Dean came down the stairs and heard voices coming from the kitchen. One was the deep gruff voice of his uncle, the other the slightly smoother voice of Silas.
"You gonna explain things to the boy, Rex?" Silas was asking.
"Yes, just, not yet."
"He deserves to know."
"I know. And he will. Roy should have sent him here when he was fourteen, damn him. I don't know if anyone else in our family was held back this long. Who knows if it will even take. I want to be sure before I turn his life upside down." Their voices faded as they headed into another part of the house. Jason wanted to follow and eavesdrop since they were obviously talking about him, but he also didn't want to get in trouble day one. So he headed outside.
It wasn't a long walk across the hard-packed dirt yard to the barn. Dean was just pulling another bale of hay off the flat bed hooked to the back of a tractor. He manhandled the block of hay, tossing it up on his shoulder like it weighed nothing. "Hey! Cuz! Grab a bundle and bring it to the barn, you'll see where to stack it."
Jason looked dubiously at the hay bales and tried to lift one like Dean did, only to drop it with a curse. "Fuck that's heavy." Dean was already trotting back as Jason was bending over to grab it by the twine holding it together. His cousin just smiled encouragingly as he hoisted another one and trotted off. Jason almost had to drag his.
He wanted to whine and complain and throw a fit, but something about Dean's encouraging smiles and words kept him working. His cousin didn't make fun of him or pus him to do more. He just let Jason work at his own pace. Sure, Dean carried in three or four bales for everyone Jason did, but by the time they were all stacked off to one side of the barn, Jason sitting on one panting heavily, his shirt completely damp from sweat and stuck with bits of straw, he felt pretty good about it.
Dean sat next to him, sweaty but not even a little winded, offering out a chilled bottle of water. Jason accepted it gratefully and chugged it down. "Sorry. Guess I wasn't much help."
"More help than I usually get." Dean replied with a grin. "You'll bulk up."
Jason snorted. "I can only bulk up so much." He spread his arms a little, showing off his short lanky frame. "Not much of me to get bigger."
"We'll see." Dean said as he nudged Jason with a shoulder, then looked up. "Damn, you're already getting sunburned." He pulled the hat off his head and plopped it on Jason's head. "You'll need that. Keep it, I got plenty."
The hat was damp from Dean's sweat, but it also smelled like him, earthy and musky. Jason was beginning to like that smell. "C'mon, Shiloh will have the cows here soon, we need everything ready." Dean hopped up and grabbed a bag of feed. He motioned Jason over, showing him how to fill the feed troughs, and he got back to work, still working at only a fraction of the speed of Dean, but always being encouraged.
Jason stopped to wring some of the sweat out of his shirt at one point and Dean shouted. "Take it off."
"What?" Jason actually felt his cheeks blushing. Dean had freed his arms of his overalls, letting it hang down at his waist, again, leaving his chest and stomach bare as he worked.
"One thing I learned, sweatier you get, less clothing you should wear. It just gets gross." Dean grinned as he hoisted another bag of feed.
Jason plucked at his sweat soaked tee and sighed. He pushed his overalls down to his waist and slipped the tee shirt off, tossing it out of the way. He felt instantly cooler as the air dried the sweat on his chest. He stared down for a moment at his bare torso. He could actually make out his chest muscles. Barely, but they were there. He poked one with a finger.
"What? Never worked out before?" Jason said as he came over for a drink of water.
"What do you mean?"
"Muscles swell a bit during a work out. Something about blood pumping into them. I think." He grabbed one of Jason's arms and forced a bicep flex, which actually did pop a little. "See." He gave Jason's arm a light squeeze then slapped him on he back. "Keep it up though and they'll really get bigger." He flexed his own arm and bounced one of his pecs with a grin. "Go ahead."
Jason blinked at the words, then realized he had lifted his hand towards Dean's muscular chest. He wanted to put his hand back down but instead he rested his hand on the meaty pectoral. Sweat damp hairs curled under his finger tips, and the muscle itself felt solid but oddly pliable. He gave it a light squeeze then pulled his hand back as if burned. Dean grabbed the hand, then they were interrupted by a chorus of moos.
A herd of cattle came trotting into the barn guided by Shiloh and Dean went over to help him get the cows in their milking stalls, keeping Dean close for this one so he wouldn't get, "Kicked to next Sunday." Shiloh left with a grunt, wordy as ever, leaving the two teens to hook up the milking machines, which was the easiest thing Jason had done all day. Once they were all hooked up and eating happily, their milk being pumped from them, Jason leaned in an empty stall.
"That doesn't, um, hurt, does it?" He asked, looking over at his cousin.
"The machines? Nah. No worse than being nursed on. Wanna feel?" Dean got one of those mischievous looks on his face Jason remembered from when they were both much younger, meaning he was about to do something weird.
"Feel?" Jason asked, eyeing one of the milking machines.
"Yeah, actually feels kinda nice." Dean grabbed two of the four cups from the machine in the empty stall and flicked it on. He waggled his brows at Jason and plopped one over each of his nipples, which were a bit on the large side for a guy. The suction made them swell a bit, and he let out a little shiver, but otherwise seemed fine. He picked up the other two and waggled them in Jason's direction.
"No way." Jason shook his head, but Dean just gave the tubes another wiggle. The two cousins met gazes for a long, silent moment then Jason sighed. "Fine."
"You're the one who asked." Dean said as Jason shrugged the top of his overalls back down, once more exposing his chest. He carefully moved the end of the tube towards one of his nipples, then gasped as the suction pulled shut. It hurt a little, but it also felt really good. He felt the other tube clamp on and realized Dean had done the second one for him. He had once dated this one girl who in an effort to pull him out of his low libido shell had tried a few things, including sucking his nipples. This felt better, so much better. He actually felt his cock begin to stiffen in his briefs.
After a few minutes Dean flipped off the machine and gently released the tubes. "You looked like you were going to cream yourself there for a bit."
Jason gulped. "It.. It's been a while." Was all he could muster by explanation. Both of the teens nipples remained a bit swollen from the suction for a while, though Jason's more so. Even as Dean's returned to normal, Jason's remained a little puffy.
"Here, you need to try this." Dean walked over to a tank and stuck a metal cup under a spigot. He opened it and some fresh milk came out. He took a sip then offered it to Jason. He looked at it dubiously then drank. It was the same creamy, thick milk he had been drinking since he got here, but it was warm and it seemed to soothe his aching muscles as it flowed into him, like a good cup of hot tea or coffee. "Best milk in the state." Dean said proudly as he patted the metal tank.
Lunch came as a welcome distraction. The bell sounded from the farmhouse and a table outside had been set up with sandwiches and some sides. And there was Jason's giant pitcher of milk as required. Everyone showed up to eat except the still missing May. They got down to eating, mouths full and conversation at a minimum, except for Rex handing out afternoon assignments.