Second Chance Ranch

by Thiefoflight68

Katsuki Bakugou ended up in prison after a gang shootout. Three years later he applies for a post prison program. The job he thinks he's getting and the one fate finds for him are completely different. A chance meeting with a cute freckled face man brings him to the Midoriya Family Ranch, also known as Second Chance Ranch by the prior prisoners that have made a made a home there.

8. Blow Out

Putting away Float, Shinsou folded his arms on the stall door and scratched her shoulder as she tore into her leftover hay. "Think we should up her supplement feed 'til the race?"

"I was thinking the same thing." Kiri came up behind him and kissed his shoulder. "You okay?"

"I don't know," Shinsou breathed out. "You think Ochako's right? I bet Shouto's horse is fast."

"We know she is," Kiri squeezed next to him to lean on the stall door. "Under thirty seconds is damn fast."

"Yeah," Shinsou bumped his chin on his arm.

"You worried?"

Laughing Shinsou grabbed the stall door and hung backwards looking up into the rafters of the barn. "I'm so fucking worried Kiri, I can't think straight."

"About what?"

"About what?!" He scoffed loudly, "have you been paying attention? I mean, I'm fucking worried about everything! Hell, we could be gone next year. I gotta win, we need that money." Blowing out a raspberry, Float snorted back at him loudly. "See," he chortled, "even the horse gets it… asking me why I'm worried, stupid red-head." Kicking off the door, he spun and went into the feed shed. Flipping the lid off the oat bin, he started scooping out the food, giving Float an extra portion. Peeking behind him, Kiri hadn't followed him out. Mumbling, he stacked the pans and walked back into the barn setting one in each stall. Kiri was still leaning on the door watching him. Holding Float's feed bucket, he kicked at him. "Move." He unlatched the door and pushed him out of the way.

"Well, if the ranch goes under, then I'm gonna buy some land." Shinsou shot him a scathing look as he clipped Float's feed bucket to the wall, then turning his back to him, he began cleaning out her automatic waterer. Kiri kicked the stall door with his boot trying to get his attention, but Shinsou ignored him as he scrubbed the metal ferociously. "Not here though, can't afford this area, but I've been researching, there's some decent land further south. Might not support as much cattle but I'll be able to get by short term until I can figure more stuff out."

Finishing, Shinsou stalked out of the stall. "Good for you," he slammed the door and latched it shut. "Iz will go live with his mom. Sero can go be a foreman at one of the other ranches…." His whole body began trembling with anxiety.

Kiri nodded, "yeah, I suppose. Katsuki would be screwed though, he won't be out of prison for the one-year requirement, he'll have to find another program."

"He's screwed?" Ripping off his gloves Shinsou threw them at him. Kiri caught them, with a surprised look on his face. "You fucking stupid red-head! Who gives a shit about him? What about me?!" His voice ripped through his throat coming out in a sharp screech. "What…" he tried to catch his breath. "What about me?" Covering his eyes, he darted towards the open door.

"Well, if you didn't want to get a job on another ranch in the valley-"

"Of course I don't!" He spun on him. "They all fucking hate me. You know what Shouto, and everyone says! I'm a juvenile delinquent, a total loser. They all know the damn stories! The fights, the crazy episodes! Hell…" he started to laugh wildly, "you had to fucking tie me to your waist for two weeks! Remember, when I kept trying to run away after Iz left? They laughed their fucking heads off at me!"

"You were young then Shin, scared as shit." His face grew soft again.

"NO!" Shinsou put more distance between them. "Don't look at me like that!"

"Like what?" Kiri furrowed his brow.

"Like I'm something fuckingspecial." The damn idiot didn't even flinch. Something in his head snapped, like a triggered mine exploding. Shin stumbled backwards. "I should've fucking knocked you cold and run when I had the chance, got the fuck away from you!"

"Guess you'd gone back to juvie then."

"I WISH I HAD!" Shinsou screamed.

Float jumped in her stall and whirled her butt towards him, her ears flattening. She let out a worried snort.

His anger fell flat.

Sucking in air, he held up a hand, tears spilling from his eyes. "Sorry girl," he covered his face. "Fuck! Ihateeverything again! I feel like it's the day when I walked onto this stupid ass ranch all over again. I wish Inko'd left me rotting on that bunk in that ward. I wish…" Hugging his body, he squatted down and swayed, a soft moan escaping. "If I win…" he wiped his nose on his arm.

"The purse is big Shin, but not big enough to cover that loan."

"What the hell?" He looked up at him. Kiri was still leaning on Float's stall, staring at him with that frustratingly calm expression. "Why are you being so negative?"

"I'm not, I'm being realistic. Shin, you better accept that Iz might lose this ranch. Then what? I know it's scary but you gotta make plans because at some point this all ends. Why don't you-"

"Stop! Just stop it! It can't end! I won't let it!" He sprang up and ran across the courtyard to race inside the safety of his cabin, slamming the door behind him.

Kicking at the wall, Kiri let out a long sigh. His plan of taking their time rolling around in the hay and kissing was definitely out the window. Walking into the courtyard, he debated what to do next. His Shin was as perplexing to him today as he was the day he met him.

The image of the colt came back to mind. He knew if he went after him, he'd probably bolt, his usual way of dealing with crap. If he tried to ask him to join him at his new place, he'd lash out, just like that damned colt, teeth bared and hooves flying. This ranch had been the only solace that Shin had ever known in his life, and the thought of losing it consumed him. It was a fear that ran so deep that he refused to see reason, no matter how hard he tried to tell him everything was going to be alright, he'd never see it that way.

Float let out a loud whinny that echoed over the ranch. Luna ran by at full speed heading to the south pasture. Someone was coming back. Probably Iz and Katsuki.

Giving Shin's cabin another long look, he decided to keep doing what he'd been doing all along. Striding across the courtyard, he peered in his window. The living room was empty. "Shin!" He knocked on the glass. "Someone's coming back. We gotta go clean the troughs and it's a two-man job. I'm not doing it alone!" There was no movement. "I'm gonna go get the stuff and then start down to the pasture." Without waiting, he headed to the storage shed and began pulling out the cleaning supplies. Stacking up the equipment by the door, he went back inside to look for the wagon.

"I think Sero put all the plumbing materials in it."

Turning at the sound of his voice, he could see him standing in the doorway, the late afternoon sun was behind him and shading his face. His voice was nasally and thin from crying. Picking up half of the brushes and buckets, Shin waited. Closing the shed Kiri grabbed the rest and together, they walked down to the barn.

Throwing his keys into the bowl, Shouto walked into their family kitchen. "Hey dad," pulling out a chair at the table, he sat down heavily.

"You're late," scooping chili into a bowl, Enji cut a thick slice of cornbread.

"Yeah, there were a lot of loan reviews today." He rubbed his face trying to stave off the weariness, he still had to do the ranch books tonight.

"Ah, that's why you're in your jeans for work," sliding the food on the table, Enji sat down across from him.

"Yeah, Nezu likes it when we're casual."

"I guess when you're the owner of a bank you can do whatever you want," jumping up, he opened the refrigerator. "Beer or water?"

"Beer is fine, just one, I still have a lot to do tonight."

Snapping open two bottles, he set one down for him. Sliding back into his chair he sat watching him eat. Taking a few bites, Shouto could feel a strain settle between them. His dad looked nervous. Finally, he dropped his spoon in the bowl. "What's up dad?" His face grew tighter. "Is mom okay?" Suddenly the tightness lifted, and he beamed.

"She's doing great," he opened his phone, "Ochako sent photos of her new private room. Look, color in her cheeks," his smile grew tender. "They can actually open her window now so she can feel the sun and hear the birds."

"If she wakes up," Shouto pushed his bowl away, he wasn't hungry anymore.

"She will."

The way his dad emphatically stated that all the time was unnerving, Shouto crumbled the cornbread between his fingers. "She's been in a coma for four years, dad."

"But her vital signs are strong, and she's got great brain activity ever since they moved her."

"And that private room costs a fortune, do you know how much…" he stopped at the look of despair that flickered in his blue eyes. Once as hard as steel, since the accident, they'd begun to soften with age faster than his years.

"Don't worry, we can afford it." Shouto clamped his mouth shut, he was too tired to deal with this tonight. Wiping the crumbs off his hands, he wondered what was going on with him, the way he was sitting… unmoving, drumming his fingers on the table looking at him curiously. "Sorry, I guess I'm not really hungry." Shouto sighed, the whole day had been crap. His biggest problem was that Nezu had pulled the Midoriya loan application from the committee and told him he would decide personally. His stomach had been so twisted in knots he'd felt sick since their meeting.

"I imagine it must be hard," his sharp tone belied some deeper meaning. Shouto's senses snapped to attention.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"When were you going to tell me about Iz breaking off the engagement?"

"Oh," he let out a long breath, of all the things his father could figure out that was the least of his worries. "Sorry," he waved his hand dismissively, "it was painful." Chewing on the inside of his cheek, he tasted blood. Rubbing his jaw, he stopped. He knew Mirio would probably demand a blow job from him tomorrow and now it would hurt like hell. If it was possible his gut wrenched even tighter. The webbing of his lies was starting to feel like a noose and Mirio was just one of the knots tightening on the rope.

"I guess that's why Inko didn't want to see me when I went to visit your mother last week." Enji bit out angrily. "Were you ever going to tell me? Do you know how embarrassing it was to pretend like I knew when I heard it from Hound Dog this morning?"

Shouto bristled as he let out a loud grunt, his dad's anger was not something he deserved. "Fuck dad, I'm the jilted one, not you." As he took a long drink of his beer, he could feel his dad still watching him. Swallowing, he waited, he just kept drumming his fingers. "What?" Shouto rolled his eyes, he was irritated now. "We broke up, why are you acting like it's your problem?"

"It is," he leaned back, his posture rigid. "I'll need to contact the lawyers and update the loan paperwork for them."

Frowning, Shouto shook his head, "I'll do it dad, don't worry about it."

"No, Iwillworry about it. Inko is a friend, not some business associate. I'll sit down and discuss it with her."

"That, um…" Shouto took a deep breath. "I'll need to revisit the contract to see what we can do for her," he mumbled.

"Actually," Enji stood and picked up a stack of paperwork off the credenza. Setting them down, he fiddled with the cover of a large book. "I spent quite a while in the office today." Shouto jerked forward to look at what he'd set down. Enji covered everything with his large hand, continuing. "Started with looking at all kinds of things. Even got into the financial records."

Not fucking today.

Shouto could feel a sense of dread spreading slowly through him. Taking a calming breath, he tried to keep his face impassive. "You did? How long since you've poked around in the ranch's books? That's my job now." His dad's blue eyes sparked with indignation at his snide tone.

"I think that's the problem," he bit out and opened the ranch ledger. "I'm a bit confused about some of the numbers."

"What's that?" The book was an old-fashioned ledger sheet filled with his dad's illegible chicken scratch. He almost laughed in relief, he'd been worried for nothing. "Going back to the early days, dad? Since when do we use pencil and paper?"

"I'll be honest, I never did like computers, so I spent the day transposing all the numbers into my ledger."

His mouth went dry. "All of them?"

His dad pushed the book towards him. "It's interesting when you put pencil to paper systematically, you find quite a few errors."

"Did you?" He could barely push out the words, coughing he cleared his throat. "That's odd, I bought that program last year. I'll need to call the software company."

"It's not the program Shouto," his eyes burned accusingly. "Why does it appear that we're making payments on loans that are tied to the ranch?"

Sucking on his cheek through his teeth, blood flooded his mouth. The sour taste was bitter on his tongue. He tried to think of any angle but by the set of his dad's jaw, he knew, no use hiding anymore.

"Because we are."

His dad blinked, his mouth falling open as his brow furrowed. Shouto couldn't decide if his father was stunned or angry. His big hand was trembling as he picked up his beer and sucked it down. "You'll get drunk-"

"Shut up," Enji wiped his mouth. "Tell me."

"What's to tell?" Shouto crossed his arms defiantly, he'd prepared for this day. "Between mom's bills and the increased overhead at the ranch, I had to borrow money from the bank." Settling a bored look on his face, he leaned back in his chair, "don't worry, no one knows. You're still the top rancher as far as the valley is concerned. It's between Nezu and myself."

He thumped his big finger on the entries and shook his head. "That's not everything and you know it," he growled. "The ranch doesn't have this kind of overhead. What the hell is this? When did you buy more livestock? We've been self-breeding for years. We brought in one new bull last year and that's it."

Flicking a quick look at the book Shouto stayed quiet.

"Are you doing drugs?"

Huffing loudly, he gave him a withering look. "Are you fucking nuts? No."

"Someone on the side? Gambling? What the hell are you doing to need that much money?"

"What... if... it... isn't...me?" Shouto spit out the words soft and slow every ounce of his anger behind each word

"Your… mom?" He frowned looking at the numbers, "but that's all entered correctly."

"No, not her, yourotherchildren, dad. Have you ever thought for a moment that maybe I'm not the one draining your bank account?" Shouto's heart picked up speed.

"You sister?" His voice was strained, his blue eyes growing wide.

"You know who I'm talking about, and you can't even accept it can you?" He snorted, laughing at his feigned ignorance. "I could never compete with him, could I? No dad, it's Natsuo."

His face softened, irritatingly, at the mention of his other son. "What about him?"

"Yourfavoriteson got in deep on a financial venture, he borrowed money from loan sharks, and they came collecting." Something released in him as the secrets that had been twisting inside him for so long, sprang loose.

"There is no way Natsuo did that," Enji scoffed. "He's been working at that new financial firm and doing great."

"So,hesays, dad." Shouto scowled, his father had never hidden his greater love for his older brother. "He decided to invest in a quick rich scheme. It wasn't until he was in too deep that he found out the whole thing was an illegal Ponzi scheme. The money he'd borrowed to invest was from loan sharks and when it all fucking vanished, he came crawling to me. While I was still inhigh school!" He frowned at the memory. "I was a fucking kid! But it was either Natsuo getting along without a few limbs, or I helped him."

His dad's blue eyes grew wider, and his thick brows snapped together in confusion.

"Surprised your little angel could be so stupid?" Shouto chewed on his cheek viciously,fuck it, everything was starting to hurt. "I started by using some of my college money to help him." Fuming now, everything was flowing out, like a pustule that had finally burst its vile contents. "My college money!" He sucked in a sharp breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Then Natsuo opened his big mouth and the fuckers came after me," he blinked back tears of frustration. "That's when things got really bad. I had to do something." His hand fell limply to the table. "I had to take out loans to try to at least pay off the interest and some of the principal. Didn't take long before there was a mountain of debt on our ranch."

Stopping Shouto let the silence stretch, his dad was clearly overwhelmed.

"Oh," he smirked, "and his"financial company," he air quoted with his fingers, "that you're so proud of? Since he lost his trading license the only thing he can do now is work for one of those cheesy check cashing places. Skimming off the poor for a few measly bucks. Not even enough to make his damn payments on those loans!"

"What?" His dad was clearly trying to process the information dump. "That's not true… It can't be.." Jumping up he opened one of the kitchen drawers fumbling through the pens and paper. Pulling out a business card, he flipped it in front of him. "What's that then?"

Picking up the card, Shouto laughed. It was a business card for a well-known financial company, his brother's name across the middle, underneath 'Senior Trader'as his title. Shouto threw it back at him. "It's a fucking fake. He had it made after he met some guy that worked there and he gave him his card. Copied it, down to the color of the font."

"Really?" Enji's voice came out as a whisper.

"Yeah dad,really."

Sitting back down, Enji wiped his face, playing with his lips, his eyes landing on the list of accounts. "Is it as bad as I think?"

"Worse." His dad made a strangled noise. "The worst part is that the loans are still there, even with ranch funds, we can't keep up… fucking, just gets harder every damn year."

His dad's big face went slack, like he was trying to say something, but he couldn't fathom what. Finally, he just sagged in his chair, staring at the table. "And the marriage contract?" His voice was quiet.

"I need Iz to marry me to get us out of this stranglehold of debt," he gritted his teeth. "But his latest prison flunky inspired him to get a backbone. Now I'm going to have to foreclose on the ranch, which is going to be messy as hell and take time. Not sure if I can push off the loans so…" Shouto had been trying to figure out what to do since the day Iz had spouted off to Hound Dog.

"Why? What does their ranch bring? They make less money than us."

Laughing, Shouto smiled at him condescendingly, "everyone in this fucking valley thinks small. Fine, now you know the truth, you might as well hear it all." Shoving back from his chair, he flew up the stairs to his office and grabbed a large cardboard tube hidden behind his bookcase with the folder from his filing cabinet. Taking everything back downstairs, he threw the folder on the table and opened the tube. Slowly he spread out the huge set of blueprints several sheets thick on the table. "This is why."

Standing up, his dad studied the complex drawings and notes. "What is this?"

"Water, the most precious resource in our valley and the Midoriya's own every last drop."

"Water?" He pointed to the large structure in the middle of the blueprints. "What's this? Is that a building?"

"It's a water plant. Once I have their ranch, I intend to do what should've been done all along. First, slow the water that's spreading to the other areas, then reconcentrate a small part of the aquifer to our eastern lands here," he pointed to the end of an array of pipes that connected their lands on the blueprint. "In the meantime, I blow through Ridge valley and open up that wasted acreage to expand grazing lands."

"Blow through?" He looked startled.

"Dynamite, I've sent some engineering teams to study the area and according to them there is a faultline on the southern end. They said it would be a breeze to create a huge opening, but that's just the beginning."

"Shouto?"

Ignoring the look of disbelief, he flipped to the next page. "This is where we make the real money." He smiled proudly. "Once the facility is built then we can sell the water for commercial use. I've sent samples and companies are drooling over the quality. They are offering us a fucking fortune for water that is wasted on a bunch of stinky ass cows," Shouto looked up at him and smiled, "I like cows, don't get me wrong."

His dad stared blankly at the plans. "But the valley… we've kept it natural and pristine for a reason."

"For what reason? To be archaic and poor?" Shouto stood appreciating the effort that he'd put in over the years, the immense amount of strategy it had taken to get to this point. He knew his dad would never understand. "Look, this is the smallest facility that I could design and still make money. I don't want to see this place go to shit either, butwe need money. The valley will benefit by having more grazing lands and I'll let them fucking run their herds for free, screw the water contracts."

Enji sat down and rubbed his face. "I just… I don't understand."

Leaning across the table, Shouto slammed his hand on the blueprints. "Do you want mom to be in a private room?! Do you want her to have rosy cheeks and birds until she wakes up, dad?! Do you want your sweet son to have a real life again?! If you want thatandnot lose your precious ranch, thenthisis our solution." He slammed his fist into the blueprints again and sat down. "It's not fun to do this to people I've known my whole life. I know I'll be hated, at least until the money starts to flow. Then you'll see, the valley will back me."

"No, they won't," Enji shook his head. "They'll block this in the city council, there is no way you'll get this through."

Shouto just chuckled at his innocence. "Dad, do you think I'd go to these lengths to be blocked by a bunch of rodeo clowns?" Pulling up the top sheet, he revealed a map of the entire area. "Look at this." He ran his finger along a line that split the Midoriya ranch. "Our county runs up through the aquifer, but the next county actually runs within a few hundred meters on the other side." Shouto pointed to the different shading. "When they redrew the lines for voting purposes about six years ago, the neighboring county edge was pushed closer to us, so close that I can build the water facility in their district instead."

"Why won't that city's council just block the facility?" His face wrinkled in confusion.

Shouto was enjoying his dad's reaction, as much as he'd fucking suffered, it was nice to have him feel his pain and hopefully now, share in his success. "See," he smiled, "you're always the businessman dad." He tapped his head, "you think through everything."

His dad frowned at the compliment.

"With one of the loans I took out a few years ago, I purchased a home in their county. As a resident of the town, I can run for city council. I've already entered my application for the next term. I don't think it will take much to convince my fellow residents that a little bit of concrete and larger roads are worth the financial benefits."

"You're… you're nuts!"

"Nuts or brilliant?" Biting his lip, he felt a stab of disappointment. He'd hoped his dad would be impressed. Waving his hand at him dismissively, Shouto didn't need him for any of this, only to stay quiet. "Unfortunately, Iz screwed everything up so now I have to wait to foreclose until the expiration of the marriage contract next summer. My partner and I are negotiating right now. I'm hoping I can keep the investor on the water plant moving forward without a full settlement with the Midoriya's."

"Get out!" Enji yelled shakily. "I… I'll disown you!" Jumping from his chair, he swept his arm through the layers of pages and flung them in the air at him. "Get out!"

"Sure," Shouto shrugged, trying to catch the flying papers. "It won't help though."

"The hell it will! I'll… I'll take over, get the loans paid back! Help Natsuo myself. Like you said, I'm a good businessman, hell, I created this damn place!" He lunged across the table at him.

Stepping back from his hulking frame, his dad looked like he was going to throttle him. He needed to check his ego. "Go ahead, but I control everything, you can't even sign a check for feed at this point."

"That's ludicrous, I have a checkbook!"

"That little account I opened for you? Yes, dad, but I supply the money that funnels in there," he gave him a belittling smile.

Digging through the papers strewn on the ground, while his dad sputtered. Shouto held up a thick stapled package. "Natsuo swore me to secrecy about his problem, and I was fine with that, since this project required money, I didn't have anyway. And…I couldn't exactly ask you to sign loan documents, now, could I?" He snorted softly. "We made a slight amendment to things when you were busy." He tossed it on the table.

Snatching it up Enji pored through the filing, the blood draining from his face. "You.. took me off the ranch corporation? You took everyone off." Disbelief coated his words.

"Tenya is one hell of a lawyer, he actually rents my little home over in the next district." Shouto began picking up the mess on the floor.

"You cold-hearted asshole! This is dated right after your mom's accident."

"Like I said," Shouto grimaced, "you were busy."

"How long?" he flipped through the pages, "how long have you been planning this?" He realized some of the paperwork was dated over five years ago. "But…you weren't even out of high school?"

"I guess you weren't listening to my little drama." Shouto began arranging the paperwork. "It sure is funny how life works. I met Tenya on the Midoriya farm when I was a third year in high school. He was interesting, not a cowpoke rancher, he'd actually worked as a corporate lawyer for Takato Industries." He let the name soak into his dad's brain.

"The commercial developer?"

"Exactly. The deals he structured for them would put this thing to shame." He snapped his tongue. "When he saw what the Midoriya family was sitting on, he was intrigued. He'd already begun doing research on the water and possibilities for commercial value. As we got to know each other, things just… fell in place." Sitting down he rolled up the blueprints. "Look, I was ready to throw away my life and marry Iz for you and Inko, but then Tenya pointed out the benefits. Iz was head over heels in love with me, so it was easy to sweep him off his feet," laughing he shook his head. "Then Inko, bless her heart, handed me the ranch on a silver platter with the marriage contract and ran to you for the loan she desperately needed."

"You… did all of that? For this?" His voice dropped so low it tangled in his throat. "And Tenya is helping you?"

"Yep."

"I thought he was disbarred."

"He is but he still has valuable contacts in the industry. While I was at school, he started the groundwork and between us, we laid all of this out." He slid the blueprints into the tubing. "Once his source saw the aquifer, they've been hounding us to get it built," he winked. "Better than gold in them there hills," he drawled sarcastically.

"Are you together with him?"

"We enjoy a close relationship if that's what you're asking, but we're not dating."

"Shouto, you can't do this, you can't just…" He stopped, his mouth working. "You…you'll destroy everything about this valley. What about the cattle? The ranchers?"

Rolling his eyes, Shouto pulled out the blueprints open again. "Listen this time dad," he hissed. "The area will still be usable, but I'll be adding our eastern pasture and then Ridge valley to expand our capacity. As I said, we'll pipe part of the water to our lands and then blast out the ridge. Once that's open, we can run endless cattle there. Believe me this is the best solution you could want."

"What I want? NO! This isn't what I want, dammit…" he stammered. Clenching his fists, he slammed them on the table. "What I'm going to do is to expose you!"

"Go ahead," Shouto sighed, he was tired. The day had been hell, and his father wasn't reacting the way he'd hoped. "We'll just let the whole valley know that your son destroyed your family ranch. Also, if Nezu gets wind of what's happening, he'll call our notes and foreclose on us." His dad scowled but looked away. "ThenpoorNatsuo without a source of income to pay off the last of his debt will be beaten, at the very least, by his loan sharks." Looking at the family portrait on the wall, he let his dad think about his prized son being hurt before he put the final nail in the coffin. "Have you heard from Fuyumi?" As expected, his face creased deeper with worry.

"No…"

"Her husband just filed for divorce. She's asking if she can live at home with the kids for a while until she gets on her feet."

The strange mix of happiness and worry on his face was comical.

"I promise to keep this valley as pristine as possible, believe me any other developer would crush this place by putting in something five times as big. The water will go out through the neighboring county. Ranchers get more land and free water. I'll help Natsuo and Fuyumi." Leaning on his hands on the table, he added the ace up his sleeve. "I'll even hire the best doctors in the world to fly in and wake mom up." His dad's forehead wrinkled as hope lit in his eyes. "All you have to do is stay quiet and let me foreclose on the Midoriya Ranch." He wanted to fight, Shouto could see it in his expression, but he knew the moment that he'd won. He clenched his fists in triumph.

"I will but only on one condition."

Tipping his head, he gave him an annoyed glare, "what?"

"Carve the ranch portion out, let them stay there. Let Inko keep the south pasture and the structures, it's not much but they would at least have a home."

Pursing his lips, Shouto tapped his fingers on the wooden table, he didn't really need that part of the ranch. "Fine, but Iz has to dismantle the prison program."

"Well without any land, I imagine he'd have to," Enji sank shakily into his chair. "I guess everyone sells their soul eventually," he whispered hoarsely. "I just never thought it would happen to me."

"Dad, your soul is going to be filthy rich and have your loving family surrounding you. I think that's more like… a deal made in heaven." Shouto realized he was trembling. Finally, his dad knew everything, no more hiding.

"Are you sure about this bossman?" Sero grumbled over Medusa's saddle as Izuku tied on his bedroll.

"Sero, you sound like a mother hen. Stop worrying."

"How can I stop? The man's been riding for what? Two months?"

"Exactly!" Kacchan yelled from the other end of the barn where he was tacking up Bombshell.

Smiling, Izuku looked down the aisle at him and laughed. Out past the huge doors he could see the morning was dawning a beautiful soft grey with streaks of blue as the sun came over the horizon, another warm one was ahead of them. "It's an easy ride, Sero," Izuku patted Medusa. "He's going to be fine."

"Here you go Iz," Kiri walked into the barn with a pack.

"You're helping?" Sero gave him an exasperated look.

"They're going to Ridge valley," Kiri snorted, "that's the easiest trail ride in history, well, without cattle." Then lowering his voice he glanced at Kacchan, "and the riverbeds."

"Shhh," Izuku scrunched up his face and shook his head.

Kiri just chuckled. "I gotta feeling our blonde is a live it and learn it kinda person anyway."

"I hear you fucking whispering over there," Kacchan called back. "I'm scared as shit, not too proud to admit that!"

Walking over to Bombshell, Izuku started checking over his pack. "You've got your bedroll, raincoat and mess kit."

"I got everything!" He snapped. "Unlike someone I know who's missing his sanity!"

Leaning into him, Izuku hugged his waist, "relax Kacchan."

"Are you kidding? I feel like I'm gonna puke. That 'relax' shit's not gonna work today," he groused.

"Alright," Izuku sighed, "we have to go slow anyway, it's been hot, anytime you need to stop, you let me know." Kacchan wasn't paying attention but busying himself with his packs. Pushing between him and the horse, Izuku clasped his face, forcing him to look at him. "Okay?"

His blazing red eyes shifted away. "Fine."

"Wait!" Shin ran into the barn and skidded to a stop next to Kiri. Luna bounded in after him.

"You finally woke up?" Kiri tugged at his hair sticking out haphazardly under his hat.

Slapping away his hand, he hugged Medusa. "You can't take her!" He stuck out his lower lip in a pout. "I need my girl, she's the only one that can keep up with Float."

"Good thought Shinsou," Katsuki grumbled, "let's go after the races."

"Actually, cold weather could roll in by then…" Sero finally relented. "I guess this really is the best time to go."

"See?" Izuku untied Medusa's lead. "With the races no one has time except us."

Grunting, Kacchan fidgeted with his gloves and pushed down his hat. Bombshell was chomping at the bit impatiently. "Your horse can feel the nervous energy coming off you."

"Sorry boy," he patted his neck, trying to calm the horse down.

"You've been practicing every day, and even galloped in the arena… you're starting to look like a real cowboy," he teased. Even his joke didn't make him budge. Kicking at the ground, Izuku wondered if he should let him stay home. If he went out quickly by himself, he could be home by tomorrow afternoon. It would be disappointing, but he didn't want to make him uncomfortable. "Look-"

"Is that all you've got?" Kacchan eyed Sero. Izuku saw the quick exchange and clamped his mouth shut.

Sero rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry Katsuki…will you still let me know where the cookies are?"

"No." Leading Bombshell to the mounting block, he climbed into the saddle and adjusted his stirrups.

"Cookies?" Izuku raised a brow. "What cookies?"

Blushing, Sero laughed self-consciously. "Sorry Bossman. He, uh, offered us cookies in exchange for trying to talk you out of going."

"Not me," Kiri held up his hands. "I'm glad you're going, we're behind and this takes one thing off our plate." Turning, he headed down to the animal pens.

"Sorry Katsuki," Shin ran after Kiri.

"He's not sorry," Kacchan fixed his reins.

"Nope," Sero rocked in place. "Can you give me a clue? Are they in the main house or your cabin?"

Turning in his saddle, he pointed to his pack. "They're in here." Clicking to Bombshell he began to jog down the trail.

"Sorry Sero!" Izuku laughed as he trotted to catch up with Kacchan. "Did you really bribe them?"

"I did and I don't feel guilty for trying."

"You had me fooled, I almost let you stay."

Bombshell suddenly stopped. "Really, I can?" His voice was hopeful.

Twisting his lips in a grin, Izuku laughed, "not anymore."

"I could," he chewed at his lip nervously. "You wouldn't force me to go."

"You could, but then I'd have to take back your present." Izuku admired the new chaps that Kacchan was wearing. Every day, the change was getting better. When he'd put them on this morning, Izuku had nearly passed out. No one should ever look that good in anything.

"These are nice, and I like the black theme," Kacchan ran his hand over his legs, his fingertips leaving streaks in the thick leather.

"I was thinking that you're slowly going from the hero to the villain."

"I always was the villain." He gave him a cocky smile.

"I don't believe that for a minute!" Izuku chortled, trying to focus on anything else but those piercing eyes. His whole body was vibrating with excitement. They'd not spent a night together since the beach hotel and the thought of being alone with him was making his heart race.

"Freckles?"

Looking up, Izuku realized he was looking at him expectantly. "Sorry, what'd you say?"

"How long before we find the cattle?"

"Oh, we should be able to find them tomorrow."

"What if we don't? I mean, isn't it like looking for a needle in a haystack?"

"Most likely they're by the water, they usually stay there, but if it does take us longer, we can stay an extra night." The morning sun began to cut across the pasture, the rays mixing with the low fog that hung on the grass. "Look," he pointed, stopping his horse. "A rainbow!"

The thick moisture that looked like a blanket covering the pasture glinted off the golden sunlight creating a colorful bow that barely left the ground. Katsuki was sure he'd never seen anything so beautiful in his life. "Not sure if that can be called a rainbow though," he tipped his head, "more like a fogbow."

"That's good Kacchan." His face lit up, "hey, wanna try galloping? Just to the fogbow?"

"Seriously?" Katsuki's stomach clenched. They'd galloped the other day but that was in the arena. He looked across the open pasture, it had that same wide-open feeling of the beach. Tamping down the fear, Katsuki realized he wanted to know what it was like. To know why Shinsou raced like a bat out of hell on his horse. Gathering himself, he gave Bombshell the cue. The horse's transition from the walk to the gallop was like a movement in a dance, a graceful pull of his body under him and he began to rock gently. Sitting the gallop, he tried to remember everything Freckles had taught him. The rhythm of the horse's hooves pounding the grass and dirt was like a drumbeat. Bombshell's big body cut through the low fog causing it to swirl and move around them. The wind sliced through his hair and roared past his ears. Grinning, he began to relax into the saddle, he heard Freckles laugh loudly as he came up next to him. A wide smile on his face.

Letting Bombshell have more rein, the horse's back rounded more as his haunches dug under him and he propelled forward with more speed. Putting a hand on his hat, Katsuki hollered as a sense of exhilaration and fear entwined in his body at once.

This was freedom.

"Did you find any cookies?" Shinsou stacked the lunch plates into the sink and began running the hot water.

"No," Sero pouted. "He even cleaned out the ones that were left in the cookie jar."

"We could just go into town and buy some."

"Yeah, I suppose, but his are so much better."

A cloud of dust swirled up from the courtyard below. Shinsou looked up from the sink as Sero walked to the window.

"Mirio just drove up," he laughed softly. "Is Shouto here?"

"What!?" Dropping the sponge, Shinsou ran to the window, wiping his hands on his jeans. "Mirio? Why's he here?"

"I dunno, he never comes around unless Shouto's here."

Shinsou watched as Mirio jumped out of the truck and looked up at the house. His body seemed tense and as he tipped his hat back Shinsou could see he was frowning, which was even more odd. He didn't think the man could do anything but smile. Bits of worry began to fly through his mind.Why was he upset?Mirio had been sitting in Shouto's truck that day... if Mirio and Shouto had talked, that could mean trouble for him.

What if Shouto said something to him?

Iz openly dumping him yesterday couldn't have made Shouto happy. Or maybe he heard they were running Float? Iz had wired the money over yesterday.

"Well, if it isn't about Shouto maybe he needs some help with his cattle?" Sero mused. "He already signed the new contracts with Iz."

Kiri emerged from the barn and Shinsou could see them talking.

What was he saying?

Panic started to swell from the crazy storm of worries flying through his head. His chest tightened and his lungs began to constrict. Kiri looked up at the house and his mouth pulled down in a frown. Touching the cool glass, Shinsou stopped breathing.

What was wrong? What did Mirio say?

They started up the stairs to the kitchen.

"Huh," Sero grunted. "They both look upset, wonder what's up?"

There could only be one reason Mirio was upset, Shinsou backed away from the window. How much did he know? Did he see the photo? Did Shouto spout his lies?

Another worry gripped him.

Kiri.Was he here to show the others? If Kiri saw that photo.

His mind started to shut down as it spun out of control. "I'll do the dishes later," Shinsou managed to get out as he turned to race out the back. He was already on the brink of a nervous breakdown with everything that had happened recently. Kiri was the only one that was able to string him back together each day, and barely even then. What would happen if he saw the photo with Shouto?

He had to escape. "Tell Mirio I had to go somewhere."

If he lost Kiri...

"Shin, where're you going?"

Suddenly Sero's strong hand gripped his wrist. Yelping, his legs tangled and he tripped, falling to his knees. Jerking his arm hard, Shinsou tried to get free, half-scrambling, half-pulling, he began to scream. "Let go! Let GO!" He needed to run, get away before Kiri saw that photo, before he found out.

If he lost Kiri…

"Shin! What the hell?" Sero tried to help him up. "Calm down."

"Stop!" Shinsou wriggled, trying to free from his tight grasp. "I… have to go! I can't see him!"

"Mirio? Sero hauled him up in his arms and lifted him off the floor. Shinsou kicked and bucked, his boot landing squarely on one of his feet. "Dammit, Shin!" He hissed in pain. "It's just fucking Mirio." The sound of their footsteps echoed outside. "KIRI!" Sero yelled loudly.

"No! No! No!" Shinsou panicked. The storm of worries was blotting out everything else. He couldn't think, couldn't breathe. All he could do was try to get away.

Opening the kitchen door Kiri stopped, Mirio plowed into his back.

"Kiri…" Sero spun around struggling to hold Shin, who was kicking and hollering at him.

"Shin!" Kiri lunged forward and grabbed his face, trying to get his attention. His eyes were huge, almost bulging out of his head and his pupils were completely dilated to the point that his irises looked black. He could feel his body shaking violently under his hands. "What happened? Sero, is he having a seizure?" He tried to be heard over his yelling.

"I… don't…fucking… OW!" Sero dropped Shin as his teeth sank into his arm. "Fucking Hell!" His other arm flew around his neck to try to dislodge him.

"Get off him Sero!" Kiri hit him. "Don't fucking hurt him."

"I'm not fucking trying!" Shin slipped out of his arms and shoved at Kiri trying to dart by him, but Kiri managed to catch him around the waist, wrapping him up in a bear hug, pinning his arms against his body.

"LET GO!" He screamed again and lunged forward to headbutt him. Kiri dodged at the last second letting Shin's head slam into his shoulder instead.

"Shin, stop. Calm down." Kiri squeezed him as tightly as he dared until he heard him gasping.

"I - I can't breathe!" Sucking in air, he began to hyperventilate.

"What do we do?" Sero whispered worriedly.

"Nothing," Kiri grimaced, "let him pass out, it's best."

"Fuck you," Shin struggled again but he finally gave up, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"It's okay, Shin. I'm here."

"No…" He began to sob, his breath coming in fast gasps. "Not you," he closed his eyes and sagged in his arms. "Nooooo," his voice sounded like a strangled howl.

Goosebumps flashed across Mirio's arms as he moved into the kitchen and looked for a place to stand that was out of the way. The sound coming from Shinsou was chilling him to the bone. He'd only heard that desperate sound once in his life. The day he'd found Reta.

He'd been out riding the trail when he heard a high-pitched sorrowful keening that sounded of pain and death. It'd taken him almost ten minutes to find the creature. It was a coyote. It had fallen from the cliff above and was lying broken on the ground calling for its pack. He always rode with tranquilizers, since he hated guns, and he'd never been more thankful to give a creature rest.

Slowly the kitchen quieted until the only sound he could hear was his heavy breathing. So… this was the Shinsou he'd heard about, he'd always wondered.

"Shin?" Kiri whispered, "want me to let you go?"

"No."

His voice was nothing more than a faint grunt. Kiri breathed a sigh of relief as he calmed down. "Okay," he continued to run his hands through his hair.

Sero pressed into Shin's back and wrapped them both up in his arms. "I'm sorry if I hurt you." He sighed and held tight so that Shin's body was squeezed between them.

Kiri smiled at him and nodded. "Good thought." It had been a while now, but with Shin's violent outbursts in the past they'd found the force of their bodies pinning him calmed him down much faster.

"S'okay," Shin shrugged.

"Stay like this?" Kiri knew to use simple questions.

"Um, okay." Shin peeked over at Mirio. "Um, no, um, can… can I sit down?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah…" his voice trailed off as he looked warily at the chair and clutched at Kiri's shirt.

Feeling his hesitation Kiri tipped his head towards Sero. "Do we still have that blanket?"

"Yeah, I think it's in the storage area in the laundry room."

"Hey Mirio?" Kiri called out.

He jerked his head up, clearly surprised at hearing his name. "Yeah?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure," he glanced around the kitchen. "Whatcha need?"

"Turn around and go down that hall there. First door to the left. There're some cupboards in the laundry room. In one of the bottom ones is a blanket, black with purple stars. You'll know it's the right one because it's heavy as shit."

"O-Okay," Mirio stammered and ran down the hall following Kiri's instructions.

"You want me to sit with you?" Shin just nodded, he'd closed his eyes and was finally breathing normally. Sero let go and let Kiri maneuver him to the chair. Sitting down, he cradled him in his lap.

"I'll get some water." Sero stared at them for a moment and then pulled a glass down from the cupboard.

Mirio came back into the kitchen awkwardly carrying the blanket. "You were right," he kept trying to grab the weighted sides as they slipped down. "This is really heavy. Is it filled with sand?"

"Yeah," Sero opened the fridge to pull out the water. "Inko got that to help Shin out when he'd have nightmares. Good thing she didn't get rid of it." He set the cup on the table in front of them. Shin put his hands over his ears and buried his head into Kiri's shoulder.

"Lay it over us." Kiri pushed out the chair to make it easier for him. Mirio carefully laid the heavy blanket over them. Eyeing his friend, Kiri added gruffly, "And Sero, don't talk like he's not right here."

"You do it too," his voice was muffled under the thick cover.

Kiri sighed, tucking the blanket around him. "You're right I do, sorry about that Shin." He made a soft noise and then quieted again.

"Is that all you need?" Mirio shoved his hands into his pockets. He was staring at the floor, obviously trying to avoid looking at them. "Will he be… I mean," he blushed. "Will you be okay, Shin?"

"Why are you here?" His voice was almost inaudible, muffled deep under the thick blanket.

"Oh, I came to, well… I saw you entered Float in the race."

Shin pulled his head out of the blanket and peeked over at him. "We did," Kiri stilled his hands. Shin's eyes were puffy from crying, but his breathing had normalized. He was looking warily at Mirio as if he didn't trust him, which didn't make sense since they barely knew each other. Their only connection was through Shouto. Maybe he was angry because Mirio was so blatantly open about his feelings? Shin hated anyone that hurt Iz.

"I was comin' to make a bet," his eyes darted between the three of them.

Kiri almost laughed. This cocky son of bitch had never looked nervous a day in his life, yet he looked like he was more scared than Shin right now. "You wanna bet? On what Mirio?"

"I.. uh," Mirio smiled shyly. "I wanna bet that Shouto beats Shin."

"Why come here?" Sero pressed him, "just bet the line like everyone else."

Mirio fidgeted more, his face getting redder. "My bet isn't money."

Shin sat up and wriggled around to face him. "What do you want to bet?"

"I'll put up Jack against information."

"Jack?" Stunned, Kiri caught Sero's own shocked expression. Jack was Mirio's best gelding, one he'd bred and raised himself.

"Yeah, I have a new colt out of the horse that Shouto rode to win his first race in middle school. That was the day I met him." A wistful smile played across his lips. "I've always wanted a colt from her and when Shouto finally agreed to sell me one, I snatched the opportunity and now he's ready to be ridden,"

Shin snorted rudely. "The whole damn valley is in love with that prick. I just don't fucking get it."

Mirio laughed sheepishly. "Honestly Shinsou, not sure I'm in love with him, but it sure is fun to mess around with him… he's so easy to fluster."

"I disagree," Shin huffed.

"Why not give Jack to your brother or sister?" Kiri wondered what was up with him. What information could any of them have that he would need?

"They both have good horses."

"You must want something pretty important," Shin shrank back against him.

"It is, that's why I'm willing to put up Jack as my bet. In exchange, if Shouto beats you, I wanna know about the photo."

Shin's entire body stiffened in reaction, he curled into a ball and covered his head again. Kiri glared at Mirio. "I can tell you about that, leave him out of it."

"You know?" Kiri could hear the surprise in his voice.

"Sort of, not everything… you had nightmares on the trail and yelled a lot of stuff. Plus, how you went from being best friends with him to avoiding Shouto completely. I pieced most of it together."

"Wait!" He yanked down the heavy blanket and grabbed his face, smashing his cheeks. He was looking at him with an awed expression of disbelief. "You knew? You knew about that fucking photo this whole time?!"

"Yesh." Kiri mouthed around his smooshed cheeks.

"But… but, you said… and you… but… you kissed me?" He was having trouble even talking.

"Of coursh I did, I love you." Kiri tipped his head, "wait, ishn't that good?" Suddenly, Shin kissed him. His warm lips pressed against his mouth and his hands on his face softened. It was damn near straight the sweetest kiss he'd ever experienced. Childish but oh… so much more. His innocence and desire shining through at once.

"You knew," Shin sighed into his mouth and then pulled back slightly so he could see him. "But… you still kissed me," he giggled like he was being tickled by the thought.

Swallowing, Kiri didn't dare look away, he felt two sets of eyes boring into them but as usual Shin was completely oblivious to people or place but that was part of his allure. "I did kiss you," he smiled wickedly, "quite a few times if I recall." Even as the blush raced into his cheeks, Shin just grinned wider. Running his hands through his hair, Kiri wanted to remember this expression forever. "Why would it matter if I knew?"

His smile faltered slightly as he began chewing on his lip. "I didn't want you to see… to know. If you did then you'd-" He clamped his mouth shut and shook his head.

"I'd what?"

He frowned and looked away worriedly.

"Say it Shin," Kiri pushed him. He knew what sat at the bottom of his soul, devouring his mind slowly. He'd loved him too long not to know.

"There's nothing to say."

"Say it." Kiri paused, "what would I do if I saw the photo?"

"I can't." He squirmed on his lap.

"Say it."

"Okay… okay." He took a few sips of air. "I didn't want you to know. Because," Shinsou squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears.

Kiri's heart lurched by the fact that he was so frightened of the very words that he was about to utter.

"Because then you won't love me. No one can! I'm unlovable!" Grabbing the blanket, he went back under, pressing his face into his chest.

"Shin." Kiri whispered through the blanket.

"No."

He could feel the heat of his breath through the thin cotton of his shirt. "Do you really believe that?" Kiri stroked his back slowly. As he did, the familiar smell that wafted up triggered old memories. Shin had sometimes spent days under its weight with him rubbing that lavender oil into the fabric. He smiled and hoped Shin would remember as well. "Think about it, all these years, us… together. Have I ever left your side?"

He only shook his head. "I only remember you kicking my ass."

"It's a nice ass, Shin." Sero had a sudden coughing fit and gulped down a glass of water. "Not like I'm telling you something you don't already know," Kiri smiled at the lump in his lap.

Shin flipped the cover off his head. His purple hair taking on a life of its own as static electricity caused it to fluff wildly. It made him look even more adorable. "You really love me." It was more a statement than a question. Shin just stared at him. "Eijirou Kirishima really loves me."

He quelled the laughter that bubbled up knowing Shin would get angry at him. If he'd been alone though, he would have kicked up his heels and laughed out loud. Knowing that he truly understood his feelings now made him want to shout from the rooftops. "I do, Shin… I've loved you for a long time." He hugged him tightly, the sigh of content that flowed out of Shin was more physical than audible.

"Um... I'm… so sorry," Mirio stammered.

"What do you want to know?" Kiri glanced at him. "You don't need to bet your horse. If he can, or if I can, we'll tell you."
"I know it sounds stupid, especially coming from me." Mirio rubbed his neck, which was as red as his cheeks. "I just wondered if you'd slept with him?"

"No."

A grim expression settled on Mirio's face. "So, if you didn't have an affair then what was the photo?"

Kiri sighed. "Shouto-"

"It's my story Kiri," Shin turned to face down Mirio. "Do you really like him?"

"I have Shinsou, for a long time, I never said anything 'cause everyone knew Iz liked him. Then they got engaged. Never figured I had a chance."

Shin just shook his head. "I think you can do better than him, Mirio. He's the lousiest two-timing, sidewinding snake in the grass, shoot you in the back, low-life scum out there." He sucked in a loud breath and continued his rant, Kiri bit back a smile at his choice words. "He screwed over Inko and Iz, hell he's screwing over all of us, including the ranch and he tried to send me to the loony bin."

"Oh," Mirio's face fell. "I just-"

"I'm not done!" Shin snapped. "That piece of shit trapped me in a stall, bashed my head in and shoved his skanky dick in my mouth while he snapped that photo." He sagged into Kiri, who wrapped him up in his arms.

"Bastard," Sero muttered quietly.

"He… did that? Then took a photo?" The way Mirio was talking, Kiri almost wondered if he hadn't already suspected the truth.

"He was having an affair, and I caught him, so he used it to keep me from talking."

"An affair?" Mirio licked his lips and swallowed hard, "wouldn't happen to be with Tenya, would it?"

Shin flinched. "How'd you know? I mean… no one knew. Tenya left when they moved to university. He's been gone five years."

"Thing is," Mirio moved to the table and sat down. "I follow him around sometimes."

"Yeah, we know," Shin scoffed.

Blushing even redder, Mirio laughed self-consciously, "he goes over to the next town, and I followed him a few times out of curiosity."

"Bank business?"

"No, Tenya lives there, he goes and visits him." Shin's jaw dropped open.

"Hell?" Sero wrinkled his brow, "if Tenya's so close, why doesn't he come by and visit?"

"Uh, Sero," Kiri gave him a quick look. "Are you forgetting our conversation the other day?"

"Oh… shit, that's right. It was Tenya that changed those documents."

"Like I said," Shin crossed his arms, "those two-timing rat bastards screwed over the Midoriya's in a big way."

"How'd they do that?" Mirio didn't look like he wanted to know the answer.

"Should we say anything?" Kiri squeezed Shin, "this is their private business."

"I know a lot," Mirio admitted, "I've been hanging out with Shouto more recently. We, uh, ran into each other at a horse auction and things… happened."

"Yeah?" Shin glared at him. "Did you sleep with him?"

The blush that hit his cheeks was so red Kiri thought a flame would burst off the top of his head.

He nodded. "Not my finest moment and I didn't stop, even though I knew he was engaged to Iz. I was just so happy to be with him but… I'm sorry."

"That apology is for Iz, not me."

"True," Mirio sighed and looked around the kitchen. "It's been forever since I was here, probably middle school. It hasn't changed a bit."

"Well maybe you can pillow talk Shouto into not yanking this place out from under us." Shin seethed. "They rewrote the marriage contract and trust so that if Iz doesn't marry Shouto, or tries to divorce him, Inko's loan is due in full, and they foreclose."

"They?"

"He and Tenya."

Taking a deep breath Mirio pressed his lips together, "heisa lousy two-timing, uh…"

"Sidewinding snake in the grass," Shin snapped.

"Don't forget, shoot you in the back," Kiri chortled.

"And of course… Low-life scum," Sero finished. They all chuckled but it fizzled quickly.

"So, you're gonna dump him?" Shin started playing with Kiri's hair. "I want you to get out while you can."

"I wish, Shinsou," he pointed to him and Kiri. "I'm no fool to think our relationship is that special, but there's something about him. I just. I feel like when we're together he's actually…" He seemed to be struggling for the right word.

"An idiot?" Kiri laughed remembering his face when he almost got that ticket. "Never seen Shouto so out of sorts."

"That's it Kiri," Mirio snapped his fingers, "I feel like he's not himself with me, or maybe he is himself?" He leaned on his arms, "I'm not sure, either way I think he's sleeping with Tenya too."

"Once a cheater, always a cheater," Shin snarled.

"Maybe, we're not really together, so I can't say it's cheating."

"It's cheating on Iz then, since they just broke up!" Shin was on a roll now. "How many men does he need?" Mirio only shrugged lamely in response.

"Could you tell us where Tenya's living? I'd love to pay him a visit." Kiri pushed his phone across the table. "Add yourself to my contacts."

"Um, I guess if you went there and ran into him by accident, who'd know?" Typing in his number, he stood and handed him his phone back. "I'll be going."

"Thanks, Mirio," Kiri smiled.

Laughing nervously, he opened the door, "not sure I did anything but screw up your day."

"No," Kiri hugged Shin tight, "you made my day." Mirio gave him a strange smile as he left.

"Tenya, that asshole," Shin growled, "we need to go over there and confront him."

"Not yet," Sero tapped the table with his finger. "Let's wait for Iz to get home from Ridge valley. We need to be smart about this. If Tenya is still around, Shouto has a powerful ally that understands the law."

"Who did he work for again?"

"Not sure but there is someone who knows him pretty well."

Kiri thought about the staff that had been on the ranch at the time. "Mina?"

"Yeah, maybe we should send her an invitation for dinner, bet she'd drive from the city for one of our special steaks."

"That's for sure, especially if our blonde chef cooked it to perfection," Kiri chuckled. "I think that's a good call. Worst case we all get to catch up."

"I'd like that, I haven't seen her in a while," Shin mused.

"Well," Sero grabbed his hat. "I'm gonna finish repairing the roof on the horse barn. When you two are done here let me know, we need to start building that extension on the calving barn for the grass hay. The wood I ordered was delivered yesterday." He left the kitchen, closing the door softly behind him.

Kiri appreciated that he understood Shin might need some time before getting back to work.

"Can't we sit here all day?" He cuddled into him.

There was nothing Kiri wanted more, but he also knew how Shin's mind worked. If he sat idle too long, even as good as they were both feeling, those anxieties would start to plague him. "Well, if you don't want to win the race, that's fine." Kiri smiled as Shin jerked his head up.

"Low blow," he pouted. "Anyhow, we don't have time today. You heard him, we need to start building the extension."

"Once we grid out the area and set the plumb lines, I bet he'd let us go on over to Snipe's place. We could run her a few times and campout. Do our morning ride straight from there."

Grabbing his cheeks, he smooshed them again. "Only if you got more of those candy bars."

"Yesh, of coursh I do, they're your phaphrite." Giggling, Shinsou let go and kissed him again.

TOL - Awww poor Shin. Glad that got worked out. Kiri knew the whole time... anxiety over nothing. Mirio is in deep now too with Shouto... I'm with Shin, what does everyone see in him? Well.. it is Shouto. OKAY… yes veered away from Canon (I try to stay close) but I've never written a somewhat nice Enji and I was dying to on this one. Annnd now we know why he wants the ranch! WATER! Always comes down to money… I'm gonna get in line with the others to kick him.

NOW… the question is... which is going to be harderfor Katsuki - the trail ride or sleeping alone with Freckles?