Stranded 2

But Your My Silly Bastard

Tex and John were on guard duty and me and Gage were enjoying our time off together by playing Scrabble. The sand was falling, and his time to think was running out.

I lifted my gaze from my row of letters tiles and fixed it upon Gage, who had not spoken a word since the start of his turn and whose eyes were on his tiles, on the board, on his tiles and so forth. It was hilarious to watch him think, specially because of his right hand: some other turns earlier, he'd been rubbing his index finger and thumb together, which reminded me of a mechanic handling a screwdriver. Stifling a smile, I tapped my fingers on the table. "Time's up!" I said, my smile finally coming out. Gage shrugged and laid out his letters with decision. Station. My eyes widening, perked up my head at him. "You're cheating." "No, it's called having a stroke of luck," Gage replied, leaning back with a cheeky smirk. "And that's... nine points for me. I'm catching up!" despite seeing how close his score was to my thirty-six points, I chuckled and rubbed my neck. "Alright. Let me use that 'N'..." Seconds later, Gage widened his eyes at my word. Nerd. "What the-? That's not fair, and you know it," he complained, frowning. "It's called scoring the same goal twice," I shot back, kicking his foot under the table. "Five points, that makes forty-one. Hmph, I sure am getting old." He sighed. "I'd like to be twenty-one again" I saw my chance and immediately pointed a finger at him. "I dare you: how old are you?" He crossed his arms, cocking an eyebrow. "Thirty six and proud of it. Now the dare goes right back at ya. Besides, don't forget you skipped the 'ladies first' rule." "Rule, my ass!" I retorted as he replenished his rack of tiles. "And I'm... ahem, a year younger than you." I felt weird after revealing my age, since I'd always received the same commentary: that I seemed a bit older than I was. But judging by Gages expression, I felt it safe to smile. "That's life." "What's your secret?" he asked, coyly, before laughing out. I laughed along with him, and then focused on my rack. "Your face told me you didn't get much compliments?" "More than you, for sure." I cursed myself for not being able to retort without chuckling. Still, Gage seemed more pissed off than usual. I looked up at him, held his glare, and then he was the one to kick me. "You're going down, Sai Rorsyte," he said, grinning like a shark. Then his features mellowed. "Honestly, who am I kidding? Yeah, compliment-wise, you win. Anyway, my turn..." It didn't take him long to find his word. "Got it." Love. When I focused on Gage again, I found him looking at me with too tender eyes and... yes, a charming smile. I dismissed it, leaned back on my chair and prompted him to replenish his rack again while I thought out a word. But that simple word Gage had laid out on the board was bugging me, not to mention his earlier expression. From time to time I looked up from my tiles and inevitably met Gages gaze; then I realized he wasn't just simply staring at me anymore. Truth. That was my word. Gage chuckled again. "That's another one for me?" He shrugged. "Okay, name your dare." "You've got a lot of explaining to do."

If it wasn't because there was no ambience noise, I could've sworn I heard him say "Shit" he then confirmed my suspicion when he smacked his own forehead."Fiiiiine, you win."

And I returned that too tender gaze and that beaming smile. It didn't turn out like I expected. After our long, seemingly never-ending game of Scrabble, Gage and Me had gone out for a walk in Aegis 6's Insulated Park, and we had engaged in conversations about various topics, ranging from our pasts (mainly when we were captured and held on the USG Helion, a bandit ship, 4 years ago) to some anecdotes at work. Gage had smiled, laughed, frowned, complained, and I felt safe and comfortable around him. The very first weeks after escaping the USG Helion had been hellish both for us so it was nice to see such a big change in him. Now, we were back in the apartment, both of us sitting on the couch but keeping each other at arm's length. I kept glancing at Gage, wondering if the silence would ever be broken. Eventually, it was.

"So, what do you want me to explain?" Here comes. "The meaning behind 'Truth'," I said, fixing my hair over my miscolored right eye. "Why did you form that one? And then that look on your face. Don't tell me it was random." Gage smiled briefly, lowering his head. "No, it wasn't random. It's just that... wow, isn't it difficult when the moment of truth comes, no pun intended." I rolled my eyes and brought up my knees to my chest, facing him. "Am I going to have to pry it out? It isn't one of those... complicated things, is it?" "Depends on what 'complicated things are to you," Gage replied. That look... I pursed my mouth, annoyed. It was there again, that look in his eyes! Gage seemed to notice the change in my mood, because he quickly raised his hands in defence. "Hide those fangs, Ellie!" He just called me by my real name. Only dad called me Eloisa (Ellie for short).... but I felt comfortable with him saying it. "Then stop looking at me like that and tell me already!" I protested, realizing only a bit too late that if I prompted Gage, I would have to spit out my story, too. "Sorry about that, but you beat around the bush to much," I hurried to add, averting his gaze. "It's okay. What I have to tell you is that... I like you a... a bit too much, Sai." During this pause, I slowly looked up at Gage, who bit his lip for a moment, "and I was wondering if this could be taken a step further." Another pause, then a nervous chuckle. "I know it's stupid coming from me, that 'wondering' as if asking for permission... but that's how I am." Gages next look was, to my liking, nastily apologetic, but I was at a loss for words. Not that I didn't see something like this coming, since we've known each other for more than several years now, but I knew he wasn't really skilled at handling personal and delicate situations. I could see that he meant what he'd said and, smiling to myself, I admitted that denying my feelings would be stupid and senseless. But then something came to me, and that was the evident affection and love Gage still harbored for me, He apparently sensed my hesitation, for he reached over and laid a hand on my knee, his eyes alarmed. "Did I...?" I shook my head. "No, it's alright. I can see you mean all that, but... but what about...?" I left the question hanging in the air; to quell my anxiety, I fidgeted with a strand of my hair. Gage bared his teeth in a wide, pensive smile His eyes met mine, and I made no attempt to distance myself from him. "But... I can love you just like I did before all of this; that is, if you-" "-if I let you?" I finished for him. I chuckled in disbelief: it was incredible how modest and tentative Gage could get to be. "Actually, and stupid me, I've been fighting this back, too." As much as it bothered me, theire was no turning back. "Ever since you... decided to stick by me at the Helion, and then when you sent me away despite my insults..." I twisted the strand around my fingers. "I had a lot of doubts: either because it was too early or... too risky. Now you know." For a moment, being close to him felt awkward, but I realized it was all because of my hesitation. It was all said and done: there was no need to fight the current anymore. "Thanks for telling me, Sai" Gage said, nudging my arm playfully. "No problem; we both needed to get it out, right?" "Yeah. I won't argue with you there." "You'd better not." And then, at the same time, I rested my head against Gages shoulder and he slid his arm around my waist, pulling me close. I've been in that situation before, being hugged by friends and all, but what made this one different was how hard and fast my heart was beating. Then, all of a sudden, Gage reached up and tucked my hair behind my ear, revealing my miscolored eye. I clutched his wrist and sat upright, looking away and allowing my hair to fall over my eye again. "You don't have to hide that, Sai. Your eyes are beautiful" he told me, and he sounded too kind for his own good. To my own surprise, I felt tears blurring my sight, but I didn't let them fall. "So do I still owe you that 10K for what happened" I looked up and saw him smiling at me, that charming smile of his, those deep brown eyes. Something about them made my heart race. Defeated, I loosened my grip on his wrist, and those tears I'd been fighting back spilled from my eyes. I didn't push Gage away when he hugged me tightly, because I had never welcomed a hug like I did his. It was true that I've had many friends in my life, but none that I could call my 'best friend', Tex included. Despite our many ups and downs, Gage had never turned his back on me. I remembered the time we got mad at each other and not more than an hour later, Gage was asking me to please sit down and talk. My tears were soon those of joy. After a few minutes, I calmed down, but I didn't withdraw from Gages embrace. I didn't even dare break the silence that had fallen between us. "You feeling better?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper, I nodded, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. "Sorry," I merely said, "I'm just not used to crying so much." I smiled weakly, meeting his gaze one more time. Then, my smile widened a bit, told him, "And about the 10K, don't worry about it. There's something else more important you can give me." He narrowed his eyes at me. "Name it." All hesitation gone, I took him by the collar of his shirt and pressed my lips against his. Gage, surprised at first, responded instantly, deepening the kiss every time I relaxed in his arms. It lasted long enough for me to realize the mess I've gotten myself into, but I couldn't care less. As I laid my hands on his neck, Gage claimed my mouth again. He worked his jaw against mine slowly, almost seductively, and I was left with no choice but to give in and enjoy. I pushed myself up, still kissing Gage, and I could tell his pressing harder was just a tease by the way he smiled into the kiss. Hands on my chest, I pushed him flat on his back and got on top of him, pressing my lips against his even harder than before, which only triggered a satisfied grunt from Gage. Our breathing began to escalate as our kisses became faster, fiercer, ardent, playful. Eventually I found him on top of me, his lips brushed against the skin of my neck, and I finally felt the unusual but pleasant pang of arousal. It was going too far, but it was just there when Gage pulled me into another embrace, and a simple whisper in my ear changed everything. "I love you, Ellie, too much for my own good." Unable to help myself I grabbed him and pressed my lips against his before he began kissing my neck passionatley, causing me to dig my nails into his back as we pressed our warm bodies against each other. About an hour later, I made myself comfortable beside him. Both of us still breathing hard, I cuddled up to his bare chest "You silly bastard..." I said with a playful smile. After he gave me one last kiss, I closed my eyes and grinned uncontrollably as I slowly fell asleep in his arms. If this is what Scrabble led to, then we'd have to play many, many more times