Title: Vegas Lights
Author: Angelee
Fandom: The Sentinel/Blade Trinity/Stargate Atlantis
Pairings: No new ones to report.
Rating: Adult
Summary:
Beta: By Bobbie. With thanks. All remaining errors are my own.
Vegas Lights
“You’re not zoning, are you-Watchman?”
Jim turned to look at his brother. “No, Steven. Just staring at the lights. Don’t worry so much.”
Steven moved to stand next to him. “That’s what I do.”
“Don’t do it so much, you’ll get ulcers.”
“Right. It’s pretty here. The lights, there are so many lights; so much going on. People having a good time all over. It’s nice.”
“Yeah. But don’t forget, people lose here, too.”
Jim sighed softly. “I know. A man at the Flamingo lost his life’s savings playing Black Jack. He’s doesn’t know how he’s going to tell his wife.”
“Oh, man. That sucks.”
“Yeah.”
They watched the sparkling lights for a moment, enjoying a rare moment of togetherness. Finally. “We go home tomorrow,” Steven said softly.
“I know.”
“You ready?”
Jim gave him one of his rare smiles. “Yeah, I guess. Not looking forward to going back to school.”
“Me neither. It’ll be a change from saving the universe, huh?”
Jim’s smile grew. “Sure will.”
“Did I ever tell you that you are the best Watchman ever, and that I think you’re super cool?”
Jim’s smile faltered. “Yeah, you have.” He replied, softly. “Thank you, Stevie. That means a lot.”
“It’s the truth. I couldn’t have asked for a better brother.”
“Same here,” Jim said, reaching toward the window and tracing the outline of sparkling lights. “What do you think the future has in store for us?”
“I’m thinkin’ adventure, danger and a hell of a lot of love.”
“Blair?”
Steven nodded. “Blair. Michael, Lee, Rafe, Drake, Hannibal. And who the hell knows who else. We’re still really young. Haven’t done all that much living yet.”
“True. But we sure have had a lot of adventure and danger already.”
“Yup.”
Jim rested his head against the glass. “I’m not sure I’m ready for any of this.”
Steven rested his hand on Jim’s shoulder. “The growing up part, or the Sentinel part?”
“Both. How do I deal with the changes?”
“Same as everyone else, one day at a time. I thought you were okay with being a Sentinel.”
“I Am. It’s just I got a lot to learn still. I don’t want to get Blair or you killed because I don’t know something or how to prevent something from happening.”
Steven rubbed his brother’s back. “You’re going to do great. Just you wait and see.”
“I’m going to try my best.”
“I know you will, Watchman. I know you will.”
They watched the blinking lights for awhile. “Do you like Hannibal and Drake?” Jim asked quietly, sighing sadly when someone broke down in tears at Caesar’s Palace, because they’d just gambled away their future on something they should never have attempted in the first place. Not with the down payment for a new house.
“Yeah. They’re both cool.
Jim chuckled . “Because he’s going to be giving the Sentinels a hard time?”
“Yeah. Plus, he knows about guns. In our line of work, that could come in handy.”
Jim snorted. “Yeah, if you don’t shoot off a foot or some other body part first.”
Steven laughed. “There is that. But it could go a long way in helping protect the Guides and Sentinels.”
“Hmm. He’s really cool. So’s Drake. Did you see his reaction to Lee, when Lee went up and hugged him?”
“Yeah. Being the First Vampire, he hasn’t had much chance to love and be loved. Much less be a part of a growing family.”
Jim sighed as some one in at the Flamingo lost their son’s college fund. Damn. Vegas could be depressing. “True. But being part of our family is going to change that.”
“Hmm, yeah. Speaking of change, did you know that he can shape shift?”
Jim’s eyebrows rose. “Yeah? Cool.”
“I’d say. He had Blair laughing his curly head off earlier when he kept shifting into all the people he’s seen while in Vegas. You should have seen Blair’s eyes when Drake shifted into the Klingon from the experience.” Steven chuckled. “I didn’t think those blue eyes of his could get any bigger.”
“Nice. I gotta ask him to do that for me when they get back.”
They watched the lights silently for a moment. “Are you looking forward to going home?” Steven asked softly.
“Yeah, I guess. Still not happy about going back to school, though.”
“No, that part just sucks.”
“Yup,” Jim agreed wholeheartedly.
“Rodney promised to help us catch up on everything we’ve missed. And I’ve heard that John’s really good at math.”
“Cool.”
“Hmm.”
“Wanna go get something to eat?” Jim asked, watching as a light over at the
Bellagio flicked and went out. He
wondered idly how long it would take them to fix it.?
“In a second. What do you want for Christmas?”
Jim turned to look at his brother. “That’s months and months away.”
Steven shrugged. “I know, it’s in case I need to start saving money now.”
“You could always go gamble.”
Steven snorted. “And lose my and Michael’s saving? Don’t think so. Besides, I’m way too young.” A thought suddenly occurred to him. “Would you be able to tell which machine is going to pay off?”
“I don’t know. Haven’t really thought about it. I suppose I could hear the different tones that a machine makes. But it seems like a big waste of effort.”
“True. We should give
“Why?” Jim asked, turning back to the lights.
“Just to see if you can. It would add to your way coolness, as if you could get any cooler.”
Jim chuckled. “Thanks. I think. Why ask Hannibal and not Rodney, John or even Drake?”
“Duh, Rodney and John are a little too moral and I don’t think Drake is ready for the gambling thing.”
“Hmm, true. How much
do you wanna give
“I don’t know. Twenty?”
Jim shrugged. “Okay, but just this once. I don’t wanna get addicted to gambling. I got enough problems without adding that to my plate.”
“As if. What problems?”
“I’m a Sentinel with a baby for a Guide and I have a pain in the ass brother. Need I say more?”
“Oh, brother.”
“Exactly.”
Steven rolled his eyes, positive that Jim would not only have felt it, but seen it as well. “Funny. We’re just doing it to see if you can. If we win anything, we can set it aside in our Emergency Fund.”
“Alright, but this will be the only time we do this and we can’t tell Dad.”
“Are you kidding? He’ll ground us till we’re a hundred and fifty, not to mention scolding us for that long too.”
Jim nodded. “Yeah, plus it’s too much like cheating.”
“How can it be cheating, if we’re only trying it to see if you can do it?”
Jim turned and gave Steven an outraged look. “How can you ask that? I’m a Sentinel. You know S.E.N….hmm, el.”
Steven chuckled. “Who can’t spell for shit.”
“I can spell.”
“Okay.”
“I can,” Jim replied defensively.
“Try it again then.”
“No.”
“Chicken.”
Jim punched Steven in the arm, hard. “Stop it.”
“Ow! Chicken.”
Jim punched him again. “Shut up or I will have to hurt you.”
“You’re such a S.E.N. hmm, el.”
Jim growled at him. “Shut up, ass.”
Steven smiled at his brother, watching all the annoyance disappear and eyes that could be so cold take on a goofy look. “Love you,” he said, just to see what those eyes would do. Incredibly they darkened and filled with tears.
“L…love you to,” Jim replied gruffly. “You’re still an ass.”
“And you’re still the dumbest Sentinel that ever graced the universe.”
“Ha.”
“It’s true.”
“Whatever. You wanna go get something to eat now?”
Steven
moved closer to his brother, putting an arm around Jim’s shoulders. “Not yet.
Let’s watch the Vegas lights for a little while. Then we can go get food and try your Sentinel
skills on the slot machines.”
Jim nodded.
“Okay. The lights sure are
pretty,” he said.
“Yeah, they are,” Steven agreed softly. “Really pretty.”
Jim smiled slightly when he heard a male voice shouting happily in the Hilton. They’d just hit it big – big enough to make all their dreams come true. Not everyone lost in Vegas.