Cowboy Blues
Fandom: Shanghai Noon
Pairing: Chon Wang/Roy O'Bannon
Rating: NC-17 for explicit slash (m/m)
content.
Archive: Shanghai_Slash and FF.N ONLY.
Feedback email: obscured_by_clouds@earthlink.net
URL: http://www.sockiipress.org/Obscured By Clouds/
Spoilers: Plenty for the movie.
Warnings: Erm, mush and angst. Good enough?
Summary: The story behind the subtext...
or, just how DID Chon and Roy end up in
that bathtub together? A selection of
connected "missing" and expanded scenes
from the movie.
Notes: This story started ages ago as a
response to a "Truth or Dare" fic
challenge... I don't even remember now
where that challenge was issued! Thanks to
RavenD and some of the wonderful folks of
philly_slash for beta'ing and commenting.
If it hadn't been for the p_s'ers
encouragement, I don't think this story
would ever have been finished! All
remaining mistakes are my bad from
continued fussing.
Disclaimer: The following is written purely
for fun, not for profit. I don't own these
characters or the film, I'm just borrowing
them for a little while. Some lines of
dialogue have been taken directly from the
movie.
Feedback: Always welcome
Roy O'Bannon stood at the riverbank,
basking in the glorious feeling of the warm
breeze on his face, the sun on his back,
and the pure, simple joy of being alive.
Barely an hour before, he'd been certain
that his life was at an end, to be cut
woefully short in front of a cheering crowd
thanks to a noose around his neck. Now, as
he held that severed noose in his hand, he
felt as if he had somehow been reborn
during their insane escape. He saw so much
around him that he'd never before taken the
time to notice.
Not only that, but now he had someone with
whom to share it all: Chon Wang, his new
partner, and a man who seemed to be a
perfect complement to Roy in nearly every
way. Quiet and strong, trusting and honest
to a fault, the Imperial Guard from China
seemed too good to be true. Roy had worked
with a lot of muscle-types before in his
gang, but Chon was different. He was a man
of honor, not the type to turn around and
double-cross his partner on a deal, or to
fire off a round into an innocent bystander
just for the hell of it.
And Chon was also...
Well, he had also opened Roy's eyes to an
entirely new set of experiences, to things
Roy had never let himself admit that he
wanted to explore. The reality of what Chon
and he had shared was barely beginning to
sink in to Roy's mind, what with everything
else they'd been through in just a few
short days. All Roy knew was that once this
mission to rescue the princess was over, he
definitely looked forward to spending some
leisurely time getting to know his new
partner, inside and out.
Yes, definitely inside. Inside, outside,
upside-down... hell, he wanted to know it
all. Touch it all. Taste it all. He licked
his lips in anticipation and smiled up into
the sunlight, stretching out his arms and
hands, which were already tingling with
anticipation.
As far as Roy was concerned, the future was
looking good. It was looking damn good,
in fact, for the first time in his life
that he could actually remember. He'd been
struggling to make a name--and more
importantly, a fortune--for himself out
here in the West, and now maybe that dream
was finally within his reach. He couldn't
remember a time he'd felt happier...
"I'm going alone."
...at least until Chon said those three
little words.
"What're... Chon, what're you talking
about?" Roy asked, not understanding or
believing he'd heard the other man right.
He felt unease replacing his ecstatic mood
almost instantaneously. He hadn't paid that
close attention to Chon since the escape
from the hanging, hadn't noticed until now
how Chon's normal quietness had suddenly
turned into an obvious brooding anger.
What had happened? What had gone wrong?
"I heard you," Chon said flatly, barely
looking at Roy as he fussed with his horse,
getting ready to ride.
"You heard me, okay..."
"At Goldie's. You said... I wasn't your
friend."
It took a moment for Roy's brain to sort
though the alcohol-drenched memories of
their night at Goldie's to realize what
Chon was talking about. Then he remembered-
-and got a sick, cold feeling inside, as he
recalled exactly what he'd said when he
thought no one but Fifi was listening...
'Roy, I never figured you for riding with a
Chinaman.'
'I'm not exactly riding with him, Fifi.
He's not my friend. I mean... he's just a
Chinaman.'
Oh, hell.
Now, Roy had a healthy respect for words.
When he couldn't fight his way out of a
situation--and that was generally the case-
-he found that he could almost always talk
his way out instead. Words could be as
effective a defensive weapon as a loaded
gun, if you knew how to use them right. But
with words, like a gun, you had to be
careful. Fire off the wrong words and you
could hurt someone entirely
unintentionally.
Roy forgot about that sometimes, especially
when he'd had a little too much to drink
and his tongue was working faster than his
brain. He hadn't meant what he'd said to
Fifi--hadn't meant it the way Chon was
obviously thinking. He'd panicked and said
the first thing that had come to his mind,
made the quickest excuse to dismiss what
she had been suggesting, fearful of someone
finding out the truth. "Chon... hold on a
second, Chon, I was talking to a girl! I
was... that was taken out of context,
that's not..." Roy trailed off, words
failing him. On the spot and under
pressure, he couldn't come up with anything
to say that could heal the damage his
earlier words had caused.
"No. You were right," Chon answered,
already on his horse and ready to leave.
From his saddle he looked down at Roy, his
usually warm and expressive brown eyes now
cold, so distant that Roy hurt inside to
look at them. "How could I ever be your
friend? I'm just a Chinaman."
Chon turned his horse and rode away, not
giving Roy a chance to reply. "Hold on,
Chon, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it--"
"Sayonara, Roy," Chon interrupted, without
so much as a look back over his shoulder in
the outlaw's direction.
"I didn't mean it... I didn't..." Roy's
protests died on his lips, for he knew they
would do no good.
The situation didn't seem real; their
friendship couldn't end this way. It
couldn't! Moments before he had been so
sure of things, happier than he could
remember. Could he have been so stupid that
he'd just managed to mess up the best thing
to come into his life in years? All because
of a few stray, careless words?
"Damn it!" Roy clenched his hands in
frustration. He tossed away the hangman's
noose he was still holding. So much for
that bright future, everything he'd been so
certain about a minute before. He shoved
his hands in his pockets and kicked at the
muddy ground. He dared a glance in Chon's
departing direction, hoping that maybe the
man was only playing around, and that he
would turn back and give Roy a chance to
explain himself.
He didn't. He didn't even turn around once
to look back in Roy's direction as he rode
off.
Roy felt a heaviness on his chest that was
making it hard to breathe, hard to stand,
hard to think of anything. He went to his
horse and leaned against him for support.
He'd lost friends and partners before, but
it had never bothered him like this...
never left him feeling so twisted up and
hurting inside.
"Okay, don't panic, O'Bannon. So you messed
things up--you'll set it right later," he
told himself. He didn't have time to wallow
in heartache, not with Chon heading off on
his own to get in who knew what kind of
trouble. Roy had to get himself together
and go after him, at least follow him from
a distance and be there in case Chon needed
some help. Van Cleef and Lo Fong and that
whole crew were bad business, and more than
the Imperial Guardsman could handle alone,
no matter how tough he was. He needed a
partner right now, whether he wanted one or
not.
Resolved, Roy quickly gathered his things
and prepared his horse to ride.
* * * * *
Leaving Roy behind had proven more
difficult than Chon had thought it would
be. Twice he had nearly turned around
already, wanting to believe that Roy hadn't
really meant those things that he'd said,
that he could believe the outlaw's excuses
that he hadn't meant it.
Still, he could not get those hurtful words
out of his ears.
'He's not my friend... he's just a
Chinaman.'
Just a Chinaman. A nobody. Someone who was
nothing but an easy mark, a gullible
foreigner who would easily fall for the
American outlaw's ruse of friendship.
Chon had known better than to trust him in
the first place! That was what burned the
Imperial Guard the most--his own stupidity.
Roy O'Bannon was a robber, a bad man, and
Chon had known that from the very start.
One of Roy's gang was even responsible for
the death of Chon's uncle. That was a loss
that he had barely begun to process, having
pushed his grief aside until he had proper
time for it, after his mission to rescue
the princess was over. Chon had really
started to believe that despite his
criminal ways, Roy was a good man at heart,
just... misdirected, perhaps. He'd bought
into Roy's seemingly earnest interest in
the princess' fate. He'd bought into
believing Roy had some genuine interest in
Chon as well, interest in friendship, and
maybe even more than that.
He sure had made a mess of things, all
right. The worst of it was Chon still
wanted, at heart, to believe Roy hadn't
meant what he'd said. He knew he was
foolish to feel that way, but he'd been
accused of being a fool before--a fool with
his head too high in the clouds to see
where his feet were treading.
His horse's hooves splashed through the
water of a narrow brook as he made his way
through the forestland, riding toward the
railroad camp where he suspected he'd find
the princess stashed somewhere by Lo Fong.
He hoped he was riding toward it, at least,
though his sense of direction in this new
land was not the best, and he had only a
vague idea of where to actually find the
camp. Chon straightened his posture and
rolled his shoulders, trying to work out
some of the tension in his body. He hurt--
all over--and he was so tired. He wanted to
take a rest, to take a moment to sit down
at the edge of the brook and relax. He
worried at noticing the way his body was no
longer as able to take abuse the way it
used to, when he was younger. Roy may have
admired his strength and fighting skills,
but Chon had equally admired the other
man's youth and energy, so boundless, so
indefatigable...
Chon sighed. He was trying to forget about
Roy, not dwell on him. Their
"relationship", such as it was, was over
and done with, and he had a mission to
complete. Rescuing the princess was perhaps
the one way he could redeem himself in his
own eyes, and perhaps in the eyes of his
fellow guards, and his ancestors.
And after that? He didn't know, and didn't
hold out much hope that there would be an
"after that" unless he was very, very
lucky. Lo Fong was a cruel and heartless
man, and he was also terribly dangerous.
Chon knew his chance of success against him
in a fair fight was slim. He also knew that
in the battle to come, Lo Fong would do
anything except play fair. When he'd
served in the Imperial Guard, before
turning traitor on his countrymen, Lo Fong
had always been trouble--pushing around his
fellow soldiers, finding a way for others
to take the blame whenever he did something
wrong. He'd never respected authority and
always put his own interests first.
Chon glanced up at the sky. Only another
few hours until nightfall, he estimated. If
he didn't find the railroad camp soon, he
would just have to give up and start
heading toward the mission for tomorrow's
exchange of gold for the princess. He hoped
to find Pei Pei before then, especially as
he had no idea how his three companions--
the other Imperial Guards, the ones
protecting the gold--had fared on their
journey. If they didn't make it to the
mission with the ransom, the princess would
be dead. Chon would not let that happen. He
would not let another death weigh down his
conscience.
He tried to push all thoughts of Roy out of
his mind, and concentrate instead on his
progress through the forest. He had to find
Pei Pei, had to do things right, for once
in his life.
* * * * *
Roy followed Chon, as far behind the
Imperial Guard and his horse as he could
without letting him fall completely out of
sight. Roy knew he might not be the
greatest outlaw, but he was good at laying
low when need be. He saw no signs that Chon
realized he was being followed, though Roy
did stop and fall back a bit whenever Chon
stopped his horse to look around, sometimes
changing course, other times just
continuing on in the same direction as
before.
"Damn stubborn fool," Roy said aloud. He
felt fairly certain that he knew where Chon
was headed, or at least who he hoped to
find--Lo Fong and the princess. Though they
had been taken to Lo Fong's headquarters
with sacks covering their heads, it had
been obvious by the sights and sounds
surrounding them that his headquarters were
at a railroad construction camp. Roy had a
good idea where that camp was located, not
far from Carson City, but from the way Chon
kept stopping and changing direction, it
didn't seem as if the Imperial Guard had
such a clear idea of where he was going.
But Roy still held back, carefully keeping
his distance even as Chon kept adjusting
his course. He wasn't going to reveal his
presence until or if he was needed.
Roy ran his hand over his belt, distracted
by the odd weight in his gun holster.
Miraculously enough, he and Chon had found
most of their belongings stashed under the
driver's seat of the horse carriage when
they'd escaped. There'd even been a pair of
pistols there, but Roy's own, personalized
gun wasn't one of them. He missed his gun;
he felt uncomfortable not carrying it,
almost unbalanced. He'd carried that gun
for so long he considered it a part of
himself, even if he wasn't that good of a
shot with it. He didn't have many
belongings, and he didn't like losing what
few things he truly considered his.
He tried to shake off those thoughts and
stay focused on trailing Chon... but
thinking of Chon, too, left him feeling as
if part of himself was gone. He realized
that he hadn't taken long in forgetting his
original plan of just playing the man as a
way to get to the Emperor's gold. He'd
started to like the guy too much to do
that... started to like him far more than
he knew he should. But Chon was a hard guy
not to like. He was just so earnest and
honest about everything, so innocent in
ways that were really refreshing to find
here in the West.
And Chon was so...
...Roy closed his eyes and saw the
Chinaman's radiant smile, his amazing
body...
...so damn beautiful, too.
Roy hadn't wanted to admit that to himself
at first, because he'd never let himself
acknowledge such feelings before--not for
another man. He'd known, or at least always
believed, that such feelings were... well,
they just weren't right. If he hadn't
gotten so stinking drunk with Chon that
afternoon at Goldie's, he probably would
have kept those feelings buried as deep as
always, locked away in a part of his heart
that he didn't want to acknowledge was
there.
Maybe it would have been better if those
feelings had stayed there; maybe that was
the only place they belonged, locked away,
too dangerous to play around with. Roy
didn't know any longer. All he knew was
that it was too late now to go back and
undo things, too late to push those
feelings back down now that he'd let them
come to light.
He carried a weary and aching heart as he
rode along, following Chon's progress. He
needed all of his strength of will to keep
his distance and hold back, when all he
wanted to do was rush up to the other man
and try to apologize one more time for what
he'd said. But he knew now was not the time
to do it. Chon had a temper, all right, and
he would need some time for that temper to
cool off before he'd even listen to a word
Roy had to say. So instead he hung back,
and allowed himself to think back on the
good things that had happened that night
at Goldie's--before Fifi had walked in on
them, before everything had gone so wrong
thanks to Roy's big damn mouth...
"Uno mas?"
"No mas, Chon. No mas," Roy groaned. No
more drinking games for him tonight. Chon
had just knocked the whiskey bottle to the
floor, and Roy was feeling too lazy to get
up and fetch the extra one sitting on the
shelf above him. Too lazy, and too drunk.
Any more alcohol and he'd be sick for sure.
As it was, he was just floating in a
perfectly happy, bleary daze of
contentment.
Everything seemed to be falling right in
place for the outlaw, for once in his life.
The law might be hot on his trail but that
was nothing really new, and at least that
showed that his name was starting to mean
something in these parts! The fortune of
the Emperor's Gold seemed to be getting
closer by the minute... Roy could
practically feel those coins sliding
between his fingertips. Chon Wang was
turning out to be a good guy after all, as
well. Roy decided he was going to have to
alter his initial plans and figure out some
way to cut Chon in on the gold, save that
princess he was so worried about, and see
if he would be interested in hanging around
and working some more jobs as Roy's
partner. He could sure use someone with
Chon's physical skills on his side.
As the alcohol continued to work its magic
on him, freeing all of his thoughts and
inhibitions, a wicked idea came to Roy's
mind. "How 'bout we play a new game, Chon?"
he asked, peering out at the other man from
under the rim of his hat.
"New game?" Chon answered.
"Yeah, you taught me a Chinese game, now
I'll teach you an American one. It's called
'Truth or Dare'. I bet you don't have that
one back in the Forbidden City."
Chon shook his head. "No, I've never heard
of it. How do you play?"
"It's easy. See, I ask you, 'Truth or
dare?', and if you say 'Truth' then I get
to ask you any question--any question at
all--and you have to answer it truthfully.
No lies, no backing out, you gotta tell the
truth. But if you think I'm gonna ask
something that you don't want to answer,
you can say 'Dare'. Then instead of asking
you a question, I get to dare you to do
anything and you have to do it. Like...
like I could dare you to go out in the hall
wearing nothing but that hat and sing 'Ten
Little Indians', something like that."
Chon frowned. "This is supposed to be a fun
game?"
"Oh yeah! Sure it is. 'Cause once I'm done,
then it's your turn to do the same thing to
me--you get to ask me 'Truth or dare', and
it goes on and on from there. The loser is
whoever backs down on a dare or refuses
answer a question."
Chon gave this explanation a few moments'
consideration and then shrugged. "Okay,
I'll give it a try."
"All right. So truth or dare, which is it
gonna be?"
"Truth," Chon answered.
Roy considered his question carefully,
wondering whether to start with something
simple, or get right to the questions he
wanted to ask. He felt nervous still about
asking them. He looked at Chon, and thought
about the way the man had touched him on
the arm just a few minutes ago. Roy had
freaked out for a moment, but at the same
time, Chon's touch had left him feeling a
little funny inside. A little excited,
maybe, in a way that he normally only felt
when a woman touched him like that. So he
worked up his courage and just blurted out,
"You ever do it with a guy, Chon?"
"Do it?" Chon repeated, frowning in
puzzlement.
"You know. It. Sex. You ever have sex
with a guy?"
Chon shrugged and answered, "Yes," as if it
were no big deal at all. "Is that it? Is it
my turn?"
"Yeah, your turn." Well, that cleared up
one point of curiosity in Roy's mind. If
Chon had said no, he would have put aside
the touch on the arm and some of the other
things that had passed between them as
nothing more than Chon being a touchy-feely
kind of guy. But now there was a definite
chance it had meant something more. Roy
just had to make up his mind whether he
wanted to find out for sure.
The outlaw's musings were interrupted by
Chon asking him, "Okay. Truth or dare,
Roy."
Roy studied Chon's expression, trying to
guess what he might ask and whether he'd
really want to answer it. His expression
looked innocent enough, but then again it
usually did--even when the man was getting
ready to kick some serious ass. "Truth!"
Roy decided.
"Okay." Chon paused for a moment and then
he asked, very seriously, "Did you really
dig yourself out of the sand with my
chopsticks?"
Roy stared at Chon--that had definitely not
been a question he'd been expecting. Roy
laughed and answered, "Like I told you
before, Chon, you bet I did! Took a good
long while, but hell, if I didn't do it, I
was as good as dead. A little thing like
impending death can motivate a man to do
miraculous things."
Chon frowned. He looked upset. "I should
not have left you there like that, Roy. I'm
sorry. I was just so angry, about my
uncle..."
"Hey, don't worry about it, okay? I told
you before I don't carry a grudge. I meant
it. I would've been dead for sure if you
hadn't given me those sticks, so you still
saved my life, see?"
Chon nodded, and smiled a little. "Okay.
But I am still sorry."
"Apology accepted." Roy reached for his
shot glass to propose they drink on it, but
then remembered the bottle had fallen to
the ground. He was still feeling too lazy
to get up and open the other one, so he
just laid back in the tub with a sigh and
said, "Next round. Truth or dare, Chon."
"Truth."
"Truth..." Roy repeated, wondering what
exactly to ask for his next question. He
supposed he should get right to the point.
If Chon did swing that way, Roy wasn't
risking too much by just wanting to know if
he was looking to swing in Roy's direction.
"Okay. Tell me the truth--when you touched
my arm a few minutes ago... was that an
invitation?"
Chon answered with his own question, an
evasive, "What do you mean, invitation?"
"You know what I mean. To do it... with
me."
"I didn't mean to upset you, Roy."
"You didn't, Chon. I'm just curious. And
you still owe me an answer."
"Okay... Yes. But I thought... never mind."
"No never mind," Roy insisted. He reached
over to touch Chon's arm, trying to be
reassuring. He wasn't upset about it. In
fact he was growing more curious and
potentially interested by the minute. "You
just surprised me, that's all. It's cool.
Don't worry about it."
Chon smiled. Roy realized he was still
holding Chon's arm, and it felt really
nice--real strong, and hard, and warm. "So
come on, tell me, Chon, but you thought
what, that I was interested too?" Roy
grinned, and ran his tongue lightly over
his lips, all the while keeping his eyes
focused squarely on the other man's. A tiny
voice in the back of his head was
screaming, 'What the fuck are you doing,
Roy? Flirting?! With a guy?!' But it was
easy to ignore that voice when his cock was
telling him that doing it with Chon might
not be such a bad thing. It could be
downright interesting, and certainly
something new. Roy liked trying new things,
especially when he was thoroughly sloshed
and didn't have to think too much about
what he was doing.
"I wasn't sure. I thought... maybe." Their
gazes held, as Roy kept holding on to
Chon's arm. Someone was going to have to
make a move soon, Roy knew. His pulse
started to quicken at the prospect.
Chon broke eye contact and looked at the
water in his tub. "This water is starting
to get cold," he observed.
"Really? Mine still feels pretty good," Roy
said, and after a pause he realized he'd
been handed the perfect opening. "You want
to join me?" he asked.
Chon looked across at him with some
surprise. Roy tried to stay cool, even if
he didn't quite believe the words that had
come forth from his own lips. With a smile,
Chon asked, "Is that an invitation, Roy?"
"Maybe it is, yeah," Roy answered, grinning
like a fool even as his heart was pounding
like mad. Chon didn't wait too long before
he got up and out of his bathtub, obviously
accepting Roy's invitation.
Sweet mercy, Chon was a sight, all wet and
soapy and naked, all muscles and golden
skin and that braid that trailed nearly
down to his ankles. Roy swallowed
nervously. He pulled his legs up closer to
his body to give Chon room to get in the
tub. Even so, their bare legs brushed
together as Chon settled in, the slight
contact jolting Roy harder than a shot of
rotgut.
"You're right," Chon said. "It is warmer."
"Uh huh," Roy agreed, suddenly feeling
extremely tongue-tied. It had been one
thing--still abstract, still just a wild
possibility--when they'd been sitting in
separate tubs. Now, naked together, limbs
touching, panic mixed with Roy's curiosity-
driven desire. Could he really do this? Did
he really want to? He wasn't sure.
Fortunately Chon saved him from his frozen
moment of indecision. "Truth or dare, Roy,"
he asked, and Roy blinked, having forgotten
for a moment the game they'd been playing.
"Hmm..." Roy stalled, debating his answer.
Well, the game wasn't much fun if someone
didn't make a dare, he thought to himself.
"All right, Chon, dare me. I wanna see what
you can come up with."
Chon looked surprised at Roy's choice, then
frowned in concentration. After a moment he
gave Roy a small smile and said, "I dare
you to close your eyes--and not move."
"Close my eyes? That's it? That's not much
of a dare," he protested, though he did as
he was told. After a few seconds, though,
he did start to get nervous, thinking about
Chon there so close to him. Then he could
feel the other man moving even closer, and
he had a feeling about what was coming
next, and he was caught between a panicked
urge to flee and yearning to stay, to not
be afraid of what was going to happen.
He felt Chon's lips against his, touching
him for just the lightest, testing kiss.
The contact was barely there, yet at the
same time the gentle kiss became the center
of Roy's entire world, his whole existence.
In that brief moment, he knew. He knew
that this was right. He wasn't afraid. He
knew he wanted this, and wanted it more
than anything.
When the contact was finally broken, Roy
opened his eyes to find them met by Chon's,
which were gazing at him with gentle
amusement.
"Can I move now?" Roy asked. Chon nodded,
and smiled a little more. Roy closed the
few inches between them and kissed Chon,
starting as softly as the other man had,
just becoming aware of the soft fullness of
the other man's lips. He felt those lips
part, slightly, inviting him to explore
further. Roy's head was swimming from the
mixture of too much alcohol and too much
desire, the newness of this whole
experience sending his normally high sex
drive into complete overload.
He felt Chon's hands on his shoulders, now,
massaging him, and Roy's skin felt on fire
from their touch. The fire settled in his
belly, slowly simmering, slowly growing
more intense by the moment. Power seemed to
flow from Chon's hands as they moved from
Roy's shoulders, down his arms, then about
his waist. There was such strength in every
fingertip, strength and such skill. Roy
shuddered and finally drew away from the
kiss, too overwhelmed by the sensations and
needing a moment to catch his breath.
"Roy?" Chon asked gently. "Are you all
right?"
"Yeah... I mean, wow... I'm... wow..." Roy
muttered incoherently. He met Chon's eyes
and smiled at the clearly amused expression
on the man's face. It was all so strange,
so unreal, Roy thought. He'd always thought
that there wasn't a place out here for a
cowboy who would dare have feelings for
another man--at least not in a gang of
roughneck outlaws like Roy was used to
riding with. But Chon didn't seem to know
these things. He seemed to take it as all
perfectly natural and all right. Maybe it
was different in the East, Roy thought. Roy
didn't know, and he didn't really care. He
just knew that kissing and being touched by
Chon felt nice--real nice--and that he very
definitely wanted more of it, and whatever
else might follow.
Chon was waiting for him to make the next
move, to prove he really was okay with what
was happening. Roy quickly took the
initiative, going for another kiss, another
taste of this man he wanted so badly. He
reached for Chon's body, ran his soapy
hands up and down his smooth back, the
solid muscles of his shoulders and arms.
Chon felt like steel covered in silk, his
muscles so solid and strong beneath the
soft skin. Roy wanted to feel every inch of
that hard body--pressed up against him,
under him, over him, everywhere.
Unfortunately the confining walls of the
bathtub made such things rather difficult.
He whimpered in frustration, digging his
fingers into his partner's back.
Chon started kissing Roy down his jawline,
down to the sensitive underside of his
chin. "Damn, oh... damn you're good at
that," Roy gasped, unprepared for the
intensity of the sensation. "They teach you
how to do that at Imperial Guard School, or
did you... just get this good on your
own..."
"Roy..." Chon said softly, kissing his way
toward the cowboy's ear.
"What?"
"Don't talk. Just relax."
'Relax. Just shut up, Roy!' the outlaw
scolded himself, trying to quiet that mouth
of his that never seemed to know when to
stop yammering away. Chon's lips descended
upon his own soon enough and made speaking
rather difficult and far from Roy's
thoughts once again.
Chon eventually ended the kiss, and smiled
a rather wicked little smile at Roy. "Stand
up," he urged.
"What?"
"Stand up."
"Why?" Roy asked, suddenly growing
apprehensive.
"Trust me, Roy," Chon assured him.
Roy carefully stood, needing a moment to
find his balance. He nearly slipped, but
Chon's hands were quickly on his thighs,
steadying him. He felt vulnerable, standing
there before Chon, his erection bobbing up
over Chon's head. But Chon smiled
reassuringly at him, and he raised himself
to his knees before Roy, still holding on
firmly to Roy's thighs.
'Oh God,' Roy thought, as Chon's gaze
traveled up and down Roy's body, pausing
then right on Roy's cock.
"Oh, God!" Roy cried out, when Chon leaned
in and licked the tip of his erection.
Chon's grip on Roy's thighs tightened, a
good thing as the outlaw was sure he was
going to lose his balance. Chon teased him
with a few more licks and swirls of the
tongue, each stroke eliciting shudders and
moans from Roy, who just couldn't believe
this was happening. He couldn't believe he
wanted this so bad, but Chon kneeling there
before him was the hottest thing he'd ever
seen. And then Chon wrapping his lips
around Roy's swollen cock and then sucking
it into his mouth was definitely the
hottest thing he'd ever felt. A strangled
cry escaped his throat as those wet lips
kept moving up and down his erection, as
the intense heat of that mouth enveloped
him and became the only thing of which he
was aware.
Roy couldn't hold on for long. The
sensations were too surprising, too
amazing, and his system was ill prepared
for their intensity. Before he knew it he
was coming, shuddering, spilling out his
seed into Chon's hot, hungry mouth. Only
Chon's steady grip on his thighs held him
upright and kept him from falling as his
entire body shook with pleasure.
Roy needed Chon's guidance to make it back
down into the water without falling. He met
Chon's eyes, and saw nothing but amazingly
pure, beautiful joy. He wore far too
innocent an expression for a man who'd just
shown he was no stranger to the most adult
of activities. They kissed again, and Roy
could taste himself in the other man's
mouth. He wondered what Chon would taste
like in his own, even though he wasn't
quite sure he was ready to do that. Part of
him wanted to, and knew that it would be
selfish to not give back what he'd
received, but the idea made him nervous.
He'd never done anything like that before,
and he didn't want to fuck it up,
especially not after Chon had done such an
amazing job on him.
Chon again, however, took the gentle lead
in the situation. After a long, drawn-out
kiss, he took Roy's right hand and kissed
it, then placed it on his chest and guided
it down his torso. Roy got the idea.
He paused, only slightly, before going any
further down. He'd never touched another
man there before. Then he continued on,
felt the stiff shaft that met his hand, ran
his fingers slowly down its length.
"Nice..." he observed, appreciating its
dimensions and firmness. Chon moaned Roy's
name softly.
Roy brought his hand all the way down to
Chon's balls, then up again, exploring with
his fingers while his eyes stayed fixed on
watching Chon's reactions to his touch.
Chon tilted his head back, his mouth
opening to form soft "ohs" of pleasure as
Roy caressed him. Roy's free hand rubbed
the Chinaman's thighs, which were hard as
granite and irresistible to his touch. Roy
could just imagine what it would feel like
to have those thighs wrapped around his
body, to feel the length of hard flesh in
his hand instead buried deep inside him.
Roy shuddered, wondering where that desire
had come from! The thought frightened him
as much as it turned him on. Maybe someday.
For right now, this was good enough. More
than good enough. This was wonderful.
"Roy..." Chon moaned his name again. Roy
quickened and increased the pressure of his
strokes, until Chon's moans were no longer
soft and his breath was coming in heavy,
panted gasps. Roy couldn't tear his eyes
from the other man's face, the brown eyes
staring back at him, lost in pleasure, in
longing, in the most desperate need. Roy
could already feel the desire for more
growing within his own body once again.
Soon Chon was arching up, meeting the
strokes of Roy's hand, harder and faster,
until he finally let out a sharp, loud cry
and lay back, trembling, against the tub.
Roy's grip on Chon's erection suddenly felt
extra slick, and he kept stroking it until
the spent penis was completely softened,
watching with delight as Chon continued to
shudder and gasp for breath under his
attentions.
An awkward few minutes passed in the
aftermath, as both men seemed lost for
words, uncertain where things would go from
there. Roy suggested another round of
Chon's drinking game; he needed a little
time to process what had just happened and
the game might prove a good distraction.
Chon agreed to it, and Roy got out of the
tub long enough to get that spare bottle of
whiskey. They kept playing, getting even
more seriously drunk than before, pausing
only for soapy-wet kisses and to decorate
each other with handfuls of soap bubbles.
They probably could have probably kept
going at it all night if they hadn't been
interrupted. But Fifi had come in,
discovering the two men sharing the tub and
totally shit-faced. Roy had forgotten his
whispered promise to the lady to come visit
her as soon as he'd cleaned up, and she had
finally grown tired of putting off other
potential customers and gone looking for
him.
So he'd told her he'd be out in a few
minutes, and had somehow staggered out of
the tub without falling and made himself
decent. Chon had seemed too drunk and too
satisfied to put up much of a fuss as Roy
prepared to leave; Roy suggested he find an
unoccupied room and crash out for a while.
Obviously, Chon hadn't quite followed his
advice, and instead had been eavesdropping
on what Roy and Fifi were up to. Roy might
have been seriously pissed about that
little invasion of his privacy, if he
wasn't so embarrassed about what he'd been
overheard saying.
Roy tried to shake of the memories of
everything that had happened, knowing it
did him no good to keep brooding on them.
'Maybe this is all for the best,' he tried
to tell himself. 'That kind of thing...
people don't think it's right, anyway. I
don't need that kind of a reputation, not
if I want to be a world-famous outlaw. So
just put those thoughts back in the back of
your head like you always did before, Roy.
Stick with women when it comes to sex; it's
a lot easier that way.'
Easier, sure. But now that he knew what it
was like, with Chon... could it ever be
anywhere near as satisfying? He didn't
think so. No, he thought he was seriously
screwed, one way or another.
Hours passed, and the sun was getting low
on the horizon. Sunset would be upon them
at any moment. Whether by luck or some sort
of divine guidance, Chon had found his way
to the railroad workers' camp. Roy shook
his head, marveling at Chon's audacity as
the Imperial Guard rode his horse boldly
into camp, not bothering to be cautious or
avoid attention. Roy lost Chon when the man
got off his horse and disappeared into the
crowd of workers, unable to see his friend
from the distance he kept.
"Be careful, Chon," Roy warned, thinking
aloud. He didn't like the situation one
bit. There was no way Chon's little visit
would go unnoticed by Lo Fong and his gang-
-especially if his plan was to find the
princess and stage some sort of rescue. Roy
could see Lo Fong himself, on a horse
outside the elaborately decorated railroad
car that served as the man's headquarters.
A woman's voice rang out from somewhere in
the camp, disrupting the quiet murmurs of
activity. Fong clearly heard it and wasted
no time heading toward the apparent source
of the noise.
Had it been the princess? Roy had a pretty
strong hunch it was, and that he'd better
not waste any time seeing if he could help
with the rescue--or with simply saving
Chon. Even if this was a suicide mission,
he had to try to help. He wouldn't let his
friend think he had to fight this battle
alone.
Everything happened so quickly, then, that
Roy scarcely had time to think, time to
contemplate the risks he was taking. In the
darkness of night that had by now
descended, he was able to ride right
through the camp without drawing attention
to himself--there seemed to be too much
chaos all around for anyone to notice him.
He ignored the shouts and screams of the
workers and stayed focused on following the
direction he'd seen Lo Fong ride off in,
figuring that was where he'd find Chon. He
saw another man on a horse, keeping people
away as Fong and Chon fought. Roy grabbed
the first weapon he could find as he
approached--a large shovel--and flung it at
the man before he'd barely had time to
notice Roy's approach. The man fell from
his horse, and Lo Fong whipped around,
obviously shocked by the interruption.
From the looks of things Roy had arrived
just in time. Fong had his sword drawn and
Chon seemed stunned from the fight, weakly
holding a defensive stance. Roy pulled out
his gun and aimed it at Fong.
"Reach for the sky, Baldy!" If the bastard
so much as made a threatening move in
Chon's direction, Roy would shoot him dead
where he stood. "That's right, it's Roy,"
he said, tipping his hat toward the
combatants. "Am I interrupting?"
Roy caught Chon's look of complete,
bewildered surprise. "So I followed you, so
what?" he said. "What am I supposed to do,
let you wander off? You're a greenhorn!
You'll get yourself killed out here."
Roy thought he almost saw a smile on Chon's
face at his words... or it could have
simply been a grimace of pain. No, Chon was
definitely not looking good right now. The
princess was nowhere that Roy could see,
but he wasn't about to go looking for her
in the madness surrounding them. Fong's
reinforcements had already shown up, with
guns firing. "Come on, we gotta adios out
of here, partner!" Roy shouted at Chon.
"Come on!"
After only a moment's hesitation, Chon
leapt up on Roy's horse, grabbing the
cowboy tight about his shoulders. "Don't
forget, we've got a princess to save." Roy
pushed his horse hard, riding fast and not
looking back until he was certain they
weren't being followed and were, for the
moment at least, out of harm's way. When he
finally looked back, he saw the camp behind
them, nothing but a distant valley of
lights. Behind him as well but much closer
was Chon, whose eyes were on neither the
camp nor Roy but somewhere else...
somewhere far away.
Roy turned back and urged his horse to
continue. He thanked God he'd gotten there
fast enough to save Chon. Of course that
could prove to be the easy task of the
evening, Roy knew. He still had the perhaps
impossible job of saving their friendship
ahead of him.
He didn't dare head into Carson City, not
now, with Van Cleef no doubt on their trail
and the town all abuzz from their escape
from the hangman. He headed instead for the
abandoned farm on the far outskirts of town
he used occasionally as a hideout--the
place he'd taken Chon just a few days
before, to teach him some things about
being a cowboy. It wasn't much, but it was
shelter for them and the horse for the
night, and he had a few supplies stashed
there that might come in handy.
Chon remained silent the entire ride, but
at least he had not protested his rescue.
Roy took that as at least a small positive
sign, given how stubborn the Chinaman could
be. "All right, we can rest here for the
night," Roy announced as he rode the horse
over to the barn, waiting for Chon to
dismount before getting off himself.
Roy barely had a chance to stretch out his
ride-weary legs before he heard a whinnying
cry not far behind them. The outlaw quickly
reached for his gun and squinted into the
darkness, on the alert for trouble. Had
someone followed them from the labor camp
after all? "Chon, careful..." he warned as
the Imperial Guard walked toward the sound.
"No, it's all right," Chon said. Looking
out to the woods he made a loud "pawk-
pawk!" sound, which was returned by
enthusiastic whinny and the rustling of
branches as the horse revealed itself.
"Fido...?" Roy said in disbelief, as the
loyal horse strode out to greet his master.
"Dang, Chon, for a greenhorn you've sure
got a way with horses."
Chon didn't answer. He just patted the
horse's nuzzle and let Fido lick the side
of his face. Roy shook his head and smiled;
Chon inspired near instant loyalty and
affection from animals as well as humans.
Roy gave the two of them a few minutes to
reunite while he tied up his own horse in
the stables, and lit up a lantern to give
them some more light.
"So what happened back there?" Roy finally
asked, once Chon had led Fido into the
stable. "Did you find the princess?"
"I found her, but she told me she did not
want to leave."
"What's up with that?"
"She wants to stay to help the workers in
the camp. From what I saw, they are treated
no better than slaves by Lo Fong." Chon
shook his head. "I went to save her... and
all she did was order me to leave."
"Huh. Well, that complicates things, all
right. So what're you gonna do about the
exchange for the gold... isn't it
tomorrow?"
Chon nodded. "I don't know what to do.
Maybe there is nothing I can do."
"Don't sell yourself short, Chon, I'm sure
you'll think of something. You 'n me, we'll
take care of the princess somehow."
"I will take care of her," Chon answered,
his temper flaring up sharply. "This is my
business, Roy, not yours."
"Dammit, Chon, I save your ass from Baldy
back there and you still don't think I'm on
your side?"
"I think you want the gold, and that is
all. You don't care about the princess. Or
me."
Roy shook his head. "That is so not true.
Look, I'm sorry about what I said, okay?
I'm not doing this because of the gold. I
was just talkin' shit back there, at
Goldie's. I don't know what got into me. I
was drunk, and then Fifi started askin' me
questions... I was caught off-guard, I
was..."
"Embarrassed to be my friend?" Chon
prompted, when Roy didn't immediately
continue.
The accusation stopped Roy for a moment.
"No, not the friend part, Chon... the
other part. You know, you, me, what
happened... truth or dare... and after
that... I mean, people don't really accept
that kind of thing out here. And that's
what Fifi was really asking me about,
'cause I mean, what else was she gonna
think after finding us in the same damn tub
together? I was just trying to cover up for
both of us. But I didn't mean it, not the
way you heard it."
Chon's anger seemed to lessen, though his
gaze revealed the hurt that was still
there. "You talk, talk, talk, Roy. How do I
know when I can believe what you're saying?
I'm not stupid. You weren't interested in
helping me at all until I told you about
the Emperor's gold."
"Okay, I'll admit that's all I was thinking
about, at first. What do you expect? I'm an
outlaw--I steal for a living. I didn't
figure on starting to care about what
happened to you 'n the princess... didn't
figure on starting to like you so much."
Roy looked down at the ground, gathering
his courage to say more. Chon was silent.
Roy took a deep breath and reached for
Chon's arm, looked at him straight on and
said, "Believe me when I say this, okay? I
care about you. I don't know why, when you
ain't been nothin' but a pain in the ass
who's nearly gotten me killed more times
than I want to count in the last few days.
But... I really like you, and I want to
help. I'm sorry if I made you think
otherwise. What's it gonna take for you to
believe that?"
Roy felt some relief that Chon had finally
given him a chance to at least speak his
mind and explain himself. The rest was up
to the other man, now, and whether he
wanted to make this work as much as Roy did
or not.
Roy saw the hesitation still there in the
other man's eyes. "I don't know," Chon
answered his question. Chon dropped his
eyes and looked as frustrated as Roy felt
about the whole mess. Roy started to reach
out with his free hand, to just touch Chon,
but the Imperial Guard turned away from
him. "Tomorrow will be a difficult day. We
should rest."
"Yeah, I guess so." Roy tried not to sound
too disappointed. Chon hadn't insisted he
leave, so he supposed things might be on
the way to working out between them. "I've
got a couple blankets stashed around here
somewhere..." he trailed off, walking off
toward the other end of the stables where
he kept his supplies. He pulled a sack out
from under a pile of hay, checked through
its contents to make sure everything was as
he'd left it the last time. They were--
blankets and some clean clothes, bullets,
even a little cash. He brought out two
blankets and gave one to Chon.
"Thank you," Chon said softly, shaking it
out and then laying it on a flat patch of
hay on the ground. Roy put out the lantern
and spread his blanket next to Chon's. He
then eased himself down onto the ground
with a sigh. Pain worked its way up and
down his spine, his weary muscles relieved
at finally having a chance to rest, but
still protesting that it would have to come
on such hard ground. It didn't matter how
long he'd been out on the road--he still
missed sleeping in a real bed. 'Or against
a warm, soft body,' he thought, glancing
over at his companion. He sighed; that
wasn't going to happen tonight. He turned
over onto his side, away from the other
man, and said, "'Night, Chon."
"Good night, Roy."
Roy closed his eyes, quite certain that it
wasn't going to be a very good night for
either of them.
* * * * *
Chon couldn't sleep. He could normally
sleep on anything, any time as he needed
it, but rest wouldn't come to him on that
night.
He knew he needed it badly; he felt it in
every muscle of his aching, abused body.
But he was too worried about tomorrow,
trying to come up with a plan for saving
the princess. His mind refused to rest.
Troubles and tension weighed too heavily
upon him--and a major source of his tension
lay there on the hay right next to him.
Chon was still torn as to whether to be
thankful Roy was there, or suspicious as to
what the man's true motives were. He so
badly wanted to believe Roy's assertions
that he hadn't meant those things he'd
said, that the outlaw wasn't just trailing
along with him in order to steal the gold.
Chon wanted to put aside his lingering
doubts as purely part of his stubborn
nature and wounded pride.
But if he were wrong... if he could be
risking the princess' safety by bringing
Roy back into this business--and risking
his heart as well--then he would never be
able to forgive himself.
He really didn't know what to do.
If only Roy wasn't lying so close to him...
close enough that Chon could pick up the
cowboy's scent with every breath--sweat and
leather mingled together, with a lingering,
faint hint of the scented bath oil from the
previous night at Goldie's.
He could tell Roy was not asleep yet,
either, and Chon felt rather guilty about
that. Had he not pulled away from Roy
before and suggested they go to bed,
perhaps they could have had things out for
good and put these troubles behind them.
Chon knew that he was, quite often, too
stubborn for his own good. Stubborn, and
prideful--he didn't like being made out to
be a fool, just because he was a stranger,
a foreigner.
Still, he thought to himself, he would be a
bigger fool to let his pride stand in the
way of accepting a genuine apology.
He rolled over toward the other man... and
in the darkness, he could just make out
Roy's face, his eyes, which were open and
focused on him.
"Can't sleep either, huh?" Roy asked.
"No."
"Worried about the princess?"
"About her. About... everything." Chon
rolled onto his back, eyes on the roof
overhead. "What am I doing here, Roy? Who
am I to think I can save the princess? Did
I tell you... they only let me come to
America, with the other guards... because
they were certain I would get myself
killed, and they would be happy to get rid
of me?"
"Damn, that's pretty cold."
"I told you, I'm a screw-up. It would have
been better..."
When Chon didn't continue, Roy pressed,
"What? What would've been better?"
"If your man, Wallace... if he'd killed me,
instead of my uncle," Chon said, realizing
how that dark feeling of guilt had been in
the back of his mind for days, pushed down
along with his grief.
"What?! Stop, that's crazy talk. That's
bullshit."
"No, not bullshit. It's true. My uncle was
a good man, respected, not like me. He was
the only family I had... I should have been
taking care of him, not daydreaming about
saving the princess."
"What's done is done, Chon. You can't beat
yourself up over that... you had no idea
what was gonna happen." There was a pause,
and then Chon felt the light, warm touch of
Roy's hand on his chest. "You're a good
man, Chon, whether you want to believe it
or not."
Chon didn't push Roy's hand away. It felt
good, as had the cowboy's words of
reassurance. Not many people ever said
things like that to him... none, actually,
that he could think of, except for his
uncle. After a time, he covered Roy's hand
with his own and squeezed it. "So are you,
Roy."
Chon heard Roy let out a sigh of relief. He
felt it too, the tension between them at
last being released. Chon hoped he wasn't
making a mistake, trusting Roy this time,
but he had to go with what his heart was
telling him was right.
At last Chon even began to feel his body
relaxing enough for sleep, worries for
tomorrow drifting away from his mind. He
was aware of Roy's fingers slipping from
his hand, moving in slow, light circles
over his chest. That was pleasant and
gentle enough. Then those fingers began to
move lower, down to his stomach, growing
bolder and more insistent by the minute.
That touch was beginning to awaken at least
certain parts of his body, despite the rest
of him badly aching for sleep.
"Roy..." he began to protest, stopping the
hand before it moved even further
southward.
"Hmmm?"
"Need sleep."
"Think you need somethin' else..." Roy
challenged, sliding a little closer. "I
know I do..."
Chon was amused to see Roy so daring now,
compared to the rather hesitant young man
who'd been scared of his own feelings just
the other night. And it was indeed
flattering to know that this young,
handsome man found him so desirable.
"Tomorrow, when everything is over..." Chon
offered, not as strongly discouraging Roy's
advances as he knew he should.
"Not tomorrow. We might not have a
tomorrow," Roy said, a serious edge in the
man's voice that Chon understood. They'd
had good fortune so far, but also had come
very close to death. There were no
assurances that they would succeed.
So when Roy rolled in against him, Chon
offered no further protests. He wrapped his
arms around the younger man and let their
shared passion burn away his remaining
doubts and fears. Tomorrow, and the rest of
the world and all of the problems it
presented, were for that moment very, very
far away.
[end]
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