Cicely is taken directly from Northern Exposure - which I also don't own or have any professional involvement with. It's not a crossover it's more an ode. :)
Jacks eyes met Ennis's and an expectant smile crossed his face. Ennis tightened his grip on the hardness in his hands.

Slowly Ennis began to push.

"Wait." Jack said. Ennis was exhausted from the days work, frustrated and too eager. It was too tight. "Hold up Ennis…" Jack said soothingly, guiding him. "There, that's right."

It was the same and different every time. Never knew exactly what to expect. Ennis pushed slightly. There was a little resistance. "It's not gonna fit."

"I'm gonna make it fit. Come on push." A little resistance then it finally slid in, releasing satisfied sighs from both men.

"I'm ready Ennis." Jack grunted under the strain and repositioned himself so he wouldn't lose his hold. Ennis grabbed his hammer and began pounding.

And in minutes it was done.

Ennis stumbled back, his back falling against the wall. He was covered in sweat and absently whipped away the wet from his chest and arched his head back. Jack followed kissed him, his hand following the same trail down Ennis's chest, but more slowly, and appreciatively.

They then smiled and leaned into one another.

Finally that last of the kitchen cabinets was up.

"Thank God that's over."

"I hear ya."

"I told you it would fit."

Ennis subtlety glanced at the 3 inches of wood that was "shaved" from sides of the cabinet out the corner of his eyes , then looked back to Jack. Nodded his head and said "Yeah, you got a good eye there Jack," and kissed him again.

"Damn straight…"

The last of the days energy was spent and the men basked in the glow of a job long put off, long labored , and now done to good result.

Ennis rolledso that his body pressed Jack hard against the wall. He placed his hands up over Jacks head and placed his feet so Jacks was between his legs, and kissed him hard and fast, nicking his lip on Jacks teeth, the pain carried the slight taste of blood that just intensified his need. "Let's hit the shower…" Ennis turned and walked towards the bathroom pausing only once to look over his should as he unbuckled his belt.

Jack didn't know what it was about this project but after every cabinet that went up Ennis was a wild man…
As he took off after him, he was trying to decide which room was getting shelving next.


Ennis and Jack agreed on lots of things and disagree on lots more. But one thing that both held as a fundamental truth was that Holden and Rebecca Twist were angels if such a thing existed at all.

Holden Twist, Jack's cousin, looked like a younger cherubic version of Jack with sandy blond hair and about 50 extra pounds. As a boy, Holden held his older cousin in awe. Jack was utterly unlike the rest of his family that was patiently waiting for the end of the world. Jack was passionate, spontaneous, unpredictable and so unapologetically alive. A handsome figure and rodeo star, Holden remembered the rush of pride whenever he had the chance to watch Jack ride.

He was the only relative that ever went down to Texas to visit Jack and Lureen. Lureen was instantly taken with the young man. Jack tried repeatedly to explain that Holden was not representative of the family as a whole whenever Lureen insisted on having the rest of his family down to Texas.

Holden too, was held a bit queer by the family. He went away to college in Berkley California and returned a year ago married to a an elder Jewess (age 27) from New York. Men yelled, women cried and children looked in fear as if the couple was going to try at any moment to eat them. And in the tradition of the dysfunction called family, time went on and what was frighteningbecame familiar and what couldn't be accepted was simply ignored, and life went on as if the hiccup never occurred at all.

"I can't wait." Holden said looking at the ceiling.

Rebecca patted his chest as the laid in bed. "You are too funny, Holden. I've can honestly say I've never seen you this excited about visiting your family before. I can't wait to meet him."

"He's awesome. You are going to love him."

"You said he's living in the old troll house?" Holden had taken her to see the house once, and she loved it. She thought it reminded her of an English cottage from medieval woodcut.

"Yeah."

"With his friend."

"Yeah. Ennis Del Mar."

"You ever met him?"

"No, though I feel like I have. They've been friends for as long as I can remember. He talked about him all the time."

Rebecca knew what was coming. She met Holden in college because she was friends with his roommate. His roommate 'gay Pete.' No issue. Over the years he had never expressed a prejudice of any kind. She loved that about him. Yet, he seemed to be forcing himself to be oblivious as to Jack and Ennis's relationship. "Perhaps I'm thinking too much like a New Yorker…"

"What?"

"Nothing. Are you sure it's a good idea to just barge in on them unannounced."

"They've been here almost two months and still don't have a phone. Jack's not the kind to ask for help, and you know the condition of that place. I'm sure they could use some help.."

"Maybe they haven't contacted anyone because the are enjoying their privacy?"

"Privacy? Ok, now you are thinking too much like a New Yorker. We don't have privacy in Wyoming. I'm pretty sure there are ordinances against it." Rebecca sighed an placed her head on his chest. He didn't bite. That meant he knew too. Ok Holden. Let this play out your way.


"Surprise! Oh my God!"

"AHH!" "AHH!"

"Oh my, I'm sorry…"

"AHH!" "OH FUCK!"

"uhm… this is my wife Rebecca…"

Other than raising an eyebrow briefly when the two men jumped up naked, Rebecca gave no sign that the visit wasn't going exactly to plan. "Nice to meet you gentelmen! Holden why don't we give your cousin and his partner a few minutes to gather themselves.…."

And so went the initial introduction.


"You are surprised?"

"I had no idea…" Rebecca stared at Holden for a couple of minutes in silence. Realized he wasn't going to piece it together so she decided to help with a heavy sigh.

"This is your cousin Jack. The rodeo guy, vivacious and flamboyant…"

"I never said flamboyant!"

"Yes you did, but fine," she bent her fingers and continued " 'expressive and full of life' that moved across the state, into this house with his long time companion…"

"I never said companion!"

"Yes, Holden… yes you did, but fine, his long time "fishing-buddy" after they divorced their wives within a few weeks on one another... And this is the Ennis that, according to Jack's mom, Jack went on and on about…"

"Yeah… and?"

"Holden."

"Ok. Maybe I did suspect a little bit on some level that there was a possibility that they were… oh damn…" He shook his head. "This is an image that's going to stick for a while."


Ennis fought to keep his lunch down. This was it. It was all over. So soon and it was all over. Jack… He just watched Jack as he hastily looked for his cloths.. Ennis stumbled over to him and grabbed his shoulders and stared into those eyes. He would regain strength if he could just look into his eyes. Jack was scared too, but for different reasons… Holden wouldn't say nothing. But he didn't want to lose his little cousin's respect, he didn't want to see disgust in his eyes every time the crossed paths. His own concerns vanished as he looked at Ennis. His eyes intense a dark. He was trembling. Jack knew that Ennis was seeing him like he had seen Earl. "Jack we gotta be ready to go."

"Ennis…"

"Jack… I can't see you hurt.." Ennis was stumbling on words, "Jack… I don't care what we do, I… I'm not ready to lose you yet." Ennis head was swimming and he thought he was going fall down. Jack held him close. "I don't care what happens, Jack. I've never been happy like this. Only thing I'd change is that I'd have taken you up on your offer the first time…" Jack stoked Ennis hair as they held on another, head on each others shoulders.

"Holden's not gonna come after us. He don't like conflict. Never did. He won't say anything. It's gonna be ok - it's gonna be ok. Come on, get dressed. People here don't like to know stuff they aren't ready for… and let me tell ya, people aren't ready for much… We can tell em we was cleaning and didn't want to get our cloths dirty… He don't need to really believe it.. .he just has to tell himself that he believes it… "


As the door slowly opened, Rebecca's first thought was what a handsome couple they made. The men walked with small measured steps like convicted felons to the gallows. She felt a wave of sympathy and then an anger that the world could damage someone so deeply.

Holden saw it too. It drove though him and he was suddenly grounded again. His face lit up when he saw Jack and he ran up to the porch.

"I ain't denying you Jack, never again." Ennis said softly and took up his partners hand. This small show of support so difficult and sincere grabbed at Rebecca's heart. She instantly like this Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar.

"Jack, you old son of a bitch!" Holden embraced him. "It's so good to see you. I've been calling your Mom weekly for a month to see when we could come up. We knew you didn't have a phone yet, and I figured with all the work you have it might be a while so I thought we'd just come on over. Gosh Guys, I'm really sorry for interrupting like I did…." Holden looked down to his feet. "I get a little carried away sometimes."

Oh boy that trait runs through the whole damn family, Ennis thought. He began wondering if they should put locks on the windows too.

"I assume your are Ennis Del Mar!" Holden held out a hand to Ennis who was slow to act still shocked…
"And if you aren't, I think you are going to be in whole lot of trouble when he gets back."

Ennis was guarded, still looking for the violence behind the smiling eyes. He tried to see him with a tire iron, but he couldn't make the picture form in his mind. "Nice to meet you."

Rebecca came up and Holden introduced her. She shook the men's hands and they quickly removed their hats. "Pleasure ma'am."

"It's a pleasure to meet you two, I've heard so much about you I feel like I know you already!"

Holden insisted on treating the guys to dinner at Roslyn's café, in town. The troll house was officially part of the town of Cicely, which is where the Holden and Rebecca lived as well. As the four talked in the car on the way to the café, Rebecca wondered if perhaps on some level Holden knew what he was doing after all. It was all out in the open and they all could move onto other things. This worked out nicely. And damn. What nice bodies those two cowboys had… it was a good day.