MAIN CHARACTERS: Chris/Vin
WARNINGS/Comments: Graphic description of male-male sex.
Author's Note: The original version of this story first appeared in the Mag 7 zine, Seven Card Stud #10, 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 Lorin Zane is the primary authors of this story, they 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 - Dori Adams, Sierra Chaves, Dana Ely, Michelle Fortado, Patricia Grace, Dani Martin, Erica Michaels, Nina Talbot, Kasey Tucker, Rebecca Wright, and Lorin and Mary Fallon Zane. Story lasted edited 6-2-2008. Art by Shiloh (shigal13@excite.com)
It started out like a normal weekend day. The two men slept in for a couple of hours - after waking up earlier and making love - then they got up and went out to take care of the horses before coming back inside to fix breakfast for themselves.They ate their omelets out on the deck, enjoying the unusually warm spring day. The sun was out, the sky cloud-free. The trees were in various shades of pale green, their leaves just having begun to return. Nearby, the peaks and foothills were still capped and white with snow.
"Makes y' glad t' be alive, don't it?" Vin asked, staring out at the beauty.
Chris nodded, but his gaze was on the younger man. God, had it only been a few months since Vin had moved in? It felt as if they had been together for... forever. It was... mind boggling - in the best way possible.
Vin's gaze shifted and he realized what Larabee was looking at. His cheeks turned bright red and he dipped his head as he asked, "So, y' want t' go for a ride today?"
"Nope," the blond replied matter-of-factly, forcing his attention back to his rapidly cooling breakfast.
"No?" Tanner's tone sounded disappointed and, added to his pout, made him look like he was about six years old.
Larabee shook his head, saying, "No. I have plans for us today."
Vin's expression brightened. "You do?" He wagged his eyebrows at the man.
Chris shook his head. "Get your mind out of the bedroom, Tanner," he scolded.
"Damn."
There it was again, that blasted unhappy tone. "We're going to do some more spring cleaning."
"More cleaning?"
Larabee nodded. "We need to make room in the office so we can get another file cabinet in there for you."
"But, Chris, it's such a beautiful day!"
"And the sooner we get in there and get to work, the sooner we might be able to enjoy some part of it."
Tanner sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. There was no use arguing with the man when he got into one of his "cleaning" moods. And it had been popping up every few weekends since spring had started. He didn't usually mind. In fact, he had enjoyed most of it, so far, because it gave him opportunities to get to know his lover better, but today was the first really nice day they'd had in nearly a week, and he wanted to take advantage of it, not spend the day inside, cleaning.
"It's supposed to be even nicer tomorrow," Larabee told him. "What do you say we take the horses and ride up to that foothills restaurant?"
Vin's mouth dropped open. "That foothills restaurant" was a four star eatery that served some of the best elk and deer steaks in the state, not to mention buffalo, snake and other unusual game meats. It also required reservations, usually several weeks in advance, but Chris knew the owner - an old roommate from college - and he had a standing invitation to "show up whenever he liked."
Larabee tried not to take advantage of that offer, and had only taken him up there once before, just after Vin had accepted the key to the ranch and agreed to move in. The meal had been delicious - the best he'd ever had.
"For real?" he asked, excitement replacing disappointment.
Chris smiled. "Yeah, for real."
Tanner nodded. "All righty, then, let's get busy!"
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
The office was one of the larger rooms in the spacious ranch house, and the two men progressed methodically, going through every drawer and stack, every filing cabinet and bookcase, until nothing was left to do except the large walk-in closet.
There were two bags full of old magazines to be recycled and several bags and boxes of white and mixed paper, including mounds of shredded documents, stuffed into plastic trash bags. Larabee had been ruthless, tossing anything he hadn't used in the past few months, or needed to keep for work-related reasons.
And Vin was more than happy to help the man de-clutter his life. Less is better was his philosophy. If it didn't mean something, you didn't need it.
They took a break halfway through the room for a lunch of big deli sandwiches that they ate out on the deck, just like breakfast. The sandwiches were washed down with beers, and followed up with coffee and some of the brownies Nettie had made for Vin on Friday.
They broke for dinner when the closet was the only thing left to do, carrying out all the recycling and tossing it into the back of the Ram so they could drive it in to a local Whole Foods, dropping it all off in the various bins behind the grocery store so it could be recycled. And, since they were at the store already, they took advantage of the well-stocked salad and hot food bars to fix supper plates for themselves, eating their selections right there in booths that lined the windows, and enjoying the sunset as they did.
Their bellies full once more, they returned to the ranch to finish off the last of the "spring cleaning" left to accomplish inside the house. Larabee wheeled the TV in from the bedroom and turned on a college basketball game while they set to work on the closet. A small step ladder allowed Vin to work on the upper shelves while Chris worked below him.
All went well, and when Larabee finished he offered to go make them some coffee.
"Sounds good," Vin agreed, "but can y' help me with this heavy box first?" He had found it crammed into a corner of the rear shelf, and it was the last of the boxes to be gone through from the top shelves. So close to finished!
"Sure," Chris replied, "hand it down to me."
Vin pulled the heavy cardboard box over closer, intending to hand it down to the blond, who was waiting, his hands lifted to receive the box. But it was even heavier than Vin expected and he bobbled it as it slipped off the shelf.
Larabee lunged forward slightly, grabbing it before it could fall, but in the process he jammed his shoulder against the step ladder, lifting one leg off the carpet. He grabbed the box, but the ladder tipped over, spilling Vin to the closet floor. He landed, half on top of Chris, who was also carried to the floor, along with the box.
A sharp gasp from Tanner had Larabee scrambling around to check on the man, who sat cradling his wrist against his chest. "You all right?" he demanded.
Vin shook his head. "Caught myself; think I sprained it pretty good."
"Let me see," Larabee said, scooting closer and reaching for the man's cradled wrist.
The younger man instinctively pulled away.
"Vin," Chris said softly, "I won't hurt you."
Tanner looked up, his shame coloring his cheeks a rosy pink. "I know that," he said, his voice thick. "Just can't help it sometimes." He held his hand out so Chris could take a look, sucking in a sharp breath when Larabee made sure his injured wrist wasn't broken.
The blond climbed to his feet, then helped Vin up. Turning an angry look on the heavy box, he kicked it, snarling, "Goddamn bunch 'a shit—" But that was as far as he got. His outburst caught the lid, knocking it away. Some of the contents spilled out, stealing away his voice and he stood, frozen in place as he stared.
"Chris?" Vin called softly, leaning around the man and glancing down at the floor. He saw what had so arrested his lover's attention. "Ah hell," he whispered. "I'm so sorry, Chris. I didn't know—"
"I know you didn't," Larabee interrupted, his voice suddenly sounding tired and sad, more so than Vin could ever remember hearing it. "It's not your fault."
Tanner sank to his knees on the floor to begin picking up the scattered photographs that had fallen out of the box as well as the spilled photo albums.
"No," Chris said, dropping down to sit next to him and taking the photos from him. He stared at them, memories rising up and overwhelming him. His vision blurred as tears welled in his eyes. Without even realizing it, he reached up, his fingertips running lightly over the surface of the photos as if he could reach in and touch the faces looking back at him, the smiling faces of his wife and his son.
Giving Chris some space to be with his reminiscences, Vin carefully righted the box. Curiosity overcame him, though, and he looked inside, finding a stack of photo albums and lots and lots of loose pictures that looked like they might have been ripped off various pages of the albums. And they were all of Chris and Sarah and Adam. In a few he spotted Buck as well, and guessed that the big ladies' man had probably taken most of the pictures himself.
He smiled wistfully, noting the love that was so obvious in the captured images and wondering if ones taken of him and Chris would look the same. He doubted it, though. Chris loved him, of that he was sure, but it wasn't the same kind of open, unguarded passion that had been captured in the pictures he was looking at. And even if Chris were capable of that kind of love a second time, they couldn't be that open about it. Hell, they were still healing from the rocky reception Vin's revelation had caused among the rest of the team members.
Well, to be fair to the other five men, it was more the revelation that he and Chris were together that had touched off the crisis, but the fact that he was gay had played a part in it.
It was still hard for him to shower with the other men, even though they had all come to terms with his orientation, and his relationship with Chris. At least, they said they had, and he hoped it was the truth. If it wasn't, he really didn't want to know.
He looked down at one of the pictures. All four of the faces there smiling out at him and he wished, once again, that he could turn back the clock and give Chris back his family. He would do it, too, if he could, but that wasn't within his power. Still, he'd gladly give up his life with the man he loved if he could put that expression back on Chris' face.
"I'd forgotten these were still here," Larabee said softly, breaking Vin from his thoughts. "I got drunk one night... pulled the albums out of the bookcase in the living room where Sarah used to keep—" He stopped as his voice caught.
"What happened?" Vin asked softly, his wrist beginning to throb. He ignored the pain, knowing what Chris was feeling had to be a hundred times worse.
"Buck found me... I was sitting in front of the fireplace, burning the pictures. He took them away from me, I guess... put them in this box and stuck it up on the shelf in the closet..."
"So you'd have them when you were ready t' see 'em again," Vin finished. Yeah, he probably would have done the same thing if he'd found Chris doing that.
"I thought I'd burned them all," Chris added, his voice thick with emotion. "I thought they were all gone."
Vin nodded, knowing then what he was going to do. He would go through the albums, repair any damage he could, return the photos to their correct pages, and put them back where they belonged.
Chris continued to lightly stroke the photo he was holding. "Not sure I'm ready to see them just yet."
Vin doubted that anyone who had lost what Larabee had lost would ever be truly ready for that, but it was still time. He would do what needed to be done. "It's time, Cowboy," he said softly. "You've been livin' with the bad memories for so long now... It's time y' went back and remembered the good ones."
That brought a sad smile to the older man's face. "There were good ones, Vin... lots of them."
"Of course there was. Hell, anyone who sees these pictures would know you two were in love... And that y' both loved that baby more 'n anything... It's beautiful... And it's time y' let that beauty back into your life."
Chris nodded, but then he looked up sharply. "But I want you to understand that—"
"It don't change how y' feel about me," Vin said, cutting him off. "I know that, Chris."
Larabee managed a weak smile. "You do, huh?"
Vin nodded, hoping the sadness he felt didn't show on his face, or in his eyes. He had a hell of a time hiding his thoughts and feelings from Chris, but he didn't want his disappointment to keep Chris from celebrating the real love of his life.
The blond looked back down at the loose photos that were scattered around the box. "It feels like that was another life... another lifetime ago... like it was all a dream..."
"You were happy," Vin said, "really happy then."
That brought Chris' head up. "I'm happy now, too, Vin."
Tanner smiled sadly. "I know y' are, but it's... different."
The older man's head dipped. "Yeah, it is. After losing them... I'm scared. I'm happy, but I'm scared at the same time. I don't think I could go through that again..." He saw Vin wince as he reached over to put the pictures he was holding back into the box. "Oh, damn, your wrist—"
"Just a sprain," Vin interrupted him. "No big deal."
"Come on," Larabee said, carefully laying the pictures he was holding in the open box as well. He reached out and picked up the lid, sliding it back on, then stood and helped Vin to his feet. "We need to go put some ice on that wrist. I'll give Nathan a call—"
"You will not," Vin told him. "It'll be fine."
"You're still putting some ice on it, and I'm going to find that ace bandage so you can wrap it up."
"For cryin' out loud, Larabee, you're worse than a mother ever could be," Vin grumbled as he was led to the kitchen and given a baggie full of ice.
"Yeah, well, it comes with practice, Tanner, and with you around I seem to get plenty of it."
The younger man shook his head. "Ain't no more 'n any of the other fellas."
"Right... more like all of 'em put together," Larabee mumbled as he headed for the bathroom to find the ace bandage.
Tanner fought the desire to stick his tongue out at the man as he passed, grinning slightly instead. The blond was back a moment latter.
"Fifteen with the ice, then put this on," he instructed, setting the rolled elastic wrap on the counter.
"Damn, you're startin' t' sound just like Nathan."
"I'm sure he'll be glad to hear that." Chris glanced around, then frowned when he saw the time. "Guess we better call it a night."
"Hell, it ain't that late. Why don't y' make us some coffee and we'll finish off those brownies and the office at the same time."
"Vin, you go trying to lift anything with that wrist—"
"I'll supervise, let you do all the lifting," Tanner was quick to offer.
Chris scowled at him, but the expression had no sting to it. "Now you're starting to sound like Ezra."
That brought a smile to Tanner's lips and he nodded. "Guess maybe I'm just learnin' to appreciate his approach t' manual labor a little better."
Shaking his head, Larabee set about making the coffee and distributing the last of the brownies onto a pair of paper towels. By the time Vin was done icing and wrapping his wrist, the coffee was ready and Chris carried their cups back to the office while Vin brought along the brownies.
In less than an hour they had finished off the closet, and the food. Larabee carried the last of the recycling out to the Ram, tossing it into the bed so he could take it over and dump it the following morning. He paused, leaning against the side of the vehicle, looking up at the stars. It felt good to get the house cleaned out and put back in order, and better to know that they would now be able to bring over the last of Tanner's belongings.
He shook his head. Not that Vin had had all that much stuff to find space for, just some clothes, a few books, a box of knickknacks, his weapons, and a portable file box of important papers. Not counting his clothes, Vin had more "stuff" at the office than he did at his apartment. Not much to define a lifetime, but Larabee knew why Vin lived such a sparse existence. The younger man had had everything taken away from him too many times; he had learned not to get attached to things. But that was going to change. He was going to make sure the rest of Vin's life was as good as he could make it. He was going to show the man he could have something, and keep it. He could have love and happiness, and keep that, too.
"Hey, Cowboy, y' okay?"
Larabee turned to him, a smile on his lips. "Yeah, I'm good."
"Gettin' cold out here," Tanner replied.
Chris nodded and followed the man inside. "How's the wrist?"
"Fine, ain't even hurtin' anymore."
The blond nodded. "So, you want to go pick out a desk tomorrow?"
Vin frowned. "Still don't think I need one; got one at work."
Chris shook his head. "Which is why you spend hours at mine, working on reports here."
That prompted a grin. "Well, yeah. See, problem solved."
"Damn it, Tanner, I'd like to use that desk myself!"
"Yeah, I know..." He grinned. "Why do y' think I always use it? Y' work enough, old man, y' need to relax when you're at home."
"Oh, I do, do I?"
Vin nodded.
"Tomorrow - desk."
Tanner rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. "All right, all right."
Larabee looked smug as he said, "Good. Now, bed."
"Damn, you're bossy."
"Yeah, and you love it," Chris growled at him.
They cleaned up the kitchen, locked up the house, and headed for the bedroom.
Vin slipped into the master bathroom first, then climbed into bed to wait while Chris used the bathroom. He was dozing when he felt Larabee climb into the bed beside him. Without thinking, he snuggled closer, sighing contentedly when he was cuddled up alongside the older man.
Chris kissed him on the forehead, whispering, "I do love you... more than you know..." as he drifted off to sleep.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Vin drifted back to wakefulness, slowly becoming aware of his surroundings. Larabee was spooned behind him, his arm draped over his side. Chris was breathing softly against the back of his neck, which sent a shiver of contentment racing down Tanner's back. He loved mornings like this - waking up slowly, not jarred awake by the alarm clock, or a bad dream, or the distant echo of gunshots in Purgatory that had his heart pounding... just warmth, and safety, and love... Home.
It wasn't what he had expected to find, but he was damn grateful he had. He just hoped he could bring back some measure of the happiness Chris had lost, but he couldn't imagine how he could, not really.
"Awful early in the morning to be thinking that hard," Larabee mumbled.
Vin grinned. Damn, maybe they really could read each other's minds after all.
"Something bothering you?" Chris asked him, sounding more awake and more concerned.
"Naw," Vin replied, pressing back against Larabee. "Just thinkin'."
Chris kissed the back of his neck and then nibbled on his shoulder. "Too early for thinkin'..."
"Too early fer what you're thinkin', that's for sure."
"Never too early for that," Chris countered, his hand beginning to lightly stroke up and down Tanner's chest.
"Mmm, guess y' might be right," Vin agreed, closing his eyes. God it felt good when Chris touched him, loved him.
Larabee's hand paused, fingertips capturing Vin's already hard nipple and gently squeezing it, pulling on it.
"Mmm," Vin responded again, pressing back harder against the man and feeling Chris' cock beginning to fill.
Larabee's hand was moving again, leaving Vin's nipple, rubbing down chest and belly to tease Tanner's swelling cock. The blond's fingers closed around him, squeezing and loosely fondling him.
Vin sighed, his breath coming out in a long, low groan. He began to rock his hip ever so slightly, letting the pleasant sensations being visited on his body sweep over him and carry him into that place of arousal where the rest of the world disappeared, leaving only him and Chris.
And Larabee kept him in that wonderful place, his hand jiggling his balls, stroking and squeezing his cock, tickling the insides of his thighs until he was fully hard, his ass cheeks squeezing and releasing against the blond's hard rod.
"Turn over," Larabee whispered into his ear.
Vin wanted to obey, but he couldn't; the feelings Chris was creating were too powerful for him to roll away from them.
Larabee rolled forward, his hand leaving Vin's cock to help press him over onto his stomach.
The younger man groaned, grinding his hard cock on the soft flannel sheet. It was trapped between the mattress and his belly, and the tightness only heightened his arousal. He heard Chris reach over and open the nightstand drawer and, a moment later, the man was straddling his hips, the tip of his cock pressing against his back.
Larabee took hold of his dick, rubbing the tip over Vin's skin, leaving behind a glistening trail of precome.
Tanner groaned, squeezing his ass cheeks together as tightly as he could and grinding himself against the mattress.
Then Larabee was inching back, stopping when his cock was lying along the crack of Vin's ass. He leaned over, kissing and licking across the younger man's shoulders, then gently began to bite at the back of Tanner's neck, making the man thrash under him.
"Chris..." Vin moaned, his body trembling with arousal and need. He could feel the blond smile a moment before he was moving again, shifting lower, his tongue tracing a path along Vin’s rib, his flanks, nipping at his ass cheeks.
Vin whimpered and twitched, his legs opening, inviting Chris to do more.
And he did.
Larabee raked his hands up the inside of Vin's nearest leg, pulling it open more as he did. He reached in, pressing his knuckles against Tanner's balls and prompting him to lift his hips slightly so Chris' hand could slip past to rub along the underside of his throbbing cock.
But almost as soon as his hand was there, it was gone again.
"Chris!" Vin complained.
There was a soft chuckle in reply, but that was all. Then Larabee's hands were on his ass, pulling his cheeks apart, and pressing them closed. After a few more of those, there was a pause, then Chris' hand was back at his ass, rubbing lube into his crack. He poked at the tight bud buried there, rubbing in circles around it before pressing inside just a fraction of an inch.
Vin's muscles suckled his fingertip, trying to pull him in deeper. But Chris wasn't ready for that. First he pulled his finger free and dribbled more lube onto that pink bud, then he slowly sank one finger into the tight heat of Tanner's chute.
Vin moaned his pleasure and lifted his hips slightly.
Chris pressed his finger in as deep as it could go, then turned it left, then right, then and moved it in circles. He pulled it out and pressed it back in several times, his free hand stroking down Vin's back and up his leg.
When he felt the muscles beginning to relax, he pressed two lubed fingers into the tight passage, fluttering them like a swimmer's legs. Vin's groan was louder, his hips starting to lift and fall slightly.
Chris continued to finger-fuck his lover, slowly, gently. At the same time, he used his free hand to dribble some of the lube onto his own cock and then smeared it over his shaft, jerking himself to full hardness. When he was starting to drip, he slowly pulled his fingers out and growled, "Lift."
Vin's hips immediately came up off the bed, his legs sliding apart farther.
Larabee shifted, repositioning himself behind his lover, between his open legs. He grabbed the base of his cock and guided himself to that waiting opening. He pressed against it, rubbing his cock head over it, smearing it with his own leaking juices.
"Chris..." Vin gasped, "please... need you..."
Larabee smiled. God he loved it when Tanner begged for it. He rubbed himself over the pulsing hole a few more times before he began to press against the tight opening. He felt the muscles resist for a moment, then they surrendered and he slid into the incredibly tight heat of Vin's ass.
Both men sighed in pleasure and relief.
With his cock head buried inside Vin, Chris released his shaft and grabbed Vin's hips, holding him steady as he continued to press in deeper. He felt resistance when he was about a third of the way in and paused, rocking his hips leisurely, waiting for the man's inner muscles to surrender as well.
And they did.
Chris pulled out slightly, then plunged in, burying himself to the hilt. He ground his balls against Tanner's ass and squeezed the man's hips as he held still, letting himself back off slightly from the brink of orgasm. Vin's ass was so tight, so hot, it was almost too much for him, but Chris knew the pleasure he would be feeling soon would be more than worth the wait now.
For his part, Vin's muscles squeezed and shuddered around him. He tried to move, but Larabee's tight hold on his hips kept him from doing anything more than squirm.
When Chris felt his control return, he loosened his grip on Vin's hips and pulled back, watching as half of his cock slid free. Then he impaled the younger man on his cock, thrusting back in with one quick, hard jerk.
"Yes!" Vin cried as Chris' cock poked his sweet spot.
Larabee took that as the invitation it was, beginning to pump his hips, slowly at first, but quickly picking up speed. Vin met his thrusts, pressing up and back to ensure that each thrust into his body was as deep as possible.
Before long Chris was slamming against Vin's ass with abandon. His hand reached under and closed around Tanner's swollen cock, pulling on it in time with his thrusts.
Tanner grunted, pumping into Chris' hand. He was close, so close...
Chris could hear his lover's impending orgasm approaching, the man's breath becoming more ragged, the soft whimpers getting more and more desperate-sounding. His fingers tightened on Vin's cock, making it impossible for the man to friction himself in the older man's grip.
The whimpers changed to frustrated grunts, then a wail when Chris released the man's cock only to clasp his balls and squeeze. He didn't want Tanner coming too soon.
Vin's hips jerked wildly in response, his muscles going into spasm, but he didn't ejaculate.
The whole time, Chris continued to plow the man's ass, over and over again, his own orgasm building slowly. He reached down, jerked Vin's hips up higher, and leaned over him, his hands now clasping his hips again.
"Jerk yourself off," he growled, feeling Tanner reach down and begin to pull on his own cock while Chris fucked him harder, faster and deeper.
Sweat dripped from both of them as they raced toward release.
Then Chris felt it begin. Vin began to tremble all over, and he pressed his ass back as hard as he could, trying to suck Chris in ever deeper. His hand was pulling frantically on his cock.
Then the man's inner muscles began to spasm wildly and he began to jerk as the come raced up from his balls, beginning to explode from his cock in long, thick strands. He cried out, ass clutching madly on Larabee's cock.
That gripping of Vin's insides on his cock triggered Chris' own orgasm. His hips jerked like a piston, stabbing Vin's ass hard and fast as he began to shake.
Then, with a last violent pierce into the depths of Vin's core, he ground himself against the man and shot his load deep into the man's guts. He kept coming, emptying his seed and his soul into the man as his body shook and jerked uncontrollably. He grunted with each burst of come that exploded from his cock, losing himself in the feel of his own juice bathing his cock head inside of Vin.
He couldn't breathe, couldn't really see until the powerful orgasm finally began to abate.
He collapsed over Vin and rolled to the side, carrying them both over onto their sides, their bodies still joined. They panted for air, muscles still quaking from the force of their releases.
Chris knew he had never felt anything like that with his wife. Oh, they'd had good sex, excellent sex, but nothing compared to the orgasms he had with Vin. He groaned contentedly, his entire world collapsing to the feeling of Vin's chute convulsing around his cock, massaging it as it was bathed in his own come.
He could feel that Vin was still stroking his own cock lightly, trying to hold on to that incredible feeling that was slowly fading as their bodies returned to normal. Chris cuddled Vin to him, lightly kissing his shoulder blade, enjoying the salty tang of the man's sweat.
Their breathing slowly returned to normal, and Chris' cock slowly softened. He felt his come leaking from Vin's ass and smiled contentedly. Vin was his, branded by the heat of his seed inside the man.
Tanner snuggled closer, still fondling himself, even though Chris knew he was probably completely flaccid by now. He felt the gooseflesh rise on the younger man's skin and knew he was getting a little chilled himself, but he really didn't want to move. He had to, though.
He pulled away slightly, his cock slipping free from Vin's ass. As the cool air touched him, he shuddered and grabbed one of the blankets, pulling it over them. Funny, he didn't even remember pulling them off Vin earlier, but he knew he must have.
He settled behind Vin again, the two of them pressing tightly against one another.
Chris reached down and tenderly stroked Vin's hip, knowing he had probably left bruises on the man's flesh. Not that Tanner seemed to mind in the slightest.
They drifted for a time in that state between sleep and consciousness, content with the shared closeness. Vin's fingers were still curled around his own cock, but his hand had stilled. Chris' cock was pressed into Vin's slippery crack, the self-warming lube feeling a little sticky now.
Chris knew they ought to get up and go take a shower, but he was enjoying himself too much to move. He'd have to wash the sheets today as well. Oh, yeah, and they were going to go pick up Vin's desk, too...
"Don't forget the ride, 'n' dinner at yer friend's restaurant," Tanner mumbled sleepily.
Chris smiled, his eyes still closed. Damn, maybe Vin really could read his mind after all. "Mmm," he replied, "...later."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
A few weeks later
The rain was falling steadily outside when Chris dashed into the house. He closed the door and pulled off his jacket, hanging it up on the coat rack by the door so it could dry. He wiped his feet on the rug, then pulled them off and set them along the wall to dry as well.
The Jeep was parked in the driveway, so he knew Vin was already home. He called the man's name.
"In here," was the reply from the living room.
Chris walked in to find Vin sliding the last of the photo albums onto the bookcase by the fireplace. He frowned slightly. "What are you doing?"
"Puttin' these back where they belong," Tanner replied. He smiled at the older man, adding, "I put all the pictures back where they belonged. Took me two weeks t' find a store that had the right replacement pages, but I did. They're as good as new."
Chris felt the tears well in his eyes. He had never expected to love again after Sarah, and he sure as hell hadn't expected to love someone who would celebrate his first family the way Vin did. He shook his head, deciding that Sarah must have sent him Vin, her gift to him.
And what a gift the man was.
He stepped up to Vin and drew him into a kiss - tender and loving. "Thank you," he said, "for everything."
Vin smiled and nodded, his own eyes looking suspiciously full as well. "Dinner's almost ready," he added.
Chris grinned. "It is, huh? That's too bad."
"It is? Why?" Vin asked him, looking a little confused. "Didn't think we had plans for tonight."
"Oh, I had plans all right," Chris replied, giving the man a seductive once-over. "But I guess they'll just have to wait until the weekend."
Vin caught the hunger in the man's eyes and smiled. "Ah hell, Larabee, I can just toss in another couple 'a burritos if those two burn."
"You can, can you?"
"Hell yeah," was the reply before Vin closed the space between them, kissing his lover with all the passion he felt for the man, and it was enough to leave Larabee weak in the knees when they parted.
"Hell yeah," Chris echoed, pulling Vin down on top of him on the sofa, his eyes closing as he felt the man's hand press against his already swelling cock. Dinner was going to have to wait...