Fic: Despiter's Web 3/7 The Magnificent Seven/Dead Like Me
Title: Despiter's Web. Author: Lopaka Tanu Disclaimer: I do not own The Magnificent Seven or Dead Like Me. Characters: Ezra, Vin, Chris (Cameo Appearance Only) Words: 788 AU: Dead Like Vin. Prompt: Huntersglenn suggested a 'Ghost Town' like fic. Fandom: The Magnificent Seven/Dead Like Me Pairing: Vin/Chris implied. Rating: Teen Warnings: Angst, Mourning, Implied Death. Summary: Always the last to know is usually the hardest to take. ______________________________________
Warm, golden sunlight filtered through the thin glass windows over the saloon floor. Ezra felt them over his shoes, warming them, yet made no move to shift them. His bloodshot eyes stared out at nothing in particular. He would be glad when all of this was over and he had his bed back once more.
He could hear movement in the back room behind the bar that functioned as a kitchen. His breakfast would soon arrive whether he wanted it or not. This morning his gut was only complaining from the abuse of last night. May be there was a dog that would happen along soon.
There was a time when he would have loved a dog. Now, they were just filthy mongrels to be put to use or put down. Tilting his head to the side, he wondered when he had stopped liking dogs.
Dogs were ignorant beasts anyways. Just like Mr. Larabee. Dumb and whiney. All either of them did was sit there and whimper if you reached for them. That, or they would growl and bite you. He had lost three fingers to one particularly rabid beast twenty years before. That had been twenty minutes of the most unappealing surgery he had ever performed.
Ezra frowned. Could using a calvary saber on a rabid dog be considered surgery?
A shadow fell over his feet. It took several blinks for Ezra to realize someone was blocking the window. By the time he did, that someone was gone from the window and was now at the entrance. Seeing who it was made the weight in his jacket pocket feel like an anchor.
Standing between the batwing doors, Vin looked ready to start something. His normal curls were a tangled mass around his head, his hat was long gone. There was at least two weeks growth on his face. Dirt smudged his cheeks and leather clothes, those that weren't tore.
Swallowing, Ezra sat up in his chair. This had the unwanted effect of drawing the man's wild stare to him. Just to be safe, Ezra ran his hand down his body, with a stop off along his holster. "Mr. Tanner, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"
"Chris." The other man looked no less wild, despite his ability to speak. "I heard ya found him." This was spoken in a breathless manner, the words barely audible.
They didn't need to be. Ezra could have read the words from the other man's mind just by looking at him. Suddenly sober, he glanced down to check his appearance. There wasn't much out of sorts that he needed to fix. He took his time in doing that before he looked up again.
Vin had walked in two steps by now. Swaying a little, he reached up to scratch along his sun scorched cheek. "Ez, you gotta tell me." He sucked in a shuddering breath. "Please."
Facing the table in front of him, Ezra couldn't bring himself to look at the other man. He considered then just as quickly discarded several lies and half-truths. Now was the time for only truth.
Reaching in to his jacket pocket, he rest his hand on it. Solid and cool to the touch, the ornate embellishments on the outside felt rough against his palm. Ezra grasped the box tight and pulled it out. With a shaking hand, he placed it on the table in front of him.
Silence dropped inside the saloon like a fifty tonne weight.
With slow ease, Ezra pulled his hand back to his lap. This left the box exposed on the table. It wasn't very large, but was big enough for its purpose. Still, the size seemed to mock what was held within. Something so small should not have been able to contain a man so large in life.
Vin's next breath hitched and ended with a pained wheeze. Swallowing thickly, he nodded at nothing in particular. He staggered the rest of the way to Ezra's table. Once there, he reached out a shaking hand to pick up the box. His eyes searched for then met Ezra's own. "I'll..."
Ezra quieted him with a wave of his hand. "Keep it." The words pained him for two reasons, the obvious emotional implications was one. The other was the fact it was a really nice snuff box. That had been real ivory and pearl inlay.
Nodding his thanks, Vin quickly brought the box to his chest. That was all he gave in acknowledgment. Turning, he raised his head high. His step to the doors were much more self-assured.
By the time the last of them had faded from his hearing, Ezra was ready to start his night of drinking all over again.