asphaltcowgrrl (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
asphaltcowgrrl) wrote2014-12-17 02:12 pm
asphaltcowgrrl) wrote2014-12-17 02:12 pm
Entry tags:
Advent Day 17 (White Pine Original Fic)
Title: Advent Day 17
Fandom: White Pine Original Fic
Pairing: Travis Murphy/Ethan McDowell
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,018
Summary: A Christmas/New Year’s fic to help bump up the word count for 1_million_words. Wherein Travis and Ethan muddle their way through December and try to stay on Santa’s Nice List.
Author’s Note: Yay! I’m caught up!
Day 17
Travis stepped through the snow, tucking his jacket closer to his body. He’d grabbed his worn, leather duster at Ethan’s insistence, his lover not buying the idea that he enjoyed the crisp, cold air this time of year. According to him, no one enjoyed nearly subzero temps any time of the year.
Flexing his fingers inside his gloves, he had to admit, his lover might have a point.
Ethan had been concerned when he had announced he was going out for a walk. First, citing the cold, then reminding of the probability of more snow on the horizon. You would think that Travis had just moved up from Florida or something.
“I can handle a little snowfall,” he’d told his overprotective fiancé.
“But can the snow handle you,” he’d joked back, trying to hide his rising discomfort.
Not that Travis bought into his game. “Why are you so reluctant to let me walk to the lake and back? I do it all the time.”
Ethan had looked over his shoulder at the Christmas tree and sighed. “Yeah, but you’re usually trying to work out a plot point or break through some other barrier to finishing your book.”
“Okay, so that’s all true but?”
“But you finished your book last night. Why do you need to take a walk?” Ethan looked at the tree again, frowning.
“I just need a little alone time,” he’d said. “Nothing’s wrong, I’m not upset, I just think that a lot has happened this last week. I need to process it.”
“You’re starting to sound like me,” Ethan had replied.
“Well, then I had better go out walking in the snow before I start sounding rational,” he shot back, blowing a kiss and walking out the door.
That had been nearly an hour ago. For the last fifteen minutes, he’d been standing on the shore of the lake, watching the birds glide through the air. He hadn’t been kidding when he had told Ethan that he needed to clear his head. Since they’d met two years prior, his family had been Ethan’s only family. Now that his sister had made herself known, he wasn’t exactly sure what to think about it all.
Travis liked having Ethan all to himself. The only family obligations they had were to the Murphys, and even then, Mama and Papa weren’t all that demanding, once you got used to their routine. The big holidays and every other Sunday, at minimum, were expected. But was that actually asking a lot? He didn’t think so. It was going to take some getting used to, this having to stop and think that maybe Melody would want Ethan over for dinner some Sunday, but that was in the future, he was sure.
But how far in the future? He knew he was freaking himself out over nothing, they’d had one dinner together. And when you consider how Ethan’s family was, well, once the other McDowells got wind of what was going down, would they insist she stop visiting? Travis hoped not, he’d become attached to the feisty ginger in the short time he’d known her. However, he also knew that if pressed, Ethan would insist she stay on their parents’ good side and remove himself from the equation altogether.
The thought of it all made him ill.
Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself that Ethan had a lot more now than he did two Christmases ago. He had a boyfriend – fiancé, he corrected himself – a set of surrogate parents that accepted him as one of his own, and all this goddamned snow. Who could ask for more?
It suddenly occurred to him that he couldn’t feel his feet. Stomping his boots on the ground, he finally started to feel a bit of tingling, the kind that told him he needed to get his ass back inside before he lost a tootsie or two. Reluctant to leave the peace surrounding him, he kicked up a bit of white powder and worked his way back around the lake and towards the house.
At the foot of the steps leading to his door, he saw two green eyes watching him from the window. Ethan held up a steaming mug of something, hopefully for him. Grinning, he rushed up the steps and into the house. “Is that for me?”
“Now that you’re finally back, yes. I’ve had two mugs waiting for your return.”
Travis pulled off his gloves and took the drink, not bothering to remove his jacket first. Taking a deep sniff, he sighed. “Hot chocolate. Spiked?”
“No, it’s not spiked,” he laughed. “You’re dripping on the floor, Murphy.”
He looked at his feet and grimaced at the puddle forming around them. “Sorry. Hold my cocoa.” Ethan took the mug and waited while Travis discarded his outerwear. “Okay, gimme. I’ll clean up the mess as soon as I can feel my fingers again.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, grabbing a towel from the coat rack where he’d left it in anticipation of this very event. “I’ve gotcha covered.”
He moved his feet so Ethan could wipe up around him, grateful not to have to do it himself. “Thanks.”
Ethan looked up from his place on the floor. “You’re welcome, Travis. Just don’t do it again, okay?”
Travis couldn’t say whether he meant tracking melted snow everywhere or taking off for a brooding walk in the snowy woods, but he made a silent promise to never do either again, if he could possibly help it. “I finished my cocoa,” he said, instead of the things swirling around in his brain. “Can I have some crème de menthe this time?”
“If you weren’t part Irish,” Ethan said, straightening to his full height, “I’d call an intervention.”
“That’s rude,” Travis frowned, knowing Ethan was yanking his chain. “But I’ll forgive you if you top me off.”
“You are also predictable,” Ethan stated, taking Travis’ mug and going into the kitchen. “Predictable can be good though, trust me. Surprises aren’t all that they’re cracked up to be.”
Unless they were happy surprises. Those were always welcome.
Fandom: White Pine Original Fic
Pairing: Travis Murphy/Ethan McDowell
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,018
Summary: A Christmas/New Year’s fic to help bump up the word count for 1_million_words. Wherein Travis and Ethan muddle their way through December and try to stay on Santa’s Nice List.
Author’s Note: Yay! I’m caught up!
Day 17
Travis stepped through the snow, tucking his jacket closer to his body. He’d grabbed his worn, leather duster at Ethan’s insistence, his lover not buying the idea that he enjoyed the crisp, cold air this time of year. According to him, no one enjoyed nearly subzero temps any time of the year.
Flexing his fingers inside his gloves, he had to admit, his lover might have a point.
Ethan had been concerned when he had announced he was going out for a walk. First, citing the cold, then reminding of the probability of more snow on the horizon. You would think that Travis had just moved up from Florida or something.
“I can handle a little snowfall,” he’d told his overprotective fiancé.
“But can the snow handle you,” he’d joked back, trying to hide his rising discomfort.
Not that Travis bought into his game. “Why are you so reluctant to let me walk to the lake and back? I do it all the time.”
Ethan had looked over his shoulder at the Christmas tree and sighed. “Yeah, but you’re usually trying to work out a plot point or break through some other barrier to finishing your book.”
“Okay, so that’s all true but?”
“But you finished your book last night. Why do you need to take a walk?” Ethan looked at the tree again, frowning.
“I just need a little alone time,” he’d said. “Nothing’s wrong, I’m not upset, I just think that a lot has happened this last week. I need to process it.”
“You’re starting to sound like me,” Ethan had replied.
“Well, then I had better go out walking in the snow before I start sounding rational,” he shot back, blowing a kiss and walking out the door.
That had been nearly an hour ago. For the last fifteen minutes, he’d been standing on the shore of the lake, watching the birds glide through the air. He hadn’t been kidding when he had told Ethan that he needed to clear his head. Since they’d met two years prior, his family had been Ethan’s only family. Now that his sister had made herself known, he wasn’t exactly sure what to think about it all.
Travis liked having Ethan all to himself. The only family obligations they had were to the Murphys, and even then, Mama and Papa weren’t all that demanding, once you got used to their routine. The big holidays and every other Sunday, at minimum, were expected. But was that actually asking a lot? He didn’t think so. It was going to take some getting used to, this having to stop and think that maybe Melody would want Ethan over for dinner some Sunday, but that was in the future, he was sure.
But how far in the future? He knew he was freaking himself out over nothing, they’d had one dinner together. And when you consider how Ethan’s family was, well, once the other McDowells got wind of what was going down, would they insist she stop visiting? Travis hoped not, he’d become attached to the feisty ginger in the short time he’d known her. However, he also knew that if pressed, Ethan would insist she stay on their parents’ good side and remove himself from the equation altogether.
The thought of it all made him ill.
Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself that Ethan had a lot more now than he did two Christmases ago. He had a boyfriend – fiancé, he corrected himself – a set of surrogate parents that accepted him as one of his own, and all this goddamned snow. Who could ask for more?
It suddenly occurred to him that he couldn’t feel his feet. Stomping his boots on the ground, he finally started to feel a bit of tingling, the kind that told him he needed to get his ass back inside before he lost a tootsie or two. Reluctant to leave the peace surrounding him, he kicked up a bit of white powder and worked his way back around the lake and towards the house.
At the foot of the steps leading to his door, he saw two green eyes watching him from the window. Ethan held up a steaming mug of something, hopefully for him. Grinning, he rushed up the steps and into the house. “Is that for me?”
“Now that you’re finally back, yes. I’ve had two mugs waiting for your return.”
Travis pulled off his gloves and took the drink, not bothering to remove his jacket first. Taking a deep sniff, he sighed. “Hot chocolate. Spiked?”
“No, it’s not spiked,” he laughed. “You’re dripping on the floor, Murphy.”
He looked at his feet and grimaced at the puddle forming around them. “Sorry. Hold my cocoa.” Ethan took the mug and waited while Travis discarded his outerwear. “Okay, gimme. I’ll clean up the mess as soon as I can feel my fingers again.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, grabbing a towel from the coat rack where he’d left it in anticipation of this very event. “I’ve gotcha covered.”
He moved his feet so Ethan could wipe up around him, grateful not to have to do it himself. “Thanks.”
Ethan looked up from his place on the floor. “You’re welcome, Travis. Just don’t do it again, okay?”
Travis couldn’t say whether he meant tracking melted snow everywhere or taking off for a brooding walk in the snowy woods, but he made a silent promise to never do either again, if he could possibly help it. “I finished my cocoa,” he said, instead of the things swirling around in his brain. “Can I have some crème de menthe this time?”
“If you weren’t part Irish,” Ethan said, straightening to his full height, “I’d call an intervention.”
“That’s rude,” Travis frowned, knowing Ethan was yanking his chain. “But I’ll forgive you if you top me off.”
“You are also predictable,” Ethan stated, taking Travis’ mug and going into the kitchen. “Predictable can be good though, trust me. Surprises aren’t all that they’re cracked up to be.”
Unless they were happy surprises. Those were always welcome.
no subject
no subject
And, on the other hand, Ethan's not quite the jerk he's made out to be either. :)