Disclaimer: I don't own the boys (mores the pity) and nor do I claim any right to the books and literature mentioned in this story either.

Author's Notes: Thanks to Elanor for the beta job and the suggestion to include the fairytale.

After nearly three years of working with Constable Fraser you'd think that Detective Ray Vecchio would know better. But he didn't. What had appeared to be a routine case of art forgery had turned into a case of him and Fraser being locked inside a library storeroom until someone came to let them out. That could be any time but was more likely to be in the morning, by which point the night would have been wasted.

Ray pulled his coat tighter around himself. It was dark and slightly chilly in the library. Fine it wasn't a vault but that didn't make it any better. The lights were on some sort of a time lock. Fraser had said it was good energy preservation. Ray thought it was just the library being stingy with their budget. Sitting on the floor didn't help Ray's disposition. Interlocking linoleum wasn't the nicest seat. It was cold and hard. Fraser had laid his coat on the floor to act as some insulation; he didn't mind the chilly atmosphere. Unfortunately Ray could still feel the cold hard floor underneath.

Fraser had now got up and was moving about the library storeroom, examining the shelves. Then Fraser started picking up the books and rearranging them.

"Benny, what are you doing?" Ray asked.

"I'm rearranging the books, Ray."

"I can see that. Why?"

"Well it's obvious, Ray, they're in the wrong order. Whoever heard of putting a copy of Edward Gibbon's `The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' against the seminal works of Proust must be...well mad. The Dewey decimal system is there for a reason."

Ray gave a long suffering sigh and went to see what it was his partner was interested in. He looked along the line of books and picked one up at random. He didn't recognise the name.

"Who's Frederick Engels?" Ray looking at the volume entitled `Condition of the working classes in England'.

"He was an associate of Karl Marx," Fraser explained. "It was he who helped Marx formulate the communist manifesto and he was instrumental in the creation of Das Kapitial."

"Sorry I asked," Ray said. The last thing he wanted was a detailed discussion on communism.

He placed the volume back on the shelf only to be reprimanded by Fraser.

"Ray!"

"What?" "You can't put it in the middle of the biology section."

"Sorry," Ray said and handed the offending volume to Fraser.

As Fraser was rearranging the shelves he sounded almost excited. "Look Ray a monograph on the feeding habits of the South American Mountain Tapir."

"That's great, Benny, what's a tapir? Something you measure with?"

"No, Ray it's a mammal closely related to the primitive horse and rhinoceros. It's currently endangered partially due to habitat destruction. They have an elongated snout which is similar to the trunk of an elephant, albeit shorter...."

Ray simply tuned out what Fraser was saying. It was nice just to listen to the sound of his words washing over him. Fraser didn't notice when Ray wandered over and sat back down, leaning against the wall with his eyes half closed.

Finally Fraser noticed. "Ray?"

"Hmmm?"

"Are you alright?"

"Oh yeah." Ray tried not to look as uncomfortable as he was feeling.

Just then he noticed a book on the pile next to him. It was a book of fairytales similar to one he'd had as a child. Ray reached and picked it up. He sat idly flicking through it, listening to the shuffling of the books being arranged. He was hoping to find a story about elves but that wasn't forthcoming. Instead he found Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It was one of his youngest niece's favourite stories. He'd often read to her, she insisted on the funny voices too. He thought it might be an idea to try it out on Fraser so he wandered back over to where his friend was.

"Look at this, Benny," he said. Ray held out the book and the page. "This story is a classic. Rosie always wants me to read this to her."

"Goldilocks and the three bears," Fraser read out. "I see. What sort of book is that?" Fraser had never seen such a brightly coloured book before, nor had he heard of a Goldilocks or the three bears.

"It's a book of fairytales, Benny. Didn't you have one when you were a kid?"

Fraser had a slight sadness in his eyes. "No, Ray. My mother bought one but when she died it was lost and I never saw it again."

"I'm sorry." Ray moved closer and gave Fraser a hug of sorts from behind, out of comfort.

Ray decided he might try and read some of the story to Fraser. It might be educational for him, not having the chance as a child. "How `bout I read you some?"

"Alright, Ray." For a moment Fraser stopped what he was doing and paid attention as Ray began to read aloud.

"Once upon a time there were three bears. A Mommy bear, a Daddy bear and a baby bear and they all lived in a house in the middle of the woods....."

"Ray?"

"Yeah?"

"Well it appears the story is wrong. For example the male bears are solitary animals and only meet up with the female bears during the breeding season. Also it doesn't state what type of bear they are, are they grizzly bears, black bears? Not to mention the fact that bears usually give birth to two cubs so......"

"Benny, it's a story okay? Bears don't live in houses, I know that. This is fiction."

"Sorry, Ray. Please continue."

Ray sighed. "One day Mommy bear made some delicious porridge. But it was too hot for the bears to eat..."

"Ray? Why would bears be eating porridge? Their diet is usually berries and plants. They do eat fish on occasion during the salmon season but porridge is awkward and I doubt they have the manual dexterity to use a spoon." Fraser was actually quite interested in the story now, albeit in trying to understand how ridiculous it seemed.

"I told you it's a story, Benny. Anyway," Ray continued, "you said bears eat plants right?"

"Right."

"And porridge comes from oats right?"

"That's correct."

"And aren't oats plants?"

"Yes," Fraser conceded. It wasn't entirely logical but it did make some sense.

"And who's to say they're using spoons? Did you hear spoons mentioned?"

"No, Ray I just assumed..."

"Exactly. So don't worry about it, okay?"

"Okay, Ray."

So Ray continued. He explained the Mommy bear could have used magic to make the porridge as it was a fairytale. That was also why the bears could talk. When Fraser asked what was wrong with his voice he gave up trying to do voices, it was obviously lost on the Mountie. He also explained that, yes Goldilocks was technically breaking and entering, although the door was unlocked, and yes she had committed a serious crime. When Fraser asked why bears would have chairs which technically would not be ergonomic Ray explained that they were special bear chairs and that was why Goldilocks found them uncomfortable. He also changed the ending so the bears came home and called the cops. Goldilocks was arrested and charged with breaking and entering, stealing, vandalism and, at Fraser's suggestion, squatting. She then spent eight months in a juvenile centre. Ray did manage to finish the story in this way and Fraser appeared to have enjoyed it. Ray decided to buy a copy of fairytales for Fraser. It was an unusual gift to buy an adult male and a Mountie at that but Ray felt Fraser shouldn't miss out on the joys of fairytales.

After the story had finished Fraser went back to arranging the shelves and Ray went back to sit down. Time ticked slowly by now and Ray was beginning to get fed up of seeing Fraser so engrossed in his task. Ray certainly wasn't interested. He knew why all the books were here in the storeroom, no-one would ever read the darn things! After hearing Fraser's mutterings about the placement of a volume of Chekhov Ray had had enough.

"Benny!" he reprimanded. He knew this neatness thing of Fraser's was something that the Mountie couldn't help. He also knew that spending his formative years in a library had meant that Fraser had a bizarre connection with books. Why else would the role of book monitor have so appealed? That wasn't the point though. He wanted Fraser next to him. It made him feel less cold. In the last few minutes the temperature around Ray had definitely dropped. "Look, Benny, there are people who get paid for doing that and you're not one of them. Besides I'm getting cold over here so will you please come back and sit down?"

Fraser glanced at the books and then he glanced at Ray. There was really only one of them he could choose, wanted to choose. So he left the books and went and sat next to his best friend.

"Better?" he asked.

Ray smiled. "Yeah."

Neither man said much for a time. They just enjoyed the quiet and the each other's company. After a while it got to Ray though, he had preferred listening to Fraser talking about nothing, and he sighed for the twentieth time that hour. It was at this point that Fraser decided to ask what was wrong.

"Are you alright, Ray?"

"No I'm not alright," Ray grumbled. He wasn't `alright', he was stuck in a cold, dark, library storeroom for the foreseeable future. He'd spent the last ten minutes thinking how no-one was going to find them until the morning. There were other things he wanted to do, all of them with Fraser.

"Oh," Fraser paused slightly. "Why?"

"Let's think, Fraser," Ray reviewed the situation. "We followed an art thief, who you tracked down by sniffing oil paint from his shoe, to this library where he managed to escape and locked us in. This is not my idea of a perfect night in."

"Libraries aren't bad places, Ray."

Fraser always had to look on the bright side of things. Ray on the other hand couldn't see the bright side in this particular instance. He shuffled uncomfortably on the floor. Why couldn't they have ended up in nice warm library or at least where there were seats? He continued to grumble, "Unlike you, Benny, I didn't grow up in a library. I do not have fond memories of spending hours alone with a pile of books. You know when I was a kid I used get thrown out of libraries for being too loud!" Ray shouted the last words, happy there was no-one to tell him off this time. "See now no-one cares. There's no-one here but you and me. The wolf was smart enough to stay in the car."

"I'm truly sorry about this, Ray." Fraser looked at the ground, trying not to meet Ray's gaze. Frankly there were other places he could be at this moment, all of them with Ray.

"Yeah, yeah." Ray waved the apology away. It was as much his fault as Fraser's. He had been the one to allow the door to shut itself. How was he to know it had an automatic lock? Who had an automatic lock for a storeroom full of books? "You know what today is?" he asked.

"Thursday, Ray," said Fraser looking up and having the courage to look into Ray's eyes. What did the day have to do with anything? Fortunately it wasn't the weekend so someone would at least be in, in the morning, to let them out.

"No," Ray said, trying to be patient. "What's the date?"

"The 28th."

"Exactly," Ray smiled in triumph. "It's our anniversary."

Fraser was puzzled. "But, Ray, we've only been dating a month."

"Yeah. It's our month anniversary."

"Our month anniversary?" Fraser was confused. "I'm sorry, Ray I fail to see the significance."

"It's a milestone, Benny," Ray explained, sighing at his Canadian partner's lack of knowledge about useful things. "It's a point where we can say we've been dating for awhile."

"A month."

"Yeah," Ray agreed. "Do you know how few month anniversaries I've had? Including this one, three. It's special Benny. A month is like the first big thing. I wanted something different to celebrate it by than sitting in a dark, cold, smelly library."

"Smelly?"

"Hey, books smell. You'd be the first person to know that."

"I'm sorry. I had no idea the month anniversary was so special. I mean I've never heard of them before."

"Really?" Ray was slightly surprised. He'd expected Fraser would have least heard of them but then the one major relationship he knew Fraser had had, with Victoria, hadn't been the kind where you'd celebrate a month together.

"Well no. I want to know why it's so important to you."

"Okay," Ray said. "I mean, sure we've got the rest of our lives together...but we're never gonna have another month anniversary. This is a great time for us. This is where we're not worried about what people think, we just know we love each other."

Ray was about to continue when he noticed the look on Fraser's face. "Wait why are you smiling?" It was such a rare thing for Fraser to do.

"Could you repeat what you said, Ray?" he asked, the smile not wavering.

"Which bit?"

"The first thing you said."

"The rest of our lives together?"

"Yes," came the confirmation. "Do you mean it?"

Ray rolled his eyes. "Course I mean it, Benny! I mean if I could, which I can't but if I could I'd probably be proposing to you right now."

"You'd marry me?"

"If I could."

"But what about the fact I'm the world's most annoying man?"

"Well you are the most annoying man in the world and you ruin my suits and risk my life. I seem to spend most of my life with you on some crazy scheme but that's not the point. The point is I fell in love you and amazingly you fell in love with me. I'm not the easiest person to get along with and neither are you but together we're better than we are separately, you get it?"

"Yes I do, Ray. I do." Fraser was still smiling. It was a relaxed smile. In fact his whole face looked relaxed, happy.

"God, we're getting mushy," Ray grinned.

"Hmmm." Fraser was thoughtful. "You know, Ray, if I could I'd marry you in a heartbeat."

"Really?"

"Yes. I mean this last month..." Fraser paused not sure of the words. "Well it's been amazing, Ray."

"Amazing?" Ray could hardly disagree.

"Yes, Ray. I've enjoyed it very much."

"Yeah? I have too." Then as an afterthought Ray added, "The sex hasn't been bad either."

"Ray!" Fraser tried to sound embarrassed and offended but he only managed the former.

"Sorry," Ray smiled.

"You're right though," Fraser stated after a few moments of silence. He looked at Ray in a way which had become familiar to Ray in the last month. He looked back the same way, with desire.

"Damn I wanna get outta here," Ray said thumping the floor they were sitting on.

"Yes," Fraser agreed. "Perhaps Diefenbaker....."

"Don't say it." Ray held up a warning finger. He knew what was coming next and he knew it wouldn't happen. They were miles from the Consulate and there would be no-one on duty at this time anyway. Unless Dief happened to stumble into a passing Canadian tourist there was no way the wolf would get help.

Fraser was still optimistic. "He might find help."

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As it turned out he had found help. Dief had seen the cop coming toward the Riv. Wolves had such good eyesight. Dief's eyesight wasn't fixed on the officer and the possible help but more what was contained in the officer's hand. It was a juicy doughnut, all there for Dief's taking. The cop hadn't had a bite yet. Fortunately the window of the Riv was already part way down and it was a simple enough task for Dief to press it down further so he was able to get out. Then like the hunter he was, he pounced on his prey and grabbed the doughnut. However the cop was unwilling to give up his prize. He followed Dief to the back of the library where the storerooms were. There he happened to hear voices and on enquiring had found one Detective Vecchio and one Constable Fraser trapped inside. It was little effort to get a locksmith and have them released. It almost made up for the loss of the doughnut.

*********************************************************************

Unfortunately by the time Ray and Fraser were released and had made it back to Fraser's apartment it was just after midnight.

"Well that's it, Benny," Ray said resignedly. "Our month anniversary's over."

"It might be here, Ray but technically in the territories it's still our anniversary due to the time difference."

"And as you're from the territories...." Ray could see where this was going.

"How would you like to celebrate our month anniversary?"

"I'd like that very much, Benny."

Before Ray knew it he had one amorous Mountie in his arms, pressing up against him and kissing him with passion and love. Ray kissed right back. There was something to be said for having the feel of this particular Mountie's tongue in your mouth and putting yours in his. This was how Ray wanted their anniversary to go. Well not exactly.

They were getting close to what he wanted though, what both of them wanted. Both had learnt, in their month together, the relatively quickest way of removing each other's clothing. Fortunately Fraser wasn't wearing his uniform but his shirt and jeans. Likewise Ray was wearing his turtleneck and casual trousers rather than one of his suits. In fact the only time they had to stop their passionate kissing activities was to remove their clothes.

Finally naked and still kissing each other like never before they toppled onto the bed. Fraser had landed on the bottom this time. They stopped kissing and just looked into each other's eyes.

"Ray?" Fraser whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I want you to make love to me."

Ray was puzzled and it showed on his face. "I thought that's what we were going to do. You, me, a bed what else are we gonna do? What do you mean, Benny?"

"I mean...." Fraser trailed off, unable to say the words.

There was one thing they hadn't done yet, one form of love-making that they hadn't yet explored. Two weeks earlier Fraser had brought home a book on the subject. Ray had been surprised at Fraser's courage in buying any book that had the word `sex' on the front, let alone one that had `gay sex' on the front, but he had. They had looked through it and decided they'd take their time, waiting until they felt ready for what really was the most profound physical act.

Ray caught on to what Fraser meant. "You want me..." He paused. "In you."

"Yes." Fraser's tone was very firm. "We said we'd wait until we were ready and now I feel ready. It's our month anniversary, Ray. You said it had to be special."

Ray decided to kiss Fraser. He was right, they were both ready and now was the perfect opportunity. After filling his Mountie with yet more passion, if that were possible, Ray pulled back and looked into Fraser's eyes.

"Okay," he said. "But we've gotta take it slow."

"I know."

Ray caressed Fraser's cheek. "God I love you."

Fraser smiled again. "I know, Ray, the feeling's mutual."

They kissed for a few more minutes, letting the passion build up gently. Ray wanted them to take their time. This was special and shouldn't be rushed. Finally he was getting too impatient, as was Fraser judging by the way his hips were moving, so Ray decided to ask if it was time.

"Benny?"

"Yes, Ray?" Fraser was getting breathless.

"How do you want to do this?" Ray asked. He knew that there were different positions and ways of going about it. Fraser had already decided who would be the giver and who would be the receiver. In fact they had discussed the point and Fraser had made it clear he wished Ray to make love to him first. Ray had agreed. He didn't mind which way they did it, he enjoyed any lovemaking with Fraser.

Fraser sighed and looked thoughtful. "Face to face, Ray," he said. "I know it's not the safest way but I need....I need to see you and I need you to see me."

Ray smiled. Fraser was such a romantic sometimes. "Okay, Benny."

Ray left Fraser on the bed for a moment in order to get the supplies. In the end it had been him who'd bought the lube, Fraser had been too embarrassed, though he had had some say in which brand they picked.

As he returned Fraser was looking slightly nervous, but expectant. As Ray showed him the tube Fraser bit his lip and nodded. They both knew the mechanics of what they were doing, they'd practically memorised the chapter in the book. Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance after all Ray thought.

Fraser brought his knees up to his chest and held them there, exposing that part of his body where Ray would enter. Ray smiled at the sight of his lover and the trust he placed in him. Gently Ray knelt on the bed and observed that part of his lover.

It was small and dark but yet to him it was somehow inviting. He smiled as he gently licked the area around it. Fraser moaned slightly. Ray knew he had to be doing something right. There wasn't too much time though. Fraser already had a straining erection. Ray wouldn't rush this though. Breaking the seal on the tube he gently squeezed some onto his finger. Satisfied he gently pushed the finger into his lover's body.

Fraser couldn't believe it was about to finally happen. He'd wanted this for so long. Now it was nearly time. He had decided he wanted to be the receiver the first time they explored this type of lovemaking. He wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because he knew Ray was such a giver. Maybe he wanted Ray to claim him in some way. Maybe because he'd give himself to Ray body and soul. Whatever the reason he couldn't stop a moan when Ray rotated his finger inside him. Or another when Ray added a second and then a third. Ray reached his prostate and Fraser was worried he might let go too soon. He'd never thought it would be this pleasurable.

Ray was actually enjoying giving so much pleasure to his lover. Since they had become lovers he had discovered an even more beautiful Fraser than he had thought possible. He was so glad they had taken that step. Now he had three fingers in Fraser, who was moaning wantonly, and decided it was nearly time. He carefully made sure his cock was thoroughly coated to make sure he didn't hurt his lover. He knew there would be some pain but he hoped to minimise it. He withdrew his fingers but had to make sure Fraser was completely ready.

"Are you okay, Benny?"

"Yes, Ray. Now please Ray."

"Okay, I love you," Ray said.

Slowly he pushed into Fraser. Fraser pushed out at the same time to help. It was an amazing feeling how tight Fraser was yet he was so accepted by his lover's body, Ray could hardly believe it. He pushed slowly, little by little. Then he was inside and it was fantastic.

As soon as Ray began to enter him Fraser relaxed. There was some initial pain there, as expected, but he wouldn't stop this for the world. His erection had wilted but Fraser knew that was just a temporary state of affairs. The feeling of the most intimate part of Ray inside him caused him to feel dizzy with love, lust and desire. Finally Ray was all the way in. They were one.

Ray took a moment to savour the feeling of having his body and Fraser's joined. It felt better than he had imagined, so good and natural that they were now one. Just the way he wanted their month anniversary to be. However he couldn't last long and had to move. Bracing himself he began a steady rhythm.

Fraser smiled up at Ray who had locked his eyes with his lover. Ray was now moving inside him. It felt so right Fraser's erection now returned, buoyed up by the feeling of Ray pushing in and out, keeping a rhythm. They never took their eyes of each other wanting to see how they felt. Fraser locked his ankles around Ray to encourage him to go deeper. He knew that stimulation would allow him to come as Ray hit his prostate again and again.

Ray could no longer hold himself in. The look on Fraser's face, the feel of his body. Ray lowered himself on top of Fraser and kissed him as with a couple more thrusts he came inside his lover crying out what he thought was the word Benny and love but he wasn't sure.

The feeling of Ray's lips on his own and the feel of his climax inside drove Fraser over the edge and he came crying out inarticulately in what language he wasn't sure. He thought he could make out the word Ray but the rest was a puzzle. He felt Ray, still inside him, and the feel of Ray's climax where they were joined. Ray collapsed on top him of him and groaned.

It took a couple of minutes to recover slightly. Ray lifted his head and kissed Fraser again. "Damn that was fantastic," he said quietly. The experience had taken a lot out of him.

"Yes," Fraser agreed. "Thank you."

"Thank you," Ray replied.

Although they enjoyed the connection they had, their bodies couldn't maintain it forever and Ray had to pull from his lover. Fraser felt the loss but there was still some sort of new connection there. Ray would never leave him. Ray ended up with his head on Fraser's chest, gently kissing it as he relaxed in afterglow.

Fraser, while sleepy, still felt there was time to savour this moment, "You do realise you'll have to marry me now, Ray," he joked.

Ray lifted his head up slightly from its resting place. "I figure we already are, Benny. I feel like we are now."

He hadn't thought this way of making love would be so...profound. But it had been. This had been special Ray couldn't wait to do it the other way around. There was still so much for them to explore and plenty of time for them to do so.

Fraser too felt the same. He had never thought he'd feel quite like this. He agreed with Ray, "So do I, Ray, so do I." As an afterthought he added, "When's our next anniversary?"

"How about tomorrow?"

"Why tomorrow?"

"`It's our one month, one day anniversary."

"No libraries this time?"

"No." Ray was firm.

Fraser smiled. The next time, maybe they could make love this way the other way round. He wanted to give that to Ray, give him pleasure and safety as he had felt tonight. There was so much he wanted to explore with Ray now. He felt alive in himself and felt, not for the first time, how glad he was to have Ray with him.

"Ray?"

"Yeah?"

"I like anniversaries."

"I thought you might."

"Ray?"

"Yeah?"

Fraser smiled and yawned slightly, it really was time to get some sleep. "Happy anniversary. I love you."

Ray kissed his lover one more time. "I love you too, Benny. Happy anniversary."

So the two men fell asleep all wrapped up in each other's arms. One anniversary had been passed but it wouldn't be the last. Tonight would stay in their memories, in more ways than one. In the morning they would have their one month one day anniversary and what better way would there be to celebrate it than with a shower?