Fic: It's Just A Sweet Fantasy 7/7 The Magnificen Seven/Without A Trace
Title: It's Just A Sweet Fantasy Author: Lopaka Tanu Disclaimer: I do not own The Magnificent Seven or Without A Trace. Characters: Chris, Vin/Martin, Danny, Jack, Vivian, Buck, JD, Ezra, Mary. Prompts: rounds_of_kink Day Off From Work, Hating Undercover Assignment. Words: 23,261 Sequel to: Hide And Seek Fandom: The Magnificent Seven/Without A Trace Pairing: Martin/Danny, Chris/Martin. Rating: Adult Warnings: Angst, Language, Sexual Content, Violence, Ensemble. Summary: At a conference in New York City, Chris goes missing. His disappearance dredges up old memories and an old case thought long solved. Author's Note: Fall - 2002. Thank you to huntersglenn for the inspiration. ______________________________________ Epilogue: Seeing Your Mirrors.
Monday - 11:47 p.m.
Snorting awake, Chris removed his head from under the pillows he had wallowed in to. His left shoulder was bothering him again, making it hard to find a comfortable position. The doctor had given him some pills, but he didn't want to take them if he didn't have to. Tonight was first time he was trying it without them.
His body was still a mass of colors. Most of the severe bruises had faded to sickly yellow and green patches. All that meant was that he had to touch them in order to feel the pain, movement alone wouldn't set them off.
Using his good arm, he pulled himself closer to the headboard. The pain made him hold his breath. Once there, he shifted to put a fluffy pillow under his head to support it. He didn't need to add stiff neck to his list of aches.
Exhaling, he clenched his eyes shut to block out the pain. He still needed to bring the covers up over his chest, but that had to wait. There were so many parts on his body that were killing him.
It had been almost a week since the attack, two days since they got back to Denver. The D.A. had been reluctant to let him leave, but they hadn't had a solid reason to keep him in the city. There would be follow up interviews, so he would be back. That eliminated their only hold over.
A sharp spasm in his bad made him cry out. He knew he should have taken one of the guys up on their offer to stay over. They could get him his pain pills at the moment. Chris knew he would just have to wait until it passed.
Warm fingers slid over the tense muscle.
Chris gasped as the pain flared. Clenching his eyes shut, he could only lay there helplessly as the strong hands rubbed at his shoulder. Within minutes, the pain was at a more bearable level. He sucked in a breath, then exhaled with relief.
Soft lips planted a kiss at the center of his back. They moved up between the massaging hands to rest over his sore flesh.
He resisted the urge to open his eyes and look back. No matter how much he might want to, he knew their owner would only be an illusion and he would wake up again. So, he kept his eyes closed and his face pressed against the pillow.
Moving up Chris' back, the lips settled on top of his shoulder. They shifted slowly along his collar bone to his neck. Following along his jawline, they stopped at his ear. "Open your eyes."
"No." Chris slowly shook his head. The back of his head encountered a cheek, but he didn't take the risk. "You're just a dream."
"Been called many things, but that's a new one." A hand slid up along Chris' jaw, careful not to touch any bruises. Cupping his cheek, he turned the blond's face to look at him. "Open your eyes."
And Chris did. He couldn't do any thing else. What he saw brought tears to his eyes that had everything to do with the pain in his chest. "You're beautiful."
"And you're just dreaming." Leaning forward, Vin closed his eyes. His lips softly touched those of Chris.
He was warm and smelled so very real. Chris opened his mouth just enough to taste the other man's lips. He even tasted real. Gasping, his nose started to burn as his eyes stung.
The illusion pulled back to smile at Chris.
"Stay. Please."
Then, as if to torture Chris, the vision nodded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tuesday - 3:00 a.m.
The phone rang.
Clenching his eyes, Chris sucked in a painful breath through his nose. It was that damned nightmare replaying all over again. The phone rang again, jarring his nerves. He was going to kill the god damned son of a bitch who was calling him this early.
Shifting carefully, Chris opened his eyes to glare at the phone. His heart nearly froze in his chest when he saw another arm reach out and grab it. Turning slowly, he looked over at the owner.
Scowling at the receiver, Martin placed it to his ear. "This better be good."
A indistinguishable voice on the other end said something.
"Yeah, well you can shove your questions up your ass! It's three in o'clock in the friggen morning and we were sleeping." Snorting, Martin rolled his eyes in exagerated annoyance. "Yeah, well the same to you, dick head!" With a growl, he slammed the phone down in the cradle. "Geeze, the nerve of some people."
Still too stunned to speak, Chris chose to reach out. He placed his palm flat against Martin's chest. His own heart nearly leapt up in to his throat when he encountered hot skin. "You're real."
"Of course, I'm real." Scowling at Chris, Martin knocked his hand off his chest. "Now turn back around and lay down. If I'm going to make breakfast in the morning, I want at least three more hours of sleep."
Closing his eyes, Chris nodded. Gently, he turned back to face the opposite wall. Strong hands came up to help ease him back to the pillows. Once down, he sighed with relief. "You came back."
"Yeah, Cowboy, I did." Martin's hand came up to caress Chris' left arm. "We'll talk about it in the morning. Right now, sleep."
Chris felt like he only had the strength to nod. It took a monumental effort, but he had to say it. "I love you."
Sighing, Martin pressed a kiss to Chris' shoulder. "I love you too. Now go back to sleep."