"Hey, Ray! Any idea what Fraser's doing for Thanksgiving?"
Ray glanced up warily into Francesca's all-but-innocent face. "What, you think I'm the Mountie's secretary now? Thanksgiving isn't even for a couple of weeks."
That earned him a glare. "I know that, Ray. Ma just wanted to know if he was coming to our place again this year, so she can get supper all planned out."
"Well, Frannie, it just so happens Fraser's having supper in a trailer home in Skokie this year."
To Frannie's credit, she didn't look too disappointed. "Well, as long as he goes somewhere, I guess. It's a shame we had to miss the Canadian one, too, but we had to go down to cousin Gina's wedding that week-end and... Ray? Are you okay?" She trailed off, curious at the sudden shocked expression on her ersatz brother's face.
"What d'you mean, the Canadian one?"
Huey, who had been passing by, chimed in. "Canada has their Thanksgiving sometime in October, genius," he explained, before stalking off to discuss the finer points of Calvin ball with his partner. Frannie, too, returned to her desk, shaking her head in exasperated affection at the strangeness of her 'adopted brother'.
Hours later, after a day of endless paperwork and brooding thoughts, the man in question was feeling lower than worm poop. He had missed Thanksgiving - the Canadian version of the holiday. Stupid Canadians, having their stupid holidays months in advance of the rest of the civilized world, so stupid cops could go and forget them and disappoint their loved ones and spend the rest of their lives feeling like pond scum.
"Ray."
And Fraser, damn him, hadn't said a word about it. No 'Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, Ray.' No 'Have a good time at work today while I sit all day pining away in homesickness as the rest of my countrymen gorge themselves on turkey and pie.' Not a word, not even a reproachful look.
"Ray!"
Geez, he sucked. He'd promised himself, too, just after the first time they'd made love, that he'd never miss a Canadian holiday, that he'd remember 'em all and spend them with Fraser. And sure enough, the first major one to come along, he zipped right past it without even a thought to his lover.
"Ray!"
And it wasn't like Fraser deserved to be treated nice, either , was it? He was only a gorgeous, polite, brilliant, gentle guy who'd completely turned Ray's life around, who made him feel important, made him feel smart, made him feel loved, and cherished, and ...
"RAY!"
"What?" Ray looked up, startled, to find Fraser frowning at him in concern. "Geez, Fraser, give a guy a heart attack why don't you?"
Blue eyes widened. "I'm sorry, Ray. I only meant to..."
"Yeah, you just meant." Ray snapped, getting to his feet and grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair. "We all mean stuff all the time, don't we Fraser? Doesn't mean it gets done, does it?"
And without acknowledging Fraser's uncomprehending - and, to Ray's mind, accusatory - expression, or the stares of the others in the bullpen, Ray brushed past the Mountie and strode out of the room.
Minutes later found Ray sitting in the GTO in the station's parking lot, pounding his forehead repeatedly against the steering wheel. Christ! Not only had he forgotten the damned holiday, he'd just gone and yelled at Fraser for no reason at all.
This time, the Mountie's approach didn't go unnoticed, and the tentative tap on the passenger side window sent a fresh surge of guilt through the anguished cop. Steeling himself to face the worst, he reached over to unlock the door.
First came the fuss of getting Dief settled into the back seat - with a low grumble instead of the customary lick of greeting. Hell, even the wolf knew he was dirt! Fraser settled in beside him, being uncharacteristically quiet for once.
The silence continued as Ray started the car and navigated the busy streets, and by the time they pulled into their building's parking lot the tension between them was almost palpable. Neither man moved for a few moments, ignoring the confused whines from the back seat. Finally, Fraser turned towards him and said, softly, "I'm sorry, Ray."
Ray's eyes widened in surprise. "What? Why the hell are you sorry, Fraser? I'm the one who fucked up."
Fraser winced, either at Ray's expletive, or at his use of the Mountie's last name - a rather uncommon occurrence, nowadays, when they were alone. Either way, the action added fuel to Ray's self-loathing.
"Look, Ben," he said at last. "We gotta talk."
Fraser gazed at him a little longer before nodding curtly, and moving to let Dief out of the car. The wolf yipped in relief as he slipped out, bounding up the stairs ahead of his humans.
The silence remained heavy as the men entered the apartment and went about their end-of-day business, Ray feeding Dief, Fraser changing out of his uniform. Finally, they met up in the living room, where Ray sat down on the couch with a sigh.
"Dammit, Ben, we gotta stop doing this. There we were, just grooving along, when BAM!" - he struck the cushion next to him with the flat of his hand - "our communication goes out again."
Fraser nodded warily before taking a seat on the opposite end of the couch. "I... you're right, Ray. I'm afraid I may have jumped to conclusions, earlier."
Ray was immediately suspicious: Fraser never gave up that easily. Then his lover continued, "So perhaps you could explain to me just what I did to make you so upset."
Ray shut his eyes. Yup, it was indeed going to be like pulling teeth. Without novocaine. "Nothing. God, Ben, you didn't do anything! It's not you I'm upset at."
At least that uncertain, guilty look was gone from that gorgeous face, replaced now by confusion. "Then I don't understand..."
Unable to meet his lover's eyes, Ray muttered, "I'm sorry about Thanksgiving."
A blank stare, now. "Thanksgiving isn't for weeks, Ray. Unless there has been a change in plans, we are going to spend the afternoon with your father, watching 'the game', after which your mother will stuff us within an inch of our lives with turkey and other traditional foods, and Diefenbaker will spend the following weeks sulking about the diet I'll have to put him on. What on earth has upset you in all this?"
Ray wasn't about to be distracted by the thought of family hijinks and overfed wolves, though. "No, Fraser. Not that Thanksgiving. Not that Thanksgiving. The other one - yours. The one that went by ages ago."
Great, now he got the closed off Mountie look. No, this was not going well at all. "So I was right the first time," Fraser replied softly. "That is the reason you're upset."
"Well, Jesus, Ben!" Ray exploded. "Of course I'm friggin' upset about it. It's not the sort of day a guy should have to go through alone. That's not partners!"
"I know, Ray, and I am sorry. It's just that you were working on an important case, and I didn't want to disturb you." Now it was Fraser's turn to look away guiltily. "I never meant to deceive you."
Ray suddenly felt as if someone had whacked him over the head with a soft rubber mallet. "What the hell are you talking about, Ben?"
Still looking miserable, Fraser explained, "I... well, technically I had the day off, since it is a national holiday. I didn't tell you, since you couldn't be spared from your work anyway, and in any case I had some important files to finish going through and sorting at the Consulate..."
Okay, the fog was starting to clear a bit from his brain now. "You think I'm upset because you spent your day off working, instead of hanging here all by yourself?"
"Well, no, Ray," Fraser admitted, his face reddening slightly. "But, you see, Constable Turnbull came along, and between the two of us we finished the work rather quickly, so we spent the afternoon..."
Fraser's slight hesitation made Ray's heart lurch. No... he didn't...
"... at a curling match," Fraser finished helplessly.
No! He didn't! Of course he didn't; Ray felt even worse than before for even considering that Fraser might ever be unfaithful to him, and with Turnbull of all people! Of course, Turnbull probably didn't forget any of Canada's special holidays... hell, Turnbull probably hauled out the cake and champagne for National Moose Appreciation Day. He was getting sidetracked again, though; it was time to get that guilty look off Fraser's face and back onto his own, where it belonged.
"So, you and Turnbull played hooky on your holiday. Did you guys hold hands at all?"
"No!" Fraser replied in shock.
"Lock lips? Swap some Mountie spit?"
"Certainly not!"
"Hump like rabid beavers?"
"Ray!" Fraser was indignant, now. "It was a completely innocent outing to a sporting event."
"Right," Ray agreed. "Nothing for me to get upset about. Did you think I'd get all jealous about it and lose my head and go kick Turnbull in the head for deflowering my man?"
"No, Ray!" Fraser replied vehemently. "I know you trust me as much as I trust you - which is implicitly. I just didn't want you to feel badly about my spending a Canadian holiday with a fellow countryman, since I couldn't spend it with you. I never thought you'd find out. Honestly, Ray, I didn't even expect you to remember the day!"
Ray knew Fraser was being perfectly truthful, and wasn't trying to hurt him at all, but he couldn't help flinching slightly at that last bit. "Well, guess what, Ben? I didn't remember. It was a special day for you, and it completely slipped my Swiss cheese brain."
"Ray, you didn't have to..."
"Yeah, Ben, I did. I laid here with you, on this couch, on Canada Day, with the fireworks all going off, and you told me you loved me and made my millennium, and I promised myself I'd spend all your Canadian days with you. Guess now you know how far a promise goes with me, huh?"
He looked down at his clenched hands, not wanting to see Fraser's face, knowing that after four glorious months his happy train had just dumped him off on the platform and was chugging off without him.
"This is why you were upset?" The emotions in the statement were unreadable; Ray simply nodded, without looking up.
"Oh, Ray."
Yeah, he'd heard this all before. 'Oh, Ray, you're such a jerk.' 'Oh, Ray, can you do anything without screwing it up?' 'Oh Ray, just get out.'
"Ray, you idiot."
Ouch. All right, that one hurt a bit.
"Ray, you wonderful, beautiful, loveable idiot."
Okay, he was starting to get some mixed signals here. He snuck a cautious glance upwards, and was shocked to see the affectionate smile on his lover's face.
"I know exactly how far a promise goes with you, Ray," Fraser continued softly. "It goes on forever."
Ray opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly found it full of slick Mountie tongue. He responded instinctively, wrapping his arms around those broad shoulders, tangling his fingers in that thick pelt, feeling his own head start to spin as much from desire for this incredible man as from lack of oxygen.
His body was crying out to him now, all set to do the happy horizontal dance with Fraser right then and there, when his lover broke away. The two men gasped for breath for a few moments before simultaneously exclaiming: "Bed!"
The short journey to the bedroom was an exercise in coordination, since neither man could bear to stop touching, kissing, undressing the other. Finally, they reached the bed and tumbled down onto it, gloriously naked and revelling in the feel of skin on skin. Manoeuvring around until they were pressed groin to aching groin, they lost themselves in pleasure, exchanging slow, deep kisses and thrusting their hips together.
A persistent thought nagged at Ray, though, and with an extraordinary bout of will-power, he drew away from Fraser's questing lips and tongue, and from the strong hands gently kneading his buttocks.
"C'mon, Ben. I want to make this special for you, to make up for the holiday I missed."
Fraser frowned, before swooping in again. "I thought we'd discussed this, Ray," he said between short, sweet kisses. "You don't need to be any more special than you already are." A long lick along Ray's jawline, now, which he felt all the way down to his now-throbbing cock. "You couldn't possibly be," Fraser added before moving down to draw a rock-hard nipple between his lips.
Ray arched his back in sheer pleasure, enjoying the sensation of light suction and even lighter nips from those super-sharp teeth. God, did Fraser file those things? Even after four months, sex with the man never ceased to overwhelm him. As much as he loved it, though, he knew there were certain things missing from the equation and, after four months of mind-blowing orgasms, he'd recently come to the conclusion that there was now absolutely nothing he wanted to hold back from his lover.
"It's just that..." he began hesitantly, not sure, now that the moment had come, how to even broach the subject, and even less sure whether or not Fraser would even welcome his offering.
"Ray?" Fraser detached himself from Ray's nipple, concern in his eyes.
"I wanted to do something really great for your day, something you'd always remember..." With that, and with a calming breath, he reached into the drawer beside the bed and pulled out a small paper bag he's stashed there a few days earlier. He opened it, laying its contents out on the bed, to Fraser's startled gasp.
He watched as Fraser stared at the small tube and at the handful of foil packets before him, hiding a small smile at the shocked expression on his lover's face, and a tingle ran through his body as he realized he just might be about to actually use the stuff.
Fraser had turned his stare on Ray, now, and he thrilled to see the Mountie's eyes darken with arousal. "Are you sure, Ray?" he asked, his voice low and husky.
That tingle got stronger, and his grin got wider. "Oh, yeah, Ben; I'm sure. Only, I get to be the Mount-ee. I want you to mount me. I want you to ride me like a thoroughbred. I want to take your musical ride. I want you to take your big Mountie lance and..."
"Ray?" Fraser interrupted, his eyes clenched shut now. "As much as I'd like to devote my life to fulfilling your wants, I'm afraid that if you don't stop talking NOW, you will be in danger of my not being able to cooperate."
Ray let his gaze drop down to Fraser's midsection. Sure enough, the man's erection was darkly flushed and twitching slightly, looking just about ready to blow. 'Hmm, nice idea,' Ray thought, his mouth watering slightly. He had an even better one, though, and without another word, with only a truly lascivious wink, he turned away from Fraser and moved to his hands and knees, his legs parted slightly.
He heard a muffled gasp from behind him, and a faint rustling as Fraser fumbled for lube and condoms, apparently with fingers gone suddenly numb. Distracted or not, though, Ray knew his lover's weaknesses, knew he was going to take time to read the label on the tube. As it was, he barely suppressed a snicker at Fraser's incredulous "Cranberry flavoured?"
"In the spirit of the season and all," Ray replied innocently.
"Ah," Fraser replied, his voice gone all sexy again. "Perhaps we'll test that out... later."
The implications behind those words barely had time to register on Ray's overheated brain when suddenly he felt the shock of cool, slick fingers where he wasn't used to feeling fingers... at least, not as a prelude to anything sexier. He moaned softly as a single finger breached his opening, the low sound turning to whimpers of pleasure as another one, then two fingers joined the first, spreading the gel deep within him.
His hips were now undulating with every stroke of Fraser's broad fingers, and yet Ray longed for something more than that, for a deeper connection, an expression of his utter love and trust in his partner.
"Now!" he all but begged, reaching behind himself to grab Fraser's wrist, urging his lover to replace his fingers with something more satisfying for both of them. "God, Ben," he pleaded. "Fuck me now!"
If Ray heard the low growl his words had caused in his lover's throat, he paid no attention to it, being completely focussed as he was on the feel of those strong hands grasping his buttocks, parting them, then - Oh, God! - guiding in the tip of Fraser's cock, the hard length pushing at him, pushing into him, sliding in, sliding deeper, sliding home.
Twin groans filled the room as Fraser's hard cock was fully sheathed inside Ray's willing body. The lovers paused for a timeless moment, each man lost in the wonder of their joining, until finally Ray shoved his hips backward, and Fraser urged his own forwards, and they were truly lost.
Ray's breath was coming now in short, panting gasps as Fraser's hips ground his cock into him again and again, deep, powerful thrusts that sent bursts of sheer pleasure coursing through each man. With trembling fingers, Ray reached down to grab his own throbbing shaft, managing only a few rough strokes before crying out, barely hearing Fraser's own moan of ecstasy as his mind all but exploded with the force of his climax.
His knees and elbows, long since having lost their tensile cohesion, finally collapsed, and Ray dropped onto the bed, face buried in the pillow, letting out a muffled groan as he noticed the cooling dampness under him. Then Fraser's arms were sliding beneath him, gently turning him around and drawing him into a tight embrace, and any discomfort was forgotten.
"Lord almighty!" he murmured into the crook of Fraser's neck, and felt his lover smile into the spikes of his hair.
"I can honestly tell you, Ray, that that was indeed the most ... special ... present I've ever received. And in honour of the occasion, I will be giving thanks for it for a long time to come."
At that, Ray chortled. "I'll have you know it hasn't taken me a long time to come since about last July, Benton buddy. Guess you're just too damn sexy."
It was neat how, lying here with Fraser, he could feel the man blush like that.
"As are you," Fraser replied, loosening his hold long enough to let Ray move up for a kiss.
"Mmm," Ray murmured into Fraser's mouth. "Happy Thanksgiving, Ben."
"Thank you kindly, Ray," Fraser replied with ... could that be mischief in his eyes? "Perhaps when your Thanksgiving comes, you'll allow me to return the favour."
Ray's sated body tried perked up a little at this particular thought. "You mean...?"
"Yes, Ray. Perhaps, next time, you'd like to ... to fuck the stuffing out of me."
Ray stared at him for a moment, then let loose with a merry peal of laughter. "You got it, Ben," he finally said with a last chuckle, resting his head on his favourite pillow - Fraser's shoulder. "You got it."
FIN