Sequel to "Do I Know You From Somewhere", "Not That Kind", "The Lonely One", "Truth Or Lie", "When To Hold On" and "Never Quite As It Seems".

*****

A few weeks had passed since they had been in the middle of the Cletus Fowler business, but between the two of them not much seemed to have happened. Vin knew that meeting Fowler and failing to get enough information from him had affected Chris, and consequently their relationship, negatively. Chris felt the whole thing had been a total failure, when the rest of them felt that a few clues had been given that could prove helpful, if not now then in the future. Vin wished that Chris would let him help ease the pain. To take it all away would never be possible, but he knew he could ease it if given the chance.

"Nice to be alone for once," Vin began. They were out riding, taking some time away from the town and the others.

"Yeah," Chris said, his eyes scanning the distance.

Vin watched him sadly. Chris had often had that look lately, the one that silently said that he wasn't really listening. Right now the look in Chris's eyes said that what he saw in the distance was more interesting than the man beside him. At least that's how Vin interpreted it, but he knew it might not be that way, and he tried not to take it personally. "You all right, Chris? You wanna go back?"

"No."

"You want me to go back?"

Chris looked up at him then, shaking his head a bit awkwardly. It looked as if he was simultaneously trying to shake off whatever thoughts that had taken him away and telling Vin that he didn't want him to go back.

"I'll leave you alone if that's what you want," Vin said.

"Ain't what I want," Chris said.

"What do you want then?" Vin said, knowing he might be pushing it. But if they were gonna have a relationship he couldn't always adjust himself and what he said so that it would fit Chris and whatever mood he might be in. The others could do it, the people of Four Corners could do it, the working girls - who still hadn't given up on him despite his disinterest in them lately - could do it. But he wouldn't. Chris Larabee didn't intimidate him. He did a lot of other things to him, but not that. "Wanna stop for a while?"

"I guess we could do that," Chris said.

Vin sighed. "I know we could, but do you want to or not?"

Chris turned his head to glare at him, but saw that his partner was unaffected by the cold stare he tried to give him. It didn't matter, because he could seldom keep that look for long whenever Vin looked back at him with those soft, blue eyes of his. The ones that could look cold as ice, but never did with him. Chris tried to smile, wondering how it looked to Vin. He was out of practise, having smiled very little the past few years. Maybe him smiling was about as attractive as a skull laying in the desert sand grinning back at you when you looked at it. That thought made Chris smile even wider. It wasn't as if Vin had fallen for him because of his looks anyway. Couldn't possibly be because of that. But Vin had fallen for him, and he felt maybe he should make an effort to keep it that way, but he just couldn't seem to find the strength to do it. He wanted to make Vin love him just a little bit more, make him with or without words say that he'd always stay by his side. He might have already said that, but Chris wanted to hear it again, wanted Vin's touch to tell him once again.

"I like seeing you smile," Vin said, watching his partner's face. Chris didn't smile a lot, but whenever he did, Vin's heart opened up just a little bit more, letting him in just a little bit further, and each time it surprised the hell out of him because he didn't think it was possible for his feelings to grow stronger than they already were. He knew very little about this part of life, he realised, but the thought didn't bother him.

Chris met Vin's eyes, still smiling, wondering if he should tell him about the skull. "I bet you do," he said.

"I do," Vin said, his voice soft, his eyes never leaving Chris's. "You're, you know..." Beautiful, he wanted to say. "You look nice." He shrugged. "A lot of women think you do," he added, because it was the truth, and because right now it seemed like a good idea to point that out so Chris wouldn't have to feel so uncomfortable with the conversation.

"Well, I'm glad I don't repulse you," Chris said, looking away, feeling stupid. He always did whenever Vin made comments about his looks. He knew women found him handsome. He was tall, he dressed fairly well, and he tried to care about how he looked, but that another man would find him attractive had never been something he'd thought about. Not until Vin had come along. And it wasn't as if he'd cared about what other men thought of him in general, with the exception of Buck. Then Vin came. The man had seen him sweaty, dirty, bloody and pissed. He'd seen sides of him not even Sarah had seen, his memory must surely be filled with pictures of the times Chris had shown him his worst sides, and here he was saying he liked seeing him smile, saying he looked nice and all. He was still not sure if men should even comment on other men's looks the way Vin just had, but then, he honestly had no fucking clue how two men who were more than friends talked to each other. He wasn't so sure he wanted to know either. What he and Vin had together had nothing to do with anyone else, man or woman. He might have crossed a line that shouldn't have been crossed, letting Vin into his life the way he had, but he didn't feel like starting to define himself differently. If someone were to put a gun to his head and force him to, he'd think about it. Until then he'd just let things be the way they were now; better than they ever had been. Not perfect, but so much better. Chris dared meeting Vin's eyes again, and saw that he had a somewhat tender and patient look in his eyes. "Wouldn't wanna do that," he said, feeling both stupid and uncomfortable this time. The outside world held no temptation for him whenever he was with Vin, but it sure was easier to handle sometimes.

Vin shook his head slowly. Couldn't Chris just accept that he found him attractive, that he liked looking at him. But he knew they came from different backgrounds. Chris had done the expected thing: married a woman and had a child. Vin had never even been close to doing that, even though he'd always respected that that's what people did. Not until the day he'd met Chris had he realised what he himself had been looking for all his life. He'd been attracted to both men and women before, but the women had never kept much of his attention, none at all for a very long time now, and none of the men had been worth the risk. Chris was the first person ever that he'd known from the beginning he could never let slip away from him. It had been an amazing and scary feeling, and it still was. But it was definitely worth it, and the more time passed the less it bothered him that Chris was a man. Chris wasn't just a man to him. Chris was love, love that he desperately needed. "Don't ever worry about that, Chris," he said. "Ain't ever thought you were nothing but handsome, but if it bothers you hearing me say things like that, I won't do it again."

"Don't bother me none," Chris lied. It did bother him, but at the same time, in some weird way, he liked hearing it. "Ain't used to it, is all."

Vin nodded. "Let's stop here a while." He dismounted his horse, watching Chris get off his. But just when he was about to tie Peso to a tree, he heard the sound of another horse approaching. He immediately recognised the rider as Nathan, and looked at Chris.

Chris shrugged, looking back at him. "Don't ask me, I have no idea what he wants."

Maybe he knows too, and wants to make sure we ain't getting too much time alone, Vin thought. But he didn't really think Buck had let Nathan in on what he knew, so unless he'd somehow figured things out himself, Vin was wrong. It was hard for him to stop feeling everyone was out to get him in some way, though. After all his years alone, he still found it hard to trust people, but he knew that Nathan would be the last to want to hurt him. The man just didn't have it in him to treat people badly. "Hey, Nathan," Vin said, noticing the troubled look on his face.

"Boys," Nathan said, nodding at his two partners, "we need you back in town."

"Something happened?" Chris said. He glanced at Vin, noticing he didn't seem too upset about them having been interrupted. Maybe because it was Nathan who'd come. It was hard to get angry at that man.

"You could say that," Nathan said. "Nettie and Casey Wells have been robbed and threatened."

"Robbed of what?" Chris asked.

"Horses, and a few personal belongings. Not much, but they made threats as well, to come back and burn their house down," Nathan said. "Scared the hell out of Casey, apparently." The black man looked angry, the thought of a man - or rather, a man and the many men working for him - going around scaring women disgusting him.

"Sounds like brave men," Chris said. "Do they know who they are?"

Nathan nodded. "Man named Guy Royal, whoever he is. A rancher or something, they said."

"Ain't heard of him," Chris said.

"Me neither, but I suppose we'd best head back," Vin said. He didn't like the idea of Nettie and Casey being in trouble. They were among the few people in Four Corners who had treated him fairly, and if he could help them he would.

*

"Who is this rancher, Guy Royal?" Vin asked Nettie Wells when they had all returned to town.

"Guy Royal is a cattleman with more money and land than God," Nettie said.

"Why's he need a little parcel like yours?" Vin said. The place where Nettie and her young niece lived was nice, but not so much so that someone would want it badly enough that they used violence to get it.

"Not just mine," Nettie said, then told them about some of the other families in the surroundings who had disappeared from one day to the next.

"Guy Royal bought their land in foreclosure," Mary, who had come as soon as she'd heard about Nettie's predicament, said. "He paid next to nothing for it."

Vin watched Chris studying a map he'd found. When Nettie pointed out her place, the place of Cody Porter - who she suspected Mr. Royal would pay a visit to next - and the land that Guy Royal had bought, it became clear to Vin what was going on. "All on a line," he said.

"Must be where it's gonna come when it comes," Chris said.

"When what comes, Mr. Larabee?" Nettie asked.

"The railroad," Chris said.

"Of course," Mary said. "And they'll have to deal with whoever owns that land."

Chris and Vin looked at each other, both knowing they were up for a fight with Guy Royal. A man like him was a threat not only to people but to society in general, and they knew they had to stop him. They at least had to make sure he took his business elsewhere and left the people in and around Four Corners alone. That was their job, but in this case they would have helped out anyway. They discussed what to do, and when they had come up with something resembling a plan, they decided to put it into action later that day.

Chris left first, almost bumping into Casey Wells who was standing just outside the door. "Pardon me," he said, then saw Buck coming towards him. That man could be right on time sometimes.

"I hear we got trouble," Buck said.

"Would you be interested in partaking in a little show of force?" Chris asked his old friend.

"Show of force? Well, hell, that's my middle name," Buck said, smiling.

"Then get out to the Royals," Chris said, then walked away. When he looked back, he saw Vin arm in arm with Nettie. It looked a bit odd, but at the same time right. He smiled, but then his mind turned to the task at hand. He could only hope that everything would go well, and that Guy Royal was as cowardly as Chris assumed he was considering this wasn't the first time he'd threatened women in their own homes.

*

Vin entered Guy Royal's house cautiously. He knew his four partners who were waiting outside would back him up if he'd need it, but he'd prefer it if this went smoothly. The only reason for Vin wanting something to go wrong was to find out if the look Buck and him had shared outside before he went in had meant anything. The moment had been more intense than it probably had looked to the others, the looks shared between he and Buck full of understanding and trust. Would he still be able to trust Buck if anything did happen?

Vin looked around the house. It was filled with so many things, he wondered what Royal did with all of them. 'Gifts' the man had called them, but they were probably more like sacrifices that the small ranchers had given him so that he and his men would leave them alone. Vin watched with disgust how Royal picked up one of the 'gifts' to dust it off.

"I'm kind of a collector," he said, turning around to face Vin.

Vin realised with amazement that the man actually seemed to think that he would give him sympathy, that he for some reason thought that him being a collector should make Vin and his partners change their minds about bringing the things back to where they belonged. "Well, your collecting days are over," Vin said. "And stay clear of Nettie Wells if you know what's good for you." Vin grabbed a chair that he'd seen in Nettie's and Casey's house and walked back outside, giving it to JD. When they were about to ride off he heard Royal's voice, angrier now.

"This is my damn country, boy."

"Ours too," Vin said, then he and his partners got the hell off Royal's property, just as they'd promised.

When they were at a safe distance from their enemies, and knew they hadn't been followed, they slowed down. They all stayed silent at first, but Vin could tell from the excited presence of JD riding next to him that he was soon about to say something about what had just happened. He usually had comments for everything, and more often than not his comments were full of admiration for his older friends. Vin had a feeling this time would be no exception.

"He backed down like a yellow dog, Vin," JD said, knowing he just had to say something, or he'd burst. "What's he got, anyway? A dozen men. A dozen men, and we could've whupped him easy."

"Ain't so sure it's handled yet, JD," Vin said. The young man's naivety was disquieting sometimes. JD was a good man, Vin had known that from the start, but he still had so much to learn.

"What are you talking about?" JD asked.

"There's two parcels of land in that railroad corridor that Royal doesn't own," Vin said. "Nettie's and Cody Porter's."

"Men like Royal," Buck said, "they don't walk away from the poker table just because you call 'em."

"And they seldom give up as easily as he just did," Vin added. "He's planning something, I'm pretty sure of it."

Buck nodded. "We just better hope we find out what, before anyone gets hurt."

"Guy Royal is the one who should get hurt," JD said. "I wouldn't mind doing some damage to him myself if I had the chance."

Buck laughed. "That's the spirit, kid."

Vin smiled, but he didn't have the heart to point out to JD that he'd already had the chance. He was certain that JD would get more opportunities in his job to hurt people, not to mention people would most likely hurt him and his still too innocent mind. He deliberately rode slower for a while, wanting to be left alone to think about what they might have to do next. Soon, he had his partners ahead of him. But Buck also rode slower now, waiting for him to catch up.

"I took the hint, Vin," Buck said, "but I wanted to have a word with you."

Vin took a deep breath, preparing to hear Buck ramble on about him being with Chris. The few times they had spoken so far, that had usually been the topic of conversation. If you could even call them conversations. It had mostly been Buck who in ten different ways - none of them friendly - had accused him of corrupting Chris, and Vin trying to fight back the sharp retorts that he knew wouldn't do any good. "What's on your mind, Buck?" Vin said, knowing it was probably Chris that was on his mind. At least they had one thing in common.

"You did well today," Buck said.

"Thanks."

"I know I might have questioned you before, but you're all right when it comes down to it," Buck said.

Vin looked at him. "When it comes down to what?"

"Being a real man," Buck said.

Vin snorted, shaking his head. "What can I say, Buck? What you see ain't always what you get."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I suppose it's my looks that got you fooled?" Vin said. "Don't worry about it, Buck, it's happened before. Some have regretted making that mistake." Vin smiled, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. He really wanted to be on good terms with Buck, but he wasn't going to let his guard down all of a sudden because Buck was being unusually nice to him, and because they had worked well together.

Buck nodded. "I understand." His respect for Tanner was growing, slowly but steadily.

"I don't think it has to go that far with us though," Vin said.

"I don't think so either," Buck said, knowing for sure it would never go that far. He'd never do anything intentionally to hurt his oldest friend's partner, even if he could still not fully understand why a man would choose to be with another man when there were so many wonderful ladies around. That Chris had chosen it was even more beyond his comprehension, but he would try not to bring up the subject with either Chris or Vin again - at least not in a negative way - and he would do his best from now on to at least try to be understanding. Pretend to be, if he had to. There was just too much to lose if he didn't; Chris's friendship, and his job in Four Corners among other things. He looked at Vin, who was now looking straight ahead, appearing to be fairly relaxed. After a while, he said, "Do you love him?"

Vin looked at Buck, his features revealing no sign of surprise at the question. "What do you think, Buck?" he said.

"I think it's a hell of a risk to take if you don't," Buck said. "For both of you."

"It's a hell of a risk to take even if I do," Vin said.

"But you're willing to?" Buck asked, seeing Vin nod. "Well, I guess you just answered my question then."

*

"I feel maybe I'll have some competition soon," Chris said, looking at Vin who was sitting across the table from him.

"Competition?"

"Seems I'm not the only one who wants you."

Vin smiled. "Now that you mention it, that Tophat Bob did look at me the wrong way."

Chris laughed. "I still don't know who the hell he is, but I'd say everything about that man is wrong. And if he even tries anything with you, he's dead."

Vin felt his cheeks turn red, and he had to look down. He was grateful for the cards in his hands, at least he could pretend he was watching them, planning his next move. He felt it was about time Chris stopped having this effect on him, but how was he supposed to react any differently when Chris said things like that? It had only been a comment in reply to his joke, but Vin knew it was the truth. "I'm sure he won't," he said quietly.

"If he knows what's good for him he won't," Chris said. "No, it's Nettie I'm worried about. She seems to like you a lot, Vin."

Vin shrugged. "What can I say, I have that effect on older women." He smiled, thinking about the growing friendship between Nettie and himself. She was one of the few women he felt comfortable around, and he was happy it seemed to be reciprocal.

"You have a certain effect on older men too," Chris said, his smile growing even wider. His mood had, completely unexpected, improved during the last couple of days. It sometimes felt as if he was being torn between two worlds: the world of death and darkness where the only source of light was his own memories of his past before disaster had struck, and the world of love and hope where Vin was waiting patiently for him. Thank God Vin was strong enough to do that. Thank God he was willing to do it.

"Only one man I hope," Vin said, barely resisting the urge to look down again. He settled for averting his eyes slightly, trying to make it look as if he was just watching what the people around them were doing.

"Oh, I hope so too," Chris said. Noticing Vin's discomfort with the situation, he laughed.

"That better not be me you're laughing at," Vin said.

"I'm afraid it is," Chris said, trying hard to turn his laughter into just a smile.

Despite the fact that he enjoyed being alone with Chris, and enjoyed that he for once had been in a good mood for a long while now, Vin found it hard to relax as much as Chris seemed to do. "Hate to destroy the moment, Chris, but you know there's something needs to be taken care of. I think this man could be dangerous, even if he did look awful silly."

That made Chris laugh again. "I'm missing out on all the fun, ain't I?" he said.

"It ain't fun, Chris," Vin said, his voice unintentionally harsh.

"Don't worry so much about it, Vin," Chris said. "You know I can take care of myself. This man ain't nothing. He'll probably turn out not to be worth the trouble at all."

"Maybe," Vin said. "But I won't relax 'til he's been taken care of." Vin pretended to show interest in his cards again, but that's not where his mind was. "He even said he'd cut your eye out."

"Tophat Bob Spikes?" Chris said. He'd thought about who the man could be, but had yet to come up with an answer. According to Vin he looked silly, but could still possibly be dangerous. That was unfortunately the description of a lot of men that he'd met through the years, and it meant nothing to him. Tophat Bob Spikes could be just about anyone. "I've never heard of him."

"He ain't one that'd be easy to forget," Vin said. "He could kill a man with his breath alone." Just then, they both heard someone yelling for Chris from outside, and Vin knew exactly who that someone was. It was hard not to believe that the man had been listening to their conversation, waiting to strike.

"Fold," Chris said, getting up from his chair.

Vin got up too, and slowly walked out of the saloon. He was still worried, but not as much as he was angry. That man had no right to say Chris's name, and certainly not scream it the way he had. Making sure that Chris was behind him, Vin stopped on the porch, relieved but not surprised to see some of his partners already there. Chris came outside just seconds later, and Vin listened when he and Tophat Bob spoke. He wasn't sure what to make of Chris's comment about there being a couple of ladies he was scared of running into, but it didn't matter, not now. After a long, tense moment, he heard Tophat Bob speak again.

"I will not kill you without the satisfaction of you knowing why I'm doing it," the man said.

You will not kill him at all, Vin thought, hearing him say something about having other business to take care of. He was pretty sure what that was, and it made the knot in his stomach grow, or so it felt. He barely listened to the rest of his friends' conversation with Tophat Bob, too concerned about Nettie, and what they might be planning to do to her. When their one-eyed enemy rode away with his men, Vin stepped closer to Chris, hearing him say something about railsplitting which didn't make much sense to him. "If he's got other business, it's apt to be with Nettie Wells," he said, walking away. He hoped, expected, the others to come along, but if they didn't, he'd take care of this alone. He'd been faced with worse before.

*

Relieved that Nettie was still all right, Vin walked around the town thinking about what they should do next. He was scared of what might happen before, if, they managed to put an end to all this. Tophat Bob might look silly, but there was no questioning that his actions could prove lethal. And Chris would be the one ending up dead. And Vin himself would end up alone, again. The thought of loneliness had become less appealing to him since he and Chris had realised how much they needed each other, and the thought of not having Chris around was about as heart warming as the thought of being hanged.

When he spotted Chris, Buck and JD he walked towards them. His mood should really improve seeing that Chris was fine, but he couldn't let go of the fact that they had yet to get rid of the trouble that had come to town. He noticed Chris laughing and wondered what Buck had said to make him do so. JD seemed to be in a funny mood too, despite all that was going on. Not to mention how Josiah had been acting lately, since that Gertie's whatever show had come to town. Was he the only one taking things seriously? Was he perhaps taking things too seriously? To Vin the threat was real, to everyone else the daily life seemed to go on as usual without any special concerns despite Tophat Bob and Royal and their men hanging around places where they shouldn't be. He knew that his present mood might also have something to do with Nettie seeing right through him, thinking that the reason for why he cared so much for her was that she reminded him of someone from his past. He assumed it was his mom she'd had in mind when she said it, but it was only partly true; she didn't remind him of his mom much at all, only in that she was a strong woman, but he liked her anyway. He'd never spoken to anyone about his dead mom before, and he hadn't felt ready to do it now either. But if he would ever share those particular memories with anyone it would be with Nettie, or Chris. Thinking about his dead mom and at the same time thinking about Chris getting killed by a ridiculous, but perhaps dangerous, guy like Tophat Bob did not improve his current state of mind. He approached his partners, feeling no less calm now.

"Boys, I think we should ride out to Royal's tonight, take out Spikes before he puts the torch to Nettie's."

Chris looked up at Vin. He'd noticed him before Buck or JD had, but hadn't called their attention to him. There was no need for them to know that he could tell whenever Vin was near. Besides, he hadn't been certain that it was them Vin was looking for. Still, he was glad to see him, even though he seemed a bit distracted. All this nonsense with Tophat Bob and Guy Royal seemed to have a strong effect on Vin. Was he really that worried about him, or was Nettie his major concern? "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. We leave now, we could get there by nightfall."

"Right. Let's get the others." Vin turned around as soon as he knew his friends were coming along. He'd hoped to find Chris alone, and when he hadn't his mood had turned even worse, so he just walked off not waiting for a reply. This was close to being too much for him to handle. Threats directed at himself he could handle, but now one person that he loved and another that he cared for dearly were in danger, and he himself would not feel well again until the threats were gone. He didn't long for it, but if nothing else, the solitude of his past had been less emotionally straining.

*

Josiah hadn't wanted to come with them, but that had come as no surprise; things hadn't been going his way lately, and he'd begun looking for comfort. Right now, whiskey was the comfort of his choice, and Vin assumed it was better that he stayed behind anyway. When they came to Royal's, they began discussing how to go about things. Vin was both angry and nervous, knowing that Tophat Bob was not too far away. The use of dynamite was suggested as a diversion, and as no one had a better idea, they went for it. Buck and Ezra went for it to be precise, the others waited, ready to take care of Royal's men and whoever else might be lurking around.

"What the hell's taking so long?" Vin said after a while. He knew Ezra and Buck always did their best, but they were obviously having some sort of trouble, or there would have been a small explosion by now.

Just a minute or so later though, diversion did come; not of the explosive kind, but in the shape of Josiah on a horse, yelling about saving Emma. It was dark, but Vin could see that the horse didn't look like the one Josiah usually rode, and he knew that Josiah must be really drunk right now if he'd stolen the horse of another. He heard Nathan's voice, calm as always, saying something about it being a good diversion, and he could only agree. They all ran towards Josiah, where they knew all of Royal's men were bound to run too.

Commotion ensued, and then Vin heard that awful voice again, yelling for Chris. He wanted to yell back at him this time, tell him to get the fuck away from Chris. He knew there would be a fight this time, and he knew that Chris wouldn't appreciate it if he interfered. As long as there were no guns involved maybe things would go well, but while Vin knew that Chris fought fairly he was not so sure about his foe. He didn't intend to stay and watch the whole thing, for the simple reason that he was not so sure that he - like he knew his partners would do - could just watch without helping Chris out. The last thing he saw before running after Josiah into the house was his five friends standing around Chris and Tophat Bob, guns ready, and he knew they would do their best to make sure Chris came out on top.

Once inside the house Vin heard loud voices, one of them belonging to a woman. When he got to the room where Josiah was, the fight was already on, but Josiah seemed to be able to hold his own. The sight, together with Emma's comment about how she didn't want to be saved struck him as somewhat pathetic, but when he left them alone again, he knew that it wasn't that easy. Josiah had feelings for this woman, whoever she was, and he was willing to fight for her. It reminded him of himself, even if he couldn't imagine that it would ever come to something like this. His feelings for Chris were reciprocal, Josiah's feelings for Emma were not. It didn't seem pathetic any longer, just sad.

Vin went to a window to look out, and saw to his relief that Tophat Bob had given up. He walked back into the room, then took Royal with him outside. When he'd made sure that Josiah was with him, he left Royal lying on the ground where he'd pushed him, then went to find Chris. He wanted to be close to him, and all the way home he rode by his side.

*

They were walking around the outskirts of town, trying to let go of all that had happened. Guy Royal's collecting days were definitely over now, and the things he'd collected would be returned to their owners. As for Tophat Bob, Vin knew for sure he'd be no threat to Chris anymore.

"You did well yesterday," Chris said, wanting Vin to let go of the thoughts he seemed immersed in.

"I didn't do much," Vin said.

"You stayed away from me and Tophat Bob. I was afraid you wouldn't."

"I didn't want to," Vin said.

"I know," Chris said. "But you did, and you knew I wanted you to."

"Yeah," Vin said. "I did think you'd win, but I didn't wanna watch you get beaten by that scum." He didn't mention that he'd still been hurt, by witnessing Josiah get his heart broken, and that he felt almost guilty because his own heart was anything but. The lack of the love of a woman in Josiah's life was not his fault, and he had to stop thinking about it. Nettie was safe again too, and they'd gotten even closer now that she knew about his mom. There was always something that was bothering him in his life, but he could still not remember ever feeling this well.

"You know that wagon you like to sleep in?" Chris said, putting his arm around Vin's shoulders. He did it in a way that to others would look like a sign of friendliness, but was nothing but a pure need to touch Vin.

"What about it?" Vin said, smiling. They'd discussed that wagon before, and he knew that Chris was a bit upset that he rathered stayed there than in a room.

"That's not where I want you tonight."

Vin knew right away what Chris meant to say, and it only felt natural, but maybe a bit weird that it hadn't happened before. He'd stayed the night in Chris's room a few times, but they'd never gone very far. Chris had never been as aggressive as Vin had thought he would be, and he himself had never dared to take things further. Something was different now. This night Chris wanted it to happen for real and Vin knew that he would agree. None of them had made the first move before, not the way Chris did now, hours before it would even happen. He knew he'd be the one to submit tonight, and he wanted it that way; it would be easier for him, and probably for Chris too.

Chris stopped, turning towards Vin. "We belong together, Vin," he said. "We haven't known each other that long, but I've already treated you like shit. I don't want it to be like that."

Vin wasn't sure what Chris was referring to. He'd forgiven him for being with Lydia long ago, and the fact that Chris could be a bit cold sometimes he'd gotten used to; he knew it didn't have anything to do with him. He himself had his flaws too, but Chris seemed willing to accept them, so why wouldn't he accept Chris's? "It ain't like that," he said tentatively.

"Ain't gonna be from now on anyway," Chris said. "You're mine, Vin. You belong to me."

"I know," Vin said, the strong possessiveness a bit unexpected to him, and - judging by the look on Chris's face - to Chris himself.

Chris shrugged, hoping he hadn't gone too far. He'd just said what had come naturally. "You'll stay with me tonight then?"

Vin nodded. "Yeah."

They began walking back to the town, Chris occassionally touching Vin's arm, or his back. He knew he shouldn't but there was no way he could not. He wasn't sure exactly what had happened. He'd been in love with Vin for a long time now, but something had changed, something had made his feelings grow even stronger. Probably just Vin himself, he thought. And now, the idea that his life would be worth living again despite what had happened in the past did not at all seem impossible.

*

End, part VII.