Apple of My Eye

by Nahrenne

 

Premise Tags: Festival,

Games, Bets, Slice of Life,

Heartwarming, Competitiveness,

Doting Partner, Friendship.

Content Warnings: N/A.

 

 

The crisp morning air hit the back of Tomasz’s throat as he yawned while leaning against a garden wall. Though he had felt tired when he initiated the yawn, the menthol-like sensation of coldness in his mouth quickly woke him up. He stared at his phone to check the time before he glanced up at the dull sky.

“It better not rain when we get there…” He muttered before he felt two arms wrap around his neck from behind, followed by a light kiss on his cheek.

“Sorry for keeping, ya. I kinda slept in by accident.” Came a cheery voice.

“Mm…well, it’s not a surprise. You often end up being late.” Tomasz responded before gently holding onto the arms and turning his head to give the guy behind him a tender kiss on his lips. “Let’s go.” He pulled the arms off before holding the recipient’s hand with a smile.

Sean blushed a little from Tomasz’s spontaneousness but smiled as he interlaced his fingers with the him, “Sure!”

The two walked down the quiet street as a cool wind blew several leaves of varying oranges, reds and yellows along the pavement. They finally came to a bus stop where they waited under the shelter before getting on. Their planned destination was located several miles away in a nearby town.

 

 

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“Hah…I hate buses.” Tomasz complained while sighing as he and Sean had got off near the town centre.

“It wasn’t so bad. At least there were no kids screaming this time.” Sean said with a wry smile.

“…Don’t remind me of that time, urgh.” Tomasz groaned as he covered his eyes in a vain attempt to not see the undesirable memory of a previous bus ride they’d been on where a dad sat on the seats in front of them with two little kids that screamed their heads off and forced themselves to cry in a tantrum because he refused to buy some sweets for them. They were on that bus ride for an hour with those kids…and they never shut up.

Sean gave a nervous laugh as he reached for the other guy’s hand, “Well…as I said, much better this time.”

Tomasz sighed once again as he absentmindedly reciprocated Sean’s action and held his hand, “Let’s just enjoy the festival.”

“Yep!”

The two walked down several streets before they came across a green with many marquees and stalls set up. It was around mid-morning now and there was already a small crowd milling about.

“Oh! Come on! Let’s try this one out!” Sean exclaimed energetically as he tugged on Tomasz’s hand and dragged him towards a stall where several other people were gathered.

“H-Hey, hold on!”

They quickly reached the stall and found it was run by a fairly young woman with a bright smile as she was encouraging people to try peeling an apple in a single peel. Listening to her explanation, the aim was to make the longest peel with the possibility of winning a prize. There were currently three people trying it out, though one of them soon stopped because the peel broke.

“Does anyone else want a go?” The young woman asked.

“Oh! Oh! Me! Let me have a go!” Sean shouted out while jumping up and down and waving his arm.

She giggled as she handed him a veg peeler and smiled, “Okay. Pick your apple and go for it!”

Sean gave an enthusiastic salute before he looked at the basket of large apples and picked one after much deliberation.

Tomasz watched from the side with his arms crossed while wondering what the point of such a stall was. He thought it was a waste of apples and felt dismissive of the whole thing until another person in the group of onlookers asked the woman what happened to the apples after they’d been peeled.

“Ah well, we’re gonna have them fed to a local pig farm that provided the pig products used at the food vendors here. Think of it as a little treat for them in thanks for giving their meat at a discount for the festival.” She responded in a cheery voice.

Tomasz raised his brow at this and ended up having a slightly better opinion of this stall, though he still believed there could have been other ways to thank the pig farmers involved.

“Ah, damn!” Sean said as his peel broke when he was halfway through peeling the apple. He gave a wry smile as he knew he was nowhere near the longest peel done so far. He still put his name down on the sheet to show he participated – along with the measurement of his peel. He then walked over to Tomasz and shrugged his shoulders, “Guess I’m not cut out for it…Hah! Cut out! Did ya get it?” He said with a forced smile, as he tried to lift his own spirits over his failed attempt.

“Hah…Hang on for a bit.” Tomasz said as he uncrossed his arms and paid the woman to take part in the competition.

“Eh?” Sean revealed a surprised expression as he saw the guy pick up an apple and begin peeling it with careful movements.

“Oh wow! You’re doing so well!” Praised the young woman as the other people finished their peeling, leaving the guy on his own while making a very thin spiral of apple skin.

It had been around ten minutes when Tomasz finally stopped, having reached the end of the apple. “Is this enough?” He asked as he handed the long spiral to the woman.

She laid it out on the counter of the stall and got out her tape measure. She was very careful not to break it as she pulled the tape more and more until she paused, “Ah, hang on.” She called for her colleague to come and hold the end of the tape measure as she continued to pull it out.

Eventually, she reached the end of the peel and showed an impressed expression, “Wow! With this, you’re likely to end up winning the prize! Put your name down so we can call you later if no one beats you!” She said while smiling brightly.

“Mm…It was nothing.” Tomasz mumbled as he reluctantly wrote his name along with the measurement of his peel. He then walked over to Sean and sighed, “Sorry that it took so long.” He apologised before gently holding the guy’s hand and walking with him to peruse the other stalls.

“Ah, it’s nothing. But really, your skill with that peeler was amazing! Why’d ya never tell me about such a talent?” Sean asked while smiling happily at him.

“…I didn’t know I had it?” Tomasz replied in an unsure voice, not thinking it was really that impressive of a skill to have.

Sean laughed before his eyes saw another stall that piqued his interest. He dragged the guy with him where they both tasted different apple chutneys and sauces before eventually buying some. They then stopped at a stall selling apple crisps that had several interesting flavours like apple and caramel, apple and cinnamon, apple and pork scratchings, etc… Sean ended up buying several of each flavour.

Tomasz sighed at the guy’s spending spree but had a small and soft smile on his lips as he watched him do it. He never complained about the guy’s antics and even indulged him if he showed reluctance over buying something.

 

 

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The day went on, and they visited many other stalls before lunchtime arrived. There had been an amazing cooking smell permeating through the air pretty much the entire time the two guys had been there. As more people began crowding the food vendors, Sean’s stomach audibly grumbled.

“Ah, haha…You feeling hungry yet, Tom?” Sean asked while scratching his cheek in embarrassment over his stomach.

Tomasz wasn’t incredibly hungry, though he had to admit the smells were indeed enticing. He glanced at the guy beside him and thought that he probably skipped breakfast due to sleeping in. Tomasz sighed and gave a soft smile, “Sure. Let’s get some food before the queues get bigger.”

“Yes!” Sean pumped his fist as a little bit of drool came out from his anticipation to try out the different products being sold.

Tomasz smiled at his reaction and held his hand as they joined the queue, “What’re you thinking of having?”

“Everything! I mean, it’s not every day we get to go to an apple festival, right? I’m dying to know what stuff they sell to go with the apples!” He said excitedly with a happy – and hungry – smile.

Tomasz smiled as he gave a light squeeze to Sean’s hand, “Just remember not to over face yourself. I’m not going to be soft on you if you end up with a stomach ache and indigestion.” He said, though he was willing to indulge him anyway. After all, he could always just eat the food he left behind – or save it for later.

The two reached the front of the queue, after waiting for twenty minutes, and were stunned at all the things on offer. They chose to ignore the products that you’d usually get in any kind of fair and festival, and instead focused on the pork products especially made to compliment the apple products.

While browsing the menu, Tomasz had to admit it made him salivate. From this vendor alone, there were hotdogs made from pork and apple chunks, pork burgers with a condiment of apple sauce and onions, pulled pork sandwiches with stuffing and apple sauce as condiments, baked apples wrapped in bacon with some sausage stuffing, you name it – there was a lot. As for other vendors that they later visited, there were ones doing pork meatballs with apple dishes to go with them, and many other kinds of things.

This food adventure didn’t end with the main course, though, as there were many other stalls that had chosen to make desserts instead.

“Oh! Look, Tom! They’ve got toffee apples!” Sean exclaimed as he ran over to the stall.

“…Aren’t you already full?” Tomasz asked as he recalled how not even five minutes ago the guy had been lying on his lap for a breather due to eating so much.

“I’ve always got a second stomach for dessert!” He triumphantly retorted as he already bought the toffee apple and began to munch on it with glee.

“…Hah…Glutton.” Tomasz muttered before he stole a small bite of the dessert.

“Ah! Hey! Get your own if ya want one!” Sean said while moving the treat away from the thief.

Tomasz smirked as he kissed him on the lips and licked them, “Mm, then maybe I should eat you instead? You do taste rather sweet, after all.” He teased.

“Ah…Ah…Ah….” Sean was speechless as he blushed red like one of the apples being displayed at a nearby fruit stall. He was incredibly happy but also embarrassed over being teased in such a way.

Tomasz chuckled at the guy’s reaction and sauntered away, but not before easily swiping the toffee apple from him and taking another bite. It wasn’t until a few seconds later that Sean actually regained his composure and chased after him demanding he got his toffee apple back. Tomasz complied and handed it over before gently holding his hand so they could walk around the other stalls.

 

 

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It was peak time with large crowds milling around, where many kids ran everywhere and had fun. There were several marquees that were running some games such as pinning the stalk on the apple, throwing hoops over apples for prizes, guessing how many apples had been used to make a jar of apple sauce, etc…

As Sean and Tomasz walked around, there was one stall that caught both of their attention: apple bobbing.

“Oh, cool! Let’s do it and see who’s better!” Sean suggested while watching several kids trying to grab one of the many apples bobbing in buckets of water.

Tomasz smiled and nodded, “You’re on.”

Sean laughed in happiness and ran over while shouting, “Loser has to do what the other orders for the rest of the day!”

Tomasz smiled and chuckled, “Sure.”

The two paid the man running the stall and were given a bucket full of apples and water. It seemed the man felt it would be a bit weird for adults to be playing in the same bucket as kids, so gave them the small mercy of their own bucket. Though, he couldn’t do anything about the spectacle of two young men kneeling on the grass while bobbing their heads in a bucket to get an apple with their teeth, but he didn’t care since he got money from it either way.

Sean and Tomasz got down to it and started their mini contest against one another. Of course, they used underhanded tactics to try and sabotage their opponent during this. Such actions included: headbutting, fully dunking the other guy’s head in the water with their hand, pinching their waist, licking their cheek, biting their ear, etc… Though such tactics were quite immature, the two guys enjoyed themselves as they let loose and just had fun.

Eventually, Tomasz managed to get an apple first, lifting his head up from the bucket with his teeth deep inside the fruit. He grabbed the apple and bit a large chunk off and chewed on it as he watched his opponent struggle to get his own.

“Try the one on your left. It’s got a nice bit jutting out that you could bite into.” He said in a bid to help him since he knew the guy wouldn’t give up until he got his apple.

After finishing the apple, Sean finally managed to get his own. He raised his head and breathed heavily with an apple in his mouth. His hair was dripping wet as he decided on a brash tactic of dunking his whole head in while pushing down on an apple. Fortunately, his plan worked, though it resulted in his jumper getting a little wet in the process.

“Well done.” Tomasz said as he patted Sean’s back and smiled.

“Hah…hah…hah…I…hah…would have won…hah…if you hadn’t…hah…pinched my waist.” Sean complained as he began eating the apple while pouting a little.

Tomasz lightly laughed before giving him a half-hug, “Well, you got your apple eventually. What’s your excuse for taking so long after I got mine, then?” He teased.

“…Cheater…” Sean mumbled while continuing to pout.

Tomasz chuckled and rubbed the guy’s wet hair, “Says the guy who bit my ear and headbutted me.”

Sean couldn’t refute him as he had indeed done those things. He hung his head while still taking a bite from his apple, “…Sorry.”

Tomasz smiled and kissed the guy’s forehead, “It’s fine. I dunked you as my revenge.”

The two then left that stall and had a look at some more as a chilly wind blew through the green. Sean shivered a little as his wet clothes and hair enhanced the cool temperatures, despite the sun shining down with not a cloud in the sky.

Tomasz noticed the shivering and took his coat off before wrapping it around the guy, “Here. You’ll catch a cold if you don’t keep warm.”

“What about you?” Sean asked while snuggling into the warm coat – clearly having felt colder than he let on.

Tomasz smiled, “I’m fine. All the sugar and food we’ve eaten has given me more than enough energy to burn keeping me warm.” He didn’t lie, though he could feel the chill starting to creep into his fingers.

Sean stared at him with a worried look on his face, “Are you sure?”

Tomasz smiled and grabbed the guy’s hand before putting it into the coat pocket, “Doing this will be enough for me. Your health comes first.”

Sean blushed and turned his head away as a warm smile grew on his face, “If you say so.”

 

 

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The rest of the day went on before the two guys eventually decided to head back. It appeared that Tomasz’s apple peeling skills were so good that he won first place by a landslide. He was given a hand-knitted plush of a pig with an apple in its mouth.

“Ah! It’s so cute!” Sean said as he stared at the toy in Tomasz’s hands.

“Here.” The guy held the plush out with a gentle smile on his face.

“Eh? But you won this.” Sean said while eyeing the plush.

Tomasz smiled more gently as he grasped Sean’s hands and placed the toy in them, “I took part for you. Didn’t want you going home empty-handed.”

Sean blushed and tentatively took the plush toy, “…Thanks, Tom.” He gave a soft smile as he snuggled with the gift, looking happy with it.

“It’s fine. It suits you better, anyway.” Tomasz said with a smirk.

Sean tilted his head and stared at him, “You mean in that we’re both cute?”

“No. In that you’re both gluttons for apples.” Tomasz replied with a straight face.

“…”

Tomasz then burst out laughing, “The look on your face, hahaha!”

Sean pouted before whacking the guy with the plush toy, “I’m not a glutton!”

Tomasz continued to laugh as they made their way to a taxi pickup zone. The guy had stated earlier that he refused to get on a bus home and used the victor rule to make them book a taxi instead.

As they playfully fought with each other – mostly Sean chasing Tomasz while wielding the plush toy with his target running and laughing – they eventually reached the zone and waited for their taxi. Once they got on it and headed for Sean’s place, they both chatted over how fun the day had been.

Getting out of the taxi, Tomasz paid the driver and thanked him before it drove off. Sean went quiet as he stood at the entrance of his front garden, seeming reluctant to part ways.

Tomasz tilted his head and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”

Sean hugged the plush toy and fidgeted on the spot, “Thank you for going to the apple festival with me, Tom. I know I dragged you around everywhere and kinda forced you to carry all the stuff I bought.”

Tomasz was surprised at the guy’s words before he smiled warmly. He walked up to him and wrapped his arms around his waist as he looked at him with a smirk. “Well, how about you fulfil my request, then?”

Sean lifted his eyes and gazed at Tomasz, “Request?” He asked quizzically.

“I mean, you did say something about winning a bet, didn’t you?”

Sean’s eyes widened as he recalled their earlier competition and suddenly felt like he’d put his foot in his mouth. He looked up at him and nervously asked, “W-What request do you wish of me, oh great m-master?”

Tomasz smiled as he leaned in close with his lips just a hair’s breadth away from Sean’s, “Kiss me, and I might feel better about being your pack horse for the day.”

Sean immediately kissed him on the lips before shyly averting his gaze and blushing, “There. Done.”

Tomasz chuckled as his hands stroked up Sean’s back, “You call that a kiss, Sean?”

“…” Sean remained silent for a few seconds before he glanced around the street. He then gazed at Tomasz while blushing deep red, “…C-Come in and I’ll kiss you properly.”

Tomasz smiled, “Oh? You can’t kiss me properly here?” He teased as he leaned in close to Sean’s ear and lightly brushed his lips against it.

Sean blushed more, while speaking quietly “…It’s cos I’ll want to do more afterwards…”

Tomasz gave a light laugh as he parted from the guy, “All right. Lead the way and show me what this, ‘afterwards,’ will entail.” He said with a happy smile on his face.

Sean blushed more as he took the guy’s hand and pulled him into his house where they had a passionate kiss in the hallway before heading upstairs to the bedroom.

 

 

 

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Author's Account:

Nahrenne (SH), Nahrenne (SHF).