The Pony Express

By: Atsureki

Disclaimers : Just borrowing them! Don't ask, don't sue.

Warnings : AU, Shonen-ai, OCC, more warnings in later chapters

Notes : Stuff in Italic are thoughts as usual.

Chapter 4. Tension Among The Riders

Tin-pot watched the four young men as they raced towards each other. Ken easily grabbed the bag Yoji held out and headed towards the small blonde. Omi worried Tin-pot. He was so skinny and his blue eyes shone with a fear that made the old man's inside shudder. But the old man could see strenght behind that fear and when he was on his horse there were no signs of uncertainty. Skillfully Omi took the bag and with a yell to his horse he got it to turn completely around and race up to Aya. Aya, the redhead was a weird man. No emotions slipped across his face, he didn't speak much and his eyes were so hard and cold. The only time Tin-pot had seen Aya act like a human was when he interacted with his white mare. Another prefect delivery of the bag took place and then the four riders came back to him. They were all alone, had no families except for Omi. But the small blonde didn't look like the family he had left cared about him so Tin-pot was willing to let it slide. He was satisfied with the way they rode and the only thing he had to make sure of now was that they could defend themselves. Ken and Yoji already wore guns but Omi and Aya were unarmed. He lead them away from the barn.
"I need to check how good you are at shooting," he said calmly and pointed to the bottles he had lined up. "Don't worry if you don't hit them all." He waved Ken to him. The brunette drew his gun and with five shots he destroyed five bottles. Yoji followed him with the same result. Next one up was the cold redhead. He borrowed a gun from Tin-pot and hit three out of five bottles. "Do you own a gun?" Aya shook his head.
"I don't like guns all that much," he shrugged.
"Well grow to love them kid because you'll need them." A bland look was the only reaction he got. "Okay, Omi come here." Back on the ground the small blonde looked uncertain again. He took the gun from Aya and fiddled with it.
"I've never…" he mumbled with shame.
"Don't worry about it Omi, I'll teach you. Just do your best," Tin-pot said softly and backed away. With a small frown the little blonde aimed and fired. He hit nothing.
"I'm sorry," he almost squeaked and coward infront of Tin-pot. So Omi was used to being hit when he failed. The old man shook his head. Punishment only caused more failure and it created people with no selfasteem. Well he would show Omi that he had nothing to fear from him! He smiled at the blonde and ruffled his hair, ignoring the way Omi flinched at being touched.
"You should have seen the first time I handled a gun. I almost shot myself in the foot," Tin-pot grinned and took the gun back. "Are you used to any kind of weapon?" Omi had a confused look in his eyes.
"Um yeah I… I like bows," he studdered.
"Well then, keep using that and I'll help you with the guns, okay?" The blonde nodded and went back to the others. "Congratulations boys, you've just become riders for the Pony Express. You will be trained for about two weeks before I start putting you on deliveries. The salery is 50 dollars a month and you will make about two runs a week. Any questions?"
"Yeah I have one," Yoji said. "But it ain't about being a rider." Tin-pot raised an eyebrow. "Well what is it then?"
"I wanna know how good Omi is with his bow." The small blonde winced and nervously glanced at Yoji.
"You up to showing us?" Omi's blue eyes turned to Tin-pot with hesitation.
"S… sure."

Omi shook as he placed an arrow against the string on his bow. It wasn't the thought of shooting that worried him, it was the fact that Yoji was standing so close to him that they almost touched. The lanky blonde didn't seem to notice Omi's distress as he curiously observed his every move. He could feel the warmth from Yoji's body and he knew he was blushing. Swallowing hard he took a step to the side. He aimed carefully and released the arrow. With a low whistle it the target dead on.
"Wow you're good at this kiddo," the lanky blonde grinned at him and made Omi blush even harder.
"Th… thanks," he studdered and swallowed hard again. Why did he get so nervous when Yoji was so close? He wasn't scared like he usually was when others invaded his private space, this was something else and he didn't understand it.
"Well you know how to aim so I don't think you'll need a lot of practise with guns," Tin-pot said and interrupted the awkward moment. Omi turned to the old man and forced a smile on his face. He liked Tin-pot and he wanted to trust him but it would take time. "I think it's time to take go down to the lake for a swim." The four boys looked at their employer.
"Swim?" Aya asked with his monotone voice.
"You've been sweating all day long and to be frank you all smell a little hm ripe." Ken chuckled and stretched his muscular body.
"I think Tin-pot is right. Let's go!" Together they left the barn and followed Tin-pot. The lake wasn't big but it did look inviting. It was just april but the the sun was already hot. Yoji was the first one to strip and didn't seem to mind being naked around the others at all. Omi wasn't thrilled about the thought though. He hadn't forgotten how they had stared at him the last time. When Yoji walked into the water Ken shrugged and pulled off his shirt and pants too. Aya followed the lead and Tin-pot wasn't far behind. As soon as the other four men were busy with washing themselves Omi quickly pulled off his clothes and hurried into the lake where the water would cover up his beaten body.

Ken shivered from the cold water and growled inside as his eyes automaticly traveled over to Aya. Damn that man was a pain in the ass. His body so lean, pale and strong. Crimson locks of hair framed his beautiful face and made his amethyst eyes even more shining. Ken forced himself to look elsewhere. It would not be a good thing to stare at Aya like that, especially since they both were naked. To get rid of his dirty thoughts the brunette plunged head first into the chilly water. When he came up he wiped away his brown hair from his face and found himself under the scrutiny of Aya's cold eyes. Ken licked his lips and tried not to stare but it was impossible. Water dripped from the redhead's pale chest and his narrow hips just barely peeked up over the water. Oh dear God, the brunette groaned inside. His body was reacting to what he saw and that was so not a good thing.

There was something about Ken that just drew Aya's eyes to him. He simply could not pull his eyes from that body and it annoyed him so much. The brunette looked good that much was obvious. He was strong, tanned and his deep brown eyes were warm and kind. Aya mentally slapped himself and frowned slightly. Why the hell was he almost drooling over that boy? He didn't understand and he couldn't stop himself either. That tanned muscular body looked firm and yet soft. The redhead swallowed. He wanted to touch Ken to see if he felt the way Aya thought he did. The hell I do! he spat out to himself. I don't like men, I don't like him! Now look the other way Fujimiya! But his violet gaze was still glued to Ken's body. He managed to pull up his eyes slightly and winced when he realized that he wasn't the only one who was staring. Chocolate eyes eyed him carefully. Suddenly they looked straight into each other's faces. Aya could have sworn that time stopped as he almost drowned in deep pools of coffee colored eyes. With all his will-power the redhead tore himself away. His mouth felt dry and his body tingled. Shaking slightly the redhead stalked further out into the lake to cool himself down.

After having spent almost a week being trained Tin-pot was even more sure he had picked out the right boys for the job. They all had bad sides but the good ones made up for it. The only problem he still had was Yoji's horse. The lanky blonde and the mean animal simply couldn't get alone and Tin-pot still hadn't been able to find another horse to replace it with. Yoji glared at Devil with dislike. He had already been kicked at several times that day and his patience was all but gone. Huffing he left the beast in the corall and lit a smoke. He hated to admit it but he was getting scared of his horse. The blonde started strolling around the barn to calm himself down. Never in his life had he felt fear for a horse but Devil was becoming dangerous. He rounded the barn and froze. Omi had just walked into the corall followed by his own horse. Yoji swallowed. He liked the blonde kid and certainly didn't want him killed by his psycho horse. To his surprise Omi didn't seem to be the least bit worried as he walked up to the black and white gelding. His lips were moving but Yoji couldn't hear what he was saying. Devil obviously did though since the long ears were directed towards the small blonde. Omi moved closer and held out his hand. Yoji wanted to yell out a warning but if he made too much noise he might scare Devil. His green eyes grew wide when he saw his horse walked up to the slender kid and gently lick his outstretched hand. What the fuck? Omi smiled at the beast and gave him a few kind pats before he turned around and walked out, closing the gate behind him.
"How did you managed that?" Yoji asked and saw how the small blonde winced at the sound of his voice. It hurt to see how scared Omi was of him.
"I… I… think your horse has been beaten… that's why um he doesn't trust you," Omi stammered and played with his shirt. The lanky blonde raised an eyebrow. He had never thought about that but it made sense.
"Hm but when I try to be nice to him he just kicks or bites me. Why didn't he do that to you?" A small smile caressed Omi's face.
"It was probably a man who hit him and I'm too small to be a real threat I guess. Just talk to him, let him get to know your voice. You yell too much and that just makes it worse," the little blonde said and seemed to shrink when he realized what he had blurted out. "I'm… I'm sorry I didn't mean to…"
"Hey kiddo it's okay. I do yell a lot, don't I?" Yoji smiled warmly. Without thinking he placed an arm around Omi's shoulders. "But I'll try to stop doing that, okay?" He could feel the lithe body tense but decided to ignore it. "I think it's time for supper now." Omi nodded a little and Yoji started walking towards the house, still with his arm around the small blonde's shoulders. He was determined to prove that he was no danger, because he really liked Omi. He was so kind and innocent. Once Yoji had been like that too and it felt like he got some of that back when he was close to the little blonde. Most of the bruises on that child-like face had faded and the sun had given the smooth skin a touch of gold. It was that face, the petit body and those huge blue eyes that fooled others into thinking that Omi was just a child. Sure he was five years younger than Yoji but he was not a kid.

Ken growled as he lifted yet another heavy sack of oats and headed for the waggon. Why the hell did he have to do this? Annoyed he glared over at the redhead who stalked towards him with a small crate. Well that sure looked heavy! Ken fumed and threw the sack onto the waggon.
"You know you could help me," he muttered darkly and glared harder. Since the embarrassing incident in the lake Aya had barely said two words to him.
"Hn." That word, sound or whatever the hell it was Ken was very used to hearing.
"Jerk!" the brunette snorted and went to pick up the next sack. To his surprise Aya beat him to it. The bland face was kept away from him as the redhead swayed under the weight.
"Idiot," the taller man said sweetly as he walked past him. Ken raised an eyebrow. Aya was in for another fight if he didn't watch it! The brunette already had enough problems with keeping himself in check around him.
"I love you too Aya," he drawled and untied the horses. Amethyst eyes bore into his shining with danger. "Oh knock it off! So you don't like me, tough luck Aya! Stop being such a bastard about it already!"
"You don't know anything about me or what I like, Ken." The brunette frowned.
"No I don't and you being the way you are, fat chance I'll ever get to know anything about you either," he muttered and took a seat. "Are you coming or what?" The redhead was staring at him with a rather confused look in his stoic face. "What is it now?" He didn't get an answer but then he hadn't really expected one. Ken sighed. What was it about him that rubbed Aya the wrong way so badly? The redhead sat down beside him on the narrow seat and unintentionally pressed their thighs together. Damn, Ken cursed inside, does he even know what he's doing to me? He was attracted to that cold bastard and he had no clue to why. The fact that he was interested in another man was nothing new to Ken but that didn't mean he liked it any better. He had already paid for the perversion he held towards his own sex once and was not eager to do so again. Growling he smacked his lips to the horses. With a jerk they rolled away from the store. Aya moved around on the seat and was seriously starting to annoy Ken.
"Would you sit still!" he snapped. The redhead gave him a look of slight shock. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound like that I'm um just in a bad mood." Nice cover Ken, he sighed to himself, Aya's right you are an idiot.
"Hn." Ken rolled his eyes. He couldn't wait until they started making delieveries so that he could get away from Aya before he did something stupid.

~TBC~

Hm I made a mistake with Omi's age in the second chapter, he's 17 here not 16 *grr* And I know these four chapters have been real lame but next one we will have some action *yay* Eh no not that kind of actions you hentais! *L* I means the other kind the one without lemons *LOL*

I have noticed that this fic isn't all that well liked *frowns slightly* But I will continue it for now because I enjoy writing on it so there… But a huge thank you to those of you who are reading and reviewing! Ja/Atsureki