Krakatoa by Giselle

Vin sat back from the supper table, trying his best to stifle the belch that was making its way up from his full stomach into his throat. He couldn't quite catch it, blushing as the rather loud intrusion disrupted the serenity of the moment.

"S'cuse me," he said and belatedly covered his mouth.

Mrs. Potter smiled at the way Vin blushed. "It's all right," she said. "Compliments to the cook, Mr. Potter always used to say."

"Thank you, ma'am. Everythin' was delicious," Vin said. He had sat down to supper with absolutely no appetite, and then had proceeded to make light work of his entire meal. Shaking his head to himself he rose to help her clear the table.

Mrs. Potter did not try to argue with him. She wished he would just relax and let her wait on him. She enjoyed it no matter how much he insisted he did not want to make extra work for her. He surely was a quiet one but he was good company nonetheless.

"You're always welcome at my table, Vin. Any time."

Vin nodded, his eyes darting away from her as he felt his cheeks grow hotter.

It wasn't so much that Mrs. Potter's affection for him made uncomfortable. He had sort of gotten used to it. He just felt a tad guilty - he had not really been good company yet she was still so pleased to have him to dinner.

He dumped the dishes into the bucket of soapy water and began scrubbing. Whether he wanted it to or not, his mind drifted. This time he figured it was all right, or at least, much less rude than when his gracious hostess had been chatting away over dinner and he had been a million miles away.

Chris had ridden back into town today, and that was all it had taken to set Vin's thoughts whirling. And though he had eaten his meal down to the last morsel, and the apple pie that followed, his thoughts were never far from his moody friend and presumably, his friend's return to the land of the living.

The day had started out ordinarily enough, if not exactly like any other that came before or would come after. It was All Saints' Day and Vin had watched the sunrise, eaten breakfast at the hotel, and then had gone to hear Josiah's sermon. He was not much of a churchgoer but had found comfort of late inside the walls of the church, seated unobtrusively in a back pew, eyes closed as he concentrated on Josiah's words and their meaning.

After, he enlisted Josiah's help with cleaning up the town some. The Halloween revelry of the night before had been pretty fierce with folks drinking and trying to scare the wits out of each other. JD corralled the most troublesome drunks and left Buck and Vin to keep an eye on the older kids that were roaming the town's main street.

Keep an eye on them they did. Watched them chase each other with their homemade weapon of choice, a bar of soap in a stocking. Saw them throw raw eggs at the storefronts. Witnessed them scrawling eerie or taunting messages in chalk on various buildings, including the jail. JD, along with several of the townspeople, was infuriated but Buck and Vin saw no real harm in it. They figured they would let the young'uns have their fun while keeping track of who all did what so that they could be called upon the next day to assist in washing away the residue of their high spirits.

That morning, Buck had used his considerable powers of persuasion once or twice but most of the kids were happy to clean up, revisiting their pranks with good cheer as they did so. Josiah pitched in, as did Nathan. JD stubbornly refused to do so and pouted instead since Buck and Vin had defied him.

Ezra supervised from his chair in the shade in front of the Saloon.

Vin was washing egg off the window of Mrs. Potter's store when Chris appeared on the edge of town. He did not notice him at first. Mrs. Potter inadvertently clued him in. He was listening to her cluck on about the sinfulness of wasting perfectly good food when her voice trailed off.

Vin turned to her then followed her line of vision to the street. To the solitary figure approaching.

Chris rode down the center of the street, looking neat and clean-shaven, eyes trained straight ahead.

Vin held his place on the boardwalk but watched closely. Buck went past him, patting him lightly on the shoulder as he did. He followed Chris to the livery and embraced him when the gunslinger dismounted.

Chris did not so much return the hug as withstand it. He spoke with Buck for a couple of minutes then turned toward the boarding house.

"He's back," was all Buck said as he returned to the window he had been scrubbing and to the pretty woman with whom he had been flirting.

Vin acknowledged that with a small nod and went back to his chore. He accepted a drink of water and later, a dinner invitation from Mrs. Potter. Then spent the rest of the afternoon on a rooftop pondering the events had that had driven Chris away from town and from his friends.

It had been months since the mess with Ella Gaines. Since she had nearly roped and tied Chris. Since Vin had tried to find her and kill her. Months since he had failed to do just that. Not that Chris blamed him. Chris was too full of self-recrimination to point fingers at anyone else. What a horror it must be, Vin often thought, to wake up everyday with the knowledge that you had fucked the woman responsible for the murder of your family.

Ignorant of that particular detail, Chris had almost turned his back on his friends for Ella, as well. Something in his relationship with Vin caused him, finally, to question the motives of the woman to whom he had promised his future.

Or so Vin liked to think. He really had no idea what had prompted Chris to give Vin's allegations room to breathe or what had made him sneak Ella's keys and unlock the door to her hidden room. They had never discussed it. They had said little even for them in the days and weeks after the shooting. Chris's body eventually healed but his heart had turned to stone.

As soon as he got the okay from Nathan, Chris rode out of town. Vin knew his friend craved solitude more than anything. Still, he worried about him, mentally and emotionally although he was not convinced that Chris was above hurting himself physically.

So after a decent interval, and with the blessing of his less optimistic fellow peacekeepers, Vin paid Chris a visit.

He found him working on his barn, a project that had been abandoned in the wake of Ella. Chris greeted him cordially, asking him if he wanted to help. Desperately, Vin thought, even as he understood Chris was talking about the barn.

It surprised and relieved Vin to find Chris sober. Unshaven, somewhat disheveled and looking like he had not slept in days. Still, he was sober and that was a good sign. He was quiet, too. A different quiet from Chris's usual fare and a bit intimidating even to Vin who was not easily intimidated. But the day was warm, the work honest, and the food, when served about an hour before sundown, pretty damn tasty.

Vin caught Chris up on the townspeople's coming and goings and even managed to drag a chuckle or two out of him with tales of Buck's latest lovelorn endeavors.

It was near total darkness when Vin left, afraid to push his luck by asking to spend the night on Chris's floor or on his porch. He offered to return, noting that the barn was not done and recalling other planned improvements not yet attempted. Chris shook his head but before he rode away, Vin did succeed in exacting a promise from Chris that he would come back to town when he was ready.

It was the closest they had come to acknowledging that anything was amiss.

A week or so passed before Vin saw Chris again. The peacekeepers all gathered at the jail and Chris listened patiently to the updates given him. Soon however it became clear that Chris was not staying, merely passing through on his way to Purgatorio.

Again, it was Vin who risked Chris's wrath as he prepared to ride after him. He still had the urge to watch Chris's back and the tacit understanding of the others that he should not abandon his role no matter how much Chris tried to resist it.

Vin followed at a discreet distance, aware that Chris, if he cared to give it any thought, would know Vin was there watching out for him. Just before reaching the raucous Mexican town, Vin followed a different, less safe path that would bring him to what he was sure was Chris's destination ahead of the gunslinger's arrival.

Life was hard south of the border, the men and women of Purgatorio more than equal to the challenge of living there. Yet no one went anywhere near Chris as he dismounted. No young boys offered to see to his horse, no half-soused tough guys barked challenges to him. No whores approached him when he entered the cantina.

None save Maria and from his darkened corner of the room, Vin felt that tightening in his gut that he had lived with during the entire Ella disaster. The one he always tried to ignore but never could.

It seemed to him that men and women who were drawn to each other had options, some respectable, some not. Depending on the situation. But two men who felt a connection had one option no matter how strong the attraction. Fair, unfair, didn't matter. That was just the way it was. And really, Vin had never minded that limitation in the past. He had never had many friends to speak of outside of the Seven whom he now considered practically brothers, and for the most part their camaraderie had always been enough.

It was not so with Chris. He cared for Buck and the others but Chris meant the world to him. He had long ago trained himself not to yearn for things he could not have. Sometimes, though, he still did. He had broken his own rule with Charlotte and tried to learn from that when it came to Chris. Still, on the rare occasions he allowed himself to think about Chris and how they could never be together it left him feeling frustrated and a little sad.

Chris did not pay Maria much attention though it was obvious he wanted her close. Something in her body language, the way she maintained proximity and kept both eyes open for trouble, told Vin she had been there before with Chris and he silently thanked her for her protectiveness.

When hours had passed and Chris was blind drunk, Vin emerged from the shadows to assist Maria in getting him to her room. He gave her what money he had and knowing it was not near enough, fished coins out of Chris's pocket and gave her those, too.

Vin slept off and on until dawn on a hard piece of earth beneath Maria's window. Each time he started awake, he steadied himself and listened for Chris's snores. After he detected them he would drift uneasily back to sleep.

Maria brought him water and a biscuit as he kept his thankless vigil. He asked her about Chris's horse and she assured him all was taken care of. It was early afternoon when Chris finally rose, washed up and sought out Maria for something to eat. Vin wondered if he would start drinking again or stay another night. Stay with Maria.

When Chris mounted his horse and headed north Vin had his answer.

Chris stayed in Four Corners for a couple of days, present but more taciturn than usual, if possible. He did what he had to do to relay the message that he was alive, or still breathing at any rate, and more importantly, still in charge.

Then he left and was only spotted intermittently in the long weeks that followed.

Life in Four Corners went on and even Vin thought he was learning to live without him.

Now here he was, the mighty Chris Larabee, back from his self-imposed exile.

But for how long?

Warm hands on his and a soft voice with a lilt of insistence brought Vin back from the memories he had gotten lost in.

"Why don't you go see how Chris is doing? He's been gone for a while, I'm sure he'd like to catch up with you," Mrs. Potter said.

Frowning, Vin looked down. He had not washed a single dish.

Vin was adjusting his hat as he stepped out onto the crowded street. Anticipating the setting sun he stole a glance toward the southwestern sky.

He had watched countless sunsets in his life, made it a point to catch as many as he could, even. But nothing in his extensive viewing experience could prepare him for what he saw when he looked up. Nothing.

One look and he felt as if he'd been sucker-punched, the very air forced from his lungs by the visceral sky above. The day was dying. A chill like death itself passed through Vin and he got the shocking feeling that he was dying, too.

Bewildered, he did not understand how people could be milling about when he could barely breathe, much less move.

The bright yellowish orange sun had dropped halfway below the horizon. Pretty in and of itself, and fairly typical of an autumn sunset. It was the sky surrounding the sun that made Vin's stomach clench and turned his knees to jelly.

The sky was red and that wasn't so unusual, either. Except that it was almost entirely red, redder than Vin had ever seen. It hardly deserved to be called a sky, there were none of the hallmarks. No trace of blue, no drifting puffs of white. There were a few vibrant yellow streaks but there was no beauty in them. They slashed across the sky like swords, tearing it open. Leaving it to bleed. Fear and sorrow thickened around Vin's heart as he stared up, unable to blink. The blood red sky splashed above him, vivid and raw as a fresh wound. A wound that could never be stanched. Not until it bled out, taking with it the life of the unfortunate victim. It was so brutal it stunned him. It battered his senses and rendered him unable to even cry out, as much as he wanted to.

The wrath of God? He vaguely wondered. Apocalyptic fears were more Josiah's stock in trade yet surely this was some kind of omen, some harbinger of the end of the world.

Vin Tanner was not a man given to regrets. He lived his life as true as he was able, trying only to honor the name he had been given. Wrongs he could address he did, things he could not change he abided. And he survived. Suddenly, with this odd and unexpected specter of death slapping him in the face, he wanted to live. Truly live, if only for one night.

The red deepened and Vin felt himself shiver. He wanted Chris so badly he thought something would break inside.

He might have stayed rooted to the spot, though, if someone had not bumped into him. He nodded in acceptance of the proffered apology and struggled to get his wits about him. People were scurrying this way and that, trying to wrap up the day's business before night fell. Some were pointing to the sky; most were just in a hurry to get home.

He needed to find Chris.

He walked on shaky legs in the direction of the saloon. It would have been easier if Chris were still in his room but Vin thought that unlikely. A man needs to eat. And drink. Chris would do these things mechanically, deriving sustenance and a dulling of his pain, respectively, but no pleasure. Just like when Vin had first met him.

They had made such progress. While never forgetful of his solemn vow to seek vengeance for his family, Chris had begun to laugh again, to feel joy. He had let Vin in as much as he could let anyone in. Until Ella came along and got Chris all tied up in knots. Now Vin was determined to set things right, if it was the last thing he ever did. As he walked on he could not let go the fear that it might very well be.

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Josiah but he did not stop. Josiah seemed to be admiring the lurid sunset and Vin did not even want to try to make sense of that. To him it was almost obscene in its intensity. So much so that he could not bear to look at it anymore.

Pushing through the swinging doors of the saloon he saw Chris immediately. Drinking at the bar, alone, while the rest of the Seven sat together at a table.

Buck called to him as he entered but he did not look Buck's way or otherwise pay him any mind. He was on a mission. He could no longer suppress his desire for Chris, despite what anyone might think if they knew. The rules just didn't seem to matter anymore.

Vin rested his hands on the edge of the bar and stared down at it. He was afraid that when he opened his mouth, the anguished scream that was raging inside him would escape. He swallowed hard and did not turn toward Chris when he spoke.

"Need to have a word with ya. Alone." He even managed to sound almost normal.

Chris heard the strain in Vin's voice. He downed his whiskey and said, "All right. Let's go outside."

Vin shook his head. "Need privacy. I'll be waitin' in yer room," he said.

Chris watched Vin's retreating form in the mirror and narrowed his eyes. He turned slowly and noticed for the first time that the barroom was bathed in an eerie red glow. So like Vin, he thought, to remain completely calm when half the town was apparently on fire. But why go to his room? Why not help?

The ominous color did not appear to bother anyone else, leaving Chris confused and a little concerned. A small smile lifted one corner of his mouth. To be truthful, the concern was more for Vin than for the town. But he felt it. Actually felt something other than unspeakable grief and rage.

Perhaps it was why he had been avoiding Vin all this time. It was so hard to give up the ghosts. He had started to do it, because of his friends and his life in this town. Mostly because of Vin. And what did it get him? Made him vulnerable to Ella, for one thing.

He paused and gritted his teeth. Not again, he told himself. For once, he did not want to go down that dark and ugly road of regret that led nowhere except to more misery. He wanted to find Vin. He very much wanted to find Vin and spend time with him. He would have done it soon enough, as soon as he blocked out the shame and worked up the nerve. And while Vin's manner worried him, he was thankful that once again Vin had made it easy for him.

Outside the Saloon, Chris spotted Josiah standing in the middle of the street and approached him. He cocked his head toward the blazing sky when Josiah turned to him.

"Prairie fire?"

"Not exactly, no. That, my friend," Josiah said with a nod toward the sunset, "is courtesy of a volcano that erupted on the other side of the world a while back."

"Huh?"

Josiah crossed his arms over his chest and explained. "I think it is, anyway. Mary likes to get her hands on as many out-of-town newspapers as she can and I like to read 'em. Read about this in the St. Louis Dispatch, which was reporting on a story from the New York Times. Seems sunsets like this one have been keeping the fire companies over there real busy with false alarms. Men of science say it's the volcano that's doing it."

"No kidding," Chris said with a snort.

Josiah nodded. "Ain't mother nature grand?" he asked. When Chris nodded agreeably, Josiah arched one eyebrow inquisitively. "You sticking around this time?"

"Yeah, I reckon I am."

"In that case, I just saw our tracker friend. Seems he's a mite troubled about something."

"I'm on it," Chris said and walked off with a tip of his hat.

"Good," Josiah said and turned his attention back to the impromptu show overhead.

From the window in Chris's room Vin once more studied the sky, which was deepening to a velvety scarlet. It was a slightly less threatening hue but disconcerting all the same. He wanted to look away, he just couldn't.

He kept staring even when he heard the door open. No movement at first, then ruffling. He figured Chris was following his lead, removing his hat and coat. Vin's gun belt was on the chair but Chris would likely keep his securely on his person.

It was when he looked at Chris, waiting patiently with a look of care in his eyes that belied the overt stoicism of his handsome face, that Vin lost it.

He should have been embarrassed standing there with all his emotions on display. Would have been under different circumstances but this was Chris and he could no longer keep anything from him.

Chris moved toward him, one hand raised.

"What?" he asked softly. His eyes touched Vin's as he pressed his curled fingers to Vin's tearstained cheek.

Vin leaned forward and kissed him. Gentle and cool as a soft spring rain at first. Then he closed his eyes and pressed harder. His tongue poked out to lick and tease Chris's lips but they would not part.

He took a small step back. Chris may not have returned the kiss but his fingers were tangled in Vin's hair.

Chris's eyes were downcast, focused on him and once more Vin felt his knees go weak. It took two tries to finally find his voice.

"The world could end tonight, Chris. Then what good would it'a done us? Followin' the rules?" he asked in a rough whisper.

Chris laughed at that. "Never been one for following the rules."

"Then why deny it?" Vin asked.

Chris pulled his hand away but his gaze was steady. He had no idea why Vin was breaching their unspoken agreement. There was no denying how they felt about each other, they just never ever let the full truth of it see the light of day. There just wasn't any use. Social customs and just as importantly, if not more so, Chris's own guardedness would always keep them apart.

"I've got nothing to offer you, Vin," he said.

"I'll take it."

Chris laughed again, more ruefully this time, and shook his head. "You deserve so much more."

"Ain't about deservin' Chris, it's about wantin'. An' I want you," Vin said.

Chris almost said, I want you, too, but held back. Knowing he wanted another man for the first time in his life did not really bother him. Acting on it, especially since the man was Vin, was a horse of a different color. It wasn't done and he wouldn't do it even if it was. Because he cared for Vin. A lot.

From the day he had met Vin their connection fit him like the black shirts and tight denims he favored. In the event of a tragedy it would hurt something awful to lose someone so close to him. But he would survive.

There was no way that would be the case if he ever gave himself over completely to Vin. The way he had with Sarah. He and Vin were one in spirit, it happened naturally and there was no turning back from it. He could not close the small gap that remained between them by sharing his body with Vin, too. It wouldn't be like it was with Ella and whores too numerous to count. It would be the making of a whole from two parts, like with Sarah.

That made the potential for heart-wrenching loss too real. He couldn't, he wouldn't do it.

"No," Chris said finally. Turning his back to Vin, he reached for his coat.

There were a million things Vin could have said to Chris in that moment but none of them mattered and none of them really needed saying. He stalked over to him and grabbed his arm, turning Chris around to face him again. He slid one hand behind Chris's neck and offered him another kiss.

Chris resisted and Vin pushed, knocking Chris off balance until he had him pinned to the wall.

Chris pushed back, his eyes sparkling with anger in the now darkened room. "Don't, Vin."

Vin saw the anger and reacted with a dose of his own. Didn't Chris know what was at stake?

"Why not? Ya gave Ella a chance," he taunted. "Why're ya so afraid to give me one?"

"Shut up Vin," Chris said.

"I ain't got a nice big house--"

"Shut up!" Louder this time.

"--Or fancy breedin' horses--"

Chris's shoulders sank and he dropped his chin to his chest. When he looked up, his eyes glittered with moisture. He blinked a few times before he said quietly, "You didn't murder my wife and son, either."

That took the fight out of Vin and he was not sorry to see it go. This night would not be about fighting. No fist fighting, and no more fighting what they both felt. What they both needed but could never express.

"Chris," he said softly, "I can give ya the life that ya wanted. Only without the wife and kids."

Chris heard the humor in the second half of Vin's declaration and smiled. But he knew from one look in Vin's eyes that he was serious about the first part. Somehow he truly believed they could make a life together. A life of raising horses and keeping a home filled with happiness and friends. Filled with love.

"I don't want it, Vin."

Vin shrugged. "Don't matter anyhow. It's the end of the world, I can feel it. But we can have tonight."

This time Chris could not tell if Vin was being serious. It was a singular moment, him not being able to read Vin, to know what he was thinking because Chris was already thinking it himself. So he played along. "And if it is, is this really the last thing you want to do in life? Bed down with me? With all my foolishness and--"

Vin cut him off with a hard kiss. "Shut up, Larabee," he breathed in Chris's face, "and let me in."

When he kissed Chris again he did not need to pry Chris's lips apart. Chris's mouth opened and Vin's tongue darted in. It explored hungrily, sweeping over hard teeth and tasting whiskey as it swirled around its mate.

First Chris gave in, kissing Vin back. Then he let go. He let go of his reluctance, his fear, his bitterness. All of it. For the moment all he knew was Vin and how good it felt to kiss him.

As those feelings washed over Chris he took charge of the kiss. He sucked hard on Vin's tongue and dipping him to the side, grabbed his thigh and pulled his legs apart.

Vin moaned with the first rub of Chris's lean muscular thigh against his crotch. The tables were turning and now he was the one off balance. He noticed but did not care. He hooked his arms under Chris's shoulders and held tight, tearing his mouth away only when he absolutely had to draw a breath.

The interrupted kiss afforded Chris the opportunity to begin tugging at clothing. He dropped his own gun belt then focused entirely on Vin, kissing and licking his neck and face as he worked through the layers to get to Vin's heated skin.

Vin tried to help but ended up tumbling onto the floor when Chris reached for his scuffed brown boots. He laughed nervously, wishing the moon would rise so that he could better see Chris's face.

A small part of him was wondering just what exactly he had unleashed with his impulsive challenge to the moody, unpredictable man in black.

The rest of him, though, was ready.

Chris grunted at Vin's laugh, or maybe it was at the exertion of tugging off Vin's boots. Either way he seemed to take the tracker's fall in stride, just the thing he needed to rid Vin of all his troublesome clothes.

He pulled off his own boots before he reached down for Vin's hands and yanked him up. He pushed Vin back, falling on top of him as he landed on the bed. He once more worked his knee between Vin's thighs and sought Vin's mouth for a deep and passionate kiss.

Vin rocked steadily beneath him and Chris kissed him harder, catching Vin's lower lip between his teeth and biting down before again plunging his tongue into the inviting warmth of Vin's mouth.

That drew another moan from Vin and Chris felt his cock twitch eagerly in his pants. Through his clothes he felt Vin's nakedness and his desire and it excited him more. He knew what he wanted most in the world. He deliberately shut out the voice in his head that tried to warn him - warn him that he had wanted this before, had gotten it and had lost it to an insane, wounded animal - by trying to talk above it.

"God, Vin," he finally admitted, "I want you so bad."

Vin's hands settled on his face and their eyes met in the darkness. Each one's warm breath spilled over the other. "Then take me, Cowboy," he said hoarsely.

Chris nodded and kissed him tenderly.

The urgency quickly returned and they both began tearing at Chris's clothing.

When Chris was naked too he kissed Vin all over, their lips not meeting as Chris explored Vin's body. His hands and tongue roamed over skin soft in some places, weathered in others. All covered in goose bumps.

It moved him somehow, the way Vin trembled beneath him but he did not let it slow him down. He kissed Vin's nipples, sucking on the hard little buds and flicking his tongue against each one in turn.

Vin writhed on the bed and his responsiveness spurred Chris on. He trailed kisses down his partner's stomach and nibbled the soft flesh around his belly button. That prompted Vin to let out a noise that was somewhere between a throaty chuckle and a stuttered moan and Chris wanted to cry with the sweetness of the sound.

Without any hesitation, he kept going. He picked his head up a little so that he could spread Vin's thighs and smooth his hands over the light dusting of hair on them. He touched the spot where Vin's leg and groin met with his index finger then leaned in close to lick it.

Vin jerked a bit, his fingers sinking into Chris's hair and pressing gently.

Chris smiled to himself and licked the tender spot again, paying it ever more attention as his hand drifted lazily to Vin's cock. He stroked it casually while his other hand rubbed Vin's belly.

Vin smelled of musk and sweat, a manly, honest mixture that only served to heighten Chris's need. He carefully pushed the foreskin of Vin's penis back and licked the crown. He continued licking it as Vin moaned and squirmed against the mattress.

The voice in Chris's head was at it again though on a slightly more relevant topic. Although Chris had never been with a man before he was well aware that he would need some assistance. Kissing Vin's penis was pleasurable for Vin, and not at all terrible for him, but it would not help with what lay ahead. As he graduated from licking to sucking he wondered how he could make it easiest and most enjoyable for Vin.

Vin's hands were still offering less than subtle hints but Chris dodged them and moved up along Vin's body.

Vin realized he had not exactly thought through what it was he wanted him and Chris to do in this room on this night. But even if he had he probably never would have come up with Chris sucking on his dick. It was such a brilliant thing and therefore so disappointing when Chris stopped.

Chris smiled down at Vin when he opened his eyes and looked up at him. They were glazed over with lust but there was no hiding the anger. He half expected Vin to snarl at him.

He did not give him the chance. Instead, he dropped a kiss on Vin's nose. "Roll over," he commanded.

Vin gave Chris the dirtiest scowl he could manage under the circumstances and complied with the order.

Chuckling, Chris began working Vin's back much the way he had worked his front. He kissed Vin's shoulders, biting here and there, then gently soothing the results of his ardor with his flattened tongue. His callused hands rubbed Vin from the nape of his neck to the small of his back, a spot Chris could not resist kissing as he kneaded Vin's ass.

Vin sighed. He was pretty sure his erection pressing painfully against the mattress would keep him alert but he worried that Chris's attentions would take this in the wrong direction. No on had ever really massaged his back before and he found it more relaxing than erotic.

Until Chris coaxed him onto his knees and licked his hole.

Chris felt Vin's shudder as he passed a tentative swipe of his tongue over Vin's hole. He assumed it was not in protest and carefully spread Vin's cheeks to gain better access to his most secret of places.

"Chris!" Vin yelped. "Jesus, Chris."

Chris was comfortable with going to any lengths to please Vin. He had always wanted Sarah to enjoy lovemaking though initially she had not made any demands. She had lain there perfectly still, determined to suffer silently through her wifely duties. It had taken Chris a while to convince her that they could play and that she should find pleasure in that play. Using his tongue had proved an important step in getting her ready for love.

Hoping the same would be true for Vin, he painted circles with his tongue around Vin's hole. He nipped some with his teeth, then using the tip of his tongue, followed the line of puckered skin to Vin's balls, tight with impending release, and back again.

Growing bolder, Chris thrust his tongue into Vin's opening and fucked it rapidly. He inhaled Vin's musky scent, relished his earthy taste. It was all so new and yet so familiar. He felt like he had known Vin inside and out since the day he was born. But this wasn't quite what he wanted for either of them. Vin was stroking himself and Chris did not want him to come like that, in his own hand. With his own swollen cock aching in frustration.

Vin's brain had almost completely turned to mush. Inarticulate moans and half-formed words fell from his lips as Chris's tongue drove furiously in and out of him. He barely had the wherewithal to touch his cock in an attempt to relieve the glorious but nearly unbearable tension he felt.

He was not so out of it though, that he could fail to notice when Chris suddenly stopped. Not only stopped, but climbed out of bed. He rolled to his side and waited a second for his eyes to adjust. Then he sought Chris's form silhouetted by the soft light of the risen nearly full moon.

"Chris?"

"It's okay, Vin," Chris said. He could think of nothing in his room that would serve their needs. So they would have to settle for soap and water. It would ease his passage at least. He'd worry about the dryness later.

Vin heard the splash of water in a bowl. "Yer washing up? Don'tcha wanna finish first? Then wash up?" he asked, slightly panicked. "We should finish up, Chris."

The alarm in Vin's voice made Chris snigger. He carried a cup of water and a bar of soap in his wet hands to the bed. "Don't worry, I'm not abandoning you," he said. "Don't want to hurt you, is all."

Leaning up on his elbow, Vin accepted the kiss offered him. They were really going to do it. Almost two years of being near each other, wanting each other but never openly admitting such a scandalous truth. Now here they were, about to make love.

"I'm ready, Cowboy."

Chris nodded and kissed him deeply as he eased him back onto the pillow. He put his hand between Vin's legs and rubbed his hole with his slippery index finger. Vin spread his legs, signaling his readiness to take it further.

Chris pushed his finger in. Vin clenched around it. "Relax, Vin," Chris said softly. "Trust me."

Vin did trust him and tried his best to open to him. They kept kissing and that helped. Chris's mouth was hot, his kisses exciting beyond compare and for a moment Vin was aware of nothing but the fire in his belly and the demanding tongue inhabiting his mouth and taking ownership of it.

Then he arched off the bed, his eyes fluttering open when Chris touched something inside him. "Chris," he gasped.

Chris slipped a second finger in. "I'm here, Vin. It's all right."

Vin panted against Chris's face. It was more than all right. His entire body was aflame and he could not help but think of the sky soaked with blood behind the setting sun. He pushed Chris's arm away from his body.

"Now," he said and rolled onto his stomach again. "Take me now, Chris."

Chris took a deep breath and reached for the soap and water. He lathered his cock with care, afraid he would come before joining with Vin. He was that close just from kissing and pleasuring Vin. He sighed with recognition. Being free, if only for the moment, to love someone again was a powerful aphrodisiac.

He pushed the head of his cock against Vin's waiting hole. With his free hand, he caressed Vin's thigh, feeling the tautness of the muscle there. "It's okay, Vin, just relax and I'll make it real good for you."

Vin steadied himself for penetration and tried to grant entrance to the blunt hardness poking him. Little happened. Chris tried and tried again but Vin's body constricted involuntarily, refusing him.

He glanced over his shoulder. "I want ya, Chris, I do," he said. "Keep trying."

Chris shook his head. "Not this way." He lay down on his side and pulled Vin to him, their bodies spooned, Vin's ass nestled against his rock hard sex.

His hand lightly stroked Vin's side as he sucked on the tracker's earlobe.

Vin reached behind him and caressed Chris's hip. He never knew how wonderful it could be to have someone tickle his earlobe. It sent chills up and down his spine.

He moved his leg so that it rested on Chris's thigh, all the while moaning softly as the wet tongue at his ear toyed mercilessly with his senses.

Chris felt Vin go almost completely lax against him and grinned at the way he moaned and sighed into the pillow. The soap on his dick had dried and was a little uncomfortable. Still, it was Vin he thought of as he rubbed the precum from Vin's cock over his dick. If he moved or got up, Vin might tense up again. He wanted Vin the way he was now. Relaxed. Ready.

Simultaneously, he pressed his lips against Vin's neck and his cock against Vin's hole. Vin gave just a little but it was enough. Chris entered him slowly, rocking his way in carefully. When he was all the way in he rested there. His only movement was the feather light skimming of his fingertips along Vin's side.

Vin quivered. It was strange to have Chris's cock inside him. He could feel it swelling. Not painful but there was some discomfort. He moved his hips and it felt better. It felt good, even. He moved again to be sure. It felt excruciatingly good. But Chris remained still, filling him until he thought he would burst if he did not get some relief.

"Chris," he sobbed. "It's too... move, Chris. Ya gotta move."

Chris marveled at the serenity he derived from being buried deep inside Vin. Yet it was maddening for both of them, especially for Vin and Chris felt a little selfish for prolonging the moment.

Whispering soothing words in Vin's ear he began to thrust his hips, gradually increasing the intensity. Soon, he shifted his weight so that Vin was flatter to the mattress and increased his speed. He held Vin's cock in his hand but did not pump it.

Vin braced his knee against the bed and pushed back against Chris. The sensations were amazing, from the strong hand on his dick, to the powerful cock ramming him. All complimented by sharp teeth biting into his shoulder, marking him. He could barely stand it. Yet he needed it, needed it as an antidote to a sunset that still lingered menacingly in his subconscious. If that red sky was a curse, Chris was the cure.

Chris's thrusts had gone from controlled to wild and frenzied, leaving Vin gasping for more between labored breaths. Like all forces of nature, Chris was awe-inspiring. Beautiful and just a little scary. Vin was sure Chris could have turned the sky back to blue if he had wanted to. At the very least, he could restore balance to Vin's universe. After he fucked him senseless.

Chris's hand began moving along his cock. Close to coming undone, Vin pushed into the fist that tormented him.

He squeezed his eyes shut when he came, calling out Chris's name as fireworks exploded behind his eyelids.

"That's it," Chris murmured. He opened his hand and slowed the movement of his wrist, gentling his strokes.

To Vin it felt as if his orgasm would go on forever. Chris's touch was so delicate, like a cool breeze on a spring day. But the hardness inside him raged, a direct contrast to the tenderness being shown his dick.

Chris hissed through clenched teeth as Vin unconsciously clamped down even harder on his cock. What had seemed like an impossibly tight fit got even tighter, Vin's channel enveloping Chris's engorged flesh and gripping it for dear life.

Vin no longer had the energy to push back against Chris's tumultuous thrusts. He did slide his fingers through Chris's hair and turned his own face toward that of his lover. They kissed for a few precious seconds before a feral groan escaped Chris's lips. He climaxed with his mouth open against Vin's, the two of them panting in rhythm. His eyes were open as well and they watched each other for a long moment as they caught their breath.

Later, Vin did not even try to keep his eyes open while Chris wiped him down with a small wet cloth. He had seen Chris's face when his lover came. It was screwed up in the ecstasy of his release but still it confirmed for him everything he already knew. If this was his last night on earth, he wanted that face to be the last thing he ever saw.

Chris's lips pressing gently against his temple would be the last thing he ever felt, and that was just fine, too.

Vin came awake slowly, the fog in his brain lifting gradually to reveal Chris's face. They were only inches apart on the pillow. Chris was awake, watching him. As if waiting.

"World didn't end, Vin," he whispered.

"No, huh?"

"No."

Daybreak had already settled in the room. "Ya want me to go?" Vin asked and held his breath. He wasn't ready for this time with Chris to end. He wasn't sure he could muster the nerve to face a world that would never understand what Chris and he felt for each other and did not care to.

Chris shrugged. "No hurry."

Quietly relieved, Vin exhaled, yawned, and studied Chris's face. "Can't rightly explain it," he said by way of trying to explain even though Chris wasn't asking. "Somethin' about that sky made me need ya like I ain't ever needed nothin' else."

"That was a volcano," Chris said and reached over to push a couple of wayward strands of Vin's hair back off his face.

"What was?"

"Josiah said some volcano erupted somewhere and it's making skies all over the world turn fiery red at dusk."

"Did a lot of people die?" Vin asked. It was a bit unsettling to realize that what had pushed him towards the most pleasurable and satisfying night in his life was the remnants of a lingering tragedy for countless people in an unknown place.

Chris shrugged. "Don't know. Maybe."

Vin thought about it for a minute. "Probably," he said sadly.

Chris could not argue. The sky had been ablaze last night and fire would always mean death to him. He heard that voice in his head again, asking him questions he did not want to answer.

Vin saw the sorrow burrowing into Chris's features and tried to lighten the mood. His mouth quirked into a crooked smile as he said, "Ya put yer mouth on me."

"I know it," Chris said with a smile of his own. "That was something."

"Sure was."

"You liked it?" he asked and when Vin nodded, he added, "All of it? I mean the other... it didn't hurt?"

Vin lifted one shoulder. "A little maybe."

"But you want to do it again sometime?"

"Hell, Chris," Vin said with a laugh, "I'm waitin' on ya to roll over and do it to me again right now!"

Chris did not return his mirth. "Can we really have it all, Vin?" he asked so quietly he wondered if Vin could hear him.

Vin heard. "We can try, Chris."

Chris sat up and scrubbed his hands over the growth of beard on his chin. "Ella..."

Vin sat up too and draped his arm over Chris's shoulder. "She'll be back, Cowboy," he said gently. "We could try lookin' for her again but I reckon we won't need to. She ain't gonna let go of ya. She's sick in her head over ya. She'll be back."

Chris frowned. He saw the truth in that. Ella wasn't about to let him go, not after all she'd done to be with him. "What if she figures things out and comes after you?"

"We'll be ready."

"The bounty--" Chris began.

"Shit, Chris. We'll deal with it. Anything else?" Vin wanted to know.

Chris heaved a heavy sigh. "Would have been easier if the world had ended," he said wearily.

"Maybe. But when'd you or me ever do anythin' the easy way?" Vin asked.

"Folks wouldn't understand," Chris said.

"And since when do we care what folks think?" Vin said, irritated though he tried not to be. There was just no way he was walking away from this. Not after last night. But Chris was just so damn stubborn.

"All right. Our friends, then," Chris said. He knew Vin would have an answer. Last night may have come out of nowhere for both of them but it was clear to him that Vin's mind was made up.

"Our friends already do understand. They know what's between us and once they get over the shock of us sleepin' together, they'll be fine," Vin said.

"You think so?"

"I know so. Likely they wouldn't want us rubbin' their faces in it but we wouldn't do that anyways," Vin argued. "And if'n they don't understand, they'll leave us be. They'll reckon they owe us too much not to."

Chris glanced over at his partner and smiled. "You sound so sure," he said.

"I am sure. Of us."

Chris shook his head. "If I'd given in to what I felt for you sooner maybe Ella wouldn't have run circles around me."

"But ya didn't. And I didn't. Two fellers can't just up and do that," Vin said.

Chris's eyes widened. "So what makes today different? If we couldn't do it before, why can we do it now?"

Vin groaned and dropped his head onto Chris's shoulder. When he picked his head up, he took Chris's chin in his hand. "Cause we done tried everything else and me and you together is the only thing that makes sense," he said. After a slight hesitation he added, "It's the only thing I want."

"You don't want much do you?" Chris scoffed.

Vin pressed his lips to Chris's ear. "Just want ya to love me till the end of the world," he whispered. "That's all."

Chris pursed his lips. He had the distinct feeling he was not going to win this argument. The question was, would that be so bad? Whatever happened with him and Vin, could it be any worse than anything that had happened to him over the past couple of months? Over the past three years, for that matter? And it could potentially be infinitely better.

He looked into Vin's eyes, smiling back at him with genuine affection. "You win," he said.

They stayed like that for a minute, their eyes locked, then Chris shifted. He took Vin in his arms, kissing him as he lowered him to the bed and lay on top of him.

Vin lifted his legs and wrapped them around Chris's back. Lying belly to belly, lips touching, they affirmed their promise to one another.

Chris's lovemaking took him to a place he had never been before. Not when he had lain with Charlotte. Not ever. Once he had stood atop a mesa, young and free and filled with the wonder of the world. He had stared down at a rolling field of Indian paintbrush, orange and yellow billowing effortlessly in the wind, red-tailed hawks soaring over his head. It had been one of his most treasured memories and it could not begin to compare with how he felt next to Chris.

It was as though he had spent his whole life simmering and Chris had brought him to a boil.

Chris's hands clasped his and pinned them over his head. They kissed and loved until they had no energy to go on.

As Vin drifted back to sleep, he knew Chris and he would go on. They would make it somehow. Even if it was not the picture perfect vision of hearth and home, they would be together and they would make it.

Until the end of the world.

THE END