As Time Goes By

 

Written for the CTR Vacation Challenge

 

 

 

"I talked to Greg today," Adam said as he took off his t-shirt and tossed it in the hamper. "They're making vacation plans and thought we might be interested. Has Josh talked to you about it?"

 

"Nope. Not that I remember, anyway." Seb leaned to one side and tossed his own shirt toward the hamper, then made a face as it hit the floor. "What are they doing this year?"

 

"Mountain biking. Pick up that shirt, please."

 

"It's your fault I missed," Seb grumbled. "You were in my way. They're going camping?"

 

"No, Adam says it's set up like a bike tour. The trail is divided into legs and you're shuttled to a first-class hotel at the end of each day. They provide gourmet dining and some kind of entertainment each evening, then take you back to the trail in the morning. Would you get that cat off my pillow, please?"

 

"Sounds interesting," Seb decided as he picked up Jose, deposited him in the hall and closed the bedroom door. "When and where are they going and how much will it cost?"

 

They continued to discuss the trip while they showered and got ready for bed. It sounded like a great idea to Seb. They had a choice of several guided tours, ranging from 5-10 days and averaging anywhere from 30-60 miles per day. They could either take their own bikes or rent them from the tour company, all meals and snacks were provided and their luggage was transported from place to place for them. The best of both worlds, he decided. Rugged mountain trails during the day, luxurious accommodations, entertainment and internet access at night. What more could you ask for in a vacation?

 

"I'll tell Greg we're interested then," Adam concluded as they got into bed and turned off the light. "What the hell is that noise?"

 

Seb listened for a minute before responding, "Jose, trying to tunnel under the door."

 

"Well, stop him!" Adam ordered. "He's going to ruin the carpet."

 

"You stop him! You're the one who won't let him in the bedroom!"  Seb couldn't understand why Adam was so determined to keep the cat out of their room at night. Sure, there had been that one unfortunate experience when they were making love, but it wasn't totally Jose's fault. After all, when you teach a kitten to pounce on your fingers when you wiggle them, you shouldn't be surprised when it does the same with other, more vulnerable, body parts.

 

And while Adam's automatic response had sent Jose flying through the air, the kitten hadn't held a grudge. He was still willing to share the bed.

 

"Sebastian." Adam's fingers tapping on the comforter drew his attention back to the present.

 

"Why do I have to do it?" he grumbled as he opened the door a crack, scooped up the kitten speeding through it and carried him downstairs to the laundry room. "There. You have food, water, a litter box, 10 million toys, and your bed. Stay." He closed the door and went back upstairs, trying to ignore the pitiful mewing and the scrabble of paws attempting to burrow through the tile.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

Seb glanced at his watch and sighed. Only ten minutes later than last time he had looked. Why did time always speed up when you were running behind and slow down when you bored? It had gone by too fast when they were rushing to get to the airport and then slowed down to a crawl when their flight had been delayed. Now he was positive they had been in the air at least four hours but his watch insisted it was only two.

 

Aware of Adam's eye on him, he restrained the next sigh and stopped jiggling his knee against his tray table. He was bored, damn it! His laptop battery was dead, along with his spare (and yes, Adam had told him those games would drain his batteries but he was bored, damn it!), he hated to read on the plane, he couldn't relax enough to sleep, and all 1000 songs on his iPod sucked.

 

He wondered how Jose was doing. Wes was taking care of both Jose and Greedy, and Seb had given him a house key and left three pages of instructions on the kitchen table. He hoped Wes bothered to read them. He hoped the bikes, shipped via UPS, had reached the tour company offices and been properly assembled. He hoped the tour company had remembered to make their hotel reservations. He hoped their luggage wasn't on its way to Singapore. He hoped--

 

"Seb, wake up. We're landing."

 

Time sped up as they deplaned, found their baggage, got a shuttle to the hotel and checked in. It slowed down again as Greg found a message from the tour company. He called them back and had a fifteen minute conversation with them, alternating frowning and sighing while the others listened impatiently to one side of the discussion.

 

"Bad news?" Adam asked when he finally hung up.

 

"Yeah. Our tour has been cancelled."

 

"Cancelled!" Josh and Seb chorused. "Why??"

 

"Forest fire. They've closed the second and third legs of the trail and they're evacuating the area. We can either hang around and see if they reopen in the next few days, we can do the first leg and then take a two-day break and pick up again with the fourth leg, we can get a full refund, they can try to get reservations on an alternate tour or they'll give us a partial credit plus one of their other vacation deals."

 

"I don't want to hang around here waiting," Josh announced emphatically.

 

"I don't want a two-day break in the middle," Seb protested just as strenuously.

 

"What's the other deal?" Adam asked.

 

"They also rent vacation cabins. They have one with two master suites about  twenty minutes off the main road. It has a full kitchen, fireplace and two grills, a hot tub and a deck overlooking a pond, and there are several excellent free-ride and single-track trails in the area."

 

"What about transportation?" Adam asked. "We'd have to rent something that would accommodate the bikes and that won't be cheap."

 

"What about food?" Josh wanted to know.

"I don't want to spend my whole vacation cooking and cleaning," Seb objected in dismay. He wanted rugged mountain trails during the day and luxurious hotel accommodations at night, not rugged mountain trails during the day and dirty dishes at night!

 

"They'll provide transportation to and from the cabin and credit at the local grocery store. If we don't want to do that, they'll try to get reservations for one of the other tours but they aren't sure they can get us all on the same one. We might have to split up."

 

All were definite about not being split up and, after some discussion, they agreed that the cabin sounded like the best choice.

 

"We'll still have fun," Adam consoled Seb after they were in bed that night. "I know it won't as exciting as the original plan but they're doing the best they can."

 

"I know," Seb replied disconsolately. "And the trails sound like fun. But-- We were supposed to stay in a hotel and have gourmet meals and local entertainment. We can't do that without transportation. What are we going to do at night?"

 

"I'm sure we'll think of something," Adam assured him. His detailed demonstration of 'something' left Seb in a much better mood, if not totally convinced about their vacation.

 

~~~~

 

"Look at the view!" Greg exclaimed, dropping his luggage in the living room and going out on the deck for a closer look.

 

"Look at the cabin!" Josh exclaimed in reply.

 

It was everything the tour company had promised. The great room had hardwood floors, a massive stone fireplace, comfortable overstuffed leather furniture and ceiling-to-floor windows looking out over the meadow and pond.

 

Beyond that was a fully-stocked kitchen, dining room and a game room. Matching spiral staircases led to the two master suites on the second floor, each with its own bath, fireplace and private balcony.

 

"When can we take the bikes out?" Seb asked eagerly, looking over the map their guide had left with them."

 

"Let's unpack and put the groceries away first," Adam suggested. "And maybe eat lunch, too."

 

Seb and Josh volunteered to take care of the luggage while Adam put away groceries and Greg checked their bikes. It didn't take Seb long to unpack their bags and, after a guilty glance at the door, open his laptop case. He really should be helping Adam but he couldn't wait to send a couple of emails to their friends.

 

A few minutes later he was back in the kitchen. "Adam? There's no phone jack in our room."

 

"I know. Why don't you put the meat away for me?"

 

"It isn't fair," Seb grumbled as he slung the packages of meat into the refrigerator. "I didn't expect wireless internet access but I did think there would be a phone jack in the bedroom. Do you know where the jacks are downstairs?"

 

"There aren't any jacks downstairs, either," Adam told him. "Didn't you read the paperwork? It's too expensive to run phone lines this far off the main road. That's why they gave us the radio for emergencies."

 

"No phone line at all?" Seb asked in disbelief.

 

"Nope."

 

"Hey, Seb!" Josh rushed into the room. "You should see the game room! Huge TV, satellite dish with all the premium channels, Tivo, dvd player and a ton of dvd's, Playstation, air hock--"

 

"No phone lines."

 

 Josh broke off mid-word. "No phone lines?"

 

"No. Phone. Lines." Seb enunciated each word. "No dsl, no dial-up, no internet access."

 

"What about cell phones?" Josh grasped at a faint straw. "We still have internet access on our cell phones."

 

"But no coverage. I already checked."

 

"That's impossible! This cabin is supposed to have everything!"

 

"Everything but a phone."

 

"Well, damn. Is it too late to change our minds?"

 

"Change our minds about what?" Greg asked as he came in the door.

 

"About the cabin," Adam told him. "They just discovered there's no phone."

 

"Who cares about the phone?" Josh smacked his hand against the counter. "There's no internet access!"

 

"Maybe we can find an internet cafe when we ride into town for more groceries," Adam suggested quietly.

 

"That's too far to ride every day," Seb objected. "It would take too much time."

 

"Right. We'll ride in and rent a car. When's lunch?" Josh obviously considered the problem solved.

 

"We will *not* ride in and rent a car," Greg just as obviously didn't. "We're on vacation, Josh. You can live  without the internet for a few days."

 

Seb started to disagree, caught Adam's eye and closed his mouth again. His partner was obviously not in the mood for further discussion; it would be better to wait and approach him again later.

 

He approached Adam later several times over the next few days, unable to understand why the man didn't see the urgency in the situation. He *needed* internet access! He needed to check his mail, to see how things were going at work, to instant message with Wes and find out how Jose was doing. He needed to find out what was happening on the lists he belonged to, check on the role-playing games he subscribed to. 

 

"This is the worst vacation I've ever had," he announced bitterly on the fourth day, when Adam told him they weren't going to town that day either.

 

"It's going to be, if you don't stop nagging me about this," Adam predicted grimly. "We're here to relax and have fun, Seb. Arguing with you is neither relaxing or fun and if you keep it up, we won't go into town until it's time to go home. Is that clear?"

 

Seb bit his lip.

 

"Is that clear, Sebastian?"

 

"Yes,  sir," Seb reluctantly agreed. His only consolation was that Josh wasn't faring any better with Greg than he was with Adam.

 

"We should just go into town without them," Josh declared as the two of them sat out on the deck that evening. "There's no law that says we have to do everything with them. If they want to lay around doing nothing all day, that's up to them. We shouldn't have to do it with them."

 

"Oh, yeah, that would go over well," Seb jeered. "And they aren't really lying around all day. These trails are great. I'm having a lot of fun most of the time."

 

"Except for the lack of internet access."

 

"Except for that," Seb agreed. "But if it weren't for that, it would be a perfect vacation."

 

"Seb, I'm going to bed now."

 

Adam spoke from behind him and Seb jumped guiltily, wondering how much Adam had overheard and if complaining to his friend counted as nagging. "Ok. I'll be in after I finish my beer," he replied. To his relief, either Adam hadn't heard anything or was ignoring it, because the older man kissed him goodnight and went inside without further discussion.

 

"I'm going to get another beer," Josh said after a few minutes. "You want one?"

 

"Sure, might as well. There's nothing else to do out here."

 

"You know what we ought to do?" Josh said when he came back with the beers. "We ought to go now."

 

"We can't go now! It's 10:00," Seb protested. "Everything would be closed by the time we got there."

 

"Not everything," Josh contradicted. "And we don't have to go all the way to town. We passed a motel on the way in, remember? We can take our laptops, ride out to it and rent a room for a couple hours. They're both asleep; they'll never even know we're gone."

 

"That dump on the main road?" Seb looked at his friend in disbelief. "Josh, Norman Bates would be afraid to stay in that motel!"

 

"I just want to use the phone line, Seb,  not take a shower!"

 

"Adam would kill me."

 

"Adam will never know. Come on, Seb. What could go wrong? It isn't that far, there's a full moon and we have head and tail lights. We'll be there and back before you know it. They'll never even know we were gone."

 

"What if they wake up?"

 

"They aren't going to wake up. And even if they did, what's the worst that could happen? They get pissed, we have a big fight, they get over it and we're fine."

 

That wasn't the worst that could happen to him, Seb thought glumly, but there was no way he could tell Josh that. And, as his friend kept coaxing and he downed the second beer, he started seeing things Josh's way. After all, Adam had only said *they* weren't going to town and ordered him not to mention it again. Adam wasn't going along and Seb definitely wasn't mentioning the trip to him, so he was in the clear. And in a way he was doing Adam a favor, right? He was showing initiative, taking care of the problem himself so the other man wouldn't have to worry about it.

 

"Fine," he said at last. "I'll go change and get my laptop."

 

The ride back to the main road actually went faster by bike than it had in a 15-passenger van and before long they were cycling down the highway to the Bates motel.

 

"They'd better have phones," Seb muttered as Josh went in to rent a room. And he'd better not get mugged in the parking lot while he waited. Adam would kill him.

 

"Got it!" Josh flashed him a smile as he came back out with a key. "Room 1. Right next to the office."

 

"Great." Seb pushed his bike into the room behind Josh's, fairly sure it couldn't do any more damage to the worn carpet and unwilling to risk having it stolen. The room wasn't really that bad, he decided, taking off his helmet and tossing it on the lumpy bed. As long as you ignored the general dinginess, the cracks in the wall and the water stains on the ceiling. At least he knew it was clean. The odor of disinfectant was making his eyes water.

 

Since it had been Josh's idea, he got first chance at the phone line but Seb was happy to chat on his cell phone while he waited. He checked his voice mail and left a couple of messages for other people, then had a long conversation with Wes, first about Jose and then catching up on the gossip at work.

 

By then, Josh was reluctantly willing to trade places with him. He checked his email, did some replies, joined in a list discussion, caught up on his role-playing games and found out what was going on in the world. Nothing new, he decided. Some things never changed.

 

"Ready to go?" he asked, closing down his laptop and putting it back into its case.

 

"Already?" Josh replied in astonishment. "We've only been here a couple hours. Checkout isn't until 11 am."

 

"We're not staying until 11 am, Josh.  I'm tired. I want to go to bed." Where he would lie awake all night, trying to figure out how he was going to explain this to Adam. What the hell had he been thinking?

 

"So go to bed. You sleep, I'll surf."

 

"Joshua." Seb placed his hands on his hips and spoke in his best Adam imitation. "First, I wouldn't sleep in that bed on a bet. Second, the smell in here is giving me a killer headache. Third, do you know what will happen if we aren't there when they get up in the morning?"

 

"Yeah," Josh answered the third question first. "They'll assume we went for an early morning ride and have breakfast without us."

 

Obviously his best Adam imitation needed some work. "You stay if you want to," he announced flatly. "I'm going to ride back and get some sleep in a decent bed."

 

"Fine!" Josh grumbled, seeming to realize that his friend meant it . "But I hope you realize we're wasting most of our $30."

 

Seb pulled out his wallet and tossed a twenty and a ten on the desk. "There. Can we go now?"

 

The trip back to the cabin slowly improved Seb's mood again. The cool night air cleared his head and he pushed his worries to the back of his mind. He might as well enjoy this ride, he decided fatalistically. It would probably be the last time he could sit comfortably for the rest of their vacation.

 

The cabin was dark and quiet when they got there and Josh gave him a thumbs up as they silently parked their bikes and sneaked in, leaving their helmets on the porch and their laptops in the living room. "See you in the morning," he mouthed as they separated to go upstairs and Seb nodded in reply.

 

"Adam?" he whispered as he cautiously entered in their room, hoping against hope that Adam wasn't awake and waiting for him.

 

Adam was asleep in his usual position, on his back with one arm across his eyes and Seb felt a rush of love. How had he ever gotten so lucky? His partner stirred at his entrance but didn't awaken and Seb sighed in relief as he slipped out of his clothes and put on a clean t-shirt and sleep pants. He would really have liked a shower but that would be pushing his luck too far. Much better to just slide quietly into bed and get some sleep. He could shower in the morning and work out his explanation to Adam at the same time.

 

He eased into bed, keeping a wary eye on the other man as he did so, but Adam never moved. Mission accomplished, he thought happily as he snuggled up against his partner's side.

 

"Have a nice ride?"

 

"SHIT! Adam!" Seb yelped, involuntarily smacking the older man on the chest as he bounded up. Then the actual words penetrated and he gabbled for an explanation. "I-- We-- Josh-- We just--"

 

Adam raised his hand in a stopping motion. "Never mind, Seb. We'll talk about it in the morning."

 

He turned over and calmly went back to sleep while Seb lay awake, rehearsing his story for the morning and wishing he could hit Adam again, on purpose this time.

 

 

Breakfast was a difficult meal for Seb. He hadn't slept much and his eyes felt tired and gritty. He didn't know how Adam was going to manage discipline with Greg and Josh around. He knew his partner well enough to know that it would be discreet, but-- Maybe it would wait until they got home. He didn't think so, though. Adam didn't believe in putting things off.

 

To make matters worse, Greg clearly knew about their midnight escapade and was treating it much more lightly than Adam had.

 

"Did you hear what these guys were up to last night?" he greeted them with a laugh. "Can you believe that? I think I'd better get Josh enrolled in a 12-step program when we get home!"

 

He and Josh continued laughing and bantering about it until finally even Josh noticed that Seb and Adam weren't treating it with the same level of enjoyment. "Is anything wrong?" he asked, looking from one man to the other.

 

"Seb isn't feeling very well," Adam said smoothly before the younger man could open his mouth. "It's probably just allergies but I think we're going to take it easy today. You guys go ahead without us."

 

"It's probably all that disinfectant we inhaled last night," Josh quipped and Seb glowered darkly at him.

 

"That's too bad." Greg frowned. "I hope you aren't getting sick, Seb. Is there anything we can do? You want us to postpone our ride? Go into town for drugs or anything?"

 

Seb was already shaking his head when Adam replied for him. "No, there's no reason for you to change your plans. Some Benadryl and a day in bed should take care of it."

 

 

"What corner do you want me to use?" Seb asked when Josh and Greg finally left, what seemed like an eternity later.

 

"I don't think you need any more thinking time, do you?"

 

"Then where do you want to do it?"

 

"You're skipping ahead a little." Adam sat down and patted the couch next to him. "First we discuss, then we discipline, remember?"

 

"What is there to discuss?" Seb flopped down next to him. "You're going to spank me; that's why you told them my allergies are bothering me, so they won't wonder about the red eyes or stuffy nose. Let's just get it over with."

 

"First we discuss, then we discipline, remember?" Adam repeated. "Let's talk about what you were thinking at the time."

 

"I was thinking I wanted to check my mail and call Wes," Seb told him in angry frustration. "I was thinking we were never going to get to town and Josh was going and if I asked you about it you would say I was nagging and I wouldn't get to town until we left. I was thinking that I wanted to do what my friend was doing for once. Why are you making me do this, Adam? Greg thought it was a big joke!"

 

"I'm not Greg," Adam said simply. "And I want to know what you were thinking. Were you thinking that nobody knew where you were? That if you had gotten hit by a car there was no way to identify where you were staying or let us know about it?"

 

"No," Seb replied slowly.

 

"Were you thinking that I would rather have had you nag at me than lie here worrying about you for three or four hours?"

 

"No, sir."

 

"Or that maybe that motel wasn't the safest place to be in the middle of the night?"

 

"Uh--"

 

"You did think of that one, huh?" Adam guessed with a wry smile.

 

"I'm sorry, Adam." Seb hung his head. "I was wrong. I knew it was wrong when I did it and I didn't care. Go ahead and spank me. I deserve it."

 

"I'm not going to spank you."

 

"You're not?" Seb started up eagerly, not bothering to conceal his relief.

 

"No. I thought about it but it would make biking difficult and I don't want to ruin our vacation, for you or for the rest of us." He put up a cautioning hand. "Don't get excited; you're still going to be punished. I'm grounding you instead."

 

Seb flopped back in dismay. "Grounding me? For the rest of our vacation? How is that any better than spanking?"

 

"Well, it's easier on your butt, for one thing," Adam told him, a smile quirking the corner of his lip. "But I'm only grounding you for 24 hours. Go upstairs and get in bed. Except for bathroom breaks, you'll remain there until this time tomorrow. It will give you some valuable thinking time."

 

"What- what about food? And what about Greg and Josh? " Seb asked suspiciously. As tired as he was, staying in bed seemed way too lenient to him.

 

"I'll bring meals to you. I'll tell Greg and Josh that you aren't feeling well and that you're sleeping. Go on. I'll be up in a few minutes to check on you."

 

The first couple of hours passed quickly; Seb slept through them. After that, time slowed again, making the time he had spent trapped on the plane seem like mere minutes. It continued to creep along relentlessly for the next few hours, defying his attempts to speed it up. He planned his next exhibit at work, worked out character details for his role-playing games, played mental games, recited the episode titles and plots of all his favorite tv shows - nothing moved it any faster.

 

Sunshine streamed through the open window and a light breeze teased at the curtains, reminding him of what he was missing. Adam had left the door open after lunch and he could hear the other man moving around the cabin. He could have been down there, he thought dejectedly. He could have been enjoying the time alone with Adam instead of lying up here on this *stupid* bed while Adam enjoyed himself downstairs.

 

He checked the clock yet again, wondering if he could insist on a spanking instead of being stuck in this room another 18 hours. Probably not, he decided. Adam never let him take the easy way out.

 

He was singing '99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall' when Adam entered the room with a mid-afternoon snack and took pity on him.

 

"You missed the numbers between 54 and 44," he pointed out as he set a tray on the bedside table.

 

"Hell. Now I have to start all over again," Seb groused.

 

"Please don't. I brought you something." He handed Seb a pad of paper and a pencil.

 

"You want me to do lines now?" Seb asked in dismay. On the other hand, even lines might be better than lying here doing nothing.

 

"Not unless you want to. I thought it might give you something to do." Adam stretched out next to him and picked up his book.

 

It did help speed time a little. Not as much as his book or Gameboy or laptop would but he knew better than to ask for any one of them. And having Adam next to him helped a lot. He eventually fell asleep again, waking only when he heard Greg and Josh come in. Adam must have told them he was sleeping since Josh didn't come up to tell him about their day.

 

He lay there, imagining them talking and laughing as they made dinner and ate, thinking about them watching a movie or playing games after dinner. Somehow, all the things he and Josh had despised as entertainment earlier took on a new allure. Mostly he lay there and imagined how Adam must have felt during the hours that he and Josh had been gone.

 

"I'm sorry, Adam," he whispered when his partner brought him dinner. "I never thought about what you would go through if you woke up. I'm so selfish and insensitive. I don't know why you put up with me."

 

"Because I love you." Adam sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled Seb into his arms. "And you're not selfish and insensitive, just a little thoughtless sometimes. Do you want me to stay with you?"

 

"No," Seb sighed. "I'm the one being punished. You go have fun."

 

"You sure?"

 

"Yeah. Go ahead."

 

Time slowed as he waited for Adam to come to bed, then sped up again when he was cradled in his partner's arms.

 

Time was really perverse, he thought sleepily as he rested his head on Adam's chest. Right now, he wanted it to stop altogether. Instead it would gallop along and before he knew it, it would be morning.

 

But that meant another day with Adam was only a heartbeat away, so maybe it knew what it was doing after all.

 

The End