Vine '03: Revelations Of A Different Kind

He rolled his glass between his thumb and forefinger, pondering the amber liquid therein. It had been a most bizarre day and he while he desperately needed a drink, he wanted to be sober in case one of his colleagues succumbed to normal human fears of the unusual that had been revealed to them.

He looked up as the tall body settled into the chair next to him. Their eyes met, and they both nodded.

"Gonna take some getting used to," his old friend sighed.

"Think we'll have a problem?"

"Probably not. But not everyone always reacts the way you think they will."

He nodded, and with slow deliberation set the glass down, whiskey and all. "Never expected it."

"Probably they'd never have said a word if…" The sentence didn't need to be finished – it rang loud in both their heads. If they hadn't been walked in on. Correction, *barged* in on. JD certainly got the sight of his life. And the fright, too, what with two guns being pulled and trained on him.

His chuckled drew a strange look. "Care to share?" he was asked.

"Just picturing it. JD standing there, all wide-eyed and stunned like he'd been kicked in the head, and them two naked as the day they was born, in the throws… and at the same time pulling guns on him."

"Does paint a picture," his friend grinned. "Kid handled it better than I would have, for sure."

"Can't even imagine what I'd have done. Course, I know better than to go barging through closed doors."

They fell silent again, each considering what might have happened. If JD hadn't been willing to give the lovers a chance to explain. If the lovers had reacted worse. If, during the course of revealing themselves to their five compatriots after deciding it would be wrong to ask JD to keep their secret alone, someone… anyone had taken the news harshly. Thank god no one had.

Yet.

They'd walked away from their discussion only with the agreement not to act before they all spoke again. Give everyone time to let the turn of events sink in. No one wanted to break their group up, but they all had to be able to trust each other. The lovers had to be sure they could deal with their friends being aware of their relationship, and the remaining five needed to be able to deal with knowing about it.

"Still can't believe it."

"Not *that* unusual. Out here anyway. Been there myself once or twice, you have too."

"But that's sex. This is… well, they ain't just knockin' boots for a little relief on the trail, ya know? And well…"

"Yeah. Certainly a surprise."

"I mean, he's always fallin' over this woman and that…"

"And he's got a lady chasin' after him. Not like he's been sayin' no to her all that strongly…"

"Ain't exactly said an outright yes, though, either."

"Guess not."

"Maybe that's part of their thing? Together until one of 'em settles down with a wife?"

"Maybe."

"Didn't really look that way, though, huh?"

"Nope."

They studied the window. Vin and Ezra were hunched together on the boardwalk, obviously deep in discussion. Most likely topic of conversation would be their friends' revelations. Vin would likely handle it without much thought – having lived with the Indians, he was open to many things that white folks turned up their noses at.

Ezra? Harder to tell, but the man walked the edge of the 'civilized' society himself… likely he'd fall in line with it for the sake of his friends. He may be a rogue and be looking for an angle in every situation, but when it came to his friends he would back them even if he didn't understand or agree with them. That much was sure.

Then there was JD. Young, idealistic, raised as a Roman Catholic… would he be a problem? Could he reconcile that two men he looked up to and admired were in a relation of carnal desires of the flesh?

That two men he had considered brothers could willingly go against some of the church's staunchest teachings?

"Kid handled his surprise real well," the tall man said softly. "Better than I did, really."

"Me too."

The two old friends smiled at each other. Nah, things would be just fine for the group. They'd weather this, and then it would be back to normal. Well, a different kind of normal, but then, when did this group ever do other people's normal anyway?

"We'll be fine," the tall man said firmly, mirroring his oldest friend's thoughts.

Chris Larabee grinned. "Yup." He snagged his shot glass and slammed it back. "Come on, Buck, let me buy you a beer."