Bearly a Valentine
February the fourteenth meant very little to Walter and Alex. When you’ve
battled aliens that spewed toxic goo, little grey men, the shriveled up old men
of a Consortium who had delusions of grandeur, shape shifters, assorted other
monsters, a Fox and his red-headed doctor-agent-wife, the minor love miracles
that Valentine’s Day conjures up hold little interest for these two men.
Taking a threat of a massive snowstorm seriously, Walter and Alex were kept busy
for most of the day preparing their ranch and barn. Walter drove off early into
town for any last minute provisions including extra fuel for their backup
generator. Alex was busy moving the chicken coop into the barn. He mucked out
the stalls, filled the troughs for the horses and cows and left out enough feed
for a week for the chickens.
As he waited for Walter to come back, Alex moved a cord of wood closer to the
kitchen door and brought in extra for their fireplace. As an afterthought Alex
ran back to the barn to gather up extra eggs. He remembered to leave a couple of
eggs near the bale of hay that had become home to the little vixen that had
adopted them. Satisfied the animals would all be safe, Alex secured the barn
doors.
“What took you so long?” Alex said as Walter came through the door with bags of
groceries in his arms. Alex began to help stow their provisions.
“Got cornered by the sheriff before I left town. Since the roads might get
snowed over, he gave me a couple portable radios. They’re distributing radios to
the surrounding farmers just in case we lose power. The radios run off a
battery.” Walter held up a radio and extra batteries. “The sheriff knows how
resourceful we can be at times. He’s hoping we’ll help out our neighbors if
necessary.”
“Walter, our nearest neighbor is three miles away. Does he think we can fly?”
Alex snarked. Walter gave Alex a look. “Fine. Let me plug these in to keep them
charged just in case,” Alex said grabbing the radios and battery packs.
By the time the first snowflakes began swirling around the countryside, the men
and the ranch were well prepared. There was already six inches on the ground as
they cooked dinner, over twelve by the time they got ready for bed.
“Shit!” Alex exclaimed as he stood by the window. “The truck is almost buried;
reminds me of Siberia.” Alex cursed and shivered.
“It is what it is, Alex. Cursing at it isn’t going to stop the snow from
falling.”
“Yeah, but it makes me feel better.”
“Okay, if it makes you feel better, curse away,” Walter chuckled.
“Thank you, Walter.” Alex muttered a few more choice words in Russian before he
closed the drapes then got into bed.
“Oh, I almost forgot, I got you something while I was in town,” Walter said
jumping out of bed to look in his pants pocket. “Here.” Walter handed Alex a bar
of Godiva dark chocolate.
Alex smiled deeply revealing his dimples. He carefully unwrapped a corner of the
bar inhaled the rich aroma then took a bite. “Mmm. Thank you, Walter.” Alex
offered some of his treasure to Walter. Walter declined knowing how much Alex
loved his chocolate.
Walter watched with glee as the little boy that was hidden within the assassin
took another bite before re-wrapping the bar.
“You’re not going to finish it?” Walter asked as he watched Alex stow the rest
of the bar in his bedside dresser.
“Unh unh, I'd rather prolong the ecstasy.”
“Okay. As long as you’re happy.”
“I am.” Alex gave Walter a chocolate flavored kiss. The kiss led to more kisses
then to lovemaking.
Afterwards, the men snuggled together under their thick quilt as the blizzard
raged on outside.
“Walter, what’s the occasion?”
“Hmm?”
“The occasion for giving me the chocolate, not that I’m complaining,” Alex said.
“It’s Valentine’s Day. Or it was fifteen minutes ago,” Walter said as he
squinted at the clock. “I had forgotten all about it until I walked into the
general store. Emma had the place decked out in valentines and cupids. We’re not
really the hearts and flowers type but I know how much you like your chocolate.”
Alex smiled then he frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“I didn’t get you anything.”
“Alex, we’ve never celebrated Valentine’s Day. It’s not even a real holiday.”
Walter kissed Alex’s pixie nose then chuckled as he rubbed his thumb over the
frown wrinkle on Alex’s forehead. “Come on, Alex, forgetting about Valentine’s
Day is not a disaster. That blizzard out there is. If it keeps up, we’re going
to be snowed in for a week.”
Suddenly Alex smiled, his emerald green eyes twinkling.
“What?” Walter asked.
“A week snowed in with my favorite valentine, I can’t think of anything better
than that.” Alex rubbed himself against his bear.
“I might be able to come up with a few ideas. I am very resourceful. The sheriff
said so,” Walter commented as he grabbed a paw full of rat.
Walter and Alex wrestled for dominance. The bear’s muscular power pitted against
the skills and agility of the rat. The rat won this round with his own
resourcefulness, finding the bear’s tickle spot. The lovers laughed until
exhausted.
“Alex, I have no need for gifts,” Walter said when he finally caught his breath.
“Our life here together is all the present I’ll ever want.”
Alex took Walter’s hand and placed it over his heart. Walter understood
the gesture.
“So does this mean that next year I won’t be getting hearts and flowers?” Walter
teased. It took only a second for the rat to pounce.
The fight was back on, neither man caring who’d be victorious nor how long
they’d be snowed in.
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or email to snrn@nyc.rr.com
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