Fic: First and Only
Title: First and Only
Author: fizzerbass
Rating: G
Pairing: Zach/Shaun and Cody
Notes: *screeches in, stuttering to a stop* Did I make it? Did I make it? *gasps* yana_ambf very nicely asked if I was going to post anything for the Vfest and, to be honest, I wasn't going to because my Muse and I aren't speaking to each other. Apparently, she's feeling sorry for me at the moment because she threw this idea in my face and gave me about an hour to write it and get it posted. I never claimed a prompt for the Fest, but this story closely fits the "Zach and Shaun forget Valentine's Day until Cody reminds them" prompt. Hope this is okay with the Mods...
“Oh my god, I'm stuffed,” Shaun groans as he pushes his chair back from the table. “Whose idea was it to order deep dish pizza for dinner, anyway?”
“Mine, Shaun, don't you remember? You said you were too tired to cook after surfing all day, so I said we should just get Pete's Perfect Pizza for supper.” Cody looks at Shaun, a slightly concerned look on his face as he shoves another huge bite of cheese-stuffed crust in his mouth.
“I remember, Buddy. I'm just so full I can barely move. You may have to push me out of this chair and roll me across the floor to the couch. I don't think I can make it all by myself.”
Cody smiles wide, gracing both his Uncles with a close-up view of already been chewed pizza. “You're so funny, Uncle Shaun. I can't roll you across the floor...Zach will have to do it. Besides, you have to help me with my Valentine's.”
“Valentine's?” Zach drops his crust to his plate, a look of horror on his face. “You need Valentine's? For when?”
“Tomorrow, Uncle Zach”, Cody says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. “ It's Valentine's Day.”
Zach looks at Shaun, who shoots a quick glance at his watch before biting his lip and shaking his head. “Stores are closed, man. We stayed at the beach way too long.”
“But I have to have Valentine's! The teacher said we have to have one for everybody in the class!” Cody's eyes grow wide, his lower lip trembling.
“We will, Codes, we will.” Zach jumps up from the table, grabbing the pizza box. “Uhm...why don't you and Shaun go jump in the shower and I'll get started making the cards. Hearts okay for the girls?”
Cody bobs his head, his eyes still bright with unshed tears. “Can you make the ones for the boys all gross and gruesome?”
“Definitely,” Zach calls from the kitchen as he deposits the box in the garbage.
“Okay, my man. Let's you and I go get the sand from all the places it doesn't belong while Zach gets started. We can think about what to write on the cards while we're in the shower.” Shaun scoops Cody out of his chair, tucking him under his arm like a football as they make their way down the hall. “How about Roses are red, Violets are blue, you look like a monkey, and smell like one too.”?
Zach listens to their laughter fade behind the closing bathroom door as he finishes wiping down the table. He throws the sponge in the direction of the sink and grabs a sketch pad from his backpack, the one with the heavy-weight paper, and starts drawing without even sitting down.
Sweet, perfectly formed hearts for the girls; rough, abstract-looking edgy hearts for the boys. He makes twelve of each, praying he's remembering the right number of each sex in Cody's class, and reaches for his markers. He's just about done shading the last one when Shaun and Cody return, both still slightly damp from the shower.
“Cool, Uncle Zach! Those are awesome!” Cody climbs up in Zach's lap, gently rifling through the pile of cards in front of him. “Can we start putting the words on them now?”
“Yep,” Zach says as he caps his pen. “They're all set. Did you think of something good to say?”
“Well, in the interest of time,” Shaun says as he sets his laptop on the table, “We decided to say the same thing on all the girl's Valentine's and the same thing on all the boys.” He plugs the printer in the back and checks to be sure it has enough ink. “Cody's going with Happy Valentine's Day for the female portion of his class, and Boys rule, girls drool for the male contingent.”
“Classic, dude.” Zach chuckles, holding his hand up for his nephew to hi-five. “Let's go brush your teeth while Shaun gets the cards printed, and you can put the names on them when you're done.”
Thirty, tongue between the teeth, slowly hand-printed minutes later, all the cards are signed and safely tucked in Cody's backpack for delivery at school tomorrow. Shaun carries a very tired, yet satisfied, Cody to bed and returns just moments later to find Zach still sitting at the table.
“He's gone, man. Barely got him tucked into bed before he conked out.” Shaun stops when he sees the look on Zach's face. “What's wrong?”
Zach slumps forward, resting his head in his hand. “What are we doing, Shaun? What were we thinking? Taking Cody surfing on a school night and keeping him up 'til after ten? What's wrong with us?”
Shaun pulls out a chair and sits, reaching for Zach's free hand. “Hey, hey, hey...we did nothing wrong. So he'll be a little tired tomorrow, so what? It's only kindergarten, man, it's not like he's doing brain surgery tomorrow.”
Zach shrugs his shoulders, pulling his hand away. “Still...”
“No, Zach. No 'still'.” He reaches for Zach's hand again, taking both of them this time. “Don't you think the memories we made for him this afternoon...and tonight making all those cards...don't you think those are better for him than a few hours sleep?”
Zach doesn't respond, just drops his head.
“Hey, you...” Shaun reaches across the table and raises Zach's chin. “This isn't like you, man. You don't get hung up on bedtimes and hours of sleep and all that other stuff. What's going on?”
Zach jumps up out of his chair, almost knocking it over. “We forgot Valentine's Day, Shaun. Valentine's Day!”
Shaun looks up at his boyfriend, perplexed. “So?”
“So? So?” Zach's voice squeaks, his arms stretched wide. “How could we forget Valentine's Day?”
“Babe...”
“No, Shaun, you don't get it.” Zach says, crossing his arms across his chest. “All those years I was with Tori, I always remembered Valentine's Day. I always remembered to get a card and a necklace or something. We always went out to dinner or took a walk on the beach...”
Shaun rises and goes to Zach, laying his hands on the other man's shoulders. “Zach-”
“Don't 'Zach' me” he says, jerking out from underneath Shaun's hands. “How come I remembered Valentine's Day all those years it didn't really mean anything and now that it does...now that I have you...I completely forget!”
“Oh, babe” Shaun whispers, gathering the younger man in his arms. “You forgot...we forgot because we simply weren't thinking about it. We were too busy living our lives, enjoying our lives to look at a calendar”
Zach pulls back to look into Shaun's eyes. “Yeah, but this was our first Valentine's Day-”
Shaun silences Zach by placing a finger on his lips. “And yesterday was our first February 13th and the day after tomorrow will be our first February 15th ...and three hundred days from now will be our first November the whatever-ith.” He gently takes Zach's face in his hands, rubbing his thumbs over his cheeks.
“We don't need to know what day it is to know we love each other, Zach. The only first I ever cared about having with you was our first kiss, our first hug...the first time we made love or the first time we said I love you to each other.” He places a soft kiss on Zach's lips. “That's what I care about...not some stupid Valentine's Day.”
Zach leans forward, resting his forehead against Shaun's. “But I didn't even get you anything...”
Shaun laughs, grabbing Zach tight and hugging him close. “Oh, babe, you are so wrong about that. You give me something every single day we're together.”
Zach burrows into the nook of Shaun's neck, whispering softly around the lump in his throat. “What's that?”
Shaun gently pushes Zach back to look into his eyes, nothing but love written plainly all over his face.
“You give me you.”
Author: fizzerbass
Rating: G
Pairing: Zach/Shaun and Cody
Notes: *screeches in, stuttering to a stop* Did I make it? Did I make it? *gasps* yana_ambf very nicely asked if I was going to post anything for the Vfest and, to be honest, I wasn't going to because my Muse and I aren't speaking to each other. Apparently, she's feeling sorry for me at the moment because she threw this idea in my face and gave me about an hour to write it and get it posted. I never claimed a prompt for the Fest, but this story closely fits the "Zach and Shaun forget Valentine's Day until Cody reminds them" prompt. Hope this is okay with the Mods...
“Oh my god, I'm stuffed,” Shaun groans as he pushes his chair back from the table. “Whose idea was it to order deep dish pizza for dinner, anyway?”
“Mine, Shaun, don't you remember? You said you were too tired to cook after surfing all day, so I said we should just get Pete's Perfect Pizza for supper.” Cody looks at Shaun, a slightly concerned look on his face as he shoves another huge bite of cheese-stuffed crust in his mouth.
“I remember, Buddy. I'm just so full I can barely move. You may have to push me out of this chair and roll me across the floor to the couch. I don't think I can make it all by myself.”
Cody smiles wide, gracing both his Uncles with a close-up view of already been chewed pizza. “You're so funny, Uncle Shaun. I can't roll you across the floor...Zach will have to do it. Besides, you have to help me with my Valentine's.”
“Valentine's?” Zach drops his crust to his plate, a look of horror on his face. “You need Valentine's? For when?”
“Tomorrow, Uncle Zach”, Cody says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. “ It's Valentine's Day.”
Zach looks at Shaun, who shoots a quick glance at his watch before biting his lip and shaking his head. “Stores are closed, man. We stayed at the beach way too long.”
“But I have to have Valentine's! The teacher said we have to have one for everybody in the class!” Cody's eyes grow wide, his lower lip trembling.
“We will, Codes, we will.” Zach jumps up from the table, grabbing the pizza box. “Uhm...why don't you and Shaun go jump in the shower and I'll get started making the cards. Hearts okay for the girls?”
Cody bobs his head, his eyes still bright with unshed tears. “Can you make the ones for the boys all gross and gruesome?”
“Definitely,” Zach calls from the kitchen as he deposits the box in the garbage.
“Okay, my man. Let's you and I go get the sand from all the places it doesn't belong while Zach gets started. We can think about what to write on the cards while we're in the shower.” Shaun scoops Cody out of his chair, tucking him under his arm like a football as they make their way down the hall. “How about Roses are red, Violets are blue, you look like a monkey, and smell like one too.”?
Zach listens to their laughter fade behind the closing bathroom door as he finishes wiping down the table. He throws the sponge in the direction of the sink and grabs a sketch pad from his backpack, the one with the heavy-weight paper, and starts drawing without even sitting down.
Sweet, perfectly formed hearts for the girls; rough, abstract-looking edgy hearts for the boys. He makes twelve of each, praying he's remembering the right number of each sex in Cody's class, and reaches for his markers. He's just about done shading the last one when Shaun and Cody return, both still slightly damp from the shower.
“Cool, Uncle Zach! Those are awesome!” Cody climbs up in Zach's lap, gently rifling through the pile of cards in front of him. “Can we start putting the words on them now?”
“Yep,” Zach says as he caps his pen. “They're all set. Did you think of something good to say?”
“Well, in the interest of time,” Shaun says as he sets his laptop on the table, “We decided to say the same thing on all the girl's Valentine's and the same thing on all the boys.” He plugs the printer in the back and checks to be sure it has enough ink. “Cody's going with Happy Valentine's Day for the female portion of his class, and Boys rule, girls drool for the male contingent.”
“Classic, dude.” Zach chuckles, holding his hand up for his nephew to hi-five. “Let's go brush your teeth while Shaun gets the cards printed, and you can put the names on them when you're done.”
Thirty, tongue between the teeth, slowly hand-printed minutes later, all the cards are signed and safely tucked in Cody's backpack for delivery at school tomorrow. Shaun carries a very tired, yet satisfied, Cody to bed and returns just moments later to find Zach still sitting at the table.
“He's gone, man. Barely got him tucked into bed before he conked out.” Shaun stops when he sees the look on Zach's face. “What's wrong?”
Zach slumps forward, resting his head in his hand. “What are we doing, Shaun? What were we thinking? Taking Cody surfing on a school night and keeping him up 'til after ten? What's wrong with us?”
Shaun pulls out a chair and sits, reaching for Zach's free hand. “Hey, hey, hey...we did nothing wrong. So he'll be a little tired tomorrow, so what? It's only kindergarten, man, it's not like he's doing brain surgery tomorrow.”
Zach shrugs his shoulders, pulling his hand away. “Still...”
“No, Zach. No 'still'.” He reaches for Zach's hand again, taking both of them this time. “Don't you think the memories we made for him this afternoon...and tonight making all those cards...don't you think those are better for him than a few hours sleep?”
Zach doesn't respond, just drops his head.
“Hey, you...” Shaun reaches across the table and raises Zach's chin. “This isn't like you, man. You don't get hung up on bedtimes and hours of sleep and all that other stuff. What's going on?”
Zach jumps up out of his chair, almost knocking it over. “We forgot Valentine's Day, Shaun. Valentine's Day!”
Shaun looks up at his boyfriend, perplexed. “So?”
“So? So?” Zach's voice squeaks, his arms stretched wide. “How could we forget Valentine's Day?”
“Babe...”
“No, Shaun, you don't get it.” Zach says, crossing his arms across his chest. “All those years I was with Tori, I always remembered Valentine's Day. I always remembered to get a card and a necklace or something. We always went out to dinner or took a walk on the beach...”
Shaun rises and goes to Zach, laying his hands on the other man's shoulders. “Zach-”
“Don't 'Zach' me” he says, jerking out from underneath Shaun's hands. “How come I remembered Valentine's Day all those years it didn't really mean anything and now that it does...now that I have you...I completely forget!”
“Oh, babe” Shaun whispers, gathering the younger man in his arms. “You forgot...we forgot because we simply weren't thinking about it. We were too busy living our lives, enjoying our lives to look at a calendar”
Zach pulls back to look into Shaun's eyes. “Yeah, but this was our first Valentine's Day-”
Shaun silences Zach by placing a finger on his lips. “And yesterday was our first February 13th and the day after tomorrow will be our first February 15th ...and three hundred days from now will be our first November the whatever-ith.” He gently takes Zach's face in his hands, rubbing his thumbs over his cheeks.
“We don't need to know what day it is to know we love each other, Zach. The only first I ever cared about having with you was our first kiss, our first hug...the first time we made love or the first time we said I love you to each other.” He places a soft kiss on Zach's lips. “That's what I care about...not some stupid Valentine's Day.”
Zach leans forward, resting his forehead against Shaun's. “But I didn't even get you anything...”
Shaun laughs, grabbing Zach tight and hugging him close. “Oh, babe, you are so wrong about that. You give me something every single day we're together.”
Zach burrows into the nook of Shaun's neck, whispering softly around the lump in his throat. “What's that?”
Shaun gently pushes Zach back to look into his eyes, nothing but love written plainly all over his face.
“You give me you.”