𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗔𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥 ⚔︎

17

during the days that followed, giovanni spent the rest of his time in berezenki showing jesse around the farm. his first mission was to introduce jesse to his horse, nikita, whom also somewhat doubled as his childhood best friend.

in the morning, when the air was still cold and the sun was still rising, the boys woke up early to feed and groom nikita. they ate hearty breakfasts, got dressed into their scrubs (old vests, dirty jeans, and ivan's army shirts from the early sixties), and set out into the field. the stallion whinnied at the sight of giovanni, as he often did, excitably lashing his tail as the young man opened the rusted metal gate. jesse followed him in, nerves eating away at his stomach as the horse approached him.

"easy, easy," giovanni mumbled, stroking the horse's long nose. grabbing hold of the halter, he lead him over to where jesse was now standing in the open field.

"so this is nikita," jesse said, admiring the stallion's long, silky mane and his clean dark brown coat.

"yes, this is nikita," giovanni said, watching as nikita sniffed him. "he's very friendly, and he never bites people, so you have nothing to worry about."

"okay, good." jesse smiled as nikita let out a huff. he stroked the horse's big, round cheek. "he's quite cute."

"yes, he is," giovanni beamed. "he's old now, though. we got him when he was just a foal when i was three. he's only got a few years left but he's still in top health."

"do you ride him often?"

"yes, i ride him as often as i can."

jesse smirked. "well, c'mon— don't by shy, cowboy."

giovanni stared at him with a humorous glint in his eyes. "alright..."

he lead nikita over to the stable and disappeared inside. a few moments later, giovanni emerged with a saddle, a bridle, a blanket, and a pair of stirrups. his brain activated a routine as he clad nikita in his tack — blanket first, then the bridle, saddle and stirrups. then, he climbed onto nikita's back and lightly dug his heel into the horse's belly. he tutted for him to walk.

jesse looked up at giovanni as the horse trotted toward him. "how's this for cowboy?" giovanni said, giving a quick tug on the reins.

"you look just like billy the kid," jesse chuckled. "if billy the kid was a six foot tall eastern european guy."

"six foot one, actually," giovanni said, his tone laced with sarcasm. "every inch counts."

jesse rolled his eyes. "oh, of course. every inch."

giovanni rubbed nikita's neck. "do you want to ride him?"

jesse stepped back, holding his arms up in surrender. "oh, no way. hell no," he said, laughing slightly. "chantelle used to ride when we were younger and her horse rudy scared the shit out of me. it was awful. used to bite me and chase me and everything."

"just try it," giovanni smiled. "you'll be fine. trust me."

jesse sighed and put his hands on his hips. "alright, but only for a few minutes."

when the sun was out and the clouds were sparse, nikita would sometimes accompany the two on their adventures around the countryside. it all depended on if the stallion could be bothered or not: giovanni could always tell when he was too tired to go out on certain days. after all, he was getting old, and the time was coming when he'd have to start giving him medication for his soon-to-be sore bones and chronic ear infections. giovanni dreaded those days. sometimes, he was scared that he wouldn't be able to be there for nikita, as he'd be in new york. if medication was too expensive, his father would probably have to sell him to the slaughterhouse — but he tried not to think about that too much.