Jungle fever

Chapter 12

Strong tanned arms folded around the lifeless body. A tow was put around it and tanned large hands held Taiga's face above the water. Long legs helped to reach the shore faster to which the two men, tied to the rope, headed through the current.

Taiga's body was heavy. Daiki grabbed him more tightly and pulled the Kagami's guy finally ashore. Wheezing heavily, he leaned down and put his ear against the redhead's mouth. He was not breathing. The bluenette's head swam in panic. 'NO! I can't lose him. Not after I just found him. Anything ... is there anything, I can do?'

"Breath, BREATH ..." He screamed while he shook the sun-kissed body of his dying partner.

'Respiration!'

"That's it!" Daiki bent Taiga's head back, opened his mouth, and breathed air into him. "More." Again and again. His hand laying on the broad chest clenched to a fist as the desired reaction didn't occur.

"Dammit! You will not leave me! You hear me! YOU STUPID IDIOT!" He punched the tranquil torso hard with his fist. Water ran over his face. If it was from his hair or produced by his burning eyes, it didn't matter to him. All he wanted to see were those beautiful red orbs to open again, how the unique eyebrows knitted together and the deep voice snarling at him when he pulled one of his stupid stunts.

Suddenly Taiga's body twitched and rolled over to the side. A huge load of water gushed out his mouth and the redhead began coughing heavily, spilling even more.

"... urg ..." Taiga blinked and tried to open his eyes. His body hurt horribly and something sticky dried on his temple.

"You ..."

The redhead's ears were still ringing from the bump to his temple but this voice, he could recognize everywhere.

"Daiki?" His voice was rough as he slowly rolled to his back again. Taiga's throat felt sore and his eyes watered anew when he spoke.

There was no answer. Long strong tanned arms curled around his big frame and clutched him tight to the bluenette's body. "Damn, you stupid idiot. What was that stunt for? I thought I was too late."

Daiki's body shook heavily and he rested his face in the crook of the redhead's neck.

"... are ... are you crying?" Taiga was still out of it but the weird reaction of the taller man came as a great surprise to him. He thought he would get screamed at, punched and bound again. But now having the bluenette almost breaking his ribs in a tight hug, was something he thought the other male would rather die than show emotions like that.

"Ha? N-no, of course not." Daiki leaned back and plopped his fist on Taiga's head. "Don't say stupid things! Like I would cry!" He sat up and ogled the bump on the redhead's temple. He slowly drew his thumb over it. "We should clean that and patch it up. Are you hurt somewhere else? Try to move your limbs."

Taiga did as he was told. But besides his headache and a few scraps, he had got off lightly.

Daiki cleaned the wound and applied some of the salve Taiga had used on him before. "It's almost empty, we shouldn't get more wounds than that. And anyway, what were you thinking, jumping into the river like that?"

"Uhm ..." The redhead avoided his eyes. "Can we not talk about it? I admit it was stupid."

The bluenette sighed. "Stupid is an understatement! But really, you and water don't seem to get along well. Now come and try to stand up. I left our things further up so we need to walk back and get out of our wet clothes."

He pulled to help the redhead to stand up and held him by his waist with one of his sun-kissed arms over his tanned shoulders.

'He really wanted to get away from me, huh?' Daiki felt guilty and sad that he had driven the hothead so much into a corner that he had made such a dangerous stunt.

꧁✿.｡.:* ☆:**:..:**:.☆*.:｡.✿꧂

The way back was not as long as Taiga thought and as they reached the spot where basket, blankets, and the weapons were laying he raised an eyebrow at Daiki.

"How fast did you run to catch up to me? You were in the middle of the river."

The bluenette only shot him a glance. "You seem to wake unsuspected potential in me and now sit down and let me make a fire." He helped Taiga to lean against a tree trunk and roamed around in his belongings for his fire stones. Luckily some nearby wood was dry enough and soon both warmed their hands over a little smoky fire.

"Get your clothes off. I will help you." Daiki walked over to Taiga and grabbed him by his waist.

"What? No! I can do that alone." He flinched and slapped at tanned hands.

Daiki furrowed his brows. "Calm down, will you? I'm not going to do anything." Ignoring the redhead's hands, he loosened the loincloths and tugged the wet fabric down.

"Stop that!" Taiga squirmed and tried to push the bluenette's hands away. An embarrassed blush formed on his cheeks and he tried to glare at the other male, but he quite failed with it.

Meanwhile, Daiki was long finished and climbed nonchalantly, as he was, out of his own wet clothes. Naked as god made him he walked to a sunny fern and draped the fabric over it for drying.

Taiga didn't know where he should look. His eyes always were drawn back to the gorgeous body of the tanned man. It was a sight to be worshiped and the redhead did nothing else at this moment. He even forgot to cover himself.

"I know you like what you see but if you don't cover yourself soon, I need to break what I just said." Daiki pointed at the hothead's semi-erect crotch and tossed a blanket towards Taiga.

"Dammit, don't look! You really are a pervert." He laid the fur on his lap and turned his head away.

"Tch, who is the pervert here? It was you who ogled me the whole time just now. And make a bit of space here." Daiki pushed the redhead a bit further away from the tree and sat himself, with his own blanket covering his back, behind him. He leaned back and pulled Taiga against him.

"What are you doing?" Taiga was not comfortable at the moment. Feeling the warmer skin against his back, did things to his stomach and lower regions that he didn't want to think of.

"Just shut up and let it be. I will only warm your freezing body up, nothing else." The bluenette grumbled but then put his mouth close to the squirming redhead's. "If you don't stop wriggling, I might change my mind."

And Taiga shut up.

The fire blazed in front of them while they both stared into it, hanging after their own thoughts. Soon Daiki felt the quiet breaths of his companion and smiled when he saw that the hothead had finally fallen asleep.

"With you, life really isn't boring anymore." He kissed the red hair and tugged Taiga's head under his chin. He closed his own eyes and pulled the sun-kissed body even closer to his own. Draping the blanket tighter around them, the warmth pulled him into a light slumber. He felt relieved that once again he had managed to avert to lose the hotheaded male.