Fan Fiction |
by Hibiscus
Ariel sat very, very quietly in her tent. She had wrapped herself in her sleeping bag and had a small pocket knife in her hand.
Mike had laughed at it, she remembered, saying, “Are you going to skin a tiger with that little knife?”
And Ariel had replied, “Yes. But for practice, I’ll skin you.” She had chased him around the camp with the knife, laughing at his faux calls of help.
Suddenly, the area behind her, on the other side of the tent rustled. Ariel panicked. She picked up her blanket and ran from her tent to Mike’s. She opened up the flap door to his tent, entered, and closed it. All within a space of a minute.
She sat in the darkness of his tent, breathing heavily.
Finally, her eyes focused and she turned to the dark shape that was Mike sleeping.
“What if he’s not really Mike? What if I wake him and he’s some ghost and he laughs evilly.” Ariel said frightening herself. She moaned softly, terrified.
Finally, gathering her courage she crept forward. She took out the small torch she had tucked into her pocket and turned it on. Suddenly, the rustling came again. Ariel’s eyes widened even more.
She jumped at Mike who woke up with a yell.
“Ahhh!” He screamed.
“Mike!” Ariel clamped a hand over his mouth.
He stopped yelling immediately and went still. Then his eyes focused and he realized that it was Ariel and not some mugger.
“Yi Chen! You scared about ten years off my life!” Mike whispered fiercely. Then. “What are you doing here?”
“I got scared. There’s someone out there.” Ariel whispered back just as fiercely. As if listening to their words, the rustling came again.
Ariel crept even nearer to Mike, forgetting boundaries in her terror, her arms going automatically around him and her heart beating wildly.
Mike’s heart quickened too but it wasn’t from the rustling.
“Calm down, Yi Chen. I’ll go look.”
“NO!” Ariel held on stubbornly.
“Why not?” Mike asked calmly.
“What if it’s a tiger and eats you up?” Ariel said tearfully.
“It’s not a tiger. They don’t have tigers in this region.”
“A bear. A werewolf. Something HUNGRY!”
“Yi Chen.” Mike said holding on to her shoulders, trying to calm her down. Just then, thunder boomed and it started raining.
Ariel sat up. “Great. Just great. We get to be a midnight snack and it starts raining.”
The rustling wasn’t heard again after the advent of the rain. Mike and Ariel sat quietly until the silence turned awkward.
“Um. I think I’ll sleep here tonight.” Ariel announced loudly. Mike’s eyes widened.
“What?”
“I’ll sleep here tonight.” She enunciated very clearly.
“But…” Mike said looking as though he had been sentenced to hideous torture.
“I don’t snore.”
“I know. But…”
“And I don’t roll around in my sleep unlike SOMEONE else I know.” Ariel said looking pointedly at him.
She unrolled her sleeping bag and put it near Mike’s.
“And I know you are a gentleman.” She continued.
“When did I ever claim to be that?” Mike asked.
Ariel gave him a look. “I KNOW you are a gentleman.” She repeated succinctly.
Mike sighed.
Ariel got into her bag, curled up and closed her eyes. A smile of relief briefly bloomed on her face before sleep chased it away.
Mike still sat, looking at her to his heart’s content. She seemed so defenseless in her sleep. It warmed him that she trusted him enough to sleep in his presence. Yi Chen did not trust often and totally. The camping trip had done wonders, Mike thought.
Then he groaned as he noticed her lips pucker up as though she were dreaming of kissing. “A cold shower would be welcome.” He muttered as he lay back down.
She smelt like honey. Pure wispy honey, she smelt like golden summer afternoons and strawberry ice cream. Like a cold fruit salad. Like a strawberry. She smelt like home and a foreign destination. All at the same time.
“You are so pitiful, He Jun Xiang.” Mike muttered to himself and closed his eyes. He started counting sheep.
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Ariel rubbed her face against something warm at her side. “This is a very good blanket,” she thought sleepily. She crept closer to her blanket and sighed in contentment as the blanket shifted to make room for her.
“Wait a minute.” Ariel thought, eyes still closed. “There’s something wrong about this. What is it?”
Ariel wiggled her toes and the blanket grumbled.
“Why is my blanket grumbling? Why is it shifting? My BLANKET?!” Ariel’s eyes flew open and for a second all she could see was nothing. Then she realized that her face was squashed against the soft cotton of Mike’s t-shirt. Mike, who was still deeply asleep, had both his arms around Ariel and one leg thrown over her hip.
All in all, a very compromising position, Ariel decided. “Mister I won’t sit on your side of the camp.” She muttered while trying to get out from his arms. It didn’t work. His arms and leg were both dead weights.
“Mike!” Ariel whispered. “Wake up!”
“Call back later. I’m not home.” Mike mumbled pulling Ariel even closer.
Ariel had opened up her mouth to say something but ended up with a mouthful of Mike’s shirt. “Okay, plan B.” Ariel said to herself.
He was very ticklish on his side, she remembered from a wrestling incident during Love Contract days. Ariel grinned devilishly and tickled him. Mike swatted at her hands, frowning in his sleep. Then suddenly he flipped her over and she was pinned beneath him. Ariel sighed. Now she couldn’t use her arms either. Hmm. She’d just bite him, Ariel decided. His cheek? Yes.
Ariel thought about his lips. Then didn’t. Connie, her conscience made a pop-up and remarked. “A kiss would wake him up.”
“Shut up, Connie.”
“He really has nice lips, don’t you think Yi Chen? Absolutely the best kisser.”
“Connie, I’m going to kill you.”
“I’m already dead from repressing my urge to KISS him.”
Ariel bit his cheek and Mike’s eyes flew open. His gaze was dazed and then focused and gradually sharpened and then widened at the position they were in.
He flew off her and sat on the other side of the tent with his arms around his chest. “Were you trying to seduce me?!” He yelled.
Ariel started laughing. She couldn’t help it, his enraged expression spurring her on. “I was the one who was under YOU.”
“You are devious.” Mike grumbled.
“Good morning to you too, darling.” Ariel fluttered her eyes at him. Mike hmphed.
Linda arrived soon after they had had breakfast. Her daughter had given birth to a beautiful baby girl and she was beaming like a very proud grandma. She kept on thanking Ariel and Mike again and again for letting her go. Soon she had them packed up, the area cleaned and hiking down the mountain. This time, Mike and Ariel were on either side of Linda talking to her about everything from babies to acting.
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Author's Note: Next up, The Bride of Dracula.