crack_van | Marauder by JoJo (Adult)

Fandom: THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Pairing: Chris/Ezra
Length: 41,791 words
Author on LJ:

solosundance
Author Website: On AO3
Why this must be read:

I actually thought this has been recced before, but I didn't see it when I search through the listings, so my apologies if it's already been recced - it should have been!

It's the first story of a wonderful AU, made all the more interesting by the fact that it's an actual AU of the canon Old West! The way the seven come together is very different, and the pasts they have are also different, but JoJo keep the central character qualities. Chris has lost his wife and child, Ezra is still a gambler, Nathan is actually a real doctor, and all the others retain the qualities we love in them from the show.

Even though, when we first meet them, they're outlaws, on the run.

"Three saloons," put in Josiah who'd also been on a brief reconnaissance. His voice, coming from the turned-up collar of a long, wool coat was indistinct. "Two hotels, three restaurants, drugstore, gunsmith, meatpacker, place that sells firecrackers and..." He paused, rolling out the word with a hint of drama. "A bordello."

"Bordello?" JD echoed and Chris was amazed it wasn't the firecrackers that had caught his attention. "How'd you know there's a bordello?" The kid laughed nervously, maybe unsure if the terminology was even correct.

Buck found a smirk from somewhere. "There a house with a sign hanging over it?"

"May as well be." Josiah was serene. "Chris'll back me up. That place top of the hill, one with the upstairs balcony? You telling me that isn't a house of ill-repute?"

"Think I know?" Chris muttered, turning his head in the direction Josiah had indicated. He could barely see a building among the grayed-out trees.

"Can tell you like this town, but I'm not so sure." Vin was croaky from the harsh air but still managed to be acid. Buck grumped at him in impatience. Tanner had never been sure about any town, anywhere, in his life. "Stay here more'n a day or two, may end up gettin' snowed in for months. When it hits ain't nobody goin' down the mountain."

"Your idea to come up the goddamn mountain in the first place," Buck pointed out testily. "And if we have to get snowed in, seems like a town with three saloons might be just about goddamn well perfect."

"Specially as the sheriff don't know you." JD seemed to think that was an important point, and he was probably right.

Buck agreed. "A fine spot for a hideaway. Travis ain't gonna come looking up here while there's snow."

"Hell," Chris said. "Town's full of miners, soldiers and whores. You sure you want to be spending all winter with 'em?"

Buck put one hand on JD's neck and one on Vin's. "If we can sit out the snow up here with no Orrin Travis breathing down our necks then I, for one, will be a happy man."

"Just hope Travis ain't gonna turn up and get snowed in with us." Chris was grimly amused by that idea.

Vin jabbed Buck hard in the ribs to make him let go. "Like I said. Figurin' he lost the trail far back as Santarosa. Sure, we can sit it out here... long as you girls can stomach salt venison every damn day."

Chris took a sweeping look along the frosty street. A bitter wind raked his cheeks, made his eyes water up. He wasn't convinced. The idea of settling in anywhere made him nervous, when being on the move always seemed the safest option. But there was one element in their situation to which there'd only need be a passing allusion and all would be settled.

"We need to let Vin rest up," Buck said, going for it. "No point pushing on hell knows where and getting caught out in a storm while he's off his game."

"I ain't off my game," Vin grouched, right on cue. Didn't cut any ice, though. Buck had hit home, just as he knew he would. He knew full well Chris Larabee hadn't dragged him and Vin through hell and high water for most of their lives to suddenly let go now.

Chris made up for being so shamelessly manipulated by stepping outside the group like he was about to walk off.

"Town this size bound to have a doctor." JD sounded confident. It had taken him weeks to get accustomed to Larabee's dizzying mood swings but now he was comfortable enough to try and by-pass the more manageable ones. Chris kept his back to them, tried to shake off his twitchy feeling. "You c'n rest up, Vin," the kid went on. "Find a cure for what ails ya and then be good as new come spring."

"You bin readin' them fairytales again?"

Buck was exasperated, but in a good way. The constant injection of optimism the kid had brought into their sorry lives was downright ridiculous. Right from the moment he'd helped them out of that fix in Cheyenne, appearing from nowhere, rifle pointed dead-center to the chest of the stranger who'd just spilled Vin into the bloody dust. He owned an untainted sense of hope and goodness that could about take your breath away at times. And you couldn't even put it down to him being young and foolish, either. Chris suspected it was more about John Dunne the man-to-be than JD the youth-that-was. Whatever, it was something Chris wouldn't want to relinquish. Gave them too much entertainment.

"All right," he said. "We'll stay. We'll stay and rest up. But... listen. This place don't need that big lock-up and two paid deputies for nothin'... we have to stay outta trouble here. Hear me? Judge Travis might not be able to get in, but we won't be gettin' out either. Not plannin' on spending three months visitin' you knuckleheads in the jail."

"Ain't his faith just heartwarming?" Buck shook his head. He blew into one closed fist and then the other. "What happened in Price ain't gonna happen again." Chris winced at the mere mention of Price. It had seemed so typical of the tangle of their lives that on the run from one misunderstanding, Buck had managed to land himself slap bang in the middle of another one and behind bars for his trouble. Two days of untangling and a suspiciously hasty exit from town later, whatever reputation they'd already unwillingly gained had doubtless been tarnished even further.

It's a strong story, well put together, with good style and characterization. It's also a wonderful founding story to a universe that has a rich complexity, especially in the pasts of the men we love. I've heard rumor that there's going to be a second story soon, so now's a great time to read the first one!

Marauder

Marauder by JoJo (Adult)

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