Title: The U.P. 200: My Race to You
Author: Shades of Hades
Date: March, 2007 (cont. in February, 2008)
Rating: PG-13 for now.
Warnings: Eventual slash, meaning Male/Male romance and possible sexual situations. If it squicks you, please steer clear.
A/N: This was inspired by the UP 200, which I got to go to for the first time this year. Also, the motivation that made me actually want to write this came from complaining that I really wanted to write a story that takes place in Michigan, because, despite my bitching, I love this state.

Chapter One:

“Urgh.”

“Honey, you know, if you lack inspiration maybe it's because you need a change in your life.”

I sighed into the receiver. “Like what, Mom?” I asked, humoring her.

“Like getting yourself a nice girl to settle down with. You're not getting any younger you know.”

I rubbed my palm hard against my forehead, trying hard not to let my frustration with her show. “I don't need a girlfriend, I just need to get away for a while, I think. A girlfriend would only complicate things at this point.”

She tuts into the phone, “I just don't like the fact that you're alone out there, sweetie. It seems like you haven't had a steady girlfriend since your father and I moved out here.”

That's because I haven't, I told myself with a hard frown.

“Maybe I just need a change of scenery,” I told her simply, changing the subject and hoping she would follow.

“Well, you know honey, I know how you don't like to stay with relatives, but your uncle invited us up to watch the dog sled races this month. Your father and I aren't going, but I could talk to him and see if he'd let you stay with him for a few days.”

I stared blankly out the window, watching the rain come down in the constant drizzle that it usually did here, as I listened to her.

“I don't know, Mom,” I said with another sigh as I removed my eyes from my apartment window and to my computer screen. A blank Microsoft Word document stared back at me. “I haven't seen him since I was a little kid. I don't know if I'd be comfortable staying with him. Besides, I don't know if I could deal with all that snow.”

“Aw, come on, honey, you're aunt and uncle wouldn't mind, and it might do you some good. Maybe give you that inspiration that you've been looking for lately,” I could hear her smiling through the phone. She KNEW I was about to give in.

I gave a soft huff in frustration before I said, “Fine, but I'm getting a hotel.”

She laughed. “Okay, honey. I'll call your uncle then and tell him you'll be coming. It's the 25th. Call me back when you get a plane ticket so that I can tell him what time you'll be there.”

“Thank you, Mom. I'll talk to you later.”

“Bye, Sweetie, I love you.”

“I love you too,” I said anxious to hang up the phone.

As soon as I set the phone back into the receiver I was online looking for plane tickets and hotels.

-----------------

Sighing deeply, something I find myself doing increasingly lately, I walked out into the airport lobby.

“Hey, Victor!” I turned my head towards the voice, not sure if the person was even talking to me. Before I knew it I was being wrapped in a bear hug by a man twice my size and looking very much like a mountain man.

“Uncle,” I said in a pain filled wheeze as the air was squeezed from my lungs.

“Now, Steven, put him down, you're hurting the poor little guy.”

My uncle sat me back down and I took a few deep breaths, trying to will the tears in my eyes away.

Aunt Helen gave me a wide smile and before I could maneuver away, she grabbed me and pulled me into a big hug, one that, thankfully, wasn't rib-cracking like her husband's was.

“Oh! I haven't seen you since you were a little kid! I can't believe how much you've grown!” She rattled on and I wondered exactly why I had agreed to this trip. “Your mother use to send me pictures of you growing up, but they just don't do you justice. You're so handsome! Just like your father!”

She finally released me and I tried to sneak away towards the luggage pickup before I could be mauled by anymore relatives.
I sighed in relief as I easily spotted my bag and grabbed it, just wanting to get out of here and hopefully out of my aunt and uncles' presence as soon as possible.

When I find them again, my uncle slaps me on the back with a hearty laugh. “I'm so glad that the hotels were all full!” he tells me cheerfully and I resist the urge to hit my head on the nearest hard surface. “Now we can catch up!”

Don't remind me, I thought to myself as I hung my head and followed my Aunt and Uncle towards their car.

------------------

When they said it was cold in Michigan, they lied. It wasn't cold at all. It was fucking FREEZING! People were insane for even living in such a desolate place, I decided as I walked down a side street, listening to the sounds of dogs yelping and barking growing louder as I approached them.

My uncle laughed heartily beside me as we walked, obviously finding my chattering teeth funny.

“You've got two winter coats on, how can you be cold?”

I growl in response, too cold to properly talk.

My uncle seems to understand, because he just snickers at my misfortune.

“Don't worry, you'll get use to the cold real quick, I promise,” my aunt told me as she slapped my uncle playfully upside the head.
He hardly seemed phased by the slap.

“Thanks for letting me borrow the jacket,” I tell her kindly as I cross my arms over my chest the best I could with all the layers I was wearing.

“Really, it was no problem,” she smiled a gentle motherly smile at me, and I grinned back at her, ever the grateful child. “I wouldn't want to you freeze. I mean, I don't know how I would explain that one to your mother.”

“Well...” I gave a soft laugh, “thanks anyways.”

“It seems like the race is getting ready to start,” my uncle tells us as he points towards a sled, dogs poised at their ready.

I really wish it wasn't so cold so I could really appreciate this more. There's a thick sense of anticipation in the air, the crowd a general roar as friends find each other in the haze of frantic people streaming over the too narrow sidewalks, made slick with the packed down snow and general shuffle of feet.

“I'll catch up to you guys in a bit, I want to check everything out!” I tell my aunt and uncle as I part ways with them across a white snow blown street.

“Alright sweetie, just remember, if you get lost the car is parked up the hill two blocks over.”

I waved vaguely at my aunt's words, then let my feet shuffle across the icy sidewalk, trying to find traction with every slide as I lose myself in the bustling crowd, letting it carry me to the trucks filled with yipping dogs and men that look like Grizzly Adams.

At the end of the last barricaded street there is a man, grizzly as they come, bundled in a matching jacket and hat set that I honestly didn't think existed outside of the old Elmer Fudd cartoons, leading a dog to a sled.

I had always imagined sled dogs to be these great big beasts, made with powerful chests and strong back legs, majestic and built to pull more weight then I could possibly imagine, but instead here was this fluffy, dare I say, cute, dog that came barely past my knees. It looked like it's legs could barely hold it's own weight, so excuse me if I'm a little doubtful about this dog pulling a heavy wooden sled filled with supplies and a large man.

“Excuse me,” I clear my throat to get the man's attention.

He glances at me, then goes back to buckling the dog to the harness. “Yes?” Is his only reply to me.

Great, I sure know how to pick them don't I? As polite as I possibly can I say, “I was wondering, sir, if you don't mind me asking, but isn't that dog a bit... small?”

A snort of laughter is his only response as he stands up and walks towards his truck, opening the cage of another dog. The furry ears perk up at seeing the man and his tail bangs wildly against the sides of the cage.

“It's about power and agility, not size,” he finally answers after a moment of petting the k-9's head affectionately. “Some of the bigger dogs tend to be more aggressive and harder to train, but these guys are smart little things that work great as a team.” He coos softly at the dog as he helps it off the back of the truck, the other dogs barking wildly, probably excited over the prospect of being free as well. “This race is about team work. Without all the dogs working their hardest, the race becomes impossible.” I have to strain my ears to hear all his words nearly being swallowed up by the noise of the other eager dogs awaiting their turn. “You from outta town, kid?” He asks after a moment of silence filled by yipping dogs. “It's not so often I get questions about my dogs.”

I'm about to answer when there is a sudden pressure on my lower back and the feel of a sharp elbow digging against my ribs. “Hey, watch it!” I shout behind me as I stumble forward, barely pitching face-first into the ankle-deep snow. Somewhere in my peripheral vision the man looks up and shrugs before getting back to work with his team.

A softly mumbled, “I'm sorry,” comes from next to me as I feel a hand steadying me. “Didn't mean to bump into ya, it's just, it's sorta crowded here, eh?”

I glance up at him through my eyelashes currently crystallizing with snowflakes, and he's soft spoken and has quite possibly the prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen on a guy. He can't be more then twenty years old, smiling widely at me as he guides my feet back onto the sidewalk.

“It's alright,” I tell him quickly, slightly embarrassed that his pearly smile has me blushing like a ten year old girl with her first crush, like it was my fault I almost fell into the snow.

He only shrugs as he let's go of my elbow. “Just wanted ta make sure I didn't hurt ya.”

And before I can respond, him and his pretty baby blues are swept away by the crowd.