#more plot

Sunstreaker turned his head to meet his eyes. “About the trip?”

“Of course the trip.” Sideswipe grinned. “Think about it. You, me, in the cabin up near the resort, where we can go skiing or snowboarding or soak in the hot tub or sit in front of the fireplace or whatever you want.”

“It’s tempting,” Sunstreaker admitted. He tilted his head forward enough to lean his forehead against Sideswipe’s.

“But?”

Sideswipe was very perceptive, Sunstreaker had realized. He read Sunstreaker’s mood as if he was privy to his every thought, which was comforting and disconcerting all at once.

“But I’m not sure I’m ready for what you want out of it,” he admitted. “And I worry that you have expectations I can’t meet.”

They were dating, at this point. Sunstreaker was happy with that, happier than he’d ever been in fact, but what Sideswipe was suggesting… “It’s only been a couple of months, Sides. I’m…”

“You’re not comfortable getting that close yet,” Sideswipe said. His blue eyes were warm. “I know. Let me rephrase. Imagine you, me in the cabin up near the resort, where we can go skiing or snowboarding or go to dinner in the resort restaurant or watch a movie together at night under a thick quilt or whatever you want. And I’ll make you hot cocoa and you’ll help me toast the marshmallows, and we can play cards and board games and eat breakfast together every morning.”

Now that sounded a lot more tempting.

“If you want, we don’t have to be alone up there, either,” Sideswipe continued. “There’s plenty of room. We can bring some friends.”

Sunstreaker frowned. He didn’t really have many friends worth mentioning. “Raj?”

“If you want. And I can bring Cliff. Maybe Sky and TC. I know you haven’t met them yet, but they’re decent. Or Jazz, Jack, maybe Pax.”

“You have so many friends,” Sunstreaker murmured. He squeezed Sideswipe’s hand. “How do you have so many friends?”

Not that it was that surprising. Sideswipe was one of those magnetic personalities that Sunstreaker definitely wasn’t, pulling others to him by sheer charisma and general likeability.

“How do you have so few?” Sideswipe countered, with a smile to take the edge of his words. “You’re too great to only have one friend, who is more of a business associate at that.”

Sunstreaker managed a shrug. “I’m kind of focused on my art. And not too good with people.”

“Not the impression I got,” Sideswipe said. He raised his chin and gave Sunstreaker a kiss on the cheek. “You can get absorbed, sure, but you’re not the worst one I’ve encountered. When Jack gets stuck on a project we have to remind him to eat and sleep, or he forgets for days.”

Sunstreaker smiled slightly. “That is worse than me, yeah.” He snuggled closer to Sideswipe. Never mind that they were in a public area. “How big is this cabin, anyway?”

“Big enough. Four bedrooms. And room for air mattresses and stuff in the living room.” Sideswipe nuzzled his hair. “Why, did you have someone else in mind?”

“My neighbors. Magnus and Roddy. I’m not that close to them, but they’re always friendly and inviting me to do stuff. Roddy especially. Magnus is a bit more reserved.”

Sideswipe smiles. “Does that mean what I think it means? Does that mean we’ll go?”

“Yeah.” Sunstreaker closed his eyes and tucked his head in under Sideswipe’s chin. “Yeah, we’ll go. And we’ll invite all those people.”

“Great! I’ll set it up.” Sideswipe put his arm across Sunstreaker’s waist and pulled him close. “Thank you.”

“Well, what can I say? You make a convincing case.”

Sideswipe chuckled. “Does that mean I can convince you to stay here in the park with me a few more minutes? Or hours?”

“Hours?” Sunstreaker laughed. “I’d love to. I really would. But I can’t. I have a deadline.”

“Oh yeah. The sea-god.” Sideswipe’s laugh tickled Sunstreaker’s neck. “Did they decide on the dolphins at last?”

Sunstreaker snorted. “They can’t agree on the color of tap water. No. At this point they’ve nixed every sea creature I’ve come up with. So now I’m taking creative liberties and putting in what I see fit. My contract covers minor artistic decisions without input from the client, so I’m just taking care to keep everything small and discreet.”

“That’s my Sunstreaker.” Sideswipe chuckled and kissed his hair. “So, no hours. But a few more minutes?”