A Midsummer Night's Dream
Webmaster Note: This fic was formerly archived on another website and was moved to blackraptor in October 2008
June twenty-first: indisputably the longest day and, that year, probably the hottest too.Hot as hell, Chris Larabee reflected, as he pushed his hat back and swiped a dirty hand across his sweaty brow. He glanced across at the man riding beside him. Vin Tanner. Former bounty hunter, now bounty carrier. No sweat on that brow. Hardly ever was. Maybe Texans didn't feel the heat.
Vin noted the surveillance, saw the trickles following the line of the man's sideburns and gave the ghost of a smile. He languidly moved his hand to the right, taking his horse off the faint trail across the plain.
'Problem?' Chris asked.
'Horses could use a break,' Vin replied softly. No need to say more.
Chris followed, confident in his companion's knowledge of the dusty landscape. Three-quarters of an hour passed before Vin's destination became clear. From the top of a ridge, they surveyed a strip of trees in the shallow valley before them. Trees meant water: cool water, not the tepid contents of a canteen after a morning of sun. Chris unconsciously licked his lips at the prospect.
From beneath the shadow of his hat-brim, Vin watched the pink tongue flick across the dusty lips with the same enigmatic smile. He shifted in his saddle, seeking to relieve the pressure at his crotch, then moved forward. The pace he set was lazy, aimed at bringing the horses in as cool as possible, so it was another quarter-hour or so before they reached the shade.
The trees grew along the banks of a shallow creek maybe ten feet across. Vin rode on purposefully, his back watched by a puzzled Chris who saw nothing wrong with their current location. Perplexed, he followed without question until they turned a bend to find the creek swelled into a deep pool more than three times its normal width. Vin swung down from his gelding and immediately set about relieving it of its saddle and bridle.
Chris followed suit, having to make an effort to think of his animal first when that came naturally to the man with whom he rode. Taking two short lengths of rope from his saddlebag, Vin hobbled both steeds: they wouldn't be in a hurry to go anyplace in the heat but caution could save a man's life in the wilderness.
Unable to resist any longer, Chris squatted by the creek and scooped up handfuls until his thirst was quenched. Slopping the clear water onto his face and neck, he sighed in pleasure.
Behind him, Vin leaned against a tree. He hadn't even removed his jacket. In fact, he'd pulled the edges closer.
Chris stood, shook his head sending silver droplets flying in all directions, and then ran his hands through his wet hair. He'd thrown his jacket across the horn of his saddle about an hour after sunrise and now he divested himself of his shirt as well, tossing it carelessly across a low branch. Finally he turned back to his friend.
'Nice spot.'
Vin nodded.
'You gonna take that jacket off?'
Vin shrugged.
'Don't know how you stand it.' He turned his attention back to the water. 'Well, I ain't no Texan, that's for sure.' He flipped his suspenders off his shoulders and unbuttoned his pants. 'Watch my back, Vin.'
The laconic Texan stretched out on the bank. Sure, he'd watch the man's back. He shrugged loose of his jacket and draped it casually across his hip.
Stripped to his drawers, Chris waded into the creek. The water soaked the cotton undergarments, making them cling so close he might as well not have been wearing them. He stood for a moment, enjoying its cool caress, then began to swim around the pool with long easy strokes. His overarm style meant that he couldn't keep watch for himself. It also meant he wasn't watching Vin.
The enigmatic smile was back on the tracker's lips. His ears were alert for any approaching threats but his eyes were on his friend. He hooked his right hand under his jacket and deftly unbuttoned his pants. He gave a sigh as his swollen cock fell through his flies. He could have endured the heat all day but the pressure in his pants was definitely becoming unbearable. Nudging the jacket to maximize the concealment it afforded, he rolled his foreskin slowly up and down his stiff shaft. Nothing about his half-closed eyes or casual demeanor betrayed the fires raging within him.
At the far side of the pool, Chris stood and looked back at him. Vin stilled his hand and felt his cock begin to weep as he met Chris's gaze, using his peripheral vision to admire the man's outline through the translucent drawers.
'This is a relief,' Chris said of the swim.
Vin nodded. It would be, if Chris would give him a chance. Vin was a patient man but…
As soon as Chris resumed his circuits of the pool, Vin returned to his own recreation. The sight of Chris's body had taken him to the brink and now he bit his lip, mindful of the need to maintain his control when he wanted nothing more than to grunt and spurt. Feeling his impending orgasm, he kept his eyes fixed on the swimmer and quickened his short even strokes. A second later, he cupped his hand to catch the thick white jets that shot out of him. Forcing himself to breath out slowly, he shifted position casually and leaned back to wipe his hand in the grass behind him. Seconds later his pants were back in place as if nothing had happened, except that they felt like the right size once more.
It was another ten minutes before Chris emerged from the water. He stretched out unselfconsciously about six feet from Vin's side.
'Goin' in?'
Vin pursed his lips. He genuinely didn't feel the heat that badly and, since the price was put on his head, was never comfortable without his gun. He weighed up that reluctance with the possibility that seeing his body might trigger some reaction in his companion. Vin was an astute man and knew how much he meant to Chris. But he was as sure as he could be that Chris had never been with a man - at least not when he was sober enough to remember or care. In the drink-sodden days after the loss of his family, he might have done a lot of things but that wasn't the kind of encounter Vin had in mind.
'Watch my back?'
Chris pulled his gunbelt closer. 'You got it.'
Vin stripped to his drawers as Chris had, just as openly, just as casually. As he swam around, he kept a close but unobtrusive watch on his friend. The fair man watched him idly. Whatever he was thinking, it didn't seem to have anything to do with his dick. Vin drifted off, safe in the knowledge that Chris could watch out for him as well as he could watch out for himself. He remembered the Kiowa friend who had taught him everything he knew about tracking and most of what he knew about loving. They had shared their bodies a hundred times by creeks just like this one and Vin yearned to know that intimacy again. His cock grew hard at the thought.
He wasn't exactly afraid to ask Chris: okay the man might shoot him but death held little fear anyhow. It was more that he reckoned there was a better than even chance he could get what he wanted if he did it right so he kept putting it off for fear of doing it wrong. He wondered what Chris would do if he stood up now, with his cock at attention like a toy soldier. Ignore it, of course. That's what men did. Vin had seen all his friends proud at one time or another: they'd woken to a good many dawns together and that's how a man usually wakes.
Vin swam for most of half an hour before hauling out next to Chris. His cock was flaccid again but that wasn't likely to last.
'Mind if I ask you somethin'?'
Chris's question jolted Vin out of his reverie. He shrugged, too slow to find words for a reply.
'Back in Landon, that girl in the saloon…'
Sweet Jesus, an opening after all this time.
'Yeah?' Vin kept his reply deliberately non-committal.
'Well… ain't none of my business…'
'But?'
'Well, she was a pretty littl' thing. I mean… well… you never. Ain't like you got someone… is it?'
Vin lay back and stared at the sky. No, it wasn't like he'd got someone. Not that he wouldn't like someone.
'Sorry. Shouldn'ta asked.'
'It's okay. Just ain't sure yer gonna wanna hear the answer.'
Chris shifted round and leaned on one elbow. He wasn't comfortable with the conversation but he met Vin's eye anyhow. 'You ain't talkin' to JD, Vin.'
'I know.' He paused before continuing. 'Ain't much of a one for the ladies.' He let that hang to see where Chris would take it.
'And?'
Vin shifted to adopt the same pose, facing Chris. He gestured at his reawakening cock.
'Me?'
Vin grinned. 'Yeah. Who else?'
'But you know I… Sarah…' Chris's voice trailed off.
'Don't mean ya wouldn't like somethin' different. All kinds o' folk.'
Chris nodded slowly. 'Have you… with the others…?'
'What, all of 'em?' Vin teased.
'Any of 'em?'
Vin laughed. 'Nope. Mighta done one time but I only known 'em since I known ya. I been kinda distracted.'
Chris stared at his feet, reflecting on that.
'Ain't a big deal, Chris. Just forget I ever said it.'
'No… no… I don't wanna… forget.'
Vin looked into Chris's eyes. In place of the usual hard edge was uncertainty. 'What do ya want?'
Chris gave a slight shrug. 'How would…? I mean would you…? Oh shit.'
Vin shifted closer, putting his mouth alongside Chris's cheek so the man didn't feel he had to meet his gaze. 'Don't get hung up on that. Lotta ways to skin a rabbit. Ain't much a woman can do for ya that a man can't. 'Ceptin' kids o' course.'
Vin waited for a moment. Then, when Chris made no effort to pull away, he rested his hand on his friend's hip. Chris barely moved… but the movement he did make was into the hand, not away from it. Vin pushed gently, rolling him onto his back.
'Close yer eyes,' he instructed.
Chris looked at him for maybe half a minute, then obeyed. He waited in the darkness, wondering what he was getting into. If it didn't work out, he might lose the best friend he'd found in a long time. Buck might be his oldest friend but Vin, well, Vin was something else. Something else indeed. And that was why he was lying here, in his drawers, eyes closed, waiting for whatever the man wanted to do to him. As that thought went through his mind, Chris knew that he might be worried about his own reaction, and the reaction of anyone else who found out, but he had absolute trust in Vin.
When the touch came, it was as light as a breeze. Fingers fluttered across his chest, stroking the hairs and sweeping in arcs around his nipples. Gentle enough to be the touch of a woman, only the roughness of the fingertips was different. Chris's skin tightened into gooseflesh. His doubts began to evaporate: his body certainly wanted this, whatever his mind thought about it. It felt as if all the blood in his body had suddenly migrated into his cock. Even as the rest of him came over faint, the inflated flesh fought the constraining cotton.
The hand that unbuttoned his drawers was deft. Chris might never have seen Vin with a woman but he sure as hell had been with someone plenty. Chris exhaled sharply as the discomfort in his crotch subsided. He felt his shoulders tense as he anticipated Vin's touch. There had been no drunken encounters with men, even after the tragedy. As far as Chris could remember, no man had ever touched his dick. He'd ridden with men who took their pleasure that way, usually from expediency rather than choice, but he'd never taken part. He hadn't been bothered by it but he hadn't been drawn by it either. Was a time he'd liked the ladies almost as much as Buck but, in their absence, his hand did a good enough job.
When it came, the touch wasn't that of a hand. A tongue ran around the head of his cock, dipped deliciously into its eye, then floated down its shaft. For a moment, he wouldn't have known it wasn't a woman but then came the rasp of Vin's jaw against the soft skin of his hip. It was at that moment that Chris knew this was what he wanted. No expediency. He knew it was a man at his side and he had no wish for it to be a woman. Or for it to be any other man. Love was love.
The lips that closed around his excited flesh were gentle but the suction that drew it eagerly into a welcoming throat was not. No stranger to a bad blow job, Chris knew what pain it could bring. But this was different. There was a hint of pain but it lapped tantalizingly at the threshold of what he wanted to endure, staying just on the side of pleasure. A man could tell a woman what felt good and what hurt but only another man could know it.
Even though he had enjoyed female company in Landon, Chris knew he would last no time at all in Vin's mouth. He weakly lifted an arm to break its exquisite embrace but a hand gripped the wrist firmly and pushed it back to his side. His breath began to come in short gasps. He felt his balls tighten, the skin of his scrotum swirl round them, and then they erupted in sharp spasms. The suction grew stronger, drawing every last drop from his body, then stopped. The warm lips lingered briefly and then even they were gone.
Chris lay for a few seconds, drained, then opened his eyes. Vin lay beside him, propped on one elbow, looking into his face, mystery in the deep blue depths of his gaze.
'That was… fantastic.' Even that seemed to do no justice to the ecstasy he had just experienced.
'Aw, it'll get a whole lot better'an that.'
'You?'
Vin gave a slow smile. 'Y'already took me there plenty o' times. Ya just ain't known it.'
Chris thought on that, wondering how many nights he'd invaded Vin's dreams. As he came back to the present, he remembered how Vin had been lying while he swam, eyes half-closed, jacket across his hip and right hand out of sight. It had looked so casual.
'While I was swimmin'?'
A nod.
Chris watched a fluffy cloud sail overhead. Finally, he cleared his throat and said gruffly, 'Reckon I'd like to know I'm doin' it.'
'Ya will,' Vin assured him. 'Ya will.'
They lay side by side, staring at the sky above, sharing the quiet company they both enjoyed so much. Finally Chris spoke.
'Wanna move on or…'
'Stay here.' Vin finished the sentence as an answer to the question. 'Know what day it is?'
'Thursday.'
'Summer solstice.'
'Oh. So?'
'Got me some plans.'
'Oh.' A pause. 'What kinda plans?'
'Reckon ya can wait and see on that.'
'Okay.' Absolute trust. Whatever Vin wanted to do, Chris had no problem with it.
Vin was still gazing upwards when a soft snore told him that Chris had dozed off. The sun blazed down through the thin shade cast by the trees behind them - it was truly a day for a siesta. Vin shifted back onto his elbow and studied the man beside him. The golden hair was almost dry now, falling back in dead straight strands. The skin of the face was bronzed but that ended in a vaguely defined ring around the neck; the rest of the body was as fair as a baby. Fine gold hairs decorated the chest, sparse apart from where they gathered around the nipples and marched down into the still-open top of the drawers. Vin was examining the lines at the corners of the eyes, testament not just to long years in the open but to a darker history, when the lips parted and the snore deepened. He had waited so long for this day but, now it had come, he found himself wondering if it was merely the cruelest of dreams, from which he might suddenly wake. He brushed the lips with his own.
Hours passed while Chris slept on. Vin smiled wryly, guessing that the man had not spent much of their two nights in Landon sleeping. While Buck rutted with almost anything that moved, Chris maintained rigid control in their adopted hometown. When the opportunity arose, in a strange place alone or with a trusted friend, he dropped the pretense and sought the comfort he so desperately needed. Nothing he would get from a saloon hostess could compare with what Vin would give him, now that he was ready to accept the gift. Vin ran a finger lightly along the stubbled chin, feeling his cock stir and thinking of his plans. They were not new: one might say they were contingency plans. He was a man who reckoned to be prepared for any eventuality and, whenever he rode alone with Chris, he made sure to be prepared for this one. Now, after so long, he would have a chance to execute them and he could not have timed it more perfectly. Midsummer's night was the time for magic: he drifted back to a fading memory, his Ma telling him of the fairy folks' revels in the land of men's dreams.
It was dusk when Chris's eyelids fluttered. Vin watched as the hard green eyes snapped into life, quickly clouded by doubt as the brow above furrowed. Vin smiled in response to the man's uncertainty.
'Yeah, it happened. Ya sorry?'
Chris looked him straight in the eye, then gave the slightest shake of his head. 'Seems to me you had plans.'
Vin felt his heart leap. He'd seen deep into this man's soul a dozen times but now, at last, a new compartment was opening to him, a compartment that had been slammed shut for far too long. He leaned over and touched his lips to Chris's again. A hand cupped the back of his head, tentatively like a boy kissing his first girl, but confirmation that the contact was welcome. A few seconds passed before Vin reluctantly pulled away.
'Stay here. Let me fix us some supper.'
Chris nodded and dropped back to the ground. He was hungry and they had the whole night ahead of them.
Vin dressed quickly and buckled his gunbelt. It would be easy to turn up some meat: they wouldn't be the only creatures drawn to the oasis. Leaving Chris to get a fire going, he slipped soundlessly into the twilight. Success came sooner than he expected, in the shape of a young buck rabbit whose fascination with a doe proved fatal. Back by the creek, Vin cleaned the carcass and set it to roast. Chris had put on his pants and undershirt and now they sat on their heels, watching the flames as they had countless times before.
'You…? How many…?'
Vin looked at his friend in amusement. Larabee often said only three words in a day but it wasn't because he was given to being tongue-tied.
'I was wonderin' if there've been a lotta… men.' Chris finally found words for what was on his mind.
Vin smiled easily. 'Well, I'm a ways behind ya'n'Buck with the ladies.'
'Anyone… special?'
Vin frowned. He accepted the cycle of life and death, and knew his lover had been at peace with whatever destiny held for him, but the loss of love is never easy.
'Sorry.' Chris backed off instantly.
Knowing Chris's past as he did, Vin wanted to share his own. He looked back to the fire for inspiration. Finally he spoke softly. 'Yeah. Tapko. We were together four years, back when I was buffalo huntin'.' He paused before adding, 'He got killed when the army rounded 'em up.'
'I'm sorry.'
This time the tone of the apology was different: genuine sorrow for shared pain. In that moment, Vin knew that Chris saw Tapko as someone as dear to Vin as Sarah had been to him. That knowledge meant more than anything had in a good while. He nodded. It was a minute or two before his eyes crinkled into a smile.
'He wouldn't wanna be wrecking my party now though.'
Chris smiled back. For the first time, he knew - really knew deep down - that Sarah wouldn't want to be wrecking his party either.
Vin turned the impaled rabbit. Fat ran off the glistening meat, making the fire flare brighter then spit viciously. He wiped the back of his hand on the leg of his pants, then looked up when he heard the soft sniff that was as close as Chris ever came to a laugh.
'What?'
'Shoulda guessed way back you don't go fer women.'
Vin looked down at the greasy mark on his pants and grinned. He hadn't had a woman minding his manners since he was five.
'Maybe so. But it's the smart ones ya gotta watch.'
Chris nodded. 'Knew a fella back in Dodge made Ezra look like a slob. Real fancy.'
'He go for like or rough?'
'Rough.' Chris smiled and remembered an old saying of his grandmother's. 'Nowt so queer as folk, huh?'
They returned to companionable silence while they waited for the underside of the rabbit to crispen. After a while, Vin wandered over to his saddlebags and riffled through their disorganized contents. When he returned, he set a handful of items down in the shadows behind him. Chris watched, amused, knowing he'd get no answer if he asked what they were.
Vin lifted the spit from its supports and examined the meat. Poking his hunting knife between the rabbit's ribs sent clear juices flowing into the dust. With the expertise of thousands of miles on hundreds of trails, he used one finger to stop the carcass rotating while teasing the flesh away with the point of his knife. Trapping an uneven slice between his thumb and the blade, he passed it to Chris.
Later, after turning down a sixth slice, Chris leaned back contentedly. 'Don't know a man serves up a better meal on the trail than you.'
Vin reached back into the shadows, then tossed something to his friend.
Chris caught it instinctively, then examined it in the firelight: apricot, dried and sugared. Knowing Vin's sweet tooth, he looked across to check the man had another for himself. He had, although it was already half-gone, so Chris bit into his own. He wasn't keen on sweets but it was a present of sorts: the members of their group didn't usually share their personal provisions.
Raiding his secret stash again, Vin shuffled over to the fire and set a pot in the embers.
'Coffee?' Chris asked.
Vin gave him a long look before answering. 'Sorta.'
Chris pondered the reply. He had a good idea where Vin's plans were going and wasn't sure if he objected or not. Finally he spoke softly. 'Don't need to drug me. Reckon you know that from this afternoon.'
'Wouldn't do it if I thought I needed to.'
Chris nodded. He could think of no man less likely to rape anyone, whether the victim was man or woman. 'Why then?'
Vin drew a deep and thoughtful breath. 'Our ticket to someplace where we know what we really want.'
'Get ourselves killed, rollin' around senseless in the middle of nowhere.'
'Gotta let go now'n'agin.'
'Okay.' There it was again. Trust.
The aroma that rose from the steaming pot was unfamiliar to Chris. For Vin, it was laden with memories and he wiped the corner of one eye with a knuckle. Wrapping his bandanna round his hand, he lifted the pot out of the flames and set it to one side to cool. He piled more branches onto the fire, knowing neither of them would be minding it later, and then poured the warm liquid into their chipped enamel cups.
Chris took his and sniffed it curiously. 'This gonna make me feel good?'
Vin shrugged. 'Could make ya feel real bad. Just gives ya more o' whatever ya got.'
That was small comfort to a man with as many dark secrets as Chris Larabee had. He held Vin's eye, feeling something akin to fear, something akin to temptation.
Vin watched the thoughts go through his friend's mind. He'd been seventeen when he first went where they were going now, free and fearless. That night had opened his eyes to who he was and what he wanted. He hoped it might bring some of the same clarity to the shards his friend had once called a heart.
Chris slowly lifted the cup to his lips and drank. The taste was pleasant, fragrant but sharp, somewhere between rosewater and lemon juice. He'd certainly imbibed a lot worse at Nathan's hands more than once. He glanced at Vin anxiously, feeling no change but suddenly aware that there was no going back: whatever was coming was on its way. He was comforted to see Vin drain his own cup. Wherever he was going, he wasn't traveling alone.
Vin leaned back on one hand, watching Chris through narrowed eyes as he had that afternoon. The figure before him slowly blurred and became two men. Vin smiled as he recognized Tapko. He never had decided what he believed the visions to be: was his old lover really visiting or was this only a memory made flesh? Did it matter? Vin thought not. Tapko looked at the man beside him, ran a hand through the golden hair and then smiled back at Vin. A moment later, he faded to nothing.
A smile played on Chris's face as he reached out a hand. Vin knew beyond a doubt what the man was seeing: his wife and son. He waited to see what Sarah's message would be. Her curse might turn Chris away from him for ever but her blessing might free Chris to rebuild his life. Vin wanted that as much for his friend's sake as for his own. Chris was looking straight at him. Doubtless Sarah stood at his side now. A frown chased across Chris's brow as he reached out again with his hand. Sarah was leaving and he sought to detain her. Vin had tried that before but the visions did as they pleased.
Chris's gaze, normally so clear and challenging, was cloudy and thoughtful. The eyes that stared at Vin had softened from glittering emerald to pale jade.
'Vin?'
'Yeah. I'm right here.'
There was a long pause before Chris spoke again. 'Sarah likes you.'
Vin felt a wave of relief sweep over him. He hadn't known until then just how uncertain he was about her verdict.
'Adam'n'all.'
Vin nodded, too overwhelmed to answer.
Chris's voice was slurred as he tried to express what had been on his mind. 'Wasn't sure she'd… approve.'
He fell silent again, eyes closed and face unreadable. Vin watched, prepared for the journey to turn bad, taking Chris back to places he didn't want to go. When the eyes opened again, they watched the ground between man and fire intently, slowly filling with tears. The graveside. Chris wept openly, something Vin would bet his life hadn't happened years earlier.
A woman came forward from outside the circle of firelight and rested her hand on Chris's shoulder. Her smile to Vin was warm. There was something of Nettie Wells in the wise brown eyes but her hair shone chestnut. Vin felt a tear on his cheek. His Ma.
'They're gone now.' Chris's voice drew Vin's gaze and, when he looked back, his mother had left too.
'Yeah. They don't stay long.'
Chris sat staring sadly into the fire. Vin had no idea how much time passed, drifting between his own memories and his observation of his friend. If it went bad, there would be little he could do but he aimed to be there, in mind as well as body. They both started as a burnt branch snapped and the fire settled back into its ashes.
Chris's eyes had closed but a smile crept across his face. 'You're here, Vin.'
'Yeah, I'm here.'
'No. Right here.' Chris looked up at an invisible figure in front of him.
'What'm'I doin'?'
Chris laughed. Not a sniff but a real laugh. 'You ain't wearin' no clothes, that's f'sure.'
Vin smiled. At least in his own experience, the journey had never gone bad after his dick took over.
'Jesus, Vin!' There was shock in the man's voice but he made no effort to move away from the imaginary figure.
'What'm'I doin' now?'
'Yer pissin' on me!'
Vin laughed softly. Perhaps a friend should have warned a friend that what he saw was what he wanted, nothing to do with anyone else. It wouldn't be long before the man realized that for himself. They wouldn't be sober until morning but the visions would soon fade, leaving the dreamers to bury them or live them as they chose.
Chris wiped non-existent urine from his thighs. He lifted a hand and experimentally touched the fingertips to his lips. Vin laughed again. He could have sat in the saloon with the other five of their number and speculated for days without guessing that would be Larabee's fantasy. In fact, he'd wondered just how brutal those fantasies might be and whether he'd be able to fulfil them. But yes, he reckoned he could piss on a friend. As a favor. He laughed again, trying to contain himself, knowing laughter could get out of control in his current condition.
'Vin? Vin?' Clearly Chris's imaginary companion had abandoned him. Taking the last item from his stash, Vin moved over to him, shuffling on his butt rather than making any attempt to stand. He'd seen a man fall into a fire once while smoking leaves and the stench of the burning flesh as they struggled to move the body had never left him. He settled close to Chris and took his hand.
'I'm still here.'
Chris opened his eyes and struggled to focus.
'Things gettin' back to normal?' Vin prompted softly.
Confusion persisted for a minute, then Chris nodded cautiously. 'That wasn't you?'
'Nope.'
'Shit.' Chris drew up his knees, folded his arms on them and buried his face. 'Reckon you can forget what I said?'
Vin's self-control failed and he giggled. 'Nope. Won't be tryin' neither. Told ya we were goin' where we know what we really want.'
'Shit.' It was a minute before Chris picked up on the 'we'. 'Seems like you found out a lot 'bout me. I don't recall findin' out what you really want.'
'Aw, I think y'already know what I really want.' He pulled at Chris's undershirt. 'The bit about wearin' no clothes sounded good for a start.'
'You tell the others…'
'Ya'll kill me? Ya best make sure yer close, Larabee. Ya may be fast but y'ain't that good.'
Chris grinned as he let Vin pull the shirt over his head. Not many men took his threats as lightly as that.
Vin matched his grin. ''Sides, what'm'I gonna tell 'em? By the way, boys, I was screwin' Chris the other day and he wanted me to piss on 'im. Your deal, Ez.'
Chris giggled, struggled with the top button of his pants, then gave up and lay back. Vin took over, undoing the buttons slowly, extending his own pleasure in finally breaching the defenses of this most private of men. Kneeling at his side, he pulled pants and drawers together, using the heels of his hands to lift the narrow hips and free the garments. Tossing the clothes to one side, he studied the pale form beside him. An old but ugly scar ran from one corner of the pubic hair down onto the top of the thigh. Vin recognized it as a knife wound.
Seeing the examination, Chris said only, 'Buck's fault.' In response to Vin's raised eyebrow, he added, 'Way, way back. Jealous husband didn't like the look of our little foursome. I didn't even know they were married.'
Vin shook his head. 'Hell, Chris. Inch or so either way…' The scar lay between the man's dick and a major artery.
'I know.' He was still laying outstretched and now surveyed Vin. 'Why'm'I stark nekkid and you ain't even took your boots off?'
Vin looked down at himself. Preoccupied as he had been with watching Chris, first from concern and now for pleasure, he'd forgotten that he'd dressed in full to seek out their supper. He took his boots off.
'There ya go.'
'An' the rest.'
Vin unbuckled his gunbelt, laying it carefully within the light of the fire. He slowly stripped, giving Chris time to see what he was getting, throwing the discarded clothes carelessly in a heap. The skin he revealed was peppered with small scars but nothing like the one he'd just been examining. Chris now ran an inquiring eye over the numerous little imperfections.
'Aw, this'n'that. Falls, hooves, bites, initiations. Y'name it.' Chris smiled, knowing the man's life had been more eventful than most.
Vin paused when he wore only his drawers.
'I'm sure.' Chris's tone was as confident as his words.
Vin shed the final impediment and straddled Chris's thighs.
'Hold me, Vin.'
Vin squinted for clarification. When Chris reached out his arms, he lowered himself slowly on top of his friend and settled his weight on his forearms. Chris's arms swept around his midriff and locked behind his back, drawing him close. Their faces were barely an inch apart as their eyes met. Their bodies touched down their entire lengths, chests pressed close, legs entwined and cocks lying side by side.
'I been wantin' this so long.' Vin's voice was softer than ever, the merest breath. He touched his lips to Chris's, pausing for one last time to be sure that his kiss was welcome. The touch of Chris's tongue was all the permission he needed. He opened his mouth to admit it, fencing with it, first letting it pass and then driving it back and following it into its lair. He explored the even teeth, ridges of hard palate and soft insides of the cheeks, tasting rabbit and apricot, rose and lemon.
Chris loosed his grasp and put his palms against Vin's shoulders, pushing him away just a fraction. 'I don't want you to…' He faltered. 'What I said… You're right I want it. But not now, not tonight.'
Another kiss to smooth away the anxiety. 'I know. Tonight's about magic. There'll be plentya other nights.'
Chris relaxed back into the embrace but then, as Vin rolled them onto their sides, the tension began to build again. Vin felt it immediately and pressed his lips close to Chris's ear.
'Relax. I won't be doin' nothin' ya don't want me to.'
Chris nodded, embarrassed by what he saw as his own weakness. Part of him was afraid but part of him wanted to cross that line. He'd fucked plenty of women up the ass and doing that to a man was not so different. He knew from those distant days in rough company that a lot of men could live with it. Fewer could accept a submissive role and somehow that seemed the measure of his love tonight. With that dawned the realization that he had no idea what role Vin preferred.
The man must have been reading his thoughts because he spoke into that ear again. 'I want it all. Up'n'down, left'n'right, sideways if we can manage it. But it ain't a race.'
Chris's throat was dry but he formed a whisper on the second attempt. 'I know but it… seems important.'
'Okay.' Vin leaned back to reach for the little jar he'd brought over.
'You always carry that?'
'Only when I ride with ya.'
Chris smiled. It was good to feel he mattered to someone again after so long. 'What is it?'
'Somethin' Nathan made up for my horse.' Vin grinned in response to the look on Chris's face. 'Cinch was rubbin'. This is real soothin'.'
'Oh.'
Chris made to roll onto his front but Vin caught his shoulder and settled him on his side, legs bent and facing away. Vin pressed himself close, matching every angle, his cock cocooned between their thighs. He reached around to cradle Chris's, slowly feeling the man relax in the warmth and security. They lay like that for a while, enjoying the closeness.
As time passed, Chris grew impatient. The blood throbbed in his cock and he rubbed it against Vin's hand. Vin rolled the foreskin obligingly but that wasn't what Chris wanted. He'd decided what they were going to do and now he wanted to get on with it. Out of view, Vin smiled: he knew his friend inside out and one thing you could depend upon was his strength of will. He'd known it would only be a matter of time before Chris was itching to have his own way, though he'd reckoned on it taking a bit longer than it did.
He dipped two fingers into the jar at his side and straightened his legs to expose Chris's ass. Spreading the cool ointment on the warm puckered skin, he settled into a rhythm, circling the hole and then sliding forward, along the sensitive tract from there to the scrotum, massaging the testicles and then sliding right back. His first touch drew a sharp intake of breath from Chris but it was the work of seconds to turn that into a sigh and then into a groan.
Vin slipped his left arm under Chris's body at his slender waist and grasped his cock again. A few smooth strokes distracted the man as first one and then two fingers slid into his ass. After only the slightest hesitation, Chris pressed back onto the fingers, voluntarily trapping himself between Vin's hands, giving himself over completely. Vin nuzzled at his ear.
'Ya ready, Larabee?'
'Been waitin' on you, Tanner.'
In one graceful movement, Vin dipped into the jar and coated his cock. Chris again tried to roll over but Vin again stopped him.
'It'll be easier like this.'
Chris waited, biting his lip in anticipation of the pain he expected. Right at that moment, he wouldn't have minded if Vin had been less well endowed than he was. There was brief pressure and then he felt himself open: a flash of pain, a moment's burning, and then it subsided.
'Okay?'
That soft voice in his ear again.
'Yeah.'
Vin pulled him closer, sliding Chris backwards rather than thrusting himself forwards. Chris grabbed his hand and forced it onto his cock.
'Yer greedy, boy.'
'Hell, Vin. You're drivin' me crazy.'
'Ain't like ya had far to go.'
With one more kiss to that perfectly formed ear, Vin shifted to get a better grip. He was close to the edge and the time for joking was past. Holding Chris's shaft, he began thrusting steadily, pushing himself into his lover and his lover into his hand. The man was so tight and yet so yielding. Vin knew that was partly down to the drug but he hoped it was partly down to the trust he'd seen in Chris's face.
'Aw, Chris. Ya feel so good.'
'Uh… I never… Uh… Oh God… Uh….'
'Uh…UUH!' They groaned in unison, Vin shooting his load just as he felt Chris come in his hand.
Clasping his lover, Vin stayed inside as long as he could but the taut ass evicted him all too soon. Chris immediately turned to face him, pressing close from head to toe as they had begun the encounter, their cocks no longer rigidly side by side but now in a soft damp tangle.
'Plenty'a other nights?' Chris checked.
'Plenty'a other nights,' Vin confirmed.