Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Tuesday's Best 12-21-2010

Good morning, y'all! Everyone getting ready for Christmas? Lights brightly shining, carols playing, gifts wrapped, tree decorated? I'm sure y'all are more than ready for a bit of a breather by now, so let's see what we have in store for you today.

~*~*~*~*~*~


 December kind of snuck up on me, as did this date. I swear it was just Thanksgiving and now it's only four days away from Christmas. Am I the only one that thinks this year has gone by way too fast? No, I didn’t think so. I seriously cannot believe that it’s December, and past the halfway point of the month, too. Where has the time gone?

Rhetorical question. It’s disappeared into the unknown abyss never to be seen or heard from again, unfortunately. So, instead of dwelling on the fact that the older we get, the faster time flies, I’m here to bring you another rec of the slashy variety, and in the spirit of the holiday season.

The Great Mistletoe Hunt by BeCullen.

Not gonna lie, the opening sentence  - and even the entire first paragraph - made me laugh probably more than I should have. In my defense, I am rather easily amused but that’s neither here nor there.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this. I don't even know how to use a shotgun." Stomping through the woods with my best friend Jasper, we looked for, of all things, mistletoe. Laughing at myself, I slowly shook my head. The great mistletoe hunt of 2010. Looking at him in disbelief, I couldn't fathom why he let our sisters talk us into this. Apparently, he didn't value our lives, because I was going to end up shooting him or myself or both probably; I just knew it. Huffing at the craziness of this situation, I followed him deeper into the woods.

Jasper and I have been friends since my family moved to Tennessee my junior year of high school about four years ago. My father got offered and accepted the head surgeon position for the Cardiac Unit of a level 1 trauma hospital in Tennessee. He and my mother told my twin sister and I that we were moving to a small town with a population of twenty-five thousand in a county that had only one high school. They told us that they always wanted to move out of the city and so here we were. I couldn't really complain though. If we had never moved, then I would have never met the boy that would become my best friend. We did everything together. Even now, we attended the same college in the city that my father's hospital was located.

Jasper and his twin sister, Rosalie, had lived here their entire lives. Jasper was raised in the country and was a country boy through and through. However, I was born and raised in the city, until we moved to this small town located forty miles from anything remotely civilized. All right, maybe I was exaggerating a little bit. Alice immediately became best friends with Rosalie and the four of us had been inseparable ever since.

Which brings me back to my current situation, trailing through the woods, carrying a loaded weapon, and looking for mistletoe. Alice and Rosalie convinced Jasper that we had to have mistletoe for our Christmas decorations. Every Thanksgiving, both our families got together to celebrate and decorate for the Christmas holiday. The tree and all the trimmings got put out over the holiday weekend. We had been celebrating this way since the Thanksgiving that we moved down here. It had become a tradition.

Jasper, Edward, and loaded weapons. No, that wasn’t an innuendo - or at least it wasn’t meant to be but …

If the shoe fits.

And Edward, oh Edward, to say that he feels awkward about the realizations he’s been having in regards to how he feels toward Jasper? Well, that would be a little bit of an understatement. It’s written beautifully, though, and it perfectly showcases his confusion on the issue of his reactions to Jasper.

"I can't be sure, but I think this is where we always found it," Jasper stated as he stood, turning in a circle to look up into the canopy of trees above us.

Watching him as he searched skyward, I once again gazed at his form. His curly blond hair was a bit longer than I had ever seen it and flowed over the collar of his jacket. He had lost a few pounds these past two years since his parents' death, but he still had about twenty pounds on me. We were about the same height, but I was built slimmer.

"Hey, are you looking or daydreaming on me?" I was caught off guard with how close Jasper was to me when he asked me this.

"Sorry, where are we looking?" I asked as I tried to shift away from him to hide my half erection. I had been getting this kind of reaction from Jasper's close proximity for a few months now, and I didn't know exactly what to think about it. We had always been close, but not close like that. There was no way he would be interested in me that way; and I definitely didn't want to do anything to jeopardize our friendship. So, I pushed all these thoughts and feelings back and concentrated on just our friendship.

Do they find the mistletoe they’re looking for? And, more importantly, does anything happen if they do? Well, you’ll just have to take a moment to read this one-shot if you want to find out.  

 ~*~*~*~*~*~


 I was all ready for posting recs, having worked ahead a bit, and felt good about being on top of things... And then it came time to post today. Silly me, I forgot to take into account the date when I did all my working ahead, and neglected to find something festive for the season!

Shame on me!

Lucky for me, however, I managed to find a little gem that I’m looking forward to sharing with y’all.  

It’s called A Merry Christmas, by unwantedone, and it’s about Edward and Jasper sharing their first Christmas as a couple. It’s a short story, told in short bits, almost like drabbles (but with more than 100 words at a time). The idea is the same though, and the story moves along very nicely as you get to read about our boys.

They’re spending the holiday at Edward’s parents’ place, and though the family has met Jasper already, Edward can’t help but feel a little nervous. After all, this is one first they won’t get again, and Christmas has always been special for him.

Of course, when you visit with family - especially when your parents are Carlisle and Esme Cullen - you can count on a bit of friendly teasing:

Mom bustles us all to the kitchen where she's got the hors d'oeuvres laid out. The air is filled with the spicy scent of mulled wine and cookies. Taking a deep breath, I smile at the memories the scents evoke. This is Christmas... this is home.

My mother hands Jasper and I steaming mugs of wine and settles us at the kitchen table with my dad. We chat about work and the holidays and it's easy and comfortable. Jasper is relaxed and at ease. We sit, leaning against each other, fingers entwined. My father watches us, smiling at our interactions. Raising an eyebrow, I give my father a questioning look.

"You remind me of your mother and I. The way you follow each other's movements and that you're always touching each other," he says.

Jasper smiles as a faint tinge of pink colors his cheeks. My mother giggles as she sits next to my dad, her body coming to rest against his.

“It's true. You do act like us. It's cute."

Now, there are of course certain traditions to uphold, which we get to enjoy. And Jasper has one surprise in store for our man, Edward. What that is, you’ll have to go read for yourself.  Merry Christmas!


~*~*~*~*~*~

Both stories today are the first ones these authors have written, so be sure to give both of these wonderful authors some love. Maybe, if we get lucky (and I sure hope we do!), we will see more lovely tales from them. 

We hope you have a wonderful holiday, and that your every wish may come true. We'll be back next week with the good Captain and myself, with more goodies for you to read. 

Merry Christmas!

No comments: