Ayce was seated behind him, and he tucked his arms around Nolan carefully, resting his chin on Nolan's shoulder. "Alright." he replied softly.
The Only One // One on One // CLOSED
Nolan kissed his cheek quickly. He sped up into a run until they got back to the woods, slowing down to a walk again
Ayce stayed still, eyes flickering around as he took in the view as the horse ran. He took a deep breath, letting out a soft sigh as they entered the woods.
"Doing alright?" Nolan asked him, tilting his head back to look at Ayce
Ayce nodded. "I'm okay." He said softly, arms still around Nolan.
Nolan placed a hand on one of Ayce's arms. "Good. Let me know if you need to stop."
Ayce nodded. "Okay." He replied softly. He hesitated for a long moment, then slowly pressed a soft kiss to Nolan's cheek.
Nolan smiled at the kiss. "Do you want to hear another story?"
"Sure." Ayce said, leaning his cheek on Nolan's shoulder contentedly.
Nolan thought for a couple moments. "There once was a small village. In this village there was a lonely baker. He spent his life baking goods. It was a boring and lonely life. Then one day a stranger came to the village. He had many stories of the world outside. The baker found jt fascinating but he tried not to show his interest. The stranger noticed, however, and came to visit the baker as his store was closing."
Ayce listened, arms still locked around Nolan contentedly. He closed his eyes to listen better.
"The baker was skeptical and hesitant, repeating telling the stranger to leave. But the stranger refused. Instead he engaged in conversation, or at least tried too. As night rolled in, the stranger finally left. The baker let out a sigh of relief. He cluld go in with his life with no more interruptions, except the stranger came back the next day, and the next, until he was no linger a stranger but a friend. He would tell the baker stories of his adventures. And one particular night, they went from friends to lovers. Eventually the village found out and tried to run them out of the village. But instead of running away with their tails tucked, they gladly packed their things and left. The two of them travelled tge world together, seeing all the wonders nature had to offer. They found a priest who married them. Until their death, they travelled happily together. Only settling down when they were too old to travel any longer." Nolan finished, looking back at Ayce
Ayce made a soft humming sound, opening his eyes and looking at Nolan. "Your stories all end the same." He observed, snuggling closer to Nolan and keeping his arms snug around the other male's waist. "But I like them."
Nolan smiled. "I can start changing the ending up if you'd like." He mused. "I just thought you'd like them to be happy."
Ayce shrugged a little. Happy endings aren't real… He swallowed. "I don't know…" He replied softly, still leaning his head on Nolan's shoulder.
Nolan placed his hand on Ayce's thigh and have it a small squeeze. "I'll change the next story up a little bit, how does that sound?"
"Okay." He replied quietly, snuggling as close to Nolan as he could. He could feel Nolan's heartbeat, and he closed his eyes for a moment.
"Are you doing alright?" Nolan asked. He kept his hand on Ayce's thigh
He nodded. "I'm okay." He said softly, opening his eyes to look over at Nolan.
"Good." Nolan looked back him and quickly kissed his cheek. "Are you getting hungry darling?"
Ayce shrugged a little. "Not really." He replied softly, arms still locked around Nolan's waist. He let out a soft, content sigh.
Nolan nodded. "Let me know if you do. We'll make camp in a few hours darling."
"Okay." Ayce replied. He closed his eyes, leaning his cheek on Nolan's shoulder contentedly. He was still wearing the other male's shirt, which was the wrong size on his thin body.
"Are you falling asleep on me darling?" Nolan asked amused. "I'll make sure you don't fall off." He olaced his hand on Ayce's arms.
Ayce made a soft humming noise. "Mm. I'm not." He replied softly, opening his eyes, though he didn't move his head.
Nolan just nodded and rubbed his arms tenderly. "Will you tell me what you dream about?" He asked quietly. "What has you in tears and screaming at night?"
Ayce stiffened a little, biting his lip. "I-I…memories…" He said softly, closing his eyes again and shifting to rest his forehead against Nolan's shoulder.
Nolan caressed his arms, trailing his fingertips along his skin. "Shh, its alright. You can tell me when you're ready."
Ayce nodded. "I don't think I ever will be…" He whispered, something old, dark, and pained flickering in his voice.
"Then I will wait forever. Give yourself time, darling. Nothing will happen over night. It's going to take many years, but I promise I will be there every step of the way." At this point, Nolan had stopped tge horse and turned in the saddle so he could pull Ayce into his arms