horseboykarl

I wake up early, light just starting to trickle over the horizon. Sean is deeply asleep beside me, and I let him be. Both of us have been working hard, getting ready for our upcoming jobs. I know he’s tired. I slip on some jeans and head for the barn.

The days have finally begun to warm and the morning is cool, but not chilly. My jumper is enough. Smokey Joe stamps eagerly and I soothe him as I tack him. I haven’t had much time for him either. We take one of the paths that winds over the hills. I lose myself in the rhythm of his gait, letting my mind clear of worries about Jed and the ache of the future separation from Sean. We’ve both been going about our days without talking much about it, pretending its not there.

When I get back, I spend time with Smokey, brushing him thoroughly before leaving him in the pasture for the day. In the kitchen, I find a fresh pot of coffee and a note for Sean, asking me to meet him in our hideaway in the garden. I grin, a lazy curl of heat growing in me, just from reading his note. Funny thing, being in love, how something so simple from your lover can make you feel so warm, ( so cherished.  )
NC-17

We finally pull ourselves out of bed. I'm still feeling out there, hard to explain. But my skin is still tingling and I feel a little disconnected from myself. Your hands never leave me and you seem to understand how much I need you to keep touching me. As we're getting out of bed, I feel a small moment of fear, that I've let you in too much, and shame at my lack of control, but then you're there again, surrounding me. You wrap an arm around me as we stand up and I'm glad you know what I need, because ( I never imagined I'd feel this off-balance. )
NC-17

I walk out onto the deck around the pool, coffee cup in hand, staring absently out over our land. I'm feeling restless and twitchy. Sean is in the shower, and I could go join him, but I want something else today. He hasn't said much about the planning that he . . . or Boromir, has done with Faramir and Théodred, and I haven't asked. He understands my reasons for staying out of this fight and why I won't let Éomer in it either. I'm sure Dave and Paris think I'm a coward, but that's nothing I can change.


The wind ruffles my hair, the breeze giving me an idea. I dodge back inside, tapping the keys on the laptop sitting on the bench. I grin, liking my idea better and better. This will be perfect to shake off my mood.


I slide into some beat up cargo shorts and then pull the boards out of the shed and carry them around to the deck. I pour myself another cup of coffee and then get busy with the wax. I've got my Mal between my knees, sighting along the edge, and letting the sun catch the wax to make sure it's done properly, when Sean comes out. He's wearing low-slung jeans and his feet are as bare as mine. I eye his toes, hoping that Sean'll agree to my plan, cause I'll get to perv on his toes all day if he does.


At his inquiry, I answer, "I checked the beach report. The surf's high at White Rock on Wairarapa."

( Come to the beach with me? )

Today we're going in to Montalcino, to look at some architecture and wander around.
The castle is old and mellow.

Twenty hours in a plane. From one side of the world to the other. From spring to fall. I haven't had to do this heaps, usually start from LA before I head to Europe, but this time it's for fun. And it wasn't so bad. Sean and I spent the whole time talking. It started out with my efforts to distract Sean from the idea that he's on a bloody plane, but it soon turned into a long rambling chat about everything under the fucking sun. Our plans, our hopes, things we'd done and seen, things we want to do in Italy, and a few filthy suggestions made in a rough Yorkshire accent that made me whimper with need.

The plane landed almost before we knew it, but the car ride into the hills was too much for me, and I slumped in the seat, using Sean's shoulder for a pillow. The movement stopping woke me up and I sit up rubbing my eyes. It's dark, and I've got no fucking idea what time it is. Dark.

But there's an immense expanse of stone and rough-hewn wood, I can see that much. And there's Sean's warm hand snugged underneath my shirt, rubbing my back. The air is chilly and I shiver, and the hand squeezes, guiding me inside.

( Put a bed under me )

It was Sean's idea, and I'm with him on it. The papers from the solicitor just showing how much we belong to each other.

After getting some interesting vintages out of the wine cellar, including one of the bottles of Camigliano, I bring my finds to the kitchen. Sean's got his hands in something for dinner, the sleeves of his jumper pushed up to his elbows. I whinged enough that he agreed to come up with something for Paris.

Seeing him at work in the kitchen does things to me, probably because that's where our first, never-to-be-forgotten kiss took place, but it lights a warm fire low in my belly, a mixture of lust and love. And I fit myself behind him, nosing the scent at the back of his neck, smiling when he turns around for a quick kiss.

I leave him alone and get out the stuff for the marinade for the lamb chops. I whisk that together and get the chops soaking before I wander outside to get the outdoor hearth lit and pull the cushions for the chairs out of their storage. It's cold tonight, but we've got
plenty of wine, good food, and friends coming around in a little while so it should be fun to sit out here at least for a bit.

( Have trouble finding the place? )

Just the thought of al the work involved in moving makes me want to climb back in bed and forget about it. But Sean pointed out that any potential buyers aren’t going to want to see my shit lying around everywhere, so if we’re gonna do this, I’ve got to organise the stuff that’s accumulated. I’ve lived here . . . I think back . . . almost five years. Not heaps long, but with all the Rings stuff in the barn and the stuff in my workshop, there’s lots that needs doing.

So I’m up in the barn loft, sorting through the boxes of Tolkien crap that I put up here when I though Éomer was a symptom of my delusions. I’ve come a long way since then, had a lot of help with it too, I think with a smile. I miss Bernard all of a sudden, he’s so easy to talk to, I’d tell him how happy I am, finally.

Sean’s off at his own place, seeing to things, especially cleaning up after his plumbing problem. My house is definitely more of a issue than his, because I’ve been in it longer, but his isn’t in showing condition yet either. He said he’d be back this evening, but I hear a car in the yard, and yell for him.

“Sean! I’m in the barn.” ( I lean over the railing, waiting for him. )