[ He grins in response. ] Sure. At least he knows about your habit of picking up strays, it won't surprise him.
[ He starts laughing a little, shaking his head. ] Nothing you haven't handled before. [ One of them mewls softly and then curls up in a ball to sleep, the second does her best to bound over to Dick. Now he's stopped he'll have all of them vying for his attention. ]
By the sound of that, we're going to end up with a whole company of cats. I don't think there's enough room on the farm for that. And even less in our bed. (BEcause he's seen him. That when he goes to take a nap, suddenly it's too quiet, because all the cats are in bed with him.)
I'm sure I can manage if I have to. (He always does, though somehow he thinks that the kittens would be even harder to keep in order than Easy could ever have been, even at the worst.
Dick huffs lightly at the sight, but he will take the kitten and let it join the party on his lap. He leans back on his hands and just lets the cats clamber all over him, essentially giving into them, in a way.)
Nothing to thank me for. You're terrible to deal with when you sulk, I'm just doing this for myself.
I think four will do. [ He's still holding out for when a stray dog comes trampling over the property line or something. ] It's cold out, they're tiny, and we have more blankets than we should. [ Clearly that is how he justifies letting them all up. He knows he should worry about things like fleas but he's pretty sure they're okay. It's just the barn, wherever their mother went he doubts she was ridden. ]
I wasn't going to sulk. I was just formulating a plan. It takes concentration. [ The battlefield logistics of winning over Dick Winters. ] But I appreciate it, I do.
I'm going to hold you to that. Maybe you sign a contract. If another batch crops up, we're definitely giving them away. (They could just go and get a puppy. There are farms with dogs all over, surely one of them has to have puppies? But he'll leave that to Nix, too. They're his babies, after all.) If you think this is cold, I'm going to have to take you in to see a doctor. It's spring. (And he's sat in a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up an he's still warm. But it does dip at night. It was just that pets shouldn't be in the bedroom, but...he never said anything.)
Including accusing a pair of four year olds of throwing stones at birds. Not your best, I have to say. (Always. Because he's grinning, and there's a cat trying to climb ontop of his head.) But nice try.
[ He snorts out a laugh. ] Sure. If another batch turns up. [ He doubts it would be any time soon considering the kittens are all tiny and related. He's yet to see a stray cat around their way either, he's actually surprised that the mother found her way into the barn and then apparently left. But it's desperate times, apparently even for cats. ]
It's cold. [ Don't make him fight you. ] We're not all hearty specimens of American manhood, Winters. Some of us don't have blood boiling through our veins from sheer goodness like you do. [ Nix is always something of a cold blooded thing. He never used to be, but since the war he finds it hard to get warm at the best of times. ] Just roll on summer, that's all I want.
[ He ducks his head, a guilty little smile playing on his mouth. ] Look, the next time I see them out I'll buy them a maltshake or something.
(Do cats know not to do that kind of thing with its family members? Dick isn't sure, but he hopes they won't. For their own sake, more than anything. If there were more kittens, he doubts that Nix would be able to give them up either. He takes the kitten down from his shoulder again, mostly because it was trying to get on his head again, which includes pawing at his face, and while their claws are tiny, they're still claws.
They're gathered in his lap now, pawing aorund before they settle in, one of them yawning even before they tuck into a nap.) You just need to keep working the way you've been. Get a proper amount of meat on your bones, and muscle over those, and you'll be all good. You could start coming to swim with me in the morning. It'll get you used to the cold. (Because he goes now, and even late into the fall, until the lake begins to have the thinnest sheet of ice. Then he turns in for the season until it all melts away again.
It's mostly hot air what he's saying, though. He gets cold, and fast, too. Part of why he tucks himself so close to Nix during the nights.) Maybe we can figure out a way for you to hibernate like a bear.
I'm sure they'd like that a lot. They might talk to you then.
[ Nix would kind of hope they would, if only for the kittens sake. He knows that kind of thing means problems with the baby's health eventually. But then he's not a vet, he doesn't really understand animals.
( Here he is, already thinking about the kittens' kittens. He's fucked. )
The majority of the cats are now being held by Dick, except the one who has gone to sleep right beside his thigh. Nix looks at them with fondness in his eyes. His mouth twitches slightly, his gaze settling. ] Maybe. [ He doesn't like the idea of leaving his warm bed to go swim around the lake. But maybe if Dick manages to convince him. ]
You know that might not be so bad. Maybe I could gather up enough supplies. Make a nest for myself in the bedroom. [ A snort. ] I don't know how to talk to babies, you know that.
(He is fucked, but Dick knew that he was fucked the moment he found them all in the barn, and saw the way Nix was trying to cradle and feed all four at the same time. He had mostly been trying to get Nix to admit that he wanted to keep them when he had originally asked if they should get rid of three of them, or all. Just to test what he would say.
It's funny, because while they've been together for as long as they have, there are some things that Nix does, some ways he looks at him, that still make his cheeks heat up and take on a rich, pink colour.) Maybe.
(He'd like it, though, if only so that they could spend more time together.
He laughs, and nods.) We'll give it a go next winter. The real question is, do I sleep with you still? SInce you're not supposed to poke a sleeping bear, and I'd hate to wake you up...
(Dick trails off gently, lazily reaching up to scritch one of the kittens.) Yet they like you so much.
[ He still struggles with telling Dick that he wants something. A kiss, a home, a cluster of kittens. Part of him thinks he'll always be a shady bastard because something inside of him is fundamentally broken. And it worries him too, because if he can't be honest with the literal embodiment of kindness that Dick presents, then who can he be?
But maybe it doesn't matter, not when he can make Dick flush like that, not when they spend their nights wrapped around each other with the world still and silent. ]
Why is that? [ Babies liking him. ] I don't even talk to them and they're all clamouring for my attention. It's like I'm a magnet.
(It's sad that he does, though, because there is nothing more Dick wants than to give Nix everything he does. It was why he had never said a word about what he hid in his footlocker, it was why he had never gone to any great measure of lengths to point out that he might have a problem with drinking, it was why he had given him first run on Göering's basement. It was also why he had never acted upset when they had briefly lost touch, because if it made Nix happy, then he was happy. He worries for him, he loves him, if he asked for the moon, Dick would try his best to get it for him.)
It's probably because you ignore them. Maybe they can sense it, like they say dog can sense fear. (His lips quirk.) Or maybe they like your eyebrows.
My eyebrows. [ So deadpan. Dick he was going to give you such a good night because of the cats, now he's not so sure. ]
You're the one who's the human climbing frame. If they had any sense they'd realise that. [ A huff of a sigh and then he's picking up the sleeping cat beside him. She mewls slightly in protest but starts purring when Nix beings petting her. ]
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with them. They caught my eye across the mess the first day I saw you. All across the way was the vague outline of facial features, and two of the thickest eyebrows I'd ever seen. (It's a gross exaggeration, but he likes the way it makes the other frown, and in turn the brows knit together.)
For cats, maybe. (Though for kids, too. He isn't quite a body builder, but his muscles were strong, The few kids who do come up to him, he's more than happy to hoist them up. He's done it, too, a few times. Neighbour kids who come to the farm to see the horses that stay with them for the summer, he'll lift them up easily to pet their noses, and sometimes he ends up with one on his shoulders.)
Kids are easy. They like attention, that's it. Almost like you.
[ He huffs and puffs like he's indignant over it, his brows knitting together even further. They become thick black triangles that scream with his displeasure. ] You make it sound like I'm a comic book character.
[ And for Nix too, considering how often he likes to splay himself across his body and fit himself in to all the nooks and crannies he can. ]
(The closer Nix's brows go together, the wider the smile on Dick's face becomes. But the time they're completely together, Dick is smiling like a ray of pure sunshine.) With that pair, you could be. Especially right now.
(They fit together beautifully. It's one of Dick's favourite things, the way they so easily mould against each other's bodies, it's almost as if they were made for each other.
[ He rolls his eyes, his forehead smoothing out. It's not like he was even truly angry, because all of Dick's teasing is so often sweetly given. He would go to hell and back for Nix and he knows it. ]
I can't even fight back, I love your freckles and your stupid hair. [ Glancing at the ceiling of the barn. ] What did I do to deserve this?
Because no one else would during OCS, and after that you just couldn't shake me. Or I couldn't shake you, I'm not sure which it started with.
(Even when they argue, Dick is always trying to salvage what he can of their relationship. He doesn't want to lose Nix. Ever. He would rather give his own life if it meant protecting him, and that was something he had thought of too many times during the war. Just how much he would be willing to sacrifice if it meant keeping him safe. Maybe it was a little too sentimental. A little too much caring, but here they were. Safe and sound and teasing about kittens.
He pauses for a moment, and then gives a playful frown.)
Nothing. That's the whole problem. [ Nix flings one hand in the air in irritation, his eyes as wide as anything. ] I should hate your damn hair. But I don't, it's charming and you're charming and it's damn annoying, Winters.
[ Despite everything, he's so very happy. He's got a life and a love and it's so good, it's better than anything he could ever come up with. ]
I'm still not sure what my hair should have done to offend you. Unless it's the typical thing that it's red. (Dick can't help the burst of laughter that comes from him then, even if it also means that one of the kittens startles slightly and mews, and Dick has to bring a hand to it to soothe it gently again.) I'm sorry my existence offends you, Nix. I'm not sure I can do anything about it.
(Dick's shoulders shrug just a bit.) I'd cleared my schedule for the rest of my day to comfort you after the kittens left, but now that they aren't, I have nothing to do but spend it with you.
[ Nix's eyes crinkle a little when Dick laughs. He likes the sound of it, the sheer joy and freedom it brings. ] You could put your damn head in a bag. [ But that wouldn't actually make him less charming so essentially Nix is screwed. ]
Yeah? [ That brings an added light to his expression. ] I'd like that.
Plastic, so I suffocate and you're rid of me at last?
(Dick's eyebrow raises slightly above the other, though it's a struggle to try to keep his face remaining passive, when a wide smile is threatening to crack through. He reaches over with his leg to gently toe him in the thigh.) Let me write you out of my will first.
(Dick nods.) Of course. Whatever you want to do, we do.
I was thinking paper so I didn't have to look at you any more, but okay. [ C'mon, as if Nix would ever truly want rid. He lasted what, six months before he turned up dripping wet and in miserable need of his friend. He couldn't last the rest of his life. ]
What do I get if you die? The farm, right? Are you sure you wanna leave it to me? It'll be wrack and ruin in no time. I don't even know how to mow the grass properly.
Maybe I should just shave my head so you wouldn't have to see the hair if that's the issue, but I can do with paper. Do I get holes for the eyes, at least? I think I should get that much.
(Dick snorts with laughter this time around, and clicks his tongue against the top of his mouth.)
Technically the farm is half yours, so I can't really give it to anyone else. You might want to sell it, then. Move into the town house.
Maybe we should have a lesson in lawn mowing this weekend. I'm quite the expert.
That's what Nix's expression screams anyway, all startled eyebrows and mouth in a straight line. ] You know what, this conversation is depressing me. You're gorgeous, you don't need a bag over your head. A gag to stop you talking, maybe ...
[ That's true. ] Nah, I'll just let the lawn grow over after your passing and then tell all the kids that you're haunting the place. I could make a killing come Halloween.
That's what Nix's expression screams anyway, all startled eyebrows and mouth in a straight line. ] You know what, this conversation is depressing me. You're gorgeous, you don't need a bag over your head. A gag to stop you talking, maybe ...
[ That's true. ] Nah, I'll just let the lawn grow over after your passing and then tell all the kids that you're haunting the place. I could make a killing come Halloween.
(A wide grin spreads across his face at the other's reaction to his suggestion. He'd had his head shaved once as a young boy. (His sister had gotten gum in it, he'd been fourteen and furious with her, but it was the easiest thing to do.) But he knew that he didn't look anywhere near decent without hair. But Nix' reaction was well worth the threat.) You know, whenever you've mentioned gagging me in the past, it's been in a different context.
(He drawls out the words, and then laughs.) They know I'd be a nice ghost, they wouldn't be scared.
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[ He starts laughing a little, shaking his head. ] Nothing you haven't handled before. [ One of them mewls softly and then curls up in a ball to sleep, the second does her best to bound over to Dick. Now he's stopped he'll have all of them vying for his attention. ]
Hey, Dick? Thanks.
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I'm sure I can manage if I have to. (He always does, though somehow he thinks that the kittens would be even harder to keep in order than Easy could ever have been, even at the worst.
Dick huffs lightly at the sight, but he will take the kitten and let it join the party on his lap. He leans back on his hands and just lets the cats clamber all over him, essentially giving into them, in a way.)
Nothing to thank me for. You're terrible to deal with when you sulk, I'm just doing this for myself.
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I wasn't going to sulk. I was just formulating a plan. It takes concentration. [ The battlefield logistics of winning over Dick Winters. ] But I appreciate it, I do.
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Including accusing a pair of four year olds of throwing stones at birds. Not your best, I have to say. (Always. Because he's grinning, and there's a cat trying to climb ontop of his head.) But nice try.
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It's cold. [ Don't make him fight you. ] We're not all hearty specimens of American manhood, Winters. Some of us don't have blood boiling through our veins from sheer goodness like you do. [ Nix is always something of a cold blooded thing. He never used to be, but since the war he finds it hard to get warm at the best of times. ] Just roll on summer, that's all I want.
[ He ducks his head, a guilty little smile playing on his mouth. ] Look, the next time I see them out I'll buy them a maltshake or something.
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They're gathered in his lap now, pawing aorund before they settle in, one of them yawning even before they tuck into a nap.) You just need to keep working the way you've been. Get a proper amount of meat on your bones, and muscle over those, and you'll be all good. You could start coming to swim with me in the morning. It'll get you used to the cold. (Because he goes now, and even late into the fall, until the lake begins to have the thinnest sheet of ice. Then he turns in for the season until it all melts away again.
It's mostly hot air what he's saying, though. He gets cold, and fast, too. Part of why he tucks himself so close to Nix during the nights.) Maybe we can figure out a way for you to hibernate like a bear.
I'm sure they'd like that a lot. They might talk to you then.
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( Here he is, already thinking about the kittens' kittens. He's fucked. )
The majority of the cats are now being held by Dick, except the one who has gone to sleep right beside his thigh. Nix looks at them with fondness in his eyes. His mouth twitches slightly, his gaze settling. ] Maybe. [ He doesn't like the idea of leaving his warm bed to go swim around the lake. But maybe if Dick manages to convince him. ]
You know that might not be so bad. Maybe I could gather up enough supplies. Make a nest for myself in the bedroom. [ A snort. ] I don't know how to talk to babies, you know that.
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It's funny, because while they've been together for as long as they have, there are some things that Nix does, some ways he looks at him, that still make his cheeks heat up and take on a rich, pink colour.) Maybe.
(He'd like it, though, if only so that they could spend more time together.
He laughs, and nods.) We'll give it a go next winter. The real question is, do I sleep with you still? SInce you're not supposed to poke a sleeping bear, and I'd hate to wake you up...
(Dick trails off gently, lazily reaching up to scritch one of the kittens.) Yet they like you so much.
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[ He still struggles with telling Dick that he wants something. A kiss, a home, a cluster of kittens. Part of him thinks he'll always be a shady bastard because something inside of him is fundamentally broken. And it worries him too, because if he can't be honest with the literal embodiment of kindness that Dick presents, then who can he be?
But maybe it doesn't matter, not when he can make Dick flush like that, not when they spend their nights wrapped around each other with the world still and silent. ]
Why is that? [ Babies liking him. ] I don't even talk to them and they're all clamouring for my attention. It's like I'm a magnet.
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(It's sad that he does, though, because there is nothing more Dick wants than to give Nix everything he does. It was why he had never said a word about what he hid in his footlocker, it was why he had never gone to any great measure of lengths to point out that he might have a problem with drinking, it was why he had given him first run on Göering's basement. It was also why he had never acted upset when they had briefly lost touch, because if it made Nix happy, then he was happy. He worries for him, he loves him, if he asked for the moon, Dick would try his best to get it for him.)
It's probably because you ignore them. Maybe they can sense it, like they say dog can sense fear. (His lips quirk.) Or maybe they like your eyebrows.
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You're the one who's the human climbing frame. If they had any sense they'd realise that. [ A huff of a sigh and then he's picking up the sleeping cat beside him. She mewls slightly in protest but starts purring when Nix beings petting her. ]
This is why I don't understand kids.
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For cats, maybe. (Though for kids, too. He isn't quite a body builder, but his muscles were strong, The few kids who do come up to him, he's more than happy to hoist them up. He's done it, too, a few times. Neighbour kids who come to the farm to see the horses that stay with them for the summer, he'll lift them up easily to pet their noses, and sometimes he ends up with one on his shoulders.)
Kids are easy. They like attention, that's it. Almost like you.
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[ And for Nix too, considering how often he likes to splay himself across his body and fit himself in to all the nooks and crannies he can. ]
Oh. You're full of the compliments today.
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(They fit together beautifully. It's one of Dick's favourite things, the way they so easily mould against each other's bodies, it's almost as if they were made for each other.
He snorts.)
It's the truth.
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[ He rolls his eyes, his forehead smoothing out. It's not like he was even truly angry, because all of Dick's teasing is so often sweetly given. He would go to hell and back for Nix and he knows it. ]
I can't even fight back, I love your freckles and your stupid hair. [ Glancing at the ceiling of the barn. ] What did I do to deserve this?
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(Even when they argue, Dick is always trying to salvage what he can of their relationship. He doesn't want to lose Nix. Ever. He would rather give his own life if it meant protecting him, and that was something he had thought of too many times during the war. Just how much he would be willing to sacrifice if it meant keeping him safe. Maybe it was a little too sentimental. A little too much caring, but here they were. Safe and sound and teasing about kittens.
He pauses for a moment, and then gives a playful frown.)
What's wrong with my hair?
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[ Despite everything, he's so very happy. He's got a life and a love and it's so good, it's better than anything he could ever come up with. ]
What's the schedule for the rest of the day then?
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(Dick's shoulders shrug just a bit.) I'd cleared my schedule for the rest of my day to comfort you after the kittens left, but now that they aren't, I have nothing to do but spend it with you.
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Yeah? [ That brings an added light to his expression. ] I'd like that.
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(Dick's eyebrow raises slightly above the other, though it's a struggle to try to keep his face remaining passive, when a wide smile is threatening to crack through. He reaches over with his leg to gently toe him in the thigh.) Let me write you out of my will first.
(Dick nods.) Of course. Whatever you want to do, we do.
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What do I get if you die? The farm, right? Are you sure you wanna leave it to me? It'll be wrack and ruin in no time. I don't even know how to mow the grass properly.
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(Dick snorts with laughter this time around, and clicks his tongue against the top of his mouth.)
Technically the farm is half yours, so I can't really give it to anyone else. You might want to sell it, then. Move into the town house.
Maybe we should have a lesson in lawn mowing this weekend. I'm quite the expert.
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That's what Nix's expression screams anyway, all startled eyebrows and mouth in a straight line. ] You know what, this conversation is depressing me. You're gorgeous, you don't need a bag over your head. A gag to stop you talking, maybe ...
[ That's true. ] Nah, I'll just let the lawn grow over after your passing and then tell all the kids that you're haunting the place. I could make a killing come Halloween.
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That's what Nix's expression screams anyway, all startled eyebrows and mouth in a straight line. ] You know what, this conversation is depressing me. You're gorgeous, you don't need a bag over your head. A gag to stop you talking, maybe ...
[ That's true. ] Nah, I'll just let the lawn grow over after your passing and then tell all the kids that you're haunting the place. I could make a killing come Halloween.
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(He drawls out the words, and then laughs.) They know I'd be a nice ghost, they wouldn't be scared.
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