I don't own The Road to El Dorado or it's characters. I'm just doing this for fun.

"...and then I suggest the usual 'jump on three' routine. I count to three and I jump, but not Miguel, no he's too busy enjoying the view!" Tulio used the act of throwing another stick onto the campfire to display his annoyance.

Miguel nearly dropped his lizard-on-a-stick as he came to his own defense. "It was a very good view!"

"Yeah! A good view that was screaming for the guards!"

"Well... she shouldn't have been standing half-naked in a window then!"

Tulio made no comment to that. He sent a glare across the fire at his friend as he patted Chel on the back so she wouldn't die of laughter. Once the young woman finally managed to get it under control she plucked her own lizard from the fire and blew on it a few times to cool it off. She offered it to Tulio who sneered in disgust and pushed it away. "Nooo... thank you," he said, "I'll stick with fruit."

Chel chuckled. "Suit yourself." She took a bite and then asked Miguel, "So I guess you not jumping was a problem?"

Miguel smirked and opened his mouth to answer, but Tulio beat him to it. "Yes," he said. "See, there was only one awning below us, and if we both jumped at the same time, we would have both gone through it, slowing our fall enough that it wouldn't kill us. Because only I jumped, only I went through the awning and Miguel was stuck on the roof with four guards and no way down."

"Um, I'm fairly certain there were more guards than that."

"No, there were only four."

"But-"

"Anyways, there I am on the ground, screaming at this idiot to run for it, and all I hear is his battle cry as he charges these men who are all armed, armored, and twice his size."

Chel almost choked as she gaped at the blond in disbelief. "You charged them?!?"

Miguel shrugged. "I was hoping their surprise would be to my advantage, and it worked!" He clapped his hands together, and then mock drew his lizard-stick (sans the lizard) from his hip. "I managed to steal one of their swords and took them all on in a gallant battle! Hoo-Ha!" He stood, sweeping the stick around (forcing Tulio and Chel to duck for their lives) as he enthusiastically reenacted the fight.

The happy couple rolled their eyes in unison. "So, what'd you do to save his butt?" asked Chel.

Tulio smiled and leaned in for a kiss. "Well, first I yelled some more," he paused to allow her to giggle, "And then I developed a plan."

"Of course you did," said Chel as she pinched his cheek.

He allowed this for a moment before batting her off. "Like I said before, there was a festival, and the next house over was draped with yellow fabric. As soon as I saw it I knew what to do. There was this iron bar attached to the wall where the awning had been, so I cut some fabric down and I actually had to climb a window in order to tie it on. By the time I was done all I had to do was pull, and I'd have a makeshift net to catch Miguel's fall."

"And how did you manage to get the gallant knight's attention?" She nodded towards Miguel. He had Altivo involved in his sword play. The horse picked up a twig from the firewood pile in his mouth and was doing a good job of fighting back.

"I called his name. That didn't work. I whistled really loud. Still didn't work. So I grabbed a rock and threw it at him; hit him in the head."

"Did that work?" Chel asked with mirth.

"Too well... I barely had time to pull the fabric tight before tonto over there landed on it. Of course, it worked perfectly and he was completely unscathed."

Chel laughed some more. "And then you got away?" Tulio's face fell. "You didn't?!? No wait! Let me guess. All your yelling attracted-"

"More guards," he confirmed.

"Did you fight them?"

"Hell no! I grabbed Miguel and we ran for our lives! And thus ended our adventure on the rooftops of Barcelona."

Chel was grinning from ear to ear, loving the attention and the stories. She stretched and leaned against her boyfriend as she watched his partner act like a child. "Just how many adventures have the two of you had?"

Tulio sighed contentedly. "More than I care to think about," he said in a flat tone that made her giggle.

They watched the blond and the horse go at it for a few minutes. Then Chel ruined the moment. "How did the two of you even meet? That must be the best story of them all..."

She noticed something was wrong from the way Tulio went stiff, but it was the sudden end to Miguel's antics that got her worried. His back to them, the blond slowly lowered his arm and dropped the stick.

"Um, you'd think that," said Tulio with a forced smile, "but it's actually quite boring. Nothing interesting happened at all."

"Tulio..." That was Miguel. When he turned around he was smiling, it even reached his eyes, but it lacked it's usual light. "You don't have to lie to her for my sake. It's not like it's a secret."

Chel switched her gaze between the two of them and noticed the amount of concern in Tulio's face. He started to say, "I don't-"

"No, it's alright," Miguel interrupted him.

Tulio frowned. "It's not. It's not even my story to tell."

"Half of it is."

"Miguel..."

"Look, you know me." Miguel splayed his arms out as though to display as much of himself as he could. "I jump in head first, remember? And Chel's not going anywhere anytime soon. We both know you're eventually going to tell her, so I'd like it to be sooner rather than later and without the whole 'it was a secret, how could you?!?' scandal." He put his hands together and took a deep breath. "Alright?"

Tulio sighed, but nodded. "Alright..."

Miguel smiled. "Alright. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm... ah... I'm going for a walk down the beach." Before they could say anything to the contrary, he slipped from the firelight and into the trees. Altivo gave the lovers a confused look before following him.

Tulio sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I said something wrong," said Chel.

He smiled at her sadly and said, "No." He paused, staring after his friend. "You couldn't have known."

"Will he be alright?"

To her surprise he just rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Of course he will. He's Miguel. He's had so many hard knocks that a bump like this is nothing. And so, shall we begin?"

Chel gazed absently at the fire, taking in those words with everything that had just happened. "You know, I'm starting to think maybe I don't want to hear this."

He sneaked an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "Well, it's a bit too late for that."

She sighed. "Just... is it sad? Because I've heard enough sad stories to last me a lifetime."

Tulio thought about it and shrugged. "Some of it is. Some of it isn't. Depends on how you look at it. Now, can I start?"

She paused, than said, "Okay."

But he didn't start immediately. Instead he rested his chin in his hand and his eyes got that glazed look they held whenever he was deep in thought. After a moment of this, Chel groaned and elbowed him in the gut. "I thought you said you were going to start?" she asked impatiently.

"I am," Tulio whined. "I was thinking about the best place to..." and then he snapped his fingers. "I've got it!"

"Got what?"

He winked. With a straightening of his vest and a dramatic flourish of his hand he said, "This story begins like most of them do; with me running away from something...