"Why do you even want to do it, JD?" Buck scowled at his roommate.
JD shrugged. "I don't know, Buck. I just want to."
"It's stupid, kid," Buck said matter-of-factly.
"Well," JD shook his head at the older agent, "that's your opinion, Buck, and you're welcome to it."
Vin stepped over to the two. "Buck, it ain't gonna kill 'im. People do it all the time."
"Yeah." Buck glowered at him. "Stupid people."
It was Vin's turn to shake his head now. "Buck, you don't get it. It's a rush. A thrill."
"You two don't get enough thrills out on busts, bullets flyin' and people tryin' to kill you?" Buck asked, baffled.
"Well, sure, Buck," JD answered. "But, that's our job." Holding his hand out, motioning, he looked up at the tall piece of machinery. "And this, this is fun."
"Fun?" Buck's eyebrows rose high on his forehead. "Fun? Kid, you and I got different definitions of the word 'fun'. Fun is sitting out at Chris's ranch, watching a game and eatin' junk food. Fun is poker night at the apartment, all the guys over. Fun is havin' two dates on the same night and neither of them findin' out. Fun is not plunging yourself off a crane with a thread dangling from your ankles. That is not fun, kid. That is wanting to die young and give your old roommate here a heart attack in the process." He fumed.
"Jeesh, Buck, you make it sound like we're gonna break or necks or something. It's safe. People do it. They don't die." JD rolled his eyes as he fished in his pocket for his wallet and walked towards the pay-booth.
"Chris?" Buck turned to his friend. "You gonna let 'em do it?"
Chris stood, lips pursed, stoic, watching the ordeal. After a few more moments of silence, he replied, "Buck, they're adults. They don't need a signed consent. They can do what they want."
Buck looked flabbergasted that his friend would go along with this.
But then Chris looked down, his face darkening. "Don't mean I have to like it," he spoke softly. Looking back up, he caught Vin with a cold hard stare. "Or watch it." He spun on his heels, quickly walking away.
Vin shook his head as he watched his best friend leave. He was going to bungee jump. He was definitely old enough to make his own decisions and this was one of them. No way Chris Larabee was going to change his mind about this. No way. He shook his head again. "Damn," he hissed under his breath. Turning to Buck, he said, "Don't think I'll be doin' this today." And then took off after his friend.
Buck watched Vin jog after Larabee, catching him and turning him around. They were too far away for him to hear what was said, but he had a good idea. The thought of Vin putting himself in danger bothered Larabee to no end. It bothered him for any of them to, but with Vin, it was different. The two were different sides of the same coin. They had a bond. Chris had already lost the most important thing in his life, and the thought of losing it again drove him nuts. Buck watched as the two men talked for another moment and then, smiling, reached out, clasping each other's arms.
Buck nodded to himself. The two started to slowly walk back to him, grinning. Now, Buck just needed to convince the other side to his coin that he was not, under any circumstances, not a chance, no way in hell, taking a header off that thing way up there.
He nodded at Chris and Vin as they walked up to him. He turned when he heard JD approach. He was just about to start in on his anti-bungee-jumping lecture again when he noticed that JD's brow was deeply furrowed.
JD looked up at him, shaking his head, frowning. "Do you know how much that thing costs?" His voice was high pitched as he waved his hand in the general direction of the pay-booth for the bungee jump.
His eyes went wide as he shook his head again. "If I'm gonna spend that much money on something, I'm sure gonna have something to show for it when I'm done." He pushed his wallet back into his pocket, still frowning.
Vin grabbed him in a headlock. "Come on, kid. They've got a new roller coaster. It's wooden like old times, and I heard it rocks."
"Cool!" JD grinned from ear to ear, his bad mood completely forgotten.
The two walked off and Chris and Buck fell in behind them, both grinning wryly.
"Whose idea was this again?" Chris asked.
Buck rolled his eyes. "Hey, you can pick up lots of chicks at amusement parks," he answered defensively, but still grinning.
"Yeah, while you're tying to keep friends from attempting suicide," Chris said sardonically.
Buck laughed, reaching out and getting Chris in a headlock. "I saw you thinking about it, Chris. You wanted to jump, admit it," he joked.
Chris wormed his way out of Buck's hold, giving him a fierce but playful glare. Then his face become serious and he was suddenly very quiet, his lips pursed, as he thought about something. Finally, he nodded his head and smiled sadly as he looked at Buck. "Maybe, for a little while," he looked pointedly at Vin and JD, and then back at Buck, his eyes speaking volumes as he shook his head and smiled, "but not anymore."
The End
