Author's webpage: http://members.tripod.com/luxshine/
Behind Closed Doors
By: Adalisa Zrate
"It's closed!"
"I know it's closed. He closed it, remember?"
"Well, I had to try, okay? I mean... it's just a closet door... What did he do? Barricade it?"
"Probably. We know he won't open it. Why waste our energy? You should know by now that's impossible to argue with him once he gets an idea under that stupid hat. We'll probably die in here, before he decides to let us out." Ray Vecchio shifted in his place, trying to avoid the broom resting in the wall. The light inside the small closet was too dim to see his unwilling companion, which was fine with him. All they needed to do was wait until Fraser came to his senses and let them out. It wouldn't do him any good to start watching his new partner too intensely. He knew too well that nothing would come out of it.
On the other side of the very small room, Ray Kowalski was debating with himself as to whether he should sit or stand. He didn't have too much room to maneuver without bumping with the other cop... The man that had been the star of his dreams since they began to work together... Kowalski sighed. He needed to get out of there before he embarrassed himself. "Any chance that someone else will hear us and open the damn door?"
"Knowing Fraser, he probably left Dief outside the closet." Ray's voice sounded hopeless. "Probably the whole Precinct knows why he locked us here... And even if they don't... well... normally no one bothers us when we discuss a case here."
"Oh...yeah... The closet thing. I've heard the rumors..." Ray regretted the words as soon as they came out his mouth. He really needed to get out.
"Rumors? What Rumors? What are you talking about??" Ray's eyes were very wide. Why was Kowalski interested in rumors about him?
"Nothing... Nothing, calm down..." The blonde cop backed up, sitting in his corner of the closet. He had heard a lot of things about Vecchio and Fraser before taking up the assignment of replacing the other cop's life; but in that particular moment, he didn't want to discuss them with the volatile Italian. That would be the end of the glimmer of hope he had. So instead, he tried to maintain his annoyed tone and change the subject. "Why do you think Fraser did it? I mean, lock us up in here..."
"It's his weird Canadian way of telling us he's tired of our fights, and that we have to work out whatever it is what makes us want to strangle each other. " Ray groaned. The one thing he had never explained during the debriefing sessions was that he and Fraser had had their most deep soul-searching conversations while locked up in the weirdest places. Obviously, the Mountie thought that he and Kowalski would talk better under the same circumstances. What the Mountie didn't know was that Ray knew exactly why he wanted to strangle the other man. He had a very bad case of unrequited lust for said other man. "At least this time he is not flooding the place like he did in the bank."
"Work what out? There's nothing to discuss." Nothing you want to hear thought Kowalski and closed his eyes.
"Exactly. Now... What rumors where you talking about?" As soon as Ray said the words, he had to repress a laugh just looking at the other man's face, eyes open again in shock. This was turning very intriguing.
Ray looked at the man across the room, his shock and surprise barely hidden by the darkness. If he let the silence drag on, he would have to explain what he heard, and what he thought... what he wanted... And he wouldn't be able to face the consequences. "Even if there is some tension between us... It's your fault! You are always complaining about me or my taste in clothing, cars or anything!"
"I wouldn't complain if you hadn't ruined my life!" *Or if they didn't drive me nuts* Ray silently added. The truth was very simple for him. The only reason he had to constantly nag Kowalski was to avoid blurting out something he shouldn't.
"Your life was already ruined! No one told me about what I was going to face coming up here!"
"At least I never had to ask for protection in the Consulate! Or throw the Riv in Lake Michigan!!" He still was very angry for the loss of his beloved car.
"What's the matter? Wanted to do it yourself? You blew two Rivieras before I came in! And I was trying to save my life!"
"You could have been more careful! I still haven't been able to find a new one!!"
"You found two, a third one shouldn't be that hard to find for you... You can always drag it from the Lake and try to restore it... Not like my wife." Ray spat the last words with genuine anger. It hurt him too much every time he saw Stella walking in the direction of their desks, knowing that she only had eyes for Vecchio. Only that lately, he was starting to feel hurt that Vecchio only had eyes for her.
"I didn't steal your wife, you were divorced when I meet her... and anyway, I'm not seeing her anymore."
"What?!" Both men were standing now, almost touching in the dark space of the closet. Suddenly, Ray seemed to notice that fact and sat again in his place, carefully placing the broom away from his back.
"It's over between us. She's getting a new job in New York, so you don't have anything to complain about now."
"But... you never... I mean... She... and you..." Ray couldn't continue. He remembered how he had felt the first days after he and Stella divorced. Looking at the Italian cop's face, he couldn't find any sign of the sadness that had plagued his thoughts then. Now, the other man's complains about the final fate of the green car seemed more unfair. After all, Ray hadn't torched it himself. He wasn't the idiot his forced partner seemed to think he was... And then there was the fact that the American Italian man, whose sex life was subject of most of the Precinct's gossip, had conquered Stella in much less time than he... And that he had the most gorgeous green eyes Ray had ever seen.
"Now I know that the rumors aren't about me and Stella... So speak up, 'Spiky'" Ray smile turned into a grin, pulling Ray out of his thoughts. Suddenly, the small space seemed very warm, and it wasn't because of their constant yelling. He sat on a box near the wall, wishing for the earth to swallow him.
"I don't know what you're talking about..." *That's it Kowalski, keep yourself on denial and change the subject fast* "And anyway you should stop whining about that car. After all, I risked my neck for you a thousand times while you were in Las Vegas!"
"...And nearly destroyed my cover while doing so!!"
Outside the closet, Benton Fraser waited to the yelling to stop. He couldn't hear the whole conversation, and only picked up the most loud parts. He hoped that both cops would run out of steam soon. It hadn't been long since his arrival in the Precinct before he found Ray and Ray fighting once again over some small thing. Basically, it was the last strain to Benton's patience, so he grabbed both men, dragged them across the bull-pen and threw them in the closet, closing the door. That had been 30 minutes ago, and things hadn't improved. They sounded calm for seconds, then started discussing again, increasing the volume with each word. Then they were silent and the cycle began again.
Sighing, he mouthed a silent instruction to Dief telling him to stay, and walked towards Lt. Welsh's office. It was going to be some time before he could open that door.
Inside, the shouting had grown subdued once more, as Ray grew curious on the subject his name-sake was trying to avoid.
"We have already shouted about everything we have to shout about... Are you going to tell me what are those rumors you heard about me or we begin the fight again?"
"You don't want to hear them." Ray was at a loss. He had used all the ideas that came to his mind on how to avoid this conversation. It was very hard to think when he had been dreaming on finding himself in the same situation. It was worse since he knew he couldn't tell him the truth. If he did, Vecchio's yelling would be the last of his worries. And as he debated about how to melt inside the wall, the other man began to speak in a very mischievous tone.
"If they are about me and female federal agents, they're lies. Nothing happened between us. Or between Anita Cortez and me, or with Louise. My love life isn't as active as I would want it to be." The American Italian cop was studying Ray with his eyes, and the other man suppressed a shiver. Those weren't the rumors he had heard, but were too close to comfort. " Now... if it's something about me and Benny..." Ray gulped, feeling impossibly guilty as the other man continued. "... you should know by now that he is straight."
The blonde man gaped at the neutral tone of the other man. He would have never believed that Raymond Vecchio would take the fact that his co-workers thought he was gay with such calm... That almost made him believe he had a chance... And of course he knew that Fraser wasn't gay... he knew it right after the Mountie had saved him from drowning with a weird technique of buddy breathing. Remembering that, he blushed, and tried to look anywhere except in Ray's direction. He couldn't get rid of the image of Ray kissing him, a constant one in his dreams... And he was sure he had it all written on his face. At the same time, the Italian cop smiled. He knew why he felt jumpy around Kowalski, and now he realized that the other man felt the same thing.
A hand in his cheek brought Kowalski back to reality. Ray was kneeling in front of him and before he could say anything, he found himself kissed thoroughly by the other man. And his shocked mind only could think about how they where to explain this if the door were to be open in that moment..
A few seconds later, Ray pulled away, and his tongue darted out to lick his very kissable lips. In those deep green eyes, Ray could read a question, and, unable to voice his answer, he plastered Ray's body against the other wall, kissing him with the same intensity as the other man had used before.
As the kiss deepened, Ray moaned as he felt hands traveling up his back, pulling his silk shirt up. Working on instinct, Ray opened the shirt and began to tease his nipples. At the same time, he could feel Ray nibbling on his neck and a wave of desire swept through his body.
Soon, both detectives' pants were entangled in the floor, their shirts open and pushed upwards, their mouths locked and their groins joined, moving in a frenzied rhythm. Ray moaned softly as he felt the other man's tongue over his lips, as a gentle caress..
A passionate kiss silenced the noises that came out of his throat as he felt a hand over his heated cock, as it was stroked and caressed, and just when he thought that he couldn't take more of it, the voracious mouth let him go. Before he could voice a complain, he was completely engulfed by the same voracious mouth and all coherent thoughts fled from his mind, as the hot, wet mouth worked his magic on him.
After fifteen minutes of continuous silence, Fraser finally opened the door. He found his two friends glaring at each other, silently. They didn't look very friendly at the moment. Maybe it was the strong smell of closed air. Six hours inside the closet without proper ventilation weren't healthy after all.
Both Rays didn't look as if they had solved their differences; but at least, they weren't yelling anymore. Actually, the yelling had started to decline after Fraser returned from his first trip to Lt. Welsh' office, and later had stopped completely. It wasn't much, but it was a beginning.
They didn't talk much in the afternoon, which was a good sign. It was the first time where the two didn't spend all their time fighting. Fraser smiled. He had to return to the consulate, and Ray promised him that he would be on time to give him a ride, as soon as he and Kowalski finished the paperwork of their latest case. Fraser thought that his blonde friend was blushing a little, but didn't pay much attention to that fact as he was leaving. As he crossed the doors, he caught Ray's voice.
"Later, if you have time... we can double check this in your apartment."
"Sure... I'll get the... files ready..."
Fraser smile grew. Now he was sure that the time they had spent in the closet wouldn't be lost... Maybe in a short time they would be great friends.
End-