Author’s Note: When Dawnebeth made her ‘Tuesday Recs’ on 10/25/16 on the 911 lj site, asking for readers’ favorite S&H stories with ‘Love’ in the title, I realized I hadn’t written one, yet. Such an oversight couldn’t be allowed to continue, so….
A 2016 afternoon.
“Uh… uh, Hutch?”
“Hmmmmm?”
“I think I crashed Google.”
“What?” Hutch rolled over and opened a bleary eye. “What did you say?”
“I, uh, I think I just caused Google to crash.”
Hutch sat up, pushed pillows behind his back and rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes. “How could you do something like that, Starsk?” he asked, sharply. “Why would you do something like that?”
“I didn’t mean to,” Starsky, semi-whined. “I just typed one word in the search line.”
“What word,” Hutch asked, suspiciously.
“Love,” was his soft answer.
“And you think that caused the largest search engine in the world to… implode?” Hutch queried, dumbfounded.
“Looks like it,” Starsky replied. “At first, nothing happened after I hit ‘Enter.’ But then I could almost see the ones and zeros smokin’, they were trying so hard to come up with references. The little number of expected hits kept spiraling up, the last I saw it was over ninety-nine billion and then… the screen went white.” He cast a soulful look at Hutch. “Does that mean it died?”
“I don’t know what it means,” Hutch replied, soberly. “Here, let me see your laptop.” He grabbed his reading glasses off the nightstand.
Starsky passed him the small, thin, lightweight piece of technology. Hutch hit a few keys. “Oh, good, at least Internet Explorer is still viable. Let’s try Bing.”
“So I didn’t kill the little feller entirely?” Starsky asked, hopefully, his chin against Hutch’s bicep, granny glasses slipping down his nose.
Hutch gently pushed the glasses back up and dropped a kiss into the convenient salt ‘n’ chocolate curls. “Nope. Possibly only Google’s been affected by your apparently impossible search. They’ll undoubtedly have the problem fixed in no time.”
Starsky sat up but scooted close, putting an arm around Hutch’s shoulders and leaning down to watch the flying fingers.
“Why were you looking up ‘love’ in the first place, Starsk?” Hutch asked as he tried various other search engines successfully.
“Well…” Starsky began, sounding slightly embarrassed, “when I couldn’t get to sleep after we laid down for our nap, I rolled over and watched you.” He ran his fingers into Hutch’s lustrous, silky soft hair. “The sun was peekin’ through the slats in the blinds and couldn’t seem to make up its mind if it wanted to shine you up all silvery, or golden.”
Hutch reached up, caught his lover’s hand with his left and brought it around to his mouth. Slowly, while continuing to type with his right, he kissed and sucked lightly on each of the finger tips.
Starsky’s breathing deepened and he closed his eyes.
“You were saying?” Hutch said, mischievously.
Starsky shuddered and opened his eyes. “Where was I?”
Hutch swallowed a satisfied smile. “You couldn’t get to sleep.”
“Oh, yeah.” Clearly reluctantly, Starsky took his hand away from Hutch’s ministrations and sat back against the headboard. “You were lyin’ there so peaceful and gorgeous and I thought of a Gary Cooper movie.”
Hutch stopped touching keys and looked at his partner. “Which one?”
“I couldn’t remember the whole title so I tried the one word, ‘love’.”
“And that caused all this?” Hutch asked, lifting his hands off the keyboard.
“Yup,” Starsky agreed. “I’ve thought of it now though” he went on quickly.
“Okay,” Hutch replied, typing again. “So which film was it?”
“Love in the Afternoon,” was his timid reply.
Hutch smiled radiantly. “That’s beautiful, Starsk.”
Starsky’s expressive face lit up. “You don’t think it’s silly?”
Hutch caught Starsky’s left hand again and kissed it. “Of course I don’t, dummy.” He went back to typing. “The older we get the more I enjoy your mushy moments.” Sending a quick smile into Starsky’s eyes, he added, “Plus the fact that we both still have them.”
“Okay,” Starsky went on, sounding happy. “Movin’ right along then, you remember the flick?”
“Sure I do,” Hutch replied, “it’s a classic. Billy Wilder directed Cooper and Audrey Hepburn in what I think the reviewers called a ‘sparkling romantic comedy’.”
“Yeah,” Starsky said, sounding pleased with himself.
“Here’s a still,” Hutch said, softly, turning the computer so that Starsky could more easily see the screen.
Starsky adjusted his glasses again and leaned over Hutch’s shoulder.
A frame from the film showed Hepburn at her loveliest, and Cooper at his most dashing, about to kiss.
“Yeah,” Starsky breathed.
Hutch closed the laptop and put it on the floor before turning to his long time partner, best friend and lover. Taking both their reading glasses off and dropping them on the discarded computer, he took Starsky in his arms.
“Am I Hepburn here?” Starsky asked coquettishly, “or are you?”
“Oh, I think,” Hutch mused, “with that gleam in your eyes, you’ll have to be Maurice Chevalier.”
Starsky slid down to lie supine under Hutch’s investigative hands. “Chevalier and Coop, huh?” he muttered, sexily. “I think I can get behind that.”
“Under it, you mean,” Hutch laughed, beginning to plant soft, wet kisses along Starsky’s jaw and down his throat.
Gasping, Starsky threaded his fingers in Hutch’s long, golden silvery strands. “Think we could, maybe, take turns?”
“Oh, yeah!”
Two long time lovers
find joy and fulfillment in
afternoon delight
END
Adorable. You’ve been on a winning streak, Pat! You and the elves are this years MVPs.
Awwwwww, thanks Matsir. I’m really glad you enjoyed this little piece of my imagining them together and still in Love in the Afternoon, after all these years. Thanks for reading and then for writing such kind words. I’ll cherish them!
Very sweet! I can see the whole scene clearly! Thanks for this. ?
You’re very welcome, CallieDoodle. If you can ‘see the whole scene clearly,’ I guess I’ve done something right. Can’t thank you enough for taking the time to read, and then to leave your lovely comment. THX!
Dear Flamingo & Elves,
Again, you have outdone yourselves with the illustration for my bit of fluff. “Thank You” sounds so inadequate but that’s all I have. THANK YOU!!!!!
I always enjoy the older guys. I agree with Matsir, you have been on a roll with the Christmas presents this year. Thank you!
You’re more than welcome, marianrose. I can’t thank you enough for all your kind comments! They are, each and every one, greatly appreciated. I’m so glad you enjoyed this one, too. I loved writing the guys this way: still together and still in love. Starsky & Hutch FOREVER!!! Merry Christmas.
P.S. There’s one more of my stories still to come. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you like that one, too.
Yep, love me some older guys too. Thanks, Pat.
Welcome, myhnabird. Thanks for reading and then for leaving kind words. Happy Holidays!
I like how you age them gently with the reading glasses. Gives them character and changes the vision in my mind just the way it should. Lovely little story.
Oh, thank you, Denise. I’m really, really glad you liked it. I know David and Paul both wear glasses now and reading glasses just seemed to add something real to the story. Thanks for letting me know it pleased you.
“The older we get the more I enjoy your mushy moments.” <3 And your brilliant haiku.
Ah, Spencer, you picked up on my favorite line, again! I’ll treasure your ‘brilliant haiku.’ Thanks so much for reading and then for leaving such a lovely comment.
Thank you for another beautiful gift!
You’re very welcome, Elaine. I’m truly happy that you enjoyed it, hopefully almost as much as I enjoyed writing it. Happy Holidays.
Another sweet moment. I love them as older guys too. Thank you for this gift!
Thank you, littlestar, and you’re more than welcome! Love them young, love them older; love them any way we can get them! Thanks for reading and then for commenting. I really appreciate it!
Pat, I love the way your write your stories! This one is wonderful as well. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome talent with us!
Thanks so much, ks. I really appreciate your reading and then leaving such kind words. I’ll cherish your ‘awesome talent’! Happy Holidays!
Starsky broke google! That’s clever, Pat. A super little story. Thanks!
I actually laughed when I thought of the idea, Kat, then had a really great time writing the story. I’ll treasure your ‘super little story.’ THANK YOU!!!
My, you’ve been a busy bee, creating the sweetest honey, and lots of it 🙂
All the mushy moments–I wants ’em!!
(ps–I subscribe to the Advent Calendar comments on my RSS reader, so I saw your replies <333 )
I had almost two full weeks after SHareCon when I was practically bed-ridden. Couldn’t let the time go to waste though so I wrote almost constantly. Thankfully, there was an Advent Calendar on the horizon and I had a place to send my stories and a work shop full of Excellent Elves to whip them into shape.
I adore the ‘mushy moments;’ glad you do, too.
Ah, although I have no idea what an RSS reader is, I’m so glad you saw my THANK YOUS!!!
And, P.S. I hope you approved of ‘Honolulu’s’ comment in Viral I was thinking of you, and ‘seeing’ you when I wrote it. Merry, MERRY!
I salute your fortitude!
The Honolulu reference made me grin, because the boys have fans all over the world, of course, even in Hawaii 🙂
About RSS feed readers: on LiveJournal, when you ‘friend’ a person or a community, you are subscribing to their posts, which are then consolidated for you to read on your ‘friends feed.’ You don’t have to go to everyone’s separate LJs. That’s what RSS feed readers do. (You can, in fact, use LJ as a feed reader for non-LiveJournal blogs as well)
Here’s a link to more info about RSS feed readers: ttps://www.lifewire.com/rss-101-3482781
I salute your fortitude!
The Honolulu reference made me grin, because the boys have fans all over the world, of course, even in Hawaii 🙂
About RSS feed readers: on LiveJournal, when you ‘friend’ a person or a community, you are subscribing to their posts, which are then consolidated for you to read on your ‘friends feed.’ You don’t have to go to everyone’s separate LJs. That’s what RSS feed readers do. (You can, in fact, use LJ as a feed reader for non-LiveJournal blogs as well)
Here’s a link to more info about RSS feed readers: https://www.lifewire.com/rss-101-3482781
I’m glad you got a grin out of my reference, Baby; that makes me smile, too.
Thanks so much for the info and link to RSS. I’ll definitely check into it! Happy New Year!