AgathaHart
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In the Woods Chapter 10
🕑 Added 2018-04-10 03:59:59 +0000 UTCJack woke slowly, pleasantly warm, surrounded in the scent of safety with a heart gently beating beneath his head. Then he remembered that the heartbeat belonged to Koz and he was pressed against Koz’s bare chest because they fucking had sex last night.
He cracked his eyes open, wincing at the light shining through the cabin windows. They must have slept late into the day.
He wondered if Koz was awake, if he should get up or stay put, take a shower, make breakfast--something! It wasn’t exactly the first time Jack had had a one night stand, but he couldn’t very well just grab his clothes and duck out of Koz’s life now could he? He wasn’t even sure if what they’d done last night counted as a one night stand. Was this going to be a regular thing? Could they do it again? He’d thought they would last night but his thinking had been quite biased at the time.
Jack would be lying if he said the idea wasn’t extremely appealing. A thrill of excitement rushed through him at the memory of Koz surrendering control to him . . . the way he’d arched up against him, moaning Jack’s name against his ear--
Jack snapped his thoughts away. Things were already going to be awkward enough without him sporting a boner.
Koz gently touched his hair and he started.
“Sorry,” Koz said, voice husky and sleepy. “Didn’t mean to startle you, just checking to see if you were awake.”
“I am,” Jack said without lifting his head.
Koz let out a soft sigh. “I suppose we should talk about some things.”
“Probably,” Jack bit his lip. He hated talking about things.
“I’ll start then. Last night was . . . very nice.”
Jack snorted, “Um . . . thanks?”
Koz chuckled and Jack felt it rise pleasantly in his chest. “You’re welcome,” he said. “It was . . . quite pleasant.”
The smile crept from Jack’s face. “I’m sensing a ‘but’ coming.”
Koz was silent a long moment, then his chest shook with laughter. “Phrasing, Jack, phrasing!”
Jack sat up, face flushing, a smile pulling itself onto his face. “You--” he laughed in disbelief, “--child!”
Koz was smiling this helpless smile up at him, face flushed, and hair tussled. He looked sweet and younger than Jack had ever seen him. He laughed again, but it was more in delighted surprise than because of Koz’s remark.
Their laughter calmed. Jack remained sitting while Koz stayed on his back, gently rubbing his hands up Jack’s arms.
“There are no ‘buts’ this time Jack,” he said at last. “Most of my reasons to not have sex with you were related to . . . societal expectations.” He glanced around. “It seems a little silly to uphold such standards when the only ones here are you and I.” He looked up into Jack’s eyes. “I don’t have any qualms about this happening again, do you?” He was looking at Jack with such sincerity, Jack knew if he said ‘no’ Koz’d call the whole thing off and it’d be fine. Like that would ever happen though.
“Are you kidding?” He smirked. “Of course I wanna do it again!”
Koz smiled and it looked so sweet, Jack wanted to taste it. So he did.
Koz’s lips were soft under his, his un-shaved chin giving just the slightest bit of scratch.
Jack pulled away. Koz had barely moved other than to thread his hands through Jack’s hair.
“Um . . .” Jack grinned goofily. “Are you sore?” He asked.
Koz blushed--actually blushed--and glanced away. “It’s been a while . . .” he said.
Jack kissed him. “Then I’ll get you something,” he said, sliding out from under the covers.
He could feel Koz’s eyes on his bare form as he started the coffee machine, grabbed a few painkillers, and as an afterthought retrieved two pudding cups and spoons.
He handed Koz his pills and pudding cup and then snuggled under the covers against his side.
Koz put his arm around him. He smelled like sweat and sex and Jack loved it. The cabin slowly filled with the scent of coffee as the machine hissed and bubbled. He pressed against Koz’s warm side and felt for the first time in a long while, completely content.
***
Koz dropped his spoon into his empty pudding cup and sighed, “I suppose we should get the day started,” he said.
Jack groaned. He’d much rather spend the day in bed, especially now that they had something else on the table besides just watching television.
Koz’s chuckle jostled Jack’s head. “C’mon you,” he said, sitting up and bringing Jack with him.
“We should go investigate the Thing’s nest now that we know where it is.”:
Jack’s eyes focused on the world outside the widow. “Do you have chains for the car?” He asked.
“What?” Koz’s head snapped around. He stood, like getting a clearer view would make the ground outside less covered in snow. The bare trees and bushes were covered in it. The sun was shining, making the whole world sparkle. It was pretty, but also a little painful to look at for too long.
Jack looked at Koz’s face and saw him frowning--not quite a full on scowl, but close.
“I guess I’ll check the weather,” Koz said.
“It’ll stick,” Jack predicted. “And it’ll snow more tonight.”
“I hope you’re not right,” Koz said, crawling across the mattress and giving Jack an eyeful as he went to retrieve his clothes.
The bed wasn’t as cozy without Koz, so Jack got up as well. He hastily pulled on his clothes, then bundled up in his coat and scarf. His coat, he found, wasn’t as tight as it had been the night before. For a moment, he was puzzled over this, until he remembered that he’d nearly transformed when the Black Dog attacked him. He must’ve worn out the elastic in some places. He looked around for his headband and found it in the trash can, covered in dried blood. Oh well. He pulled his hood over his head and hurried out the door.
His face tingled as he stepped out onto the deck. As expected, it was cold, but it wasn’t windy. His breath clouded out before him and he could taste the crispness of the air.
The clearing before the cabin looked like something out of a painting, so white, so pure, so ready to get trampled. Like hell Jack wasn’t going to wreck the whole thing to build a snowman.
He walked to the bottom-most step of the deck. The blank white snow stretched out before him. He raised one foot and stepped down. The snow gave a little crunch as it gave under his weight. Boom. No more pure snow scene.
“That’s one small step for man . . . ” Jack said as he stepped down with his other foot. “One giant leap for mankind!” He jumped as far forward as he could and almost fell on his ass. It’d been a long time since track. Then, because he could, he bolted across the clearing. White powder kicked up behind his heels. His feet were numb in a second. His shoes weren’t suitable for snow, he might as well not have been wearing them.
Then Jack stumbled over something hidden under the snow and lost his balance. He turned it into an impromptu cartwheel, or what could’ve been a cartwheel if he knew how to do one. He ended up face-down in the snow.
“What are you doing?” Came Koz’s amused voice.
Jack lifted his head to see Koz standing on the porch dressed in jeans and a thick sweater. He was pulling on sneakers and watching Jack with an amused gleam in his eye. “I’m making a snow angel,” Jack said seriously.
“A face down snow angel?”
“Well, sure you can make them face-up if you’re lame.”
Koz smirked and glanced around the clearing, his smile looking a little strained. “The forecast says we’ll be getting more snow this afternoon, then a storm tonight.”
“Told you,” Jack sat, climbing up into a crouch and gathering snow into a small pile in front of him. “So what’s that mean for our hunting trip?” Jack asked.
“Even if we had chains for the car, I’m not sure if we’d be able to get through the woods without sliding into every tree along the way. It’s not like there’s a nice, solid road under all this.”
“Sooo . . .” Jack trailed off, forming the pile into a ball.
Koz sighed. “So the hunt’s post-poned until this clears up.”
“Snow day!” Jack crowed, springing to his feet.
“Yes,” Koz said bemusedly. “Snow Da--
Jack’s snowball broke against his chest and crumbled apart.
Koz glanced down at his sweater and then back up at Jack. Without a word said, he turned around and headed right back into the cabin.
“Aw Koz!” Jack whined. “Come out here and fight me--
Koz appeared at the doorway again, his winter coat pulled on. He was pulling on his gloves with a very dangerous look in his eyes. He ran down the steps and then started full-speed toward Jack.
The younger man turned tail and ran for cover. “Oh crap!” He shrieked.
He darted for the tree line and put a large oak between him an Koz. He heard a flurry of motion behind him and then . . . nothing.
Jack peaked around the edge of the tree trunk, but the clearing was empty. He stepped away from the tree. Had Koz gone into the forest? Maybe back into the house?
He looked at the snow on the ground. There were his chaotic foot prints--then there were Koz’s coming from the cabin and then turning, heading around the side of the porch. Ha. They’d both chosen their vantage points then.
Jack crouched just behind his tree and gathered all the nearby snow into a pile, working quickly to form a line of snowballs. Every so often he’d glance up to see if Koz was lining up an attack, but all was quiet. Too quiet.
With an arsenal ready, Jack held a ball in one hand and stared at the corner of the cabin, waiting for Koz to show his face, but he didn’t.
So he was waiting for Jack to make a move, huh? Jack picked up a snowball in each hand, his fingers tingling with the cold, and crept from his hiding place. He made his way to the opposite side of the cabin, hoping to circle around the back and catch Koz laying in wait to trap him. He poked his head around the back corner of the cabin and immediately got a face-full of snow.
“Ha!” Koz cried as Jack sputtered. He retreated, wiping snow from his eyes. Apparently Koz had predicted he’d try to come around behind him. Apparently, Koz was actually good at this.
With a huge grin and a tremendous yell, Jack darted back into Koz’s field of aim, this time he was prepared for the attack and he dove to the ground. Koz’s snowball sailed over his head. The look on Koz’s face was almost as sweet as his indignant yelp as Jack returned fire while lying on his side, hitting Koz squarely in the face.
While Koz rubbed snow from his eyes, Jack hit him with a second ball, then bolted away from the cabin to where the car was parked. He scooped hasty handfuls of snow from the car’s hood and threw one at Koz’s shoulder before he had to dodge an attack.
Koz ducked behind the other side of the car and Jack ran around the front and hit him. Koz ran around the back and they ended up with the car between them again, but this time on opposite sides of the vehicle.
Koz threw a snoball and ducked just as Jack threw one back.
“Missed!” Koz cried, crouched beside the car.
Jack spread his arms and jumped against the car’s side. The pile of snow that had been on the car’s roof wound up on Koz’s head. He laughed aloud at Koz’s indignant squak.
Then Koz was scrambling away from the car and running back toward the porch. Jack paused long enough to arm himself, then gave chase. He managed to hit Koz in the butt as he ran across the clearing in front of the cabin.
Jack chased Koz to the treeline, where Koz ducked behind a large oak. Jack’s hiding spot from before. “My arsenal!” Jack cried just as Koz reappeared with two snow balls in hand. He laughed a comical, maniacal laugh as he open fired. Jack scrambled across the clearing, stumbled, and fell dramatically to the ground as Koz pelted him again and again. “I give!” Jack gasped, exhilerated and laughing. “I surrender!”
The volley stopped and Koz came toward him, still snickering. His face was red and his eyes shone with amusement. He grinned down at Jack. “Don’t start what you can’t finish!” He teased.
Oh, Jack planned on finishing this . . . later. He sat up, gasping to catch his breath. “You got me,” he admitted. “I know when I’m beaten.” He looked around at the clearing. It was thoroughly trodden on. “Now the yard’s all messed up, how about we build a snowman?”
Koz let out a breath of a laugh. “All right,” he said.
“You get the base started,” Jack ordered as he started gathering snow once more.
That earned him another chuckle. “Yes, sir.”
Koz trod through the snow just a few paces away, crouched down, and mimicked Jack, gathering up as much as he could, until there was a ring of at least a foot around the base where only grass remained. The usual sounds of the forest were muted, the loudest sound was their own breathing, which was accompanied by plumes of steam.
Jack worked quickly. When his mound was about the length of his forearm he deemed it good. It wasn’t quite the size he would like to use for a snowman, but it would serve his purposes. Jack was very careful not to break the snow apart as he lifted the big ball and brought it to where Koz crouched.
Koz had done a good job patting the snowman’s base down so it would be compact enough to hold the snowman’s weight. He looked up as Jack approached and Jack saw the exact moment when he realized that Jack had no intention of making a snowman.
“Death before dishonor!” Jack shrieked as he dropped the pile of snow on Koz’s head.
He quickly leapt out of reach, although Koz didn’t move. Jack cackled as he took in the sight: Koz’s face all scrunched up, snow piled around his collar (no doubt sliding down his shirt), and his hair in complete disarray. He opened one eye and glared at Jack. He licked his lips, dislodging snow from around his mouth and somehow that made it even funnier.
Then Koz wrapped both arms around the base he’d been working on and lifted it. Jack tensed, ready to leap back when the whole thing crumbled apart in Koz’s arms.
Jack couldn’t breathe, he was laughing so hard.
Koz jumped up and grabbed him around the middle and hauled him down into the snow. “You little brat!” He growled, laughing himself. “How do you like this?” He hauled back on Jack’s coat and suddenly a handful of snow was shoved down Jack’s back.
Jack let out a helpless squak as he pushed himself up, yanked on the back of his coat, and arched his back, trying to dislodge the snow while Koz fell back onto the ground, taking his turn to laugh at Jack.
Jack managed to shake the last of the snow from his jacket, but there was a cold wet patch on the inside that served as a reminder: do not cross Koz when there is snow at hand. He was laughing too hard to care though. Jack dropped to the ground, snickering still when his gaze fell on the pile that’d once been Koz’s snowman and he burst out laughing again.
It took a few moments for their laughter to subside, and even then they were both still breathless. “I think,” Koz panted. “I think it’s time for a cocoa break.”
His and Jack’s eyes met again, and that set them off laughing again.
Comments
AzrielEver
Heart-fucking-eyes Aggie
