The Assignment

"JD? You have got to be kidding," Buck Wilmington said to Chris Larabee, in a tone that made it clear that he was wondering if his oldest friend had finally gone completely round the bend.

"Well, there's sure as hell no way you can do it," Chris replied, waving a hand at the cast that encased Buck's right leg from ankle to knee. "And I was told that I was a little...mature for the assignment, which of course also says enough about Josiah."

"So your immediate thought was JD? What about Ezra?"

"He's still in New York on the Watson case. Nathan's with him."

"What about Vin? Hell, he'd be perfect. With that long hair..."

Chris didn't answer. He wasn't sure himself why the idea of Vin Tanner taking this particular undercover assignment didn't sit well with him. And he knew damn well that the young agent would probably give him a hard time if he ever suspected that Chris had tried to get JD assigned instead. Which was why Chris was trying to make it a fait accompli. If the details were already in place before Vin knew about the assignment, he'd take Chris's explanation that JD had been asked for by his superior at face value. Even if it were a bold-faced lie, as Chris's superior had simply laid the assignment in Chris's lap, trusting Larabee to make the right decisions in this case as he had in so many others.

"Chris, have you ever seen JD try to dance with Casey? The kid doesn't have two left feet, he's got three!"

Chris chuckled, remembering.

He sobered, seeing the truth of Buck's statement. Damn, if only Buck hadn't chosen last week to go on a ski trip and break his shinbone in three places. Buck was not only innately graceful, he had actually trained as a dancer on the theory that one never knew what skills would come in handy in undercover work. Not to mention that it had been one hell of a place to meet women, but that was a given as far as Buck was concerned.

Chris laughed again over his friend's reputation. That was, he knew better than most, almost all that it was. Buck did like women, a lot, but the amount that had been nothing more than a flirtation, or perhaps a kiss, was far greater than the number who he had actually slept with. Buck had once said that he had found the last woman worth settling down with in Sarah...Chris pushed the pain that would never stop being a part of his thoughts of Sarah away and returned to the present.

"There's nothing else for it, is there?" Chris asked Buck, already knowing the answer.

"I don't get your problem, Chris. Vin's more perfect for the job than I am, and not only because of this thing," he indicated the plaster. "And it's not as if Vin's some naive innocent kid. He'd probably love the chance to meet some women."

"Not like this. Remember how he was at that singles' bar you dragged us to?"

"McGuire's is not a singles' bar. It's simply a place where a man and a woman can get to know each other. And you know that redhead was giving you the once-over."

"Please, she left with that icy blonde. She was no more interested in me than you were."

"Yeah, and Vin sure noticed that. Wonder just how interested he was in the blonde?"

"More than I was."

"Or was it you that he was interested in?" Buck started speculating.

Chris was shocked that his first reaction wasn't to say no. Could that be why he was so reluctant to send Vin on this assignment? But he wasn't interested in men that way...not since Quantico...and a tall, lanky frame with hazel eyes and a mouth that should be declared illegal in all fifty states. But that had been a one-off, an experiment that had simply proved the researchers right, hadn't it? Hadn't it?

Chris tried to laugh off the idea, but Buck wasn't fooled.

"Oh, come on, Chris. Vin's interested in women, and so are you, right? Of course there was that FBI guy ...what was it they called him? Spooky? At Quantico, but that was the wild college life, wasn't it? Hell, I had a couple of wild nights with some of the guys back then, but I sure wasn't about to settle down with them."

"Maybe you should be," Chris murmured, "That might be what you've been missing. After all, how long do you relationships with women last on average? Maybe there's a reason taht you think there's something missing like you said once. And maybe it's what I've been missing in my relationship with Vin."

"There's one way to figure it out, Chris. Send him to this club, but you go along as back-up. Let things happen. If you still feel the same after he does the dance, talk to him. It's not as if he's going to hit you or anything, after all."

"Oh, yeah? Remember Vin on that case in Louisiana? And what he did to that guy? And that wasn't even about sex!"

"Yeah, but we all know how much Vin respects you. He might say no, but he wouldn't be about to punch you out for it. So what do you have to lose?"

"Probably a lot of loneliness...and a few nights crying in my beer with you."

"Well, much as I like drinking with you, I think we can skip the crying part. Go get 'im, Chris. It's what you really want."

"How can I thank you, Buck?"

"By being happy again. It's what we all want for you, Chris."

"I'll try," the blonde man smiled at his friend, and took his leave as JD and Casey knocked on the door. A few pleasantries were exchanged, and Chris noticed the look of pain in JD's eyes when Casey talked to Buck and gently caressed his arm. It wasn't a jealous type of pain...not when JD looked at Casey. Chris had suspected for a long time that there was more to JD's hero worship of Buck. He wasn't sure if either of them had considered it, though. He might have to do something about that...maybe a stakeout for Buck and JD after the plaster came off. And a word to Casey...she and JD didn't seem terribly serious yet, and maybe if it were nipped in the bud Casey wouldn't be too hurt. Chris could have a discreet word or two to her...he knew that she cared for JD, but he had hurt her in the past, and Chris didn't think that they had ever gotten back to the place that they had been before JD had almost killed Casey's brother in a raid, although Michael had not been an innocent bystander. The relationship between JD and Casey had never recovered, though. But Chris had other things on his mind right now.

He took the coward's way out and got his superior to brief Vin on the assignment, letting the younger agent know that he would be in the club that night.

Chris was shocked. Totally, completely, unutterably shocked. The sheer amount of women going into the club was overwhelming. The only men he could see were clearly employees, wearing a lot less than he would be comfortable wearing in public. Although he flushed a little at the thought of Vin in something similar. He wondered for a moment what kind of costume Vin would wear, or if he would settle for something simple, like a tuxedo. That would be it's own brand of fantasy, though.

After some quick talking, claiming to be a research fellow at the university, Chris made his way inside. There was a man on the stage, gyrating wildly to 'Addicted To Love', but he was far too muscular to be Vin. The song, the dance, and the screams from the women reached their crescendo, Chris having to cover his ears or be completely deafened.

The dancer made his way off the stage, to screams and catcalls from the audience, and another man came onstage. He was dressed too conservatively to be a dancer, and Chris's suspicions were borne out by the rather tasteless array of jokes that he told. Chris looked at the women around him and wondered if they'd left their dignity at home with their husbands or lovers. Oh, he'd been to strip shows in his time, and the men could certainly compete with the women for lack of dignity, but there was something in him that rebelled against the idea of women behaving this way in public. In private was fine and to be encouraged...but then, he supposed that to the women, this was private, at least from husbands and lovers. And it wasn't as if he had any place to be thinking that way about these women. They were nothing to him.

The comedian wound down his routine, and went into master of ceremonies mode.

"Ladies, for your erotic pleasure...a man with piercing blue eyes...a man who cannot be experienced only once...the Indian Chief of love...Seth Cloudmaker," and a loud roar of applause nearly deafened Chris.

The stage went black, then was lit by a single spotlight. A shadow appeared in the white light. Pounding music began to play, John Cougar Mellencamp. Chris began laughing genuinely at the song chosen, and he wondered if Vin's influence was at work.

Then Vin began to move, the feathers on the ridiculous headdress moving in the opposite direction to the rest of him.

Come on and make it ahhh... Hurt so good... Come on baby, make it hurt so good... Sometimes love don't feel like it should... Baby, hurts so good...

The women were singing along lustily to the music, and Chris made very sure he couldn't be seen. Although his hungry gaze on Vin and the unmistakeable erection pressing against his tight black jeans would probably discourage the women from trying anything, Chris was a little flustered at the amount of female sexuality that seemed to emanate from the club patrons in waves.  Of course, Chris's own hormones were rising high at each movement of Vin's on the stage, but that was different.

Besides, the women weren't really getting excited over Vin, the man who made coffee too strong, the man who had the irritating habit of leaving the bathroom floor completely soaked, the man who could make all his sadness go away with a smile.

All they saw was the body and the hair, and while they weren't insignificant, Vin was so much more that Chris almost felt regret that all the women would ever know was Vin's outer layer.

The beat of the music continued, and Chris felt a black wave of jealousy sweep over him as Vin took a woman, a young, beautiful woman, onto the stage with him. The jealousy was only slightly mollified by the fact that Vin had yet to remove a stitch of clothing, except for the ridiculous headdress which he had tossed off a verse or so ago.

Then the jealousy came rushing back as Vin invited the young woman to help remove his vest and pants. Chris wanted to be the one removing Vin's clothes, kissing each area of skin as it was revealed to his eyes and lips.

Then he realised that Vin was looking directly at him, and his erection jumped and thickened.

He managed to get himself under control as the music swelled again.

Hurt so good... Come on baby, make it hurt so good... Sometimes love don't feel like it should... You make it hurt so good...

The woman had left the stage long ago, Chris realised, and Vin was removing the last part of his costume, except for the tiny black g-string that just kept him from causing a riot.

Chris's hungry gaze raked Vin's pale skin, a caress that Vin could not help but feel, and the vivid blue eyes met Chris's banked fires. The slightest inclination of Vin's head, the removal of the tiny scrap of material as the lights went down and nothing could be seen, and Chris was heading for the bar.

He ordered a beer, more out of a desire to hold something than for a drink, and was surprised to feel a tap on his shoulder.

Expecting to see Vin, he turned, and was vaguely disappointed when it was the comedian.

"I have no idea how he knows you're here, but Seth Cloudmaker wants you to come backstage. And he said that if you gave me any trouble to drag you..." the voice trailed out of Chris's hearing as he walked quickly to the side door he'd scoped out earlier.

There was a row of dressing rooms, and as Chris moved backstage, a door opened. It was a tall man dressed as Superman, and Chris managed to keep from laughing out loud at the costume, instead asking which dressing room was Vin's, or, rather, Seth's. The second one from the man Chris couldn't help thinking of as Clark's was indicated and the introduction from the stage began to sound distinctly super-hero-ish as Chris knocked gently on the door.

"Come in," was barely audible over the sounds of 'Holding Out For A Hero', but Chris entered Vin's dressing room.

To call the place a cubicle was to give it delusions of grandeur. Chris wondered for a second if he'd walked into a closet.

Then he saw the couch. Or rather a naked, beautiful Vin Tanner draped over the couch.

"How'd you know?" was all that Chris could say.

Vin didn't pretend that he didn't know what Chris meant. "The way you looked earlier. God, Chris, when I stood there on the stage it was like there was no one else in the room. I wondered...but could never say anything. In case I was wrong. I didn't want to lose what we did have. But when I saw you tonight...god, Chris, you could have set this place alight!"

Chris's eyes smouldered at Vin.

"Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Lube's on the table by your left hand..." Vin trailed off suggestively.

Chris didn't think twice. He removed his shirt, only just managing not to pop the buttons, then his jeans more carefully, so as not to do any damage. Soon he was as naked as Vin.

"Damn," Vin moved from his carefully studied pose as Chris revealed himself. The older agent smiled, it seemed that he still had it. He had wondered...there really hadn't been anyone since Sarah, aside from the encounter with the blonde UN worker, and that could only be described as strange. She hadn't seemed interested in sex, until he had briefly mentioned his experiences at Quantico. Maybe she had a thing for agents? He'd probably never know, and he really didn't need to think about a mysterious blonde when he had an enticing brunette right in front of him.

On that thought he finally enfolded Vin in his arms. They touched, skin to skin, from neck to knee. The heat between them was unbelievable, leaving Chris gasping. Their lips touched at last, igniting a fire in each other's body. The spark flew between them, and their erections brushed, fluid leaking from both.

"Oh, God..." Vin moaned as Chris kissed his way down his neck, tasting, nipping, sucking and biting his flushing skin.

"Not quite," Chris murmured, tracing Vin's pectoral muscles with his tongue. The moans from his partner were becoming louder and louder as he circled into the sensitive point of a nipple.

Vin half-laughed, half-gasped as Chris's tongue laved the sensitive nub. Chris smiled around his lover's flesh...he loved making Vin sound like this, so abandoned, so happy.

And then Vin's hand closed around Chris and he stopped thinking, falling into a world of sensation.

Moans and gasps of passion filled the small space, and Chris began exploring Vin's body. He glided his hands over Vin's sweat-slickened flesh, touching, caressing, finding the places that made Vin shiver and moan when he touched them. He ran his fingers through Vin's long hair, gently massaging his scalp, finding that the touch of his fingers was enough to make his beautiful lover moan.

"Chris...god, I can't stand it!"

"Don't you know that the anticipation is half the fun?"

"Screw half the fun! Chris..." a look from the smouldering blue eyes, "I need you."

The low pleading was almost enough to set Chris off, and he began exploring Vin's body, finally finding the soft rounds of his buttocks. Vin flinched for a moment as he began exploring the puckered skin, but was soon moaning as Chris stretched him gently, helped by the cool gel, jumping when Chris's fingers brushed the small swelling inside him.

"Like that?" Chris murmured into the nearest ear.

"Yes, but Chris, now, please!"

Chris placed Vin carefully on the couch, it wasn't really big enough, but they would manage. Vin got to his hands and knees, and they found that Vin fit perfectly into Chris at that angle. Chris inched his way slowly into Vin's tight heat and was soon buried inside him.

"Oh, god," Vin murmured as Chris began to move, reaching under him to grasp his erection.

Before long, Chris stiffened and poured his essence inside Vin, who yelled with his own release. As they collapsed, Chris pulled out of Vin, moving to take the younger man into his arms.

"I guess you liked my dance," Vin murmured, slyly.

"Yeah, I did," Chris grinned at him.

"Maybe I can do it just for you one day...if this is about more than just one night..."

"Oh, it's definitely about more than that, Vin," Chris murmured, looking deeply into the blue eyes.

"Good," Vin murmured, almost asleep.

Chris smiled as Vin slipped into sleep, following him a moment later.

The End