It was easy to avoid someone if you always stayed home. And while William didn't consider himself the type of person who ran away from problems, he was pretty good at hiding from them for a while. If he'd been anti-social with his neighbors? Well, the work on his land was abundant and since he was intent on clearing out the trees and stone, he could make excuses for a lack of time.
Still, the way he'd been pushing himself had begun to make his body hurt more and more. The effort of daily chopping had pulled on his shoulders and back. His arms, always decently muscled from his workouts, were harder and thicker than he remembered. It was making his shirts too tight around the sleeves.
Despite the twinges of pain flaring up, he had managed to push himself, daily, to the limits his body could take. It made sleep easy. He even managed not to think about Sebastian during a few seconds here and there.
The only exception to his toils was when his cauliflowers finally matured on Tuesday. He gathered up the veg, waved goodbye to Ingrid, who didn't seem to care at all, and went to Jodi's place, dirty laundry in tow.
It was a gift from the god of all things perverse to nearly walk right into Sam as he came through the Jodi's front door. William leaned back, both baskets in his arms and reveled in the shock on his face. Stutter-step, wide eyes…yeah the man hadn't expected his mug to show up on his door.
"Mom? Um," he looked William over. "Farmer Wil—"
"Bill!" Jodi said, coming out of the kitchen while drying her hands. "I am so glad! Did you bring them?"
William nodded. "Yes Ma'am, Mrs. Jodi. Picked them this morning. Thought I'd let you get first crack before I went by Pierre's."
Sam was watching him warily, his arms crossed.
"Good! Sam, stop standing around, get that basket and bring it to the laundry room. Bill, do you have time for a cup of coffee?"
"Why," he said, making eye contact with Sam, "That would be fantastic."
Sam squinted at him then looked at the dirty laundry. He raised an eyebrow before looking back over to Will. Finally, as if it held toxic waste, he held it in front of him, walking gingerly to the back.
"Careful not to drop it." William said mildly. "Wouldn't want my dirty laundry all over your mom's floor."
Sam hesitated, shook his head in bafflement, and slipped out. The interaction was lost on Jodi.
William wasn't sure if he was disappointed or relieved that Sam left after that. It was probably for the best.
"Oh, I'm sure he's off to Sebastian or Abigail's house," Jodi said, weighing cauliflowers in her hands.
"I take it they're close?" William leaned back in his chair, eyes skimming the kitchen. It was a fact universally acknowledged that a woman in possession of a good husband was in want of a Gay Best Friend. He just needed Jodi to recognize his potential.
"Oh lord, yes." She said setting a few heads to the side. "Since elementary school at least. Ever since he and Robin moved to town." She cocked her head to the side. "Considering Sam knocked poor Seb down with his skateboard the other day, I'm sure he's going over to see him, actually."
"Oh?" Knocked Sebastian down?
Jody had put the cauliflowers to the side and nodded. "Yup. Those boys, I swear."
William's mind flashed back to the ankle-incident. So Sebastian had needed to go to the clinic after all. Stubborn ass. "He doing okay?"
She waved hand laughing. "It was a little sprained ankle. I'm sure he'll be moping around in no time. Now, I'll take these three."
William squeezed his cup but didn't push it. Keeping his voice light he said, "Fair trade ma'am."
"Listen," she said, suddenly inspired, "Have you met my neighbors? Two young women about your age. Haley is a very pretty girl, some photographer of some sort. And her sister is, very…" she hesitated trying to find something complimentary to say about her. Time to nip that particular line of matchmaking in the bud.
"Yeah, no dice Jodi. My tastes don't run in that direction."
Jodi blinked. "Pardon?"
"I'm Gay, so, not really interested in dating women," he said, sipping the coffee. "Hmm! This is pretty good."
Jodi flushed and put her hands to her cheeks. "Oh my, I am so sorry that I assumed! It's just, you're so…" William took another sip of his coffee, waiting for that particular sentence to finish. Jodi groped for words before she settled on, "Well, there are so many type of people in the world, aren't there?"
He smiled. Yup, Jodi was good people. "Indeed there are. Well, I hope you like the produce. I'm going down to the beach to get some fishing in. Any requests."
Jodi hesitated then relaxed. "If you catch any Halibut, I'd be interested."
He knocked his knuckles on the table and stood. "Done. Have a good day."
Sebastian's gaze was locked on the code he was writing. He had music. He was comfortable in his chair and the swelling in his ankle had gone away.
Just like the hickey that had been left on his neck.
In fact, three days after the disastrous encounter with Will had almost completely erased all signs that he'd even been around the man. It was really easy to avoid someone when you didn't leave your room.
His instant messenger beeped on his non-dominate monitor. He skimmed it.
SamTheMan: Dude, Sasquatch sighting at my place.
He froze.
Damn it.
He paused his music and rubbed his head before typing back,
SebStormChaser: Not Interested. Working.
He muted the conversation and scowled. What rotten luck. So much for going over to Sam's that afternoon.
Less than an hour later he heard the front door bang open, then the tell-tale sound of steps down to his basement. Fuck.
"So I know you said you were- Whoa!" Sam ducked the book that Sebastian had lobbed across the room at him.
"Dude," he groused, pulling on his hair, "I am WORKING."
Sam shook his head and closed the door.
"If your aim was as bad at pool as it is with everything, man, I'd never lose."
"Go away. I am working."
"Nah man, I'm hiding out here until Sasquatch has vacated the premises." He flopped down on Seb's couch and snatching up his radio. Sebastian groaned and then put his headphones back on, trying to tune him out.
Moments later a pillow sailed perfectly over the stack of computer monitors to land on Sebastian's head.
"What the fuck, Sam." He jerked the pillow off his head. Sam was peeking over his wall of monitors.
"Let's look William up on social media."
Sebastian narrowed his eyes.
"You want to die? Because that's how you die."
Sam dragged a chair over and then sat down next to him. "I can't believe you haven't done it yet."
"Samuel," he said between clenched teeth, "I want to define the word 'Ignore' for you. It means to not pay attention to something. You pretend it doesn't exist. Cybersnooping is the opposite of that."
"Well I wasn't gonna until he started getting buddy-buddy with my mom. So let's just take a look at what we can find."
Sebastian buried his face in his hands and groaned.
"You are bad for productivity, you know that?"
"So we're doing it?"
Sebastian grumbled, wrapped up his headphones, and then pulled up a browser.
"We don't even know his last name."
"Bauer," Sam supplied.
"How in the-"
"Dude has mom doing his laundry at my place. He has a few army t-shirts with his name on the tag." Sebastian blinked at him, shocked. Sam rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "C'mon dude. Some credit."
Sebastian shifted in his seat but dutifully began to run searches.
The first hits were social media pages with a man who looked a lot like Will. Except, instead of the undercut and sexy beard, he was clean cut. His cheeks looked smooth and he had a sharp jawline. The eyes were the same though. Blue ice that drilled right through whoever he was looking at.
Sam let out a low whistle. "So. He's a Staff Sergeant. That's a pretty good rank."
Sebastian blew out a breath as they skimmed through the site.
"Local Zuzu High School Students joining the Army…." He read outloud. "This is ten years old."
Sam shrugged. "I can see it. But look, he was a big guy back then too."
Sebastian scrolled through the pictures and froze when he saw what looked like a collection of yearbook photos. William had a regular haircut, golden brown hair a loose shag around a young face. He had his arms wrapped around another guy. The photo had caught them in the middle of some sort of horseplay or joke.
Sam's read the article while Sebastian was focused on the picture.
"Looks like they were doing some community service. Trouble maker even back then I guess."
"I guess," Sebastian muttered, backing out and clicking over to another page. They scrolled through social media posts, friends, and lots of good wishes for luck and his safety. Then there was a gap in updates.
It was the second page of results when Sebastian found the announcement.
Local Zuzu man returns from war under revolutionary new medical procedure.
"Dang," Sam whistled, reading through the write up with Sebastian. "Look at his face and neck."
Sebastian's stomach flopped. But he couldn't look away. William's face was pocked with red cuts, specifically around his cheeks and throat. On his shoulders were deep burns, the skin looking like it was melting in some places. The article detailed a bombing and the new procedures that they were using to increase skin growth for scarred patients. Each photo was more terrible than the last and the worse of it was…the look of hopeless despair the photographer had captured in William's eyes as he lay in the hospital bed, a pair of older adults holding his hands.
Sam's voice was hushed."If I was all scarred up, I'd probably wear a beard too," his eyes as big as saucers. Sebastian's paralysis broke and he hurriedly closed the window.
"This isn't okay," he said, his heart hammering. "This is none of our business."
Sam shrugged and leaned back. "Dude, it's not like it was a secret. It was in the news."
I was a heroin addict…I've been clean for 2 years.
"Maybe, but it's still not right." Sebastian muttered, shutting down his computer, as if by disconnecting from the internet he could disconnect the image.
Sam hopped up, stretching. "Hey, it's not like we knew that he was an injured vet. Look at him! He doesn't look all melty or anything. That medical procedure must have been pretty good."
"Yeah, well, he also is covered in tattoos and facial hair. How would we know? If it didn't bother him, he probably wouldn't be covering it all up."
Sam put his hands up in the air.
"Fine, Fine." His phone dinged and he pulled it out, looking at it.
"You wanna go hang out with Abby?"
"Go on ahead," Sebastian said, sitting on the couch. "My ankle isn't quite better."
Sam shrugged. "Suit yourself."
After he'd walked out, Sebastian let his head fall back on the couch.
I've seen too much of this world
That's what he'd said. No wonder he didn't care.
After coming back from that kind of thing, why would he?
It was a small town and on a Friday night, anyone who was anyone was at the Stardrop Saloon. All week long William had avoided most people, save for Shane, his new best friend and drinking buddy and Jodi, his laundress.
As he stood in front of his mirror, grooming, he decided that to avoid the bar in an effort to give Sebastian space would be too much like caring what people thought. Because if he came right down to it, it was cowardly to hide. Time to bury the hatchet.
He'd said he was ready for strings. He'd told him the truth. Time for him to follow his own advice. If Sebastian still wanted nothing to do with him, was sickened by his presence? Well. He'd burn that bridge when he crossed it.
The Saloon was busy for once, music playing and dancing happening between the oldsters. Yet his eyes skimmed and locked onto the dark haired man near the pool table. He couldn't help it. As much as he wanted to get over him, to lose himself in the work of the farm, Sebastian was in his mind at all time. He dropped his gaze and kept moving. Wouldn't want the good people of Pelican Town thinking that Sebastian had an admirer, since that was apparently enough to send the little trouble-chaser underground.
He took a seat at the bar near Shane and in the mirror of the bar, could see Sebastian staring, jaw open in shock. Now who would attract attention?
Shane misinterpreted his gaze over towards the back. "Good luck getting the table with that crew there," Shane said as Emily brought them beer.
"Yeah?"
"Oh they hog that table right the hell up."
William turned in his seat and frowned. He liked pool well enough. Sebastian's head jerked away and he grinned. Little trouble-chasing rabbit was trying to run. Well, he was done avoiding this confrontation.
"Why don't we go see if they want to play some two on two."
Shane snorted. "Hell no. I hate these people. I come here to drink, not to play games."
Will put some coins down. "Keep the beer flowing for my buddy Shane, Em. And a round for the crew in the back."
"Sure thing, Bill," she chirped, spinning off.
"I bet I can beat the emo-kid," Will said to Shane, "At that pool game."
Shane chortled. "As you have lost every bet you've made with me, I will take it because of the assured victory." They bumped fists and William sauntered towards the pool room.
For a moment, he questioned himself. Questioned what he was doing. Why keep reaching for a flame that had burned him already? Yet as he approached, he could see how defiant Sebastian looked, pool stick held like a weapon, body tense. His own tensed in response. No, they weren't done. This connection was fragile, but it wasn't dead. And besides, he'd always been too stupid to know when to quit.
Unlike the first time he'd come in the game room, Sebastian didn't bother trying to avoid him. Though, he did put Sam, Abigail and the pool table between them.
"A peace offering," he said, waving a hand at Emily who'd followed him with the drinks. "And a challenge."
Sam raised an eyebrow.
"A game of pool."
Abigail and Sam exchanged a look. Sebastian spoke up.
"Okay, so we play. If I win, you don't come to the Bar for the next 8 Fridays. One for every ball I sink."
William frowned. Aggressive. Damned if that wasn't sexy. He hadn't planned on betting but if that was the way Sebastian wanted to play things. After all; risk nothing, win nothing.
"And if I win," William said, reaching over and taking up a pool stick, "You have to spend 8 minutes with me in that backroom." Abigail coughed and Sam patted her back.
Sebastian's jaw tightened and William could see he was pissed. Good. He was getting pissed too, as all their undealt with baggage bubbled under the surface and spreading the anger made things feel more even.
"Deal."