rpg_palace | Carnival: Johnny/Christian/Will/Marton (Reply)

Cavalcade: Part One.

"That's it, keep your feet in there and hang on to the pommel nice and tight." Will circled the pony around the flags one last time and headed back. To his immense relief, his replacement was there ready to take over and, damn, were his feet and ears grateful! Not to mention his stomach. He handed over the reins and wandered over to the hay bale to retrieve the lunch he'd left in a paper bag earlier. Salvation in hand, he looked around for Christian and spotted him a few feet away, chatting to a newly-arrived Johnny. Joining them, he waved the paper bag around. "Need. food." he gasped. "Going. To. Expire."

Johnny grinned over at the approaching Will and said to Christian, "We should probably take off, then. I don't think your da'd be very happy if we let your new step-mum expire from starvation."

Christian choked and grinned, using pantomime to indicate he was going to go and collect the food he and Johnny had stashed earlier as an alternative to facing the press of the crowd around the food stalls.

Once he'd gone, Will turned to Johnny with an evil smile on his face. "And now we are alone." He told him, his eyebrows waggling. "And don't think I won't make you pay for that. In fact," He deposited his lunch in Johnny's unprepared arms. "you can carry. Wicked stepmothers don't do that sort of thing." Sticking his nose in the air and not waiting for either Christian or Johnny, he marched off into the park, his posture telling a story of wounded feelings.

"But I never said a word about wicked!" Johnny said in an exaggerated whine as he trotted along after Will. "Weak and fainting, okay, maybe, but not even a syllable about wicked!"

Christian caught up with them just as they reached the end of the fairground area and as Johnny was stepping over the rope boundary. He looked over his shoulder to make sure Lawrence, Jet and Jess were with them and that they had their lunches as well and then he gestured, the bags of pre-packed food landing in Johnny's arms. His own, Christian's, and those of all three bodyguards, held in place by Christian's Gift until Johnny had a grip on them. His lover looked at him in astonishment while behind him the bodyguards could be heard laughing. Christian gave Johnny a filthy look. "Stop picking on my mother!" He told him pettishly and stalked off after Will.

Will had found a nice private spot overlooking the bay and had settled comfortably with his back against a fallen log. Christian came and flung himself down beside him, his hands coming up to smooth Will's disarranged hair. "You alright, honey?" Christian crooned. "Did the nasty boy upset you?"

Will batted his hands away. "Yes. He did." He pouted for a moment then launched himself at his friend, knocking them both sideways and down, onto the grass. Sprawled quite effectively over Christian, Will grinned. "Make me better?"

Johnny dumped the lunches next to a tree and settled down against the trunk by crossing his feet and lowering himself smoothly down to the grass. He watched Christian and Will snogging with a grin and some interest. By the time the two older men came up for air, Johnny was leaning against the tree with a sandwich in one hand and an apple in the other, an expression of polite interest on his face. The three shadows had collected their own food and were looking anywhere but at the two rolling around together, although that could've been duty as easily as discretion.

"Don't let me stop you," Johnny said airily, gesturing with the apple. "Carry on, please."

"Feed. Me." Will rolled off Christian, quite happy now his honor had been restored, and onto his back, waving a languid hand in the air in the general direction of the food. Johnny threw his bag at him and he caught it easily, unrolling the top and pulling out a sandwich, which he bit into with relish. "Mmm." He hummed when he'd finished chewing. "Wonder how Mr. Balloons is getting on? Bet he's not as content and happy as we are."

"Oh pulheeze! Duck. Water." Christian rolled his eyes at the very notion that Marton might be anything other than completely, moronically ecstatic with his job making balloon animals for the kids over in the children's section and then set about investigating his own lunch. He propped himself up on his elbows and gave a signal nod to Lawrence who then led the others away to a more comfortable distance. There were cameras everywhere out here in this section, not to mention blokes in the shrubbery on the perimeter. He was pretty sure they'd be safe where they were.

Swallowing his morsel, he looked over at Johnny and patted the grass beside him. "Come on." He urged. "Don't be standoffish. Will won't hurt you, will you?"

Will spoke around a mouthful. "Nah. That's later."

Johnny scooted over with his lunch next to Will and leaned up against him. "You wouldn't really hurt me, would you? A poor, defenseless little thing like me...?" He fluttered his eyelashes and pouted adorably.

"No." Will admitted. "Not badly." He grinned and bit down on his sandwich and then pulled a face, glancing across at Christian. "This is dreadful."

"What is? The sandwich?"

Will shook his head. "No. Meek and mild-mannered me. Your father's a dead-straight bad influence on me I tell ya. Why once, I'd have snottered this little punk just for his funny looks." He rubbed the top of Johnny's head hard, for emphasis.

Quick reflexes let Johnny duck out from under Will's hand before it could really hurt. He gave him a cheeky grin and said, "Hey, whatever works!" then winked and took another bite of his sandwich.

"I think all that bounding about has scrambled his brains." Will sighed extravagantly and laid back, his sandwich momentarily abandoned. "Whatever possessed us to sign up for the kid's horses? Did we have a brain fart of some kind?"

Christian shrugged and, reaching up behind Johnny where he couldn't see it coming, rubbed the top of his head. "I don't know. If I do it again, you have permission to kill me. My feet are like roadkill inside these boots." He grinned at Johnny. "How's the bouncing going there, sport?"

Johnny leaned into Christian's rubbing and smiled up at him. "Great! It's a lot of fun! Remember when you told me how you used to throw yourself at the barrier wall up on the plateau? This is like that, only there's a force barrier on the floor, too, so you don't get bruised when you land. Much better than grass. We've been having a great time bouncing off the walls all morning."

Christian raised an eyebrow at Will, peering at him from around Johnny. Will simply sighed. "I knew it. Scrambled." He picked up his sandwich and they managed to finish their lunch in relative harmony.

Johnny stuffed detritus into his bag and rolled it up, except for a handful of grapes he could eat while they walked back. "We ready to go? Or are you two planning on ducking out and hiding from the ponies for the afternoon?" He raised a teasing eyebrow at the two of them.

"It's not the ponies." Will complained, slowly getting to his feet. "It's what's on them. Screaming and giggling and . . . You have to be there."

Christian scanned the ground behind them to make sure they had everything and then headed off in the same direction as the other two. "Only six more hours to go." he called out. A grape hit him on the forehead and he rubbed at it, following the other two back down toward the battleground.