Title: Curtain's Fall 2/?
Section: I Casting Call (2/11)
Author: Magpie and Wolfling
Email: magpie@moracle.co.uk and wolfling@sympatico.ca
Show: Buffy
Rating: NC-17
Category: angst, hurt/comfort
Warnings: spoilers up to the end of Chosen
Pairings: Giles/Ethan
Series: Of Old Mystics, sequel to Charades
Summary: The roles have all been filled and the players move into place.

Author Notes: This is the last story of the Old Mystics Series, sequel to Charades. We expect this to be rather long -- long enough that we've developed it into subsections: I Casting Call, II Dress Rehearsal, III Opening Night, IV Grand Finale, and V Encore. Many thanks to Mad Poetess and Wesleysgirl for betaing :) Previous stories in the series can be found
http://www.myarseisnotpansy.co.uk/piedm/mystics.html. Thanks to all the people who have sent us feedback.

As he had nearly every day as a child, Giles awoke when the sun fell across the bed. He lay there blinking for the moment it took memory to catch up and remind him why he was here. The warm weight pressing against his side helped with that a great deal.

Turning his head, Giles looked down at his lover; Ethan was still fast asleep, and Giles didn't have the heart to wake him. As he watched, Ethan's face twitched slightly as if dreaming. Was that a small smile? He hoped so; there had been far too many bad dreams for both of them of late. Unable to resist, Giles leant over to kiss Ethan gently.

Ethan made a small noise, then after a short pause, his lips moved lazily under Giles'. Giles continued the kiss for a long moment, losing himself in the taste and feel of his lover before finally pulling back. "Good morning."

"M'ning," Ethan mumbled, smiling, and opening his eyes a crack.

"Sleep well?" Giles asked, giving in to temptation and stealing another kiss.

"Ask me when I've finished," Ethan replied, still smiling, his eyes falling shut again.

Giles wasn't about to begrudge Ethan the chance to lie in, but he himself had other commitments. He kissed Ethan again and regretfully began to pull away in preparation to get up. Ethan whined. Yes, it was definitely a whine and not unlike one the dogs might make. Arms reached up and around Giles, pulling him back down.

"I have to get up, Ethan," Giles said mildly.

"It's the middle of the night."

"Generally the sun isn't out during the middle of the night."

Ethan's eyes opened a slit again. "Ok... so where is it you need to be at the crack of dawn? Do they serve breakfast early in the countryside?"

It wasn't exactly the crack of dawn either, but Giles let that comment pass. "Matthew asked us -- well, me at least -- to go riding with him this morning. I told you last night, remember?"

"Dangerous, that."

"No, not really. I've been riding since I was a boy."

"So have I," Ethan said, his eyes fully open now and twinkling.

Giles smiled in spite of himself. "Not that kind of riding, love." He paused, smile fading to a thoughtful frown. "Do I even want to know how old you were when...?"

"Probably not. It would be illegal even nowadays." Ethan yawned enthusiastically and stretched. "So what do I wear to go riding?"

Surprised, Giles raised an eyebrow. "You want to come?"

Ethan raised his eyebrow in turn. "I thought we had to get up and ride horses."

"We?" Giles repeated, doing his best not to let Ethan change the subject. "You want to go riding? Horses?"

"You said I was invited." Ethan wriggled up in the bed and sat up against the headboard.

"You are," Giles assured him, sitting up himself and reaching for his glasses on the bedside table. "I just... You really want to come along?"

"I've never been on a horse. Could be fun. Am I allowed to make it fly?" Ethan had his best mischievous grin on his face now.

Fervently hoping Ethan wasn't serious, Giles advised in his mildest voice, "Probably best that you don't. You don't want to spook your mount."

"No Pegasus spells then. Shame." Ethan kissed Giles on the temple and then slipped from under the covers, heading for the en-suite bathroom. Skunk was quickly bouncing along beside him, yapping a good morning. "You didn't answer the suitable clothing question, dearheart," Ethan pointed out as he crouched to greet his dog.

"I usually just wear jeans and a jumper," Giles replied, half-distracted by watching his lover.

"Jeans might be a problem." Ethan bit his lip, looking up at Giles on the bed.

Giles frowned. "You didn't pack any?"

"We didn't have time or space to pack everything, and I don't exactly wear them a lot." Ethan straightened up, scratching his belly absently as he thought. "I have those old brown trousers that are quite a thick twill. Will they do?"

Giles' gaze followed Ethan's hand while he considered the question. "I don't see why not."

As Giles watched, Ethan's hand slid lower, over his cock, where it stroked sensually for a second or two. Then Ethan giggled and turned, slapping his own arse as he walked into the bathroom.

'You are a cock tease,' Giles sent as he got up and set about getting ready himself.

"It's my own cock!" Ethan called out, aloud, from the en-suite. *Too* loud -- there were other people in this corridor.

"It's a good thing I've long given up the hope of maintaining any dignity," Giles commented as he walked into the bathroom.

The only answer from Ethan was a screech from behind the shower curtain as the water was turned on. Giles saw Ethan jump back to the far end of the tub. "Do they channel the water here all the way up from the Antarctic?"

Giles did his best to hide his smile. "The water heater was always a bit antiquated. Why do you think I became so good at fire spells?"

"Please?" Ethan asked with a puckish grin, his arms wrapped around himself as he shivered dramatically.

Stepping into the tub with Ethan, Giles reached up and laid his hand on the water pipes. "Calida," he murmured, then moved under the stream of now steaming water.

"Oh, I love you," Ethan said happily, stepping back under the spray.

"Always good to know." Giles turned to pull Ethan into his arms. Moaning happily, Ethan stood close, closing his eyes against the stream of water and tipping his head to the side for a kiss. Giles obliged him, never being able to find it in himself to turn down a kiss from Ethan when it was offered. "Good morning," he repeated with a smile.

"Is so far," Ethan agreed, starting another kiss and wriggling against Giles. Ethan had always loved the feel of hot water and skin together.

"You do realise we can't take too much time showering," Giles pointed out.

Ethan pulled back enough to give him a doubtful look. "Why? Will the horses mutiny if we don't keep to a timetable? Will we get out there to find them marching up and down a picket line holding placards in their nasty teeth?"

"Entertaining as that could be, it's also highly unlikely," Giles replied dryly. "Matthew will be waiting however."

"Ah, Squire Matthew." Ethan's humorous tone had a slight edge to it. "I suppose you saw the picture in the dining room? It would be hard to miss, being as it takes up half the sodding wall."

"The one of the Hunt? That isn't Matthew's doing; it's been up there since I was a child. Probably longer." It was obviously by an artist of some talent, although not anyone whose name Giles had heard of elsewhere; the figures in the painting were so vibrant and alive that it seemed they would leap from canvas any second. Giles could remember sitting and staring at the painting for what had seemed like hours when he had been small.

Ethan was staring at him. "You hunted, didn't you." It wasn't a question.

Giles nodded, not quite meeting Ethan's eyes. "When I was still trying to be the dutiful son."

He felt Ethan's fingers touch his cheek. "So you've been blooded then." It was hard to hear Ethan over the water; for some reason he was talking very quietly. "Were you honoured with the brush perhaps?"

"Actually," Giles began, raising his hand and mirroring Ethan's gesture, "the fox had an uncanny knack of escaping when I went along." That had been one of his first attempts at rebellion, subtle enough that no one had caught on to what he'd done.

Ethan shut his eyes and nodded, then rested his forehead upon Giles'. "I don't really know why I care so much," he admitted. "I'm hardly one to criticise another's cruelty."

"Too easy for you to identify with the victim?" Giles suggested, sliding a hand around to the back of Ethan's neck.

"Perhaps. Rupert..." Ethan pulled back and looked searchingly at Giles.

"What is it?"

"I want to explore being a fox more while we're here. If it's going to upset you, I can keep away from you during those times."

"No," Giles said firmly. "If you're going to... explore, I want to be there." He didn't try to talk Ethan out of it, despite his own misgivings; he knew those had more to do with his fears than true risk.

There was a quick flash of a grateful grin before Ethan turned and filled his palm with showergel. The bandages were missing from Ethan's hands, Giles noticed. "Don't you ever wonder how you would feel as a badger?" Ethan asked.

Giles shook his head. "No, not really. Shapeshifting's never been something my skills turned toward so..." He shrugged. There was, however, his ever-present curiosity at the back of his mind.

"Things seem very different that close to the ground," Ethan claimed as he washed himself. "And what we humans think of as a sense of smell is like, hmm, like old black and white telly with the sound turned down. We walk above the world on our two long legs, perceiving it at best only dimly, and have the arrogance to claim we understand it. We know nothing. Our knowledge is as a single word within a vast library of books." He grinned at Giles, clearly very pleased with himself about his little speech.

Giles found himself smiling back; Ethan really was engaging when he got like this. "Well, stuck as I am being human, I will just have to do my best with my single word."

"Maybe," Ethan said thoughtfully. "Maybe not." Without explaining that comment any further, he bent his head under the spray of the shower and began to wash his hair.

"Why do I get the feeling I should be worried?" Giles murmured, moving to take over working the shampoo into Ethan's hair.

"I don't know," Ethan said, frowning slightly, his eyes tightly shut. "As I would have hoped you knew by now that I wouldn't do anything to you that you hadn't okayed first and that I wasn't convinced was safe."

Leaning in, Giles dropped a kiss on Ethan's lips. "Old habits," he said by way of explanation. "And not even habits formed mostly around you."

***

"That's not a horse," Ethan said, staring fixedly at his prospective mount. "It's an elephant."

"Champ is rather big," Matthew admitted, as he tightened the piebald horse's girth. "But the old boy's as placid as a clover-happy cow. Comes from sound farm horse stock -- best mount I have for someone of your size and limited experience." He patted the horse's back in hearty approval.

"My *size*?" Ethan asked. Giles could hear an icy edge to his voice.

"You're a bit long of limb for a pony," Giles explained, as he checked the tack on his own mount -- Shadow, the old stallion he'd groomed the night before.

"How am I meant to get up there?" Ethan asked. "Strangely enough I forgot to bring my ropes and pitons."

Giles kept a straight face, but it was an effort. If there was ever anything that proved Ethan was a child of the city... "You use the stirrup," he explained. "And the saddle. You put your foot in the stirrup and pull yourself up enough to swing your leg over." Giles demonstrated, moving slower than normal. "Like so."

Ethan's face screwed up in exaggerated confusion, and Matthew laughed. "Come round to this side of Champ, Ethan. Always mount from the near side. Now. Hold the reins and put your hand here on his withers. Good." Matthew held the stirrup for Ethan. "Put your smart city shoe in here, push down with that foot and sort of spring up with the other."

Ethan, to his credit, did exactly what he was told, and Giles watched his lover mount Champ with a surprising amount of grace. Sadly, the smooth movement didn't stop, and as Giles stared in dismay, Ethan slid gracefully off the other side of Champ, disappearing from view, but not, unfortunately perhaps, from hearing.

Ethan didn't swear a great deal, but when he chose to, it tended towards the colourful.

Giles dismounted and moved over to check on Ethan, again doing his best to keep the smile off his face. "Perhaps try it with a bit less spring this time," he advised blandly, holding a hand out to help Ethan up.

Standing, Ethan rubbed at his arse, a sour expression on his face. He seemed in no hurry to try again. "Remind me once more where the enjoyment in this type of activity comes?" He glowered at Champ, who had turned his huge head around in curiosity.

"Generally it starts once you're mounted and underway."

If anything, Ethan's expression became sourer. He walked past Giles and back around the other side of Champ, where he mounted perfectly again, and this time stayed up there. He looked down at the other two men as he gathered the reins in his gloved hands. "Well, come on then. Let's get this done so I can finally have some breakfast."

Matthew passed Ethan the riding hat that had been selected for him, and pouting, Ethan put it on, mumbling something sulky about his hair. After tightening Champ's girth one last time, Matthew gave a quick run through of the basic aspects of controlling a horse. Giles could easily see that Ethan didn't listen to it at all. Matthew then went back to his own steed and mounted.

'You don't have to come, you realise,' Giles sent as he headed back over to Shadow. Not that he thought Ethan was going to back out now, but he couldn't let all that grumbling pass without some comment.

'Don't worry, dearheart,' Ethan sent back. 'By the look of this carthorse the two of you will be able to out run me in seconds. I won't be able to spoil your Brideshead Revisited fun.'

He was determined to be dramatic about this it seemed. Used to Ethan's theatrical personality, Giles just took it in stride with a smile. "We'll go slowly at first until you get used to it," he said aloud. Ethan didn't reply, and Matthew looked between them before giving a little shrug and digging his heels lightly into his bay's flanks.

They set off in a brisk walk, Matthew leading them behind the stables and into the meadows beyond. They walked sedately down towards the small river that ran through the property. "Lovely day," he called over his shoulder. "Can almost feel spring on its way."

"Yes," Giles agreed, although he couldn't totally suppress a shiver at the words. Much as he loved the spring, this year everything was telling him that its return was going to bring more than warmer weather.

Ethan seemed to be managing well enough, although Giles couldn't say that his lover looked either natural or happy on horseback. It was hard to understand quite why Ethan was so determined to do this. As they reached the lower fields, Matthew turned his horse and asked Ethan, "Fancy trying a bit of a trot now?"

A dry "Tally ho," was Ethan's only reply to that.

Giles sent him an encouraging smile as they slowly moved from a walk into a trot. Matthew suggested helpfully, "Try to rise from saddle in tandem with the motion of your horse."

"That would be hard to avoid, no?" Ethan asked, bouncing uncoordinatedly in his saddle.

"The trick is to move in concert with your horse." Giles smiled mischievously. "Like other activities, it's all a matter of finding the right rhythm."

Ethan gave him a dry, knowing look, but nonetheless seemed to take Giles' comment as a challenge. As Giles watched, Ethan's eyes unfocused, then suddenly his lover was moving smoothly with the trot, a small smile on his face. "Well, we have the first inkling of fun," Ethan announced. "Can we go faster now or has old Champ here exhausted his repertoire?"

"No, there are a few more tricks we can try, if you're ready." Giles nudged his horse into a canter, knowing Champ would follow suit.

'Oh, this is much more like it,' Ethan sent, apparently giving up on trying to speak over the pounding hooves and the rush of air past them. Not that that stopped Matthew.

"Well done, there!" he called out. "You're picking it up like a natural. Good seat!"

"Ethan's always been good at picking things up," Giles observed wryly. 'And people as well,' he added mentally, 'at least in our distant youth.'

'Is that a challenge?' Ethan replied. 'I can still do it, you know.'

'But what would you do with them once you've picked them up?'

'Leave them distraught and forever longing for what they can never have.' A glance at Ethan showed he was grinning hugely.

'I don't think I want to share you, even theoretically,' Giles sent thoughtfully.

'I'm all yours, dear. Don't worry.' And with that, Ethan mimed tipping his hat at Giles, as Champ suddenly put on an unlikely turn of speed, heading straight down towards the river.

"Bloody hell!" Matthew exclaimed, kicking his mount into following.

Giles followed as well, caught between amusement and worry that Ethan was going to overestimate his abilities and end up breaking his neck.

The huge horse thundered to the narrow river's edge and took off. Time seemed to slow as man and steed in perfect harmony flew gracefully over the water, only to speed up again as Champ's hooves hit the mud on the other side. Skidding, Champ struggled to keep his balance, twisting to one side. Giles watched in dismay as Ethan kept going straight, leaving the saddle and flying off beyond his horse.

Without thought, Giles stood in his stirrups and flung a hand out towards Ethan, using it to direct his magic. "Densa!" he intoned, causing the air to thicken and slow down Ethan's fall sufficiently to ensure nothing was broken beyond his pride.

Matthew's horse jumped to one side of Champ, Matthew dismounting in a single fluid movement before the bay had even really stopped. He disappeared from view behind the two horses just as Giles directed Shadow to jump slightly to the right of the scene. The stallion took the jump easily, finding his footing on the slippery ground as neatly as could be. Giles pulled him to a halt and dismounted, hurrying over to check on Ethan.

Only to find him on his back, covered in mud, and laughing uproariously. Matthew had his hands on his hips and was staring down at Ethan as if he'd never seen anything like him.

Giles looked down at Ethan exasperatedly. 'No, you're not the least bit outrageous,' he sent, holding out a hand to help him up. "Didn't do yourself damage, did you?"

"None that wasn't well worth it," Ethan replied with a huge grin as he took Giles' hand in his muddy glove and stood. "I just had a slight miscalculation at the end there. Failed to take into account the mud's patterns. I'll get it right this time." He went to grab Champ's reins.

Giles got there first. "We did have that chat about flying horses, didn't we?"

Glaring indignantly, Ethan asked, "Did you see any wings?"

"There weren't any wings on Deirdre's mini either."

"I was only doing what you told me to do." Ethan made a swipe for the reins.

"And you were doing quite well," Giles agreed, tightening his grip on the leather straps. "But to spare my nerves if you must jump, do you think you could maybe start off with something a bit less... daunting?"

"Here here," agreed Matthew from behind them.

Ethan pursed his lips and turned to face the other man. "Do you hunt by any chance, Matt?"

Oh lord... Giles braced himself for the reaction if his cousin waxed poetic about the Hunt, as was his wont. But Matthew seemed to sense something was up and looked at Giles, as if checking what to say. Giles said carefully. "Ethan's been through a few things in his life that have left him rather fond of the fox."

"So the tactful answer would be 'no' then. Message received." Matthew smiled genially and got back on his horse. "Ready to continue?"

Ethan stared sourly at Giles' cousin, sending, 'I can just see the red jacket, you know,' to Giles as he held his hand out for the reins.

'My old jacket is probably still at the back of the closet or up in the attic,' Giles pointed out as he finally relinquished Champ's reins to Ethan.

'Oh goodie. How about you put it on, I'll change, and we can have some fun chasing me with dogs until I get ripped apart?' Ethan was being impossible. He mounted Champ smoothly again, although Giles caught what looked like a wince pass over his face. "I'm heading back to the stables," Ethan announced. "You two can have fun surveying the estate and no doubt locating clutches of innocent animals to happily abuse. Because they enjoy it, you know."

Giles sighed and let him go, knowing there would be no talking to him until he got that out of his system. Turning back to Matthew after Ethan had left, Giles apologised as best he could. "Sorry about that. Ethan's... prone to being difficult at times."

Matthew nodded, apparently undisturbed. "Last few days can't have been easy for either of you. Fancy a bit of a gallop across to that copse?" He nodded towards a clump of trees in the distance.

"Maybe even a bit beyond it," Giles replied. He'd give Shadow a good run, then he'd go track down his impossible lover and do what was needed to soothe ruffled feathers on all sides.

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