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If there was any takeaway Keith Simmons had from his years of being a detective; it was that no one could ever be truly trusted, and that peace was a lie.
And this sentiment made it extremely difficult for him to adjust to the life as a farmer in the quiet little village of Pelican Town.
He didn’t like how friendly everyone seemed. How much the townspeople seemed to trust each other. This sense of close community felt like a trap in Keith’s mind. And while Jimmy, Keith’s former partner in the police department and now boyfriend had also been wary at first, it was clear that one of them was adjusting to this new life much faster than the other.
It wasn’t long before Jimmy was thoroughly welcomed into their little community, quickly befriending most of the townsfolk he came across. And while Keith was happy that his boyfriend was getting the love and appreciation he deserved, he was also concerned for him. Particularly concerned about Jimmy’s rapidly growing friendship with that sketchy hermit on the beach, Elliott.
Elliott was someone that Keith almost immediately didn’t like. Jimmy had tried to introduce the two, but upon finding out that the man was known as one of the town ‘artists,’ he decided that the redhead was instantly untrustworthy. The last person Keith interacted with who called themselves an ‘artist’ was a serial grave-robber whose aristocratic family had been evading taxes for nearly twenty years.
That was another thing about Elliott Keith didn’t like. Based on the way he dressed, spoke, as well as generally presented himself, it was clear that Elliott had come from a place of wealth. So what on earth was he doing living in a nearly broken shack on a beach in a town in the middle of nowhere?
Elliott had told him that he’d moved in to focus on his writing, for ‘inspiration’ as he had put it. But Keith didn’t buy that for a second. No, clearly Elliott had committed some horrible crime and was now hiding out in this peaceful little town. And Keith knows that criminals, especially potential killers, rarely strike only once.
Thus the reason why Keith has been following Elliott and adamantly taking note on his daily routines for the past week or so.
Keith is aware that this perhaps might be a step too far. And that he is no longer a cop, so he can’t pass it off as a stakeout. But dammit, there’s no way Keith is just going to sit around and let one of the innocent townspeople be murdered. He’s not going to let anyone die; he’s had enough of death in the city. Sure, Elliott hasn’t made any attempts to kill anyone yet, but Keith knows he will eventually.
And the moment Elliott strikes, Keith will be right there to stop him.
. . .
Jimmy is surprised to hear a knock on the farmhouse door in the late afternoon. But he smiles when he opens it and finds a very familiar redhead.
“Oh, Elliott! What’re you doing all the way out here?” Elliott smiles down at him, but Jimmy can tell it’s forced.
“Good afternoon, Jimmy… might I trouble you for a moment?” The taller man sounds tired and uncharacteristically timid. Jimmy’s brows furrow in concern as he notices that Elliott is a bit paler than usual, and he looks utterly exhausted.
“Of course.” He opens the door further and gestures Elliott into the house. “Are you okay?”
“That is… what I wanted to talk to you about.” Jimmy takes note of how before stepping into the house, Elliott briefly looks around him, as if the man were worried he was being followed.
Jimmy guides him over to the small dining table in the kitchen, pulling out one of the chairs for Elliott and then sitting on the other side.
“Would you like some tea? I’ve been experimenting with some new blends lately.” Jimmy gives him a comforting smile, but the other only shakes his head.
“No, not today. Perhaps another time, thank you for offering.” Elliott reaches up and starts twirling a strand of his hair. A habit, Jimmy’s noticed, whenever Elliott is nervous or thinking.
“Jimmy… you and Keith are detectives, correct?”
“Well, used to be. Why?”
“Well, I… I fear I might have a stalker.” Jimmy’s eyes widen a bit at the words.
“What’s going on?” He asks in that stern, but gentle tone he’s always used on witnesses in a case.
“Well… perhaps I could simply be paranoid… but I constantly feel like I’m being watched.” Jimmy nods and motions for the other to continue. “It started maybe a couple of weeks ago? Well, actually, I’ve always had this strange feeling of being watched, ever since I moved to the valley. But it was always so minor, that I just tried to push the feeling to the side. But as of recently, it seems to be getting worse. Especially when I am supposed to be alone. Like when I go on my little walks through the forest or the beach, or when I’m in my cabin by myself. The feeling gets even worse at night…”
“Oh Elliott, that’s awful. I’m so sorry you’re going through that. Have you talked to Keith as well?”
Elliott shakes his head.
“No, I wanted to. In fact, I’ve been wanting to talk to him for a while now. But I can’t ever seem to find him anywhere! I swear it’s like he’s trying to hide from me!”
Jimmy rubs his chin for a moment, deep in thought.
That was odd, Keith said that he’d recently started fishing a lot. So surely the two would’ve run into each other at least once, right? Jimmy was happy that he had taken up a hobby, he hadn’t been handling the move well and has been so terribly paranoi-
‘Oh shit.’ Realization hit Jimmy like a truck. He took a deep breath to calm himself before smiling at Elliott.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. Would you like me to walk you back to your cabin in the meantime?”
Elliott’s eyes lit up.
“Could you please?”
Jimmy gave him a nod, and for the first time since he’d arrived at the farmhouse that afternoon, Elliott’s smile was real.
“Oh, thank you so much!”
. . .
“Oh it was no problem. Goodbye, Elliott! Take care of yourself, okay?”
“You as well, my darling detective!” Elliott smiled brightly at him, and Jimmy waved as the other closed the door to his cabin.
The moment Jimmy was certain that Elliott was truly within his own area, he took a few steps and called out into the supposedly empty beach.
“Keith. Home. Now.” His tone left no room for argument or even conversation.
The man in question sheepishly stepped out from the side of Willy’s fish shop. A guilty expression as he realized that he may have gone too far. And that the moment they were alone in their little farmhouse, Jimmy was going to tear him a new one.
. . .
A few days after the confrontation, things started to return to how they were when Jimmy and Keith had initially arrived in Pelican Town.
Jimmy had yelled at him for what might have been hours, and Keith ended up sleeping on the couch that night. And in order to make up for his wrongdoing, Keith was forced to confront Elliott himself and apologize - in the process, having to confess to the fact that he had been blatantly stalking the other (Keith had insisted multiple times that it was a ‘prolonged, thorough investigation,’ but Jimmy was not having it).
Elliott had been reasonably furious to find out that not only had Keith been behind the stalking, but also the reason why. Apparently, some people don’t like it when you accuse them of murder.
However, Elliott agreed to give him a second chance with a peace offering of free pomegranate wine for the rest of the year.
It also took a while for Jimmy to forgive him, but after many long talks, homemade meals, and kisses, they were able to make up. And now Keith and Jimmy were in their shared bed in the farmhouse talking.
“Look, I’m not necessarily mad anymore, now I’m just worried.”
“Oh I’m sure he’ll be fine. Elliott seems like a resilient individual. And besides, I gave him permission to use that incident in one of his future projects.” Jimmy rubbed his face in mild irritation at this response.
“It’s not just that, Keith. I mean, I am still a bit worried about Elliott, but now I’m mostly worried about you.”
“What do you mean?” Keith asked, furrowing his brows.
“Keith… we’ve both been through a lot. You especially. I mean, you were in the police department longer than I was. And it’s not like I was the one who was literally dead for a period of time. I’m just… I’m worried that you have some serious trauma. And I think you need to talk to someone about it.” Jimmy was giving him a worried look that made Keith’s heart ache.
“Jimmy, don’t disregard the things you went through, we both suffered. And I wasn’t the one who got kidnapped by a murderous psychopath.”
Jimmy let out a sigh.
“Okay, so we’ve both been through a lot. But still, I think you need help, Keith. You seem to be handling things a lot worse than me.” Keith was quiet for a moment as he thought.
“Okay, fine. I’ll talk to Harvey as soon as I can about perhaps finding a therapist, but you have to come with me.” Jimmy rolled his eyes.
“I don’t need-”
“Yes you do.” Keith said, cutting him off. “Sure, you’re definitely adjusting to this… small-town life thing much faster than I am. But you need to talk to someone just as much as I do. You might seem like you’re recovering perfectly fine, but I know you, Jimmy. You’re hurting too, you just don’t want to acknowledge it.”
“It’s hard to. It just feels like all the wounds are still fresh.” Jimmy was tearing up, and Keith pulled him into a hug.
“I know. And unfortunately, healing takes time.” Keith pressed a kiss to his forehead. “But we still have each other, Jimmy. So let’s heal together.”
He was about to go in for another forehead kiss, but Jimmy caught Keith’s lips with his own. Tears slipping down his face as he held Keith’s head in his hands, kissing him like he was his lifeline.
Once they separated, Keith pulled Jimmy down into the bed with him, pressing another soft kiss onto his mouth as he wrapped his arms around the other.
“I love you.” Jimmy said softly, and Keith smiled back at him.
“I love you too.”
And for the first time since they moved to the valley, Keith felt not just happy, but safe in their new home. Falling asleep in each other’s arms.
But someone in the valley still didn’t feel safe. Elliott tossed and turned in his small bed, uncomfortable. He was well aware that Jimmy had given Keith a stern talking-to. And it was almost midnight, so surely the two must be asleep by now.
So why did he get the feeling that he was still being watched?