Ford was smiling to himself.
It was a warm summer day at the Big Staddlemere, where he and the youngest Rosebranch triplet, Terrence, had opted to spend the afternoon swimming in the cold, soothing waters of the lake. They were lounged lazily upon a patch of grass next to the lake watching the sky and napping, hiding away from the responsibilities back in Combe and surrounded by a small thicket of shrubbery that served to camouflage from any curious passersby. The maidens and wives of Combe often came by the lake to do their washing, but today hardly anyone but them was around to indulge in a swim or get on with the arduous task of cleaning clothes, so the boys saw it fit to take advantage of the quiet and claim the lake for themselves for that afternoon.
"Y'know, Master Statler's goin' to have my head for this if I stay too long." Ford said quietly, laid on his back and staring up at a cloud. Next to him, Terrence was idly playing about with a handkerchief that reeked of lavender. He eyed the cloth and sarcastically said, "Still obsessed with tha' thing, Terrence?"
"Not obsessed." Terrence countered, hastily stowing the handkerchief into the depths of his pocket, "Bu' it's no' every day a pretty lass walks into you and randomly offers you a token of her favour."
"Good goin' mate, but are you sure she wasn't just doing it out of pity, since you also made her drop a basket of apples an' kept apologizin'?" Ford teased, which earned him a swift thump on the chest, "Ow!"
"As if you'd kno' anythin', Ford." His friend commented dryly, "I've seen you more with books than with lasses lately. Y'sure you don' need any help?"
"No thanks." He responded, his tone indifferent, "No' my cup of tea."
He glanced back at Terrence and furrowed his brows, waiting for a snappy comment or witty remark. He honestly couldn't fathom what the other boy found so appealing about girls. Their general form struck him as simply unattractive, and he especially disliked the girls that were prone to gossiping about others behind their backs.
To his surprise, however, Terrence merely shrugged, "Whatever floats your boat, mate, but I tell ya, you're missin' out. How's work at the forge?"
"Well enough." Ford responded, thinking on his first time at the forge two weeks ago. Granted, he had nearly knocked over a bucket of coal and may or may not have accidentally bent an unfinished, heated blade in half, but he didn't particularly feel like disclosing the last two details to Terrence, "Master Statler thinks tha' with a bit of practice, I'll be able to come work for him as an apprentice."
He chuckled, eyes gleaming with excitement. He had jumped eagerly at the opportunity to come visit Ellie at the forge and watch her father work. Master Statler had let him wield a hammer once when he was still just a young boy and let him smack down on a cold and thin copper plate, but when the steady ring of the hammer sounded and the gradual bending of the metal occurred Ford knew he had found his calling. There was just something wonderfully harmonious about the constant, measured rhythm of a hammer swing, and he delighted in each strike of the metal and the new shapes it would take under his hands.
"Gafford Hornbranch, Master Blacksmith!" Terrence announced with a big grin, one that Ford mirrored. It was a nice title, after all, "I bet you'll own a huge forge yourself one day an' make good coin out of it, mate. Statler's one of the best out there to learn under!"
"I know, I'm really hopin' I'll get to join Ellie and Hudd soon." He remarked with a smile, fondly thinking back on his and Ellie's spirited bickering and how she had teased him about his eagerness to work at the Red Anvil. He should return soon to visit the forge again.
When his thoughts turned to Hudd, however, he could feel his heart beating ever-so-slightly faster. He glanced away from Terrence and frowned slightly. It was a very strange feeling, and one he was scarce used to. He, Ellie, and Hudd had been friends since the early days of their childhood, but lately, he had felt something change in the way he perceived and thought of Hudd. There were multiple days where he had caught himself thinking of how endearing the boy's cluelessness on certain things were, or admiring how well built his form actually was, but he had pushed those feelings aside in favour of focusing on his potential apprenticeship under Master Statler - he could not afford to be distracted like that.
Reading made it easier to bear. When his mind could go back to imagining the wonder of ancient ruins, it was little to no problem to forget about the changing perception of Hudd. But in truth, it scared and terrified him. It couldn't possibly be attraction - a man who preferred the company of other men instead of women was an oddity, something that went against nature - but in recent days a gnawing doubt had taken root in his mind. What if it was actually attraction? No, he couldn't tell Hudd, it was a terrible idea. They were all friends, he wasn't going to risk their long-running comraderie for something that he couldn't even be certain off, and stars, what would Hudd and Ellie think? Insane. It was utterly and absolutely insane to be thinking like that.
Disgust seeped into his thoughts.
"Ford?" A voice came, and he was brought back to reality by a hand shaking his shoulder, "You all righ' there? It's startin' to rain."
Eh, since when did it become so bloody cloudy? Ford wondered with a blink, looking up and noticing that the cloud he had been staring at had suddenly multiplied and taken on a dark grey hue. He cursed under his breath and stood up, picking up his rolled-up cloak off the ground and draping it over his shoulders, "Bloody hell, looks like it's time to go back."
"Mmmhmm... S'pose I should be going home now..." Terrence mumbled sullenly, frowning and putting his own cloak back on, and soon after they were marching back the way they came from.
The trek uphill was uneventful, silent and long, marred by the threat of rain and dull, grey skies. As they passed through the old yard of stumps that the woodsmen of Combe had long cut down years ago, Ford took the opportunity to sneak constant glances at Terrence, lips pursed in thought.
Terrence was... well, he was simply Terrence. Ford found nothing noteworthy about him, save for the fact that his short, unruly hair was a constant mess throughout the day. He was of a lanky, awkward build, the kind one would usually get when a boy nearing his teens was experiencing a growth spurt, and his face was youthful, but plain otherwise, cheeks smattered with a small spattering of freckles. He had playful, warm brown eyes that Ford thought beautiful under certain light, but otherwise, there was nothing else Ford could think or feel about. No strange, quickened heartbeats, no short intakes of breath or muddled feelings of obsession.
Nothing.
Ford set his jaw as they came upon the familiar red cobblestone path leading down into the main village. Soon enough, they would be passing by the Red Anvil, and he diverted his thoughts to a fantasy of being a grown man with beard, hammer in hand and striking down on a breastplate with mighty arms. He chuckled and grinned to himself as he spotted the familiar sign of the forge and walked faster so he could stop to see what Master Statler, or even Ellie, was creating this time.
Instead, he saw the backside of a well-built young man with a hammer raised above his head, dark brown curls bouncing slightly with each strike wrought onto what he guessed was metal. The figure turned, and Ford could see arms, not quite so muscular, but toned and covered in a thin, shiny layer of sweat. His heart began to race as he saw the freckles on the bridge of the young man's nose, and brown eyes that held a strange, burning intensity as they focused upon the piece of metal that he was holding with a pair of tongs. The same brown eyes met his, and suddenly his mind was wiped blank as he stared back.
Then, the intensity of those eyes was replaced with warmth and glee, and Ford felt light on his feet, enthralled. A hand was raised to wave at him. His name was called - "Oi, Ford!" - and the delightfully boyish and youthful face turned to get a clearer look at him, the corners of his mouth turned up in a way that made Ford's stomach feel hollow and twisted with numerous thick knots.
Hudd was smiling at him.
(OOC: Feedback and critique of any forms welcome. 
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