Chapter 9:

Snow-Dust whinnied, picking his front feet up as I slowed him.

"Whoa, steady." I cautioned as he snorted, throwing his head down the slightest bit, but straightening out again. "Good boy." I hushed, dismounting him, walking him slowly along with his reins loosely in my grip. I stopped directing him at the base of the small hill, letting him graze as I crawled through the tall grass, hiding myself fairly well. I could make out the house in the distance, barely visible, but still, it was there.

"I don't understand why horses don't come this way!" I suddenly heard, not too far away. I took in a sharp breath, looking to the figures slowly approaching this way. Damn it! I scurried down the hill, grabbing Snow-Dust's reins, getting his attention quickly as his ears flipped around, hearing the voices.

"Come on." I whispered to him, mounting and nudging his flank with my heel. He picked his feet up the slightest bit, but didn't make a noise, not recognizing the voices drawling closer as he took off quickly. I put my hood up, disappearing into the forest with him. I slowed him down again, calming both of us down. He stopped, looking back to me, nudging my leg partially, nickering. "It's alright." I assured him, guiding his head back in front of him. "It's alright." I reminded myself, continuing to walk him along the path. Can I do this?

Sighing, Snow-Dust walking along at a slow, relaxed pace, until a few minutes had passed and I lead him back, looking around before letting him into the open field. His ears picked up sound I couldn't hear, flipped about, pinpointing it as he threw his head up the slightest bit, his hooves patting the ground in a quick manner. "Whoa… Steady boy." I stated, placing a hand on the side of his neck and over his muzzle, calming him once more.

I looked around, slowly crawling up a hill, looking for them again. I saw them walking towards the house, meaning they hadn't seen or heard Snow-Dust and I. Thank god… As Snow-Dust calmed down, beginning to graze as the noise he was hearing dissolved into nothing, I simply lied there, hidden by the grass and I stared at them. I went back to Snow-Dust.

"Stay here, you'll be fine." I insisted, grabbing an empty bottle and starting for the river.

~Adam~

I felt a dying presence in my mind, but it eventually disappeared and I gave it no worry. It was probably nothing. As we started back for the house, Jerome sat with Mitch on the porch, the breeze feeling great as I sat in the chair next to them. Then the presence returned, weak, but there. I didn't question it. It didn't really move, just went to the other side of the hill, but after a while of Mitch and Jerome staying silent and no one saying anything, the presence slowly made its way up the hill. A horse soon appeared, grazing, it's head down.

"OH MY GOD!" Jerome yelled, jumping up.

"It's saddled." I pointed out, surprised, following the two of them to the railing.

"Hell, I don't care!" Jerome snapped, jumping over the railing and starting towards the horse. Its head snapped up, looking directly at us, its ears pointed towards us. Jerome paused, and Mitch grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"We don't know if that horse is dangerous." Mitch warned. The horse stomped a hoof down, and I heard it softly nicker, even from here. I slowly approached it. It just threw its front legs in the air, threatening me for getting closer, crying out a warning. I paused, backing up again. Then it looked behind it and quickly trotted off again.

"What the hell." Jerome sighed, sitting down with Mitch once more. "Why don't horses like us?"

"No idea." Mitch shrugged.

"I bet it's still here." Then, a figure, completely covered by a black cloak, appeared, the horse nudging it from behind as the figure stood there.

"Damn it…" Jerome muttered, frustrated. I couldn't make out the figures face, but they reached up, pulling down the hood. I gasped.

"THAT'S TY!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, jumping the rail as Jerome and Mitch stood there, shocked. The horse, it pawed at the ground, trying to be threatening, but Ty quickly started down the hill, the horse not following. We met a little bit away from the base of the hill, Ty throwing himself into my embrace. I caught him and didn't set him down again, tears streaming my face.

"YOU HAVE A HORSE?! WHAT THE HELL!" Jerome yelled. Ty softly chuckled. Then suddenly I was shoved to the ground, Ty on top of me, shielding me from the angry horse above us.

"Whoa, steady!" He stated; tense, but sounding calm as the horse held its hoof above the ground, looking to, as I'm guessing, hit me. "Steady." The horse put its hoof down again, snorting, throwing its head about as it backed away.

"Thanks." I whispered. He turned over, above me, and I sat up. We just stared into each other's eyes, but Ty slowly looked away.

"I'm probably the last person you want to see." He mumbled, frowning. I frowned.

"Quite the opposite." I informed him. He softly chuckled again.

"I bet you hate me." He added. "For leaving like that."

"Yeah, I do hate you." I bitterly confirmed, shoving him off of me. He flinched lying on the ground, not looking at me. I pinned him down. "But that doesn't mean I live in the past." I assured, kissing his soft, tender lips rough as Mitch and Jerome approached.

"Whoa, whoa, hold the phone, what-"

"Jerome will tell you." I mumbled into the kiss, cutting Mitch off as I let Ty sit up, holding the back of his head while he placed his hands under my jaw, his fingers curling into my hair, pulling me closer.

"Ty loves Adam; Adam fell in love with Ty when Ty expressed his feelings for him when we went to get Adam's doctor." Jerome summed up.

"Ah…" Mitch confirmed. "Well, I certainly don't want to get beat up by a horse, so…" Ty pulled away suddenly, up and holding his horse's reins, calming the horse.

"What's its name?" I questioned; standing and gently placing a hand on the stiff horse's muzzle. The horse held its head up proper and high, making the horse much taller than I am, trying to be intimidating. It was working. Ty patted the side of its neck, mounted.

"Snow-Dust." He informed me. "It's nothing personal, he just gets nervous around new people; he needs to be rode out of it is all." Ty confirmed, turning the horse away from me. He gently nudged Snow-Dust's flank, causing Snow-Dust to throw his head up as he picked up his feet, whinnying, then take off at a full gallop. Ty wasn't affected. "Whoa, steady." Ty started, causing Snow-Dust to slow down to a trot. Ty rode out the trot, keeping Snow-Dust going in an oval shape around all 3 of us. "So, how's life?" Ty called.

"Ok, I guess. More importantly, where the hell have you been?" I demanded.

"Kilmarth." He responded.

"The mountain city?" Jerome asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Damn it Ty, how'd you get up there?" Mitch questioned. Ty shrugged, slowing Snow-Dust to a stop as Snow-Dust nickered, seeming more relaxed.

"I walked. When I got up there I bought a house with the money I'd made over the years I spent here, which was enough to get me a heart-founded home, towards the heart of the city." He informed us, dismounting and leading Snow-Dust back to us, dropping the reins. Snow-Dust was calm.

"So what, you're like, rich?" I teased, embracing him from behind as he smoothed out Snow-Dust's fur. Suddenly, I heard a loud barking, looking over to see Blaze.

"There you are, what, you just go and abandon me in the middle of battle?!" Ty yelled, storming towards the dog. The dog barked, wagging its tail faster. Ty sighed. "I can't stay mad at you when you look like this you fucking bastard." He mumbled, squatting down and patting Blaze. For the first time in forever, Blaze nipped at someone for petting him, but Ty didn't seem affected. He simply got back up and began leading Snow-Dust towards the house. He sat down on the porch, and I sat with him, once more kissing him. He kissed back, seeming much more submissive than he used to be.

"Question." Jerome started, making me flinch.

"Yes?" Ty responded.

"Before you left, did you guys, you know…" He wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manor, making Ty go red and hide against my neck.

"No…" He whispered.

"What happened, I was meaning to ask, that guy you told us about stopped by a few days after you left." Mitch began. Ty looked to him; then chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, I think I started going insane, but I'm better now, a year in a new, rough environment where you have to tough out the cold can really do a number to you." He informed us. "You should come by sometime, I can show you my place; introduce you to Damien too." Ty decided, happily smiling.

"You talk too much." I announced.

"What do you-" I interrupted him with another kiss, pulling him closer to me, holding him close in my arms.

~Ty~

Ian got home around time for lunch, and he froze when seeing me. I simply smiled, waving. He'd sat down with a smile, and we began conversation again, getting Ian a plate of food. By the time it was dark, everyone was tired and decided it was time for bed, but Adam wouldn't let me go to my room alone. He shut and locked the door behind him, beginning to strip down to his boxers, as if he were going to join me.

"W-what are you-"

"I'm going to sleep with you tonight; I don't need you leaving without any goodbye now do I?" He determined. I went over to him with a small, soft smile, pecking his cheek and going to move his sunglasses from his face. He caught my wrist. "Those stay on."

I giggled, stripping myself down to my boxers, letting him hold me against his warm, firm, bare chest as he sat down. He looked to my wrist, chuckling.

"You forgot your-"

"That stays on." I determined, lightly slapping his hand away.

"Alright, that's fine." He pinned me down to my old bed, roughly kissing me, slithering his way past my partially parted lips, teasing my tongue as I softly moaned against his lips. "I could eat you right now." He informed me, pressing his body closer to mine, his legs wrapping themselves underneath my hips.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Oh yes." He insisted.

"You nasty man, you haven't changed." I whispered into his ear. He growled playfully, taking his tongue and running it down the side of my neck, making me shiver. He bit down on the base of my neck, my moan muffed by his hair, his hands slowly moving up and down my sides, feeling as soft as a miner's hand's could get, yet with a rough texture nonetheless. I pulled him down next to me, laying face first against him as he wrapped his arms protectively around me, holding my delicate body. I heard him deeply inhale, his face buried within my hair, as if he'd never be able to smell the scent again.

"I love you." He whispered delicately into my ear.

"I love you more."

"I seriously doubt that." He replied, using the same tone he did when saying he loved me, making me chuckle. My hearing tuned in on Jerome and Mitch.

"I can't hear them anymore; do you think they're doing it?" Jerome whispered.

"You are such a snoop, and if they were we'd hear them." Mitch informed him. "Now come keep me warm." Adam slowly sat up, this devious little grin on his face.

"Oh, god!" He screamed as if he were having sex. I held back laughter.

"See, I told you they were having sex!" Jerome quietly argued. "Now shut up and let me listen, I want to see how this plays down." Adam got up, falling to the ground purposely, creating a loud thump.

"Ugh, fuck." He panted. I stood up.

"Do you need help off the floor or should I leave you there to work some magic?" I demanded, winking.

"Listen to this! Ty's on top!" Jerome stated.

"No way." Mitch responded. They were still listening. I scurried to my cloak, grabbing it and wadding part of it up, giving it to Adam. He shoved part of it into his mouth and began to groan loudly as I buried my face in my pillow, trying to muffle the laughter slipping from my lips I sat up again, returned to the edge of the bed.

"Ugh, Adam…" I moaned, biting my lip.

"This is fucking horny as hell, I thought Adam was the top!" Mitch hissed. That did it, we cracked up laughing.

"What the hell?" Jerome started.

"Hey horn hounds, you done hunting for prey, have we satisfied you yet?!" Adam yelled. "And for your information I am the top dumbass!" There was no response, but suddenly the lock on my door was unlocked and Jerome pounced me, pinning me to the bed as I laughed.

"You little tease!" He stated; a goofy smile on his face.

"You had us going." Mitch confirmed from the doorway. "It sounded like you actually had Ty in your mouth too, good work… Now how'd you do it?" Adam picked up my cloak, putting it back in his mouth, staring them down as he pretended to be enjoying himself.

"You punks, fuck, you actually got us horny too!" Jerome confirmed.

"Yeah, now I guess we'll have to take care of it." Mitch stated, raising his eyebrows. Jerome frowned, a worried look on his face.

"But-"

"Ian's asleep." Mitch interrupted. "Sound asleep."

"Ooh, a sneaky little devil; are you?" Jerome seductively concluded; standing and rushing out of the room with Mitch. We cracked up laughing, shutting and once more locking the door, getting back into bed and settling down. Sure enough, they did do it, but I fell asleep even to all the noise they were making.

I slowly dried off Snow-Dust, the sun not up yet still. I can't wash him up at Kilmarth; the water can cause major problems from how fast it freezes over, especially when washing a horse. I brushed his mane, leaving his tack on the porch, and once I finished, Snow-Dust threw his head around, shaking his hair up to get it back into position, then softly lying down in the grass, falling back to sleep.

I looked to the river, approaching as I began to undress. Leaving all of my clothing on the bank, I sat in the chilled water, sighing as I relaxed. The air sat still while the water softly flowed downstream, seeping between my toes and through my finger, as if a massage.

"Hey, mind if I join you?" A softly voice questioned. I looked up to see Jerome, and he gave me a small, weak smile as I shook my head. "Cool." He undressed, sitting with me, sighing as he got relaxed.

"So, how was your night after our little performance?" I asked, raising my eyebrows a few times.

"Painful, damn, he got me good." Jerome concluded.

"What? I thought you were the top." I argued.

"I am the top, that's the whole point." He stated, grunting as he sat up. I thought about that, my eyes going wide with realization.

"You let Mitch take control last night." I mumbled.

"Thanks Captain Obvious, that really helps. Mitch is older anyway; I didn't think there'd be a problem with it." Jerome softly laughed.

"So the top isn't a virgin anymore, good for you." I confirmed, nudging his shoulder playfully.

"Haha, very funny. Damn, this hurts…" He whimpered as he repositioned again. I gave him a suspicious look.

"How'd you get down the-"

"You don't want to know." He interrupted, grunting as he said it. I didn't question him further, just sat there, enjoying the peace. Occasionally I'd here a sigh or two from him, but that was it. Then, Jerome and I gasped as we were suddenly soaked from the 2 males jumping into the river like maniacs.

"Mitch…" Jerome whined, now completely soaked.

"What the hell!" I screamed. Adam and Mitch just smiled cocky smiles.

"Yes?" Adam sweetly began, coming over and sitting on my lap. His smile faded as he looked down, then back to my bright red face. "Are you completely naked?" He questioned, beginning to partially laugh.

"Get off of me." I demanded through gritted teeth.

"Why?" Adam calmly asked, whispering it in my ear.

"Be- ADAM, GET OFF." I yelled partially, my voice rising to a higher pitch as he simply placed a hand at the base of my stomach. He frowned, swimming backwards to the middle of the river. I looked away from him, staring at the river's water next to me.

"Ty…" Adam calmly began as he placed a hand on my cheek.

"What?" I demanded, my voice weak, no higher than a whisper.

"Look at me." He requested. I closed my eyes. "Ty, look at me." He asked again. Slowly, I glanced to him, waiting. He turned my head gently to face him. "Something's bothering you." He simply concluded. "What is it?" I glared at him, taking a hand and wiping the hair out of his eyes, revealing clear as day his black sunglasses. I leaned back as I crossed my arms, still glaring.

"Don't you dare touch me any lower than the waist with those stupid glasses on your face." I ordered.

"The problem's my sunglasses?" He started. "You've got to be kidding." He stated, chuckling little bit. I growled at him, a deep, low sound compared to my voice, causing him to stop chuckling, surprised.

"Adam, I haven't seen your eyes ever in 7 fucking years. Show me your eyes, and you can do whatever you want with me." I determined, waiting. He stared at me with a set frown on his face, until sighing.

"I don't understand why you care so much, I hate my eyes."

"I bet my horse you have beautiful eyes that no one else could imagine having." I snapped back. "And Snow-Dust is worth more than my life and property value's combine."

"Ty, you aren't seeing my eyes." Adam harshly stated, making me blink.

"When can I-"

"Never." And with that, Adam got out of the river, dried off and left for the house.

"Ty, he won't let you see his eyes." Mitch sadly confirmed. "Honestly I'd give up; you'll never have sex at this rate." I huffed, staring off into the water again.

"I don't even want to have sex at the moment, so I guess there really isn't a problem then, is there?" I announced. "I only said that to see if it'd work."

If I were to have sex, Adam would strip me to nothing, he'd take off this bracelet and learn who I am, then probably try killing me or something… Why risk it?