[Fanfic] Red West III. - Chapter fourteen
Dec. 25th, 2020 11:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
witchann2Title: RED WEST III.
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading:
atago4
Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.
A/N: A small X-mas gift for those of you who might be still interested. I know, four chapters per year is definitely a kind of sad balance for this story of mine... And I´m so sorry. I can only promise I´ll try harder since I haven´t given up on RW and I just need to finish it.
I wish you all calm Christmas holidays and a good start of the new year, maybe even with some good book or fanfic. ^^´
I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.
Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteen //
John didn´t have the slightest doubt about the identity of the young man, who was calmly returning his shocked stare. He might have hesitated if his assumption was based just on that lousy painting from wanted posters. However, he knew the older Akanishi in person, so there was nothing he would be more certain about – the two brothers looked so much alike it was almost creepy.
Such a sudden encounter with – apparently – the Black Riders threw him completely off balance. Unable to control the instinctive reaction, John´s hand subconsciously flinched to his hip, even though he was well aware that a cylinder of his firearm was as empty as desert, with all bullets wasted during the Indian ambush.
Then he froze, realizing that the bandits had saved him and Mrs. Tabor while not knowing who they were. He stopped himself just before he could touch the gun grip and tried to relax his facial expression, but it was too late – there was already a dark muzzle of another deadly weapon threatening to shoot his nose off.
“Better think again,” the man holding it growled.
Mrs. Tabor standing right next to him stiffened in surprise, with her eyes fixed on the gunman, while John slowly raised both hands in the air. After witnessing what that unusually sturdy rifle could do, he had absolutely no intention to see it in action again so soon.
Jane literally gaped at the sudden change of atmosphere, not realizing that she was copying Ryo´s identical expression.
“What the hell are you doing?” she snapped at Cullen.
Equally confused Ryo joined her: “Yeah… You´ve helped those two just to finish them off yourself or what?”
Their always so suspicious companion kept glaring at the bleeding man: “Ask him.”
“About what?” Jane snorted, already quite upset. They had just risked their own lives for that unknown couple, so what was the old wolf thinking?
“About who he is,” Cullen replied briefly.
“What do you mean, man?” Ryo didn´t understand such a hint, but Jane suddenly felt chills on her back. The fair-haired man with short stubble was dressed in civilian clothes and seemed likeable to her, but the company he used to travel with…
“Those dead on the other side were soldiers,” the older man informed them sternly, confirming Jane´s assumption about what he was hinting at. “Try to think for once.”
Hearing that, Ryo eyed the man more closely now: “Well… I admit he´s kind of familiar to me...”
Jane hold her breath and looked at Leo, who was standing by her side and kept silent all that time, observing the pale stranger carefully. His expression was serious and there was something odd in his eyes, which made her feel uneasy. It seemed they might have made quite a mistake saving those two.
Recalling that there was also that familiar woman; Jane returned her attention to the couple, just when the slender lady moved closer to her hurt companion, obviously ignoring the lethal threat of Cullen´s rifle.
“You´ve just saved our lives, Mister,” she spoke in a detached voice, not showing any fear. “And now you threaten us without any reason?”
At that moment, Jane remembered and forgot to breathe for a while. She knew that woman. She had met her back in Leadville and it was quite the unusual meeting. More precisely to say, this woman caught her, Jin and Kame during the robbery…
Reacting to her reproach, Cullen frowned even more: “Believe me, Ma´am, if I´m right, we´ve got tons of reasons to be wary of you.”
Jane opened her mouth, but nothing came out as she reconsidered. This encounter was too sudden. She didn´t know what to say and Ryo seemed a bit abashed as well. Then Jane noticed that even though Cullen was threatening that stranger with his rifle, the man´s look was directed mostly at her fiancé. And it was Leo, who suddenly stepped forward and cut that strange conversation of theirs off.
“You know who I am, don´t you?” he asked quietly, returning the man´s stare with composure.
The stifling silence, which fell upon their small group after Leo´s question, was interrupted by thunder in the distance, followed by the cold gust of wind. The storm was getting closer, just as Cullen and Leo had predicted…
John let go of a deliberately slow breath. There was no point in lying. That older man somehow recognized who he probably was, even though he didn´t wear a uniform.
I should have pretended better. Now, they´ll be on guard no matter what I say…
The only thing John could make an effort for was to keep Augusta Tabor out of this unexpected mess.
“Yes, I do, Akanishi,” he confirmed seriously.
Mrs. Tabor glanced at him alarmed, while the pretty brunette stepped closer to the mentioned leader of Black Riders. It was a subconsciously protective gesture, which showed John, that those two were more than just members of one gang.
“Who are you?” Leo Akanishi asked again, his face unmoved.
“John Walker, Captain in the US Army,” he replied without hesitation, somehow considering the honest approach was the only option he had now. “Currently on vacation. But I assume that fact won´t give me any credit in your eyes.”
The black-haired youngster gaped at him: “So, you´re that Captain about whom Jin-”
“Hush, you idiot!” the older man with the rifle stabbed shouted at him.
The horses´ guardian stepped back a little, realizing his slip of the tongue: “Sorry…”
John couldn´t say that he was surprised. From the very beginning, already back in Montana, he had suspected that even if Jin Akanishi would manage to reunite with his brother, he wouldn´t even utter a word about it to him. He was an honest man, but this was about family. And as far as John´s experience went, blood was always stronger than any law. Nevertheless, he didn´t like the idea of those bandits talking about him.
Leo Akanishi was piercing him with dark, sharp eyes, not asking any more questions and John didn´t know what to make of that expression of his. He took a determined breath to speak, but he was outrun.
“And what do you want to do about it, gentlemen?” to his surprise, Mrs. Tabor stepped even more forward, placing herself directly between him and the rifle. Not only John´s jaw dropped, but also his hands, which he had been carefully keeping in the air so far. How could she willingly do such a dangerous thing?
The older Rider frowned: “I suppose you realize there´s not so many options for us, Ma´am. Step aside before I make you.”
Ignoring the deadly serious threat, Mrs. Tabor even raised her voice: “You´re telling me that you´re going to shoot this good man down for his job? Just what kind of man you are?”
John stared at Augusta Tabor in pure awe. This wasn´t exactly what he was planning to do. She turned his original intention to keep her out of this on its head. He couldn´t ever imagine she would have the will and courage to stand up for him like that.
“Step aside!” the Rider ordered her roughly.
“No,” Mrs. Tabor insisted firmly.
The pretty brunette stepped in as well: “Cullen, stop this! We can´t just…!”
Though the older man didn´t let her continue: “What else would you like to do, huh? Any better ideas?”
“Can´t you just wait a damn second?”
“There´s nothing to wait for! It will be only worse then! Madame, for the last time – step aside.”
Mrs. Tabor straightened up. Even with her hair ruffled and dress all crumpled and dirty, she gave an impression of a woman who would stand by her word: “I´m not allowing another murder to happen right in front of my eyes. If you want to shoot him, you must start with me!”
Something squeezed John´s guts, seeing the expression of the Rider, who was still aiming his deadly weapon. He could lose his temper any time and if that happened, Augusta Tabor would pay the highest price possible for her courage.
“Augusta!” John urged harshly. “Step aside!”
Mrs. Tabor didn´t even turn to look at him, as she reacted strictly: “Shut it, when the lady speaks, Captain, will you?”
In greater shock each second, John didn´t dare to move, not to give the Riders the reason to shoot, not when Mrs. Tabor was standing right in front of him in the potential firing line, so the only thing he could have done was talking. Now, he couldn´t do even that.
“Leo, say something!” the brunette abruptly turned to the young leader of the Riders. “Shouldn´t we talk about this first, at least?”
“I assume he agrees with me, honey,” the older man snorted.
“You´re pushing things over the edge, man,” the black haired youngster didn´t seem happy about the situation neither.
“Leo!”
“So? What will it be, Black Riders?” Mrs. Tabor challenged them fearlessly. “I took you for more than just thieves and cold-blooded murderers.”
“And you were not completely wrong, Madame,” finally, Leo Akanishi replied seriously. “But you must understand we can´t let you go freely either.”
Mrs. Tabor tilted her head a bit and took a small step back, closer to John. It made him feel strangely touched. No matter how this mess was about to end, he was damn glad he could meet this incredible woman.
“What will you do with us then?” Augusta asked, with her voice not so daring anymore, but still firm.
Leo Akanishi returned her questioning stare, while John and the other Riders anxiously waited for his answer…
Sunday afternoon was always a dull time for business, so Harada got used to take it for a personal break. As usually, he occupied his favorite chair on the veranda for enjoying his sins – strong coffee and cheap cigarette. Bozeman streets were boringly calm by this time, with the dust floating through them sleepily. It was about to change soon, since the arrival of the post-coach was expected later that day, but at the moment it was easy to recognize and greet each fellow citizen, who happened to be outside. Even though the number of faces unknown to Harada personally kept increasing with each day.
A young couple rode by, returning from their picnic outside the city, laughing with all the innocence of youth, two older ladies kept chatting in front of Franko´s store, excited about the church reconstruction announcement, while their current sheriff was dozing off in the creaking chair under the window of his office and the small group of cheeky brats behind the corner was definitely planning to punish him for it with some nasty prank.
The isolated clatter of hooves disrupted the lazy afternoon, making Harada focus his attention on the approaching rider. He raised his hand for a greeting when the young gunslinger stopped his impressive stallion in front of the saloon.
“Good afternoon, Harada,” Akanishi jumped down from the saddle and stepped up to the veranda, dusting off his ridiculously large hat.
“Still too soon, lad,” Harada informed him shaking his head. “No sight of it yet.”
The younger man frowned: “They should´ve been here two days ago, so I´m not the one to be early – they´re late.”
“Agreed, but since the railroad´s still far from reaching our beautiful city yet, we must cope with it.”
Ignoring the reasonable explanation, Akanishi kept yammering: “I´ve been waiting for those stupid window hinges for ages already.”
“Your complaints won´t make that poor carriage go any faster. Sit and have some coffee,” Harada offered him.
“Thanks,” he sat down in the free chair gratefully, dragging the coffeepot closer. “I can definitely use some.”
“Another long night at Cora´s?” Harada asked, eyeing the dark circles under the younger man´s eyes.
Akanishi shrugged: “Nothing unusual,” he replied, as he sipped on the warm bitter liquid.
“Then I assume Kame´s not back yet,” Harada reacted.
The dark eyes focused on him over the edge of a mug with unusual intensity: “No, not yet…”
“Think he might be in some kind of trouble?” Harada continued asking.
The black look even darkened: “Why would I think that?”
Now, it was Harada´s turn to make a casual shrug: “You tell me. You seem worried.”
The mug was put away back on the small table with a thud: “I´m not. It´s just… He´s been away for quite long and I…”
“Miss him?” Harada finished instead of him.
Akanishi looked away: “Kind of. We got used to each other, you know.”
“I can tell,” he nodded, suppressing an amused smirk. Sometimes, those two behaved as a newly married couple. “I´m sure he´ll be back soon.”
“Yeah, me too… Anything new recently?” the young gunslinger asked, changing the subject. “I didn´t have much time to stop by and listen to the latest gossip.”
“Nah, still the same,” Harada shook his head. “The only latest news includes Dr. Best being back from his trip to Livingstone and our new priest getting quite impatient already.”
Akanishi raised his eyebrows: “Reverend Robert? I heard that he gathered enough workers for the church reconstruction already.”
“He did, but then half of them got lured away by Henderson´s offer. Why would they labor on the new church for free, when they can work for good salary for that sneaky bastard?”
The annoyance was more than clear on the young man´s face now: “It seems that quarter of the city works for Creepy Cam already,” Akanishi growled.
“Make it third,” Harada corrected him.
“Damn…”
A growing noise coming from the east made both of them turned their attention to the street.
“Here you go,” Harada commented the cloud of dust and rumble of wheels. “Little of patience pays off.”
Jin Akanishi chuckled bitterly: “I wish it´d work like this every time… Thanks for the coffee, Harada. Can you watch over Kuro until I give those lazy ass postmen my opinion about their services?”
“Sure,” Harada nodded condescendingly and then watched the young gunslinger, as he walked toward the coach, which just stopped in front of the post office building.
Akanishi might have acted cool, but after knowing him for a while, Harada noticed that he was kind of nervous when their Kame was not around.
Unusually for that time of year, a strong, almost winter-like storm raged like an angry bull above the whole northern Wyoming and apparently was not about to stop any time soon.
They were damn lucky to find shelter in the abandoned trading station before all that hell broke loose. Even though the ice-cold wind was whizzing through the countless holes in the roof and kept pushing the heavy rain drops through the broken glass in the small windows, hiding inside the old building was a way better than facing this weather under the open sky. Not to mention that the ancient chimney remained usable enough to make their small fire crackle cheerfully and the gloomy room full of dusty furniture was getting warmer each minute.
Jane shifted the small coffee kettle closer to the fire and straightened up from the spacious hearth, shaking off the wooden chips from her trousers. Then she briefly looked into the corner of the spacious room. Making sure that their captives didn´t move from the spot, she turned away and walked around the two supporting pillars to join her friends and fiancé, who kept discussing quietly in the opposite corner…
John was still not sure how to cope with the current state of events.
Surprisingly, Black Riders didn´t shoot him on the spot. Instead, they dragged him and Mrs. Tabor to this shady station mere minutes before that pouring rain, which was rumbling above their heads, started. Though now, seeing their close, unapproachable circle on the opposite site of the room, he thought it might have been better if they did. At least, he´d have known what they were up to and didn´t have to wonder about their definitely not friendly intentions with him and his female travel companion. He hated this uncertainty and helplessness to influence what was about to fall upon them…
They had tied only his hands, but he noticed that they were closely observed by all the members and especially by that older man, whom the brunette had called ´Cullen´ before. There was no chance he could make some narrow escape along with Mrs. Tabor, especially not in that awful storm. They could only wait, which was damn depressing.
“Well, Captain, I´d say this is the best I can do under the circumstances…”
John returned his attention to his shoulder, which had just been treated by the surprisingly skillful hands. Even though the bullet just scratched him, it stung and burned and kept sending the unpleasant twitching up to his neck. The gentle treatment made it definitely much better.
“It´s not pretty, but I considered that stopping the bleeding was more important,” Mrs. Tabor evaluated her work on his wound, while cleaning her hands into some wet rag.
John nodded gratefully: “Thank you, Madame. I appreciate your effort.”
Augusta Tabor shook her head: “It was our captors providing us with the first aid treatment tools, otherwise there wouldn´t be much I could do for you, Captain. Appreciate that.”
He didn´t exactly agree, but had no will or energy to argue with her. The loss of blood was certainly to blame for it.
“Here, raise your arm a little up, please, so I can bandage it,” Mrs. Tabor requested quietly. Tiredness in her voice made John realize he wasn´t the only one at the end of his rope.
With the strong ties around his wrists, he had to shift both hands sideways, but it was enough for Mrs. Tabor to pull the bandage under his arm. He watched her concentrated face frowning. Her words made him remember what she had done for him before and what she was doing even now. Augusta Tabor was kneeling by his side on the cold, dirty floor, treating him the best she could, even though it was obvious she wasn´t used to handle similar situations.
“I must apologize, Captain…”
That apologetic tone disrupted his thoughts. Mrs. Tabor was already done with the binding and started to gather all the things she had used back into the small wooden box.
“What do you mean, Madame?” he asked her surprised.
Ignoring the dirt on the floor, she sat down next to him, clasping both hands together in her lap.
“I feel guilty,” she sighed then. “I shouldn´t have insisted on taking the shorter road. If we just continued as planned, in the regular direction to Montana, your men would still be alive and…”
“Stop,” John interrupted her harshly, not willing to let her continue such nonsense. “Just stop it, Madame. It doesn´t matter which road we decided to take. None of us is directly responsible for the actions of Indian rebels. You can´t blame yourself like that.”
Augusta Tabor returned his serious look for a long while, before her tense attitude loosened a bit: “Unfortunately, blaming Indians for it all doesn´t make me feel any better.”
“It won´t change anything either,” he opposed cheerlessly.
“Captain, I´m sorry…”
He stabbed her with a reproachful look: “If you don´t stop, then I might start regretting our traveling together, all right?”
She blinked a few times, looking surprised, before her regretful eyes finally brightened a little and she nodded: “All right…”
“On the other hand…” John checked if they still had their small privacy, with all the Riders gathered around the table far from them. “There´s another thing I´d like to reproach you for,” he lowered his voice. “Before, when that Rider was about to shoot me, you shouldn´t have put yourself in danger like that, Mrs. Tabor.”
She stared at him for a moment, before a soft chuckle escaped her lips, making John look at her in honest surprise. Augusta Tabor leant closer to him, diverting herself from the Riders on the opposite side of the room.
“My dear Captain, just what do you think I could do in these vast lands all by myself? It would be more than inconvenient for me if anything happened to you, don´t you think?”
Her explanation created a bitter lump in John´s throat. He looked away from her and rather focused on the remote window, which just shone with whitish light of the thunderbolt.
“I see… Well, it´s understandable you acted in your own benefit, Mrs. Tabor,” he couldn´t help but react stiffly.
He didn´t see the soft smile, which appeared on her lips: “I acted in the benefit of us both, John.”
That was definitely damn true. He didn´t even know what made him feel so upset…
“And let´s abandon the polite titles already, don´t you agree?” Mrs. Tabor suggested, before he could figure it out.
He turned back to her, raising both eyebrows: “Mrs. Tabor, it doesn´t suit for me to…”
“Oh, come on,” she cut him off discontentedly. “Just an hour ago, my first name seemed to suit you just fine.”
John felt a wave of heat coming from his stomach up to the face remembering his agitated state back then.
“That was in the heat of the moment, Madame,” he almost stuttered. “I´d have never dared to…”
But Augusta Tabor interrupted him again, leaning close, her voice barely more than a whisper and her dark eyes intense: “Then I allow you to dare. We don´t know what might happen to us from now on. We might not even live till the next morning, so… Don´t call me by my husband´s name, John. Not anymore.”
John couldn´t tear his eyes off that determined woman. This was the ´spoiled paper wife´ of the richest man in Colorado as some liked to address her? Somehow, she kept surprising him every single day…
He took a slow breath: “I won´t…”
“Are you done?”
The woman´s voice made both of them look up. The pretty brunette standing above them was pointing at the first aid box. The rest of the Riders were also looking in their direction now.
“Yes, thank you,” Mrs. Tabor took the box and stood up to hand it over to the brunette. Right away, the oldest Rider was on his feet, walking up to them as well, with a gun in his hand – not the rifle, but lethal enough anyway.
Mrs. Tabor stepped back a little, obviously surprised by his hostile expression. It didn´t surprise John, when that Cullen man pointed the gun at him.
“Get up,” he growled briefly.
All tense again, John struggled to get to his feet, with his balance off because of the tied hands. Without a word, Mrs. Tabor supported him from one side and helped him up.
“You stay put, Madame. You – move it,” the man gestured to the nearest pillar. “You know what to do.”
John understood and suppressing an annoyed sigh he obeyed and took a new seat at the pillar. While the man kept him in check, the other Rider, the black haired one tied him to it and the brunette was leading Augusta Tabor to another pillar to do the same with her. Trying not to let the pain from the uncomfortable position to be shown on his face, John looked into the man´s eyes.
“Have you decided what to do with us?”
Rider Cullen grinned: “You shall speak only when you´re asked, got it?”
“Just try to rest, it seems we´ll be stuck here for a while,” the brunette woman was definitely playing the friendly role.
John couldn´t help but chuckle grimly: “You want to wait for better weather to allow us see the sun for the last time? How generous.”
The oldest Rider checked his ties first, before leaning in to his ear: “I might shoot you in your sleep to get you rid of the burden of thinking about the way you´ll die.”
He spoke quietly, but the brunette heard it and didn´t like it: “Stop it, Cullen…”
“Hell, don´t you wanna introduce all of us with full names when we´re at it?” the older man snapped.
The woman stood up against him, obviously fed up with his attitude: “You´re being ridiculous.”
“And you naive,” the man retorted.
“Shut it already, until you say something useful!” only the reproach from their leader made them stop and they walked away from one another.
John exchanged a worried look with Augusta. It seemed that the Riders were not exactly united as came to what to do with their captives…
That morning, it appeared to Jin that Kuro was more in a hurry to get home than usually. And even though he was damn sleepy after a difficult night shift at Cora´s, his stallion´s impatience transferred to him as well and their well-known road suddenly seemed annoyingly long. He found out the reason for their shared restlessness only once they finally got to the Kamenashi property. Although, it would be more precise to say ´Creepy Cam´s property´, but Jin firmly believed this situation would change sooner rather than later.
Two men were standing in the front yard and an angry voice of some stranger disrupted the air with unpleasant intensity. Seeing them, Jin´s lips spread in a happy smile – finally, Kame returned home. Unfortunately, it seemed he was given an unpleasant visitor as a welcome gift.
Kuro fastened his pace all by himself and quickly carried his master close enough to hear the ongoing conversation.
“Do you think that I bring them there every morning by chance? It´s far the best pasture around here!”
Jin had an impression that he had spotted that angry little man in the city, but he didn´t know him in person. Yet, he disliked that midget right away – as he´d have disliked anyone who would talk to his lover in such a haughty tone.
“I fully understand your concerns, Mr. Purcell,” Kame was obviously trying to go for conciliatory approach. “But as I´ve already told you, I have no authority over…”
“Keep your excuses!” the complainer interrupted him rudely. “You were the original owner of these lands, so do something about it!”
Just as Kuro stopped nearby, the upset man turned away and clambered up his waiting horse. Only from that height he dared to point an accusing finger on Kame: “You allowed them to dig there, it´s your responsibility!”
It was his luck he galloped away right after that, since Jin had a strong urge to punch that midget right in the face. He dismounted and patted Kuro gratefully, before approaching his boyfriend.
“What was that…” he forgot the rest the second he got to see Kame´s tired, frowning expression. He gulped it down, saving the questions for later and instead he just stepped even closer and slipped a hand around Kame´s waist. “Hello there, Turtle.”
Kame chuckled, relaxed and gave in to his hug: “Hi…”
Jin placed a soft, gentle kiss on his lips, and as the pulled away, Kame´s frown was nowhere to be found.
“When did you get back?” he asked.
“Yesterday, late in the evening. I figured you´ve already left for work.”
“Well, if I had known, I´d have excused myself to Cora for super late arrival…” Jin stated meaningfully.
“Meaning you´ve missed me?” his boyfriend asked with a small grin.
“You can bet,” Jin assured him seriously.
“Huh, didn´t feel so though,” Kame complained playfully.
Jin gave him a long look: “Oh, really?”
Then he buried his hand into Kame´s hair and squeezed his form tightly. This time, he didn´t restrain himself and showed his unsatisfied desire in the kiss, conquering Kame´s lips ruthlessly, and then attacking his mouth with his tongue. He didn´t let go, even when Kame whimpered under the pressure and tried to pull away. Instead, he let one his other hand wander down from the waist and squeezed his butt greedily, feeling Kame tense up in his arms. Only then he stopped.
“What about now?” he asked curiously.
Kame breathed out heavily, his face flushed: “Better,” he admitted cheekily.
Jin laughed and released his grip around Kame, so he could look at him properly: “Damn, was it really only two weeks? You look older,” he teased.
Kame sighed: “I won´t get offended, because I know what you mean. It felt like a month…”
Jin grinned: “Great, then we need to catch up on one month of snuggling in our bed.”
“Mark your words,” his lover smiled and pecked his nose with a playful kiss, before pulling away. “Where is that black beast of yours?” he asked when he didn’t find Kuro nearby.
Jin shrugged: “By Ukushi, I bet. He sensed her all the way from the city or what…”
“I can imagine, since he´s kind of sensitive. Just as his master,” Kame winked as they set off around the house to check on their animal companions.
“What´s that supposed to mean?” Jin raised an eyebrow.
“Well, if stares could kill, we´d be now taking care of Mr. Purcell´s body,” Kame explained amused.
Jin snorted at the mention of the yelling man: “He had no manners. I was tempted to kick him out of here.”
Kame awarded his statement with a fleeting, but the more shining smile: “I noticed.”
“What that annoying midget wanted?” Jin asked, calmer now, but still imagining the ways how could be dealt with such kind of ´visitors´.
Kame looked around the corner first and stopped there, as he saw that everything was just fine at the small barn, with Kuro almost literally dancing around stabled Ukushi: “Well, he complained that the dynamite detonations from Henderson´s mine disturb his herd of sheep.”
Jin gaped at him: “What? But that has nothing to do with you!”
Kame shrugged: “If I didn´t hear it early in the morning, I wouldn´t even know what he was talking about. But try explaining it to Mr. Purcell. I have no idea what he thinks I can do – go to Henderson with an official complaint about unpleasant noise? Can you imagine what he´d do?”
“Yeah, laugh in your face, I guess,” Jin assumed. “Don´t bother yourself with sheep, Kazu – we´ve got enough of our own issues with Creepy Cam. By the way, it seems he means it with that mine – he hired many people from the city, some of the former Karnaka´s employees as well. And I saw quite a few wagons carrying stuff there every second day.”
His boyfriend frowned: “When did they start to use dynamite anyway? If nothing else, I´d say it´s pretty dangerous.”
Jin thought it through for a while: “Three days ago, that was the first time I noticed it, I think. It woke me up,” he complained. “Just when I need to catch up on sleep during the day.”
Kame eyed him with an unreadable expression: “You came straight from work?”
“Basically, Cora needed me to help out with something, but I had a chance to take a long nap during the night, don´t worry. Nothing what a big cup of your coffee wouldn´t fix,” he added meaningfully, with innocent smile.
Kame shook his head a little, already smiling again: “All right, I got it. You can take of Kuro, then find me in the kitchen.”
Jin pulled him close once again before Kame could turn away.
“You can add yourself to that coffee cup too,” he challenged him huskily.
With shining eyes, Kame placed both hands on Jin´s face and returned that soft welcome kiss from before to him: “I´m counting on it.”
Author: Kasumi
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Western, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Historical fiction
Warning: AKame pairing - AU; vulgarisms, violence, explicit content
Beta-reading:
atago4Summary: A direct sequel of Red West II. - Masterpost
A strange company of three young gunslingers and one Indian is on their way to Montana, while the infamous Black Riders continue their fight against Silver King of Colorado… Will they succeed or fail in the clash with the cruel environment and heartless Governor? Will their friendship, brotherhood and love persevere or be destroyed by greed, bloodshed and vengeance?
Thank you: To Kamenashi Kazuya and Akanishi Jin, because this story wouldn´t have existed without them.
A/N: A small X-mas gift for those of you who might be still interested. I know, four chapters per year is definitely a kind of sad balance for this story of mine... And I´m so sorry. I can only promise I´ll try harder since I haven´t given up on RW and I just need to finish it.
I wish you all calm Christmas holidays and a good start of the new year, maybe even with some good book or fanfic. ^^´
I´m grateful for any opinion or advice, you help me hone my writing skills with them.
Thank you for taking time to read this story. I´ll be happy if you reward me with a comment for it.
Previously:
Prologue // Chapter one // Chapter two // Chapter three // Chapter four // Chapter five // Chapter six // Chapter seven // Chapter eight // Chapter nine // Chapter ten // Chapter eleven // Chapter twelve // Chapter thirteen //
Good manners
John didn´t have the slightest doubt about the identity of the young man, who was calmly returning his shocked stare. He might have hesitated if his assumption was based just on that lousy painting from wanted posters. However, he knew the older Akanishi in person, so there was nothing he would be more certain about – the two brothers looked so much alike it was almost creepy.
Such a sudden encounter with – apparently – the Black Riders threw him completely off balance. Unable to control the instinctive reaction, John´s hand subconsciously flinched to his hip, even though he was well aware that a cylinder of his firearm was as empty as desert, with all bullets wasted during the Indian ambush.
Then he froze, realizing that the bandits had saved him and Mrs. Tabor while not knowing who they were. He stopped himself just before he could touch the gun grip and tried to relax his facial expression, but it was too late – there was already a dark muzzle of another deadly weapon threatening to shoot his nose off.
“Better think again,” the man holding it growled.
Mrs. Tabor standing right next to him stiffened in surprise, with her eyes fixed on the gunman, while John slowly raised both hands in the air. After witnessing what that unusually sturdy rifle could do, he had absolutely no intention to see it in action again so soon.
Jane literally gaped at the sudden change of atmosphere, not realizing that she was copying Ryo´s identical expression.
“What the hell are you doing?” she snapped at Cullen.
Equally confused Ryo joined her: “Yeah… You´ve helped those two just to finish them off yourself or what?”
Their always so suspicious companion kept glaring at the bleeding man: “Ask him.”
“About what?” Jane snorted, already quite upset. They had just risked their own lives for that unknown couple, so what was the old wolf thinking?
“About who he is,” Cullen replied briefly.
“What do you mean, man?” Ryo didn´t understand such a hint, but Jane suddenly felt chills on her back. The fair-haired man with short stubble was dressed in civilian clothes and seemed likeable to her, but the company he used to travel with…
“Those dead on the other side were soldiers,” the older man informed them sternly, confirming Jane´s assumption about what he was hinting at. “Try to think for once.”
Hearing that, Ryo eyed the man more closely now: “Well… I admit he´s kind of familiar to me...”
Jane hold her breath and looked at Leo, who was standing by her side and kept silent all that time, observing the pale stranger carefully. His expression was serious and there was something odd in his eyes, which made her feel uneasy. It seemed they might have made quite a mistake saving those two.
Recalling that there was also that familiar woman; Jane returned her attention to the couple, just when the slender lady moved closer to her hurt companion, obviously ignoring the lethal threat of Cullen´s rifle.
“You´ve just saved our lives, Mister,” she spoke in a detached voice, not showing any fear. “And now you threaten us without any reason?”
At that moment, Jane remembered and forgot to breathe for a while. She knew that woman. She had met her back in Leadville and it was quite the unusual meeting. More precisely to say, this woman caught her, Jin and Kame during the robbery…
Reacting to her reproach, Cullen frowned even more: “Believe me, Ma´am, if I´m right, we´ve got tons of reasons to be wary of you.”
Jane opened her mouth, but nothing came out as she reconsidered. This encounter was too sudden. She didn´t know what to say and Ryo seemed a bit abashed as well. Then Jane noticed that even though Cullen was threatening that stranger with his rifle, the man´s look was directed mostly at her fiancé. And it was Leo, who suddenly stepped forward and cut that strange conversation of theirs off.
“You know who I am, don´t you?” he asked quietly, returning the man´s stare with composure.
The stifling silence, which fell upon their small group after Leo´s question, was interrupted by thunder in the distance, followed by the cold gust of wind. The storm was getting closer, just as Cullen and Leo had predicted…
John let go of a deliberately slow breath. There was no point in lying. That older man somehow recognized who he probably was, even though he didn´t wear a uniform.
I should have pretended better. Now, they´ll be on guard no matter what I say…
The only thing John could make an effort for was to keep Augusta Tabor out of this unexpected mess.
“Yes, I do, Akanishi,” he confirmed seriously.
Mrs. Tabor glanced at him alarmed, while the pretty brunette stepped closer to the mentioned leader of Black Riders. It was a subconsciously protective gesture, which showed John, that those two were more than just members of one gang.
“Who are you?” Leo Akanishi asked again, his face unmoved.
“John Walker, Captain in the US Army,” he replied without hesitation, somehow considering the honest approach was the only option he had now. “Currently on vacation. But I assume that fact won´t give me any credit in your eyes.”
The black-haired youngster gaped at him: “So, you´re that Captain about whom Jin-”
“Hush, you idiot!” the older man with the rifle stabbed shouted at him.
The horses´ guardian stepped back a little, realizing his slip of the tongue: “Sorry…”
John couldn´t say that he was surprised. From the very beginning, already back in Montana, he had suspected that even if Jin Akanishi would manage to reunite with his brother, he wouldn´t even utter a word about it to him. He was an honest man, but this was about family. And as far as John´s experience went, blood was always stronger than any law. Nevertheless, he didn´t like the idea of those bandits talking about him.
Leo Akanishi was piercing him with dark, sharp eyes, not asking any more questions and John didn´t know what to make of that expression of his. He took a determined breath to speak, but he was outrun.
“And what do you want to do about it, gentlemen?” to his surprise, Mrs. Tabor stepped even more forward, placing herself directly between him and the rifle. Not only John´s jaw dropped, but also his hands, which he had been carefully keeping in the air so far. How could she willingly do such a dangerous thing?
The older Rider frowned: “I suppose you realize there´s not so many options for us, Ma´am. Step aside before I make you.”
Ignoring the deadly serious threat, Mrs. Tabor even raised her voice: “You´re telling me that you´re going to shoot this good man down for his job? Just what kind of man you are?”
John stared at Augusta Tabor in pure awe. This wasn´t exactly what he was planning to do. She turned his original intention to keep her out of this on its head. He couldn´t ever imagine she would have the will and courage to stand up for him like that.
“Step aside!” the Rider ordered her roughly.
“No,” Mrs. Tabor insisted firmly.
The pretty brunette stepped in as well: “Cullen, stop this! We can´t just…!”
Though the older man didn´t let her continue: “What else would you like to do, huh? Any better ideas?”
“Can´t you just wait a damn second?”
“There´s nothing to wait for! It will be only worse then! Madame, for the last time – step aside.”
Mrs. Tabor straightened up. Even with her hair ruffled and dress all crumpled and dirty, she gave an impression of a woman who would stand by her word: “I´m not allowing another murder to happen right in front of my eyes. If you want to shoot him, you must start with me!”
Something squeezed John´s guts, seeing the expression of the Rider, who was still aiming his deadly weapon. He could lose his temper any time and if that happened, Augusta Tabor would pay the highest price possible for her courage.
“Augusta!” John urged harshly. “Step aside!”
Mrs. Tabor didn´t even turn to look at him, as she reacted strictly: “Shut it, when the lady speaks, Captain, will you?”
In greater shock each second, John didn´t dare to move, not to give the Riders the reason to shoot, not when Mrs. Tabor was standing right in front of him in the potential firing line, so the only thing he could have done was talking. Now, he couldn´t do even that.
“Leo, say something!” the brunette abruptly turned to the young leader of the Riders. “Shouldn´t we talk about this first, at least?”
“I assume he agrees with me, honey,” the older man snorted.
“You´re pushing things over the edge, man,” the black haired youngster didn´t seem happy about the situation neither.
“Leo!”
“So? What will it be, Black Riders?” Mrs. Tabor challenged them fearlessly. “I took you for more than just thieves and cold-blooded murderers.”
“And you were not completely wrong, Madame,” finally, Leo Akanishi replied seriously. “But you must understand we can´t let you go freely either.”
Mrs. Tabor tilted her head a bit and took a small step back, closer to John. It made him feel strangely touched. No matter how this mess was about to end, he was damn glad he could meet this incredible woman.
“What will you do with us then?” Augusta asked, with her voice not so daring anymore, but still firm.
Leo Akanishi returned her questioning stare, while John and the other Riders anxiously waited for his answer…
***
Sunday afternoon was always a dull time for business, so Harada got used to take it for a personal break. As usually, he occupied his favorite chair on the veranda for enjoying his sins – strong coffee and cheap cigarette. Bozeman streets were boringly calm by this time, with the dust floating through them sleepily. It was about to change soon, since the arrival of the post-coach was expected later that day, but at the moment it was easy to recognize and greet each fellow citizen, who happened to be outside. Even though the number of faces unknown to Harada personally kept increasing with each day.
A young couple rode by, returning from their picnic outside the city, laughing with all the innocence of youth, two older ladies kept chatting in front of Franko´s store, excited about the church reconstruction announcement, while their current sheriff was dozing off in the creaking chair under the window of his office and the small group of cheeky brats behind the corner was definitely planning to punish him for it with some nasty prank.
The isolated clatter of hooves disrupted the lazy afternoon, making Harada focus his attention on the approaching rider. He raised his hand for a greeting when the young gunslinger stopped his impressive stallion in front of the saloon.
“Good afternoon, Harada,” Akanishi jumped down from the saddle and stepped up to the veranda, dusting off his ridiculously large hat.
“Still too soon, lad,” Harada informed him shaking his head. “No sight of it yet.”
The younger man frowned: “They should´ve been here two days ago, so I´m not the one to be early – they´re late.”
“Agreed, but since the railroad´s still far from reaching our beautiful city yet, we must cope with it.”
Ignoring the reasonable explanation, Akanishi kept yammering: “I´ve been waiting for those stupid window hinges for ages already.”
“Your complaints won´t make that poor carriage go any faster. Sit and have some coffee,” Harada offered him.
“Thanks,” he sat down in the free chair gratefully, dragging the coffeepot closer. “I can definitely use some.”
“Another long night at Cora´s?” Harada asked, eyeing the dark circles under the younger man´s eyes.
Akanishi shrugged: “Nothing unusual,” he replied, as he sipped on the warm bitter liquid.
“Then I assume Kame´s not back yet,” Harada reacted.
The dark eyes focused on him over the edge of a mug with unusual intensity: “No, not yet…”
“Think he might be in some kind of trouble?” Harada continued asking.
The black look even darkened: “Why would I think that?”
Now, it was Harada´s turn to make a casual shrug: “You tell me. You seem worried.”
The mug was put away back on the small table with a thud: “I´m not. It´s just… He´s been away for quite long and I…”
“Miss him?” Harada finished instead of him.
Akanishi looked away: “Kind of. We got used to each other, you know.”
“I can tell,” he nodded, suppressing an amused smirk. Sometimes, those two behaved as a newly married couple. “I´m sure he´ll be back soon.”
“Yeah, me too… Anything new recently?” the young gunslinger asked, changing the subject. “I didn´t have much time to stop by and listen to the latest gossip.”
“Nah, still the same,” Harada shook his head. “The only latest news includes Dr. Best being back from his trip to Livingstone and our new priest getting quite impatient already.”
Akanishi raised his eyebrows: “Reverend Robert? I heard that he gathered enough workers for the church reconstruction already.”
“He did, but then half of them got lured away by Henderson´s offer. Why would they labor on the new church for free, when they can work for good salary for that sneaky bastard?”
The annoyance was more than clear on the young man´s face now: “It seems that quarter of the city works for Creepy Cam already,” Akanishi growled.
“Make it third,” Harada corrected him.
“Damn…”
A growing noise coming from the east made both of them turned their attention to the street.
“Here you go,” Harada commented the cloud of dust and rumble of wheels. “Little of patience pays off.”
Jin Akanishi chuckled bitterly: “I wish it´d work like this every time… Thanks for the coffee, Harada. Can you watch over Kuro until I give those lazy ass postmen my opinion about their services?”
“Sure,” Harada nodded condescendingly and then watched the young gunslinger, as he walked toward the coach, which just stopped in front of the post office building.
Akanishi might have acted cool, but after knowing him for a while, Harada noticed that he was kind of nervous when their Kame was not around.
***
Unusually for that time of year, a strong, almost winter-like storm raged like an angry bull above the whole northern Wyoming and apparently was not about to stop any time soon.
They were damn lucky to find shelter in the abandoned trading station before all that hell broke loose. Even though the ice-cold wind was whizzing through the countless holes in the roof and kept pushing the heavy rain drops through the broken glass in the small windows, hiding inside the old building was a way better than facing this weather under the open sky. Not to mention that the ancient chimney remained usable enough to make their small fire crackle cheerfully and the gloomy room full of dusty furniture was getting warmer each minute.
Jane shifted the small coffee kettle closer to the fire and straightened up from the spacious hearth, shaking off the wooden chips from her trousers. Then she briefly looked into the corner of the spacious room. Making sure that their captives didn´t move from the spot, she turned away and walked around the two supporting pillars to join her friends and fiancé, who kept discussing quietly in the opposite corner…
John was still not sure how to cope with the current state of events.
Surprisingly, Black Riders didn´t shoot him on the spot. Instead, they dragged him and Mrs. Tabor to this shady station mere minutes before that pouring rain, which was rumbling above their heads, started. Though now, seeing their close, unapproachable circle on the opposite site of the room, he thought it might have been better if they did. At least, he´d have known what they were up to and didn´t have to wonder about their definitely not friendly intentions with him and his female travel companion. He hated this uncertainty and helplessness to influence what was about to fall upon them…
They had tied only his hands, but he noticed that they were closely observed by all the members and especially by that older man, whom the brunette had called ´Cullen´ before. There was no chance he could make some narrow escape along with Mrs. Tabor, especially not in that awful storm. They could only wait, which was damn depressing.
“Well, Captain, I´d say this is the best I can do under the circumstances…”
John returned his attention to his shoulder, which had just been treated by the surprisingly skillful hands. Even though the bullet just scratched him, it stung and burned and kept sending the unpleasant twitching up to his neck. The gentle treatment made it definitely much better.
“It´s not pretty, but I considered that stopping the bleeding was more important,” Mrs. Tabor evaluated her work on his wound, while cleaning her hands into some wet rag.
John nodded gratefully: “Thank you, Madame. I appreciate your effort.”
Augusta Tabor shook her head: “It was our captors providing us with the first aid treatment tools, otherwise there wouldn´t be much I could do for you, Captain. Appreciate that.”
He didn´t exactly agree, but had no will or energy to argue with her. The loss of blood was certainly to blame for it.
“Here, raise your arm a little up, please, so I can bandage it,” Mrs. Tabor requested quietly. Tiredness in her voice made John realize he wasn´t the only one at the end of his rope.
With the strong ties around his wrists, he had to shift both hands sideways, but it was enough for Mrs. Tabor to pull the bandage under his arm. He watched her concentrated face frowning. Her words made him remember what she had done for him before and what she was doing even now. Augusta Tabor was kneeling by his side on the cold, dirty floor, treating him the best she could, even though it was obvious she wasn´t used to handle similar situations.
“I must apologize, Captain…”
That apologetic tone disrupted his thoughts. Mrs. Tabor was already done with the binding and started to gather all the things she had used back into the small wooden box.
“What do you mean, Madame?” he asked her surprised.
Ignoring the dirt on the floor, she sat down next to him, clasping both hands together in her lap.
“I feel guilty,” she sighed then. “I shouldn´t have insisted on taking the shorter road. If we just continued as planned, in the regular direction to Montana, your men would still be alive and…”
“Stop,” John interrupted her harshly, not willing to let her continue such nonsense. “Just stop it, Madame. It doesn´t matter which road we decided to take. None of us is directly responsible for the actions of Indian rebels. You can´t blame yourself like that.”
Augusta Tabor returned his serious look for a long while, before her tense attitude loosened a bit: “Unfortunately, blaming Indians for it all doesn´t make me feel any better.”
“It won´t change anything either,” he opposed cheerlessly.
“Captain, I´m sorry…”
He stabbed her with a reproachful look: “If you don´t stop, then I might start regretting our traveling together, all right?”
She blinked a few times, looking surprised, before her regretful eyes finally brightened a little and she nodded: “All right…”
“On the other hand…” John checked if they still had their small privacy, with all the Riders gathered around the table far from them. “There´s another thing I´d like to reproach you for,” he lowered his voice. “Before, when that Rider was about to shoot me, you shouldn´t have put yourself in danger like that, Mrs. Tabor.”
She stared at him for a moment, before a soft chuckle escaped her lips, making John look at her in honest surprise. Augusta Tabor leant closer to him, diverting herself from the Riders on the opposite side of the room.
“My dear Captain, just what do you think I could do in these vast lands all by myself? It would be more than inconvenient for me if anything happened to you, don´t you think?”
Her explanation created a bitter lump in John´s throat. He looked away from her and rather focused on the remote window, which just shone with whitish light of the thunderbolt.
“I see… Well, it´s understandable you acted in your own benefit, Mrs. Tabor,” he couldn´t help but react stiffly.
He didn´t see the soft smile, which appeared on her lips: “I acted in the benefit of us both, John.”
That was definitely damn true. He didn´t even know what made him feel so upset…
“And let´s abandon the polite titles already, don´t you agree?” Mrs. Tabor suggested, before he could figure it out.
He turned back to her, raising both eyebrows: “Mrs. Tabor, it doesn´t suit for me to…”
“Oh, come on,” she cut him off discontentedly. “Just an hour ago, my first name seemed to suit you just fine.”
John felt a wave of heat coming from his stomach up to the face remembering his agitated state back then.
“That was in the heat of the moment, Madame,” he almost stuttered. “I´d have never dared to…”
But Augusta Tabor interrupted him again, leaning close, her voice barely more than a whisper and her dark eyes intense: “Then I allow you to dare. We don´t know what might happen to us from now on. We might not even live till the next morning, so… Don´t call me by my husband´s name, John. Not anymore.”
John couldn´t tear his eyes off that determined woman. This was the ´spoiled paper wife´ of the richest man in Colorado as some liked to address her? Somehow, she kept surprising him every single day…
He took a slow breath: “I won´t…”
“Are you done?”
The woman´s voice made both of them look up. The pretty brunette standing above them was pointing at the first aid box. The rest of the Riders were also looking in their direction now.
“Yes, thank you,” Mrs. Tabor took the box and stood up to hand it over to the brunette. Right away, the oldest Rider was on his feet, walking up to them as well, with a gun in his hand – not the rifle, but lethal enough anyway.
Mrs. Tabor stepped back a little, obviously surprised by his hostile expression. It didn´t surprise John, when that Cullen man pointed the gun at him.
“Get up,” he growled briefly.
All tense again, John struggled to get to his feet, with his balance off because of the tied hands. Without a word, Mrs. Tabor supported him from one side and helped him up.
“You stay put, Madame. You – move it,” the man gestured to the nearest pillar. “You know what to do.”
John understood and suppressing an annoyed sigh he obeyed and took a new seat at the pillar. While the man kept him in check, the other Rider, the black haired one tied him to it and the brunette was leading Augusta Tabor to another pillar to do the same with her. Trying not to let the pain from the uncomfortable position to be shown on his face, John looked into the man´s eyes.
“Have you decided what to do with us?”
Rider Cullen grinned: “You shall speak only when you´re asked, got it?”
“Just try to rest, it seems we´ll be stuck here for a while,” the brunette woman was definitely playing the friendly role.
John couldn´t help but chuckle grimly: “You want to wait for better weather to allow us see the sun for the last time? How generous.”
The oldest Rider checked his ties first, before leaning in to his ear: “I might shoot you in your sleep to get you rid of the burden of thinking about the way you´ll die.”
He spoke quietly, but the brunette heard it and didn´t like it: “Stop it, Cullen…”
“Hell, don´t you wanna introduce all of us with full names when we´re at it?” the older man snapped.
The woman stood up against him, obviously fed up with his attitude: “You´re being ridiculous.”
“And you naive,” the man retorted.
“Shut it already, until you say something useful!” only the reproach from their leader made them stop and they walked away from one another.
John exchanged a worried look with Augusta. It seemed that the Riders were not exactly united as came to what to do with their captives…
***
That morning, it appeared to Jin that Kuro was more in a hurry to get home than usually. And even though he was damn sleepy after a difficult night shift at Cora´s, his stallion´s impatience transferred to him as well and their well-known road suddenly seemed annoyingly long. He found out the reason for their shared restlessness only once they finally got to the Kamenashi property. Although, it would be more precise to say ´Creepy Cam´s property´, but Jin firmly believed this situation would change sooner rather than later.
Two men were standing in the front yard and an angry voice of some stranger disrupted the air with unpleasant intensity. Seeing them, Jin´s lips spread in a happy smile – finally, Kame returned home. Unfortunately, it seemed he was given an unpleasant visitor as a welcome gift.
Kuro fastened his pace all by himself and quickly carried his master close enough to hear the ongoing conversation.
“Do you think that I bring them there every morning by chance? It´s far the best pasture around here!”
Jin had an impression that he had spotted that angry little man in the city, but he didn´t know him in person. Yet, he disliked that midget right away – as he´d have disliked anyone who would talk to his lover in such a haughty tone.
“I fully understand your concerns, Mr. Purcell,” Kame was obviously trying to go for conciliatory approach. “But as I´ve already told you, I have no authority over…”
“Keep your excuses!” the complainer interrupted him rudely. “You were the original owner of these lands, so do something about it!”
Just as Kuro stopped nearby, the upset man turned away and clambered up his waiting horse. Only from that height he dared to point an accusing finger on Kame: “You allowed them to dig there, it´s your responsibility!”
It was his luck he galloped away right after that, since Jin had a strong urge to punch that midget right in the face. He dismounted and patted Kuro gratefully, before approaching his boyfriend.
“What was that…” he forgot the rest the second he got to see Kame´s tired, frowning expression. He gulped it down, saving the questions for later and instead he just stepped even closer and slipped a hand around Kame´s waist. “Hello there, Turtle.”
Kame chuckled, relaxed and gave in to his hug: “Hi…”
Jin placed a soft, gentle kiss on his lips, and as the pulled away, Kame´s frown was nowhere to be found.
“When did you get back?” he asked.
“Yesterday, late in the evening. I figured you´ve already left for work.”
“Well, if I had known, I´d have excused myself to Cora for super late arrival…” Jin stated meaningfully.
“Meaning you´ve missed me?” his boyfriend asked with a small grin.
“You can bet,” Jin assured him seriously.
“Huh, didn´t feel so though,” Kame complained playfully.
Jin gave him a long look: “Oh, really?”
Then he buried his hand into Kame´s hair and squeezed his form tightly. This time, he didn´t restrain himself and showed his unsatisfied desire in the kiss, conquering Kame´s lips ruthlessly, and then attacking his mouth with his tongue. He didn´t let go, even when Kame whimpered under the pressure and tried to pull away. Instead, he let one his other hand wander down from the waist and squeezed his butt greedily, feeling Kame tense up in his arms. Only then he stopped.
“What about now?” he asked curiously.
Kame breathed out heavily, his face flushed: “Better,” he admitted cheekily.
Jin laughed and released his grip around Kame, so he could look at him properly: “Damn, was it really only two weeks? You look older,” he teased.
Kame sighed: “I won´t get offended, because I know what you mean. It felt like a month…”
Jin grinned: “Great, then we need to catch up on one month of snuggling in our bed.”
“Mark your words,” his lover smiled and pecked his nose with a playful kiss, before pulling away. “Where is that black beast of yours?” he asked when he didn’t find Kuro nearby.
Jin shrugged: “By Ukushi, I bet. He sensed her all the way from the city or what…”
“I can imagine, since he´s kind of sensitive. Just as his master,” Kame winked as they set off around the house to check on their animal companions.
“What´s that supposed to mean?” Jin raised an eyebrow.
“Well, if stares could kill, we´d be now taking care of Mr. Purcell´s body,” Kame explained amused.
Jin snorted at the mention of the yelling man: “He had no manners. I was tempted to kick him out of here.”
Kame awarded his statement with a fleeting, but the more shining smile: “I noticed.”
“What that annoying midget wanted?” Jin asked, calmer now, but still imagining the ways how could be dealt with such kind of ´visitors´.
Kame looked around the corner first and stopped there, as he saw that everything was just fine at the small barn, with Kuro almost literally dancing around stabled Ukushi: “Well, he complained that the dynamite detonations from Henderson´s mine disturb his herd of sheep.”
Jin gaped at him: “What? But that has nothing to do with you!”
Kame shrugged: “If I didn´t hear it early in the morning, I wouldn´t even know what he was talking about. But try explaining it to Mr. Purcell. I have no idea what he thinks I can do – go to Henderson with an official complaint about unpleasant noise? Can you imagine what he´d do?”
“Yeah, laugh in your face, I guess,” Jin assumed. “Don´t bother yourself with sheep, Kazu – we´ve got enough of our own issues with Creepy Cam. By the way, it seems he means it with that mine – he hired many people from the city, some of the former Karnaka´s employees as well. And I saw quite a few wagons carrying stuff there every second day.”
His boyfriend frowned: “When did they start to use dynamite anyway? If nothing else, I´d say it´s pretty dangerous.”
Jin thought it through for a while: “Three days ago, that was the first time I noticed it, I think. It woke me up,” he complained. “Just when I need to catch up on sleep during the day.”
Kame eyed him with an unreadable expression: “You came straight from work?”
“Basically, Cora needed me to help out with something, but I had a chance to take a long nap during the night, don´t worry. Nothing what a big cup of your coffee wouldn´t fix,” he added meaningfully, with innocent smile.
Kame shook his head a little, already smiling again: “All right, I got it. You can take of Kuro, then find me in the kitchen.”
Jin pulled him close once again before Kame could turn away.
“You can add yourself to that coffee cup too,” he challenged him huskily.
With shining eyes, Kame placed both hands on Jin´s face and returned that soft welcome kiss from before to him: “I´m counting on it.”
- To be continued -
