By Sammy Girl
ATF Universe
Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money.
Authors Note: Just a ficlet really. This is my first attempt at adult, and it's pretty tame stuff. Still I hope you like it, feedback greatly appreciated. Thanks to Firefox who got me into this, proof read it and whose e-mail discussions were the inspiration.
Vin shifted uncomfortably in his seat, as the aircraft began its descent into Denver. He had been away for five long days. Through a contact of Judge Travis he had been invited to give a seminar and practical lessons in advanced sniper techniques at the FBI academy. At first he had been against it, but Chris had persuaded him to go. Ezra had practically begged him. Keen to see his friend show his former employees, who had treated him so badly, what the AFT could do. It had gone well; usually he didn't like to speak in public especially to strangers - but when he was speaking about shooting and guns, subjects he was supremely confident about - it wasn't so bad.Home, he was nearly home, nearly back with Chris. Just thinking about the black clad team leader brought a shiver of pleasure and anticipation. He found himself suddenly stretching and shifting in his seat. This was the longest they had been separated for since they consummated their relationship three months ago. Five days with out seeing his face, five days without Chris' breath on his neck, five long nights without the warmth of his body in bed. And five agonisingly long days and nights without feeling Chris inside him. He suddenly realised his body was responding somewhat spectacularly to his thoughts. Quickly he flipped down the tray in front of him.
"Sir?" A voice interrupted his erotic imaginings.
"Yup." He looked over at the air stewardess.
"Sir you must place you tray in the upright position for landing," she instructed, firmly but still with that sterile smile Vin found so unappealing.
"Oh…yes…I'll do that…" he stammered.
She stood and watched, while he did nothing.
"Now, sir, if you wouldn't mind," she said impatiently.
Aw hell, thought Vin, Now what do I do?
As he pushed the tray up he leaned down, supposedly attending to his laces, and surreptitiously watched until she was gone. He thanked God the seat next to him was empty. Sitting up slowly he crossed his legs and began to think about plane crashes, which as the plane dropped down though the clouds had the desired effect on his groin, if not on his stomach.
ooOOOoo
Chris fumed as he strode back into the team offices. Vin was due in today and he had wanted to meet him at the airport. Unfortunately Team 3 had found themselves with a bust bigger than they could handle and at the last minute Team 7 had to ride shotgun, as Buck put it. He had been forced to call Vin and tell him no one could meet him and he would have to take a taxi. Now he just had to wait for the love of his life to return to his arms. Arms that just ached to hold the lean Texan against him and never let him go again. As usual, any strong emotion Chris couldn't or wouldn't acknowledge, openly came out as aggression.
As his office door slammed and the blinds on the glass walls were dropped JD Dunne sighed with relief. When Chris was like this there was no knowing when, where, or on whom he would take out his anger.
"What's yanking his chain?" the young easterner asked.
"Nothing a mangy Texan can't fix," Buck commented.
"Certainly our esteemed, if fiery, leader is more amenable when Mr Tanner is at hand," Ezra admitted.
"Fire and ice, Ying and Yang," Josiah said enigmatically.
The others looked at him, shook their collective heads, and as one decided the quicker they wrote their reports the quicker they could get to the saloon and have a Friday night drink.
Buck grimaced as he looked at the folders on his screen. His report on a fatal shooting last week was due in today. It was finished but he had yet to print it out and it was a long one.
A good hour later, during which time Chris had not moved out of his office, Vin strolled in, and dumping his battered duffel on the floor he walked over to his desk and flopped down on the chair.
"Miss me?" he asked with his trade mark lopsided grin.
"More than you'll ever know," commented Nathan.
Vin had barely logged on and started to sift though his accumulated e-mail when a familiar voice resounded around the room.
"Tanner! Get your butt in here now!" Chris bellowed from his office door.
"Shit, you've only been here five minutes," JD commented as he made his way into the inner sanctum.
Vin stood in the middle of the office for a second worried he really had done something wrong. Then Chris stood in front of him, and Vin drank in his musky odour, a mixture of soap, horse manure, Calvin Klein aftershave and pure sex. Chris' warm hands came up and held his face, long thumbs stroked his cheek before his mouth was claimed and held in exquisite captivity as Chris kissed him as if it were the last time and the first time all in one. Then, as his mouth was released, he found every bit of exposed skin brushed with the smallest kisses, in between he could hear Chris' husky, and oh, so sexy, voice.
"I missed you, I want you," he repeated over and over again.
Vin shuddered as the fabric of his tee shirt was pushed down by Chris eager mouth seeking more of Vin to caress. Vin' fingers were running though his lovers short cropped blond hair. He pulled Larabee up so they were face to face again.
"So, can I take it you missed me?" he asked, trying to look innocent and only managing lustful.
"Damn Texan," Chris muttered before reclaiming Vin's mouth with his own. It never ceased to amaze and delight Vin just what a good kisser Chris Larabee was. How could a man with a reputation for being as hard and nails, for being the meanest hombre this side of Dodge, be so damn sensitive and gentle and caring?
"Hell’s teeth, Larabee - give the boy some air!"
Chris and Vin broke away from each other in sheer terror, turning as they moved apart to look at Buck's large form in the doorway.
"He's only been gone a few days, can't you wait?" Buck’s twinkling blue eyes noticed the obvious bulge in Vin's tight blue jeans. "Or maybe you can't," he chuckled.
Chris and Vin continued to stare, dumbstruck and open mouthed.
"God - he saw!" Vin kept repeating in his head.
He knows! Chris kept thinking. Buck knows!
"What?" asked Buck in all innocence. "You two look like a pair of goldfish, shut your traps before ya catch flies," he advised good-naturedly.
They did.
"The guys went on to the saloon, I told em' to get the usual, that okay?"
Just then the printer stated to beep its annoying high-pitched cry of pain.
"Aw hell, now what!" With that, Buck ducked back into the bullpen.
ooOOOoo
Chris swallowed as he turned to his lover. Vin had gone and interesting shade of pale green, and his burgeoning hard-on had died.
"Oh God, now what do we do, if he knows what about the others?" Tanner breathed.
Vin thought he had never been more terrified in all his life. He had spent the better part of his life alone, unloved, used, abused and friendless. Then, in one short year, he had found it all, friends, a worthwhile job he was really good at, acceptance, family and love, true love, all encompassing love. A love so strong sometimes it hurt just to think on it, love that tended his soul, his body and his mind all in one person, all in one place. It was too much for him to comprehend sometimes, but he knew he could never go back to the way he had been - and in a second he could see it being pulled away.
"If they do know, it wasn't through Buck," Chris said barely able to think, let alone talk. "He don't talk, not about this kinda stuff."
"How? I mean we was careful, it didn't sound like he was surprised jist then," Vin said looking imploringly at Chris willing him to make it okay. Chris could always make it okay, what ever was wrong.
"We don't even know what he knows, let’s not panic," Chris advised, as he began to gather his thoughts.
ooOOOoo
Buck cursed as he unpacked a new ink cartridge for the printer, he was already late, now he had to realign the printer and start the document all over again, since it was so faint it wasn't really readable. He couldn't even leave it to print over night since the report was due in the AD's office by six that evening.
One day, he told himself, You will learn not to leave these things to the last minute.
As he worked he remembered the looks on Vin’s and Chris’s faces as he walked in on them. Well it served them right he reckoned, none of them got to kiss the love of their life at work, they should learn to control themselves more. As he picked up the magnifying glass to examine the test sheet he could hear their voices in the office, since they hadn't bothered to shut the door. Not the actual words, but the tone, stunned, scared, worried. They had no need to be worried or scared of Buck. Finally, just as he was starting his massive print run again, he saw the two of them emerge together and move down between the desks towards him.
ooOOOoo
"Errr… Buck, could we have a word with you?" Chris asked, in a small, quiet voice that was so out of character Buck almost laughed.
"Sure pard, just let me get this thing some more paper."
Then, with the printer whirring in the background, Buck sat on the edge of the nearest desk and folded his arms casually. "Well what d’ya want? Shoot."
Buck suddenly had a dreadful thought, maybe ‘shoot’ was just what they were going to do, love did strange things to a man, God alone knew what it did to two men. But he dismissed it instantly and, as he surveyed their stricken faces, he knew he was safe.
"Buck, pal, what you just saw, what you think you just saw…" Chris started.
"I didn't think, I saw, so don't go all coy on me Larabee, I’ve known about you two for ages."
"Ya do?" Vin asked. "Fer how long? What d’ya know?
"How long have I known you was gay? First time I saw you looking at him." He pointed to Chris.
"How long have I known you was bisexual?" He looked at Chris. "Longer than you have yourself I reckon, since I first met you, more or less, before you met Sarah, and no I didn't tell her. How long have I know you two were in love? Since the first time you was in the hospital," he looked at Vin and grinned, "and Chris wouldn't leave you. How long have I known you was making love? Since the fifth of July this year. That about cover your questions boys?"
They just looked on stunned as he checked on the progress of his report.
"How did you, I mean… the fifth… that was the first…we never….not before... Oh God, how did you know?" Chris stammered out.
"Well, like I say, I knew you was in love, so when Vin stayed on at the ranch after the barbecue, and you two was nicely drunk, and you came in the next day with that look, the pair of you. That, ‘I just got laid and was fucked until I was brain dead’ look, I knew. Chris, you can't seriously think I mind can you? God almighty man, I grew up in a brothel! When it comes to sex ain't much I haven't seen, or come to that even tried, at one time or another."
"Do you mean you….your…?" Vin asked, still trying to process what he had just learned about Buck.
"No I don't, wondered about it some, even tried it a few times in college but sorry guys, you're both pretty an ‘all… but you just don't ring my bell. Only time little Buck wouldn't sit up and play."
Buck sat back and regarded the two of them, hell, yes, they did expect him to be shocked or outraged or disgusted or something. Well that hurt, he decided. He had never said or done anything to indicate he was homophobic. If they didn't know Buck was unshockable by now they didn't know him at all. He was their friend; the signs were so clear to him he thought they weren't actively trying to hide, so he reckoned they weren't worried about anyone finding out.
"Jeez guys, why would I mind?" He found himself saying. "You're in love, from what I seen it's true love. Truly, madly, deeply, ain't that what they say? Why would anyone who loves you not want you to be happy? God knows ya both deserve some happiness. And you Larabee; if you ain't the luckiest bastard..."
"Me?"
"Yeah, you Chris Larabee, true love is granted to very few, some people never find their soul mate, you, you lucky son of a bitch, found it twice." There was a note of regret in his voice.
Chris regarded his oldest friend, knowing he had always wanted a family, but time was now against him, and remembering a drunken confession as to how much he had envied what he and Sarah had had. Chris had had these thoughts himself; he had yet to reconcile his feelings. If he hadn't lost Sarah and Adam he wouldn't have found Vin, and he couldn't imagine life without him. But if he was grateful to fate for granting him Vin, was he also grateful for the loss of his family, since one went with the other?
Vin was still trying to get everything straight in his head. "Does this mean they all know?" he asked, almost afraid to know the answer.
"Well Junior, it ain't exactly something I would discuss with them so I can't say who knows what. I got some ideas, though."
"And?" Chris prompted.
"Well, like I say, I had the both of you figured out from the get go, but then I got an advantage."
"Go on," Vin prompted.
"Well…the thing is, I know I ain't so smart…"
"Buck," Larabee growled.
"What?"
"Since we're being honest here, just stop all that 'good old dumb Buck' routine, I've seen your IQ score, remember."
Buck flushed ever so slightly, and Vin decided this was definitely a pillow talk topic, after sex he had found he could get Chris to be very free with all kinds of interesting information.
"Yeah, well, whatever, it's still true that I can read people when it comes to their… shall we say… more ‘basic’ instincts. I grew up among women whose livelihood; even their lives, depended on that skill. People react when they see someone they desire, even if they're not aware of it."
"Such as?" Vin asked.
"Well, their pupils dilate. Sometimes you two's are so far gone you look like yer eyes are as dark as Nathan's. Your body temperature rises; you get a slight flush…and people do things, it's harder to explain, but they open out their personal space to include the other person. And they seek out bodily contact, just a brush here or a handshake or a tap on the shoulder."
He looked up to see if they were following him so far.
"Is that how you worked it out about me, all them years ago? 'Cause you're right, I had no idea until, well, until Vin," Chris said.
"Yup, you remember Harry Chow?"
Chris nodded, a fellow officer in the first precinct they had worked together.
"Your eyes would dilate when ever he came in the room, and you always, and I mean always, sat next to him at roll call, and you were always touching, thigh or knee or foot."
"Damn it Buck! That room was so small everyone was touching all the time."
"Not like you, trust me. I knew you weren't aware of it, figured you'd find out when or if you ever needed to. Looks like I was right. Now, if I can see all this, I reckon a trained profiler with a psychology degree can, don't you? And Ez, he can read even the steeliest poker face, see all them 'tells' he's always telling us about, and you two been less than subtle in that department."
"So you're saying Josiah and Ezra know."
"No, I'm saying I don't see how they could not know, less'n they’re blind."
"What about Nathan?"
Buck shrugged. "Who knows? Nathan's about as inscrutable as a Chines diplomat, you never know what he's thinking."
"And JD?" Vin asked, JD was the closest to him in age, he and the kid had fun together and he desperately didn't want to lose his friendship or respect.
"JD! You got to be kidding, the kid’s clueless, he ain't even figured out how he feels about Casey, let alone how she feels about him, and she couldn't be more blatant if she stripped naked and flung herself at his feet legs akimbo!"
"Christ almighty Buck do you have to be so crude?" Chris fumed.
"Sex is crude, it's basic and sweaty. But it's also the best thing I know."
"A-fucking-men to that!" Vin breathed.
"See, Junior don't have a problem with crude," Buck proclaimed.
"Nah, crude can be just great," Vin affirmed.
Buck turned to see his report was finally finished. He enclosed it in a report folder and stood up.
"Well I'm done, you two coming? Them beer’s gonna be warm if'n we don't get there soon."
Chris was still not sure he was okay with Buck knowing, let alone the possibility Josiah and Ezra knew, but Vin had decided nothing had changed, so why should he?
Buck could see Chris was making no attempt to move. "Come on then let's go."
He threw an arm over Vin's shoulders and turned him toward the door. He didn't do it as a deliberate sign that nothing between them had changed, but that was how Vin took it, and he was grateful.
"You really grow up in a brothel?" Vin asked as they left.
"Oh yeah, and let me tell you it made for an interesting childhood, and a mind blowing adolescence."
Chris watched them go. Why am I still sitting here? he wondered. What am I afraid of? That I will see knowing in the eyes of friends? Is it me who is ashamed, am I only prepared to acknowledge Vin as my lover in private, am I afraid to show the world I love him? Am I the one with the prejudice? He considered this unappealing thought as Buck, still with his arm around Vin's shoulders, steered the Texan though the door.
"Hey, get your hands off my man!" he suddenly yelled, running after the two men leaving the office.
The End
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