I feel like I've been tagged a few times by a few people and I honestly just can't remember who...but I have honestly not had anything to share until now. So...a snippet of the thing I've been working on...
The wrought iron gate was ornate and also old. It was tall and on either side ran a stone wall that having driven alongside it on the way to the gate, ran quite a ways and probably surrounded a good portion of the property.
"Uh, is this it?" Buck asked.
The driver looked back at him, giving him a particular French look that practically screamed 'idiot American'.
"Only chateau for several miles," the driver said, his accent heavy. At least he spoke English.
"Right. Thanks," Buck said.
He slid out of the car and the driver came around to the trunk to help him get his bag out. Buck thanked him again and then as the car started to pull away, Buck turned back to the gate. A week earlier, when he found out that Tommy was only reachable through Instagram because he wasn't in LA, or the US at all, Buck would not have foreseen where he was or why he was there.
The next question was, how did he let Tommy know that he'd arrived. Was there a doorbell? An intercom? Buck didn't find any of that, but when he pushed at the gate it slid open and he was able to step through to the other side. He closed it back up and then shouldering his bag, he started forward.
Buck had caught sight of the castle earlier when they were driving towards it because it was visible from certain high points of the village. The driver had pointed it out to Buck. It was far bigger than what he'd expected and he had been hit with that overwhelming feeling that he'd felt when Tommy's response when they got onto a video call had been.
"Come here. If you need to get away, you're welcome here."
Buck hadn't exactly planned to, but then…then things happened that made LA feel stifling. One moment he was looking at flights, the next he was texting Chim about taking leave for a while, making it clear it was telling and not asking, and then he was letting Tommy know that he'd be there in a week.
It didn't take very long after he'd made it past the gate to find the first building. It looked like it had been taken over by ivy on top of being entirely run down. Buck didn't linger and as he walked past the building, he got the first real look at the castle that wasn't in just a picture that didn't do it any justice.
It was huge and there was an actual moat around it. The road continued all the way to a stone bridge that led right to it. It was unbelievable. A part of Buck couldn't even wrap his mind around knowing that this was somehow the place he was standing in and that Tommy had recently become the owner of the castle and the rest of it too.
Buck had just made it to the bridge, taking a moment to really look at the castle and the water that surrounded it and back at the road he'd walked, when the door to the castle opened and there he was. Tommy.
Tagging: @chemistry66 @beanarie @nzchance @thecarrott @kinardnatural @letsdosciencetoit @cliophilyra @robinminustherichard @sad-girl-hours23
