sixthiterationlogs | Sink or swim you gotta give it a whirl

WHO: Joshua Faraday, Vasquez, Open
WHERE: Around the villages
WHEN: Niddle of December
OPEN TO: All unless marked
WARNINGS: PG, updated as needed

Horses are horses are horses: Around the villages

They're horses. Yep. That's what they are. Long legged horses, with weird tails, and patchy things on their backs... and horns. Okay they're not horses, but they have horns, and he's told one day he can ride them, and so he's going to work with them the best he can.

Which means getting them adjusted to a rope harness. One at a time usually, dealing with their attitudes and confusion, and being as friendly and gentle as he can be with them. Often feeding them treats of peaches from a can he found in the kitchen, and trying to coax them into listen and following and not fighting back against him.

It will take days, weeks even, but much as he might be all attitude with much of life, with the kirin he is tender and kind, working the best he can to get them to work with him and not against him.

Cold air and hot headed: Springs

Part of it all is trying to get his thoughts straight. A large part of it is the long hours of working on the homestead that they're trying to put together, working with animals, and land even before the winter hits, and the lumber and gathering that will help them set up their home. So a couple of times a week he grabs a bag with his change of scrubs in it, ignoring the color that does little for him, and heads for the hot spring.

Stripping down in the cold air, hurrying into the soothing warmth of the water. Staying there as long as he can until his skin starts to prune and the ache leaves, not realizing it's more than just the warmth helping.

Eventually he'll rush out of the water, grab the sheet he brought with him to use to dry off and hurrying into his clothes as fast as he can before he loses the warmth of the water.

Homestead: For Vasquez

All that Joshua's been doing is giving him time to think. Taking time to think about what he wants, and how he feels, and what the hell this place means to him and who he thinks he is. What life he wants as well, though that he's focusing on more than the rest. All that he's been doing to tame the kirins, and cope with the land, and work on ensuring the house is ready for winter.

But he can't avoid it forever. Not his feelings and not Vasquez. He isn't going to turn himself into a wolf, after all.

Eventually he heads back for the house, knowing Vasquez is there and heading upstairs to try and find him.

"Alejandro? You here?"

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"That I owed Sam for," he points out. "Technically wasn't mine." Which is how he started there, not how he finished. "How it started," he says, shrugging.

A brow arches then, a bit challenging, a bit curious. "Pardon?"

"You wanted to see if we could tie it up," he reminds Faraday, eyes bright. "I thought maybe we could do that. Literally." After all, he wouldn't mind wrestling with Faraday and getting the lasso involved, even if that's not something that he thinks he'd ever have said before they got together.

He gives Faraday a daring look, like he's challenging him all over again. "Besides, we both know you only shot six," he points out.

"Oh that, well I suppose we could..." Because that mention of literally, with a man like Vasquez, definitely puts a different spin on things. One that is another step into places he ain't ever gone, and he's not sure what he thinks of it.

Right until those words.

He shifts, a bit of the color draining from his face as his expression goes incredulous. "We both know nothing of the sort. I know it was seven." Yep, he's sticking to that, though he suspects if anyone was paying attention enough to call him on it, it was Vasquez.

Vasquez snorts, just like he did then, and gives Faraday a long look. "Why do you have to have it better than me? We were back to back, no? I shot just as many as you did," he argues, but there's a sparkle and a glint in his eye that says how much he's enjoying this and how he does want Faraday to fight.

Maybe not just with words. He wouldn't mind a little wrestling around.

"You said six," he reminds him. "Until I did. Then suddenly, it's a miraculous seven?"

"And that's why we both lived," he says, nodding. "Because we were back to back, but it's not about being better, Vasquez," he says, drawling out his name, delighting in this play between them.

Which is when he definitely plays a low blow for sympathy.

"It wasn't because you said six. It's because we both know I'm not as entirely book learned as others and it took me a minute to get it right."

Vasquez narrows his eyes at Faraday and no, he still doesn't believe him. He lies back and gives him a dubious look and thinks that he's going to make sure they get a chance to even it up eventually, but maybe not yet.

"I know you're smart enough to count," that's all he's going to say on the subject before he waves it off dismissively. "But fine, keep your beliefs."

And he knows he's smart enough for that. When Vasquez gives up though, or at least gives in, he figures maybe he could be honest. Which is harder for him than he thought. He takes a breath, pausing before shaking his head and sighing it out. No bluster. No games. Just the truth.

"You ever think maybe I was trying to impress you?"

Maybe he hadn't thought of him yet as intimately as he does now, but the thoughts had been there and impressing him had maybe definitely been a running thought for a lot that he did.

He shakes his head, but he's still smiling like he knows a private joke and a secret that they're just not talking about. "I think you were trying to get a rise out of me," is what he says, eyes glimmering with amusement, seeing as it had worked and he'd very much enjoyed it.

"I mean it, though. We should wrestle. See who could win." It'll be Faraday, he knows, but if Vasquez has his lasso, maybe he can stand his ground.

"Why's it got to be either or?" He asks, smirking at that though he's making admissions he's not sure he's entirely comfortable with. He's just not willing to give up what he has, just because it leaves him nervous. Not when it means giving up on Alejandro.

"You really want to do this then? You think you stand a chance?"

"I think I don't stand any chance," he says, grinning like an idiot even though he's admitting that there's no way he's going to manage. "But I think it's going to be very fun to roll around with you on the ground and see if you can pin me down. I'm going to fight," he warns.

Bite and spit and scratch and play dirty if he needs to, but he thinks that's just going to be part of the fun.

"If you don't, I'll be disappointed," he admits, grinning at Vasquez. Slowly his gaze slides over him, taking him in, considering how this might go. "I was gonna ask you what the winner gets, but I already know the prize I'm claiming."

And it might sound lame for him to say it, but he means it. He is realizing just what he's gained in this relationship and he's excited for it.

They already know that it's going to be Faraday who wins, so there's no point in pretending otherwise, but his smirk is a wicked thing as he looks him over, thinking that at least it will be very interesting when he loses that battle.

"Oh? You going to share with me what I'm going to have to give to you if you win?" If, not when, because he's not giving in that easily.

"When I win," he says, grinning wide then. "I think I plan to..."

He stops, considering Vasquez and how to word this, how to say things he's never even let himself think about before.

"I think I want you to show me, help me, you know? To do some of the things you do for me. To get better at it. For you."

Blushing? What? No, not at all.

If you'd given Vasquez a list of things that he might have expected to hear, that wouldn't have even been in the top ten of them. He blinks, stunned, but he's not about to say no to it. If anything, he very much wants that.

"Yes," he says, instantly. "You can have me teach anything you want, you just need to say the word."

He makes a bit of a face, because asking is harder for him to actually do. So he makes a face, giving Vasquez a look.

"I'll ask when I win," he says, grinning. "And if I don't," he adds, so that Vasquez doesn't let him win so he'll ask. He isn't sure he will, but not sure he own't either.

Vasquez is grinning too, because if he doesn't win, then Vasquez is still going to have a very interesting time of it. "So what I'm hearing is that no matter what, we both win," he decides, giving a firm nod of his head. "Yes. This is good, I like it."

Sink or swim you gotta give it a whirl

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