Work Text:
He had plans to be at the Kazanskys for Christmas Day, so being here at the hangar was a bit self indulgent. Mav glanced out into the darkness settling over the desert through the open hangar doors. The several hour drive back he would be making early tomorrow morning was probably not the smartest move, but he’d needed the time to himself. It would be just about three years since Ice’s passing and while time had made things easier the holidays were still hard.
He moved from his seat on the lounge in front of the trailer, ducking under the tinsel he'd hung up, to head into the trailer. The tinsel had been one of the few concessions he’d made for the holiday because there wasn’t a point in decorating when he was the only one out there to enjoy it. Rooster was out on deployment, and his holiday leave wasn’t likely to come due in time for him to make it out this way. Besides, he probably had more important people he wanted to spend time with. In the years since the mission, they’d managed to string together a relationship of equals instead of the limbo of resentment and loss they’d both been tangled in before. They were working toward something that Mav hadn’t ever thought he’d be able to have.
He stepped through the doorway of his bedroom where his half open duffel lay on the bed with items scattered around it. A quick repack of some jeans, t-shirts, sweaters, jackets, and he’d toss his toiletries in there in the morning. He pulled out the framed picture of him and Rooster doing something dumb while Penny laughed at them in the background. Accompanying it was a photo album of other pictures that Penny had thought he’d appreciate. It was Penny’s gift to him this year, having done their gift exchange the day before.
He’d been desperately glad that while he and Penny hadn’t worked out in the end, they’d been able to stay friends. Too much history, too much time, too much everything laid between them. It was probably better for the both of them this way. He had a refuge and a sounding board to return to after every mission, and she had a friend who she knew would always be by her side through it all. Sometimes they fell into old patterns, but they both knew better than to let it slide into something more.
He placed both the framed photo and the album on his bedside table. He’d definitely be looking through it again later, but he didn’t want it getting lost in the shuffle of all the travel he was doing. He spent more time at other people’s houses than his own during the holidays. It was just easier that way. Hosting people at the hangar wasn’t feasible due to how out of the way it was.
Mav paused, cocking his head to listen to the outside, but whatever he thought he’d heard didn’t repeat itself. Probably just the wind blowing things around like it tended to do during this part of the year. He should head to bed soon if he wanted to not be dog tired behind the wheel, which meant closing up and locking the doors of the hangar. Sure he was out in the middle of nowhere but that didn’t mean curious eyes couldn’t still find him.
He was humming a soft tune to himself as he stepped back out through the trailer door. The unfamiliar outline of a vehicle parked on the other side of the Mustang brought him up. Who was here this late?
“Hey, Mav,” said the answer to Mav’s question as he came around the nose of the Mustang looking all the world like he’d driven straight here from the airport. Even as he gave him a bright grin.
“Rooster? What’re you….” Mav didn’t finish his question as he came close and pulled Rooster into a tight hug. It felt like the sun had come to set inside Mav’s chest at the pure warmth he felt envelop him. “I didn’t expect to see you til the New Year.”
He pulled back to soak him in. He looked good. He always looked good, but he’d held onto his deck tan through the winter and the golden glow to his skin made Mav’s heart beat faster. The tangled ball of emotions when he was around Rooster hadn’t gotten any less tangled, even with their distance, but he still wouldn’t trade it for not having him in his life.
“Yeah, things worked out better than I expected. Figured I’d drop by this way.”
The pressure of the gathering at the Kazanskys fell from Mav’s shoulders as he was intent on soaking up every moment he had with Rooster tonight. He’d savor every minute. “Head inside the trailer. I’m going to lock up, and then we can catch up.”
Mav made quick work of pulling the doors closed behind Rooster’s rental, throwing the locks, and arming the security alarms before he hurried back into the trailer. Rooster was kicked back in the small bench seat next to what served as the dining table, one arm slung across the surface of said table. The comfort of the sight of him there socked a bit of the wind out of Mav and he coughed to hide it.
“So…tell me everything.”
They spent the next little bit with Mav hanging rapt on Rooster’s words as he detailed a mission Mav shouldn’t have been privy to, but it wasn’t like Mav was going to tell anyone. Who was he going to tell anyway? Most of the people in his life were affiliated with the military in some shape or form.
Mav had retrieved beers for them both a while ago and settled himself into the cramped booth chair across from Rooster. It was good to hear his voice outside the tinny speaker of a phone pulling from wherever the carrier was in the ocean. There was likely a stupid grin plastered across his face but he couldn’t help himself when it came to Rooster.
“Some more decorations to add to your file, huh?”
Rooster shrugged and grinned. “Maybe I’ll end up with one as thick as yours.”
“Probably wouldn’t be too hard to do.” Mav took a swig from his beer. “How long you in town for?”
“Through New Year’s, then it’s dry dock for six months for the land based stuff.” Rooster made a face then.
Mav sympathized. That was when he’d usually landed himself in hot water and then shortly ended up shipped off elsewhere. Being in the air, keeping in the air, kept him out of trouble. He looked down then back to Rooster. “I’m headed to the Kazanskys tomorrow for Christmas. I doubt they’d mind another guest, if you’d like to come.”
Rooster looked at him a long moment, putting together all the things Mav hadn’t said. All the emotions that lay under the surface like waiting landmines. “Yeah, yeah, I’d like that.”
Mav’s smile was soft around the edges. He still hated all those missed years. All that time lost. He shook his head and a thought struck him. “Shit.” At Rooster’s quizzical look, Mav continued. “I don’t exactly have a second bedroom in here, and your rental didn’t look big enough to be comfortable for you to sleep in. You can take my bed and I can sleep in the car.” It wasn’t a question that Rooster was staying the night. The nearest town was an hour away, and he wasn’t about to make him drive there this late at night.
Rooster shook his head. “Mav, stop. I’m not going to kick you out of your own bed. I can make the car work.” Mav opened his mouth to protest. “Either that or we military style the bed. I’m sure it’s plenty big enough for the both of us.”
Mav swallowed. He had his own reasons for not wanting to be that close to Rooster but that was his own issue. He finally nodded his concession. “Yeah, that’s probably the best idea. We should turn in for the night then. We’ve got a long drive to North Island in the morning.”
Rooster groaned. “You never do make anything easy. Thought you were getting too old for quick turnarounds like that.”
Mav laughed as he pushed up from the bench seat. “Age is just an attitude or whatever the hell that saying is.” He walked into the bedroom to tidy it up some as he heard Rooster call out from behind him about grabbing his bag from the car.
He cleared his own duffel off the bed, tossing it into a corner out of the way, then tidied up the few pieces of laundry left out around the room. He stood at the foot of the bed and surveyed everything. It wasn’t much, but it was his. It was comfortable enough: he hadn’t gone cheap on the mattress when he’d moved out here.
He turned to see if Rooster needed anything else and ran smack into him instead. He was somehow right behind him. Rooster’s arms wrapped around him as he said “Whoa” and they rocked back on their heels. Their eyes locked and Mav could sense his impending doom about to descend. His eyes flicked up to the mistletoe that was hanging from the doorway. Something he’d hung on a laughing request from Penny, who’d then requested photo proof before she would stop badgering him about it. He’d told her then that it was silly, that no one was going to be out at his place long enough for it to matter.
Rooster’s gaze followed his upwards, and his mouth quirked slightly before he dropped his gaze back to Mav’s. The distance closed between them with the inexorable slowness of something inevitable. The warmth of Rooster’s hand against his jaw was a blazing sun, and Mav was helpless to do anything but give into the pull.
The moment their lips touched Mav didn’t know if it was another mistake he was going to regret the rest of his life. He’d crashed against the rocky shores of Rooster’s anger and disregard for too long to want to repeat the experience anytime soon. His eyes were squeezed tight as he tried to stop the whimper from escaping as Rooster deepened the kiss. His senses were narrowed down to every point they touched. One hand pressed against Rooster’s chest, the other clutching loosely at Rooster’s side.
His breaths were swallow as Rooster pulled back and Mav forced himself to open his eyes to meet his gaze. “…Rooster?”
A low simmering heat reflected back at him. Something he never would’ve expected directed his way. Had he missed something while they’d been getting to know each other again? Rooster’s hand was laid on his hip, possessive, and Mav felt his fingers curl into his belt loops then a tug closer. How had he missed it?
“Yeah, Mav?”
“What’re you….”
Rooster cut him off with another kiss and this time he was pulled tight against him with a hand sliding up to cup the back of his neck. The hard squeeze that followed had Mav moaning into the kiss as that hand trailed lower to squeeze his ass. “What’s it look like I’m doing, Mav?”
“Uh….”
“Also, I really don’t have an issue with sharing the bed.”
“Yeah, no shit,” Mav managed to say with what little of his brain was still online. Rooster laughed in response then started walking Mav backwards toward the bed.
“Less talking.”
“We’re going to have to talk at—mmph….” He was again cut off by another hard kiss and it felt like Rooster was bound and determined to make him forget how to form words at all. His knees hit the back of the bed and he was unceremoniously pushed back into its softness. He laughed quietly as he reached up and pulled Rooster down to join him.
They were going to have to talk at some point. But first he was going to enjoy tonight.