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It was hardly a secret that Jedediah wasn’t one for politics. That didn’t stop most people from labelling him as the leader of the Old West all the same. Neither him or the mayor minded all too much though. The Mayor preferred to stick to the diorama as much as possible and Jed had always been the social sort. So when Larry came along and did away with locking them up every night it just made sense for them to come to an agreement Jedediah would represent the West for the most part. As long as anything official went through the Mayor it seem like the perfect solution. Or so Jedediah had thought. Turned out having a leader who didn’t get out and about meant he couldn’t do his own research for all his political bosh with other exhibits.
The first time around it had been the Mayans. Once they had stopped trying to hit everyone with darts and been allowed out, an envoy of the King had been sent to the West. Probably Rome too but that wasn’t Jed’s place to talk about. Mayor Horace had been quick to accept the Mayan offer though and had frantically asked Jedediah to find out what he could within an evening’s notice. It had been a stroke of luck Octavius had been busy that night so Jed had only been planning to help out at the railroad. Convincing Larry to let him use his phone without interruption hadn’t been an easy task but the cowboy had somehow managed it. Jed wouldn’t have had a hope in hell if he’d had to try and use the computer without Octavius’ men using their fancy contraption on the keyboard. With Larry’s phone though research was fairly simple. It helped that, contrary to what most people thought when they met him, Jedediah had plenty of brains in his noggin. By the end of the night he had enough memorised and relayed to back to the Mayor that old Horace had promised him free drinks in the saloon for a month.
After the success with the Mayans Jed couldn’t help but get to thinking about Rome. He and Octavius had become fast friends since the three varmint ex-night guards had tried stealing Ahkmenrah’s tablet but no official peace talks had been suggested. What with how hoity toity the roman general could be Jedediah was sure it would be only a matter of time before Octavius was fixing for an appointment with the mayor. Nothing wrong with getting a head start instead of dealing with Horace panicking over roman customs he reckoned.
The next night that Octavius was too busy with duties in Rome Jed got to work. Larry had still been reluctant to hand over his phone but a reminder that Jed had given it back no worse for wear last time and Nicky’s support had him get what he wanted. He didn’t even have to tell them what he needed it for which was blessing in itself. The cowboy dreaded to think the type of comments he would have got for looking up roman politics of all things.
Most of what he found out was incredibly tedious and boring but that was no surprise. He was hardly looking it up for the fun of it. Jedediah was about to call it a night on the research when he stumbled across a word that had him as shocked as chewing gravel.
Marriage.
Jedediah wasn’t completely oblivious. He knew arranged marriages for political gain had been a thing throughout history from his education as a boy. It just hadn’t occurred to him that it might be something the West would have to deal with. Especially not with Rome, with Octavius, of all people and places. Jed could count on one hand the number of women they had in town. He couldn’t even count one that wasn’t already hitched and pleased as punch with her spark. Not to mention the only person in the West Octavius actually talked with was Jedediah himself and the idea of losing that to some yack for the sake of diplomacy was unacceptable. The cowboy had gone back to the hall of miniatures with a heavy heart and lump in his throat that night, determined to work something out before Octavius inevitably decided their informal pact wasn’t enough.
*-*-*-*
Being wise to what might happen played havoc on Jedediah the next few nights he spent with Octavius. They still had a hog killin’ time together and he was pretty sure Octavius had no idea where his head was at but the thought of losing the roman was a fear he couldn’t shake. He couldn’t understand it. He had never been the type to get green eyed if his friends found a spark before. He had even played wingman for a couple of them; Issac and his missus often called him cupid for his part in getting them together.
Realisation hit him like a ton of bricks when they were watching a movie with Ahkmenrah, Attila and some of the other exhibits one night. It had been the pharaoh"s choice of movie and to no one’s surprise he had picked some romantic story. A ‘rom com’ as Gigantor called it. Jed wasn’t finding it very funny as the woman left the court room having given up everything but the wish for a divorce. Then the characters were at a beach and oh look they were in love because of course they were. No one would be that willing to give up so much for someone who they didn’t have feelings for, especially not after spending 90% of the time they knew each other arguing-
Oh no.
He wasn’t. He didn’t. There was no way in Sam Hill.
Jedediah looked over to Octavius where the roman was sat beside him, his big brown eyes glued to the screen. No, he wasn’t in love with his friend. Even if the other man was handsome and brave and- oh boy he was at least a little smitten, wasn’t he? One thing was for sure he had to work out something before Octavius decided to get all official on the peace.
*-*-*-*
Octavius was looking. Jedediah was sure of it. He would have thought that it was all in his head after his little epiphany if it weren’t for the fact other people seemed to be aware of it too.
First was Isaac and his missus, Penny. They had been there on the movie night Jed had realised he was gone on the roman and apparently Penny had spent almost as much time watching Octavius stealing glances at Jedediah as she had the movie. Octavius was a real expert at not getting caught by Jed himself she had said and he had no reason not to believe her, especially with Isaac backing her play.
Next was Ahkmenrah of all people. It had been another night where Octavius apparently had to personally deal with his men in Rome so Jedediah had been driving around on his own when he had bumped into the pharaoh. Well, it was more Ahkmenrah had stepped out in front of the car unexpectedly while Jed had been speeding down the corridor but fortunately neither of them got too banged up. Maybe a sore ankle for the teen king but he didn’t seem to mind. If anything he had been eager to chat, asking all sorts of questions about Jed and Octavius’ adventures. It was only when Ahkmenrah asked when they had become an item the cowboy realised he was under the impression they were ‘dating’ as he called it. Jedediah had set him straight, feeling a bit bad seeing how disappointed the pharaoh was. He was struck further by the small wistful sigh of “if you saw the way he looks at you.” If so many people were apparently seeing it why wasn’t Jed?
The final nail in the coffin was catching Octavius in the act himself. Look he wasn’t purposefully trying anything to get the roman looking but he was paying a lot more attention when they were together. If he hadn’t been he likely would have missed it just like before. The car had ran out of battery on the way to visit Teddy and Sacajawea but it wasn’t too far from the meeting spot. They could just hike the rest of the way and ask the couple to put it on charge for the journey back. The only real obstacle they had was a single rather steep step up to the exhibit. Usually they would have been able to use the small jump ramp Larry had set up for them in the car but as it was made specifically for jumping the gap made it impossible to use on foot. They had agreed it would be best for Octavius to give him a boost and then he would reach down and pull the general up, nice and simple. The first move had gone just fine and Jed stretched at the top of the step with a whoop of victory, turning just in time to see Octavius look away almost guiltily. Oh boy there it was. No way he had missed or imagined it. Mister fancy roman general had been checking out his ass. Jedediah made sure to act as oblivious as ever as he reached down to help Octavius up the step, mind already churning over the new information.
*-*-*-*
Four nights after what he would forever remember as “ass checking night” the inevitable request happened but Jedediah was prepared. He had come to terms with the fact he felt something more for Octavius than plain friendship and even had reason to believe his friend might feel the same. Armed with that knowledge he had passed on the information he had on roman governments to the mayor. Jed wasn’t usually the type to bottle himself up when he knew what he wanted. That being said he had found he was too yellow bellied to just come out with it so he made a plan instead. If Octavius wanted a betrothal he would get one.
Jedediah had to admit he had found it both amusing and incredibly precious that Octavius thought he was actually the biggest toad in the puddle when it came to the West. Perhaps it was a good thing he wasn’t considering how the meeting was probably going to go.
Leading Octavius through the West, Jedediah hoped that the roman couldn’t hear how his heart was hammering in his chest. Whatever happened with the mayor could completely reshape their entire relationship. He had told old Horace to keep a lid on the offer unless it came up but he knew the guy well enough to expect him to go all in regardless of how things went knowing he had Jed’s consent on it.
“Now I’m gonna be honest with you here, Ockie, the Mayor has a wobblin’ jaw going for days if you give him half a chance so if you want to be headin’ back to Rome tonight you’ll want to keep a lid on that.” Jedediah knew he was being a hypocrite yammering away like he was but it was the only way for him to stay even slightly settled. He shoved his hands in his pockets to hide the fact they were shaking. It wasn’t too noticeable but he didn’t want Octavius to catch onto his nerves. “You can’t say I could give you a fairer warnin’ than that on it if you get caught up here come sunrise.”
“An exaggeration I hope,” Octavius shot back as they reached the building. He looked every bit the handsome leader he was in Jed’s eyes and really it was a shame he was going to be spending it in a stuffy office instead of where the cowboy could admire him. “I assume you will not be sitting in on negotiations?” The question had Jedediah internally cringing. Even in normal political discussions he would have been uncomfortable with the thought but this one? Knowing exactly Octavius might be offered? He would rather chew gravel.
“S’not my place and I ain’t cracked enough to want to even if it was. If you manage to get out before sun up don’t mind if you come find me. I’m workin’ with the boys on the railroad tonight.” The proposition was genuine no matter what happened in that office. Jedediah would never turn down spending time with Octavius if he could help it.
“I would like that.” The door to the mayor’s building swung open, revealing old Horace himself and Jed’s stomach clenched hard.
“General Octavius, welcome, welcome, please do come in. It’s a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.” Mayor Horace grabbed Octavius’ hand to shake and the cowboy knew it was time to let fate take the wheel and hope he didn’t end up in a bad box because of it.
“Looks like my cue to make myself scarce. Play nice now.” Jed winked at the roman, one hand coming up to tip his hat at the mayor before he made good on his word to leave. The temptation to look back as he walked away towards the railroad was almost overwhelming but somehow he managed.
*-*-*-*
Hours later Jedediah almost missed Octavius making his way out of the West, only catching him due to a flash of the red from Octavius’ cloak in the corner of his eye. He tried not to seem too eager as he made his way over to the roman, calling out when it didn’t look like he was stopping anytime soon.
“Hey Ockie, you made it!” Octavius looked over at his shout with a smile and Jed couldn’t help but grin in return. He knew he probably looked a right state after working on the railroad with the boys but he figured that didn’t matter too much. Whatever had happened in that office his friend was still glad to see him, work dirty or otherwise.
“Yes, the peace between our people is well on its way to being put down in history.” The lack of any real information in the statement put Jed a little on edge but he didn’t want to jump the gun and presume anything. There was still enough time for Jedediah to speak to the mayor before sunrise.
“Look at you, ol’ flannel mouth talkin’ it up. There ain’t much time until sunrise but I figured I would check in if you fancied that drive to those royals tomorrow?”
“Absolutely, my friend.” The term had the cowboy trying not flinch, keeping his grin up as he pat Octavius’ shoulder with a gloved hand.
“I’ll pick you up in the car. Heard one of those Queen’s knights is a real piece of work so we best make sure they ain’t causin’ Gigantor trouble.”
“I shall see you then. I apologise but I should make my way back to Rome to get reports from Marius and be ready for sunrise.”
Octavius left soon after that and Jedediah didn’t waste any time before practically sprinting to the mayor’s residence. Old Horace was already waiting for him at the door, a serious expression on his face. Jed slowed at the sight but his feet kept him moving forward until he reached the older man.
“Did yo-”
“I’m sorry, my boy,” the mayor interrupted and Jed felt like the rug had been pulled from under him.
“What happened?”
“He declined. He seemed rather offended by the notion if I’m frank.” Horace sounded apologetic but it did nothing for Jedediah at that point. He felt completely defeated. What did Octavius’ choice to reject a tradition like that even mean? It hadn’t just been Jed that thought Octavius was cotton to him; Isaac, Penny and Ahkmenrah had all said the same. Nightmare scenarios began flashing in front of his eyes; Octavius not turning up for their meeting tomorrow or any meeting in future, even avoiding him completely even when they were in groups. Or worse Octavius deciding to turn his back on the peace they had found out-and-out. Larry wouldn’t stand for an outright war but that didn’t mean there had to be absolute peace either.
“I need to go.”
“Jedediah, son, I’m sure he-” Jed didn’t hang around to hear the mayor’s attempt to comfort him beyond that. He didn’t want to think about it. Words weren’t going to make this any better. All he could do was wait and see what happened when he tried to pick Octavius up in the car the next evening.
Sunrise couldn’t come soon enough.
*-*-*-*
When Jedediah unfroze the following night he still hadn’t managed to calm down. It would be a damn miracle if he managed to keep it together until Octavius showed up with how agitated he was. If Octavius even showed up. Jed knew he had brought the situation on himself by being too much of a coward to just talk to Octavius when he had caught on to the spark between them. He could wallow in self pity until the cows came home but it wouldn’t change the facts. He had made the mess so he was going to have to grab the bull by the horns and fix it.
The boys had definitely all caught onto his mood as they completely steered clear of Jed while he waited for the meeting time with Octavius. He was half tempted to take a drive to blow off some steam while he waited but quickly decided against the idea. With the state he was in and how reckless he drove on a standard night it was just asking for trouble.
The minutes ticked away slowly without a distraction and Jedediah spent most of it pacing and muttering a pep talk of sorts to himself. It didn’t help. By the time it finally got to the point Jed needed to get the car so he was ready and waiting for Octavius like usual he was exhausted despite having hours of the night ahead of him. No way he could let the roman see that though. He needed his game face on.
Jedediah had never been more relieved to see the billowing scarlet of Octavius’ cape as the general slid down the rope from Rome. One nightmare gone. Plenty more that could be awaiting. His relief didn’t last much past exchanging greetings when Octavius got into the passenger side of the car, practically slamming his helmet down on the seat next to him. Jed couldn’t remember the last time he had seen his friend scowl like that but he would bet anything that it had to have been years. He bit the inside of his cheek to avoid saying anything that would no doubt come out wrong and sound stupid. If Octavius was this riled up because of him… Jedediah stole a quick look over at the roman as he pulled the car away.
Was this how it was going to be now? Maybe Ockie was just going to show up with a face like thunder each night until Jed gave up calling on him? No, he wasn’t having that. Jedediah didn’t particularly want to face the music but he couldn’t bear the thought of going through that. The car was a few metres out of the hall of miniatures but the hallway they were in had a few cabinets that only held old coins and the like. He turned the vehicle and brought it to a sharp stop between two cabinets. Private enough that anyone walking down the corridor wouldn’t see them unless they were purposefully looking. He felt Octavius shift in the passenger seat, no doubt confused, and did his best to ignore the way his guts felt like they were twisting together.
“You want to tell me what’s got you all fit to be tied or do I gotta guess? ‘Cause I may not be the brightest but I can tell somethin’ ain’t right with you.” Had it been any other situation Jed probably would have given himself a pat on the back for how normal he sounded but he was just grateful he wasn’t completely tongue tied. He cut the engine and turned in his seat to fix his eyes on Octavius, making it clear the roman had his full attention. There was a horrible moment of silence between them and Jedediah could see Octavius contemplating what to say. His expression had gone from angry and confused to conflicted like he didn’t want to explain himself. Jed let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding when his friend finally started to speak.
“During the negotiations of peace there were some areas of discussion that struck me rather hard. I find myself unable to take my mind off of it. Jedediah, you must know I have nothing but the utmost respect for you and would never mean to cause damage to your honour.”
Wait what? It seemed almost too good to be true with the timing of it all and what the mayor had said for Octavius to be mad about anything else. Jed knew he had a bit of a tendency to jump the gun when he was anxious but this wasn’t making a lick of sense.
“You were brought into the peace talks by the Mayor last night. He offered your hand to me as a bargaining chip. In marriage that is. I refused, of course, that is not something that I could possibly-” The more Octavius spoke the more confused Jedediah felt. He didn’t understand how the roman could be mad about the marriage proposition on Jed’s behalf when he had been the one to suggest it to Mayor Horace himself. The need to understand what was going on beat out any uneasiness.
“Whoa, whoa, hang fire for a second would ya? Let me catch up first.” Jedediah held up a closed fist, figuring the only way he was going to manage to get his head straight was to keep it as simple as possible. “So your face is lookin’ like a thunderstorm because things didn’t go completely peachy last night.” He raised a finger to count as one. “Ol’ Horace said some things about me that weren’t so sweet.” Another finger joined the first. “And then said as part of being allies you had to make a ball and chain out of me?” A third finger. He couldn’t make it simpler than that and he was damn tired of overcomplicating things. Jed had plans backfired before but none have them had him in such a state before. It only made it worse Octavius had clearly been hurt in the process.
“No, not exactly like that but-” Octavius cut himself off for a moment and Jedediah thought of saying something to encourage him. Before he could get a word in though his friend continued. “He did not insult you in any way but offering your hand in marriage for such an arrangement without your knowledge is disrespectful enough!”
“You thought I didn’t know.” Jedediah’s hand dropped to his side in shock as realization hit him hard. The mayor hadn’t told Octavius the full story when he brought Jed into negotiations so Octavius thought he had been offering him up on a silver platter without his knowledge. Jed shook his head slowly. Of course Octavius would say no thinking that. Knowing that and looking at the general’s anger Jedediah was touched. As if he needed any more reason to be so smitten.
“Excuse me?”
Maybe it wasn’t going to turn into a complete mess after all. Once Octavius knew the truth behind it all then he wouldn’t be so up in arms over Jed’s honour. He didn’t want to get his hopes up too much but it wasn’t too wild to hope he might even catch on that Jedediah had a mile long soft streak for him.
“Oh boy, you really did, didn’t you? You’re sat here all huff and puff about my honour like I’m some poor innocent maiden too. Who d’ya think did the research for the old man? Horace don’t leave the West unless he ain’t got no choice and I told you he’s been jonsein’ for a meetin’ with you. He weren’t gonna do that with no prep. Took a bit of convincing to get Gigantor to let me on his phone for it but I’m a convincin’ guy.”
“Wh-what?”
“So I know I told you I leave the politics to the gentlemen. Doesn’t mean I don’t lend a hand. With what I got the mayor figured that if Rome and the West wanted a fair shake then it weren’t right to do it with a lick and a promise. Me and you seemed like a pretty good set.” Jedediah shrugged his shoulders, starting to gain his usual confidence back. It felt good to just acknowledge the corn and let it all out. Sneaking around had never been his strong suit and he should have known better. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed Octavius’ face starting to flush red.
“You were...you were the one who suggested...” Words seemed to fail the roman completely and Jed felt a bit of anxiety start to set back in. Octavius looked well on his way to some kind of panic attack. He started to reach out to his friend before he thought better of it. Weren’t you supposed to give people space if they were close to hyperventilating? Or was that when they were close to fainting? At least they were in the car so there was no chance Octavius could hurt himself falling over.
“Octavius, you need to breathe.” The words were for the roman but Jedediah forced himself to take his own advice too. He had caused the panic with his blasted plan so he had no right losing his head over it when Octavius needed reassurance. Finally Octavius took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
“Explain.” The tone and sharpness of that one word had Jed’s anxiety back in full force. It was an unmistakable order with all the power of a true roman leader and although Jedediah normally wouldn’t stand for anyone talking to him like that he owed Octavius answers. They could be on the same page and have no more problems as long as he was forthright now.
“Alright, I put myself up for the part. There ain’t no one in town you know good as me and...well you ain’t as subtle as you think you are. I caught you givin’ me the eye a few times you thought I weren’t lookin’ and people talk up a storm enough I knew I wasn’t cracked in the head.” Jed didn’t mean his words to come across as a dig at Octavius but realised his mistake too late.
“I see. So you thought you would take advantage.” Jedediah’s blood ran cold at the accusation but it wasn’t like he could take what he said back and reword it.
“No! Damn it Octavius no!” He reached out in desperation to try and make some form of comforting contact but the roman slid back closer to the door of the car before he got close. Jed dropped his hands down, recognising it was the wrong move to make even though such a blatant rejection hurt down to the core. His eyes were burning as he tried to get his words out but he refused to cry. He would pour his damn heart out if he had to but he wasn’t going to let Octavius see any tears.
“I- Look I’m not so hot at the sparkin’ thing and it looked to me you weren’t movin’ in anytime soon so I thought- I’m sorry! I just thought...” Jedediah trailed off into silence, hanging his head as he struggled to get his emotions under control. He could cry in his tent later but not now. Not with Octavius watching his every move. He was already shaking like a leaf and didn’t need to shame himself further.
“You would be amicable to a courtship between us?” Of all the things that Jed expected Octavius to say that question wasn’t one them. His neck hurt with how quickly he looked up to look at the roman, hoping his eyes didn’t give away just how close he had been to bawling. There had to have been something in them before he could even start to form words Octavius relaxed enough that he was no longer pressed against the car door at least.
“Would you?” It was all Jed could get out without the risk of his voice cracking. He didn’t want to dare get his hopes up yet. If he did and Octavius turned on him there was no doubt he would end up crying like a newborn.
“I believe that is the reason I asked.” Octavius held out a hand to him and Jed grabbed it without a second thought, cheeks flushing red. It felt like a life line grounding him as the implication of Octavius’ words sank in. There was surely no way the roman could mean it after Jedediah’s antics. He had to be sure and that meant being candid about his fear. He was already at Octavius’ mercy so there was little more damage that could be made to his pride.
“Please. If you ain’t askin’ just to give me the mitten out of revenge for me being a yellow bellied-”
“Jedediah, hush a moment.” Jed shut up immediately at the interuption, blinking rapidly as Octavius brought their joined hands up to kiss his gloved knuckles. “I believe you have punished yourself enough for the both of us. We shall start afresh, no bad blood or blame. Absolutely no betrothal. I wish to court you at our own pace. Are we agreed?”
Agreed? Oh they were more than agreed. Jed could hardly believe what was happening. Octavius really was something else forgiving his tomfoolery just like that. He stared at their joined hands before realising he actually had to answer the general.
“I can set with that.”
“Then let’s not dwell on this further tonight.” Whether Octavius was feeling merciful because Jed was clearly in a bit of shock or because he just wanted to move on Jedediah didn’t mind one bit. He would happily comply with any request if it hammered home that their friendship- no – their relationship- was still intact. “Tomorrow I have a meeting with the mayor to finalise the treaty between our people and I will find you after. For now, we were going to visit the new exhibit were we not?” Octavius slowly let go of his hand as he spoke and Jed tore his eyes away from their hands to look at his new spark’s face. Octavius was smiling back at him fond as anything and the last bit of anxiety in Jed’s heart melted away. He savoured the sensation for the briefest of moments but didn’t want to leave the question unanswered.
“Huh? Oh, sure thing Ockie! Next stop fancy-pants British royalty!” Jed was about to turn to the wheel again before an idea struck him. Before he could chicken out he leaned towards Octavius instead managing to press a rather clumsy kiss to the general’s cheek. He was no doubt beet red as he pulled away but he didn’t give a damn. Sure they weren’t engaged or anything as serious as that but Jedediah got his man in the end. And if anyone asked?
It all went according to plan, alright?