Title: The Warning, or Guys Like Him Don't Marry

Author: Cloudwalker

Rating: NC-17

Codes: m/m, first time

Pairing: Fraser/Vecchio

Part: 1/2

Teaser: Fraser comes out.

Archive: Hexwood

Disclaimer: The story is mine, even if Dief and the boys aren't. I think they're pretty happy under my care, however.

Muchas gracias to the lovely and talented Melanie, aka Beta Spice, for showing me the True Path. Believe me, this story wasn't fit to post before she made some interesting observations, not only about my writing, but also about my thinking. The story and my brain are better for it. She did not beta the final draft, and any problems with it are my own.

by the Cloudwalker

The remains of the perfect pizza at a nearly perfect price Fraser had paid, it being his turn rested on the counter next to the sink. The wolf slumbered on Fraser's bed, dreaming perhaps of obtaining said pizza remains, and the two friends sat playing gin rummy.

Conversation drifted, as it was wont to do, to times they had shared together. They spoke of people they had met and crimes they had solved, keeping memories fresh and incidentally honing their working partnership, grooving their memories into identical responses. Finally Ray's thoughts circled back to his family, and he wondered aloud how they had reacted to his sister's new boyfriend.

"At least if this guy works out, Frannie'll have to stop chasing you, Benny. Maybe she'll even stop telling stories about the two of you around the station."

"Ray, about Francesca . . ." Fraser began, as he dealt another hand of gin at his tiny, battered kitchen table. This seemed to Fraser to be an opening he could use to finally tell Ray of his feelings.

"I thought you weren't gonna tell me what happened that night?" Ray picked up his cards, and looked at Fraser curiously.

"Well, I'm not. This is somewhat different."

"'Somewhat different?' What does that mean? Oh just go ahead and say whatever you were going to. You will anyway," Ray groused as he made a discard.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. Really. It's just that, well, I heard what you said to Francesca about me."

"You mean, when I dragged her into that interrogation room and warned her off you?"

"I didn't know what you would say to her, Ray, after hearing the tale she had been telling. I was afraid . . . I should have known better of you, Ray. I'm sorry."

"So you eavesdropped on me and my sister?" Ray was not happy to learn that the Mountie had spied on his conversation with his sister, but too much had passed between them since then for him to get really angry about it. There had been no more 'incidents' with Frannie, so Ray chose to let it go, chalked up as one more example of Mountie weirdness.

"Yes." Fraser drew a card, and discarded it. He kept his eyes on his cards. He was quite worried about Ray's possible reaction to what he wanted --no, needed-- to say.

"And are you trying to tell me I was wrong? Are you telling me that guys like you do marry girls like her?" Ray remembered the conversation with Frannie as if it were yesterday. He'd had to protect his sister, even if Benny was his best friend. If she continued to pursue the obviously uninterested Mountie, Frannie would end up getting hurt, and Benny wouldn't even know it.

"Well, no, Ray. But what I want to know is, just what kind of man do you think I am?"

Ray snickered. "Is this a serious question, Benny?" he asked, as he drew a card, and discarded from his hand.

"Yes, Ray. You said 'guys like him don't marry girls like you'. What did you mean, Ray?"

Ray sighed. "I guess you deserve an answer, but can I ask you first why you're bringing it up now?"

"Well, that's simple, Ray. I have something I'd like to say to you, but I need to know . . . . Well, first I need to know what you think of me." He risked a quick glance at Ray's eyes, then looked away again.

"What do I think of you? You're my best friend, Benny. I've never known anyone like you before. So, I guess, if you're really interested in Frannie, I'll butt out."

"No, Ray. Francesca's not my type."

"Oh yeah, Benny? Loud, pushy, skinny Italians aren't your type?" Ray chuckled at his friend.

"Oh no, Ray. I'd say that is very much my type."

"Wait a minute, now I'm confused. First you said she wasn't your type, and then you said . . . ." Ray scowled at Fraser. "What, exactly, did you say, Fraser?"

"When you spoke of 'guys like me', Ray, you must have had something specific in mind, so I will ask you again: just what kind of man do you think I am?" Fraser looked at his friend expectantly, the cards forgotten, wondering at his own temerity.

"Well, geez, Benny. You're kind, brave, smart, dedicated. I'd say you're just about perfect. In fact, I don't know why you don't have a wife and a dozen kids by now."

"You don't?"

"No."

"Can't you imagine?"

"Hey, I thought you were the one with no imagination," Ray smirked.

"Ray, I--- You see, Ray, you're--- Well, you're my best friend, Ray, and my partner." Surely Ray must understand what I'm trying to say, Fraser thought.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Benny. Gin." Ray laid down his cards. He had a run of three, a run of five, three queens, and a discard.

Benton barely noticed when Ray gathered up the deck and began to shuffle for his deal. Ray's reply to his statement had caused Fraser's heart to lurch, but he quickly sobered, well aware that Ray still didn't know what was on his mind. Over the past few months Fraser had observed behavior in his partner that suggested that Ray would not reject him, but one never knew for certain until one asked.

"Are you sure, Ray? Because you're right, men like me don't go for their partner's sisters."

"Yeah, I know," Ray said, smug as usual. "That's why I said it." He began to deal the next hand.

Fraser just looked at him, and waited. Ray began to fidget under that steady gaze. Finally he asked, "So, what do men like you go for?"

"Don't you know, Ray?" Fraser spoke softly. Ray had to lean toward him to hear it. Fraser continued to gaze into Ray's eyes, moistening his parted lips with the tip of his tongue. Ray leaned closer unconsciously; afraid he'd miss whatever Benny would say next. Suddenly, comprehension dawned in his beautiful adventurine eyes, and Ray abruptly sat back in his chair.

"Benny!" Ray gasped. "Do you mean...? Oh my god. No. You like skinny Italians who aren't my sister? No!" Ray tried to laugh, nervously. The cards dropped unnoticed to the tabletop. "I'm reading this all wrong. After all, we're friends. Partners."

Raised eyebrows were Fraser's only reply. He knew his friend was spooked, and desperately didn't want to set off his fight or flight instinct. Fraser wasn't nearly as cool about this as he seemed.

"So, guys like you---" Ray was whispering now. "You're . . . gay? And you want . . .me?"

"Only if you reciprocate my feelings, Ray. Please, just consider the possibility." Fraser watched a multitude of emotions pass across his friend's face. Ray went from disbelief to anger nearly instantly, but then remembered whom he was dealing with. Fraser had not been raised like normal people, in Ray's opinion, and thus did not have normal values. Ray felt relief, and another emotion he could not name, and was finally able to answer.

"I'm not gay, Benny. I like women." Ray's voice was nearly back to normal. Benny really had him going there for a moment.

"No, I know that, Ray, but I was hoping that you could, perhaps, make an exception---"

Ray cut him off with a wave of his hand. "And you like women, too, Benny. I mean, what about Victoria? You loved her, at least at the beginning, didn't you?"

"Victoria was a mistake, Ray." Fraser leaned his forearms on the table, speaking very earnestly. "At the time, I didn't realize in just how many ways she was a mistake."

Silence fell in the small apartment while each man thought about what had just been revealed. Ray decided to play it cool.

"So. How long, Benny?"

"Excuse me?" Fraser sat back in his chair, tilting his head in puzzlement.

"How long? How long have you been, you know, gay?"

"Oh! How long have I been . . . gay?" Fraser crossed his arms and frowned, as he often did when he was considering something. Benton had never used that term to describe himself. "I don't know."

"Benny . . . " Ray growled, used to Fraser's dithering, but still not liking it.

Fraser looked Ray in the eye, dropping his arms to his sides. "You're the first man I've ever wanted, Ray. I guess I knew I loved you when you showed up at my father's cabin to help me, and you never flinched, even though I had my shotgun pointed at your heart."

"Yeah, well, I was too trussed up in that snowsuit and arm sling to flinch much, Benny. Besides, I already knew you'd never hurt me." Ray smiled wonderingly. "You love me?"

"Yes. I'd give my life before I'd willingly hurt you, Ray."

"I hope you know that goes both ways, Benny, about hurting you, I mean. I guess that's love." Ray ran a hand over his balding head, deep in thought. "Look, man, I've followed you into dumpsters and sewers, leather bars, even frozen meat lockers, but I don't know if I can follow you into this." What am I saying? Ray wondered. Am I seriously considering this crazy thing? Benny's pretty special, but he's a man, for heaven's sake!

"You never had to follow me into any of those places, Ray."

"Oh yes I did, Benny. What kind of a friend would I be if I let you go places like that without back-up?"

"You know, I don't suppose I ever thanked you properly for that. I do love you, Ray."

"Yeah, you said that." Ray looked up in sudden inspiration. "You realize this would mean we'd have to stop working together." There, Ray thought, that ought to stop this bizarre idea in its tracks. Benny could never give up police work. Then Ray wondered why he was discussing this at all. He ought to be storming out of there in disgust, but he couldn't do it. This was Benny, after all, and the Canadian had always needed Ray to guide him through social situations. This was really no different.

"Why is that, Ray?"

"The police department frowns on people who are couples also being partners, it affects their working relationship. You might not work as hard to catch the bad guys if you're worried about your partner's safety. You tend to put your partner before everything else."

"Isn't that as it should be? My father says so, in his journals, and I believe him."

Ray sighed. "Yeah, Benny. It's the way it should be. So I guess that wouldn't have to change between us?"

"Well, no. Especially since we don't work for the same police force, or even for the same country. Most of our work together is completely unofficial, anyway." Fraser looked down shyly and back up, then continued "Does this mean you're considering it, Ray?"

Ray stood to pace through the small apartment. Fraser watched him carefully, but made no move himself. Ray would have to accept or reject this on his own. Fraser had done what he could. The decision would be Ray's, now.

Fraser could hear Ray muttering as he paced. Occasional words or phrases came clearly to his sharp ears. ". . . like that makes a difference . . . What does he think . . . You know, Dief . . . He's dragged me into a lotta weird . . . "

Trying not to listen, even though he desperately wanted to know what Ray was thinking, Fraser got up to put the kettle on for tea. He thought back to all of the things that had led him to believe that Ray might be approachable concerning a possible romance between them. If he were preparing a case to turn over for prosecution, he knew that his evidence would be deemed very thin indeed. There were little things, mostly: a look, a gesture. There was also the fact that Ray had never let him down, had in fact backed him against his own police department, no matter how outrageous he privately thought the Canadian to be.

Soon, Ray fell silent, and shortly after, came to a stop in the middle of the kitchen as Fraser turned from the sink to face his friend. Green eyes met gray, and Ray sighed. Still Fraser waited. Finally Ray exploded. "How can you be so damn calm about this? You're asking me to change my whole life, here. Change who I am, change what I am. How can you ask that and be so cool, like you just walked off a glacier or somethin'?"

"If I seem calm, Ray, I assure you it's just my training. I don't feel terribly calm. My palms are wet. My heart is racing. I'm not sure if I'm even breathing. I am far from calm. And this will be new for me, too, Ray." Fraser paused, took a deep breath, and went on, "You've already changed my life. I thought I was strong, self-sufficient, invincible. I never needed anyone but myself. Then I met you, and you taught me what love is, taught me that I could need someone beside myself and still be a man. You taught me that I could want things for myself without dishonoring my duty, and that there was no shame in sometimes putting myself first. You taught me to stand up for myself. I love you, Ray."

A slow smile spread over the cop's face. "Yeah, I love you, too, Benny." Ray drawled, and held his arms wide. Later Fraser wondered if he had teleported into them, because he had no memory of crossing the intervening space before he was enfolded in the Italian's long arms, his face nestled in the hollow of Ray's neck, his whole body trembling.

"There, it's all right, Benny," Ray crooned into his friend's ear, stroking his hair until Fraser's trembling stopped. "There, now. That's better. I mean, it isn't like we never hugged before."

"May I kiss you, Ray?"

Ray sighed and dropped his forehead onto Fraser's shoulder. "I gotta take this slow, Benny. And I'm not promising anything. Not anything, do you hear?"

"Yes, Ray." Fraser's voice was low, and husky with desire.

"Because I don't know if I can.... I mean, I'm not sure how far.... I might not.... Oh hell, Benny, you're usually the one who can't talk."

"Shhh, don't try to talk, Ray." Fraser took Ray's chin in his hand and raised the cop's head, then took his hand away. Afterwards, neither man knew who initiated their first kiss. It started out soft and sweet, almost childlike. Ray started to smile, then moaned when Fraser's tongue slipped past his teeth to caress his own. A passionate fire kindled in the pit of Ray's stomach, and when Fraser began to suck on his tongue that fire flashed over him, searing away his doubts. With a deep-throated growl Ray grasped the Mountie by his hair, thrusting into Fraser's mouth with his tongue, in time with the movements of his hips grinding his sudden erection into Fraser's groin. One hand began working Fraser's shirttail out of his jeans.

With an effort, Fraser pulled his mouth away from Ray's. The glazed look left the cop's eyes after a few seconds. "Oh my god, Benny, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. And I just got finished saying I didn't think I could---"

"Don't apologize, Ray," the Canadian panted. "I only stopped you because... Well, I was about to... soil myself. I just need to...calm down."

"Wow! You mean you almost came? Just from kissing me?"

"Yes, Ray." Fraser flushed deeply.

"Oh, wow! I never thought that just kissing could excite somebody that much." Ray tightened his arms around Fraser.

"Being around you excites me, Ray. Believe me, you don't know how grateful I am that my uniform trousers are so loose fitting. I'd frequently embarrass myself, otherwise."

"Geez, Benny, how long has this been goin' on?"

Fraser look thoughtful for a moment, then answered, "You remember the time we were sitting in the closet at your station, in the dark, and you wanted to know if it was Diefenbaker licking you?"

"Yeah...?"

"You don't know how much I wanted it to be me." He laid his head on Ray's shoulder.

"That long, huh? Why did you wait so long to say anything?" Ray let his hands roam, caressing the Mountie's back.

"Ray, can we continue this discussion...lying down?" Fraser was still quite weak in the knees.

"Lying down sounds good, Benny, but do you think you can chase Dief off your bed?" Ray teased.

"Of course, Ray. I am the alpha male." Fraser took Ray by the hand and led him into the bedroom. "Get off the bed, please, Diefenbaker. Dief, get off. Look at me when I'm talking to you. I said, get . . . off!" The wolf just blinked sleepily at him.

"Ah, c'mon, Dief. Please?" Ray whined. The wolf jumped down and trotted into the kitchen. Fraser looked at Ray admiringly.

"I should have known." Fraser began undressing his friend.

"Known what, Benny?" Ray asked as he leaned in for a kiss, opening Fraser's jeans and finishing untucking his shirt.

"You seem to have become the alpha male, Ray."

"Well, I'm not gonna go around sniffing your butt, Benny. Hmm, your boots are gonna hafta go before I can get your pants off."

"No, no; as junior male, it's up to me to initiate any butt sniffing."

"Benny!" Ray admonished.

"Just kidding, Ray." He pushed a now-naked Ray down onto his bed and sat on the edge to remove his boots and jeans, Ray's fingers trailing up and down his spine. In seconds, he was lying tightly wrapped in long, slim arms and legs, his mouth being penetrated again by the Italian's hot, wet tongue. Ray's hard cock was nestled next to his own, creating feelings several orders of magnitude better even than Fraser had imagined.

"I can't believe how good you feel next to me, Benny. I mean, you're a guy. I'm not supposed to like this."

"I knew that I would love holding you, Ray, but this is very much better than I imagined."

"Benny?"

"I'm talking too much again?"

"Um hmm." Ray prevented further talking by the simple expedient of sticking his tongue halfway down the Mountie's throat, eliciting soft moans from his partner.

Despite his earlier trepidation, Ray found himself responding to Fraser's excitement. The Mountie wriggled deliciously, and his hands were busy stroking, fondling, and caressing the parts of Ray's body that he could reach without breaking lip contact. Suddenly Ray froze. Fraser had wrapped his hand around Ray's balls, and was rolling them in their sac.

"What's wrong, Ray?" Fraser murmured in his ear.

"Geez, Benny, ya gotta give a guy some warning." Ray complained.

"Warning? Oh, you mean about this, Ray?" Fraser tugged gently downward.

"Yes!" Ray yelped, then relaxed as he realized that the gesture hadn't hurt. "Actually, that does feel pretty good, Benny."

"Well, it's . . . it's something I like, Ray. I thought you might, too, " Fraser said shyly.

"Um, yeah. Well, ya know what? I like how you think." Ray placed a kiss on the tip of Fraser's nose for emphasis.

"Well, if you liked that, Ray," Fraser released Ray's balls to take a loose grip on his cock and stroke it gently. "You'll have to tell me if I get too rough. I have no way to judge how sensitive you are without a foreskin to protect you."

"Yeah, well it's not as delicate as all that, Frase. Tell you what: you keep doing it the way you'd like it. I'll let you know if it gets to be too much."

Grinning like a kid in a candy store, Fraser tightened his grip and began to stroke Ray. He had a sure, deft touch that soon had Ray begging for mercy.

"Ohh, ease up, Benny. You're gonna make me come too soon."

"Do I take it that you wish to prolong this, Ray?"

"Yes!" Ray gasped. Fraser transferred his grip to Ray's testicles, then when he was sure the danger had passed, began stroking the shaft again. Before long, Ray was again nearing his orgasm. Fraser had memorized the signs, which were after all not too dissimilar to his own, and backed off again, again kneading Ray's hairy balls while he waited.

"I'm in love with a sadist," grumbled Ray good naturedly, when he was in control of himself once more. Then, "Geez, Benny, I'm sorry I'm being so selfish. I didn't realize you weren't having any fun, here," Ray exclaimed, when he noticed that Fraser's erection had waned.

"No, I'm fine, Ray," Fraser started to protest before Ray wrapped his long, elegant fingers around his semi-flaccid length. Sheer joy swept through Fraser at Ray's touch. His cock sprang instantly back to full erection. "You see the effect you have on me, Ray?"

"I used to think penises were pretty ugly, Benny, but yours... it's as beautiful as the rest of you."

"Thank you kindly, Ray, but you're the beautiful one."

"Yeah? Well it's not me that all the women chase."

"And a good thing, too. I'm not sure that I could stand up to the competition." Fraser held his breath, hoping his jest would not be taken badly by his best friend. By his lover, he corrected himself happily.

"I'll show you competition," Ray growled, laughing as he rolled Fraser onto his back. He quickly straddled the Mountie's hips. "I guess this makes you the mountee, Benny." Ray said as he ground his erect cock into Fraser's. "Let's see who comes first." Before Fraser could reply, Ray was thrusting his tongue into Fraser's mouth in time with the motion of his hips.

Both men seemed to get into the spirit of the game, wriggling together, each trying to make the other come while holding back his own orgasm. Finally, the sensations became too much for Fraser, who had waited so long for Ray.

"Ray. Ray! RAY!" Fraser's back arched, lifting Ray and himself off the mattress. Ray couldn't help but feel Fraser's cock swell and pulsate as a flood of hot fluid spread between their bellies. "Ray," Fraser repeated, in an almost reverent whisper as he settled back onto the bed.

"Oh. Oh, Benny!" yelled Ray scant seconds later, spilling his scalding semen to mingle with Fraser's. He collapsed bonelessly atop his friend's sated body. After he recovered from the Little Death, the first thing Ray noticed was Fraser's strong, steady heartbeat next to his own heart, and he smiled.

"What is it, Ray?" asked Fraser, smiling in return.

"I'm wondering which one of us won, Benny."

"I think we both did, Ray."

"Yeah."

end