It was late at night when Skye returned to the hotel. He had spent the remainder of the day with Shea and Wada, laughing and talking with them (As best they could). Shea took Skye out to see the river, how it shimmered at night with the many polished rocks and scales of traveling fish. He took him to the mountain, to the top where they could see the stars as they started coming forth. The tribal man showed Skye the flowers of the forest, the different types of food you could find, as well as some of the friendlier animals. All the while, the Phantom had a smile on his face. He could grow to like it here with Shea and Wada. He could make a living on this island. Though he couldn't hunt, he could go to town and get supplies for them so they wouldn't have to leave the forest. Skye was already planning his new life here.

Skye figured he should return before Vaughn got all huffy. He didn't realize how late it was until he got back. There was no one at the front desk, all the lights were turned off and it was so quiet, the man heard the crickets like they were right next to him. Skye tiptoed up the wooden stairs and up to their room. He opened the door slowly, trying to quiet any creaking.

"You're home late."

The younger male nearly had a heart attack when he heard Vaughn from the shadows. Vaughn stepped forward into the light of the moon coming from the window, and Skye took in a breath. The cowboy was missing his familiar attire, even his hat was gone. The only thing he wore was a pair of white boxers; Skye could see the lines and creases in Vaughn's chest, his white hair out of its neat style. He looked so…different.

Skye stood his ground as best he could. "I-I was just out exploring."

Vaughn raised a brow. "Not trying to escape, are you?"

Not trying to escape? Not trying to escape?! "I'm not your damn slave! You may have saved me from going to jail, but you've made my life worse than what it would be if I were behind bars!" The smaller man yelled, enough to have others waking up. "I'm tired of you, and I've decided that I'm staying here on the island!" He turned around to the door. "I'm going to stay with a friend, and I don't care if you call the cops on me or not! I know I'll be safe from everyone here, including you!"

Skye didn't leave just yet, his hand rested on the doorknob as he heard something that a part of him didn't want to hear.

"Then go."

The two stood in their places, Vaughn watching Skye's back, Skye gripping the handle of the door. His emotion turned to anger. "Fine then! I will!" The door flew open with force, and the Phantom walked out.

/~/

Skye stared at the door to Shea's home. His hand was raised to knock, but he didn't. He let out a large sigh. Somehow he didn't think he should have left. Maybe this was all a mistake.

The door opened and Skye was surprised to see Shea there. He had a cloth wrapped around his waist, the bandage still on his arm, and nothing else except the knife strapped to his ankle. Skye figured that in the wild like this, you had to be prepared for anything.

"Shea, I…" Skye started, but Shea stopped him. He took the Phantom's hand and pulled him inside, to his room. They both sat on the makeshift bed in the corner, and in the moonlight Skye could see that the room was decorated like the foyer; tapestry and animal pelts, but with a little bit more weaponry…

Shea still had Skye's hand in his. "Not good..?" He was asking about Vaughn.

"I hate him…I hate him so much!" Skye said with tears brimming. "He tormented me and humiliated me! He stood up to me and didn't treat me like a kid..!" He cared for me, when Miriam died, when I was cold…I got to see his gentle side. The tears fell. "Why did he..?!" Why didn't he chase after me?" Skye then realized that he didn't want to be treated like a kid; that maybe Vaughn was trying to break him of his thieving habit all along? Is that why he was scared out of his skin? Why he put him to work? But that still didn't excuse what Vaughn did…He was so confused!

Skye was so focused on himself that he didn't notice that both of Shea's hands were on his sides. He looked up at the other, somewhat scared.

"Then…stay."

Shea locked lips with Skye, hand cupping the Phantom's head as the two fell back onto the bed. "S-Shea! Hey!" The silver haired male twisted and turned, but the brunette kept a firm grip on the other. His eyes looked serious, serious enough to make a move.

Skye panicked. He yelped when Shea bit down onto his neck, harder than would be. "Aah! L-Let me go, please!" He winced, the tears from confusion and anger turned to ones of dread and fear. Shea captured Skye's lips again; a rough and hard kiss that was sure to leave both their lips red.

The Phantom managed to knee Shea in the chest, causing his grip to loosen. He moved away and tried to climb off the bed, but Shea grabbed Skye's leg, growling. The tribal man crawled on top of Skye, and a flash of metal made the weaker man's skin crawl. Shea placed his knife to Skye's neck. "You will stay…"

Skye heard a low chuckle from Shea as he dove down to lick over his neck, his free hand crawling down his chest. Skye didn't know what to do, what to say. His head was spinning and his eyes looked like he had seen a ghost. He didn't know what was going to happen, all of a sudden it just spurted out:

"Vaughn!"

As if on cue, the window to Shea's room shattered into pieces. The two heard a clicking sound, and Shea turned his head to come face to face with Vaughn's gun. Vaughn smirked. "And here I thought you were just an ignorant savage."

Shea growled, taking the knife from Skye's neck. Vaughn gestured to get off of the male, and the brunette did so, moving to the wall. The rancher picked Skye up by his collar, the ghostly look still in his eyes. He ushered the Phantom outside of the shack and into the brisk night air, while Shea and Vaughn had a "talk".

/~/

Skye sat next to the front door of the shack, hugging his knees to his chest and even afraid to look up. What had happened? What was going on? He was confused and hurt, and just wanted to run, run somewhere. Anywhere.

He heard a sound coming from the room, one of a door closing, and standing up, he went to look into the shattered window. Skye's eyes went wide. There was Shea, hanging from his wrists by a banister on the ceiling. His feet were only inches above the floor, but his ankles were bound too. Vaughn figured he could stay there for a while until Wada came and found him.

Skye's stomach turned. He ran to the river like he was going to vomit, but didn't. The only thing that came out was more tears. He felt a hand on his back and looked up. Vaughn was kneeling beside him, rubbing his back. "I'm sorry this happened to you."

Skye wanted to speak, to say something, but couldn't. No words came out. Vaughn simply nodded, and with a swift motion, scooped the Phantom into his arms. The pairs of crimson and violet eyes met again, so close to each other. Vaughn earned a small squeak from Skye, who blushed. But somehow, Skye felt safe in the male's arms.

Vaughn walked them back to town, Skye never taking his eyes off the rancher. "Vaughn…Thank you. I-I...I don't know..."

"It's alright, Skye." Vaughn looked down at him, softness to his eyes. "I had a feeling you had met Shea, and I didn't trust him from the start." The rancher then did something Skye never thought would happen. He lifted Skye up closer to him, leaning in and gently pressing his lips to the Phantom's. Skye gasped some, but returned the kiss, cupping Vaughn's face with one hand. More tears fell down his face, but now they were ones showing how content he felt in the other's arms.

Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing.

(Hey guys, another chapter for my lovely readers 3 Thanks so much

Dedicated to you-know-who)