Chapter Text
The sound of light, prancing hoof beats met Hank’s ears as he finally turned the last corner and came to stand at the edge of his property. He turned to see the tawny points of Nellie’s ears peeking over the splintering wooden beam of a fence, giving an eager twitch as the man abandoned his course momentarily to veer over to her, coming to stand just beside the pen.
The old mare butted her nose out to push up the beige brim of Hank’s hat the moment he was in reach, large hand unable to push the persistent animal away as a heavy snort of air nearly sent the disturbed garment flying. She’d really gotten some of her old spring back in her step.
With a heavy pat, Hank leaned back and moved to carry on as he had planned; but just as he was about to stroll away, the papers he’d kept clasped in one hand were abruptly plucked from his fingertips.”Hey!” The man snapped, whipping his gaze to where the culprit stood behind the fence, black mane glistening in the early light and papers grasped loosely between his massive jaws.
“Those are important!” Hank scolded chidingly, reaching up to snap the papers free of the stallion’s teeth and glancing down at them to inspect the damage. Thick horse saliva dripped from one corner and ran down to smudge a few of the words, wet and disgusting, but nothing seemed too illegible. Good. Hank settled for wiping the things against the coarse fabric of his pants with a disgusted groan, trying not to feel the warm wetness against his fingers lest he start gagging all over the documents himself.
Silver gave an offended whinny, turning away with a majestic shake of his head as if insulted by the notion he wasn’t capable of handling important documents. His raven fur gleamed in the early light and his long mane shone with the action, clean and combed to reflect the sun like a sheet of glass blazing back the roaring flames of a fire as he pranced indignantly on the spot.
With a huff, Hank turned to walk away once more but didn’t get two steps before a jolting jab to the back of the head nearly knocked his hat off, sharp and pointed. He whipped around, hand clasped to the back of his hat and deadpanned look set dryly in place but he failed to see much more than a face full of black fur, the soft fluff crowding his vision to block out all else.
Silver butted his snout into Hank’s face, unrelenting and unapologetic in his assault, hot breath huffing out in the man’s face to draw a disgusted cough from the guy as he tried to escape with little success. Finally, Hank brought his hands up to the creature’s head, running large fingers over Silver’s persistent snout and scratching heartily behind the animal’s swiveling ears to abate the attack, manhandling the creature's massive head in an abrasive assault of his own, petting roughly and pushing Silver’s dark ears back under his palms like a giant, annoying cat.
The horse finally relented with a satisfied snort, shaking himself high over the fence with a look as smug and victorious as a horse could possibly muster. “Ha!” It seemed to say, “I always get the pets.”
“Attention whore-se.” Hank snarked jovially, waving away the prissy creature and continuing though his yard until he finally stepped up onto the wooden porch.
Hank pushed open the front door of his home and walked inside, heavy riding boots falling heavily onto the old oaken floor so it creaked and groaned with each step. He tossed his pile of papers onto a wooden table as he passed through the kitchen and moved into a short hallway beyond, the passage dimly lit by a wide window at the end of the path. The man took a few heavy steps before reaching out to grip the edge of a wooden doorway that rested at about the halfway point of the hall and leaned inside, a smile beginning to pull warmly at the corner lips of his lips as his gaze finally fell on what he sought.
A lean body lay tangled in the blankets of his bed and a mess of mahogany hair buried in one of two pillows, stuck up at odd angles and flying every which direction as if set on spiting gravity itself. Blue fabric draped across pale skin in haphazard folds where a loose shirt rode up high over his lean stomach as slender limbs shifted and knotted themselves worse around the soft covers, pulling taunt as Connor squirmed into the mattress, nuzzling his nose into the fluff of the pillow before abruptly pulling up off the bed to spin himself over.
“What the hell are you doing?” Hank chuckled with an affectionate snort, crossing the floor to stand above the bed and stare down at the boy with heavy arms crossed over his broad chest.
“You try living on the run for sixteen years!” Connor snarked lightly, bright smile flashing across his soft features as he dug his angular shoulders into the mattress with a pleased shimmy, slender hips arching off the bed with the action. “I will never take a real bed for granted again.” The boy promised with a happy sigh, caramel eyes slipping shut at he bit the soft flesh of his lower lip in a pleasurable groan, the skin there smooth and unblemished by scab or bite. Connor’s full cheeks were clear and markless, only moonlight pale skin where there had once been twilight bruises and they carried a pretty pink flush that still held Hank’s heart in a merciless fist. When the boy reopened his honey flecked orbs, they gleamed brightly up at his companion with nothing to darken their glowing shine.
Hank felt a pressing surge of pride and relief alike as he took in the sight. He had done this.
“I thought you had sheriff-y things to do down at the courthouse?” Connor asked curiously, pushing himself up with the butts of his hands and swinging his long legs around to sit on the edge of the bed, reaching his slender arms up as he did so.
Hank leaned in to let long, delicate limbs twist around his neck and pull him down for a kiss, gentle fingers carding softly through his hair as his lips met the boy’s. Connor’s mouth was warm and welcoming against the lawman’s, soft and supple and pressing eagerly up into the kiss as the very tip of his little tongue flicked teasingly between Hank’s teeth. A grating bite, gentle but sharp enough to send an electric jolt down Hank’s spine, nipped into the chapped skin of the man’s lips just as they parted, mischief gleaming like lighting in the honey oceans that filled his vision.
“You know I don’t like sheriff-ing without my deputy.” Hank reminded in a low, warm voice, bringing a hand up to touch his calloused fingers lightly to the bronze star pinned just over Connor’s heart, the cold metal harsh against his fingertips when everything else about his partner was so soft and warm. “I was actually trying to get something for you.” He admitted after a moment, meeting Connor’s questioning eyes with a slow smile as he lowered himself to sit on the bed, pushing back to lean on his elbows as he watched the boy.
Connor followed after him, shifting to lay out across the bed so his long legs stretched over the mattress as he pressed up against Hank’s chest, head resting over the man’s heart and delicate fingers splayed out atop the lawman’s stomach. “Hank,” He began softly, his lithe body a warm, welcome weight against Hank’s side. “What more could you possibly give me?” The deputy asked slowly, voice reverent as his hand found the man’s and drug it up to the star over his heart, interlocking their digits there with a solemn squeeze.
Hank shifted to gaze down at the boy snuggled in close, bringing a hand up to his companion’s jaw to press a large palm there and tilt Connor’s eyes up to meet his, reveling in the warm trust brimming there and the soft smile playing across his gorgeous face. “I thought maybe I could interest you in a last name.” The sheriff offered, brushing the rough pad of his thumb over his lover’s bruise-less cheek.