TITLE: Sunbow, Montana
AUTHOR: Macx
RATING: R-ish
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters belong to me, sadly. They are owned by people with a lot more money
Author's Voice of Warning (aka Author's Note):
English is not my first language; it's German. This is the best I can do. Any mistakes you find in here, collect them and you might win a prize The spell-checker said everything's okay, but you know how trustworthy those thingies are...
FEEDBACK: Loved
BETA: okamimyrrhibis
I don't know where this bunny came from, but it hung around for months until I actually wrote this fic.
It's been written. Bunny is happy.
Don't sue me.
Enjoy.
hides
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Three days. Three days to himself. No job, no pressing personal matters to attend to. Just three days to do what he wanted, even if it meant stay in bed all day.
Time to go out for a ride.
Maybe pack his gear and spend time in the mountains. Oh, yeah, that sounded cool. It wasn't too hot throughout the days yet, the nights weren't freezing any more, and he knew a few spots where even a storm could be out-weathered should one surprise him.
Yes, camping sounded fine.
Now all he needed to do was convince his partner of that.
Jace Marshall rolled out of bed, scratched himself, stretched, took in the glorious early morning, and headed for the bathroom. Twenty minutes later he was showered and shaved and ready to rumble, so to speak.
According to the empty spot he had found at his side in bed this morning, Cade was already up and about. It was typical. The man was a morning person. As well as a night owl. How he did it was beyond Jace.
Following the smell of coffee he padded down into the kitchen, still smiling. There was the usual chaos on the couch table from last night. Crumbled up chips bag, empty popcorn bowl, beer cans, all empty too. His stack of National Geographic magazines was piling high next to 'his' spot on the couch, and the Planet Earth DVD was still in the DVD player.
The kitchen looked almost spotless. There was a used coffee mug – Cade's – and a read newspaper on the table. The coffee pot was still half full and Jace made a beeline for it, filling his own mug and enjoying the routine morning caffeine boost.
His gaze fell out the kitchen window onto the hard-packed ground in front of the farm building. Taking his coffee, he stepped out onto the porch, breathing in the crisp air. Goose bumps crawled over his arms, but he didn't go back inside for a jacket. Jace simply stepped into a sun spot and shivered a little as he warmed up.
The old barn was casting shadows that would soon dwindle away until late afternoon. Jace kept his car in there, an old white 1981 Porsche 935 Turbo that was still running faithfully. He kept tinkering with it and it hadn't deserted him yet. Cade's Mustang was usually parked beside it. It was the complete opposite, being a new model, gleaming black, but also the pride of its owner. And he could be proud. Jace had no idea how his lover had managed to get his hands on the rare S281 RF Supercharged, but Barrett knew people who knew people who again knew of people who might be able to get him what cars he wanted. Legally, of course.
Cade could spend whole weekends with his car, talking about engines, brakes, drivelines, aerodynamics, tweaking that, getting more horsepower out of this, and Jace listened to it all with a fine smile. That smile usually grew a lot wider when he recalled making out in that sleek, black car, or on it.
Jace loved his home. He had inherited it from his great-grandfather years ago, but hadn't moved in until five years back. Ever since starting his job in Sunbow, a small but thriving Montanan town. He had grown up in such a town, then gone off to college, then joined the Army, only to come back here not much later.
First Lieutenant Jace Marshall had retired after twelve years of service and had turned to working whatever jobs came his way. Financially he wasn't all too bad off. The government had paid well for Jace's work, something he couldn't talk about most of the time, something that was so covered up, it didn't even exist. That his last job had almost killed him and handicapped him for future government work had helped in the money department, too. He had been set with quite an amount of money.
It helped to have a second income, though.
Speaking of which…
Jace smiled as he discovered the steadily moving shape in the distance that soon became a human being. Barrett Cade was the town's Sheriff. He had grown up together with Jace, they had been to the same school, just two classes apart, but unlike Jace he had stayed in Sunbow to become first Deputy and then Sheriff himself after old Ben Prowl had retired.
And Sunbow never had a more attractive one, Jace mused, smiling widening.
Not that any of the female, or male, population had a chance. Cade might not be the world's romantic man, he never showed affections in public, he came across as hard-assed as Jace's old captain in the Army, but underneath all that cold and distant exterior lay something only Jace had ever touched.
They had been together for almost as long as Jace had been back. Before that it had been an on and off affair. A wild one, too. Filled with passion and fights for dominance in each encounter. Jace was a hard-assed soldier, Cade was a tough-nut cop.
Square hole, round peg, he thought. But they fit. By God, they fit. It was amazing.
What was even more amazing was the acceptance in town. Mayor Orrin Paxton had only raised an eye brow when Sheriff Cade had moved in with Jace, and over a beer had asked him what had taken them so long.
Barrett raised an eyebrow as he discovered Jace, dressed in his sweats and a ratty gray t-shirt, and stopped on the porch. He was in his running outfit and Jace appreciated how it looked on the other man. Sleek, black, dangerous… so much like his car, so much like the cop he was.
Damn, he was one sexy man.
"Up already?"
Jace grinned. "Sun woke me. I was thinking about going up into the mountains. Maybe swing by old Cooper's place. See if he needs something."
And listen to the old man's war stories, Jace thought to himself. No one knew how much of it was true or how much Cooper had made up. He seemed to believe everything he told whoever was willing to listen.
"Three days off and you want to run off into the wilderness," came the disinterested comment.
"It's relaxing."
It got him a snort and Cade walked inside. Jace trailed after him. He watched the lithe, athletic form of his lover as Cade shed his sweat jacket and he felt something stir at the sight of the t-shirt clad back. Barrett kept fit because of his job and it showed. By God, it showed just deliciously well.
They had had so little time together lately. Cade had been busy in town since someone had taken a knife to some cattle and horses, trying to mutilate them. He had caught the guy – some deranged lunatic from two towns over, high on a new drug called EnergonX – after three weeks of non-stop investigation. It hadn't helped that Jace had had two out of town jobs, helping a neighbor set up a new fence and then drive a herd of cattle onto the new grounds just before that.
Yesterday had been the first night spent together. Not that much had happened. Barrett had been too tired and Jace had been more than content to watch his lover sleep. The hard lines in the sharply defined face smoothed out when Cade relaxed and he sometimes made soft noises in his sleep when Jace touched him.
Not that he would ever admit to them. At least verbally. His body language was enough, though. Three stressful weeks had finally taken their toll and Barrett had fallen asleep on the couch, been barely awake enough to get upstairs, and then just coordinated enough to let Jace steer him to bed. Jace knew that should there have been a situation demanding his lover's alertness, Cade would have been fully awake in seconds, no matter what, but this was their safe haven.
"Interested?" Jace now asked.
Cade turned and ran dark eyes up and down Jace's body. Marshall felt something hot flush through him. When the other man walked over to him, movements so smooth and controlled like stalking a prey, the flush turned into a veritable rush. Damn, they had known each other too long for him to go all hormonal, but apparently those treacherous body functions had different ideas.
"I could be tempted," was the dark reply.
And that voice did the rest. Shit!
"Really? What'd I have to do?" Jace asked.
A strong hand grabbed him, pulled him close. "Stay."
"Wasn't this about tempting you into going camping with me?"
Damn, it was always hard to ignore Cade's body. He had seen it in all its glory so many times before, but the past draught had made Jace highly sensitive to his own needs.
"Tempt me."
His free hand was clutching the back of the sweaty shirt, black, Cade's favorite color, and Jace looked into the dark brown eyes – a contrast to his own gray-blue ones. There was a taunting smile in there, lips curing in that devilishly handsome face, and he felt his own answering smile.
"You sayin' we should stay here?"
"I'm saying," Barrett drawled.
Then his lips were on Jace's and the other man reacted with the same fervor and strength, giving as good as he got, teeth and lips and tongues dueling. When they finally separated, both looked flushed and there was an unholy light in Cade's eyes.
"Still want to leave?"
"Well… you might have to tie me down…"
"That can be arranged."
Okay, now there was definitely more than a rush. His whole body was taking interest.
Barrett laughed. "You are kinky, Jace."
"I learned from the best."
Cade's finger's were suddenly under his shirt and trailing over his skin, making him squirm. They found his scars unerringly, following their jagged path. Jace was starting to breathe harder. As disfiguring as they were, having Barrett touch them this way had always been quite erotic. He still remembered the look in those hard eyes the first time Cade had seen them after his honorable discharge from the Army, when they had lain together in Cade's bed. It had been a frightening expression that had softened into something neither had ever spoken out loud.
Jace had known that this might truly last between them then and there. A week later Barrett had moved in.
"Three days?" Cade now asked.
"Three days," Jace confirmed, suppressing a groan when one hand slid under his sweat pants and squeezed his ass.
"Then we should make the best of it."
"Probably."
Cade was kissing him again, pushing him back against the wall, demanding and taking over control. Jace let him – for now. He knew he would have more than ample chance to return the favor, and when his pants pooled around his ankles and his lover was on his knees in front of him, he forgot all about control and just let himself feel what he had missed for almost two months.
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Barrett studied the naked man with him in bed. They did that a lot, lying together, running hands over the other's skin. Cade had grown addicted to the easy contact, to the warmth in his lover's eyes, the way the slender form moved with him, moved for him, under him, above him… the way Jace was at his side, no matter what.
His fingers touched the jagged lines on his partner's back and sides. Scars had remained of the terrible injuries that had nearly killed the one person who had touched him deeper than anyone else ever before or after. The scars showed Barrett just what Jace had gone through on his last assignment, what had nearly killed him, but he had come out stronger.
He ran explorative finger tips over the marks, drawing a little hitched breath out of the man sharing his bed with him. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss against the closest scar, letting his tongue bathe it briefly before drawing back and looking into those brown eyes.
Cade had never asked what exactly had happened. He could read it in Marshall's eyes. He had never asked much about what Jace did while working for the Army in all the years they had known each other, and he understood that most of it was classified, had probably never happened or some shit like that.
Moving in together had been like a natural next step to Jace's return. Their prior encounters, mostly pure sex, some snuggles, a too short good-bye, then months of no contact, had come together into this: an equal partnership. A relationship that ran much deeper than just fuck buddies. Maybe it had been the sight of those scars, a vivid picture of how close Cade had come to losing this man, that had finally made him make his move. Maybe it had just been this long, long time of too little contact.
Cade had never understood just what the handsome guy girls lusted after had seen in him. Jace had been popular in school. Two years younger, bright, athletic, intelligent, the all-out good boy. Of course he had gotten into trouble, but what boy hadn't? Barrett hadn't been the most out-going personality; still wasn't, even in his job. He had repelled more people than he had attracted as bed-partners, but Jace hadn't been deterred by his manners. He had actually courted him.
Cade smiled a little.
Yes, Jace Marshall had courted Barrett Cade, and he had finally had success. A brief one-night stand had blossomed into something neither had wanted to define, had held tight over the years, and when Jace had come back from his Army time, Cade had been ready to have him here forever.
Harmonious times like these were too few. They knew how to fight, they had their own heads, they bickered and loved and yelled and made up and shared living space like every couple. Cade had made a vow to himself to be with this man, to share everything with him, weather all storms, and while they had both expected one over their rather open style of being a couple, there had only been mild rumblings. Those had quieted down a long time ago.
Jace sighed and turned, smiling lazily at Barrett. Those bright blue eyes were a sin. With a hint of gray, bright and open and filled with life. He leaned down and kissed his lover's lips.
"Lunch?" Jace asked when they parted.
"You cooking?"
"Only if you're up for frozen pizza 'cause I doubt I could get us anything more complicated without burning it."
Barrett chuckled and kissed him again. "I like pizza."
"You eat everything that doesn't run away on the count of three," Jace teased.
It got him a growl, but Jace pulled him into a passionate kiss, pulling him closer, skin to skin, and Barrett let him lead.
When they parted those bright blue eyes were darker now. "Pizza it is. But I need a shower first."
With that he slipped out of bed, giving Cade a very good view of the tanned body. He grinned appreciatively.
No, he had no idea what he had done to attract this special man, but he would do anything to keep him. Jace was his and he was possessive, he knew. Not easily jealous, though.
The sound of the shower told him that Jace was cleaning up, so he slid out of bed and slipped into his clothes. He walked down into the kitchen, rooted through the freezer, found two ham and mushroom pizzas, and fired up the oven.
Leaning against the counter, his eyes gazed out the window. It was sunny outside, perfect, wonderful, just another day. He would enjoy the time he had with his lover before Jace's next job took him out of town for two days. It was never long, but Cade had come to like company in the evening, share couch space, talk about work, listen to Jace's voice as he recounted his own day.
So… familiar. So normal.
He liked it.
Because he loved Jace,
Simple as that.
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A spring storm changed all plans. Jace wouldn't go out to Jack Wheeler's place to lend a helping hand or two. Wheeler and his 'business partner' Logan Grim owned an old ranch a few miles out of town and had steadily turned it into a junkyard. Wheeler called it an artist's place, since he and Grim were hammering away at the old junk and turning it into rather respectable looking, giant metal monsters. Dinosaurs, Jack told Jace proudly. And it was going to be a Jurassic Park of sorts, with people paying to see the art.
So far only tourists who actually got lost around here came to see the art, but Wheeler had made it into a tiny guide as an 'off the beaten path' attraction. He was immensely proud of it.
Logan was the strong and silent type, rarely speaking more than three words per hour, but he knew his trade. He was apparently a dinosaur fan and wanted to turn Sunbow into the American Drumheller just a few hundred miles up north, across the Canadian border. That they had no dinosaur bones or a possible archaeological site anywhere near by didn't sway him off his dream.
Their passion for old junk had cost Jack his wife already, but he didn't seem to mind. He was happy tinkering around, trying to get his contraptions to move, make noise, and find someone to put him on a permanent map of America's famous land marks. Grim was simply happy with bending metal into shape.
Jace slipped through the door, which was almost blown out of his hands, and shut it firmly, leaving the howling winds outside. He had secured the barn and taken a look around the house, just to make sure. The storm would last all day, according to the forecast, and only get worse. This was usually the time they holed up.
Cade was on the radio, talking to one of his deputies in town. He was dressed in his old jeans and an even older long-sleeved tee. Washed so often already that the pattern on the chest had faded into nothing. Black hair tousled, a hint of beard shadow… Jace knew he was close to drooling.
"Trouble?" he asked instead.
"Not yet. I'm on call.
"Cool. We've got all the snack food that's bad for us, a still working cable connection, and nothing to do but wait out the storm." Jace grinned. "How about it?"
Cade raised one brow. "You are insatiable, you know that?"
"I was talking sports channel and movies!"
It got him a snort. "Right."
"Buuuut," Jace continued, hooking a finger into the hem of his lover's jeans to pull him closer. "I'm open for suggestions."
"You always are."
They kissed slowly, with just the bare hint of tongue, and Jace watched the hard features soften. He knew the others would never believe it possible for Barrett Cade to be like this, but he did. It was all that counted. People still wondered what he saw in the Sheriff, how he could live with a man who so rarely cracked up emotionally. Cade was good in his job, liked by his deputies and not feared, hard but fair. Jace knew there was someone else underneath and that was the man he loved.
In the end it was snuggling together on the couch, watching a game, arguing about tactics and foolish moves and who was the best team this year. Barrett fought him over the remote control to see the end of a race until Jace surrendered, laughing.
There were no calls for the Sheriff the rest of the day or throughout the night as the storm roared around them, shaking the house, rattling at the windows, drowning out the sounds coming from the bed room.
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...And now to give you an idea who is who in case you didn't figure them out:
Jace Marshall – Jazz (the last name came from reading up on Jazz on Wikipedia and seeing that in some alternate version he was supposed to be called Marshall). G1 Porsche alt mode as his car
Barrett Cade – Barricade; hence the Mustang in the barn
Jack Wheeler – Wheeljack
Logan Grim – Grimlock; you did get the dinosaur hint, right?
Orrin Paxton – Orion Pax/Optimus Prime
Old Cooper – Kup
Sunbow – the production company from the G1 cartoon
Ben Prowl – do I have to spell it out? Prowl
Drumheller – a real place in Alberta/Canada. Been there, saw the dinos, went to Dinosaur Provincial Park, loved it
HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!