something just like this

[god_of_the_arena]

Gannicus pushed his hair back and worked it into a braid. He'd forgotten anything to tie it back with but he wasn't inclined to go back to the house just to find something. The braid would hold a while, and when it gave out he would braid it again. Maybe he would find a long lost piece of baling twine if he was lucky.

Aster and Bran were out and about with him; they had spent the day roaming the property and working on the barn. It was his day off; he knew to expect Krem home before Hild based on the notes left on the counter. Aster was sniffing at rodent holes but Bran was laying in a puddle of sun.

By now he'd patched all of the gaps in the wall of the barn; the sun was coming in through the open windows. They could be pulled closed and latched at will, but airing the building out still seemed a good idea, at least until the weather turned.

Most of his work today had been making sure the loft was sturdy, repairing gaps and structural issues up there so that they might store hay when they had livestock. Gannicus had never imagined a settled life like this for himself, not after the Romans took him. But this was what he might have had if not for that. Perhaps not a house as large or land like this, but a quiet home and a herd of to keep.

Aster rushed by him. Gannicus turned and he smiled when he saw Krem standing in the doorway of the barn.

Comments

[krempuff]

The days were getting shorter and the evenings were coming sooner, and it was getting to that time of the year that, Krem supposed, he tended to remember his first fall in Darrow. Maybe that was the reason for his restlessness recently. Even with the comfort in their little happy home, his sleep had been going increasingly disturbed lately, troubled dreams waking him up in the middle of the night. He was working through it. It would pass, eventually.

For now, he wasn't bothered by it. Aster met him as he strode toward the barn, and he ruffled the dog's ears, smiling at Gannicus leaned in the entrance to the barn. He leaned up to kiss him in greeting.

"Aren't you a good sight," he murmured softly against his lover's mouth. He passed him a glass of water he was carrying, brought out from the house as he'd passed through.

[god_of_the_arena]

A softness warmed his entire expression when he saw Krem, when he realized he had water for him. Gannicus leaned down to meet his kiss, his hand sliding over Krem's side.

"As are you," he said, lightly butting their foreheads together before he accepted the glass of water. His free hand slid up and tenderly scruffed through Krem's hair.

"How was work?"

[krempuff]

"Oh, I'm keeping busy," Krem assured, which he was. The weather had waffled back into warmth again, strangely and unseasonably, but people still wanted their fall and winter gear ready for them for when the season overtook them, and so Krem was getting in those orders and turning them out as quickly as he could.

He rarely brought work home, unless he had a glut of it. So far, that served him well. He might need to hire on a second tailor or seamstress soon, though, if he was going to keep up.

"And you? You look like you've kept busy all day."

[god_of_the_arena]

"I had mind toward it," he agreed as he looked around the barn. "On the chance we would populate before winter, I wanted it to be ready. Barring that, weather-proof for easier cleaning in spring."

He finished his water and leaned to kiss Krem again, lingering this time. "I finished the loft."

[krempuff]

Krem took the glass and set it safely aside. He lifted a brow slightly. The loft had not exactly been in disrepair before, but neither had the barn on the whole. So he smiled indulgently and gently pulled away from Gannicus, stepping properly into the darker space of the barn.

"Are you going to show me your hard work then?"

[god_of_the_arena]

Perhaps not disrepair, but there had been plenty of holes that needed filling, some boards that needed replacing for the sake of strength and stability.

Gannicus just smiled and pulled Krem further into the barn. "If you carry interest," he quipped. "Aster has not yet found way up there."

[krempuff]

"Will he make a fuss, if we are gone long?" Krem asked, laughing. Bran was still nearby, lounging in the long light, and Krem assumed that if they occupied themselves that Aster would ignore them after a moment or two. He tended to respect closed doors.

He pulled himself into the loft, enjoying the hazy, soft light and the old smell of wood. It would be better when they had animals, maybe, and had to keep things up in it. But for now, it was quite nice.

[god_of_the_arena]

He followed Krem up, enjoying the view on the way. There was a blanket haphazardly tossed over the repaired boards and a small pile hay from the past season.

Aster bounded into the barn and sniffed around for his humans, but did not attempt the ladder. Instead he yapped his displeasure just once and then went to tussle Bran out of his nap.

[krempuff]

Krem laughed, softly. He wound his arms around Gannicus's shoulders and leaned into him slightly, relishing the closeness and the quiet warmth of the moment as it was.

He tilted his chin back and smiled at him, eyes mostly shut, and brushed a kiss against his chin.

[god_of_the_arena]

Gannicus smiled and tipped his head to catch Krem in a proper kiss.

"I have plan for further out buildings. You and Hild bring so much to this. I want to be of use here." He had a job, certainly, and he worked regular hours, even if they were strange ones. But he wanted to do more than that for his partners.

[krempuff]

Krem hummed softly. It was a curious way of thinking of it. He was, as he saw it, the curious outlier of the three of them, a city-boy born and raised who had no place living this far away from an urban center. His skill with cloth was one thing, but he was inept with anything leading up to handling it.

There was something about that, making use, that sat strangely in his chest. He kissed the words out of Gannicus's mouth.

"We'd keep you even if you lazed about," he finally teased.

[god_of_the_arena]

Gannicus leaned to meet the kiss. "You must love me. Or enjoy feasting eyes enough to forgive smaller flaw."

He chuckled and pulled Krem down with him so they could look at the barn roof. He laughed, huffed a sigh. "That needs patching, I think. Not all of it, but I would not have draft in winter. Not if we are to keep animals here... or disappear to it ourselves."

[krempuff]

Krem let himself be led, and was dutifully attentive to the details. He nodded. It was a good point, and something to add to a small but growing list of details. The house and grounds were not in disrepair, so to speak. Things just needed attention. It was often the case.

"It isn't so bad for now," he said. "But at some point, yes. Before we get any sort of weather."

[god_of_the_arena]

"It can wait," he conceded, though he probably wouldn't let it go for too long. He tipped his head to kiss Krem's temple. "Is it strange to say I look forward to winter here? In this house?"

[krempuff]

"I don't think that's strange at all," Krem said. He wound his arms around Gannicus's neck, slow and gently, holding him close. He leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips.

"It's going to be lovely, once it snows. A bitch, to come and go from, but it will look lovely."

[god_of_the_arena]

"We will manage," he said quietly, smiling against Krem's mouth. "I had thought toward... learning to drive." He laughed, because the idea still seemed so foreign despite how long he had been here, but neither Hild nor Krem seemed particularly eager.

Aggie was learning, maybe she could help him catch up and practice. They would need an actual vehicle, but they could put mind toward that eventually.

[krempuff]

Krem hummed a little, a vague noise that was neither ascent nor discontentment. He didn't mind the idea of Gannicus behind the wheel any more than he minded the idea of Aggie behind the wheel.

Possibly he minded it less because Gannicus would probably behave slightly better, and not have a couple of rambunctious teenage boys trying to tell her how best to outpace the police in Darrow.

"At some point we'll likely need one," Krem admitted.

[god_of_the_arena]

"We'll find way." He kissed Krem's cheek, then leaned lower to kiss his neck. "That way none of us is trapped trudging through snow come winter."

[krempuff]

"That's awfully optimistic of you," Krem murmured, content, smiling. He tilted his head back slightly to expose his throat to the gentle attention, smiling a bit. His fingers lifted and curled into Gannicus's hair.