Fic: First Christmas, 1/1, Rated NC-17
The other story I wrote for xmascookies
Title: First Christmas
Author: courts
Disclaimer: Not real, at all.
Rated: NC-17
Summary: Circumstances stand in the way of Cook and David's perfect first Christmas together.
Notes: For clionona; I tried to work in the prompt you asked for, but I couldn't make it all work. I got the cabin in the snow and the fireplace in there, though, so do I get partial points at least? I hope you like it! Happy Holidays!!
Thanks: To nightingale_12 and daisy_star for beta reading and hand-holding. Thanks!!!
-=-=-=-=-
It had all started with a flight from Utah to Los Angeles that had changed everything for David Archuleta.
Cook remembered the night of that flight all too well, actually. Even though he hadn't actually been on it, the aftermath of that trip had changed his entire life. It had been a routine trip from Salt Lake City to Orange County; a trip that David took probably on a monthly basis. But, in the end, it had turned out to be anything but routine.
David had been by himself, his dad having stayed behind as David returned to LA for a press obligation. He was used to traveling alone, so it wasn't a big deal. Or, it wouldn't have been, had the weather not taken a sudden turn.
Cook hadn't been able to pry all the details from the younger man, he just knew that the plane ride had terrified him; enough that David had placed a very shaky phone call to Cook as soon as he landed, saying that he just needed someone to talk to. He'd sounded so freaked out that Cook had demanded to know where he was and, after getting his location, had broken quite a few traffic laws getting over to the Orange County airport as quickly as possible.
He'd ushered a still shaking David Archuleta into the front seat of his Jeep and there hadn't even been a single word of protest as Cook proceeded to drive them both back to his own house instead of dropping David off at home. He'd gotten the younger man inside, sat on the couch with him, and was finally able to get a few details about the flight. Apparently, there had been a freefall, something to do with ice on the wings and the storm, and David seemed incredibly shaken by the whole thing. He'd eventually fallen asleep that night with his head on Cook's lap on the living room sofa, still desperately clutching onto the fabric of Cook's shirt even in sleep.
So, no, Cook hadn't forgotten that fateful flight, nor had he forgotten how it had changed David's views on flying. Sure, he still got on planes quite a bit, but never in inclement weather. Ever since that day, if there was even a hint of a storm in the forecast, David would refuse to get on a plane.
As it turned out, the flight had also changed David's relationship with Cook. They'd remained friends since the show, but Cook had known that he felt something more for David than friendship. He'd never acted on his feelings, afraid that he would push David away if he were too forward. The day after that plane ride, though, everything about David seemed to have shifted.
He woke up on the couch, still in Cook's arms. The older man hadn't wanted to wake him by moving him upstairs to the bed, but he also hadn't wanted to leave David downstairs all alone. So, in the end, Cook had managed to scoot down on the couch until he was lying on his side with David tucked into the curve of his arms. David had snuggled closer in his sleep, sighing contentedly without ever fully waking.
As the sun shone through the blinds that next morning, Cook found himself waking up to see David propped up next to him on one elbow, their bodies facing one another on the narrow expanse of the couch cushions. Cook's arms were still wound around David's body and, realizing this, he started to pull them back, but David stopped him, resting his own smaller hands on Cook's forearms to hold him still.
Cook wasn't sure what to say at first, honestly. He just looked at David looking at him and floundered for something, anything, in response. He eventually got as far as, "I, um-" before David leaned forward and pressed his lips to Cook's in their very first kiss.
After that, there was no going back for either of them. David had confessed that he'd had feelings for Cook for years, but he'd been too afraid to say anything, terrified of getting what he wanted almost as much as he was of being rejected. Facing his own mortality, though, had apparently put a new spin on things for the young man. He told Cook that, when he'd been on that plane, one of the last things he could remember thinking before the feeling of gravity had returned was that not telling Cook how he felt would be his biggest regret. He had decided as soon as he knew that he would be okay that he would remedy that once and for all. And, ten months later, Cook felt like his whole life was different because of the almost-twenty-year-old man who had stolen his heart.
So, when David requested that they spend Christmas in Utah with his family, it wasn't like Cook was going to say no. It was their first official Christmas as a couple, after all. He didn't care where they spent it as long as they spent it together.
The weather forecast showed a storm moving into Utah for that weekend and Cook had known immediately that David would not want to get on a plane. He had assured Cook that it was fine; they could just spend Christmas in LA. Maybe they'd make it to Murray for New Years or something. But Cook was having none of that. He knew how much it meant to David for them to be with his family, for the Archuleta family to accept Cook into their home and their lives the way that David himself had. Truth be told, it was pretty important to Cook, as well. So, he determined that they would find a way to get to Utah for Christmas, one way or another.
So, that's how they came to be driving up I-15 on a Thursday afternoon in Cook's Jeep, just the two of them. David had brought along his iPod and he was flipping through songs, looking for something that the two of them would agree on.
David skimmed past John Mayer and Sara Barielles and Jason Mraz. Then, Cook caught him blushing as the intro to Life On The Moon played briefly before David quickly skipped ahead several tracks. He finally settled on oldies, setting the little music player down as Simon and Garfunkel sang about the only living boy in New York. Both men fell into a comfortable silence, allowing the soft melody to fill the car around them. A few songs later, Cook started singing along. By the time that Cecelia played, they had cranked up the volume and were both singing loudly as Cook kept the beat on the steering wheel.
The song faded out, leading into a live version of Homeward Bound and Cook reached over to lower the volume, turning to smile at the man next to him. He found David staring straight ahead, still grinning wide, tapping his hands on his knees to the ghost of the previous bass line. Cook lost his train of thought, momentarily captivated by the light in David's smile. He smiled in return, thinking not for the first time that he was pretty lucky to have David in his life.
Moving his eyes back to the road, he said, "Uh, you wanna stop and eat? I think there's an In and Out on the next exit." They had several hours of driving ahead of them, but Cook knew that the opportunities to stop for food would get fewer and fewer as they made their way out of California.
David agreed and they sat in the restaurant amidst the red and white décor and ate hamburgers and fries in companionable silence. Cook slurped his root beer and watched David drowning his fries in ketchup, amused that some things never changed. He was struck by how much this David still reminded him of the boy he'd met in Hollywood what seemed like a million years before. If he had known then what he knew now, Cook might have run off with the kid way back then.
"I'm glad we're doing this," he said sincerely. David looked up from his burger, grinning across the table and nodding his agreement that he was glad, as well.
Soon they were back on the road, the voice of Ryan Cabrera providing a backdrop as the mountains on either side of the road began to disappear as the sun went down. The rhythm of the road had lulled Cook into a daze and his eyes were focused on the white and yellow lines ahead of them. They'd crossed the California border and were nearly out of Nevada when the rain started.
"Damn, wouldn't you know it would rain in the desert when we decide to take a road trip," he muttered.
"I'm sorry," David said softly next to him. Cook looked up suddenly, already shaking his head. He hadn't meant for David to hear his complaint; it had been so long since his companion had spoken that Cook had assumed he'd fallen asleep.
"Nah, man, it's not your fault," he assured the younger man. "Besides, what's a little rain? I kind of miss the rain anyway, living in LA." And that was true, at least. It was weird to live in a place that never saw rain; it made him feel that much further from home.
The rain didn't let up as they drove, and Cook knew that meant they were probably driving into the storm. By the time they'd passed into Utah and left the desert behind for little mountain towns, the weather had turned cold and the rain had turned to sleet. They'd planned to drive straight through, making it to Murray late that evening. But, the sleet had turned to snow and the scatter of flakes had changed to sheets of white, so thick that Cook could barely see the road. They made it as far as Cedar Creek, Utah, a town in the foothills of the surrounding mountains, before Cook finally decided they'd come as far as they were going to be able for the night.
"It's safer if we stop," he said as he pulled into the first motel on the outskirts of town. It was more of a hunting lodge, really, and as they pulled in they were faced with several rows of tiny cabins with a larger cabin situated out front to serve as the office.
"I didn't know we were going to get stuck in this," David said miserably. "I'm really sorry-"
"Hey," Cook said as he reached over to grab the younger man's arm. He met David's eyes and shook his head, saying, "It's fine. If we're a little late tomorrow, everyone will understand, okay?" David bit his lower lip and nodded, his features relaxing a little under Cook's gaze.
Cook went inside to get them a room, and returned shortly to navigate through what had turned into a blizzard to get to their cabin at the end of one row. He and David grabbed their bags and hurried towards the cabin. The snow was coming down hard enough to cover them both, even in just the short walk from the car to the door.
"Um, this is nice," David said tentatively as he turned around to survey their surroundings, brushing melting snow from his shoulders and hair.
It was nice, if a little rustic. Cook thought that the mattress on the single bed looked about as wide as the one from his college dorm room. There was a loveseat in the corner that looked wholly uncomfortable, along with a small wooden table and chairs. There was a mini-fridge and a microwave next to the table. On the wall opposite the bed was a small fireplace. Cook was glad to see a stack of dry firewood in the holder on the small hearth.
"We should probably get that going," Cook said as he gestured to the fireplace. "It's pretty cold in here." Neither of them had taken off their coats and yet they were both still shivering slightly in the cool air.
They set to work on the fire and, soon enough, a warm glow began in the center as the blaze caught. They both sat back on the large rug that lay in front of the fireplace, trying to let the warmth seep into their skin. David shivered again, despite the fire, though, and Cook immediately took notice.
"We should get out of these wet clothes," he said.
David nodded, dutifully going over to his suitcase and pulling out some dry clothes. Cook stood nearby changing his own clothes, not missing the slump of the younger man's shoulders as he pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt and hoodie. After Cook had gotten into his flannel pajama pants and an old, ratty fraternity sweatshirt he still had from college, he walked over to stand behind David, placing his arms around the other man to pull him against his body.
"Hey, why do you look so sad?" Cook asked softly as he held David close. "We'll get to your parent's house eventually, baby, you know that."
"Oh gosh, I know, I know that," David said quickly as he managed to spin around in the circle of Cook's arms. He sighed, casting his eyes down as the fraternity symbols across Cook's chest as he said, "It's just . . . we're stuck out here in the middle of nowhere . . . on Christmas . . . and it's all my fault."
He sounded so miserable that Cook couldn't even bring himself to try the light-hearted teasing he had hoped to use to cheer David up. Instead, he found himself reaching down to take David's chin in his hand, tilting his face up until they were eye to eye, and saying in a sober voice, "It doesn't matter, Arch. You matter to me, and nothing else, okay?"
David sniffled a little, pressing his face to Cook's chest even as he said, "I feel terrible, though. I got you snowed in on Christmas! If I had just stopped being such a freaking baby and gotten on a danged plane-"
"Hey, hey!" Cook said, reaching up to run his fingers through David's hair as he tugged the younger man closer. "Stop that, now. It's perfectly understandable why you didn't want to fly. And, really, with the way the weather is looking outside, we'd have probably gotten stranded at an airport halfway between California and Utah anyway." He leaned back, forcing David to meet his eyes as he said, "At least this way, we're stranded alone, no one but you and me. I can trust you to keep me warm, right babe?"
David had to smile at that, his face cracking into the grin that never failed to warm Cook's heart. David nodded, standing still as Cook swooped down and covered his mouth in a kiss. He murmured, "I love you," against Cook's lips and Cook groaned his own reply into David's open mouth.
They fell back onto the small bed at some point, and Cook ended up on his back with David fit between his spread thighs, their mouths and hands jockeying for position all over one another. David eventually managed to shimmy down the bed, perching somewhere near Cook's knees and pulling aside the elastic waist of his flannel pants to place sucking kisses across the jut of the older man's hipbones.
He was licking back across that swathe of skin, trying to hold down Cook's thrusting hips and push aside the pants and still stay balanced on the narrow bed when, finally, the improbable logistics seemed to finally overtake them. David lost his balance somehow, and yelped loudly as he tried not to fall over the side of the bed.
Cook looked up at the sound, seeing David flail, and sat up to try and grab him, only to throw off his own center of gravity upon the too-small mattress and they ended up toppling to the floor together. Cook shook his head slightly, looking down with a bemused expression at David as he said, "I guess the bed isn't really made for that kind of sport, huh?"
David giggled, shaking his head to concur.
They decided that, in order to avoid any permanent injury to either of them, they would move all of the bedclothes over in front of the fire and just sleep there. It turned out to be a better idea anyway, seeing as how the room was still on the chilly side.
Cook found himself lying on his side under the mountain of blankets, David curled up in his arms and kissing him. They'd both already removed their clothes before climbing under the covers, so that Cook felt every slide of skin as David moved against him.
"You're really not upset about spending our first Christmas out in the middle of nowhere?" David asked, his lips already moving down to find Cook's pulse as he sucked greedily at the skin there.
"Ahhh . . . jeez, Arch," he ground out as his fingers twitched reflexively against David's bare hips. "No fuck-um, freaking, way. Mmm, I don't wanna be anywhere else right now," he admitted, his voice sounding more and more hazy with arousal by the minute.
"Good," David said against his throat. He trailed soft kisses down Cook's chest, swirling his tongue into Cook's navel and drawing a high, keening noise of approval from the older man. David smiled, pressing a kiss to Cook's belly as he scooted lower, taking Cook by surprise as he slid his mouth all the way down his erection.
"Oh God!" Cook cried out, fisting at the blanket beneath him for purchase as the tip of his cock hit the back of David's throat. "Shit!"
David hummed lightly, using one hand to hold Cook's hips as still as possible as the other wrapped around the base of his erection. It didn't take long for Cook to see stars, his voice crying out hoarsely as David swallowed around him.
"Jesus," Cook breathed as David moved back up to lie against his side. He felt boneless, reaching blindly for David to pull him closer.
"Merry Christmas," David said softly.
Cook couldn't hold back a chuckle as he asked, "Was that my present?"
He could feel David blushing even as he pressed his face into the curve of Cook's neck and mumbled, "No," into the skin. "That was just . . ."
"Awesome," Cook supplied. "God, how the hell did it take us so long to figure this out, huh?" he asked. The question was rhetorical, really, but David was looking at him like he might try to answer. Cook smiled at him as he said, "Doesn't matter; what does matter is that we did."
David seemed to like that answer, curling himself closer to Cook and resting his head on the older man's chest. "I kind of don't want the snow to stop for a few days," he admitted.
David couldn't see his nod, so Cook said, "Yeah, me either."
"Thank you for coming with me," David said softly.
"I never considered being anywhere else," Cook said truthfully.
After a few more minutes of comfortable silence, Cook moved his leg slightly, deliberately brushing against David's erection and pulling a groan from the younger man. Cook smirked, repeating the action and asking, "You need some help with that?" Cook took David's answering moan as a yes.
-=-=-=-=-
The next morning was Christmas and Cook woke first, his eyes instantly lighting on a sleeping David Archuleta curled against him beneath their nest of covers. He sighed contentedly, pulling David close and letting his mind drift back to that morning nearly a year before when things had finally changed between them. Cook knew that he would never wish that fear that had driven David to him to be placed on anyone, let alone on this man whom he loved more than anything. Still, he had to wonder if it weren't somehow a part of some grander plan, the push they both needed to get them to admit what they had both obviously felt for a while.
Whatever the reason, Cook wouldn't change any of it now. Nothing in the world was as important to him as David, and he knew that was how it would always be.
Pressing his lips to a still-sleeping David's forehead, Cook whispered, "Merry Christmas, baby," before closing his eyes and drifting back to sleep.
-=-=-=-=-
The End
December 22, 2008
-=-=-=-=-
Title: First Christmas
Author: courts
Disclaimer: Not real, at all.
Rated: NC-17
Summary: Circumstances stand in the way of Cook and David's perfect first Christmas together.
Notes: For clionona; I tried to work in the prompt you asked for, but I couldn't make it all work. I got the cabin in the snow and the fireplace in there, though, so do I get partial points at least? I hope you like it! Happy Holidays!!
Thanks: To nightingale_12 and daisy_star for beta reading and hand-holding. Thanks!!!
-=-=-=-=-
It had all started with a flight from Utah to Los Angeles that had changed everything for David Archuleta.
Cook remembered the night of that flight all too well, actually. Even though he hadn't actually been on it, the aftermath of that trip had changed his entire life. It had been a routine trip from Salt Lake City to Orange County; a trip that David took probably on a monthly basis. But, in the end, it had turned out to be anything but routine.
David had been by himself, his dad having stayed behind as David returned to LA for a press obligation. He was used to traveling alone, so it wasn't a big deal. Or, it wouldn't have been, had the weather not taken a sudden turn.
Cook hadn't been able to pry all the details from the younger man, he just knew that the plane ride had terrified him; enough that David had placed a very shaky phone call to Cook as soon as he landed, saying that he just needed someone to talk to. He'd sounded so freaked out that Cook had demanded to know where he was and, after getting his location, had broken quite a few traffic laws getting over to the Orange County airport as quickly as possible.
He'd ushered a still shaking David Archuleta into the front seat of his Jeep and there hadn't even been a single word of protest as Cook proceeded to drive them both back to his own house instead of dropping David off at home. He'd gotten the younger man inside, sat on the couch with him, and was finally able to get a few details about the flight. Apparently, there had been a freefall, something to do with ice on the wings and the storm, and David seemed incredibly shaken by the whole thing. He'd eventually fallen asleep that night with his head on Cook's lap on the living room sofa, still desperately clutching onto the fabric of Cook's shirt even in sleep.
So, no, Cook hadn't forgotten that fateful flight, nor had he forgotten how it had changed David's views on flying. Sure, he still got on planes quite a bit, but never in inclement weather. Ever since that day, if there was even a hint of a storm in the forecast, David would refuse to get on a plane.
As it turned out, the flight had also changed David's relationship with Cook. They'd remained friends since the show, but Cook had known that he felt something more for David than friendship. He'd never acted on his feelings, afraid that he would push David away if he were too forward. The day after that plane ride, though, everything about David seemed to have shifted.
He woke up on the couch, still in Cook's arms. The older man hadn't wanted to wake him by moving him upstairs to the bed, but he also hadn't wanted to leave David downstairs all alone. So, in the end, Cook had managed to scoot down on the couch until he was lying on his side with David tucked into the curve of his arms. David had snuggled closer in his sleep, sighing contentedly without ever fully waking.
As the sun shone through the blinds that next morning, Cook found himself waking up to see David propped up next to him on one elbow, their bodies facing one another on the narrow expanse of the couch cushions. Cook's arms were still wound around David's body and, realizing this, he started to pull them back, but David stopped him, resting his own smaller hands on Cook's forearms to hold him still.
Cook wasn't sure what to say at first, honestly. He just looked at David looking at him and floundered for something, anything, in response. He eventually got as far as, "I, um-" before David leaned forward and pressed his lips to Cook's in their very first kiss.
After that, there was no going back for either of them. David had confessed that he'd had feelings for Cook for years, but he'd been too afraid to say anything, terrified of getting what he wanted almost as much as he was of being rejected. Facing his own mortality, though, had apparently put a new spin on things for the young man. He told Cook that, when he'd been on that plane, one of the last things he could remember thinking before the feeling of gravity had returned was that not telling Cook how he felt would be his biggest regret. He had decided as soon as he knew that he would be okay that he would remedy that once and for all. And, ten months later, Cook felt like his whole life was different because of the almost-twenty-year-old man who had stolen his heart.
So, when David requested that they spend Christmas in Utah with his family, it wasn't like Cook was going to say no. It was their first official Christmas as a couple, after all. He didn't care where they spent it as long as they spent it together.
The weather forecast showed a storm moving into Utah for that weekend and Cook had known immediately that David would not want to get on a plane. He had assured Cook that it was fine; they could just spend Christmas in LA. Maybe they'd make it to Murray for New Years or something. But Cook was having none of that. He knew how much it meant to David for them to be with his family, for the Archuleta family to accept Cook into their home and their lives the way that David himself had. Truth be told, it was pretty important to Cook, as well. So, he determined that they would find a way to get to Utah for Christmas, one way or another.
So, that's how they came to be driving up I-15 on a Thursday afternoon in Cook's Jeep, just the two of them. David had brought along his iPod and he was flipping through songs, looking for something that the two of them would agree on.
David skimmed past John Mayer and Sara Barielles and Jason Mraz. Then, Cook caught him blushing as the intro to Life On The Moon played briefly before David quickly skipped ahead several tracks. He finally settled on oldies, setting the little music player down as Simon and Garfunkel sang about the only living boy in New York. Both men fell into a comfortable silence, allowing the soft melody to fill the car around them. A few songs later, Cook started singing along. By the time that Cecelia played, they had cranked up the volume and were both singing loudly as Cook kept the beat on the steering wheel.
The song faded out, leading into a live version of Homeward Bound and Cook reached over to lower the volume, turning to smile at the man next to him. He found David staring straight ahead, still grinning wide, tapping his hands on his knees to the ghost of the previous bass line. Cook lost his train of thought, momentarily captivated by the light in David's smile. He smiled in return, thinking not for the first time that he was pretty lucky to have David in his life.
Moving his eyes back to the road, he said, "Uh, you wanna stop and eat? I think there's an In and Out on the next exit." They had several hours of driving ahead of them, but Cook knew that the opportunities to stop for food would get fewer and fewer as they made their way out of California.
David agreed and they sat in the restaurant amidst the red and white décor and ate hamburgers and fries in companionable silence. Cook slurped his root beer and watched David drowning his fries in ketchup, amused that some things never changed. He was struck by how much this David still reminded him of the boy he'd met in Hollywood what seemed like a million years before. If he had known then what he knew now, Cook might have run off with the kid way back then.
"I'm glad we're doing this," he said sincerely. David looked up from his burger, grinning across the table and nodding his agreement that he was glad, as well.
Soon they were back on the road, the voice of Ryan Cabrera providing a backdrop as the mountains on either side of the road began to disappear as the sun went down. The rhythm of the road had lulled Cook into a daze and his eyes were focused on the white and yellow lines ahead of them. They'd crossed the California border and were nearly out of Nevada when the rain started.
"Damn, wouldn't you know it would rain in the desert when we decide to take a road trip," he muttered.
"I'm sorry," David said softly next to him. Cook looked up suddenly, already shaking his head. He hadn't meant for David to hear his complaint; it had been so long since his companion had spoken that Cook had assumed he'd fallen asleep.
"Nah, man, it's not your fault," he assured the younger man. "Besides, what's a little rain? I kind of miss the rain anyway, living in LA." And that was true, at least. It was weird to live in a place that never saw rain; it made him feel that much further from home.
The rain didn't let up as they drove, and Cook knew that meant they were probably driving into the storm. By the time they'd passed into Utah and left the desert behind for little mountain towns, the weather had turned cold and the rain had turned to sleet. They'd planned to drive straight through, making it to Murray late that evening. But, the sleet had turned to snow and the scatter of flakes had changed to sheets of white, so thick that Cook could barely see the road. They made it as far as Cedar Creek, Utah, a town in the foothills of the surrounding mountains, before Cook finally decided they'd come as far as they were going to be able for the night.
"It's safer if we stop," he said as he pulled into the first motel on the outskirts of town. It was more of a hunting lodge, really, and as they pulled in they were faced with several rows of tiny cabins with a larger cabin situated out front to serve as the office.
"I didn't know we were going to get stuck in this," David said miserably. "I'm really sorry-"
"Hey," Cook said as he reached over to grab the younger man's arm. He met David's eyes and shook his head, saying, "It's fine. If we're a little late tomorrow, everyone will understand, okay?" David bit his lower lip and nodded, his features relaxing a little under Cook's gaze.
Cook went inside to get them a room, and returned shortly to navigate through what had turned into a blizzard to get to their cabin at the end of one row. He and David grabbed their bags and hurried towards the cabin. The snow was coming down hard enough to cover them both, even in just the short walk from the car to the door.
"Um, this is nice," David said tentatively as he turned around to survey their surroundings, brushing melting snow from his shoulders and hair.
It was nice, if a little rustic. Cook thought that the mattress on the single bed looked about as wide as the one from his college dorm room. There was a loveseat in the corner that looked wholly uncomfortable, along with a small wooden table and chairs. There was a mini-fridge and a microwave next to the table. On the wall opposite the bed was a small fireplace. Cook was glad to see a stack of dry firewood in the holder on the small hearth.
"We should probably get that going," Cook said as he gestured to the fireplace. "It's pretty cold in here." Neither of them had taken off their coats and yet they were both still shivering slightly in the cool air.
They set to work on the fire and, soon enough, a warm glow began in the center as the blaze caught. They both sat back on the large rug that lay in front of the fireplace, trying to let the warmth seep into their skin. David shivered again, despite the fire, though, and Cook immediately took notice.
"We should get out of these wet clothes," he said.
David nodded, dutifully going over to his suitcase and pulling out some dry clothes. Cook stood nearby changing his own clothes, not missing the slump of the younger man's shoulders as he pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt and hoodie. After Cook had gotten into his flannel pajama pants and an old, ratty fraternity sweatshirt he still had from college, he walked over to stand behind David, placing his arms around the other man to pull him against his body.
"Hey, why do you look so sad?" Cook asked softly as he held David close. "We'll get to your parent's house eventually, baby, you know that."
"Oh gosh, I know, I know that," David said quickly as he managed to spin around in the circle of Cook's arms. He sighed, casting his eyes down as the fraternity symbols across Cook's chest as he said, "It's just . . . we're stuck out here in the middle of nowhere . . . on Christmas . . . and it's all my fault."
He sounded so miserable that Cook couldn't even bring himself to try the light-hearted teasing he had hoped to use to cheer David up. Instead, he found himself reaching down to take David's chin in his hand, tilting his face up until they were eye to eye, and saying in a sober voice, "It doesn't matter, Arch. You matter to me, and nothing else, okay?"
David sniffled a little, pressing his face to Cook's chest even as he said, "I feel terrible, though. I got you snowed in on Christmas! If I had just stopped being such a freaking baby and gotten on a danged plane-"
"Hey, hey!" Cook said, reaching up to run his fingers through David's hair as he tugged the younger man closer. "Stop that, now. It's perfectly understandable why you didn't want to fly. And, really, with the way the weather is looking outside, we'd have probably gotten stranded at an airport halfway between California and Utah anyway." He leaned back, forcing David to meet his eyes as he said, "At least this way, we're stranded alone, no one but you and me. I can trust you to keep me warm, right babe?"
David had to smile at that, his face cracking into the grin that never failed to warm Cook's heart. David nodded, standing still as Cook swooped down and covered his mouth in a kiss. He murmured, "I love you," against Cook's lips and Cook groaned his own reply into David's open mouth.
They fell back onto the small bed at some point, and Cook ended up on his back with David fit between his spread thighs, their mouths and hands jockeying for position all over one another. David eventually managed to shimmy down the bed, perching somewhere near Cook's knees and pulling aside the elastic waist of his flannel pants to place sucking kisses across the jut of the older man's hipbones.
He was licking back across that swathe of skin, trying to hold down Cook's thrusting hips and push aside the pants and still stay balanced on the narrow bed when, finally, the improbable logistics seemed to finally overtake them. David lost his balance somehow, and yelped loudly as he tried not to fall over the side of the bed.
Cook looked up at the sound, seeing David flail, and sat up to try and grab him, only to throw off his own center of gravity upon the too-small mattress and they ended up toppling to the floor together. Cook shook his head slightly, looking down with a bemused expression at David as he said, "I guess the bed isn't really made for that kind of sport, huh?"
David giggled, shaking his head to concur.
They decided that, in order to avoid any permanent injury to either of them, they would move all of the bedclothes over in front of the fire and just sleep there. It turned out to be a better idea anyway, seeing as how the room was still on the chilly side.
Cook found himself lying on his side under the mountain of blankets, David curled up in his arms and kissing him. They'd both already removed their clothes before climbing under the covers, so that Cook felt every slide of skin as David moved against him.
"You're really not upset about spending our first Christmas out in the middle of nowhere?" David asked, his lips already moving down to find Cook's pulse as he sucked greedily at the skin there.
"Ahhh . . . jeez, Arch," he ground out as his fingers twitched reflexively against David's bare hips. "No fuck-um, freaking, way. Mmm, I don't wanna be anywhere else right now," he admitted, his voice sounding more and more hazy with arousal by the minute.
"Good," David said against his throat. He trailed soft kisses down Cook's chest, swirling his tongue into Cook's navel and drawing a high, keening noise of approval from the older man. David smiled, pressing a kiss to Cook's belly as he scooted lower, taking Cook by surprise as he slid his mouth all the way down his erection.
"Oh God!" Cook cried out, fisting at the blanket beneath him for purchase as the tip of his cock hit the back of David's throat. "Shit!"
David hummed lightly, using one hand to hold Cook's hips as still as possible as the other wrapped around the base of his erection. It didn't take long for Cook to see stars, his voice crying out hoarsely as David swallowed around him.
"Jesus," Cook breathed as David moved back up to lie against his side. He felt boneless, reaching blindly for David to pull him closer.
"Merry Christmas," David said softly.
Cook couldn't hold back a chuckle as he asked, "Was that my present?"
He could feel David blushing even as he pressed his face into the curve of Cook's neck and mumbled, "No," into the skin. "That was just . . ."
"Awesome," Cook supplied. "God, how the hell did it take us so long to figure this out, huh?" he asked. The question was rhetorical, really, but David was looking at him like he might try to answer. Cook smiled at him as he said, "Doesn't matter; what does matter is that we did."
David seemed to like that answer, curling himself closer to Cook and resting his head on the older man's chest. "I kind of don't want the snow to stop for a few days," he admitted.
David couldn't see his nod, so Cook said, "Yeah, me either."
"Thank you for coming with me," David said softly.
"I never considered being anywhere else," Cook said truthfully.
After a few more minutes of comfortable silence, Cook moved his leg slightly, deliberately brushing against David's erection and pulling a groan from the younger man. Cook smirked, repeating the action and asking, "You need some help with that?" Cook took David's answering moan as a yes.
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The next morning was Christmas and Cook woke first, his eyes instantly lighting on a sleeping David Archuleta curled against him beneath their nest of covers. He sighed contentedly, pulling David close and letting his mind drift back to that morning nearly a year before when things had finally changed between them. Cook knew that he would never wish that fear that had driven David to him to be placed on anyone, let alone on this man whom he loved more than anything. Still, he had to wonder if it weren't somehow a part of some grander plan, the push they both needed to get them to admit what they had both obviously felt for a while.
Whatever the reason, Cook wouldn't change any of it now. Nothing in the world was as important to him as David, and he knew that was how it would always be.
Pressing his lips to a still-sleeping David's forehead, Cook whispered, "Merry Christmas, baby," before closing his eyes and drifting back to sleep.
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The End
December 22, 2008
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