Author's website: http://www.mrks.org/~viridian/

Disclaimer: All things _due South_ belong to Alliance no matter how much I want Ray K to belong to me. No infringement intended. Suing me would be a waste of time. Besides, I'd just kick you in the head.

Author's Notes: Thanks to LaT for read-through.

Story Notes: SPOILERS: "Good for the Soul."
NOTES: Sequel to "No Such Thing as Santa," "A Poor Boy Too," and "The Plans That We Made" in the Above All This Bustle series.

This story is a sequel to: The Plans That We Made

"Heedless of the Wind and Weather"
By Viridian5

Diefenbaker bounded out of the building and into the snowdrifts first, although Ray quickly followed. "C'mon, Fraser! The sooner His Highness finishes his walk, the sooner we get back."

Ben had some hopes as to what might occur once they returned. Applying all his powers of persuasion might help it come to pass.

"Can I clear off my car a bit?" Ray asked. "I know it's still snowing, and it'll get covered all over again, but I wanna do it anyway."

Ben suspected that he wanted to play in the snow a bit. "That will be fine."

The snow that still fell thickly gently cleansed the air, giving it a crispness Ben found homelike and invigorating. It left him almost as excited as Dief. Then again, his evening and this morning had been excellent thus far, the best Christmas and Boxing Day he'd ever had, and it was entirely due to Ray.

They alone braved the sidewalks right now, most people seeming to prefer to enjoy the snow from indoors. Ice crystals shimmered in Ray's hair as he walked. "I love fresh snow, you know? The crunch like styrofoam beneath yer feet, the way it looks like a white version of Folgers coffee, the one with the flavor crystals...."

"Ray."

"Like you were gonna use those similes. Okay, okay, something more traditional, then. I love snowball snow, but I like this kind of 'peaceful, easy feeling' snow too." He opened the car door to take out the brush, then started to work on the windows. The driver's side windows cleared in only a few brief swipes. "It's like the snow is carefully stacked. Take out a little bit at the bottom, and it all falls down. It's just... soft and gentle. It covers yer sins." As he cleared the back window, he said, "And then people who can barely drive in normal conditions go out in their cars, fuck up, and hurt people."

"That seems pessimistic."

"Realistic. A lot of people suck." Then he swept off the front window, aiming the flying snow at Ben in a fast white cloud. He retained the most innocent look on his face possible as Ben blinked through a dusting of powder. "See?"

The powder wouldn't make any snowballs, and Ben lacked a tool he could use to sweep snow back at him. He had no choice. Once confident that no one was around to misinterpret his actions, he pounced.

His abused body protested a little as he tackled Ray down, but he could hardly stop now. Ray protested vehemently and tried to wriggle away as they hit the snowbank. As they rolled, he shouted, "Somebody call a cop!"

"You are a cop."

"Oh, yeah, hold that against me. You nut. You were beat down how long ago?"

"I'm fine. I suggest you look to your own safety."

Ray stirred up the snow in his struggles, liberally dusting them both. Dief danced around them, no doubt wondering how he could help.

"You don't let me go, I'll keep getting us covered until we look like two powdered donuts, and you know how Dief will react to that."

"I don't want to let go." Ben enjoyed Ray's writhing. Very much.

Ray seemed to be aware of that. "You sure you wanna molest me in public?" he asked in a soft, husky voice.

That caused Ben embarrassment at last. He wasn't normally so impatient. Knowing he could have Ray made self-control so much harder to maintain.

"You can molest me in private as long as you promise you won't hurt yerself," Ray said.

"Ray. I'm fine." Not quite a lie. He ached, but he didn't hurt.

Ray saw right through him. "I need a promise. No hurts, no twinges. No pushing yerself."

Dief sighed, sounding more long-suffering than usual, but his interruption provided a welcome distraction. "Duty calls."

"Yeah, but it's not half as much fun." Ray leaned back into Ben's arms. "I'll have to keep in mind how frisky pumpkin pie for breakfast makes you."

"It might have been the whipped cream."

"Don't go giving me ideas when we can't do anything about them."

After Ray helped him up out of the snowbank they walked Dief back to the apartment, with Ben fighting the urge to devour the teasing curve of Ray's mouth all the way. He successfully resisted temptation until Ray closed the door behind them, at which point he pressed them against it and initiated a slow, deep kiss that made pain seem a distant thing indeed. It amazed him how easy all of this was. How much earlier could he have started to enjoy Ray in this way if he'd only said something?

"Be careful about the split in yer lip," Ray murmured, his tongue hot and cautious against the body part in question.

"Ray."

"I set down terms. Do you remember what those terms were?"

"Private molestation, as long as I do not hurt or push myself too hard, will be permitted."

"That's right."

Ray walked forward, maneuvering him toward the bedroom. Seeing as how that would be a favored destination, he went along. It seemed, oddly, as if they danced together. As they moved, they started to shed their snowy outerwear, unwrapping scarves from their necks, tossing away gloves, kicking off snowboots, unfastening and removing their coats. It looked a bit awkward and silly, making Ray laugh and Ben grin at their sometimes jerky motions. Then they worked on the next layer. By the time the back of Ben's legs met with the edge of the bed, they were bare-chested.

Ben sat down quickly to minimize the view of the bruises that mottled his skin in livid colors, but Ray noticed them again anyway, and his eyes turned sad. "You agreed, Ray," Ben said before pulling him down next to him.

Ray yelped and shot him a dirty look. "Yer gonna milk this being injured thing to maul me with impunity, hunh?"

"I'm afraid so."

"And yer hands are cold."

Ben slid up nearer to the head of the bed. "As are yours, I'm sure."

"You think?"

Ray unbuttoned Ben's jeans, pulled the jeans and underwear away, then engulfed him in wet heat, with the continuing cold of his lips an added shock of sensation. Cold fingers stroked his testicles, making him buck up into further into Ray's welcoming mouth. It felt incredible, and he thanked God that his groin had been one of the few areas his attackers hadn't assaulted. Ray's chilled hair, softer than and not as stiff as usual since he'd neglected to spike it before heading out to walk Diefenbaker, brushed in arcs against the sensitized skin of his stomach. Groaning, he petted and curled the blond strands around his fingers.

He couldn't stop calling out Ray's name.

It had been too long, the glorious suction made him want to thrust hard, having Ray at last made him want to surrender all control, but this was Ray, whom he didn't want to risk hurting any under circumstances. In any case, he could feel his strained back start to twinge. But he didn't know if he could stop himself.... Ray settled the question by placing his other cold hand at the center of Ben's chest and pressing down.

Orgasm washed over him a wave of sensation, sweeping through his whole body, the release of tension exquisite. Ray kept sucking and stroking until Ben was utterly spent, limp and satisfied. Ray slithered up the bed until they were lying face to face, side by side, then, smiling, gave him a gentle kiss.

Ben caressed the angles and planes of Ray's face with his thumb. "I want to make you feel at least as wonderful as you've made me feel."

"I love yer mouth, but they beat on yer face too much to make me comfortable with the thought you doing anything to me with it. Fortunately, I really love yer hands too. Hell, I love all of you, but hands would be good now...."

Ray shivered as Ben traced a cold hand down the heat of his chest, with his skin seeming to get hotter as Ben reached the waistband of his jeans. Having already achieved orgasm, Ben didn't fumble as badly with the buttons on the fly as he might have minutes earlier. He had instant access to what he wanted since--

Ray smiled. "Yeah, no underwear. I went commando."

Ben ran his fingers along Ray's slick, erect penis, smiling back as Ray immediately pressed himself deeper into his grip and closer to him. "I commend you on your forethought."

"You wanna get on with the commending already?"

"Impatient?"

"What do you think, Mr. I Already Got Mine?"

Ray made the sweetest small sounds of pleasure as Ben stroked, fondled, and watched him. Feeling like a voyeur and liking it, Ben could observe his enjoyment in his open face, the arc of his neck, his half-closed eyes, the blissful curve of his mouth, and the way he strained to be closer even beyond his thrusts. Ray's hands kept struggling, fingers flexing, not to clench on Ben's arms. Ray hid nothing.

"Is this how you do yourself?" Ray asked, his voice husky.

The words sent a shot of heat through him and started to renew his erection. It amazed him. "The angle is, of course, different."

"Yeah. What do ya think about when you give it a go?"

"You, Ray." The words started to stream out, each connected image enhancing the eroticism and sweet ache of the moment for him. "I think of you crouching down at a crime scene or tapping your fingers as you grip the wheel of your car. I think of you stirring your coffee, your gaze unfocused and abstracted, with your face downturned so you can inhale the steam. I think of you settling into the proper stance to fire your gun. Wearing the uncomfortably tight jeans you use only when you've waited too long to do your laundry. Bouncing around the ring shadowboxing. Touching my shoulder. Sitting handcuffed at Inspector Thatcher's desk, trusting me."

"I knew you had to be kinky," Ray whispered into his ear, his body curled and entwined with Ben's. "So what yer saying is that when you lie there on yer cot with yer cock in your hand, pumping and stroking, you think of me."

"I think of your hand pumping and stroking me instead of mine."

Ray whimpered and climaxed hard against him. As entangled as they were, he must have felt Ben's renewed erection poking in to him, because he slid one of the long-fingered hands Ben had spent long hours watching and obsessing over down to pump and stroke until Ben came again.

Sweaty, debauched, thoroughly entwined with Ray and slowly starting to cool down and feel sticky, Ben gave thanks that Ray chose to keep his room temperature so high, keeping them warm and comfortable. Actually, he gave thanks for many things, most of all for Ray and for the opportunity to be here. He punctuated that thanks with kisses and occasional licks, savoring the salty, almost spicy flavor of Ray's skin.

"That's it: I'm feeding you pumpkin pie with whipped cream for breakfast every day I can from now on. This is the best Christmas ever," Ray said.

"Hardly. This is Boxing Day. When we give presents to thank those who have provided service over the year." Ben kept his tone admirably straight and proper.

Ray snickered. "'Service'? I think you only just started to give me any service. Wait, now you're removing my jeans?"

"I have to finish unwrapping my Boxing Day present."

****THE END****

More Viridian5 stories can be found in The Green Room version 2.0 at http://www.mrks.org/~viridian/

No-frames but no-frills access available at http://www.mrks.org/~viridian/Viridian_side.htm

Fandoms represented: due South, Hard Core Logo, Twitch City, X-Files, Once a Thief, Andromeda, Angel, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, Two Guys and a Girl (was Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place), X-Men, Doctor Who, Fight Club, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

End Heedless of the Wind and Weather by Viridian5: Viridian5@aol.com

Author and story notes above.