"Do you have this ability with everyone? To make them feel so…"

☆

"What are you doing back there?" Carlos wonders as he sees Rio in the back of the car, wrestling with the seats. 

"I'm….trying to…..got it." He exhales a breath as he finally achieves his goal. "How about this. Not bad huh?" He moves back a little in order to show that the back seats had been folded down entirely to create a reasonably sized space. 

"Is that where we are supposed to be sleeping tonight?" Carlos frowns at the compact area. "It's a bit snug isn't it?"

"It's just for me. You can fend for yourself in the wilderness.'' Rio gestures towards the woods, with the sky growing dark up above and as if on cue, the sound of that animal which sounded like a cry for help. 

Carlos looks out towards the trees. He rubs his hand around the back of his neck, before he turns and looks back at Rio. "You don't mean that do you?" 

Rio rolls his eyes. "Of course not. It's for us both. It's at least a step up from an upright car seat. We will both be lying down." 

Carlos nods, taking in the words. It wasn't really an issue. Rio had fallen asleep on him already and it did feel kind of nice to have someone to cuddle up to. Even if they were essentially strangers. But was that because he had been deprived of physical contact or affection of any kind for so long, or was it something else?

"What's on your mind?" Rio asks as he climbs out of the car. "I can sense you want to say something." He leans his back against the car as Carlos remains in thought, eyes fixed on the small space. 

He looks at Rio with that anxious knot manifesting in the pit of his stomach. Was this the moment that he was about to say something which crossed the line? To say out loud what he had been thinking and feeling over the past twelve hours? Was the simple suggestion of sleeping so close together, implying that this relationship was turning once again into something different entirely? "Rio I…"

"You're bleeding." Rio interrupts. He reaches forwards a hand, almost touching the sight of the bandage around Carlos' head. The once clean material now looked grubby and probably hadn't fared well to a woolly hat being pulled on and off it. 

Carlos touches the area in which Rio was implying as a small trickle of blood could be felt escaping from the edge of the bandage. He looks at his fingertips. The blood coated them and made him feel light headed as he felt a weakness to his knees.  Carlos lets his body weight lean against the car as he slides to the ground, ending up a crouching position. "I thought your sister was a doctor." He mumbles as he looks up at Rio. 

"Just . Wait a minute." Rio heads around to the passenger side of the car. "They must have something. It's a working vehicle….Bingo!" Rio locates a small green bag with a zip going round the outside, hoping the contents was of some use in the situation. He heads back around the vehicle and helps Carlos to stand, guiding him to the makeshift seating they had created around a now smouldering fire. "Let me look."

Carlos lets his head fall forward a little, allowing Rio to view the bandage. He closes his eyes, sensing Rio's presence as he tends to his aid. It made Carlos feel safe, cared for in a way that he had never been treated in the past. His whole family were cold. Every single one of them. Any affection they showed towards others was only meant for their own personal gain, but Carlos knew he was different. He knew he had never belonged and knew that in that moment, he needed to tell Rio exactly what was on his mind.  "There's something about you." He begins. 

"What about me?" Rio replies, a little distracted by the task in hand of trying to find a sterile wipe from the small green bag. 

"Do you have this ability with everyone? To make them feel so…" 

"What are you trying to say?" Rio reaches forwards to address the wound, just as Carlos looks up. Their eyes meet. It causes Rio to freeze as if to anticipate the next few words Carlos is about to utter.

Carlos stares into Rio's hazel eyes. "I have barely known you for 24 hours and you have made me do more things, feel more things than I have ever felt in my life. I don't know whether it's the situation we find ourselves in, or if something is changing inside of me, but…"

"You sure took a knock to the head." Rio laughs as he again tends to Carlos' head, trying his best to clean away the blood. 

"I'm trying to be serious here." Carlos says as if to labour the point. "You're doing something to me Rio." 

Rio pulls back the used wipe in order to retrieve a bandage from the box. He feels the need to break eye contact as he tries to process what Carlos was telling him. "Do you mean?" He looks back up, finding the job of applying the bandage a welcome distraction as he continues to talk. "Do you have feelings for me?" Rio wasn't prepared for the surge of adrenaline to kick in at that moment as he felt his heart begin to race at the ask of the question. 

"If I said I did, would you leave?" Carlos utters, just loud enough for Rio to hear.

Rio finishes his first aid. His eyes fall to Carlos' deep brown eyes. He raises a hand to Carlos' face, feeling the slightly unshaven skin on his fingertips. Without words he slowly edges closer. Carlos isn't taking his eyes off him. Unmoving as he anticipates what Rio is about to do. Closer still, Rio's lips begin to relax, his eyes fall to Carlos' full lips as eventually, his eyes close all together. The other male finds his lids getting heavier as he stays in position. He feels Rio's fingers around the nape of his neck, pulling him closer until that moment, where their lips finally connect.