| Blind Man's Bluff |
| Monday morning, Luke woke with the sunrise streaming in their window as usual. His eyes focused on Bo, lying beside him, still sound asleep. Usually he woke his cousin before heading out for morning chores. But today, fear clutched at his stomach. Noon today was the deadline. They either had to appear before the racing commission with Bo able to drive, or officially name a substitute driver by noon today. As of last night, Bo still couldn't see. It had been a week since the accident, and the doctor had said it would most probably take about a week for the swelling in Bo's optic nerve to go down enough for his sight to return. But what if Bo woke up today and it hadn't? He knew how much that would hurt his cousin. But try as he might, he couldn't come up with any way to avoid it.
Wanting to make the pain as bearable as possible, he rolled over and gathered Bo into his arms, waking him with a kiss. At first, Bo responded, still half asleep, thinking he was dreaming. Then suddenly the body in his arms stiffened as Bo woke up and realized he was still surrounded by darkness. Luke could see the moment Bo gave up hope, and it broke his heart. "Bo, honey, I'm sorry �" he whispered, pulling his lover close. But Bo just pushed him away. "Leave me be, Luke. Go on, you got chores to do �" He rolled over, facing away from Luke, burying his head back into his pillow. Luke didn't know what to do; he knew there was nothing right now that would comfort Bo, not even his love, so he reluctantly got up and got dressed as quickly as possible, leaving Bo alone in his misery. Out in the kitchen, both Jesse and Daisy knew with one look at Luke that the miracle they'd hoped for hadn't come. Daisy hugged him tight. "I'm sorry, Luke � is he ok?" Luke shook his head as he took the cup of coffee Jesse offered. "Even I can't comfort him now, Daisy. Just leave him be this morning, ok? I'll have to go in to the racing commission office later this morning to file the substitute paperwork. If you need anything from town, just let me know before about 11, ok?" Daisy nodded and watched sadly as Luke and Jesse headed out to do their chores with heavy hearts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once he was sure Luke was gone, Bo gave himself over to the tears, sobbing heartbrokenly into his pillow. The County Fair race was the biggest of the year; it drew drivers from all around, a field that would have actually given Bo a real challenge. And there were usually scouts from the big NASCAR sponsors there. He'd always dreamed that one day he'd win a big race like this and be offered a job driving for one of the big teams. There were a million reasons why that was never going to happen, but still, it was a dream he cherished. And to not even have the chance � And damnit, it had been a week! How long was he going to have to live like this, totally dependent on Luke and the rest of the family? It was driving him crazy. What if it didn't go away? What if he had to live like this for the rest of his life? How could he be such a useless burden to them? How could Luke possibly keep loving him if he didn't hold up his share of the work? Right now, if there was a light at the end of this particular tunnel, he didn't see it. And so he cried, until there just weren't any more tears to be had. Exhausted, he fell back asleep. He dreamed, all of the terrible things that he'd faced in his life. The storm that had claimed his parents. The terrible beating Uncle Jesse had given him and Luke when he'd first caught them together as boys. The day Aunt Martha died. The pain and loneliness he'd felt when he'd finally realized he was gay. Almost losing Uncle Jesse while they were gone in anger that one night. The storm last fall. It all jumbled together, a litany of misery. He tossed and turned, in his dream seeking out the one thing that made it all worth while: Luke. It was a race, he had to win it to get to Luke, but he couldn't see, couldn't find the road, so he went cross-country, taking every shortcut he knew, but still there was no end in sight, no end, and then suddenly the darkness around him cleared and there was Luke, smiling at him, love shining from his eyes, lighting all the world, and it was so unbelievably beautiful, the sky was so, so BLUE, no, wait, that was the blue of Luke's eyes, beckoning him onward. He sat up, reaching out to his love, blinking against the brilliant sunlight that surrounded him � And suddenly he realized he wasn't dreaming. He was staring out the window at a perfectly beautiful blue sky. Everything was still kinda fuzzy, but he could SEE! "Yee ha!" The whoop he let out was loud enough to wake the dead. He turned around, looking for the bedside clock. 10AM. Still plenty of time to get in to town and show the racing commissioners that he was fit to drive. "Bo? You all right?" His head spun around again to see Daisy standing in the doorway, looking all concerned. "Dang it if you ain't the most beautiful girl in all of Hazzard County, Daisy!" He exploded out of the bed, joyously lifting her off the ground and twirling her around in his delight, not even thinking that he wasn't wearing anything but his underwear � "Bo! You can see!" She hugged him tightly, glad that his ordeal was finally over, and in time, too. As he let her go, she realized what he (wasn't) wearing and laughed. "You better put some pants on before you run out to tell Luke and Uncle Jesse!" She kissed his cheek and quickly ducked out of the bedroom, giving him some privacy. Bo blushed furiously at Daisy having seen him like that, but he guessed it didn't really matter all that much. He went to the dresser to dig out a pair of jeans, and happened to catch his reflection in the mirror. He almost didn't recognize himself with a week's growth of beard. It had come in a lot darker than he'd thought it would; it actually looked kind of funny against the bright yellow of his hair. He wasn't sure he liked it, but right now he didn't have time to worry about it. He needed to get to Luke. Properly clothed, he gave Daisy another hug as he ran through the house and out to the barn. "Luke! Luke, come here!" he called as his long legs ate up the ground between the house and the barn. Luke and Jesse looked at each other when they heard Bo's voice. "You don't suppose �" Jesse's voice trailed off as Luke took off towards the house. When Luke saw Bo running across the yard full tilt, sure of his steps, his heart nearly burst with joy. And then Bo was there, in his arms, picking him up and twirling him around as easily as he'd done with Daisy a few minutes ago, laughing, kissing him. Bo wasn't sure what he wanted to do more, hold Luke close, or hold him away so he could look at him. Luke's hands came up, caught his face as he looked into Bo's eyes, alive again and sparkling with love and joy. Bo's hand touched Luke's face, trembling now with the power of his emotion. "God, you are beautiful, Luke Duke. I ain't never seen anything so perfect �" And then they were kissing with a passion that burned as brightly as the sun. Jesse finally caught up to them and smiled as he realized his guess was confirmed. Daisy had come out too, and wrapped her arm around Jesse as the two of them tried not to stare at Bo and Luke. Finally, Jesse cleared his throat. "Ahem. I hate to bust up this little celebration, but don't you two have a date with the racing commission? I know I ain't gettin' any more work out of you today! So git going!" Bo finally broke away from Luke long enough to turn towards Jesse and give him a big hug. "Thanks, Uncle Jesse!" he said as he grabbed Luke's hand and made a beeline for the General, jumping right into the driver's seat. Luke thought he'd never been so glad to ride shotgun in his life. The grin he wore threatened to split his face wide open as Bo raced down the back roads towards town. Even without Rosco chasin' them, Bo found a chance to jump the creek, letting out another rebel yell as they caught air. Luke couldn't help but laugh and whoop it up with him. It felt so damned good to have Bo back to his normal, exuberant self! The racetrack was the centerpiece of the County Fairgrounds, which was located about 20 minutes drive west of town. The fair was in full swing, and even during the day the parking lot was pretty crowded. Bo weaved the General through the crowds, coming to a skidding stop just outside the trailer outside the track where the Racing Commission had set up shop. They quickly squirmed out of the windows and went inside. There was one person already there talking to the clerk, filling out the entry paperwork. Luke didn't know him, but something about the man looked familiar. He spent the next 5 minutes while they waited puzzling over it until he turned toward Bo and put it together. The stranger had blond hair and a dark beard; which pretty much described Bo at the moment. The odd combination must have been what struck him as familiar. Finally they heard the clerk say, "OK, that's it Mr. Martin. You're all set. Race time is 1 o'clock Saturday; you'll want to be here well before that. That parking pass will get you in before the lot is open to the public." Martin just grunted an acknowledgement and turned to go. On his way out, he gave the Dukes a strange look. Bo and Luke looked at each other, wondering what they'd done to deserve that look, then shrugged and turned their attention to the clerk, who was asking "May I help you?" Bo stepped up to the counter. "Yes, I'm Bo Duke. There was some question about my being able to drive this Saturday. I'm here to prove I'm fit for the race." The clerk rummaged through some paperwork and finally found what he was looking for. "Ah, yes, Mr. Duke. Do you have a medical certification?" Bo frowned. "You don't need a doctor to tell you that I can see again!" The clerk looked up. "I'm sorry, Mr. Duke. We'll need a medical certification. By noon." Bo couldn't believe this was happening. "Dang it, I drove well enough to get us here!" Luke grabbed his arm. "Easy, Bo. Come on; we got an hour. Time to get back to town, catch Doc Appleby, and get back here. IF we leave now." As they were turning to leave, the clerk called out helpfully, "You might want to take the form with you �" Luke spun around, snatching the form from the startled clerk's hand, before making a beeline for the General Lee. They made it back to town in record time, and soon Bo was sitting in a chair in Doc Appleby's office, reading from an eye chart. The blurriness he'd experienced when he first woke up was gone, his vision as good as ever. Satisfied, Doc Appleby signed the form, and with barely a 'thanks!' thrown over their shoulders, they were gone. Now, there's really only one way from downtown Hazzard (if you could call it that) to the Fairgrounds. During the week of the fair, it's the busiest road in the county. So you can bet that Boss and Rosco had plans to take advantage of that with some new tax or toll or something. Sure enough, as they got close to the fairgrounds, they spotted Rosco's car off to the side. There were already a couple of cars lined up to pay the fee. Bo glanced nervously at his wristwatch. "Luke, we only got 15 more minutes � we ain't got time to play tag with Rosco right now." Luke laughed. "So don't. Let's go around 'em." Bo did exactly that, flooring the gas pedal and whipping right around the line of cars. And ol' Rosco was so busy collecting money from the cars that had stopped, he wasn't ready for somebody blowin' past. He looked up just in time to recognize the General Lee. "Oooooooohhh! Dang them Duke boys!" Rosco wished there were two of him right about then; one to stay and collect money from the cars that did stop, and one to chase after the Dukes. Given that sterling example, a few more cars decided not to pay either. And that just ticked Rosco off, so he abandoned the toll collecting and climbed into his cruiser, setting the lights flashing and took off after the source of his irritation: the General Lee. But by the time he started, he was already too late. With that kind of lead, poor ol' Rosco didn't have a chance. When Luke heard the sirens behind them, he just laughed and settled in as Bo slowed down just a little to tease Rosco, then floored it again as he cut cross country toward the racetrack entrance to the fairgrounds. When he heard the sirens falling behind, Luke turned around again to see Rosco stuck in a ditch. At 5 minutes before noon, they ran into the Racing Commission trailer and handed the signed Medical Certification to the clerk. He looked it over, and stamped it approved, just in time. Bo let out a huge sigh of relief, all the nervous energy of the past hour suddenly drained from his body. And then Luke was there, holding him, supporting him. The clerk gave them an odd look as he shooed them out of the office, which was now officially closed. They stumbled back out to the car, Luke taking the wheel this time as they made their way back into town. Since Bo had missed breakfast entirely, they stopped in at the Boar's Nest to get some lunch. Not surprisingly, Boss was sitting there, a platter big enough for the entire Duke clan � including the ones who didn't live in Hazzard anymore � in front of him. Bo just couldn't resist a little payback for Friday night. He sauntered over and helped himself to a chicken leg off of Boss's plate. "That looks mighty good, Boss, mind if I have some?" Now, takin' Boss's food was a dangerous thing to do; nothin' made him madder. "Now see here, Bo, �" he started to fuss, and then it hit him. The one thing that made him madder. He looked up into Bo's smiling face, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "You can see!" Bo gave him a grin and a wink, and wandered over to the table where Luke had sat down. Boss was sputtering and fuming. Bo Duke could see. And from the look on their faces, Boss figured they'd beat the racing commission's deadline, so he'd be driving this Saturday. Now, even though he had a ringer, Boss was still worried about losin' that bet with Beauregard Smith, the Commissioner of Chickasaw county. He HAD to keep the Dukes out of that race. A smile suddenly played across his chubby face as he realized he had just the card up his sleeve. He watched Bo and Luke closely as they ate lunch, and saw what he expected to see. Bo's leg pressed against Luke's under the table. They way they looked at each other, so supremely happy in Bo's recovery. Hands touching, briefly, but touching. It turned his stomach. Temporarily losing interest in his meal, Boss got up and walked over to their table. When a shadow fell over the entire table, Bo and Luke looked up to see Boss Hogg hovering over them with a scowl. "Now see here," he said, his voice hushed. "If you two don't withdraw from that race this weekend, I'll have to let slip a little 'secret' about you two �" He let the sentence trail off, then made a kissy-face at them before returning to his table. All the color drained from Bo's face as he heard Boss's threat. But as Boss left, he felt Luke's hand over his. "We knew this was gonna happen sometime, Bo. Might as well be now." Bo just shook his head, and pulled his hand away. "Don't go helpin' him!" he hissed at Luke. Luke sighed, realizing that this really wasn't the place to have this conversation. "Come on, then. Finish your lunch and we'll head home. We need to talk about this." Bo took another bite of his sandwich, then threw the rest down on the plate in disgust. His stomach wasn't interested in lunch anymore. All the euphoria he'd felt earlier was gone in a puff of smoke. He got up and stalked out to the car, leaving Luke behind at the table. Luke rubbed his hands over his face, knowing this was going to be a difficult day after all. He called the waitress over and paid their check, then headed outside. Bo was sitting in the driver's seat, his head bent over the wheel. Luke slid in beside him. "Tell ya what, Bo. Let's head up to the swimmin' hole." Bo turned his head to look at his cousin. "You crazy? It ain't warm enough yet �" "No, but it's nice and private." And held some very special memories for the two of them from last summer. Memories he had a feeling he was going to have to remind Bo of. Bo wasn't making the connection; he just shrugged and started the car. They didn't say anything on the way. Finally, Bo parked the car just off the road, and they headed down the hillside to the quiet, secluded spot by the creek. Luke sat down and picked up a couple of flat stones, started skipping them across the creek. When Bo sat down beside him, he started. "Bo? You're not thinkin' of givin' in to Boss's demand, are ya? If we do, he'll hold this over our heads every time he wants us to do somethin', or not do somethin'. You know that." Bo sighed. "I know. But Luke, I'm scared. You're not the one who's gonna be drivin' that race. A lot of guys on the circuit, they wouldn't take too kindly to having a sissy boy among them �" // This again � // "Bo, how many times do I have to tell you. You're not a sissy boy, just because we're together." "You know that, and I know that, but they don't! All they're gonna know is what they hear. It could get ugly, is all I'm sayin'." Luke hated to admit it, but Bo had a point. He laid his hand on Bo's back. "So you're just gonna have to show them that you're not. And one way to do that is by standing tall, not caving in to a threat. Uncle Jesse always taught us to be proud of who and what we are. We ain't rich, we ain't college educated, but we're Dukes. Good, solid folk. This is our life, and we don't apologize to anybody for it. We take care of our friends, we do what's right. Ain't nothin' to be ashamed of." "Some folks don't think so, Luke. Lots of folks would think us bein' together ain't right. Bad enough we're both men, but we're cousins, too. Doubly bad in lots of people's eyes." Luke tried to pull Bo closer to him, but Bo held himself away. Luke sighed. "Bo? Are YOU ashamed of us?" Bo hung his head. He didn't want to feel this way, but he did. "Sometimes �" Luke let go of Bo and picked up another stone. He flung it toward the creek, anger giving it an extra bit of speed. It skipped five times before plunging into the water. Three more followed it before he spoke again. "You want to end this? That way, when people ask, we can honestly say there ain't nothin' untoward goin' on now. I won't lie if somebody asks about before, but most won't." There was a cold flatness in Luke's voice that stabbed at Bo's heart. He suddenly remembered how Luke had held him, comforted him this past week through his darkest hours. He couldn't imagine living without that love beside him, supporting him. "No! Luke �" His voice trailed off; he didn't know what to say. Luke turned to him, reaching out to touch his face. "Bo, listen to me. I love you more than I ever thought I could love anybody. I don't care what other people think. I KNOW that our love is pure and good and the best thing that ever happened to me. I'd die if I lost you. And I ain't ashamed of that. I want to be able to walk down the street holding your hand like we did when you couldn't see. Yes, some people won't like it. But we'll prove to them that we're right. Prove to them that you're still the best driver in three counties, even if you do sleep with me. We'll do it together, Bo, just like we always do. And you know Uncle Jesse and Daisy and Cooter and Aimee will back us up. We ain't alone in this." Bo smiled. "You countin' Aimee as part of the family now?" Luke laughed. "Yeah, I guess I am. After Friday �god, was I glad you couldn't see the way Annabelle was hanging off of me �" Bo gave him a mock jealous look. "Luke? You cheatin' on me?" Luke made a face. "With her? Heck no. Although not for her lack of tryin'." Bo grinned. "Well, it's just as well I didn't see it then." His expression softened. "I couldn't stand seein' you with somebody else, Luke �" Luke reached out and pulled him into a kiss. "Ain't never gonna happen, love." Now folks, never say never. But that's another story, a bit further down the road � Luke kissed him again, wrapping his arms around Bo and easing him back to lie on the ground. His legs straddled Bo's hips, his body covering his lover's, groins pressed together as they kissed. It wasn't long before both were hard. Bo's hands tugged at Luke's shirt, eagerly seeking out the warm flesh underneath. As they kissed, he wrapped his arms and legs around Luke and rolled them over so he was on top. Laughing, he grinned down at Luke and began working his way from Luke's lips to his belly button, stopping to linger on his neck, and each hard nipple along the way. Luke was writhing beneath him, his hands pulling at Bo's shirt, sliding up over his back. Bo sat up to shrug off his shirt, then ran his hands down Luke's chest, coming to rest on his belt. His fingers made quick work of that, and soon Luke's pants were down around his knees and Bo was sucking his dick. Luke groaned appreciatively as Bo's talented tongue danced around him. But today, he wanted them to come together. "Bo!" he gasaped out. "Turn around so's I can do you too." Now, Bo wasn't about to pass up an offer like that. So he got up and quickly skinned out of his jeans before crouching down right over Luke's face. A shiver ran up his spine as Luke sucked him in, drawing a moan from deep in his throat. "God, yes! Oh, Luke!" He almost forgot what he had been doin', but eventually he remembered and settled down over Luke, picking up where he'd left off, sucking hungrily. Now, Luke was a little ahead of the game, seein' as how he'd had a head start. So he lifted his hands to Bo's perfect ass, pulling the cheeks apart, and rubbing his opening with one finger while he kept sucking. He could tell it was driving Bo crazy that he wasn't going any farther. So when he felt himself getting close, he shoved that finger in, which sent Bo right over the edge. They fell together, gasping, exploding with passion and love. Several minutes later, Bo rolled off him, his breathing finally close to normal. He sat up and turned around so he could face his lover. "Luke? You ok?" Luke gazed up at him with a silly grin on his face. "Darn right I'm ok!" They both laughed. Luke's hands reached up to Bo. "Come here, you." Bo snuggled down next to Luke, kissing him and wrapping his arms around him. And that's when it hit him. How could he doubt this? What they shared was special beyond anything Bo had ever seen before. Yes, it broke the rules, but sometimes rules were made to be broken. Luke felt Bo's arms tighten around him just before his cousin spoke. "I'm sorry, Luke. I shouldn't have doubted this. I ain't ashamed of you, of us. I guess I was just scared �" Luke's hand gently stroked Bo's soft hair. "You got good reason to be scared, Bo. I ain't denying that. But I got to believe in the basic goodness of people around here. We ain't hurtin' anybody, so they ought to just leave us alone. I know some won't, but together we'll handle it. Just like we always do." Bo nodded, his head rubbing against Luke's shoulder. He shivered again as the breeze picked up. "It's still a little cool for skinny dippin, Luke. What say we head home and let Uncle Jesse know the manure is about to hit the fan?" Continue on to Chapter 7 Send me some feedback Back to the Other Fandoms Index Back to Jade Palace Home Disclaimer: I don't own them, just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
| Ch 6 |