log post II

[orangetoughguy]

third person narrative, action bracket spam, anything goes
log post I | log post II | log post III

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[orangetoughguy]

[So much for the perk. Freddy exhales, green eyes on Larry, then he turns his gaze back to the ground they're covering by foot.]

Yeah, I guess. Who wouldn't?

[whitetwoguns]

[He meets those green eyes a moment before they're gone.]

We had a good bunch of horses.

[Clearing his throat then swallowing diminishes the tightness.]

Really coulda hauled ass.

[orangetoughguy]

I didn't really get a chance to meet'em.

[Freddy shakes his head, just speaking the truth on those animals, including the one they hijacked. Who'd have thought that? Hijacking horses.]

[whitetwoguns]

Next time. I'll make sure of it.

[Tsh. Like there's a way of controlling that sort of thing. One of Larry's hands go into his pockets before he tries to paw at the kid. The man is okay, look he's walking around. It was just a curse. Nothing big was revealed. It was like that fucking day was held up to a fun house mirror and temporarily became somethin' else.]

Even if it's a brief encounter.

[orangetoughguy]

[Say what? Snort. Freddy can't help but look at Larry kinda funny now.]

What do you really know about horses?

[Just like the fun house mirror, the kid thinks any expertise Larry had with horses had everything to do with the screwball theme of the curse itself.

[whitetwoguns]

[Funny look? Whaaat. Come on. He shrugs though and taps ash into the street.]

Plenty. Don't walk behind em if you don't know em. Uh. Keep your hand flat if you're gonna feed em something. And uh they need a lotta food and water. That's a given though.

[But he know a few things.]

[orangetoughguy]

[Freddy has to smile now. Who knew Lawrence Dimick, gambler and rambler, a city-only kind of guy, knew even that much about horses.]

Okay Mr. Expert, next time I'll leave the hooves in your hands.

[whitetwoguns]

Oh. They measure em in hands.

=[Now he's just showing off. The smile, that's good. Real good in fact. It is thawing all the cold feelings that dropped onto him.]

Ever rode a horse before?

[orangetoughguy]

[He quirks a brow at Larry. In hands? He knows what it means kinda, he just doesn't expect Larry to know so damn much about horses and keep it coming. The show off.]

Yeah, at summer fairs and stuff.

[Which obviously means his experience at horsemanship doesn't count. At all. Puff puff. This cigarette's going down smoother.]

[whitetwoguns]

[This subject is far easier to go over rather than the same shit. Freddy is a cop. Set up. They both know. They both can't forget. For now though, can they shoot the shit, make it home and get clean?]

One time....I took a joyride. I didn't get too far but was pretty fun.

[More ash in the street. Larry rubs his forehead then one eye. Somethin' about pretend caravaning wears a man down.]

[orangetoughguy]

Wait wait wait. A joyride? As in...

[See this kid pantomiming mounting a horse and making it giddyup.]

On a horse?

[whitetwoguns]

[Larry rubs the side of his nose.]

Uh huh. It's name was George Washington. I was...Fuck. Lemme think, your age? Anyway. There he was. The pen didn't have no lock. I thought, why the fuck not? No one's gonna know.

[orangetoughguy]

I'm twenty-seven now.

[In case Larry forgot, because hijacking a horse at this age...well, he just expects that to happen at seventeen instead. That's how young Freddy would have been to take that dare. Honestly. But he can't help laughing over this story. A pen. Not even at a racetrack or something, sounds like this happened out in a yard.]

[whitetwoguns]

[Elbow.]

I know.

[He's thinking because that still doesn't sound right.]

Wait. That was the second time. First time I didn't leave the yard. Just...got my way through the fence and got caught. The other time, with George, I won a bet with this pal of mine. He didn't think I'd do it.

[orangetoughguy]

[Oof he doesn't stumble from the elbowing but it does touch a sore spot, Freddy's quick to cover up his wince. Damn it's fucking cold at this hour too.]

What were the stakes?

[whitetwoguns]

[Woah, that's a bit far for him to move. Larry follows and loops an arm around the kid, meant for stabilizing.]

The thirty dollars and staying at his place so I wouldn't have to book room.

[orangetoughguy]

[The arm around him is a little surprising but Freddy doesn't fight it because it just feels so damn good.]

Only?

[Have an elbow nudge to the side, Lawrence Dimick, before his own arm curls around Larry's waist. It's just to make walking easier, nothing more nothing less, right?]

[whitetwoguns]

[Could very well be a touch like he's helping the man amble along, as good friends do from a bar. Or...the touch of a man who greatly loves the other man.]

I really wanted to stay with him. Wasn't meant to be though. I got my thirty dollars and forty winks on his couch. [Fuck that touch feels good.]

[orangetoughguy]

Oh yeah?

[Another surprise and it shows in the kid's voice. Was George someone more than just a friend? Someone Larry hoped could become more? Well don't think too far ahead, Newendyke. He leans against that big old body, because he's exhausted. Yep.]

What was it like?

[The horse ride? George's place? Not being able to stay with George? Freddy doesn't specify.]

[whitetwoguns]

[The kid can lean all he wants, Larry keeps the stride and supports the weight. He's got at that kind of multitasking down pat.]

Liberating. I kinda felt like an old time cowboy. My friend got a kick out of it. Not quite the effect I went for.

[One head tilt and he's brushing his lips near the kid's hairline as they pass through a poorly lit alley.]

[orangetoughguy]

What effect were you goin' for?

[Green eyes slide shut for the brush of lips. The timing doesn't escape him, darkness where they don't have to think about who might seem them. He takes his last drag of the Chesterfield then flicks it aside. You're fucking lucky, Newendyke.]

[whitetwoguns]

[One last drag of his own smoke. The kid'll be smelling like Larry's favorite until he showers or until a Marlboro. Since they're still in the alley, his steps slow.]

He mentioned he liked cowboys one time. [Don't think less of him, kid trying stupid tricks. It's different, as Freddy should know. Black Magic Woman wasn't there.] I read shit wrong though. When he said he wanted me to visit, he only meant as a friend.

[orangetoughguy]

You like cowboys.

[Freddy remarks, putting two and two much better this way. He doesn't think any less of him, knows it's different. It's the stories he likes to hear so he knows he's not the only messed up boy on the block. And 'messed up' is putting it strongly, maybe just not like the other boys.]

Hard time, old man.

[whitetwoguns]

I love cowboys.

[Especially this one. And he's not hesitant to say it anymore. Just as well because he means it.]

Luckily I waited until the morning to tell him [Larry laughs a little at himself and kisses Freddy on the cheek.] That was a hard time.

[orangetoughguy]

You told him?

[Yeah, he says it like he would never, because Freddy never has. Well except for that one punk under the bleachers. He doesn't count. Never will. Black Magic Woman is the only one who has as far as Freddy's concerned. So sue him for not being as bold as one Lawrence Dimick here. Part of that's why this kid likes him so much.

The kiss to his cheek helps too. Oddly soft and affectionate. Men don't do this kind of thing, even the ones who fuck other men. The kid likes it.]

Did he throw you out or somethin'?