WildHearts10

Lance rushed into the house, past the living room where Bobbie was lying pitifully on the couch, and straight to his and Joey's room. He shut the door and immediately started to get undressed. He tore off his shirt quickly, dropped his pants, and stood in his underwear in the middle of the room. He opened the drawers of his dresser and started rummaging through them for something to wear. He decided that a pair of long, work pants and a long sleeved shirt would do just fine. While he was slipping on his boots, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" he shouted.

The door opened, and Josh poked his head inside, his eyes landing on Lance. He smiled and sat down beside him. Lance glanced up, his whole face brightening at the sight of his boyfriend.

"Josh!" he said excitedly, grabbing his hands and giving them a squeeze. "You will *never* guess what's happening to me."

Josh grinned at Lance's excitement. "No, probably not," he joked, "so why don't you tell me."

Lance bounced slightly. "I'm going to be a bronco rider."

Josh's smile faltered, and soon it was erased completely from his face."What?" he asked.

Lance nodded. "Yeah, since Bobbie's hurt, Chris is going to train me to be a bronco rider!" he gushed. "Just like you Josh."

Josh shook his head quickly, snatching his hands from Lance's and standing up. "No, you can't be a rider," he said quickly.

Lance's mouth fell open in shock. "Josh, what-"

"No!" said Josh, backing up. "You can *not* be a bronco rider. You-you just can't." He pointed a shaky finger at Lance's face. "I forbid you to be a bronco rider."

Lance was overcome with a wave of shock, sadness, and anger. Overall, though, the anger won out. He jumped off the bed, and was in Josh's face in two strides.

"You, cannot *forbid* me to do anything Josh," he said quietly, the anger obvious in his voice.

Josh nodded. "Lance-"

"No!" yelled Lance. "This is my dream Josh! My dream! I've wanted to be a rider ever since I was old enough to walk! And just because you have some hang-up about being the best and *only* damn rider this side of the country, I will *not* give up my dream!" Lance wiped his mouth and stepped back. "I refuse to give up my dream," he corrected.

Josh's face had softened during the middle of Lance's shouting, and he wrapped his arms tightly around Lance's waist, despite the younger man's protests.

"Oh Lance," he whispered, kissing the younger man's neck, "that's not what I meant at all. I swear. It's just-" He took a shaky breath, spinning Lance around so that they were eye to eye. "I've been a bronco rider for a few years now, and even before that I've watched some of the best riders there are get hurt. *Badly*. One time, when I was about your age, I was watching one of my favorite riders ride this mean lookin' bronco. He was doing really good, but something happened towards the end. He lost his grip, and was bucked off the horse. He must have flew at *least* thirty feet in front of the horse before he hit the ground." Josh grabbed Lance's hands and held them tightly. "He died Lance. Okay? He *died*. I don't ever want to see that happen to you."

Lance swallowed thickly, running a hand over Josh's face softly.

"I'm sorry you had to see that Josh," he whispered, "but I am not that guy. I know what I'm doing, and I *know* that I want this. I still have a lot to learn, but that's why you and Chris are here. You can-"

"No," said Josh, letting go of Lance's hands. "I'm not going to be a part of this." He saw the hurt wash over Lance's face, and he sighed. "I still hate Chris for letting you do this," he said, "but I'm not going to stop you."

Lance smiled, hugging Josh tightly and kissing him.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Josh nodded and kissed him back, praying in his mind that all went well.

~*~
"Okay," said Chris, "now here's what's going to happen Lance. We've had this mini arena built back here on the field for practice reasons. Right here is the gate and pen that the bronco will be kept in. You have to climb the gate, and hop onto its back. Okay? Lance, I said, okay?"

Lance looked at the wild horse, taking in its shiny brown coat, black mane, and big brown eyes.

"This horse needs a name," he said suddenly.

Chris sighed. "My big, bad bronco rider," he grumbled. "All right Lance, this is gonna be your horse. What do *you* want to name it?"

Lance studied the animal, smiling as he rubbed its back. "Toby," he said.

Bobbie snorted up from where she was sitting on the porch swing.

"Toby?" she asked. "What kind of a name is that?"

Lance blushed, and was about to respond when he heard a voice behind him.

"I think it's a great name."

Lance whipped around, grinning at Josh. Josh smiled softly, kissing him quickly on the cheek. "Good luck," he whispered.

Lance nodded, glad that Josh was trying to be supportive of his decision. Chris coughed, glaring at Josh when he walked by. He turned to Lance.

"Lance," he said. "when I blow the whistle, Joey's going to open the gate and Toby is going to come barreling out there. So I suggest you stop fooling around and get on the horse."

Lance blushed, climbing the gate and sitting down on Toby's back, who was all ready starting to get restless. He gripped the hump at the front of the saddle, and hugged his legs to the horse's sides. Chris blew the whistle, Joey opened the gate, and Toby neighed loudly, running out of pen. Lance tried to hold on, but his grip slipped and he fell to the ground. Josh immediately ran to his side, Joey ran to get Toby, and Chris stayed where he was.

"Hey, Lance, baby are you all right?" asked Josh, worry clouding his blue eyes.

Lance groaned, lifting his head slightly and opening his eyes. He sighed and sat up, slapping the ground hard.

"Fucking great," he muttered.

Josh's mouth fell open at Lance's language, but he recovered in time to help him up.

"Maybe you should stop-"

"Hey kid!" yelled Chris from where he was standing. "Is that it? Are you being a baby and giving up?"

Josh whipped his head around angrily, glaring at Chris. Lance narrowed his eyes, shrugging off Josh's comforting hands and stalking back to the gate.

"Like hell I am," he said.

Chris nodded, waiting for Joey to get Toby back into the pen and Lance to get on his back.

"What the fuck are you trying to pull?"

Chris glanced at a very angry Josh and shrugged. "Kid's gotta learn to be a man sometime," he said. "Might as well be now."

Before Josh could respond, Chris blew the whistle, and Toby came rushing out of the gate. Lance held on for a split-second longer before falling off. Josh started walking towards Lance, but Chris grabbed his arm.

"Leave him alone," he said. "He has to do this on his own."

Josh glared at him. "He might be hurt."

Chris shrugged. "That's the way it goes." He turned to Lance. "Is that it kid?" he yelled.

Lance dusted himself off and limped towards the gate, shaking his head silently. Josh sighed in frustration, walking back to the porch and sitting down beside Bobbie and Britney to watch.