Predilection
by threequarters
Disclaimer: I'm a poor law student who should probably have better things to do with her time than write slash. I don't own them. I make not money at all, muchless off of this.
Author's Notes: Thanks to Tora for the amazing beta. Without her this would be formless dribble with way too many commas.
Ray's flight into O'Hare was a late one. He'd asked his dad to drop the GTO off at the airport earlier, so he didn't have to fuck around with a taxi.
On the way home he made a stop at the store on the corner. It took some serious searching, but eventually he found exactly what he wanted.
Plain oatmeal.
None of that sweetened, maple brown sugar crap, just plain old oatmeal out of the box with the creepy Quaker guy on the front. It wasn't an indication of anything, he told himself, he just liked oatmeal for breakfast.
When he got back into the car he sighed. Surely it felt good be home, he was probably just too tired to notice.
*
On his first morning back to work, Ray woke up and went straight into to his old routine. Get up, put on coffee, shower, dress, etc, etc...
It was easier to resort to habit. It was almost like he'd never left.
That is until he took the first sip the coffee he'd prepared and promptly spat it out into the sink. It was somehow too sweet and too bitter all at the same time. He poured the rest of the pot down the drain and went to work.
On the way home he stopped and picked up some tea.
After all, he couldn't be forced to function without some form of caffeine in the morning.
*
Two weeks later, a fierce August heat wave hit Chicago. For two nights Ray lay awake in bed, tossing and turning, wet skin sticking to itchy sheets.
He couldn't sleep, so he was in a lousy mood at work. He was in a lousy mood at work, so Welsh was getting pissed.
Finally he caved in and bought an air conditioning unit. It went into his bedroom window and that night he cranked it up as high as it would go.
During the worst heat wave Chicago had seen in a decade, Ray slept with heavy blankets on his bed.
*
In mid-September, Ray realized he'd only ordered pizza twice since coming back to Chicago. That was clearly not okay, so he got up and went to the phone, planning on ordering the biggest pizza possible, complete with extra pineapple.
But before dialing the number, Ray realized he didn't really feel like fighting with Tony over the pineapple. Besides, he couldn't eat a whole pizza by himself, and he didn't want left over pizza in the fridge for days.
So he ended up eating oatmeal.
*
In December, Ray stood in the middle of the grocery store lost in thought. When he came out of it, he realized he was staring at Pemmican brand beef jerky.
"That's it," he said to no one in particular. "This has gone far enough."
The day Ray's plane left Yellowknife, Fraser found himself at a loss. After months of non-stop activity, suddenly there was nothing for him to do.
That evening, he left his hotel intent on taking a long, brisk, walk. Half an hour later, he found himself in front of a pizza place. It was just past dinnertime and he was mildly hungry. Not to mention Dief would probably enjoy the treat.
Besides, the sign claimed they had pineapple.
*
When he reached his new posting, he found the town had provided him with a residence just on the outskirts of the settlement.
After his room at the Consulate, his new house seemed huge and empty. In reality though, it was only slightly bigger than his first apartment in Chicago, and thanks to his new neighbors the fridge was not nearly as empty as the rest of the place. Still there was a certain hollowness to it.
He bought the TV because as an officer of the law he felt he should remain abreast of current news developments.
And of course Dief would really like it.
*
While his new posting was pretty far out, the town was a decent size. The library had Internet access and the general store was always fairly well stocked.
But in mid-October when Fraser stopped in to pick up some necessities on his way home from work, he was surprised to find them out of the tea he preferred.
He bought coffee instead.
And if he occasionally found it too bitter and sweetened it just a bit, it was not indicative of anything.
*
Winter was coming on strong and it was becoming clear the town's youth hockey team was having a better season than usual. So when the team's goalie asked him to buy a candy bar to support their trip to the tournament, Fraser could hardly say no.
Generally, he found sweets unnecessary, but this was for a good cause. Besides, as head of the town's RCMP detachment it was important for him to show support for the community.
Strictly speaking, he didn't have to eat the chocolate, but he couldn't exactly give it to Dief.
*
In early December, Fraser was working late, the only other officer - newly assigned Constable Martin - having already gone home for the day. On the way to the filing cabinet to store the last of the day's paperwork, Fraser detected an odor he had noticed earlier on the young constable. Going over to the other man's desk it took only a moment to find the origin of the smell.
A pack of cigarettes. American. Familiar packaging. Before he realized what he was doing, he'd raised the pack to his nose and taken a deep breath.
Dief made a rude comment from across the room and rolled his eyes.
Fraser tried to think of a comeback, but found he had none. Dief was right; this was pathetic.
*
When the knock came, Fraser was washing dishes, so he didn't quite make it to the door before the second one. Of all the scenarios he considered plausible to face upon opening his door, Ray Kowalski complete with suitcases and boxes was not one of them.
And yet there he stood,
Fraser's shock was so great that a stuttered "Come in, Ray," was all he could seem to manage.
It seemed enough for Ray, though, who came right in and set his stuff down.
By the time Ray and all his various pieces of luggage were inside, Fraser's brain seemed to have kick started itself because suddenly the shock was overcome by the need to ask questions. Five months ago Ray had left for Chicago after their adventure. It had been an amiable parting, complete with promises of letters, phone calls, and visits.
But Ray hadn't returned his messages, or replied to his letters. Five months of no talking and Ray had the nerve to show up on his doorstep like he was moving in. Part of Fraser desperately wanted to demand answers, explain to Ray that this isn't how things are normally done.
But then Ray moved toward him and rested his hands on Fraser's shoulders.
"I miss pemmican, Fraser."
And it had been months, but their duet was still in tune because Fraser was able to recognize Ray's confession for what it was.
Suddenly Fraser wanted to laugh out loud because it was all so obvious. Why hadn't he seen it before?
So he did laugh. He laughed and pulled a worried Ray into a hard hug, calming him with a confession of his own.
"As do I Ray, as do I."
End Predilection by threequarters
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