Magnificent Seven ATF Universe
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Come Away With Me

by Jax Slash

Pairing: Vin/Chris


A whisper of wind across sensitive lips coaxed him to the edge of wakefulness. A pulse of air rolled the curtain, the rustle teasing his eyelids open and Vin blinked sleepily. Syncopated breathing caused him to pause and gather his bearings. He heard another breath and rolled his head aside slowly, where he saw what must have been a dream - Chris' profile, tipped slightly in Vin's direction and chromed with moonlight.

Vin caught his breath, afraid the sight would dissipate before his eyes. A shock of sun-kissed wheat hair, tickled by the slight breeze, fluttered across Chris' relaxed brow as he slept. Vin looked closer and noticed the delicate arc of Chris' eyelashes at the edge of his closed lids and that his lower lip appeared puffy. Vin swallowed and exhaled, allowing his gaze to follow Larabee's far arm, slung upward and ending where his hand tucked under the cloud-like pillow. Vin's examination followed the edge of the wrinkled bed sheet draped at a sharp angle across Chris' chest, exposing skin from shoulder to hip on Vin's side. The sheet rose and fell, alive with Chris' restful breathing.

The memory of hours past rolled through Vin's mind.

This had to be a dream.

Vin turned his back to the vision and rolled out of bed in one smooth motion that barely rustled the solitary sheet. When his feet hit the floor, silent as feather, he fumbled for something to cover his sudden realization of vulnerability. He reached for the soft, grey sweatpants from a heap on the floor, pulled them on, and then stood, refusing to look at the bed behind him.

For reasons he could not pinpoint, Vin's fingers shook as he tied a loose knot in the waistband, which hung low on his hips. When finished, he paused - froze, really - and allowed himself to turn and verify, as well as appreciate, the magical form in his bed. Chris' skin glowed in the moonlight and, stretched out as he was, looked as relaxed as Vin had ever seen him. The fingers of Vin's right hand twitched, wanting to touch, but the risk of the tableau before him dissolving away was a risk he would not take.

A gust of spring wind billowed the curtain ad shooed him away from the bed's edge. Vin padded silently away and slipped from the room, leaving the door ajar. From there, he wandered down the short hallway to the small living room, his eyes cast downward and his arms wrapped protectively around himself as he shivered with the season's chill and internal uncertainty. Vin shook off the blooming edge of fear and looked up, drawn to the glowing curtains filtering the moon's rays through the closed windows and hanging still as death; it unnerved him.

An icy shiver trickled up Vin's spine as fear's fingers raked upward and he quickly stepped to the window to bump the reluctant pane open and free the curtains from their stillness. The ancient casement resisted his touch at first but Vin's insistence forced the frame to give in to the pressure and it eased out a splintered groan as it moved.

The motion seemed familiar, the giving in to pressure; Vin tucked the sheer, fluttering curtain panel aside and he edged in close to the cool glass, holding himself in an uncomforting hug as he tried to ignore the shards of anxiety spearing his stomach and mind. He inhaled the breeze, noting the slight scent of new blooms, and freed his thoughts to wander and sort his feelings.

This wasn't real; it couldn't be. The exchange of loving words and sharing of their bodies was an impossible dream; Vin Tanner was not used to getting what he wanted.

As his thoughts whirled toward panic, his fingers unconsciously skated upward to the point where left side of his neck curved into his shoulder. There, he found the tender spot where Chris had marked his skin, proving their actions weren't imaginary. Vin's light touch ignited the bruise's pain and he worked to hold anxiety back for a few moments. He closed his eyes and let out a long breath, gently working the spot until memory flowered.

Their electric skin touching, rubbing, sweating.

The mutual murmurs and groans of pleasure.

Asking, and receiving, invasions Vin only dreamed of.

The mention of love...

Vin's eyes snapped open. It can't have happened. It wasn't possible.

Nervous sweat percolated at the edge of his hairline. The fresh bruise throbbed, falsifying the denial.

But if it were true . . . if . . . it . . . were . . . true . . .

Fear bloomed then, roiling up from the depth of Vin's gut.

If it were true, everything had changed this night. His life had taken a sharp turn, and Vin didn't think he could sit the ride.

He thought he'd had love before, but it was nothing like this. He felt Chris in every cell and every thought. Chris was a part of him in a way that defied description and when the inevitable happened and they fell apart, the destruction would be complete, because that's just the way it was; everything good in Vin's life left him eventually, leaving only pain behind. He always knew he was destined to be alone.

Vin shook his head and pressed the mark, trying to deny this destiny.

He could turn the tables; he could be the first to leave. He could run away. The idea soothed him in a way he recognized as sick and wrong. Still, the allure of avoiding the outside forces that would eventually tear them apart seemed prophetic. But, deep down inside, he knew that if he and Chris acknowledged love and then parted, Vin would die in every way possible.

Vin recognized panic speaking. It wasn't easy, but eventually, he lifted his eyes and re-examined the idea of outside forces, this time working on how to negate them. Instead of leaving alone, they could leave together, he thought. Start anew. His personal darkness began to lift, the engaging idea timed perfectly with Chris' arrival.

Vin didn't need to see or hear him; he simply knew he'd entered the room and the warm fingers that lightly brushed his shoulder did not surprise. Vin's eyes sagged closed to stop building tears and he concentrated on the electric-spark touch.

"Hey." Chris' voice was a soft curl around Vin's ear. Chris' long fingers lightly brushed Vin's where they rested on the love-mark. Vin shuddered and dropped his hand. "Hey, now," Chris whispered, running the flat of his hands down Vin's arm to carefully draw him into his control. Released from his dark thoughts, Vin leaned back, surrendering to the tide of bright emotion swirling inside and hoped the firm embrace would keep him from bolting.

Yes, they could run, he thought. If they kept moving, maybe they would survive.

"Come away with me, Chris," Vin begged softly, his words hoarse with desperation.

"Anywhere," Chris replied, his warm breath raising the fine hairs behind Vin's ear. Chris settled them with a soft kiss. "I'd go anywhere with you, Vin, any time. Just say the word."

Vin swallowed hard twice to loosen his strangled throat. They swayed together for minutes, for hours, forever, under the light of the full moon, caressed by the cool spring breeze as all fear trickled down the sides of a foundation Vin never felt before, disappearing along with every thread of panic and doubt. In that very moment, he realized at that it did not matter where they were physically because they were linked on every possible plane in every possible existence.

"Then come with me to my bed," Vin whispered.

He felt Chris' smile against his cheek as their hands joined. They crossed the room together as the moon ducked behind the distance mountains just in time for the sun to rise.

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