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In The Dark
by Lianne Burwell
August 1998
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"This is all *your* fault, you know."

Dorian sighed, but kept shuffling through the cramped tunnel. He'd 
already heard this before. Several times.

"If you hadn't interfered in this operation, we wouldn't have been 
captured."

No, you would have been killed. Let's not forget that. He restrained 
himself from saying it out loud.

"And we wouldn't have been locked in that... that... closet!"

Actually, the cell had been rather spacious, considering it was in the 
dungeons of a medieval castle.

"On the other hand," Dorian felt compelled to point out. "I *did* find 
this secret tunnel, which is why we aren't *still* in that 'closet'." He 
gave a small snicker. If nothing else, he'd *never* been 'in the closet', 
but he didn't think that the Major would appreciate him saying *that* out 
loud.

The only reply was a growl of irritation. Major Klaus von dem Eberbach, 
NATO Intelligence, didn't like having little details like that pointed 
out to him. Dorian sighed again, and kept shuffling.

Actually, the cell had been a *lot* more comfortable that *this*. The 
tunnel had shrunk until they were on hands and knees. His slacks were 
going to have to go into the rubbish bin, and it would take *forever* to 
get the grime out of his palms. No, much as he might like the idea of 
being behind Klaus, in the dark, with the man on his hands and knees, or 
vice versa, he would have preferred more comfortable circumstances. Maybe 
something a little more romantic.

Dorian gave a small snort. It wasn't going to happen. Not if the handsome 
Major had anything to say about it. Still, he could always dream. And who 
knows. Dreams *can* come true, they say.

"And another thi.... waaaaaaaaa...."

Dorian stopped. "Major?" Nothing. "Klaus?" Nothing except the faint sound 
of a splash.

Cautiously, he inched forward, reaching out, looking for his companion. 
Then, unexpectedly, there was nothing beneath his hand. He tried to pull 
back, but it was already too late, and he was falling.

"Waaaaaa!!!!!!!"

* * * * *

The fall was unpleasant, made more so because he couldn't see what he was 
falling towards. He hit a hard surface, knocking the breath from his 
lungs, then sank. Realizing that he had landed in water, he quickly 
clawed his way to the surface.

The water was moving. No doubt there an underground river that the castle 
was built over to use as a source of water, in case of siege, and as a 
sewer, to carry away the castle's garbage.

Gasping, he twisted around, trying to figure out which way was shore.

"Major! Can you hear me?"

He was immediately answered by cursing and swearing, off to the right, 
and he paddled towards the sound. He reached the other man, and latched 
onto him. Though he didn't go out of his way to advertise the fact, 
Dorian was extremely strong. He pulled Klaus into a lifeguard's hold, 
then started swimming, perpendicular to the flow of water, hoping that 
he'd reach the river's banks quickly, and that they would be suitable for 
climbing out of the water. It would be bad luck to find only a cavern 
wall.

But luck was with them. When he reached the shallows, he found a sandy 
beach. He pulled the struggling Major out of the water's grasp, then 
collapsed, himself, face-down on the sand.

After long minutes, his breathing was almost back to normal, and he went 
to check on the Major. Klaus was still lying on his back, but he was 
breathing. When Dorian went to check if he was injured, Klaus batted his 
hands out of the way.

"Don't touch me," he growled.

Dorian gave a sigh of relief, and brushed his hair out of his eyes. If 
Klaus was angry, then he couldn't be badly hurt. He looked around again, 
but couldn't see the least glimmer of light. A check of his internal 
clock told him that it was just past midnight.

"I would recommend that we wait here for morning," he said. "Hopefully, 
enough light will filter through for us to tell which direction we should 
be going. Also, the rest will do us good, in case we end up running into 
some more of those villains."

"Fine," Klaus said in a tight voice, and Dorian could almost hear the 
shivers. Already, he could feel the tremors running through his own body.

"Get undressed," he said, as he stripped off his own wet clothing. 
Working by feel, he found a rock to hang them over. Not hearing any 
movement behind him, he repeated himself. "Take your clothes off!"

"What? I'll freeze without them!" was the angry reply. No doubt the Major 
thought this was some sort of trick on his part to get the man naked.

"No you won't," Dorian said patiently. "But sitting in wet clothing 
*will* make you ill. Take your clothes off, and hang them on a rock. 
Wring them out first. Hopefully they will have dried a little by morning."

For several long moments, he thought that the Major was going to stay 
stubborn. Then he heard a zipper being opened, and the rustle of clothing 
being discarded, followed by a curse as Klaus tried to find someplace to 
hang the wet clothes.

"So how do we keep from freezing *without* our clothes?"

Dorian smiled. "We share body-heat."

"What?!"

"Age-old technique, Major. We curl up together and share our body-heat."

"No." The refusal was immediate and blunt. Dorian rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Whatever you say."

So Dorian curled up at his end of the beach, and Klaus at the other. 
Dorian waited patiently for the inevitable. A half hour later, it was 
time. He could hear Klaus's teeth chattering, and knew that the man must 
be miserable. He was cold, himself, but his temperature tolerances had a 
wider range than the other man's.

Moving quietly, he went to Klaus's side, and curled up next to him, 
wrapping his arms around the shivering form. The man instantly froze.

"Earl..." the man said, and started to move away. Dorian just held on harder.

"I told you, Major. Shared body-heat is the best way to go in these 
situations. You're wasting energy by shivering. *Trust* me," he added 
lightly. "I promise not to molest you in your sleep."

Klaus gave a snort, but stopped trying to move away. He still held 
himself perfectly still, lying flat on his back.

Dorian gave a small sigh, and cuddled up even closer. He slung one arm 
across the Major's chest, and one leg across his legs. Already, he felt 
warmer, and he could feel the other man's shivers start to slow down. He 
had slipped into a light doze, when Klaus shifted again.

"Earl?" He sounded hesitant.

Curious, Dorian kept his body limp, and his breathing even.

"Dorian?"

That *really* surprised him. Klaus rarely ever called him anything except 
'Earl'. But he kept up the pretense of being asleep, wondering what the 
other man was thinking.

The Major shifted again, and one arm came around Dorian's shoulders, 
pulling him into a loose embrace. His head resting on Klaus's shoulder, 
he felt a cheek rub against his sodden curls, and heard a sigh so faint 
that he almost might have imagined it. Then the other man's body relaxed, 
noticeably.

How interesting, Dorian thought to himself. Maybe the oh-so-proper Major 
was not as indifferent as he might like to pretend.

Dorian smiled slightly, the relaxed further against the other man, and 
drifted off to sleep.

* * * * *

The next time that Dorian opened his eyes, he saw shades of grey, rather 
than just black. It was just past dawn, and there was light coming from 
someplace.

His arms were also empty. Sitting up, he looked around. Finally, his eyes 
adjusted enough to make out the form of Klaus, sitting against a rock out-
cropping.

Klaus's head came up when Dorian moved. "Good, he said. Now we can get 
moving."

Klaus was already dressed, and Dorian quickly pulled his own clothing on. 
They were still wet, but not as bad as they had been.

"Let's go," he said, and allowed the Major to lead the way.

Following the dim grey light, they quickly found where the river emerged 
from the mountain-side. There were several thugs waiting for them, but 
they were no match for the two men, and they were soon on their way back 
to civilization.

Dorian smiled, as followed the Major's stiff back. No matter what the man 
might say, Dorian knew it was just a matter of time.

And he was patient. Very, very patient.

THE END