#mieaou

[sodabytes]

[coffeespill]

A gorgeous commission of Azizi, and Derrick, done by the fantastically talented @mieaou!

[kishock-harpoon]

Fic for mieaou        

***

“I’m sorry for inviting you out here right before Christmas. Didn’t think the snow would get this bad,” Zach said as he brought over two mugs of hot coffee to the couch. Chris sat, slumped over and looking rather tired. He was exhausted from having managed to get up at 5am that morning to catch a flight that would turn out to be listed as delayed for several hours before finally being cancelled. After calling his parents and having to explain missing Christmas with them and his sister, Chris ended up back at Zach’s apartment.

            Taking the coffee, Chris offers a grateful nod as the heat seeped into his hands which still held some of the chill from outside. If he had to be trapped in the snow, at least if was with someone who knew how to make good coffee.

            “It’s not your fault. I wanted to visit you too, man. The hotel I was staying at had its last room taken though. It was booked right behind me.” Holding the cup up to his lips, Chris allowed himself to enjoy the comforting aroma before taking a long sip.

            “I have no problem with you staying here,” Zach said, patting Chris on the shoulder and drinking from his own mug. “In fact, I had offered it before but you insisted on the hotel.”

            “Thanks, man. I’m still a little sad I’ll miss the fudge though.” Chris pouted when he saw that his coffee was nearly gone.

            “Really? I can make fudge.”

            “You’re not much of a sweets guy, Zach. I don’t think you can make it like mom can.” Smiling fondly, Chris nudged the other with his shoulder. “Hey wait, your family isn’t coming to visit you?”

            “Well even if they were going to, they wouldn’t be able to now,” Zach said, gesturing to the window where snow was piling up outside. “But no, Joe took mom to Hawaii as a present. I was invited months ago but I decided against it.”

            Nodding, Chris understood. Hawaii is great. They’ve both gone before and enjoyed the beaches and food but it was far too busy during the holidays. Zach just wasn’t the type to allow himself to fill the role of a tourist type. Either he traveled for work, friends and family or he chose a date that was less of a hassle so that he could get a real taste of the place without being mistaken for a crowd follower.

            “Besides, I’m not the type to try and shy away from places that feel the winter weather,” Zach added, setting his mug on the coffee table. He then stood up to go to the kitchen and Chris followed as well, taking his mug in hopes of a refill.

            Just as Zach was pouring another cup for the other, Chris’s stomach growled rather loudly.

            “Coffee isn’t a whole meal, Chris. What do you want for lunch?”

            Bowing his head apologetically, Chris took his fresh cup, sipping as he contemplated. Usually he was good about not missing meals but it seemed the stress from this morning had gotten the better of him. At least the coffee was able to give Chris some energy.

            “I suppose pizza is out of the question?” Chris asked, looking outside. The snow wasn’t letting up. No way would Zach want to walk in this weather if he didn’t have to and he certainly wouldn’t be down for making a delivery person try and drive through this.

            “Eating out isn’t the best option. Besides, I stocked up on groceries two days ago. We’ll make something here,” Zach offered as he went to the fridge. Moving to the pantry, Chris discovered that it was full of mostly rice and pasta with a few canned vegetables. Obviously Zach was keener on fresh foods which Chris could understand. The main reason he himself grew a garden was to keep his meals fresh and healthy. It also helped serve as relaxing hobby.

            Very few words were spoken as they searched the kitchen together but Zach was soon stepping aside when Chris began gathering things from the fridge and setting them onto the counter. A bag of jasmine rice and several potatoes were soon followed by an armful of other veggies and two steaks from the freezer.

            “What’s on your mind then, Pine?” Zach asked, an amused smile on his face as Chris adopted one of those concentrated looks. It might be too late to get an answer if he’s already entered his “zone”.

            Washing his hands, Chris offered a grin of his own. “This won’t be ready in time for lunch but I figured we could tie over with a sandwich and have this for dinner.”

            “Uh huh, and what exactly is this?” Zach asked, making a single pair of air quotes before pulling a loaf of bread out of the cupboard.

            “Well it’s a soup that a neighbor of mine taught me,” Chris explained, setting a cutting board on the counter before grabbing a few potatoes to rinse. “Uh, she used beef shank but steak should work fine.”

            Zach chuckled as he worked in his own little corner of the kitchen to prepare a few simple sandwiches. “Alright, anything else you need?” It was kind of hard to evenly cut slices of cheese when Zach found himself distracted by the slightly too careful way Chris washed each potato. It’s like his hands were incapable of anything less than gentleness. Or perhaps Chris was just that caring in meal preparation? Either way, the view was too endearing for Zach to say anything more at the moment. He wouldn’t want to interrupt the spell.

            “Nah, I got everything. You are well stocked, my friend.”

            “How about chopping assistance?” Zach offered, not looking up as he placed the two sandwiches on a plate.

Chris paused, thinking critically about the answer. Zach only laughed and waved off any response Chris was about to offer. “It’s alright. Just tell me to fuck off and you can do it how you need to.”

            Blushing, Chris ducked his head and finished cleaning off the last potato.  “Sorry, I just have a certain way of doing things.”

            “I know. I can always hope, though.”

***

            Not helping in the kitchen left very little for Zach to do since the weather outside wasn’t changing and Christmas specials didn’t really have any appeal for him. Noah and Harold chose to sit beside the windows to watch the snow fall, not really caring if Zach wanted any company.

            It wasn’t a total loss though since he basically had the best seat for watching Chris at work. Alone at the dining room table with a single cup of coffee in front of him, Zach’s eyes never quite left Chris. Of course he tried being subtle, knowing Chris is the shy type and doesn’t much care for an audience if he isn’t intentionally performing for anyone.

            Occasionally Zach got a sidelong glance when Chris turned between the sink and the countertop where he was chopping away or using the blender. Sometimes there was blush and a flustered mumbling of “stop it, Zach” which only served to enhance the experience.

            The best things about Chris haven’t changed in all these years it seemed. Even when they were dating, Chris would shy away from Zach’s open admiration. His cooking skills are more refined but no less a treat to watch at work. It did help that his biceps are more noticeable after all this time and that even on a day this cold, Chris wore a rather thin t-shirt.

            “I missed this,” Zach found himself mumbling out loud before he could stop.

            A pause between the chopping, only the sound of boiling water was heard for a few moments before Chris set down the knife.

            “You broke it off with me, Zach,” Chris said quietly as he scooped sliced carrots into the pot. Perhaps Zach was imagining things but he thought he saw a tremble in those hands. “I mean if all you miss is my cooking, just give me a call and—“

            “No, it’s not just the cooking.”

            Ducking his head, Zach sat with his face in his hands, trying to gather some coherent thought to at least explain to himself what he was saying. Was now really the time to bring up a break up from 4 years ago? He was lucky enough that it hadn’t ended their friendship but neither of them had really talked about it since then either. What if bringing it up caused an upset?

While Zach sat amongst his thoughts and worries, Chris used the silence to finish with the zucchini and setting a timer. A million things were running through his head and yet the most prominent thought was that perhaps Zach was reconsidering. Chris had always been open to trying again but didn’t want to push his friend away by pressuring him or anything.

“I’m sorry,” Zach mumbled, lifting his gaze to see Chris leaning over the sink, hands braced on either side of it as he looked out the window. As far as Zach could tell, Chris was currently unreadable. “I didn’t mean to… bring up anything or cause drama. I just… I just miss our— I don’t know— domesticity?”

It’s not like his most recent partners hadn’t been able to cook or clean or be there when Zach needed them; they just couldn’t do things like Chris could. Chris, as much as he denies being the family man type, is exactly the kind of guy Zach could see himself raising kids with. Hell, he couldn’t even remember the reasons he stopped dating Chris.

            “I’ve missed you too, Zach.”

            The admission was so quiet, Zach almost didn’t hear it.

            “Really?” He winced at how broken that sounded but Zach remained hopeful as he looked to Chris.

            For a long moment, Chris’ gaze simply traced the paths of falling snowflakes, leaving Zach to hold his breath and wait for any sign that he wasn’t dreaming.

            Finally, Chris pulled away from the sink and walked over to take a seat across from Zach. “You know I can’t lie about shit like this.” Their eyes met briefly before Chris looked away, blushing as he nervously wrung his fingers together beneath the table. As cute as Chris looked when he got like this, Zach only wanted to see those blue eyes accompanied with a bright smile.

            “Look at me, Chris,” Zach pleaded, eyes soft as he reached across the table for Chris’ hand. Turning to look at the offered hand, Chris hesitated, almost shying away before reaching for it. Their hands clasped together and Zach found himself smiling when Chris lifted the hand to cup his cheek, rubbing the light jaw stubble against it.

            “I missed this,” Chris murmured, his breath warm and comforting against Zach’s hand.

            “I’m not asking for a second chance,” Zach said, rubbing little circles against Chris’ skin with his index finger. “But I think I’d like to at least talk about it.”

            Chris gave a brief hum in response, not quite a yes or no. With his eyes closed, he looked blissful against Zach’s palm. “Well I certainly would like a second chance,” he said after a moment, opening his eyes to peer up at Zach. “Again though, you left me. I’ve… I’ve been wanting to try again but was too afraid to ask.”

            "Really?" Zach pulled his hand away, suddenly ashamed. He never had a clue that Chris had felt that way.  Somehow, Zach had expected Chris to have more luck in moving on. It’s always springtime seemed to be convincing enough.

Zach took his mug in both hands, if only to distract his need to touch Chris again, and sighed once more, eyes forlorn. "I’m sorry I put you through that. I didnt mean for us to—"

"No, don’t apologize!" Chris pleaded, clasping each of Zach’s wrists gently. "We can try again now, I mean, if you really want to at least."

At that, Zach’s lips formed a small smile. "I’m an idiot though."

"I know," Chris agreed, pulling the mug from Zach’s hands and then kissing his fingers. "In a way, thats part of the appeal."

***

Dinner was amazing, as Zach expected since Chris was the one who made it. Even better though was dessert.

"Did you miss having a sore ass, too?" Chris asked, yawning and wrapping his arms around Zach as he curled closer around him beneath the blankets. Usually after-sex cuddles were bare flesh against bare flesh but Zach didn’t feel like sleeping nude. He didn’t feel like leaving it to chance being caught naked in the middle of the night with no power or heat if the storm decided to get worse.

"Don’t push it, Pine," Zach murmured with a tug to Chris’ hand, placing it over his chest. "I only let you top because the food was good."

Chuckling, Chris pat Zach’s torso, affectionately pressing his lips to the back of Zach’s warm neck. "If that’s all it takes, I'm definitely going to be on top more often."

[meeko-mar]

Hhi~ Uhm, your art is super adorable and I was wondering if I could maybe colour one of your kid!jaxter sketches maybe please? (that bottom-left is giving me feels)

That would be fine! So long as credit for drawing is given(just a little “drawn by MeekoFitz” or something in a corner would be fantastic), and I’d like to see it when it’s done!

It gives me feels too, I have to say, I’ve been thinking of coloring it too >3<

[watchthelightfade]

purrrrrrrrrrrrrr(omo me)

(purrrrrrrrlease)