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[assassinwithahairpin]

Billy Rocks never went to school. He had some schooling, one could say; his mother had taught him how to read and write in Korean, and when he went away to Washington, he'd learned arithmetic and composition and a hundred other, smaller things, that the master's son would teach him when they were allowed alone together. His reading was not the best, but especially with Goodnight, it had improved in his adulthood.

To take classes at the college, he had to have a diploma or equivalent. To get those, you had to go to school or take a test. Classes had already started--he knew that--but the tests we a couple of weeks into the term, for some reason, and the people he had spoken to at the college had assured that the program he was looking at had a later start date than the standard classes.

So here he sat, a study book open, pamphlets and papers and his sketchy hangul in the margins of everything, feeling a bit out of place. He was going to be thirty in the summer. Wasn't it a bit odd to be thinking about schooling so late in his life?

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[assassinwithahairpin]

The closeness, as always, steadied Billy. He suffered less than Goodnight did, and he knew that, but the short-breathed panic that was living under his skin right now was only calmed by the fact that Goodnight was confident in him.

He missed their old cigarettes. While he'd managed to purchase marijuana in Darrow, it wasn't the same as the opium cigarettes they'd indulged in from time to time. He was out of them now.

"Wasn't hungry," he murmured. It was a big thing to admit for Billy. The stress was chewing at him.

[goodnight_robicheaux]

"I'm hopin' that changes when it's in front of your face," he said. He kissed Billy tenderly, cradling his face. "You'll do fine, cher." He knew it would give Billy no comfort to hear that failing a first attempt was not a major set back so he kept it to himself. "C'mon, smoke with me until dinner gets here."

He moved away from the counter and tugged Billy across the living room to their small balcony. Maybe the night air would help settle Billy a bit more.

[assassinwithahairpin]

Billy came along, more than willingly. They stepped out onto the balcony, and the bite of the air cleared his head for a moment. He kept leaned into Goodnight, close, despite the relative publicity of a balcony. They'd been this close on private balconies and porches before; he wasn't worried about it.

"I have to pass all the sections," Billy said, "and then there are other tests I can take throughout the year to prove that I know certain things. The preliminary classes. Academy. It's a lot of work for something that used to just be a badge."

[goodnight_robicheaux]

"One step at a time, mon cher," he murmured as he kept Bill close to him, arm comfortable around his waist. They could still afford some intimacy out here; it was quiet. "We'll worry about this test first, the rest as it comes."

Goodnight kissed him, squeezed him close for a moment. "Maybe it ain't gonna be easy but you're one of the most stubborn people I know."

[assassinwithahairpin]

Billy snorted. He dug out his cigarette case, and pulled out one of the new marijuana cigarettes, lighting it as he leaned in against Goodnight. Just inside the door off the balcony, Beau sat and watched them. The small unit of their lives was all tied up here, and Billy couldn't be more happy.

"If all else fails..." Billy didn't want to think about failure.

[goodnight_robicheaux]

"If all else fails, you try again." Goodnight pressed a kiss to Billy's hair. "One failure is not the end, mon cher. I shudder to think how many times you messed up with those knives before getting as quick as you are."

His fingers brushed fondly along Billy's side. "Took you a bit to get used to a rifle, didn't quit that. Do I even want to ask about riding? God knows I landed on my ass more than I care to recount."

[assassinwithahairpin]

Billy blew out a breath. Goodnight was right. He was too stubborn to let a first failure get him down, or a second, or a third. His fingers were riddled with scars from knives, he'd probably broken ribs a time or two between horses and rifles. He was what his stubbornness had made him.

He leaned in and kissed Goodnight softly.

[goodnight_robicheaux]

Goodnight met the kiss, content in the affection. "You're alright. We always land on our feet, huh?" Well, almost always. His hand left Billy's waist in favor of stroking his hair back. "And you retain information better than you think you do. I would know."

[assassinwithahairpin]

Billy sighed, leaning into the touch. He'd needed to be so sure, for both of them, in Rose Creek because he'd seen the cracks in Goodnight's foundation long before they had their argument on Goodnight's leaving. It had been a long time since he'd been so doubtful of himself or something he wanted.

"How long for the food?"

[goodnight_robicheaux]

Goodnight was grateful that he could be Billy's rock when he needed it, especially since Billy had been his for so damn long. It was easy for him to have faith in this because he knew Billy, and he knew he'd see it through no matter what if it was something he really wanted. Goodnight would support him however he needed. His thumb brushed tenderly over Billy's hip. "We got time yet, maybe thirty minutes?"

[assassinwithahairpin]

Billy hummed a little bit, nuzzling in against Goodnight for a moment. Maybe they ought to go back inside. They had time to linger and enjoy the crisp night air, but it would be good, in case the food came early.

And because, if Billy was honest, it would be better for the two of them to be inside. The longer they lingered against each other, the longer he was away from his books, the more Billy longed for a more serious distraction.

[goodnight_robicheaux]

Goodnight let Billy finish the cigarette before gently cajoling him back inside. It was chilly enough that he didn't want to linger without bundling up more. Once the door was closed he reached, pulling Billy back to him so that he could kiss him.

"Relax, cher. I can see you lost in there," he said as he gently gripped Billy's hair to give his head a little shake.

[assassinwithahairpin]

"So get me out," Billy said, a soft plea. Everything was still so new, so raw, but Goodnight was a constant. Something real and true. No matter how Billy was trying to adapt to things in Darrow, as quickly as he could manage, Goodnight was the only thing that really felt real.

[goodnight_robicheaux]

Goodnight pulled Billy close, drew him into a kiss, firm and wanting to answer the plea in Billy's voice. He drew back and curled his fingers in Billy's shirt. "C'mon cher, we got some time to kill."

He moved back toward the couch and nearly fell on it; he pulled Billy with him, into another urgent kiss.

[assassinwithahairpin]

Billy let himself be pulled along. He focused on Goodnight, the certainty of his movements, the warmth of his body. When they reached the couch, Billy had no qualms about settling himself on top of his lap, kissing Goodnight deeply.

That they had this place to themselves, that they had privacy and no one to knock on their doors to check in if they needed something, was still a miracle to Billy. He felt a wild sort of abandon. It was a sort of freedom that, a few times, they had joked about: settling out, somewhere in the frontier, to own land and be accountable to no one but themselves and each other. Darrow felt like that just then.

[goodnight_robicheaux]

Goodnight pulled their hips together, hands tight on Billy's thighs. Their privacy here was something he never thought they'd have, unless they settled down somewhere out on the range. The idea had been awfully tempting a number of times. Now here they were, in a place where most didn't seem overly offended by the notion of two men together, living together.

His hips rocked up towards Billy's and one hand slid up his back to tangle in his hair. A soft sound escaped against the kiss and before long he was working Billy's shirt open, wanting to feel his skin.

[assassinwithahairpin]

Billy did nothing to help in removing his shirt. He was much more intent on kissing Goodnight's face, in tangling his fingers into Goodnight's hair as well as he rolled his hips lazily.

[goodnight_robicheaux]

Goodnight didn't even try to remove it all the way; he just wanted it open. His hands smoothed over Billy's sides, hands still callous-rough. He grabbed Billy's hips again, feeling more urgent as they move together.

"Mon cher, these are gonna have to go," he said with a grin against Billy's mouth, tugging at his jeans. Billy looked damn good in them.

[assassinwithahairpin]

"Not getting up," Billy mumbled, as petulant as he was demanding in that moment. He let Goodnight tug at his jeans, but didn't really move. He did, at least, reach down and open the button and fly, so there was some access. That wasn't going to get them very far.

[goodnight_robicheaux]

Goodnight groaned and even that was edged in a laugh when Billy insisted he wasn't getting up. "Guess we're makin' due, then." He pulled Billy into another kiss and his other hand disappeared between them to help Billy's cock out once his button and fly were open.

[assassinwithahairpin]

Just having his cock out was almost enough to make Billy change his mind on whether or not he was getting up. He squirmed and adjusted, bowed his back to give more access.

[goodnight_robicheaux]

"There you go," he breathed between them. He stroked Billy slowly for now, teasing him even as he tried to give Goodnight more access. He tipped his head up for another kiss, chasing the taste of him. His hips moved restlessly, looking for more friction.

[assassinwithahairpin]

Billy did the best he could to address all those stimulus: the kiss, the touch, the lazy roll of Goodnight's hips under his own. He ground back against Goodnight, fucked up into the circle of his fingers.

"Fuck," he croaked gently, panting against Goodnight's mouth.

[goodnight_robicheaux]

The edge in Billy's voice urged him on and Goodnight struggled with a sudden surge of impatience. He smacked Billy's ass.

"If you ain't gonna take these off then turn around," he breathed against him, a smile in his voice as he gave another firm bounce of his hips.

[assassinwithahairpin]

Billy laughed a little, squirming back against the bounce of Goodnight's hips. He kissed Goodnight one more time and then, rather unceremoniously, turned around on his lap. It wasn't a particularly graceful move. He pushed his jeans down a bit as he moved, so when he sat, it was bare skin to Goodnight's clothed hips.