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Woody wasn’t sure how he was supposed to feel when he got new neighbors. In a small town, you basically had no choice but to get to know them, and everyone in your family would do the same thing.
“Why don’t you go over and introduce yourself, Hon?” Woody heard his mother coo, and his stomach twisted.
“I’m good.”
“Oh, come on. Look, there’s two people about your age, Woodrow. It would be good for you to go and meet them.”
Jessie joined her brother’s side and stared over at the family unpacking their minivan, her eyes glued to the blonde. “They don’t look too bad.”
“I don’t know. I don’t like new people,” Woody grumbled, and started heading back inside when his mother’s hand rested on his shoulder.
“Alright, Hon, but I’m going to invite them over for dinner tonight. Why don’t you go and wash up?”
His stomach flipping like pancakes on the griddle, Woody marched himself into his restroom with a grumble, messily brushing his fingers through his hair before covering it with his hat. Even more than having his routine messed up, he hated having to make himself look nice. If he wanted to look nice, he would have moved into the city.
Woody sat down at the table with his family and neighbors, keeping his eyes mainly on his plate, only flickering them up every few seconds to study them and then scrutinize them in his head.
There were two older men, married. He didn’t quite take notice of their names—the one with the beard and flannel was Charles or Chad, or something along the lines. The skinnier man with tall cheekbones and dusty grey hair with a matching mustache was named something like Reginald or Gerald, he couldn’t quite remember which. They were Mr. And Mr. Davis to Woody.
Then, there were the two children. The older boy had to be around 13 or 14, with how his voice cracked. His fathers called him Andrew. The much younger girl was 5, and her name was Molly—the only reason he could even remember her name was because they rambled on about how proud they were of her, and she showed it with a beaming smile. One of the married men had apparently had a divorce two years prior, and his two younger children visited him on the weekend.
Their older daughter was the blonde that Woody could swear his sister stared at all through dinner, and her name stood out right away—Bo Peep. Unable to help himself, Woody choked down a chortle at the name before forcing his attention back to his food so his mother’s glare wouldn’t keep on him any longer.
Then, there was the other man, named Barry, though the adults called him Buzz, as his head was always buzzing, as if he never paid any attention. He had his black hair slicked back thick with gel, and purple headphones resting around his neck, and he ate slowly, in a strange sophisticated way. Apparently, he wasn’t related to the two adult men at all—one of them had a friend, and he was the friend’s son. He was sent to live with them to learn to work, as his own parents found his ideas way too outlandish to pursue, and wanted him to be more practical about his dreams.
While Woody didn’t particularly care, his curiosity got the best of him. He had to know what this young man’s dream was before he came here—it definitely had nothing to do with how manly his chin was, or how adorably awkward his smile was when they brushed hands when reaching for a bread roll. No, not at all.
Woody stepped into the sunlight at dawn, glimpsing over at the neighbor’s home, only to see his suspect leaving the house in a rush towards the field. It didn’t take long for Woody to catch up. “Hey, city boy. What are you doing?”
Buzz tensed up and glanced over at Woody. He looked him up and down before turning away and continuing to walk. “I have to get to work. I was told to go and start my chores.” He held up a piece of paper with a list of work for the day, and Woody couldn’t help but pity him. Only a little.
“They already got ya working? Don’t you have stuff to unpack?”
“The younger kids and the Misters are dealing with that.”
Nodding along, Woody followed the other into the barn and watched him as he heaved around a bucket, his muscles straining in his shirt slightly. Gulping, Woody leaned forward and began to help the man for a moment. Once the sheep had been fed and their stalls were cleaned for the day, Buzz let out a loud sigh and set himself upon one of the hay bales, leaning against the wooden walls of the barn and glancing at his list. Peeking over the man’s shoulder, Woody could tell that the men had the farmhand working for most of the day. Poor city boy.
Crossing the first line out, Buzz gave a smug smile to the other man. “Don’t you have work to do as well, or are you just going to come and watch me?”
Giving a sarcastic laugh, Woody left the barn and made his way to his own chores.
Around noon, Woody couldn’t help but let his mind drift back to the farmhand. He made his way back over to the other family’s plot of land and searched until he found the farmhand sitting in the field, sketching over the sheet of paper with his list on it. “So, you’re an artist, huh?”
Instantly, Buzz jumped and Woody couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare ya,” he sat down next to the other, leaning back on his palms, “just needed to sit for a while and wanted to come and see how you were handling.”
“...I’m handling everything well.”
Woody peered over at the list and saw over half of it hadn’t been crossed out. “Sure you don’t need any help?” He said the words in a teasing tone, and the other man stood up quickly.
“I said I’m fine, Sherriff,” and Buzz marched away. Woody stared with his eyes squinted for a moment before letting himself stifle a laugh and return to his own work.
As the night neared to an end and the two families retreated into their homes, Woody took one last stroll through his family’s land to make sure that all of the animals were in their enclosures when he noticed Buzz sitting on the Davis’ roof. Unable to help himself, Woody made his way over and crawled up onto the roof
“Drawing again, city boy?”
Buzz rolled his eyes. “No, just lookin’ at the stars.”
“Hm. They’re nice out here in the country side, aren’t they?”
After only receiving a hum in response, Woody leaned back onto the roof panes and smiled. “So, what kind of dreams did you have before you came here, city boy? What was so bad that your parents sent you out here?”
The other man tensed up in his spot and then shot Woody a dirty glare. “Why should I tell you?”
Laughing and closing his eyes for a moment, Woody shrugged. “It’s the kinda thing you tell someone else when you’re sitting under the stars, ya know? Plus, who am I gonna tell? There’s no one else even living around here.”
After watching the other for a moment, Buzz relaxed in his spot. “Just... don’t laugh, okay? I will punch you if you do.”
Snorting, Woody nodded and put his hands up in a faux defensive stance. “Okay, okay. I won’t, city boy.”
“Well, I wanted... to be an astronomer.”
Woody laughed, and when Buzz reeled his arm back to punch him, the cowboy simply put his hands over the other’s knuckles. “Calm down, calm down. I’m only laughin’ because I’m surprised. Why would they send you away for that? I figured you wanted to be a bank robber or something, not a boring ol’ astronomer.”
Shaking his head, Buzz looked down at his hands. “I don’t know, they just... they think a man’s work has to be something incredibly masculine, yanno? Watching stars was too girly for ‘em.”
Softening his stance, Woody looked up to the sky and nudged the other. “Well, they made a pretty dumb choice. Nothin’ out here but miles and miles of stars, you know.”
Giving an awkward smile at that, Buzz raised his eyes up to the sky. “Yeah, I guess they did.”
Sliding off the roof and onto the ground, Woody turned towards Buzz one last time for the night. “You’re going to the campfire tomorrow night, yeah?”
“As if I have a choice,” Buzz replied, leaning back against the roof. Woody snickered and left.
The next day came by quickly, and Woody grabbed his 6-stinger and plopped himself down next to his sister, right across from where Buzz was sitting on the other side of the fire. Woody’s mother excitedly requested a few old lovey-dovey country songs that she and her husband used to love before he passed away, before she retired. It didn’t take long for the younger kids to yawn and stretch, and their fathers carried them into the home, leaving only Bo, Jessie, Buzz, and Woody.
“Alright, now’s the time when I’m allowed to play somethin’ raunchy,” Woody laughed and tuned his guitar slightly before starting to churn out ‘I’m Gonna Getcha Good’ by Shania Twain, meeting eyes with Buzz almost instantly as he approached the chorus, the other becoming tense in his seat.
Bo Peep scooted over to Buzz and elbowed him slightly, “I think he’s serenading you, Buzz.” She couldn’t help but giggle at how Buzz rubbed the back of his head at the idea and flushed. As if to make it more obvious, Woody scooted around to where the rest of the young adults rested on a log, taking a seat beside Buzz. “I’m gonna getcha while I got you inside,” he sang lowly, smirking at the other, “I’m gonna getcha if it takes all night. You can betcha by the time I say go you’ll never say no.”
His sister took over the singing, spinning around with Bo Peep around the fire, the two unable to hide their laughter. Buzz kept his strumming to the beat of the song, gently pressing his leg up to the side of Buzz’ leg, entertained by how the other coughed and stood suddenly.
“I’m going to head inside for the night. I have to get up early tomorrow. Don’t stay out too late, Bo.”
The mentioned girl giggled. “I won’t be.”
As the man trailed inside, both Jessie and Bo sat on one side of Woody as his strumming slowed. “You got the hots for him, Woody?” Jessie said quickly, smirking at her brother.
Woody just laughed awkwardly and arose to his feet. “No way. It’s just fun to embarrass him a little.”
Bo and Jessie shared an amused look. “Just don’t break his heart,” Bo added, and Woody felt himself heat up.
“I don’t like him,” he said through gritted teeth, and turned his back towards the two and stomped into his home. What had gotten into them? There was no way he liked the city boy. Not that much, anyways. He was just fun to tease.
Still, Woody couldn’t help but trail after the other, finding new ways to make him embarrassed, new ways to make him smile awkwardly and look away. It was just fun. So, when he found Buzz grumbling and doodling in the Davis’ barn, he sat himself down beside the other comfortably. “What’s eating you, city boy?”
Buzz flickered his eyes towards the other. “They want me to learn to operate the tractor.”
“What’s so bad about that?”
“Well, I want to learn how to do it without their help, but I have no clue on where to start.
Tilting his hat, Woody stood up fully. “What’s sitting around here gonna solve? Come on, I'll show you the ropes.”
Out in the fields, Woody climbed onto the tractor first, motioning for Buzz to sit behind him. “Now, can you see fine?” The shorter man behind him had no choice but to rest his chin upon the other’s shoulder.
“I can see fine.”
“Now, hold onto something and watch what I’m doing.” The tractor jolted forward and started to trudge, and instantly, Buzz’s arms flew around Woody for support. Unable to help himself, Woody laughed slightly.
“Sorry, you have to patient with this ol’ thing. It can be stubborn and jolt like that, I should have warned you.”
“...you should have, yes.” Buzz mumbled, his chin still comfortably on the other’s shoulder.
The two took a few rounds around the field, before they switched places, with Woody hovering over Buzz and watching as he started up the tractor yet again. Buzz started to shift the gears, and Woody gripped the other’s hand and guided him slightly. “I said you have to be patient, you can’t rush the machine like that.”
Buzz gulped at the contact and nodded. “Alright, I won’t.”
Still, Woody’s hand was unmoving and helped him as they started making their way around the field. Letting the other takeover, Woody trailed his hands away from the other man’s and instead rested them around his stomach gently. When they finally slowed to a full stop, Buzz crawled off the vehicle and cleared his throat. “Well, thanks. I’ll go let them know that I know what I’m doing now.”
Woody just watched the other leave, a content smirk on his face.
That night, as Buzz sat up in his room and doodled a little bit before bed, Bo Peep creaked the door open. “Buzz?” She asked softly, and the man glanced up.
“Hm?”
“Have you been feeling alright?”
Laughing, Buzz could only nod. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well, you’ve been very quiet tonight. I figured something had to be bothering you.”
Clearing his throat, Buzz held his notebook a little bit closer to him defensively, “no, nothing’s bothering me.”
She sighed deeply and sat down beside him. “Come on, you can tell me.” She paused, leaning forward. “It’s that Woody guy, isn’t it? He seems to like you.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe how he was serenading you the other night? Or whatever you were doing in the field with him earlier today.”
Sheepish, Buzz relaxed his shoulders and glanced down at his doodles. “He was just helpin’ me learn how to handle the tractor.”
“Then, why are you drawin’ him so much?”
“I’m not--” there was an attempt to defend himself, but Bo reached forward and took the notebook out of the other’s hand, and just as she assumed, there were sketches of the cowboy neighbor littering the page. Buzz just tensed up and ripped the notebook back into his own hands. “Look, it’s nothing. I just like drawing different people sometimes.”
“And he certainly is different, huh?”
Buzz just glared at her.
“Look, all I’m saying is, why don’t you flirt back a little, if you like him so much?”
“I don’t know, Bo... I really don’t think he likes me that way.”
She rolled her eyes and stood up. “I think he does. Just... think about it, alright?” She left the room, and he sighed, laying himself down until sleep finally took him.
A few weeks of contemplation and common teasing rolled by, and Buzz decided to try and use Bo’s advice a little bit. It was better than just trying to force his feelings to leave right away. Maybe Bo was right, after all.
So, when the two families once again clambered around the camp fire, and only the young adults remained, Buzz sat next to Woody right away, earning a surprised chuckle from the other as he tuned his guitar. This time, he started to sing out the words to “Smile” by Uncle Kracker, and Buzz couldn’t help but join in after listening to the other for a minute.
“You make me dance like a fool,” Woody sang out, and Buzz bounced off of him.
“Forget how to breath.”
“Shine like gold.”
“Buzz like a bee,” Buzz added, and Woody snorted at the words.
“Just the thought of you--” Woody started off the next line, but Buzz took over, a tender and loving look glued to his face.
“Can drive me wild...oh, you make me smile,” he finished the line on his own, the stare from the other shocking Woody silent, though only for a moment. As the next verse started up, Woody held an air of awkwardness to him, and Buzz worried that maybe he crossed a line, but as Woody handed his guitar to his sister for the next song and relaxed, he could swear he saw the other sneaking shy glances in his direction.
His stomach flipped and he considered going to bed early again, but suddenly, as Jessie began to play out some dorky love song, Woody leaned slightly against him, and Buzz froze in his spot before relaxing slightly and enjoying the fire.
Even as he went to bed that night, he hummed the tune of the song they sang together earlier.
The next night, when Buzz crawled up to the roof, Woody joined him yet again. “So, you likin’ it out here, city boy?”
“Sure. The stars are nice, and there are some interesting people here,” he nudged Woody teasingly, “I do still wish I could go to college, though.”
Humming in thought, Woody leaned on the other. “Well, why don’t you? Isn’t following your dreams ever more important than anything?”
Sighing, Buzz rested his hand on the roof and closed his eyes. “I don’t know. It’s just tough. I wanted them to be on my side, but they have this idea that I need to be working in a manly job, or whatever.”
“Well,” Woody turned a tender smile to the other, “if it’s any consolation, I think any job you do is going to be manly with muscles like yours.” He squeezed the other’s arm, and he snorted at the comment. “But, really. I think you’d be a fine astronomer. I don’t know anyone who could stare at the stars as long as you, and ya seem good at drawing them. That has to count for something.”
“Thanks.”
The two sat in silence for another while before Woody started to slide off the roof and yawn. “Well, I’m going to bed. Night, Buzz.”
When the other just stared at him with a dopey grin, he crossed his arms. “What is it?”
“That’s the first time you called me Buzz.”
Rolling his eyes, Woody made his way home in the dark.
The next day rolled around and Buzz could feel his heart thumping already. At some point the night before, he decided he was going to turn his flirting up a notch, and he decided to go with Bo Peep’s idea of picking one of the taller sunflowers for him.
So, when the evening reached the sky, Buzz hid his flower behind his back and spotted the cowboy, who seemed alone in the field where he was petting one of the sheep.
“Woody,” Buzz called out, and the other turned to face him slowly, glancing him up and down and giving him a half-lopped smile.
“City boy,” he returned, and Buzz felt his heart skip a beat. Once upon a time, Buzz didn’t like that nickname—but now it seemed endearing when Woody said it. “you seem happy this evening.”
“I am,” He said plainly, coughing, “after seeing your face, who couldn’t be?”
Sheepishly, Woody looked to the ground and turned his body to face the man, giving a curious glance to the sunflower badly hidden behind the other’s back. He almost didn’t notice the group trailing behind the other.
Slowly, Buzz pulled the sunflower to the front of him and started to hand it to Woody, who stared in quiet thought. “I, um. I was just walking and saw this flower, and thought... you might like to have it.”
God, was the poor city boy flustered. Woody couldn’t help but feel his heart melt a little. He took the sunflower and traced his fingers over the pedals, when he heard a snicker from somewhere behind Buzz and flickered his eyes upwards. It was Jessie, Andy, and Molly, who were walking the Davis’ family dog.
Molly curiously looked at the flower and giggled a little. “Awh, Buzz, you got Woody a flower? That’s so... so romantic, doncha think?”
Woody felt his body tense up. He hated this attention. Being alone with the city boy was one thing, but having his family and even his own flesh and blood follow him made his fingers run cold, and he pushed the flower back into Buzz’ hands. “What? You falling for me, City Boy? Get ahold of yourself.”
Startled, buzz glimpsed back at the family and down at the flower in his hands again, his heart thudding. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
He simply nodded coldly, “No, I’m not. Sorry.” He muttered, tossing the flower to the ground and stomping away to hide in his family’s barn.
“What the hell was that about, Woody?” Jessie yelled, the two younger kids shared a glance before taking their dog and finding another spot in the field to play in.
“Look, I just, you were all staring and I didn’t know what to do!” Woody stammered out, and Jessie approached him and gripped his shoulder. “Go and make sure he’s alright, at least. You probably broke his little heart talkin’ like that. What’s up with you?”
“What’s up with me? How was I supposed to react?” He looked down at the flower that had since been stomped on with pity, “It was sudden, and he didn’t even check to see if anyone else was around.”
Through gritted teeth, Jessie glanced over at the barn, “well, there is no one around him now. Least you can do is go and apologize.”
Sighing, Woody leaned down and lifted the sunflower into his hands and nodded. “Alright, alright, I will. Just get going. I’ll apologize.”
Satisfied, Jessie smiled at her brother now. “Good.”
And with that, she made her way over to the two Davis’ kids and their dog, and Woody turned his attention to the barn and trudged towards it.
Creaking the door open, he spotted Buzz sitting on a bale of hay across the room, staring at the floor and kicking dirt around on it. At the sound of the door, he lifted his eyes up and narrowed them. “What do you want?”
“Look, I... I just want to talk.” Woody went to sit down next to Buzz, but the other man stood up quickly and backed away from him.
“I don’t want to talk to you.” He turned his back to Woody.
“I want to apologize. I didn’t mean what I said.”
He kept his back turned.
Slowly, Woody lifted up the sunflower, filing through the petals carefully to preserve it slightly. He came up behind Buzz and gently slid it into the other’s shirt pocket, and Buzz finally turned around, the two mere inches apart.
“Why should I forgive you? All you did was embarrass me in front of the Davis’ kids. You know now that I'll never hear the end of this right?”
“Look, city boy, listen, I’m--”
Buzz cut him off, jabbing a finger onto the other’s chest. “No, you listen to me. Do you have any idea how humiliating that was? I’m going to be teased for this for the rest of my life.”
This time, Woody grabbed at Buzz’ shirt to push him away slightly. “Excuse me? You’re the one who thought bringing me a flower when there were people following you was somehow appropriate. Maybe I would have reacted differently if you didn’t bring your family and my sister with you when you did it.”
“Oh yeah? And how would have you reacted?”
“Maybe I would have accepted it. Maybe I would have kissed you.”
The barn went quiet, and Buzz’s demeanor softened while Woody’s stayed tense.
“Woody--” Buzz started to reach forward to place a hand on the other’s shoulder when the barn door opened wide.
It was just one of the Davis’ men—the Charlie one—retrieving some supplies. Buzz moved his hand away and watched Woody for a moment, who turned away and left the barn, a pout on his face.
That night, when Buzz sat on the roof again, he was a bit surprised when he saw the head of the other man pop in front of him. “Hey, I was gonna head out to the local saloon, you interested?”
To tell the truth, Buzz never liked alcohol, but he looked at the hand Woody lifted up to him and took it happily. “Sounds good.”
A little while of walking, and Jessie and Bo Peep made their way out of the shadows, joining the duo. All of them were old enough to drink by a few years, but there still was the feeling that their parents wouldn’t be happy about it, so they snuck through the shadows and into Woody’s truck.
It was cramped, but they all managed to fit, and sauntered the truck down to the nearest bar. Jessie and Bo ran off to the dance floor, and Woody carefully pulled the other man to the bar instead. After two beers, Buzz already found himself a little tipsy, and he pulled at the other’s hand and dragged him to the dancefloor. There was no real precision in his moves, but Woody followed along anyways, entertaining the other. A few songs later and they sat down at the bar again, and Buzz ordered one more beer before the group decided to wrap up. Buzz, Woody, and Bo had drunk a few beers each, so Jessie was the designated driver and took the group home in a flash, Buzz leaning on Woody tiredly the entire ride home.
Jessie helped walk Bo home, and shared a look with her brother. “Well, I’m gonna go to bed once she’s home. Make sure Buzz isn’t out much longer.”
At the words, Buzz gasped. “Woody, I can’t go into the Davis’ home like this. They’ll call my parents, and I don’t wanna deal with that.”
Woody knew that his mother would also have his head if she found out he was drunk. He was supposed to be the responsible one, after all. So, after a moment of contemplation, Woody nodded. “I’ll go grab a few blankets from my room. Head to my family’s barn, I'll meet you there.”
Buzz complied and the moment he was alone, he lay his head down against some scattered hay and waited. Only a few sheep and one horse slept in this barn at night, and they were kept safely in their stalls, so Buzz was sure this would be fine.
Kicking the door open, Woody joined Buzz on the ground and dumped his blankets onto the two, carefully spreading them out. He yawned and curled up to Buzz without thinking about it, the other resting his head on the cowboy’s chest comfortably.
As the morning arrived, Buzz realized he was alone, and trudged to his day with a massive hangover.
He spent the next few days avoiding the cowboy, trying to sort through his own feelings yet again. Bo Peep was worried about him and confided in Jessie, who instantly marched off to see her brother and announced that Buzz was coming over for dinner.
Knowing his parents were out of town, as was the Davis’ family parents and young kids, Woody couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous. And to make it worse, not only was Woody in charge of making the dinner, but when the time finally came and the sloppy homemade pizza sat on the table, Jessie stood up, holding Bo’s hand. “Well, you two have a good time. We have reservations somewhere, actually.” And with that, the two women left in the blink of an eye.
Slowly, Woody turned around and sat at the table, Buzz sitting across from him. “Sorry about her, I didn’t have any idea she was gonna do that.”
To stop himself from staring, Buzz nodded and looked down at the pizza. “It’s alright.”
Clearing his throat, Woody made his way into the kitchen and grabbed plates and soon the two sat down and for the first few minutes, everything stayed quiet. When Buzz’s phone alarm went off and played some cheesy Tim McGraw love song, Woody laughed and that made Buzz laugh, and the two settled into an idle conversation about music.
The two sat in front of the television and flipped through channels before quickly getting bored of the choices on. Coughing, Buzz brushed his hair back nervously and smiled.
“Why don’t we go to the local drive-in? I know they have an action movie on, or something right now. They’re having a sale, so...”
Glancing the other up and down, Woody felt a grin gently crawl onto his face. “Yeah, alright. But I’m sneaking in snacks.” He stood up from the couch and passed the other, leaning over his shoulder slightly. “Other than you, of course.”
As the movie started and the lights in the truck turned off, Buzz found himself sneaking more glances to the cowboy sat in the driver's seat then he did to the movie screen positioned a good deal in front of them.
His eyes settled on the other for a second too long and Woody caught him, a smirk on his face. “What’s gotten into you tonight, city boy? You’ve been staring at me all night it seems.”
Swallowing hard, Buzz looked down at the popcorn in between them, keeping his eyes locked away. “Sorry, it’s nothing.”
The cowboy popped his mouth before leaning over and turning the speakers down, turning his full attention to the other. “I’m not stupid, yanno. It isn’t nothing, so... c’mon, what’s bothering you?”
Turning his eyes back to the other man, Buzz felt his chest tighten. “It’s just, you said the other day that you wanted to kiss me.”
“Yeah, I guess I did. But maybe I was lyin’. I was angry.”
He saw the other tense up and smirked inwardly, slowly letting his hand trail over the other’s shoulders comfortably. “And maybe I wasn’t.”
“Oh.”
“Now, let’s get back to the movie.” Woody said, leaning over and turning the volume back up.
Another day passed, and as the night neared, once again the four young adults gathered in one home.
Once again, Woody was put in charge of cooking dinner, but this time Buzz creeped into the kitchen and helped him cook up some pasta for the family. The entire time, Buzz’ mind wandered back to their conversation last night, and he took his chances with exchanging glances, with he found the cowboy did right back. Dinner was silent for the first few minutes, until Bo and Jessie swiftly finished their food and left the room, Jessie dimming the lights on the way out.
Noticing the change right away, Woody rolled his eyes and settled them on Buzz. “Sorry about that. She keeps trying to get me to hook up with you.” He said confidently, and Buzz only smirked back.
“Oh, well. Maybe you should take the chance.” He glanced down at his food before staring back up through lidded eyes. “It could stop her from bothering you.”
Snickering, Woody swallowed a large forkful of pasta. “Yeah? You’d like that, wouldn’t you, city boy?” He whispered lowly, and something in Buzz’s stomach churned, and he swallowed hard. Man, this flirting thing was hard.
When Buzz couldn’t bring himself to form a reply, Woody smiled triumphantly and put his focus back on his dinner.
The moment the two finished, they made their way into the living room.
Bo was already happily curled up with Jessie on the arm chair, leaving the couch for the two men, blankets already scattered on them. Woody took no time in sliding under the blankets, opening the blanket beside him to let Buzz in. The group had all decided to marathon some old sitcoms for a few hours before retiring, and it didn’t take long for the laughter to die down.
Already, Bo had fallen asleep with her head resting tenderly upon Jessie’s chest, and the cowgirl carefully helped her into the guest room for the night before bidding good night herself.
Buzz couldn’t help but feel tense at first. Being alone with Woody constantly meant cryptic flirting, and he wasn’t sure he enjoyed it as much anymore. He contemplated leaving and walking home, but a soft arm reached around his shoulders and he relaxed.
“Somethin’ wrong, city boy? You seem nervous.”
Buzz just cleared his throat. “A little bit, yeah.”
“Hm.” Woody shifted slightly and turned the television down slightly with the remote, turning his head and watching the other with a gentle expression. “And why is that? Did I do something wrong?” He started to move his arm back to his own side, but Buzz shook his head and cuddled slightly closer to him.
“No, you didn’t. It’s just...”
“Thinking about what I said yesterday?” Woody lowered his voice again, and Buzz could only manage to look away. “Look, city boy... Buzz,” that caught the other’s full attention, “you think too much. You’re going to worry yourself sick thinking so much about the weird things I’ve said.”
“It’s a little late for that.”
The cowboy squeezed the other’s shoulder, “Well, you don’t have to do that. You can relax around me... you can start by leaning your head on my shoulder, if you want.”
Buzz shared a look of contemplation with the other before snuggling the side of his head firmly onto the other’s shoulder.
With that, the television was turned back up, and yet Buzz drowned out what was going on in the show even more. At one point, Woody retracted his arm and rested it as his side, and with closed eyes, Buzz carefully linked their hands. The other didn’t seem to mind at all.
When the time came for them to retire, Buzz had fallen asleep leaning on the cowboy, so he just slowly lay down on the couch, letting the other fall on top of him. This would have to do.
The parents and young children returned the next day, and life reshaped itself. Buzz went into his family’s field and began to plow the land, and after a few moments it became clear that it was way too warm out to work with his shirt on, so the t-shirt slipped off carelessly and was tossed to the side.
Soon, it became evident that someone was watching him so he spun around and caught the sight of Woody, who was approaching from the other side of the field. “I just finished some of my chores this morning. Was coming to make sure you were doing fine.” Woody said, eyeing the other man with a side-smile.
“Sure you didn’t just want to come and see me with sweat without my shirt on?”
Rolling his eyes sarcastically, Woody felt his stomach tighten, though he did his best to pretend it didn’t. “I’m sure.”
“Nice try, cowboy. You know, I can see right through you.” Buzz felt confident at his words, beaming a smile up to the other. He leaned in. “So, tell me. You falling for me, country boy?”
Woody seemed taken aback for a moment, and Buzz felt a brief moment of triumphant before Woody’s smirk returned, and he winked directly at the other. “Maybe I am.” With those words, he left Buzz staring yet again as he made his way to his own family’s field.
Buzz was nervous.
Not like in his usual nervous way, but he was nervous because the two families were having a cookout in the closest park, and his parents were traveling down to visit.
He loved his parents dearly, but they never quite understood him. They were fine with him being bisexual, but they wanted him to be strong if he was going to be. If he wasn’t manly enough for them, they weren’t supportive. They figured sending him down south with two gays who happened to be manly would somehow rub off on him.
To an extent, he could pretend it worked. He could lift heavier objects now, and working in the field was satisfying. Anytime he drove a tractor, it filled his stomach with fireflies, remembering how Woody had showed him how to drive it, and he loved taking care of the handful of sheep the family he was helping had.
But still, his dreams rang true in the back of his head. Being on a farm was nice, but unless he went to college, he could never fulfill his dream. And the college he wanted to attend was in the city.
Part of him said he could try and manage both, possibly with their blessing, but the drive from the city to the college was a three-hour one, and he wouldn’t be able to handle a road-trip just to get to school every day.
The moment his mother and step-father saw him, they ran forward and tightly hugged him. The step-father pulled back first, looking his son up and down and grinning proudly. “Look how strong he’s gotten, Sweetie.”
Nodding in agreeance, Buzz’ mother wiped a tear away. “And he’s grown an inch.”
The parents glanced past him and to Jessie and Woody, who were chatting idly about something. “So, there’s a little sweet cowgirl your age, I see.” His mother cooed, gazing at her son hopefully.
Rolling his eyes, Buzz walked over to the drink table and poured three, “I don’t like her like that.”
“Sorry, sorry, just wishful thinking.”
Woody glanced over at the two and took notice of Buzz’ nervous demeaner, so he nudged Jessie and the two approached the man and his parents. Upon seeing them, Buzz relaxed slightly.
Holding his hand out to the mother to shake, Woody pulled the woman’s hand up and kissed it tenderly. “Nice to meet you, Ma'am.”
Bubbly laughter escaped the older woman, and she grinned at him widely, just as Jessie neared the two adults’ sides.
“So, you two are from the city, aren’t you?” Jessie gasped dramatically, and the parents nodded slowly. “You poor things, you probably haven’t been able to get close to country ducks before, have you? We have plenty here in the park, and they all have names,” Jessie started leading the two towards the barn, “And the kids would love to introduce you to all of them.” As if they were genies summoned from a lamp, the heads of the children popped up and each child grabbed at an adult’s hand and started eagerly dragging them to the pond. Jessie shook her head and exchanged a knowing-look with her brother and bounced over to Bo Peep.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Buzz said sheepishly, looking over at his parents and rubbing the back of his head.
“Oh, you mean kiss your mother’s hand? I can kiss yours, too, Buzz.” Woody replied, and just to emphasize he pulled at the other’s free hand and placed a soft kiss on it.
Laughing, Buzz pulled away an wiped his hand on his shirt. “Really, though. Thanks.”
Shrugging, Woody poured himself a drink. “So, what’s the problem, city boy? You seem a bit tense around ‘em.”
“It’s nothing.”
Glancing around, Woody grabbed the other’s hand and pulled him over to the park’s gazebo, which was hidden from the picnic tables where the family was set up by a few large trees and shady bushes. Once inside, Woody leaned back on one of the sides and motioned for the other to join him.
“Now, come on, somethin’ is bothering you.”
Sighing softly, Buzz shook his cup around and watched the ice cubes swirl around like fish, “It’s just... I like it here, but I still want to be an astronomer, and I know that’s silly.”
“And your parents still aren’t supportive of that.”
“Nope.”
“Look, I know it might not be easy, but... why don’t you go anyways? If they don’t support you for doing what you want to do, does any of their support really matter?”
Shrugging, Buzz took a slow sip of his drink. “I don’t know, I just... they’re my parents, yanno? If they don’t support me, then who will? I don’t have any friends back home, and the closest thing to extended family I have is the Davis’ family, and I don’t want to just burden them forever. I’m just lost.”
Clearing his throat and gently wrapping an arm around the other, Woody gave the other a grin. “Look, you’ll always have us back here. You won’t be a burden on us, city boy.”
When Buzz didn’t look up at that and only stared down shamefully, Woody let out a sigh and pulled the other into a close embrace.
“You’ll always have me, Buzz.” He whispered into the other’s hair, and Buzz couldn’t help but relax into the warmth until he heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching. Slowly, he pulled away and grinned warmly at the other.
“Thanks, cowboy.”
Buzz’ mother and father rounded the entrance and smiled. “There you are!” The woman exclaimed, and then gave her husband a sheepish look. “I hope we didn’t interrupt anything.”
“No, you didn’t. It was just so loud, I couldn’t hear what Woody was saying.”
“I see.” The father said slowly, before turning away, his wife following him. “Well, come on. Let’s get back up there, alright.”
Buzz swallowed hard and nodded, staring at the back of his parents’ heads before starting to follow. Woody placed a gentle hand on the other’s upper back and walked alongside him for support.
The rest of the evening went by smoothly, with the focus taken off of Buzz as his parents chatted with Davis’ men and with Woody’s mother, and he spent his time laughing with Woody and Jessie for a while. Suddenly, Buzz’ mother cleared her throat and the young man feared the worst.
“I’d like to make a toast,” some of the table snickered at the idea of a toast at a cookout, but she continued on, ignoring it, “to my son. He’s improved so much since he’s been here. He’s much stronger now, and he seems much happier.”
The man’s father held up his drink as well, “and he finally got those deluded ideas of being an astronomer out of his head.”
Awkwardly, Buzz lifted his drink up and gave a soft, “yeah,” before sipping his drink and staring at his cup. He couldn’t help but feel defeated. Alone. Was supporting him that hard for them? He felt sick. He stood up, and started to walk away when he heard Woody’s voice ring out behind him.
“I can’t believe you two assholes,” his voice belted out, “his dreams aren’t deluded. Your expectations for him are.”
Buzz turned around in shock and saw the looks of irritation on his family’s face and rushed over right away, searching the room desperately for some sort of way to distract them all. He saw the whiskey bottle near some of the older adults and wagged his finger at Woody.
“Seems like you’ve been drinkin’ too much, Woody. Of course, being an astronomer is silly. It was just my dream as a child.”
Buzz’ parents laughed lightly and agreed, and the rest of the table stayed silent as all eyes stuck to the two. Woody furrowed his eyebrows and turned to Buzz and pushed past him and hopped into his truck, and with that, he was gone.
As the laughter of his parents died down, Buzz trudged back to the gazebo and fell to the ground once inside, and felt himself cry for the first time since he moved to the countryside.
After a few minutes, Jessie and Bo Peep appeared in the doorway, both taking a seat on one side of the man who barely lifted his face up to greet them.
“Why’d you do that for? He was standing up for you, Buzz.” Jessie shook her head in confusion.
Resting his chin on his knees, Buzz shrugged. “Look, I regret it already. I feel terrible.”
Bo put a gentle hand on the other’s shoulder. “Buzz... you should go after him. Apologize.”
“Yeah,” Jessie added, “he really likes you, yanno. More than I’ve seen him like anybody in a long time.”
Buzz felt his heart sinking. Of course, he did.
“I think you really hurt his feelings today. Please, go after him. You’ll regret it if you don’t.” Bo rubbed the spot her hand rested on, and Buzz sighed deeply, standing suddenly.
“Thanks, you two... I’ve got a cowboy to see. Oh, and Jessie... can I borrow your truck?”
The moment he was back on the farm, he raced to the home and checked every room, and then he checked the barn and the rooves of the homes, but he couldn’t find the other anywhere, and even his truck was absent. His stomach twisted and he felt like puking, but he crawled back into Jessie’s truck and drove around the property before he found Woody’s truck hidden behind one of the barn’s, shaded by a few trees. He parked and right away, Woody hopped out expecting his sister.
“Look, Jess, I’m fine, go and enjoy the...” He stopped when he saw that instead it was Buzz. “What do you want?”
Buzz’ shoulders dropped with his stomach. “I just wanted to come and apologize. Please, let me.”
Raising his eyebrows, Woody leaned on his truck. “Make it quick.”
“Look, I just... I freaked out, alright. I didn’t know what to do.”
“So, you chose to embarrass me in front of everyone? Made me look like a drunk in front of my own mother?”
“You called mine assholes to their face!”
“They were being assholes, Buzz. I'm just not afraid to say it!”
“I’m not afraid! That’s the thing. I need to be the one to stand up to them. You can’t just do it for me.”
“You weren’t doing anything about it, Buzz. You were just going to let them walk all over you like that.”
Now, Buzz shut up for a moment, his face falling. “I didn’t want it to be in front of everyone. And I didn’t want you to handle it for me!”
“I was only helping!”
“But, now my parents aren’t going to like you at all.”
Woody shook his head and laughed. ”And why would that bother me?”
“Well, it would bother me.”
“Why?”
“Because maybe I like you. Maybe I wanted them to like you, just in case we...” he shut up now. His face felt cold suddenly and he turned away from the other to avoid seeing his expression, which he was sure was trying to register what was just said, or maybe it still showed his irritation. One of the two, he was sure.
He closed his eyes and considered just walking back up to the houses and going to bed early, or maybe running through the woods in front of him. Anything so he didn’t have to deal with the situation at hand. He was ready to turn around to leave when he felt two arms wrap around him and into his jacket pockets, a head resting itself upon his shoulder.
“Well, that changes everything.” Woody’s voice came soft and embarrassed now and Buzz could feel the tsunami in his stomach tightened.
“Look, Woody,” Buzz turned around, and the other quickly wrapped his arms around him once again. “I’m sorry that I embarrassed you. I shouldn’t have, I just... I saw how they were looking at you and I felt sick. I’m sorry, really.”
Woody just hummed in thought before pulling back and laying on the ground. He stared at the other expectantly before he joined him. “You know, the stars are really beautiful from here.”
“Real funny, Cowboy. You can’t see the stars at all from here with that dumb tree in the way.”
“I don’t know, I can see ‘em,” Buzz stared over at the other with a smirk that fell to a sheepish smile when he saw the other staring at him lovingly.
“You’re real funny, Woody.”
“I mean it.”
“Shut up.”
Snorting, Woody sat up and leaned over, playfully smacked the other. “It’s true.” Buzz laughed and grabbed the cowboy’s arm, intent on pulling him back to his spot from before, but instead, he pulled the other directly over him, the cowboy instantly smirking contently.
The two stared for a brief moment before Woody leaned down and kissed the other passionately, yet briefly. He pulled away and rolled over back onto the ground, though keeping a grip on the shorter man’s arm. “You don’t know how long I’ve thought about that.” Woody said quietly, and Buzz snorted.
“I do, actually. You told me before.”
“Shut up.”
Later in the night, Woody placed a gentle hand on the other’s chest and gave him a tender smile. “Yanno, you really should stand up to ‘em, in one way or another.”
Sighing, Buzz nodded in agreeance. “I know. I think I’m just going to write them a letter and go when I’m ready, and let them come and see me if they really want to.”
The idea of Buzz leaving hit Woody suddenly, but he hummed quietly in approval at the idea and lay back down on his back, curled up to the other. “Yeah, I think that would work.”
The time was nearing. Buzz had sent out the letter, and all of his things were packed. He said his goodbyes to the family that had accepted him into their lives and then said goodbye to the neighbors, though he found Woody was nowhere to be found within the home. Jessie smirked and shrugged. “I bet you can find him if you look ‘round a little longer.”
Right away, Buzz raced out to the barn they had slept in long ago, catching the cowboy sitting on a hay bail and wearing a brave, yet strained smile.
“Hey there, Woody. What’s with the long face?” He plopped himself down next to the other and wrapped an arm around him without any hesitation.
The cowboy shrugged. “Sorry, it’s just... it feels like you just got here yesterday, and you’re already leaving.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I know it’s selfish, but I almost don’t want you to go.”
Humming in thought, Buzz set his chin on the other’s shoulder and kissed his cheek lovingly before whispering against it. “That’s not selfish.”
“Oh, yes it is.” Woody said, but he turned fully to face the other and hugged him tightly anyways. “It’s going to be quiet without you here.”
“Then come with me.”
Instantly, Woody pulled back and stared at the other in astonishment until his face fell. “Buzz, I can’t do that... My family’s here, I can’t just leave them.”
“Sorry, it was just a thought... I don’t really want to leave you either, is all.” Buzz’s voice fell and Woody couldn’t help but coo at it, hugging him again.
“Now... let’s go and drive you to that bus stop, alright?”
Only Woody went with Buzz to the bus. There was a long kiss goodbye and a final look as the buss rolled away.
Woody thought about when he first met the other, when he first sang to him. He thought of how they talked about their dreams on the roof, and how they cuddled in the barn after drinking way too much. He thought of how the other flirted back at him so awkwardly, and yet so sweetly, like he couldn’t quite say the words unless he forced them out of his mouth. His mouth. He thought of the mouth that had whispered against his skin only mere minutes ago, the mouth that he kissed, and definitely wanted to kiss again.
He thought about the possibility of not kissing him again, and he began to chase after the slow-moving bus, latching onto the door and causing the driver to stop. The doors opened and he ran inside, staring down the aisles for Buzz, who slowly stood up upon realizing he was there.
“Woody, what are you...?” Buzz asked gently, taking the other’s hands in his.
“I’m coming with you.”
After a moment, Buzz’s face erupted into a large smile and he pulled the other in and kissed him before dragging him to where he had been sitting and grabbing his bags. “Then let’s get back home and start your packing.”
Woody swallowed thickly and nodded, and the two made their way off the bus and back home.
The news came suddenly for Jessie and Woody’s mother, but they supported the decision and hugged him tightly. “What are you even gonna go to school for?” Jessie asked, and Woody shrugged.
“I think I’m just gonna get a job in the city, I guess.”
“Promise you’ll come to visit?” The worried voice of his mother asked, and he couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh.
“Of course, I’ll come to visit, Mom. Calm down.”
The woman took a few deep breaths before hugging her son tightly.
The duo of men left the home and shoved their bags in the tiny backseat of Woody’s truck before setting their way down the dirt roads that soon became a paved street.
When the two checked into their new, tiny apartment, which had its first few months paid for in advance from an emergency fund from Woody’s mother, all Woody could do was stare for a moment. He had never been someone who loved the city; he much preferred the country stars to the city lights, but with Buzz by his side, it didn’t seem so bad.
A kiss goodnight and a sleep later and new lives started.
A few years passed by quickly, and Buzz graduated with his degree, and the night of his graduation he proposed to the cowboy who had stolen his heart years ago. They had a swift and happy wedding on the farm, just as Woody discovered Jessie and Bo Peep were going to do.
And yet another new life started soon; one who rested in Woody’s arms and then on his knee and eventually on her own feet, running around the family farm.
“Now, be careful, Bonnie!” Woody called after his daughter, who rolled her eyes and raced down to the family’s barn. “You don’t want to trip and hurt yourself.”
The child was too excited to care. It was her birthday, and her Papas said that a gift awaited her in the barn.
When she opened the doors and saw a little lamb barreling towards her, she cried out in joy and hugged it tightly. She named him Mustard and promised to love him and take care of him, and Buzz and his husband couldn’t help but laugh.
That night, the family sat around the fire like the good old days, reliving memories that they hadn’t been able to talk about in a while.
“Papa Woody,” Bonnie asked suddenly, a strong curiosity in her voice, “how did you and Papa Buzz meet?”
The husbands exchanged a quick glance before Woody leaned in.
“Well, it all started when a city boy moved to the farm next door....”