A small, quiet town. So quiet that you could hear a man scratching his beard a hundred feet away. This man kicked his feet up as he watched the clouds slowly pass through the sky.
Roland Ray was the marshal of this small and dusty little town in the middle of the desert. He preferred to be called "Ray," because he liked how it meant "wise protector." Protecting this small town of maybe 50 residents where nothing ever happens can be boring, so he spends his
days thinking of different ways to entertain himself. Some days, he's chatting with people at the local bar, other days, he spends alone under the sun, working on some random project that he decided to pick up.
This particular day was like any other day. The sun was beating down on him as he helped repair a neighbor's well. But all of a sudden, he heard distant gunshots and men yelling at the top of their lungs. Ray squinted at the approaching figures, his hand ready on his gun. The figures started coming into focus. One was a tall, slender man with long, slick black hair blowing gracefully in the wind as he rode his horse. There were three men behind him, each one burly and mean in their own way.
They chased him with nasty scowls on their faces, aiming their guns
at him. The man with the black hair burst out laughing without a care in the world, as if they were just playing a game of tag. As he got closer, he made eye contact with Ray and winked before jumping off his horse and sliding under one of the houses.
Ray stood there dumbfounded. How can anyone be happy while being chased like a dog? The three burly men approached the house where the black-haired man disappeared and attempted to crawl under, but kept getting stuck at the shoulders.
"How the hell did he get under there? Hey, you!" One of the men called out to Ray. "Ain't you the marshal? What're you doing standing there? Get him!"
Ray scoffed and looked at him dead in the eyes. "And what am I getting him for? How do I know if he's the bad guy here and not you?"
The man began laughing uncontrollably, gripping his belly like he just heard the funniest joke on the planet, then suddenly spit on Ray shoe. "Don't let that pretty face fool you. That man stole from us. Even if we leave now, more people will come back for him later."
Before Ray could speak, the three men hopped on their horses, kicking up dust into Ray's face. Speechless, he watched them fade into the distance before crouching down under the house to check for the runaway man. He scanned back and forth when a pair of eyes suddenly emerged from the darkness, scaring him so much he nearly fell back on his rear. The man huffed a short laugh and crawled out from under the house. He crawled over to Ray who was still crouched on
the ground, bringing his face so close to Ray that he could count each individual eyelash. The man flashed a stunning smile at him.
Ray carefully observed his features. His eyes were cat-like, complimenting his gentle curve of his nose and lips. His hair was long and flowing down to his waist like a curtain of silk, and his lashes were thick. There was something enticing about him.
"Thank you for covering for me. You're a very kind man." He pulled away and sat up with his legs crossed. "You can call me Silas."
"Ah…it's no problem. I just don't like folks kicking up trouble in my town. I'm Roland Ray, but you can just call me Ray. I'm hoping that you'll lie low here and not cause any trouble either."
Ray breathed a sigh of relief after Silas pulled away, his heart pounding for unknown reasons. Maybe it was from the exhilaration of speaking to those thugs back there. "You must be thirsty. Let me get you something to drink."
He sprung up and pulled Silas to his feet. Ray brought him to the closest establishment, which happened to be an empty little bar, and they sat themselves down at a random table. Silas downed a few glasses of water before speaking again, and Ray watched him intently with his cheek propped in his hand.
"So…mind telling me why they were chasing you down?" Ray wanted to make sure he didn't end up saving some criminal on a whim.
Silas looked up from his glass and cleared his throat. "I was framed. I was making an exchange with the Quinn Family and in the midst of it all, one of the items went missing so they pinned it on me. It's fine if you don't believe me but at least let me stay for one night so I can plan out
what to do next. It looks like they're intent on chasing me down so that they can put the blame on someone."
"I believe you," Ray placed a hand on Silas' arm. "I know what those people are like, and they're a pain to deal with. You can stay with me in the meantime and I'll deal with them."
Silas blinked at him. He hesitated for a moment before speaking again.
"Why are you going this far for me? I could be lying to you to take advantage of you."
Ray leaned closer and beamed at him. "Well then, that's a problem for me to deal with later, isn't it?"
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The moon shined down on the pair of men exiting the now bustling bar. Ray walked over to his horse to grab his hat and placed it on his head. He reached inside his satchel and pulled out a slightly dusty poncho and draped it over Silas. Silas was taken aback, gripping the ends of the poncho and looking down at it, then back up at Ray.
"It gets cold here at night. Don't worry about me, I'm used to it." Ray smirked. "My place is just down this way, so let's just walk."
Silas nodded and they slowly started making their way to Ray's home, Ray carefully adjusting his steps to match Silas' pace. They didn't speak for a while. They just stared up at the stars, listening to the crowd of people laughing and yelling in the bar behind them. A moment later, Silas looked over at Ray and to his surprise, their eyes had met. How long was Ray looking at him? Silas' cheeks and ears were tinged with a hint of red, and it took a moment before he spoke up.
"Thanks again for helping me."
"Mm. Don't worry about it. We're here now so let's get ready for bed."
Ray laid down a few sheets and a pillow on his couch. Silas walked out of the bathroom, fresh and clean after a bath and plopped himself down on the couch. His silky hair was still dripping with water and he ended up leaving a trail from the bathroom all the way to the couch. Ray peeked over and let out a soft chuckle while grabbing a small towel.
"You're gonna drip all over the place, bud. Sit over here on the floor so I can dry your hair."
Ray sat on the couch and Silas hesitated for a moment before sitting himself on the floor between Ray's legs. Thank goodness his back was facing him, because Silas was flushed all the way down to his neck, all while Ray's face was also heating up after realizing how close they were. Ray swept his fingers under Silas' hair, gently patting it down with the towel. His fingers slightly trembled as he brushed through his soft, long hair, smelling the scent of his shampoo waft through the air. He could feel his urges rise up to his throat, so he stopped abruptly and hopped up.
"Ah...all done! I'm gonna go bathe now haha... Y-you can go ahead and go to bed first." Ray stammered, avoiding eye contact with Silas.
"Oh alright...enjoy your bath then." He didn't want Ray to leave just yet, but he didn't want to say anything else and overstep.
Ray rushed into the bathroom and prepared the bath, hopping in the moment the tub was filled. He leaned back and covered his face with his hands. All he could see in his mind was Silas. His beautiful hair, his smooth skin, his gentle, sweet features. He had fallen for a man that he had just met a few hours ago.
"I'm sure he has more to worry about than some random cowboy in the desert. He's on the run for crying out loud, and who knows when those goons are gonna come back for him," Ray whispered to himself.
Ray was handsome man, and everyone in the town thought so too. He was burly and scruffy, and his wavy brown hair and beard nicely framed his face. He had deep hazel eyes that could melt every person they encountered. The townsfolk thought it was a waste for someone as good looking as him to still be single and uninterested in taking a wife. Ray really only thought about helping the townsfolk and protecting them, and the thought of loving someone never crossed his mind. A few people tried to catch his attention multiple times, but he never bat a single eyelash at them. He would just smile and hop on his horse to go find something else to fix. Some would say he was trying to distract himself from something. Although he was friendly and sociable, he rarely spoke about himself.
Silas laid sprawled out on the couch, his leg hanging over the edge and his arm tucked under his head. Right as he drifted to sleep, Ray tip toed out of the bathroom and sat in the arm chair adjacent to the couch. He picked up a book, however his focus was on Silas. For a short while, he just observed the sleeping man on the couch. He must have been exhausted if he fell asleep in such a short amount of time, not to mention the amount of trust he had in Ray to just fall asleep defenselessly. After finally deciding that he wouldn't be able to focus on reading, Ray cleared his throat and moved to his bed to wrap up the night.
But he couldn't fall asleep. He stared at the ceiling all night, his mind and heart racing. He couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement because of the lovely person sleeping in his home, while also feeling anxious that that person might disappear at any given moment.
He didn't know when he finally fell asleep, but he was gently stirred by the sound of something sizzling. He peeked out of his bedroom door at the kitchen and saw the back of a figure with long black hair. Slightly groggy and confused, he shuffled out and sat himself down at the table, propping his head in his hand. Startled, Silas turned around with a sweet smile on his face.
"I wanted to thank you for helping me out, so I hope you don't mind me using your kitchen." Ray softly chuckled and shook his head. Relieved, Silas brought over two plates of freshly cooked food and set them down. Ray stared at it for a moment before taking his first bite. He silently ate his food with an unreadable expression, causing Silas to feel restless.
"Ah...is it not good? You don't have to force yourself," Silas said as he reached for Ray's plate. Ray grabbed his wrist and shook his head.
"No, it's delicious! It's just nice to have someone cook for you, that's all..." Ray could feel the tips of his ears burning, his eyes darting back and forth between his hand grabbing Silas' wrist and his face before releasing his grip. Both of them awkwardly shifted in their seats, Silas holding his wrist and Ray pushing around the eggs on his plate. Before they could speak another word to each other, there was a loud bang followed by the sound of shattering glass and distant yelling. The two of them ducked under the table and Ray instinctively shielded Silas.
"Fuck, they've come back. And they brought their friends too," Ray spoke in a hushed tone. Silas clutched the sleeve of Ray's shirt, making his heart jolt. Now is definitely not the time to swoon, you stupid brain. Ray glanced over at his holster draped over the edge of the armchair on the other side of the room and cursed to himself. As he crawled over and reached for his gun, someone began pounding on the front door.
A blurry figure zoomed past him, grabbing the shotgun hanging on his wall. "Hey, what are you-"
Silas aimed the gun at the door and BANG. Silence followed. Silas grabbed the gun Ray was reaching for and pulled Ray up to his feet, shoving the pistol in the holster into his hand. Silas jerked his head towards the basement door. Ray understood immediately and the two of them jumped down the door hidden under the rug just before the crowd outside was riled up again.
"How did you know?" Ray finally asked after they caught their breath.
"About the basement or where the guy behind the door's head was?" Silas softened the furrow in his brows and gave a soft smile. Ray stayed silent and Silas brushed himself off. "Well, I took a look around this place at dawn, trying to come up with a plan in case those dogs came back and as I was walking, I noticed that the floor seemed unusually hollow under the rug. I'm sorry for snooping... I completely understand if you don't want to help me anymore."
Ray grabbed Silas' shoulders stared at him for a moment before letting out a deep sigh, dropping his head on Silas' shoulder. "I'm just glad you're okay. I was just surprised." Ray felt a pair of arms wrap around him and pull him into an tight embrace. He could feel his heart beating in his throat. He didn't want to let go. He suddenly felt a warm breath on his right ear, sending shudders through his whole body.
"We need to get out of here, we don't have much time," Silas whispered. Ray snapped back to reality and pulled himself away from Silas.
They could hear the sound of footsteps running around above them, accompanied by faint yelling and furniture being turned over. Before they could find the hidden door, Ray pulled Silas along deeper into the basement. They stopped in front of a large metal door, and Silas swung his head around to face Ray.
"I want you to go through this tunnel while I try to steer them away from here. Just keep going and you'll eventually come across another basement that's attached to a safe house. It should have enough of things you need to last you a while. Once everything settles down, I'll meet you down there." Ray grabbed his hand and gave it a brief squeeze before opening the door.
Silas furrowed his brows and stared at a floor. He didn't want to leave Ray behind, but the best thing he could do right now was trust Ray and run. He leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Ray's cheek, stunning Ray as well as himself. Ray reached for Silas' face and brushed his lips with his thumb before leaning in again, only to be stopped by Silas' hand covering his face.
"Meet me on the other side first," Silas beamed as he dropped his hand from Ray's face. Before Ray could get another word in, Silas had already left through the door and disappeared into the darkness.