Coming Home
-Chapter 8: The Autumn Horse Race-
Jack woke up at the usual time one morning at the end of Autumn. It had been a while since the Harvest Festival, and it had also been the last time he had seen Cliff. He wasn't sure if he should be happy, relieved, or depressed. Currently he was feeling a combination of all three, but he was beginning to suspect depression was going to overpower relief and happiness before too much longer. Even if he could just see him for a little while...Maybe chat a little. Talk about stuff. Things between them had been a little awkward at the festival, and he wasn't sure why. They'd been on such good terms at the end of Cliff's enforced stay at his cabin...
Maybe that was it. Maybe he ought to instigate a situation in which Cliff's ankle would break again, so he'd be forced to shack up at Jack's for a while, and be unable to run off. Even as he thought it though, he knew he was being stupid. First and foremost, obviously, was that he didn't want Cliff to get hurt, and certainly not for his own selfish motivations. No, he would just have to get better at tracking the man down in the mountains. He went up there often enough, after all, it shouldn't be too difficult to work out a stratagem bent towards uncovering Cliff's hiding place.
With that plan in mind Jack shoved all thoughts of Cliff out of his head, as he had found himself doing with increasing regularity these past few weeks, and got out of bed. He dressed, ate, and stepped outside to begin work, only to be accosted by Doug, the owner of the Green Ranch and Ann and Grey's father.
"Good morning, Jack," the older man said pleasantly.
Surprised, Jack blinked, but quickly recovered. "'Morning, Doug. What can I do for you?"
"Well, as you probably already know," Doug's tone implied that he found this rather unlikely. "Tomorrow is the annual horse race. Are you going to enter?"
"Huh? Of course!"
"Oh, good!" Upon hearing Jack's intention to enter, Doug's demeanor lightened considerably.
"What do I need to do?"
"Nothing - I'll register for you. All you have to do is show up tomorrow. The first race begins at nine o'clock."
Arrangements were quickly made, and once Jack had given Kuro a handful of grains and a farewell pat on the nose, Doug left the farm shortly thereafter, horse in tow.
Jack fed and watered his other animals, and was just preparing to head into his rather large eggplant patch when he heard his name called from in front of his cabin. Looking up, he saw Karen waving at him, so he set down his watering bucket and walked over to find out what she wanted.
"How's the farm, Jack?" she asked pleasantly as he approached.
"Pretty good, thanks," he told her.
"I can't stay long - I just wanted to drop this off," she said, pulling a bottle of wine into view and handing it to him.
"Wow! Thanks a lot!" Jack said, grinning as he accepted the bottle.
"You're welcome," she replied. "Oh, and just so you know - it's best if you share it with...that special someone," she continued, winking slyly. Jack stared at her for a moment, uncomprehending, before blushing three shades of crimson and trying to stammer out an intelligible reply.
Pretending not to notice his blush or his embarrassment, Karen waved cheerily and spun on her heel, taking her leave. Once she was sure she was out of sight, she felt herself begin to grin. She had heard, through the Flower Bud Grapevine, that Cliff had spent a week in Jack's cabin earlier that season, laid up with a twisted ankle. If that wasn't a recipe for something to happen, she didn't know what was. Too bad she didn't know what exactly had taken place during that week - if anything at all had. Cliff certainly wasn't the type to leap forward and announce his feelings to Jack, and Jack...well, she was pretty sure that Jack was beginning to have feelings for Cliff as well, if that blush a few moments ago along with hints she'd picked up at the Harvest Festival were any indication. Jack's dawning realization was probably the only really important thing that had happened that week, she mused.
It's highly unlikely anything else happened at all, she thought with a frown.
Still, it was best not to get discouraged. She would continue to secretly support Cliff from the side-lines, and give Jack as many subtle nudges as it took for him to come out of the closet, as it were. She didn't understand how anyone could be so bloody clueless for such a long time.
Of course, Karen wasn't aware of the irony of her own personal situation. It might have amused her to know that Kai, the young man who worked for her father at the vineyard, often thought the same exact thing about her...
(x)
Jack hurried to finish his morning chores the day of the horse race, eager to get down to the square so as not to miss out on the festivities. He arrived at the square in plenty of time to place a bet on one of the horses racing in the first round. With his bets placed and his ticket stuffed safely into his pocket, he proceeded to wander around the square. He stopped to talk with Zach, who was running a refreshments stand.
"Hey there, Jack! Come to see the races?"
"You know it. What are you up to?"
"Ah, this here's my side job. Want something to eat?"
"Mmm, not right now. Maybe later."
"Alright. Oh, it sounds like they're starting the first race!" Zach pointed towards a pair of large doors on the south-east side of the square. "Better hurry!"
Jack did as he was told, and made his way through the gates into the stands along the race track. Of course, they weren't really stands so much as layered earth cut out into three shelves. There was a set of stairs running down the middle, and each shelf was packed with villagers, along with several people Jack had never seen before.
The very first thing he noticed upon entering the stands that Cliff was standing near the entrance. He started to approach, but before he could make his feet move the buzzer sounded and the horses down on the track took off. Jack was surprised at the amount of noise the villagers made as they cheered for their favorites. They had always struck him as a very quiet, reserved lot. But then, it was undeniable that there was a very festive undercurrent in the air, and that the entire village was responding to it.
As the horses drew nearer and nearer to the finish line, it was quite apparent which ones weren't going to be winning, as they were lagging behind. The two in the lead, the bay and the black, were neck and neck until the very last second, when the black one put on an extra burst of speed and jumped forward just enough to cross the finish line first.
"And that's the end of the first race!" Announced a scratchy, slightly broken-up voice over the intercom. "The winners today are first place: Kurosaki! Second place: Ichigo! Please collect your medals at the counter!"
Jack looked down at his ticket and saw that, while he hadn't bet at all on Kurosaki, he had put some money down on Ichigo - that meant he would be collecting a few medals, at least.
"How'd you do?" asked a voice. Jack looked up and blushed slightly. It was Cliff.
"I did alright. How 'bout you?" he asked. Just act natural, just act natural! he ordered himself.
Cliff smiled. "I didn't come here to bet...I just came to watch Cliffguard race,"
"Oh, is that all?" Jack asked, feigning hurt disappointment.
"Well...yes..." Cliff responded, confused.
"I take it you won't be sticking around to watch me and Kuro then, huh?"
"What? You're racing today?"
"Yup,"
"Of course I'll stick around to watch!" Cliff hurried to assure him.
Jack grinned, immensely happy to finally be talking normally to Cliff after such a long separation. Almost immediately after, though, he developed a very nervous sensation in the pit of his stomach. He's going to be watching me! I have to look good! Goddess, what if I make a fool of myself? What if I fall off? What'll he think then? That I'm a complete moron, that's what! What the bloody hell have I gotten myself into? Out loud, he said, "I, uh, have to go turn this in," and waved his ticket vaguely.
"Of course," Cliff responded. Jack turned and made his way back to the counter, while Cliff watched his retreating back with a bemused expression on his face. He had no idea what had prompted him to approach Jack. His initial plan had been to slip out of the stands and hole up somewhere in the square until the next race began. However, for whatever reason, both his feet and his mouth had seemed to disagree with this idea, and had carried him over to talk to Jack. It was almost as though there was some higher power guiding his actions. It hadn't been awful at all though, he reflected. Not too awkward for him, and over soon enough.
And now he knew he'd have the opportunity to stare at Jack as much as he wanted, once Jack's turn to race came around. The thought made him smile happily.
As he turned back towards the track, he caught sight of Karen, who was looking in his direction. When their eyes met, she smiled and waved, before turning back to talk to Ann.
Ann. The girl who was all love and fluff and save the whales one moment, then yelling at him for feeding a rabbit to Cain the next. He had no idea what to make of her, or, indeed, if anything really could be made of her. She switched between friendly and cold so quickly, he sometimes wondered if she might be a bit schizophrenic. Passive-aggressive, at the very least, in any case. It never occurred to him to think that she might be attracted to him. He had never had a steady relationship with a girl in his entire life for one thing, and his attention was rather focused on someone else entirely for another.
A someone else who was avoiding him in the same embarrassed, "I don't know what I'm doing" manner as he was himself. Of course, Cliff was so preoccupied with his own half of the whole avoiding-the-issue game that he didn't even notice that Jack was playing as well.
(x)
Jack breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped once again into the square. There was a short line in front of the ticket counter, so he went to stand at the end and try to recover some of his composure. Talking to Cliff was like balancing on a tightrope: Dangerous and exhilarating all at once. He couldn't let himself get too excited, or else Cliff would definitely think he was weird. On the other hand, he couldn't be too distant either, or Cliff would think he was being unfriendly. Having a crush on someone, guy or not, was really stressful.
"Hello there, Jack." He was pulled out of his thoughts by Anna, the mayor's wife and co-coordinator of the horse race.
"Hullo, Anna," Jack responded, putting a smile on his face as he handed the woman his ticket. She studied it gravely for a moment, then returned it to him and turned to the large box of medals that was seated between herself and her husband. She quickly counted out one hundred, and placed them in a pouch-like bag before handing them to Jack with a smile.
"Did you want to make a bet on the next race while you're here?" she asked.
"Please,"
She pulled up the odds tally for the second race, which was to take place at noon, and Jack studied it for a few moments before making his choice. They finished the exchange with polite smiles and "thank yous", and Jack wandered off towards Zach's concessions stand.
It was really quite odd how they ran the betting pool in this town, Jack reflected. Instead of putting down cash and then getting cash in return if your bet played out in your favor, you put down money on medals, which were then returned in much the same manner as cash. The big difference was, you couldn't use the medals for anything other than to exchange for prizes. The prizes, in their turn, could only be obtained at either of the two annual horse races or the dog race in the winter.
Odd as it was, though, Jack realized that it was probably better this way - not only did it create one-way revenue towards the upkeep of the town, but it also seemed to discourage any potentially dangerous serious gambling.
"Ready for some food now, Jack?" asked Zach as he approached.
"You know it," Jack grinned. "How much for the baked corn?"
"Ah, that's 200 Gold," he was informed. Jack raised an eyebrow, which caused Zach to smile sheepishly. They both knew that Jack had made quite a bit less per ear this past summer during the corn growing season, and, subsequently, that the price Zach was asking now was rather outrageous. "For you, though, I can let it go for a measly 150," the big man amended.
"I'll have two, then," Jack said, reaching for his wallet.
The deal was struck, and soon Jack was walking back towards the track, an ear of corn in each hand. He quickly found the person he was looking for, and walked up to him.
"Hey Cliff," he said, brandishing one of the two corn cobs. "Hungry?"
Cliff's eyes widened. "Is it really okay...?" he asked uncertainly. Jack, in response, firmly pushed the corn into Cliff's hands.
"You don't eat enough," he told the astonished man. That said, he seated himself cross-legged on the ground and began to eat his own corn.
Cliff smiled and felt his heart begin to pound. Why is he so nice to me? he wondered as he followed Jack's example and settled to the ground. Every time he does something nice like this, I end up liking him more and more. He took a bite of his corn and chewed eagerly.
Jack was somewhat relieved to discover that he didn't have to attempt to make any sort of conversation while they were eating. I'll have to try this tactic more often, he thought to himself. Stick some food in his face, and in mine, and then I can just watch him. And this was a wonderful opportunity, he had to say. Cliff ate ravenously, as though he were starving. Jack ate more reservedly, savoring each bite, and sneaking glances at Cliff from time to time.
"Thanks for this," Cliff said, waving the now-empty cob in Jack's direction a few minutes later.
"You're welcome," Jack responded warmly.
"How's the farm?" Cliff asked, after a moment of silence had passed between them.
"Same as always. I'm nearly to the point where I never want to look at another eggplant again," Jack told him, grimacing. Cliff laughed.
"And how's life in the mountain? I haven't seen you for a while..." Jack said, glancing at Cliff once before returning his gaze to the milling crowd below them.
"Nothing special," Cliff responded. "I hunt, I wash, I cook, I eat, I sleep. Rinse and repeat,"
"How's the hunting up there, anyway?" Jack asked. He himself never saw more than the occasional rabbit or fox, and he was curious.
"Pretty good. My grandfather made his living by hunting and trapping on the mountain, you know," Cliff said, warming up to his subject. "I expect the hunting will be harder as Winter comes closer, but there's always fish in the ocean, if nothing else."
"Huh," Jack muttered thoughtfully. "You'll have to come eat at my place sometimes," he said. He had scarcely thought of the idea before he had said it, and immediately felt the beginnings of a flush raise to his cheeks.
"Really...?" Cliff was at once both excited and uncertain. It would really be nice to share a meal or two with Jack, but wouldn't that just be setting him up for later disappointment? No. He'd told himself once that he could be happy just to see Jack, to talk with him and to spend time with him, as friends. There was no reason to let his feelings for the man interfere with their friendship, which was just as important as Cliff's private, unattainable wishes.
"Yes, really." Jack grinned. "I've nearly got enough gold and lumber saved up to add a kitchen on to my cabin, so I'm going to be able to prepare proper food, hopefully before too much longer."
"Awesome."
All awkwardness had vanished between the pair, and the chatted amiably for the next few hours until it was time for the second race. Cliffguard from the Green Ranch was racing, so both men stood and added their voices to the enthusiastic cheering of the crowd.
Cliffguard, ridden by a young man that Jack didn't know, won easily. Jack wondered who the rider was, and why it wasn't Ann or Grey racing the fine stallion to victory.
"I guess you're racing next," Cliff said as the cheering died away into a general murmur of background chatter.
"Guess so." All of a sudden, Jack's stomach, which had finally calmed down once he'd become comfortable talking with Cliff, began to twist itself into knots. He'd never raced Kuro before. Sure, he galloped the gelding around his farm on a regular basis, but that was different. Kuro wasn't used to other horses - how would he react in this situation? Would he be okay? Would Jack be okay? He wasn't used to other horses either, come to that. What if Kuro spooked? What if he refused to move?
"Are you alright? You've gone kind of pale," Cliff said, concerned
Jack swallowed and smiled reassuringly at Cliff. "I'm just a little nervous, all of a sudden," he told the other man. "I think I'm going to go mingle a bit, if that's okay..."
"Go for it," Cliff said, thinking that talking to the other villagers and collecting their wishes of good luck might calm Jack down. Indeed, it looked to Cliff as though Jack were having a little difficulty breathing. Cliff watched Jack as he stood, dusted off the seat of his overalls and took off into the crowd below them, waving absently to Cliff as he did so.
While the well wishes of his friends and acquaintances didn't exactly deplete Jack's nervousness, they did help to bolster his confidence.
"Are you racing next, Aniki? I'll cheer for you!"
"You're racing? Good luck!"
"You'd better win, I'm putting money down on you!"
Well, that last one hadn't been so confidence boosting, but it was nice to know he had the support nonetheless.
He wandered over to where Karen and Ann were chatting, and Ann leapt up at his approach.
"Calm down!" she ordered, before he could say anything. Jack privately thought that she seemed to be more in need of the advice than he. She was fidgeting, and her face was flushed. "Breathe!" Jack moved to follow her advice, and she quickly informed him he was doing it wrong. Karen grinned at him behind Ann's back as she showed him how to do a breathing exercise to calm his nerves, and as they went through it together, Jack was more than a little relieved to see that it appeared to have calmed Ann down, at least.
When the call went out for the participants of the last race to begin gathering at the starting line, Jack jumped and looked around like a trapped animal. Ann slapped him on the back in a comradely fashion and grinned, albeit a bit nervously. "Down there," she said, pointing to where Jack was to go.
"You'll do fine," Karen said from behind Ann. Jack glanced at her and smiled weakly. She smirked at him, raising an eyebrow as she did so. He couldn't help but grin at that, and suddenly felt a little better about the whole situation. Nodding his thanks, he turned and trekked down to the starting line.
He quickly located Doug, who was waiting with Kuro. The horse was snorting and tossing his head with equine nerves.
"You're to go to gate 3," Doug told him, as he turned Jack about so that he could safety-pin a paper number to Jack's back.
"Got it," he said. Doug nodded gravely, and indicated that Jack should mount up.
"Hey, Kuro," Jack said, placing a hand on the horse's arching neck. Kuro whinnied and seemed to settle down a bit at the sound of Jack's voice. He calmed even more as Jack pulled himself into the saddle, which gave Jack no end of relief. At least one of them was calm! Reassured by the gelding's almost professional behavior, he felt his own nerves begin to settle, though the adrenaline was now rushing through his system.
"Racers! Take your place at the gates!" came the announcement from overhead. Doug nodded and handed a riding crop and Kuro's reins up to Jack, who arranged them loosely but securely into his hands while he nudged Kuro forward with his knees. The horse obediently walked into the narrow gate without so much as a pause, which caused Jack to grin proudly. He patted Kuro's neck affectionately as the pair waited impatiently for the race to begin.
Jack was only partially aware of the countdown as his focus narrowed to the track ahead of him and the horse beneath him. He reached behind him with the crop in preparation for the start-off.
"Three!" he was aware that the crowd in the stands above had become almost unnaturally silent, listening just as intently to the announcer as the racers were.
"Two!" Jack's focus narrowed to the track in front of him, bordered by Kuro's ears. The horse was both tense and steady beneath him, ready to fly off at a moment's notice. "ONE!" The buzzer sounded, the gates opened, and Kuro exploded onto the track. Jack got the distinct impression that he really hadn't needed to swat Kuro with the crop at all - the horse was just as eager as he was to run.
And run he did. Jack wondered vaguely if he'd ever galloped quite as fast on Kuro before, or if it was just the result of the adrenalin flooding his system. He quickly decided it didn't matter, and instead focused his mind and body on assisting his horse in any way he could. He crouched in his stirrups instead of sitting in the saddle, leaning forward over Kuro's neck in an attempt to distribute his weight as evenly as possible. The pounding of the horse's hooves on the ground, the smell of sweat, both his and Kuro's, the at once distant and immediate roar of the crowd in the stands, and the sight of the track as seen between Kuro's ears filled his entire being, flooding his senses and nearly overwhelming him. He went easy on the crop - it was apparent to him that Kuro didn't need much encouragement in that direction. Eyes darting from side to side, he assessed the positions of the other racers. No one to worry about on the right that he could see, but there was a racer to his left who was quickly drawing even with Kuro.
"C'mon, boy," he muttered, tapping Kuro's rear in a very cursory manner with the crop. Kuro's ears twitched at the sound of Jack's voice, and Jack could feel the horse gathering himself for more speed. Another glance to the left showed that the rider Jack had noticed before was now flat-even with him and Kuro. Not for long, though, because Kuro somehow found that he was not actually going all-out, and ran even faster yet.
Shifting his gaze forward once more, Jack could just make out the bright red of the finish line in the distance. His breath caught in his throat and he glanced back at his competition. The other horse had also found some previously untapped reserve of speed, because it was once more drawing even with Kuro.
"Steady, Kuro, we're almost done!" Jack encouraged, glancing once more at the finish line, which was becoming nearer very quickly. Kuro seemed to understand, because though Jack could sense that the horse was tiring, he did not actually slow down.
Neither, he saw with a glance at his rival, did the other horse.
Jack's narrow focus became even narrower. The cheers and cries of the crowd faded to a dull background roar, and all he could hear was the pounding of Kuro's hooves on the hard-packed earth. He fixed his gaze firmly on the finish line, focusing his whole being on the white stripe along the ground, the cameras that he knew were positioned to either side, and the flags hanging down from a bar high above.
Jack and his competition were neck and neck at this point, neither backing down to give way for the other, but neither quite managing to push forward. Jack could see the whites of the other horse's eyes, it was so close. Kuro remained rock steady between his legs, as tense as could be with the effort he was exerting. For a fleeting moment, Jack thought of something else he wished was between his legs, and was so startled by this completely out-of-the-blue thought that his fist clenched involuntarily around the crop. His arm spasmed and he hit Kuro much harder than he'd ever intended, and this caused the visibly flagging gelding to leap forward with renewed speed to cross the finish-line a good second before the other horse.
All at once, the noise of the crowd rushed back full-force as he settled back into the saddle and guided Kuro into a very controlled trot to cool the gasping horse down. He looked up into the stands at all the cheering, giddy people, a lot of whom were friends and acquaintances screaming his name. He caught a very brief glimpse of Cliff, who was smiling warmly and unguardedly, the way he had back at the fireworks show at the beginning of Summer, before he was distracted by Doug and Grey, as well as a multitude of other people who were running the races or keeping track of the horses and riders.
Doug had him dismount and lead Kuro around at a walk to continue cooling the horse down. The older man didn't say anything, but there was a definite smug satisfaction about his expression as he watched Jack tend to his horse. Grey, as usual, stared expressionlessly, though slightly less disapprovingly than he had previously.
After about five minutes of walking, Kuro was allowed to dip his nose briefly into a bucket of water, before the mayor strolled up to Jack and began various victory procedures. Jack had to have his picture taken, Kuro had to have his picture taken, the mayor had to have his picture taken...It all seemed a bit anti-climactic once the adrenaline had completely worn off, and Jack wished for nothing more than to get Kuro home to his stable.
When the pictures had been taken and the Mayor satisfied with the proceedings, Jack was nearly bowled over by Ann, who had appeared, apparently from no where, to glomp him violently in congratulations.
"Good job! I knew you had it in you! And Kuro did such a good job too!" As suddenly as she had attached herself to his person, she was just as suddenly gone, moved on to fawn over the horse. Kuro looked a little bemused at the unaccustomed attention, but did not discourage it as Ann stroked his neck (which had been given a cursory rub-down for the photographs).
"Do you want to have a drink down at the bar?" Ann asked abruptly, causing Jack to blink a bit in surprise.
"Um, actually..." the memory of the brief glimpse of Cliff he'd gotten after the race had finished floated to the surface of his mind. "I'm kind of tired, so..."
"Oh, I see. No problem, we can do it some other time," Ann said, understanding completely.
"Yes, lets," Jack agreed vaguely. He had turned towards the stands, and was scanning the now much-calmer crowd for one face in particular.
He found Cliff quickly, and this time caught his eye. Cliff grinned as their eyes met and flashed a victory sign with one hand. Jack grinned and returned the gesture.
"Hey, you'll take care of Kuro for me tonight, right?" he asked, turning back to Ann. She nodded, a look of surprise on her face. "Thank you so much. I owe you!" So saying, he dashed off.
Ann watched with a bemused sort of expression on her face, trying to hide the disappointment she felt bubbling up in her chest. Fighting it off with a vigorous shake of her head, she turned back to Kuro and started talking softly to him.
"C'mere, boy, let's rub you down properly and give you a nice grooming..." Kuro obediently followed her back to the stables.
(x)
Cliff was walking briskly through the strangely deserted village on his way back to the mountain when someone shouted his name.
"Hey, Cliff!" The young man so named turned at the sound of the call, and his heart leapt to his throat. It was Jack, and he was running towards him, panting. He stopped and waited for him to catch up. "Hey!" Jack repeated as he drew near. When he was fully even with Cliff, he stopped and put his hands on his knees in order to catch his breath. Cliff stared at him in amazement. Had he run all the way from the bottom of the track to catch up with him?
"I wanted...to know," Jack said, between gasps. "If you'd be...interested in sharing...some wine with me."
"Uhm..." Say 'Yes!', you fool! he told himself.
"To...uh...celebrate?" Jack felt awkward all of a sudden, proposing a celebratory toast to his own victory. He smacked himself mentally. Smooth going, moron. That's nice and arrogant, don't you think?
"I'd like that," Cliff managed to say, his own brief inner debate settled. "Oh yes! Congratulations!" he added, mentally kicking himself for not thinking of that first. And it really should've been you who proposed the celebratory drinks, not Jack! he chided himself.
"Thank you!" Jack straightened, having finally caught his breath. "Let's go, then!" he said, continuing on the path Cliff had begun and walking towards the crossroads.
"Uh, Jack?" Cliff said, confused.
"Yeah?" Jack turned to look at the other man, who was pointing behind him with his thumb.
"The bar's that way,"
"I know. But I've got some wine at my place."
Cliff was absolutely positive his heart skipped a beat at that particular declaration.
"Oh," he said intelligently.
Jack grinned. "Coming?"
"Of course!"
(x)
"To Kuro!" Jack proclaimed, holding his glass aloft.
"To Kuro!" Cliff agreed, raising his own glass. "And to Jack!"
Jack blushed slightly and grinned in an embarrassed manner. "Yeah...him too," he said.
Cliff grinned and clinked his glass against Jack's. Or more accurately, his tea cup. Drinking wine from jars, as the villagers were sometimes wont to doing, was odd enough, but this really took the cake. Jack didn't have any wine glasses, though, not having much occasion to drink wine. However, as the farmer did drink a healthy amount of tea, it was perfectly natural for him to own tea cups.
The two men sat at perfect ease on stools at Jack's tiny square table, drinking and chatting amiably late into the evening. It was nearly midnight when Cliff left to return to the mountain. Jack had offered to let him bed down in his cabin, and had even said he could have the floor if the bed made him so uncomfortable, but Cliff politely refused, saying that he probably ought to look after Cain.
He really wanted nothing more than to turn right back around and re-enter Jack's cabin, but was too scared. Sighing, he stared up at the sliver of moon that was still visible in the sky and shoved his hands into his trouser pockets as he walked. He had just had a fantastic day. As a result, however, he was convinced that Jack was more wonderful than ever, and he was still of two minds about that. On the whole, he felt it was probably a bad thing...for him, at least.
He sighed again as he entered the dark cave and settled down to sleep.
Jack, meanwhile, was staring listlessly out the front window of his cabin, a veritable kaleidoscope of thoughts whirling through his mind. Cliff was so nice, so gentle, so...so Cliff! Every time he encountered the man, he liked him that much more. He wondered, as he stared out into the night, whether it would ever come to anything, or if he'd be mooning about like this forever.
-To Be Continued-
(x)X(x)X(x)
Author's Notes: Firstly, I would like to say to anyone who might be wondering that yes, I am aware that it is highly unusual for stallion horses to race. I do have reasons for supposing that Cliffguard is a stallion (as opposed to a gelding), and these are they: Firstly, Cliffguard is the Green Ranch's prize horse - and from what I can tell about prize horses, they are the animals that make their owners money by producing offspring. So it only makes sense (to me, at least), that Cliffguard is a stallion. Secondly, in regards to the racing thing: While it is uncommon for stallions to race, it is also not unheard of. From what I understand, young stallions who have yet to make a name for themselves have to get famous somehow, and racing is as good a way as any. I'm thinking that Cliffguard, while being the Green Ranch's prize stallion, is also probably not quite famous or well-known enough to attract folks who will pay to have him cover their mares, and so has to suffer the indignities of the local horse races.
And if you weren't wondering about my decision to make Cliffguard a stallion, then...well, I guess you learned something new about horses, huh/grins/
And so we dive yet further into the complex, angsty world of Cliff and Jack. Though I don't think this was a lot of angst at all...in fact, I hesitate to even call it angst. But there 'tis. I'm quite happy with this chapter, so that's how it's going to be. Feedback, comments, and critiques are all welcome. See you in chapter nine:)