"Stands to reason, doesn't it?" Ed grinned and playfully stole the cigarette from Jonathan, tucking it behind his ear instead. "Might run in the family." He glanced at Barty, who was directing a withering glare at him.
"I'm not exactly a player. But Giacomo has aspirations, I suppose so." What could he say? His brother was evidently very ready to get into all that if he could ever get out of his shell. Trouble, Barty assumed it would spell trouble. He looked at Sam and shrugged. "I'm giving it a few minutes. He's probably fine."
He didn't think there was any immediate reason for concern.
"Giacomo is hardly a player. Neither is Barty." Sam was fairly confident that neither were. Barty was a good guy and seemed more singular in his focus whereas Giacomo seemed to have zero focus and no real engagement besides kicking balls at him like a dickhead. "Not everyone is looking for that sort of thing."
Jon smirked and looked at Barty. Aww, cute. Sam was cute. "Yeah, no, Barty is a solid bloke. He's no Alfie." A high compliment. Jon came over to Edward and flicked his nose. "They're a nicer sort of boy, not like us. Fiddling, cheating ol' bastards."
"I didn't say that!" Sam said swiftly, just in case he offended someone. "Honest, I meant nothing--"
"You oughta call yourself that one, you no-good Garoi." Edward grinned at Jonathan, clearly not offended either. Instead he turned his focus on Sam, raising his eyebrows. "I'm starting to like you better, Sam. You're all right for an English boy. Maybe I can show you the upsides of being a player some time."
"He's not interested," Barty assured Ed immediately, reaching out to at least wrap one arm around Sam again. Seemed safest to stay close to him. "Ed's a player," he clarified, so Sam wouldn't feel left out. "He's a gambler too, but they don't let him play any more."
"Because he's a no good cheater, that rotten Dublin boy," Alfie called out loudly, with several men muttering their agreement. Did incentivise Alfie to actually start a game though, getting out the cards and dealing soon enough.
"It's also illegal to gamble under the age of 18." Sam informed them and he heard some people laughing nearby but he didn't care. He wasn't a going to do anything crooked and he felt everyone should be aware of what rules they're breaking. He would never gamble, cheat or lie. Not like his dad did. "I'm not really interested in this sort of thing, I guess. It's not my scene."
"Ah, come on, don't be that way." Jon wrapped an arm around Edward and pulled him close so he could kiss him on top of the head. "We aren't all slick city cheaters with our illegal ills. We like other things too. You see my horses, Sam? I got four right now. I'm selling them next week. I always spot a champion bred horse."
Sam peered at the horses curiously. Well, that was more interesting than drinking, gambling and 'playing'. "They look nice."
"Do you want to look at the horses, Sam? You should come meet them. Jonathan's always had a special touch for horses, it's in his blood." Edward said it quite proudly, clearly seeing that as something worth bragging about. No wonder, in their culture that was the mark of a great man, definitely part of the reason Jonathan got and kept this level of respect.
"They're very nice horses," Barty agreed, much less knowledgeable on the subject. Still, it was more quiet over there and so he followed Jonathan and Edward, keeping an arm around Sam to make sure he'd not get lost.
"One of them Jonny reckons is gonna win races." Edward knew that much, staying next to Jonathan as they looked at the horses. "There's a few already running that my Jon's sold."
"Captain is the one that will win races. He's so fast, he can keep consistent at 64 kilometers per hour and top speed is about 160 per hour. He's a beauty." Jonathan explained as they walked over to the quieter side of things, coming towards the horses. He stopped at the white one and came up to him, stroking the top of his head. "Alright, Cap. These are my mates."
Sam had never really seen a horse in person before. It was bigger than he expected and he stuck close to Barty as he looked at them. "Do you ride them in races yourself?"
"Nah, I'm not a rider. I'm just a gyppo to that posh lot, they wouldn't ever let a bloke like me do that. We breed and sell, we don't get the glory of a win." Jonathan shrugged as he stroked the horse. "Besides, I'm too tall." He eyed up Sam again and then smirked. "You wouldn't be half bad, jockey."
"Funny." Sam rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. It was funny. "They really are beautiful."
"You'd have the right size," Barty agreed, smiling and wrapping both arms around Sam again now, since he was letting him. Maybe partially because the horses were intimidating, but whatever. He'd take it.
"I used to want to be a jockey when I was a lad," Ed reminisced, stroking one horse's mane right now. "I reckon I just liked the spectacle of it. Coming all that way to sell the horses, buying new ones, all the haggling and predictions. Besides, riding can be fun."
"I've never ridden a horse. Somehow I just feel it'd end badly." Barty wasn't sure that was for him.
"Jon and I used to ride out before dawn. Go find some birds for him to talk to. He's a witch, you know? Gypsy witch. Ticking all the stereotypes." Edward laughed, looking at the horses. "They'll fetch a good sum. Buy me something pretty."
"Edward is a good rider for Dublin trash." Jonathan mocked playfully as he leaned forward and pressed his forehead up against the horse. "And you're gonna be my winner. 1800 quid for you, right? We'll race you up and down the street until they pay me your worth." He could only make money so many ways so for him, it was horses. He sold as many as he could, as often as he could, but the special ones he kept for a bit longer than he had to.
"Is that how you make your money?" Sam had to wonder how they sustained themselves. Then again, they clearly had no electric going on and they didn't seem to want for much so maybe they didn't need that much in the end. He wondered a little if Edward made money only gambling or if he had other ways. Illegal ways. He seemed the type. Too smart for his own good.
"Yep. I will sell the lot and I might come back with 6000. I give 3000 back to the community, the rest is mine." And that went towards the house. "By the time Axel is 10, we'll have a house. You watch."
"Christ." 6000 wasn't bad at all. Sam looked at the horses and then turned to Barty. "They kind of freak me out." Horses were so intimidating.
"They should, you know? Me old man got his leg broken by one back in the day. First time he learned that if you keep hitting you might get hurt. Lesson didn't sink in." Ed laughed, watching Jonathan mostly, loving to see him in his element like this. "You can make a tidy sum. Jon's gonna make sure everyone knows the horse has been blessed by gypsy magic, maybe we'll layer it with some Chinese on top of it and they'll be throwing money at him."
Edward grinned at Jonathan, moving closer so he could lean against him. No one was really watching them here, he was free to get as homosexual as he wanted to. "He's a businessman. He'll give his boys a good life. Usually, boy like Holden? They'd already be looking for a wife for him."
"It's true," Barty confirmed, "Most travellers marry young. Very young. Jonathan has a few fresh ideas."
"My Holden and Axel will be outsiders but they'll be more free than us. I love how we live but we can't sustain how we live. And if I can let my boys settle, I will." Jonathan admitted as he leaned on his horse, wondering if he was doing the right thing. He was basically assuring he'd lose Holden and Axel but he knew he had to. They were modern, they had lots of ideas and dreams but he knew they'd come back to him. Sometimes. "It's easier to see the world outside your own when you're different. When you like fucking a mouthy little twot from Dublin, you start to think."
Sam nodded his head, quite surprised by this. He didn't think that someone as young as Jon thought in such a way. "I don't know much about travellers, I'll be honest. I just know some statistics."
"You should always meet the outsiders, mate. Like your Barty does. Broadens the mind." And helps to change the way people thought of them and everyone else in the world. "We all just hate each other. I reckon it's bloody stupid but it's what we all do."
"It's easy to think of travellers as free folk, liberal, counter-culture, all that. There's elements of that. Your music is brilliant," Barty told both Edward and Jonathan, not actually wanting to drag their culture in front of them, "But they're conservative and very set in their ways."
"It's a big problem that Jon likes pretty boys. Even if they're as pretty as me." Which, Ed felt, should really be more widely understood. Couldn't argue with beauty. But apparently they could. "It's a problem for me that my da took us from the caravan to the city. Now I'm an outsider wherever I go. None of us got proper schooling. I've tried applying to places, but when they find out I'm a traveller..." He whistled and mimed with two fingers, showing how he'd get kicked out. "World's small-minded. Few options for us, especially within the rules. But Jon is giving Holden and Axel a fair chance. They won't end up like Alfie."
"The world is changing. You ain't no one unless you got yourself a phone and a laptop, some hook ups and a nice job. And that's what I want." Jon wanted it for others, not himself. He stroked his horse for longer and kissed the top of it's head. Well, it was his champion.
"Oh, aye, there's your Giac."
There he was, ruffled and bleeding from the nose but seeming quite happy in and of himself. Sam turned and then patted himself down, pulling a clean tissue from his pocket and handing it to Barty. "There you are, Giac. We were worrying."
Barty should probably be startled, but at the moment it didn't even properly sink in. He simply turned and pulled a tissue from his own pocket, but Sam was faster. So he abandoned the movement, looking his brother up and down. "What happened to you?"
He didn't even notice it yet, not fully. Giacomo always communicated with him, so it hadn't yet connected.
"Congrats, Giac." Edward gave him a thumbs up. "You look well sexed." Classy.
"With Anna. Yeah, she's amazing. She's -- she's just fucking great." Giacomo laughed, giggled almost, as he came over to his brother and wiped the blood from his face onto his sleeve. "I think she has a boyfriend, he came in during it. Fucking hell."
Sam didn't even know how to process any of this. He just kept staring at Giacomo. What the hell? "You're talking..."
"Damn right he is." Jonathan smirked and held out a cigarette to Giacomo. "You want one?"
"Nah, they kill you." Giac dismissed as he put an arm around his brother. "And they smell awful."
"Are you hurt?" Barty had his priorities, taking a closer look at Giac's face to make sure he was all right. "You need to be careful where you stick it or you'll get into trouble."
"Before long, I bet. Giacomo, stop wasting your time with those queers, come let me tell you all about girls." Clearly Ed considered himself an expert on the subject. "Also, Giac, have a drink! And now that you're talking, do you want to join a card game?" Maybe that could be his in tonight, people might be distracted enough by Giac that they'd forget he counted cards.
"Giacomo." Barty addressed him in Italian, his voice very serious. "Are you feeling all right? Is it too much? I can take you home."
Giacomo looked around and then focused on his brother because in the end, he always came to his brother. Everything was a lot right now but he couldn't think of anything bad or unhappy right now because his brain was in another world entirely. In overdrive. "I'm happy. I think. I don't know. I think I'm alive. I'm finally alive."
Giacomo grinned, arms spread out, giggling a little before he turned to Edward and pulled a face. "Drink what? Play what? Go where? Let's do it. What first?"
"... He speaks Italian." Sam was having trouble still with all of this. He was speaking Italian. How? When? This was impossible. He looked at Barty, hopeless. "What is happening?"
"You know we have a knack for languages," Barty said dismissively, more focused on actually watching Giac interact with the world. Which, apparently, meant walking off with Edward toward the men that were gambling, where he was greeted with laughter, cheers and a bottle of beer. Oh, damn. He turned to look at Sam and shrugged. "We're identical twins. It makes sense that he's good at languages."
He felt it did. "He's always liked Italian." They often used it. Well. He'd used it, but he knew Giacomo. He looked at Jonathan now, raising his eyebrows. "Your boy better not get my brother into trouble."
"He sounds different from you. That's weird but at the same time, makes sense." Sam pointed out as he watched Giacomo walk over to the card table and take a WKD from Edward. Sam wasn't sure if he felt good about that or not. "Christ. Should we call someone? Like your mom or your dad?"
"At midnight? And tell them what? Giac got laid and now he's all singing and dancing." Jonathan laughed and then came over so he could watch Edward and Giac. "Let them alone for half an hour and then make sure your Giac goes home or Ed will talk him into gambling his life away."
"I agree, my parents can wait to hear that happy news until a more reasonable hour. Once I'm certain he's not going to tell them about his orgasm." He had a feeling that Giacomo would be crude. Always had been, in Barty's experience. Now people could finally believe him.
He sighed and shook his head, then decided to make the most of it. Turning to face Sam, he ducked down to be level with him, lowering his voice. "Kiss me so I don't worry so much?" It would be a distraction.
Yes, just oh. He wasn't sure. A lot had happened tonight and he was so utterly thrown. He turned but Jonathan had already walked back towards the poker game ahead of them and Sam was finally alone with Barty. He looked around nervously and then finally, he did it. He leaned in and kissed Barty on the lips. "... This has been a really weird party. Are all parties like this?"
"That depends. They are all chaotic, loud and filled with knobheads." So there was that. "Usually my brother doesn't get a hand-job that jolts him into being verbal. That one is a bit unexpected."
And something to worry about. He could hear Giacomo's loud laughter from here. How strange was that? He smiled and then kissed Sam again. "It's a lot. But it's fun to share a lot with you."
"Is it good? That he's talking? Are you happy?" He wasn't sure how anyone could and would feel about this. Giacomo was non-verbal and had been since he knew him. And that was when he was a boy. To see him talk and act like he was now, it was so jarring. It was like some strange creature had taken Barty's face.
He never looked like Barty to him before but now he did and it was so strange. "I like your voice more than his."
"I didn't think he'd sound so English..." Barty glanced back over in the direction of Giacomo, who was talking rather loudly. People were laughing. There was a girl draped over his shoulders. Strange indeed. "No offense. Just didn't expect it. And I'm not sure it's good. I reckon it is. He always knew how to talk, he just didn't do it because of fear of what might happen."
Now here they were. "It's good that he gets to participate now. In life. I just have a feeling he'll make me worry more now."
And Barty was right. Sam and Barty enjoy about twenty minutes of sitting together and talking before Giacomo was taking off his watch in front of them and Sam felt Barty tense up. Oh boy. "I assume he's about to gamble his birthday gift." Sam knew it was a birthday gift because Barty had an identical one. "One day interacting and he's already a gambler."
Or maybe he always was. Apparently Barty knew what his brother would be like and he seemed to be bang on. How the hell did he do that?
"Keep that watch, Giac!" Barty left Sam behind now to step in, grabbing a hold of Giacomo's wrist. "You got that from mother, Giac. You're not gambling that away on a whim." Or else Giacomo would be the one to cry over it later and feel ever so terribly guilty. Emotionally unstable boy, his brother. He knew him. Knew him entirely too well, even with all this new stuff unlocked.
"I'm tired. Come on, we should leave."
"Aw, Barty. Night is young." Edward was ready to argue on Giac's behalf. He liked the look of that watch. "Giac could sleep here. You all could."
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"I'm not exactly a player. But Giacomo has aspirations, I suppose so." What could he say? His brother was evidently very ready to get into all that if he could ever get out of his shell. Trouble, Barty assumed it would spell trouble. He looked at Sam and shrugged. "I'm giving it a few minutes. He's probably fine."
He didn't think there was any immediate reason for concern.
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Jon smirked and looked at Barty. Aww, cute. Sam was cute. "Yeah, no, Barty is a solid bloke. He's no Alfie." A high compliment. Jon came over to Edward and flicked his nose. "They're a nicer sort of boy, not like us. Fiddling, cheating ol' bastards."
"I didn't say that!" Sam said swiftly, just in case he offended someone. "Honest, I meant nothing--"
"It's fine, I call meself that one."
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"He's not interested," Barty assured Ed immediately, reaching out to at least wrap one arm around Sam again. Seemed safest to stay close to him. "Ed's a player," he clarified, so Sam wouldn't feel left out. "He's a gambler too, but they don't let him play any more."
"Because he's a no good cheater, that rotten Dublin boy," Alfie called out loudly, with several men muttering their agreement. Did incentivise Alfie to actually start a game though, getting out the cards and dealing soon enough.
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"Ah, come on, don't be that way." Jon wrapped an arm around Edward and pulled him close so he could kiss him on top of the head. "We aren't all slick city cheaters with our illegal ills. We like other things too. You see my horses, Sam? I got four right now. I'm selling them next week. I always spot a champion bred horse."
Sam peered at the horses curiously. Well, that was more interesting than drinking, gambling and 'playing'. "They look nice."
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"They're very nice horses," Barty agreed, much less knowledgeable on the subject. Still, it was more quiet over there and so he followed Jonathan and Edward, keeping an arm around Sam to make sure he'd not get lost.
"One of them Jonny reckons is gonna win races." Edward knew that much, staying next to Jonathan as they looked at the horses. "There's a few already running that my Jon's sold."
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Sam had never really seen a horse in person before. It was bigger than he expected and he stuck close to Barty as he looked at them. "Do you ride them in races yourself?"
"Nah, I'm not a rider. I'm just a gyppo to that posh lot, they wouldn't ever let a bloke like me do that. We breed and sell, we don't get the glory of a win." Jonathan shrugged as he stroked the horse. "Besides, I'm too tall." He eyed up Sam again and then smirked. "You wouldn't be half bad, jockey."
"Funny." Sam rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. It was funny. "They really are beautiful."
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"I used to want to be a jockey when I was a lad," Ed reminisced, stroking one horse's mane right now. "I reckon I just liked the spectacle of it. Coming all that way to sell the horses, buying new ones, all the haggling and predictions. Besides, riding can be fun."
"I've never ridden a horse. Somehow I just feel it'd end badly." Barty wasn't sure that was for him.
"Jon and I used to ride out before dawn. Go find some birds for him to talk to. He's a witch, you know? Gypsy witch. Ticking all the stereotypes." Edward laughed, looking at the horses. "They'll fetch a good sum. Buy me something pretty."
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"Is that how you make your money?" Sam had to wonder how they sustained themselves. Then again, they clearly had no electric going on and they didn't seem to want for much so maybe they didn't need that much in the end. He wondered a little if Edward made money only gambling or if he had other ways. Illegal ways. He seemed the type. Too smart for his own good.
"Yep. I will sell the lot and I might come back with 6000. I give 3000 back to the community, the rest is mine." And that went towards the house. "By the time Axel is 10, we'll have a house. You watch."
"Christ." 6000 wasn't bad at all. Sam looked at the horses and then turned to Barty. "They kind of freak me out." Horses were so intimidating.
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Edward grinned at Jonathan, moving closer so he could lean against him. No one was really watching them here, he was free to get as homosexual as he wanted to. "He's a businessman. He'll give his boys a good life. Usually, boy like Holden? They'd already be looking for a wife for him."
"It's true," Barty confirmed, "Most travellers marry young. Very young. Jonathan has a few fresh ideas."
"Like sodomy. We are pro it."
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Sam nodded his head, quite surprised by this. He didn't think that someone as young as Jon thought in such a way. "I don't know much about travellers, I'll be honest. I just know some statistics."
"You should always meet the outsiders, mate. Like your Barty does. Broadens the mind." And helps to change the way people thought of them and everyone else in the world. "We all just hate each other. I reckon it's bloody stupid but it's what we all do."
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"It's a big problem that Jon likes pretty boys. Even if they're as pretty as me." Which, Ed felt, should really be more widely understood. Couldn't argue with beauty. But apparently they could. "It's a problem for me that my da took us from the caravan to the city. Now I'm an outsider wherever I go. None of us got proper schooling. I've tried applying to places, but when they find out I'm a traveller..." He whistled and mimed with two fingers, showing how he'd get kicked out. "World's small-minded. Few options for us, especially within the rules. But Jon is giving Holden and Axel a fair chance. They won't end up like Alfie."
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"Oh, aye, there's your Giac."
There he was, ruffled and bleeding from the nose but seeming quite happy in and of himself. Sam turned and then patted himself down, pulling a clean tissue from his pocket and handing it to Barty. "There you are, Giac. We were worrying."
"Why?" Giacomo asked. The full word. W H Y. Why.
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He didn't even notice it yet, not fully. Giacomo always communicated with him, so it hadn't yet connected.
"Congrats, Giac." Edward gave him a thumbs up. "You look well sexed." Classy.
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Sam didn't even know how to process any of this. He just kept staring at Giacomo. What the hell? "You're talking..."
"Damn right he is." Jonathan smirked and held out a cigarette to Giacomo. "You want one?"
"Nah, they kill you." Giac dismissed as he put an arm around his brother. "And they smell awful."
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"Before long, I bet. Giacomo, stop wasting your time with those queers, come let me tell you all about girls." Clearly Ed considered himself an expert on the subject. "Also, Giac, have a drink! And now that you're talking, do you want to join a card game?" Maybe that could be his in tonight, people might be distracted enough by Giac that they'd forget he counted cards.
"Giacomo." Barty addressed him in Italian, his voice very serious. "Are you feeling all right? Is it too much? I can take you home."
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Giacomo grinned, arms spread out, giggling a little before he turned to Edward and pulled a face. "Drink what? Play what? Go where? Let's do it. What first?"
"... He speaks Italian." Sam was having trouble still with all of this. He was speaking Italian. How? When? This was impossible. He looked at Barty, hopeless. "What is happening?"
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He felt it did. "He's always liked Italian." They often used it. Well. He'd used it, but he knew Giacomo. He looked at Jonathan now, raising his eyebrows. "Your boy better not get my brother into trouble."
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"At midnight? And tell them what? Giac got laid and now he's all singing and dancing." Jonathan laughed and then came over so he could watch Edward and Giac. "Let them alone for half an hour and then make sure your Giac goes home or Ed will talk him into gambling his life away."
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He sighed and shook his head, then decided to make the most of it. Turning to face Sam, he ducked down to be level with him, lowering his voice. "Kiss me so I don't worry so much?" It would be a distraction.
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Yes, just oh. He wasn't sure. A lot had happened tonight and he was so utterly thrown. He turned but Jonathan had already walked back towards the poker game ahead of them and Sam was finally alone with Barty. He looked around nervously and then finally, he did it. He leaned in and kissed Barty on the lips. "... This has been a really weird party. Are all parties like this?"
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And something to worry about. He could hear Giacomo's loud laughter from here. How strange was that? He smiled and then kissed Sam again. "It's a lot. But it's fun to share a lot with you."
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He never looked like Barty to him before but now he did and it was so strange. "I like your voice more than his."
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Now here they were. "It's good that he gets to participate now. In life. I just have a feeling he'll make me worry more now."
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Or maybe he always was. Apparently Barty knew what his brother would be like and he seemed to be bang on. How the hell did he do that?
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"I'm tired. Come on, we should leave."
"Aw, Barty. Night is young." Edward was ready to argue on Giac's behalf. He liked the look of that watch. "Giac could sleep here. You all could."
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