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The bed creaked dangerously as it rocked back and forth, not that Joe cared much. The youngest Cartwright had his eyes closed, a look of utter relaxation on his face, one arm was slung over his head and the other buried in the dark locks of a stranger he had met earlier at the Silver Dollar saloon.
It had been a rather unspectacular evening, both Adam and Hoss had left early to get back to the ranch while Joe nursed a second glass of beer, watching the crowd around him. Two tables from him a few men had gathered to watch a poker game, Miss Betty, the pretty dark haired saloon girl was gazing over one of the men's shoulders as he hollered and threw a winning hand onto the table. A well dressed gentleman ordered two whiskey at the bar as the swinging doors opened to reveal a handsome young man, who was looking around the saloon intently. Dark brown eyes found green ones. A mere smile and all of Joe's precautions were flying out of the window as he practically followed the stranger around like a lost puppy, buying him a glass of whiskey and booking a room for the two of them before he knew so much as the other man's name.
Alejandro. That was his name. He told Joe he was traveling from Mexico to see his sister and brother in law in Virginia City, the later having recently made a small fortune in one of Nevada's many mines. He spoke little English, but it was enough to make it known how much he desired the brunette rancher. The two men laughed as they shared a drink before deciding to take things to a private setting. Cosmo, the bartender, gave him a worried look, which Joe pointedly ignored, as the two of them headed past the bar and out of the saloons doors. He was a grown man, he was an excellent judge of character, thanks to his Pa and if he pleased to cozy up to a handsome fella, that was his decision to make.
Things escalated from there on, they arrived at the hotel, undressed each other in a hurry and the Mexican got down on his knees, shoving Little Joe onto the bed before swallowing him down without further ado.
Not much longer and Joe felt positively ready to combust from pleasure. It was overwhelming. Alejandro was good with his mouth, he certainly knew his way around another man's body, and already Joe was looking forward to return the favor, a big smile making its way onto his face as he thought about it. After all, they had paid for the whole night.
"I- I'm gonna-" The mexican pulled off of him and finished him off with his hand, watching in awe as cum flew all the way up to Joe's collarbone. He flopped down further into the mattress, boneless and satisfied. "T- thanks." Was all he managed to get out after regaining some of his senses. The other man just smiled at him, like a cat that got the cream and Joe returned his smile.
Their bodies merged into one as they made love on top of the mattress, loud, but not enough to draw attention to them. After all, they didn't anticipate anyone barging into the room, even though a mining town like Virginia City was used to it's fair share of same sex relationships, nobody enjoyed having their sleep robbed by the loud lovemaking of two hot headed youngester like Joe and his new friend.
Little Joe remembered flopping down boneless after the third- no fourth time he came that night, his green eyes falling shut on their own account every other second. At the verge of sleep, he could hear rustling, a cold cloth was pressed to his chest, cleaning him in gentle strokes and soft spoken Spanish in his ear, then he drifted off to sleep, vaguely aware of a pair of arms wrapped around his waist.
His inner clock woke him up at half past six in the morning as usual, just as the first rays of sunlight started filtering into the hotel room. Satisfied, Joe smacked his lips together and turned around groggily, only to find the bed next to him empty.
His good mood instantly dampened. Dang, he thought, Alejandro hadn't seemed in a hurry last night. He had expected the Mexican to stay the night and perhaps continue where they left off, but alas, there was nothing to be done.
Still a little disgruntled he started dressing in his beige pants and shirt before reaching for his gunbelt. His hand stopped abruptly, hovering in the air.
His gun was missing.
A cold shiver ran down his spine as he hastily reached for the rest of his clothes. His forest green jacket was missing it's contents, his wallet and one of his Pa's pocket watches, that he was supposed to bring into the store to get repaired.
Angry, he threw the jacket down, took it up again and shrugged it on, hastily leaving the room. His day was turning from bad to worse.
At least he hadn't been woken by the sound of shooting or some other ruckus, that could only mean Alejandro hadn't actually used his gun on anything or anyone yet. There was still time to find him and-
"Looking for something little brother?" Adams voice made him stop dead in his tracks. The oldest Cartwright son was braced against the hotels porch, Joe's gun lazily swinging from his pointing finger. Instead of feeling greatful his brother had somehow gotten his belongings back, he snatched the gun off of him wordlessly and turned abruptly to saddle Cochise.
"Aren't you gonna ask where we found your gun?" Joe could only hope 'we' meant Adam and Hoss and not his Pa, for if he saw his pocket watch on another man Joe would be a dead man walking. "No." He simply said and continued fussing with the saddle.
"Well," Adam said with a dramatic pause that made Joe long to wipe that stupid grin off his face with his fist.
"I might just tell you anyway. We picked it up from a fella at the saloon... You know, Pa was worried when you didn't come home last night," There it was again. His family worrying about his wearabouts, like he was still a child. "- so he send Hoss and me out to look for you." Joe had finished saddling his pinto and simply swung one foot over the saddle when a hand stopped him. Adams grip was firm. Much to firm to squirm away.
"Boy, you're in some serious trouble."
That was the last Joe could take. He swung his leg down again, using the force to crash into Adam's chest and bring his older brother down.
Adam made a surprised noise in his throat but was quick to recover. "What the devil is wrong with you? Is that you're way of thanking me?!" Before Adam could go on he was ducking out of reach to avoid Joe's fists, the younger man swinging furiously at him. The first punches missed, but then he caught the raven haired in the side. Satisfied, he felt his fist colliding with hard muscles and Adam groaning in pain.
The next punch came from his older brother and was aimed at his head rather than chest. He wasn't quick enough to duck and was thrown sideways by the blow, loosing his footing and plummeting into the dust. "You ungrateful shit! I risked my life to save your hide and this is the thanks I get?" Even though Joe was still fighting vigorously, he couldn't help curiousity to take the best of him. "Wadda ya mean by that?"
Adam smacked his head once more for good measure before pinning him into the ground. "Pa was worried when you didn't came home last night so he sent us out to look for you. So we come into town and head for the saloon because where else could our innocent little baby brother be, right?" Joe frowned. "And then Cosmo tells us he saw you leaving with a stranger last night and, you'll never guess who walked in just then. Your little friend, carrying your gun and spending your money on a pint of whiskey so we go over and try talking to him when he pulls your gun on us... You're lucky Hoss knocked him out, if someone had gotten hurt you'd be in even more trouble. Cosmo is mighty angry your friend scared the living daylights out of Miss Betty and ran off half the costumers."
Perhaps he slept a little deeper than he thought. "Hoss brought him to the sheriff and he confessed he stole the gun from your room to kill his sister and brother in law to get their money."
Joe closed his eyes, his head sunk into the sand in shame. How could he have been so blind? "Damnit-" He muttered.
"What were you thinking sleeping with that criminal? You could have been killed! How often do we ought tell you not to trust strangers-"
"Oh yeah you're one to talk, Adam!" The brunette spat, making Adam freeze. "Telling me I shouldn't sleep with strangers when everyone in town knows you're a-" Perhaps the slap to his face didn't hurt any more than the look on Adams face, utter betrayal and disgust. "Go ahead. Say it." He pressed out through gritted teeth. The blind rage Joe had worked himself into blew away like a storm cloud across the prairie, his mouth opened but no sound came out.
"Go ahead and tell everyone you're big brother is a pansy! Isn't that what you wanted to say Joe?!" Adam's raised voice made some onlookers stop in the street and yet it felt like the world zeroed in on the two of them. "Just because you're a terrible judge of character-" Suddenly, his older brother didn't sound angry anymore. Just sad. "You're such a child sometimes, Joe." He sat back onto his heels, deflated and that's when Joe realized how stupid he had been.
"I- look Adam, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me... Nobody's calling you a pansy, Adam. I swear." His brother didn't react, and Joe wasn't sure if he even heard him. "You're- Adam I'm sorry. I overreacted."
Adam gave the barest shake of his head. "No. Joe just stop. Stop talking alright? Can we just-" He got onto his feet, pulling the brunette along as he went. "Look, Sheriff Coffee wants to see you to confirm the thief's identify so if you'd just follow me."
His words must have really hurt Adam this time, Joe thought guilty. He knew bis brother was sensitive. Much more sensitive than he let on, and somehow, Joe must have pushed just the right button to have make him spiral.
After the trip to the sheriff, the three of them saddled up and rode home. Pa was waiting for an explanation, which he got, although a little less in detail.
The family sat at the fireplace for some time, neither of them talking much, before Pa gave them a new assignment around the ranch, fixing the fences on the north side of the property.
Adam left to head for the barn with barely a word, which caused enough concern for his Pa to walk after him. "I got it, Pa. Let me talk to him."
Joe followed his brother a little timid, finding him in Sport's box, softly stroking the stallions muzzle.
"Hey Adam," He started as not to startle his brother or the horse, who neighed a little uneasy. "You've been so quiet since we left Virginia City. Are you alright?" No reply. "Look of it's because of what I said-"
"Well what do you think, Joe?" Adam turned abruptly from Sport to face him.
The hardness in his greenish eyes struck Joe right in the heart and he recoiled a little from his older brother. "I'm sorry." He replied, his voice barely a whisper. "Don't you apologize if you don't know the reason I'm upset." Adam scolded him.
"Do you know how glad you can be to live in a place like Virginia City? To jump into bed with another man and show your face around town the very next morning? Joe, I've seen people back east who's had their life's ruined by sleeping with the wrong person." So that's what was bothering him, the brunette thought. "I had no idea-"
"Of course you hadn't. That's your problem Joe, you don't think! You never think! You just think with what's inside your trousers! That man- that man could have killed you for your money, or- or your weapon or- anything he might have gotten out of you. He could have killed you just for the fun of it! And you go around, bedding strangers and telling me I have a reputation when you know goddamn well I would never do such a reckless thing! That I would never jump into bed with the next best fella I see!"
Stupid shame, Joe thought as he blinked away the tears from his eyes, his cheeks hurting from the heat. "You're right, Adam." He agreed in a whisper. "I wasn't thinking."
"I never told you- hell I never told Pa either-" Now the raven haired sniffled himself. "I had a friend in Boston... slept with the wrong person. They got found out. Two days later we found him hanging from a big tree in the yard. Someone took him there. They took off his clothes, they beat him and then they wrote a message for everyone to see. Guess what they wrote, Joe?"
The younger man swallowed thickly around the tightness in his throat. He couldn't say the word. Just a few hours ago he almost yelled it out into the street but now he couldn't say it, the thought made him physically ill. "I don't want you to end up hanging from a tree little brother. Don't want anyone in my family ending up like that."
Joe swiped the tears from his eyes and came to stand besides Adam, tentatively wrapping his arms around the raven haired man. "I- I'm so sorry Adam. I didn't knew... Adam you know I wouldn't hurt you on purpose. I was just stupid back there, I wasn't thinking."
"Shhh, I know. I know you weren't thinking straight." They fell into silence for a couple of seconds, Adam stroking a comforting hand up and down Joe's back and the younger man couldn't help but think how unfair it was, that his older brother was being the strong man, even now. He should be allowed to let his guard down for once, to grief for a friend who fell victim to stupid prejudice and to find happiness in the comfort of another man's arms without having to worry about people finding out.
"I'm sorry for what I said. It won't happen again I promise... I'll be smarter next time. I can be a good judge of character if I want."
Adam gave him a little smile. "I know that Little Joe." He stepped out of his brothers embrace to turn back to his stallion. "Let's get these fences fixed, alright? And afterwards you treat me to a beer, that is, if they let you in."
The grin on the older man's face filled Joe with relief. Satisfied, he began to pick up his tings and walk over to Cochise's box. They'd be okay, he figured.