Ooooo! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! (Both in this world and in reality! First major snowfall for the year happening as I write today! I LOVE it when art imitates life, don't you? LOL!) :D
Anyway! This one's really getting to be fun. And I'm working hard to try to get it done around Christmas, too! So thanks for the support! It keeps those creative fires burning! :D :D
Happy Reading!
Once Pepper had disappeared behind the closed bathroom door, Tony had slipped back on his shoes and socks, grabbed the shotgun, and trekked back outside. On his way past, he also grabbed the ax from the stump and made his way toward the trees along the river.
Over night, several inches of fresh snow had completely covered his footprints from the day before, so he was forced to forge a new path. Not a thrilling proposition, as the wet snow quickly chilled his feet (even more than they already were,) his ankles, calves, and his pant legs up to his knees. But the good news was, there were no new tracks indicating the mountain lion had been prowling around anywhere close by. Still, he knew he needed to keep his head on a swivel, and be prepared for any surprise attacks.
But that wasn't the only reason why he was looking all around him as he walked. He was also in search of something. He was on a mission, making his first priority finding he and Pepper a Christmas tree. Sure, they wouldn't have much for ornaments, but it was all in the name of cheering her up, and giving her the best Christmas he could, given the circumstances.
But so far, on his path, he hadn't seen what he would call the ideal tree. So he veered off the obvious route to the river to walk farther back into the trees, and farther away from the water, to continue his search. His breath billowed out in clouds of steam as he marched along, having to step high in and out of the drifts. It was a workout, to say the least, and the sound of his quickened breathing and heartbeat thundered in his ears. But he noticed this was really all he could hear, as the stillness of the heavy snow falling all around him created an auditory damper. Despite his heightened sense of awareness for any sign of the big cat, he found his surroundings to be very tranquil. Big difference between here and the sounds of the city, he thought, not being able to remember the last time he'd been in a place as still as this. In short, it was a very welcome change of pace.
Soon, he came to a group of smaller trees in and among the tall Blue Spruce trees that made up the dense forest around the cabin and throughout the canyon. They were quite picturesque, as the snowfall had blanketed their tops and ends of their branches. Their needles were short, thick, and bluish-green in color, giving the trees their name, and their boughs were full and quite long on the bottom, but tapered in length to the top, giving them a perfect cone shape. He even spied some not-yet-sprung-open baby pine cones tucked into some of the branches on several of the trees, giving them added woodsy character. And they smelled heavenly. Tony ran his hand down the length of one of the branches, the sturdy, prickly needles springing back into place as his closed fingers brushed over them. He smiled. "Perfect," he purred, delighted to have found what he was looking for.
"Okay, my pretty maids, all in a row," he said jovially, standing back to survey his choices. "Which one of you gets to go home with me?" He knew the ceiling in the living room of the cabin was around 9 feet tall, so that ruled out the tallest of the bunch, which stood at least 12 feet high. But he also didn't want to choose one that would reach clear to the ceiling. It would be too heavy. And given he knew they'd only have the kindling bucket, at best, to put the trunk into for the stand, stability would be an issue.
Then he spied it. "Ahhh," he said, moving to the one that had caught his eye. It stood around 6 feet tall, with space on the bottom to cut it down without marring any of the branches that made up its shape. He circled the tree once to check for uniformity, and then smiled with deep satisfaction. "Oh, Pepper's gonna love you," he cooed giddily to the tree. Then, quickly, he propped the shotgun up against a neighboring tree, gripped his ax in both hands, and began to chop it down at the base, the sound reverberating loudly throughout the forest.
XxXxXxXxXx
It didn't take long before Tony felled the tree, and was well on his way again, shotgun slung over the crook of his arm with the breach open, and carrying the ax in that hand, while dragging the tree behind him with the other. He walked back in the direction of the cabin with the intention of dropping it nearby, so he could continue on to the river. And once he came back out into the open, and spied the cabin, he did exactly that, walking only about another one hundred yards before plopping the tree down on the ground, along with the ax, and turning toward the inlet.
As he walked, he soon heard the soft trickling sound of the water, and took a deep breath, anxiously hoping to find fish in the makeshift trap he'd set up the day before. He got to the waters edge, and bent down to one knee as he strained to see through the icy water. It looked as if all of the creamed corn that he'd used for bait had disappeared. But, much to his disappointment, no fish were caught in the trap.
Tony huffed. "Damn," he grumbled, now wondering what they were going to do for food that day. But something else worried him as well. If there aren't any fish here, where did the corn go?, he thought, though it didn't take long to deduce exactly what had most likely happened to it. The current wasn't swift enough to have carried it away that fast, and even it if was, there would have been a few kernels of evidence left behind. "Double damn," he muttered, his temper flaring at how much of a nuisance this mountain lion was turning out to be.
Just then, he heard some rustling in the dried reeds a few yards away. Tony scrambled to his feet, his eyes widening as his heart leaped into his throat, thinking the worst. He quickly cocked both hammers on the gun and raised it to his shoulder, before he put his cheek to the stock and stared down the barrel, ready for whatever appeared. The animal making the racket suddenly emerged, and Tony's eyes narrowed. "Oh, buddy! You picked the wrong day to show up here!" he said, before he pulled the first trigger and then the second.
XxXxXxXxXx
Pepper's chest heaved. She brought a shaky hand to her mouth, trying to steady herself. Then she marched a few steps from the door way out on the porch, the cold instantly biting all of her exposed, damp skin. But she hardly noticed. She tightly gripped the towel she'd wrapped around herself, desperate to see something, anything that would indicate Tony was safe. "Tony!" she finally cried out. But it was no use. The sound of her voice was instantly muffled in the heavy snow, as if she hadn't spoken at all. So she assumed he couldn't have heard her calling him, and wouldn't know to respond even if he was safe. Her heart pounded even harder at the horrifying thoughts now rushing her into mind, and she knew she was left with only one choice- throw he clothes on, and go look for him, even if it meant she'd meet the same fate.
But just as she was turning to go back into the house, she saw movement in the distance, and she gasped, realizing what it was she was seeing. It was Tony, marching through the snow, with some kind of creature dangling by its neck in one hand, and carrying the shotgun in the other. He spied her, and grinned, stopping to hold up his trophy-a dead, Canadian goose- for her to see, thinking she'd be just as proud of it as he was.
However, he did not get the kind of response he expected from her. Instead, Pepper collapsed in the doorway, her shoulders shaking as she totally lost her composure, and began to sob uncontrollably.
"Pepper?" he said, frowning in confusion. But suddenly, his heart jumped, and he began to panic. "Oh, God, what happened?!" he said to himself. He dropped the goose and the gun where he stood, and took off running to her. "Pepper?!" he cried out, before falling to his knees in front of her once her reached the doorway. "What's wrong, baby? What happened?!" he begged, quickly surveying her for any kind of obvious trauma, and then looking at her intently, his eyes wide.
"I...h-heard the...gunshot, and...and..." she choked out, and Tony instantly understood what had occurred.
He rolled his eyes in regret that he'd frightened her so badly, and pulled her into his arms. "Hey, hey, come here," he said, holding her close, and she obliged by wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. He rubbed her back, trying to soothe her, as she wept softly on his shoulder. "I'm sorry! God, I didn't even...I mean it didn't even occur to me that you might think..." he stammered. He stopped talking and turned his head to softly kiss her temple before he continued. "It's okay, Pep. I'm okay. Alright?" he said, before pulling back to look at her.
"You are?" she murmured. Her face was tear-stained, and her eyes were reddened as she gazed into his.
He cupped her cheek, wiping away a tear with the pad of his thumb, and giving her a soft smile, secretly touched she was so concerned about him. He nodded. "Yeah, honey. I am," he assured her.
She glanced down at his clothes. A few dark red blotches dotted his shirt and pants. "But...there's blood!" she gasped, looked at him in alarm.
Tony looked down to see what she'd spotted, and he smiled sheepishly at her. "Oh, that?" he asked. "That's from the goose," he explained.
"Oh!" Pepper said, exhaling in relief, and smiling. She glanced past his shoulder, and then back at him. "So...no mountain lion?" she asked cautiously. "You didn't see him?"
Tony shook his head. "Not even a footprint," he said. "Coast was clear."
Pepper sighed heavily, and put a hand to her chest. "Thank God," she replied. "So? Did you find any fish?" she asked hopefully.
"Uh..." Tony said, debating whether or not to tell her his theory as to why there weren't any. But he quickly decided against it, not wanting to upset her further. "No, unfortunately," he said simply. "Not this time."
"Oh," Pepper said, her voice a little disappointed. "So, thank goodness for the goose, then!" she said, optimistically, her eyes brightening.
Tony chuckled. "And you say I can't be a mountain man," he joked, making Pepper giggle. He smiled, happy to see she'd calmed down.
"I stand corrected," she joked back. "You've saved the day, Daniel Boone." They laughed together, and then she reached up to softly peck his lips. She patted his chest, giving him a loving smile. "I'm just glad you're alright," she said. "That scared the bejesus out of me! I thought for sure something had happened to you!"
"Well, besides having solid blocks of ice for feet, I'm perfect," he teased.
Pepper scoffed. "Oh, Tony! You and those damned dress shoes!" she scolded. "Get those off this minute!"
Tony pursed his lips, and shook his head defiantly. "No can do, Pep," he told her. "I've gotta go back for the gun, the goose, annnnnnd, while you were soaking in the tub, I got a little surprise for you," he purred with a smirk, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
"A surprise? Besides the goose? What else could you possibly have for me?" Pepper asked, looking at him curiously.
"Ah, ah, ah! That's for me to know, and for you to find out. Now," he said, grasping one of her hands in both of his and bringing it to his chest. Pepper tried to hide a giddy smile. He continued. "As much as I am loving this ensemble you are currently sporting..." he told her, keenly eyeing the towel she wore that barely covered her body.
"I bet you are," Pepper interjected, under her breath, giving him a wry smirk.
Tony chuckled, and went on. "I need an excuse to get you out of the room for a few minutes. Sooooo, you, my dear, are under strict orders to go get dressed while I, your trusty mountain man, do his due diligence and liven up our humble abode. Fair?" he asked, with a cocked eyebrow, smirking.
Pepper chuckled, and then reached up again to kiss him. "Fair enough," she said. "Who could argue with that?"
Tony chuckled back. "Somehow, I thought you'd see it my way," he teased.
"Yes, but only if you promise me something, in return," Pepper wagered.
Tony gasped, and then moaned. "Oooo, sounds...delightful. Anything, baby. You name it," he cooed suggestively.
Pepper smirked coyly at him, before she spoke. "In addition to this 'surprise' you've eluded to..." she cooed.
"Uh-huuuuhhh," Tony cooed back playfully, gazing intently into her eyes.
"I want you to..." she purred, her voice smokey and seductive.
"Tell me, baby. Anything you want. I'm yours," he urged, his voice husky, and wanting.
"Get those stupid shoes off and warm your feet up the minute you are done," she finished flatly. Tony exhaled exasperatedly and rolled his eyes, but Pepper ignored him. "The last thing you need is to come down with pneumonia, or something else God awful."
He frowned in disappointment. "Are you serious with this?" he asked. "Getting my hopes up that way..." he grumbled.
"Ah! Promise me," she said, interrupting.
" .. it's just cruel. Here I thought it would be something sexy, like..."
"Promise. Me," she restated.
"But, that wasn't my idea of what you'd be asking me to..."
"To-ny?" Pepper replied sternly, pointing at him in warning. He pouted at her even more, but fell silent in response.
"No arguing. Or there will be no..." Pepper searched for the words. "Whatever-it-was-you-thought-I-was-going-to-make-you-promise-me until you do as I say. Capiche, Stark?"
Tony's eyes widened in delighted realization. "Reee-ally?" he purred. "Just for being a good boy, and doing what I'm told, you're telling me we...might have a little naughty...freaky...roll in the..."
"Well, I don't know?" Pepper purred back, looking at him with wanton eyes. "That would fall into that 'it's for me to know and for you to find out' category, now, wouldn't it?" she teased, trying to sound innocent, and batting her eyelashes at him.
Tony gulped. "Nu-huh," he mumbled hoarsely, his eyes wide as he searched her face for any falsehood.
But Pepper just bit her lips together, trying not to laugh at his expression, and smiled coyly instead. "Good. Then we've reached an agreement. Tit for tat, as they say," she said, her voice laden with innuendo as she rose off the floor to stand up. Tony slowly followed her, clearly still gobsmacked by the implications of her toying with him. She pecked his lips again playfully, and he weakly kissed her back. "Good bye, Tony," she purred, as she turned to go, purposefully leaving him there, helplessly watching her barely covered hips swing away from where he was standing, as she smiled deviantly to herself. But she sensed he hadn't budged, so she turned back around to find him basically catatonic.
"Tony?" she asked, trying to keep from laughing. "Um, you can go now? Didn't you say you needed me to..."
Suddenly, he awakened out of his reverie, and looked at her in surprise. "Huh?!" he said. "Oh. Right. The...yeah, I gotta... sorry, I was just thinking about..." he stammered, awkwardly clearing his throat as he fumbled toward the front door, and trying desperately to play it cool. "Right. I'll, uh...I'll be right back," he assured her, before walking out the door again.
Pepper chuckled to herself, and turned to walk down the hallway. She swore she heard him muttering something as he closed the door behind him about her 'tit for tat' comment, which only made her giggle more.