Chapter Text
Jedediah wasn’t sick, turns out he wasn’t sick at all, a lot of folks felt this way, well maybe not a lot of folks but, ones he knew. So with a small, silver ring in hand, the cowboy made his way over to the roman diorama. It took weeks to plan this out and a few more days to gain the courage to walk over and tell Octavius that he…
Oh Lord what is he doin’?! He couldnt do this! No way could he do this!
Just head back an-
“Whoa whoa whoa! Slow yer role there bullherd whats got you in such a rush?” a cowboy called as Jed tried to rush back over to his tent, he looked over, Arthur was there, nursing a drink out of a flask. Jedediah looked away “none o’ yer business, Arthur” he muttered, kicking away some rocks, the cowman shrugged “eh, maybe not, but somethin’s eatin’ atcha, you’ve been all-overish for weeks now!”
Jedediah sighed, coming over to sit down with the cowboy “i- ugh, its stupid” Arthur just gave him a smile “stupid or not, its better to talk ‘bout it than let it fester” Jed nodded, taking a deep breath, flushing slightly at the hint of sweet honey and wine from the Roman diorama. “Well, ever since i talked to Eli ‘bout sparkin’ i uh- i wanted ta, wanted to….” Arthur seemed to catch on pretty quickly “you wanted ta go on confessin’ to the gen’rel!” he smiled, hitting his arm. Jed flushed red and rubbed the place he hit, even though it wasnt that hard
“Does everyone know that i have a think for Ockie?” the cowboy asked, the other shook his head with a smile “‘a thing’? ‘Diah yer down soft for the man!” Jedediah flushed more and spluttered “y-yeah i-i….i uhm, i guess i do” Arthur’s smile softened, and he looked at the ring in his hand “i see i uh, gave that to mi flor silvestre , told em that i went down soft for em and, hell i was so scared i ran off but i aint letting you run before you tell em anything”
Jedediah looked down, sighing “and…if he dont feel the same?” Arthur barked out a laugh “aint gonna happen, but if it does, its better to try than to wallow in self-pity over not doin’ it in the first place, eh?” Jed nodded, then remembered something “hey, ive been meanin’ to ask ya’, where is your ring?” Arthur smiled and pulled the glove on his left hand, a shiny gold ring sat on the ring finger “never without my gloves, never without my love, as i say” Jedediah smiled, looking with a sense of longing “and maybe one day you’ll have a ring like this, but your first step? Givin’ him that one”
Jedediah sighed and pushed himself up, walking to the edge of the diorama before giving Arthur one more look, the cowboy nodded “go for it”. So Jedediah did, sliding down the rope that was tethered to the diorama wall, the ring tucked safely into his pocket, Octavius leaned on the wall nearby, lighting up when he saw the cowboy “Jedediah!” Jeds heart skipped a beat ‘ go for it ’
“Hey Ockie!” Jedediah said, walking over to the roman “hello yourself, my friend” he greeted, smiling “so, what is it that you’ve planned for today? Another drive around with Rexy? The usual chaos?” Octavius teased, the cowboy could feel his face heating up “naw, i just thought maybe we could maybe go for a walk? Wherever you would like!” the general looked surprised, but instantly smiled wider “yeah? Well we could- i could show you the new gardens! Larry doesnt like us doing anything on the outside that could get him in trouble but we’ve made a system! Come on!”
Octavius grabbed his wrist, pulling him along while Jed laughed, with Octavius he didnt feel so much like a freak, even if he wasnt sick for this he was always kinda different, but the general made him feel like a better person, made him laugh and smile less like he was a 50 year old diorama piece of a person he no longer is but more like a kid running through the prairie grass, chasing after fireflies. Larry talked once about how in the Smithsonian they were able to travel through paintings, maybe Jed could talk him into getting some to let them explore
“-diah? Are you listening?” the cowboy was instantly knocked back to reality “o-oh sorry ‘bout that, got lost in thought, what did ya say?” Octavius rolled his eyes but jedediah could see the smile on his face “i asked if you would like to sit next to the fountain for a while or continue walking” Jed took a breath ‘ okay, perfect moment, just go for it ’ “uh yeah, the…the fountain seems nice” the roman nodded and guided the two of them over, sitting nearby on a bench, Octavius watched the water flow down
Jedediah couldnt pry his eyes away long enough to notice anything else, Octavius was…beautiful, he truly was everything to Jedediah, and he couldnt imagine a world without him, even when they were fighting. Maybe thats ironic or cheesy but he really couldnt, he looked heavenly. Maybe thats really what he was scared about in the first place, maybe not so much that God would be mad but more so that he would find a new salvation in the man in front of him. Octavius had turned to face Jedediah “what? Is something wrong?” Jed flushed
“Uh n-no, i uhm Octavius there was- there is somethin’ i want to tell ya and i- uhm” the general sat with a patient smile, nodding for the cowboy to go ahead “I… Octavius..l-listen we fought for a darn long time but i- i like bein’ friends with ya but i was…..i was hopin’ that we could uhm, yknow…w-we could….i- uh” the roman sat confused “do you, not want to be friends anymore?”
“No! Eh- yes? In a way? No no thats not- i mean i- goddamnit i thought this would be easier j-just-” Jedediah pulled out the silver ring, fumbling with it before shoving it into the romans hands “h-here!” Jed shoved himself away as much as he could, Octavius sat there, stunned while looking at the ring.
After several minutes of silence Jedediah picked himself up to run but the general had caught his arm “jedediah, wait!” he said, when the cowboy tried to take his arm back he felt a weight crash into his, Octavius was…kissing him.
Jed instantly kissed back, cupping Octavius’s face in his hands, they parted, the two pressing their foreheads together “i-i hope i interpreted that right” Octavius whispered, the cowboy laughed and kissed him again, parting again “yeah, you…you did”