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asphaltcowgrrl) wrote2017-02-11 11:02 am
asphaltcowgrrl) wrote2017-02-11 11:02 am
Entry tags:
A to Z Challenge Chapter 26: Zooty [Final] (White Pine Original Fiction)
Title: A to Z Challenge Chapter 26: Zooty [Final]
Fandom: White Pine original fiction
Pairing: Ethan McDowell/Travis Murphy
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,145
Summary: All is well again in White Pine.
Author’s Note: Written for the A to Z Challenge at 1_million_words. I AM FINALLY DONE. DO YOU HEAR ME? DONE. :D
Continued from here.
“Do we have to get out of bed,” Ethan whined, turning Travis’ usual reluctance against him. “I love your mother, but all I want is to stay here, with you.” He batted his eyelashes at his husband and prayed.
“Sorry baby,” Travis said, kissing the crest of one cheek. “But mama was very adamant we were at their place by five o’clock.” He started towards the bathroom before stopping. “Besides, if we get there on time, we can leave on time. Maybe that’ll leave us enough wiggle room to pick up where we left off before you have to leave for work.”
Ethan couldn’t argue with Travis’ logic, for once. “You’re just lucky I’m starving,” he said, rolling out of bed and following his husband into the small bathroom. There really wasn’t room enough for them to both brush their teeth at the same time, but somehow they managed it.
Squeezing past Ethan, Travis gave him a sharp warning not to take too long. He had to wonder when Travis had become the responsible half of the relationship, but then, he’d always had it in him, Ethan supposed. Shrugging, he bobbled the brush in his uninjured hand, unused to having to use the wrong side of his body to do simple things.
Tonight was going to be so much fun. Not.
**
Aracely wrapped Ethan in a tight hug, taking extra care not to squash his broken wrist in her embrace. Holding him out at arm’s length, she gave him a stern look. “You will not leave us again,” she said, giving his arms a squeeze before releasing her grip on him.
“Yes, mama,” he said, feeling a wash of affection for the woman.
“Good,” Liam said, giving Ethan a less enthusiastic hug, but one filled with an equal amount of warmth. “Maybe now she’ll stop squawking about it.”
Travis laughed and rolled his eyes at his father. “You’d better stop baiting her, pops,” he said, giving his dad a hug. “Or you’ll be the one she’s squawking about next.”
“Hush,” Aracely chided her son and husband. “Dinner is ready.”
“She acts like Ethan and I haven’t had a decent meal since the last one we had here,” Travis joked.
“You haven’t,” his mother told him. “I know how you eat, Travis.”
Caught out by the truth, Travis grimaced. Ethan slipped his good arm through Travis’ and pulled him close. Granted, their diet had improved over the last several months, but the meals they made at their place still weren’t on par with those that they got in his in-laws’ home. He was still on the fence about whether or not Travis’ Pinterest addiction was a good thing or not.
Aracely had gone all out, as she did every Sunday. Everything was homemade from the rice and beans to the enchilada sauce. Ethan had once asked Travis how long it took her to put a meal like this together and he’d shrugged and confessed it took her the better part of the day. It only made Ethan appreciate the woman and her food that much more. But what wasn’t there to appreciate? She was loving and stern and amazing and her food reflected all of that. Again, he realized exactly how lucky Travis – and by default, he – was.
They stayed for as long as they could after dinner, all thoughts of anything else pushed aside by the joy of simply being home and being loved. When they finally left sometime after eight o’clock, Aracely sent them off with a pile of leftovers to last them a few days. Although, with the way he and Travis plowed through her food, they’d be lucky to have enough for dinner tomorrow. But she didn’t need to know that, right? After all, there was a diner and another small restaurant in town if it came down to it.
Ethan took the dishes off the counter and loaded them into the refrigerator. He made a mental note to put the dishes sitting on the dining table and put them in Travis’ truck next Sunday so that Mama Murphy didn’t run out of casseroles to put enchiladas in.
“Are you almost done,” Travis said from behind him. “I was hoping we could climb back in bed for a bit before you have to leave.”
Ethan checked his watch and did a quick calculation. It was quarter to nine and he needed to leave the house by at least eleven thirty to get to the station with enough time to be debriefed by the night shift. Add in a shower and saying goodbye and he absolutely had to be out of bed in two hours. Any other night, that would be ample time to roll around and have a little fun but… well, it had been a month since he and Travis had this luxury. He started to tell Travis that it sounded good to him when he turned and saw his husband. The words died in his throat.
“What’s the matter, E?” Travis furrowed his brows and reached out to him. “What’s wrong?”
“Um,” Ethan stalled, not sure how to ask Travis what the hell he was wearing without hurting his feelings. “Your boxers are… colorful.”
Grinning, Travis glanced down at them and fingered the hem. “They’re great, aren’t they? I found them online a couple weeks ago when I was looking for something else.” He scrunched his face up and shook his head. “You know how it goes, one thing leads to another and before you know it, you’re not researching any longer. But aren’t they cool? I had to buy them when I saw them.”
“They are something,” Ethan chuckled. “They’re so bright they could glow in the dark.”
Travis’ face brightened. “They do,” he said, sounding like a little kid. “Look.”
Murphy switched off the kitchen light and although the moon shone brightly in through the windows, Ethan could easily see the hearts on Travis’ boxers glowing in the near dark. Well, at least he wouldn’t lose his husband in the bedroom, he supposed. There’d been a time in his life when something like glow in the dark boxers would have annoyed him, but that was a long time ago. Now, all of Travis’ little quirks and oddities only made him smile harder, love bigger. He’d changed so much since his days with Reid that he almost didn’t recognize the man he used to be. Funny how he only noticed after running into his ex-husband again.
“C’mon, Murph,” Ethan said, tugging at the waistband of Travis’ boxers. “I think we need to get these things off of you. Fast.”
Travis gave him a wicked grin. “What’s the matter, baby? Can’t handle the glory of me?”
“Oh, I never dreamed I could handle the glory that is you, Travis,” he agreed. “But that’s what makes this so much fun.
Fandom: White Pine original fiction
Pairing: Ethan McDowell/Travis Murphy
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,145
Summary: All is well again in White Pine.
Author’s Note: Written for the A to Z Challenge at 1_million_words. I AM FINALLY DONE. DO YOU HEAR ME? DONE. :D
Continued from here.
“Do we have to get out of bed,” Ethan whined, turning Travis’ usual reluctance against him. “I love your mother, but all I want is to stay here, with you.” He batted his eyelashes at his husband and prayed.
“Sorry baby,” Travis said, kissing the crest of one cheek. “But mama was very adamant we were at their place by five o’clock.” He started towards the bathroom before stopping. “Besides, if we get there on time, we can leave on time. Maybe that’ll leave us enough wiggle room to pick up where we left off before you have to leave for work.”
Ethan couldn’t argue with Travis’ logic, for once. “You’re just lucky I’m starving,” he said, rolling out of bed and following his husband into the small bathroom. There really wasn’t room enough for them to both brush their teeth at the same time, but somehow they managed it.
Squeezing past Ethan, Travis gave him a sharp warning not to take too long. He had to wonder when Travis had become the responsible half of the relationship, but then, he’d always had it in him, Ethan supposed. Shrugging, he bobbled the brush in his uninjured hand, unused to having to use the wrong side of his body to do simple things.
Tonight was going to be so much fun. Not.
**
Aracely wrapped Ethan in a tight hug, taking extra care not to squash his broken wrist in her embrace. Holding him out at arm’s length, she gave him a stern look. “You will not leave us again,” she said, giving his arms a squeeze before releasing her grip on him.
“Yes, mama,” he said, feeling a wash of affection for the woman.
“Good,” Liam said, giving Ethan a less enthusiastic hug, but one filled with an equal amount of warmth. “Maybe now she’ll stop squawking about it.”
Travis laughed and rolled his eyes at his father. “You’d better stop baiting her, pops,” he said, giving his dad a hug. “Or you’ll be the one she’s squawking about next.”
“Hush,” Aracely chided her son and husband. “Dinner is ready.”
“She acts like Ethan and I haven’t had a decent meal since the last one we had here,” Travis joked.
“You haven’t,” his mother told him. “I know how you eat, Travis.”
Caught out by the truth, Travis grimaced. Ethan slipped his good arm through Travis’ and pulled him close. Granted, their diet had improved over the last several months, but the meals they made at their place still weren’t on par with those that they got in his in-laws’ home. He was still on the fence about whether or not Travis’ Pinterest addiction was a good thing or not.
Aracely had gone all out, as she did every Sunday. Everything was homemade from the rice and beans to the enchilada sauce. Ethan had once asked Travis how long it took her to put a meal like this together and he’d shrugged and confessed it took her the better part of the day. It only made Ethan appreciate the woman and her food that much more. But what wasn’t there to appreciate? She was loving and stern and amazing and her food reflected all of that. Again, he realized exactly how lucky Travis – and by default, he – was.
They stayed for as long as they could after dinner, all thoughts of anything else pushed aside by the joy of simply being home and being loved. When they finally left sometime after eight o’clock, Aracely sent them off with a pile of leftovers to last them a few days. Although, with the way he and Travis plowed through her food, they’d be lucky to have enough for dinner tomorrow. But she didn’t need to know that, right? After all, there was a diner and another small restaurant in town if it came down to it.
Ethan took the dishes off the counter and loaded them into the refrigerator. He made a mental note to put the dishes sitting on the dining table and put them in Travis’ truck next Sunday so that Mama Murphy didn’t run out of casseroles to put enchiladas in.
“Are you almost done,” Travis said from behind him. “I was hoping we could climb back in bed for a bit before you have to leave.”
Ethan checked his watch and did a quick calculation. It was quarter to nine and he needed to leave the house by at least eleven thirty to get to the station with enough time to be debriefed by the night shift. Add in a shower and saying goodbye and he absolutely had to be out of bed in two hours. Any other night, that would be ample time to roll around and have a little fun but… well, it had been a month since he and Travis had this luxury. He started to tell Travis that it sounded good to him when he turned and saw his husband. The words died in his throat.
“What’s the matter, E?” Travis furrowed his brows and reached out to him. “What’s wrong?”
“Um,” Ethan stalled, not sure how to ask Travis what the hell he was wearing without hurting his feelings. “Your boxers are… colorful.”
Grinning, Travis glanced down at them and fingered the hem. “They’re great, aren’t they? I found them online a couple weeks ago when I was looking for something else.” He scrunched his face up and shook his head. “You know how it goes, one thing leads to another and before you know it, you’re not researching any longer. But aren’t they cool? I had to buy them when I saw them.”
“They are something,” Ethan chuckled. “They’re so bright they could glow in the dark.”
Travis’ face brightened. “They do,” he said, sounding like a little kid. “Look.”
Murphy switched off the kitchen light and although the moon shone brightly in through the windows, Ethan could easily see the hearts on Travis’ boxers glowing in the near dark. Well, at least he wouldn’t lose his husband in the bedroom, he supposed. There’d been a time in his life when something like glow in the dark boxers would have annoyed him, but that was a long time ago. Now, all of Travis’ little quirks and oddities only made him smile harder, love bigger. He’d changed so much since his days with Reid that he almost didn’t recognize the man he used to be. Funny how he only noticed after running into his ex-husband again.
“C’mon, Murph,” Ethan said, tugging at the waistband of Travis’ boxers. “I think we need to get these things off of you. Fast.”
Travis gave him a wicked grin. “What’s the matter, baby? Can’t handle the glory of me?”
“Oh, I never dreamed I could handle the glory that is you, Travis,” he agreed. “But that’s what makes this so much fun.
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Thanks! Finished two things this morning, now I just need to be in one place long enough to post it.