Wild Child

"That's it, keep your feet in there and hang on to the pommel nice and tight." Will circled the pony around the flags one last time and headed back. To his immense relief, his replacement was there ready to take over and, damn, were his feet and ears grateful! Not to mention his stomach. He handed over the reins and wandered over to the hay bale to retrieve the lunch he'd left in a paper bag earlier. Salvation in hand, he looked around for Christian and spotted him a few feet away, chatting to a newly-arrived Johnny. Joining them, he waved the paper bag around. "Need. food." he gasped. "Going. To. Expire."

Johnny grinned over at the approaching Will and said to Christian, ( ''We should probably take off, then. I don't think your da'd be very happy if we let your new step-mum expire from starvation.'' )

The morning after this.



"Alone at last." Marton gave Will a filthy wink and dived toward his stomach, intent on blowing a raspberry.
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[Featuring/referencing OCs: Sara Carlisle, Linus Eckhert, Adrian Forrester, Charlie Larson, Halloran (Hal) McCarran, Calhoun (Cal) Shorter, Ben Tattersall, Lisa Bianchi]

Johnny waved through the window at Stan, the guy on the gate, before remembering that the glass was tinted black from the outside. He blushed and slumped down in his seat, hoping Christian hadn't noticed, but unfortunately Christian's attention had been firmly on him for the last hour. Usually he thought that was wonderful, but his lover's twinkling eyes just made him blush harder. At least Lawrence and Jet were up front with the driver, and Obie didn't care.

"Hey," he whispered, for no particular reason, "we'll be there in a minute. We should probably at least finish getting dressed."

Christian finished tucking himself in and zipping up and looked at Johnny with pretended amazement. ( ''I AM dressed.'' he told him. ''What's keeping you?'' )

The evening following this




When Marton came in late, Will was standing in front of the narrow window that looked out over the drop down into the city, his arms folded around his own waist in a characteristic gesture Marton recognized immediately. He didn’t need to see the sheet of paper dangling from his lover’s fingers, he knew.
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[Takes place the day after the fence-building party and references Will's dust-up at the cafe.]

Will wandered around the new fence line from the outside of the barrier, checking that the decorative picket fence they'd erected the day before was straight, true and had held up to last night's high winds. On the other side of the barrier, Shannon and Willow were sleeping in the sun, but Oberon was following Will, pacing the other side of the fence with a determined look on his little face. Will sighed. He wasn't in a really good mood this morning, his belated realisation of how he'd been duped by Marton left him in dire need of some way of acting out. Maybe a cuddle from the pup would sort him out? His bracelets let him in through the invisible wall across the gate but the animals couldn't get out unless accompanied by a human wearing a set. He settled down on the grass just inside the fence and stroked the happy pup's belly. Christian was at work and he wasn't sure where Johnny was, but neither of them would mind the intrusion. Oberon licked his hand, encouraging him to continue with the pats. "Nice to be some people," he told the dog. ( ''Least no one's picking on YOU today!'' )

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“How am I supposed to get angry at you when you look at me like that?” Marton complained, his arms wrapped around Will’s waist and Will’s arms likewise around his own. ( Read more... )

[Following this]

Shannon finished patrolling around her den and stopped in front of the gate. It was late and her master was sleeping, but there was nothing dangerous near and she was sure he'd be safe alone for a while. ( She wouldn't be gone long, but her puppy had had long enough to visit with Harry and it was time to fetch her home. )

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Will sat on the bench seat in the East garden, his arms folded and looked at the wall. Twelve feet high if it was an inch, thick and wide, but not, he’d already decided, insurmountable. There stood a sturdy, ancient, majestic [and all that other descriptive crap] oak tree with a branch conveniently growing to within feet of the top of the wall. And Will had an exceptionally well-honed sense of balance and timing; he knew he could make the four foot leap easily and be over the wall in no time.( Read more... )

[Takes place immediately after Harry learns who the architect of the calendar plot is...]

Dropping the lid back onto the pasta, Will spun away and into the living area, his booted feet tapping out the rhythm of the loud Spanish music on the radio. Arms above his head, he twirled and stamped his feet, the hardwood floors adding a pleasing staccato to the beat. If Christian had been home, he'd never have done it, Christian being a bit . . . militant about his lovingly hand-polished floors, but he was still down in the office, so Will danced while the pasta cooked and never noticed that he was no longer alone.

Harry moved softly through the house, although the loud volume of the music virtually guaranteed that he wasn't going to be heard. Still, Will was a Ranger, and Harry wasn't going to give him any edge he didn't have to. He crept up to the radio and suddenly switched it off, an overly friendly smile on his face as Will turned to face him. ( ''Evening Scarlett.'' )

“. . . . remember the most?” Will added, sliding deeper into the solid embrace. “His face. When I was lying on the ground and he was looking down at me and he had this smirk on his face. ‘Where is it? Where’s the camp? Where’s the Prince?’ Over and over and I hadn’t answered and he knew I wasn’t going to and was enjoying it.
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