Which Brings Us Back To 
a due South Fraser/Vecchio story
by Pares
kormantic.yahoo.com

For Janis, with kind thanks to Iain and Te.
~~~

"Doe," Fraser murmured.

"A deer!?"  Ray craned his long neck to peer past the broad brim of the
Mountie's hat.	He could make out the narrow legs and curved neck of
a soft-eyed animal, almost invisible in the late light of a Chicago
afternoon.

"A female deer," Fraser agreed.

"Right here in the middle of downtown traffic?	How'd it get *here*!?"
Leave it to Fraser to find a living embodiment of an American expression.
'What'd you do today Ray?'  'Well, I helped a wolf and a Mountie track
a deer in headlights.'	His whole life was becoming one long, bad fairy
tale. 

"Ray--"  The doe bounded off into an alley, and at Diefenbaker's
questioning
expression, Fraser nodded, spurring the wolf to surge forward in pursuit.

"Don't," the cop held up a long-fingered hand.	"I swear to you, if I
hear you say 'a drop of golden sun' I'm not gonna be responsible for
my actions." 

"I'm afraid I don't follow you, Ray."

"I refuse to be an extra in the Technicolor musical spectacular that
is your life."

"Yes, of course, Ray."	And Fraser set a placating hand on Ray's shoulder.

"Stop being so nice to me," Ray griped.

"I really don't think I can do that."

"Well, try anyway."

"I...  If that's what you truly want, I could *try* to be less friendly
in my interactions with you.  But I'm afraid I may not be very
convincing."

"You're right.	You're about as good at lying as you are at staying out
of trouble.  Go ahead," Ray sighed, his tone long-suffering.  "Be as
nice to me as you want."

"Thank you kindly, Ray."  Fraser sounded both relieved and satisfied.

"Why do you always want to be so nice to me for, anyway?  I'm not always
so nice to you, Benny," Ray pointed out.

"That's untrue, Ray.  You are at times impatient with me, perhaps even
brusque, but you are never intentionally unkind.  You are a good friend,
Ray." 

"Okay, so maybe I'm your friend."

"Oh, there's no maybe about it, Ray," replied the Mountie with a steadfast
shake of the head.

Ray gave in and let the smile he'd been hiding slip.

"You're a good friend, too, Benny.  The best."

The other man's even features were alight with pleasure and pride at
this admission, and Ray's smile widened.  

After a moment, Fraser stepped forward and pressed his chest to Ray's,
carefully folding his arms around the thinner man.

Ray's chin was hooked over Fraser's red-coated shoulder, and his olive
eyes were wide and panicked.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

"I'm hugging you, Ray.	It is an embrace that shows affection and mutual
regard."

"I know what a *hug* is, Benny.  What I wanna know is *why* you're hugging
me."

Fraser continued to hold his friend, spine straight, arms stiff,
tentative.

"Well, because too often I allow these moments to pass by without
demonstrating
my warm feelings for you, Ray.	You are my best friend, after all."

"Well, that's all fine and good, Benny, but most guys don't do a lot
of hugging.  Not even Italian guys.  And anyway, you're doing it wrong."

Fraser pulled away slightly, to see Ray's face.

"Wrong?"  And he sounded uncertain.

"Yeah, wrong.  I'm your friend, not an electric fence.	If you're gonna
hug somebody, ya do it right or you don't do it at all."

Fraser looked genuinely discomfited.

"I mean, you've got the right idea," Ray amended quickly.  "But you gotta
loosen up a little."

Fraser rolled his shoulders and softened his spine.

"Hey, there you go, that's good," Ray enthused.

With an interrogative murmur, Fraser relaxed still more, jostling Ray
slightly and tightening his arms.

Ray couldn't see the other man's face, but he suspected Fraser's eyes
had fluttered closed.  And, yep, *that* was *definitely* a sigh of
contentment.

This was nuts.	Ray was ten seconds from shoving Fraser off and declaring
the hug over, maybe with a tirade about hugging time limits for good
measure. 

But Fraser was now nearly boneless against him, hanging on Ray like a
raincoat drips from a coat rack, and somehow Ray turned his head and
mashed his nose against the white column of Fraser's throat, and before
he knew it his lips were pressing, *moving* against Fraser's sweet,
fine-grained
skin and... oh, brother, we got trouble now--

Fraser tensed against him, and Ray froze instantly.

"Ah.  Ray?  What are you...  What are you doing?"

I can tell him it's an Italian thing, a Chicago thing, whip up a story
about gangsters or cop traditions, Ray thought wildly.

"I'm uh...  I'm...  Aw, hell, Benny.  I have *no* idea."

He tried to draw away, but Fraser held him still, carefully turning his
head to nuzzle at Ray's long neck, mirroring Ray's own actions.

Ray was trembling by the time Fraser's reasonable, soothing voice filled
his head.

"Perhaps we would come to a better understanding if you... kissed me,
Ray." 

"Oh, man, Benny.  Benny.  Benny, listen to me--"

But Fraser had tipped his head to better angle for Ray's mouth, and any
attempt at explanation was lost in a long, dizzying moment of supreme
warmth. 

After a while, Fraser obviously felt obliged to speak, despite Ray's
eminent preference for more kissing. 

"I feel... an abiding... tenderness for you, Ray.  A depth of feeling
I have seldom experienced, accompanied by a rather bewildering... well,
I can only describe it as... an attraction."

"A *sexual* attraction?"  Ray, as always, pressed for specifics.

In an effort to clarify his statement, Fraser suggested instead, "A
desirous
passion?"

"*You* feel a... a 'desirous passion' for me!?" 

"Yes, Ray.  I most assuredly do." 

"Holy shit!"

Fraser finally let go of him and Ray stumbled backward, clapping his
hands to his temples.

"Ray, I would understand if you did not return these feeling to the same
degree..."

"No, I mean-- *holy shit*!"

"I'm afraid that in this context, Ray, that I don't quite understand
you mean by that... that vigorous exclamation."  Fraser sounded
entreating,
and Ray felt his heart stammer in his narrow chest.

Steadier on his feet now that his knees weren't buckling, Ray leaned
forward and clutched at Fraser's shoulders.

"You mean that?"

"Well, yes.  I *don't* understand what the term 'holy'--"

"No!  No, I meant what you said before.  You're confessing to a deep
and abiding passion for me, right?"

"Right."  And Fraser hesitated a moment before brandishing a thumb in
a gesture of hearty approval.

Ray gave a little see-sawing laugh of disbelief.  He clapped a hand
against
the other man's smooth cheek.

"You're unbelievable!"

"On the contrary, Ray, I do my utmost to be truthful and reliable in
every undertaking--"

"Hey, Fraser, shut up a minute, will ya?"

The blue eyed man paused to take a quiet breath and Ray spoke quickly.

"I'm gonna kiss you now, okay?	It would kinda help if you tried to be
a little quieter," he explained.

Before Fraser could answer, Ray chose his moment, and made his move.

They were still speechless and absorbed when Dief returned, the doe
trailing
him with delicate steps.  After a polite interval, Dief continued on
to the Riv and curled up inside it, the doe patiently browsing the few
blades of grass that she found in the cracking sidewalk.

END