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riptide_asylumTitle: riptide81@robozticspro.com
Rating: PG
Summary: Just another day aboard the Hightide: checking email and holding hands like they hadn't been in love for forty years now.
Nick slid into the round white leather booth next to Cody and set his coffee mug carefully on the table, careful not to spill a drop. He caught Cody glancing at it and warned his partner off with a look. There's already a mug on the table, in front of Cody, half-full of decaf. "Not a chance, buddy. Not on my watch. Any word from Murray on this weekend?" Nick grabbed their laptop down off the shelf behind the booth before Cody got too twisted around trying to get to it. If Nick had his way, Cody didn't lift anything heavier than a toothbrush and, considering they were both technically retired now, Nick got his way a lot.
He set the laptop in front of Cody and sipped scalding hot, full-strength coffee while Cody booted it up. Outside, the day was gray and cold and miserable, rain drooling down the windows of the Hightide's salon, but just looking at Cody kept Nick warm.
Cody.
Cody with his thick silver hair and his reading glasses, now, working the laptop with an organized, officious air.
His Cody.
Nick drank his coffee and enjoyed the view.
"Hey! There he is!" Cody hit a button and leaned forward to peer at the screen. "He'll be here Saturday morning and wants to know if he can bring the girls. That's fine, right, Nick?"
"'Course it is. Those little rugrats are family."
"'Rugrats'? Nick, Caitlin's nearly twelve and Serena's starting high school next year."
"She is? That can't be right." Nick set his half-empty cup on the table and scooted closer to Cody, slipping one arm along the back of the seat behind Cody's shoulders, then a second later, letting it drop round those same shoulders themselves, squeezing gently.
"Believe it, buddy. Fifteen. Which reminds me, her birthday's coming up. We should figure out what to get her."
Nick looked at Cody narrowly. "What reminded you?"
Cody looked up from the laptop. "What?"
"You said 'which reminds me'. What reminded you?"
"...There's this thing on our email, right there, see? It pops up reminders when birthdays are coming up, other holidays. You know, useful things."
"Huh."
"Huh?"
"Isn't that useful. You get Murray to set it up?"
Cody looked at Nick narrowly.
Nick grinned and stole a kiss. And then another one, in case the first one didn't take.
Cody returned to the laptop. "Still doesn't solve what to get her."
"Sure it does. We get her a gift card to the mall."
"'To the mall'?"
"Sure. That'd work, Cody."
"Kind of impersonal, don't you think?"
"She's fifteen, Cody. It's what she wants more than anything in the world."
"When did you become an expert on fifteen-year-old girls, Nick?"
"Since I emailed Jo while you were taking a nap. According to her, that's what fifteen-year-old girls want more than anything in the world. Something about female empowering, personal finance moon-rising mumbo-jumbo. I dunno. Look, the email's right there, see?"
Cody looked. "Oh yeah. Can't think how I missed it."
Forty years of Cody kept Nick's mouth firmly shut. Instead, Nick scooted even closer on the booth seat, so Cody was half in his lap. He nuzzled Cody's jawline, slipped his other arm around Cody's stomach, cupping the place Cody was a little soft now after all those years of washboard abs and volleyball. Cody gave Nick a look, but didn't swat his hand away.
Cody typed efficiently (with two fingers) and Nick was happy to let him. Only guy he really cared about hearing from was sitting right next to him, and besides, Nick was perfectly happy to let Cody manage the whole shebang, including Nick's military address as well as his and Nick's personal addresses. Theoretically they had separate accounts because Murray said that provided better security. But in practice, everyone emailed Cody and Cody relayed the messages Nick needed to hear.
Plus they were both getting on a little, so it was easier to have just one password (Riptide; which gave Murray fits), one security question (Amato, Nick's mother's maiden name; more fits for Murray) and one email address: riptide81@robozticspro.com.
Murray'd set them up so they could pretty much do anything they needed without leaving the Hightide: banking, slip rental, pharmacy refills -- they could even order groceries if they wanted, get 'em delivered right to the boat. They'd done that last a couple times when Cody wasn't feeling so hot, but most of the time that was one of the few trips they made into town together, to the big Ralph's on Starbridge Way, where they went slowly down the aisles and tried to pretend they weren't gonna get the same things they'd gotten for the past twenty years. Peanut butter. Bread. Cold cuts. Pasta. Garlic. Tomatoes. A couple of nice cuts from the deli counter or some ricotta, maybe, for Nick to make a big pan of something they could pick at throughout the week. Coffee. With a couple of exceptions (decaf coffee, non-alcoholic beer, Egg Beaters), they could've done it in their sleep.
Which wasn't the point.
Knowing a guy long enough to know he'd pick all the weenies out of a can of beans n' weenies wasn't the same as going shopping with him every week and arguing which brand to get or whether to get the Chef Boyardee this week because it was on sale.
Nick burrowed against the side of Cody's neck, breathing him in, enjoying the smell of him, the bristle of stubble along Cody's jaw. Frowning, Nick raised his head. "You didn't shave."
"Forgot." Cody deftly thumbed the trackpad, changing windows.
"Forgot?" Nick hesitated. "Not weakness in your arm, or tingling or anything else the doc warned me to watch out for?"
Cody turned away from the laptop and into Nick's embrace. They kissed, gentle but sure, Cody with one hand along Nick's jaw, pressing into him, reassuring, and Nick gave himself over to the feel of Cody's hand, of the way he knew exactly how Nick liked to kiss, the way they'd gotten good at and hadn't changed in twenty years.
Finally, Cody drew back, hand lingering on Nick's jaw.
Nick made himself nod, eyes still closed. The two of them returned to the morning.
"Hey." Cody nudged Nick with a shoulder. "Pitchers and catchers report yet?"
"Yeah, yesterday. Polenzani and Dohlen are scheduled to start workouts this morning, and with an arm like The Pole's, he's gonna need as much warm-up as he can get. Cubs got themselves depth in the bull-pen this year." Nick narrowed his eyes. "You didn't answer my question."
"Nope," Cody agreed cheerfully. He claimed Nick's whale mug and drank from it with a pleased air, eyes on Nick's face.
"I love you," Nick told Cody. "Always have."
"I love you, too, Nick." Cody closed the laptop. "What's for breakfast?"
Rating: PG
Summary: Just another day aboard the Hightide: checking email and holding hands like they hadn't been in love for forty years now.
Nick slid into the round white leather booth next to Cody and set his coffee mug carefully on the table, careful not to spill a drop. He caught Cody glancing at it and warned his partner off with a look. There's already a mug on the table, in front of Cody, half-full of decaf. "Not a chance, buddy. Not on my watch. Any word from Murray on this weekend?" Nick grabbed their laptop down off the shelf behind the booth before Cody got too twisted around trying to get to it. If Nick had his way, Cody didn't lift anything heavier than a toothbrush and, considering they were both technically retired now, Nick got his way a lot.
He set the laptop in front of Cody and sipped scalding hot, full-strength coffee while Cody booted it up. Outside, the day was gray and cold and miserable, rain drooling down the windows of the Hightide's salon, but just looking at Cody kept Nick warm.
Cody.
Cody with his thick silver hair and his reading glasses, now, working the laptop with an organized, officious air.
His Cody.
Nick drank his coffee and enjoyed the view.
"Hey! There he is!" Cody hit a button and leaned forward to peer at the screen. "He'll be here Saturday morning and wants to know if he can bring the girls. That's fine, right, Nick?"
"'Course it is. Those little rugrats are family."
"'Rugrats'? Nick, Caitlin's nearly twelve and Serena's starting high school next year."
"She is? That can't be right." Nick set his half-empty cup on the table and scooted closer to Cody, slipping one arm along the back of the seat behind Cody's shoulders, then a second later, letting it drop round those same shoulders themselves, squeezing gently.
"Believe it, buddy. Fifteen. Which reminds me, her birthday's coming up. We should figure out what to get her."
Nick looked at Cody narrowly. "What reminded you?"
Cody looked up from the laptop. "What?"
"You said 'which reminds me'. What reminded you?"
"...There's this thing on our email, right there, see? It pops up reminders when birthdays are coming up, other holidays. You know, useful things."
"Huh."
"Huh?"
"Isn't that useful. You get Murray to set it up?"
Cody looked at Nick narrowly.
Nick grinned and stole a kiss. And then another one, in case the first one didn't take.
Cody returned to the laptop. "Still doesn't solve what to get her."
"Sure it does. We get her a gift card to the mall."
"'To the mall'?"
"Sure. That'd work, Cody."
"Kind of impersonal, don't you think?"
"She's fifteen, Cody. It's what she wants more than anything in the world."
"When did you become an expert on fifteen-year-old girls, Nick?"
"Since I emailed Jo while you were taking a nap. According to her, that's what fifteen-year-old girls want more than anything in the world. Something about female empowering, personal finance moon-rising mumbo-jumbo. I dunno. Look, the email's right there, see?"
Cody looked. "Oh yeah. Can't think how I missed it."
Forty years of Cody kept Nick's mouth firmly shut. Instead, Nick scooted even closer on the booth seat, so Cody was half in his lap. He nuzzled Cody's jawline, slipped his other arm around Cody's stomach, cupping the place Cody was a little soft now after all those years of washboard abs and volleyball. Cody gave Nick a look, but didn't swat his hand away.
Cody typed efficiently (with two fingers) and Nick was happy to let him. Only guy he really cared about hearing from was sitting right next to him, and besides, Nick was perfectly happy to let Cody manage the whole shebang, including Nick's military address as well as his and Nick's personal addresses. Theoretically they had separate accounts because Murray said that provided better security. But in practice, everyone emailed Cody and Cody relayed the messages Nick needed to hear.
Plus they were both getting on a little, so it was easier to have just one password (Riptide; which gave Murray fits), one security question (Amato, Nick's mother's maiden name; more fits for Murray) and one email address: riptide81@robozticspro.com.
Murray'd set them up so they could pretty much do anything they needed without leaving the Hightide: banking, slip rental, pharmacy refills -- they could even order groceries if they wanted, get 'em delivered right to the boat. They'd done that last a couple times when Cody wasn't feeling so hot, but most of the time that was one of the few trips they made into town together, to the big Ralph's on Starbridge Way, where they went slowly down the aisles and tried to pretend they weren't gonna get the same things they'd gotten for the past twenty years. Peanut butter. Bread. Cold cuts. Pasta. Garlic. Tomatoes. A couple of nice cuts from the deli counter or some ricotta, maybe, for Nick to make a big pan of something they could pick at throughout the week. Coffee. With a couple of exceptions (decaf coffee, non-alcoholic beer, Egg Beaters), they could've done it in their sleep.
Which wasn't the point.
Knowing a guy long enough to know he'd pick all the weenies out of a can of beans n' weenies wasn't the same as going shopping with him every week and arguing which brand to get or whether to get the Chef Boyardee this week because it was on sale.
Nick burrowed against the side of Cody's neck, breathing him in, enjoying the smell of him, the bristle of stubble along Cody's jaw. Frowning, Nick raised his head. "You didn't shave."
"Forgot." Cody deftly thumbed the trackpad, changing windows.
"Forgot?" Nick hesitated. "Not weakness in your arm, or tingling or anything else the doc warned me to watch out for?"
Cody turned away from the laptop and into Nick's embrace. They kissed, gentle but sure, Cody with one hand along Nick's jaw, pressing into him, reassuring, and Nick gave himself over to the feel of Cody's hand, of the way he knew exactly how Nick liked to kiss, the way they'd gotten good at and hadn't changed in twenty years.
Finally, Cody drew back, hand lingering on Nick's jaw.
Nick made himself nod, eyes still closed. The two of them returned to the morning.
"Hey." Cody nudged Nick with a shoulder. "Pitchers and catchers report yet?"
"Yeah, yesterday. Polenzani and Dohlen are scheduled to start workouts this morning, and with an arm like The Pole's, he's gonna need as much warm-up as he can get. Cubs got themselves depth in the bull-pen this year." Nick narrowed his eyes. "You didn't answer my question."
"Nope," Cody agreed cheerfully. He claimed Nick's whale mug and drank from it with a pleased air, eyes on Nick's face.
"I love you," Nick told Cody. "Always have."
"I love you, too, Nick." Cody closed the laptop. "What's for breakfast?"
