This wasn't a smart idea. He knew that, it was obvious for anyone to see, but he had gone this far so what else could he do? He settled down on a stack of hay near the cows and pulled his jacket around himself. It was weird weather outside, a sort of wintry mix and it was freezing his balls off. He wished his dad had picked a better day to try amateur boxing on him but he supposed that was somewhat his fault.
He rubbed his bruised face and looked at the cows, that were looking at him. "Alright, girls. Sorry to crash the party. Got nowhere else, you know?"
There was no way he could go home, he had no mates or nothing and he didn't fancy the social being involved so he'd just make base here and see where he could go.
The train had to come back at some point tomorrow - hopefully. Cause the middle of nowhere was completely useless to him.
During the day, more often than not, Ollie avoided the stables. During the day, it was work. Farm work, which he'd never fancied himself doing much - and had still had to do entirely too much of, in his opinion. However, he liked the cows, better than he liked most people, and he especially loved Ainsley, so he did visit frequently at night. Of course, by then Greg was always asleep already, given he had to get up early to do that dreaded farm work.
Yet another night and Ollie walked into the stables, flicking the light-switch and announcing himself loudly. "Good evening, ladies! All right. What are you busying yourself with? Digesting, I'd assume."
A well-educated guess. Ollie walked up to where the cows were kept, petting Ainsley's head when she came up to bump against him lightly. He climbed up the bars and sat down on his usual perch, Ainsley standing right next to him so he could lean against her.
The cows did not show much interest, even as Ollie held the book up for them to see. He cleared his throat, then read the quote from the back of the book. "The Selfish Gene is widely regarded as a masterpiece of science writing, and its insights remain as relevant today as on the day it was published. My, sounds mighty fancy, don't it? Who's eager to dive in?"
Gideon's first fear was, of course, discovery. His second fear swiftly became being bored to death. And what was that accent. He left Manchester and went towards London, didn't he? Was he somehow in Scotland? Bloody hell, he'd well overshot.
He listened to the weird lad describe some boring sounding book and ducked behind the hay, trying to wait it down. He slid down a little and stretched his legs out, trying not to make any noise.
Who the fuck read to their cows? Seriously. He tried to peek out but he wasn't eager to get caught.
"Genetics are important, obviously. They are kinda the difference between me and you. What with me not having horns and you, y'know. Being cows. Very sweet cows though. What's the matter, Ainsling? Did something scare ye, wee one?"
She was definitely unsettled, he could tell by how she kept nosing his hands and moving her feet. It finally led to Ollie putting down the book, about to give her a bit of a talking to when he noticed something. Someone. Huh.
He set the book aside and jumped down, then ran at the haybales and landed on top of them, immediately peeking over the edge. He hadn't been sure what he'd expected. Some animal maybe, a fox or whatever. Happened, especially this time of year. This was a boy though. A boy his age, from the looks of him. "...you're gonna get stiff, sleeping down there."
Hardly seemed comfortable. "You hiding from someone?"
"Fucking hell, mate." That Scottish loon just leapt at him. Gideon's eyes were wide as he looked at the other boy. His eyes were wild and he had an unsettling chipper disposition. Gideon raised an eyebrow. "You're bloody spry on your feet."
Gideon sat himself up properly, pulling himself into a more braced position in case he had to leg it out of here.
"I ain't hiding from nothing. I look a bad turn is all. I'm going home tomorrow but I ain't got nowhere else." And it was fucking cold out there. Not that it was better in here, his fingers hurt and he was shivering but it was better than outside. "I'll be gone tomorrow. Just mind your own business."
"If you wanna sleep with the cows, you've gotta do it properly, mate." Ollie gestured over, just past the spot where he had sat before. "You grab a blanket and then curl up over there near them, then you'll be warm and safe, like a wee bairn at mother's bossom."
He had certainly done it before, for reasons of convenience or just to get away from home for a bit. Or when Ainsley had been pregnant, so he'd not miss the birth. Which he hadn't!
"I'm Ollie, by the way. You're in my barn. Well. In the cows' barn. My brother's barn. He's not a cow."
"Right." What the fuck was he saying? He could barely follow him. Seemed right mental but he supposed country lads probably all were. Bored out of their skulls, probably inbred. His dad always said country folk were a weird bunch but he had to see it to believe it. "I think I'm just gonna kip over here until the suns up, I don't fancy cuddling up with cows."
Not only did they scare him a lot but they smelled pretty bad.
"Just don't tell your brother, Ollie." Hopefully the div could keep this to himself. "Be a mate, I'm having a shite day."
"You donnae need to worry, my brother sleeps like the dead until he gets up to milk the cows. They get milked at five though, so..." That was bloody early, wasn't it? Ollie scratched himself behind the ear, thinking about it. "Come into the house with me, eh? I've got space in my room and my brother never goes in there."
They had a deal about that. Mostly because Greg didn't want to spend any time in his room. "Warmer than here. And I can bring ye some dinner if you fancy."
"Are you serious? You're not messing me about, yeah?" He didn't want this nark to lead him in and call the cops. He doubted he'd been reported missing but he didn't want to go home and if they knew, they'd send him. He stood up and dusted the hay off him, hopeful but seriously sceptical. "Cause I'd rather not sleep out here. It's bloody cold."
And he didn't have the best gear for it, given he had to leg it out of the house. He had his winter coat but only a t-shirt under it. He looked at Ollie, the uncertainty ebbing. "... Dinner too?"
Felix was not the most subtle of people. He was known as 'the gay one' in this village and always had been known as that since he could speak and express himself like the big nancy boy he was. And yet - subtly was the new name of the game. Discretion, being subtle, not drawing any attention.
Hence why he went out for a nice evening stroll in very muted, normal clothes. Very average. Not worth a look, honestly. It was about 7.45 when he took off for his walk, nice and dark. And then, on the way through the beautiful countryside, he happened to spot a familiar home. It would only be polite to say hello, of course.
He looked around the street, he eyed up the windows to see if any old birds were watching from the window and then rushed through the gate and into the garden of said familiar house.
Walking through the garden, he knock his fist on the windows he passed as he walked through to the back garden. Holden would hear. Holden would come. Rhia was asleep by now, hopefully, and they could have a nice little chat in the garden.
Maybe get in through the back door. In more ways than one,.
It wasn't as if Holden had been expecting Felix exactly, since he had well and truly learned his lesson about getting his hopes up after roughly the thousandth time of metaphorically being left with shards of broken hope all over his fragile heart. Or one should think he had learned his lesson, however, the instant shift the moment he heard the first knock, the way his heart soared and the weight lifted off his chest belied the truth.
After all this time, after all the mistakes, still, he was consumed by him. And he would chastise himself for it if he didn't have something better to do at the moment, such as rush to the backdoor and open it to say hello to Felix and pretend to be casual about it.
"Hello there. Fancy seeing you here at this hour, Mr Faust." He leaned against the doorway, smiling at him. "Awfully cold for a walk, isn't it?"
"Oh, it's not so bad. I got a new coat, wool and all. Not local but don't tell the neighbours or I'll be lynched." Felix teased as he did a twirl to show off the duffle coat his brother had given him for this wintery season. It was quite bland for his taste but perfect for a nice, ordinary and not at all gay walk around the village.
He walked closer to Holden and stood in front of him, smiling.
"I just fancied a fag and a chat. I got the fag, just need the chat." He teased with a smile and then pulled out his cigarettes, just in case anyone could hear him. "You fancy one?" Well, he couldn't just walk in. No, no, this was a delicate dance.
"Do I fancy a fag?" There was a question. "Y'know, I've fancied many a fag in my day but I am kind of trying to get over that particular infatuation. Bad for the health, you see?" Yet here he was, looking at Felix in a way that he certainly knew was not fooling anyone close enough to see his expression. Luckily only Felix was looking at him quite that closely. "I'd ask you to come in, of course, on behalf of the cold, so we could catch up a little. Alas, Rhia is inside and her tiny lungs can't handle that smoke."
He sighed, regretfully. "Do you want to have your fag alone outside or do you want to come in for something hot?"
"Building good habits? Trying to stay away from all the bad sort that gets into you and does damage? Smart." Felix put the cigarettes away and then shrugged his shoulders. "I hope it's not all good habits or you'll find yourself a little bored way to fast." Felix looked around and then looked at Holden, smiling. "I could do with something hot, being all cold outside and all."
He followed Holden into the house and shut the door behind him, turning around to look at Holden. Beautiful, clever, brilliant Holden. With that twinkle in his eye, just for him. Felix didn't waste any time kissing him.
Holden glanced behind Felix to make sure the door was actually closed properly, then looked behind himself to make sure that Rhia wasn't suddenly walking into the kitchen - which would be quite the feed for her to do without warning, being asleep, in her crib, with gates by the stairs and a baby monitor by her side. By the time he had made sure that all was in order, he was already being kissed and then that was all that mattered.
Difficult to think coherently whenever all his dreams and resurrected fantasies came true. He had a hand in Felix's hair, the other by his hip and when they pulled apart he smiled at him. "You really are freezing, boy. You're bonkers, walking around this time of night."
"If I stayed home, I wouldn't get to see you. Best part of my day, seeing you. Without it, I'd wither away from boredom." Felix dismissed as he kissed Holden again, short and sweet this time. He pulled him close against him and rested both hands on Holden's hips. "I thought Rhia would be asleep and we'd have some time to ourselves. Doesn't have to be anything -- you know. Could just watch the TV? Cuddle? Make out a little."
He was bad at platonic, as had been obvious when their friendship went into romance about a day into it all but he didn't want to seem like he was just pressuring him for a shag. He liked Holden, he just wanted to be close to him.
"Enticing proposition. I'll admit that I was preparing for an evening by the telly." Not really any reason to hide that fact. Especially given that in the living room he had already prepared everything, including his dinner - hard to get much eating in while feeding Rhia - and an as of yet unopened drink.
Yet here was Felix, being as tempting as ever. The last thing he wanted was to bore him. He looked up at him and shook his head. "Doubt you'd come all the way over here to watch the telly any other time if I put you to sleep with it once. Not exactly the kind of party atmosphere you're used to."
"You sleep foreeeever," Rhia said in accusing awe to the boy that was occupying the sofa, having climbed the armrest to be closer to him. And, yes, to lightly bop his head, since he was dead for all she knew. "It's already way late! You should wake up now or we can't play before I gotta go."
As she had already decided that they would play, even though her da had insisted that the boy, Gideon, should be allowed to sleep as long as he wanted and was to be left alone by her. She vehemently disagreed.
"Wha?" Gideon slurred out as he forced his burning eyes open and looked at the little girl slapping his head. God, he was tired. It was nice here, all warm and cosy, without Ollie kicking him in his sleep. He wanted to stay asleep forever and ever but apparently this little girl had other ideas.
He rubbed his face tiredly, yawned and then looked at Rhia with confusion. "Hello?" It was so early. "Where's your dad?"
"Dad's making breakfast," Rhia said, pointing toward the kitchen while adjusting herself on the armrest, happily accepting the perch as her throne. She looked down at Gideon, ever so happy to see that he was awake now. "What do we play now?" Because clearly that was what needed to happen now. They had already wasted so much time on that sleep nonsense.
"I don't play." Gideon explained to her as he slowly sat himself up, ruffling his hair and then yawning sleepily. His eyes were burning and he could smell food cooking in the other room. He was starving already. He hoped Ollie didn't think he'd just gone and ditched him, he just didn't fancy his odds last night.
Half asleep, he looked at Rhia and then squinted. "Why don't you play? You got stuff." Stuff that didn't require the two of them. He looked around and used his hand to cover his mouth when he yawned. "You got Postman Pat."
"Okay." She nodded her head, looking over at her Postman Pat books. She did have those. She also then, immediately, meowed and got on all fours, rubbing her head against his shoulder. Playing a cat, obviously. To explain it further, she meowed again and then said, "I'm the black-and-white cat. Pat has one."
"Eh?" Gideon was baffled but he did pet the top of her head slowly. Christ. He had no experience with little kids, he had no idea what he was doing. "You're a cute cat then, ain't you?" He smiled awkwardly, bleary eyed and half dead but trying. He looked around at her stuff and then picked up one of the Postman Pat books, opening it up for her to look at.
"Nice pictures, huh?" That was easier than playing cat and ... whatever he was. Cat petter?
"You are Pat," she explained to Gideon as he didn't seem to get it. However, she was happy enough with the book he had opened up, positioning herself on his lap and looking at the pictures to point at the cat. "Look what I'm doing!"
She laughed, very entertained by the cat, aka herself. "What does it say?" She gestured to the text and then there was Holden's voice from the kitchen.
"Rhiannon! Are you being a pest? I told you not to bother Gideon."
"Uh..." Gideon frowned, unsure what it said. He wasn't so good with his reading, he had never properly gone to school until his teen years and by then, he was a bit of a hopeless case. "It says he's delivering post cause people need it." Well, he assumed that was the gist of it all.
He heard Holden yell and looked up, Rhia in his lap so close to him and asking more questions.
It was kind of nice. He didn't get these sort of things. Soft moments. Sweet little girls smiling at him. "It's okay, we're just reading." Sort of.
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He rubbed his bruised face and looked at the cows, that were looking at him. "Alright, girls. Sorry to crash the party. Got nowhere else, you know?"
There was no way he could go home, he had no mates or nothing and he didn't fancy the social being involved so he'd just make base here and see where he could go.
The train had to come back at some point tomorrow - hopefully. Cause the middle of nowhere was completely useless to him.
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Yet another night and Ollie walked into the stables, flicking the light-switch and announcing himself loudly. "Good evening, ladies! All right. What are you busying yourself with? Digesting, I'd assume."
A well-educated guess. Ollie walked up to where the cows were kept, petting Ainsley's head when she came up to bump against him lightly. He climbed up the bars and sat down on his usual perch, Ainsley standing right next to him so he could lean against her.
"I've brought us a new book," he told them, "I got it from some man at the café in town, but never you mind that. It's called The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. Intrigued?"
The cows did not show much interest, even as Ollie held the book up for them to see. He cleared his throat, then read the quote from the back of the book. "The Selfish Gene is widely regarded as a masterpiece of science writing, and its insights remain as relevant today as on the day it was published. My, sounds mighty fancy, don't it? Who's eager to dive in?"
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He listened to the weird lad describe some boring sounding book and ducked behind the hay, trying to wait it down. He slid down a little and stretched his legs out, trying not to make any noise.
Who the fuck read to their cows? Seriously. He tried to peek out but he wasn't eager to get caught.
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She was definitely unsettled, he could tell by how she kept nosing his hands and moving her feet. It finally led to Ollie putting down the book, about to give her a bit of a talking to when he noticed something. Someone. Huh.
He set the book aside and jumped down, then ran at the haybales and landed on top of them, immediately peeking over the edge. He hadn't been sure what he'd expected. Some animal maybe, a fox or whatever. Happened, especially this time of year. This was a boy though. A boy his age, from the looks of him. "...you're gonna get stiff, sleeping down there."
Hardly seemed comfortable. "You hiding from someone?"
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Gideon sat himself up properly, pulling himself into a more braced position in case he had to leg it out of here.
"I ain't hiding from nothing. I look a bad turn is all. I'm going home tomorrow but I ain't got nowhere else." And it was fucking cold out there. Not that it was better in here, his fingers hurt and he was shivering but it was better than outside. "I'll be gone tomorrow. Just mind your own business."
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He had certainly done it before, for reasons of convenience or just to get away from home for a bit. Or when Ainsley had been pregnant, so he'd not miss the birth. Which he hadn't!
"I'm Ollie, by the way. You're in my barn. Well. In the cows' barn. My brother's barn. He's not a cow."
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Not only did they scare him a lot but they smelled pretty bad.
"Just don't tell your brother, Ollie." Hopefully the div could keep this to himself. "Be a mate, I'm having a shite day."
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They had a deal about that. Mostly because Greg didn't want to spend any time in his room. "Warmer than here. And I can bring ye some dinner if you fancy."
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And he didn't have the best gear for it, given he had to leg it out of the house. He had his winter coat but only a t-shirt under it. He looked at Ollie, the uncertainty ebbing. "... Dinner too?"
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Hence why he went out for a nice evening stroll in very muted, normal clothes. Very average. Not worth a look, honestly. It was about 7.45 when he took off for his walk, nice and dark. And then, on the way through the beautiful countryside, he happened to spot a familiar home. It would only be polite to say hello, of course.
He looked around the street, he eyed up the windows to see if any old birds were watching from the window and then rushed through the gate and into the garden of said familiar house.
Walking through the garden, he knock his fist on the windows he passed as he walked through to the back garden. Holden would hear. Holden would come. Rhia was asleep by now, hopefully, and they could have a nice little chat in the garden.
Maybe get in through the back door. In more ways than one,.
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After all this time, after all the mistakes, still, he was consumed by him. And he would chastise himself for it if he didn't have something better to do at the moment, such as rush to the backdoor and open it to say hello to Felix and pretend to be casual about it.
"Hello there. Fancy seeing you here at this hour, Mr Faust." He leaned against the doorway, smiling at him. "Awfully cold for a walk, isn't it?"
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He walked closer to Holden and stood in front of him, smiling.
"I just fancied a fag and a chat. I got the fag, just need the chat." He teased with a smile and then pulled out his cigarettes, just in case anyone could hear him. "You fancy one?" Well, he couldn't just walk in. No, no, this was a delicate dance.
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He sighed, regretfully. "Do you want to have your fag alone outside or do you want to come in for something hot?"
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He followed Holden into the house and shut the door behind him, turning around to look at Holden. Beautiful, clever, brilliant Holden. With that twinkle in his eye, just for him. Felix didn't waste any time kissing him.
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Difficult to think coherently whenever all his dreams and resurrected fantasies came true. He had a hand in Felix's hair, the other by his hip and when they pulled apart he smiled at him. "You really are freezing, boy. You're bonkers, walking around this time of night."
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He was bad at platonic, as had been obvious when their friendship went into romance about a day into it all but he didn't want to seem like he was just pressuring him for a shag. He liked Holden, he just wanted to be close to him.
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Yet here was Felix, being as tempting as ever. The last thing he wanted was to bore him. He looked up at him and shook his head. "Doubt you'd come all the way over here to watch the telly any other time if I put you to sleep with it once. Not exactly the kind of party atmosphere you're used to."
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As she had already decided that they would play, even though her da had insisted that the boy, Gideon, should be allowed to sleep as long as he wanted and was to be left alone by her. She vehemently disagreed.
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He rubbed his face tiredly, yawned and then looked at Rhia with confusion. "Hello?" It was so early. "Where's your dad?"
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"Come on."
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Half asleep, he looked at Rhia and then squinted. "Why don't you play? You got stuff." Stuff that didn't require the two of them. He looked around and used his hand to cover his mouth when he yawned. "You got Postman Pat."
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That was a good game. "You have to pet me."
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"Nice pictures, huh?" That was easier than playing cat and ... whatever he was. Cat petter?
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She laughed, very entertained by the cat, aka herself. "What does it say?" She gestured to the text and then there was Holden's voice from the kitchen.
"Rhiannon! Are you being a pest? I told you not to bother Gideon."
"I don't! We play!"
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He heard Holden yell and looked up, Rhia in his lap so close to him and asking more questions.
It was kind of nice. He didn't get these sort of things. Soft moments. Sweet little girls smiling at him. "It's okay, we're just reading." Sort of.
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