TWO
Vin went to the kitchen to start dinner. It was as good an excuse as any. It kept him away from Chris. He had planned n making chicken quesadillas and pulled all the ingredients out of the fridge. He had cooked the chicken earlier, so all he had to do was fry them up. He grabbed a huge frying pan out from under the cabinet and placed it on the stove. He placed a small amount of butter in the skillet and dropped in a soft tortilla, then added all the other ingredients. He put another on top and waited for the cheese to start melting. When it did, he flipped it over. Damn, he thought, this wasn't taking long enough. He was sorry now that he had cooked the chicken and cut everything up the day before. Oh well, he would just have to think of something else. He finished one quesadilla and started another. While that cooked, he got out the salad he had made. He placed some salad on two plates and cut the quesadilla into wedges and added them to one plate. He flipped over the one in the pan. He got out the Italian dressing Chris liked and poured it over his salad. His quesadilla was finished, and he cut it up and put it on his plate. He poured dressing on his salad then looked at his watch. Damn, he thought, only twenty minutes had gone by. This was going to be a long two weeks. He picked up the plates and headed out to the dining room."Dinner's finished," he said.
"Coming," answered Chris. Vin heard him yelp in pain and went running.
Vin found him reclined in the La-Z-Boy. He couldn't get the footrest to go down. Vin tried to hide his smile, but couldn't.
"It's not funny, Vin," growled Chris.
"Yes it is," he said as he went to help his friend.
Chris had to admit it was funny and began to laugh, then instantly regretted it when the wound pulled and he hissed in pain.
"Chris!" called an anxious Vin. "Are you alright?"
Chris opened his eyes to see two beautiful blue ones staring down at him. All he wanted to do was drown in their depths. He went to reach up and push Vin's hair out of his eyes, but stopped himself. Get a hold of yourself, Larabee.
"Here, Chris, let me help."
Vin pushed down on the footrest and locked it in place. He helped Chris to his feet and held his arm until he got his balance. Chris pretended to fall, and Vin pulled his arm around his shoulder. Chris hated doing that, but he just wanted Vin to hold him. He could see that Vin was upset and regretted doing it.
"I'm OK now, cowboy, you can let go."
"That's OK. I'll just help you over to the table."
Vin held on to him and it felt wonderful. Damn, thought Chris he even smells wonderful. His hair smelled like it had just been washed. He could also tell that Vin had been down to the barn because he smelled like the hay. There was also a slight musky scent that must be pure Vin. Chris took a deep breath and savored the wonderful essence of this incredible young man. All too quickly Vin helped him into the chair at the table. He took a seat and noticed that Vin had taken one as far away from him as he could get without being in the next room. Chris sighed and ate his dinner.
DAMN! DAMN! DAMN!!! What am I thinking? Vin cried silently. When he helped Chris up from the chair and caught him, the first thing Vin noticed was how wonderful he smelled. The hospital must have bathed him in peppermint soap because he smelled like a candy cane. Vin had noticed that Chris's neck had looked very inviting to lick, and he had almost been tempted. Thank God they had finally arrived at the chair and Vin quickly sat Chris down and retreated as far away as he could.
They ate their dinner in silence. Chris couldn't stand it anymore. He wanted to tell Vin it was alright, that he didn't mind if he was thinking those thoughts. He knew the younger man would never forgive him, so he kept silent. When dinner was over, Vin gathered the dishes and took them back to the kitchen. Chris knew Vin wouldn't leave the dishes overnight.
"Can I help with the dishes?" Chris asked.
"Sure," called Vin. "Four hands are faster then two."
Chris was surprised he had agreed and went into the kitchen. As he got closer, he felt the change in Vin. He could tell the younger man had completely reined in his emotions and was now like a marble statue. Granted, a beautiful marble statue. He joined him at the sink, and they had the dishes done in no time. All this standing had made Chris tired and he couldn't take the cold treatment in the kitchen any longer. He went back out to the La-Z-Boy. He heard Vin finish up in the kitchen and walk out and head for his bedroom. He didn't even say anything as he went by. Chris sighed; this was definitely going to be a long two weeks.
Vin barely made it to the toilet before he was praying to the porcelain god. When all his dinner was finally out of his system and only dry heaves were left, he flushed the toilet and stood up. He went over to the sink and ran the cold water to wash his face. He splashed it on his face and sighed. Well, that's not going to work. I can't completely tune him out. It hurts too much. He splashed more cold water on his face, then grabbed his mouthwash and rinsed the taste out of his mouth. I can't go on like this, he thought. Hell, I'm not even sure what this is.
Who are you kidding, Vin Tanner? said a little voice. You have feelings for your boss. Vin banished the voice to the Seven Gates of Hades and walked out to the living room.
"Hey Chris," he called as he got closer. "Why don't we go into your room and watch TV? I'm afraid I busted the one out here."
"That's not all you busted," said Chris as he looked around the room.
"Well, it wasn't only me," smiled Vin as he helped Chris stand.
They walked to the bedroom and Vin opened the door. The window had been replaced, but the curtains were still missing.
"Damn. They came in here too?" asked Chris.
"Yeah. Two tried to crash the party I was throwing in the dinning room," said Vin. "Hey, where's that bag I have to change your bandage?"
"In what's left of the living room," teased Chris.
"Very funny," said Vin sarcastically as he went to retrieve the bag.
Chris piled some pillows on the headboard and got comfortable. How the hell am I going to get through this, he thought. Vin came back with the bag and placed it on the nightstand. He helped Chris off with his shirt and went into the bathroom for some soap and water. Vin knelt done by the side of the bed and pulled the bandages off ever so slowly. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this, he kept chanting to himself. He got the bandages off and began to clean the wound. He could feel his hand trembling but ignored it and continued what he was doing. He could feel he was blushing and wouldn't look up at Chris's face.
Oh God, that feels so good, thought Chris. He could feel Vin's hand trembling, and it only caused a more powerful sensation to run up his spine. Chris looked down at the top of Vin's head and wanted to run his fingers through his hair. He could tell the younger man was blushing because the tops of his ears were an enticing shade of red. When Vin was finished cleaning the wound, he could feel him spread the ointment ever so gently. The combination of the cold ointment and the motion of Vin's fingers caused a shiver to run across Chris's abdomen.
"I'm not hurting you, am I?" asked Vin in a worried voice.
"No, cowboy. The ointment was just cold," lied Chris. Yeah, he was hurting him all right. His goddamned jeans were so tight, they were strangling him.
Vin was a little disappointed when Chris told him the shudder was because the ointment was cold. He thought that maybe it had been what he as doing instead. NO!NO!NO! he yelled at himself. Do NOT go there! When he was finished, he replaced the bandage but remained where he was on the side of the bed. OH DAMN!!! Why couldn't I be wearing jeans!!! he thought desperately.
"Thanks, cowboy," Chris said. "But if you'll excuse me, I need to use the bathroom."
Chris went into the bathroom and locked the door. He quickly unzipped his pants, and his penis jumped out like a jack-in-the-box. He sighed when the pressure was released, but he needed more. This wouldn't be the first time he had done this since Sarah had died. He grabbed the baby oil out of the cabinet and rubbed some on his hands. He took his pulsing shaft in his hands and began to stroke it vigorously. He had been so close to coming it didn't take long for him to release his seed into the toilet. Damn, that felt good, he thought, but it could have been better. He cleaned himself and the bathroom up and went back into the bedroom. He found Vin curled on his right side with a pillow stuck under his left leg to support it. Chris became concerned when he saw the way he was clutching the pillow.
"Leg bothering you?" he asked.
"A little," he admitted.
"Want me to rub the cocoa butter on it?"
"NO!" he blurted out and regretted it when he saw Chris face. "It's not that bad. I'm just tired, that's all."
"Alright."
Chris climbed back onto the bed and lay down next to Vin. They watched Friends then Frasier. Vin couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. The stress of picking Chris up and dealing with his run-away emotions was too much. The last thing he thought as sleep claimed him was that maybe he should go to his own bed. Chris could tell that Vin was asleep. His breathing was regular and even. Chris got up and grabbed the quilt off the back of the rocker and threw it over Vin. He crawled under the covers on his side of the bed and fell asleep next to the sharpshooter.