Author's Notes: Written for the ds_flashfiction date challenge. Many thanks to lipstickcat and omphale for beta.

Ray thunked his head down on the messy desktop. Rolling to the side so he could meet Fraser's level gaze, he said, apropos of not much at all, "I swear, when I was married chicks hit on me all the time. Now, I'd give my left nut for a nice, ordinary date and I get nothing."

Fraser cleared his throat. "Actually, Ray, while it might not be a date precisely as you describe, I do have have a favor to ask which relates somewhat."

"Favors and friendship don't mix, Fraser."

"I believe that's 'money and friendship,' Ray."

"Lots of stuff doesn't mix with friendship, you can't say it's just the one. You don't get to decide that."

"Now you're just being juvenile."

Ray had lifted his head off the desk to argue, but now he slumped back down and sighed. "You can't borrow the GTO."

"Actually, I was hoping to have access to your car this weekend. But I would wish for you to come along, as well."

"Explain."

"As you know, I periodically dine and attend cultural events with my friend Jocelyn, whom you met at the Records office. We have an engagement to visit a temporary exhibit on Inuit baleen basketry at the Field Museum. However, an old friend of hers is visiting..."

Ray winced slightly at the mention of Fraser's bark tea-obsessed sort of girlfriend, but covered his reaction by humming impatiently and waving his hand around in exaggerated 'hurry up' circles.

"Jocelyn remembered meeting you and also expressed some concern that three is an awkward number in a social gathering, although I see no..."

Flopping back in his chair, Ray glared. "Fraser! Get to the point right now, or I'll put Wite-Out on the Uniform."

Fraser frowned, but managed to spit it out. "In short, I would appreciate it if you would join Jocelyn, her friend Gwen, and myself on Saturday for a visit to the Field Museum, followed by dinner."

Ray blinked. "You want to double date?"

Looking like he might choke, Fraser replied, "I simply thought that you might also enjoy the exhibit, and Gwen might benefit from a more varied social group. You are, after all, a Chicago native, and might enhance her experience by adding local verisimilitude."

"First, I don't know what that word means but I think I'm insulted. Second, that's a double date. And third, baleen basketry, Fraser?"

"Verisimilitude means the quality or state of being verisimilar, which in turn means..."

Ray gave up, waving his hands in front of his face. "Fine, stop. No more. I'll go."

**********

It wasn't so bad, Ray figured. Maybe not the big date to end all big dates, but it was kind of fun watching Fraser get all worked up over the baskets. He and Jocelyn inspected every one, debating display placement, attribution, restoration techniques. Ray hung back, chatting with Gwen, who turned out to be funny, curvy, and cute with geek glasses almost as bad as his own. When Fraser turned his happy smile on Ray, he could almost forget his grinding boredom, and the irritating fact that Jocelyn looked good dressed in normal clothes instead of the frumpy librarian shit she wore at work.

At dinner, Fraser and him had ended up on one side of the table with the girls on the other. Fraser and Jocelyn were leaning towards each other, nattering and giggling over the exhibit, Fraser making occasional attempts to include Ray or Gwen in the conversation. He didn't much enjoy watching Fraser charming Jocelyn, but at least their basket talk looked above board and not like covert 'Let's get naked' basket talk. When he finally dragged his eyes away to pay attention to his own date, Gwen was watching the others with a warm, tolerant smile.

Ray scooted his chair around closer to her. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"They're just so... disturbingly the same person, I think."

Ray glanced at the others, then quickly away. "Yeah, they're a good match, I guess."

Gwen looked a little startled, then smiled a different, smaller smile. "They are definitely good friends, and have a lot in common."

"Uh-huh." Ray didn't want to talk about Fraser and Jocelyn anymore. "So, what about you? You enjoying Chicago?"

"It's an exciting city, and I'm very much enjoying seeing Jocelyn. It's been far too long." She gave Fraser and Jocelyn another of those warm looks, flashed him an apologetic glance, and then leaned over to whisper something in Jocelyn's ear.

Standing, Jocelyn blurted, "Excuse us, please, we're going on a pilgrimage to the ladies'."

After the women left, Ray found that he didn't really have anything to say to Fraser. He picked disinterestedly at his food, then stood up. "I'm gonna go to the can, too."

"Very well, Ray."

As Ray approached the restrooms, he saw Gwen and Jocelyn standing close together outside of the ladies', apparently waiting for the current occupant to leave. When a heavyset woman came out, Gwen grabbed Jocelyn by the hand and tugged her into the bathroom, shutting the door firmly behind them.

Ray paused outside, listening to the low, giggly voices. Protests of "Gwen, not here!" were quickly replaced by happy little moans and a soft thud as something (somebody's back?) hit the door. Ray jumped back, staring at the door. Forgetting his need to piss, he made his way back to the table.

"Is everything all right, Ray? You look a little flushed."

Ray gulped his beer, then hissed, "I think your girlfriend's gay, Fraser."

Fraser glanced in the direction of the bathrooms and ran a thumb over his eyebrow. Ray suddenly felt bad for blurting it out like that.

"Did you observe something that made you think she and Gwen are involved, Ray?"

"I didn't really see anything, see anything. But I kind of saw something and I'm pretty sure I heard something. I'm sorry, Frase."

Fraser smiled at him, a big, pretty, not at all heartbroken smile. "Jocelyn is just a friend, Ray. And I'm delighted to hear that she and Gwen may be more... intimate than I had previously understood." He leaned closer until he was pressed up against Ray's shoulder, his lips almost brushing Ray's ear, and said in a low voice, "I suspect Jocelyn is very much attached to Gwen, but that there has not long been an indication of reciprocal romantic intent."

Ray was still trying to get his half hard-on down and the shocked stupid look off his face when the women came back to the table, pink-faced and swollen-lipped and trying not to smile too much.

**********

When they dropped Jocelyn and Gwen off at Jocelyn's apartment, Fraser gave Jocelyn a chaste kiss on the cheek while she giggled up at him. "I had a wonderful time talking about the exhibit, Ben. And, Ray, it was a pleasure seeing you again. Perhaps we should all go out again, if Gwen stays in town long enough."

After driving only a couple of blocks back toward the Consulate, Ray pulled the car over. "What the hell, Fraser? A double date with your lesbian girlfriend and her girlfriend?"

Fraser looked constipated. "I'm sorry if their relationship upset you, Ray. I didn't mean to mislead you about your chances with Gwen."

"But you were never dating that Jocelyn chick?"

"Of course not."

"'Of course not.' What the... it..." Words failed him and he glared at Fraser. "Looked like it to me."

"I told you we were friends, Ray," Fraser snapped.

"And 'do it again sometime'? She wants to keep double-dating? She trying to get into a threesome or something? A foursome?"

"Ray!"

Ray lowered his chin and glared harder.

Fraser sighed. "I believe she meant that she and Gwen would go as a couple and that you and I would as well."

"Oh." Ray put the car back into gear and drove another couple of blocks, then pulled over again and cut the engine. "So that was a double date, right?"

Looking vaguely ill, Fraser replied, "Yes, Ray."

"But it was you and me, and them. Not me and Gwen, and you and Jocelyn."

"You could see it in that light if you wished to, I suppose."

"Do you see it in that light?"

"Ray." Fraser sounded half-strangled.

Ray leaned forward to peer into his face. "Do you?"

"I would like to." Fraser's voice was very quiet and very even.

Ray stared for a couple of moments, his brain feeling like it might short out from the strain of trying to make sense of this newly rearranged reality, and then Ray leaned way over and kissed him, clumsy and closed-mouthed and long enough for Fraser to end it, if he was going to. When Fraser didn't, Ray pulled away and opened his eyes, just in time to see big hands coming for his face and pulling him back. This time the kiss was wetter, hotter, longer, Fraser's fingers wrapped around his skull and Ray trying to find a place to put his hands so he could support himself, his body stretched out between the two seats.

Fraser's mouth was hungry and awkward and perfect, kissing Ray hard and eager, moving indiscriminately between sucking his lip to kissing his cheek to tongue-fucking him deep. Jesus, this was impossible, it was not happening, it was the best thing Ray had ever felt in his life.

Ray gave up on trying to hold himself over the gearshift and crawled over onto Fraser's lap, banging his knee on the way, ending up with his neck bent painfully under the roof. He knelt between Fraser's open thighs, one foot on the floor, and kissed him some more.

Fumbling with one hand, Ray found the switch on the side of the passenger seat and Fraser let out an "Oof" as the seat suddenly reclined, giving Ray more room to work. He slipped one hand under Fraser's thigh and tugged it up and out. Fraser took the hint and wrapped his leg around Ray's hip.

"Ray," Fraser gasped, twisting his head away even as he slipped his hands under the waist of Ray's pants. "We're in public."

Ray lifted his head. Quiet street. Business district, nobody much around on a Saturday night. He went back to kissing, his lips already feeling swollen and used.

"Fraser, god. Do you want this? Tell me you want this."

"Yes," Fraser answered right away, not pausing for anything. "I want this," his whole body saying it along with his beautiful mouth, his legs holding Ray's hips, his hands in Ray's hair and pressing down on his ass, his mouth open under Ray's.

Ray dug one hand between them and unzipped Fraser's jeans. They both groaned when he finally was able to wrap his hand around Fraser's cock.

Fraser, wonderful, wonderful Fraser, had taken pity on him and was unzipping his pants, too, their arms tangled up together, their mouths still touching.

Ray rubbed against Fraser, feeling the hot skin of their cocks slide against each other for the first time.

After that it didn't take long, just a couple long minutes of touching and sliding and groaning and trying to keep the car from rocking obscenely. Ray would open his eyes sometimes and have to close them again, because looking at Fraser like this was so new and good that it hurt, his wet mouth and the longing and pleasure all over his face too much exactly what Ray needed. Fraser came silently, biting his lip, his eyes closed tight. The sight twisted something up inside of Ray, and he buried his face in Fraser's neck and came, gasping, all over his hand.

When Ray caught his breath again, he squirmed back over to his side of the car and collapsed. He reached out with one hand to trace the line of Fraser's neck, watching Fraser's breathing slow to normal. Fraser glanced around and, Ray was pretty sure, gave himself a stern talking-to about inappropriate and illegal public displays.

Ray tried to gather up all the unraveled pieces of himself. "Sorry, Frase. Didn't mean to, uh, do it in the car on our first date."

"Actually, this isn't our first date."

"It is so a date! You said." Ray followed a drop of sweat on Fraser's neck with his fingertip.

"Yes, Ray, but it isn't our first date. We've been out on at least two dates before."

Ray tucked and zipped, his brain apparently having learned not to worry about suddenly rearranged reality, and only a small part of him trying to figure out which of the dozens of times they'd hung out together Fraser had decided fit his definition of 'date.' "Okaaay. So this is our third date."

"By my calculations, yes."

"You know what usually happens on a third date, don't you?"

"I believe it just happened." Ray had thought his ability to be knocked off his feet was used up for the night, but the dirty little grin on Fraser's face did it all over again.

"Yeah, that. But, you know, some people call it the sleepover date."

"I was not familiar with that particular description."

"You want to sleep over?"

"Yes, Ray."

"All right. Let's grab you a toothbrush and a wolf and go home."

Ray turned the key and pulled away from the curb, the tires making a sharp sound before they caught on the pavement. He had places to be and a partner who wanted him. It was time to get moving.