Rusty sat in the front of the truck as they headed back home. He could still remember being Jason, all the memories were still there but he was Rusty, too. He knew the roads they were driving on. He knew the ranch they were heading back to had belonged to his family for generations. He had worked on it his whole life and when his father retired it would be his. Jason didn't know how to run a ranch, but Rusty did. All the knowledge was there in his head. He still felt like himself, he was just himself and Rusty.
They finally pulled up to the ranch were some of the hands were already at work. Some were seasonal, other came and left as the year went. Only a few stayed year round and they were like family. "I think Terry's handling things in the stable, why don't you go and see if he needs a hand, Rusty." He nodded his head and headed off to the horse stables, knowing exactly where on the ranch it sat without even having to think about it. Terry was one of those hands who stayed year round. He grew up on this ranch along with Rusty, his father worked here year round as did his mother. They had both retired now, but Terry stayed on. He was only a year older than Rusty and probably his best friend.
When he stepped into the stable, he saw Terry shirtless, rubbing down one of the horses. He was half Mexican on his mother's side, and his skin held a healthy tan than he kept all year round, though it was darker now in the summer months. Oddly he had his father's blond hair, which gave him an interesting look, hair paler than his skin. He was strong from years working manual labor on the ranch, and while not quite as big as Rusty was pretty close. Sweat covered his torso as he worked, chest hair damp against his skin. And seeing him Jason knew he wasn't Rusty's best friend. They were lovers.
Jason didn't know how he felt about being in a gay guy, but the part that was Rusty didn't seem to mind and acted on autopilot. There was no way Jason could separate the two, what Rusty felt, he was feeling. And right now... Rusty came up behind Terry, wrapping his arms around the man's sweaty torso and kissed the back of his neck. He could feel that large cock of his stirring in his jeans.
"Rus." Terry said warningly, but only half annoyed. "Not during work. We agreed."
"Right. Sorry." Rusty let go of Terry and look around the stable, finding another horse in need of some tending to.
"Did you talk to your pa?" Terry asked, his twangy accent similar to Rusty's. Jason thought he might have a hard time understanding it but Rusty barely batted an eyelash at it.
"About?" Rusty knew. He just.. was this his problem Jason wondered?
"Us, dipshit." Terry sighed, as he set the brush down, getting the horse back into its stall. "I'm tired of sneakin' around, hidin'. Meetin' up at hotels or getting smuggled up into your bedroom. If we want this to be a thing, you gotta tell him it's a thing. It's not the fuckin' 70s anymore. This sort of thing is more normal. Hell, a gay couple own the feed store your pa uses and he doesn't seem to mind doin' business with them."
To Rusty this had the feeling of an old argument. "Tomorrow. I promise." He said, and he meant it. Not because he'd be out of this body tomorrow, but because some mix of Jason and Rusty meant it. Jason knew Rusty had run away from this, given up being who he was because deep down he didn't want it. He was ashamed of it. But that was something deep in Rusty that was gone now. He had left behind his shell for another to fill and Jason did at this moment.
"Really?" Terry asked, perking up. He had never gotten that much of a promise out of Rusty before and it had his hopes up.
"Really." Rusty said. "Its a down day, and it'll be easier to have the talk with him. Tonight.. can we do one last sneakin' around for old time's sake?"
Terry laughed and the two got to work, spending the rest of the day cleaning out the stables and caring for the horses.