(no subject)

[echolls_cursed]

It had been a few days since he and jack had woken up ill, and Logan was feeling better.

Silently, he slipped out of bed, leaving Jack to get some more rest as he headed into the kitchen to brew some coffee and make some breakfast. It didn't take long, and soon he was standing at the bottom of the stairs calling for Jack to come downstairs.

He had a lot he wanted to get done. He wanted to do the tree and start talking about gifts. The holidays were getting closer, and this year they where going to be perfect... He was sure of that.

Comments

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

It was a rare thing for Jack to sleep in, but the cold had really sapped his energy. When he heard Logan, he rolled over and slowly got out of bed. Since he'd been sick, he'd started wearing clothes to bed and so when he came downstairs he hadn't bothered with anything else. Flannel pajama pants with little snowmen on them and a tshirt was as dressed as he felt like getting for now. His hair stuck up on one side and he rubbed his eyes.

"I can kind of smell that," he said, walking over and planting a kiss on Logan's cheek. "How long have you been up?"

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Not long," Logan said honestly, offering Jack a grin. "I just thought I'd make us some coffee and food- You know, so we can start decorating the tree and stuff."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

He looked over at the tree where it had been standing since the day they woke up to the snow. They'd been too worn out after their snowball fight to do it, and then being sick had gotten in the way. It looked bare and sad.

"Good plan," Jack agreed with a nod. He felt better the longer he was up. Just a sniffle here and there. It wasn't nearly as bad as it had been.

"Have you looked through the boxes to see what we got for decorations?" he asked, grabbing a cup of coffee for himself. "I just saw the colored balls."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Lights, balls, uh, a few snowmen and Santas... Traditional stuff it looked like. I bet we could make some stuff as well though. Maybe carve and paint a star for the top?" Logan suggested, sipping his coffee with a content smile.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"We could do that," he agreed. "It'll be great. I've never had one before. Not of my own. There's always the one in the compound, and they were always in barracks and headquarters, but this will be the first year I've ever actually decorated one. Is that something you used to do?"

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"No," Logan admitted. "Back home I wasn't allowed near the tree. Mom had it designed and then had the staff decorate it. It was a whole thing... It had to be perfect for her parties and dinners."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Have you had one here before? With Neil or whatever?" he asked, hoping the answer was no. There were so many things he appreciated sharing with just Logan and everything he could add to his list made him happy.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Does it matter?" Logan asked, not sure why Jack was interested in what he and Neil had done.

"Even if I'd had a tree with a million people, it wouldn't make having one with you less special. I mean, there's next to nothing I've done with you that you haven't done with someone before, but that doesn't stop it from being a big deal..."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"I was just curious," he replied. He watched Logan over the rim of his cup as he took a drink, then smiled against the rim.

"I think you'd be surprised just how many things we do that I haven't ever done before."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Oh really?" Logan asked with a soft snort. "You care to name a few, Captain?" he asked with a smirk.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Jack grabbed some breakfast and took a bite, in no real hurry to answer.

"Well, the obvious. Christmas tree. Marriage," he said finally. "Teaching someone to play chess. Getting sick. Giving in. Opening up."

He paused and grinned devilishly.

"I never made anyone the stuff I've made for you. Can't wait to get that room back."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan smiled at the first part, and laughed at the last. "I thought we were gonna renovate. You really want to keep that room after we fix up the hut?" he asked with a grin.

Obviously he didn't want to see it gone, but honestly, it didn't seem like Jack was missing it now...

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"I want to improve that room once we fix it up," he replied simply. "Unless you want to get rid of it all and settle into that boring life we keep talking about. We can be sedate and...whatever. Whatever goes along with that."

Even though he offered it up, it was obvious he wasn't serious. Sedate sounded so...unlike them. He couldn't even imagine it. The past few days had been a fluke, sapping him of energy and creativity. But he was sure the heat and desire would come back once he didn't feel so ill.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"I don't that," Logan assured the other man. "I don't want us to be anything but us. I love the way we are. Every fucked up moment, every tender moment... I just like us. Love us. ...Love you," he said softly, flashing a small smile.

"For now though, let's just focus on the tree."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Jack nodded and started to lift his cup, only to set it back down and sneeze twice in a row. He felt a thousand times better, but he wasn't well yet.

"You love me most when I sneeze, admit it," he chuckled, getting up to wipe his nose and wash his hands. He was so sick of being sick- though he wasn't dying, at least. Unlike the first day, now he got that it just had to run its course.

"Hurry up. Hurry," he added, walking up behind Logan to lay a clean hand on his shoulder. "I wanna get started."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan wrinkled his nose at the sneeze and laughed. He wasn't sneezing anymore himself, he had a stuffy nose and the occasional headache, but he was feeling alright these days.

"Okay, okay, hang on," he replied, finishing his coffee and picking at his food a bit more before heading out into the main room with Jack.

"We should start with the lights," he decided.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Yeah? Okay," he agreed. He'd never done it before and given time he'd have probably figured it out, but it was more Logan's thing. Jack had never had one growing up...the tradition had sort of been lost.

"Do we just wrap them around it? That's how the compound one always looks."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Uh... Yeah. You just get them as deep into the tree as you can, and then wind them up. It's probably easier if one of us puts the lights on and the other one holds the remaining strands. What would you rather do? Decorate or hold?" Logan asked.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"I'll hold," he decided without having to think about it. There will be plenty to do and since Logan seems to know what he's doing...at least somewhat...Jack's fine with lifting and carrying. He's good at it.

He started to go through the boxes, pulling out neat strings of lights, one after the other. He gave Logan I curious look and grinned.

"Are we going to use all of these?"

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Probably not," Logan replied. "We can use some around the windows and stuff though, if you want..." he offered, plugging in the lights and starting to weave the string of lights into the branches and trees.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Jack smiled and looked from the window to the tree to Logan. With all the lights outside and the trees decorated by animals, he wasn't sure they needed lights in the windows. But he'd seen pictures and films and it always made everything look so festive and inviting.

"That's a great idea," he agreed, feeding Logan a length of lights, and then another. "This is going to be the best Christmas."

Definitely better than a couple years ago when all he'd done was try to keep House from hurting himself as he detoxed. The memory of some of the things he'd done just to maintain some sort of normalcy made him ill. He smiled a little more softly at Logan, grateful that something like that was never going to happen with the younger man.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, it really is," Logan laughed, looking up from where he was hunched over the tree and flashing Jack a grin. "It's nice to not have to worry about anything. I think the rest of the year is gonna go smooth. I can feel it."

Still, Logan had no illusions of them ever being some happy 50's sitcom couple, and now that he was feeling a little better, he let himself look Jack over in a way he hadn't in days.

"I can finish the lights, why don't you start putting decoration's on?" he suggested.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

He caught the look in Logan's eyes and it rocked him in a way he hadn't expected. Although he insisted often that their relationship wasn't about sex and the reasons he loved Logan were beyond that, the simple fact was that Jack was driven by his libido.

And it had been days.

"I don't think I'd count on the year going smoothly," he chuckled softly. "But maybe it'll be easier than it has been. Every year seems to be a little nicer. No hurricanes, the dinosaurs haven't gotten out, no real trouble other than a few weird days here and there," Jack replied, passing off the last of the lights and turning his attention to the boxes to see what sorts of decorations they had.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"I can live without the dinosaurs and the hurricanes, but it is kind of strange, don't you think? This year was so calm... I can't help but think next year wont be this easy," Logan admited, finishing the lights and turning to look at Jack.

"Just promise me that if things get crazy again, you wont leave me to go play hero all the time. We're partners now, and I want to know you'll take me with you. I want to know that you'll always let me have your back."

Because if anything ever happened to Jack; Logan wasn't Sure what he'd do.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"I don't know how well that'd go over with the ITF if it was something serious," he replied. "But if it's something normal, yeah. We'll do it together. Might make it more fun."

He laughed a little and hung an ornament on the tree, then studied it as if he wasn't sure he'd done it right. It looked right, he decided, so he hung a few more, spreading them out so they weren't all clumped together.