NovaHD ~ [AU OneShots]

Into the Wild

A/N: So I went and saw the new Tarzan film a couple of weeks ago...and then I wrote this. Enjoy!

Aleks knows he shouldn't be doing this, well aware of the dangers and risks, but he can't help it. He is inexplicably drawn to the lure of the vivacious, thriving jungle, so once his father and his army are asleep, he sneaks out of camp.

He ducks under low branches and manoeuvres skilfully through vines, ensuring he covers his tracks so that his father doesn't send his men after him. He is desperate to escape the stifling suffocation of the life he is forced to live...desperate to distance himself from his greedy father and his brutal army. He'd only accompanied them on their corrupt exploration for diamonds in the African Congo so that he could meet and draw animals that he'd never have the opportunity to encounter again.

But that isn't his only purpose tonight.

His father's army enjoy hunting the jungle animals for sport, collecting trophies to inflate their selfish egos, but their next target, their next prize, is someone that Aleks is desperate to protect.

A legend lives amongst the jungle, a young man who was raised by apes and who is the true leader of the animal kingdom. African tribes that Aleks has encountered on his journey praise the vigour and heart of the jungle man, and they often sing about his magnificence and the heart-wrenching way he'd began his life. Once, James Wilson Jr had been the son of a lord, and he should have spent his life indulging in riches and the pleasures of the wealthy. Instead, his parents had been brutally murdered in the African Congo when he was only a baby, and he'd been forced to grow up in the wild.

Being so notorious, many want him dead, especially the army Aleks is travelling with, wanting to be the ones to threaten the equilibrium of the peaceful jungle.

Fortunately, no one has seen him yet, but Aleks has been lucky enough to catch glimpses. He's heard James padding across soft leaves, and distant whooshes of air as he swings rapidly through the trees, using jungle vines as transportation as he shadows Aleks on his journey.

However, he always manages to avoid Aleks's gaze, much to his disappointment. He knows that James is seen as a danger, as a threat to humanity, but Aleks feels no fear. He feels safe, knowing that he is under the watchful eye of an icon.

Tonight, Aleks is determined to finally see him, to meet this wonder properly, and he has a plan.

After a couple more minutes of walking, he spots an open clearing, and he sinks to the ground, leaning back on the trunk of a large tree so that he has a panoramic view of the vast jungle around him. The branches are sparse and the leaves are thin, so Aleks knows that James will have no choice but to reveal himself, if he wants to continue watching him.

Aleks knows he must be patient, so he withdraws his sketchbook from his backpack and begins to sketch the plants around him.

So lost in his art, he nearly starts when he hears the now-familiar sound of someone approaching him. He manages to keep still, eyes locked on his sketchbook, and the only movement he makes is when he tracks his pencil across paper, adding finer detail to his drawings.

When the padding stops, and when Aleks hears breathing accompanying his own, he finally risks a look. Slowly, he lifts his head, not wanting to startle the legend away...only to find himself looking at an extraordinary sight only metres away from him.

A muscular man is on all fours, his head tilted curiously to the side as he regards Aleks in return, his dark eyes wary, but also filled with wonder. Black ringlets tumble across his broad shoulders, and he is so beautiful that Aleks hears his breath catch.

So overwhelmed, he is unable to speak, so he does the only thing he can think of. He continues to draw, this time sketching the striking specimen in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see James watching him, and Aleks's fingers tremble under the weight of his gaze.

They stay like that, frozen in a tableau, until Aleks stops drawing, content with his sketch. He tucks his pencil behind his ear, locking eyes with James as he does so, and he turns his sketchbook around so that his drawing is visible.

Suddenly James lurches forward with a burst of frantic speed, and Aleks flinches in surprise, stunned by the grace and power of his strength.

Now they are only inches apart, and Aleks is frozen, rendered helpless by James's proximity.

Carefully, James lifts his hand, and he traces the sketch with his fingertip. He looks at Aleks in awe, and Aleks can't breathe.

Still too dazed to speak, he raises his hand in a gesture of welcoming, eliciting a sound of choked surprise when James presses their palms together, interlocking their fingers.

Aleks is grateful for the shroud of the jungle, which conceals and protects him in this moment. It's the first time that he has been unafraid to allow another man's touch, knowing the consequences of being with a man in 19th century England, and he embraces the freedom.

With his other hand, James begins to trace the contours of Aleks's face lightly, running his fingertip gently over the arch of his brows and the shape of his jaw. Aleks is powerless to stop him, and he isn't sure he wants to.

When James touches the curve of his lips, Aleks begins to tremble, and he knows it isn't from fear.

"James." His voice is so sudden that it spooks Aleks, and he blinks in surprise. "My name is James."

Aleks is astounded by his eloquence, stunned that he can speak English, even though the words are slightly disjointed. "I'm Aleksandr...Aleks." He responds, and James's lips curve up into a beautiful crooked smile that makes Aleks's pulse quicken.

"Aleksandr." James echoes, and he says it so reverently that Aleks doesn't ask him to call him by the name that he prefers.

Instead, he shakes himself out of his stupor to ask something more important. "If you can talk...why didn't you find me before?"

James's face darkens, the smile leaving his lips. "Those men...danger."

Aleks understands, sharing his loathing. "I'm not like them." He whispers, anxious to reassure him. He finds himself placing his hand over James's, over the one that cradles his face. "I'm sorry for what they've done." Unfortunately, he's witnessed the bloodbaths, forced to watch his father's men brutally savage the jungle wildlife.

James's eyes are soft pools of admiration as he listens to Aleks's words, and Aleks finds himself leaning closer, leaning in.

But an unwelcome voice shatters the stillness, and James tenses, gritting his teeth as he pulls his hand away from Aleks's, the animal within him threatening to be unleashed.

"Aleks, where the devil are you?"

Aleks panics at the sound of his father, and he scrambles to his feet, opening his mouth to voice the danger to James, to tell him to leave.

But he doesn't need to because James is already gone...gone before Aleks can say goodbye.

"Come and find me." He whispers to the wind, unsure if James will hear him.

"Always." The trees whisper back, and Aleks smiles.

Part two? Haha.