Christmas Cogs and Snowflake Sprockets

Christmas Cogs

"You're working awfully hard on something here," Zander said, walking into Nick's workshop. He came up behind Nick's stool, where he sat bent over his project at the workbench. Sliding his palms over Nick's shoulders, Zander rubbed his muscles gently and peered over at his work. With a smile, he leaned in to kiss Nick's neck. "Must not be for me, or you'd surely be hiding it."

Nick turned his head, giving his partner a warm smile. "Hi." He captured Zander's lips in a kiss.

Zander nodded his head in the direction of Nick's project. "What is it?"

"Christmas cogs." Nick grinned.

"What?"

Nick laughed at Zander's confusion. "It's a Christmas tree made out of gears and parts."

Zander's frown deepened. "Um, why? We already have Christmas decorations."

"It's for Wyvern. Something he said inspired me."

"Nicky..."

"I know what you're going to say, Zan. I promise that we're only friends."

Zander shook his head. "It's not that. I just don't want you getting too involved in this and having your feelings hurt. I know that your intentions are good, but sometimes people don't want to change."

"Zan, I'm not forcing Wyvern into anything. I just want to share Christmas with him."

Zander grasped Nick's shoulders and turned him around on his stool so they were facing each other. "You're so sweet. And such an idealist. I love that about you. But life is hard out here, Nicky. Please don't be too disappointed if..." He trailed off with a look of anguish in his hazel eyes.

"You think I'm wasting my time." Nick frowned.

"I think that you're going to a lot of trouble for something that may not turn out the way you want it to."

Nick sighed. "He's my friend, Zan. I have no agenda other than wanting to share my favorite holiday with him. That's all. If I manage to change something, that's great. Otherwise, I only hope to make him smile. I just don't want to see that lonely, sad look on his face again. No one should be lonely on Christmas."

Zander cupped his partner's cheek, stroked his thumb over it, and gave Nick a fond smile. "You're right. And I agree with you. This is such a selfless, generous thing you're doing. Wyvern deserves some happiness."

Nick gave him a small, guilty smile. "I hope that you don't think that I'm neglecting you. I haven't figured out what I'm giving you for Christmas yet."

"I'm sure that it'll be perfect," Zander said with a soft chuckle, leaning in to kiss Nick. "I can't wait to spend my first Christmas with you."

Nick groaned. "Now I need to come up with something really good."

"No." Zander wrapped his arms around Nick's waist and held him close. "All I want is to spend the holiday with you, Nicky. I don't need anything else." His gaze went to the project on the workbench. "I'll let you get back to work. It looks great. I'm sure he'll love it."

"Thanks, Zan." Nick smiled.

Zander kissed him again, then turned and left the room. The corner of Nick's lips curled up as he thought over what Zander had said. With a sigh of contentment, confident in the support of his partner, Nick turned back to his work. Wyvern was going to love this.

~*~

Trudging up the stairs, Wyvern heaved a sigh and stifled a yawn as he unlocked the door to his suite. The patrons had been especially demanding that evening and he was exhausted. He'd even risked the displeasure of one of his regular customers and canceled their scheduled meeting. He wasn't in the right frame of mind to give anyone what they wanted at the moment. The customer's disappointment at the cancelation was far better than what would happen if Wyvern went off in a fit of temper.

He sighed again as he locked the deadbolt once more and slipped the security chain into its slot for the night. Then he just stood there with the door closed for a minute, feeling sorry for himself. He hadn't seen Nick in a few days, and Wyvern realized right then just how much he relied upon his friend's regular infusions of positivity in his life. He certainly could have used a little bit of Nick's optimism to convince him that he wasn't really wasting his life catering to pushy alcoholics and keeping happiness well outside of his arm's reach. Discarding his vest and tie on the table by the door, he turned around to begin his bedtime routine, wanting nothing more than to hide in bed, under the covers.

The sight that greeted him, though, made him cover his gaping mouth and blink in wide-eyed surprise. All around the room, suspended from random lengths of fishing line, were dozens of small gears, all polished to a glossy shine. They hung from the ceiling, the light fixtures, the bed frame, everywhere it was possible to hang them. He reached up and touched one with the tip of his finger, setting it to spinning, glittering in the low, warm light.

That was the next thing that he noticed. The room that had been dark the last time he left it was now lit by candles. Tiny flames flickered and danced with every errant air current through the room, making his shadow waver and sway over the walls. The candlelight also caught the gears, casting them in constantly shifting patterns that swept over everything in the room.

Wyvern blinked furiously against the gathering tears blurring his vision. It was beautiful, unique, and so overwhelmingly special that he almost couldn't believe that it was for him. Then he saw something on the table in front of him. He gasped and went to one of the chairs, dropping heavily into it, his gaze fixed on what had been so carefully arranged in the very center of the table.

It was a Christmas tree. But it was unlike any tree that Wyvern had ever seen before. It was constructed out of progressively smaller gears that made the familiar tree shape and was decorated with all manner of interesting bits and findings. All the tiny pieces shimmered in the light from the candles. He stared, unable to tear his gaze away from the intricate complexity of the piece, marveling at how such mundane parts could come together with the right amount of creativity to become something so stunning. Biting his lip, Wyvern touched a tiny sprocket dangling from the delicate coil of a fine-gauge spring. The little tree was unbelievably beautiful.

There was also a box on the table, adorned with a large red bow. He opened it and lifted the lid. A soft, breathy laugh escaped his lips as he saw the box packed full of the little bite-sized cranberry tarts that were his absolute favorite from the bakery. He almost never got to have them because they were only available for a very short time each year and they could only be acquired right when the bakery opened in the morning. Wyvern was seldom up that early, since he didn't even get off work until the small hours of the morning. He carefully tucked the box lid back into place.

The last thing that had been left for him was an envelope. Wyvern recognized Nick's handwriting on the outside. Lifting the envelope in one hand, he traced the letters of his own name with his fingertips. He turned the envelope over and opened it.

Dear Wyvern,

I'm very sorry that you had a rough night at work. I hope that this surprise helps a little bit. Sleep well, and please come see me at the ranch when you're ready.

Nick

Wyvern frowned. How did Nick know? How could he possibly know how badly Wyvern needed his spirits lifted that evening? It had to be a coincidence. But Nick mentioned Wyvern's bad night right in his note. Wyvern set the paper aside, overwhelmed by the intensity of his affection for that wonderful, thoughtful man. It really wasn't fair that Nick belonged to someone else when Wyvern found himself falling harder for him by the day. He hated the cruel ironies that life kept throwing at him.

He got up from the table, shed his food- and drink-spattered clothes, and dumped them into his hamper. Then he pulled on a pair of sleep pants. He stopped then, standing in the middle of his bedroom and just appreciating his friend's kind generosity. After a few minutes, his heart nearly bursting with love and his cheeks hurting from smiling so hard, he went around the room and blew out all the candles, leaving only one on his bedside table lit.

Crawling under his covers, he sat up in his bed for another minute, gazing over the glittering flashes of metal as the hanging gears caught the light of the remaining candle flame. They looked like fireflies flitting about his room. He grinned and leaned over to extinguish the last candle. He didn't know if he could wait until after breakfast to go and thank Nick. For that matter, he didn't know if he'd be able to sleep at all.