Chapter 2: Got Your Goat
"You said they stopped Travis," Wes said flatly, but he made fast work of the dishes he was currently scrubbing.
"Well, technically those dreams did stop. This is just a different type of dream-"
"You mean nightmare," Wes corrected, now watching Travis out of the corner of his eye. His partner sighed and began mumbling to himself. Travis slowly wiped off the wet dish he held before placing it on the counter to his left.
"You're barely getting any sleep, are you?"
"They aren't even scary like the other ones Wes. I can handle it-"
"Hold on," Wes interrupted. "Since when is waking up screaming from sleep not a nightmare?"
Travis rolled his eyes. "Look Wes, it's not even that serious man. And I wasn't screaming-"
"Travis, there is obviously some deeper problem," Wes rattled off, handing Travis another dish to dry. His face was contorted in irritation which usually masked concern. Travis gave a sideways glance at Wes before taking the dish from him. He loved that Wes cared and maybe he had a point.
"I guess you're rig-"
"This whole thing could start effecting the way we work."
Travis' face fell. "…Of course that's why you care." He picked up the dish he held wanting this whole discussion to end now. He thought Wes cared. Wes did in fact confess his feelings for Travis, Travis reciprocated. But since Wes mentioned work, of all things…He even tried admitting Wes was right.
"What exactly is that supposed to mean Travis?"
Travis could see out of the corner of his eye that Wes stopped scrubbing to gape at him. He knew his face looked disappointed; a sense of quiet emitting from him, eyebrows knit together, mouth downturned in a frown as he dried another dish.
"Our job is the most important thing right? That's why you're worried?" Travis didn't look up and avoided seeing the expression of shock on Wes' face. "Right? That's the only thing you ever care about."
"Why would you even ask me that Travis?!" Wes grit out. "Of course that isn't the only reason why I'm worried!"
"So our jobs come first then? Got it." Travis nearly slammed the plate he held on the counter and started walking away. He felt a hard tug pulling him back to his place at the sink, whipping around to face Wes.
"Travis, Travis! Would you just listen to me-"
"Let go of me-"
"Could you just listen for a second Travis!?"
"Wes." Travis stops trying to escape from the hug Wes has trapped him in. He rolls his eyes at the ceiling. "I love you man, but you've got to let me go. Just give me some space. Please?"
"Just let me explain-"
"No Wes! No! I don't wanna hear any of that right now!"
"I don't want to leave you alone by yourself Travis, please!"
Travis ceases his struggling and let's Wes hold him. This is the most intimate they've been in a while and it had to start with a fight. Not intimate with kissing, or touching or flirting. Then again it had to be only about a week since the whole "I love you, you love me" thing. They'd been making out, going to work or cleaning Wes' nearly burnt down kitchen. Well, the kitchen that belonged to the hotel, as Travis kept reminding him.
Wes was right about Travis being alone not a good idea. It wasn't good for him nor either them really. But what else was he supposed to do? They were arguing again. Usually that called for them to separate to get their acts together. That method worked, but then again it didn't.
Travis needed to try something. Anything else that would work.
"Maybe, we should try one of the methods Dr. Ryan taught us then…"
He sighed after speaking, wincing in expectation of a resounding 'no' from Wes.
"Fine. And don't look so surprised. I want us to do better-"
"Yeah, so do I-"
Wes releases Travis slowly, locking his eyes with him.
"What do you think we should try first?"
"Well, what do you think we should do first?"
Wes closed his eyes wearily while a tight smile graced his features. "Travis, you suggested we do this. Now, what was it that you wanted to try?"
"Um, I was hoping yo-"
"Travis," Wes draws his name out before covering his face with his hands.
"Okay Wes! Okay, jeez man," Travis whined. "Let me think for a second."
Travis began pacing around the room, hands on his hips and head down in apparent deep thought.
"Okay, here's what we'll do!" Travis shouted after a few minutes elapsed. Wes jerked up slightly in shock at the sudden noise.
"Mff-"
"That's not funny Travis!"
"Alright, okay. What we'll do is-" Travis steps closer to Wes and grabs his hand. He leads him to the couch to settle into a seat. "Express ourselves!" He smiles widely while Wes just stares at him.
"What I mean is…take a deep breath-" Travis inhales. Wes blinks once.
"Exhale-!" Travis squeaks. "And say what we feel, in a clear, respectful way. You start-"
"You're done?"
Travis looks around. "Yess. Wes you can go now-"
"As I was trying to tell you earlie-"
"Hold on! You have to inhale…then exhale. Remember? Like Dr. Ryan taught us. I know you don't pay much attention to our sessions but c'mon-"
Wes quickly inhales and exhales through his teeth. "There! Satisfied!?"
"This isn't to satisfy me Wes, it's to help you."
Wes looked up to the ceiling sighing deeply. Travis is expecting another blowout but is pleasantly shocked when he feels the firm press of Wes's mouth against his. Their lips tug together for a bit and pop apart with a wet smack.
"What was that for?" Travis finds himself quietly asking once Wes leaned away.
Wes straightens his shirt, crossing a leg in an irritated fashion. "To make you be quiet for a minute."
"That's low Wes—mmmn!" Travis moans when Wes pulls him by the shoulders for a deeper kiss. This one lasted slightly longer than the first. Travis' eyes remained closed once it ended. He felt a sense of calm wash over him. One of the best things about this newfound relationship with Wes was the kissing was amazing. They should have done it a long time ago. Although, hopefully they can go beyond that in the nearest of futures.
"As I was saying, Travis." Wes backed away slightly, retaining eye contact. "I wanted to say that work isn't the only thing I care about. I do care about you. I wouldn't be asking about how your dreams were, or how you've been sleeping if I didn't care."
Travis nods, catching most of what Wes was saying as his brain was a little hazy still from the kisses. Okay, so he overreacted then. He wasn't sure if his ego would let him admit it to Wes though.
"Okay."
Wes narrows his eyes at him. "Just 'okay'?"
"Um…yeah. I understand." Travis nods again, avoiding eye contact with Wes.
"What's wrong now?"
"I…may have…'overreacted'," Travis said softly. He made a face once he saw Wes biting back a smile.
"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"
Travis threw his head back and groaned. "I said, 'I overreacted'! There. God."
He's surprised again when Wes kisses him for the third time today. This one lasts even longer than the first two and ends up into a full blown make-out session for the next hour.
They took a break from their kissing to get up and stretch out. Travis surveyed Wes and smiled.
"What are you smiling about?"
Travis laughs at the question before pulling Wes closer to him by the arm.
"You…" Travis replies. He's glad that little argument was solved so quickly. Thanks to him of course.
"Okay…"Wes shakes his head. They sat quietly for a minute. Random thoughts of how Travis ended up on Wes' couch, kissing and groping him frequently after such a long time of partnership, pass through Travis' mind. Speaking of which…
"So, you really dreamed about me every night?" Travis questioned. He snickers at the contortion of confusion and embarrassment on Wes' face.
"I- Where is this coming from exactly?"
Travis was genuinely curious about how Wes felt during that time. He knew Wes fell for him, but the other side of it…the planning of wanting Travis to see his side of things was still unknown to Travis.
"Tell me Wes, what made you seduce me?"
"SEDUCE YOU? What are you talking about Travis?!" Wes sputtered, quickly turning to face Travis.
"I mean the whole Strawfluffer waffles, the Barbara setup, and the operation breaking bad business? You know."
"First of all, Travis I didn't really seduce you. Didn't you say you were already in love with me? Second of all-"
"What do you mean you didn't really seduce me? With your cooking, spending time together, seeing you naked-"
"Travis I-"
"You wanted me to fall for you."
"No, not—Well, apparently I wasn't wrong to do so because you felt the same way!"
"You didn't answer my question-"
"And you aren't admitting you were already in love with me-"
"Why can't you answer my question first Wes? Just, tell me your side of things and the Captain won't hear about it-"
"Tell the CAPTAIN?! Travis, no you will not-"
Travis starts rubbing Wes' shoulder to calm him down. "Come on Wes, baby. Just explain your side of things. I already told you mine. Remember what Dr. Ryan says? We can't keep secrets like this in order to function as partners."
Wes sighs in defeat. "Okay. But I don't think she quite meant partners like in-
"What's the difference?"
Wes opens his mouth but stops himself from saying anything. Travis laughs heartily at the reaction.
"Very funny-"
"Enough stalling Wes, get on with the story. Of your side of how you seduced me-"
"Will you stop saying-Fine okay. I'll tell you how I thought of how to 'seduce you' as you call it…"
*starts making excuses* I'm sorry I haven't updated this in years ;_;
Hope this was enjoyed. I'll be updating it semi-regularly.
The next couple of chapters will basically be Wes focus from the first series, then I'll lead into a new story arc.
Thanks for reading, please review when you have the chance~
