Love on the Range
Title: Love on the Range
Pairing: HaeHyuk
Minor Pairings: MinKyu, YeWook, ninja!KangTeuk
Rating: PG
Genre: romance, humor
Disclaimer: If I owned them, they'd be porn stars.
Warnings: implied sex, slight language, Donghae's chest
Summary: Life as a ranch hand is mundane. Enter the new sex god guy.
A/N: Inspired by this performance of No Other and Donghae's sexy chest.
“Hey, I heard we’re getting a new guy.”
“Ooh, do you think he’ll stick around?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
Hyukjae couldn’t bring himself to care about this supposed new guy. It was before sunrise and way too early to be awake and the breakfast he hadn’t had yet seemed infinitely more important.
Ignoring his gossiping fellow ranch hands, Hyukjae pulled on his jeans and buckled his belt securely. Yanking on his brown boots over his jeans, he paused to throw on a short sleeve jean jacket, not bothering to button it before leaving the sleeping quarters.
Reaching the barrel of water outside, Hyukjae cupped his hands and scooped up a good amount of water, taking a drink before splashing the frigid liquid on his face. He shook his head to get rid of the droplets, feeling much more awake.
“Hyung, good morning!” Ryeowook greeted him when he got to the dining table at the side of their quarters. He handed Hyukjae a plate with food, which Hyukjae accepted gratefully.
“Did you hear? We’re getting a new guy today,” Ryeowook informed him as Hyukjae took a huge bite out of his biscuit.
Chewing a few times, Hyukjae swallowed. “Yeah. Jongwoon-hyung and Sungmin-hyung were talking about it just a minute ago.”
Ryeowook’s face fell. “Oh.” Peering over Hyukjae’s shoulder, he wondered, “Where are they anyways?”
As though on cue, arms wrapped themselves around Ryeowook from behind. “Wookie, why do you have to get up so early?” asked Jongwoon, giving the smaller man a good morning kiss.
Ryeowook blushed. “Breakfast isn’t going to cook itself, Jongwoon.”
Sungmin slid into the seat across from Hyukjae, smile much too bright considering the hour. “Hyukjae, what duty do you have today?”
“Field work,” replied Hyukjae.
“Me too!”
“No fair,” complained Kyuhyun, taking his seat next to Sungmin. “I have stable duties.” He looked at Sungmin pleadingly. “Switch with me?”
Sungmin leaned over and stole one of Kyuhyun’s bacon strips. “Sorry, baby. I love you, but not that much.” Hyukjae snickered, earning him a kick under the table from Kyuhyun.
Once breakfast was finished and the table was cleared, the five of them rose to go to their respective tasks. Hyukjae and Sungmin gathered their gardening tools and started the long walk to the fields.
“Hyukjae!” Both Hyukjae and Sungmin turned to see no other than the ranch owner, Jungsu, riding up in his horse.
“Yes, hyung?” Hyukjae asked.
“We’re getting a new guy today,” said Jungsu. “He’s coming in a little while. Can you wait for him in front of the ranch? When he comes, please show him to your quarters.”
Hyukjae handed the tools he was holding to Sungmin with an apologetic glance. Taking Jungsu’s hand, he swung himself onto the horse, and they trotted off.
“He shouldn’t be too long,” Jungsu told him as Hyukjae dismounted in front of the ranch. Hyukjae nodded, and Jungsu rode off.
Hyukjae peered down the dirt road. Nothing. He stood there for fifteen minutes, kicking up dust with his boots and then stopping when he started coughing. Still nothing.
Hyukjae sat down on the ground, leaning against the sturdy tree trunk. Might as well do something productive. Placing his hat on his head and tugging it down, Hyukjae’s eyes closed, and he drifted off to dreams of fish and a sapphire blue ocean.
-
“Hey.” Something poked his cheek.
Hyukjae batted the hand away and muttered something close to ‘go away’.
The poking got annoyingly insistent. “Please wake up.”
Hyukjae’s eyes snapped open, glaring daggers. “Can’t you see that-” His scold died out as he noticed who woke him up.
He was hot. No, he was a sex god. No, he was the cowboy equivalent of a Greek deity. He had a mop of soft, brunette hair and beautiful brown eyes that were deeper than the ocean. His features were handsome, with a straight nose and thin, but kissable lips. He was dressed simply in a white t-shirt, ripped jeans, and black boots.
Hyukjae noticed his shirt was rather form-fitting. He ogled shamelessly at the sexy stranger’s clearly defined chest, absentmindedly wiping away the drool that was forming.
Mr. Salty Goodness cleared his throat with a small smile. “Hello, I’m Donghae, the new ranch hand. Sorry I’m late; it was pretty hard finding this place. Is this Mr. Park Jungsu and Mr. Kim Youngwoon’s ranch?”
Hyukjae nodded slowly, as though in a trance.
“Oh.” Donghae offered Hyukjae a hand. “Need some help?” he asked, eyes twinkling.
Hyukjae gaped at the hand for a minute. Regaining some of his brain cells, he reached out and took it, liking how his hand fit perfectly into Donghae’s. Donghae pulled him up to his feet with ease (his biceps were also noticeable. And notice Hyukjae did).
“Um, so can you show me where I’m to stay?” Donghae asked.
Hyukjae nodded again, tearing his eyes from Donghae’s arms and chest. He led Donghae into the ranch.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but can you talk? You haven’t said anything yet…”
Hyukjae looked at Donghae, startled. Eager to prove that he could, Hyukjae blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “You have a very nice chest.”
A piece of tumbleweed blew by as the two registered Hyukjae’s words.
Hyukjae mentally freaked out. Did he really just say ‘you have a very nice chest’ to this perfectly sculpted creature in front of him? Did Donghae hate him now? His life was over!
Hyukjae’s mental tirade was interrupted by a chortle. He stared in shock at Donghae, who was nearly doubled over in laughter.
“You’re funny!” exclaimed Donghae, wiping a tear from his eye. Composing himself, he sent Hyukjae a grin that went straight to the latter’s heart. “And thanks, I guess. What’s your name? I don’t think I caught it.”
“Hyukjae,” he said, cheeks tinted pink. Before Donghae could see his embarrassment, Hyukjae ducked into the building that was their destination.
“It’s kind of small,” commented Donghae, taking in the three bunk beds crammed into the single room. “But cozy.”
“This is yours,” said Hyukjae, gesturing to the top bunk of the furthest bed. “Unless you want the bottom; then we can sleep together.”
Hyukjae mentally slapped himself as the sound of Donghae’s laughter filled the cabin.
-
“Wow, you’re good looking,” observed Jongwoon, giving Donghae a once over.
“He’s hot, isn’t he?” Ryeowook agreed.
Donghae smiled shyly. “Thank you.”
“You’re Hyukjae’s type,” Kyuhyun called from his bed. “Hyukjae’s single, you know.” Hyukjae’s eyes widened and he grabbed his pillow, smothering the evil magnae with it.
Sungmin glanced at them in amusement, evidently unconcerned by Hyukjae’s murder attempt on his boyfriend. “What do you think of our Hyukjae?” he asked Donghae. Hyukjae stopped in the middle of choking Kyuhyun to listen to Donghae’s answer.
Donghae stared contemplatively at Hyukjae, making him feel slightly uncomfortable. “Really handsome,” he announced at last. Donghae gave Hyukjae a heart warming grin. “I think you’re really handsome.”
“Did you hear that?” hissed Hyukjae, shaking Kyuhyun by his neck. “He thinks I’m handsome! I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.”
Kyuhyun pried Hyukjae’s hands from his throat. “I’d prefer it if you didn’t take me with you,” he gasped.
-
Donghae, as it turned out, was quite a worker.
The sun was beating down upon their heads with no shade in sight to alleviate the heat. And the spectacular view of Donghae wasn’t doing much to lower Hyukjae’s temperature.
Donghae was standing on the back of the horse drawn wagon. His arm muscles flexed every time he caught a bundle of hay that Jongwoon tossed to him. His skin glistened with sweat from the heavy labor. The perspiration soaked through his thin white shirt, which clung like a second skin to his delicious, toned body…
“Hey, you’re drooling.”
Hyukjae was startled out of his reverie, self-consciously wiping his mouth. Sungmin gave him an amused look.
“You’re not exactly being subtle,” Sungmin told him. “Next thing you know, we’ll catch you spying on him as he takes a shower.”
“I would never…” Hyukjae trailed off as it occurred to him that it wasn’t such a bad idea.
Sungmin rolled his eyes. “Get back to work.”
Hyukjae obediently followed Sungmin back to the line. Waiting for Sungmin to toss him a bundle of hay, he turned his attention back to Donghae.
Donghae was pausing for a brief moment. Blowing out a breath of air, Donghae lifted up his shirt to wipe his sweaty forehead. Hyukjae’s mouth went dry at the sight of his perfectly formed six-pack.
“Hyukjae, watch out!”
Hyukjae turned at the sound of Sungmin’s voice, just in time to get a face full of hay.
-
Hyukjae kicked off his boots and stripped out of his dirty work clothes. Yawning, he climbed into bed and pulled the covers over his head. Within minutes, goodnights were murmured and all the candles were put out. Hyukjae was about to drift off to dreams of Donghae when the real one appeared next to his bed.
“Hyukjae,” Donghae whispered.
“Huh?” replied Hyukjae intelligently.
“I can’t sleep. Does your offer still stand?”
The sleepiness wasn’t doing much for Hyukjae’s thought process. “What offer?”
“Us sleeping together.”
The words worked like magic, and in an instant, Hyukjae was wide awake. “Yes!” he said enthusiastically, his heart racing. Finally, he had captured Donghae’s interest! Now, the only problem was keeping quiet so the others wouldn’t hear…
Donghae climbed under Hyukjae’s blanket. “We have to keep quiet,” Donghae told him in hushed tones. Hyukjae nodded eagerly, looking at Donghae with half-lidded eyes and puckering up his lips for a kiss. Donghae moved closer, and Hyukjae was thrilled to discover that he was shirtless.
“So what do you want to talk about?”
Hyukjae blinked. “W-what?” he sputtered.
Even in the dark, Hyukjae could still see Donghae’s white teeth gleaming as the latter gave him a smile. “Talk, you know. Get to know each other more. I want to know you better.”
Who could resist something like that? Quashing his disappointment, Hyukjae said, “Well, I can do a mean square dance.”
A chuckled rumbled in Donghae’s (magnificent) chest. “Really? You’re a dancer?” he said with obvious delight. “I’d like to challenge you one day. I’m not bad at dancing myself.”
Hyukjae found that he and Donghae actually had quite a bit in common. They talked about everything under the sun (and above it too. Donghae insisted aliens existed and relayed his dream of being a space cowboy. Hyukjae could only think about how amazingly hot Donghae would look commandeering a spaceship), and by the time both were too sleepy to converse any further, Hyukjae was thoroughly convinced that Donghae was the best thing since hoedowns.
“We should probably go to sleep now,” Donghae breathed in Hyukjae’s ear. Hyukjae shivered, an action that did not go unnoticed by Donghae. “Cold?” he asked sweetly, wrapping his arms around Hyukjae’s waist and pulling him towards his body.
Hyukjae prayed that he did not get a bloody nose from the feel of Donghae’s chiseled abs and chest through his thin shirt. Hyukjae peeked up at Donghae’s closed eyes, ensuring the man was asleep.
Donghae smelled like horse, dust, and several days’ worth of sweat, but Hyukjae still snuggled closer.
-
“Hyukjae, Jongwoon, Donghae. You three are going to go on a cattle drive today.” Jungsu nodded at the three and moved on to give the others their tasks.
“I’ve never been on a cattle drive before,” Donghae mused with the tilt of his head.
“It’s pretty easy,” Hyukjae said quickly before Jongwoon could speak. “I can teach you.”
“Really? I’ll stick by you then.”
Hyukjae nearly swooned at the words, and nodded as they mounted their respective horses, trying not to seem too eager. He would teach Donghae how to lasso, and once Donghae saw how pro he was, he would rope in the younger’s heart with ease. Hyukjae patted himself on the back for such a well thought out plan.
So preoccupied he was with his plans, Hyukjae mounted his horse backwards and promptly fell off as it started moving. He would’ve hit the floor too, if it weren’t for two strong arms that caught him. Hyukjae felt giddy as Donghae’s arms held his waist firmly.
“Hyukjae, what are you doing?” came Jongwoon’s husky voice instead. Startled, Hyukjae turned to see that it was his hyung, not Donghae, who had caught him.
“Um, thanks, hyung,” muttered Hyukjae, disappointed as he remounted his horse.
“Shall we go now?” asked Donghae, riding up next to them.
The three of them trotted out of the ranch, driving the cattle in front of them. Jongwoon immediately rode ahead of them, muttering something about third wheels.
“Want to learn how to lasso?” offered Hyukjae as casually as he could.
Donghae’s eyes lit up. “Sure.”
Tying his length of rope with a proper knot, Hyukjae twirled the loop around his head expertly. At the right moment, he released it. The rope flew over to Donghae, snatching his hat off his head. Hyukjae pulled in the rope, waving Donghae’s hat mischievously at him. “How’s that, huh?”
“Hey,” protested Donghae, eyes gleaming. Taking his own lasso, he tossed it, easily capturing the hand Hyukjae was holding the hat with. Donghae tugged on the rope, leaving Hyukjae with no choice but to lead his horse over to him. Donghae plucked his hat from Hyukjae’s hand, plopping it back on his head. “How’s that, huh?” Donghae teased.
“How did you do that?” asked Hyukjae, wrist tingling from where Donghae captured him.
Donghae reached out and pulled Hyukjae’s hat down over his eyes. “I learned from the best.”
“Hey!” Hyukjae and Donghae looked up to see Jongwoon waving towards them. “If you two are done flirting, the cattle are escaping!”
-
Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice that sounded like Sungmin’s was telling him that this was wrong, wrong, wrong (and it also said something that sounded suspiciously like “I told you so”), but Hyukjae just couldn’t bring himself to care, not with the awe-inspiring sight before him.
It was by accident that Hyukjae stumbled across Donghae in the middle of cleansing himself, an honest mistake that did not have anything to do with the fact that Hyukjae had well memorized the schedule of Donghae’s daily routine.
Hyukjae’s grip on the side of the building tightened as he continued watching Donghae’s actions, gaze so intense it would have been undressing Donghae had the latter not already been dressed in his best, in Hyukjae’s opinion, outfit: his birthday suit.
Donghae was currently bending over, affording Hyukjae quite a view of his firm ass, to pick up a bar of soap. Straightening, he proceeded to rub the bar all over his body. What Hyukjae would’ve given to be that bar of soap (answer: everything, including his best friend Sungmin, who has been with him through thick and thin).
Apparently done with lathering, Donghae reached over and poured a bucket of water over his head, washing away all the soap. Donghae was in the middle of shaking out his hair when he paused, lifting his head to look around. Hyukjae gasped and withdrew further behind the building that was concealing him.
“Hyukjae? Is that you?” called Donghae.
Hyukjae cursed; he was caught. Quickly thinking of an excuse, he said, “Um, I was just about to bathe.”
“Oh. Come on over then.”
“What?” squeaked Hyukjae, voice suddenly a pitch higher. Clearing his throat, he repeated, “What?”
There was a laugh. “We’re both guys; there’s nothing you have that I don’t. Come here.”
Unable to resist, Hyukjae made his way over, eyes glued to the ground. But his self-control did not last long. As though they had a life of their own, his eyes slowly traveled up Donghae’s bare legs until it reached the fork. Hyukjae nearly had a bloody nose then and there; Donghae was very well endowed.
There was a light cough, and Hyukjae’s eyes reluctantly continued their journey, up Donghae’s washboard abs, past his chest which was glistening with leftover water droplets, and finally to his face. But Donghae wasn’t looking at Hyukjae’s face- rather, a bit more south.
“Hmm,” said Donghae. “Either you just woke up or you really like what you see.” A smirk grew on his lips, an expression Hyukjae had never seen him wear before (not that it was unwelcome; Donghae had never looked so sexy). “I think it’s the latter.”
“Actually, I just woke up.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Hyukjae realized the stupidity of it; it was the middle of the day.
“Hyukjae,” purred Donghae, walking closer. “I know you’ve been watching me.”
“What?” denied Hyukjae, trying to back up, but failing as Donghae’s arms (of sex) were draped over his shoulders. “I haven’t.”
Donghae licked his lips, bedroom eyes seducing. “I know, because I’ve been watching you too.” And suddenly, said lips were attached to Hyukjae’s skin, kissing a wet trail from Hyukjae’s shoulder to his jaw.
“Oh,” said Hyukjae, having trouble digesting this new information since one of Donghae’s hands was running up and down his spine and the other was doing something, Shisus knows what, but it was amazing, to Hyukjae’s nether regions. “Oh.” With a nod, Hyukjae grabbed Donghae’s handsome face and smashed their lips together.
-
“I told you so,” said Sungmin triumphantly, letting the curtain fall over the window.
“You’d think they’d have the decency to remember that the showering area is right next to the living quarters before they start doing the horizontal naked dance,” grumbled Kyuhyun, pushing the curtains back open to view the two figures outside.
“It’s vertical, actually,” corrected Sungmin, peering out the window for a better look. “Ooh, look at that technique! We have to try that sometime, Kyu.”
Jongwoon quickly reached out and covered Ryeowook’s eyes before covering his own.
-
A/N: Donghae's chest! >:3