WARNING: Graphic description of male-male sex.
Chris turned off the gas feeding the fireplace flames, then walked over and dropped into his recliner, sighing contentedly. It had been a great Christmas. The best in many years for him and, he suspected, for the man sprawled and sleeping soundly on his sofa.
Glancing over at his deadly sniper, Larabee smiled and shook his head. His snoozing lover looked so young in slumber it sometimes made him feel like he was a dirty old man, but he wasn't quite ten years older than Vin, and Tanner was anything but a child. In fact, he often found himself wondering if Vin had ever been allowed to be a child.
He snorted softly, amazed at himself and the whole situation he currently found himself in. How in the world had he gone from finding out Tanner was gay to sleeping with the man?
Granted, his life had taken some unpredictable turns along the way, just like anyone's, but this was… Well, this was just about as unexpected and unusual as he could possibly imagine. Sexuality, he decided, was a whole lot more complicated than anyone seemed to assume it was.
How else could a straight man fall in love with a gay man?
He snorted softly. And just what the hell were "straight" and "gay" anyway? Far too narrow to account for either himself or for Vin, he suspected.
Not that it really mattered. All that did was what he felt for Vin and what Vin felt for him. And he knew that what they were both feeling was love. That was something he understood, something he had experienced once before and never had thought to again. But he'd been wrong, and for that he would be eternally grateful.
Glancing over at the sleeping man again he knew he couldn't wait much longer. Nervousness was making his palms damp and he rubbed them along his thighs. Despite the tangled chaos cluttering the room – torn wrapping paper, ribbon and bows, empty boxes – there was one more gift left to be handed out this Christmas Day, but Chris had yet to find the perfect time and place to give it to Vin. And it was nearing 10 p.m.
All the rest of the gifts had been opened after the huge dinner they had shared, and the rest of Team Seven – and their other guests – had headed for home, leaving him with Vin… and that one final gift – the most important one of all.
And there Tanner lay, crashed on the sofa, looking as peaceful and as contented as Chris had ever seen him. And why not? All day Vin had been surrounded by a family that loved and cared for him, that knew who he was, and still accepted him, completely and without reservations. He was well fed and in possession of a small mound of new treasures that had seemed to delight him when he saw them.
Chris chuckled softly. Tanner, it turned out, was remarkably easy to please. But his smile faded quickly as Larabee realized why that was the case. In a life that had given Vin very little – taking away far more than it had given, really – getting anything was a treat, a joy to be celebrated.
It wasn't fair. No one should have had to endure the kinds of things Vin had, especially not someone who still had an incredibly kind heart and generous soul. But Tanner's legacy of pain and want was over and Chris was determined that it would never return. His last gift was a part of that greater plan; he just wasn't sure Vin was ready to accept it yet.
Hell, Chris wasn't completely sure he was ready for it. It was a big step in their relationship, which had been slowly building ever since the night Vin, beaten and bleeding, had tried to call him for help on his cell phone. It was hard for Chris to reconcile that, out of the horror of a brutal gay bashing, they had found love, but maybe that was the way it was supposed to work – acts of evil balanced by acts of love.
Not that Vin hadn't loved him long before that terrible night, Chris knew. That was just when he'd found out about Tanner's orientation. Later, he'd deduced that the former bounty hunter held strong feelings for him. Vin did nothing to give himself away.
Realizing that Vin loved him had come as something of a shock – well, a huge shock, if he was honest with himself – but once he'd gotten past the initial surprise it hadn't been all that long before his own feelings, curiosity, and built-in adventurous streak had allowed him to make the first moves in the waltz that had brought them to this night.
Vin had turned out to be all that Chris could have hoped for, and much, much more. Which was why he wanted this last gift to be accepted in the spirit in which it was being given, but for that to happen he had to actually give it to Vin, and that meant waking Tanner up…
Chris levered out of his chair and stepped over to the sofa. Looking down at the sleeping man, he almost reconsidered. No one who looked that happy should be snatched from his dreams. He could always give it to him tomorrow… But he really wanted to make it a Christmas gift, and he only had a couple of hours of Christmas left.
"Vin," he whispered, not wanting to startle the sleeping man.
"Huh?" Tanner replied jerking slightly. His eyes popped open. "Chris?" he asked, tone worried.
"Time for bed," Larabee said, all the affection he felt for the man clear on his face and in his voice.
And Tanner blushed as he sat up and stretched, then glanced around at the mess strewn around the room. "Damn, we made a helluva mess, didn't we?"
Chris shrugged. "That's the way it's supposed to be. We'll get it cleaned up before the first."
Vin grinned as he pushed to his feet. "Us?"
"Hell yes," Larabee said, trying to look stern. "You think I'm going to try doing this all by myself? I'd drown out there."
Vin chuckled. "Guess y' might be right 'bout that. I'll help y' get it cleared out in the mornin'." He looked at Chris, grinning, blue eyes full of mischief. "If y' make me some 'a that French toast 'a yers."
"French toast, huh?" Chris asked, pretending to think about it. "Yeah, I guess I could do that… Least I can do, given the amount of work ahead of you."
"Oh, now it's 'me'? Thanks, pard."
Chris grinned. "We'll do it together."
Vin took another look around the room, his expression softening. "C'n do anything if we do it t'gether," he said softly, then added, "Sure was a nice day, Chris."
"Yeah, it was," Larabee agreed, fighting back the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. No one should look that grateful for a simple family Christmas celebration. "Come on," he said, turning and heading out of the room. He paused and looked back, watching as Vin walked over to the big tree, giving it one last, long look before he turned off the lights, casting the room into darkness.
Tanner crossed the room and joined him, the two men making their way to the bedroom they now shared. Vin slipped into the master bath first.
Chris listened as first the toilet flushed, and then the water came on while Tanner brushed his teeth. Moments later the man was climbing into the bed wearing only his briefs.
Larabee took Vin's place in the bathroom, following his own nightly rituals, then he undressed and joined his lover. As he settled under the covers he knew Vin was already asleep again. Damn, Tanner, couldn't you have at least waited for me? I swear you're trying to make this hard!
Well, he thought, I can make things hard, too. And with a grin Chris inched closer to the sleeping man, reaching out and running his hand down Vin's bare back. The man's skin was soft and warm under his touch, the smooth expanse broken here and there by scars that reached far deeper than the surface of Vin's skin.
Tanner moaned softly under the light touch, scooting back a little to get closer to Chris.
Larabee smiled and leaned in closer, kissing the back of Tanner's neck, then his shoulder. The moan returned, louder and longer this time and Vin pressed his ass back against Chris's groin, making Larabee curse softly.
The blond inched back a little from the too-familiar contact, but continued to stroke Tanner's back, his hand occasionally straying over Vin's side to rub his chest and abdomen lightly as well.
After a few minutes of careful stroking and some well-placed kisses, Chris's hand strayed down to rub lightly over Vin's brief-covered ass.
The moaning rose in pitch and intensity, Vin's legs shifting so the younger man was turned more onto his belly than on his side.
Larabee's grin took on a more shark-like quality as he continued to rub and squeeze the brief-covered buttocks, finally slipping his hand under the waistband and pushing the cloth down over the muscular globes to expose them to his touch.
Vin ground his hips forward, and Chris knew he was mashing his growing erection against the mattress. Raising his fingers to his lips, he sucked them into his mouth to wet them, then reached down and slipped them into Vin's crack, finding the small pucker hiding there and rubbing his spit over it before he slipped one finger into the hot chute.
Vin groaned and ground his hips against the mattress again, mewing with pleasure as Chris pressed in deeper. Larabee leaned in and gently nipped the back of the sharpshooter's neck.
"Ah, shit," Tanner hissed, then moaned, "Chrrrisssss…" when Larabee licked his shoulder.
Chris buried his finger deeper, slowly twisting it back and forth while he continued to kiss and nip the back of the younger man's neck, and along the top of his shoulder.
"Chrrrrrisssss," Vin moaned, pressing back, trying to embed the digit farther, but it was already in as deep as it could go. "Please," he implored.
Larabee chuckled. "Soon," he promised.
"Now," Vin countered petulantly.
"Soon," Chris repeated as he shoved his free hand under Vin's side and found the man's cock, full and pulsing. His fingers closed around the thick shaft, capturing it in a tight grip.
"Ahh!" Vin cried out, his hips jerking forward to try to friction himself in Larabee's palm, but he almost instantly pressed back again when the finger in his ass was nearly pulled free. "Chris!" he pleaded, then growled, "That ain't no damn toy."
"Soon," Larabee repeated, slowly jerking the swelling shaft in his hand while he wormed his finger back in as far as possible. He went back to kissing and gently biting the younger man wherever his mouth could reach.
Within a few minutes Vin was leaking profusely, whimpering, and fighting weakly in Larabee's arms. "Chris, please," he begged. "I need y', Cowboy. I need t' feel ya inside me. Now."
"Now?" Chris asked him.
"Now," Vin growled. "Now, Chris. Fuck me, damn it."
Laughing, Chris gave Tanner's cock a hard squeeze, then pulled his finger free and rolled over so he could pull the KY out of the nightstand drawer. When he turned back the bed was empty. What the hell? He frowned. "Vin?"
There was no reply.
Sometimes, Tanner… Chris threw the covers back and climbed out of bed, shivering slightly as the cool air touched his skin. "Vin?" he called again. Then he heard it, the squeak of the hardwood floor in the den. He smiled and started for the door, then stopped and went back to the nightstand and opened it again. He took out the small gift and, with the tiny box and the KY in hand, he headed for the den to see what Vin had in mind.* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Vin was waiting for him right where Chris expected him to be – in the den, in front of the fireplace. Tanner was lying on the sofa, which he had pushed closer to the restored flames, naked.
"Took y' long enough," he complained, pouting.
The blond grinned, wondering what Vin would think if he knew Chris thought he looked adorable. He stared at Tanner's still-full cock, which Vin was stroking unhurriedly. "Looks like I need to take care of that."
"Was hopin' y' might."
Chris walked to the sofa and knelt down next to Vin, setting the gift and KY on the floor, then captured the man's mouth in a long, passionate kiss, tongue dancing over Tanner's lips until the younger man's mouth opened for him and he slipped inside, his teeth tugging insistently at Vin's lower lip.
"Chris," Vin begged softly when Larabee shifted and began to nibble at the sensitive flesh of this throat, "c'mon, I can't wait no more."
Chris, once more grateful for the extra-wide cushions on the sofa, whispered, "Soon."
Vin groaned – loudly.
His tongue traced tiny circles over Tanner's heart, sliding down his chest to blaze a path around his navel. His fingers played with Vin's cock and balls, the younger man groaning and arching against him as he drew his fingers up the length of his shaft, lightly pinching the swollen head.
"Like that?" Chris asked in a whisper, fingers stroking Tanner's face.
Vin nodded. A moment later Larabee was on his knees, his warm, wet mouth surrounding the former bounty hunter, lips sliding up and down his shaft, tongue caressing the sensitive ridge on the underside.
"Oh fuck," Tanner gasped as Chris's teeth scraped lightly over his balls. His hands came up, grasping Larabee's head. He loved the soft feel of the blond's hair.
Chris's tongue ran over the slit in the head of Vin's cock, licking away a bead of precome, swirling around the base before taking the man into his mouth again. The plush satin muscles of his throat worked around Tanner's cock, his fingertips tracing around Vin's hard nipples.
Pleasure raced hot and rich in Tanner's belly and his blue eyes widened slightly as he watched himself disappearing past Larabee's pink lips. Then his head lolled back and his eyes closed as the churning, hot pleasure spilled into his limbs, leaving them rubbery. He pulled Chris's hair hard, thrusting up into the man's mouth, feeling the head of his cock hit the back of the man's throat. "Ah shit," he groaned.
Larabee shifted, then parted Vin's legs and reached beneath Tanner's balls, fingering his hole.
"Oh shit," Tanner gasped, his breath beginning to come in fast pants. "Chrisss…" he warned.
Knowing Vin was close, and wanting the moment to last, Chris moved, crawling onto the sharpshooter's lap. He pressed his rosy-soft lips to Tanner's, the velvet scrap of his tongue invading the younger man's mouth. Then, unable to resist, he wrapped his hand around Vin's cock and began to pump it slowly.
Vin moaned into Larabee's mouth and began to pump his hips faster, striving for release.
"Slow down," Chris cooed.
"Fuck slow," Vin gasped. "Yer killin' me, ol' man."
Larabee chuckled. "Only way to go, right? Turn over," he added, moving off the man.
Vin did, quickly, excitedly, and that feeling of being a dirty old man played through Larabee's mind again, but he didn't care. He wanted this as much as Tanner did.
Standing, Chris stepped out of his boxers and then climbed back on top of Vin. His fingers massaged Tanner's back, starting at the shoulders and slowly working their way down to his tailbone, sliding around his hips. Vin sighed heavily.
Chris licked up the back of Vin's neck, grinding his hips against Tanner's ass. "Do you want me?"
"Fuck, Chris, y' know I do," Vin whined, and suddenly the weight that had been on his back was gone. There was a tap on his shoulder and Tanner grinned and lifted his hips. One of the throw pillows was slipped under him.
Vin felt a lube-slicked finger pressing inside him, working back and forth, loosening him up. A few moments later Chris slid his finger out, replacing it with two.
Every move was slow and careful and Tanner groaned, "Y' gonna make me wait all night?"
And then Chris was pushing at the well-prepared entrance, sliding inside him with a slow, exquisite burn that ate its way through Tanner's stomach and up into his chest. His eyes squeezed shut, head pressing forward as a jolt of pleasure shot through the pulsing burn.
Chris began to ease himself out and then back into Vin, his hips rocking gently.
Vin arched up to meet Chris's thrusts, a warm tingling crawling all over his flesh. "Yeah, oh yeah, give it t' me, Chris… Give me all y' got."
Larabee began to thrust faster.
"Oh yeah… Oh shit… Ah, God, Chris… more."
A hot buzz built under Tanner's skin as Chris shifted to short, hard thrusts that punched his prostrate. He could feel the barely-leashed tension wracking Larabee's body and knew the man was getting close.
He actually felt the orgasm begin a moment before Chris cried out and Vin felt the man's first load hit the walls of his rectum, slick and searing. "Oh God, Chris," he moaned, "that's it… give it t' me…"
When his balls were finally drained, Chris pulled out and turned Vin over, grabbing his swollen cock and squeezing, his mouth closing on the bloated head.
Vin cried out – loud and sharp – his eyes squeezing closed as his orgasm rolled over him in a rushing wave, hot and powerful, bathing him in blistering release. His seed flooded into Larabee's mouth and the older man swallowed every precious drop.
When it was over, Chris climbed onto the sofa, the two men snuggling, bodies pressed tightly against one another, legs tangled together. Chris kissed the top of Vin's head. "A pretty marvelous little toy, I'd say."
"Little?"
Chris laughed. "All right, a marvelous whopper of a toy."
Tanner chuckled and trembled slightly. Chris reached up, pulling the afghan off the back of the sofa, covering them with it.
"Thanks," Tanner sighed, snuggling closer, kissing Chris's shoulder while one of his hands and stroked the man's thigh.
"You're welcome."
"'M gonna fall asleep right here," he murmured.
"Not yet you're not," Chris said, one hand reaching down and feeling around until he found the small box on the floor. He handed it to Vin. "You have one more gift to open."
"What?" Vin asked, accepting the bright red box. "What is it?"
"From me to you," Chris said, urging Vin to go on and open it when he got a look at the clock – it was almost midnight.
Vin reached up and slipped off the green ribbon that held the box closed. Inside was a silver keychain and on it a single key that Vin instantly recognized. He had a copy of it in his pant pocket. He looked up at Chris, confusion clear on his face.
"It's the key to the ranch," Chris said softly.
"I know," Vin replied. "Y' gave me one a while back. Don't y' remember?"
Chris chuckled softly. "Of course I remember. Vin, it's a key to the ranch," he tried again.
But Vin only looked more confused.
Chris sighed and smiled. "I'm trying to ask you to move in. You know, live out here all the time, not just come over to spend the night with me a few times every week?"
"What?"
"I want you here all the time, Vin," Chris pushed on. "I want to go to bed with you every night, and wake up with you every morning. I want us to build a life together. I want it all."
Vin trembled. "Y' sure 'bout this?"
"More sure than anything else in my life right now," Chris told him. "I want you here. Hell, Vin, if I could, I'd marry you, but I can't. But that doesn't mean I don't want us to live like we are. Does that make sense?"
Vin nodded, his eyes filling with tears. "It's what I've wanted fer a long, long time, Cowboy."
Chris frowned. "Why didn't you tell me? You could've moved out here any time."
Vin dipped his head, saying softly, "Learned t' be happy with what I got, not what I wanted… Don't usually get what I want."
Anger flared inside Chris and he pulled Tanner closer. "Not any more, Vin. From now on, you tell me what you want and we'll see what we can work out, understand?"
Vin nodded, then looked up through his lashes, blue eyes full of emotion, and asked, "Y' really marry me if'n y' could, or y' just sayin' that?"
Chris nodded. "I would, Vin."
"Could always have a commitment ceremony," Tanner offered softly, unable to meet Chris's eyes as he did.
Larabee grinned. "You're right, we could."
Tanner's eyes rounded again. "Y' serious?"
"Hell, yes," Chris replied. "I told you, Vin, I love you and I want you here. I'm not ashamed of that, and I'm not going to hide any more than I absolutely have to. I'm not built that way."
"Probably safer if'n we did hide," Vin replied, but he reached out and hugged Chris close.
Larabee sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right, but that's one of those things we'll negotiate… We could have a private ceremony…"
"I'd like that," Vin said, his voice beginning to slur sleepily. He held up the key, noticing for the first time that the keychain was the Hopi "man in the maze" design. "This is the best present anybody ever gave me, Chris," he said softly, knowing he'd finally made his way through the maze of his past to find real happiness.
"You're the best present I've ever gotten," Chris whispered.
"Nope, ain't true."
"No?"
"'M the third best."
Chris frowned even as he chuckled – Vin-logic at work, and as incomprehensible as ever. "How do you figure that?"
"Well," Tanner said, getting comfortable, "figger the first best gift y' ever got was when Sarah said she'd marry yer sorry ass."
Chris felt his heart cramp in his chest, knowing it was true, but before he could say anything, Vin continued.
"An' the second best present y' got was when y' heard y' was gonna be a daddy. So 'm the third best."
"Doesn't mean you're any less important to me, Vin," Chris managed, pulling the man as close as he could.
"Nope, 'm just the third is all."
"God, I love you."
"I love y', too, Cowboy."
"You just call me a cowboy?"
"Sure did," Vin said around a yawn. "Whatcha gonna do 'bout it… Cowboy?"
"I'll show you," Chris growled, dipping his head and starting to chew on Tanner's neck.
"Shit! Lar'bee! Stop!"
"You're mine, Tanner. Now, always," he husked, then chomped the man again, making him squirm harder.
"Hell, Cowboy, I been yers since the day I laid eyes on ya! Stop!"
Larabee ceased his attack, giving the man a kiss he hoped conveyed everything he was feeling. "Merry Christmas, Vin," he said breathlessly a few moments later.
"Merry Christmas, Chris," was the softly gasped reply.END
Continues in Fool for Love
Author's Note: This story first appeared in the Mag 7 zine, Seven Card Stud #5, published by Neon RainBow Press, Cinda Gillilan and Jody Norman, editors. When we all decided to post the stories that have appeared in the issues of Seven Card Stud that are more than two years old, we opted to use a generic pen name because, while Patricia Grace is the primary author of this story, she had so much help from the other folks writing for the press that it just made sense to consider the story to be written by the Neon RainBow Press Collective! Resistance was futile. So, thanks to the whole Neon Gang – Sierra Chaves, Michelle Fortado, Patricia Grace, Erica Michaels, Nina Talbot, Kasey Tucker, and Lorin and Mary Fallon Zane. Story lasted edited 9-28-2005. Art by Shiloh (shigal13@excite.com)