Humans

Bonding....?

“Are you ready to go back?” John asked finally, still not sounding like he was pumped with team spirit.
“If you are.” I decided, squishing the paper towel remains of my sandwich into a ball and taking a deep drink from the water flask. We walked over to the horses, John untied them silently and handed me the reins to Chestnut, climbing onto his own and waiting for me to clamber on.
“Race you down the hill?” he asked, smiling at me as if nothing had happened. I gave myself a second to get the reins right and my feet in place, smiling as I did.
“You’re on!” I said. He took off, it was all I could do but kick the horse with both feet and shoot out after him. The race ended up being back to the castle, and, even with the head start, I was able to catch him in the woods. Through the fields it was a tie, but when we got to the pasture fence I started to slow down, but instead of getting off his horse he simply jumped the fence, his horse touching down and continuing on as if it was nothing.
“Oh no! Stuck?” John called back, laughing through the wind. I scowled, jumping off of my horse and leading it through the gate, jumping back on and trotting the rest of the way. When I got back John was putting his saddle away already, his horse drinking thankfully from a bin of water.
“I win.” He pointed out as I jumped off, leading the horse through the gate and into the stall. The smell of horse poop and dirt was an awful change from the brisk summer air.
“You had a head start.” I defended.
“Not much.” John pointed out.
“A couple of years actually.” I said with a small smile. I looked at the reins and saddle with confusion. “You’re going to have to do this, I haven’t got a clue.” I admitted. John laughed, walking over and jumping up, sitting on the fence to the stall.
“Give it a try.” He encouraged.
“I’m sorry?”
“Try, you never know until you do.” He pointed out.
“You’re out of your mind.” I defended.
“And I have every right to be, so try.” He said. I groaned, but looked at the straps on the saddle. There was a big buckle to the left, so I walked around (making sure not to go behind) and unstrapped it. After that I pulled it down, finding that quite easier than I imagined. The saddle was heavy; it was a miracle that horse could hold it and me and still run extremely fast.
“Well, here’s this.” I said in a huff, trying my best to walk over and hand it to him.
“Good.” John said with a smile. I thrust it in his hands, making him wobble on the fence post and almost fall. Thankfully I was able to see the consequences of my actions before they happened, and grabbed his hand, letting the saddle fall to the floor over the fence. I pulled him level, feeling his fingers interlock with mine in fear. Once again I was captivated by his eyes, sparkling gold specs in them now that I really concentrated. He was the most beautiful human being I’ve ever seen, but really I’ve only seen like four, but to me it was a complement.
“Thanks.” He muttered. I cleared my throat awkwardly, taking my hand away and walking back over to the horse as if nothing had happened. God, why couldn’t I just get up the nerve and kiss him? But I knew I couldn’t spoil whatever we had here, if it was anything at all, I couldn’t scare him away so quickly. I fiddled at the rein straps, but soon they got all tangled and I lost hope.
“I have no idea how to get these undone.” I admitted.
“Did you try?” John asked.
“Yes I bloody tried, now can you help?” I demanded. I heard him chuckle behind me, but he got off the fence and took the reins off in some weird manner of witchcraft. I opened the gate, holding it open for him as he walked out. I picked up the saddle and he took the reins, putting them back where they went on the shelves.
“Well, that was an adventure wasn’t it?” he asked with a small laugh.
“Oh, you have no idea.” I muttered, thinking of Mycroft’s reaction. We walked back together, not talking much but, I observed, walking closer than we normally. If or hands swung just the right way they collided in midair, neither of us doing anything to stop it either. A small flash of hope sparked, maybe he really did have feelings for me. When we walked back to the room, an angry Greg was waiting for us, sitting on the couch as if he had been sitting there scowling at the door for hours, prepared for when we actually walk in.
“Where in the world have you two been?” he demanded.
“His fault.” I defended, instinctively pointing at John. Greg groaned.
“Horseback rides normally don’t take five hours.” He pointed out.
“They do when one idiot hasn’t ridden before.” John said, walking over to a lone chair and sinking in it. I was left standing at the door, not quite sure what to do with myself.
“I assume you’re starving.” Greg guessed.
“Packed lunch.” John pointed out.
“Oh so you planned this whole thing? You just had to wait until I was out of the picture? What were you doing, kissing?” Greg demanded. Oh god I wish.
“If you must know, I just taught him to ride, something he hasn’t done before. Sorry that your feelings were hurt.” John said with a smile, but I think I saw him blushing slightly. Greg just scowled at him, as if he was an angry mother scolding her child. John didn’t look fazed; he just took a sip of orange juice that had been sitting there since breakfast. He made a disgusted face though, and put the glass back down.
“Your Father was here, and Harry again. I had some explaining to do on your part.” Greg said.
“Thank you then, for getting rid of them.” John laughed.
“They’re coming back in a little while, so get decent.” Greg pointed out.
“Okay fine, I’m going to shower, Sherlock you probably want to too, Greg’s got a shower, just use that one.” John decided, standing up again. “And Greg, make sure to take your body wash out.” John added with a smile to me. I just groaned, not wanting to bring that little topic up again.
“Alright, come on Sherlock.” Greg groaned, getting to his feet also and walking out the door. I followed, my legs still stiff from riding. But I wished I was back on that horse, when it was just John and I against the world.
“So how’d you do riding?” Greg asked.
“I feel off at first, but then I got used to it. I almost beat John at a race.” I added proudly.
“He jumped the fence didn’t he?” Greg asked with a laugh.
“Yep.” I admitted.
“He always does that, that’s how he wins in the end.”
“Do you go riding together?”
“Sometimes, on weekends, but we never pack lunch like that. He must think you’re pretty special.” Greg laughed.
“It’s probably just to repay me for saving him.” I said as Greg paused to unlock the door.
“Well I guess he likes you more than we both originally thought.” Greg said with a small smile. We walked into the room, Greg rooted around in his closet for some fresh clothes.
“Once again I doubt these will fit, sorry they’re not very fancy.” He said, throwing me a bundle of fabrics. There were lose fitting white cotton pants and a white shirt with drawstrings on the top. Even though I was going to look like a shepherd I thanked him and stepped into the small bathroom.
“What am I supposed to wash my hair with?” I asked, looking through the bottles before getting undressed.
“Shampoo!” Greg called through the door. I picked up a bottle that was labeled correctly, examining it before anything.
“Oaky, thank you!” I called back. I stepped into the shower, and this time I knew how to use the dials and knobs, cleaning the day old dirt away. When I got out I dressed in the clothes, rubbing steam off of the mirror to look at myself. Indeed I looked like a servant, but I supposed that was what I was supposed to look like, and I couldn’t complain because Greg had been nice enough to provide clothes for me. The fit better than John’s, at least my ankles were partially covered. I did my best to dry my hair with the towel, attacking the knots with a brush and walking back into the room, where Greg was reading a book. There seemed to be no other pass time around here.
“Good?” he asked mindlessly, flipping the page.
“I guess so.” I mumbled, sitting on the couch again.
“So, anything we should be doing?” Greg asked. “I heard that you were doing most of the work anyway.”
“I’m sorry.” I muttered, hoping he wasn’t mad.
“Don’t be sorry, you’re an amazing servant, I think I’ll be the one forced to find a new master.” Greg laughed.
“I’d never let you leave John.” I said simply.
“And too kind.” Greg pointed out. I smiled shyly, but didn’t make eye contact. I couldn’t stop thinking about our horseback ride, how much I loved his company, how much I loved his laugh. I felt like maybe it would be okay to make a move, he might like me after all. If I saw the chance, I’d take it.
“Greg?” I asked. He hummed a reply. “How do you tell someone that you love them around here?” I asked. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn’t that. He dropped the book to look at me, but I was still looking at the floor, fearing that I’d blush too much.
“Well, it depends, who is it?” he asked. I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t want to tell him about the real reason, he might spoil something, or get mad at me.
“I met a girl when I was working in the armory, she was really nice and we talked for a while, and I couldn’t stop thinking about her.” I lied. That was so far from the truth I almost laughed at myself, but Greg seemed to buy it. He swung his legs over the back of the bed and smiled tauntingly.
“Oh, what’s her name?” he asked. I racked my brain for a name, anything at all.
“Irene.” I muttered. Dang it. That was the only girl I really knew, and the one that I would do anything to avoid the rest of my life.
“Well, girls love flowers, and a well-dressed man. So be all romantic, hold her hand at sunset or something and tell her how beautiful she is, I haven’t had much experience.” He admitted. I doubted John would really want me calling him beautiful and bringing him flowers.
“And if she was trying to tell me, how would I know it’s coming?  I want to be prepared.” I added, thinking that was a pretty unsuspicious way of asking.
“Well, I think she’ll get dressed up and try to seclude you from the rest of the world, but she’ll rant for a couple of minutes about how much you’ve changed her life and how much she loves you and on and on, it’s quite annoying actually. But other than that it’s pretty much the same. And of course, end with a kiss.” He added with a small laugh.
“What’s so funny?” I asked suddenly.
“You! I can’t really imagine you being the romantic type.”
“I’m not. I’ve never really had a girlfriend before.” I admitted. His smile faded.
“Wait, you haven’t even kissed one?” he asked. “This will be hilarious, you’ve got to tell me how it goes.”
“I will, maybe.”
“Go find her!” Greg encouraged.
“Maybe later.” I mumbled. He laughed again, rolling his eyes and flopping back onto his pillows. I sat on the couch, thinking about how I was going to do this. I couldn’t tell him the whole truth, but it made enough sense without it. After a while of just sitting there, my plan was made and I was about ready to do something, anything to stop sitting there. Work sounded like more fun. Eventually Greg rolled off the bed, saying something about how we had to get diner to the prince. I nodded, following obediently to the kitchen. The room was fuller than it was during breakfast, which was good. At least the kingdom was eating. I hoped everything would go back to semi-normal tomorrow. We only one tray this time, we weren’t allowed to eat yet, unlike breakfast. We walked back; I was carrying the food while Greg made sure the cup of water didn’t spill. He knocked once, opening the door when John called for us to come in.  Harry was back, but another girl was with her. This one had dark hair and blue eyes, but her left arm was in a sling. That must be Clara, Harry’s servant and secret lover.
“Hello you two.” Harry said with an amused tone. John looked very annoyed, he was sitting in a chair, his feet propped on the table, and his arms crossed.
“Brought you dinner sir.” Greg said as I set the food next to him.
“Clara, shouldn’t you be doing that?” Harry added.
“Yes, sorry miss.” And with that, the dark haired girl rushed out of the room.
“Thank you Greg, and Sherlock.” John added as he straightened up, observing his food and picking up his fork.
“I just think that pink roses are better.” Harry said, continuing their conversation.
“For the last time they are too feminine, red and white roses!” John hissed, stabbing his fork into the chicken rather aggressively.
“I’ll be back tomorrow with a list.” She decided, storming out of the room.
“What’s that about?” I asked.
“Mother’s funeral, she insists on pink roses and I find them pathetic.” John said, his angry tone softening a bit.
“I agree sir.” Greg said, and I nodded my approval.
“Then it’s three against two.” John said with a triumphant smile.
“I doubt Harry would care about the numbers.” Greg pointed out. John rolled his eyes.
“She’s bloody annoying.” He hissed, continuing his meal. There was silence, I sat down on the couch and Greg leaned against the wall, all of us lost in our own thoughts. It was broken by a knock on the doorframe though, Harry had left the door open.
“Sorry, did she leave?” Clara asked, returning with a plate of food balanced with one arm.
“No idea where she went, sorry.” I answered when I realized no one was going to. Clara nodded, walking back out the door.
“I feel so sorry for her; Harry must be really difficult to take care of.” Greg muttered.
“Well, obviously she cares about her.” John muttered. “No idea how.” He added under his breath.
“Do you think they will actually end up together?” Greg asked.
“Haven’t the faintest, I don’t know much about Harry’s personal life.” John admitted.
“That’s probably why it’s called personal.” I pointed out. Greg rolled his eyes, and I looked around to see if I was right.
“I guess so.” John nodded. “You guys can go eat, I’m done for the day.” he added.
“Alright, see you later then.” Greg decided, glancing at me to follow him out the door.
“Good night sir.” I said, and with that we walked back into the hall.