He heard his bedroom door shut noisily, waking him up immediately, but he covered his face with the covers to avoid getting up. That was the last thing he wanted after the previous night´s adventure in the barn. But a firm hand grabbed his shoulder strongly, shaking it, demanding for him to wake up. He grunted displeased, not caring who was bothering him. The thing he hated the most was to wake up early, and being woken up. He lowered the covers to see who had dared to interrupt his sleep, and noticed the room was actually still pretty dark.
-Its 5 Am. Time to wake up.- he looked towards the window, then back to his grandfather´s amused face and let out a loud whine.
-What?!- He practically cried, covering his face once again. –You gotta be kidding me…- he whispered softly, deciding to not disobey his grandfather. He sat at the edge of the bed, observing how the old man started to walk away.
-Wash yourself, get dressed, and come down for some breakfast, my boy. I have work for you. - He said happily, being fully alert because of the years and years of practice of waking up at dawn. He grunted again, doing as he was asked, joining the family downstairs after long, tired minutes.
-You look grumpy. - His dad joked, taking a sip of his black coffee. His son gave him a mocking smile.
-Thanks. You look great too. - His father seemed to be pretty tired as well.
-Today´s gonna be a busy day. Gotta sell a cow in a few minutes, the interested man says she´s just what he needed. She´s pregnant, you see. We´re gonna receive a good amount of money too, the man has a kind heart.-
-Belle? - Tavros inquired, biting down on his toast. His grandfather looked at him puzzled, nodding.
-yes, that´s just her name!-
-Lucky guess.-
-Anyways, I´m going to have my grandson here help out the cow get inside the truck, and then I´m gonna show him around so he can get started with the unused land I have. We might be able to grow some vegetables for the house´s use and for selling at the town.-
-Sounds great dad, I hope he doesn´t mess up.-
-Thanks dad. - The all laughed warmheartedly, hearing the old woman get inside the house with the fresh milk.
-He´s already here! The Makara boy is helping out. - She announced, greeting her son and grandson with a big smile. –Yesterday I didn´t get to say hello, my dear! And look at you, Rufioh, you´re so handsome! You look just like the father I wanted you to be…- She started to get a bit melancholic as she poured the milk on a pot to boil it before offering it to her guests.
-Should I go…? - Tavros ask preoccupied, recalling that he was the one supposed to help with the cow issue.
-Yes, please, if you´re already done. - His grandfather answered, preparing to stand up to lead the way.
-I know where it is, don´t worry, Grandpa! - He said hurriedly, going towards the door to let himself outside. He walked towards the barn hurriedly, the chilly air reminding him just how early it was, entering the open doors to find the cow´s buyer. He saw a chubby, tall man just beside the cow, and found the guy he had met yesterday by him as well, lifting some hay to get it out of the way. He looked up when he noticed someone entering, giving Tavros a big smile.
-Good morning. - He said cheerfully to both men. –My name is Tavros, my, uh, grandfather is busy at the moment, what can I help you with? - He said calmly, shaking the older man´s hand to greet him.
-You can help this kid get the cow up on the truck, and I´ll pay ya. - He said, grinning, letting himself rest at the bench he and Gamzee had shared the night before.
-Sure. - Gamzee helped Tavros move the cow by pulling her, petting her, and talking to her in a soft, loving tone of voice. Tavros watched him converse with the cow as if she were a human being, and wasn´t able to hold inside a little giggle. It was an adorable sight. They both took a while to get the cow to lift her legs and cooperate, but after a couple of long minutes they were already closing up the transportation truck. The man paid Tavros what the cow was worth, adding a little tip for Gamzee´s help. The man pulled away with his new cow, driving carefully through the dirt road, and Tavros thought he saw Gamzee trying to suppress a tear. –Don´t worry… she´ll be in good hands. You saw how nice he was. - He tried to calm him, rubbing his back in small circles to show him he was actually preoccupied.
-I know…- he managed, pushing the knot in his throat all the way back, were it couldn´t be found.
-Wanna go for a walk or something? I have a feeling my grandpa is gonna make me work a ton after this, so might as well relax a bit before that.- He laughed softly, starting to walk along the dirt road anyways, half way expecting Gamzee would follow.
-I have work to do too. - He excused himself. –Work never ends out here. You be sure of that. - He teased him, giving him a look that showed him that he was actually serious.
-oh… sorry, then.-
-nah, the only problem is that your grandpa is the one that´s making me work. We can´t both scape and go unnoticed. - He explained, receiving Tavros´ childish grunts as a response.
-You´re right. - He sighed, starting to head back towards the main house.
-But… later on… I mean, if you don´t have anything to do…- he started, scratching his scalp nervously, his fingers getting caught at some thick knots of rebel black hair. –We can, maybe, just… Go to the town, and, I dunno…- Tavros grinned, motioning Gamzee to follow him towards the house to receive instructions. –Get some drinks, just you and me. - Tavros thanked the rising sun for starting to light the earth, and therefore let him be able to see the red blush that had settled upon Gamzee´s cheekbones.
-Of course. - He accepted, and the other grinned in his direction. –Might have to be pretty late though, I don´t know how much work this old man will give me.- He joked, opening the front door, letting Gamzee go inside as well.
It was already late in the afternoon, the sun burning the sky and Tavros´ bare skin, his sweat glistening against the yellow light. He was already almost done with eliminating the undesirable weed off from the land, even though he had done it only with his father as a helping hand. He had hoped Gamzee would help him to get over with it sooner, but his grandfather had said the scrawny man didn´t have the muscles needed to do such a task. So said man was watching him from the distance, near the stable where he was feeding a few old horses his grandfather kept because they were family, not caring to hide the way he licked over and over his lips each time Tavros took a minute to dry off the sweat from his forehead, letting him admire his well built torso and big arms. He thought he had a perfect, well-built body that was almost a sin to look at. Just a few glimpses of it were enough to make him feel hot under his own clothes, and being caught looking at him several times had also made him feel uneasy. The good thing was, the father hadn´t noticed at all. Tavros suddenly took off the thick leather gloves that he had used to protect his hands from the rough plants, and went towards Gamzee. The other one started to look around nervously, trying too hard to not stare at his abdomen, his chest, his arms, but he was failing miserably.
-Hey, would you mind putting that weed in a bag or something? I´m gonna take a shower, I don´t think I could handle bending over again to lift it.- He said, fanning himself with his hand to cool down a bit, some droplets of sweat falling down his brow.
-uh, I, uh… Y-yes. I mean no. I don´t mind. I will do it, don´t worry about it. - He stumbled over his words, trying to concentrate on fixing his eyes on the dirt under his feet. He heard Tavros chuckle amused, starting to walk away.
-Thanks! Hey, how about I meet you at the barn later on, I forgot I have to unpack all my stuff before my dad gets pissed.-He said cheerily, jogging back to the house, his golden skin bewitching the black haired man that stood there without taking his eyes off his back.
He finished setting up his room, having put all of his clothes inside the huge closet, putting his sentimental items on the night table, taking a minute to rest his back on the bed and think over his decision. He wasn´t regretting it has he had thought he would at some point, but he definitely hadn´t liked the hard work that much. He remembered his father had to leave the next day for the city, since he did have a job to keep up with. He sighed, not very excited about the fact that the only familiar person he had brought with him was going to leave him alone. Not that he didn´t love his grandfather and grandmother… But it still helped to not feel so isolated to have his dad walking around like he did at their apartment. He looked at his watch, noticing it was already nearing 9 PM. He wondered if he was making the scrawny man wait for him in the barn. He smiled at that thought, thinking he hadn´t felt so flattered in a really long time. He usually wasn´t very intuitive, but it wasn´t hard to notice the way Gamzee looked at him. It felt good to know somebody got turned on by the mere presence of him. He chuckled, getting up from the bed at last, looking for something else to wear to go check out the town. He decided to dress with whatever he found, guessing that the town wasn´t all that impressive, and that he already had more modern clothes than many people around there.
-Where are you going?- His father inquired when he saw him go down the steep stairs, as he got out of the bathroom to go get some sleep.
-To the town. Grandpa´s helper invited me to see it. - He said while putting on his chocolate colored jacket.
-Who? Oh, wait, yeah, I saw him around. Aren´t you tired, though?!- He said dramatically, and Tavros guessed his body was sore from all the hard work he had to do during the day. –You should get some rest.-
-No, I´m fine dad. You´re the one that´s getting old around here. - He teased, receiving a soft nudge from his father.
-You´re so funny. - He answered pretending to be mad, going off to his room. –Don´t come back too late, remember you have to wake up at dawn. - He emphasized "at dawn" with painful, stressed out words that made Tavros reconsider his plans.
-I´ll be fine. - He laughed, getting to the front door, heading towards the barn.