Sierra Madres, 11/10/70, Evening – by morrobay1990

He heard the truck before he saw it, then it came around the curve and pulled over behind his. He threw his cigarette down, crushed it under his boot and walked over to Jack.

"Kinda late there, ain't ya?" But his tone was soft, not angry. Shit, he'd made Jack wait time and again, no big thing that he was late this once.

"Had a fuckin' flat. Let's go, I'll follow you. How far up we gotta go, anyway? I'm sick of bein' in this damn truck."

Jack was pissed, Ennis figured it was the flat tire that had him in a bad mood.

"Shit, least an hour, prob'ly more like two. You wanna get out and stretch your legs, have a beer...I got some in the cooler."

"No, I wanna get the hell on the road and get there."

"Okay, okay...shit, I didn't give you a flat..." Jack didn't hear the rest and didn't care.

Ennis walked back to his truck, got in and slammed the door, put it in gear and started up the mountain.

Well, this was startin' off just great. Why couldn't it be like last time?

It was more like two hours when they finally pulled up in front of the cabin and got out, Jack first to the door, "Hurry up and get the damn door open, will ya?"

"Jesus, Jack, what the hell's wrong with you?"

Jack walked in and looked around.

"Well, that's fucking great. Bunk beds. You bring your kids with you, or what? Shit, doubt I'll even fit
in one a them things."

"You wanna sleep outside in a tent, fine with me."

Ennis didn't know what he'd done to put Jack in such a bad mood, but he knew he got in moods like this when he missed Jack more than he could stand...

He walked up behind Jack and put his arms around him, hoped he wouldn't pull away...they'd both waited so long for this very thing, to be in the same room with each other...to breathe the same air...to touch.

And he didn't pull away, dropped his head down wearily and rubbed his cheek against Ennis's arm, "Sorry..."

"It's ok...what got you goin', the tire?"

Yeah, Jack, what got you goin'?

Tell him...tell him it wasn't the tire...tell him it was your separate lives...living for the two weeks a year...
everything they had to wait for...the nothing that was his life...tell him...tell him...

"Yeah, the tire."

Ennis let him go and moved to the stove, put some wood in, struck a match, watched until the flames caught and flickered.

"Be warm enough in here pretty soon. Heard the weather report, goin' down into the twenties this week. I'm gonna bring in the stuff from the trucks." He'd brought a few things, mostly beer and cigarettes, whiskey... Jack usually brought the food.

Jack reached out and grabbed his arm as he passed by on the way to the door, "Sorry...I'm glad to see you, real glad. This is a nice place...you done good. And I guess those beds'll hold us... hope they don't break."

His smile was weak...it was enough for Ennis.

The One, by red2blue

Jack was jolted out of sleep by a cry that cut through his gut, heart slammed against the ribcage, cold sweat breaking.

Ennis? What the fuck?... He tried to shrug off the shreds of haziness from his drowsy mind…

He was in bed, with Ennis… No, not a bed really, a bunk bed, barely fitting the both a them in, his back pressed tight into Ennis's front, both naked… The cabin… Don's cabin that Ennis'd borrowed for them… them arriving in the evening… what time s'it?...

Jack had been in a foul mood after sixteen hours of high-tailing across four states, a flat that'd made him late, so late that he'd skipped his lunch, stopping only to relieve himself, refill his coffee thermos and buy some chips… Then when he'd stepped in the cabin 'n seen the bunk beds… Fuck!... Well, t'was not quite what he'd expected and he'd almost lost it. He'd wanted so much for it to be good, like their last time in April… But then, it wasn't Ennis's fault either, and it'd made him feel even worse…

Their first fuck'd been frantic, almost joyless and ended too fast, botha been so desperate, wanting to reach the finish line so much… so that when they'd gotten there it'd been like an anticlimax. Then, after a quick and mostly silent dinner Jack'd shed his clothes and collapsed in bed…

"No, Jack! No!"

Jack's heart squeezed at the desperation and grief in Ennis's sob, almost a howl choked back mercilessly down his throat. Ennis's arm, draped over Jack's midsection, flexed violently, squashing their bodies even tighter together.

"Ennis…"

He tried to loosen Ennis's death grip on him, to turn around, but Ennis wouldn't let go, his face buried between Jack's shoulders, just below his nape. He was shaking.

"Ennis, wake up, cowboy. S'alright, jus' a bad dream, you hear?..."

Ennis froze, body gone rigid. He was awake now but didn't loosen his hold of Jack, just sagged a little behind him.

Then, without a word, his hand started roaming blindly, feverish over Jack's front, stroking his chest, his face, then down to his stomach and after a hesitant moment cupping his placid dick, touching it gently in a sexless gesture, then up again, back to Jack's chest, finally resting over his heart… As if Ennis was making sure that Jack was truly in his arms… In one piece… Unharmed…

After a still moment Ennis let out a rugged sigh and whimpered "Jack… Oh, Jack!.."

His cheek was wet against the back of Jack's shoulder.

"Shhh, s'alright, cowboy. Am right here jus' fine… It's jus' a bad dream…"

He stroke Ennis's arm that was still clutching at him, tried his best to gentle his cowboy down, like he'd do when Bobby woke up sometimes all scared and teary during a summer night thunder storm. Gradually, their caressing touches gained purpose, turning needy and heated, and soon both caught fire and were ablaze…

But they made it slow and tender this time, each trying to give the best he had to the other… holding him, loving him… taking him in the way he was, trying to let him know without saying that t'was him, t'was him… he was the one… you are the one… the only one…for always…

And when they finally came down from their heaven back into the night, still glowing from the joy and warmth, inside and out both, Ennis pressed his mouth into Jack's nape for a moment then breathed out "Jack… I…" and that was enough for Jack.

Soundtrack: Said I Loved you but I Lied, by Michael Bolton