Coming To Terms chapter 14
Disclaimer - please see previous chapters, it hurts too much to admit that Ezra isn't mine!
A/N I write this stuff when I can, when real life lets me… real life hasn't been too accommodating of late - sorry… but, as I always say, I do get there in the end. Tthe only Reservation I have seen was the one featured in the movie Thunderheart. I believe that it was Pine Ridge Reservation (Sioux Tribe) I have tried some googling but pictures are scarce so again forgive my ignorance.
The wheels screeched and both passengers grabbed onto the nearest solid object to steady themselves as Ezra swung the Land Rover into a tight, and no doubt illegal, U-turn.
"What the hell pard!"
"Shoot, warn a guy Ez!"
Ezra brought the Discovery to a stop and glared at Vin who had the decency to squirm a little under his gaze.
"You have travelled this route before so, pray tell me, when were you going to inform us that the town we just passed through was the last for several hours?"
When Vin shrugged and a smirk started to form at the corners of his mouth Ezra continued, his voice becoming just a little whiny.
"You weren't going to were you? You were going to make it a fait accompli weren't you?
Buck disengaged his teeth from his bottom lip, his so far successful attempt to stop his laughter threatening to crumble at the look of outraged hurt on his southern brother's face.
"Well?" Ezra pressed the question.
"Don't really tend to think about those things Ez. When you've got a tent and a sleeping bag you've always got a place to bed down."
Ezra glowered. He turned a raised questioning eyebrow to Buck who shrugged and gave him a sickly smile before replying
"Sleeping bags can be comfy Ez …. nice and cozy."
Without another word Ezra drove back into the town they had just exited and pulled up at the local hotel. The slam of the car door made both passengers wince and they sat in contemplation as their southern brother made his way into the building without a backward glance.
"Don't really take to roughing it does he?" Buck smoothed his moustache as he considered the mysterious phenomenon that was the citified dandy.
"Nope." Vin's reply was, as ever, the antithesis of Ezra's convoluted wordplay.
"Have to drag him out camping some time, show him what he's missing."
"Yep."
Both men exchanged feral grins at the mental image of Ezra, campfires, smores and gutting slimy fish. They would have to remember to take their camera's - a Kodak moment indeed.
"I'm sorry gentlemen, but our last room has just been taken. I could direct you to a nearby campsite, it's very clean and has all the necessary facilities.""Thank you ma'am, that would be most kind of ya."
Vin and Buck looked up as they exited the hotel, the sound of chuckling drifting down from the second floor being easily traced to a rather smug looking Ezra Standish who gave the duo a casual salute and wished them pleasant dreams before disappearing back into his room.
"Didn't even offer to share" Buck moaned, the prospect of a night in a draughty tent suddenly not quite so appealing. He turned to his brother but before he could comment further he was interrupted by Vin who sported a stern warning glare.
"You better not snore…. And if you're a snuggler you're dead meat!"
Buck tried without success to envisage how it would even be possible to snuggle with anyone whist in separate sleeping bags but thought it best not to make a comment. For such an outdoorsman Vin seemed less than ecstatic about a night under the stars himself and the sudden plip plop of raindrops on his head confirmed why.
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"CHRIS! CHRIS! I CAN'T FIND HER, OH GOD EZ'LL KILL ME!"
Chris listened to JD's frantic cries in the hallway as he watched Fly from his bed. She attacked one of his best boots with gusto and he sighed. It was the second panic attack she had instilled in JD since Ezra had entrusted her into his care. The first time they had found her carefully balanced on the toilet seat in Vin's bathroom as she watched one of her catnip toys bob soggily in the bowl. And now this. He knew that she was doing it on purpose, he could see the evil gleam in her eyes as she watched him over a thoroughly chewed toecap. He privately thought that Ezra had given her instructions before he left, to continue his work in his absence but he refrained from mentioning his theory to the others… he had a feeling that it may sound a little crazy. Just before he called JD to come and retrieve his hellion charge he noted to himself that he had never had crazy thoughts before Ezra; he just wasn't sure whether this new development was a good or bad thing. Certainly wasn't good for his boots.
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"Ah trust that you gentlemen slept well?"
Buck and Vin… well the only word that Ezra could assign to the twin sounds as his brothers sat at his table where he had just partaken of a fine breakfast was a growl. He raised his eyebrow at the signs of an obvious lack of sleep and stiff joints in the less than graceful movements and neck stretches.
"Ah was given to understand that the camping site boasted the most modern of facilities" he offered in amelioration.
"Probably did… In 1955" acknowledged Vin as he poured himself and Buck cups of Ezra's coffee while Buck grabbed a leftover slice of toast, looking at the table in search of the butter before realising that there wouldn't be any. He sighed and settled for the little pot of strawberry preserve instead.
"Ah" Ezra winced. It hadn't been his intention to make his brothers suffer and the hotel receptionist had assured him that the site was well equipped.
Seeing the guilt in the jade green eyes Buck put him out of his misery with a hearty slap to the back and a lascivious wink as he admitted that after being driven from their shared tent by Vin's terrible snoring he had managed to find more 'agreeable company' in the care of the site owners daughter.
Vin blushed at Buck's accusation and snared his own share of Ezra's toast which he ate dry.
Ezra smiled at the pair and called for more coffee. So this was what road trips were like. He had to admit that the warm feelings it was generating were out of all proportion to the actual travelling involved… it was quite an odd sensation, uncomfortable yet comforting. Very odd indeed.
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"Oh my! And aren't you both just perfectly delicious!"
Vin grinned as Blossom eyed his two brothers with an appreciation that belied her years, making even the inveterate flirt, Buck, blush. And as for Ezra, well he looked about ready to jump back in the car and hightail it back to civilization.
"Blossom" He warned gently, and with an exasperated huff she toned down her expression to what could be expected of a grandmotherly figure. Both Buck and Ezra relaxed slightly and Buck rewarded her teasing with a deep bow and a courtly kiss to the back of her hand.
"Nice to meet a woman so young at heart… and with such good taste!" He waggled his eyebrows which seemed to carry a vocabulary all of their own. He gave the feisty old lady one of his sexiest smiles.
"If I were only thirty years younger Buck, I could teach you a thing or two."
"Heck Miss Blossom I reckon I'm still not old enough to learn what YOU could teach me!"
All through their banter Blossom had kept a corner of her eye concentrated on the skittish one. She watched as he went from nervous wreck to uncomfortable to totally cool and in control so fast that you wouldn't believe that you had ever seen anything other than the polished mask. 'Lord', she thought, 'that's the saddest thing' She didn't allow her pity to show as she laughed at Buck's comment, that would only hurt the damaged soul. Instead she turned to him with a challenging look and a twinkle in her eye.
"So you would be the infamous Ezra Standish."
Ezra suddenly felt a lot more comfortable. He knew that Blossom had spotted his discomfiture and adjusted her delivery accordingly and in truth he didn't understand his own unease at her teasing. He had dealt with many a female flirt in his time but they usually had a discernible ulterior motive. Light hearted affectionate teasing outside his own small circle of acquired friends was anathema to him. But he had a part to play and he knew that he played it well.
"Hacho!"
Vin and Buck, as well as many of the welcoming committee, stood open mouthed as Ezra greeted Blossom in her native Kiowa tongue and proceeded to introduce himself and thank her for her invitation to both her home and her party in that same tongue.
Ezra prayed that his efforts would be accepted as the respectful compliment he intended them to be… also that it would distract her from becoming overly affectionate because he was blushing like a schoolboy already… and that he hadn't royally screwed up his pronunciation - knowing that the word for thank you was terrifyingly similar to the one for kill him could lead to a greater faux pas than accidentally ordering eels instead of mushrooms in a French restaurant. He needn't have worried, Blossom's smile was beaming as she complimented him on his efforts. Her laughter when he admitted that he had just about exhausted his linguistic supply was warm and did more to make him feel at home than any of Mother's fancy, polite yet oh so cold, society acquaintances had ever done. Vin's proud slap on the back was the cherry on his cake. His mother had often complained that he had never done anything to make her proud, and quite frankly, knowing the directions in which her inclinations lay he wasn't too sorry about that.
Soon they had been given a little tour of the Res, introduced to more people than Buck had ever met in his life and been settled into a simple but comfortable cabin just a few doors away from Blossom herself. She left them to settle in while she went to oversee preparations for her surprise party. Both visitors had been a little bemused at the idea but Vin explained that after years of trying to arrange surprise parties for a psychic and extremely nosy woman they had pretty much given up trying but the name had stuck.
Later that afternoon Vin had given them a more personal tour and promised to introduce them to his 'brother' Chanu who was out of town till later.
"What Buck?" Vin had seen Buck's shake of the head as he had told them about growing up with Chanu.
Buck took a moment to gather his thoughts. Somehow it hadn't seemed real until now.
"It's just that…. Well, you had a life, before… I mean before you came to us… hell, I'm not explaining this well" he apologised as he saw his brothers puzzled stares. "I mean I knew that you had another life but I didn't KNOW it, y'know? The people weren't real till now. And…and it should have been US. WE should have been the ones you shared those experiences with…I guess I'm just a little angry with Dad. We missed so much." Buck shrugged with embarrassment at his outburst and an uncomfortable silence followed until Vin broke it with a nudge of Buck's shoulder that broke him out of his reverie.
"Yeah Buck, but think on it. If me and Ez had been there from the start you'd never have got a date, let alone enough numbers to fill yer little black book!"
Ezra snorted as Buck's moustache bristled with indignation and his deep blue eyes sparkled with mirth. He then tuned both his brothers out as they debated their various attributes and each others faults in the imaginary eyes of the female population. It was hardly a debate he was equipped to take part in though they didn't need to know that. Instead his eyes took in his surroundings. He had never been to a Reservation before despite having a Native American heritage. It was, he knew, one of the smaller reservations but he was surprised at the mingling of traditional and modern. And the obvious poverty… he had a feeling that he knew where most of Vin's money would be going when they received their inheritance. He would probably contribute his too. The only reason he was doing this was because his stubborn pride wouldn't let him turn away. And even if the Larabees had turned out to be not so bad he still didn't want or need his so-called father's charity. The only thing he had ever wanted from his blood parent was for him to be there when he was needed. Money was no replacement for love. It was a lesson that he had learned early on and wished that his mother would do the same, but then wishes were about as useful as absent fathers.
"Ez! Time to head back and get changed." Buck and Vin had noticed that their brother's thoughts had seemed to take on a melancholic air and decided to cut their tour short. At Ezra's acknowledging nod they turned to walk back only to come face to face with a tall, good looking young man who seemed to know Vin very well, at least Buck hoped so as the stranger lifted Vin up off the ground and spun him round with a yell that could start a stampede.
"Put me down you fool!" Vin thumped his friend on both shoulders to indicate his wish to be released. Once back on the ground Vin made introductions though it was pretty obvious from what they had already been told that this was Vin's 'brother'.
"This is the idiot I had the misfortune to grow up with. Chanu… Chanu this is my 'other' family Buck Larabee…
"Nice to meet ya"
"You too, we've all been wanting to meet Vin's brothers, if only to see if his craziness is inherited or unique to him…OW!" He stepped away from Vin's reach a little too late to avoid the none too gentle slap but grinned and stuck his tongue out which made Buck laugh. It was like seeing himself and Chris when they were both young… true, they had been no older than nine but it was good to see that Vin had had that kind of relationship with someone. Unlike Ezra, he suspected.
Chanu shook hands with Buck and then Ezra as he was introduced. And if he was slow to let go of the manicured elegant appendage who could blame him, he thought. The man was gorgeous! Especially when he went that adorable shade of pink.
Both Buck and Vin's eyes widened in astonishment and their mouths formed twin Os. Vin also noted that Buck's normally jovial demeanour had dipped briefly into a frown and his heart beat a little faster in apprehension. They would have to have a serious talk later. He had been at Chanu's side as he dealt with the fallout of coming out when he was eighteen and he wouldn't allow anyone to give Ezra the same sort of grief that his chosen brother had been forced to put up with.
Ezra knew that he had reacted to the handsome man; hell, he was only human after all! But with any luck no-one would have noticed. As he took in the twin looks of surprise he reminded himself that there was a very good reason why he left nothing to chance. Oh well! He supposed it had to come out sooner or later and better Vin and Buck than Chris to be the first to know.
Vin drew a relieved breath as Ezra missed that fleeting and unsettling expression on Buck's features but the glare he gave the elder Larabee confirmed to the ladies man that his reaction hadn't gone completely unnoticed. Buck acknowledged the look and gave what he hoped would be seen as a reassuring grin which left Vin wondering if he might have overreacted a little. Time would tell.
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The community hall was buzzing by the time the three brothers arrived. Ezra was a little on edge having expected a third degree that hadn't come but since neither Vin nor Buck were treating him any differently to normal he wasn't going to be the one to rock the boat.
Blossom was the wisest woman in the community. She was also one of the oldest. Not that anyone would have guessed by watching her dance the night away. She had opened her presents with all the enthusiasm of a ten year old and flirted with every man under the age of ninety like a teenager at the prom. Even Ezra hadn't escaped her attentions and had been dragged onto the dance floor for one of the slower numbers, her new necklace catching the mirror ball lights.
A sudden force tore Buck away from the beautiful girl that he had been having a very, well potentially very, productive conversation. Ready to argue with the interloper he, instead, found an amused Vin whispering in his ear.
"Really!" Buck stared hard at the smiling senorita who, knowing the game was up, gave a little shrug and sashayed away to the beat of the music. Buck sighed. "She looked older!"
Vin snorted and hoped they could get through the rest of their stay without ending up in jail or attending a shotgun wedding.
After their dance Ezra found himself escorting the birthday girl to the buffet table to rest and partake of a glass of punch - before too many people spiked it and rendered it lethal.
"So Ezra, how are you finding life on the Res; getting in touch with your roots?"
Ezra didn't even bother to ask how she knew. While it was likely that Vin had told her she was just as likely to have 'seen' it in her mind's eye.
Ezra laughed. "I hardly think a branch of the family several times removed gives me the right to claim even a little of such a rich and special heritage, but this is a very nice place; Vin was very lucky to grow up here among such special people" he tipped his glass of fruit punch, which he was pretty sure was at least twenty five percent vodka, in salute to Blossom and her people.
"And how do you know that we are special Ezra Standish, are you psychic like me?" Blossom was flattered by the young southerner's comment and kept her tone light and jocular but she could see the wistfulness in his jade eyes. She expected him to return her tease but his voice, soft almost to the point of a whisper, was deadly serious and it left her with a lump in her throat.
"No Ms Blossom. One simply has to know Vin to know how special the people who raised him are."
There was a pause before Blossom could speak during which Ezra began to worry that he had offended her but then she smiled a smile as wide as the Mississippi River and looked him square in the eye as she replied.
"And one only has to se behind the mask that you wear to see that the people who raised you raised a very special young man too."
Ezra smirked and shook his head. " My Mother is hardly…"
"Not your mama sweetie, your family."
Not wanting to dwell on whether Vin and Buck had been gossiping or whether Blossom was the real deal he simply raised his glass again and clinked it against hers, with an image of Elizabeth and Daniel comforting a very scared twelve year old boy in his head, the toast
"To family"
As the music changed once again Blossom gave Ezra a contemplative stare that reminded him of Fly when she was about to do something particularly sneaky.
"How do you feel about getting naked?"
Whether or not the punch contained twenty five percent alcohol or not was irrelevant since the portion that he choked on almost immediately sprayed back out from his nose.
"Wh….What?"
A sudden large hand slapped his back as Blossom looked on with amused satisfaction. It was her party and she could torment cute boys if she wanted to!
"Whoah there pard, you need to take fruit punch slow. I ain't never come across a non-alcoholic punch that ain't at least fifty percent vodka and you're only a little'un."
"What's up Ez? Blossom trying to get ya to give her a birthday treat?""MR TANNER! I doubt that Miss Blossom is in the habit of propositioning young men…." Vin's raised eyebrow convinced him not to go any further down that particular avenue. "And Mr Larabee, I am quite able to hold my liquor, thank you very much."
"Then what's got yer Calvins in a bunch Ez?" Vin had seen Blossom corner his brother and had been happy to let her mother him until the punch sprayed half the dance floor. He just had to know what would do that to his cool as a cucumber brother.
"Ah just swallowed the wrong…"
"I was just wondering how he felt about getting naked."
The laughter took too long to die down in Ezra's opinion but given how Blossom shut them up he could forgive their celebration of his humiliation.
"Don't know why you're laughing boys; I was going to ask you the same question."
If Fly was in the habit of eating canaries the smug expression she would have worn would match Ezra's exactly.
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"Think we need to talk pard, don't you?"
Buck hadn't been trying to avoid Vin but he hadn't been looking forward to this moment either. Once freed from Blossom's clutches - and how he'd been talked into this sweat lodge business he'd never know. Darn woman had the wiles of Miss Nettie and the puppy dog eyes of JD! - he had resumed his ambitious task of dancing with every woman in the hall. But now that the party had broken up he had found himself walking back to the cabin with an obviously concerned Vin. He wished that Ezra hadn't retired to bed earlier; there was no way Vin would question his reaction to the man's obvious attraction to Chanu if the southerner had been with them.
"Ain't what you think Vin, though I know why you'd wonder. We haven't known each other long enough for ya to know my opinions on this kind of stuff."
Vin took in the honesty in the other man's eyes but he still had to ask.
"And what is your opinion Buck, 'cause I didn't imagine that look on your face?"
"Won't deny that I'm concerned, but FOR Ezra, not because of him." Buck sighed and shook his head before continuing as they walked slowly along.
"Four Corners is a good town full of good people, but they are only human and Ez has enough baggage what with his ma's reputation and all; he don't need the town's few homophobe idiots making his life miserable."
Vin relaxed at that confession. He should have known, even after so little time together, that Buck didn't have a prejudiced bone in his body.
"Sorry Bu…"
"No don't Vin. You was just protecting Ezra. Damned if I know why but for someone so irritating that man sure does inspire the most protective feelings."
Vin laughed. "Yeah, sometimes you don't know whether to hit him or wrap him up in cotton wool." He paused as another thought came to him. He had the feeling that it wasn't just the townsfolk that he was worried about. "What about the others Buck, we gonna have any problems there?"
Buck wished that he had Blossom's second sight but he didn't, he just had an uneasy feeling which he hoped would come to the same end as the feelings that Vin had had about him.
"Don't think there'll be any trouble. Certainly not from Chris or Nate. Can't see JD being a bigot, kid's so nice I want to keep checking for a halo…."
Vin had to agree with that image. "But?"
"Not so sure about Josiah… he's a religious man; trouble is I'm not sure just what kind of religion he believes in."
Vin understood. Religion and homosexuality tended to go together like apple pie and gravy. He couldn't see the gentle giant of a man being that judgemental but it brought it home to him that for all their blood link they really didn't know each other very well. It was only as he settled down to sleep that the thought occurred to him that Ezra was a puzzling exception. Because although he had only known him as long as the others he had the strangest feeling that they had met before even though he was sure that they hadn't.
Ezra moved restlessly in his sleep, his dreams a confusing montage of memory and fantasy. Wolves ran through wild woods and a cat screeched in the darkness. A boy stood on a path, long light brown hair, being swept wildly by the wind, obscuring his face, a face he knew that he wouldn't recognize yet knew almost as well as his own. And then the sound of horses panicking and sirens….and then nothing.
Ezra's eyes snapped open as his breathing slowed from it's rapid pace. He sighed and closed his eyes again. He hadn't had that particular dream for many years. 'Why now?' he wondered as Morpheus reclaimed his consciousness.
TBC
A/N Once again apologies for the slow update and I hope you enjoyed. The reservation, of course, does not exist outside of my imagination, The possible linguistic confusions are real - the kill him instead of hello was something I read on a website and it made me chuckle. And the mushroom and eel confusion was taken from a scene from the movie death on the Nile (the Peter Ustinov one I think). Next chapter features my (probably laughable) attempt at a sweat lodge. Negotiations went well and Ezra is prepared to suffer for his art ( but needs time for the redness to fade from the full body wax) Vin and Buck aren't so happy since they were part of the price in getting Ez's compliance!