Undercover

Andy tossed and turned the next night. The day had been exhausting as usual, and he was so tired, all he wanted was sleep. But he couldn't. His mind was far too wound up to settle for the evening.
He climbed out of bed and crept downstairs into the kitchen, hoping that water might help to settle his churning stomach.

He had a drink, went to the bathroom, but as he was exiting the room, he bumped into a shirtless Austin Carlile. Austin flinched and then chuckled sleepily.

"Sorry- didn't realise you were in here."

"N-no I'm not I'm all done actually I was just getting some water cause I couldn't sleep and then y'know I'm like a sieve cause as soon as I finished it I had to pee and- yeah. Sorry, you uh- you didn't need to know that.." Andy trailed off, sweating with the pressure of the moment as Austin looked at him with sleepy amusement. Andy was beginning to feel very closed in by Austin's looming frame in the doorway. Andy stepped to the right just as Austin did, then to the other side, and back again. They repeated the awkward, clumsy dance several times before Austin reached out and grabbed him, turning them both round. Andy forced a laugh.

"Thanks." But Austin's hands were still on his arms.

"You're...welcome..." Andy's heart was pounding so hard he felt like it should've hurt.

"I'm gonna go back to bed, I feel more sleepy now." Austin nodded and let go, stepping back into the bathroom, Andy cursed himself and the entire situation, returning to bed to toss and turn for a few more hours.

Austin slept soundly, as usual, that night. When he woke up though, all he could think about was Andy. He almost enjoyed the torturous experience, it was refreshing to think of something besides his stretched finances and his past for a change. He was going to make Andy see how much they wanted each other. He just had to figure out how.

Andy knew Austin was coming down the stairs before he heard him, as the two male dogs trotted out of the room to see him.
"Morning! I- uh, got up early for a change and figured seeing as I was up if make us a bacon-" Andy turned and rapidly dropped the plate he was holding when his eyes met Austin's freshly showered body clad only in a towel.

"Shit! Sorry - no, I'll get it-"

"Don't worry about it, I'll get it." Austin walked over with the dustpan and brush, and Andy had to clench his jaw when he bent over to brush up the mess.

"Thank you- coffe?"

"Uh yeah, thanks." He leant on the table and Andy - who seemed to suddenly be forgetting everything - had to continually squeeze past him to get to the kettle and the grill under which the bacon was almost burning.

He almost had a heart attack when Austin straightened up to move into a seat and his towel slipped impossibly further down his hips.

"Thanks, this looks great."

"Yeah it does, doesn't it..." Andy shook his head and regained his composure, completely oblivious to the game the other man was playing with his head.

Austin left Andy to finish off the work on the barn while he set up fences for the horses soon to be arriving. Andy was sweating buckets by the time mid morning came about, but he wasn't the sort of man to take his shirt off when working. Clearly, Austin was, and Andy had the sight of his taut muscles moving under his skin in front of him for hours. It definitely wasn't a boring day.

"I said, do you need sun cream? Your neck is like a tomato." Andy clearly hadn't heard Austin the first time he'd spoken, and he would've have heard him that time except his words were accompanied by him placing his hand on Andy's back to get his attention, driving all sane thought from his mind. He jerked upright and spun round.

"What? Oh, really? Is it?" Andy rushed inside and Austin watched him go, chuckling to himself. Andy had no idea where the sun cream was, and there was no way he'd find it by himself. He may have put it in an awkward spot just for this exact reason. He followed him into the house and laughed at the sight of him trying to see the back of his neck in the mirror.

"Can you see?"

"No....it doesn't matter."

"Just hang on." Andy squeaked and tried to disguise it with a cough when Austin pulled him backwards by his hips and pulled his t shirt over his head, then proceeded to take a picture of him to show him.

Andy swallowed and then cursed when he saw the picture.

"Ah crap! I look like Waldo!" Austin laughed and told him the sun cream was on top of the kitchen cabinet. Which he knew full well Andy wouldn't be able to reach. He watched in amusement as Andy was forced to climb onto the counter to reach it, giving Austin a fantastic opportunity to stare at his body without him seeing.

Andy was thoroughly flustered by the time he climbed down, so when Austin stole the sun cream out of his hands and proceeded to rub it into his burnt skin, he had reached his limit.
"Man you're tense...you ok?"

"Mm-hmm...." Andy couldn't summon a proper response. Austin started rubbing circles into his shoulders.

"Where...did you learn to do that.." Andy couldn't keep his shoulders raised and tense with Austin's warm hands rubbing them the way he was.

"Instinct more than anything else. There, much better." Andy closed his eyes as his breath tickled across his neck.

"Uh-...thanks." Austin walked out and left him standing there feeling embarrassed, flustered, and - as loathed as he was to admit it - slightly aroused.

"I'm gonna go into town tonight." Austin looked up at Andy from their dinner that night and shrugged.

"Ok. Got any plans?"

"No, just thought I might get a walk and a drink."

"Sounds like a good idea. You can talk to your colleagues without worrying I'm listening, then."

"No - that's not why-"

"Relax, I'm kidding." They continued eating in silence until Andy moved his feet and accidentally touched Austin's leg in the process.

"Sorry." Austin didn't even seem to notice. He was wrong.

Austin was enjoying teasing Andy so much, but his plan to go into town was completely the opposite of what he thought would happen, and he bet he knew why. So when Andy had got changed and was just about to head out the door, Austin was sat with the dogs outside with a beer.

"You won't find what you're looking for here, you know." He stopped and turned round in confusion.

"What?"

"You're not in L.A anymore. This is a small place, you won't get what you're looking for. Trust me I know."

"What are you talking about?"

"I can't be bothered to play the coy game, if you want to pretend like we're not on the same page so be it. Go have fun." Andy was clearly rattled when he walked out and it gave Austin deep satisfaction knowing he'd caused it.

He would've stopped him then, pushed it further, but he was determined to make Andy break before he did.

Andy realised into his sixth whiskey that there wasn't going to be anyone of the...business he was looking for. All he'd wanted was to find someone to pay to relieve some of the unbearable tension building up inside of him. But all there was in the small bar was a few old regulars, and that didn't change for hours.

So he decided to drink instead.

It reached eleven pm before Austin decided to go and bring Andy back, knowing full well he was probably too drunk to make his way back on his own.
Sure enough, he found him on the woodland path about halfway home sat down against a tree.

"Well, fancy meeting you here." Andy groaned.

"Sorry..."

"What for? This is hilarious." Andy cursed and tried to climb to his feet with no luck. It was a good thing Austin was there to catch him just seconds before he face-planted onto the ground.

"Okay..up you get..." Austin lifted him easily and tried to walk with him, but Andy was too drunk so he just lifted him fireman style and carried him.

"It's cold...."

"I'm surprised with all what you drank. Although, knowing what a lightweight you are - you probably had what, about three drinks?" Andy smacked him gently, making him chuckle.

Austin carried him all the way home and up the stairs to his bed.
"Thank you...I'm sorry..."

"That's ok, just sleep it off."

"You're much nicer than you pretend to be...."

"Well thank you."

"No I mean it..you're all grumpy all the time..but you're really sweet, and funny and...and sexy...and you do-"

"You're gonna regret saying this tomorrow-" Andy kissed him messily, Austin pushed him back firmly by his hips.

"You are drunk, and you stink of alcohol - I'll kiss you when you're sober, and when you smell and taste a bit sweeter. Goodnight." Andy pouted but was too drunk to argue or put up a fight so fell back onto the bed and fell asleep almost immediately. Austin watched him for a while with a small smile on his face before fetching water, aspirin, and the trusty bucket before going to bed himself.

Dry eyes, dry mouth, pounding head and throbbing crotch was all Andy could register that morning when he woke up. He felt too sick to attend to his lower body's baser needs so he just rolled over and took the painkiller Austin had obviously left for him.
"Rise and shine!" Andy groaned when Austin burst into his room loudly and ripped open the curtains.

"It's..its five in the morning!"

"I know, just thought it'd be fun to wake you up." Andy cursed at him and closed his eyes again.

"Actually I've got a little treat for you!" Andy sat up slowly, the room not quite spinning but still feeling very unsteady.

"Breakfast in bed!" Andy's stomach churned when Austin brought in the massive plate of fried breakfast and he couldn't risk speaking so he just weakly waved him away as Austin waved the plate of food around him.

"You bastard...." It was only the threat of seeing his previous nights drinks in reverse that got him out of his bed. He cursed Austin who was still in his bedroom laughing loudly.

"Feeling better?" Austin asked when he appeared downstairs after a shower.

"No thanks to you..."

"Ah don't be bitter." He pushed a plate of toast towards him.

"I'm off into the next town over today to drop off some furniture I fixed - if you want I can see about getting you a nice hooker for tonight." Andy coughed and spluttered on his coffee and stared up at Austin who had a smug grin on his face.

"Excuse me?!"

"Oh please, as if that's not why you went into town last night. Don't bother lying, Andy..I can read you like a book..." Austin leant close when he said the last sentence, and Andy could do nothing but glare at him, somewhat weakly.

"So, what'll it be?"

"Nothing for me. Thanks. Have fun." Andy's stomach clenched when he wondered if that's what Austin had planned for that night.