They were headed back from hearings in D.C., a crappy week under close
scrutiny. No sex. Ezra had
used frequent flyer miles to upgrade to first class, and after rubbing
everybody's nose in it, promptly fallen asleep. The plane was nearly
empty, who knew why? A redeye. JD had taken four seats in the middle
of the plane and stretched out to sleep. Josiah had stretched his legs
out as much as possible and put his seat back. Vin, Chris and Buck
were sharing another row of four seats, playing a desultory game of
cards or something. That got old. Buck slipped out of his seat and
away, presumably to flirt with the stewardess in the back of the
plane. After he'd been gone a minute or two, Vin took an extreme
liberty and asked a question he'd always wonderd about.
"Is he anywhere near as good as he says he is?" Vin asked mildly.
"What?"
Vin tilted his head toward the back of the plane. "Buck. In bed. The
way he talks, he's Gods gift to women." He colored slightly and
grinned. "I mean," he added, and trailed off.
Chris smirked. "I know what you mean. It's all right."
Vin nodded. "Well? Is he?" Chris looked toward the back of the plane
himself, and Vin watched the hestitation in his friend's eyes. "It's
okay," he said, letting it go. Wasn't like he was ever going to turn
over a new leaf and find out, himself, after all.
Chris shook his head. "No, it's just... you know he never talks about
guys. It's just us." Then a wide, crazy grin spread across his face.
"But yeah, he's as good as he says he is."
Vin whistled, low. "Huh."
Chris shrugged. "He loves it, Vin. It's like a whole language for him."
"Guess he's had plenty of practice speakin' it."
Chris laughed, a dark and earthy sound he didn't hear often. "You have
no idea."
Vin sat for a second longer, pondering how men said things on
battlefields and late at night that, wide awake in the light of day,
they'd know better than to talk about. "Then what the hell's he doing
back there right now?" He didn't mean to be jealous on Chris' behalf,
but there it was. Buck's womanizing bothered him sometimes, because he
thought it ought to bother Chris.
"Honestly?" Chris laughed again, and patted him on the arm. "He's
hanging around hoping I'll come back there too."
Vin felt his jaw drop. "You're shitting me."
Chris shook his head.
"He's a federal agent!"
"Makes it unlikely anybody's gonna arrest him, doesn't it?"
Vin wanted to recoil from the public nature of what Chris was saying.
It didn't fit with the man he knew, though it sure as hell fit Buck's
M.O. But looking in Chris' eyes, he realized that his friend was
waiting for something, and abruptly he understood what.
They were sitting together. He would have figured it out, if both
Chris and Buck had just gotten up and left. "Been kind of hard to get
together this past week, huh?"
"Try impossible," Chris said, looking away and slumping back in his
chair.
Chris wouldn't do it, wouldn't move unless Vin gave him some kind of
sign, some approval. He didn't know if it had more to do with them
being co-workers or friends, he just knew that his opinion was
important to Chris. And that Buck was important to Chris. And that
Buck was waiting, probably more desperate than horny, after a week of
sitting shoulder to shoulder with his lover and pretending they were
just friends.
"What the hell are you sittin' here for, then? Get your ass back there."
Chris' look of surprise might have fooled other people. "You think?"
It didn't matter what he thought. It mattered what his friends
thought. His own thinking, he could take care of himself. "Hell yes.
If I had me somebody back there ready to take the edge off, maybe I'd
go myself. Get goin'."
Chris hesitated a moment longer, and Vin felt a wash of sincere
affection flow through him. He'd never had a better friend or a better
boss, and he appreciated Chris' desire for his respect. It meant a
lot. "Go on. I'm sick of watching him fidget anyway."
Chris smiled, the relief clear on his face, and slipped out of his
seat. Vin didn't turn to watch him walk down the aisle to the back of
the plane, and refused to speculate on how they'd keep from getting
caught. The flight attendants would know. Who else would?
It wasn't his business. It was just his business to be a friend and
stand by his teammates.
He pulled the little pillow out of Buck's empty seat and stuffed it
against his shoulder. Maybe he'd go to sleep before they got back....
The End
