Vin had been hesitant to come on this camping trip, for many reasons, but for this one most of all.It was a tradition, started by Buck, according to Josiah, when the team had first formed, or maybe even before that. There had only been four of them then: Chris and Buck, Nathan, then finally Josiah. Chris and Buck went way back, so it was possible this tradition had been one of long standing, but Josiah wasn't sure.
"Come on, boys!" Buck yelled as he peeled off his clothes, then he ran down to the lake, his privates flopping in the breeze.
"The man has no shame," Ezra pointed out, though his well-honed decorum did not prevent him from stripping and following Buck into the water.
But Vin was still self-conscious, admittedly so, though no one else paid any attention to him — why would they? They were straight and, for the longest time, they assumed he was as well. It was only recently that they'd all found out the truth. Vin was afraid that was the end of things between them, that their relationships, both working and personal, would change.
But, he slowly came to realize nothing had changed. No one treated him any differently; no one looked at him funny, avoided him, made disparaging remarks, or whispered behind his back.
The only thing that had changed was their eagerness to fix him up with their female friends. This hadn't been replaced by a willingness to fix him up with their male friends, but Vin had never expected that, and, truthfully, he was rather glad of it. He had enough trouble with men all on his own; he certainly didn't need to tangle his friends up in that aspect of his life!
Still, Vin thought on this camping trip — their first since finding out he was gay — that Buck's tradition would finally fade. It was one thing to know your friend was attracted to men; it was an entirely different thing to then strip in front of that friend to go skinny-dipping in the lake.
But, as always, Buck had stripped. Ezra and then JD had followed suit and, to Vin's immense shock, all six men were soon in the water beckoning for him to join them. The infinite understanding and acceptance of this group of men he'd somehow found himself a part of constantly surprised Vin.
Vin joined his friends in the water and was immediately conscripted into a splashing war between JD and Buck. Nathan joined Buck as Vin joined the kid, then Josiah joined on their side, forcing Ezra to even the odds on the other. As their ATF team leader, Chris had wisely remained clear of the fray.
Soon the war died and was replaced by a game of Marco Polo, which Vin quietly begged out of, choosing instead to swim. He paddled out into the middle of the lake and, finally, hauled himself up onto a floating dock, about ten feet square, with a ladder on one side and a low railing along another.
He stretched out, relishing the warmth of the afternoon sun on his wet skin. He closed his eyes and listened idly to the distant calls of "Marco?" and the sporadic, taunting replies of "Polo!"
He thought about his friends again, of one in particular: Chris Larabee. From the moment their eyes had met, there'd been a connection. There was something in the depth of those fiery green eyes that had drawn Vin in, allowed him to trust and believe in someone on a level he'd never permitted himself before. He'd allowed that man to recruit him into the ATF, to draw him into this close-knit team, and to show him how to trust these same men with his very life.
Vin had harbored nothing but brotherly affection for this group, until their first camping trip. Behind carefully emotionless, veiled eyes, he'd watched his four new friends strip. He'd feared he would feel something as he watched, some twitch or quiver which would give away his sexual preference, but none had come, for which he'd been thankful. He'd joined them in the water after that, once he was certain his body would not betray him.
And they'd had fun, a lot of fun, until Chris had grabbed a hold of him, his strong hands on Vin's narrow hips, pulling him beneath the surface. Vin's body had reacted then, but underwater no one had seen the treachery. He'd swam off alone not long after that, waiting until the others had left the water before coming back to shore, waiting until his cock had lost its painful and embarrassing rigidity.
But as he'd walked out of water to head back to camp, Vin'd seen Chris, still naked, lying on a rock off to one side, not visible from the lake. The man's form was perfect and Vin's body had immediately responded again.
From that moment until this, he'd ached for Chris. As now, he'd wanted to run his hands over those taut muscles, to feel that smooth skin beneath his fingertips, to take the man's large, firm cock deep into his mouth.
As Vin remembered so long ago, that tempting man lying unaware on that flat rock, he couldn't stop his hand from moving to his own hard organ. He began stroking his shaft, slowly at first, savoring the sensations, wishing he could do the same to Chris, or that Chris would do it to him.
His feelings for Chris had changed somewhere along the way, grown from lust into love. He wanted more from the man than a night of passion. He wanted what he felt he was destined to never have: real love, which grew over time, which survived troubles, which gave one strength to go on living. But as each lonely day passed, Vin had slowly come to believe that such a thing was not possible for him.
For some reason, or maybe for many reasons, no one found him worthy of being loved. No one except his mother and that had been a very long time ago. How could there be so much love in the world, so much that criminals, murderers and thieves, were loved when he was not? What was it that people saw in his soul that kept them from wanting to truly love him?
If only someone would love him, he wished as he continued to stroke his shaft. Someone like Chris Larabee, whose eyes were smoldering green fires, magic orbs which cast an enchanting spell over him each time they gazed or glared in his direction.
Please, Chris, his mind pleaded as his cock began to quiver in anticipation of release. Please, Chris, more. Please, love me ... even just a little....
He sucked in a quick breath, deep into his lungs, and then held it. Another gasp, and another, until finally his warm seed shot from his body in a milky white stream to lay glistening on his bare stomach.
Please, Chris. I love you. Don't let me live and die all-alone.
Even when the last waves of his orgasm had finally faded, Vin didn't hear the man nearby, treading water, watching him. And Chris did nothing to make his presence known.
~ fade ~
May 2001Please do NOT repost this story anywhere outside of the Blackraptor Fiction Website.
Characters from "The Magnificent Seven," were used without permission and this story in no way signifies support of, or affiliation with, The Mirisch Group, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment, or CBS Worldwide, Inc. The M7-ATF universe was created by Mog, and extra thanks go to her for allowing other people to play within it. The story itself and any non-Magnificent Seven characters belong to the author. This story will not be sold for any reason.
Thanks to my beta reader for all of her help and encouragement!