May 28th, 2014 - Bonfire Hearts

AUTHOR: backwardswriter

May 28th, 2014 - Bonfire Hearts

It had been hours. Hours. Arthur's lower back was screaming in agony, his hips felt like they'd never move again, and his arse was on an all out strike. He couldn't remember the time he'd gone for this long before and his body was absolutely rebelling against the harsh treatment. And for good reason.

No matter what Alfred said, human bodies were not designed to be on horseback for an entire day.

Arthur had agreed to a visit to Alfred's family ranch, thinking it a lovely way to get to know his boyfriend better. They'd only been dating for a few months and Arthur hadn't even known Alfred's family owned a ranch. It seemed like a perfect first holiday away together.

The ranch was beautiful, just as Alfred had described when he'd asked Arthur to visit with him and during the entire drive down from the city. A huge expanse of land scattered with mesquite trees and cattle, with the ranch house and barn directly in the center on a hill just high enough to allow a spectacular three-sixty view of the property. When they'd first arrived, Arthur had been in awe of the picture-perfect scenery.

They'd spent the night together in the ranch house, which was large and rustic and comfortable. And, most importantly, empty save for them. They'd taken full advantage of that. But over breakfast, Alfred had announced that that day would be spent entirely on horseback. He wanted to show Arthur the lay of the land as it was meant to be seen. After a bit of convincing, Arthur agreed to the idea. He'd had riding lessons as a child- though in English style rather than Western- and had to admit he was eager to get back in the saddle, so to speak.

Of course, now, he was severely regretting it. They'd been in the saddle since noon, after they'd packed supplies and saddled their mounts- Alfred had mercifully given him the old mare rather than the spirited gelding- and now the sun was beginning to set. Arthur was starting to think he may never walk right again.

"Alfred, how much longer until we get back to the house?" he finally called out, voice exhausted and admittedly a bit whiny.

Alfred looked back at Arthur, pulling his horse to a halt and frowning. He'd been animatedly explaining the history of the largest tree on the ranch, which they'd passed about an acre back, and was a bit put off that Arthur had just interrupted him like that. But he was really more confused than anything. "Back to the house?" he asked. "Honey, we ain't goin' back."

Arthur blinked before frowning and frantically twisting around, looking for some sign of the ranch house, as if Alfred was joking and it was really just around the next shrub. "What do you mean we're not going back?!" he exclaimed, too caught up in that to bother reprimanding Alfred on the use of that obnoxious pet name.

"I told you we were gonna spend the day outside," Alfred said, an amused arch in his eyebrows. "What'd you think I meant?"

Arthur stared at him for a moment. "That we were going to spend the night inside?!" he finally exclaimed, making a jerky gesture with his free hand. "Alfred, where are we going to sleep? What are we going to eat? What about animals?!"

"Calm down," Alfred chuckled, turning his bay around and walking back so that he was side-by-side with Arthur. "You gotta give me a little more credit than that. I've thought it through, I promise. Why do you think I took me so long to get us packed?"

Arthur's jaw moved soundlessly as his eyes ran over the various packs strapped to Alfred's saddle. He'd just assumed that was standard ranch-roaming equipment. "Food?"

"Yeah."

"Blankets?"

"Yup."

"Tent?"

Alfred hesitated. "I didn't figure we needed a tent," he said. "It's been clear all day and tonight's not supposed to be all that different. I figured it'd be more fun for it to be just us under the stars." He gave a crooked grin. "That alright? Or you wanna ride back to get the tent?"

Arthur could practically hear his joints groaning at the mere thought. "I suppose not," he mumbled anxiously.

Alfred offered a soft smile and reached out to pat Arthur's knee. "You don't have to worry," he assured him. "I've done this a thousand times before. And besides, it's just one night. Don't you trust me to take care of you for one night?"

Arthur looked up in surprise at the question, his lips popping when he opened his mouth. He didn't have a chance to answer before Alfred had turned his horse back around. "C'mon, we're almost there," he called over his shoulder, jogging down the trail. "It's just over that hill."

Arthur sighed heavily and urged his mare forward after Alfred's. He hoped it'd be worth the ride, at least.

And bloody hell, was it ever. 'That hill' turned out to be much larger than the average Texas hill. It was a gradual incline, not to strenuous, but at the top it dropped off in a steep slope. The view was… beyond incredible. Arthur's jaw was slack as his eyes scanned over the heard of cattle that looked like small black and brown sheep below, grazing on the lush, spring grass that was nursed by a river coursing through the property.

"Pa wanted to build the ranch here." Arthur blinked before realizing Alfred was talking to him. He closed his mouth and looked over at the other. Alfred wasn't looking at him though. He was staring down at the view, the sun glinting off his glasses and hiding his eyes from view. "He wanted to build it here because he wanted to wake up and see this every morning. Mom talking him out of it, though. She said if this is what he saw every day, it'd only be a matter of time before he took it for granted. So we made this our campsite instead. Every time we visited, we would come out here at least one night just to remind ourselves that things like this still existed."

Arthur watched Alfred silently, waiting for him to continue. But he didn't. Instead he just looked at Arthur with a warm smile. "What do you think?" he asked finally.

Arthur shook his head, speechless. Alfred chuckled. "That's what I said when Pa first brought me out here," he said. "That's what everyone says."

They made camp. There was a makeshift fire pit that remained there from frequent use. Alfred lit a small fire and Arthur tied the horses to a small post, giving them enough lead to graze while he unpacked their saddles. He laid out their blankets and sat down in front of the pit with the food beside him. He was silent as he watched Alfred build the fire with an attractive sort of efficiency. Finally, the spark took. Alfred made a sound of victory and sat back with a sigh, taking the food out of its packing along with the skewers. Arthur was only slightly disappointed to find out they would be having hot dogs for dinner.

They chatted casually as they cooked and ate, talking more about the ranch and Alfred's family and the horses and Arthur's family and their jobs and life and everything. It was comfortable and pleasant and in that moment Arthur didn't give a damn about his aching body or about how it would hurt so much more in the morning or about how he was spending his holiday getting a horrid sunburn instead of basking in the glow of the television. He couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

After dinner, they cleaned up their things but left the fire going, the only light in the dark expanse of their little campsite. Arthur wrapped his arms around his knees and leaned his head against Alfred's shoulder. He felt a strong arm wrap around him and a stubbly cheek press against his hair and he all but melted into Alfred's side. Alfred was silent, which was a miracle in and of itself, and Arthur found himself becoming part of the landscape as he listened to the unique sounds of the land. "You want to know what I think," he whispered, as if he were afraid he would scare the moment away if he spoke too loudly. "I think your mother was mad when she said that."

Alfred was quiet for a long moment and for a moment Arthur thought maybe he hadn't spoken loud enough, or even at all. But then Alfred asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Arthur said, his voice taking on his 'teacher' tone Alfred often pointed out, "I don't believe anyone could ever truly take a view like this for granted. I don't believe anyone could take something as beautiful as this for granted. It's easy to take some every day things for granted, like food and air conditioning and things like that, but this could never be every day. Even if you woke up to it every day, it would never really be every day."

There was another long moment of quiet, but this time Arthur could feel Alfred thinking. "So you think that even if you woke up to the most beautiful thing in the world every day… you'd still think it was the most beautiful thing in the world? You wouldn't get tired of it?"

Arthur sat up straighter, forcing Alfred's head off of his so he could look Alfred directly in the eye. "No," he said softly, a small smile twitching at his lips. "No, I don't believe I would ever get tired of that."

Arthur thought he saw something in Alfred's gaze, something raw and open and… and loving. But in a flash it was gone, so quick it was probably simply his imagination. But he was sure he didn't imagine the way Alfred smiled at him that night, nor the kiss they shared in the glow of the fire.