Falling in Place (MxM)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ethan had no idea what he was walking into when walking into this stranger's home, or Wesley's home. Aside from the talkative car ride, getting to know his dog, and smelling the faintest trace of pine, vanilla, and possibly cinnamon on his jacket, Wesley was still but a stranger.

Of course, Ethan had been in strangers' homes before, with emergency calls to resident's homes, apartments, etc., it should have been like any other day at the station. But as they pulled into Wesley's driveway into what could only be described as the epitome of a suburban colonial style home. With white siding, even white fencing separated his house from the neighbors. But that hadn't been the thing to make Ethan flinch.

It was the grandiose display of Christmas lights, golden deer displays in front of his yard, even some fake trees near the deer. And that hadn't been the only decorations. On the front porch, Ethan could see a giant wreath, at least a dozen poinsettias near the Christmas themed lounge chairs with garland and more lights outlining the front door and window. A Christmas-themed welcome sign hanging in between the wreath seemed to mock Ethan as Wesley turned the car off.

This is what hell looks like, Ethan thought to himself. He pinched his arm, wondering if maybe he had died and this was in fact hell. Had he known this was what Wesley enjoyed made him wonder if it was better to find a crap motel to spend the night. Of course, it was just his luck that he'd be staying with some Christmas-obsessed freak.

Rosie's jingle of her collar brought Ethan's mind back to the present, looking as Wesley pranced over to the passenger side of the car. Ethan wondered how Rosie could have possibly been completely fine when Ethan was still freezing. Maybe it had been her double coat, or possibly just her demeanor, but she was eager to get in the house like she had gone on a perfectly normal walk.

Wesley opened the door, and Ethan felt the need to hiss at him like a cat. It was too damn cold and he wasn't fixing to just stand out there in what felt like subzero conditions. "Let's go, you big oaf. It'll be warmer inside."

Ethan scowled before reluctantly shifting his body to get out of the car. Wesley was on the verge of laughing at him. He was acting like a big baby. Some firefighter he called himself. Wesley watched with amusement as the man clutched his jacket like a life preserver before finally standing on his own.

Wesley reached a hand out. "Think you can walk there?"

"Of course," Ethan said firmly, swatting his hand away.

"Cause I don't think I could carry you."

Ethan rolled his eyes before taking a few shaky steps towards the door. Rosie was sitting there patiently, as the two headed up the stairs. Wesley trailed behind him in case Ethan seemed to have one of the side effects, but Ethan made it despite the shivering.

Ethan had thought the outside decorations were a lot, but he was sorely mistaken. Every inch of his place had something Christmas related. Garland wrapped around the stairs, the fireplace, even in the kitchen, which struck fire safety nerves in Ethan's head. Poinsettias were also commonplace. One on the dinner table, one on the kitchen counter, two on the fireplace mantle, even a couple on the stairs. And the most grandiose thing was the real Christmas tree, next to the fireplace. It had to be at least ten feet tall, decked in two kinds of garland, faux flowers, pinecones, golden ornaments, and a few handmade ones.

Ethan wondered where he could've possibly stored such decorations, and how it was possible he could have decorated himself unless Wesley had a significant other or a group of friends that loved Christmas as much as he did.

"Welcome to my abode," Wesley announced jokingly, before trying to clean up some out of place items. "I obviously wasn't expecting anyone, so I apologize for the mess."

Had Ethan not been still dying to just warm himself up, he would've joked that the decorations needed to go, that that was a far greater mess than just some stray newspapers or books lying around.

Rosie trotted around, often circling around Ethan before curling up next to her dog bed between the Christmas tree and the fireplace.

"I should get you some warmer blankets. Feel free to move the love seat closer to the fireplace," Wesley said before disappearing upstairs.

During calls, Ethan was never one to snoop around stranger's homes. He'd occasionally glance at the picture frames, or even at the layout of the room to get a better understanding of things, but for the most part, there wasn't much time to take it all in. But this wasn't a call, so Ethan's eyes wandered. It was probably being too nosey, or too imprudent, but Ethan was exhausted and had little resolve for any sense of morals.

He couldn't help but wonder if Wesley lived with anyone else, considered it was fairly larger than most places in the suburbs. It only had two bedrooms, but what would a single man need with two? Then Ethan wondered if he had another pet, considering there were three stockings hanging on the mantle. One labeled W, one R, and one labeled D.

Ethan looked around, mildly curious about the mysterious man who would walk his three-legged animal in a near blizzard. And near a lake no less.

That was when a picture frame caught his eye. Ethan glanced as best as he could to see it without physically moving closer to the mantle. There, in the picture had been Wesley, and next to him, a taller man, another kind face. His hair was wavy, slightly on the longer side, almost like beach waves. In his arms was a small puppy, Rosie, with four legs. Despite the hair and eye color, they could've passed as brothers.

Ethan had learned the hard way not to assume people's relationships or their orientation. After that night at the Winter Formal, and the days following that incident, Ethan had learned that doing so could cause a lot of problems, lots of torn reputations, failed careers, hurt feelings, and broken noses. It wasn't something he'd like to remember but, he had learned a lot from his one-sided infatuation with the idea of kissing Lucas Brahm.

But as any person would, he was curious.

He flustered to get back to how he was sitting, glancing away from the picture frame as he heard Wesley coming down the stairs.

"You feeling better?" Wesley asked, before handing him the knitted blanket. Ethan nearly sighed out loud in relief once he felt that extra layer of warmth.

"Better," he replied as he snuggled the materials, wrapped up like a burrito. "Still fucking cold."

"That's good," Wesley chuckled before glancing at his phone. "I probably should check the weather report.

Ethan hummed, partly from the exhaustion, and quite possibly from the cold, he was kind of lost in his own world, hearing the words Wesley was saying but also mesmerized by the licking flames in the fireplace.

"Well, shit," Wesley breathed while looking at his phone. Ethan couldn't get over how such a gentle and kind face could swear like that. "Slight problem."

"What now?"

Ethan wobbled over, the blanket and Wesley's jacket still cocooning him as he went to check Wesley's phone. In bold letters:

WINTER STORM WARNING!

Heavy snow and blizzard conditions likely expected for the next 12-36 hours in this area.

Snowfall of 6-12 inches likely. Seek shelter now.

"Well, they're a bit late." Ethan frowned. "So what's the problem?"

"If it lasts for longer than a day, the roads will still be closed. It could take days, even a week for everything to be opened again. Which means-"

"Oh no." Ethan caught on. Ethan wasn't sure if this was a sign of hypothermia, but he was feeling nauseous. He wasn't sure if he could put up with all this Christmas cheer for another day, let alone a week.

"You're stuck with me for who knows how long."

God. Lord, help me, Ethan thought. He never pitted himself as very religious despite growing up in the church. But he only hoped that maybe someone out there was listening. Is this some sick, divine punishment?