my sunshine

Written for March Madness 2022, Prompt: picnic. Title from one of Red's songs on one of the Saddle Club CDs (which I had to dig out of the depths of my closet to verify). Comments and kudos would be awesome. Enjoy!

"There you are," Drew calls out, catching Red off guard as he paces the tack room. He leans idly in the doorway there, "Been looking all over for you. What're you doing in here?"

"Waiting for Ashley and Melanie," he answers, slightly concerned. It's not like them to be late. "We're supposed to have a lesson in five minutes."

Drew frowns at him. "No, you don't," he says, "Didn't Deborah tell you? Ashley sprained an ankle at school today so she and Melanie cancelled."

"She… did not," Red says, "I think Mrs. Reg pulled her in to help with some project in the lounge, though, so she might've been busy with that." He sighs, suddenly left with an entirely free afternoon and no idea as to what to do with it.

Drew seems to have come to that conclusion already, though, and it's only then that Red realizes that he's holding a helmet. Drew slips further into the room, nudging the door closed as he reaches out, taking advantage of the privacy of the otherwise vacant tack room to pull Red into a quick kiss. "How about we go on a ride, then?" he offers, and Red decides that the other man is most definitely up to something – it occurs to him now that he hasn't seen the other man at all this morning - and he'd rather like to find out what.

"Oh, definitely," he easily agrees.

"Great," Drew grins at him, steals one more kiss before he backs away. "Meet me at the trail head in fifteen minutes?"

He's right on time. Mounted up on Barq and ready to go when Drew appears on Comanche. They set off quickly, before anything can pull them back to the stables. It's been a while since he's had time to ride and Red revels in the chance now. Barq and Comanche are eager for the opportunity, too. They gallop over the open areas they pass, let the horses stretch their legs, and they slow to a comfortable trot when the trail gets less defined.

"This way," Drew tells him, veering off from the usual paths out around the mines. "I've got a surprise for you."

"Oh, is this what you were up to all morning, then?"

Drew shoots a wry grin and a wink over his shoulder and beckons him on. "You'll find out soon enough," he promises.

So he lets Drew lead the way and while Red is very familiar with the land around Pine Hollow, he is not totally sure where Drew is taking him at the moment. The trail they're on isn't much of a trail at all – Red can only barely make out the traces of where one must have been long ago, just faint echoes in the forest floor that reveal a little more dirt than what surrounds it. But Drew seems to know exactly where he's going and the horses are surefooted so he follows without question.

They come to a little creek and wind along it for a bit, curving switchback up a pretty decent hill before it levels out again and suddenly the creek turns into a decently sized pond in the midst of a clearing, the tall trees on the edges providing ample shade. The grass is overgrown, but closer to the water there is evidence that Drew has already been here once today, a blanket is spread out there and a cooler sits beside it, waiting for their arrival.

"How have I never seen this place?" he wonders. All the time he's spent here and somehow it's evaded his notice, everyone's notice.

Drew dismounts and Red does the same. They ground tie the horses and approach the little picnic site. "I came to Pine Hollow every summer when I was a kid," he reminds Red, "And sometimes I… wandered a bit more than I was supposed to. I was… thirteen, I think, when I found this place. Never told a soul."

"I can see why," Red answers. It's beautiful, the sun is high in the cloudless sky, bathing them in warm sunlight. "Don't worry," he says, "Your secret's safe with me."

"I'll seal the deal, then," Drew laughs, "and feed you. It's all from JB's," he explains, digging through the cooler and producing a few sandwiches and assorted sides. Red spots his favorites among the selections. There are a couple of sodas and a few bottles of beer, too, likely slipped in thanks to Scooter, and they eagerly dig into their lunch. "I only got it all together when I heard your lesson was cancelled. Figured we could do something nice before school's out and things at the stables get crazy."

"I like the way you think," he says. Another week and a lot of the kids will practically be living at the barn, he thinks of Carole and Stevie and Lisa mostly, though even Veronica and Kristi spend more time there when school is not in session. Not to mention the overnights and weekend trips that will be coming up soon enough. It'll be busy, they'll be lucky to get any time together.

And he intends to take full advantage of the time they have now.

When they're finished eating, Red's quick to draw the other man closer, and they trade lazy kisses in the warm sunshine. Eventually, they end up lying down, spread across the picnic blanket. He's settled over Drew, hands sliding up under his button down shirt to coast over warm skin. His lips on Drew's mouth, his jaw, his neck. And-

"Move in with me?" Drew proposes, the words come out of nowhere and immediately Red freezes.

"What?"

Red sits up, so Drew follows. "Shit, sorry," he says. "I didn't meant that. I mean, I did mean it. But I didn't mean to just blurt it out like that. I swear this wasn't a set-up for that or anything, it just kind of slipped out. But, yes, would you…" He pauses, clearly anxious, and Red's surprised to see how shy he looks when he finally catches Drew's pretty blue eyes, "Would you want to move in with me?"

And he's still processing all that rambling, but when he does manage to sort through all the extra bits, the answer is, at least, an easy one. "Yes," he says eagerly, thinking suddenly of all the time they can have together if they're under the same roof.

He likes the idea. No more slipping out of bed to go back to his place in the early early morning hours. No more sneaking around in the stables for a few minutes of alone time. No more dancing around Max and Deborah and Mrs. Reg. He's sure that moving in together would mean telling them, and he finds the idea a relief after all the months of the secrecy.

Likes the idea of all the little things, too. Mundane, everyday things like waking up together, making breakfast, grocery shopping, driving to work and arguing over radio stations, debating take-out options on the way home, settling on the couch to watch a movie, going to bed together.

And Drew beams at him, pulls him in for another sound kiss and all he can think is that he wants that more than anything, a life with Drew. The two of them together every. damn. day. for the rest of their lives.