Fool's Gold

 

-Fool's Gold

Paired Couple: MiguelXTulio/SLASH!/Lime

A/N: Miguel, Chel and Tulio do not belong to me, they belong to Dreamworks. So on and so forth...

Miguel walked off into the forest, not caring what Tulio had to say. The fact that he pretended that nothing happened between them last night and this morning-had even gone to great lengths to hide it from Chel-only showed Miguel that Tulio still had feelings for her. Perhaps his long-standing friend, his heart, didn't take him seriously after all...

He turned this way and that, losing himself in the midst of the foliage. The heat crept into his clothes and made his skin itch with fever and sweat. Miguel sat down on a small boulder and combed his blond strands with his hand, thinking. It hadn't even been a whole day and Tulio already had broken his heart. He started to despair...

What was the point? Of course he couldn't truly see me in that way. Who was I to think he was different...?

As he sat, contemplating, a shadow went unnoticed high up in the trees. The stalker sat along a slender branch and sized up its prey. From the folds of animal skins, it pulled out a long tube and a dart. The dart's tip glistened in the dappled sunlight from a deadly poison. With careful precision, they kept an eye on the blond Spaniard below and armed the blowgun. As soon as the dart was in place, they brought the weapon to unseen lips and took aim...

~/~/~/~/

"I should go after him." Tulio started in the direction that Miguel headed, wondering how in the name of Spain he was going to apologize.

"Wait." Chel interrupted. "Maybe it's best if you just let him cool off for a minute. He'll come back."

"He's really upset, Chel. How do you know if he'll come back? I've never seen him this mad before..." He flopped down on the ground, his face resting in his palms with worry.

The El Dorado woman crouched in front of him and pulled his hands apart, looking him dead in the eye with a smile on her lips. "He will come back. He loves you, Tulio. Just as much as you love him."

"But... But I-" Tulio looked to be on the verge of tears with doubt.

"No, no. There's no reason to explain. And you don't have to apologize to me, just for the record. I knew you two loved each other from the moment you two came to El Dorado. I could see it. I mean, I did an awful thing and came in between that just to be sure of my bargain with you two. I apologize." She held a fist over her heart to emphasize her point. "From the depths of my heart, I apologize for putting that distance between you two. I should have never done that. What you and I had, Tulio, it was great for a while, but it's not what either of us needed. Miguel is great for you and you two deserve one another."

They stood up and embraced, Tulio hiding any stray tears that may have escaped. He was a man and he sure as hell wasn't going to cry!

"Thanks, Chel."

"Anytime, Tulio."

Just then, they heard a girlish shriek within the depths of the forest. Tulio's heart pounded, fear flooding his mind and ice running through his veins...

"MIGUEL!" He raced down the path, hoping that he would make it just in time; Chel followed in his wake.

Moments later, they found Miguel crawling backwards on his hands and feet toward where they entered the small clearing as small projectiles zipped down towards the blond. They could even see a small dagger hurtle towards him.

"What the hell?" Tulio shouted at the bizarre scene, only to hide behind a tree as a dart lodged itself into the ground where his foot used to be. Chel gripped Miguel under the arm and pulled him behind the tree with her and Tulio.

The faint buzzing sound of the darts stopped. Tulio carefully peeked around the trunk, seeing if the attacker was still out there. A startled cry behind him caught his attention. The color drained from the dark-haired Spaniard's face at the sight before him.

The blond was sprawled on the ground, his head in Chel's lap, as she grasped at the bloody dagger that was imbedded in his shoulder. But that wasn't what was concerning her as much...

A wooden dart stuck out of his knee.

~/~/~/~/~/~/

A/N: Yea, yea... I know this chapter's short. But trust me! :D It's meant to be! I just wanted to leave you all on a good cliff-hanger before moving on! Call me sadistic, but it sounds like jolly good fun! R&R like always... and don't kill me! XD But I promise that this was necessary! You won't be disappointed next chapter!