Work Text:
“I don’t like it,” Brent said with a frown as Jonny headed out to go fishing with Faulk for the fifth morning in a row. “Maybe I should talk to Jonny about this.”
“Leave him alone Seabs,” Duncan said from the counter where he was getting a cup of coffee. “Jonny’s old enough to spend time with whoever he wants.”
“But you know as well as I do that he belongs with Pat! I can’t believe that they don’t feel anything for each other anymore.” Brent continued to stare out the window. He could see a portion of the lake from there but the docks were hidden from view by a thick patch of trees.
“If they’re going to get back together you know it’s something they’ve got to do on their own.”
“Yeah, well,” Brent mumbled. “I’m going for a walk.” He slid open the door and stepped out onto the porch before Duncan could question him anymore. It really was a beautiful morning; the sun was barely over the horizon and the air was still and cool. He headed left on the path, pulling out his phone as he walked. He hit contacts and Patrick’s number and waited impatiently for him to pick up. After the seventh ring the call flipped over to voicemail. Brent frowned as he listened to Patrick’s voice tell him cheerfully that he was too busy to talk but if he left a message he might get back to him.
“Kaner,” Brent said sternly after the beep. “We need to talk about you and Jonny. Call me back as soon as you get this.” He hung up with a scowl then sighed, looking around the forested path. Maybe Dunc’s was right; it was a beautiful day and he wasn’t enjoying it at all. He headed back towards the cabin. Maybe he could talk Duncan into something silly like having a picnic.
“Oh shit,” Brent swore as Duncan laughed as he held two slices of bread with nothing to put in between them. Brent had forgotten to grab the tuna that they had mixed up from the fridge.
“At least we have lots of veggies to eat,” Duncan said finding a bag of carrot sticks and biting into one.
Brent made a face, making Duncan laugh some more. “I’ll just run back to the cabin and grab the fish. Be back in a bit.” He kissed Duncan and jogged down the path, thankful that they weren’t too far from the cabin. He passed by the dock on his way and stopped with a frown as he saw Faulk pulling up along the dock. Alone.
“Hey Seabs,” Faulk greeted him cheerfully as Brent stalked down the dock to where Faulk was securing the boat.
“Don’t you hey Seabs me. Where’s Jonny?” Brent demanded, glowering.
Faulk blinked in confusion. “I haven’t seen him.”
“He went fishing with you this morning.”
“No he didn’t.” Faulk finished off the knot and stood up.
“Yes he did.”
“No,” Faulk said starting to look annoyed. “He didn’t. Look Seabs, he came out with me a couple of times when he first got here but I haven’t seen much of him in almost a week. Wherever he’s been it hasn’t been with me.”
Brent frowned as Faulk left. Why would Jonny have lied to him about going fishing with Faulk? Where had he been going all week then? He made up his mind to follow Jonny the next morning but right now he’d better grab that cooler and get back to Duncan.
“Going fishing again?” Brent asked as Jonny got ready to leave the next morning. “You don’t seem to have much luck since you never come back with any fish.”
Jonny laughed. “Yeah, maybe we should try a different spot today. See you guys later.”
Brent checked that Duncan was distracted before getting up and quietly following Jonny. At first he thought maybe Jonny actually was going fishing, just by himself instead of with Faulk, as he headed towards the docks. Then he turned left and the track that ran up into the forest.
Brent knew he couldn’t be going far since he wasn’t dressed for a long hike, his curiosity rising as Jonny headed up to where some of the more secluded cabins were. He hadn’t realized anyone was staying up here but Jonny headed straight to one of the cabins, walking right in instead of knocking. Now Brent was really curious.
He approached the cabin, stealthily edging up to one of the windows, and peered inside.
“What are you doing?”
Brent jumped at the voice that hissed near his ear. “Duncs! You followed me? Shhh, get down!” He pulled Duncan out of sight then peered back through the window again. “Look,” he said grinning and moving out of the way. Duncan gave him and exasperated look but peered inside.
“Is that Patrick?” Duncan asked incredulously. “What’s he doing here?”
“I think that’s pretty obvious.” Brent smirked and Duncan rolled his eyes. “Looks like you were right; we had nothing to worry about. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“But why wouldn’t they just tell us?” Duncan asked as they walked away from the cabin.
“Who knows? Maybe they just wanted to be alone for a while. Hey you know we haven’t been out on the lake at all this trip? Why don’t we take the boat out for a while?”
“They were just going to let us worry about them all summer,” Duncan glanced back up the trail. “I’ve got half a mind to go back up there and demand an explanation.”
“Come on Duncs, let it go. They’ll tell us when they’re ready.”
“Yeah well,” Duncan muttered. “They’d better be ready soon.”
Brent took his arm and they walked back to the cabin where Brent did his best to keep Duncan distracted for the rest of the day.