‘Ugh,fine.Yes.’
‘All right.I’ll see you tomorrow bright and early.’
‘Wait,howearly?’
?
The first few weeks are the worst.
Lachlan knows this is make or break.
If he doesn’t push Jules, the skin won’t thicken and the routine won’ttake, so he never lets up when the boy is whining and almost crying that he needs a break, when Jules begs for ten more minutes’ sleep at five AM, and especially not when he calls Lachlan every foul name under the sun in a wobbly voice.
Jules is one of the strongest people Lachlan’s ever known, but his body is kitten weak and those first few weeks hurt him sorely.
Just as Lachlan expects, however, two weeks of anything becomes routine and in the third week, Jules can run faster without lung burn, he can lift more and he’s starting to develop muscle memory when they spar, which is by far his favourite thing to do because he gets to punch Lachlan in the face.
Come mid-March, the rain is ebbing, spring is creeping in, and Jules doesn’t complain anymore when Lachlan wakes him.He drinks his protein shakes, he runs when told, beats his own times by incremental fractions, is starting to enjoy it.
‘There we go, that’s it.Ten more, you’ve got this.’
Jules hates push-ups.
When they started, he could barely manage three.Now he can knock out fifty clean ones before the complaining and swearing begins.
‘I hate you—so much—you’re such—a prick!’
‘Oh yeah, tell me more, just keep going.’
‘I hope—you die—in a fire!’
‘Three more!’
‘And then—get eaten—by a shark!’
‘Perfect!Ten cooldowns and then you can rest,’ Lachlan says.‘Also how would I die in a fire and then get eaten by a shark?’
Jules performs his cooldown push ups, knees on the dirt.‘Houseboat.’
‘Flawless.Good job.’
‘Fuck you.’
Jules’ mood has improved enormously,and with Carrigan in charge, Lachlan can adjust his diet, no longer horribly restricted.
Mimi comes to watch them train some days, cheering Jules on from the sidelines where she sits talking to the worms and waving at the crows.She’s drawing more and more every day, imaginary friends popping up.
Vasily takes a keen interest in cooking,bakingespecially, so Lachlan asks the chefs if he can shadow them to learn the basics.They happily agree.
Blaire wears her necklace every day and Lachlan wears his.
The sun shines on the Penhalyx Estate in new ways.
Lachlan is proud of what he’s built here, and not just a little.
One week before his two-year anniversary, his mother dies.
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