Fic: As the winter days unfold, hearts grow warmer with the cold (1/2) - [Alex Suarez/Nate Novarro]
Title: ‘As the winter days unfold, hearts grow warmer with the cold’ [1/2]
Author:
jen_jm
Pairing: Alex Suarez/Nate Novarro, mention of others
Rating: NC-17
Characters: Alex Suarez, Nate Novarro, the rest of Cobra Starship, other people from the label.
Word count: about 10,800
Warnings: language, boykissing and stuff like that.
Disclaimer: Alex and Nate aren’t mine, they belong to each other the Cobra themselves. Actually no one in here belongs to me, and that’s sad.
I really don’t mean to offend anyone and nothing of what I wrote in this story is to be considered real, it’s all fiction.
Author’s Notes: Okay, so. My laptop tried to erase this story, but luckily I won that war and so here it goes. It's slightly AU because we all know Cobra Starship went to the MTV party for NYE, but I simply don't care. LOL
Title from John Denver’s song “Aspenglow”, because it inspired me a lot. And because it’s a beautiful song.
As ever, feel free to report any mistake. Constructive criticism is welcome, feedback makes me happy!
Summary: “Alex doesn’t talk about it, it’s his first rule. Well, second, if you count the ‘don’t touch Vicky’s boobs’ rule. So, when the band vacation issue comes out, he’s pretty cool about it.”
Dedication: This is written entirely for my sweet, adorable and downright amazing wife
faechan, because it’s her birthday, she likes this pairing, and when I mentioned this plot, she seemed positively thrilled. I hope it’s decent enough. Love you, sweetie, this is yours, from the first word to the last period. Happy birthday, luv! <333
Crossposted
~~
Prologue
See, the thing is Alex has a huge crush on Nate. It’s not something he’ll talk about, not even to his best friend. But Ryland knows, because Ryland knows just about everything about him without having to ask questions, he’s annoying like that. Also, Alex doesn’t want to fuck up the band for a crush, a pretty huge, fluffy, heart-shaped eyes giving, I-want-to-huggle-him-and-maybe-have-his-babies kind of crush.
Oh, fuck it, he’s in love, okay?
Still, Alex doesn’t talk about it, it’s his first rule. Well, second, if you count the ‘don’t touch Vicky’s boobs’ rule.
So, when the band vacation issue comes out, he’s pretty cool about it.
“You know…” Gabe starts as he walks back in his living room holding two beers. “We should totally go on vacation.”
“We are on vacation.” Vicky points out with a frown, taking one of the bottles when Gabe hands it to her.
“No, the kind of vacation the Panic guys had at that cabin.” Gabe shakes his head, thoughtful.
“Dude, they went there to write.” Nate laughs, sipping from his own beer. “Not to sunbathe.”
“Yeah, well, we should find someplace quiet like that to get some rest.” Gabe shrugs, his voice and expression perfectly serious. “And maybe even write something, yeah.”
“My uncle has a cabin in Colorado, a few miles out of Aspen.” Alex informs with a cocked eyebrow. “We could go there.”
There are a few seconds of silence, and Gabe looks at him like he just got a golden Cobra tattooed on his cheek.
“Dude, I love you.” Gabe quickly sits in Alex’s lap, trying to kiss him. “Like, I want to marry you and live with you in a little house in Florida, and have 2.5 cobras and maybe a kid.”
“You’re a creep, Saporta, get off me.” Alex laughs and tries to get away from his bandmate as quickly as he can, while Ryland just snickers at them.
“You sure your uncle is okay with this?” Nate asks with a grin, putting his bottle on the coffee table.
“Of course, he’s a fan.” Alex smirks back at the boy, eventually giving up on escaping from under Gabe. “I’ll phone him later.”
“We’re going to Colorado.” Vicky announces happily and raises her beer.
“Damn right we are.” Gabe agrees, trying to kiss Alex again.
“Dude, just stop it.” Alex moves his face away again, laughing. “You’re not having my babies.”
“Hey, I know I’m not as cute as Nate, but I’m trying to show you my gratitude.” Gabe smirks, finally rolling off Alex’s lap. Apparently being subtle about your crush is kind of useless when Gabe Saporta is around. Not that Alex considers himself a particularly subtle guy on this kind of matters, anyway, so he just ignores the hint.
“Oh, fuck off.” Alex shoves him in the shoulder, not looking at Nate as everyone just laughs.
~~
As the winter days unfold, hearts grow warmer with the cold
A month later, Thursday 27th December 2007
Aspen is beautiful in winter. White, and shiny and just plain beautiful, and Alex is proud of himself for suggesting his uncle’s cabin.
“It’s a shame VickyT isn’t coming, she’d love this place.” Alex says as he looks around, rubbing his gloved hands together.
“It’s too damn cold.” Nate whines, addressing Alex a bad look. “If I knew it was this cold, I’d be with her right now, doing that promotion thing against fur coats in California.”
“Don’t be a pussy.” Alex laughs, slapping Nate on the head. “Besides, they wanted famous pretty girls, and you’re not pretty.”
“And I’m not the girl.” Nate retorts with an evil grin. “Bitch.”
“Oh God, will you ever let me leave that one down?” Alex glares, looking unsure whether he wants to get pissed or laugh.
“Never, never, talk about fanfiction, dude.” Nate kicks at the snow and smirks.
“I’m not the bitch.” Alex repeats for what it feels the hundredth time, and it’s really starting to get ridiculous. But Nate’s laughing again, and Alex just keeps glaring. “Yeah, well, at least those kids on the Internet listen to me.”
“Really?” Nate asks, trying to repress another fit of laughter.
“They open communities on LiveJournal to compensate my lack of self-confidence in gay sex.” Alex smirks and realized he’s said it a little too loudly when a couple of old ladies look at him wide-eyed and walk away quickly.
“Dude, really, I don’t wanna discuss gay sex with you.” Nate shakes his head, deeply amused by that conversation.
“Fine, pussy.” Alex takes out his phone and dodges Nate’s slap easily. When he finds Gabe’s number he dials it quickly.
“’sup?” Gabe’s voice is cheerful and completely relaxed.
“Where the fuck are you, dude?” Alex asks, frowning at his friend’s tone. “We’re freezing our asses out here waiting for you.”
“We’re at the cabin.” Gabe informs without hesitation, and Alex can almost see him shrug. “We took a snowcat a couple of hours ago.”
“Well, thanks for warning us, dickhead. We’ll be there soon.” Alex rolls his eyes, annoyed.
“Yeah, just…don’t get pissed at us when you get here, okay?” Gabe snickers and Alex suspects he’s doing something really stupid, like using the cabin’s main door as a snowboard.
“We’ll see.” Alex simply says and ends the call with a sigh. “They’re already up at the cabin.”
“How thoughtful.” Nate mutters as they both walk towards the point where an old man called Henry is loading their bags and the tanks of fuel for the generator in the big snowcat. “We can go, sorry for making you wait for nothing.”
“Not a problem, boy.” Henry smiles and gestures them to climb in. Once they’re secured with seatbelt, he starts the engine. “Weather Channel says it’s gonna snow a lot more, I hope you brought warm clothes.”
“We did.” Alex smiles at the man kindly. “I’m quite positive we’ll survive.”
“With those tanks you can have hot water, electricity and heating system for about a couple of weeks, so you shouldn’t have any trouble.”
“What if the generator breaks?” Nate asks with a worried frown, looking at the man.
“Then you’ll have to grab an axe and be a man.” Henry laughs at Nate’s slightly scared face, and Alex does the same, bumping his shoulder against Nate’s.
~~
Meanwhile, in California
“They’re gonna be pissed when they get at the cabin.” Ryland says with a frown, taking a sip from his drink while Gabe puts his phone down.
“Nah, they’re gonna thank us.” Gabe shrugs and smirks as he watches Bianca climb out of the pool in her white bikini.
“Seriously, Gabe, this is the stupidest plan I’ve ever heard.” William arches an eyebrow, sitting on the sunbed next to Gabe’s. “They’re gonna leave as soon as they realize there’s no one there.”
“Bilvy’s right, why would they stay up there alone in the middle of nothing?” Ryland takes his sunglasses off, looking at Gabe.
“Because the Cobra says so.” Gabe simply replies, handing Bianca a towel as she reached them. “Tell them, babe, the Cobra never fails.”
“The Cobra never fails.” Bianca confirms with a smirk, and William just shakes his head, amused.
~~
Back in Colorado
“Here we go, guys.” Henry says as he puts down the last of the tanks. “Have fun, I’ll be back on Wednesday, early afternoon.” He takes a little piece of paper from his pocket and hands it to Alex. “If you have an emergency, this is my number.”
“Thanks, Henry, we’ll see you in a week.” Alex smiles at the man and watches as he climbs back in the snowcat and starts the engine.
As the noise gets softer and softer, Alex looks around and takes a deep breath. It’s late, and the snow around them is shining in the pale mountain sunset. “I like this place.” Nate says with a smile, and Alex turns to look at him.
“Glad to hear you changed your mind.” Alex reaches for his bag and looks at the house. “Let’s get inside, Gabe and Ry will help us with the tanks.”
Nate nods and takes his own bag, following Alex. He notices the wood for the fireplace piled next to the house, covered by a stone roof, and he immediately feels grateful they don’t have to use axes or similar deadly weapons with Gabe around.
“The door’s locked.” Alex frowns and reaches for the key in his pocket; he gave a copy to Gabe a week before, to be sure at least one of them brought it. “Those lazy asses are probably sleeping.”
Nate chuckles and waits for the door to open, then almost runs over Alex to get inside. Only to find out that inside the house it’s just as cold as outside.
“What the hell?” Nate looks around, baffled. “You sure you got the right cabin?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.” Alex glares a little, then bites on his lip, thinking. Nate puts the bag on the ground and looks around.
On the wall on their right there’s a large fireplace and a small, comfortable-looking couch in front of it; the fluffy carpet between them looks just as inviting, and there’s a television on a shelf not too far from the fireplace. On their left there’s a big open space, where a counter separates the wide kitchen from what Nate thinks it’s the dining room, consisting of a long wooden table. In front of them there are the stairs that lead to the first floor. There’s a closed heavy-looking door in the kitchen, and another one next to the staircase.
“Cozy.” Nate smiles at Alex, who is muttering insults under his breath.
“Yeah, cozy and empty.” Alex snaps, putting his phone on a little shelf right next to the door. “No signal.”
“Let’s just bring the tanks inside, then we’ll see what to do.” Nate suggests, looking outside at the quickly darkening sky. “I’m fucking freezing.”
“Okay.” Alex nods and they both head outside to retrieve the fuel.
~
Half an hour later they have all the tanks stashed safely in the basement and the generator is switched on, much to Nate’s relief. It takes a while before the house gets warm enough for them to take off their jackets and gloves, but outside is dark now, so the lights are enough of a consolation.
The door next to the stairs turns out to be a bathroom, and the one in the kitchen leads to the basement, where the generator and the food stash are. The first floor consists of two bedrooms, both kings, and another bathroom, while the attic is filled with old stuff Alex’s uncle put there a long time before.
“Still no signal?” Nate asks when he sees that Alex is messing with the phone again.
“No, and the cabin’s phone is dead, the snow probably damaged the lines or something.” Alex sighs and looks up at his bandmate. “I guess we’re stuck in here until Henry comes back.”
“Dude that’s so…Shining.” Nate laughs and sits on the couch. “Don’t go all I-see-dead-people psycho-killer on me, okay?”
“I’ll do what I can, Wendy.” Alex grins and sits next to him. For a couple of minutes there’s a comfortable silence, no noisy horns from the streets, no people talking and yelling, not even their music. Nothing, except the sound of their breathing, too soft for them to really hear it.
“You know, I’m happy it’s you.” Nate says suddenly, and it takes a few seconds for Alex to turn his head and look at him. “I mean, I’m happy I’m stuck here with you and not with, you know…”
“Gabe?” Alex suggests with a smirk, but his heart does a little flip at those words.
“Yeah.” Nate admits, shaking his head. “I think I’d go crazy.”
“I’d worry if you said otherwise.” Alex laughs and pats him on the knee. “So, dinner?”
“Yeah, I’m starving.” Nate replies immediately, and watches as Alex stands from the couch. “I’ll go out to get some of the firewood for the fireplace.”
“Great.” Alex yells back as he opens the basement door in the kitchen. “Oh, and be careful, there might be bears around here.”
“Yeah, right.” Nate laughs as he closes the main door. He comes back a couple of minutes later, shivering and holding several pieces of firewood.
“Dude, I wasn’t kidding about the bears.” Alex arches an eyebrow, messing with the pans to find the one he’s looking for.
“I’m not stupid, you just wanna scare me.” Nate glares and puts the wood on the ground next to the fireplace.
“Okay, if you say so.” Alex shrugs, walking to the fridge. “Just be careful.” He adds with a serious voice, but Nate can’t see his face, so he doesn’t know what to believe.
“I’ll do that.” Nate bites on his lip as he takes off his jacket, not smirking anymore.
Alex emerges from the fridge and catches the flash of worry on Nate’s face; as he turns towards the stoves, he barely manages to repress his giggles, but he can’t keep the grin off his face.
The dinner is spent discussing whether bears can or can’t wake up from their lethargy, and somehow Alex convinces Nate they can.
“I’m telling you, my uncle once had to scare away a seven feet tall bear last year.” Alex says as he eats the last bit of his steak. “Right back here.” He gestures towards the back of the house, completely serious.
“Why the fuck did you bring me where bears could eat me alive?” Nate asks with a scowl, sinking his fork in the remains of his dinner.
“I won’t let the bears get you, I promise.” Alex says solemnly as he rests a hand on Nate’s forearm. “I shall protect you, my princess.” He adds with a wide, mocking grin.
“Oh, fuck off.” Nate shoves his hand away, but a second later he’s smiling too. “You have a shotgun, right?” At Alex’s perplexed look he bites on his lip. “Just in case, you know.”
“Would you really shoot a bear?” Alex lets out an incredulous laughter, looking at his friend.
“Nah, I’d probably run.” Nate admits and sips from his beer. “If I killed a bear, VickyT would kill me.”
“Well, unless I go all Shining on you and stuff.” Alex shrugs and puts his fork in his now empty plate. “Then I’d kill you and solve the problem.”
Nate glares for a few seconds. “I hate you.”
“No, you don’t. You love me to death.” Alex replies with a smirk, standing from his seat. As he starts to collect the dishes, he nods towards the television. “Wanna see if there’s something interesting in the DVD stash?”
“Want some help with that?” Nate gestures towards the sink as he stands as well.
“We’re stuck here, I’ll have all the time to wash them tomorrow.” Alex shrugs and walks in the open kitchen.
For a few seconds there’s only silence, then Nate takes a step towards him, and there is the counter between them. “You keep saying that.”
“Keep saying what?” Alex frowns, genuinely confused by Nate’s words.
“You keep saying --” Nate starts to say, then shakes his head and stops. “Never mind.” He just says as he heads for the television. “Any preference on the movie?”
Alex watches with a frown as his friend reaches the shelf and starts to look at the DVDs piled there. “Not really.” He says after a few seconds, and puts the dishes in the sink.
“What about Snakes on a plane?” Nate smirks and holds the DVD in one hand.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Alex laughs as he walks towards the fireplace. “I can’t believe he bought it.”
Nate laughs as well and keeps going through the DVDs, while Alex adds some firewood to the fireplace, then puts the protection grate back in its place.
“Batman Begins?” Nate proposes as Alex joins him in front of the shelf.
“What about this?” Alex smirks and gestures towards one of the covers.
“No.” Nate glares at him, and the other boy laughs. “We’re not watching Twin Peaks, you freak.”
Alex keeps laughing and sits down on the carpet with his back against the lowest part of the couch. “Batman’s good for me.”
Nate nods and sets the player, then goes for the lights; on his way back he reaches for one of the blankets, and when he sits down next to Alex he covers them both. “Feeling romantic?” Alex grins, but accepts the blanket, thankful.
“Shut up.” Nate laughs and shoves him with his body, almost sending him to the floor. “Watch the movie.”
Alex smiles and focuses on the screen; he’s sitting almost directly in front of the fireplace, but he’s trying to ignore the way Nate’s shoulder pressed against his own under the blanket feels way warmer than the fire does.
Fuck, it’s going to be a long week.
~~
Second day, 28th December 2007
The following morning Nate wakes up to the smell of pancakes and coffee. He glances at the clock as he brushes his teeth in the bathroom, and realizes it’s half past ten. He doesn’t bother with clothes and just keeps his pajamas on; it’s warm enough in the house to do that, and he’s on vacation, after all. When he walks downstairs he notices a strong scent of maple syrup.
“Did we teleport to Vermont over night?” Nate asks with a yawn as he walks in the kitchen.
“Yup.” Alex grins and hands him a mug of coffee.
“Thanks.” Nate mutters before taking a long sip. “What time did you wake up?”
“About an hour ago.” Alex informs, flipping another pancake in a dish. “I heard some noise outside and I couldn’t go back to sleep.”
“Noise?” Nate frowns, a little worried.
“Yeah, there was nothing though.” Alex does his best to repress the smirk and pretends to look for something in the cupboard. “Must have been an animal or something.”
“You look uncomfortably comfortable with the possible presence of bears.” Nate adds some sugar to his coffee and sips from it again. Alex shrugs at that, and this time he can’t help grinning. “Are you fucking with me?”
I wish. “Dude, you think I could joke about something like this?” Alex fakes indignation as he flips another pancake.
“Yes.” Nate looks deadly serious now, and his mug is on the counter. “Fucker.”
Alex lets out a wholehearted laughter at that, shaking his head. “You love me.”
“I hate you.” Nate narrows his eyes and watches as Alex flips the last pancake in one of the two plates he has been preparing. “But you made me breakfast, so I might forgive you. Maybe.”
“You forgive me, period.” Alex walks to the table, holding the pancakes, while Nate brings their mugs and the syrup. “There’s orange juice too, if you want.”
“Nah, coffee’s fine.” Nate sits down, immediately followed by his bandmate. “Thanks.” He adds with a little smile and a nod towards their breakfast.
“Don’t mention it.” Alex does his best to ignore how domestic all that feels and the way the voice in his head is suggesting him to tell Nate ‘I’d do this every single day for you’. Instead he just smiles back and focuses on the pancakes.
~
The day goes by with three poker games won by Nate -which earns him the right to shower first-, a vision of Snakes on a plane with commentary and a refreshing siesta.
It’s late afternoon when Alex finds a guitar in the attic and brings it downstairs. One of the strings is broken, but along with the instrument he finds a few new strings and a couple of old picks. It’s mostly dark outside, Nate is lying on the couch, wrapped in his hoodie as he reads one of the books he was clever enough to bring and the wood in the fireplace is burning slowly.
When Nate sees the guitar he smiles and puts his book down. “Where did you find that?”
“Attic, along with a lot of interesting stuff.” Alex informs as he sits down on the couch. “There’s a phonograph and a shitload of vinyl discs.”
“Vinyl?” Nate frowns a bit and crosses his legs, waiting.
“Yep, country stuff like Patsy Cline, and some swing, Sinatra and Benny Goodman.” Alex starts to turn the tuning keys of the guitar. “We could go up there and try to make it work.” Alex looks up with a grin and shrugs. “It’s not like we can go for a walk downtown anyway.”
“Right.” Nate’s smile fades for a moment, but before Alex can say anything, the drummer nods. “We should make it work.”
Alex nods as well and bites on his lip, trying to understand what he said to cause that reaction. “Something wrong?”
“No, no, nothing.” Nate shrugs and eyes the guitar with an encouraging nod. “So, wanna play something or what?”
“Fine.” Alex nods and keeps messing with the tuning for a couple of minutes more, then eventually looks up again. “You should like this.”
It takes a few moments for Nate to recognize the melody Alex is playing, Twin Peaks’ main theme, but when he does he jumps towards his friend. “Fucking stop it, you freak.” Nate yells as Alex falls back on his back on the couch and laughs. “It’s not funny.”
“Oh, trust me, it is.” Alex keeps laughing hysterically as Nate yanks the guitar away from him and puts it on the ground.
“Bastard.” Nate growls as he literally jumps on Alex and knocks the air out of his lungs.
They start to wrestle and end up rolling off the couch and on the soft carpet, Alex panting from the hit and all the laughing. Eventually he manages to pin Nate to the ground and smirks down at him. “I could beat you up anytime, you know.”
“Fuck you.” Nate mutters, but when Alex just sits on his stomach, he nods frantically. “Get off me, dude.”
Alex laughs as he stands, then holds out a hand to his friend. When they’re both sitting on the couch again, he reaches for the guitar. “So, any request?”
“Yeah.” Nate lies down and rests his head next to Alex’s knee. “Something from Ivy League.”
Alex looks down at him and the smile on Nate’s face is enough to remind him why he’s head over heels for the boy. He shakes that thought out of his head and starts to play, breaking eye contact.
~
They spend the evening sitting on the carpet just like the night before, covered with the same red blanket. The guitar is on the couch near them and the only lights in the room come from the fireplace and the screen.
They found the DVD box set of the third season of Friends, and they already watched four episodes. It’s late, but neither of them is really tired enough to go to sleep. Also, -and Nate would never admit this out loud- the house creeps him out a bit at night, and he’s sure that despite all the teasing, Alex is a little scared too.
“I was thinking.” Alex starts as the ending titles of the fourth episode scroll on the screen.
“Very, very dangerous thing.” Nate mutters, words and smirk muffled by the blanket.
“Fuck you.” Alex shoves him as he stands, and Nate just laughs. “I was about to make hot cocoa for both, but now you’ll have to raise your pretty ass from the floor and make your own.”
“Mean.” Nate stands as well and reaches the kitchen.
“If you go get the marshmallows in the stash, I might reconsider this.” Alex shrugs and takes out two mugs.
“Blackmailing isn’t cute.”
“Yeah, well, you’re the cute one in this couple, not me.” Alex says without thinking too much about it. When he sees the amused frown on Nate’s face, he turns away quickly. “Marshmallows.” He says while his face is hidden behind the fridge door.
Nate laughs a bit and Alex hears him walk downstairs.
Ten minutes later they’re back on the carpet, safely tucked under the blanket with their cocoas. The fifth episode is almost over when Nate turns his head and looks at Alex, just a few inches separating their faces.
“We should make a list too.” Nate says, referring to the list the characters of the show are making about which celebrities they would sleep with. “Could be fun.”
“Five people?” Alex asks, thinking quickly about his names. “You start.”
“Fine.” Nate nods, forgetting about the television and turning completely to face Alex. “Do people from our label count?”
Alex wonders for a second who Nate has in mind, then remembers they have Victoria in the band and he can’t really blame him. “I guess.”
“Then I’m pretty sure I’d say Halle Berry, Keira Knightley, Sheryl Crow, Lucy Liu and Pete Wentz.” Nate sees the surprise on Alex’s face and shrugs. “What?”
“Pete Wentz is a guy.” Alex knows it’s kind of a dumb thing to say, but he’s still too shocked to actually care about that.
“Yeah, pretty much everyone who knows his name and has access to the Internet knows that.” Nate laughs, then sips from his hot cocoa. “What’s so weird about it?”
“Dude, c’mon, we’ve known each other for years.” Alex turns completely to face him. “I’d notice if you were checking out guys.”
“Apparently you’re not watching as closely as you think.” Nate smiles a little, and there’s a flash of worry in his eyes. “Is this-- I mean, is it a problem?”
“No, no, no, not at all.” Alex quickly replies, shaking his head. “It’s just…a lot of information to process.”
“Dude, we work for Decaydance.” Nate sips again from his cocoa, visibly more relaxed. “I thought bisexuality was kind of routine for us.”
Alex laughs at that, feeling the shock slowly melt away. “Well, you’ve got a point on that.” He relaxes as well, and rests one arm on the couch. “Still, it kind of weirds me out that I never noticed anything.”
“I’m just very good at hiding things I don’t want people to know.” Nate shrugs and puts his mug on the coffee table. “What about your list?”
“It has boys in it.” Alex says before he loses the guts to.
“I’m very open-minded.” Nate pulls the blanked up to his chin and waits. He doesn’t look surprised, and Alex wonders if he’s really so bad at being subtle.
“Okay then.” Alex smiles and turns to sit with his back against the couch. “Beyoncé, Shakira, Maja Ivarsson and since we’re including people from the label, Spencer and Ryan.”
“I’ll never be able to look at Panic At The Disco in the same way.” Nate looks down and snickers, half hidden behind the blanket.
“Oh, fuck off.” Alex shoves him in the shoulder, but then joins the laughter.
There are a few seconds of silence, and Nate sits back with his back in his previous position, his shoulder pressed against Alex’s. On the screen the episode is ending and the fire is slowly dying. “I never realized we still had so much to tell each other.” He says without looking at Alex.
“We have all the time to talk now.” Alex glances at the other boy, and smiles when Nate just rests his head on Alex’s shoulder.
~~
Third day, 29th December 2007
The following day, Alex wakes up to the sound of the shutters slamming against the wall and he slowly walks to the window. The wind outside is blowing violently and the sky is more white than grey as the snow falls down quickly.
He glances at the clock and frowns when he sees it’s eleven am. He yawns three times as he walks to the bathroom, and notices Nate’s door isn’t closed. Once he brushed his teeth he walks back in the hallway and stops in front of Nate’s room, peering inside.
“You up?” Alex asks softly when he sees his friend move in the bed.
“Yeah.” Nate mutters, looking towards the door. “Damn storm.”
Alex walks in the room and climbs on the bed, yawning again. “It’s snowing.”
“Oh god, we’re gonna die buried in snow.” Nate rolls on his stomach and his words come out muffled by the pillow.
“One of us is gonna go crazy and try to eat the other.” Alex lies down on the other side of the bed, facing his friend.
“I’ll be the psychotic one if you don’t mind.” Nate says, turning his head towards Alex.
“You’d eat me?” Alex lets out an incredulous laughter.
“Totally.” Nate smirks, kicking at his friend from under the covers. “But it’s way too early for this kind of sexual innuendos.”
Alex realizes what Nate means and tries to ignore the way the skin of his face suddenly feels so much warmer. “We should get up and get some coffee.”
“Make pancakes?” Nate shifts closer, looking up with a pleading smile. “Pretty please?”
“It’s past eleven, dude.” Alex laughs but doesn’t move away. “It’s almost time for real food.”
“Can we have pancakes for lunch, then?” Nate nudges at Alex’s leg with his foot and batted his eyelashes.
Alex tries to kick him back, but Nate just starts poking his cheek. “Oh, fuck it, we’re on vacation after all.” Alex gives in with a grin.
~
The storm lasts all afternoon, and Alex and Nate spend the entire time perched up on the couch with the blanket safely around them as they watch the remaining episodes of the Friends DVD box set. The heating system is on, but they can’t walk outside to get the wood for the fireplace, so the air is colder than the previous days.
When it’s finally safe to go outside it’s almost dark, and Alex offers to go. He wears his jacket and his gloves, but when he steps out of the house he can’t help shivering. He looks at the thermometer hanging on the wall next to the main door and reads. 23.6 F.
He reaches the piled firewood quickly, trying to be as quick as possible, but when he sees an axe resting against the side of the house, he just can’t resist. He takes it and quickly heads for the door, but stops for long enough to repress his laughter and put on his best psycho-killer face.
He opens the door slowly and sees Nate in the kitchen, looking for something in the cupboards and giving his back to Alex.
“Nate.” Alex calls softly, holding the axe with both hands. “Nate, I’m home!”
“What d’you mea--” Nate turns and his eyes widen when he sees the axe. “Dude, what the-- Alex? Are you-- ”
Alex tries to keep his face serious, but gives in after a couple of seconds, bursting into laughter. “Oh god, you should see your face, Nate.”
“You. Are. A. Freak.” Nate stomps towards the door and narrows his eyes, while Alex just keeps laughing. “Go fucking get the wood.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll go.” Alex sighs and lowers the axe. “It was funny.” He adds as he turns and starts to walk towards the wood. When he hears the door close and the key being turned in the lock, he reaches the near window. “Nate?”
“This is funny.” Nate replies from inside, and his voice is muffled by the thick glass.
“Oh, c’mon!” Alex looks at him, incredulous, and Nate just grins.
“Get the wood.” Nate says, then disappears from Alex’s sight.
Alex sighs and goes for the firewood again, putting the axe back in its place. He tries to collect as much as he can, then walks back to the door. He knocks with his foot, almost falling when the other one slides on the iced entry.
“Nate, open up.” Alex yells, shivering when the wind starts to blow again. “C’mon, dude, it’s freezing out here.”
“Really?” Nate’s voice comes from somewhere above him, and Alex looks up with in time to see his friends on the small balcony. “This is for going all Jack Nicholson on me.” Nate says, then collects a considerable amount of snow and throws it down on Alex.
“No, no, n-- shit!” Alex tries to move away, but his foot slides on the ice again and he falls backwards in the snow.
Nate curses as he runs inside immediately, and reappears at the main door seconds later. “Alex, you okay?” He crouches down next to his friend, moving the wood aside quickly. “Alex!”
“Yeah, I’m good.” Alex waves slowly, moving his head. “I guess.” He tries to sit up and Nate helps him. “I just-- there’s some ice and it’s slippery.”
“Sorry.” Nate mutters, visibly mortified. “Are you sure you’re okay? Are you feeling dizzy or something?”
“Nah, don’t worry, there’s like, three feet of snow, it was a soft landing.” Alex smiles and stands slowly, accepting the hand Nate offers him.
“Fuck, there could have been a rock or something.” Nate shakes his head, looking at the snow like it could burn him.
“Nate, hey.” Alex puts his hands on Nate’s shoulders and waits until his friend looks at him in the eye. “I didn’t fall down a cliff or something, I’m fine, okay?”
Nate nods and takes a deep breath. “Let’s get the damn firewood.”
“Dude, get inside.” Alex pushes him towards the door when he notices Nate isn’t wearing his jacket. “I can’t give you a piggyback ride to the hospital if you get pneumonia.”
Nate smirks at that and just retrieves his jacket, then comes back to help Alex.
~
After dinner they wash the dishes and they discuss which one of the few DVDs left they should watch. They settle for Jurassic Park and they sit down in the same spot as the other nights, on the carpet in front of the fire.
Alex brings popcorns and beers, while Nate messes with the remote. The movie has only half of their attention and they keep chatting through it, commenting the scenes and laughing. It’s one of the last scenes when Alex starts moving, trying to find a better position for his back. It has been aching a little since the fall in the snow, but it’s going worse with the stillness.
“Dude, d’you have a bug in your pants?” Nate eyes him, curious and amused at the same time.
“Shut up.” Alex laughs, shoving him halfheartedly. “I just have to lie down.”
“You okay?” Nate’s face is serious and worried now, and Alex smiles.
“It’s my back, I just need to lie down a little bit.” Alex starts to stand and Nate is immediately on his feet as well. “Ouch, shit.”
“Let’s get you upstairs.” Nate reaches the remote and shuts down the television, then goes for the lights. “Did you hit it when you fell?”
“Not really.” Alex thinks about the movement he did when he fell. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing a good sleep won’t cure.” He adds as they start to walk upstairs.
When they reach Alex’s room and open the door, they both shiver and curse. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Nate goes for the open window and shuts it quickly. “I forgot it when I ran downstairs.”
“It’s freezing.” Alex grabs his pajamas and walks out, shivering. “I’ll go on the couch, I can’t sleep in here tonight.”
“We can share.” Nate offers, pointing at his room. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
Alex hesitates for a few seconds, looking at his friend. “You sure you don’t mind?”
“Well, I’m the one who left your window open.” Nate shrugs and walks towards the room, and Alex follows just a second later.
They get in their pajamas and Alex immediately lies down on his stomach, trying to ease the tension from his back; he closes his eyes and lets out a soft sigh as he relaxes. When he feels a hand on his shoulder blade he almost jumps, and Nate laughs.
“Dude, calm down, I’m not a T-Rex.” Nate lies down on his side, facing Alex, and his hand moves slowly on Alex’s back. “I’m sorry.”
“For not being a T-Rex?” Alex smirks up at him despite he knows exactly what Nate is talking about.
“I mean, I know it’s nothing, but you could have broken an arm or a leg.” Nate whispers and keeps moving his hand in soothing circles. “We’re isolated, we can’t call 911 or anything.”
“Nate, I’m fine.” Alex tries to make eye contact, genuinely surprised the boy felt so guilty for such a little accident. “Besides, I deserved it for scaring you.”
“For trying to scare me.” Nate corrects with a little grin, and relaxes a bit. “Freak.”
Alex laughs at that and melts under the warm touch of Nate’s hand. “Keep doing that.”
Nate doesn’t say anything but his fingers keep moving as he shifts a little closer. They both fall asleep minutes later.
~~
Part 2 here, because LJ doesn't like long stories.