Secret Indulgence:
Vin
(ATF)
by DoggyJ
Back to: Ezra
Wearily, Vin Tanner pulled his aching body up the last flight of steps. He stumbled through his door, thankful that none of the neighborhood kids were camping out in his living room tonight. Of course, it was close to two in the morning. They'd better not be here. They'd better be home, sleeping, getting ready for school or work the next day. Vin was abnormally tolerant of the kids that hung out in his building in Purgatorio - but only if they were making some effort to better their lives. He had no time or patience for slackers or losers.
Doing something he rarely did, Vin reached behind his back and locked his front door. He didn't want anyone barging in on him, not tonight. Stretching his arms over his head, Vin groaned as tight muscles complained.
Why did they always have to run? Down alleys, through the mazes of dumpsters and trash, over fences. Didn't they know that all that did was piss him off? Like he was going to stand there and just watch them go. Like he didn't have radio communication with a dozen officers from the local police to DEA and his own colleagues from the ATF.
And then, when they were finally caught, why did they always try to fight? Two low-life scuzz-ball... what did Ez call 'em? Miscreants. Yeah, that was right. Miscreants - mis- created, just to cause him trouble. Vin gingerly rotated his arm, then bent left and right to stretch out the muscles in his back. Yep, he was going to be sore tomorrow. There was only one way to take care of this.
Carefully, Vin checked out his apartment, just to be sure no one was lurking in the closets or bedrooms, hiding out in his place. Taking a beer from his refrigerator, Vin shed his clothing as he walked slowly toward the bathroom. Staring at the old tub and shower combination, he sighed. He had to do this, he had to.
He wiped out the tub quickly, removing the stray hairs that had stuck to the sides after his last shower, at least a lifetime ago. Kneeling wearily on the floor, he dug through the items under the cabinet, moving the seldom used cleaning products out of the way until he found it.
Vin stared at the bottle in his hand for a long moment. It wasn't often he indulged himself this way, but this had been the day from hell, and he deserved it. Pulling himself painfully to his feet, Vin put the rubber stopper over the bath drain and turned on the water. When he had it running as hot as he could stand it, he poured the oatmeal bubble bath into the tub. Watching in satisfaction as the bubbles began to fill the tub; he turned away one last time.
Padding quickly out to the living room, Vin grabbed the cordless phone and took it into the bathroom with him. Then carefully, he eased his sore, aching body into the hot, foamy water. He hissed as the water covered his scraped knees, but settled himself until most of his body was submerged. A face cloth dipped in the hot water was draped over his face. Finally, Vin began to relax, feeling the tiredness seep out of abused muscles.
He was drifting in a haze of sensual pleasure when the phone rang, startling him to full wakefulness. Grabbing the towel from the top of the closed toilet, Vin dried his hand quickly before he answered.
"Yeah, 'lo?"
"Vin, pard," Buck's cheerful voice boomed over the line. "Just thought I'd call, see if you're okay. Had quite a run today, huh?"
"Yeah, Buck, it sure was something." He shifted, causing the water to ripple and slosh against the sides of the tub.
"What are doing? Washing dishes at this time of night?" Buck asked, hearing the sounds of water over the phone.
"Um, yeah, just cleaning up a little before I hit the sack," Vin agreed quickly. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," Buck agreed, and hung up.
"So?" asked JD. "How's Vin?"
"He's fine," Buck said thoughtfully. Then he added, "You know, if I didn't know him better, I'd swear he was in the bathtub."
"Oh, right," JD laughed. "Vin in a bathtub. Probably a bubble bath! I'd pay to see that!"
THE END
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