Three of Hearts

ONE

Vin lay in bed regarding Chris pensively. He and Buck had returned two days ago, after a journey of so much discovery and passion, Vin knew that his feelings for both men were equally strong, and he knew from the declarations that had been exchanged that Buck felt the same.

They had decided, rather pragmatically, that hitting Chris with the suggestion of the three of them on the first night back was probably not a good idea. And the night before there had been too much going on for Vin to really have a chance to talk to Chris. In fact, they'd almost foregone making love, but Chris had touched Vin in that way that he could not resist, and they had brought each other to a gentle release before they had found sleep.

But now there were no more excuses, no more delays. Chris and Vin had nowhere to be for the next several hours, and Vin had spoken to Buck the night before. The other man would be there in an hour or so, Vin judged, by the position of the sun streaming through the window of Chris's shack, and Vin had agreed to talk to Chris before Buck came.

Of course, it would help a lot if Chris would wake up. This was not a subject Vin wanted to get into before Chris had at least one cup of coffee. He stretched, and wriggled out from under Chris's arm, slipping his sleeping shirt over his head as he left the warm cocoon of blankets and Chris. At least he could start the coffee.

Chris stirred as Vin moved around the shack, and Vin sent a smouldering glance in the direction of the bed.

"You better get up, cowboy, or I won't be responsible for my actions."

"Maybe I don't want you to be," Chris replied, his voice husky from a combination of sleep and passion.

Vin longed to just lay down beside the other man and lose himself in Chris again, but he couldn't. He decided that the direct approach was best.

"Chris, I wanna talk to ya, and I can't do that while you're lollygaggin' around in bed."

The gunslinger pulled himself out of bed, muttering about young upstarts who needed a good disciplining (both grinned at that part) as he pulled on his clothes.

Vin breathed a silent sigh of relief, and continued with his breakfast preparations, just some oatmeal and coffee, he didn't want to be too distracted by food, and he knew if he prepared eggs he'd never be able to stop himself or Chris from remembering their third time together.

The food was quickly consumed, and the men lingered over coffee. Vin was trying to find the words, he found talking difficult enough at the best of times, let alone when something so important was at stake. He decided to start talking to Chris much the same way he had started talking to Buck a few nights ago.

"Chris, have ya ever heard of a vision quest?"

"Yeah, it's something the Indians do. Something to help them figure out their problems."

That was enough for Vin to know that Chris would understand. He found that the words came to him more easily than he would have thought.

"Chris...ya know I love you, right? And that if I only ever had you forever, that would be enough," although Vin knew that the last part was not entirely true now, he thought that he could learn to love only Chris once more, although it would take a long time.

Chris frowned, wondering what his lover was getting at. "Yeah..."

"The second night we were together, I went on a vision quest. I couldn't sleep, I was confused, and I nearly woke ya a couple times. I realised that what I needed was to sort out my confused feelin's, and the best way I know how is to visit the spirit plane. So I did, and I found out what was makin' me so confused."

"What was it?"

"I saw...all these trees. They were in groups of three. There were two, together, and a third one looked like it was dyin'. The first two looked...kinda ashamed to be with each other. There were three that were kinda stunted, not growin'. There were three, two tall and strong, but one was dead. And the ones that I responded to...I felt them call to me, almost... there were three, tall and strong and proud. They were so right together, I couldn't tell where one ended and another began."

"What did this tell you, Vin?"

"That...as much as I do love you and need you, there was somethin' missing. It took me a while to figure out what it was."

"What was it?"

"Chris, there was a reason that the trees were in groups of three . There is somethin' missin' between us."

"What, Vin? Are you saying that what we have isn't enough for you?" Chris was getting angry, he had given up so much for Vin, to hear that it wasn't enough was devastating to him.

"Yes, Chris, it is enough. It might have to be."

"Vin tell me what the hell you need that I ain't giving you."

"It's not what. It's who."

" WHO ? You want someone else? Inez, I suppose. Well, Vin, I ain't sharing you, get that in your head right now!"

Vin gulped, and flinched from Chris's anger.

"It's not Inez..." Vin managed to squeeze past the lump in his throat.

"Who is it then?"

"Buck."

Chris was shocked. The whispered name hit him like a ton of bricks. It was probably the only name that wouldn't arouse his formidable anger under these circumstances.

"Vin...that's the last name I expected you to say."

"I know."

"Are you sure?"

"As sure as I am that I love you."

"Vin...I thought that I was finished with Buck forever. Even if I wanted things to be different, I didn't think that they could be. But if there was any way that I could have both of you...I don't know if he even still wants me...or if he wants you."

"He does."

"How do you...you've already talked to him. When you went to Blue Water, I guess."

"Yeah. I knew it had to be then, Chris, or I might not get a chance for a long time. Chris...I have to tell ya now, we didn't just talk."

"What?"

"I had to know, Chris. I had to know what it was like to be with Buck alone. I had to know that he wanted me, and not just because it was the only way that he could have you. I had to know that I wanted him too. Even then, I wasn't sure."

"You made love to him?"

"Yeah. Not...not everything, but we were together. It was enough to know that I love him and you equally. We want to work this out, Chris."

"There's nothing to work out...'cept how we all fit into this bed," Chris grinned as he indicated the rather large bed that he and Vin hadn't really had a chance to put through it's paces.

"Ya really mean it?"

"Vin, I love both of you, what more do I need to know? It's not going to be easy, though, probably more difficult than it would have been if it was just the two of us."

"But much more fun. Life with Buck sure ain't gonna be dull ."

"No, I think that is something that can be safely said," Chris grinned and reached for Vin. Vin fell eagerly into the strong arms, and turned his face up for the kiss he knew he would receive. It was short-lived as they heard a horse ride up. Chris looked thunderous until Vin whispered, "It's Buck." Then he got a look of utter devilry on his face.

"Vin, whatever I say, play along, okay?"

"Is this you...warnin' me?" Vin asked.

"Yeah..." and they heard a knock on the door.

"Chris! Vin! Has he killed you?" Buck asked, only half-joking.

Vin started to reply, until he caught the slight shake of Chris's head.

Buck knocked and called again, his voice sounding a little more concerned.

Chris opened the door, thunderous look back in place.

"Hey, Chris," Buck began, startled into silence as Chris began yelling at him.

Vin smiled at the performance even as he flinched with sympathy on Buck's behalf. It wasn't fun to be on the wrong end of Chris's tongue, even in jest.

"Corrupting bastard... How could you do that to Vin... Destroy our relationship..." Vin heard snatches of what Chris said as he pretended to cower across the room.

"Chris - " Buck wasn't allowed to say more than the other man's name.

Chris's sense of humour finally got the better of him, and he said, succinctly, "Gotcha."

"What?"

"It was a joke. My idea, before you look in Vin's direction," Chris replied.

"A joke ???? Really??? You mean..." Buck sounded confused and happy at the same time.

"Yeah," Vin managed to speak up at last, having gotten his laughter under control, "We have to put up with him. Think you can handle it?"

"I handled it before, I guess I can learn to do it again. Damn, Vin, you're wearin' that shirt again ," Buck finished.

"He does look edible in it, doesn't he?" Chris said to Buck.

"That's a word for it," Buck replied, moving to Chris for a gentle kiss, their first in so long it felt like a beginning. Vin just watched them, two powerful, beautiful men, and he knew that they were at last complete. He even thought that he could hear, on the edge of his conscious mind, a splash and a moment of purely female laughter, his spirit guide moving to the edge of her plane to see the results of her advice, perhaps.

Vin's thoughts went from the spiritual to the...well, to be completely honest, he stopped thinking altogether as Buck gently unbuttoned the shirt, kissing his flesh as the soft cotton parted over his chest.

"So beautiful," Buck murmured as he looked at Vin once more. Chris was simply watching them, enjoying the sight of the men he loved loving each other.

"Chris?" Vin asked, wanting him to be part of this.

Chris knew what he wanted, though.

"I'd like to watch you two," he said, huskily.

"Oh, yes ," Vin breathed, unable to say more.

"I'm feeling a mite overdressed here," Buck murmured to Vin, who immediately began to unbutton his waistcoat.

"Not as fancy as Ezra's, but I like it better on you," Vin commented as he removed the garment.

"Thanks, pard," Buck replied, adding a gentle brush of his lips over one of Vin's fingers.

Vin shivered, his flesh responding to Buck's gentle touch. He could feel the hardness between his legs growing, and if the moans of the man he was currently trying to separate from his pants and the obstacle under his hands were anything to go by, Buck was having a very similar reaction. As for the moans coming from Chris's direction, Vin wondered if the other man would last much longer. He wondered the same thing about himself as one of Buck's warm hands grasped his erection and began the movements that Buck had used only a few nights ago.

Then the movements stopped.

"NO!" Two voices in unison.

"Not like this," Buck said, "I want Vin."

"You've got me," Vin gritted out, frustration adding an echo of need to his voice.

"Not like I want you. Buried deep in me."

Vin almost came at that, and from the sound of the gulp from Chris, so did he.

Vin wordlessly handed Buck the vial of oil he and Chris had brought out a few days ago, and Buck poured some into his hand to warm it. As it warmed, Buck began to spread it over Vin's warm flesh, causing shivers not of cold, but desire to move through Vin's body. Chris's hand was now moving on his own powerful erection, unconsciously mimicking the movements Buck was making on Vin.

Chris just watched the picture the men he loved made. They looked so very beautiful together, something that he'd noticed before, in the back of his mind, when they had walked down the street together, or sat next to each other in the saloon, never imagining that he would ever see them like this, but the picture they made now was so much more than mere beauty it literally took Chris's breath away.

Vin took the vial from Buck, pouring some oil into his hand. Buck shivered at the touch of Vin's calloused fingers on his flesh, and moaned as a finger brushed over his opening. Vin made his way slowly inside, knowing that this preparation couldn't be hurried. The heat of Buck around him was overwhelming. He'd known the heat of other men, but this first time with Buck, it seemed that he was hotter than anyone Vin had known. Vin murmured an endearment or two into Buck's ear, nibbling and sucking on the tender flesh of the lobe as he added a second finger, moving them apart inside Buck. Vin had never expected the other man to be the first on the bottom, but he would make it wonderful for both of them. He hoped that Chris was enjoying this too, and next time he would be a part of it. Vin had plans for their next time, but he had other things to think about right now. He added a third finger, pumping in and out of Buck, making sure the other man was stretched enough for him.

Chris watched, feeling his body tighten as Vin's fingers moved in and out of Buck. He slowed his strokes, not wanting to explode too soon.

Vin groaned as he entered Buck slowly, or tried to. Buck pushed back at the first touch of his hardness against the prepared opening, impaling Vin. Vin began moving, slowly, changing his angle slightly and hitting the spot inside Buck that made the other man growl with passion. Vin couldn't hold back his climax when he felt Buck tighten around him, yelling with his own release, and a moment later, Chris moaned and released a stream of white fluid over himself.

Vin pulled out of Buck, turning him over for a kiss. The tracker started when he felt a hand on his back, then realised that it was Chris. He smiled, tiredly, as he and Buck were wiped down with a soft cloth, and then the three of them curled up in a tangle of long limbs, not sleeping, just lying there, enjoying the feel of each other.

TWO

Buck drifted to sleep after a few moments of lying together, his hand, caressing Chris's hair, slowed, then stopped.

Vin slowly moved from the bed, making sure not to disturb the other man, and he signalled to Chris to join him.

"We really hurt him, you know," Vin whispered as they sat across the room, pulling on clothes in case someone else turned up.

"I know. If I'd only known..."

"If we'd both known. I know now that there were glances, remarks, that meant more than they seemed to. If things hadn't come to a head in Blue Water...I think we're very lucky that they did."

"What happened? You never did tell me it all."

"It wasn't as easy as I made it sound..." and Vin told Chris about the working girl and Buck's inability to be with her.

"What can we do that won't look like we're doing it to make him feel better?" Chris asked.

"Well..." Vin smiled slyly, "I did have an idea..." and he whispered into Chris's ear the plan he'd thought of earlier, elaborating a little on the scenario that had passed through his mind in a second.

"That could work," Chris agreed, that look of devilry crossing his face once more.

"Oh, god, what did you think of?" Vin asked.

"No tricks...just...do you think you can light a few candles? I...there were candles the first time Buck and I..."

"If you've got 'em, I think I'd love to see you and Buck by candlelight."

"There are some...I've had them since not long after Sarah died. I don't really know, or remember, why I have them."

"Maybe it was for something that you didn't know was going to happen. Maybe it was for now."

"Maybe it was. What else have you got planned?"

Vin detailed how he wanted the evening to go, and then glanced outside, at the setting sun.

"We better start now or Buck'll be awake...or it'll be too late."

"Okay," Chris amusedly followed the orders of the younger man, setting candles around the cabin, always making sure that there was nothing near enough to catch the flames.

Vin worked, cooking a simple meal, they would need sustenance, and making a few preparations of his own.

Buck stirred, feeling beside him for the other men and panicking for a moment when he didn't.

"Damn...another dream. It was so..." and he stopped talking when Vin bent over him and kissed the protesting lips.

"Don't you ever think that again, Buck. It wasn't a dream. We're real...and we love you."

"Vin...it's just...god, I was so hurt, so many times. Not just you and Chris, there have been so many people who have left me. My mother was first. And later, others. Chris...before. Sarah and Adam. That hurt me so much, because they were my family too. How could I compare my pain to Chris's though?"

"You can't. But it was your pain, Buck...yours. You had a right to it," Vin whispered, knowing something of what Buck had suffered. He had lost his own mother, and there had been other partings. Not all through death, but still, there were people who he could never talk to again, people he would always regret not being able to be with again.

Chris ached for Buck, but even now he couldn't allow himself to think too deeply of the time just after Sarah's death. He'd been a different man then, different from how he'd been before his marriage. Then he'd enjoyed life, he'd torn up more than a few towns in his day, never really settling down...until Buck. Buck had been there for a while before they'd even considered each other as a lover, he made a note that he and Buck should share the tale of that night with Vin one day soon. And Buck had made him realise what he truly wanted. He wanted a family and children. So, with much reluctance and sadness, he had broken off his relationship with the only person that he'd ever loved, and, by some incredible stroke of luck, he'd found Sarah. Although he'd met her once before he'd been able to make the final break from Buck, it had only been after that time that he'd been able to bring himself to really get to know her. When she had been taken from him, he had known that he could never love another woman in the same way, he couldn't face the thought of more children, it would feel like he was trying to replace what he had lost. A dark, dark time had followed, he had not been exaggerating to Vin when he had said that he could not remember why he had the candles he had stored in the dry cellar, he had probably won them in a poker game, it was surprising the stakes that made sense after three bottles of whiskey. He had been lucky, to find this town, and the rest of the seven, most particularly these men with him now. He didn't want to contemplate how his life might have turned out if he hadn't managed to drift into Four Corners, following the rumour that Buck was there, and saved the life of an innocent man in the hands of a mob.

"We've all suffered," Chris said aloud, "But...maybe it's to show us what we have, so we won't throw it away. Things could change tomorrow, you know. Someone could recognise Vin, and take him to Texas, or Buck or I could be shot. That's what we should remember. It can all change in a moment, and we should make the most of what we have now."

Vin spoke as Chris stopped.

"My ma said somethin' like that to me, when she was dyin'. She knew how hard it was for me...we were all we had. She told me that in this life we have to have pain, because then we know what the good parts are. She said that if we missed the pain of life, we'd also miss the good things. I wrote a poem about it."

The others looked at him in...not astonishment, more wonder.

"You write poems, Vin?" Chris asked.

"Yeah. I never said any of them to anyone...wanted to keep it to myself, ya know? But to you...I think I can. If ya want me to."

"Vin, I'd love to hear it. The one you were talkin' about just then," Buck replied.

Vin began to speak.

"Looking back on the memory of
The dance we shared 'neath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye?

And I, I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance

Holding you I held everything
For a moment wasn't I a king
But if I'd only known how the king would fall
Who's to say, you know I might have chanced it all

And I, I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance

Yes my life is better left to chance
I could have missed the pain but I'd have had to miss the
dance." *

For a moment, neither of the other men could speak. Vin had put what they were all feeling into words so beautiful it seemed wrong to break the silence after he stopped talking.

"That's it, Vin," Chris murmured, low, eventually.

"Yeah," Buck agreed, softly.

"Thank you. I wanted to make it more...like somethin' anyone could relate to, if I ever told anyone about it, and there was a time in my life when I danced with someone under the moonlight...I was so happy then, but it wasn't meant to be. And that was when I started thinkin' about what my ma said to me, and I started makin' up poems."

"You know, Vin, that was beautiful, but as I recollect, we had other plans for tonight," Chris raised an eyebrow.

"Now's as good a time as any to start," Vin murmured to both men.

"Then I'll light the candles," Chris replied, getting up.

"Candles?" Buck asked the man beside him.

"Chris said that when you and he first...you know," Vin blushed, "There were candles there. He thought it would make a nice memory, and maybe we could make some of our own, too."

"Sounds good to me. What else you got planned?" Buck asked.

"Lots of things. All to make us feel a part of this...of each other. I know it takes more when it's a relationship between three people, but I don't want any of us to feel less than the other two. It could happen...you and Chris have a history, Chris and I have a connection, and you and I...god, Buck, I want to hold you all the time, make sure you're not going to go away, that this isn't just a dream. I need you and Chris so much. I think that the vision I saw was right...we would be less without each other."

"Yeah, that's right," Buck agreed.

"You think so?"

"Oh, yeah. It's so much more intense than before with you and Chris...this is what I've been waiting for, what I was looking for in all those encounters with men and women. It was why Chris and I had to come apart for a while, so he'd be free to bring us all together."

"Buck...are you sayin' that it was destined or somethin'? I don't know if I believe that. I believe that things end up like they're s'posed to, but the idea that it was meant for all of us to end up together and that's why Sarah and Adam died, and why you and Chris had to part back then...I don't know, it kind of makes what happened then seem...less than it was. Ya know what I mean?"

"Yeah, and no, I don't mean that we were destined like that . More like that now we were all free to be with each other, there had to be something that made that happen. Prob'ly why Ryan managed to take you and Chris, so you were able to let each other know how you felt, and then when you did your vision quest, it told you what was missin', so you were able to talk to me about it. And, hell, maybe even my not bein' able to be with that gal was so that I'd break down my own barriers and be able to tell you how I felt. But if one part of any of that hadn't happened, we might not be together now. None of us might be together now. Like if I'd been able to be with that gal, maybe you'd have never been able to tell me how you felt...how you wanted me. And we might not be here now."

"That makes sense. I know there was a reason that things were as they were, that we were able to connect now, and it might not have happened if things had been even a little bit different, but it wasn't that it was meant to be all our lives. Yeah, I like that," Vin grinned at his lover.

"So what plans did you and Chris make for tonight?" Buck asked, "I guess you worked on 'em while I was asleep?"

"Well...we want to do this for you. Not 'cause we feel sorry for ya or anything like that, but just because we want to. We want to give you somethin' to remember."

"How can I say no to that?" Buck answered.

"You can't, so don't try," Chris said. "Now both of you get your butts outa that bed and over here to eat before it gets cold." Without their realising, Chris had dished out the food Vin had cooked earlier.

"Sorry, Chris, I meant to help ya with that," Vin replied.

"You did," Chris replied, his eyes flicking to Buck for a moment.

Buck, not realising the unspoken communication between his lovers, slipped his shirt and long johns on.

The food was eaten quickly, none of them were really interested in eating right now, there were too many other things to find out about each other. Buck regaled Vin with a story about a horse he and Chris had tried to saddle-break many years ago, with much embellishing of details (at least according to Chris) as they cleared the table, waving Chris away when he tried to help.

At last the dishes were done, and they could get on with the other part of the evening.

Chris changed the sheets on the bed, replacing the new sheets he had bought a week or so ago with some old ones. Buck was puzzled, but as he had Vin in his lap, he didn't think much when he started receiving kisses to his face and neck. He murmured in protest when Vin stopped.

"Not yet, pard. How about goin' over to the bed?"

"Sounds good."

Buck lay down, and a moment later was startled by the feel of cool liquid on his broad back. Large hands, hands he would know anywhere, began to rub the liquid, that he knew to be oil by the slick feel of it, over his skin. He groaned into the feel of Chris manipulating his muscles, something that they had learned long ago after a hard ride.

Vin lay beside Buck, not touching him except for his lips, which met Buck's in a gentle kiss that grew deeper as Chris's strokes grew deeper. Buck whispered a 'thank you' to both of the others, then fell silent except for the incoherent noises he made when Chris dug into deeper knots of tension.

Chris had made his way to Buck's buttocks by now, manipulating the soft rounds of muscle to groans from Buck. Chris poured more oil into his hand, letting it fall onto the other man, tracing it with his finger over the entrance to the other man's body. He entered the tight heat with a finger, the path eased by the slick oil. Buck moved to his hands and knees, impaling himself on the finger. He groaned as the finger found that place inside him, it had never taken Chris long to find it. Chris added a second, and a third finger, jerking his fingers inside Buck as Vin began stroking his hardness, coating him with oil. Buck jerked back on Chris's fingers, taking them deeper inside him. Chris stretched Buck a little more, making sure that his lover was ready for him, and he added a little more oil.

Chris removed his fingers to a whimper of protest from Buck that transmuted into a groan as Chris slowly entered him.

"Vin...I want to suck you," Buck managed to say.

Vin moved in front of the other men, and they found that as Vin knelt, his groin was at the perfect height for Buck to take him in his mouth. Vin sighed and allowed Buck to set the pace, groaning as the big man's tongue danced over him.

Chris began moving in and out of Buck, hitting that secret place inside him with every thrust. As he thrust, he was able to lean forward and capture Vin's mouth in a kiss. He and Vin began moving in sync, Buck connecting them and feeling both of them inside him. The sounds of Buck groaning around Vin, Vin and Chris moaning between kisses, and the slap of skin on skin grew louder as each man chased his release.

Vin was first, warning Buck and Chris, who slowed for a few moments, so as not to set Buck off at the same time and cause any problems, his seed pumping into Buck's mouth and down his throat. Vin pulled out of Buck's mouth and collapsed onto the bed. After a moment, he recovered enough to prop himself up on one elbow and watch the end of the dance of passion he was a part of.

Chris stiffened, and pumped in and out of Buck a few times, reaching his climax as Buck's muscles tightened around him in anticipation. Chris managed to reach under Buck and give his hardness a few strokes, which was all that it took for Buck to be yelling with his release. Chris pulled out of Buck and collapsed beside Vin, Buck relaxing his hands and knees and coming down beside them.

Vin started to laugh, to the raised-eyebrow amusement of the other two.

"What?" Chris finally managed to ask.

"Well, pards, I think we can say that the first time was a success," the young man managed to get out between laughs.

"I think we can," Buck agreed sleepily.

Vin got up, and found a cloth, wiping the other two down gently. After he found a corner to wipe himself, he threw the cloth to the floor, to a raised eyebrow and a shake of the head from Chris, and joined the other two in a tangle of arms and legs in which an observer truly could not have said where one ended and the others began.

Soon the only sound that could be heard in the cabin was the sound of three men breathing softly in sleep.

THREE

Vin woke first the next morning, to the sound of rain pounding on the roof of the shack. He smiled at first, thinking that the three of them had the perfect excuse to stay here at the shack all day, just being together.

Then he re-thought that. The three of them...

"Buck," he murmured, shaking the other man.

"Mmmmm?" Buck woke at his touch, reaching for him. Vin couldn't resist a kiss, but the thought he'd had was niggling at the back of his mind. "Buck," he said again as they separated, "Does anyone know where ya are? Will they be expectin' ya back in town, or lookin' for ya?"

Buck grinned, "Believe it or not, I planned for...well, not this ," gesturing out at the rain, "But I thought we might need some...time, so I told JD that I was headin' out of town to do some fishin'. All that's likely to happen are a few jokes about how soaked I got. What about you and Chris?"

"Workin' on the shack till tomorrow. So we'll get told jokes about bein' able to rest up. Funny, workin' on this place was prob'ly what we'd've done anyway. But we can't with this rain."

"So why don't you shut your yammerin' and let a man get some extra sleep, then?" Chris's irritated voice joined the fray.

"Well...we did have other plans," Vin murmured, looking at Buck's morning erection.

"Later?" Chris suggested, more softly, "I'm really not up for this right now, not even watchin'."

"Okay," Buck agreed, and Vin went along, it was the other man who looked more in need of attention, so if he could wait, Vin was too tired himself to argue about it.

Vin drifted back to sleep in the warm embrace of his lovers.

Later that day, Vin woke to a pleasurable warmth in his groin. He thought at first that it was simply a morning, or more likely early afternoon, erection, but as he managed to get his eyes open, he was greeted by the sight of Buck's dark head sucking on him.

"You like how I taste or somethin'?" Vin managed to ask, before being licked into incoherency.

Buck didn't answer, not that Vin would have known if he had, because as well as Buck's mouth driving him out of his mind, he could feel Chris behind him, erection poking him in the back. Vin shivered as Chris moved his hair so he could get at the nape of his neck, and cried out when Chris marked him there with his teeth. Chris smiled against the soft skin and began licking a trail down Vin's back, his tongue lingering on the soft rounds of his buttocks, then moving to the secret place between them. Vin screamed when Chris's tongue entered him, the wet heat driving him further to the brink. Buck sucked harder, Chris entered him deeper, and Vin came, hard and quickly.

He disengaged from the others, who immediately reached for each other. Hands moving to each other's erection, they brought each other off quickly, neither in the mood right now for anything slow.

"If I don't die of exhaustion, I think it'll be from pleasure," Vin said to the others as they came back to earth.

"Sounds about right," Buck agreed, moving in for a kiss. Chris did the same, and after a moment of hesitation, Vin eagerly sucked on Chris's tongue.

"Not sure whether you wanted to do it, were you?" Chris asked, teasingly.

"Do ya blame me?"

"Nope. I was the same the first time Buck did that to me. But you know how he can charm the birds from the trees."

"Is that what ya call it?"

"When I'm bein' polite..."

"I am in the room, you know," Buck said mock-indignantly.

"How could we forget?" Vin asked, half in jest, half as an unconscious reassurance to the other man.

Chris changed the direction of the conversation by announcing that he was starving. Vin offered to cook, and the other two were quick to take him up on the offer. Vin fixed eggs, this time it would be okay to be reminded of earlier times together, and maybe to make new reminders, Vin thought wickedly as he added hotcakes and syrup...smooth, sticky syrup, perfect for licking off fingers...and other things, to the menu.

Breakfast or lunch or whatever the meal would be called in polite society turned out to be rather boringly uneventful, except for Buck taking advantage of a moment of distraction for Chris and licking syrup from around his lips. It went no further, though, all of them were more interested right then in getting some food in their stomachs.

The day passed slowly, the three men talking, getting to know each other in a different way than before, just finding out how they would relate was new. It was something that none of them had ever tried before, although Buck related a few wild nights that couldn't be categorised as relationships with two women. Vin had known a few people in relationships with more than one person in the Indian tribes, but even those had tended to be one man with two wives. Chris had never even thought of being with more than one person until now, though.

"Ya know," Vin drawled, in the middle of the conversation, "Thinkin' 'bout it, it'll be easier to keep folks from knowin' what's goin' on with three of us."

"What do you mean, Vin?" Chris asked.

"Well...if it'd'a stayed just you an' me, folks would have started wonderin' someday. They mighta even hit on the truth. But no one would ever think that the three of us were together."

"I guess not," Buck agreed, "Hell, I still don't quite believe it, and I'm here ."

"I know what you mean," Chris agreed, "Who'd have thought that all those years ago, when we met, that we'd be here, now, like this, with Vin? I know I sure didn't."

"We couldn't'a thought that we'd be with Vin back then, we didn't know him," Buck pointed out logically.

Chris rolled his eyes and conceded the point.

Vin couldn't control his laughter at the byplay between his lovers, and the other two joined in after a moment.

"Are ya really ready for this, Chris?" Vin asked as they sobered. "It's gonna be a hell of a lot different once things get past tryin' all the different things we can do as three that we couldn't as two."

"Of course I am," Chris replied emphatically. "We wouldn't be here if I felt any different. If any of us felt any different."

"If any of us couldn't do this, we wouldn't be here," Vin replied.

"I'm glad we are," Buck smiled.

"I never thought I'd have this," Vin said, "I...after my ma died, I thought I'd be alone forever. Then I came here and met all of you, especially you two. And then I got somethin' I dreamed of, to be with Chris. And I felt like a selfish bastard, but it wasn't enough. It was easier when I knew it was what you wanted too, Buck. I could have you both because it was what we needed. And here we are."

"Yes," Chris whispered, reaching for him, "Here we are."

"How are we gonna do it this time?" Buck asked.

"Buck..I want to feel you," Vin said, between kisses to Chris.

"Okay," Buck got the oil and began to prepare Vin, kissing the long, pale back as he entered him with a slick finger, stretching and probing to make sure that the other man could take him. Not that it was unlikely, Buck knew that he and Chris were comparably sized in that area, but he didn't want to hurt Vin. Giving one more twist of his fingers, hitting that special place inside Vin and causing him to move his hips wildly, Buck began to enter him, slowly. He didn't last long, he had been ready almost since dinner, and Vin's heat and movement sent him quickly over the edge of passion.

Buck pulled out of Vin, noticing that he was fine, not hurt at all, although, as Vin turned over, Buck realised with a smile that he was probably hurting , with desire. Vin was still hard.

Buck moved to take matters in hand, bending to suck Vin. The tracker tasted sweet and musky, and there was a unique flavour that was just Vin. Buck sucked Vin gently to orgasm, a low cry and a burst of warm fluid in his mouth the only indicators. Vin murmured a few endearments and lay back, too spent for now to do any more.

Buck looked to see Chris touching himself, in the way he always had. He was planning to help his friend, but the desire to watch Chris pleasure himself won out. It was obvious that Chris was oblivious to anything but his own pleasure, so Buck just watched, waiting for the madness to take Chris over the edge. A few more practiced strokes and Chris was spurting white fluid over himself, Vin and Buck.

"Beautiful," Buck murmured as they prepared the bed for sleeping.

A shadow crossed Vin's face as they began talking of plans for the next day.

"What is it?" Buck asked, attuned to the slightest change in mood.

"Just...I don't know if I want to share you with all those girls in town."

"Vin, you will never have to share me with anyone but Chris, you know that."

"Yeah, but I want it to stay like this, all the time. Just us. I know, it can't, but I want it to."

"Don't you think we all do?" Chris asked. "This would be what I would choose to have all the time. But we have a responsibility, a commitment, to Four Corners and to Judge Travis."

"One good thing," Buck murmured, half-asleep.

"What?" Vin asked.

"Patrols are gonna be a lot more fun from now on," the bigger man grinned, soft laughter becoming silences as the three men found sleep.

The End
Next story: The First Time Ever I Lay With You