Much thanks to TexasAries for letting me steal an idea from one of her stories in another fandom to write this one. And yes, before you ask, eventually there will be a sequel!
Eric Close really can drive a backhoe, I've seen him do it - and in just about that same outfit, too!

The man that walked into the bar that Wednesday evening looked like some kind of construction worker - or a woman's fantasy of one. His faded blue chambray shirt was tucked into equally faded jeans and his boots showed signs of having been used into comfort. His hair was long and neatly pulled back, and it caught the light with strands of burnished gold. More than one barfly cast a longing look the man's way, but he just nursed his beer and kept to himself, ignoring or politely rejecting the overtures that came his way. And then she walked in, and the man stopped being disinterested.

She was a tall woman but not big, her tastefully tailored suit enhancing a slender, graceful build. Wavy brown hair fell to just past her shoulders and contrasted beautifully with her fair skin, and the sea-green silk blouse she was wearing under her gray suit made her thick-lashed green eyes almost glow behind her glasses. Perfectly manicured nails tapped the bar idly while she waited for her drink and the voice that softly thanked the bartender was low and pleasant.

She stayed at the bar instead of moving to a table, and soon approaches began to be made. She put down most of them with a smile and a small shake of her head, obviously wanting to be left alone. The construction worker didn't appear to notice the obvious, though; after about ten minutes of silent watching he got up from his table and walked over to the bar. He weathered her first, automatic rebuff with a smile and took the stool next to her before introducing himself. "I'm Vin."

She looked him up and down, appreciative but suspicious, and finally said, "Emily."

"Pleasure to meet you, Emily," he said. "Ain't seen you around here before."

A hint of amusement showed in her face and she turned her eyes back to her drink. "No, you haven't."

Vin chuckled and toyed with his beer. "Don't usually come in here myself, just happened to be working nearby and stopped to wet my whistle."

"Construction?"

"Government contract. You?"

"Office slave." That startled him, and this time it was her turn to laugh. "Although that's not what my boss calls it. He's not always... pleasant, and after today I needed a drink so I stopped at the first place I saw."

"Well, that worked out good for me," Vin told her and she blushed slightly. "Boss is a real jerk, huh?"

"I've almost quit because of him several times," she said with an almost inaudible sigh. "He can be a real jerk, and he never apologizes."

Vin nodded. "That's rough. I used to think I had a pretty decent boss, all things considered, but he does have his moments and lately there's been a lot of them." He ducked his head a little in embarrassment. "I'm kind of his favorite, though, and sometimes he's a lot harder on the other guys than he is on me - makes me feel pretty bad some days, but there ain't nothing I can do about it."

Her expression was sympathetic. "That must be hard. I have the opposite problem, my boss knows how much my job and the people I work with mean to me and he takes advantage of that."

"Sounds like your boss and mine are two peas in a pod, Emily." He frowned slightly. "I may be out of line, but I'd say you deserve better than what you're getting."

She looked a little surprised, green eyes widening behind her glasses. "You really think so?"

"Know so," he asserted. His hand moved to tenderly cover hers where it rested on the smooth surface of the bar. "I've been thinking of moving on myself, trying something new." He cocked his head at her, looking shy but hopeful. "Maybe we could talk about it over dinner?"

"Dinner?" Emily smiled, dimples appearing. "Do you always move this quickly, Vin?"

His fingers tightened over hers and he leaned closer, but she didn't pull away. "Only when I'm sure. What about you?"

"I think I'll take a chance on you," she told him, eyes sparkling. "Maybe I'm sure too." She leaned in even closer, her lips almost brushing his ear. "Were you followed?"

Vin turned his head so he could whisper back, "Oh yeah, I was followed. This was a damn good idea you had."

Emily giggled and pulled away from him, putting money down on the bar to pay for her drink. "I thought so."

Buck was getting tired of waiting when JD jogged his arm. "There he is, Buck."

"'Bout damned time," the surveillance expert grumbled. "No sign of..."

"No, haven't seen him or anyone like him." The younger man squinted through his viewer and smiled. "I think we can consider Vin accounted for for the night, though."

His partner pushed him away so he could look, and then he chuckled. "I'd say you're right there, look at the legs on that little filly, would you? And she looks like a class act, too. I say we see where they go and then call it a night, let the man have his privacy."

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?" JD said in a dry voice. He wasn't happy about what they were doing, and he wasn't happy with Chris for ordering them to do it or with Buck for going along with Chris. "I still say what Vin wants to do on his own time is his business."

"Well, Chris don't see it that way." Buck watched the team sharpshooter and the attractive woman get into a cab and quickly moved to start the van so they could follow. "Chris is thinkin' about the team, kid, and he's not going to let what we've got get messed up because that damn Southerner can't keep it in his pants. But it's all working out, see? Chris put Ezra back in his place and now Vin's right back to normal, and once we find a nice long assignment to keep Ez out of the way for a while it'll be like it never happened."

The words actually made JD feel physically ill. Yes, he had to admit he'd been a little shocked when he realized Vin was seeing Ezra, but being surprised to find out two of your friends were gay was a far cry from spying on one of them and plotting to send the other into a potentially fatal situation. He needed to talk to Vin; he knew he'd never be able to get close enough to Ezra to clue him in on what was happening, and he felt like he owed the undercover agent a warning at least. Vin would find a way to get the message across, because right now Vin was the only member of the team he could trust. And after that...well, JD liked working in law enforcement but not so much that he'd stick with men who would turn on their own, his mother had raised him better than that.

The cab they were tailing finally pulled up in front of an Italian restaurant and the two passengers got out and went inside. Buck had considered going into the restaurant as well, but the one Vin had picked was too small for him to get away with that. He was about to report in to Chris on his cell phone when he saw Vin come back out of the restaurant alone, look up and down the street and then make a beeline for the van. The sharpshooter came right up to the driver's side window and rapped on the glass, looking irritated but also somewhat amused. "I'm amazed you boys ain't dead," he commented when Buck rolled down the window. "Hell, Emily noticed you following us! You blew my deal, you know, you nosy bastard; wasn't planning on letting on I was a fed, but you kind of forced my hand - it was either that or let her think I was with the mob."

Buck tried to look repentant. "Didn't mean to cramp your style there, pard."

"Yeah, well you did." Vin shot a look past Buck to JD and grinned at him; he knew the kid was just along for the ride. "Now why don't you two get along home and let me get back to what I was doing - and who I was doing it with." He plucked the cell phone out of Buck's hand and hit speed dial one, then barked at the gruff voice that answered, "I'm twenty-eight and not a virgin, I don't need no damn chaperone. Now call off this butt-ugly dog you've got on me before I call animal control to come pick him up."

Vin shoved the phone back into Buck's hand and the older man gingerly put it up to his ear. "Yeah...nope, he's on a date, prettiest little lady you ever did see. Seems to think we're in his way...yep, I know. No, I don't think...yep. Yep...no! Chris, dammit...no, I said no! I'm going home for the night, gonna call up...well, I don't care what you think, we're shutting down for the night. Kid and I are off our game anyway, hell his damn date even spotted us! Yeah...yeah, well I'll be seeing you tomorrow too but at least you'll have something good to look at." Buck flinched and jerked the phone away from his ear with a grimace. "Don't know how he manages to make it cut off like that, sounds just like he's slamming down a receiver. But you're on your own, junior."

Vin smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I damn well better be, this one I'd like to keep for a while if you jackasses haven't already scared her off. Now get the hell out of here, Buck."

The sharpshooter watched until the van was out of sight and then went back into the restaurant and rejoined his companion. "Did they leave?" she wanted to know.

"Yep, I think for good," he replied with a grin. "They were kind of upset that my date spotted them following us." The grin faded suddenly. "Didn't like the way the kid looked at me, though, I think there's something else going on and he don't like it very much."

Emily's slender fingers slid over his comfortingly. "Trouble?"

"I think so, but tonight we ain't gonna worry about it." He turned his hand over to capture hers and brought it to his lips. "Tonight is just for us."

They took their time over dinner and then took a cab to Vin's apartment, sharing a lingering kiss on the sidewalk for the benefit of the darkly dressed man in the car across the street who thought they hadn't seen him. "Son of a bitch," Vin whispered into Emily's mouth. "I hope someone slashes his tires, sitting over there like that spying on me like he had the right. Let's take this inside, hmm? Bastard doesn't deserve a free show, you're all mine and I ain't sharing."

Emily's answer was to pull his hair out of its neat ponytail and run her fingers through it. "I'm not sharing either - odious man, he probably has his hands on himself over there in the dark. Do you think maybe he wants you for himself?"

"I find out that's what his problem is, he won't have nothing to put his hands on tomorrow." They broke apart reluctantly and got inside the apartment, and once the door was closed and locked Vin pushed Emily up against it and took possession of her mouth with a passion that was almost fierce. She returned the kiss with equal fervor. "Oh Vin..."

He pulled back abruptly and took her face in his hands. "Are you sure you're all right with this? I mean, I liked being able to be out with you in public on a date, holding hands, giving you my arm..."

One manicured finger touched his lips, silencing him. "I liked it too, Vin," Ezra told him, his voice shifting back to its normal register and rough with passion. "The way you looked at me, the way you touched me, it was living out a fantasy - and yes, we'll most definitely do it again. I just hate it that we need to in order to see each other."

Vin kissed him again hard. "Not for too much longer, baby. We're going to get out of here, the two of us, and make a new life for ourselves someplace else." His blue eyes twinkled mischievously. "I really have driven a backhoe before, you know. Does that turn you on?"

Ezra thought about it. "Surprisingly, yes." He ran his hand down Vin's body possessively. "But it doesn't really matter what we do or where we go, as long as we're together."

"I'd have to agree. So right now why don't we go to the bedroom together and I can help you get more comfortable, hmm?"

"I like the sound of that." Ezra kicked off his low-heeled pumps and let his lover tug him into the bedroom - the one room where they knew they couldn't be spied on since it had no windows. He was already removing his jewelry and glasses and tucking them in his handbag, and once the door was shut behind them he tossed the bag onto Vin's dresser along with his wig and started on the buttons of the green blouse. Vin's hands came up to cover his and together they made short work of the task, discarding jacket and blouse at the same time. The skirt followed, pooling around Ezra's ankles, and then Vin turned him around to unhook the corset-like undergarment he was wearing with its attendant padding in all the right places. The pantyhose came next and Ezra breathed a sigh of pure relief as his cramped genitals were released. Vin pushed him down on the bed and caressed him, massaging the abused cock and balls gently to restore their circulation. "How does that feel, baby?"

Ezra moaned. "Don't stop."

Vin chuckled. "Oh, I think you'll be glad I did." He quickly stripped off his own clothes and slid up beside his lover, running appreciative hands over Ezra's sculpted chest and hard, flat abdomen. "You have got to be the most beautiful man I've ever seen - and one of the most beautiful women, too. How did I get so lucky?"

Ezra rolled over on top of him and kissed him hard. "I should be asking you the same thing, but I'd rather ask you to fuck me into the mattress and make me come so hard I forget my own name."

"Well, since you asked..." Vin laughed out loud and flipped them over again so he was on top, straddling the smaller man but being careful not to put too much pressure on his lover's still-tender groin. He once again captured Ezra's mouth in a demanding kiss while his hand snaked down to resume the gentle, teasing massage. When he felt the abused organ begin to respond, he broke off the kiss and slid down his lover's body to kiss the awakening shaft before sucking the head carefully into his mouth and tormenting it with his tongue. He'd never mastered the art of deep-throating, but to date Ezra hadn't complained about his technique so Vin didn't worry about it. With his free hand he continued to massage his partner's balls and then eventually slid a finger down to tickle the inviting little pucker of his ass.

Ezra's hips came up off the bed and Vin ruthlessly pushed them back down and continued what he was doing. Grabbing some lube, he coated his finger and inserted it, then added a second finger and then a third, all the time sucking on Ezra's cock with increasing strength. And then he abruptly pulled back and coated his own engorged rod with lube before sliding it into the tight heat that was his lover. He slid in until he couldn't go any farther and just sat there for a moment, letting Ezra adjust to him before beginning the rhythm that they both enjoyed.

Both men reached completion quickly, like they usually did the first time of the night, and the two of them sprawled together on the sweaty sheets in an ecstasy of contentment. "You're going to think I'm easy," Ezra murmured, running his fingers through Vin's tangled hair. "I mean, you bought me dinner and I went right to bed with you."

Vin chuckled and kissed him, sharing the laughter mouth to mouth. "Oh, I don't think there's anything easy about you, Ez...except for how easy it is to love you." He stroked his lover's smooth golden skin like he was petting a cat, and Ezra obligingly rumbled a purr for him. "I know, let's move out to California. Nice warm weather, big cities for you and mountains for me..."

"...and the beach for us both." Ezra snuggled in closer against him and sighed. "They're a little more...accepting in that part of the country as well, we wouldn't have to be so circumspect."

"It's settled then; California here we come." They shared another kiss, this one slow and lazy. "Mmm, I think we should move tomorrow."

"We still have some unfinished business to take care of," Ezra reminded him with a sigh, resting his head on Vin's chest, listening to his strong, soothing heartbeat. "What do you think JD knows?"

"Something bad," Vin answered without hesitation. "You should have seen him, Ez, he looked like he wanted to be sick right there in the van. I'll talk to him tomorrow and find out, but until I do...baby, I don't want you going anywhere alone with Chris or Buck, not even into the conference room."

"Considering our fearless leader's recent state of mind regarding my person, that is probably a warning to be heeded anyway." Ezra yawned, warm breath caressing Vin's chest. "We'll talk more in the morning, lover."

"Yep." Vin reached over and turned out the light, then pulled the sheet up to cover the two of them. Tomorrow he would talk to JD...and then he and Ezra would resign and move to California and begin their life together. He smiled to himself, a small, wicked smile; he'd have to thank Chris and Buck for Emily before they left, without them he never would have met her.