D/C: I own nothing!!
"If you two are looking for work you best come in."
Howard looked up at the other man stood in the small court yard, he was skinny, pale and had longer hair then any man should by rights but he seemed calm, much calmer than Howard. He just rested against the bonnet of his car taking a long, final drawl of his fag. Howard guessed he was one of those rodeo types but he didn't ask. As a rule, he didn't like rodeo boys and they never liked him, this was shaping up to be a difficult summer.
The other man stood up lazily, flicking his cigarette idly to the floor and strolled through the shack door, Howard following on after him, head dipped. He didn't want to make eye contact, if nothing else, being here was an embarrassment. It just screamed 'I'm short on money' and Howard didn't like that. He liked to think he didn't depend on nobody.
Howard virtually switched off as his new boss, Fossil, told him the arrangements. He only tuned in again when Fossil was pointing directly at him and saying "And you, you're the tender. You stay at the main camp."
Howard was furious. He didn't want to be no tender, a tender is just a fancy name for a housewife. He'd cook and clean while this thin, weedy man was going up on the hill, herding. Howard was herder by rights. This other man didn't look like he'd know nothing about it and Howard had a feeling this skinny-runt wouldn't handle a gun too good either.
"You have your meals at the camp." Fossil continued, to the other man, "But you sleep with the sheep, no fire mind you. Start tomorrow." And with out saying another word, Fossil relaxed in his chair and began to make a phone call, which appeared to be the signal that it was time to leave.
Howard walked out in silence, the other man following quietly behind him but Howard could feel his presence. He was just a fraction of a step too close for Howard's comfort. As soon as the door had shut behind them, the other man held out his hand and introduced himself as;
"Vince Noir."
"Moon." Howard replied, taking the hand. Good strong handshake, Howard noted.
"Moon, that it? No proper first name?" Vince grinned, a child-like, light-up-the-room grin that meant even his bright blue eyes shone.
"Howard. Howard Moon."
"Nice to know you Howard Moon." he grinned and then; "Pup?"
Howard shrugged silently.
"I know a great place." smiled Vince. "Not far from here, you can follow me if ya like."
So that's how Howard Moon and Vince Noir ended up at a bar, Vince saying too much and Howard saying too little.
"You ever been up on Brokeback before?"
"No." Howard shook his head, eyes fixed on his beer, letting the prattling man's words wash over him.
"It rained last year. Really pissed it down and Fossil went crazy on my ass. Acting like I had some kinda control over the weather. Can't please him. Can't never please Fossil. I'm used to it though. He's like my old man. Can't please him either. No damned way. He hates the way I dress." Howard found himself looking Vince up and down with a glance, maybe his jeans were a little tight and his shirt a little too expensive but he didn't look too bad. "That's how I got into rodeo." Howard knew it, he knew he'd be a rodeo boy. "Try to impress him, you know. You ever rodeo?"
Howard shook his head.
"Never?" Vince looked at him like he was crazy. "I don't believe it. Rodeo's the best. That eight seconds of crazy adrenaline, better than any other feeling in the world." he paused and then, seemingly allerigic to the impending silence, he said; "So what? You own a ranch?"
"Sorta."
"So, what you doing here? Don't you need to be there working?"
"No, I need the money." Howard sighed and seeing Vince's confusion he explained; "Couldn't pay the bills so… the bank took the ranch. I'm just out here trying to survive." He didn't know why he was telling this to a complete stranger but something about Vince was strangely relaxing. He felt almost familiar.
--
Howard arrived early the next morning and was surprised to see Vince already there. He was expecting the skinny rodeo-boy to be a good few hours late.
"Alright." Vince had grinned when he'd arrived; always bloody grinning. "You gotta choose your horse."
Howard chose a good horse; quiet and obedient. Howard liked things that were quiet and obedient, they made him feel safe and in control. Just as he was tying the last bag to his horse, a distressed neigh distracted him. He looked up to find Vince, laughing like a madman, being thrown about my a fierce mare.
"You wanna watch yourself on that one." Howard warned, "She's got a low startle point."
"Ain't nothing I can't handle." Vince beamed. "Ain't no mare ever thrown me yet. Ain't no mare gonna throw me neither."
Cocky git. Howard just clenched his jaw. It wouldn't do to start a fight with this idiot already.
--
It seemed to take them ages to reach the camp and Vince didn't shut up the entire way. By the time they saw the clearing by the river, Howard was sure he could've written Vince's biography had he wanted to. They spent the remainder of the morning chopping up tree's, building a fire and fixing the tent, which took much longer that it should've but Vince appeared to be entirely incapable of doing anything. Howard was quickly learning that Vince wasn't the most smartest bull in the ranch and that, coupled with his constant ramblings about rodeo and his outfit, should have driven a loner like Howard crazy but, strangely, the endless wittering seemed to fade into the distance, like pleasant background noise, and Vince's incompetence just made putting the tent up more amusing. Amazingly, when evening rolled around and Vince had gone up to the herd, Howard found he kind of missed the younger, jabbering man.
--
The moon shone big and round in the twinkling night sky, the mountains cutting jagged lines into the would-be smooth scenery and Vince could see for miles and miles. The view should have been breathtaking but Vince wasn't interested. He was just lighting a smoke and watching the sheep as they went about their lives. The occasional bleat was all that broke the heavy silence and Vince sighed. He hated the quiet. It was too… boring.
Just then, an icy wind picked up around him and he pulled his thin jacket tight around his shoulders. He could really do with a fire, stupid Fossil and his rules. He'd probably freeze up here tonight. His eyes flicked jealously to the smoke in the distance that he knew was Howard's fire. He wished he was down there now; warm and with company. He smiled. He had a good feeling about this summer. Howard seemed alright. He wasn't like that jerk of a guy last year or the year before. He was quiet, enigmatic and... intriguing and Vince was definitely intrigued.