Fic: I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus 1/1 The Magnificent 7.
Title: I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause. Author: Lopaka Tanu Disclaimer: I do not own The Magnificent Seven. Characters: JD, Vin, Chris, Josiah. Words: 2128 Fandom: The Magnificent Seven Universe: ATF - 2001 Pairing: Chris/Vin implied, Chris/Mary mentioned. Rating: Adult Warnings: Language, Violence, Character Death, Suicide. Summary: JD was looking forward to his Christmas vacation. Author's Note: 3 years post team formation. ______________________________________
Fingers tapping against the sides of his jacket, JD walked out of the security checkpoint. He understood the need to check everywhere, but his privates were just that. What kind of idiot would hide a weapon down there?
Sighing, he forced himself to remember what was important. There was just one day left until he had two weeks of Christmas vacation. The entire team had it every year, but this one was different. This year he was spending it with Casey in their apartment.
That made all the difference.
Feeling flushed, JD tugged his skullcap off and stuffed it in his bike helmet. The cold surface made his skin tingle where he gripped it. It felt good so he placed it against his neck. Walking with it to the elevator, he finally noticed he wasn't alone.
Standing in front of the elevator bank was a man. He was a little taller than himself, but there was something familiar about him. Dressed in a black leather jacket with tight fitting bluejeans, the man appeared like something out of a catalog. JD didn't care for his Broncos skullcap, but the black biker boots were awesome!
He frowned. JD knew those boots.
Looking up, he stared at the man's face. There was a slight bit of familiar features, but it wasn't until he started humming that it clicked.
JD nearly fell over. Standing before him humming a Christmas carol was the team's sharpshooter. Gone were the ratty looking clothes, gone was the leather hat from a western. Only the boots were there.
"I saw..." Vin trailed off as he caught a glimpse of something from the corner his eye. Seeing JD, he nodded in acknowledgment. "Mornin."
His eyes were about to fall out of their sockets, but JD couldn't stop himself. Now that he knew who it was, JD let his eyes linger further. The jeans were obviously high-end, which meant they were from Ezra. The jacket was obviously the one Casey and he had got him. The cap was probably the gag-gift from Buck.
For three years Buck and Ezra had been trying to get the man to wear something made for this century. Who knew it would only take giving the man the clothes in order to get him to wear them? He just couldn't believe it.
A dark patch against the jeans at Vin's hip made JD smirk. It was the leather knife case from Chris. Apparently the other man was wearing everyone's gifts.
The electronic ding of a bell signaled the arrival of the elevator.
Bouncing on the balls of his feet, JD smiled. "Ready for the final day?" He couldn't wait any more!
Vin snorted at the younger man's enthusiasm, but softened it with a smile. "It's just Christmas, JD."
The doors opened a moment later.
With a shrug, JD rushed through the doors. Spinning around, he reached out and smacked the button.
Following along at a more sedate pace, Vin stepped in to the car. He faced the doors just in time to see them close. A second later he sighed as the pull of gravity tugged at his stomach.
Smile a mile wide, JD leaned in closer to his friend. "That was some party last night, eh?" When this earned him another snort, he wiggled his eyebrows. "I think Buck got the drunkest, what about you?"
This caused the other man to shake his head. "No contest. Buck always gets the drunkest." Putting a hand on his hip, he looked up at the floor indicator. It read two.
JD frowned at it. "Elevator's a little slow." Looking to Vin, he smiled brightly. "They must be doing maintenance."
"Yeah, I guess." There was a moment when Vin sounded almost happy about it. He reached up to scratch at his skullcap.
It was then JD noticed the outline of the knit material. His eyes went wide and he openly gawked at it. "No way!"
"What?" A faint hint of irritation colored Vin's voice, but didn't register on his face. He turned to face the other man, crossing his arms in the process.
"You cut your hair!" Automatically his hands went up to touch the other's head. It was only when he saw what he was doing that JD stopped himself by jerking back.
Vin just stared at him.
"Sorry." Skin pinking, JD looked away. Slinking to his side of the car, he tried to put as much space between them as possible. He couldn't believe he had nearly done that.
Being with Casey was totally ruining his sense of self preservation. Only one person was allowed to touch Vin's hair and live. That person might kill JD just for even thinking about it.
Quiet humming drew his attention back from the dark thoughts of his own demise. At first he thought the maintenance guys had fixed the speakers. After Josiah had shot them out last time no one should have been stupid enough to fix them. It wasn't until he shifted to look at the floor indicator that he realized it was Vin.
Vin was humming that Christmas carol, again.
Eyes wide, JD stared at the other man in shock again. Something was definitely of today. He must have woken up in the twilight zone. Yeah, that had to be it.
Thankfully the bell dinged indicating they had arrived.
JD plastered on a grin. The door slid open and the humming stopped at the same time. He would deny it later, but he was relieved. Things were already strange enough as it were.
He didn't exactly flee the elevator, but he put a rush on his steps to clear the area. Heading for his desk, he bypassed a bored looking Josiah reading a magazine. Ordinarily he would have warned of Vin's new look. That was the kind of thing people needed a little advanced notice of.
But, he figured, why spoil the fun?
When he reached his desk, JD dropped in the chair and spun around. He stopped himself with a foot against the desk so he had a good view of the office. This was the perfect position to see the guys' reactions.
He wasn't disappointed.
A moment after stepping off the elevator Vin was already turning heads.
Josiah glanced up from the 'Field and Stream' magazine to see who was entering their offices. He stopped halfway up and froze.
Sailing past the other man, Vin didn't even so much as bat an eye at him. Not even when the other man choked on his own tongue.
For JD the reaction was priceless. He started to snicker in anticipation of others.
"What's so funny?" Coming from the break room, Buck had a mug of coffee in one hand and a donut in the other. He smiled at JD in anticipation of being let in on the joke.
All JD could do was point and try not to laugh too hard.
Smirking, Buck looked in the indicated direction. The smile dropped off his face as the mug fell from his fingers. "Sweet mother of..." His donut hit the floor and exploded in the coffee. He jumped as the hot liquid splashed over his pants. "Shit!"
Continuing through his path of destruction, Vin continued on through their desks. He ignored his own in favor of the private office at the end of the small path. The sound of his boots against the carpeted floor echoed in the near silent office. Soon his steps brought him to Chris' door.
The moment the older man disappeared through it JD lost it. His shriek of laughter ripped through the air like a loud fart. This earned him twin glares from Buck and Josiah, but he didn't care. His chest was shaky so hard that his ribs hurt.
Clenching his eyes shut, he felt tears run down his cheeks. His throat grew hoarse from the laughing. As he drew a breath, he started to cough. Then he laughed at that. It was just so damned funny!
The sound of Chris' office door crashing open snapped loud like an explosion. Shards of glass came down in a shower from the shattered panes.
JD sobered up quick. Instantly on his feet, he readied himself for whatever threat was coming their way. He whipped around in time to see Vin come stomping out.
Face contorted in rage, Vin made his way back the way he had come. This time he stomped on with a determined stride. His boots crushed the glass as he passed over it.
Following close behind, Chris looked just as angry. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" His angry shout echoed off the walls, making it sound worse.
Vin didn't answer him. Fists clenched, he continued on undaunted.
There was no way Chris was going to let that happen though. Speeding up, he intercepted Vin halfway through the office. He reached out and made a grab for the other man's elbow. His fingers brushed by only because Vin jerked away.
Spinning, Vin whirled on Chris. A flash of silver revealed he held something in his hand. "Don't you fuckin touch me!"
Chris stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes went to the other man's hand. What he saw made him take a shuddering breath. "Now, hold on just a minute. Vin, consider what you're doin."
"Don't lecture me, Chris, you ain't got the right!" Shaking his head, Vin over exaggerated his movements as if to compensate for hair. Anger thinned his lips, making his face look pinched and pale.
"You're right. None of us have the right to to tell us how to live your life." Chris tried for reasonable, keeping his voice flat. Despite his words his face was twisted in growing fear. Holding his hands up he took a step back. "You tell us what you want and we'll see what we can do about it."
Having frozen the moment the door had exploded, JD could only stare in horror at the entire situation. He couldn't believe his eyes or his ears. Surely he must have been hallucinating.
Shaking his head again, Vin's face twisted in a bitter smile. "There's nothin I want that I can have. Never could." He blinked. When he opened them again something on his face changed.
"Vin?" Squaring his shoulders, Chris braced himself for an attack. "What are you plannin?"
It took a second for JD to realize what had changed. There running down Vin's cheek was a single tear. He could only stare on in horror.
Then the other man moved. His knife flashed out, slicing in a quick, brutal stroke.
Chris flinched as blood sprayed across his face and chest. When he opened his eyes, it was to horror. "Vin!" He launched himself at the other man. He barely made it in time to catch Vin before he dropped.
The knife slipped from Vin's limp fingers. Hot blood ran from the gash in his neck coating him in the thick fluid.
Wrapping his arms around Vin's chest, Chris guided them to the floor. "No! No, no, no! Come on, Vin, stay with me." His hand automatically went to the cut in Vin's neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding. This only covered his hand in more blood. Staring down at the other man he could only watch helplessly.
Face pale from lack of blood, Vin stared back up at him. His hand fluttered uselessly for a moment, then dropped to his side.
JD saw when Vin's chest stopped moving. The blood continued to flow for a couple more beats, then too ceased. It was done.
Vin was gone.
Hands shaking, JD brought them up to his face. Feeling something on them, he brought them away to look. Dark red stained his fingers. His mind refused to supply him with the words to understand what he was seeing.
An animalistic whimpering began in the stunned silence. Rocking the body in his arms, Chris held Vin tight against his chest. He closed his eyes as he leaned over to kiss his forehead.
The ding of the elevator arriving drew JD's attention. Shifting, he stared at it in wide-eyed shock.
As the doors parted, Nathan started forwards. He stopped at what he saw and dropped the packages in his arms.
For a moment, JD wondered if there was anything breakable in them. Realizing it was a stupid thought, he frowned. His eyes stinging, he covered his face again.
~~~~~~~~~
"It was at the Christmas party. He saw Chris with Mary, in a closet...and he realized the truth."
"What's that?"
"He'd lost his chance." JD sighed. "I don't think he intended to do it at first. He tried to leave."