Flash Fic Friday

**Travis and Noah are out in the world, and you can get His Needs now at all major retailers! I’ve you’ve already read it, here’s the next installment. Travis and Noah, a year later.**

I kept anxiously glancing at the clock and then at the door. I’d only been home twenty minutes, but it felt like longer. With the blizzard blanketing the area, both Travis and I had gotten called into work. Well, he’d already been there, and just had to stay longer. I’d had to go in and work an extra shift. The car accidents alone were keeping our ER hopping. Fortunately, there wasn’t anything too major. But it was a steady non-stop flow for the entire eight hour shift.

Travis had been duty going on twelve hours.

I wanted him home. More than just wanting him snuggled up with me in our cozy apartment–he’d moved in with me almost nine months ago–I was worried about him. He hadn’t slept well the night before, and now he’d been working, out in this storm, for way too long. I knew he wasn’t taking care of himself, he never did, and as I thought about it, I got even more anxious. Travis probably had spent the day drowning his hunger in coffee and not taking any breaks.

The familiar clomp of his boots on the stairs up to our front door had me jumping to my feet. I yanked open the door just as he hit our little hallway landing, and my heart stuttered. Travis had brushed the snow off as best he could, but he was still dusted in it, and his smile as he looked at me was weary. There were dark circles under his blue eyes, and the stubble covering his cheeks glittering as the flakes melted.

I grabbed his face and pulled him in, kissing him hard and fast. His skin felt frozen beneath my fingers, and didn’t waste time. Once I’d greeted him thoroughly, I tugged him inside.

“Shower,” I said firmly. “Get out of those cold, wet clothes and into a warm shower. Now.”

“Hi, baby. Good to see you. How was work?”

I squinted at his playful tone and the way his eyes sparkled with amusement. “I’ll tell you all about it. After you’re warm and dry. Go. I’ll bring you sweats.”

He captured my hand. “You could join me.”

I shook my head, but then used his grip on my to guide him toward the bathroom. “Not now. Get clean and warm.” I shoved him through the door and shut it on his laughter. I smiled, then retrieved his favorite sweat pants and sweatshirt from the bedroom. I set them, along with clean pair of boxers, on the edge of the sink, then ducked back out of the bathroom before the sight of his wet, naked body tempted me too much and buckled my resolve.

By the time he emerged fifteen minutes later, I was ready.

Travis went stock still when he saw the tree leaning against the far wall and the totes containing the Christmas decorations. With only two weeks left before the day, we were behind schedule. But we’d both been working a lot of overtime and hadn’t quite managed to make our schedules mesh. We’d talked about one or the other of us going to pick out the tree by ourselves, especially as the days wore on. I hope he wouldn’t mind that I’d taken the initiative on the way home to do just that.

“It’s perfect,” he murmured, not looking away from the tree.

I grinned, relieved. I made a point of going to the same lot he had gone to for years, and picking out a tree as close to last years as I could. I knew what he liked, and I wanted to do everything I could to make sure he liked it. It was our first together, in our home, though last year’s had felt like ours too. But this one felt even more important.

Travis crossed the room and grabbed me, wrapping me up in his thick arms and bending to tuck his face against my neck. He breathed deeply for a long moment, then kissed below my ear. I shivered a little, then gently pulled back. He was grinning.

“Thank you, baby. This is exactly what I needed.”

I waggled my eyebrows. “I’m good at taking care of your needs. Because I love you.”

“And I love you.”

I knew he did. I took his hand and led him over to the tree. “Let’s decorate our home for Christmas.”