Chapter 26
phoenix the 1st: I hope nothing stops them too, but no promises. :p
Bloody Mary: The grave thing just happened when I was writing and I read back over and I though 'wow'. And his arm is going to be bad. --
Cat in the web: Keep telling yourself something and it might happen, right? :p
Disengage: I finished writing this story a few months ago and have the separate chapters already set out in htm format. All I have to do is add the review responses and check for any small mistakes, then upload them. That's how I update so fast.
russle: I made the last chapter so you had to guess where they were. And no, it's not the end.
KuronekoHikage: I don't have AIM, I have AOL, and which one is Central Time? I'm on Australian Eastern Standard Time, which is GMT 10. And I love hentai. I've been writing a lot of late but I'm still uncomfortable with it. Sigh
eyriess: Bryan's simply just awesome, but I'm glad you like how I'm writing him. He is one of the hardest characters to write.
umi n secylia: Waiting for the romance? So am I!
Fire4Ice: Boris go after them? He might. :p
LingXiaoyu: It most certainly will. :p
Curtis Zidane Ziraa: And the rush continues...
Ashla: Not much left. There are 30 Chapters in total in this fic
Castles in the Sky: I have a whole back story to what happened to Bryan's parents, as well as the parents of Kai and Tala. I will have to write them. I have plans, actually, of a fic where Bryan learns what happens and it also features the relationship with Panas only it is slightly different in the fact they were together longer and they actually 'did it'. :p
Jay Kamiya: Must keep running. Must keep running. Must... ;)
chibi drigger: THANK YOU!
Here's part II of the last chapter
Disclaimer: See first page
They ran without pausing, not saying a word, eyes focused ahead as they cut a path through the trees. The more distance they placed between themselves and the Abbey the lighter they felt, giving them all the more reason to continue on.
They did not stop until the sun slowly began to sink toward the horizon, the four slowing by mutual agreement, all gasping. They were fit, more so than most their age, but they had put everything into their sprint that had lasted hours, and Tala and Bryan had still not completely healed.
Tala pointed toward a group of rocks, the others nodding and making their way toward them. Bryan's limp was heavy as he brought up the rear, the others sliding between the rocks and finding a clearing large enough for all of them.
They slid off their packs, dropping them to the ground before they all sat down, their breath having slowly begun to return. Tala wiped the sweat from his face with the back of his hand, looking around the others and grinning. Ian and Spencer returned the grin, Bryan smiling faintly.
"We did it," Ian said. "We actually escaped from the Abbey."
"We're not home free yet," Bryan reminded him. "But we've gotten further than anyone else has."
"Save for Kai," Tala agreed. "But Boris let him go."
Spencer opened his pack, digging out a blanket as Tala and Bryan pulled out some food, dividing it up. Ian pulled out the second blanket, tossing it at Bryan who glared at him as he pulled it from his face, the others chuckling.
They ate their first meal outside of the oppression that was the Abbey. Ian reached forward and picked up one of the energy drinks Aizik had prepared, unscrewing the lid and sniffing it, taking a sip and pulling a face.
"Ew, lime. I hate lime."
Tala looked at him. "Then you don't have to have it."
Spencer picked up another, tasting it. "Orange."
Ian looked at him. "They must be all different." He tried another. "This one's raspberry. I might hang onto this one. Who wants the lime?"
Tala and Spencer shot each other reluctant looks, Bryan sighing and shaking his head. "Give it to me."
Ian tossed him the bottle.
Spencer looked up. "Who wants the orange?"
Three pairs of eyes settled on Tala, who scowled. "Look, just because orange is my favourite colour doesn't mean I like the taste of it." Three sets of eyebrows rose, causing him to sigh in defeat. "Okay, okay, I want it. Just give it here."
Spencer tossed him the bottle, taking up the last and sipping it.
Ian looked at him expectantly. "Well?"
Spencer shrugged. "Lemon."
Ian sniggered, gesturing to Tala and Bryan. "In that case maybe you should give it to them."
Bryan reached out and smacked him over the back of the head, turning his eyes toward Tala with a 'I told you so' look on his face. Tala shrugged.
"So maybe he does know what he's saying. That just gives me a reason to hit him when he says something now, rather than just giving him the benefit of the doubt."
Ian looked at him. "You wouldn't really hit me, would you Tal?"
Tala smirked. "Wouldn't I?"
Spencer sniggered as the trees above swayed in a gentle breeze that they did not feel, the rocks providing an effective wind break. They finished eating, packing the leftovers back into the bags as the light faded to almost non-existence.
Ian shivered, frowning as he looked at Tala. "You know, I thought you said you weren't going to stop tonight."
Tala shrugged. "Changed my mind. Besides, I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted."
Spencer frowned. "You and Bry should try and take it easy, Tal. Don't overdo it."
"Don't you worry bout us." Tala smiled faintly, looking back toward Bryan. "Anyway, we missed lunch."
Ian chuckled. "Yeah, so did we. Hadn't even made it to the front of the lunch line when Boris burst in, looking like he was about to explode." He paused. "How did you guys know he was there, anyway?"
"Panas came and told us," Tala answered. "The reserve team saw his car pull up and they covered up Panas's absence by saying he had just gone to bathroom, but he actually came and got us."
"Ah." Ian looked up, frowning. "Looks like no moon tonight."
"Complete darkness," Bryan muttered. "Good cover, both for us and any rocks or holes we would trip over or fall into."
Spencer grunted. "If we had left tonight, we would have never made it over the fence."
They sat in silence for a moment, Ian shivering as the night's cold descended upon them. Spencer glanced behind him, picking a rock to curl up against and tugging at Ian's cloak as he moved back toward it. Bryan and Tala found a place on the opposite side of the clearing, brushing and tossing aside any small rocks they might lie on.
Ian settled himself in Spencers lap, a sleeping position the two had debated and decided on the night before as it would mean there would be no possibility of the larger rolling on and crushing the smaller.
As the complete darkness closed in, Tala held upon his cloak and allowed Bryan to join him under it as they pulled their own blanket around them, their packs within arms reach as Tala slid his arm around Bryan's shoulders, Bryan snaking his own arm around the youngers waist as they looked across at their teammates.
Tala smiled, pressing his mouth to Bryan's ear. "They make a cute couple."
Bryan sniggered as Ian called out "I heard that".
The darkness covered them like a shroud, Bryan looking up through the patches in the trees toward the stars. He listened as his teammates breathing became even as they slipped into a restless and dreamless slumber, glancing to the side as he felt Tala shift.
"They asleep?"
"Mm." Bryan closed his eyes. "They are."
"How come you aren't?"
"How come you aren't?"
Tala reached out, finding Bryan's face in the darkness and turning it toward him, kissing him. Bryan returned it, sliding closer to his captain. Tala slid his free arm around Bryan as Bryan's hand slid up his chest and behind his head, running fingers through Tala's hair.
The kiss broke momentarily as they gasped at the air, lips meeting once more. Somewhere nearby an animal called into the night, but they didn't hear, lost in the kiss. Ian muttered in his sleep and shifted, snuggling deeper against Spencer's chest.
Tala's hand slid lower, Bryan's arm tightening around him in an unspoken warning that Tala ignored. Bryan brought his hand down from Tala's face and reached behind him, knitting his fingers through Tala's and stopping the path of the wandering hand without breaking the kiss. Tala groaned faintly in protest, Bryan laughing softly against his mouth only to jerk back as Tala nibbled hard on his lower lip.
Bryan narrowed his eyes. "Sore loser, Ivanov?"
"You just ruin all my fun, Kuznetsov."
"Just you remember where we are, Wolf. And who we're with."
Tala frowned, glancing into the darkness where he knew his friends were curled up. "Okay, you win that one."
"Besides," Bryan whispered. "You're not doing it right."
Tala blinked. "What? How do you know?"
"I've read a couple of books." Bryan shrugged. "Panas's books. You could say we were considering…"
"You were going to…"
"We didn't. Though we did try a couple of things." Bryan released Tala's fingers. "I'll have to show you some time."
Tala felt a shiver of excitement and longing run up his spine, then gasped as he felt the feathery touch slid up his thigh. "Bryan…"
"That is how you do it," Bryan said with a smirk.
"God damn…." Tala swallowed hard. "And you tell me off for wandering hands."
"Gotta keep you on your toes, Wolf." Bryan kissed him, almost teasing. "And you'd better keep it down. If Ian wakes up…"
"If Ian wakes up I'll knock him unconscious." Tala's fingers explored Bryan's face, leaning down to kiss him gently. "I wish we could do more."
Bryan kissed him back. "We can't have everything."
"No, we can't."
Lips met again in a gentle, drawn out goodnight, before they rested their heads together, shuffling and getting comfortable before allowing themselves to fall asleep.
Tala wasn't expecting that one, for sure. And this is their first night away from the Abbey. Scary… :p