Author: Pirate Turner
Rating: PG for mild language
Summary: Buck comforts a sad, little mouseboy.
Challenge: Anneack's Ficcers' Unite Magnificent Seven Challenge for the week of 8-4-10 to write a TM7 drabble with the phrase "Happiness happens".
Warnings: TM7 Cats AU, Slash, Het
Word Count: 1,266
Timeline: Takes place while Buck, Chris, Josiah, and Nathan are staying with the native micepeople
Date Written: 5 August, 2010
Disclaimer: Buck Wilmington, Josiah Sanchez, Chris Larabee, JD Dunne, Vin Tanner, Nathan Jackson, Ezra Standish, and The Magnificent Seven are & TM CBS, The Mirisch Group, MGM, and Trilogy Entertainment, not the author. Little Doe, River Rat, all other characters mentioned within, and everything else are & TM the author. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: Any one who wants to play in this universe may do so with two exceptions: We ask that you give Queen Cindy and ourselves, Pirates Turner and Sparrow, proper credit for the creation of this AU and we require that you absolutely do not kill or greatly injure any of these characters, the latter being due to the fact that we do not want such a thing to come back and bite our sweet children. Yes, the beings who are mixed with the Seven to make this new breed of heroes, as well as the other characters, are very real and dear to our hearts. :-) They have all already been rescued from various dangers and perils in the world, and we do not wish to have to do so again nor would we ever wish such tragedy upon our loved ones. We have pictures of the kids used herein if any one would like to see.
Buck stopped walking, his ears swiveling all around. He heard crying but saw no one. Quietly, he followed the sound until he came upon a young mouseboy sitting behind some thick bushes. The little mouseboy's fur was soaked with his tears. He scrambled to his feet and started to run.
"Whoa there, kiddo," Buck spoke, holding out his hands to show that he came in peace. "I ain't gonna hurt ya."
"N-No," the mouseboy agreed, his whiskers and tail quivering, "but you gonna tell."
Buck shook his head. "Nah, ol' Bucklin ain't gonna tell a soul, but I can listen." He gave him a caring, compassionate look, his own whiskers and tail twitching. "What's got ya cryin' a river, son?" When the mouseboy hesitated and continued to look like he make break into a run at any second, Buck crossed his fingers over his heart. "I swear I ain't gonna tell any one."
"It . . . I . . . " the native child hesitantly squeaked.
"It's a girl, ain't it?" Buck questioned knowingly.
The child looked to him with surprise clearly registering in his sad, brown eyes. "How'd you know?"
Buck grinned; his spotted tail swished. "It almost always is a girl. So what happened?"
The mouseboy slowly sat back down again. His eyes dropped to his moccasins. "I . . . I asked Little Doe if she'd marry me when we get older."
Buck sighed and settled down beside him. "Let me guess. She said no."
"Uh huh." The mouseboy's tail quivered again. He pulled it to him and began stroking it. "I . . . She even laughed at me!" he whimpered, more tears falling down his furry cheeks.
"Ouch." Buck grimaced, his fine whiskers and spotted fur bristling slightly with his dismay. His ears laid back against his head.
"Said she . . . she wanted River Rat. He's big an' strong, an' I'm not."
"Now that ain't necessarily true," Buck argued gently. Hesitantly he draped an arm around the child's furry shoulders and pulled him close to him. "Let me tell ya a couple o' secrets 'bout being a man, pard." His tail swished back and forth as he continued to confide, "You can grow up to be just as big and strong as you've a mind to, but just because another fellow's bigger'n you doesn't mean ya can't beat him. Why, I've beat plenty of guys that were bigger than me - both in a fight and in winning a lady's heart!"
"But how do ya do it?"
"You pick the woman carefully. You don't just fall for the first one ya see." Buck's mustache twitched. "Take Little Doe, for instance. Now I don't know much 'bout this particular filly, but you said she laughed at you."
"Uh huh." The mouseboy nodded miserably. His nose twitched as he tried, but failed, to suck in the tears that continued to roll down his face.
"She wouldn't even give ya the time o' day, 'cause this other fella's bigger than you. She ain't interested in connecting hearts, kid; she just wants to have a good time."
"What do ya mean?"
"I mean she's the type o' girl you might wanna play with," Buck shook his head, his tail twitching, "but not the type o' woman ya wanna marry." He could scarcely believe he was having this talk with a native, especially one so young! "You want a wife who's gonna play with ya but who'll also care 'bout ya an' who won't be looking around for the biggest guy in the area."
The mouseboy had fallen quiet, and his tears had actually paused. Buck looked down at him to see that he was no longer paying attention to him but was looking at something across from them. Buck followed his gaze and smiled brightly at the young mousegirl who was watching them. He was startled by her beauty for he'd never seen a pure white mouseperson before. She spooked and ran, and he looked down with a grin at the mouseboy.
"So you're saying I . . . shouldn't waste my time on some one who isn't going to like me because I'm not as big as the next guy?"
"Right."
"What about her?" he questioned, his eyes following the direction that the other mousegirl had gone.
"What about her?" Buck countered with a mischievous grin. His long, spotted tail lashed through the air.
"I think she's really pretty," the mouseboy admitted, his gray, furry cheeks darkening, "but everybody makes fun o' her. They think she's weird 'cause she's white. The Elders say she's special."
"And what do you think?" Buck questioned, his whiskers bristling. He had to concentrate to keep his fur laying still and not giving away his annoyance at this particular turn of the conversation. Did the lad not realize how much he sounded like the very mousegirl who'd broken his heart moments ago?
He beamed. "I think she's special."
"Then you should tell her that."
"Really?"
"Yup." Buck nodded with a swish of his long, spotted tail. "Really."
The mouseboy jumped to his feet and dried his tears. His wiry tail lashed out excitedly, and his pink nose and dark ears wriggled.
Buck grinned at the child's exuberance. "Just you remember this too, now, son: Happiness happens in odd places and often when we least expect it."
"Thank you, mister!" the mouseboy squeaked happily.
Buck was taken by surprise by the native's quick hug but hugged him back, and as he did so, he found himself having to choke down a purr. He then laughed throatily as he watched the child run off and marveled at the similarity between their species. The boy and his plight reminded him of himself when he had been just a little kitten, and he hoped the mouseboy would grow up to have as much luck and love in his life as he had enjoyed in his own.
Then, when he was alone again, he frowned, and his tail gave a sad twitch. His life really hadn't been happy since Sarah and Adam had been killed. He heard a rustling, looked up to find Chris watching him, and smiled. Happiness would happen again for him; he only wished it would hurry up.
He got to his feet and started to walk to Chris only to have his beloved turn his back on him and walk away. Buck sighed and dropped his head. His tail tucked between his legs, and he found, to his surprise, that he now felt much like the kitten equivalent of the child he had just consoled.
He looked up, his green eyes widening in surprise, as a large, furry hand clasped his shoulder. "He'll come around," Josiah assured him, his long, gray tail whisking through the air.
Standing beside his friend, Nathan nodded. "I know it hurts," the healer spoke gently, his own black fur ruffling slightly in the breeze. "He's hurting too, and it's going to take time." He gazed compassionately into the broken-hearted catman's watery, green orbs.
Buck sighed but offered them a smile despite his dampening spirit. "I just wish he'd hurry up."
"All good things take time," Josiah agreed with his love.
Buck nodded, his ears twitching, nose crinkling as he fought against the urge to cry, and long, furry tail swishing miserably. "Maybe," he agreed half-heartedly, "but he's taking too damn long!"
The bushes behind them moved again, but Buck didn't look back. He didn't need to to know that Chris was still watching him for he felt his gaze always following him everywhere inside his heart. He just wished his love would walk beside him instead of trailing in the shadows that darkened their lives.
The End