"Why are you bothering me? Leave me alone." the cross-eyed glare was made even worse by the foul stench of alcohol on the drunkard's breath.

"Aw man, it's times like these that I really wish I could, but you know your aunt would have both our heads if I didn't bring you home safe."

Shane tried to protest some more but really only managed to murmur a half chewed out sentence before he let Leo put his hand around his shoulder and heaved him up. They began to stumble out the bar, Leo only just catching the grateful nod from Gus and returning the gesture before they made it out into cold winter air.

This was Leo's first winter in the valley, and just like all the other seasons, it was a beautiful sight to behold. The snow glittered in the moonlight like small gems and the river banks had frozen into thick ice. He loved the sight of the naked trees full of snow, the way his breath turned into steam when he breathed out and those cold winter mornings when nothing in the world was more comfortable than his bed. He really had made the right decision by moving here, despite the protests of his eccentric mother.

The breathtaking winter scene was, however, slightly less magical with this heavy load of human on his side.

"Come on Shane, try to walk on your own a little bit, you're too heavy for me to carry on my own."

His drunk friend groaned and raised his head up from Leo's shoulder where he had rested it a few moments before and, thankfully, managed to put the ground under his feet. It didn't help a whole lot but it was something.

This was a somewhat frequent occurrence these days, aunt Marnie (she insisted he call her aunty), appeared on his doorsteps when it was nearing midnight, asking him if Shane was with him, Leo saying no, Marnie looking mad and worried and before he knew it he was dragging her nephew's ass back home from the bar.

He didn't even know how they became friends to begin with. The other man had been rude as hell when he first arrived at the valley-actully the attitude hadn't changed a whole lot- but Leo had made a point to stay away. As time passed, however, they kept bumping into each other, at the bar or at community gatherings… they were both loners at nature and somehow after a few months, they had actually gotten to know each other quite well.

Shane could rant as much as he liked and Leo would listen without judgement. After all, he had been where Shane was now, and had a much better understanding of this dark cloud in his conscience than most everybody else in the valley. They just didn't seem to get it. And Shane in return often gave Leo advice about farming, mostly concerning the animals. It was a give-and-take kind of relationship and seemed to be working pretty well for them so far.

"Almost there, man, please stay conscious for five more minutes" Leo huffed out, barely hearing the mumble of a reply coming from the bag of bones beside him.

A movement ahead suddenly caught Leo's eye and he peered out into the darkness. He could barely see five feet ahead of him thanks to the illuminated ring he carried on his left index finger, and although it wasn't a lot he had often times found himself thankful for at least that much light. The shadow came closer at an alarming speed and the closer it got the more clearly he could hear a sound that followed. It was some kind of a rasping sound…

Swallowing, Leo carefully reached for the hilt of the short-sword on his back. Would a monster dare come this close to the village? It would be the first time, as far as he knew, and would certainly be a cause for concern if that was the case. But why now? Why…

Before he could finish that thought, the shadow emerged into the small ray of light, a tall figure, huffing menacingly, wearing a… green hoodie?

"Watch out!"

Leo just barely managed to step out of the way before Alex collided with them like a bowling ball. He misstepped, however, and lost his grip on Shane before falling on his ass. Immediately the freezing cold stung his buttocks as it seeped into his jeans.

The jock, most likely out on a late night run, seemed shocked at first but then his expression changed into one resembling disgust.

"Useless drunks." he muttered before putting his hood over his head and continued on his way.

Leo was speechless for a while. He had never really talked to Alex before, aside from the usual greeting pleasantries which were common courtesy in small communities like these. But he had never done or said anything that should have awarded this kind of hostility.

"What a prick." he breathed out, still somewhat distracted. The lack of response, however, brought him out of his daze and he glanced at Shane who seemed to have fallen asleep.

"Great."

Cursing under his breath, Leo somehow managed to pull Shane onto his back and continued on his way to aunt Marnie's barn. Just five more minutes…

Fifteen minutes later, Leo knocked on the front door to Marnie's barn, huffing and sweating despite the cold. The door was opened within seconds and a worried Marnie stood in the doorway, wearing a white nightgown and a pink nightcap. She looked worried sick, but as soon as she saw them, relief flooded over her face, along with some much needed color. Poor woman. He needed to talk to Shane about how his behaviour was affecting his family.

Walking towards Shane's room, Leo found the familiar smell of baked bread wafting through the house. He eyed the kitchen and saw the dinner table filled with loaves of bread. He cast a side look at Marnie who instantly seemed embarrassed, huffing under her breath "I needed to do something to keep me awake."

He smirked at her response but again made a note to have that chat with his friend. As he entered Shane's room, he made a straight line to his bed, almost throwing the man in it.

A groan escaped Shane's lips before he opened one eye groggily.

"Oh, so now you're awake."

Shane seemed to find this amusing, answering with a half grin, and then saying: "You wanna join me?"

Leo almost got a whiplash he turned around so quickly. He nearly sagged down to the floor when he noticed that Marnie was gone, hopefully to sleep. He then turned back to his friend who only seemed entertained by his panic.

He had accidentally blurted out to Shane one night last fall that he was gay. He had meant to keep it secret, not wanting unnecessary drama in the valley and had, of course, immediately regretted saying it. To his amazement, however, Shane only seemed slightly surprised but otherwise didn't seem all that bothered. He had promised to keep it secret, but couldn't resist teasing Leo every now and then when the mood struck him.

Leo huffed, still trying to tame his beating heart, "Sorry but you're not my type."

A shadow fell over Shane's face as he replied, "'cause I'm a useless drunk?"

So he had heard that, huh? Leo felt a small stab in his chest, knowing how self-conscious Shane really was.

"No," he said, digging his hands into the pockets of his large, light grey coat,

"It's your nose, man. It's huge."

Shane burst into giggles at that, and Leo sighed a breath of relief. The giggles soon turned into amused sighs before all that could be heard was the deep sigh of someone fast asleep.

"'night, dude." he muttered before turning for the door, carefully closing it behind him.

Aunt Marnie was still in the kitchen when Leo emerged from Shane's room, cradling a bundle of cloth, "Thank you, dear" she said before handing the bundle to Leo.

It was two loaves of bread, still warm.

"Don't worry about it Marn, it may be hard to believe but he actually does make up for these incidents. I think it's that pride thing of his."

Marnie smiled at that, "He's lucky to have such a good friend as you." She then frowned slightly, "and that's 'aunty' to you."

Feeling awkward, Leo lifted the bundle of bread with a smile and a nod, before heading back to the front door. Bidding goodnight to the other farmer, Leo stepped out into the cold winter air and took in a deep breath. A glance at his watch told him he might catch four hours of sleep if he made it home without any further incidents.