurt his face to be tucked there. "I love you," he whispered. "Oh, I love you so much. Klaus. Oh, *Klaus*!"

Dorian could feel Klaus rocking him a little, so very gently. The other man was always trying to reassure or calm him, watching over him even when he didn't need it... "Don't cry, Dorian -- I didn't mean to make you cry..." Tears... tears meant pain, unhappiness.

"I'm just so terribly happy," Dorian managed to say softly, arms wrapping tightly around Klaus's middle. "I never... and to hear it... I'm just so happy!" he finished almost incoherently.

Had it been really so important? Had him finally giving those simple words meant so much to Dorian...? "I meant it -- I really think I do, because... you're so much of me."

"Nothing. *Nothing* could ever mean so much to me," the British man murmured, deep voice husky with emotion. "Klaus, I love you so. I've loved you *always*..."

A soft chuckle reached his ears then, Klaus's odd sense of humor perking up for a moment. "We would choose to... to say this when we're stranded in the middle of fucking nowhere, laying on a blanket on cold sand."

That gained him a little laugh. "Well, you know, it's really rather romantic, isn't it? Stranded together on a beautiful tropical island. Not many people get the opportunity, now do they?"

"It's not safe or sane to romp naked on the sands, no matter *what* shitty American commercials gave you that idea," he scoffed softly, before pressing a kiss to the edge of Dorian's mouth. "I think I've had enough rest for one day."

"What would you like to do instead?" Dorian whispered breathlessly. The hell with the pain in his face!

"You should rest," Klaus told him, lips still at the edge of his mouth. The taste of aloe was enough to remind him to pull back and to not do it again -- because sunburns hurt.

"And what will you do?" the other man asked.

"Maybe... see if I can find fish...?"

The urge to laugh was fought back, blue eyes dry now and sparkling slightly in the moonlight fighting its way inside. "That sounds just marvelous. May I come, also?"

After a moment of thought, he was told, "Ja. If the water's cooler than before, maybe you can put a little on your face."

Salt water would probably be just awful for it, but he smiled all the same. "Sounds wonderful," he sighed, lightly touching Klaus's arm. "Let's go."

Klaus sat up slowly, still holding Dorian, and kissed the side of his neck very, very gently before moving them out of the 'tent', as he was thinking of it. "If I can find a sharp stick, we might be able to manage."

"We should've checked the boat for fishing line before turning on its side in the dark," Dorian admitted wryly.

"We can do that in the morning -- but you're going to stay in the shade when the sun's out, understand?" Dorian was all but ordered by his companion.

"Yes, Klaus." He might even obey.