Disclaimer: Sadly, they're not mine.

Author's Notes: Big thanks to Diane for the marvellous beta job! Happy belated bday Purin!

Dancing to Our Dream

Here we go again, how do we get into these situations? This whole freaking mess started simple enough. A couple weeks ago me and Fraser were interrogating a perp. Charlie had ecstacy on him...

***

"Where'd ya get the E?" I was doing the whole bad cop thing to, you know, shake him up. This one was being a tight-mouthed little bastard so I banged on the table, right in front of him.

"Now, son," and Fraser's doing his whole good cop thing. "It really would be a good idea if you told Detective Kowalski where you obtained the drugs..."

"I want my lawyer," the little rich-kid punk was whining like a little girl. This'd been going on way too long. Damn frat boys were nothing but trouble. Hadn't changed since The Stella's college days.

I got up in the kid's face, really snarling now. "Listen punk, you better tell us or I'm gonna kick you in the head!" I kicked his chair leg, just to let him know I was serious.

"Ray, do you really think that's wise? You do remember the lieutenant's reprimand the last time this happened, don't you?"

"Yeah. But he talked."

Fraser was giving me his you-should-know-better-Ray look. The one with that eyebrow halfway up his face and his mouth all pursed up. "But not until after... well, that's not important right now," he dismissed the rest of whatever he was gonna say. Fraser don't lie often but when he does he really makes it count. And it's not really lying- more like leaving things out.

"You can't do that!" the kid insisted. He looked ready to shit his pants. People will fill in the blanks with whatever they want.

"You wanna try me?" I was right back in his face, jaw clenched and eyes tight. I really was ready to kick his fat head.

"Ray..." Fraser warned.

I drew my foot back and got ready to kick when the kid broke, "CLUB X! Club X! That's where I got it!" Oh man, it was near impossible to keep a straight face. He was singing like a cas... castanet... one of them kids from back in the day who had their nuts cut off so's their voices wouldn't ever change. Castrati. One of them.

"Who?" I pulled my foot back, ready to kick.

"I don't know!" Kid was practically in tears and I was biting my cheek so I could keep on glaring. "Go to the bar and ask to see Lady Ella. But they won't let just anybody back there. They have to know you."

I sat down next to Fraser, across the table from the kid. "How's that happen?"

"Be a regular. Get to know someone." The rest of the interrogation went well from there and I started getting an idea. I booked the kid while Fraser did his magic on the paperwork.

"Fraser, got any plans tonight?"

"Nothing particular, Ray. Why do you ask?"

I slung my arm over his shoulders, grinning. "We're gonna do some reconn."

"We are?"

"Fraser, buddy, we're gonna check out this Club X. Gotta get known there."

And Fraser started looking flustered. He shrugged out from under my arm and ran his finger under his collar, cleared his throat. "Ah, well... Ray, do you know anything about this club?"

"What's to know? It's a club. Music, dancing, E. Seems pretty simple to me."

Cracked his neck. "Well, Ray, this club... It caters to a... particular... clientele." He was looking a little pink in the cheeks.

"C'mon, Frase. Just spit it out. Like the tape, do it quick and it's over."

"It's a... a... leather club, Ray." Oh yeah. He was definitely getting hot around the collar.

"Leather, huh? Guess we'll have to do some shopping then," I shot a wink at him.

"Ray!" No one says my name quite like Fraser does. Especially not that exasperated, scandalized, resigned tone.

"C'mon, Frase," I gave his shoulders a squeeze before letting him go. "What better way to get to the source? We're not even going to make a bust tonight. We'll just go, scope it out, show our faces. A couple of nights, two weeks tops. Then we ask to see Lady Ella and bam! We take `er down."

Fraser's finger went back to his collar, "I don't know, Ray..."

"C'mon, Frase, it'll be easy."

"What if someone from the club recognizes me?"

"Why the hell'd they do that?" My patience was about shot.

"One of my early cases with-- I thought you memorized the files?" he snapped at me.

I stared at him a minute, sorting through two years' worth of Vecchio's files in my head. Oh. "You were there. With the kid and the matches."

"Yes, Ray."

"Right. But that was a coupl'a years back. No one's gonna recognize you. Especially after our shopping trip."

And Fraser went for his collar again, "Oh dear."

Fraser was looking hot. I figured the country-boy angle would work for him. He was wearing black leather overalls, no shirt under. The leather fit perfectly, but moved with him easy, like he'd already been wearing it for days. There were three brass buttons along each side and brass catches for the straps. I really wanted to see him with one side unfastened but he was already showing more skin than he was comfortable with. Fall's chilly so I added a simple black biker jacket. Fraser put up a real fuss because he's already got a leather bomber, but brown on top of all that black? Nuh-uh. I'm no Style Pig but even I know that wouldn't work. The black boots were pretty simple, too. Ankle height with a silver buckle across the top and near the top of the foot. Best part of the outfit was the leather cowboy Stetson. Again, real simple. The only decoration was a braided band of black leather.

My outfit had less to it. I was going for the tough-guy look. Black leather pants that laced up the sides and a thick belt with a double latch, kind of like Fraser's uniform belt. I wore a black mesh t-shirt and rolled a pack of smokes in the sleeve. My steel-toed motorcycle boots were black leather with a studded strap across the front and a chain that tucked up against the heel and attached to the opposite side. I had my own motorcycle jacket.

We hit the club a couple of nights a week over the next two weeks. Fifth night there we made contact. Up `til then we had mostly been hanging out around the bar. I made some quiet noise that we were looking to score some E. The guy was tall. Taller than Fraser. Dark skin, dark eyes, hair in a little ponytail. He was all over Fraser. Of course he was all over him. Everyone wants to be all over him. We were hanging out at the bar, scoping things out when he slinked up next to Fraser and grabbed on. Just wrapped his hand around Fraser's bicep. "Dance with me," the guy started tugging on Frase. I didn't like his voice. He was too slick... and his eyes were gone. The guy was rolling. I wanted to punch the guy, but he fit the description of the guy we were looking for so I didn't say nothing. Fraser glanced at me, which was weird. He doesn't usually ask me before he does something, just jumps right in. But this time he asked. My thumb brushed the side of my nose; go ahead, I got your back. He smiled. I smiled back.

Normally Fraser has the rhythm of a stick. It was painful watching him while he did back-up for Tracy Jenkins. That night, though, the music was different. The bass was throbbing with a techno beat. This music wasn't about dancing, this music was sex standing up. Fraser didn't have to do much. Mostly he just stood there swaying, following the other guy's lead. That slick shit draped one arm over Fraser's shoulder and put the other on Fraser's hip. Then he started a slow, easy sway that Fraser copied, no problemo. Then Fraser started talking. I rolled my eyes. I almost felt sorry for the guy. But he was too into his dancing and his dope to care. Fraser might've just as well have been a pole - dancing and talking were more tasks than Fraser could do at one time. Sheesh. I decided he'd need dance practice before we came out here again.

They kept on dancing another couple of songs. Someone tried to buy me a drink. I told her to scram. I had to keep an eye on Fraser, right? What kind of partner would I be if I left his back open? The guy finally got called away. Some other guy tapped him on the shoulder. He said something to Fraser, Fraser answered back and Mr. Slick smiled before taking off. I bought a bottle of water and made a beeline for Frase.

"Let's go," I draped my arm over his shoulders and guided him out. Once outside I slid my arm away and handed him the water. The air was late-fall cold. Winter was gonna be a bitch and she was gonna hit soon.

Fraser emptied the entire bottle in one go. "Thank you, Ray."

"No problem. Was that our guy?" I tapped the steering wheel as we headed for the Consulate.

"Yes. That was Charlie's friend's contact, Bruce. He told me that if we were to return on Saturday night, that arrangements could be made for us to meet Lady Ella."

"Great! That's greatness, Benton buddy!" I slapped his thigh then gave it a rough shake. The leather was soft and warm under my hand. I rubbed my thumb against it. Fraser turned his head. We were at a red light so I looked back. He licked his bottom lip slow like, and then bit down on it with his two front teeth. His eyes were open wide. Half of his face was lit up by the light from outside the car, the other half was in shadows. I licked my lips, too. All of a sudden I couldn't breathe right. The whole world suddenly was Fraser's lips and thigh. My thumb kept rubbing little circles over his thigh. Around and around. I leaned in. . I wanted to taste his mouth without a lake between us. Almost there. I could feel his breath, his fingertips brushing my jaw...

And a horn honked. I put my hand back on the wheel and hit the accelerator. What the hell was I doing? This was Fraser for Pete's sake! My partner! My really good looking partner who once did that buddy-breathing thing that put his mouth right on mine. Shit.

I kept my hands on the wheel when we got to the Consulate. "I'll, uh, I'll see you tomorrow?" I couldn't look at him.

Fraser leaned in the open door, "As soon as I finish my duties here. We'll need to coordinate with the lieutenant and the other officers."

"Yeah. Coordination is good. We'll need back up." He was still leaning in the door, so I looked at him. Double shit. He looked like he did that night on the docks. The dumbest night of my life when we almost ended things. , I couldn't leave him looking like that. "Hey, Frase. Good work tonight."

"Thank you, Ray," he gave me a brief, tight smile.

"We're gonna practice your dancing. You looked like a stick in the wind," I grinned. I liked that thought. My hands on Fraser, not Bruce's.

"Will we be dancing again Ray?" Fraser went all serious on me.

"Yeah. Yeah, if you want to." This thing couldn't be just about me. "We're a duet and a duet takes two. Just like the tango."

Then he smiled. It was fucking brilliant. It was a look I wanted to see on him again. "I'd like that, Ray, very much."

"Good. Sweet dreams."

"And you, Ray," He closed the door and I was humming all the way home.

Next day, Friday, Fraser came striding in before lunch, plopped down on the corner of my desk and twirled his hat. The wolf was sniffing around Huey's desk. "Good morning, Ray," he smiled at me. Not that big grin from the night before, but not his usual work smile, either.

I smiled back at him. I gotta admit I was nervous up until he showed up. I was half afraid he'd be stuck at the Consulate all day and half afraid that he'd show up here. When he arrived, though, the nerves melted away and I had to smile.

"Hey Fraser. Escaped the Ice Queen?"

"After I handed in my report and explained the importance of coordinating tomorrow night's activities the Inspector dismissed me for the day."

"So you bored her into letting you come." Call a spade a spade.

"Explained."

"Droned."

"Illuminated."

I snorted. "Illuminated? What, you stick a light bulb in your mouth or something?"

"Of course not, Ray. That would just be silly." And there it was, just a little twitch of his lips. That's laughter in Fraser body language.

The rest of the afternoon we spent strategizing. The plan was real simple. Fraser and I would go to the club, meet up with Bruce. The tricky part was going to be contacting our back-up. We couldn't risk being wired and using my cell phone in advance was going to be iffy. The Club X sound system might cause too much interference. Once we were with Lady Ella and the drugs we'd arrest her, call in the blue and whites, and wrap it up.

We met up with Bruce. He had the hots for the Mountie something fierce. Kept slithering up behind him and putting his damn hands all over Fraser's chest. Frase... he went with it. Had to if we were gonna get in to see Lady Ella. Didn't mean I had to like it. Those weren't the hands I wanted to see all over Frase's chest... or the lips I wanted to see pressed against his ear. My feet were itching to kick Bruce's greasy head. Hard. Then Frase looked over at me and jerked his head as Bruce led him toward the back.

We went through a door marked "Authorized Personnel Only." The hallway was dim and reeked of bad incense. We went through a beaded curtain into an even darker room that was real dim. The incense was smelling a lot stronger. A chick in a long ball gown, fur stole, and one of them long cigarette holders was lounging on a weird sofa that only had one arm. There were more sofas with people obviously drugged up and making out. "Come in," she called in a husky, stuck up voice.

Bruce put a hand on Frase's back and kind of pushed him ahead and I followed. "So you've come to join Lady Ella's little soiree. I do hope you brought an appropriate gift." She stuck the cigarette holder back in her overly lipsticked mouth and held out a hand, palm up. In the other she had a bag of little white pills.

"Thank you kindly, ma'am," Fraser said all polite and Mountie-like.

I bent down and pulled the gun out of the ankle holster and my badge out of my coat pocket. "Chicago PD!" I shouted. "You're under arrest. Put your hands behind your heads. Now!" "Fucker!" Suddenly Lady Ella wasn't sounding so much like a lady. That huskiness fell right into a full baritone. "Bruce, you idiot! Do something!"

***

And now Bruce's gun is at Fraser's head. "Drop it, Pig, or I'll plaster your face with his brains." I look at Frase and we do that whole not-talking talking thing. His look is telling me to hold onto the gun. Then I look over at Bruce. "Do it!" he shouts. And I do exactly as told. I can't put Fraser's ass on the line like that. I drop my gun on the floor and kick it toward him.

"Back to the office," Lady Ella jerks his chin over his shoulder. Bruce takes us out back, gun still at Fraser's head. Ella tells his henchmen to wait then follows us. "Bruce, tie them up and lock the office. We'll take care of them later. I have some business to finish first." Bruce opens the bottom drawer of a file cabinet and takes out everything he needs to bind us. He duct tapes our hands and feet behind us and shoves gags in our mouths. All this shit comes outta the bottom drawer of a gray filing cabinet. Jesus. They take my cell phone so I can't call in the any back-up.

So here we are, trussed up like hogs with ball gags in our mouths. Bruce and Lady Ella go back to the party. I'm staring at Frase, trying to get our whole not-talking talking thing going again and he's looking right back at me. Wham! I'm hit by Fraser's eyes. They're blue. Ok, I know they're blue. But just now all of a sudden I realize they're this really dark blue like... like... I don't know... Like Fraser's eyes, I guess. Whatever.

I shake my head and snap out of it. Frase is making this sound. "Ehng! Ehng! Ehng!" He knocks his knees against mine, then kind of wiggles over next to me. He's... Jesus! He's thrusting at me! His leather-covered crotch is thrusting at me! And the rest of him! He's all over me! What the fuck? So I've imagined him all over me but not like this! Not exactly. There were more hands involved in my fantasy and no duct tape.

He's making that sound again. Like a grunt. And my name. His side is pressed up against my chest and something pokes me. Oh. Yeah. Fraser's knife! He's got a knife in the inside pocket of his leather jacket. How Bruce missed it, I'll never know.

I look at him, right in the eye, and I know what he's thinking. I would've smiled if this damn gag wasn't in my mouth. So I roll up onto my side and scoot up so that my hands are level with his chest. It takes some work and a lot of unintelligible cursing but I finally get the damn knife in my hands and open. I hold it steady and while he rolls over, scoots back, and rubs the tape against the knife until the tape is cut. He's free in no time and so am I. He lays one of his big hands over my mouth when I open it. "Shh." Ah hell. Just one good rant's all I want but those fuckers are still out there and we can't sneak up on `em or call in back-up if they know we're free. So, I nod, close my mouth and his hand is gone.

Using nothing but hand signals we get our plan worked out. There's a phone on Lady Ella's desk and I use it to quietly call in the cavalry. Lady Ella and Bruce are holding court. They're so busy wrapping up their deals that they don't have any idea we're coming. It's now or never. Frase cuts the lights while I hunker and sneak up behind Lady Ella and then knock her flat. "Freeze! You are so under arrest!"

And Fraser is right behind Bruce with his knife touching Bruce's neck when the lights come back up. "If you would please drop your gun," he requests all polite-like. "Thank you kindly," he says when Bruce does it. I'm duct taping the lady when our back-up finally gets in here and Fraser's handling Bruce.

We get `em booked and start with the questioning. This was our collar, and no one else is getting credit for it. By the time we finally leave the station it's late or early or what-the-fuck-ever, depending on point of view, but I'm wired from the evening's excitement. After we get in the GTO we sit for a minute. "Frase, you wanna eat?"

He looks over at me, eyes wide open and he blinks real fast. "Ah." That's all he says.

I grab the steering wheel tight and glare at him. I hate it when he does this. "Ah. Ah? Fraser, what the hell does that mean? What do you want to do? You wanna go back to the Consulate? You wanna hit the diner? What?"

He does his lip licking thing before he answers. "Ray, I'd like to... well, that is to say... I'd like to continue..."

"Spit it out, Fraser. Before I die."

He stiffens up and takes a big breath. "I'd like to dance with you."

"You wanna dance? With me?" I'm not getting this. We don't dance. But maybe we should. And maybe he thinks so, too.

Then he shuts down. No more nerves or hope showing on his face as he says flatly, "Or you could just take me back to the Consulate. I'm sure Diefenbaker is at the end of his rope with Turnbull."

Suddenly, I'm grinning like a dumb kid in love. Only now I'm not a kid. Maybe not so dumb anymore either. I've got this itch in my hand. I gotta feel that leather again so I pat his thigh. "Dancing's good. Dancing is greatness."

When we get back to my place I throw my keys on the counter and my jacket on the sofa. Frase is hanging out around the door looking tense, like he's never been in here before. Music. Maybe that'll loosen him up. I turn on Billy Holliday and her mellow voice fills the room. "C'mere," I tell him and give my head a jerk.

Fraser stands in front of me and cocks his head to the side. "This music is different than the club."

"Yeah. This is real music, not that techno shit in a can and we're gonna do some real dancing, not have seizures all over the floor." I get our hands in the right places: one of his on my shoulder, one of mine on his waist, other hands holding tight. "Follow me." I'm serious here.

"Of course, Ray." He smiles and nods his head, "You're the expert."

We start dancing, just shuffling around, nothing too fancy but it's real awkward. Fraser's stiff in all the wrong places and staring at our feet. "Frase," I poke his side, the part not covered by the overalls. That gets his attention fast! He jerks away from my finger and his head snaps up.

"Ray, was that necessary?" I can't help grinning at him. I never thought he'd be ticklish. "Oh yeah. Now quit looking at my feet."

"Where else am I supposed to look?" Oooh. He's getting pissy and it just makes me smile more. What can I say? I like getting a rise out of the guy.

"Ah," I roll my eyes at him and we're both smiling. I slide my arm across his back and he steps closer so we're dancing stubble to stubble.

He nuzzles behind my ear and takes a long sniff, then kind of sighs. "Frase, did you just smell me?"

"Yes," his mouth is right against my ear and his nose is in my hair. He sniffs.

"You smelled me again," I can't stop smiling. My fingers are buried in his hair, burrowing through the softness to massage his scalp.

"You smell nice," he drags the tip of his nose from my temple down along my cheek and takes a deep breath.

I press up against him and grab one of his shoulders, rub my crotch against his. "This some kind of kink I never heard of?"

Fraser pulls his head back and looks right at me, eyes hot and intense. "You are my kink, Ray." Holy fuck. Next thing I know we're fused at the mouth. My tongue's in his mouth, his tongue is rubbing all over mine. We're nipping, sucking, licking.

I unhook the straps of his overalls and they fold over at the waist giving me lots of skin to play with. His chest is smooth under my hands and then his shoulders... "Mmm," I murmur as I run my hands over the strong curve of his back.

His hands are so far up my t-shirt that it's rucked up under my armpits. I pull away from him and grab the hem. Fraser swats my hands away and tugs it off himself.

"Bed," he's panting against my ear. I grunt at him. It's supposed to be `yeah' but my mouth's too busy exploring his collar bone.

I don't know how we make it to the bedroom without breaking our necks. I'm popping the buttons on the sides of his overalls (or trying to) and he's pulling off my belt. He's better at this than me but I'm betting it's only because he's had more practice from his uniform. He shoves me down on the bed and strips my pants down to my ankles. "Damn it," he mutters.

"Holy shit, Ben!" Fraser cursed which makes me laugh.

"You called me Ben," it's almost an accusation.

That cuts my laughing short. "What? You thought I was gonna call you Fraser in bed? Freak." I cuff him lightly on the back of his thick head.

He smiles at me, "Understood, Ray." Then he goes right back to looking serious. "Now would you kindly sit still or these damn pants will never come off and I'll be forced to fuck you with your pants around your ankles."

"Jesus, Ben!" I grab his head with both my hands and drag him up until we're kissing. "Hottest thing ever," I manage to get in between kisses. Fuck the boots. Fuck the pants. I just wanna feel him, but I know he's gonna get his way.

When we finally get naked, Ben presses me back on the bed, his big hands on my shoulders. He straddles my legs and starts sniffing my neck. And I know this is gonna just be the start of our nights...