A Noble Boy and a Stable Boy ~{Sanders Sides}~

~12~

The forest that took up a good portion of the grounds was where Janus's family name came from. It was littered with snakes. Even as he walked along in - surprising - silence with Remus, he could hear snakes worming away and slipping around in the bushes and foliage surrounding them. That was why you'd always have to venture into the forest in pairs - a person alone could be dangerous.

Janus loved the forest. Despite the rules that he had to be accompanied when within it, he always snuck in without supervision. The snakes loved him: they seemed charmed by him, in an almost mystical manner. Was it the fact his fingers were as cold as their scales? Was it because he glittered with all the jewels and golds he dressed in? Or was it because of the other times? When he sat there, all alone, crying and sobbing over nothing important?

That was when the snakes first turned up. He was young, a lot younger than he was now, and it was late at night. He had fled the manor, climbing out of one of the narrow windows on the ground floor. He had sprinted and stumbled, despite Cook shouting for him to stop. He had ventured up the hill with viper-like speed, using the branches to gain momentum. Then he hid in a bush and waited as he cried. The snakes found him soon after. 

They didn't seem to mind his intrusion. They didn't seem to mind him at all. Janus had woken up at home the following morning and spent the rest of the day hearing scoldings and lectures from all the adults around him.

Abruptly, he was brought out his thoughts when he felt something across his back and shoulders. He turned to look at Remus with a frown. The stable boy had his arm wrapped around the noble boy and, despite his oh-so 'innocent' whistling, he couldn't fool him with his false naivety.

"What are you trying to do here?" Janus asked, coolly arching an eyebrow.

Remus looked at him, feigning a mocking confusion. "Who, lil' old me? I'm doing nothin', Master Adders."

Janus groaned, turning away. "You're reprehensible."

"Mmm, big words. I don't understand big words."

"I'm not surprised," Janus muttered, thumb beginning to idly twist a ring on his index finger. "'Big' is not something you're used to, is it?" Although Janus kept walking, Remus froze, his arm still in place. He walked on for a good five seconds, before turning around, with a sigh. "Are you trying to let the snakes get you over there? Sorry to disappoint, but not even they would want you."

Remus stared, mouth agape. "Did... did you just make a dick joke?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You did, didn't you?" Remus began to grin. "Oh my god, you insulted my dick!"

Janus made a face. "And now I'd really rather you stopped talking about it because I'm feeling grossed out."

"But you did! Hey, I made you joke!"

"Your parents made a joke."

"Holy lemon-flavoured bullshit, you did it again!"

Janus stared at him for a moment, fighting the pinching of his cheeks and the tug of his lips. He would not give this rat the satisfaction of a laugh. No. Never in a million years would he laugh in front of the boy gawking and garbling in shock at the prospect of the noble boy making a joke. Nope. Nu-uh. He wasn't going to laugh. He wasn't going to laugh. He was not going to laugh-!

Ah, dammit.

He burst out in a sudden fit of giggles, hiding his face in his hands as he snorted and chuckled. Remus watched him in silence for a moment and then started laughing too; it wasn't nearly as polite. It was much more of a maniacal cackle than a collected giggle. That made Janus laugh even more and Remus began laughing harder too, bending over as he hooted with amusement.

"You are so, so annoying!" Breathed Janus, face crinkled up in a wide beam.

"And you are so, so funny!" Remus answered quickly, grinning up at him. "Since when was that a thing?"

"Excuse you, it's always been a thing!" Janus smiled despite himself. "I'm easily the greatest comedian the island has ever seen."

Remus made his way over, leaning on his shoulder. "Ah, yes. That I can see! Add the fact you're kind and modest."

"The kindest," Agreed Janus with a small beam. "And certainly the most modest. I'm just that brilliant." Remus's eyes weren't looking into the mismatched gaze that stared into his. They were angled somewhere a little lower. Still focused on Janus's face though.

The laughter had stopped now. They stood in silence, close together. Remus's hand moved slowly, beginning to take hold of the back of Janus's head. He leaned in a little bit closer and he suddenly hit Janus. He was staring at his lips.

He was going to kiss him.

As Remus drew in closer, Janus felt himself panic. He didn't know where it came from; his muscles just suddenly tensed and his heart beat faster in his chest. All he really knew was that this was not his heart beating faster in a good way. He didn't want to kiss Remus. Not so soon and not now. He barely knew him. He couldn't even admit to knowing what his favourite colour was. He didn't want to be a 'fling'. At least, not just a 'fling' for Remus.

His hands moved to the stable boy's shoulders at the last second and he shoved sharply. He shoved hard and he shoved strong. Remus stumbled off him, tumbling onto the floor ungrateful. Janus stared down at him, wide-eyed with panic and fear making him shake.

"What were you doing?" Janus hissed shakily, taking a small step back.

Remus had the decency and shame to look guilty, eyes casting themselves to Janus's boots. "I... I'm sorry, I-"

"You should be!" Blurted Janus loudly. "You were-! you were trying to kiss me! Weren't you?"

The other boy winced at the horror in the aristocrat's voice. "I'm sorry..."

"Why would you do that? I-! I don't want to kiss you!"

"I said I'm sorry," He muttered, with a tiny bite to his voice.

Janus took another step back, this time a larger one. "I can't believe you, right now. Why would you-? I didn't- I don't-!" Janus stared at him, unsure whether it was betrayal, fury or fear that was building up in his chest. He tried to take a deep breath, attempting to keep his voice steady and sharp as he said, "I think we're finished here, stablehand. You can go back to work."

Then he turned on his heel and marched away, leaving Remus alone in the forest. He didn't glance back, even when he heard Remus pick himself up. He didn't glance over his shoulder, even when he heard Remus walk back the way they came. He kept walking straight ahead.

Snakes slithered out of the bushes to the young master. They seemed pitiful or sorrowful. They wormed along the ground around his feet and tried to curl themselves around his ankles. Janus didn't stop walking, despite the horde of serpents in his wake, increasing by the dozens. He kept moving. Kept going ahead. One foot after the other, he didn't stop till he was deep in the forest.

He leant his back against a tree. He sat down softly. He brought his knees up to his chest. He let snakes climb over him, hissing and sticking out their forked tongues sadly. He let them bother him, let them lick his face with their tiny tongues. He didn't flinch, no matter how many clambered on top of him.

For the second time that day, he began to cry. This time, he sniffled and hiccuped and choked his way through the cascade of tears. There was not a soul around him but the serpents to judge him as he sobbed. Not a single servant or noble in sight as he wept.

Go ahead and cry, little boy, a barbed version of his own voice whispered in his head. There's nothing to cry over, anyway.

And, oh, how right that voice was.