Escape the daily grind with me (Mirath & darkleather)

[Darkleather]

Steve chuckled. "Yeah, well, back home ain't all roses anyway"

He thought for a moment and nodded

"Yeah I reckon it would be well worth a trip.  When do you want to go?"

[Mirath]

The blonde man had to laugh too, although knowing better than to shake his head - he wasn’t quite sober enough to do that without regret - and looked over as the rumbling of the appliance stopped and a very familiar smell followed the rising steam. He poured one mug, then two. He added a sugar cube and stirred it around with a teaspoon, trying to make the coffee not so horribly bitter.

“Was thinkin of… next weekend?” Danny offered as he slid the other (the better one of the mugs) over towards where Steve was stood. “We could go for a day. Or two. Totally up t’ ya.”

Danny didn’t like to admit it out loud, but he was just lonely after he lost his best friend. Sure, he saw people all night, but there was just something different.

[Darkleather]

Steve nodded.

"Sure that'll work.  I got a long weekend, though I'm working a night shift on the Friday so I'll be kinda bushed.  But as long as you do the driving, that'll work."

[Mirath]

Danny hummed in agreement as he took a drink of the coffee, the warmth seeping into his fingers, and soon gave a nod of his own.

“Sure, I can drive. Just be nice t’ get outta the city.” He admitted with a small shrug. “Ya wanna swing by here after work? I’ll even let ya sleep in the car.” He laughed, trying his best to make light of an unusual situation.

[Darkleather]

"Sure.  That works for me.  Anything I should bring?"

Steve had memories of some camping trips back home - both decent and indecent.  He suspected that Danny wouldn't be as keep on roping as some of his old buddies - which would at least mean that he'd get a nights sleep!

[Mirath]

“Yaself.” Danny had to laugh in reply, but shaking his head when asked that question. “Nah, I’m gonna take my camera, so it’s never gonna be abseilin’ or any crap like that. If I wanted t’ not rest, I’d stay at work. Besides, I fuckin hate heights.”

The blonde man went back to drinking his coffee, resting against the far counter as he watched Steve.

“It’ll be good t’ have some company.” He repeated, whether to Steve or to himself. “Thanks for… gettin me home. It ain’t much of a home, but it’s somethin.”

[Darkleather]

"Hey, no problems.  Wasn't an issue at all."

Things seemed really strained, so Steve finished off his coffee and headed out, after agreeing a time and place to meet for the weekend.

He headed back home, changed into his workout gear and went down to the gym.  Yesterday had left him with a lot of unresolved stress he had to work out

[Mirath]

Putting the half-drunk mug in the sink (god knew why he drank the stuff) and grabbing Steve’s empty, Danny soon put that in the sink too. He’d get round to them later. Right now, he just very much wanted to go back to sleep, the conversation having tired what was left of the blonde man.

Very glad that he hadn’t entirely scared his new friend away, Danny trudged back to bed, yanking the covers over his head and hoping to god that the neighbours didn’t make too much noise.

[Darkleather]

Steve got his head down over the next couple of days.  He was getting used to the precinct and the area around it now.  A couple of the guys had shown him the main hotspots and given him a tour of the "sights" - including the local prostitutes, brothels and gay clubs.  He was starting to feel comfortable.  He was also looking forward to his weekend away.

Steve wasn't sure what was needed, so filled a pack with camping gear and a couple of changes of clothes.  He then headed over to Dannys.  He got a few looks, as he was in full cowboy gear: skintight jeans, check shirt open to the waist, leather jacket, gloves, cowboy boots.  His jeans were held up with thick leather belt that had a massive belt buckle on it and he was wearing his stetson

[Mirath]

The night before the morning they were meant to be leaving, it seemed like the slowest shift ever - whether they just didn’t have the customers, or Danny was too busy watching the clock.

Getting home around 2am, and being very glad that he had done a bit of packing over the few days, Danny had enough time to get a good few hours of sleep - but still looked like he had just woken up even after he had a second shower and a fresh cup of coffee by the time he knew that Steve would be arriving. He did look forward to spending the weekend with his new friend, that was for certain!

[Darkleather]

Steve rang Dannys bell and waited.

He hoped the other guy hadn't decided to back out and as he stood there, he flexed, making his shirt and jeans creak as his muscles moved under them.

he was a bit nervous, but looking forward to a good weekend

[Mirath]

On hearing the doorbell, Danny set his camera down in the bag and zipped it up, putting that bag by the rucksack laying on the counter, and went to go and answer the door.

As he opened the door and saw that it was Steve, he couldn’t help the grin on his face.

“Hey!” Oops, that sounded a bit too enthusiastic. Danny tried again as he took a step back and let Steve come inside for a few moments. “Hey, come in for a bit, I’ve just got a last few things to sort out. Put my car keys somewhere…”

[Darkleather]

"No problems."

Steve headed into the room and put his pack down.  He was glad Danny hadn't backed out, or been put off by the fact he was in full cowboy gear.  He adjusted himself furtively as he started to think about Danny in similar gear - maybe with Steve roped and hogtied at his feet.

[Mirath]

Flashing a smile at Steve in his thanks, Danny tapped his fingers on the edge of the counter as he fought to remember just where he had put those keys down. He walked over to the long red military-style jacket that was hanging on the back of the front door and checked the pockets, letting out a grumble when he couldn’t feel them, checking pockets both inside and out.

He sighed loudly in his frustration, and looked over at Steve. He did like the way the man was dressed, in a very rustic style, and Danny always seemed to have a thing for rustic, to defy the modern… Anyway…

“Don’t mind… givin me a hand, do ya? Can ya check over there? I’ll keep lookin here.” He asked Steve, nodding to the full coffee table and the bags that Steve was stood next to.

If he had bothered to move the pile of maps that were still on his coffee table, all unfolded and chucked on top of each other, he’d have easily found his car keys. Poor Danny.

[Darkleather]

Steve chuckled

"Sure. no problem."

He checked under the coffee table, then started sorting through th maps on top of it.

"Are these them?"

[Mirath]

Looking over, Danny ran a hand through his hair as he stared for a moment, looking between both Steve and his damned keys.

“Yup, that’s them.” He chuckled in his embarrassment. “They must like ya.” Laughing again, he walked over to take the keys from Steve, for once not minding being so close.

Until the atmosphere, for that split second, froze and turned awkward as Danny met the other man’s gaze.

“I…” Even as the word died in the air, he tried again as his hand brushed over Steve’s in order to pick up his keys. “Wanna get goin’?”

[Darkleather]

Steve grinned "Sure, let's go."

he hefted his pack and started to walk towards the door, letting Danny get a good look at his muscled butt in his skintight jeans.  At the door he stopped and looked back,

"By the way, I assume it's ok to cowboy up like this?  I can always add the chaps if you want me to go all the way."

[Mirath]

Picking up the two bags, Danny shrugged the rucksack over a shoulder as he carried the bag that held his camera and car keys, his free hand grabbing his house keys from the door lock and waved Steve out with a grin of him own.

“Nah, it’s fine.” Danny assured with a light laugh (although he was sure that Steve had put in more effort than he had) as he followed Steve out and shut the door behind them, taking the time to lock both locks at the middle and top of the door, hearing the deadbolts click securely into place. “There we go…”

Satisfied, he slipped his house keys into a trouser pocket before keeping by Steve’s side as they headed down the stairs - at this time of the day, both stairway and actual traffic was much quieter, so they didn’t meet anyone on their way down. Which was probably a good thing as no doubt Danny would have been relentlessly questioned about the cowboy he was heading off with. And no doubt teased about punching above his weight.

A few flights down and they hit the ground floor. But instead of heading out of the front door, Danny changed direction and headed for the lesser-known back door, knowing that was the easiest way to get to the resident’s parking lot. Not that he usually needed it, but it was handy to dump his car somewhere.

It sure wasn’t anything fancy, a red Ford Fiesta that was only a few years old - if 2018 was anything to go by - but it did it’s job and was big enough for Danny to put all of his stuff in. Although, well, now the barman had to hope that he’d remembered to clean inside his car since last time. Leaves had sure got everywhere when the wind had blown right!