Ride with you

14

~Back to present time~

Zak gently ran his fingers through Darryl's hair as he slept on his lap. The sun was starting to rise and Zak couldn't manage to sleep. Darryl had told him about what life was like in that city. It hurt him so much when he heard his voice break or when he tried to hold back tears whilst telling his story. Zak couldn't get his mind off it. Without noticing, Darryl woke up in his lap and looked up at Zak. He smiled and snuggled in closer to Zak, wrapping his arms around his waist. "Good morning," he yawned, Zak smiled and ruffled Darryl's hair. Darryl looked up at him and giggled, "Looks like you forgot rule number 7,"
"What? What rule?" Zak yawned and Darryl rest his head on Zak's chest, "Rule 7, sleep is not optional," Zak chuckled then let out a yawn, "Yeah... I guess your right." Darryl sat up and smiled, "Why don't we just have a relaxing day today? We'll find a nice spot to rest up, we can have the last little bit of meat we have and then tomorrow we could go hunting again," Zak rubbed his eyes, "Yeah, that sounds good..." he yawned and rest head on one of the upper branches. Darryl scoffed and jumped down, "Zak! Come down! We need to find a good spot to sleep because that tree isn't exactly the most comfortable." Zak stayed quiet and just gestured his hand at Darryl to go away.

Darryl raised an eyebrow and jumped up, grabbing hold of Zak's leg and pulling him downwards. The resting male immediately opened his eyes "Hey-," he shouted just before he got caught. He looked up and saw that he was being held in Darryl's arms. Darryl looked down and noticed the sparkle in Zak's eyes and promptly dropped him. "Hey, what was that for?"
"I'm not letting you off that easily, you did ignore one of your own rules after all," Spoke Darryl sarcastically emphasising the word "own". Zak rolled his eyes and grabbed the older boy's hand, pulling himself up. The two began walking, looking for a place to rest.

Zak began groaning the further they walked, "Darrrrrryllllllll, we've walked past so many good spots! Where are we going?" Darryl smiled, "We'll stop at the next one then." Zak's stomach grumbled as they walked through the forest. "This looks like a good spot," Zak looked up and saw a small creek with a stream leading into it like a waterfall. Moss covered the surrounding stones and a few leaves lay on the waters calm, clear surface. Zak sat down and watched as Darryl removed his shirt and dove into the water. He stayed under for a few seconds then resurfaced, splashing water in Zak's face. The tan boy chuckled as he wiped the water off himself. With a heavy sigh, he lay down and shut his eyes, hoping to get at least an hours worth of rest.

Zak woke up to the smell of something cooking. He sat up and saw Darryl sitting next to a pot that was hanging above a fire. Darryl looked over at Zak and smiled, "Good morning princess, how was your sleep?" Zak rubbed his eyes, the sun was beginning to set behind them and he noticed that Darryl still had his shirt off, "Where's your shirt?"
"It's drying, I managed to get it covered in water and dirt when I jumped in. By the way, how do you feel about having venison stew? I felt like I would be something different instead of roast deer again." Zak smiled and nodded, "Sounds delicious." As Zak watched the fire, he couldn't he'll but notice his eyes slowly drift away from the orange flame and onto Darryl's figure. His hair was damp and stuck to the sides of his head, his hand slowly stirring the brown stew in the pot and Zak was a bit surprised at how well built he was. Darryl looked over and smiled, "Your starring, should I go put a shirt on?" Zak blushed and hid his face, "Uh, well, you'll get a cold if you put that wet shirt on!" Darryl raised an eyebrow which made Zak turn an even brighter red, "I mean, you can if you want to..." he stuttered.

Darryl shuffled over to Zak and sat next to him, wrapping his arm around his waist, "What about the stew?" Zak asked, "It'll be ready in about 30min, don't worry," Zak looked up at Darryl as he watched the sunset. He hesitated then pushed himself upwards, gently kissing Darryl's cheek. The taller boy looked down and saw Zak beside him, looking up into his eyes. The two closed the gap and began to embrace each other. Zak moved and sat on Darryl's lap, not breaking the kiss. Darryl flowed his fingers through Zak's soft, raven hair. The two eventually separated, both panting heavily but they quickly continued as Zak pressed his lips up against Darryl's once more. He removed his shirt as the older boy began to gently place small kisses on his neck.

During all this, Darryl had forgotten to notice where his feet were and one of them ended up rubbing against one of the flaming twigs. He groaned as pain shot up his leg. Zak slid of and sat next to him as Darryl investigated his foot. There was a large burn covering the side of it. He slowly stood up and limped over to the creak, he sat down and placed his foot in the cool, water, the burn eventually eased. Zak quickly put his shirt back on, embarrassed at what had almost happened. "Take the bowls out of your bag, the stew should be ready now," Darryl called out. The tan boy went through his bag and found two spoons and bowls, he then served each of them a bowl of venison stew. Darryl limped back over and sat down next to Zak, taking his bowl and eating the contents, neither said a word.

As the night became darker, they both decided to get some rest. Zak lay down on his sleeping bag and heard a shuffling come from behind him. He then felt an arm wrap around him. He tilted his head and looked over his shoulder, seeing Darryl laying peaceful with his eyes shut. Zak smiled and snuggled in closer to him, eventually shutting his eyes as well.