Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Hey, Johnny,” Gyro looked up at the sky as the sun lowered beneath the horizon line. “Sun’s going down. We should probably set up camp.” He tightened his grip on the reins, slowing Valkyrie. The horse huffed as it obediently came to a stop and waited as Gyro hopped down from the horse’s back.

Johnny glanced at Gyro. His cold gaze shifted to the sun before nodding. He grunted, twisting himself off of Slow Dancer before hitting the ground. “You think this is a good spot?”

Gyro scoffed, removing his bag from his horse. “It’s as good as we’ll get for tonight. Not like there’s inns all over the place,” the Italian retorted before turning to Johnny. In his arms was his teddy bear.

His ally was less than amused. Johnny dragged himself to the space where their horses had taken their own rest. He grabbed some sticks and stared. “…they’re still damp from the rain. We can’t make a fire with these.” He tossed them to Gyro, who caught them.

He stared, green eyes narrowed. “Of course they’re wet, Johnny. How long ago was it storming?” Gyro lifted his arm, displaying the holes in his right bicep. Johnny only looked away. Gyro dropped his arm before sighing. “…I should have something to make us some fire.”

Johnny snapped his fingers. “There’s some water over there. We can take care of the horses and ourselves. Unless you have some…” He glanced at the teddy bear, “…other plans. Like tucking that thing in.”

“Hey, be nice.”

“I am. And you should know that.”

After a silent stare-off, the two separate. Johnny dragged himself to the horses to care for them while Gyro prepared their temporary bedding and a fire to keep warm. The two worked in sync silence, only breaking it on occasion for a question or statement. By the time they had both finished, a nice camp was set up, and the horses were tied up.

Gyro paused as he knelt down near the fire. His dirty blond hair—pulled into a temporary ponytail—fell over his shoulder as he looked at Johnny. “Hey, Johnny,” he started, hands on his hips. “Does… does having the spine feel different than just the arm?”

Johnny shrugged. “I mean… the lightheadedness from earlier is gone. So… not really, I guess. I feel fine.” He let out a breath as he leaned back. “My legs still don’t work, so it’s not like I care.”

“Such a joy, Johnny.” Gyro shook his head as he removed his top, cape, and hat.

The blond looked up, brows raised. “I know.”

The taller man stretched his arms up high, his green tank top riding up to expose most of his midriff. “You wanna go bathe ourselves now? The horses have gotten more than enough care by now.” Gyro grinned, his grills flashing as the sun finally set.

Johnny sighed. “I suppose so.” He lifted his arms in silence. Gyro, the grinning opportunist, knelt down to pick Johnny up. He readjusted Johnny’s legs so they rested on the crook of his elbow, his back hoisted up by Gyro’s other arm. The man then strolled towards the small river, unceremoniously dropping Johnny onto the grass next to the pond.

With an oof, he sat up and removed his clothes until he sat on the grass with nothing on, his back towards Gyro. He pushed himself forward until his toes broke the surface of the water. Then, he submerged his lower half and glanced back at Gyro.

He sank further into the water, moving forward until he was further submerged in the pond. Johnny cupped his hands and poured some of the water over his head, letting it drip down his face and soak his hair. He scrubbed his face before glancing at Gyro.

Gyro watched him for a moment before chuckling. He had already removed most of his clothes, leaving only his tank top and pants. He wiggled out of his pants before staring at Johnny for another minute. “Water’s shallow?”

“This end is.” Johnny pointed. “It’s a little deeper over there, near the middle.”

He hummed, throwing his tank top aside. “You’re barely above water,” Gyro commented. Johnny only pointed a dripping finger to silence the other man as he climbed into the small pond.

The silence grew comfortable. Gyro went to the deeper end, throwing water over his head before grabbing their small bar of soap. Johnny closed his eyes, relaxing for a moment as the movements from Gyro pushed the waves against him. Their horses were nearby, now sleeping after their long and eventful journey.

”Need me to get your hair?” Gyro asked after a moment.

Johnny didn’t open his eyes. “Sure.”

He pushed through the water before reaching the smaller jockey. Gyro grabbed Johnny and moved him just a little closer to the edge of the water. His hand cupped some water and dropped it over his hair before rubbing his hands with the soap and scrubbing it into his hair.

Gyro glanced down. Johnny’s spine jutted out of his back as he leaned his head forward for Gyro’s ease. “…your spine is, uh—”

”It’s the corpse’s spine.” He jerked his head up, sending Gyro tumbling back, sputtering as the soapy water nearly landed in his mouth and eyes. Johnny glanced back at him with the ghost of a smile. It disappeared the moment Gyro opened his eyes. “The same thing happened with the arm.”

“Hm. I guess I wouldn’t notice that only having the eye.” He pulled his hands back from Johnny’s hair, sitting in the water, and turned around, waiting for his turn. Johnny flipped himself around in the water and grabbed the soap from the shoreline as Gyro’s eyes closed.

Gyro opened one eye. “Make sure you get deep in there, Johnny,” he instructed before shutting it.

Johnny glared. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

“Nyohoho…!”

Silence draped over them again. Gyro’s hair took longer due to its length, and despite his retort, Johnny did take his time to ensure he’d cleansed his mane thoroughly. The silence was only broken by Gyro occasionally lifting his right arm and watching the water of the pond drip through the holes in his bicep. The younger’s only response was to roll his eyes.

By the time they had finished bathing, the sun was down. Gyro dressed first, offering his arms to Johnny. Johnny groaned before taking them. The walk back to their makeshift camp was silent, too.

Gyro dropped Johnny onto the ground, then squatted next to the fire with some bread and meat that Johnny had prepped earlier. He tossed some, and the other caught it with ease. Gyro wrung his hair out before eating, eyes staring at the fire.

Johnny watched him with an odd concentration. He leaned back. “Thinkin’ about that kid?”

“Which one?” Gyro looked up. “The one in Italy, or Lucy?”

“The kid you’re in the race for, obviously.”

The taller man didn’t reply at first, but then flashed Johnny a literal golden grin. “I don’t get sentimental about shit like that. I do what needs to be done.” Gyro tossed the remains of his food to the side.

Johnny rolled his eyes, unimpressed. He tossed the remnants of his food aside as well. “Sure you don’t.”

“Don’t give me that.”

“Then don’t give me ammo.” Johnny reached into his bag and tossed his gun in the air, catching it and placing it on the ground. “You know I’ll shoot once I’m given the chance.”

Gyro let out a huff of a laugh in response. He stood up and looked around. The occasional ruffling of grass had to either be from the wind or from other racers. “You want me to watch first?” He sat in his makeshift bed.

Johnny readjusted his hat. He looked out, too. “Sure. Wake me in two hours, if that. We need to get further ahead.”

The Italian only nodded in response. He watched as Johnny dragged himself onto the bed and lay down. Gyro chuckled. “…I know. Our enemies are only going to want us even more dead, now that we properly have another corpse part,” he mumbled, his voice lacking its usual playful energy.

Wind howled as Gyro got comfortable. He had their set of binoculars, his teddy bear, and his steel balls in his hoisters in case of any trouble. His hands drummed on his brown pants, ankles crossed as he hummed a song under his breath.

“Goodnight, Gyro,” Johnny whispered into the night. Gyro gave him one last glance, noting his back was towards the taller man. He could’ve sworn he’d misheard it or that it was a trick of the wind had Johnny not shifted.

Gyro leaned back, putting out the fire. “…goodnight, Johnny.”