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The distinct scent of swimming pool hit Francis first thing as he entered the building, causing the usual feeling of being out of place to spike for a moment. He always felt somewhat awkward even approaching the clinic with its large sign, the silhouette of a dog, cat, and bird combined in an elegant way, even if it ought to be familiar by now. A sense of embarrassment associated with it was too reflexive at this point.
Passing the reception Francis moved with purpose, receiving only a brief smile and hello from the woman working at the desk before she returned her attention to her computer. He was recognised by pretty much everyone here now, with how often he came to appointments. Even closer to the pool area the air wasn’t as damp and hot as Francis was used to from being invited to one of his nephew’s swimming competitions. Those places simply felt wrong and uncomfortable to enter while wearing outdoor clothes no matter the season or occasion. Here it was much cooler and the humidity wasn’t so high as to make his jacket unbearable. What it lacked in soupy air it made up for with the scent of wet dog. That scent Francis was more than used to at least.
Rubber squeaked under his heels as he walked through the glass doors leading to the actual pool area, where he could already hear splashing and a man’s voice muttering encouragement. Another thing adding to his sense of being out of place, Francis couldn’t quite shake the feeling that he ought to take off his shoes. No human ran around here barefoot, so perhaps it really was alright.
He rounded the corner into the poolroom just in time to see his dog being coaxed through one final round of swimming. It really wasn’t a very big pool, about the size small children would be safe to splash around in and at no point was it deeper than chest height for an adult standing upright. Neptune was pushing through the water, one great black beast cutting through the clear blue with his thick fur trailing behind him. The bright yellow life preserver for doggies was perhaps a bit much for a Newfoundland, but Francis wouldn’t want to lift him out of the water either if the dog did end up too tired.
And there was the second thing that spiked the awkwardness.
James Fitzjames, professional vet and high class annoyance. Or at least, that was what Francis had thought of him for years, back before he went sober and reconsidered a lot of his behaviour towards people who’d committed no greater crime than be obnoxious. Or those who took the side of someone Francis was having personal arguments with. For years Francis had had no kind word for the Fitzjames, nothing but hurtful comments over dinners with shared acquaintances and annoyed glances shot across tables at each other. There had never been an opportunity to properly apologise after rehab and therapy, and now James was going out of his way to provide care for the most goodnatured of Francis’ companions. It felt wrong to rely on the man so much, to be so grateful, and yet have this unspoken thing between them, which Francis didn’t know how to address and James seemed to be happy to simply forget.
“There he is,” James called out as he heaved himself out of the water with a practiced brace against the pool’s side. “Look who’s here, boy.”
Neptune obediently walked up the little ramp provided for animals to get out of the water by themselves, causing it to creak slightly under his weight. He probably was the biggest animal making use of it here. James stepped aside easily as Neptune shook himself, his fur spraying water all over the place.
“Morning, Francis!”
“Morning,” Francis said, only glancing away from Neptune for a moment. He needed to observe his dog after all, watch for signs of exhaustion and the state of his limp. It wasn’t rude not to look at James for too long.
James walked around the pool, the rubber mats squeaking under his shoes. They were the same colour as the wetsuit covering James from his neck to his wrists and ankles, dark blue with turquoise detailing. Francis had never seen that sort of gear before, though it made sense to have. Most beaches he’d been to had enough rocks to cut open sensitive skin, and James had mentioned cold water swimming on more than one occasion.
“He’s doing very well,” James said, petting Neptune’s head when the dog trotted over, carefully avoiding putting any pressure on his left front paw. “I can see he is regaining strength and confidence already.”
Neptune let out a deep buff and looked up at Francis with his gentle eyes. How the dog hadn’t gotten any less sweet after his ordeals, Francis would never know.
Francis had barely heard the whining coming from the garden around midnight a few months ago, had nearly gone back to napping on the couch before worry had made him go and check. The door leading to the garden had been open, the world beyond dark enough to see the stars. Neptune had peeled out of the shadows to the shrubbery where he would do his business before bedtime. At first Francis had only seen the way the dog was trying to walk on just three legs, a balancing ordeal at his size. The blood hadn’t immediately registered in the black fur until the first drops had hit the floor.
An emergency vet and two surgeries later Neptune had been safe but in pain. His front leg had been shattered by something, the skin split by a blunt impact. It wasn’t clear to Francis what had caused it, as there was nothing in his garden that had fallen over, no gap in the fence, nothing heavy enough to do this. Someone might have climbed over the garden wall and hurt Neptune, but the dog hadn’t barked or done anything to anyone, hadn’t even received any complaints from the neighbours besides laughter at slobbery dog kisses. It seemed the most random attack and the police had only been able to tell Francis he ought to contact them should it happen again.
The real problems began when Neptune’s great size started to impact his recovery. A dog so big really did need all his paws for stability. Walking on only three while the injury was healing caused exhaustion, and soon Francis started seeing that Neptune’s back was aching and causing the poor creature grief. There wasn’t very much one could do about that sort of thing. Supportive slings and half carrying him wouldn’t help a dog this heavy. Francis had seen the worried and apologetic look on the vet’s face as she explained potential solutions and what musculoskeletal damage might occur in a big dog with bad posture. Had realised that a worsening condition would make it even harder for Neptune to get any better and add more and more pain to his life.
Had it been for his own sake, Francis would have refused any help. But Neptune was his long suffering friend who really deserved better than such a fate right when Francis got his shit together.
So he’d braced himself for derision and called James, the man he’d always considered to be a bit of a hack, but who did co-own a clinic with state of the arts equipment, and more importantly: a centre for aquatic physiotherapy, ideal for a Newfoundland who already loved water and desperately needed a way to regain strength without his weight getting in the way. There was nowhere else Francis could think of that would accommodate a dog that big.
Francis looked at Neptune as James unclipped his lifejacket. The dog shook himself again then followed James as he led him towards the grooming room. He still only stepped on his injured leg very carefully, but he did step on it a little bit.
“James,” Francis said cautiously.
James looked back at him quizzically.
“I really am grateful,” Francis began. “For everything you do. You’ve gone above and beyond-”
James shook his head quickly. A few strands of hair had escaped the bun he kept it in at work, and fell into his face in damp curls. It made Francis wonder if the man did something to his hair normally, or if those curls only came out when soaked.
“No need for that. How could I let this poor boy suffer?”
“I mean it, we weren’t even signed up as patients when you made space for him on such short notice.”
With a wave of his hand James turned away again.
“That’s the joys of running this place, and I’ve known you for years.”
Francis watched as James led Neptune on, water still running over his back in tiny rivulets. It seemed James was as eager to ignore the matter as Francis was to try and make it right. He followed along to the small room full of tables and racks of towels and special dog leads and hair driers. Another ramp allowed Neptune to get up onto one of the spaces and he sat down to patiently let James towel and blow him dry. The whole process was too loud for Francis to try again with James, and he suspected that was the whole point. More often than not James called one of the assistants to take care of this step as he went on to do whatever else it was he did all day.
When Neptune was once again a dry and fluffy mass of dog and fur James set his equipment away and leaned forward to squish Neptune’s massive head between his head.
“You’re such a good boy, such a brave little boy. Go on, off you go with Daddy.”
Francis very firmly reminded himself that the building was somewhat warm and it was normal for one’s cheeks to flush under the circumstances.
He muttered his goodbye to a way too cheerful looking James, clipped Neptune’s collar and lead on, and left the building as fast as he could with the dog lumbering behind.
It was more than just the strange sensation of owing an apology to a man he’d had so many fights with over the years. More than the shame of realising he’d been too mean. Francis looked at James as he worked hard to help Neptune, saw him smile and be at ease with nobody else to impress. And Francis knew it wasn’t just a sense of decency that made him want desperately for James to think highly of him in turn.
*
“It feels wrong to let him get on with it for free in his own time.”
Blanky leaned on his crutch and raised an eyebrow at Francis, who was staring at the boiling pot of potatoes.
“He was the one who offered.”
The weekly dinner with Thomas Blanky had no set day, really, and most of the time Francis was over to eat with the family rather than have the man over on his own. The girls were preparing for a big project at school at the moment, so Blanky had claimed they needed the kitchen space while Esther helped them. Besides, he wanted Francis to cook today.
“Can’t be easy, you’ve tried lifting Neptune on your own before, and I bet you can heave more than James does.”
“Aye, but Fitzjames isn’t doing weight training with the slobbery thing.”
Later today Neptune would be making full use of the physiotherapy available to him, especially the water treadmill. It didn’t seem especially fun, but James always bribed him with the kinds of gourmet dog treats Francis would scoff at as wasted money. Clearly the price was worth the effort for the dog.
“He’s taking Neptune for the week when I’m away,” Francis said, ignoring Blanky’s pointed stare. “No vet would ever take that task on, even a dog sitter couldn’t be expected to take care of a dog that size with his medical needs.”
His friends had bullied him into taking a small countryside holiday even before Neptune had been hurt, so it had already been booked. It was James insisting that he would take care of the dog full time that had robbed Francis of the excuse to skip it, and now he felt all the more guilty about it.
Blanky gave him a long look, then reached out to stab at the potatoes with a kitchen knife. The spud slid off easily, so Francis turned the hob off and placed a sieve in the sink.
“Have you considered that James is trying to apologize to you by helping your dog?”
Francis scoffed and drained the pot before putting it down on the counter with a louder than necessary thump.
“For what? He’s not the one who was too drunk to even take a swing at someone at a Christmas party.”
“He’s been much less uptight since you went into rehab,” Blanky said, shrugging one shoulder. “You said it yourself, he was a bit of a prick all the time.”
“I only said it because I was a miserable drunk-” Francis protested.
“You were right, and he knew it. It’s just that James has been trying to be better at the same time you did. So now you’re awkwardly dancing around each other, not sure how to admit that the other saw all of your flaws and wasn’t afraid to point them out.”
Francis opened his mouth to deny it, then closed it when Blanky smirked at him. He was right, in some ways, though Francis had behaved far worse than James ever could. All those stories of adventure and being a veterinary assistant in exotic places, working with the fanciest animals, meeting rich and important people. It was Sir John Franklin’s admiration that had really grated on Francis, especially after he’d broken up with Sophia. He shouldn’t have channelled all of his frustration into James just because Sir John so clearly liked him, and so happily shared all of Francis and Sophia’s relationship miseries with him. Even at the time James had apologised for the intrusion into Francis’ business in private, but Francis had been too angry at the gossip to accept it.
“I don’t know how to make it right without making it even more awkward,” Francis admitted finally.
“Invite him to dinner sometime,” Blanky said, handing Francis the butter dish. “Your nan’s recipes will win anyone over, I’m sure.”
“Didn’t win over Sophia.”
“Too sophisticated for the humble cuisine, no wonder with her uncle-”
“I never invited him before.”
“So? You’ve known him for years, one homecooked meal between friends is nothing unusual.”
A cheeky grin passed over Blanky’s face for a moment, but thankfully he didn’t push that matter further.
“I’ll think about it,” Francis allowed. “Now make yourself useful and get the plates ready.”
*
It was one week before Francis’ little holiday, and the weather report was promising clear skies and warm winds. He’d have to reconsider what to pack under these circumstances, having pessimistically expected cold and wet conditions. It would even be warm enough to go for a swim.
The doorbell distracted him from having to ponder whether his khaki shorts were suitable, and it was with some relief that Francis dropped the task for now.
Neptune wandered into the house as soon as it was open, clearly sore from his walk but happy enough. James, on the other hand, looked as if he was in need of a stiff drink or a good cup of tea.
“Everything alright?” Francis asked as he unclipped Neptune’s lead and let the dog wander towards the kitchen.
“Oh yes, he’s improving a lot,” James said, sighing and folding what looked like resistance bands.
Francis had seen him walk Neptune a few weeks ago, using some sort of harness that permitted James to lift some weight off of Neptune's front paw as they walked. It permitted the dog to practice walking and slowly using his injured leg more. It also meant that James essentially spent an hour having to help a 180 pound dog carry his own weight at an unpleasant angle. Even like this Francis could see how James’ own back and shoulders were stiff from the ordeal.
“Come in,” Francis said, stepping aside. “I’ll put the kettle on.”
James looked as if he was about to protest, so Francis grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside.
“You’ve just hauled my dog around all morning, tea is the least thing I can do for you.”
With a sigh but no complaint James followed along to the kitchen. He sat down at the small table and slumped back, closing his eyes for a moment. He really was putting all of his effort into helping Neptune, Francis knew. Way more than a vet would do for an individual animal without the help of nurses and assistants, for sure. This was the kind of job for a team of people dedicated to it, for Neptune to spend time in a kennel at the clinic where he could get full attention from a rotating roster of staff. Not for one man to take time out of his day to swim and walk with the dog, or massage his sore back, spending hours heaving around a Newfoundland, for weeks at a time.
“Neptune’s doing a lot better now,” Francis said as he busied himself with the tea. “Really, I don’t know where I’d be without you.”
James smiled faintly and shrugged. At least he’d stopped waving off the gratitude by now.
“He’ll be right as rain soon.”
They were quiet as James watched Neptune chew his penguin shaped toy, and Francis made the tea. He added a generous dollop of honey into James’ cup, remembering how he’d talked about sweet drinks before, years ago. Nobody else Francis knew liked jam or honey in their tea, so the memory had stuck in his head, among the many useless little James Fitzjames tidbits he’d memorised.
When he set down the cups James took a polite little sip of his tea, then smiled in surprised pleasure at the taste. It filled Francis with a sense of accomplishment outsized to the action.
“What would be best is to let Neptune swim around freely,” James said after another long sip of too hot tea. “Did he ever do that before?”
“We’ve been swimming in lakes and the sea, yes.”
“That would be ideal, if you can manage. It would let Neptune swim as much as he likes and give him a way to burn energy while he’s unable to walk as much as he’s used to. I can guarantee it would speed up his recovery.”
Francis looked at Neptune drooling over his well loved penguin, then back at James, the dark circles under his eyes, the way he sat slightly slumped. He thought of the keys James Ross had pressed in his hand months ago, and the beautiful little holiday home Francis had a standing invitation to. How it was so peaceful as to be boring. How beautiful the river was. How pretty James looked with damp hair curling around his face and falling into his eyes.
“You should come along with me,” Francis blurted out before he could talk himself out of it. “Come on holiday with me and Neptune next week.”
James looked up in surprise.
“What, but I already promised I would take care of him!”.
“Yes, and you would work yourself into needing physical therapy yourself. There’s a river there and the weather is just perfect for swimming. Come on, you can even see it as a work trip with open water exercise if that would make you feel better.”
For the first time since Francis had known him James looked genuinely speechless. He looked at Neptune for a long moment.
“You’re going to the Ross holiday home?” he asked after a while, sounding uncertain in an entirely un-Fitzjames like manner.
“Yes, but none of them will be there anyway, not with the baby being a bit too small for all the excitement.”
With a hum James looked around. His eyes moved from his tea to Neptune and then back.
“Alright, if you really don’t mind me intruding on your holiday?”
“It’s not intruding. Come on, just pack whatever you need for a week and I’ll drive us both, you don’t even have to take a train. We’ll even have a kitchen there, I can cook.”
James’ lips twitched as he nodded.
“You’ve convinced me. One week of Neptune all day is a dream come true for me anyway.”
Francis tried to hide his smile by taking a sip of his own tea, slightly scalding his tongue. It was a little bit of a dream indeed.
*
The ride was easy after they left any traffic connected to London, exiting onto East Anglian roads that passed what seemed to be an endless sea of green and gold fields. It was sunny with a few clouds here and there, a flock of little sheep keeping the sun’s glare out of Francis’ face as he drove. He assumed there would be a little argument about music choices, since Sophia had always sighed theatrically and complained about his taste in music, but James seemed happy to go along with whatever the driver picked. He insisted on never having heard of Morrisey, causing Francis to try and educate him on his terrible gaps of knowledge before he realised James was just messing with him.
“I’ve not been on a real holiday in longer than I care to remember,” James said. “Not one where I wasn’t trying to be productive or cram in some cultural education and sight seeing of places I didn’t care too much about.”
“About time then,” Francis said. “Though I’m sorry it might be a bit boring compared to all the places you’ve been.”
“I don’t mind, I’ve seen the world enough to last a lifetime. I do miss working with the variety of animals you just don’t get here, even in London. Crocodiles. Cheetahs. I miss those kittens, I even have a photo of them.”
“I remember that tale about the cheetah,” Francis laughed, feeling warmth spread in his chest as James giggled. “It was one of the things that made me think half your stories must be lies.”
He glanced away from the road just enough to look at the polaroid James held up, showing a picture of himself much younger in a khaki zookeeper uniform, smiling wide and his arms slung around the neck of a beautiful big cat.
“No it really was real, just not as daring an adventure as I made it out to be,” James said, pushing the picture back into his phone case. “It’s not like I was wrestling wild lions, I was just helping out in a perfectly safe environment at rehab facilities. The key with cheetahs is actually to make sure they’re not too nervous to go about their lives, they’re the most neurotic cat you can imagine.”
“Really? That sounds nothing like the kind of stories you tell.”
“It’s less wrestling a big beast and more sleeping next to a big cat because you’re a human sized comfort blanky to her.”
Francis had to bite back a laugh at the mental image.
“Working with endangered animals seems like taking care of a kindergarten.”
“I wouldn't know, but children seem harder to manage.”
“Not if you’re the uncle with stories from the high sea.”
Neptune shuffled behind them and James twisted in his seat to reach back to pet the dog. Francis heard the happy low buff of a Newfoundland receiving attention, then James turned back to look out at the road.
“You’re amazing, the things you do with animals,” Francis said. “Really admirable for someone to get this much done and be this dedicated to their calling. You work so hard and the results speak for themselves.”
He expected a laugh or some pleased rejection of the praise. Instead James sat entirely still for several long moments.
“I’m not actually.”
Francis glanced to the side, where James was staring straight ahead.
“It’s not hard work or dedication that got me where I am today. You were right, when we first met, to treat me like the fraud I am. You saw right through the facade.”
James balled his hands into fists, pressing them against his thighs in an attempt to ground himself.
“My father he… well. He’s not a good man. Got lots of debts. My mother isn’t his wife, I’ve got siblings who made it very clear they don't want to even remember I exist.”
“I didn't know that,” Francis said softly.
“I never speak about it. Everything I do is to overcome that origin, and I didn't even earn what I achieved.”
They were silent for a while, Francis glancing over as much as he could, grip tight on the wheel. James’ voice had become thicker, heavy with emotion as he was trying to keep his tone light.
“I spent a few years all over the world after I graduated, working in zoos and nature preserves, the kind of thing that looks good on a CV and lets you get up close to exotic animals.”
Neptune’s nails clicked against the back of Francis’ seat as the dog shuffled around to get comfortable with his face pressed to the gap between the seats. He must have sensed the tension in the car.
“If you’re rich enough you can pay to go on safari pretty much anywhere, so speaking fluent English, Portuguese, and a little bit of Mandarin helped me get guide jobs as well. Help them just to look at off limits animals or hunt in interesting locations. Turns out being rich doesn't stop you from being an idiot. I was invited out by a friend from uni and his brother a lot, until one day his brother shot something he shouldn't have.”
James took a deep breath, his voice somewhat shaky.
“I knew someone who worked for the local environmental service, I helped them get in touch and organised for the problem to go away. Accidental injury in the wild as a cause of death, no bullets mentioned anywhere. That’s how I ended up co-owning a veterinary clinic in London. I could stop working and coast on that because a rich boy’s father was grateful for my discreet assistance. I’m not worth your praise at all. My career as a vet is entirely based on letting someone get away with shooting an endangered animal.”
They were silent for a while, the rush of the engine and Neptune’s even breathing the only sound between them.
“That’s not how I see it,” Francis said softly. “You received a decent headstart maybe, but I’ve seen how you work. You’re the most passionate man I know, so much so that it irritated me when I was at my lowest. You work hard and you get invested in your work, in your animals. I’m pretty sure you hurt yourself by lunging Neptune around all day.”
Francis reached out and wrapped his hand around James’s fingers, just as Neptune pushed as much of his great head between his seats as he could.
“If it weren’t for you… well. I’ll be forever grateful for that, James. It really means a lot to me. Your friendship. You are a good man, no matter what you think.”
James’ fingers squeezed back and when Francis glanced away from the road he could see tears spilling from James’ eyes.
“You’d really consider me a friend? Despite all the bluster and stupidity?”
I’d do more than that.
“Of course.”
They stayed like that, hand in hand until Francis had to pull away to shift gears. Afterwards he could see James’ hand from the corner of his eye, lying palm up on his lap, fingers open in invitation. When Francis dared reach out to clasp it again James immediately wrapped his fingers around his own. They stayed like that for the rest of the car ride, silently holding hands as James subtly wiped away the occasional tear and Neptune tried to nuzzle against the nearest elbow.
*
After ten minutes of country roads and a little gate closing off a long gravel driveway the Ross’ family cabin came into view. Apple trees, no longer in bloom and not quite bearing ripe fruit, provided shade over a charming little patio and the stairs leading down to the wooden dock by the river. There were paddleboards in a shed and a rowing boat covered by tarp, as well as various blow up pool toys the children enjoyed throwing around but would serve to entertain Neptune in their absence.
“That’s beautiful,” James commented as he helped Francis get Neptune out of the car.
He looked much more relaxed than he had been earlier, a stiffness Francis had never really noticed before gone from his shoulders. He looked over the river, his eyes following a couple dragonflies.
“Ours for the week,” Francis reminded him and grabbed both their bags to carry inside. “You can let Neptune go swim as much as he wants, there’s steps and a ramp he can use easily.”
Before James could protest he carried their things inside. Francis left his cooling bag of groceries on the kitchen table then carried the rest upstairs and past the children’s rooms. At the end of the hallway he hesitated only for a moment, looking at the master bedroom and the guest room he usually occupied himself. The rooms were pretty much the same, and for a moment Francis tightened his grip on the straps of James’ bag, feeling his ears heat up at the thought…
No. Making assumptions never did any good. He put his own bag down on the guestroom’s bed, then placed James’ in the masterbedroom.
Back downstairs Francis checked that all the taps worked and the heating was on, then carefully sorted the food into cupboards and the fridge. He could hear James and Neptune having some sort of discussion outside, with the dog probably complaining about his little swimming vest. Leaving them to it Francis washed some vegetables and prepared a marinade to have chicken ready for the evening and hopefully be able to impress James with some home cooked meals. He knew very well that his friends and family liked his cooking, but this was different. This was… well. He needed to impress James.
When Francis finally stepped outside again Neptune was just easing his way into the water. James stood barefoot on the quay, watching for any signs of exhaustion in the dog. He had taken off his jacket and cardigan, leaving him in a faded t-shirt. Francis had seen him in a skintight wetsuit more than once, knew, despite trying not to stare, what James’ body looked like pretty accurately. Yet something about the comfortable and loose clothing, the bare feet on sunwarmed wood, the way James’ hair was untied and falling around his face made Francis’ chest feel too small for his heart, made him want to reach out and pull James into his arms.
“What took you so long?” James asked, smiling crookedly when Francis stepped onto the wooden boards.
Neptune splashed into the water, letting out a happy bark, and proceeded to swim a slow big circle.
“Getting a marinade ready. I hope you like chicken? I can cook something else, if you prefer.”
James’ eyebrows rose in surprise.
“What? No, if you’re going through the trouble I won’t ask for special treatment, it’s your menu.”
“And you’re sharing,” Francis shrugged. “I tried to find all the recipes I thought you might enjoy, I even brought half my spice rack from home. It’s not a special treatment, just a treat.”
James looked at Francis for a long moment, then ducked his head away and fixed his eyes on Neptune. The dog was happy as a clam, not paying any attention to the humans now that he could splash about unimpeded.
“You take me out on a scenic holiday, listen to my self pity rants with more patience than it warrants, cook me meals. Be careful Francis, I’ll end up thinking you’re trying to woo me.”
The light tone sounded forced even to Francis. He glanced to where James was flexing his hand, fingers rubbing together with nothing fidget with. He reached out and grasped it, just as he had in the car, and immediately James' posture eased again.
“Would you mind? If I was wooing you?”
James looked up at that, the sun making his eyes look nearly amber in the light.
“Only if you stop halfway.”
He looked half spooked, both tense and trusting with those dark eyes barely flicking down to Francis’ lips. James really was the prettiest man Francis had ever seen. He raised his hands to grasp James’ shoulders and smiled at the way James’ lips parted in a slight gasp. When Francis tugged James closer there was no resistance, nothing but a man letting himself be manoeuvred without the slightest hesitation.
Francis felt James’ breath hitch when their lips met in a kiss. James melted against him like putty, then wrapped his arms around Francis when he tilted James’ head down to deepen the kiss. James’ lips felt slightly chapped but soft, tasting like the cocoa chapstick he used. His hair was wonderfully silky when Francis sank his hands into it, feeling the soft curls between his fingers. A tentative flick of his tongue against James’ lips had the man gasping again.
As if on cue the shock of ice cold water hit them both.
James nearly jumped and Francis let out a shocked curse. They turned just in time to see Neptune finish shaking himself off after his swim, then look at both of them with a lolling tongue and imploring eyes.
“What, can’t go without getting all the attention for one minute?” Francis asked, grinning. “You and James really are a match made in heaven.”
He glanced at James who was giggling and covering his face with one hand, cheeks red from being startled.
“I’ve got you sweetheart,” Francis told him, squeezing his shoulders gently. “Let's take it slow and make sure the dog doesn’t feel left out.”
His heart did a little somersault in his chest at the smile James gave him in turn.
“We’ve got all week, right?”
Francis slid his hand down James’ arm until he could wrap it around the man’s fingers. He grinned and leaned up to press a little peck to the corner of James’ mouth.
“All week of nothing but us and a very big dog.”
James grinned back at him, his charmingly crooked teeth flashing.
“I can’t wait.”
Neptune nudged his snout against Francis’ thigh, finally making the men break apart just enough to fuss over the dog. There would be an entire week of sunny weather and swimming and fussing over Neptune. An entire week of something new and warm and just for them.
For the first time in months, since the day Neptune had been hurt and James had sprung in to help, Francis felt truly and fully at peace.