Fic: Planning Ahead, Interlude (Numb3rs, Don / Martin)
Title: Planning Ahead, Interlude
Pair: Charlie Eppes / Colby Granger,
Don Eppes / Martin Fridegord
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Always Welcome
NUMB3RS Main List
Chapter 1/3
Chapter 2/3
“I gotta admit, this is a nice place.” Don stated. He tilted his head to look at the wooden Villa in the middle of the hill. “And there’s water like…. everywhere.”
“That’s because we’re on an island.” Martin chuckled. “Cousin Marie will come to take us back two days from now.”
“I kinda get the appeal….. There’s absolutely nobody else here, just…. Woods. And water.”
“That`s the best kind of therapy. You wanna eat now or after the sauna?”
“How long does that sauna thing take?”
“The warming up or the actual thing? Couple hours.”
“Then food first. We do have food, right?”
“We have enough food to feed a medium sized army and you had a huge meal before we left Stockholm. Anyway, if you chop the logs for the sauna, I’ll cook.”
“So you’re making me work for my food?”
“Yep. And when you get in there to enjoy the sauna, you’ll wanna do it all over again tomorrow.”
-------------------------------------------
“Remember to drink a lot.” Martin coached and shoved a can of soda into Don’s waiting hand. He gulped half of it down at once. They leaned back on the bench and let the soft breeze cool down their sweaty bodies. The terrace and everything around it was wrapped into a peaceful cocoon.
“Thirsty?”
“Yeah….”
“That’s because of the sauna, you sweat so much.”
“That was weird….. Fun, but weird. I’m kinda….”
“Tired?”
“Yeah, tired and….”
“Relaxed?”
“Yeah. That was nothing like the steam rooms in that hotels we stayed last year.”
“That’s because those are two totally different things.”
“I had no idea.” Don grinned and leaned back against the backrest. The towel around his waist bundled up because of the movement, but he was feeling too boneless to do anything about it.
“I always miss saunas when I go back home.” Martin sighed. “You can sweat away every little thing that bothers you and just let your mind wander.”
“Where is it wandering now?” Don turned his head to lean it against the man’s sweaty shoulder. “And what’s the tradition about showering afterwards?”
“We’ll sit here a while, enjoy the sunset and then we’ll go back to sauna. We’ll stay there for a while and then we’ll have a cool shower.”
“I think I’ve sweat off all the food I had at your grandma’s.”
“You really impressed her.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, she hates picky eaters.”
“Then I should fine….” Don closed his eyes for a minute. “You didn’t answer my first question.”
“What was it?”
“Where your mind was wandering.”
“I was thinking what we talked about before leaving.”
“What were we talking about?”
“The apartment.”
“You wanna call that off? I mean I understand if you-”
“No, I didn’t mean that. I meant the cat.”
“Cat?”
“Well, the situation in general. I’ve lived there for a while, and I like it.”
“It’s a nice place.”
“Yeah, and close to my job and so on, but I think it might be the time to reconsider.”
“What do you mean?”
“I bought that place when I came back to L.A. and I was single. I didn’t really mind that everything was so close and restless, but it’s kinda getting to me.”
“So you wanna move?”
“If we’re getting a pet we could use some extra space.” Martin took a sip from his soda. “A new guy from Atlanta was transferred to the L.A. office couple months ago, and he’s looking for a place to buy. He offered a very good price for it, and….”
“And?”
“And we could find a new place together. The apartment was pretty much a bachelor pad.”
“Batchelor pad?” Don laughed. “You had the place decorated and colour coordinated, you even had throw pillows. That’s not a bachelor pad, that place is a woman’s magazine come to life
“Anyway, that way we could get a place we both like.”
“Wait….” Don eyed himself suspiciously. “This is why you named me a co-owner of that place. So that we could both put the profit from the sell into the new place. I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Maybe. You usually make a big a scene about paying for yourself, I thought it would make it easier.”
“Have you already picked a new place?”
“I have few candidates. We can go check them out when we get back.”
“How long have you been planning this? And don’t say “since you brought up pets“, because I wont believe that.”
“Couple months.” Martin paused. “I wasn’t sure how to bring it up. If you want to stay at the apartment, we can-”
“No, I’m just still stunned….” Don interrupted. “Just… go on, I’ll try to catch up.”
“Certain elderly woman died last month, and her kids are taking their time packing up her stuff and cleaning her house, so it’s not technically on the market yet.”
“So how do you know about it?”
“Alan and Charlie knew the lady, they even invited Charlie to the funeral. They started talking about the house, and that they were planning to sell it. Charlie thought I might like it so he called me.”
“Have you already been to see the place?”
“Yeah, and so have you.”
“I have?”
“Remember Mrs. Cornwell?”
“You mean the one who lived couple blocks from Charlie’s?”
“Yeah. Charlie said you used to play there with their kids.”
“Peter and I were both played baseball, we always practiced in the backyard.” Don stated with a slightly nostalgic note. “It was a great place.”
“And it’s been well kept. Quiet neighbourhood, it’s close to Charlie’s, but not too close.”
“You have it all planned, don’t you?”
“Opportunity came up and….” Martin gave Don a unsure glance. “Well, we can go check out the place together and if you don’t want to do it, we’ll look elsewhere.”
“No. I mean, I didn’t mean that, I just….. You knew I used to love that place.”
“What can I say, Charlie has a big mouth….”
“That’s…. wow…..”
“What?”
“That`s probably one of the nicest things anyone’s ever done to me.”
“So you’ll come and see the place?”
“If it’s anything like it was, I’ll move right in.” Don grabbed Martin by the back of his head and gave him a heated kiss. “Do we still have to go back in there or can we break in the bedroom? I feel like thanking you right now.....”
“Did I ever tell you….” Martin licked his lips. His hand wandered across Don’s thigh and dipped under his towel. “....the high temperature of a sauna increases the sexual high.”
“What are you, a Swedish sex shaman?” Don laughed. “Enough talking. Show me.”
Chapter 3/3