Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama or anything in the franchise.

Soothing the Pain

"Geez, Jasmine knows how to swing a person around." Topher groaned as he walked towards the beach after sunset.

After the team swap between Max and Sky at the bonfire pit, the teams returned to their living quarters. Topher, still feeling the aches from earlier, decided to try and ease them up by washing them.

The Chris wannabe reached the sandy edge of the island and took off his shoes and shirt, setting them on a rock. He stepped towards the edge of the water and got down on his knees. Reaching his arms into the shallows, he scooped up some water in his hands and started rubbing it against the areas of pain.

The water felt refreshing and definitely did him some good.

"Oh yeah…" He sighed in relief. Then he reached in again and continued to rub his wet hands all over. He could see dark bruises on his body but they wouldn't be a problem. As long as he didn't take off his shirt when the camera was on him then he should be good.

Meanwhile, in the forest, Jasmine held a basket in one hand and picked berries with the other.

"These things are much easier to identify when the sun is up. That Chris and destroying the food." She muttered as she strained to identify edible berries in the dark. Moving to other bushes, she managed to find more. While she was at a strawberry bush, she heard the sounds of splashing and someone breathing. "Hm?" Straining her ears, she could hear softer splashing and someone muttering. "Who could possibly be at the beach at this time of night?"

Taking her basket with her, she walked to the beach. As she neared, she noticed that it was none other than her teammate, Topher. 'What is that mate doing?' She thought as she observed him bend over then straighten up and rub his arms over his body. At that moment, she noticed the bruises on his arms and on his back. 'How did he get those?' It took her a mere few seconds before she realized the answer. 'Oh crocodile's teeth.' The Australian girl rustled through the bushes she was watching him from and stepped onto the beach.

"Who's there?" Topher asked, turning around to see who it was. "Oh, it's you. What are you doing here?"

She held up the basket. "I was just getting us something to eat tonight since we didn't get that buffet reward. I was picking berries and I heard someone by the shore so I decided to see who was swimming this late."

"Well, I'm not exactly swimming. I'm just smoothing things over, I guess." He gestured to the bruises.

"Those from what happened today?"

"I think so. I'm always careful so I don't get these things and ruin my image."

Jasmine sighed. "I kinda figured they were." She looked at him. "I'm sorry for today, Topher. I didn't mean to use you as a battering ram or nearly suffocate you down in the tunnels. When I have claustrophobia, I can't think as straight. If I was thinking straight, I would've had enough sense not to use you like that."

"It's alright. Fear does crazy things to people. Gah…" He winced as the bruises' pain inflicted upon him.

The tall girl set the basket down and rested her hands on her hips. "You know, I've had my share of bruises over the years from living in Australia. I know a few things about making someone feel better when they're in pain."

"Think you can help?"

"As sure as koalas can eat eucalyptus. Lie down on your chest."

Topher did as she asked and got down on the sand. She came and kneeled over his upper back. She got to pushing her hands up and down and in circles, massaging over the bruises to take care of them as well.

Beneath her, Topher smiled and sighed in relief. "Ah, there you go. I like that. Keep going."

After working on his back for a little bit, she did his shoulders and his arms too. She even soothed the pain in the bruises on his head.

"Better?" Jasmine asked when she was done.

"Very, thank you for that." Topher said in response. Jasmine got off of him and he stood up, dusting the sand off his pants. "Can you hand me my shirt and my shoes?" She picked them off the rock and handed them to him. He put his shoes back on and slipped inside his shirt.

When he was done, she gestured to the basket. "Ready to head back to the team and eat something for the night?"

He nodded. "Let's eat."

She moved to pick up the basket but when she picked it up, she felt pain in her shoulders and dropped the basket back on the ground, none of the contents spilling out. "Ooh…" Jasmine held her shoulders.

"Something wrong?" The Chris wannabe asked when he saw his teammate recoil.

"I think unwinding the pain in your bruises wound up the pain in mine."

Topher shrugged. "Well, I guess it's my turn to help you then. You helped me. I learned how to give massages just in case it was the way to convince Chris to let me take over as host. The pain's in your shoulders?" She nodded. "Then sit down and let me treat you to a little shoulder massage Topher style."

Jasmine sat down on the rock where Topher's shoes and shirt had been and he came up behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders. He started working his thumbs into her shoulders and squeezed and released.

"There's the spot." She exhaled as her pressure disappeared. "You're not a bad masseuse, you Tasmanian devil."

"Hey, how good I am at this should tell you just how much I want to be hosting this show." He said as he worked.

Shawn jumped from tree to tree, looking for Jasmine. She was an early riser and to get up early, one had to go to bed early. When he saw that she wasn't tied to her usual branch, he thought he should go find her and try to make it up to her for hitting her so hard with the baton. He snuck a pink crystal from the cave during the challenge, maybe she would like that. So far he couldn't see her anywhere in the forest so his next guess was she was at the beach. He jumped across a few trees until he got a view of the beach. From there, he couldn't see her still. The conspiracy nut had to get a little closer. He really hoped that a zombie didn't get onto the island without him knowing and infected her.

"And I think you should be good." Topher declared, stopping his massage.

The conspiracy nut got into a tree closer to the beach and when he got into the tree, he was shocked by the sight before him. Jasmine was with Topher, at the beach, alone. What were they doing there? At least she wasn't infected by a zombie.

The Australian girl stood up and rolled her shoulders a few times. No pain coursed through them, that was a good sign.

"I think that did it. Thanks." She nodded to him approvingly.

"You're welcome." Topher smiled back.

Shawn watched with confusion and uncertainty. What was going on?

Jasmine decided to look around to see if the coast was clear for them to head back to the treehouse and she froze when she saw Shawn up in the tree. What was he doing here? Why was he watching them?

The conspiracy nut stared directly back at her. What was she going to do? Was she going to reveal him to Topher?

Topher coughed. "Uh, Jasmine? Something wrong? What is it?"

'He still has to pay for knocking her off the platform like that.' Jasmine thought. She glanced at Topher, who was concerned by her frozen position. 'He's not that bad.' Looking at him gave her an idea.

The Outback survivalist smiled then grabbed Topher by his shirt and pulled him close to her. Before Topher could ask anything, she pushed her lips to his.

Up in the tree, Shawn gasped, not believing what he was witnessing.

Caught off guard, Topher stared at the face so close to his before he started feeling the effects of the kiss. The kiss made him feel… good. Embracing this, he closed his eyes and returned her action of affection.

The conspiracy nut continued to stare as the kiss went on for another thirty seconds. 'Maybe I really did hurt her.' He thought before he jumped into another tree and started heading back into the forest.

When the two Salmon parted, Topher smiled as he stared into Jasmine's eyes. "Thank you. I feel much better now."

"No mate, thank you." Jasmine smiled back. "And just for the record, we should do this more often."

The End