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“Wine?”
“Check.”
“Big fluffy towels?”
“Check.”
“And we’re sure everyone else is gone?”
“Yes, darling. Most of the group has gone skiing; I think Pete and Roach said something about tobogganing. Regardless, it’s just us for a few hours.”
“Thank fuck.”
“Ed!”
“Stede, you know I love them like family, but we haven’t had a moment to ourselves since we got here. And I want to spend an hour in the hot tub, drinking wine and getting pruney with you. After that,” Ed waggled his eyebrows, “I’m sure I can think of a few things to keep us occupied.”
They dropped their towels on a nearby bench and settled into the steaming water, wine in hand. They whiled away the time snuggled up together in the corner of the jacuzzi, conversation easily flowing from one topic to the next punctuated with lazy kisses. Ed’s eyes were closed, the picture of relaxation as Stede talked, murmured really, about the different kinds of snow, head resting on Ed’s shoulder, half asleep.
“It’s a good day to be us, gents! The hot tub is already on!”
Ed’s eyes snapped open at the sound of Frenchie’s voice, and he looked at Stede. “Mate, I thought you said we had a few hours.”
Stede shrugged. “I guess they decided to come back early. They’re adults, darling. I can’t tell them what to do.”
“Yes, you can, love. It’s actually very easy. You just say, ‘we’re paying for this trip, so fuck off and let us have some alone time.’”
“I love you, but you’re being a grump.” Stede placed a soft kiss on Ed’s lips.
Ed sighed, “Love you back. It’s just- this is supposed to be our vacation too.”
Just then the door to the deck opened. “Oh, sorry to interrupt, fellas. Didn’t realize the hot tub was already ocupado. We can, uh,” Frenchie paused awkwardly, “go… somewhere else?” Wee John, Roach, and Pete all looked similarly uncomfortable; the Swede just smiled sweetly.
“Nonsense,” Stede said, “Join us; there’s plenty of room.”
“One question,” Roach said as they all put down their towels. “Are you two naked?”
“No.”
“Of course not.” Ed and Stede said simultaneously.
“Okay, follow up question. Did you two–”
“NO!”
“ROACH!” they both yelled at the same time.
Roach raised his hands in surrender. “S’cuse me for not wanting to soak in sex water,” he muttered, climbing into the tub followed by Pete, Frenchie, Swede, and Wee John.
“Aaaahh, this is great.” Pete said as he sank into the water, “I’ve been freezing my balls off ever since I hit that drift, wiped out, and got snow down my pants.”
“Yeah, man, you really caught some air on that one,” Frenchie agreed.
“So tobogganing was good?” Stede asked.
“It was nice. It reminded me of going sledding with my pappa,” Swede looked nostalgic.
“John, you gotta tell them about the inner tube!” Pete exclaimed.
“Oh! Right! So, they have these giant inner tubes. We all decided to try to sit on the same one…”
Stede’s eyes sparkled as he listened to Wee John recount how the five of them had managed to stack themselves on the giant tube - Stede laughed brightly at the mental image - and start sliding down the hill. But that they had remembered a little too late that momentum and inertia were things, kept going past the end of the tubing area, hit a pile of snow - Stede gasped - and everyone except Wee John and Frenchie went flying, ass over teakettle. Luckily, there were no major injuries, and even though they were going to be sore tomorrow, they all had a good laugh about it.
As the discussion turned to what they would do differently next time, Ed leaned in and kissed a smiling Stede on his temple. “Okay, I guess it is kind of nice to spend our vacation with family.”