Polo and Dreameh's VERY short RP. For real this time. (Mature)

Dane's expression grew firmer as Sloan talked, but by the end of it his eyes had narrowed lazily. "If somebody picks a fight with me, I'm not gonna take it lying down. But I promise I won't start anything. That good enough for you?"
It wasn't, but it was the best he was going to get. Rolling his eyes he followed the man into the restaurant, keeping an anxious eye on his body language right until they sat down.
He let out a sigh of relief as they arrived, and sank into the seat.
He grabbed the menu hungrily and flicked through it, but he knew what he wanted already. He dropped it back on the table, leaned back on his chair and rubbed his growling stomach.
The restaurant wasn't 'posh' per say, but it was obviously popular in the area. The floor was made up of thick, mahogany-like floorboards to match the tables, sparkling chandeliers dangled all across the ceiling. A gruff, female voice with a strong vibrato sang ballads in the background and every surface was almost spotless. However, the setting was more like an old inn, with beams and a tilted ceiling. A TV sat in the corner with a football game playing on Mute and a small handful of men stood at the bar with pints of beer, gaping at the small flatscreen.
Dane folded his leg sideways and rested his ankle on his thigh, grinning eagerly.
"So... You what're you getting?" He asked, tapping lightly on the shiny table. "The pizzas are great here, and you can tell the head chef's good because you can here him swearing whenever the kitchen door opens." He said with a little smile.

Sloan studied the menu for a while, then pushed it away and looked up at Dane. "So... You what're you getting?" He asked eagerly, and Sloan returned his grin with a subtle smile. He was about to answer, but then Dane went on, "The pizzas are great here, and you can tell the head chef's good because you can here him swearing whenever the kitchen door opens."
At this, Sloan's lips pulled into a smirk, and his eyes narrowed lazily. "By that logic," He replied mildly, "I must be f*cking brilliant at sex."
Flashing a cheeky wink, Sloan turned his gaze, unconcerned, to glance at the TV in the corner. Apparently uninterested, he turned back to Dane, and answered, "I think I'm going to go with the steak. And..." He paused, and glanced questioningly at Dane, "I think some champagne is in order - to celebrate our new purchases and all that. You in?"

"By that logic, I must be f*cking brilliant at sex."
It had been said so casually, and at the bored look on Sloan's face Dane very nearly didn't let it digest. However, after a few moments his eyes widened, then his eyes cast down at his hands, cheeks flushing furiously. Unwanted flashbacks found their way into his conscious mind, and it was all he could do not to look completely mortified. No one heard them, but he'd have been just as embarrassed if it had been said at the old stables in front of Claire.
Still, he couldn't help but agree with the statement, no matter how pink his cheeks went.
Sloan looked away at the TV and Dane followed his gaze to the football game, just as a player ran around madly with his shirt over his face after an exceptionally impressive goal. Dane wished he could watch that moment for longer without Sloan noticing, but when his boyfriend turned back to him he was force to drag his eyes away. Besides, that guy wasn't half as nice as the man before him.
Sloan mentioned steak and Dane's stomach growled in ravishing hunger. Dane contemplated whether it would be socially acceptable for him to buy a steak and calzone... And possibly cake. He loved cake.
Not together, obviously.
"I think some champagne is in order - to celebrate our new purchases and all that."
"Hm?" He asked, distracted.
Steak. Calzone. Pizza. Food... I love food.
"You in?"
Hold on. In for what? Was this another sex joke?
No... No, he'd said 'champagne'. But... Why was he asking Dane?
Oh God... He wants me to drink it. He thought back to the first and last time he'd ever gotten drunk, back when Theo had tried to rape him, then the fuzzy staggar home and vomiting on the carpet as soon as he'd fallen through the door. Ridiculously, all he could think about was how unprofessional it would look if he did that at his new home.
He then remembered once when his father had 'just had a glass of champagne' and had ended up face down asleep on the sofa for a day and a half. Or was that wine. He wasn't sure. All alcohol seemed the same to him. Besides... Champagne was expensive. What if he didn't like it?
He realised he hadn't replied for what was longer than socially acceptable and nibbled uncertainly on his lower lip. He doubted he'd really like it, but he couldn't stand seeing the disappointment on Sloan's face if he said no.
But then... Sloan had also slept with another man whilst he'd been drunk. Would he get drunk over one glass?
"Er... I-..." He sighed, then pondered over this for a while. "I don't know... Well, yeah, why not?"
When had he decided yes? He wasn't sure.
"Never tried it, but, I'm sure it beats the Bucks Fizz, right?" He asked with a half-hearted chuckle. He'd probably prefer Bucks Fizz, since that was nothing but fizzy orange juice anyway, but it wasn't really made for celebrations.
"Okay. Let's do it."

Noticing Dane's nervousness, Sloan smiled reassuringly, and replied kindly, "It's one glass, Mate, and it's just a swig of bubbly - nothing intense." He flashed a wink, and patted Dane's hand briefly, then waved a waiter over. He placed his order, along with two glasses of champagne, then turned to Dane. "You decided what to eat?" He asked, pushing the menu toward him again. The waiter turned from Sloan to Dane, holding his clipboard, and waited politely to take the man's order.
Sloan left Dane to place his order, and turned his gaze back to the TV, watching with mild interest as the little players scurried around.
"Pointless sport..." He muttered under his breath, chuckling and shaking his head.
By the time he turned back to Dane, the waiter had left, and Sloan smiled charmingly. "Hungry?" He asked, just as the waiter reappeared with the bottle of champagne, and two glasses. He poured for each of them, nodded politely, and left.
Grinning eagerly, Sloan picked up his drink - holding the glass elegantly by its stem in his fingers, and raised shining eyes to meet Dane's.
"To a great new business, and great new horses." He toasted, raising his glass with a proud smile.

Dane nodded, slightly more confident than before. Sloan was right. One glass wasn't going to hurt him, really. He was only having one glass. Besides, he just wanted food.
It would be fine.
He smiled, but it was slightly strained.
When the waiter appeared Dane ordered his calzone and Sloan ordered his pizza, then Sloan organized the champagne for the two of them. Dane then followed Sloan's eyes back to the football match, and he said the words that had always been going through Dane's head since he was a young boy. 'Pointless sport'. Of course it was. What was the point running back and forth on a huge field after something as small as a ball? Horses were far more interesting.
"Hungry?"
"Starving." Dane replied honestly, turning back to his boyfriend with a ravenous grin. He rubbed his stomach and groaned, already picturing food in front of him. He don't know how they'd survived missing lunch.
The waiter reappeared with the champagne and Dane watched the fizzy, almost clear liquid slosh into his small glass with a slight look of distaste. He'd tried champagne once as a child, back when his parents had been together. All he remembered was the sensation of sandpaper burning his mouth.
Hell, maybe his taste buds had changed since.
"To a great new business, and great new horses."
"Cheers." Dane agreed, trying for a smile, then brought the rounded rim of the glass to his lips.
It was all he could do to stop himself from grimacing at the taste.
Nope, no different to the last time he'd tried it.
Licking his lips he brought the glass slowly back on the table, letting out a long sigh. He guessed the taste was meant to be refreshing. It certainly didn't have that strong burning sensation all down your gullet like other alcohol, but it didn't exactly taste of much, either.
"So..." He picked up the glass again and slotted the stem between his fingers, although he had no intention of trying it again. "Are all your Trainer friends as riveting as Mike then?" He teased, eyes sparkling flirtatiously.

Sloan, being Sloan, downed his champagne in one gulp, then uttered a sigh of contentment and slouched back in his chair. It may have been only a mild little glass, but it had still been so long since he'd had a taste of alcohol that he tasted that champagne as though greeting an old friend. It was a shame he couldn't order another, but he wouldn't do that to Dane. He didn't like who he was when he was drunk, anyway. He'd established that long ago.
He chuckled and shook his head as he watched Dane distastefully take a sip of champagne, then push the glass away, disgusted.
Smirking to himself, he caught their waiter's attention, and quietly ordered a glass of Pepsi for his boyfriend.
Then he turned back to Dane, just as the other man finally dragged his attention away from the unwelcome taste of champagne.
"So..." Dane began teasingly, "Are all your Trainer friends as riveting as Mike then?"
"He is a bit much." Sloan agreed, laughing, "Even for me... But I can't help it, I like that crazy bastard." He grinned to himself and shook his head, then added, "The others aren't quite as boisterous. More professional, I should say - although I don't know them quite as well. Mike and I go way back..." He trailed off, smiling nostalgically, then looked up as the waiter arrived with their food. Without waiting for Dane, Sloan pulled his plate eagerly towards him, and stabbed his fork viciously into his steak. With a wolfish grin, he attacked it with his knife, and began to devour the meat piece by piece.
Sloan had always been a fan of steak, but he didn't tend to eat it often. Still, when he did, it was quite a treat.

Dane's face lit up as a glass of Pepsi was slid in front of him, and sipped it gratefully. Really, had his distaste been that obvious? He savoured the taste for a few moments, then grabbed an ice cube and sucked innocently on it as Sloan began to speak.
"He is a bit much. Even for me... But I can't help it, I like that crazy bastard."
Dane nodded as if in agreement, although he didn't admit that Mike's ego and overwhelming personality made him nervous. Perhaps he was just under-socialised to that sort of person. Or perhaps it was just that 'hookers' joke Mike had told him. He didn't have any problems with horses like that, however.
He made a mental note to socialise with more people at some point. Perhaps Sloan knew some more scary people?
"The others aren't quite as boisterous. More professional, I should say - although I don't know them quite as well. Mike and I go way back..."
Dane nodded again, but this time he wasn't listening. He'd been subtly eye-stalking every waiter and waitress that appeared out of the kitchen with food hoping for it to be their own, and when he caught this waiter's eye as he approached the table, his suspicions were correct. Like a starved dog his head snapped up, alert, and his nose immediately began to take in the mouth-watering smell of well deserved food.
He mumbled a hungry 'thank you' to the waiter and, with the last of his dignity, ripped his knife and fork from the napkin and tucked ravenously into his meal.

Fifteen minutes later he sat back in his chair with a content sigh, massaging his stomach, and smiled contently at his boyfriend opposite him. If he'd not been so ridiculously hungry he might have enjoyed the taste of the melted cheese, thinly sliced salami and thick, crunchy dough. But he knew it had been delicious even though he hadn't really tasted - or chewed - most of it.
He picked up his barely touched Pepsi and gulped down a mouthful and dumped the glass back down on the table with a muffled 'clank'.
"After a meal like that, I bloody love you even more." He teased with a lazy smile. "How was the steak?"

When Dane began sipping his Pepsi, Sloan casually reached out and stole his barely touched champagne. Just like his own, he downed it in a single gulp, and pushed the glass aside with a contented sigh.
At that point, the food arrived, and Sloan gratefully accepted his plate of steak and chips. He and Dane dug into their meals simultaneously, and for the next few moments they ate in companionable silence, the only sounds being the hungry chewing and vicious stabbing and cutting of knives and forks.
Sloan had just popped his last bite of steak into his mouth when Dane sat back with a sigh, and Sloan glanced up when he heard the clink of the Pepsi glass being replcaed on the table.
"After a meal like that, I bloody love you even more." Dane teased, "How was the steak?"
Sloan uttered an amused snort, swallowed his mouthful of steak, and wiped his mouth on his napkin in a dignified fashion before replying.
"It was good." He said at last, grinning toothily, "Rare and bloody. I feel like a werewolf."
With a devious little wink, he turned away and waved to the waiter, asking him to bring the bill.
After paying, he stood up, stretched, and waited for Dane - then walked beside his boyfriend back out to the Jeep.

A short drive later, they arrived back at the farm, and Sloan drove up the beautiful cobblestone driveway to park outside their house. He smiled slightly to himself, secretly enjoying the idea of actually sharing a house with Dane. After all, when they had been living together in his house, it had still been just that: his.
Here, well... To him, it really felt like home.
With this thought, he turned to Dane, resting his elbow casually against the seat, and said with a crooked grin, "Welcome home, mate."

Dane grinned at the happy little look on Sloan's face. He didn't really understand steaks, really. A steak was a steak. But his boyfriend looked like he'd enjoyed it as much as Dane had enjoyed his calzone, which was good.
He chuckled at he 'werewolf' comment, and - at the fact that Sloan hadn't shaved for a day or two - Dane was tempted to say 'you look like one' in a childish teasing fashion. But since he'd probably pay for it later in ' bedroom punishments' he decided not to.
Sloan paid for the meal, then the two of them wandered sleepily back to the Jeep; full and content.
The ride home was spent in silence, but when they pulled up outside the house Dane turned to Sloan and caught a gorgeous glimmer in his light blue eyes that made his heart flutter with love for the man, and he let out a little smile, blushing slightly.
"Welcome home, mate."
"Ditto." Dane replied, leaning forward as if to peck his boyfriend on the lips. He hesitated for a moment, smirking, and added cheekily "Dear."
With that he chuckled and kissed the man briefly anyway, grinning to himself at the memory of the previous night.

Sloan accepted Dane's peck, smirking to himself, but when he heard the word 'dear', his eyebrows shot up. He was about to protest, but only ended up uttering a disapproving grunt, since the next second Dane had smothered his lips again.
"Oi!" He grunted when Dane finally pulled away, "Don't call me 'dear', you bastard. It makes me sound old!"
Shaking his head in amusement, Sloan grinned and cuffed Dane playfully on the back of the head, then climbed out of the Jeep.
"Say g'night to Arch if you like." He offered, shooting a knowing smile at his boyfriend, "I'll be inside. See you there."
He raised a hand in a backward wave, and walked alone up the path to the house.
The moment he was inside, he shrugged off his coat and kicked off his shoes, leaving them in the middle of the floor. Then he continued to the bathroom, eager to take a nice hot shower.

"Because you are old!" Dane jeered, giggling to himself. "You're a whole two years older than me. Serves you right."
He stuck his tongue out playfully at the contact on the back of his head and shook his head in amusement. He then mirrored Sloan's movement and got out the Jeep, then shuddered at the cold air and slipped his hands in his pockets, tensing his shoulders at the low temperature and adjusted his cap.
"Say g'night to Arch if you like."
He blinked at this, then, stunned, began to grin again. For some reason he felt this permission was needed, because whenever he'd gone to see his horse before he'd felt horribly guilty when around Sloan due to the loss of Dart. But, he could only guess, Sloan's new companion would give him something to focus on.
"Okay, I will." He nodded and shot the man a grateful smile, then the two parted ways; Sloan to the house and Dane to the stables.

Archie had been pleased to see him, but even more pleased at the apple Dane had bought from the vending machine on the way, and he greeted it like a long lost lover.
"Mine." Dane growled, taking a bite out of it teasingly.
Archie stared hungrily at him. He honestly looked like he was ready to chew Dane's head off for the sake of that one apple.
Rolling his eyes, Dane bit off a few chunks at a time and fed his horse, cooed to him, fussed over him, commented over how fat he was getting, then filled up his haynet for the night.
"I've got you a companion or two." He purred, kissing the gelding's soft muzzle. "You'd better not have forgotten how to socialise, mate."
He fed Archie the remains of the apple core and scratched his lower jaw gently, pouting his lips out teasingly.
"You can thank me later." He chuckled, kissed the gelding once more, then waved him goodbye and jogged back to the house.

He wandered into the house - glad to be in the warmth - and immediately changed into some looser clothes and sat cross-legged by the fire. He wouldn't need to shower until morning, thankfully, because he'd not been riding. However, he was rather looking forward to the moment when Sloan came out of that bathroom in nought but a towel around his waist.
He thought back to the erotic events the previous night, and he smiled secretly to himself, biting his lip in a shy fashion.
Go watch TV, fool. He scolded himself, but this only made him smile more.

Sloan emerged from the shower not long later, clad in a fluffy white towel. He had taken slightly longer than usual, because when he had looked in the mirror after getting out of the shower, he had realized that he was in desperate need of a shave.
Now, with his beard reduced to stubble and his dripping hair flattened against his face, Sloan stalked shamelessly down the passageway, not even sparing Dane a glance, and headed straight to his bedroom to change into some pajamas.

He reappeared to join Dane soon later, and plonked happily down on the couch beside him, fully dressed. He slung an arm automatically around his boyfriend's shoulders, and yawned widely as he snatched up the remote, and flicked absentmindedly through the channels on the TV.
"Why is there never anything good on?" He complained grumpily, stabbing at the button on the remote.
"Crap. Crap. Crap." He muttered tonelessly each time a new program appeared on the TV.
Eventually he grew bored, and with a flourish of irritation, switched off the TV and tossed the remote aside.
"Entertain me." He ordered, turning to face Dane, and meeting his eyes with a dark, deadly gaze. One of his eyebrows flicked upwards, and he shifted his weight onto his arm on the couch behind Dane, leaning casually against it in a way he knew damn well made him look sexy as hell in the dim living room light.

Dane peeked over the top of the sofa as he heard Sloan's footsteps out of the bathroom and knew fair well how shameless his boyfriend was when it came to flaunting himself around - Hell, he was as bad as Dane! - and he didn't have the self control to turn his back.
He smirked slightly to himself, thinking he must be the luckiest guy in the world to have a boyfriend as hot as that, then turned back to the TV when Sloan disappeared to the bedroom to find clothes.

When the man appeared on the sofa behind him Dane automatically snuggled up to him, resting his head on Sloan's firm chest and staring aimlessly at the flicking image on the TV.
Eventually his boyfriend got bored of it because he switched it off, grumbled, tossed the remote aside and turned to Dane expectantly.
"Entertain me." He ordered with a dark glower, leaning against his elbow on the sofa and glaring expectantly down at him. Dane shifted away slightly, pouting, and rested his temple on the vertical cushion of the sofa, pouting his lower lip.
What did Sloan expect him to do? Strip for him again? Pin him down and kiss his face off? Throw his arms in the air and bellow 'take me'?
"I did." He said simply, narrowing his eyes. "Last night. And I made you muffins." He raised an eyebrow then shifted his head slightly closer to Sloan, then folded his legs up onto the sofa.
"You owe me."
Okay, so maybe Sloan didn't really 'owe' him anything. He'd done the majority of the pleasuring the previous night anyway, and he was probably going to have to do something for his boyfriend whether he liked it or not, but he knew looking cute drove Sloan crazy enough as it was, so he might as well milk it.
He raised his eyebrows at the man, almost mirroring his expression, except he let his lower lip go loose and slip out, just slightly, and shaped his eyebrows so they lifted subtly at the middle. His eyes widened slightly, looking even sparklier in the light of the room and his lips remained in a sad little line.
"Sloany..." He whimpered, making his voice shake slightly.

((I'm sorry, but just imagine him like this: <<Clicky>> ))

((Ooooh, are you watchign Kaichou wa Maid Sama? Good anime - love it! And yes, totally a Dane face. ))

"Oh, I owe you?!" Sloan blustered indignantly, eyebrows contracting in mock annoyance. "And what exactly do I owe you, pray tell?" He snapped crisply, holding his angry expression.
But then he met Dane's eyes, and it slid off his face like water off a duck's back. He snorted in amusement, and smirked despite himself - shaking his head when Dane whimpered with obviously-intentional cuteness, ""Sloany..."
"Oh, shut up." He grinned, shoving his palm against Dane's face, and pushing his head aside. "Don't give me that blasted puppy-dog face." He scolded, poking his boyfriend sharply in the cheek.
"You wanna watch a movie?" He asked, glancing toward one of the boxes sitting against the wall labelled 'DVDs'. "There's nothing but crap on TV, and I'm not old enough to go to bed at f*cking 8PM yet."

((Sorry, got no more words in me. ))

((Not now but I have been doing. Usui is so cute. XD And yes, it is AWESOME!! ))

Dane had to use up all his will power not to grin defiantly at Sloan when he realised he had won. Score! The puppy eyes always worked. Sloan knew that damned well.
Instead, he allowed a tiny, hopeful smile and giggled, pecking his boyfriend on the cheek gratefully. He deserved at least that.
However, he yelped at the finger in his cheek and flinched away, rubbing his face with an annoyed pout. He was about to mutter how that wasn't very nice, how he wouldn't 'entertain' his boyfriend if he was going to be like that, how he'd never make him muffins, when Sloan mentioned a movie. Dane's face lit up.
"Okay." He agreed, then sat up and scrambled to the cardboard box marked 'DVDs'. "But just so you know, if you want to watch something scary then I won't let you have any more sleep than I do tonight." He shot the man an angelic grin.
"Now then..." He knelt beside the box and began to browse the DVDs. "Tangled, we could watch that. I love Disney." He smiled happily to himself, although he could tell Sloan wouldn't want to watch it. "King Arthur, Hidalgo, Racing Stripes, The Bucket List, Twilight..." He somehow doubted the last one was at Sloan's house by choice. "I really don't know." He pushed the box towards Sloan. "You pick one."
It depended on if Sloan wanted something to make out to or actually watch. Either way Dane didn't mind.

Sloan sighed at Dane's suggestions, then got up with a grunt and limped over to him, dropping to one knee beside the box, and running his finger over the spines of the DVD cases. "Here." He said, tapping his finger against a red-black spine. He plucked it out, and showed Dane the cover. 'War of the Worlds'. It had just enough action, without being 'scary' enough to give Dane nightmares. In Sloan's opinion, anyway. He quite enjoyed the movie himself...
He pecked Dane absentmindedly on the cheek, then walked over to the TV, and inserted the DVD into the player.
He started the movie and slumped down on the couch to watch it, yawning widely.

Ironically, for all his complaining earlier, Sloan was fast asleep within the first ten minutes of the movie, obviously still exhausted from the move, and the day's events. He looked peaceful in his light sleep, eyelids flickering just a little every time the TV screen flashed a bright colour, or some sort of loud noise took place in the movie.
From time to time he'd jerk awake, pretend to watch the movie for a few minutes, then drift off again, not really giving a crap. He was tired, nothing else really mattered to him.

Dane stared at the cover for a few moments, then nodded in recognition. He couldn't recall having ever seen it, but it was a famous film and he could remember it being one of his Dad's favourites.
He'd already told Sloan what would happen if it scared him, so it didn't really matter. It was only a 12 rating, anyway.
So, Sloan sorted it into the DVD player and the two snuggled together on the sofa, staring at the screen as the film began to play.
Dane could feel Sloan going limp beside him but he didn't say anything. The man was probably knackered from that day and he had a history of falling asleep through films - like his own - so Dane didn't take offence. In fact, when Sloan's head slipped on the cushions, Dane shifted back and let it fall into his arms, then gently began caressing his dark hair with his fingertips.
Around two hours later the film finished, and Dane didn't bother getting up to take it out of the player. Instead he just stopped it with the remote and turned the TV off.
He sat in a comfortable silence, smiling fondly down at his boyfriend's snoozing face, wondering how he could possibly be happier than the previous night, when he decided they'd probably have to move before he too fell asleep on the sofa.
"Sloany..." He murmured, still smiling, and gently poked the man's nose. "As comfy as this is, I think the bed'll be comfier." He smirked and kissed Sloan's lips gently. "Get up sleeping beauty." He teased dryly, amused by the comparison. He then shifted away, forcing Sloan to somehow find a way to get up himself, and headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

Sloan was so far gone that he didn't even hear when Dane started speaking, and only woke when he felt the touch of his boyfriend's lips against his. He grunted in surprise, jerking his head away, and sat up, blinking groggily.
"Get up sleeping beauty." Dane teased, shifting away from him so Sloan was forced to hold himself up.
"I wasn't-" He broke off to yawn, "I wasn't sleeping. I was resting my eyes." He complained in a sulky fashion, stretching his arms above his head.
He glared in the direction of the bathroom, annoyed by the loss of his pillow, then dragged himself off the couch, and walked sleepily to the bedroom, where he collapsed face-first onto the bed, and instantly started snoring.

"Right." Dane called from the bathroom, clearly not believing him in the slightest. "That's exactly why you were snoring."
He hadn't been snoring, but Dane enjoyed worrying his boyfriend with little things like that.
Once he'd finished doing his teeth he wandered to the bedroom to find Sloan already face-first on the mattress, snoring softly into the covers. Shaking his head in amusement, Dane calmly undressed into some clean underpants and slipped under the covers next to his boyfriend.
"Resting his eyes..." He mused, tutting to himself then turned the light off.
"G'night mate,'" He whispered, then kissed Sloan's ear and pulled the covers up to their shoulders. He slipped an arm around his boyfriend's waist then yawned and closed his eyes. It wasn't long before he, too, had dozed off to sleep.

After his early night, Sloan was out of bed by 8AM the next morning, and he wasted no time in getting ready for his day. He scoffed down a slice of dry toast for breakfast, changed into some of his 'horse clothes', and went straight outside to prepare the stables for the new horses, leaving Dane to sleep in.
It didn't take him long to clean the unused stalls, fill them with shavings, and bring in haynets and water buckets - so by 10 o'clock, he was busy fixing stallion bars onto the end stable with a heavy-duty drill.
The racket had all the current residents poking their heads out of their stables, ears pricked, and watching Sloan with the occasional loud snort of mock alarm.
Gold Rush, curious animal that he was, pawed at the door, then darted into the back of his stable when Sloan turned around to scold him.
He chuckled under his breath at the horse, then turned back to the newly-instated stallion bars, and gave them a hard tug. When they didn't budge, Sloan nodded, pleased, and took a step back to admire his handiwork.
The stables were ready - now all he had to do was find where Dane had gone off to (he couldn't possibly still be asleep, the lazy sod), hitch up the trailer, and head off to fetch the new horses.

When Dane awoke he realised immediately that his boyfriend wasn't home. However, being so close to the stables, Dane wasn't worried. He'd probably gone to sort the stalls out for the new horses.
He got himself some breakfast - he'd probably need it with the work ahead - then went to shower up in time for Sloan to be back.
It was sad, really, he'd expected an audience for when he appeared in nothing but a towel around his waist, but the house was too cold for him to hang about and wait for the man to get back, so he ended up getting dressed into some jodhpurs and a jumper, ready for work that day. Only... It wouldn't be a normal work day, would it? Because they were getting some new horses.
He couldn't help but grin in excitement.

By the time Sloan came in through the door Dane was up and ready to go, casually munching on an apple.
"You were busy." He mused, chewing away. "I heard the drilling and thought someone was trying to break in. I was ready to run out the house half-dressed to save the place." He chuckled and shook his head in amusement, of course he hadn't. He knew it was sloan.
"Everything sorted for when they arrive?" He asked curiously.

Sloan came stomping back into the house, kicking mud off his boots, and was greeted by Dane through a mouthful of apple. "You were busy." He commented, and Sloan just grunted in response, grabbing his Jeep keys off the counter, and rummaging around amongst an array of disorganized objects for his cellphone. "I heard the drilling and thought someone was trying to break in. I was ready to run out the house half-dressed to save the place." Dane went on, unconcerned. Sloan, finding his keys, dropped them into his pocket, and glanced back at Dane with a snort of amusement. "Sure you were." He replied with a smirk. "Everything sorted for when they arrive?" Dane asked, either unaware of Sloan's sarcasm, or ignoring it. Either way, Sloan shrugged it off, and replied, "Yup. I'm fetching them now. You coming?"
He asked it as a question, but when he grabbed Dane's coat off the rack and tossed it to him, it was clear that he did not expect an answer. "Grab me a muffin, would you? I'm starved. And meet me outside in five minutes - I'm hitching up the trailer, and then we can go. I want to have them here by lunchtime so we can get them settled, and who knows what they're going to be like to load..."
Sloan trailed off, rubbing the back of his head in the way he always did when he was feeling rather stressed. He kept saying 'they', as though referring to all the horses, but it was clear that there was only one horse on his mind - and he was worried about it.
Truthfully, Sloan knew that taking on Midnight had been a mistake, but the stallion bore such resemblance to Dart that he simply couldn't bear the idea of the animal being put down in the prime of its physical health... Still, he had never seen a horse with as much hatred as that one - and the worst part was, it was completely unwarranted; because for all his downfalls, one thing Sloan could say for sure about Mike was that he would never mistreat a horse, no matter how bad.
Why, then, did that stallion feel such an urge to maim and kill the people around him...?

"Naturally." Dane replied coolly, quickly catching the coat before it landed on his face. Of course he was expected to go, but as if he'd dare try otherwise. Besides, although he wasn't as excitable as his boyfriend, he had to admit he was looking forward to seeing how each of the horses reacted to the new environment.
Plus, he wondered vaguely whether he'd be breaking any bones that day for the sake of that black stallion Sloan was so deeply in love with.
"Grab me a muffin, would you? I'm starved. And meet me outside in five minutes - I'm hitching up the trailer, and then we can go. I want to have them here by lunchtime so we can get them settled, and who knows what they're going to be like to load..."
He raised his eyebrows, noticing Sloan's speech quickening and watching the hand drag through the back of his head, evidently stressed. Instead of doing what he was told Dane just eased Sloan's hand back down to his side, still watching him in the same mildly surprised fashion, then laced their fingers together. He took a step forward, his expression not so much as flinching, and raised his eyebrows further.
"Sloan," He muttered, slowly closing the gaps between their faces. Right before their lips were about to meet, however, he spoiled the mood by smirking and adding, "Stop talking."
Lips lifting up in vague amusement he angled his face up and kissed the inner crease of Sloan's jawline sweetly, then one side of his Adam's apple, then the base of his neck. Sloan had done it plenty of times to him before, especially in bed - when Dane was nervous as hell - and he knew it was good for calming down.
When he pulled away he cupped the man's gorgeous face in his hands, looking up at him with wide, promising eyes. "I'll get a couple of chifney's in case there's any trouble, and a blanket if the evil Blackie doesn't want to come quietly. You've done this before. Stop stressing." He shook his head in amusement, patting the man's cheek patronisingly then wandered away to grab a muffin and tossed it to him.
"They need eating," he pointed out mildly, then shoved one in a sandwich bag to keep it for later. "Our newbies' diets can begin tomorrow, I think." He grinned then pulled on his coat, adjusting it at the collar. That day he wore a long-sleeved shirt with a thermal vest underneath, along with some flexible jeans and boots. Not to forget, also, his trusty flat cap.
"Come on Sloany." He jeered, bumping past the man and grabbing his hand in the process. "You get the trailer sorted and I'll get those chifneys."

As Sloan was about to walk away, he felt himself jerked back by a pressure on his hand, and turned to find Dane pulling him back. He opened his mouth to object, but then his boyfriend closed the gap between them, and Sloan was rendered speechless - heart leaping in surprise at this unexpected bout of affection. He always felt oddly shy and flustered when Dane caught him off guard like this. He couldn't quite explain why - just something about being pulled close to that man out of the blue like that made his heart race.
"I... I should-" He began stammering some sort of half-hearted excuse, but the words died on his lips when Dane told him to be quiet, and he found his lips gradually sliding into a grin instead.
He relaxed into the touch of petal-soft lips on his neck, and automatically rolled the tension from his shoulders as Dane kissed his stress away. A long-held breath escape shakily from his lips, and he angled his head to brush his own lips over Dane's cheek, breathing warmly on him. He was about to move in for a kiss, but then Dane caught his face in his hands, and Sloan was left blinking in surprise, trying again to refocus his straying thoughts.
"I'll get a couple of chifney's in case there's any trouble, and a blanket if the evil Blackie doesn't want to come quietly. You've done this before. Stop stressing." Dane advised, and Sloan grunted irritably, flinching away when the other man patted his cheek. He was still grumbling and rubbing his face when Dane tossed him the muffin, but he caught it and tore off a bite all the same.
He ignored whatever else Dane had left to say, because his attention was with his muffin for that moment - but when Dane grabbed his hand again, Sloan just tugged right back.
With a jerk of his arm, he yanked Dane right back into his embrace, and caught his lips in a passionate kiss without so much as missing a beat.
His tongue twisted intensely in Dane's mouth, then flicked free a moment later, killing the kiss after a few fleeting seconds; and Sloan brushed casually past his boyfriend without a word, and headed out into the yard, where he went about his business as though nothing had happened.

Dane yelped as he suddenly found himself being thrown backwards in the direction he wasn't expecting to go in and, nearly losing his footing, fell back into his boyfriend's embrace with a gasp.
The minute he felt physical contact, Sloan's lips were against his. Teasing, caressing, massaging his. A tongue waltzed inside his mouth, explored, then darted right back out again quick enough to feel a tingling feeling from the friction lingering in Dane's mouth.
His boyfriend disappeared, leaving Dane stood, staring gormlessly against the wall, having little idea of what had just happened.
Eventually he shrugged. "I guess I deserved that." He muttered, amused, and followed Sloan out of the house to get everything sorted.

Ten minutes later he was sat in the Jeep, belt strapped and ready to go. When Sloan came and sat in the driver's seat Dane watched him with an excitable, wide grin.
"You ready?" He asked, although it was pretty obvious they both were.