Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Greenwich, Connecticut. 1902

The milk bottles clack rhythmically against one another as Jeong Jaehyun walks up the path towards Greenwich Manor.

The sun is only just beginning to rise behind the manor, the sky painted with faint pinks and oranges. Greenwich Manor sleeps on, no candles flickering in the windows or servants bustling around the back entrance. Jaehyun smiles in relief, knowing that he will be able to deliver the manor’s daily supply of milk long before any of its inhabitants require it.

Jaehyun, on the other hand, has already been awake for hours. Waking up before the sun has been his routine ever since he was a young boy just beginning his work on the dairy farm.

This morning had started like any other. Jaehyun had woken up while it was still dark, dressing and eating a bowl of lukewarm porridge before heading out of his modest one-room house on the edge of Woodsworth Farm.

When he arrived at the farmhouse, he collected his tools to begin his work, but Farmer Edwards intercepted him before he could start.

“Jaehyun,” Edwards began in his thick country accent. “Yuta has been ill all night long and isn’t able to do his runs today. I need you to take the milk up to Greenwich Manor. They’d be expecting it by now.”

Jaehyun hasn’t had to deliver milk in years, not since he first started at the farm. But even then, his primary responsibility had been bottling the milk, not delivering it. Usually, servants from middle-class families would come to pick up the milk themselves from Woodsworth Farm, but with the aristocratic Greenwich Manor, the milk had to be delivered especially.

Regardless, Jaehyun had agreed easily, collecting the milk from the barn and hurrying off to Greenwich. The farmers at Woodsworth are a family, always working together to keep the farm running. When someone is ill, everyone steps up to make sure the daily work is still completed. Running the milk to Greenwich Manor may be outside of Jaehyun’s normal realm of duties, but it’s not beneath him. Not when he knows any of the other farm hands – Yuta, Taeyong, and Doyoung, any of them – would willingly take over his work if he needed them to for the day.

As he approaches the manor, Jaehyun takes a moment to admire its magnificence. He remembers when he was a boy and would sneak through the forest separating the manor and Woodsworth Farm so that he could marvel at it. The manor always captured Jaehyun’s imagination, its beauty and grandeur contrasting profoundly with the three-bedroom brick house he grew up in with his mother.

Jaehyun has never seen a castle, but he doesn’t imagine one could be finer than Greenwich. The manor sits proudly atop a green hill, gothic in style, with spires and turrets pointing towards the sky. It’s an enchanting golden color, Farmer Edwards having told Jaehyun many years ago that the finest stone was used to build such a regal-looking home. With the slowly rising sun shining off the stone, Greenwich Manor glistens, sparkling in the light.

It’s impossible not to feel small looking up at Greenwich, but Jaehyun didn’t come here to gawk. Remembering himself, he follows the path away from the grand main entrance to the back of the manor to the servants’ entrance.

When Jaehyun pushes the door open, any hint of a sleeping Greenwich Manor immediately evaporates.

The kitchen is alive with noise and movement, maids and footmen darting up and down stairs as the servants’ bells ring frantically. Jaehyun can hear the cook shouting from the kitchen, and he knows that breakfast preparations must be well underway. With a sigh of relief, Jaehyun seems to have arrived right on time.

He is about to begin his search for the housekeeper, Mrs. Sara, when he hears a familiar voice cry out, “Jaehyun!”

Turning, Jaehyun is nearly knocked off his feet as he is wrapped into a tight hug. Using his free hand, Jaehyun wraps his arm around his friend’s back, relieved to see him after so long.

“Mark, how good to see you!” Jaehyun exclaims, leaning back. Mark is the valet to the young lord of the manor and Jaehyun’s longtime friend. Like Jaehyun, Mark had grown up in the village, but he worked in a clockmaker’s shop. When he was old enough, his parents managed to secure him a position at Greenwich Manor as a footman. With his charm and good work ethic, Mark had managed to move up at the manor, now working the coveted valet position.

“How have you been?” Jaehyun asks, giving Mark’s arm a friendly squeeze. “I thought you were in Hartford for the season?”

“Oh, I’m doing well, but I came back from Hartford a week ago since I was feeling a bit poorly,” Mark replies. “I’m fine now, so don’t worry about me.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Jaehyun replied earnestly. “Have you seen your family?”

Mark nods. “Managed to make it home last week and stayed with the family for a couple of days. Got to see my brother and his baby. He’s getting so big, Jae, I can’t even really call him a baby anymore. I can barely believe it!”

“I’ve seen them around,” Jaehyun recalls, remembering how surprised he was when he saw several weeks ago how baby Theo certainly wasn’t a baby anymore. “He’s turning into a handsome thing.”

“Taking after his uncle,” Mark brags proudly. “But how are you, mate? How’s Miss Jeong?”
“I’m good,” Jaehyun replies. “Mother is doing so well".

“Glad to hear it,” Mark says with a smile. But then he takes a step forward, eyes quickly darting around to see if anyone around is listening. When Mark is satisfied they’re alone, he says in a whisper, “Look, Jae, you need to know that –”

“Mr. Jeong,” a clear, controlled voice cuts off whatever Mark was going to say. Mark looks away, appearing almost guilty at being caught while Jaehyun’s brows stitch together in confusion. But then he turns to the voice, seeing Mrs. Sara standing in the hallway, eyebrows raised expectantly.

“Will Greenwich Manor have to wait all day for its milk?” she asks. Her voice isn’t harsh, but undeniably authoritative. After all, Mrs. Sara essentially runs Greenwich Manor. She has no time for joking around.

“Apologies, ma’am,” Jaehyun says in an attempt to placate her. “We’re short a farmhand today, but I came here as quickly as I could.”

She nods, seeming to accept his reasoning. “Please drop off the milk in the kitchen and then come to my office. I have a list for Farmer Edwards I would like you to deliver.”

Jaehyun nods, stepping away from Mark and hastily going into the kitchen to deliver the milk to the red-faced cook. When he makes his way into the hall, Mark has disappeared. Jaehyun can’t help the small inkling of worry forming in his chest at what Mark had been about to tell him, but he pushes aside those thoughts.

Mrs. Sara has left open the door to her office, so Jaehyun raps his knuckles against the doorframe to announce his entrance.

“Come in, Mr. Jeong. Take a seat and shut the door behind you,” Mrs. Sara says, hardly looking up from her writing. “I’m just finishing up the list of things we’ll need for the dinner we’re hosting here next week. I want to make sure Farmer Edwards has ample notice so that everything will be available.”

“I’m sure we’ll be able to have everything to you when it’s needed, ma’am,” Jaehyun replies. He knows he isn’t being assumptive – providing the dairy for parties hosted at Greenwich Manor is one of Woodsworth’s most steady sources of income. With even slight notice, Woodsworth is always able to provide everything needed for their lavish parties.

They sit in silence for a moment, the only noise of Mrs. Sara’s pen scratching at the paper and the scurrying of feet in the hall. But then their silence is broken by a rapt knock on the door and Mrs. Sara calling, “Come in.”

The door swings open and a deep voice begins, “Mrs. Sara, do you happen –?”

Jaehyun practically jumps out of his chair at the sound of the voice. His head jerks up, eyes flying to the newcomer.

Lord Johnny Suh stands at the door, frozen on the spot as he returns Jaehyun’s stare. Jaehyun’s breath catches at the sight of the handsome young lord. Lord Suh cuts an imposing figure, tall and refined, even in his loose shirt and vest, with no jacket in sight. He’s not wearing a top hat, freeing his chocolate brown waves to hang loosely around his face. Jaehyun fights down a shudder as the lord’s cozy brown eyes gaze into his, and Jaehyun can’t hold the gaze, has to look away.

“Mr. Jeong,” the lord says, voice sounding deeper than when he spoke only a moment ago.

“Lord Suh,” Jaehyun returns breathlessly. Bravely, he glances back up, seeing that Lord Suh’s gaze is still steadily fixed on him. “I thought you were in Hartford for the season.”

Jaehyun hardly registers Mrs. Sara’s huff at his tactlessness.

“I decided to come home early,” Lord Suh explains, voice slow and mesmerizing. “I found myself missing certain…things…while I was in Hartford.”

Jaehyun nods, glancing back down at his hands. He wrings them together and resists the urge to squirm under the intensity of Lord Suh’s gaze.

“Lord Suh,” Mrs. Sara cuts in. “What was it you were looking for?”

Jaehyun glances up in time to see the lord tear his eyes away from him. No longer under the imposing stare, Jaehyun allows a shiver to course through his body.

“Um,” Lord Suh begins, seeming to have forgotten his purpose in seeking out Mrs. Sara. “Mother sent me to ask if you still have the menus for tomorrow evening. She has received news that an old friend is dropping by rather unexpectedly and wants to make adjustments.”

Mrs. Sara replies that she has them, shuffling through some papers on her desk until she finds them. While Mrs. Sara looks, Jaehyun keeps his eyes fixed on Lord Suh. The lord watches Mrs. Sara, his profile in view. Jaehyun admires the set of his jaw, sharp and prominent. He notices Lord Suh clenching and unclenching his hands at his side, and Jaehyun recklessly wants to reach out and place his hand over the lord’s. Wants to see what would happen if he did.

“Here it is,” Mrs. Sara announces, and Jaehyun drops his gaze.

Lord Suh steps forward, taking the lists from Mrs. Sara. “Thank you, Mrs. Sara,” Lord Suh says, stepping towards the door. “Have a good morning, Mr. Jeong.”

Jaehyun looks up, but the lord isn’t looking at him. “You as well, m’lord,” Jaehyun answers so quietly he doubts Lord Suh heard him.

He sits in silence for a moment, unable to move. He feels his heart hammering in his chest, hands shaking slightly. He isn’t sure how long he sits there until he hears Mrs. Sara say, “Alright, this should be it.” Unsteadily, Jaehyun turns towards Mrs. Sara and sees her holding out the list to him. He takes it, hoping she doesn’t notice his slight tremor. “That has everything we need, so please deliver it to Farmer Edwards accordingly.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jaehyun replies, tucking the list into his pocket and standing up.

“Thank you, Mr. Jeong.” She gives him a cursory glance as he makes his way to the door. “And you may want to have some water before you leave. You look quite pale.”

Jaehyun nods instead of a response and then flees her office.

Instead of following the path towards the village, Jaehyun cuts into the forest. The route is familiar to him, trodden many a time in his youth.

He makes his way blindly through the trees, still a vibrant green despite the rapidly approaching autumn. It’s as if they’re clinging to the final remnants of summer, protesting the slightly cooler temperatures and the crisper breezes.

Jaehyun has been waiting all summer for the leaves to turn red and brown and for the temperatures to drop. While summer usually brings warmth and sunshine, it also takes away other things. Things that Jaehyun desperately wants to keep year-round.

But he pushes those thoughts from his mind, finally sighing with relief when he sees the gazebo come into view.

Buried deep in the forest, the white gazebo has always been his favorite place to hide away. When he was younger and first learning to read, he would bring his books to the gazebo. It’s a part of the Greenwich Manor property, but Jaehyun first stumbled upon it when he was traipsing through the forest as a young boy. Unknowledgeable about property borders, he thought the gazebo was a part of the farm and had believed that this gazebo was built especially for him, hidden away in the trees for his sole use.

Of course, he quickly learned that wasn’t the case when he told his mother about his discovery. She scolded him for going onto the Greenwich Manor property without permission, but even his mother’s lecture didn’t stop him from returning time and time to the gazebo.

Surrounded by pillars and covered with a small roof, the gazebo provides a private respite. Jaehyun steps towards the gazebo, sitting down on the bench in between the pillars. He sags against the wall, breathing deeply and shutting his eyes. He knows he needs to get back to the farm, but he just needs a moment. Just a moment to breathe, and then he’ll return to work.

He’s only barely caught his breath when he hears a rustling in the forest, footsteps crunching against fallen branches.

Jaehyun barely has time to stand up and turn around before the newcomer stands before him at the base of the gazebo.

For the first time in months, Jaehyun breathes easily.

“Johnny.”

His name has barely left Jaehyun’s lips when Lord Johnny Suh has closed the distance between them, bounding up the steps of the gazebo, catching Jaehyun’s face in his hands, and pressing their mouths desperately together.

Jaehyun sags into Johnny’s embrace, hands grappling to touch him everywhere. It’s been months without his touch, without Johnny firm and solid against him, and Jaehyun doesn’t want to let him go. He runs his hands along Johnny’s broad back, feeling the muscles through the thin material of his shirt. Jaehyun’s hands wind their way into Johnny’s hair, twisting into the waves and savoring the soft feeling of them against his fingers.

While Jaehyun touches Johnny everywhere, Johnny holds Jaehyun’s face firmly in place, cupping his jaw as he kisses him hungrily as if he is trying to make up for every day they have spent apart. His mouth is relentless, sucking on Jaehyun’s tongue, claiming it and making him moan. Jaehyun pushes his body even more against Johnny’s, unable to get close enough. Johnny seems to sense what he wants, taking the two steps required to press Jaehyun up against a pillar. Then he presses his body fully against Jaehyun so that he can feel every curve and every nuance of Johnny’s body against his.

“God, I missed you,” Johnny murmurs against Jaehyun’s lips. But he doesn’t give Jaehyun time to respond, immediately reclaiming Jaehyun’s mouth with a hot kiss.

Jaehyun feels like he can barely breathe, too overwhelmed with Johnny filling every one of his senses. But he doesn’t want to move, doesn’t want to break this perfect moment. He would be content to stay here and be kissed like this for the rest of his life.

Eventually, they do break apart, but Johnny presses their foreheads together as they both breathe heavily. They keep a firm grip on one another, unwilling to let the other go after so many months apart.

“I wasn’t expecting you for another week,” Jaehyun manages eventually, voice raspy.

“I must have arrived before my letter,” Johnny explains, voice deep and melodious. “Needed to come home. I missed you too much. Couldn’t wait another week.”

“Thank God,” Jaehyun breathes, closing his eyes for a moment.

Johnny takes that opportunity to kiss him again, slow and gentle this time, a lover’s kiss. Jaehyun sighs contentedly, loving the feel of Johnny’s full lips against his.

“I was so surprised to see you,” Johnny chuckles. “Since I hadn’t heard from you, I was going to send you a message or come by later tonight. Forgot how to function like a normal human the second I saw you.”

“Me too,” Jaehyun agrees, smiling. Then he remembers: “I think Mark was trying to tell me you’d arrived. I think he could tell I didn’t know and wanted to give me a head’s up. But Mrs. Sara interrupted us before he could.”

Johnny laughs. “Good ole Mark, always looking out for us.”

Jaehyun smiles. “Don’t think any warning would have done me any good anyways. Couldn’t believe you were real. Just wanted to kiss you then and there.”

Johnny laughs, breath washing over Jaehyun’s lips. “Can you imagine how shocked Mrs. Sara would have been? I wouldn’t have been able to control myself. Would have laid you out on the desk if we’d been alone.”

Jaehyun shudders, aware of how his and Johnny’s hips are aligned, aware of the hardness pressing against him.

“Would have let you,” Jaehyun murmurs. “So happy to see you again, Johnny, you don’t even know.”

He tips his head up, catching Johnny’s mouth in another sweet kiss. His hands are still locked in Johnny’s hair, and he scratches lightly at his scalp, loving the way Johnny shivers against him.

“Will you come to me tonight?” Johnny breathes against his lips. His voice holds so much hope as if there was any chance Jaehyun could say no.

“Of course, my love,” Jaehyun agrees easily. Cheekily, he presses his hips firmly against Johnny’s, receiving a deep, delicious moan in return. “Have missed you so much. Want to feel you everywhere.”

“Will touch you wherever you wish,” Johnny promises, sealing it with a kiss.

Jaehyun knows he needs to get back to the farm and Johnny to the manor, but he allows himself to savor their stolen moment for a minute or so longer.

“Until tonight,” Johnny whispers against Jaehyun’s mouth, releasing him reluctantly.

Jaehyun looks up at Johnny with wide eyes, nodding.

“Tonight.”

The rest of the day passes in a confusing blur of work and anticipation. Jaehyun goes about his work mechanically, barely conscious of his actions, merely following the routine instilled so deeply inside of him.

He wishes the day would fly by, but the opposite is the case. The hours' drag. Jaehyun finds himself irrationally angry at the sun as it climbs higher and higher in the sky. It mocks him, brightening the world and flooding it with warmth when Jaehyun craves the darkness. He wants the sun to disappear on the horizon, coating the world in a thick layer of the night so that he can retire.

So that he can be with his love.

Growing up, he had always known who Lord Johnny Suh was. He was the young lord only a couple of years older than Jaehyun who would someday inherit Greenwich Manor. The future of their village depended on Johnny and his leadership abilities. The village’s economy functions primarily on dairy farming, creating close alliances between Greenwich Manor and the local farms, such as Woodsworth.

Jaehyun was nineteen and had been working on the farm for several years when Johnny’s father, Lord Robert Suh, Earl of Greenwich, sent him to Woodsworth to gain experience. Since the Earl knew that his son would one day be taking over the estate, he wanted Johnny to understand what life was like for those his decisions would one day affect.

Jaehyun had been indignant when Farmer Edwards had told the farmhands that the young lord would be coming to the farm to work for a month. Jaehyun and the farmhands had a good camaraderie; they didn’t need some stuffy lord to come in and try to tell them how to do their jobs.

But right from the start, Johnny had proven to be the opposite of everything Jaehyun expected. He had been all smiles and clumsy feet, diligently performing any task asked of him. Jaehyun had been shocked to see that Johnny had worked the hardest of all of them, arriving before sunrise and staying long after sunset. He didn’t even go back to the opulence and comfort of Greenwich Manor each night, instead staying in the spare bedroom in the Edwards’ farmhouse.

The other farmhands had taken to Johnny immediately, loving his hard work ethic and positive personality. Johnny had shown genuine interest in their lives and their stories, but Jaehyun wasn’t convinced.

It wasn’t until one evening when Jaehyun had arrived at the barn after a tiresome day in the fields that his mind was changed in regards to the new farmhand.

It was a hot, unforgiving day, and Jaehyun was burnt and exhausted, desperately wanting something cold to drink. He suspected everyone had headed home that day, and Jaehyun would be on his way as soon as he returned his equipment, but then he heard a soft voice coming from the barn.

Instead of making his presence known, Jaehyun had peered in through the open door and was shocked to see Johnny hunched over, milking the cows, and singing as he worked.

If Jaehyun had thought his talking voice was deep – which he hadn’t thought that, of course, because he’d refused to spend any time at all thinking about the aristocrat playing farm, no matter how beautiful he was – then it was nothing compared to how deep his singing voice was. Rich and pure, like honey poured in a cup of tea. Jaehyun had been unable to move, wrapped up in the beautiful sound of Johnny’s voice as he serenaded the cows.

When Johnny finished singing, Jaehyun had barely even registered that he’d lingered too long to be acceptable, but Johnny saw him before he could turn away.

Even in the day’s dying light, Jaehyun could see a flush rising to Johnny’s cheeks.

“You sing to the cows?” Jaehyun had asked, shocked.

Impossibly, Johnny’s cheeks turned a darker shade of red. “Um, yes?” he admits, looking like he’d been caught trying to steal the cows rather than serenade them. “They seem to like it, so I just sing to them, to calm them down. I feel so invasive sometimes, trying to milk them, so I just want to reassure them. Let them know that I, uh, am their friend and don’t want to hurt them. I know it’s odd, but –”

“It’s lovely,” Jaehyun cut off Johnny’s rambling. Now it was Jaehyun’s turn to blush as he realized his confession. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. “You have a beautiful voice.”

Johnny smiled shyly, shuffling his feet against the straw. “Not as beautiful as I am sure yours would be. If you ever decided to sing to the cows, I mean.”

Jaehyun grinned, delighted at seeing the regal lord so flushed and embarrassed. It was undeniably charming. “Maybe we could sing to them together sometime?” Jaehyun had suggested.

Johnny’s smile had been breathtaking, and Jaehyun knew that every thought he’d ever had about the young lord had been completely false.

After Jaehyun discovered how wrong his misconceptions were, it took him no time at all to fall into Johnny. They became inseparable, always working together around the farm, milking the cows side by side so that they could sing duets. Johnny was always telling long, rambling stories, but they always made Jaehyun laugh, and he delighted in trying to make Johnny’s cheeks turn different shades of pink whenever he teased him.

But as quickly as they fell into each other, Johnny’s time at the farm passed even more quickly. They only had a few days left when Jaehyun realized he didn’t want Johnny to leave, and not just because he would be picking up a bit of extra work when he did. He didn’t want Johnny to leave because he would miss having him around every day. He’d miss Johnny’s laugh and his stories and his long legs and his singing voice. He’d miss the way Johnny would casually touch his hand sometimes, warm fingertips lingering on his skin. He’d miss the way he’d catch Johnny staring sometimes, dark and intense, and how his belly would always fill with a mixture of butterflies and heat when he did.

He’d miss Johnny because he knew he was falling in love with him.

And Jaehyun knew he was being ridiculous. At Johnny’s farewell dinner, he felt his eyes welling up with tears every time he even so much looked at the young lord. Jaehyun knew Johnny wasn’t going far, that he was only returning to his home which was only on the other side of the forest, barely a ten-minute walk.

But Johnny and Jaehyun had lived in the same village for every one of Johnny’s twenty-something years, and their paths had never crossed before. Jaehyun had seen him occasionally, sometimes at church or walking down the village high street, but he’d always been distant, untouchable. He never dreamed of having Johnny like this, close and real. Not some aristocratic lord, but Johnny. Just Johnny. Jaehyun was so afraid that he’d lose that the second Johnny left Woodsworth. He was so afraid they would become lord and farmer once again. That they would lose what made them Johnny and Jaehyun.

At the end of the dinner, Johnny collected his belongings and began making his way back to Greenwich. Since Jaehyun’s house was on the way, the two had walked together.

They had walked in silence, standing far enough apart that their shoulders hadn’t even brushed. The whole walk, Jaehyun had been biting his lip sharply, trying to keep the tears from spilling over. He dragged his feet through the dirt, hoping to prolong their journey for as long as possible.

No matter how hard Jaehyun had tried though, he and Johnny eventually made it to the edge of the property.

Jaehyun had stood at his front door, knowing he needed to go inside but not able to make the movements. Johnny stood awkwardly by him, satchel dropped to the ground as soon as they’d stopped.

Jaehyun didn’t know what to say, but he knew he needed to say something. Wetly, he began, “Johnny, I –”

But Johnny never let him finish his thought. Before the words were even out of Jaehyun’s mouth, Johnny had swallowed them. He backed Jaehyun up against the door, pressing their bodies together and kissing him tenderly.

For a moment, Jaehyun was frozen, unable to reciprocate. All he could feel were Johnny’s lips moving against his slack mouth, and Johnny’s hands fisted tightly in his hair.

But when Johnny bit down gently on Jaehyun’s bottom lip, it was like all life surged back through his body. Jaehyun had kissed back just as desperately as Johnny, arms wrapped tight around him and lips sharing every feeling Jaehyun has kept locked up for the past month.

“I’m in love with you,” Johnny had whispered against Jaehyun’s mouth. “I love you, and I just can’t leave you.”

“Don’t,” Jaehyun whispered back, pulling Johnny closer. “Stay, Johnny. I love you, too. I love you so much –”

That night, Johnny stayed with Jaehyun. They collapsed into bed together, kissing and touching and making love like they had both been dreaming about. And when the sun rose, Johnny stayed. And he told Jaehyun how much he loved him. How it only took him a month to fall in love, and how that should scare him, but it didn’t, because he knew. He just knew Jaehyun was it for him.

And Jaehyun shared the same feelings. He ran his fingers through Johnny’s hair like he had been imagining, feeling the waves that were even silkier and softer than he imagined. He told Johnny that he loved him and that the thought of him leaving had hurt him so much. That he didn’t want to go back to being strangers, divided by class and privilege. He wanted to love and be loved, but only with Johnny.

Johnny had promised him his love, but when he left the next morning, Jaehyun was still afraid. Afraid that they were hollow words to get into his bed, even though he was confident that Johnny would never do that to him.

It was only when Johnny came back, telling him that he told his parents he was staying at a friend’s in the adjacent village so that he could stay with Jaehyun for a couple of nights, that Jaehyun fully believed him. Johnny had stayed, and Jaehyun never wanted him to leave.

Despite falling in love quickly, the true test of their relationship has been the endurance of time.

Ever since that first night together, their relationship has been a secret. Neither one has ever told a soul, outside of each other, who their heart belongs to.

For both of them, their relationship is outside of the bounds of what is acceptable for their social standings. While their relationship is advantageous for Jaehyun, it is socially disastrous for Johnny. And even though the Earl had desired Johnny to experience life as a farmer, he would never want his son to become one. The Earl expected his son to marry someone of his class, a lord or lady from a neighboring estate, who would add to the family’s wealth and security.

It was early in their relationship when Johnny told Jaehyun this, breaking his heart with the secrecy, but understanding nonetheless.

“I come into my inheritance when I am twenty-five,” a then twenty-two-year-old Johnny had confided. “Then I will have enough money to provide for you. To love for you and care for you.” He’d closed his eyes, squeezing Jaehyun’s hand tightly. “To marry you. I want to give you that, and I know it’s a few years away, but I will wait for you. Will you wait for me?”

With Johnny warm and solid in his arms and promises of love on his lips, Jaehyun’s answer was never anything but yes.

And now Jaehyun is twenty-two and Johnny is twenty-four, and they have loved each other and kept their secret every day since.

But just as the sun fades on a warm day in August, so the sun fades on their time as a secret. Johnny turns twenty-five in just a manner of months, and then they will be married. It’s something Jaehyun has dreamed of since he was nineteen years old when he met Johnny.

Finally, the day’s work is done.

Jaehyun calls his farewell to the other farmhands after dinner at the farmhouse, amazed that none of them remarked on his inability to focus all day long.

He hurries off to his home, the sky rapidly darkening. He moved into the one-room house at the edge of Woodsworth Farm when he was eighteen years old. Since his mother lives just up the road in the village, Jaehyun still spends the majority of his free time with her, especially in the past few months while Johnny has been in Hartford. He adores his mother as his best friend. Even though he likes having his own house, the house with his mother is home.

When he makes his way inside, he struggles for a moment to decide what to do. He knows he needs to wait a couple of more hours before going to Johnny, but he’s at a loss as to how to pass the time. He could read like he usually does in the evenings, but Jaehyun knows he couldn’t focus right now.

As he changes out of his work clothes, wiping mud off his trousers, he has an idea.

Despite the late summer heat, Jaehyun lights a fire in the fireplace and then makes several trips to the well to fill up a massive pot to boil. Once the water is heated, Jaehyun pours it into his bathing basin, the water steaming pleasurably.

Jaehyun discards his clothes on the floor, sinking into the hot water with a satisfied sigh. Immediately, he feels the tension from the day seeps out of his body. He’s felt jumpy all day with anticipation, but now he just relaxes. He’ll see Johnny very soon, and he’s going to make himself feel nice in the meantime.

He washes his body thoroughly, using his best-smelling soaps to freshen up his skin.
He dresses in a clean set of clothes. He doesn’t own much outside of work clothes, but he picks a soft plaid shirt he hasn’t worn in a while so it doesn’t smell like sweat and cows.

When he finishes dressing, Jaehyun knows the sun has set enough to go see Johnny. Jaehyun’s heart leaps at the thought. For the first time since Johnny left for Hartford in April, he’s going to get to spend the night with the love of his life.

Jaehyun can hardly keep the spring out of his step as he makes his way through the forest to Greenwich Manor. It’s dark, but he knows the paths so well that he doesn’t need the light. It’s as if he can see Johnny’s light shining from the manor, and he follows that.

When Greenwich Manor comes into view, Jaehyun doesn’t head for either the main or the servants’ entrance. Instead, he goes along to the door connected to Johnny’s study. Sneaking Jaehyun into Greenwich is something they have done so many times that they have it down to an art. Jaehyun knocks three times against the doorframe and waits.

It’s only a few moments later that the door opens and Jaehyun sees a familiar face poking out.

“Glad you came, mate,” Mark chuckles. “Johnny was starting to get worried.”

“As if I wouldn’t come,” Jaehyun mutters in disbelief as he slips inside. The study is dark except for small candle lit by the sofa. Jaehyun knows that Mark was using it to read while he waited for Jaehyun’s arrival. He’s such a faithful friend, acting as a liaison between Johnny and Jaehyun when they’re apart. Jaehyun knows that he would see Johnny half as much as he does if they didn’t have Mark’s help.

“This is what I was trying to tell you this morning,” Mark says quietly, leading Jaehyun through the study. A spiral staircase sits in the corner of the room, leading to the library on the second floor. They wind their way up the stairs as Mark continues. “Johnny just got back last night, and the moment he was back he asked me if I had any word from you. He was so anxious to see you; I was surprised he didn’t go straight to your house as soon as he returned home.”

Jaehyun smiles to hear how much Johnny has missed him. “Thanks for taking care of him while you were away,” Jaehyun says as they walk through the library, arriving at the door on the other side of the room.

“Of course,” Mark laughs, giving Jaehyun a quick hug. “Now come on, let’s get you back to your boy.”

Jaehyun smiles, his heart skipping at the thought.

Then, Mark pokes his head through the door into the corridor, checking that the coast is clear. Jaehyun stays hidden behind the door until Mark gives him the all-clear. They step out into the corridor together and walk to the very next door: Johnny’s room.

As Jaehyun pauses in front of Johnny’s door, Mark keeps walking, throwing Jaehyun a cheeky smile over his shoulder. When Mark rounds the corner, Jaehyun raises his fist and knocks.

Almost immediately, the door flies open.

Johnny stands before him, looking breathtaking. His entire face lights up as he gazes at Jaehyun, and Jaehyun knows his face mirrors a similar expression.

“Hi,” Johnny breathes.

“Hi,” Jaehyun returns, feeling almost shy.

They stand for just another moment, gazing at each other in awe before Johnny finally says, “Come here.”

And that’s all Jaehyun needs.

He quickly steps into the room, Johnny kicking the door shut and immediately taking Jaehyun into his arms. Unlike this morning when they crashed together, now they just hold one another, kissing slowly, gently, reacquainting themselves with the other. Each kiss is familiar but fraught with intensity and passion. Johnny takes his time licking into Jaehyun’s mouth, tracing every wet corner and making Jaehyun’s knees weak. He slumps into Johnny’s firm chest, letting Johnny’s strong arms hold them both up. Johnny keeps one hand on Jaehyun’s jaw, cradling his face delicately, holding him just right so that Johnny can kiss him the way they both love.

“I love you,” Johnny whispers. “I missed you so much.”

“I love you, too,” Jaehyun slurs, finding it difficult to speak when Johnny keeps pressing scorching kisses to his lips. “So happy you’re back.”

“Me too,” Johnny agrees before reaching down and picking Jaehyun up. Jaehyun breaks the kiss to giggle delightedly, hooking his legs around Johnny’s waist. Johnny attaches his lips to Jaehyun’s neck, biting and sucking at the skin, making it sting. The laughter dies on Jaehyun’s lips and is replaced with a gentle moan as Johnny begins walking them towards the bed.

When he’s finished sucking a bruise into the skin, Johnny carefully lays Jaehyun down on the bed, hands running down his thighs.

Jaehyun blinks up at his lover, breathless. Johnny has always been so beautiful to him, but at this moment, Jaehyun thinks he has never been so breathtaking. Each day that they have been apart, Jaehyun has thought about Johnny’s beauty and how it feels to touch him. No fantasy Jaehyun could ever dream comes close to seeing Johnny in person. He is so beautiful – his skin pearly, his hair wild, and his eyes dark with desire and want.

Johnny leans down to place a kiss on his mouth, Jaehyun’s back arching off the bed as he tries to close the distance between their bodies.

“So beautiful,” Johnny murmurs. “Been dreaming about touching you again since the moment I left.”

Jaehyun whines, hands fisting in Johnny’s shirt. “Touched myself every night and came with your name on my lips.”

Johnny moans at that, crashing their lips back together. The sweetness of only a moment ago is gone; now Johnny kisses him with unadulterated desire, licking into Jaehyun’s mouth possessively.

They kiss for a long, heated moment before Jaehyun starts clawing at Johnny’s shirt, uncaring if it rips in his desperation to undress him.

Johnny chuckles at his eagerness, removing his hands from Jaehyun’s thighs to start undoing his buttons. He continues to kiss Jaehyun as he works, Jaehyun’s hands trailing after his to touch the newly exposed, warm skin. Jaehyun presses his palm firmly against Johnny’s chest to feel the steady beat of his heart. Each beat is a reassurance that this isn’t just another one of Jaehyun’s dreams; that Johnny is here and real above him.

Johnny breaks the kiss as he shrugs off his shirt and begins undoing his trousers. Jaehyun licks his lips instinctively as his trousers fall to the floor, cock exposed, hard, and leaking against his belly.

“Missed you,” Jaehyun murmurs, fingers twitching to reach out and touch.

Johnny laughs quietly as he leans down to begin working on Jaehyun’s clothes. “We missed you too.”

Jaehyun smiles, sighing happily as Johnny helps Jaehyun out of his shirt and trousers. When his clothes are discarded on the floor, the laughter dies on his lips. Johnny places his knees on either side of Jaehyun’s body, palms planted firmly next to Jaehyun’s head. He’s so close, but Johnny keeps his body elevated so that they aren’t touching.

Both of them are finally together and naked, and it’s been four months.

“Johnny,” Jaehyun whispers, hands reaching up to spread across Johnny’s back. “Touch me.”

Jaehyun’s words cut the strings holding Johnny back, and he presses his body against Jaehyun while capturing his mouth in a hot, heady kiss.

Jaehyun opens up immediately to Johnny, tongues clashing together, all wet heat and need. Johnny’s taste overwhelms his senses, sweet like strawberries dipped in honey. His lips are plush and full, dominant yet affectionate as each kiss tells how they’ve missed each other, how they’ve longed for this moment of glorious reunion.

Jaehyun lightly scrapes his nails up and down Johnny’s back, feeling him shiver above him. He touches every inch of skin he can reach, solid and warm and smooth. His hands drift from Johnny’s lower back to his groin, pausing only a moment before running his knuckles down the length of Johnny’s cock.

Johnny pulls away from Jaehyun’s mouth with a sharp gasp, hips thrusting down against Jaehyun’s groin. Both men moan as their cocks rub together with delicious friction. Jaehyun takes Johnny firmly in his hand, stroking lightly as Johnny breathes heavily against his neck.

“Feels indescribable, my love,” Johnny murmurs, placing open-mouthed kisses on Jaehyun’s neck and collarbones. “I’ve been thinking so much about your hands and how they feel around my cock. So perfect.”

Jaehyun moans as Johnny begins to suck a series of bruises across his chest. He flicks his wrist steadily, thumbing the tip of his cock to spread the budding moisture, making the slide easier.

On one harsh tug, Johnny bites Jaehyun’s chest roughly, moaning into the skin. “If you keep this up, I’m going to come. And I want to come inside you.”

Jaehyun gives Johnny’s cock one more tug before his hand falls away, panting, “Yes, Johnny, want that. Want it so much.”

“Want to give you everything,” Johnny whispers against Jaehyun’s skin, a promise just between them.

With one last kiss on Jaehyun’s lips, Johnny leans over to the bedside table, fumbling only for a moment before returning with a pot of oil. Jaehyun runs his hands up and down Johnny’s chest, loving the way his hands, darkened from hours spent in the sun, contrast against Johnny’s skin. Skin that the sun never kisses. Only Jaehyun has that privilege.

Johnny dips down to kiss Jaehyun again, mouth trailing down his neck to his chest, from his chest to his belly. Johnny bites at the soft skin there, scraping his teeth so that Jaehyun’s stomach muscles flutter. He mouths wetly down to Jaehyun’s cock, flushed and dripping.

Johnny noses at the base, causing Jaehyun’s cock to twitch against his cheek. When Johnny glances up, eyes locking on Jaehyun’, all the air leaves Jaehyun’s body. He is stunning, eyes wide and red lips swollen, bitten.

Then Johnny’s pink tongue darts out, tracing the length of Jaehyun’s cock root to tip. Jaehyun shudders at the sweet pressure, Johnny running his tongue up and down, but never taking it fully in his mouth.

“Johnny,” Jaehyun gasps, hands clutching the sheets. “Don’t tease. Want your fingers too please, I’ve waited so long –”

“Sh, darling,” Johnny replies, pressing a kiss to the head of Jaehyun’s cock before pulling away. “Will give you whatever you want.”

Jaehyun sighs in relief as he hears Johnny opening the pot of oil, watching as he slicks up his fingers.

Jaehyun’s legs fall open in anticipation, and Johnny takes a sharp breath at the sight of Jaehyun so needy and desperate beneath him.

Once his fingers are slick, Johnny traces them along the seam of Jaehyun’s ass, trailing lightly over his hole but never placing any pressure on it. Jaehyun whines, spreading his legs wider as Johnny begins fondling his balls in his other hand.

A plea is on Jaehyun’s lips, about to burst forth when Johnny finally presses his first finger in. The plea dies, replaced with a deep, relieved moan.

“Johnny,” Jaehyun gasps as Johnny’s finger pumps in and out of him, thick and skillful.

Jaehyun can’t help the breathy grunts that fall from his lips as Johnny adds another finger, stretching him perfectly. His fingers never feel this good, always cramping from the awkward angle and not long enough to find his spot, to bring him that sweet pleasure that he craves.

As if reading Jaehyun’s mind, Johnny presses his fingers against Jaehyun’s prostate, making Jaehyun cry out and his back arch gracefully off the bed.

“Beautiful,” Johnny murmurs through the cadence of Jaehyun’s moans. “You’re so beautiful, Jaehyun. God.”

“Another,” Jaehyun gasps, voice high and breathless. “More, Johnny –”

A third finger nudges against his rim for only a moment before sinking into the tight heat of Jaehyun’s body. Johnny scissors his fingers expertly, rubbing teasingly against Jaehyun’s prostate and filling him perfectly.

“M’ready,” Jaehyun slurs, tongue heavy and head dizzy just from Johnny’s fingers in all the right places. “Please, want your cock.”

Johnny grunts, pressing firmly against Jaehyun’s prostate one more time and making him cry out before withdrawing his fingers completely.

Jaehyun whines instinctively at the loss, hole clenching around nothing, already aching to be filled again. Johnny leans over him, reaching to his table and digging around again.

“Fuck,” Johnny swears after a moment. “Shit.”

“What?” Jaehyun asks, eyes fluttering open to catch Johnny’s pinched expression. “What is it?”

“Fuck, Jae, I’m so sorry. But I forgot,” Johnny sighs heavily. “The trunk with my condoms hasn’t arrived yet. I specially ordered new ones while in Hartford, and foolishly forgot to pack them in my bag I took with me on the train.”

“Don’t care,” Jaehyun says recklessly, winding his arms around Johnny’s back and pulling him down. “It should be fine. I just had my monthly, and I don’t care. Just want you. Wanna feel you inside me.”

“Yeah?” Johnny asks, slight hesitancy in his voice.

To prove he’s serious, Jaehyun leans up to kiss Johnny’s puffy lips while simultaneously reaching a hand down to take hold of Johnny’s cock.

“Fuck me,” Jaehyun whispers against Johnny’s mouth, a breath of air shared between them.

“Yeah,” Johnny exhales, pressing one more kiss to Jaehyun’s mouth before crawling down his body. Jaehyun wraps his legs around Johnny’s waist, holding him secure.

When Johnny finally presses in, it’s four months of lonely nights, nothing but the stars and his books to keep him company, forgotten. It’s a fulfillment of the promise Johnny made to Jaehyun the night before he left for town, whispering as he made Jaehyun come time and time again, “I will be back for you, my love. I will always come back.” It’s fireworks brightening up the night sky as Jaehyun feels the man he loves surrounding him, holding him and loving him and making him feel cherished. Making him feel adored.

“Jaehyun,” Johnny moans as he bottoms out. “Fuck, you feel so amazing, darling. Don’t think I’m going to last.”

“Me either,” Jaehyun attempts to laugh. It’s been four months of solitary orgasms, coming from his fingers and hand but wishing and dreaming that they were Johnny’s. Now that he finally has this beautiful man back, settled snugly inside of him, Jaehyun knows it won’t take much.

When Johnny begins rocking his hips, he does so slowly. Jaehyun reaches up to tangle their fingers together, resting them against his chest as Johnny moves, careful and deliberate. Gradually, Johnny builds up a pace, thrusting shallowly before building to long, dragging thrusts that lets Jaehyun feel every inch of Johnny’s perfect cock.

Each thrust punches little, breathy uh-uh-uhs out of Jaehyun, his belly heating, orgasm building.

“Johnny,” he gasps, struggling to swallow down enough air. His voice sounds distant, even to his ears.

“So perfect, my love,” Johnny grunts, changing the angle slightly so that he slams into Jaehyun’s prostate. Jaehyun cries out, squeezing Johnny’s hands in a white-knuckled grip. “Are you going to come for me? You’re so beautiful when you come, and I just – I want to see it. Been dreaming about it. Let me see you, Jaehyun, my beautiful Jaehyun –”

One more thrust against Jaehyun’s prostate and he does as Johnny asks, back arching and breathless moans falling from his lips as he comes untouched all over his stomach. He squeezes his eyes shut as the waves of pleasure wash over him, holding Johnny’s hands tightly as he feels his lover rock against him before following him over the edge.

Johnny spills inside of him, making Jaehyun feel full and warm, wet and content. Johnny collapses against him, mouths blindly seeking each other for a tender kiss. They breathe heavily against one another, lips grazing and hands touching as they slowly come down together.

Jaehyun feels deep, sated contentment born from a mixture of the most satisfying orgasm he’s had in months and having his lover hold him once again, pressing sweet kisses to his mouth and whispering words of love into his ear.

Johnny leaves him only for a moment to wet cloth to clean them both off. He wipes the come off Jaehyun’s belly and the bit that’s trickled out from his hole and down his legs.

He sighs happily as Johnny drops the cloth to the ground and returns to bed, lying beside him so that they are facing one another.

“Hi,” Jaehyun giggles, reaching out to rest a hand against Johnny’s cheek.

Johnny turns his head slightly to kiss Jaehyun’s palm. “Hi.” He closes his eyes for a moment, nuzzling into the touch. “I don’t know if I mentioned it, but I did miss you.”

Jaehyun smiles, rubbing his thumb along Johnny’s cheekbone, making him sigh contentedly. “Think you did. But I missed you more.”

“Not possible,” Johnny whispers, kissing Jaehyun’s palm once more before turning back to him, eyes brown and bright.

They gaze at one another silently for several moments, touching softly and breathing each other in. When Jaehyun yawns against Johnny’s chest, Johnny chuckles.

“Time for some rest, darling,” he suggests.

“No, I want to stay awake and talk,” Jaehyun protests around another traitorous yawn. “I want to hear about Hartford.”

“Grey and miserable and most importantly, Jaehyun-less,” is Johnny’s simple answer.

Jaehyun scowls, but Johnny just laughs. “I will tell you everything tomorrow,” Johnny promises. “It’ll be Saturday, so I was hoping you could stay for the weekend?” His eyes are wide and hopeful.

“I hadn’t even realized tomorrow was Saturday,” Jaehyun answers honestly. He won’t be expected to work on the farm again until Monday, leaving him two full days free. “Of course, I’ll stay.” He nuzzles into Johnny’s chest, excited by the prospect of uninterrupted time with Johnny after so many months apart. “Wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else.”

“I was hoping you would say that,” Johnny murmurs.

The last thing Jaehyun feels before falling asleep is a kiss against his forehead and the gentle cadence of his lover breathing beneath him.

Jaehyun wakes up to the feeling of warm hands running down his tummy and even warmer lips against his neck.

He shifts instinctually into Johnny’s touch, arching his neck and pressing into Johnny’s solid hand at his waist.

“Good morning, Jae,” Johnny murmurs into the skin. “You look so beautiful when you sleep.” He presses light kisses along the juncture of Jaehyun’s neck and shoulder. “I was good and kept my hands to myself for so long, but I thought I was going to die if I didn’t touch you.”

“You held me all night,” Jaehyun argues weakly, his voice gruff with sleep. Despite his protest, he smiles at the feeling of Johnny pressed up against him, touching him with his mouth and hands. “You were touching me then.”

Johnny hums into Jaehyun’s skin, mouth opening so that his tongue can trace gentle patterns. “It’s true, but I wanted to touch you here.”

The hand resting on Jaehyun’s hip slides down to lightly fist his cock, already perking up from the morning and holding Johnny so close all night long.

A deep moan escapes Jaehyun’s lips, raw and uninhibited from the early hour. His back arches, pressing his arse firmly into Johnny’s groin where he can feel his hardness rubbing wetly over his smooth skin.

“Yes, Johnny, touch me,” Jaehyun sighs, melting into the pillows as Johnny pulls them flush together with one hand and begins tugging his cock determinedly with the other.

When Jaehyun comes, he’s rocking himself back and forth, up into Johnny’s fist and back against his cock, grinding against it to feel it slip between his cheeks, wet and hard and perfect.

They kiss lazily as they come down from their orgasms, holding one another close as their legs tangled in the sheets.

“Never going to leave this bed again,” Johnny murmurs in between kisses. “Couldn’t possibly want to.”

“Never again,” Jaehyun sighs happily, leaning against the pillows and running a hand through Johnny’s errant waves.

“Glad that’s decided,” Johnny smiles. He gives Jaehyun one final kiss before pulling away and resting against his pillows.

“Tell me about Hartford,” Jaehyun asks, taking Johnny’s hand in his and tracing slow circles into the skin. “I want to hear everything. How was the city? ”

“The season was quite dull if I’m honest,” Johnny begins. When Jaehyun quirks an eyebrow, Johnny laughs. “And I’m not just saying that because I missed you, although maybe that’s a part of it. Just in general though, the people and the parties and everything was just so uninteresting. I usually love the city, but it felt tedious to me this year.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Jaehyun replies. “I don’t like to hear that you didn’t enjoy yourself.”

Johnny shrugs. “It’s not your fault, and there was nothing to be done regardless.”

“What?” Jaehyun asks, laughing lightly as he takes in Johnny’s hesitant expression. His brow creases as Johnny chews his lip. “What happened?”

“Um, well see, I, um, well, I practically begged Taeil to come with me to Duchess Hazelton’s party because, well…” Johnny trails off, sighing deeply. He squeezes Jaehyun’s hands tightly and presses a kiss to the knuckles. “Mother wanted me to meet Duchess Hazelton’s daughter. They were quite convinced we would be an instant match, and I, well, I wanted to avoid that awkwardness.”

Without his consent, jealousy twinges through Jaehyun at Johnny’s words.

After three years, Jaehyun would expect to be used to the Countess constantly setting Johnny up with young, eligible lords and ladies. Johnny is attractive, intelligent, and wealthy – it would be foolish to think that he wouldn’t catch the eye of many others.

But Jaehyun can’t help feeling envious. Jaehyun wants more than anything in the world to lay public claim on Johnny. To not have to hide their love for one another in darkened rooms and through whispered words. Jaehyun feels jealousy toward everyone who can spend time with Johnny publicly. To court him and speak with him and laugh at his jokes. When Jaehyun sees Johnny in public, he must turn his face so as not to reveal the depth of his emotions.

Jaehyun is aware of his jealous nature, and more importantly, so is Johnny. They talk about it frequently –Johnny constantly in his reassurances that Jaehyun is the only one for him, while not keeping it from him when the Countess tries to set Johnny up with other people. Jaehyun appreciates Johnny’s honesty, and he returns it as well, letting Johnny know whenever he’s feeling a bit envious.

Despite their openness, Jaehyun does keep one fear to himself, a fear that only rears its ugly head when Jaehyun is feeling the most insecure or when he hasn’t seen Johnny in ages. And that’s the fear that one day one of the lords or ladies will capture Johnny’s heart for themselves. That Johnny will grow tired of keeping Jaehyun a secret and will cast him aside, picking someone else. Someone with better prospects. Someone with a title. Someone he doesn’t have to hide.

“And how was it?” Jaehyun asks, trying to keep his voice light, but knowing Johnny will hear the anxiousness in the question.

“Mother was wrong, of course,” Johnny replies simply, giving Jaehyun’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “I was too busy thinking about you all evening.”

Jaehyun smiles, blushing slightly at Johnny’s words.

“But,” Johnny begins slowly, and Jaehyun’s eyes fly to his, the single word dispelling his momentary sense of reassurance.

“But what?” Jaehyun asks a thread of hurt in his voice.

“Nothing horrible, I promise you,” Johnny explains in a rush. “It’s just that mother invited the duchess and her daughter to Greenwich. Mother thought we didn’t get a chance to spend any time together at the party because I was so preoccupied with spending time with Taeil. Mother didn’t realize it was me avoiding Lady Hazelton; she thought I was just trying to catch up with Taeil since I hadn’t seen him in ages. But, because of that, Mother invited them to spend the week with us and they’re arriving tonight.”

Jaehyun pauses, leaning away from Johnny and pulling his hand from his grasp. “But you said last night we could spend the weekend together? You said I could stay all weekend.”

“You can,” Johnny insists, reclaiming Jaehyun’s hand. “I will have to receive them and attend dinner tonight, but I will make the needed excuses to limit that time as much as possible.” When Jaehyun gives him an unconvinced look, Johnny sighs, leaning forward and reaching up to cup Jaehyun’s cheek. “I am yours. Don’t ever doubt it.”

“I don’t doubt it; I am just tired of the charade,” Jaehyun confesses quietly. “I’m tired of watching all these people try to claim you. I want to be yours. Publicly yours. And for you to be publicly mine.”

“I know,” Johnny replies, voice equally quiet. “It has pained me so that we have had to conceal our love for one another, but that will be all over soon.”

Jaehyun smiles at Johnny’s words, leaning into his touch. “Tell me again.”

Smiling, Johnny takes Jaehyun into his arms. Pressing gentle kisses to his face, Johnny murmurs, “In six months, I will have my twenty-five birthday. On that day, my portion of the inheritance will become legally mine. And I plan that very day to announce to my family that I have found love.” Johnny chuckles as he runs his lips lightly along Jaehyun’s cheekbone. “That I found love when I was twenty-one years old, and that I have loved and been loved every day since.” Kisses to his jawline, nipping Jaehyun’s earlobe. “With the most beautiful, kindhearted, strongest man I have ever met. And since I will have my inheritance, it does not matter what my family thinks.” Johnny pauses, only for a moment. “Well, what my father thinks. I know Mother will love you, because I love you and because you make me so happy.”

“You make me so happy, too,” Jaehyun sighs as Johnny continues to kiss his neck.

“I am so pleased to hear it, my love. When I have my portion of my inheritance, I will be financially secure and able to provide for you. If you still desire, you can move to Greenwich–”

“Yes, I still desire it,” Jaehyun cuts in, smiling fondly at Johnny.

It’s something they’ve talked about countless times. Johnny insists that when they marry, he doesn’t want to take Jaehyun away from everything he’s ever known: moving to Greenwich is not the assumption. Johnny would just as happily move to Jaehyun’s house at the edge of Woodsworth Farm if that’s what he wanted.

And Jaehyun knows that Johnny means it. But he loves Johnny, and he doesn’t want him to give up his titles, his inheritance, and his home just so they can be together.

Jaehyun wants to move to Greenwich to be with Johnny, to help him run his estate and build a family. He’s not sure how easily he will transition into the life of a lord after milking cows his whole life, which is why they came up with a solution a couple of years ago.

When they marry and Jaehyun moves to Greenwich, Jaehyun will help Johnny oversee the grounds. When Johnny turns twenty-five, he will take over the running of the estate. Johnny will manage the business aspect, while Jaehyun will assist with the grounds maintenance. His work will keep him outside and surrounded by animals, which is how he has worked his whole life. Having a job that Jaehyun will be comfortable doing will make the transition to Greenwichthat much easier. It will give Jaehyun a purpose.

Johnny smiles at Jaehyun’s insistence, continuing, “You will move to Greenwich and we will be married. I want to use my inheritance to provide for you, and God willing, our eventual family. We will run the estate together, side by side, as husbands.”

Johnny pauses, his lips hovering at the corner of Jaehyun’s mouth. “I love you, Jaehyun, and my soul has been yours ever since we met. I swear to you that I will always love you, and nothing, not money or titles or family or reputation, could cease my heart beating for you and only you.”

Overwhelmed, Jaehyun’s eyes slip shut, a hand reaching up to touch Johnny’s cheek.

“Kiss me,” he murmurs.

As their lips touch, each kiss is filled with the promise of love and devotion, greater than all the external troubles hovering right outside the bedroom door.

When Jaehyun wakes up again, there is a tray of food resting at the foot of the bed. Johnny is propped against a mountain of pillows, book in hand as he munches on an apple.

As soon as Jaehyun stirs, Johnny discards the book and apple onto the duvet and leans down to press a kiss to his forehead. “Good afternoon, sweetheart. Mark has brought us some food and I sent a message to Mother that I wouldn’t be down until later today. Eat; you need your strength.”

“Wonder what could have drained me so thoroughly,” Jaehyun teases, stretching as he sits up. “Or maybe the better question is who?”

Johnny laughs as he hands Jaehyun a small plate of fruit and sandwiches. “I’m not even going to pretend that making love to you all day and all night isn’t exactly how I want to spend my time. Don’t care if it exhausts us.”

Jaehyun chuckles as he picks up a strawberry. His body does feel sore – which isn’t in itself unusual – but it’s a different kind of sore from long days spent working on the farm. Particularly, there is a pleasant ache in his bum, stretched and sore yet satisfied, that he associates only with Johnny and not at all with farming.

As they eat, Johnny asks, “Tell me about your summer. I read every letter you sent until I had them memorized, but I still want to hear from your mouth.”

Jaehyun smiles around a mouthful of berries. “Well,” he begins. “It was a really good summer at the farm. Edwards purchased two new cows, so we have a much higher supply of milk that we’re able to sell.”

“That’s wonderful,” Johnny exclaims. “I’m glad to hear the farm is doing so well.”

“Of course, you’re glad the farm is doing well – you’re the landlord.”

Johnny pinches Jaehyun’s side, causing him to let out an embarrassing squeak. “You know I don’t mean it like that. I’m glad your work is going well. I know how difficult it is for you when the farm struggles.”

Jaehyun nods. “It’s true, but we didn’t have much trouble this summer which is always a blessing.”

“You said in your letters you’ve been working on some writing?”

“Yes,” Jaehyun affirms, blushing only slightly. “It’s nothing of much note, but I find joy in it. Peace.”

“Your writing is beautiful,” Johnny interjects. “Everything I’ve ever read of yours has been so inspiring, so genuine. It should be in the best literary magazines in New England.”

“I don’t know about that,” Jaehyun dismisses, always embarrassed by how much Johnny adores his writing. “But I was able to write a lot during the summer months, and I’m quite proud of what I’ve finished.”

“Can’t wait to read it. Everything you write always makes me cry; it’s so beautiful.”

Jaehyun chuckles. “Play your cards right and maybe I’ll let you.”

Johnny smiles, mumbling, “I’ll hold you to it,” before changing the subject. “How about your mother?

“She’s very well,” Jaehyun replies.

Jaehyun smiles fondly, and not for the first time, feels a pang in his heart that he wishes Johnny could know his mother. Johnny already loves her simply because of how much Jaehyun loves her, but he can’t wait for the day when she will be able to love Johnny in return.

“She’s going to adore you,” Jaehyun promises. “I can’t wait to properly introduce you.”

“That makes two of us. But I’m so glad you’ve been spending so much time with her while I was away.”

Jaehyun nods. “I always love every moment I can get with her.” He smiles up at Johnny before leaning up to kiss the corner of his mouth. “She kept me good company while I was missing my boy.”

Johnny smiles and kisses him two, three, and four times on the lips.

Jaehyun’s cheeks flush. “You are always so sweet to me when we’ve been reunited after being apart for so long.”

“What else do you think I do during our time apart?” Johnny asks. “I just come up with different things I love about you to pass the time.”

Jaehyun laughs, leaning over to kiss Johnny’s cheek. “I’m already yours, love. You don’t have to flatter me.”

Johnny laughs in response, returning Jaehyun’s kiss. “I know. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss how pink you go whenever I do compliment you.”

Jaehyun huffs in protest, leaning over to give Johnny a playful smack on the arm which quickly devolves into Johnny tackling Jaehyun against the mattress, fingers lithe and nimble as they tickle Jaehyun’s sides.

They’re startled apart by an abrupt knock on the door. Johnny freezes, and Jaehyun can feel his heartbeat quicken against his chest. Jaehyun knows Johnny’s reaction is out of fear of being caught in a compromising position, but a devilish voice inside him whispers that maybe it’s shame. Shame at who he’d be caught in a compromising position with. Jaehyun dismisses the thought before it can root, running his hands encouragingly down Johnny’s back.

“Yes?” Johnny calls, voice hesitant.

“It’s Mark, m’lord,” comes the reply.

Jaehyun feels Johnny relax incrementally against him. Johnny rolls off, sheets twisting at his waist as he replies, “Yes, Mark. Come in!”

The door opens and shuts quickly, Mark sliding in with ease.

“Apologies, m’lord,” Mark begins, averting his eyes from when Johnny and Jaehyun lie naked together, only the thin sheet covering them. “Lady Suh informed me that the duchess and her daughter will be arriving soon. She suggested you dress and make an appearance downstairs.”

Jaehyun feels Johnny sag against the pillows, clearly reluctant to leave. Instinctively, Jaehyun lays his hand over Johnny’s, squeezing his fingers encouragingly.

“Yes, Mark, thank you. Please tell Mother I will be down shortly. You can go; I will get ready myself this evening.”

Mark bowed before leaving as quickly as he entered.

Jaehyun’s fingers unconsciously tighten around Johnny’s as he goes to stand up. Johnny glances over his shoulder, and he looks just as unwillingly to leave as Jaehyun is to let him go.

“It will only be for a couple of hours, my love,” Johnny attempts to placate. He breathes heavily, clearly also trying to appease himself. “Finish the rest of the food; I will bring some more when I return. Help yourself to my books and my pens and paper. Feel free to write some more, if you wish.” When Johnny smiles weakly, it doesn’t reach his eyes. “But of course, you’re welcome to go. You are not obligated to stay if you’d rather return home for the evening.”

Jaehyun silences him with a kiss. “I’ll scrounge through your books, and see if I can find something new. I’ve finished all the ones I borrowed from you last time.”

This time, Johnny’s smile reaches his eyes. “Take as many as you desire.”

Reluctantly, Johnny stands up, sheets sliding off his naked form as he walks to his dresser. Jaehyun finds it odd watching as Johnny pulls on layers of clothing, hiding his pale skin under lavish shirts and jackets.

“Let me,” Jaehyun says as Johnny begins on the buttons. Johnny’s hands pause and Jaehyun climbs out of the bed. As he does up the buttons, Jaehyun can’t help but think to last night when he and Johnny had hastily ripped off the buttons of his shirt, eager to be naked together and careless of the clothes tearing as they did so.

Jaehyun smooths his fingers over the skin as inch by inch is slowly hidden from sight. How strange for Johnny to be putting on clothes when Jaehyun feels as if he should constantly be naked, especially when Jaehyun is standing naked in front of him. But Jaehyun reminds himself that that is only for them, naked skin on naked skin. Wearing clothes is for appearances. For the world that exists outside the bedroom. The world that Jaehyun would be content to ignore as long as it keeps Johnny by his side.

When the shirt is buttoned, Jaehyun’s hands fall away and he looks up at Johnny. Johnny stares back, eyes filled with adoration. Jaehyun suddenly feels vulnerable, naked, and exposed while Johnny stands fully clothed. Without thinking, Jaehyun ducks his head, unable to handle the intensity of Johnny’s gaze.

A finger hooks under his chin, gently tilting his face upwards so that Jaehyun has no choice but to look at Johnny.

“You are so beautiful,” Johnny whispers.

A small whimper escapes Jaehyun’s lips before he surges up on his toes to connect their mouths, wrapping his arms tightly around Johnny’s neck. Johnny clings to him just as tightly, just as reluctant to let him go after finally being together after so long apart.

“Only for a few hours, darling,” Johnny reassures them both, still holding Jaehyun close.

“I know,” Jaehyun sighs. “Just want to be selfish and keep you all to myself.”

“Believe me,” Johnny chuckles. “I want that, too.”

He places one more kiss on Jaehyun’s mouth before Jaehyun lets him go so that he can continue dressing. Johnny finishes quickly while Jaehyun fishes around in his wardrobe.

“Ah, here it is,” Jaehyun announces, pulling Johnny’s dressing gown off the hanger. “My favorite.”

He wraps himself in the warm gown, loving the feel of the soft fabric against his skin.

Johnny pouts as Jaehyun covers his body, causing Jaehyun to laugh. “I promise I’ll be naked and ready for you as soon as you return.”

Johnny perks up at that, reaching down to toy with the gown’s tie. Mischievously, Johnny lets the tie fall loose, the gown opening slightly. Johnny lightly runs his knuckles down Jaehyun’s abdomen, making Jaehyun shiver.

“If you keep doing that, I won’t let you leave,” Jaehyun breathes, eyes fluttering shut.

Johnny sighs, and Jaehyun opens his eyes in time to see Johnny nod resolutely.

“Be back soon,” Johnny promises with one final kiss before moving towards the door.

“I’ll be here,” Jaehyun promises in return.

Johnny slips through the door, giving Jaehyun one final smile before he disappears with a firm click of the door.

As soon as he’s alone, Jaehyun sags against the bed, dressing gown still hanging agape.

Being left alone in Johnny’s room isn’t unusual; in fact, it usually happens on multiple occasions whenever Jaehyun covertly stays the weekend. But maybe it’s because he only just got his boy back that Jaehyun feels so reluctant to let him go. Or maybe it’s because Johnny’s going to have dinner with a woman the Countess is trying to match him with. Because Jaehyun will have to sit in Johnny’s room alone while Johnny sits down to a fine meal with a beautiful duchess at his side. Maybe that’s why he didn’t want Johnny to go even more than usual.

Sighing, Jaehyun stands up, resolutely ties his dressing gown, and walks over to Johnny’s bookshelves. He knows it will be a few hours – might as well make good use of his time.

The sun has long set and Jaehyun has read a significant portion of a book on Pre-Raphaelite poetry when the door clicks open.

Turning, Jaehyun sees Johnny coming through the door, followed by Mark who balances a large tray of food in his arms.

Relief immediately flows through Jaehyun at the sight of Johnny, even after only a few hours apart.

Johnny’s whole face lights up when he sees Jaehyun sitting at his desk, and Johnny quickly crosses the room to him. Kneeling before him, Johnny gives him a quick kiss. “Hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long, my love.”

“Never,” Jaehyun sighs, running a hand through Johnny’s hair. Johnny nuzzles into the touch, hands firm on Jaehyun’s knees.

“Mark has brought some food; I hope you’re not too hungry. I promise it is still very warm.”

Jaehyun’s stomach growls at the whiff of food. He finished the fruit and sandwiches several hours ago. A hot meal sounds like absolute perfection.

“Anything else, sir?” Mark asks, bringing the two out of their bubble.

“No, thank you, Mark,” Johnny replies, eyes still locked on Jaehyun.

The door shuts behind them, and soon Johnny is pulling Jaehyun towards the bed. The hot tray of food rests on a stand next to the bed, and Jaehyun sits cross-legged against the pillows as he lifts the tray into his lap.

“Tell me about your evening,” Jaehyun asks as he cuts up the beef. “How was it?”

Johnny waves a hand carelessly through the air. “It was just another dinner. To be honest, we spent the majority of the time discussing Greenwich properties and they kept trying to steer the conversation back to Lady Hazelton’s accomplishments, but I could tell we both enjoyed the other subject matter.”

“No wedding bells, then?” Jaehyun teases, pleased by Johnny’s disinterest in the Duchess.

Johnny rolls his eyes. “You know the only wedding bells I hear are in regards to you.”

“Still,” Jaehyun says around a mouthful. “Your mother doesn’t know that. What does she think of your disinterest?”

“She doesn’t understand it, but I don’t expect her to,” Johnny shrugs. “My heart belongs to you, and they could throw the Prince of France at me and I still wouldn’t care.”

Jaehyun can’t help but blush, but Johnny continues, “Even tonight, we’re all sitting there having dinner and stilted conversation, and all I could think about was how my whole world was upstairs. I couldn’t see the point of any of it. I just wanted everyone to finish chatting so I could come back to you. I’m sorry it took so long.”

“That’s alright,” Jaehyun places a hand out to cover Johnny’s, running his thumb over the soft skin. “I can imagine it was a busy evening, especially with a duchess visiting.”

Johnny laughs lightly. “When I went downstairs, the staff were in a near panic. Especially Jacks,” Johnny smiles as he refers to the uptight, dignified butler. “I’d never seen him so frazzled.”

Jaehyun laughs along with Johnny, enjoying the image of the distinguished man frantically running around to make sure everything was perfect for the Duchess’ arrival.

“What about tomorrow?” Jaehyun asks hesitantly. “Will you have to spend time with them then?”

Slowly, Johnny nods and Jaehyun feels his stomach drop. “I’m sorry. Mother wants me to take Lady Hazelton out riding, and I couldn’t refuse. But I asked her if we could go after luncheon, that way I could spend the morning with you.”

“Although I’m sure you didn’t use that excuse,” Jaehyun says. He doesn’t mean for it to come out harsh; he’s simply stating a fact.

Johnny doesn’t reply for a moment. “You know you’re welcome to stay as long as you wish. I know tomorrow is Sunday and you need to be back at the farm on Monday morning. But you could stay tomorrow night if you want?”

Jaehyun mulls it over. Usually, he doesn’t stay Sunday nights because he has to be at the farm bright and early Monday mornings. It makes things easier if Jaehyun sleeps in his bed the night before. That way, he doesn’t wake Johnny up at such an early hour and he doesn’t have to travel as far in the morning.

But, after being separated for four months and with an unwanted lady in the house, Jaehyun feels understandably clingy.

“I’ll stay tomorrow night,” Jaehyun agrees after little consideration. “I miss waking up in your arms anyways.”

Johnny smiles brightly at Jaehyun, giving him a sweet kiss. “You are wonderful. What did I ever do to deserve you?”

“Could ask myself the same thing,” Jaehyun muses, giving Johnny a soft smile.

They sit in silence for a moment, and then Johnny suggests, “They’re leaving on Friday morning, so you could come next weekend if you wish. I won’t have anything else to do but stay in this bed with you for the whole weekend. You’ll be sick of me by Sunday.”

Jaehyun laughs, knowing that that could never happen.

“Sounds fine to me, love. I’ll stay as long as you’ll have me, whenever you’ll have me.”

“Hm, might keep you forever then.”

“Anything else would be a tragedy.”

This time when Johnny kisses Jaehyun, it’s with a bit more heat, a bit more desire, than his last kiss. Quickly, Jaehyun discards his tray of food onto the bedside table, letting himself be rolled under Johnny and forgetting everything outside of the room in a frenzy of scorching kisses and possessive touches.

Jaehyun’s house feels a bit colder, a bit dimmer when he arrives early Monday morning. It always feels that way after a weekend with Johnny. Johnny, whose presence fills up the room with his love and brightness, is always noticeably absent when Jaehyun returns home.

Sunday had passed similarly to the days before. Jaehyun had woken up in Johnny’s arms to the feeling of lips pressing soft kisses all over his body. They spent the rest of the morning fucking lazily, whispering words of devotion into the other’s skin as they came over and over again. Jaehyun had fallen asleep when Johnny had gone out riding with his family and Lady Hazelton, and when he woke up again, it was with a mouth on his cock and hands firmly holding down his hips.

When he’d woken up this morning, Johnny had still been fast asleep, arms wrapped tightly around Jaehyun. Jaehyun hated sneaking out without waking Johnny, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Johnny always looks so rumpled when he sleeps – face pressed firmly against the pillow, hair haloed above him, waves thick and knotted. His lips were parted, warm breaths huffing out as he breathed deep and even. Jaehyun wanted nothing more than to stay in his lover’s arms, selfishly wishing he could curl into Johnny’s side and never leave.

But he knew he was needed at the farm, and he needed to move if he wasn’t going to be late.

Jaehyun dressed quickly in the darkness, pressing a kiss to Johnny’s forehead before slipping out of the room and out of the manor the way he came.

The day has just begun to break as Jaehyun walks toward the farmhouse. While he knows that there is nothing more real to him than the love he has for Johnny, something is grounding about his work at the farm. It’s what he knows and where he belongs, and despite a blissful weekend with his lover, he knows it’s time to return to his other reality.

The week passes in a haze of work and the early September sun.

Each evening, Jaehyun comes home and immediately collapses in bed, knackered from the long day’s work and the residual tiredness from a weekend of irregular sleep. He’s not able to make it to the manor again that week, but he knows Johnny wouldn’t expect him to.

The only thing Jaehyun has to break up the week is his lunch with his mother on Thursdays. Usually, he eats his lunch out in the fields or the barn while he works, but Thursday is the one day he takes his lunch into the village to the familiar cobblestone house he grew up in.

“Jaehyun,” his mother exclaims, giving him a tight hug as soon as he steps through the door.

“Hello, mother,” he replies, returning the hug. “How are you?”

“Oh, just fine, just fine,” she tuts. “Come in. I have lunch all prepared for you; I hope you’re hungry.”

“Famished,” Jaehyun replies as he takes a seat at the kitchen table.

“So, you weren’t home.”

Jaehyun chokes on his tea, surprised by the blunt question. He remembers telling Johnny how he’d spent almost every weekend of the summer with his mother; of course, it was unusual when he hadn’t come around this past weekend. In his eagerness to see Johnny again, Jaehyun hadn’t even thought about letting his mother know that he wouldn’t be by.

“I –” Jaehyun splutters, dumbstruck as to what to say. He feels his face heating. In all their years together, he and Johnny had always been careful as to when they would meet and what they would tell others so as not to raise suspicion. But Jaehyun had never been blatantly asked, and his mind blanks as to what to say.

“It’s okay,” his mother cuts off his stuttering. “You don’t have to tell me. You’re a grown man who can do what you like. But you can’t blame your mother for asking when her son disappears for a whole weekend.
Jaehyun huffs a relieved laugh. “No, I suppose I can’t.” He takes a sip of his water, pausing before adding, “I don’t want you to worry. I will tell you, someday soon, but the situation is delicate at the moment.” It’s more than he’s ever told anyone, and even that feels like too much.

His mother pats his hand in understanding, mercifully not pressing for more. “You don’t have to tell me anything, love. I just want you to be happy. And you seem so. That’s what matters to me.”

“I am,” Jaehyun is quick to reassure her. “I’m very happy; don’t doubt that.”

“I don’t.”

“My love, will I see you soon?” his mother asks.

“I’ll come by this weekend,” he promises. He knows he promised Johnny that he would stay with him all weekend, but maybe they can work something out.

“If you need to slip off again this weekend, I'll understand,” she says. “I know you have a life outside of me, Jaehyun.”

“How could you say that? I’m not going to cut you out,” Jaehyun insists. “You’re very important to me.”

His mother smiles. “I know. But it’s okay if someone else is too.”

Her words surprise him. His mother is far from clueless, but he didn’t suspect that she was that perceptive. Or maybe, he supposed he was better at hiding his emotions.

“Thank you, Mother,” Jaehyun replies quietly.

“Of course, love.”

They say nothing more about it.

That weekend, Jaehyun barely leaves Johnny’s bed. With neither of them having anywhere to go nor any ladies to entertain, they stay wrapped up in one another.

This time, Jaehyun gets to wake Johnny up with his lips around his cock, listening to the deep, heavenly noises Johnny makes as he brings him off. After he’s come, Johnny holds Jaehyun down and returns the favor, letting Jaehyun fuck into his mouth until his orgasm makes his vision white out, fists tangled in Johnny’s hair and back arching off the bed.

It’s in the early hours of Saturday morning, neither having drifted off to sleep yet when Jaehyun asks the question that has been plaguing his mind.

“Tell me about your week,” Jaehyun murmurs, running his lips lightly over Johnny’s skin. “How was the rest of Lady Hazelton’s visit?”

He feels Johnny shrug, and Jaehyun leans back against his pillows to look at Johnny’s face. “It was fine,” Johnny replies. “Mother had a party at midweek, so some of my friends from Hartford came up, which was lovely. Even though I just saw them in Hartford, there is something a little less frantic about spending time with them in the countryside instead of the city. My friend George attended, and we talked about him coming to stay at Greenwichnext month which I think would be lovely.”

Jaehyun nods. “And Lady Hazelton?”

Johnny sighs. “We had some nice conversations, but I made it clear to her that I wasn’t going to propose. I don’t think she minded.”

Jaehyun laughs disbelievingly. “You told her that you weren’t going to propose? Johnny, where is your tact?” he teases.

“I wasn’t rude,” Johnny insists. “We both agreed that while we enjoyed the other’s company, we didn’t think a romantic match would be feasible. And even if she did want to marry me, the answer would still have been no.”

Jaehyun nods. “How did your mother take it?”

Something flashes across Johnny’s face, dark and upsetting. “She handled it better than Father.”

Jaehyun squeezes Johnny’s hand, fingers still clasped tightly together. “What happened, love?”

“I don’t want to trouble you with it.”

“Johnny,” Jaehyun says sternly. “You know we’re in this together, and I want to help you. Tell me what happened.”

Johnny sighs before reluctantly explaining, “He told me that I was passing over too many eligible partners. They were throwing men and women at me left and right in Hartford, and I was hoping to escape that as soon as I came back here. They just don’t understand that my heart already belongs to someone.”

“Why are they so keen for you to marry?” Jaehyun asks, defensive of Johnny. “You’re still so young.”

“They think I should marry before I come into my inheritance so that it’s more likely to be a love match. They think anyone I marry afterward will only want me for my money.”

Jaehyun scoffs. “That’s ridiculous. As if you’re not the most lovable person on the entire planet. “

“Well it doesn’t matter regardless, because I’ve already found the man I’m going to marry,” Johnny says resolutely.

Jaehyun smiles. “Are your parents satisfied, or are they going to keep inviting men and women to Greenwich until you agree to marry one of them?”

“I told Mother and Father that I needed time to think and figure out what I want,” Johnny replies. “That seemed to appease them, at least for now.”

Jaehyun nods. “Not much longer, my love.”

“I know,” Johnny sighs, giving Jaehyun a small smile. “I can’t wait to marry you. I can’t wait for you to move here and for us to be together all the time; no more sneaking around. I can’t wait to start a family with you and fill this house.”

Jaehyun cuts Johnny off with a kiss, smiling at the picture of their future Johnny has painted. Jaehyun wants that too – it’s all he’s wanted. He knows the wait is almost over.

In the afternoon, they decide to leave the sex-stifled room and breathe some fresh air. It’s a warm day, and they sneak down to the gazebo in the forest for a bit of privacy.

For hours, they sit and read, talking whenever they have something to share. They sit on opposite sides of the bench, Jaehyun’s leg resting against Johnny’s with Johnny’s fingers lightly clasped around his ankle. They sit in companionable silence, and Jaehyun can’t help but let his mind wander, imagining what it will be like when he gets to have this every day. Have Johnny like this every day. The thought fills his tummy with butterflies.

He tells Johnny how he promised he’d visit his mother tomorrow, and being the considerate man he is, of course, Johnny understands.

“I don’t want to keep you from her,” Johnny says, an apology on his lips. “I know how important she is to you.”

“You’re important too,” Jaehyun insists. “I can spend time with my family and with you. I don’t have to pick one or the other.”

“I know, I know,” Johnny replies. “I feel selfish because I want to keep you all the time. And of course, you have other people who love you and want to spend time with you.”

“We’ll work something out,” Jaehyun promises. “Besides, I hardly doubt they’d notice if I was missing for a little bit.”

Johnny pouts. “I always notice when you’re missing. It’s impossible not to. You’re the brightest presence.”

Jaehyun blushes. “Shush, you. I won’t be gone for long tomorrow. I told Mother I’d come around for lunch and then I’ll be back at yours by evening. I’ll stay the night tomorrow as well.”

“Perfect,” Johnny exclaims, giving Jaehyun’s ankle a gentle squeeze. “Besides, I have some errands in the village that I can take off tomorrow while you’re gone.”

“Oh, so you were just waiting for me to leave so you can go about your much more interesting errands?” Jaehyun teases.

“Yes,” Johnny deadpans. “Because a visit to the tailors is much more interesting than making you come on my fingers.”

Jaehyun swats at Johnny playfully, and they both dissolve into a fit of giggles.

When they sneak back into the house, Jaehyun goes straight to his room while Johnny stops by the study. He’s only gone for a few minutes, and when he returns, Mark follows behind him, carrying a heavy-looking trunk.

“Look what’s arrived,” Johnny exclaims, bounding over to the bed and wiggling his eyebrows ridiculously.

“What?” Jaehyun asks around a laugh, pressing a palm to Johnny’s chest as he leans against him.

Johnny nips playfully at his ear before whispering, “My trunk from Hartford.”

Jaehyun blushes as understanding dawns. The trunk that contains the condoms was specially bought in Hartford.

They barely notice as Mark slips out of the room, the door shutting with a firm click.

“Well,” Jaehyun says, leaning back against the pillows and spreading his legs, Johnny’s eyes tracking the movements. “Might as well put them to good use.”

Jaehyun leaves Greenwich Manor shortly before luncheon on Sunday.

“Be back soon,” he’d promised, giving Johnny a sweet kiss.

“I’ll be waiting,” Johnny had called as Jaehyun slipped out the door.

He stops by his house briefly to change into clean clothes. He can’t help the flush that spreads across his cheeks at his stained clothing – Johnny had been so impatient upon his arrival Friday night, that he hadn’t even fully undressed him before making him come twice over. He’ll have to make sure the stain is sufficiently washed out before sending his laundry to the farmhouse later in the week.

Jaehyun goes to his mother’s house and they eat peacefully talking about everything and nothing. He glances out of the window to see a family just running around playing.

He wants that with Johnny.

He wants everything with Johnny, but God does he want a family with him.

It’s only the beginning of September, and Jaehyun can already feel a slight drop in temperature as soon as he steps outside. A cool breeze ruffles his jacket as he and his mother begin walking down the path towards the village.

They stop at a tailor's store and Jaehyun throws a cursory glance towards the door and nearly freezes on the spot.

Johnny also stops at the door, taking in the sight of Jaehyun and his mother.

Something inside Johnny seems to snap him into motion. Quickly taking off his hat, Johnny says, “Good afternoon.”

Jaehyun and his mother echo the greeting, and Jaehyun gives a quick bow.

“Good afternoon, Lord Suh,” Mr. Richard, the shop owner quickly cuts in. “How may I help?”

Johnny manages to tear his eyes away from Jaehyun, turning his attention to the man in front of him. Jaehyun watches Johnny out of the corner of his eye.

When he left Johnny only hours ago, he’d been warm and naked lying in bed. Now, he’s fully dressed in impeccable clothing, waves neatly styled. He looks stunning. Jaehyun’s hands itch to reach out and touch, to smooth a hand between Johnny’s shoulder blades, and intertwine their fingers together.

Jaehyun looks away before the temptation becomes too much. He can do none of that.

“Jaehyun,” his mother says, bringing his attention to her. “Do you think you’ll be staying for dinner tonight?”

Without his consent, his eyes dart towards Johnny before landing back on his mother. “No, I won’t be able to tonight, Mother. But I will be around next Sunday again, and of course for our Thursday lunch. It’s been such a lovely day.”

Jaehyun notices that another man has taken up a conversation with Johnny. The two talk pleasantly in the corner, and Jaehyun’s heart throbs at the sight of Johnny. Constant yearning for Johnny.

“Such a handsome young man,” his mother comments.

Jaehyun glances at her, but she’s not watching him. Instead, she’s looking at Johnny, expression thoughtful.

“I wonder why he hasn’t married.”

Jaehyun exhales shakily, giving what he hopes is a nonchalant shrug. “Maybe he doesn’t wish to.”

His mother gives an unconvinced hum. “No, I don’t think so. He seems like such a charming lad, and he cares so much for the village. It must be lonely, being a lord in such a large home. He deserves someone who makes him happy, that’s what I think.”

Jaehyun nods. I make him happy, he thinks desperately. He tells me all the time that I make him happy. And he makes me happy, Mother. Happy in ways I never thought possible.

“He does deserve that,” Jaehyun murmurs quietly, eyes still fixed on Johnny.

“Mr. Suh,” Jaehyun hears Mr. Richard say, stepping up towards him with a small parcel. “Your order, sir.”

“Thank you,” Johnny replies kindly. “Good afternoon, sir.” He nods to Mr. Richard and the other man tipping his hat. Just as he is about to leave, he makes eye contact with Jaehyun.

For a breathless moment, Jaehyun watches as Johnny’s eyes sparkle, his hand reaching up to tip his hat while a smile plays on his lips.

Jaehyun watches as he leaves, the bell tinkering again as he steps outside.

His cheeks feel warm from the encounter.
Meanwhile, Jaehyun was unaware that his mother had continued to watch him through the whole of his encounter with Johnny, including how he reacted to her words and his departure. She had watched silently, but perceptively. But instead of saying anything, she goes back home.

When Jaehyun arrives at Greenwich, Johnny barely gives him time to make it through the door before pressing him against the nearest wall, placing heated, open-mouthed kisses on his neck.

“What’s gotten into you?” Jaehyun gasps as Johnny tugs harshly at his belt. “It’s only been a few hours since I left.”

Johnny growls possessively into Jaehyun’s skin, making his knees go weak. “There’s something about seeing you in public, seeing you but not getting to touch you, that always makes me crazy.”

He connects their lips then, licking hotly into Jaehyun’s mouth and biting harshly at his lips.

“Touch me, then,” Jaehyun sighs into Johnny’s mouth, the words quickly swallowed.

Johnny wastes no time doing exactly that – taking Jaehyun to bed and touching him all over with his hands and mouth until both of them are shivering against each other, coming with breathless moans of pleasure.

As they come down, the sheets feel cool against Jaehyun’s overheated skin, still slightly sticky from the thin sheen of sweat covering it. His head rests on Johnny’s chest, rising and falling as they breathe heavily. Their hands lay tangled together next to Jaehyun’s head, Johnny’s other arm wrapped tightly around Jaehyun’s waist to hold him close.

“How was your visit with your mother?” Johnny asks, fingertips warm against Jaehyun’s skin.

“We had a lovely time, as you saw.”

“Thought I was going to faint,” Johnny chuckles, “seeing you with your mother. Made my heart ache.”

“In a good way?” Jaehyun asks, curious.

“In the best way,” Johnny replies, pressing a firm kiss to the top of Jaehyun’s head.

Jaehyun sighs contentedly, giving Johnny’s hand a gentle squeeze. After a moment, he says, “She knows I’m keeping something from her.”

Johnny doesn’t stiffen against him, doesn’t protest.

“She came by a couple of times last weekend, and I just wasn’t around, because I was here with you.”

“I don’t want to keep you from your mother –” Johnny begins, but Jaehyun quickly quiets him.

“You’re not, Johnny. I promise. I spent the afternoon with her today, and I will have lunch with her again on Thursday. She’s the one who first asked me what was going on, but I told her I would be able to tell her soon, just not now. She trusts me, so she’s let it be.”

Johnny laughs loudly then, hugging Jaehyun tighter to his body.

“What if she saw the love bites you put on my chest,” Jaehyun accuses playfully, jabbing Johnny in the side. “I would’ve thought you could control yourself a little more.”

“How could I?” Johnny asks, rolling Jaehyun underneath him and making him unintentionally squeak with the movement. With a light finger, Johnny begins tracing the marks he left earlier on Jaehyun’s chest. Deep purple bruises cover his collarbones, his chest, and even his biceps. Johnny leans down, pressing his lips firmly against a bruise above his nipple. “How could I control myself when I always want to put my mouth on you? When you always taste like caramel?” He begins sucking lightly at the skin, Jaehyun’s arms wrapping around his back to tug him closer. “When I want to mark you up so that everyone knows you’re mine? How could you expect me to control myself?”

Johnny doesn’t waste any time waiting for an answer. Instead, he wraps his lips around Jaehyun’s nipple while taking Jaehyun’s cock firmly in his hand. Any words of how Jaehyun doesn’t want him to control himself die on his tongue as his mind pleasantly blank out, Johnny overwhelming his senses.

Jaehyun’s back aches as he makes his way from the barn to his house. It was a long day hunched over in the barn, milking cow after cow and lifting heavy buckets of milk to take to the farmhouse. He’s not sure if he moved from his stool in the barn from lunchtime to dinnertime, and his entire body throbs at the stiffness. As he walks home, all he can think about is collapsing into bed and sleeping until sunrise.

The sun has long set, so when Jaehyun sees a candle flickering in the window of his house, his heart nearly stops.

Momentarily forgetting the stiffness in his body, Jaehyun runs the rest of the way home, hat grasped firmly in his hand. As he pushes open the door, the stress of the day evaporates.

“What are you doing here?” Jaehyun gasps excitedly, closing the door firmly. “I wasn’t expecting you tonight!”

Johnny grins up at him from where he’s lying on Jaehyun’s bed. He’s fully dressed, leaning against Jaehyun’s pillows in a picture of casual ease. Johnny sits up, making grabby hands towards him. Jaehyun laughs, joining Johnny on the bed and receiving a kiss.

“Wanted to see you,” Johnny replies. “Didn’t want to wait until the weekend.”

“What about your family? Won’t they notice you’re gone?” Jaehyun asks as Johnny brushes his fringe from his eyes with gentle fingers.

“No. Father had to go to Hartford on urgent business, and Mother decided to visit her sister in Yale,” Johnny’s hands drift down to cup Jaehyun’s face, thumb rubbing over his cheekbone. “So no one will even notice if I’m gone for a couple of days.” He smiles mischievously, and Jaehyun playfully rolls his eyes at the implication.

Johnny lets out a noise of protest, and Jaehyun laughs, pushing Johnny against the mattress and climbing on top of him, connecting their mouths. Johnny’s arms wrap around him, drifting low until they’re resting on his bum, pushing Jaehyun’s hips up into his.

They snog lazily for a while, lips sweet and gentle. Each kiss shares bits about their day – how they missed one another, how they thought of each other, how they both didn’t want to fall asleep alone tonight and how happy they are now that they won’t have to.

When Johnny attempts to roll them over, a muscle twinge in his back, causes him to groan painfully. Johnny catches the different cadence in his groan, how it was one of discomfort and not of pleasure.

“My love?” he asks, pulling back slightly. “Are you alright?”

Jaehyun grits his teeth, back muscles still seizing. “I’m fine, it’s just my back.” When Johnny’s brows furrow in concern, Jaehyun continues, “I was hunched over all day milking the cows. I barely moved all day, and now everything is just stiff. I’m fine, I promise.”

Johnny runs his hands soothingly down Jaehyun’s sides, chewing his lip. “Would you like me to massage it?” Johnny asks. “That might help.”

“You don’t have to do that –” Jaehyun immediately protests.

Johnny scoffs, rolling his eyes. “As if it’s a hardship to me to touch you. As if it’s an inconvenience. As if I don’t look for any excuse to put my hands all over you.”

Jaehyun chuckles at Johnny’s sarcastic tone, tugging him down for a quick kiss.

“Only if you want.”

“Hm, do I want the love of my life naked and spread out and gorgeous underneath me?” Johnny pretends to consider. “Yes, yes I do.”

“Okay,” Jaehyun agrees, Johnny, gives a delighted cheer.

“Off please,” Johnny demands, tugging at the hem of Jaehyun’s shirt.

Jaehyun laughs, amused at Johnny’s playfulness, as he unbuttons his shirt, shrugging gracelessly out of the sleeves. Johnny pulls off his belt and trousers with no difficulty, lifting his body off Jaehyun’s thighs enough to discard them on the floor.

When Jaehyun is naked underneath him, Johnny gives him a considering look. “On your front please.”

Jaehyun rolls over, Johnny settling back down on his thighs once Jaehyun is comfortable. He crosses his arms above his head, resting his cheek against his hands. “Just be gentle, yeah?” Jaehyun requests. “Don’t want to put me out of work tomorrow.”

Instead of answering, Johnny just digs his fingers into Jaehyun’s shoulder blades, pressing into the muscle and releasing a low moan from Jaehyun’s lips.

“Yeah, just like that, darling,” he grunts out as Johnny digs in harder.

Johnny’s hands grip his shoulders, rubbing the muscles back and forth beneath his solid palms. The muscle gives easily, loosening as Johnny applies firm pressure.

Jaehyun melts into the mattress, content to let his lover’s hands run all over him, kneading the skin over and over again until all the tension has left Jaehyun’s shoulders and back. Johnny’s hands are warm and soft against him, not callused and rough from long days spent out in the fields. Jaehyun has always adored the feeling of Johnny’s hands against him, and now all his focus has narrowed down to the points of contact between Johnny’s hands and his skin. He doesn’t notice his little hitches of breath when Johnny digs in a little too hard but quickly soothes the ache with gentle touches. He doesn’t notice how when Johnny presses up and then down, his hips rock a little against the bed, his rapidly hardening cock dragging wetly against the sheets.

When Johnny’s hands travel to Jaehyun’s lower back, his touch lightens, seeming to notice that Jaehyun doesn’t carry as much tension there. Jaehyun gasps as he feels Johnny lean down to press soft kisses to the knobs of his spine. His long, nimble fingers continue to massage the skin, but Jaehyun barely notices. Now, all he can feel is the hot, wet press of lips to his skin, and his hips rock more firmly into the mattress.

“Johnny,” he whimpers, hands clutching the pillow tightly. “Johnny, don’t. I smell.”

Johnny chuckles disbelievingly before pressing his nose into Jaehyun’s skin and inhaling noisily. “You smell heavenly,” he groans, voice rough and deep. “Like roses.”

“I smell like cows and manure,” Jaehyun weakly protests.

“No,” Johnny replies, lips dragging over the skin. “Like roses.”

Before Jaehyun can respond, Johnny’s hands travel lower, down to the swell of Jaehyun’s ass. Johnny’s fingers dig in, causing Jaehyun to gasp and his hips to fuck down harshly into the mattress.

“Always love touching you,” Johnny murmurs as his lips travel lower and lower. “Always think about touching you. How you feel under my hands. So pliant and good. So perfect.”

“Johnny,” Jaehyun gasps, hips thrusting more forcefully.

“I know, my love.”

Without another word, Johnny’s hands spread Jaehyun’s cheeks and his mouth immediately latches onto Jaehyun’s hole.

Jaehyun cries out, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes at how blissful it feels. How right it feels to be taken care of after a day of such grueling work.

Johnny lathes over his rim with his tongue, pressing sweet kisses to the tight muscles. He licks long, wet stripes over his hole, coaxing it gently with the tip of his tongue.

Jaehyun squirms against the bed, sweat beading at his temples from the sensation. He never lasts long when Johnny kisses him there. The first time Johnny had ever asked to try, Jaehyun could not fathom the appeal. His mind quickly changed when he came after only a few swipes of Johnny’s tongue.

Johnny keeps licking over his rim until it’s loose and wet, ready to be filled. When Johnny dips the tip of his tongue into Jaehyun’s hole, his pointer finger nudges against Jaehyun’s rim as well.

Jaehyun’s body catches fire at the feeling, hips humping once, twice, thrice into the mattress before he’s coming with a shout. His hole instinctively clenches around Johnny’s tongue as he rides out his orgasm, and he can hear Johnny’s deep moan from the other end of the bed. They moan in tandem, Johnny continuing to lick at Jaehyun’s rim as he finishes coming.

When Jaehyun finishes, he feels Johnny lift off his rim, his hands moving him onto his back and out of the wet spot.

“Johnny,” Jaehyun slurs, eyes blinking open. The sight surprises him – he hadn’t even realized that Johnny was still clothed. Jaehyun feels decidedly filthy knowing that he was naked and vulnerable while Johnny was dressed and in control while he made Jaehyun come.

But when his eyes flicker down to Johnny’s lap, he realizes that maybe he isn’t the dirty one.

Instead of seeing Johnny’s cock straining against the fly of his trousers, he sees a wet spot, cock going soft underneath the tight material.

“I told you,” Johnny murmurs, dazedly following Jaehyun’s line of sight. “When I touch you, I can’t control myself.”

Jaehyun blushes, undeniably pleased. Johnny leans down to kiss him, pulling Jaehyun against his body and running his hands through his hair.

“Do you feel better?” Johnny whispers against Jaehyun’s lips.

Jaehyun arches into Johnny’s touch, pressing their lips together in response. “Always feel my best when I’m with you.”

Johnny smiles before running his lips lightly over Jaehyun’. “Me too, my love. Me too.”