Gift Exchange, 2010 (for Caersmane)
And, following a lot of swearing and a rather awkward stopgap upload, our SECOND gift exchange post! (click through for fullsize images as the author submitted them!)
Recipient: caersmane
Author: wihluta
Request: After Jen gave back the white horse, Matt was more than a little unnerved that Charlie let it wander around the house. So, what happened to it, in the end?
Pairing/Fandom: Matt and Charlie, Life and Standoff
Rating: PG
From The Horse’s Mouth
Charlie stood and looked at the horse that was definitely more there than not there in his hallway. He was just about to call out when Ted came in and stepped next to the horse.
“It was out in the back, but I was afraid of coyotes so I brought it in.”
Charlie took another bite of his apple.
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“Charlie, there’s a horse on the patio.” Matt squinted against the sunlight.
“Yes.”
Matt turned to now squint at Charlie. “What I meant was, why is there a horse on the patio?”
“Maybe it got tired of the backyard.”
Charlie popped a piece of pineapple into his mouth. Matt shook his head to clear away the image. He wouldn’t be distracted by Charlie looking hot while eating fruit. It was happening far too often these days.
“Charlie. Why do you have a horse?” Matt said, speaking slowly and clearly, like he would to a mark.
“It was a gift.” Charlie moved on to cutting an apple.
Matt - repeating his earlier gesture - shook his head again. “Someone gave you a horse as a present?”
“No, I gave it to Jen. She didn’t want it. Probably looked into its mouth. There’s a point to the saying, you know.”
“You gave Jennifer a horse.” And Emily thought he was the crazy one. “Do I want to know more?”
“Probably not.”
“Okay.” Matt sat down at the counter, putting his back to the horse, determined to ignore its presence. At least for now.
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Matt lifted his head off the pillow to hear better. “Charlie, I think the horse is in the house.”
“Yes.”
“Shouldn’t the horse stay outside the house?”
Charlie shuffled closer and pressed his nose into Matt’s neck. Matt immediately recognised it as the diversion tactic it was, but didn’t have the heart to call Charlie out on it.
Something crashed to the floor downstairs. Charlie completely ignored it in favour of moving on to kiss Matt properly.
There was a second crash. Matt broke the kiss. “Shouldn’t we at least make sure it’s alright?”
Charlie smiled. “Later.”
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“Holy mother... Dammit!” Matt jumped. He took a deep breath to calm his racing heartbeat and glared at the horse. Well, at least he was awake now.
Charlie poked his head in from the kitchen. “I let the horse inside, it’s raining.”
“Thanks for the warning. Asshole.” Matt muttered, then followed Charlie into the kitchen. “Any coffee?”
Charlie handed him a mug.
“You have to do something about that horse,” Matt said once he had ingested enough caffeine to think coherently. “I mean, a horse is a farm animal. Shouldn’t it be on a farm? With other horses?”
Charlie shrugged. “It seems happy here.”
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“Charlie.” Ted sounded nervous on the phone. “The horse is communicating with the coyotes.”
“Ted, I’m a little busy right now,” Charlie pulled an apologetic face and shrugged his shoulders. Matt rolled his eyes and resumed his conversation with the kidnapper.
“I’m serious, Charlie. Now the coyote is howling. What if they are planning to kill us all?”
“They’re not dangerous animals. They will not kill us. At least not intentionally. I have to go.”
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Matt surveyed the scene before him. “I take it the horse has been in the house again?”
Charlie grinned and shook his head. “No. That was Easley. I guess.”
“Easley?”
“Worked with him once. He doesn’t like to stay indoors, but I guess he needed to freshen up. You should change your toothbrush.”
There were so many things Matt wanted to say to that. In the end he settled on, “I’m not even going to ask.”
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Matt stretched out on the sofa next to Charlie and took a sip of beer. They sat in comfortable silence until Matt remembered something he’d been wanting to ask. “What happened to the horse?”
Charlie smiled. “It moved on. I think it’s living with a pack of coyotes out in the desert.”
“Is that a euphemism for ‘coyotes ate it’?” Matt asked suspiciously.
“No. It’s still alive. It visits sometimes and steals the apples from the kitchen bowl.” Charlie stole Matt’s beer and took a swig.
“Okay.” Matt decided to let it go. At least now he didn’t have to worry about the horse watching his and Charlie’s antics in the pool anymore.
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The End.
Recipient: caersmane
Author: wihluta
Request: After Jen gave back the white horse, Matt was more than a little unnerved that Charlie let it wander around the house. So, what happened to it, in the end?
Pairing/Fandom: Matt and Charlie, Life and Standoff
Rating: PG
From The Horse’s Mouth
Charlie stood and looked at the horse that was definitely more there than not there in his hallway. He was just about to call out when Ted came in and stepped next to the horse.
“It was out in the back, but I was afraid of coyotes so I brought it in.”
Charlie took another bite of his apple.
------------
-----------
“Charlie, there’s a horse on the patio.” Matt squinted against the sunlight.
“Yes.”
Matt turned to now squint at Charlie. “What I meant was, why is there a horse on the patio?”
“Maybe it got tired of the backyard.”
Charlie popped a piece of pineapple into his mouth. Matt shook his head to clear away the image. He wouldn’t be distracted by Charlie looking hot while eating fruit. It was happening far too often these days.
“Charlie. Why do you have a horse?” Matt said, speaking slowly and clearly, like he would to a mark.
“It was a gift.” Charlie moved on to cutting an apple.
Matt - repeating his earlier gesture - shook his head again. “Someone gave you a horse as a present?”
“No, I gave it to Jen. She didn’t want it. Probably looked into its mouth. There’s a point to the saying, you know.”
“You gave Jennifer a horse.” And Emily thought he was the crazy one. “Do I want to know more?”
“Probably not.”
“Okay.” Matt sat down at the counter, putting his back to the horse, determined to ignore its presence. At least for now.
---------
---------
Matt lifted his head off the pillow to hear better. “Charlie, I think the horse is in the house.”
“Yes.”
“Shouldn’t the horse stay outside the house?”
Charlie shuffled closer and pressed his nose into Matt’s neck. Matt immediately recognised it as the diversion tactic it was, but didn’t have the heart to call Charlie out on it.
Something crashed to the floor downstairs. Charlie completely ignored it in favour of moving on to kiss Matt properly.
There was a second crash. Matt broke the kiss. “Shouldn’t we at least make sure it’s alright?”
Charlie smiled. “Later.”
---------
---------
“Holy mother... Dammit!” Matt jumped. He took a deep breath to calm his racing heartbeat and glared at the horse. Well, at least he was awake now.
Charlie poked his head in from the kitchen. “I let the horse inside, it’s raining.”
“Thanks for the warning. Asshole.” Matt muttered, then followed Charlie into the kitchen. “Any coffee?”
Charlie handed him a mug.
“You have to do something about that horse,” Matt said once he had ingested enough caffeine to think coherently. “I mean, a horse is a farm animal. Shouldn’t it be on a farm? With other horses?”
Charlie shrugged. “It seems happy here.”
--------
--------
“Charlie.” Ted sounded nervous on the phone. “The horse is communicating with the coyotes.”
“Ted, I’m a little busy right now,” Charlie pulled an apologetic face and shrugged his shoulders. Matt rolled his eyes and resumed his conversation with the kidnapper.
“I’m serious, Charlie. Now the coyote is howling. What if they are planning to kill us all?”
“They’re not dangerous animals. They will not kill us. At least not intentionally. I have to go.”
---------
--------
Matt surveyed the scene before him. “I take it the horse has been in the house again?”
Charlie grinned and shook his head. “No. That was Easley. I guess.”
“Easley?”
“Worked with him once. He doesn’t like to stay indoors, but I guess he needed to freshen up. You should change your toothbrush.”
There were so many things Matt wanted to say to that. In the end he settled on, “I’m not even going to ask.”
---------
----------
Matt stretched out on the sofa next to Charlie and took a sip of beer. They sat in comfortable silence until Matt remembered something he’d been wanting to ask. “What happened to the horse?”
Charlie smiled. “It moved on. I think it’s living with a pack of coyotes out in the desert.”
“Is that a euphemism for ‘coyotes ate it’?” Matt asked suspiciously.
“No. It’s still alive. It visits sometimes and steals the apples from the kitchen bowl.” Charlie stole Matt’s beer and took a swig.
“Okay.” Matt decided to let it go. At least now he didn’t have to worry about the horse watching his and Charlie’s antics in the pool anymore.
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The End.