save a horse, ride a cowboy

Hey, sorry that it took so long to update but i've had major writers block. sorry this chapter is so sucky!!!

Dedicated to my angel karin, love you darling!

"So what do you want to know?" Bam asked, sniffing apreiciatively at his vegetable soup.

"Well how about starting with how you broke your tailbone in the first place. Ryan didn't tell me that."

"It's kinda dumb actually. Me and my friends were doing a piece for one of the tv shows we're on and we went over a ramp in this ghetto go-cart thing and it flipped over and threw us out of it."

"Sounds painful." Ville winced. "No wonder you're still in a lot of pain."

"Yeah it was but at least we got some good footage out of it and they let us film us when they took me to hospital so at least the people watching know I wasn't making it up to get more people to watch or something."

"The doctors actually let you film in the hospital?"

"They're used to at least one of us coming into the hospital bashed up with a camera crew following us, they just let us get on with it now." Bam grinned. "Hey, do I get to ask you questions if we're doing this whole 'getting to know each other' thing?"

"Sure why not. How about, for every question I ask you, you ask me something?" Ville suggested.

"Ok, so what's with this whole recluse thing you've got going on here? I mean, don't you ever get bored or lonely being on your own out here all the time?"

"Not really." Ville said thoughtfully. "I'm too busy to get bored. I get a little lonely sometimes I guess but I just work through it, ya know?"

"Uh, no not really. I'm always surrounded by people so I'm never alone long enough to get lonely."

The conversation faded for a few minutes as they both focused on the meal in front of them, sneaking awkward glances at each other occasionally over their bowls. Getting to know each other was proving more difficult than they first thought, their wariness of each other not really helping the situation.

"So...uh...Have you got a girlfriend? boyfriend? chicken you love more than legally acceptable?" Bam asked jokingly and Ville choked back a laugh, attempting to keep a stern face.

"I'll have you know that all animals and birds of any kind on this farm are loved platonically and no more! And no, I don't have a lover either. How about you?"

"Nah, I'm not that fond of chickens." Bam replied, his lips twitching as he tried not to laugh. Ville on the other hand didn't even try to hide his mirth, laughing with a choked sounding giggle that made Bam smile.

"That's not what I meant!"

"I know. No I'm not seeing anyone at the moment, the only cute guys near where I live just hit on me because I'm on tv. They don't actually give a fuck about me so I have to be careful about who I date."

"Guys?" Ville repeated, looking slightly shocked.

"Yeah, I'm gay. Why? Does it bother you?"

"Uh, no. I'm just a little suprised that's all." Ville stuttered.

"You sound freaked out to me."

"I'm not, honestly. I've just never met anyone who's gay that's all."

"That doesn't suprise me." Bam smirked. "You don't see to meet anyone at all up here."

"Fair point." Ville laughed. "Ok, now that you've eaten, do you wanna go upstairs and get into bed?"

"You only found out that I'm gay five minutes ago and already you're trying to get me into bed, what's up with that?"

"WHAT? No I wasn't, I mean, I don't....."

Bam's laughter made Ville look up from his babbled excuses. "Chill out dude, I was only joking." Bam smirked and Ville glared at him slightly.

"That was not funny. I thought you really thought I was hitting on you."

"It was fucking hilarious, you should have seen your face." Bam chuckled.

"Whatever, I'm going to go and make us a coffee." Ville grouched.

"Are you sulking now?" Bam asked only half seriously. "I was only joking, I mean, even if you did swing that way you wouldn't be interested in a small brained city boy and spoiled brat would you."

At Ville's confused look, he explained. "It's what you called me when me and my friends came to the house the other day remember?"

Ville blushed slightly as he remembered his slightly harsh words he'd thrown at him the last time he'd seen him. "You deserved that you know. Just because I'm not as rich as you and my house isn't as nice as yours, it doesn't mean you had the right to talk about my home like that."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that, I was in a bad mood and I took it out on you. Your house isn't that bad I guess, it's kinda cosy once you get used to it."

"Thanks but there's no need to lie, I know it's a hole I just hate having to admit it." Ville admitted, coming back through with the coffee. "Do you think I like living in a dump like this? I just can't afford to fix it up or move to somewhere better so I have to make do with what I've got."

Bam took one of the offered cups gratefully as he thought over what Ville had said. "Look, I'm not an expert or anything but you've got a lot of land here, can't you just sell some off?"

"I wish it was that simple. When I brought the ranch I had to sign a contract stating that it would be used and sold as a whole so if I ever want to sell any of the land everything else would go to them too, including my house."

"Well why don't you find someone to go into business with you so you don't have to sell and you still get extra money and help?"

"That's what got me into this situation in the first place." Ville frowned. "I brought it with my girlfriend Jonna so we'd have somewhere out of the way when her modeling career took off but one day she decided that her personal photographer was richer and better looking than I am and she took all my money and ran off with him when I was in town one day."

There was silence as Bam tried to think of some way to respond but eventually Ville beat him to it. "Sorry. I didn't mean to depress you with the tale of my fucked up life."

"Don't worry about it dude. Ya know, that's why I'm gay. Women are too much trouble, you should just give up on them."

Ville laughed despite himself and Bam grinned back, pleased that he'd managed to lighten the mood.

"So, what you're saying is that to be happy I need to start dating men instead of women?!"

"Sure, why not?!" Bam laughed.

"I dunno, it's a bit too 'Brokeback Mountain' for me!"

"That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard! I think you're in denial, I'm gonna make it my mission to drag you out of the closet that you didn't know you were in!"

Bam's declaration was punctuated by a yawn and he grimaced in annoyance. "Fucking painkillers make me drowsy. I guess I should go to bed before I end up falling asleep in the chair and hurting my neck as well as my back."

Getting up, Ville helped Bam out of the chair and, with his arm wrapped around his waist, helped the skater into his room.

"Are you going to be able to get undressed and into bed by yourself?" Ville asked, slightly concerned.

"Look, I know that you're desperate to undress me but unfortunately for you, I think I can manage! Maybe I'll let you tomorrow if you're nice to me!"

Ville was stuck between horror and amusement at Bam's flirting and it made him feel more flustered than he'd been when he first asked Jonna out. Finally though, he decided just to take it as the joke it was meant to be and he chuckled, placing a glass of water and the bottle of painkillers on the makeshift nightstand next to the bed.

"Yeah whatever city boy." He teased. "I'll see you at some point tomorrow if you can actually make it out of bed."

When no reply came to his baiting, he took a quick glance at the bed to see that Bam had already fallen asleep so, moving quietly, he left the room closing the door softly behind him and heading to his own room where he fell asleep almost instantly.

******************

The next morning Ville awoke to the sound of his alarm clock, a soft smile on his face. He took a few moments to try and think of why he could have woken up happy for once. Despite what he had told Bam the night before, he did get lonely, all the time in fact but he had to push those feelings away and concentrate on his work because if he allowed himself to give in to the pain and lonliness that filled him, he didn't know if ever be able to come back from it.

Closing his eyes, he attempted to recapture the contented feeling his dream had left him with. It was a dream he had every night, a simple dream, just him and Jonna laying in his bed, their limbs entwined, kissing softly and just enjoying being together.

It usually made him feel miserable when he woke up though, remembering what she had done and that he didn't have her any more but this time it was different, not only in the way it made him feel but also in the fact that it wasn't Jonna with him in his dream, it was Bam.

Just that simple thought startled him and he got out of bed quickly, not bothering to shower before getting dressed and heading outside determined to deal with this problem the same way he did all his others, work hard until he forgot it.

Bam awoke around midday, his back feeling a lot better from the strong painkillers he'd taken around 5am when the twinging pain in his back woke him.

Leisurely getting out of bed and showering, Bam wandered downstairs to get something to eat and a cup of coffee but as the coffee was dripping slowly into the pot, he happened to look out of the window and see Ville hard at work, a look of rapt concentration on his face. Making a decision, he filled an extra cup with the delicious smelling coffee and headed outside towards where Ville was standing.

Ville heard Bam approaching him but kept working, refusing to meet the other mans gaze after his disturbing dream the night before.

"Hey dude, I thought you could use a coffee."

"Uh yeah, thanks." Ville muttered, taking the cup without looking directly at the skater. "So how's your back today?"

"It's not too bad, mainly because I'm dosed up on painkillers. I just need to get laid, that usually helps!" Bam grinned as Ville choked on his coffee at his words.

"H...how would that help? Wouldn't that make it worse?"

"I happen to find the throbbing pain in my ass helps me forget about the throbbing in my back!" Bam burst out laughing as Ville choked again obviously uncomfortable. "Dude are you blushing?! It's only sex, no big deal!"

"I know, it's just...."

"It's just that you get uncomfortable talking about gay sex." Bam finished for him.

"Well yeah, a bit." Ville admitted. "It's not something that I talk about often, or at all to be honest."

"Good. That's part of my plan to drag you out of the closet. I'm gonna tell you in graphic detail about what it feels like to have a guys dick inside you so deep you can feel every inch of them moving in you, to have him thrusting into your mouth and the taste of him as you swallow his release. Cause guys know better than women what other guys want and I can garantee that you'd never go back if you allowed yourself to have sex with a guy, especially one who knows what he's doing."

Bam voice was husky and teasing, a knowing smile pulling at his mouth as he watched for a reaction from the cowboy. His mouth suddenly dry, Ville took a gulp of the hot coffee burning his mouth but not caring as he tried desperately for something intelligent to say back.

"I'm not gay so I don't want to know. I've got to get on with the work, thanks for the drink."

He walked off quickly, feeling Bam's eyes burning into the back of his head as he retreated to somewhere safe from pornographic descriptions of gay sex. It wasn't until he was in the safety of the empty cattle shed that he finally realised that his body seemed to be disagreeing with his opinion on not wanting to know as he noticed with some shame that he was hard.

And right where he'd been left, abandoned coffee cup in hand, Bam stood, a calculating smirk on his face as he thought of all the fun he could have with the cowboy.