Jay climbed out of the water, immediately feeling a cold wind breeze. He shivered, while he tried to shake of the water. He wasn't sure how long he and Gil had been swimming. The moon still shone brightly in the sky, but it obviously shifted. It had to be in the middle of the night by now. They had wrestled in the water and jumped off the cliff for a couple of times. Somehow it hadn't been that cold, having Gil close to him all the time. Secretly striking over his bare chest and stealing kisses from time to time made sure his heart beat fast and heated up his skin. But once out of the water the wind made him feel like it was freezing.
"I'm going to make us a fire," Jay shivered as he watched Gil climbing out of the lake as well.
Jay secretly observed how Gil removed his hair from his face with a swift move of his hand. A few drops of water rolled down his neck onto his chest and Jay could feel how his body heated up already. He was never getting used to that sight.
"Shouldn't we get our clothes first?" Gil asked, already looking up to the hill top.
"Oh yes, we left them up there," Jay painfully reminded himself.
Gil chuckled a bit when he shrugged his shoulders. "Don't worry, I'll get them for us," he said, already making his way towards the path that led to the top.
"You know the way?" Jay had to make sure.
"I'll be all right," Gil said with a reassuring smile.
"I'll make sure the fire is roaring when you return," Jay said. "You should be able to see the light from here." Gil nodded and greeted off before he disappeared in the dark.
Jay immediately searched for the fireplace a little deeper into the woods. It was just a little hole in the ground surrounded by stones. Around the fireplace stood a few benches where one could watch the dancing flames. Close to the fireplace stood a very small wooden shack in which they kept the firewood. Jay had already enjoyed multiple bonfires with the tourney team at this place. Setting things on fire was a great way to celebrate a winning game, definitely when there was pizza involved. Jay suddenly looked up; did Gil ever had pizza?
Jay made a little note to himself that he would treat Gil to some pizza next time as he took some firewood from the stockpile in the little wood shack. Jay noticed how just a little was left of it. Probably because it was the end of the summer and most campfires were made during the summer holiday. Jay shrugged, knowing they could always find enough sticks and twigs laying around in the woods. They were probably dry enough, due to the fact that it hadn't been raining for a while.
Jay lit up one of the matches and set fire to the little dry twigs. A bright yellow flame reached towards the sky and Jay quickly fuelled the fire with some bigger sticks before the twigs would burn out. The fire was indeed roaring and burned on Jay's skin, since he was still just wearing his boxer shorts. He wished for Gil's swift return with their clothes. He wasn't that cold anymore due to the fire, but it still felt weird standing there without his clothes on. It was at that moment that Jay could hear the splashing of water and Gil cursing in response.
"Everything okay?" Jay asked to the dark.
"Yea, just dropped some clothes in the water," Gil answered just before he came into the light of the fire. "But I think they are mine, so it's okay."
Jay smiled and shook his head, before he realized Gil was still just standing in his shorts as well. Jay frowned as he wondered why Gil hadn't already put his clothes back on. He then recognized his dripping jacket and t-shirt that Gil was holding up at him.
"Never mind, they are yours," Gil said in a soft voice. Regret was clear to see on his face as he stood there with all their clothes in his arms. Jay rushed over to him and took his boots and pants, lightning the load for Gil.
"Don't feel too bad about it," Jay responded. He couldn't even be mad when Gil stood in front of him like that. "I'll just put them on. They dry in no time in front of the fire."
Jay put his pants and boots back on, when he noticed Gil hung his drenched jacket and t-shirt over one of the empty benches, leaving his own clothes on the ground.
"I can't let you wear those wet clothes when I was the one who dropped them," Gil explained when he saw Jay's questioning glance. He then grabbed his own jacket off the ground and threw it towards Jay. "You can wear mine if you want to."
Jay caught the jacket just before it would hit his head. For a moment he just stood there, unsure what to do with it. He just stared how Gil finally put his clothes back on as well.
"Why didn't you just get dressed on the hill top?" Jay asked, not able to hold back his curiosity anymore.
"What?" Gil looked back up at him.
"You would've much less clothes to carry if you just did so." Gil shrugged and looked away for a moment. Again with that regretful expression on his face.
"I don't know," Gil mumbled in response. "I saw you were already shivering, so I wanted to come back as fast as possible. So I just grabbed all the clothes and rushed back. I still messed up. I dropped your jacket and now you're still cold."
Jay blinked a few times, before a smile creeped on his face. He quickly put on Gil's jacket, maybe even happier than when he was wearing his tourney jersey for the first time. He walked over to Gil and playfully bump into him with his shoulder.
"I'm not cold anymore," Jay said truthfully.
Gil smiled back at him, when his insecurities quickly faded by Jay's words. His jacket actually looked really good on Jay. Maybe a little spacious around the shoulders, but besides that it was a perfect fit. That was definitely a prop when you and your boyfriend had the same sizes.
Jay threw some fresh wood in the flames and Gil reached his hands towards the fire to feel its heat. Jay glanced at Gil once more. He could still clearly see Gil's brawned body through his shirt. He then noticing how Gil wasn't wearing his gloves or his bandana for that matter. They still laid on the ground besides the bench. Jay didn't mind, since Gil's blond wet hair looked really good on him. His hair glowed like gold as it reflected the light of the fire. Jay had been right before. Any kind of light looked amazing on Gil. Gil went to sit down at one of the benches, still holding his hands out towards the fire.
"You were right, the fire is very nice," Gil said with a grateful smile on his face. Jay sat beside him, a little closer than what was actually necessary.
Gil looked back up to the stars again, glad he could still see them through the branches of the trees. He searched for Jay's hand in the dark, holding it gently in his when he found it. He secretly hoped he would see a falling star, so he could wish for this night to never end. Gil didn't want to see the morning light, a little frightened to meet up with his dad. He wasn't sure what to tell him. He totally forgot to make another drawing of the castle and he wasn't really sure how he could described how the castle looked like. But besides that he didn't have much information to give.
"Are you alright?" Jay asked after a while, surprising Gil. "It looked like you were lost in thoughts."
"Yea, I'm alright," Gil answered softly. He lifted Jay's hand up and placed a little kiss on it. After that he pressed Jay's hand on his chest, close to his heart. He didn't even notice his actions made Jay blush, since Jay wasn't sure what to do with his hand that suddenly belonged to Gil.
"Well, we probably have to search for some sticks to put on the fire," Jay said back as he tried to ignore Gil still having his hand captured. "There wasn't much stockpile, so I pretty much burned all what was left."
"I'm sure there is enough wood laying around in the forest," Gil said back.
"Otherwise we can just burn the shack," Jay joked.
"Better to find some wood in the forest," Gil joked back. "That thing is so small, we won't stay warm for long." Jay chuckled for a bit, before he felt how Gil squeezed in his hand again.
"Why are you doing that?" Jay suddenly busted out.
"Doing what?" Jay noticed Gil sounded genuine confused. Jay moved his hand as a silent hint, not sure how he could express himself with words.
"Oh," Gil responded and quickly released Jay's hand. "I'm sorry, that just…" Gil went silent for a moment, suddenly staring back at the flames with a slight smile on his face. "I guess things like that never just happen."
Jay frowned his eyebrows, slowly pulling his hand back. "I never said I mind," Jay said, laying his hand on Gil's arm.
A smile appeared back on Gil's face, once more realizing Jay wouldn't get mad at him when he did something stupid. Gil quickly place another kiss on the hand that rested on his arm, making Jay blush once more. He indeed didn't mind at all. Jay shifted even closer to Gil, until he could rest his head on Gil's shoulder.
Jay couldn't remember he ever felt so peaceful as he and Gil softly talked, while enjoying the campfire together. It didn't take long before the fire ran out of fuel and the boys had to get up to find some more. Together they wandered through the forest, quickly searching for some dry twigs and sticks that were laying around. When they came back to the fireplace, the fire was transformed in a sad pile of red glowing ember. Jay grabbed the matches already, but Gil placed some small dry twigs he had found on the embers. He softly blew on it and the fire quickly came back to life.
Jay smiled proudly at him, realizing he had done this before. It also didn't surprise Jay to learn that Gil really enjoyed playing with the flames, not even scared to get burned. Together they threw some sticks into the flames and trying to grab them again after they caught fire, reaching the burning torches to the stars proudly when one of them succeeded. It felt like just a few minutes had passed by when Jay noticed the first sunlight peeking through the trees. He hit Gil against his shoulder, getting his attention.
"If we're quick, we might see the sunrise from the hill top," he said with a smile.
Gil quickly looked up to the sky, which was indeed slowly turning light blue. All the stars had already disappeared. Somehow the night had ended, dawn had arrived.
"Why do you keep pacing out like that?" Jay asked, playfully pushing Gil against his shoulder. "It's not like you." Jay could then see the serious expression on Gil's face.
"Shit, I had to meet him at dawn," Gil said, quickly jumping up and searching for the clothes he had laying around somewhere.
Jay still sat at the bench, his eyes wide with confusion. "Who? Harry?"
"No, my dad," Gil answered, slightly looking back towards Jay.
Jay stared back at him for a few seconds. He could see the frightful expression on Gil's face and Jay slowly started to realize something was wrong, even though Gil hadn't said anything during the entire night.
"I didn't know you were still in touch with your dad," Jay said as he carefully tried to get more information.
Gil sighed, hastily putting his gloves and his bandana back on. "He send my brothers to me a few weeks ago. And yesterday he send me this letter which said to meet up with him at dawn."
"So does he want anything from you?" Jay asked, his concern growing.
"I just need to give him some information," Gil answered, still looking around. "Where did I leave my jacket?" The moment the words came out Gil started to realize. He looked back up at Jay, who still sat on the bench with his jacket on. Jay slowly stood up and took a few steps towards him.
"You want it back?" He asked him. Gil already shook his head, while he looked away again. It still looked really good on him.
"No, it's okay," Gil answered. "I need to go."
"Please explain to me what's going on," Jay said as he slowly reached out to Gil. He wanted to touch him, but doubt held him back.
"Maybe I should've told you sooner," Gil said.
"Is this about the thing you weren't allowed to tell me?" Jay guessed. Gil didn't say a word, but the surprised shock that appeared in his eyes confirmed it.
Before Jay could say more, Gil carefully wrapped his arms around him. He pressed Jay softly against his chest and letting his own head rest on his shoulder. He wished he could tell Jay. He wished he could tell him everything. But he had to do this on his own. He had to try to keep everyone safe. Jay, the pirate crew and everyone else in Auradon.
"Don't worry about me, okay. I promise, I will explain it all to you tomorrow, alright." Jay could hear the reassuring words, but the tight grip Gil held on him actually worried him even more. Something was definitely not right. Gil was frightened, even though his voice sounded calm.
"Where are you going?" Jay asked and noticed he wasn't as good in hiding the shake in his voice. This entire conversation just felt too much like a goodbye. Gil released Jay from his embrace and took a step backwards.
"I will be back," Gil said with the same confidence, but somehow Jay could read the doubt in his eyes. "But I need to go now." Gil squeezed softly in Jay's hand and gave him one last smile, before he turned around and disappeared in the woods.
Jay just stood there for a moment, unsure about what to do. He knew relationships were built on trust, but he didn't trust this at all. He quickly made up his mind and decided to follow Gil to wherever he was planning to go. For a moment he looked over at his jacket and shirt that were still hanging over one of the benches, but Jay already shook his head. He was already wasting time by just standing there.
Jay followed Gil through the woods, glad Gil wasn't someone who was very good at sneaking quietly. It didn't take long before he found him. They left the forest behind and walked through the streets of Auradon. There was almost no soul outside, due to the early morning hour. It also didn't surprise Jay to see they were walking towards the bridge that would lead them to the Isle of the Lost. Gil was an easy person to follow. He was loud himself and didn't look backwards even once. But Jay wasn't certain how he was able to follow Gil across the bridge, when there were no places to take cover. But just before they reached the bridge they made a small turn away from the main road.
Jay hid behind a tree again, carefully glancing over at where they would go next. He was glad to see Gil actually took another path, until Jay could see five other figures suddenly appearing. He immediately recognized the huge man, entirely covered with muscles and the long, black hair. It was Gaston, no doubt about it. Beside the man stood two other brawled up men who looked exactly alike. Both with short black hair and the same confident smirk as their dad. Jay knew those two as well. Gil's stupid twin brothers, which were both named Gaston as well. Jay didn't recognize the other two men, probably just two of Gaston's henchmen. Jay clenched his teeth, glad Gil didn't lie about meeting up with his dad at least. However, the whole situation still seemed messed up.
"Gil, my son," Gaston greeted Gil warmly. "I'm so glad you're finally here. I knew you would never follow that Auradon bunch."
Jay felt like he was unable to breath when he heard Gaston. He carefully glanced over as he saw how Gil stood in front of his dad. He would stay behind the tree this time, not planning to break his cover like he did when he tried to spy on The Sea Three a few days earlier.
"Hi dad," Gil greeted Gaston.
Jay looked over again, wondering what was going to happen. He didn't want to believe it, even though it was getting pretty obvious what was happening right in front of his eyes. Gil was double crossing him.
"I trust you have some reports about the Beast and his castle?" Gaston asked to his son that was standing in front of him.
Jay swear he could feel a hand choking him as his eyes grew wide. There was no possibility to deny it anymore when he heard Gil answering his dad. "I think I have what you need."
