Work Text:
A Hot Summer Day
by Pirate Turner
The heat had been blistering all day under the hot Summer sun, nearly seeming to cook the very flesh off of their bones. Vin paused in his work to look out over the field, his keen, blue eyes easily taking in his friends' hard work as well as his own and one whose lack of work was also obviously noted. He sighed, wrung the sweat out of his kerchief, and wiped it over his face.
He let out another tired sigh as his gaze returned to the work they still had ahead of them. They had been at it all morning, and yet still there seemed plenty of loose and broken boards still to fix in Nettie's fence. He could only hope that the handiwork of the past wind storm did not cause her to lose another horse in addition to the bay and two chestnuts he'd already brought home.
For no other woman save Nettie Wells would the Seven have pulled together for so hard and tight, with the sole exception of Ezra who set with his long legs sprawled in front of him, his hat blocking the fierce sun from his face, and a drink hanging loosely from two fingers. Vin smiled at the sight, undisturbed by the soft snoring that came from just underneath the black Stetson. Here was a man who was just as loyal to him and their group as the other five, though he hated to lift a single finger in the manual labor he constantly complained about.
A wicked gleam sparkled in Vin's blue eyes. Here was also a man who he loved to tease. The tracker shifted his weight to one foot and then, with his other leg, he struck swiftly, knocking Ezra's feet off of the upturned bucket he had placed them upon and changing his stance just as swiftly so that he was looking away out into the field by the time the gambler had regained his composure.
Ezra's green eyes glittered with anger as he glared around at his companions. "I do not have to endure this wretched heat," he commented. "I could just as easily return to the cooling shadows of the saloon and indulge in the comfort of a cold drink and warm nourishment."
Vin frowned down at him, feigning concern for the gambler's thirst. "Run out so soon, Ez?" He heard Buck grumble something about how Ezra might as well return to the town for all the help he'd been thus far that day.
Ezra was about to reply when Nettie's welcome voice rang out over the perspiring men who were beginning to feel quite argumentative. "Did I hear some one needed a drink?"
The men turned to see the kind, old lady and her niece bearing wooden cups and buckets full of water that they must have undoubtedly fetched from the nearby well while the Seven were laboring on their behalf. Grins burst upon the men's faces, lightening their tired expressions, as each dove eagerly for the offered water that the women gratefully passed out amongst their saviors' varied forms of thanks.
Vin drank his fill, as did the others, but afterwards, he was still hot. He reached for his canteen, knowing there was at least a little water left therein. It was hot, having baked in the sun all morning just as he and the others had, but the liquid should still help to refreshen his heated skin. He uncapped the canteen, leaned his head back in the golden rays of the sun, and turned it upside down over his face.
As Vin relished in the soothing water, he was as completely unaware of the sight he made as he was of the eyes that followed him. Nettie watched him for a second before guiltily tearing her eyes away and gesturing to Casey to do the same. Casey looked eagerly to JD only to find him looking at Buck with no canteen appearing any way near him. The girl sighed in disappointment even as JD, Buck, and two of the others returned to work.
Only two pairs of green eyes continued to watch Vin, each man basking in the sight of the water that ran down his handsome face, trailed down his taut neck, and splashed onto his bare chest. Their mouths watered as their eyes watched the path the water droplets made as they circled around his muscles and ran further down his lean, hard body. Their hands itched to follow the path that the water took, and the two men realized that they had never been more thirsty for water before in all their lives.
All too soon for those watching him did Vin cap his canteen and turn to go back to work. One man looked guiltily away, his cheeks darkening ever so slightly in the shade, while the other swore he'd remember that little trick the next time they were off on their own and use it to his full advantage.
The End