![Baeden](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_md2e3jPtsG1riaeblo4_500.gif "Baeden")

Earth - Tahoe Skii Lodge

It only took a few seconds for Baeden to remember why he hated flying. The moment the engines on the plane started up, his stomach was in his throat and his corndog well on its way back to being outside his body. August had taken notice of his companion’s nervousness like a police dog alerted to drug possession and a wide, white smile split his lips.

“Now don’t tell me a big, strong guy like you is afraid of a little air time?” August teased and although Baeden hated him for it, he was at least grateful for the distraction to keep his lunch down.

“I don’t like heights. Switch me seats.” Baeden replied with a snap and moved to get up but August shook his head no, putting a hand on Baeden’s chest and pushed him back down into the seat.

“Not a chance. There isn’t a lot that gets under your skin so I’m going to enjoy this while I can.”

Baeden shot August a piercing look, one that clearly indicated that he wasn’t in the mood to get jerked around. 

“Tell me, how does a guy who works construction, balancing on beams made of wood no thicker than the width of your shoe hundreds of feet in the air get so spooked by heights?” August went on, ignoring the look that he got all too often.

“Because if I fall, I know it’s my own damn fault. Here on a plane, if the captain so much as sneezes, we’re all dead.” Baeden replied, shifting awkwardly in his seat and pulling the cover of the window down.

“Oho! So we’ve got a bit of a control issue do we?” August smirked, laughing when Baeden’s hand shot out to slap him across the chest in an effort to get him to shut up. “Man, I feel sorry for any girls you managed to coax into a Ferris Wheel for a bit of lovin’.” August added, keeping his white smile. Baeden, grunted, sinking down in his seat as far as he could go to feel as close to solid ground as he could. This was going to be a very, very long six hours.

---------

It was remarkable really, how one minute you were headed towards the dinner hour in Manhattan and another minute you were right back to lunch time in Nevada. Baeden felt a bit grateful that he had gained an extra three hours in the time zone difference. He had skipped lunch back in Manhattan, needing the near empty stomach to survive the plane ride. If this wasn’t a second chance he didn’t know what was. The moment they touched down, Baeden was the first one off the plane, leaving August to pack their luggage off and now, with his feet back on safe, solid ground, Baeden found it in himself to laugh at the expense of his traveling partner.

“What’s got you in such a chipper mood all of a sudden?” August grunted, practically shoving Baeden’s backpack into his chest.

“Nothing, there’s a pack mule joke here somewhere but all I can think is how much you look like an ass.”

August stared, blinking at Baeden’s terrible attempt at a joke and just shook his head.

“C’mon, let’s get checked in before God decides to smite you for being a waste of human potential.”

Baeden just smirked, slipping on his backpack and taking his suitcase from August and walked with him through the terminal where they hailed a cab to take them to the ski resort. It was a short drive, compared to the utter chaos that was Manhattan traffic, so both boys were in a relatively good mood when they arrived. August made a beeline for the counter where Baeden wandered off to find the nearest source of food. Finding a vending machine with an assortment of soda’s, he stopped there and dug through his pockets for loose change coming up empty. Frowning, he returned to where he had last left August and waited for him to finish getting them checked in before stating,

“Alright, this was your idea. Tell me where I can get something to eat for the low sum of pocket lint.”

August handed over a lanyard with what Baeden could only assume as a ‘top priority kind of customer’ badge attached to it by the way August was practically bragging about how they were going to be absolutely pampered here. Taking the badge, he stuffed the lanyard into his pocket, letting the badge hang free. There wasn’t any way in hell he was about to look ridiculous by wearing it around his neck the whole time he was here.

“They have an eatery here, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and then a cookies and punch hour. Free to us but we just missed the deadline for lunch.”

Baeden felt his shoulders deflating, his stomach gurgling angrily in protest but August quickly amended it by handing Baeden what looked like a credit card.

“It’s got a thousand a day limit on it, so don’t go spending it all in one place… or all on one girl… try to get at least two.” August winked, slipping his identical card into his wallet. Baeden just stared at the credit card, blinking. He was much more of a five-dollars-a-day kind of guy with his budget, just how and the hell did August expect him to spend more than-

The mention of women brought Baeden to a clear realization. This money wasn’t for him. Well it was, because any money spent on a woman would get any guy that much closer to getting lucky, but unlike August, Baeden wasn’t out to ‘get some’ every waking moment of his life.

“I had our bags sent up to our rooms… we have two separate ones in case-“

Baeden waved August’s words away.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. You go on and do… whatever it is you came here to do. I’ll meet up with you later.”

August shot him a look of disbelief.

“No you won’t. You’re just trying to get rid of me.”

“Is it working?”

August brought up his hand to smack the back of Baeden’s head playfully.

“Hey, watch it! I control your paychecks!”

Baeden simply just pushed August aside and started to walk in a random direction. It didn't matter much *what* direction to him so long as it was *away* from his boss, but that didn't stop August from keeping hot on his heels, reminding Baeden of a needy puppy in constant need of attention. A small group of what Baeden could only assume were highschool students passed them along the way, a few of them giggling amongst themselves the way packs of girls did when they caught an eye of the pair. August in return gave them a smile, turning his head to watch them go as Baeden continued forward.

"You know what that looks like?" August asked, tapping Baeden in an annoying fashion.

"Yeah, jailbait." Baeden replied keeping his head down low. This was the exact reason Baeden liked to keep to himself, no one to embarrass him but himself.

"You're a real buzzkill, you know that?"

"Good."

Baeden pushed open a pair of double doors and walked through the threshold. He wasn't quite sure how he ended up outside, but the blanket of white snow reflecting off the sun's rays had him temporarily blind, forcing his hand up to shield his vision. For some reason, probably instinct, he kept walking despite being unable to see, trying to push August's prattling about the heated swimming pool away from his mind. Finally, it just became too much and Baeden turned to face his partner.

"August!" He shouted, but immediately calmed his voice in the middle of the word. He wasn't much of a shouter, all in all he was a pretty laid back guy, but August was one of those people who constantly grated on his nerves, despite the strange, brotherly relationship they had developed over the years. "I. Don't. Care. You brought me here for a vacation, so I'm going to spend it the way I want. Not sure what that is yet, but I know what I don't want, and that's you hovering over me like I'm some kind of kid! I promise I'll meet up with you later if that means you'll leave me alone for a few hours. I got your number, and you got mine. So go, have fun, get girls, whatever. But I'm flying the afternoon solo."

By the time Baeden was done talking, his eyes had adjusted just enough to see the small smirk on August's face. The older man just shook his head and kicked at the snow at his feet. But the moment August opened his mouth to speak, Baeden turned, not in the mood for an argument but the very second his body turned, his face was sloshed in a bucket-full of the slush, white powered mixture of snow, rendering him unable to see once again.

Flinging the snow from his eyes, Baeden could faintly hear August laughing his ass off at his expense. Really it was no harm done with... whatever had just happened... it was just more of a small annoyance that was beginning to build on him ever since he had agreed to get on that plane.

With his sight restored (mostly), Baeden caught the glimpse of two girls who (he had assumed) just ridden down the hill on their boards. He must have gotten caught in the path of flying snow that had been kicked up in order for them to stop without sliding face-first into the lodge; something he was sure that he would only be more than capable of if the roles had been reversed. He didn't know much about snowboarding, or skiing, but what little bits he had caught off of tv or in movies let him know he would be like Bambi on ice out there. Jesus this vacation was turning out to be a terrible, *terrible* idea.