the longer you and ennis spent time with one another, the easier he became to read. ennis was a quiet man— he was a loner. didn't have friends, wasn't much for conversation and he only often acknowledged people with a tip of his hat and a grunt. you knew how to make him talk, though. with a few well-thought out questions, maybe a few swigs of whiskey in and he'd open his mouth.

he was engaged, that you knew. his parents had passed away when he was young, being raised by his older sister and older brother, he'd bounced from ranch to ranch for extra money but was up here on brokeback for the cash. it might not seem like a lot, but it had taken you some decent prying to get this nut to crack.

tonight was different, though. you'd spent all day up on that mountain looking after sheep and tryna score you two some proper food; only to find when you came riding down to base camp on your horse, ennis was gone, his horse with him.

best part? all he'd left you with was beans.

not like there was much you could do about it, anyway. so, you nursed a bottle of whiskey, kept the fire going, had food done by the time ennis arrived. that is, if he arrived. the sun had fallen back behind the horizon almost an hour ago, the dark clinging to everything outside the fire's warmth, it's flame's licking against the stones in the dirt and casting long, eerie shadows along the forest walls.

you heard it then. low cursing, the sounds of feet trudging over brush, the low whinnying of a horse and the bray of a mule. "ennis—" you stood, the worry they had been building up in your gut easing... until you saw him. his eyes narrowed, a gash across his temple, skin flushed from chasing after the goddamn mules.

you tried to ask what the hell had happened, where the hell he'd been, why he didn't come back to the camp for help— but all you were met with was his usual grunts and stoic stares. now, after he was finally cleaned up, some food in his stomach and some whiskey running through his veins, you two just sat and watched the fire dance against the darkness.

so much for progress.