sparrow015 | Fic: 10, 000 Miles (Mag7:ATF/Due South Crossover fic, PG-13

Title: 10, 000 Miles
Series: Mini Na No Wri Mo
Author: Sparrow
Fandom: Magnificent Seven: ATF and Due South
Characters: Vin Tanner with mentions of Benton Fraser
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I do not own Magnificent Seven or Due South in any way, shape or form. Any original characters, I do own.
Spoilers: Basic understanding of the Magnificent Seven ATF universe created by MOG and Due South.
Author’s Note: Companion piece to A Thousand Goodbyes. If any type of m/m relationships offend you, then this drabble is not for you. While it only hints at a m/m relationship, it is a m/m relationship. Also, thank you to

strangevisitor7 for the lovely beta.
Word Count: 604
Summary: When watching the news one day before work, Vin’s thoughts turn to a certain Mountie he left behind.

10,000 Miles by Mary Chapin Carpenter
Fare thee well
My own true love
Farewell for a while
I’m going away
But I’ll be back
Though I go 10,000 miles

10,000 miles
My own true love
10,000 miles or more
The rocks may melt
And the seas may burn
If I should not return

Oh don’t you see
That lonesome dove
Sitting on an ivy tree
She’s weeping for
Her own true love
As I shall weep for mine

Oh come ye back
My own true love
And stay a while with me
If I had a friend
All on this earth
You’ve been a friend to me

~~~

Canadian news hardly ever made its way down to Denver, Colorado, so when Vin Tanner read the headlines about ‘Caribou’ ‘Dams’ and ‘Corruption on the Inside’, he knew without a doubt that Benton was involved.

Years ago he had headed into the Northwest Territories to learn tracking and survival techniques in snow conditions, because it was never certain where a bounty might run and he wanted to be prepared.

The training he had received with the Rangers had done him justice, but not enough to survive his first winter by himself.

Vin had nearly frozen to death before he had been rescued by a figure in brown and red.

The next morning he'd woken in a hospital and an unknown Mountie sitting vigilantly at his bedside.

The Mountie introduced himself as “Constable Benton Fraser” and then proceeded to tell Vin what he'd done wrong. And while it wasn’t condescending, just this man stating facts clearly, Vin felt very young and foolish. He hadn’t felt this green since bootcamp.

What surprised Vin even more was when Constable Benton Fraser than offered to teach Vin how to survive in the wilderness of the Northwest Territories.

Without hesitation Vin replied a resounding “Yes!”

The next few months proved the most wonderful of Vin’s life.

He transitioned from the mouthful of “Constable Benton Fraser” to Benton and he learned so much from the man.

Benton Fraser came off as a naïve man who liked to explain points with long stories, but there was a cunning mind and a bit of a sarcastic humour hidden underneath the red serge.

But the man could still be surprised.

Which pleased Vin to no end when he'd kissed the man one night in the middle of Benton telling one of his Inuit stories.

The kiss was returned hesitantly, but when no resistance was met, more forcefully.

Their teacher-student relationship evolved into more of an equal partnership.

The first few weeks they couldn’t keep their hands off one another, days spent with shy smiles and kissing. And the nights spent in passionate embraces.

Benton certainly had stamina and knew how to use his body to the fullest. Vin felt like a well-played guitar by an expert musician.

But the happy times came to end when Vin received news from Texas.

Eli Joe, the rat-fucking bastard, was framing him for murder to save his own skin and he had to go back to clear his name, which meant leaving Benton.

He didn’t give any explanation. With an abrupt “Thank you for teaching me" he left Benton behind.

That good-bye was one of the hardest good-byes that Vin had ever done. But he felt he needed to keep Benton safe from Eli Joe’s manipulations and a clean cut was the only way.

He wanted to cry sobbing tears of grief and sadness as he rode away in his jeep, but he only kept up a façade of stoic sadness, even though he was by himself. He could still hear Diefenbaker’s howls as he drove in the snow.

It had taken a few years and becoming part of a Chris Larabee's ATF team, for Vin to clear his name..

The same connection he felt with Benton, he felt with Chris, but the man in black was still grieving for his wife and child. So, Vin was pretty sure he’d be let down if he ever asked the man out on a date.

Clicking the news channel off, Vin could only hope that Benton didn’t suffer any harsh a repercussions for turning in one of his own – a Mountie.

THE END.