Christmas Coda 58

 

Will and Taylor from the Dangerous Ground series

The faintest ghostly chime woke Will from his thoughts.

He murmured, “Warm enough?”

“Mmhm.”

They were spooned together in the cabin’s slightly lumpy bed, their sleeping bags zipped into one large comforter. Will was chafing Taylor’s feet between his own, and for once Taylor’s feet did feel warmish. Taylor, who was extremely ticklish, barely jumped as Will ran his toes down the sole of his foot.

The tiny silver angels on the candle chimes sitting on the nightstand, began to speed up, silhouettes glinting and flashing, as the heat from the candles rose. The chimes were their sole effort at holiday decor. Taylor had picked them up in a drug store on the long drive north.

“What do you think?” he’d asked Will.

“Easier to carry than a Christmas tree,” Will had responded. What he really thought was that it was amazing that after all this time, they could still surprise each other. That there were still things about Taylor he didn’t know, couldn’t predict. And only the rest of their lives to figure each other out.

The firelight from the fireplace across the room cast shadows across Taylor’s face. He was smiling faintly, his expression unusually peaceful.

“Glad we came?” Will asked, watching him.

Taylor’s mouth twitched, but clearly, he decided to throw Will a bone. He said kindly, “This wasn’t such a bad idea, Brandt.”

Will’s mouth curved in reply. His original idea had been to go camping, but he was enough of a realist to know December in the High Sierras was not going to be a hit with Taylor. So instead they had rented a lonely little cabin in a rundown mountain resort. They could fish for trout (Merry Fishmas!!) hike and explore all day—no need for masks, no need to socially distance from anything but the occasional deer—and in the evenings they got to enjoy hot showers, drinks before their own fireplace, and cuddling up in a reasonably comfortable bed.

They needed this break. Hell, after 2020, the entire world needed a break. On the bright side, business was booming. Nothing like a global pandemic to bring out the paranoia in, well, everyone. Unfortunately, a lot of the business revolved around cyber threats, their least favorite part of protection services, but they were meeting the challenge—remotely most of the time, but whatever worked.

So yeah, business was booming. And so far, their little team was still healthy and strong and thriving. Not that there hadn’t been moments. Euphonia had come down with the virus. Luckily, she’d only had a light case. As Taylor said, “Even plague germs are afraid of Nee.” Will had tested positive for the virus three fucking times—false positives each time, as it turned out—and Taylor had gotten into two punch ups in the last six months: one when some asshole had tried to jerk his mask off, the second when another asshole had tried to jerk Taylor’s client’s mask off. Will worried about that vulnerable right lung of Taylor’s—the one a bullet had punctured in what felt like a lifetime ago--not that he was dumb enough to say so. No way was Taylor going to sit on the sidelines and wait for the danger to pass.

So, see, Will was learning. Learning to keep his mouth shut, anyway.

Love in the Time of Corona.   

Anyway, as Christmas vacations went, Will figured this was one of their best. Nearly as nice as Hawaii because regardless of everything else going on in the world, between them there were no more doubts, no more confusion, no more fear.

Well, no more fear as far as their commitment to each other. It was the year of living dangerously, after all.  

Will whispered, “Happy?”

“You’d know if I wasn’t.” But then Taylor turned within Will’s arms, locking his hand in Will’s hair, kissing him quick and hard. “Very.”

Will smiled and kissed him back. For a few moments they simply gazed at each other, the firelight catching the glimmer of eyes and teeth.

“I didn’t think it would make such a difference,” Will admitted.

“What?”

“Being married. I didn’t think I could feel closer to you than I already did.”

“Commitment,” Taylor said. “That’s the difference.”

“But I was committed to you. I always felt committed to you.”

“I know. Same. But it does make a difference.”

Will nodded. It really did. A little oasis of security in an insecure world?

“Anyway,” Taylor said, “Happy Anniversary.”

Riley, curled in a tight ball in front of the fireplace, suddenly groaned loudly.

 Will laughed. “He thinks we’re about to get mushy.”

Taylor laughed too, whispered, “He’s right.”

The silver angels spun faster and faster in the flickering firelight.

(**Note: this coda was expanded from its original version BECAUSE I'M A GOOF)