Berrybog Boys (BxB)

Chapter X: The Bait

Ciaran stumbled into Nils and Alexander in the pub by an accident. Yes, his mother might have told him that the new occupant of Berrybog Cottage arrived in town. Yes, Ciaran might have noticed that Nils tended to spend most of his time in the village either in the Tap or in the grocery store.

He found himself noticing a lot of things about Nils, but that's because his wreck of a car just stood out on the clean streets of Edenderry.

Despite this knowledge, it was just a coincidence that he decided to take the road next to the pub when he was walking into the village that day. And when he was coming back from the village. And that he peeked inside through the large windows as he was passing by. All of these were coincidences.

Alright, maybe he was a little curious.

As he saw the two men through the window, sitting at the bar counter and chatting with Fionn, something stirred in his chest. Nils was listening to his boyfriend with a smile on his face, his body open and relaxed. He said something that made the other men laugh and for a second Ciaran could see a spark of pride and happiness on his face.

It looked nice and warm, and it made Ciaran feel... angry?

He wasn't going to dwell on those feelings. Instead, he opened the door to the pub and strolled in, filling with steps with all of his well-trained confidence.

The three men looked in his direction. He noted with some satisfaction that Nils' smile slid off of his face as soon as his eyes met Ciaran's.

"Gentlemen," Ciaran greeted the room with a smile, doing his best to pretend he was oblivious to the hostility coming off of the shorter man in waves.

"Ciaran," Nils scoffed, "just my luck."

The Irishman was ready to confirm that yes, he was indeed lucky to have the opportunity to see Ciaran, but the stranger sitting next to Nils cut in.

"You're Ciaran?" he asked.

It was the first time Ciaran's eyes slid off of Nils and onto his partner, despite his curiosity about the man being what drove him here. Did the guy have to be good looking? How unfair was that?

"I see my fame precedes me," Ciaran grinned, making his way towards them. It shouldn't surprise him, being previously mentioned to Nils' boyfriend, but it still stirred something inside of him, "And you are?"

Of course Ciaran knew who he was, but he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

"Alexander."

"Right, Nils might have mentioned you once or twice." Ciaran snapped his fingers as if suddenly remembering. "How do you like Edenderry, Alex?"

"It's Alexander," the other man answered, his tone ice cold.

"Seriously?"

"I don't like people calling me that. It's Alexander."

"Why the hostility? Nils and I are good friends, aren't we?" With these words, Ciaran scooted closer to Nils and leaned on the counter next to him.

"I would throw you in front of a moving train if I had a chance." Nils said, casually taking a sip of his beer.

Ciaran wiggled fingers of his freshly healed hand. "Bold words for someone who saved my life."

"I have regretted it since the day it happened."

"Wow," Ciaran turned his body to face Alexander again, leaning closer to Nils on the way, "I thought being with his boyfriend would restrain him."

"My boyfriend doesn't need restraining," As he said that, Alexander sneaked a hand onto Nils' knee in a gesture that to Ciaran looked almost possessive. Nils glanced at his partner, his face going slightly red. Not used to public displays?

"But I bet he would like it," Ciaran wiggled his eyebrows.

Nils looked at him with murder in his eyes and slid off of his barstool. Considering he looked like he was milliseconds away from punching Ciaran, it was probably intended to look menacing, but leaving the high chair made the height difference between them more prominent.

Seeing that at least two of his customers were getting into a fight, Fionn decided to intervene, putting his arms between them.

"Okay fellas, I think that's enough," he said, placing himself in front of them, "I don't get what the thing between you two is about. I don't want to get it. I do, however, want you to keep it outside of my fine establishment, unless you're ready to pay for the damages. And I have it on good authority, that neither of you can afford that."

The two men kept looking at each other, neither willing to be the first to back off.

Ciaran was the first to break.

"That's true. Well, I should get going anyway." He grinned and turned away. He already achieved his goal of pissing Nils off, nothing else to do. "Enjoy your date."

***

Nils wanted to throw his beer at Ciaran's back as he was leaving the pub, but he had a feeling that Fionn wouldn't appreciate that either.

He followed the Irishman with his gaze until the door closed behind him, barely listening to Alexander apologizing for their behaviour.

"Don't worry about it," Fionn replied, waving his hand. "I'm pretty sure at least one of them is going to end up bleeding on my floor before the year ends."

Alexander cringed. "Still. We will try to keep it civil."

"Eh." The bartender shrugged. "At least you guys ordered something."

That thought pulled Nils back into the conversation. "Wait, did he only come here to argue with me? What the fuck?"

In response he heard a snort coming from further inside the bar. Only then did they remembered the presence of Mr. Richards, who at some point put down his newspaper and was watching the spectacle happening in front of him while sipping his beer.

Nils cursed under his breath. He should start selling tickets, since all of Edenderry seemed to enjoy the show.