This story is slash, containing characters who (sadly) do not belong to me and both happen to be men who want to have sex with each other. I'm not writing this for any gain other than my own personal amusement. Rating - NC-17. No, really, lots of sex in this one. Lots and lots.

Here it is, part nineteen in the twenty-one part "One Ray, Two Ray, Old Ray, New Ray" series (with all due deference to Dr. Suess), which has something in it to please or offend everyone, including Fraser/Kowalski pairings, Fraser/Vecchio, and even Vecchio/Kowalski. You have been warned.

This episode takes place approximately eight months after the events of the series finale, and almost two weeks after "In From the Cold." All previous stories archived at http://www.frontierz.com/socket

Permission granted to archive at Witnesslist, and any and all other Due South archives. Any others, please let me know first.

any comments, suggestions, or complaints can be sent to me at magik@socket.net

This one's for Mitch, who wanted to see his man Vecchio get some action. And also to Hth, who's been begging me for it since the beginning of the series. But then, she deserves it, since it was all her idea in the first place. The fact that these last four stories exist is all her fault. Blame her or thank her, at your discretion.

"Menage-a-Ray"

Barbara J. Webb

The screaming in the kitchen was loud enough Ray could still hear at after firmly closing his bedroom door. Maria and Frannie. He had tried, briefly, to interfere, to calm them down, but when that had only turned their venom on him rather than each other, he had realized his tactical error and retreated. Too late to leave the house, but too early for Ray to go to sleep, Ray opted for a long, hot shower, hoping the added noise of the water would be enough to remove him from his siblings.

Stepping under the flow, Ray ran a hand over his chest, back along his scalp - wondered just how long he was going to be able to keep hold of what hair he had left. It all seemed to be deserting him; nothing like a dangerous undercover stint with the mafia to speed along that male pattern baldness. He hadn't felt too bad about it since that cute blonde daughter of Tortelli's had said he looked sexy this way. Which only confirmed what Vecchio had suspected all along.

Low grade horniness combined with languid boredom, and Vecchio found himself idly jerking off. Not yet entirely serious about it, Ray searched for a good mental image to settle into, something he could wrap his thoughts around. The girl at the toll plaza - the one who'd flirted with him over change. No, too much work; he'd have to make up what she would be like in bed. There were the old standbys, Michelle Pfeiffer, John Travolta - but neither held his attention. Someone more familiar, closer to him. Elaine? No, tonight he felt more in the mood for a man.

Fraser. Now there was some fine fantasy material. Although Ray always felt a bit sleazy thinking about Benny like that. Not that he didn't think about Benny a lot that way, but doing it deliberately seemed a bit more...kinky.

Of course, when thinking of Fraser these days, it was hard to keep his pretty blonde shadow from springing to mind. Speaking of fantasy material. Kowalski, now there was sex on the hoof, and no guilt issues.

Kowalski, with that 'I dare ya' smile and ludicrous hair, that long, lithe body, those muscles that were always so beautifully defined under his tight t-shirts - the only reason Vecchio might be persuaded to allow him to keep hold of his atrocious fashion sense. His hands, the bracelet, the attitude, the tattoo. All put together, the man was liquid sex. Even Vecchio couldn't deny just how attractive he found Kowalski, and in the privacy of his own shower, why should he have to?

Taking a firmer hold of his cock, Ray leaned one arm against the cool tiles that covered the wall from the edge of the bathtub up. He closed his eyes, stroking slowly up from the base. He wasn't completely hard yet, but getting there.

Kowalski. Rapid-fire images shot through his head: Kowalski squinting against the sun, in those adorable glasses he couldn't hit the side of a barn without; Kowalski sitting in Armando Langoustini's hotel room, daring Ray to do anything - anything; Kowalski stretched out below him, naked, straining.

*How did it start between you two, Benny? Did you want him from the first time you saw him? Like I did? Well, okay, maybe the very first time I was a bit more worried about you, but definitely the second. Working that case - bet you two were great together from the beginning. Probably just snapped into being partners, just clicked, not like you and me. Took us a while to get used to each other.

*How did you first see him? Was he just standing in a doorway, leaning on his elbow, one hip pushed out in that 'fuck me' pose? Or did he get to make an entrance, sweep into the room, take it over, fill it up with that 'I'm here; I'm cool, deal with me' attitude? God, he's sexy when he does that.*

Ray's breathing was getting heavier, his hand moving faster. On each upstroke, he twisted, rubbing his thumb across the head. The heat of the water, combined with his arousal had turned the skin red, shiny, but Ray wasn't looking; his eyes were closed, the better to fantasize.

Kowalski going down on him. Pretty pink tongue licking those pretty pink lips before taking Ray into his mouth. The relish with which he'd always seemed to enjoy it - like he was eating a popsicle or something. That was the kind of man Ray liked to see, a man who could relish giving a good blowjob almost as much as he did getting one.

Pretty Raymond. Blonde and beautiful. That face - Ray's dick moving in and out of it. His eyes, sparkling, bright. All the energy bundled tightly into that lean body always lit up his eyes like sparklers.

Ray's hips were moving against his hand; Ray's mind supplied Kowalski's presence on the other end of his thrusts. The steaming water almost felt like the burning, wet heat of Kowalski's mouth. He was so close.

Kowalski closing his eyes, focusing all his attention on Ray's cock. Long-fingered hands clenching his ass, pulling on it to bring his hips just a little close to Kowalski's lips. Kowalski pulling back, licking Ray's semen off his lips, grinning.

There, that was the image. Waves of pleasure, both remembered and immediate, surged through his body. His hips thrust forward, fucking empty air, as he clutched at the curtain for support. He stood there, head down, panting. It took longer for his breathing to come back under control than it did for the water to wash away the evidence of his play.

When he shut off the water, there was no noise from the kitchen to greet him. Peace and quiet reigned in the house, for the moment at least.

* * * * *

"That is to say...no, that's not right. Rather...hmm. Relationships, Ray - relationships are the foundation of...no. Friendship, yes, friendship is one of the most important - are you following me at all? No. Perhaps if we approached this from a different angle."

Ray Vecchio sipped at his after-dinner coffee, watching Fraser stumble over whatever it was he was trying to say. Beside Fraser, Kowalski was becoming more and more agitated as the Mountie tried again to speak.

"We are - that is, Ray and I - we are...yes, and you are our friend. Of course, you know that. Yes. What I mean to say is-"

"He wants you to have an orgy with us."

"Ray!"

Vecchio spit his coffee all over Kowalski's kitchen table. "What?"

"You heard me."

"That isn't at all how I would phrase it. I don't think that word is entirely appropriate."

"Benny, do you want me to have sex with you and Kowalski here?"

"Well, Ray, I...yes."

"Sounds like any orgy to me."

Fraser gave Vecchio that stern, 'you're just being difficult' look. "Now, Ray, there is a certain connotation to that word that I hardly feel applies here. We are not - it's not about...that is, not just about-"

"Benny," Ray cut him off. "You can't be serious about this." Fraser couldn't be serious. This couldn't actually be happening.

"Why not?"

"Because it's - it's weird, that's why. What is this?" Fraser was blushing, and it hadn't escaped Ray's attention the way Kowalski seemed to feel his life depended on not letting his attention wander from whatever was happening on the wall of the living room. "Is this - Kowalski, what's going on here?"

The detective started to open his mouth, but Fraser cut him off. "It was all Ray's idea." Vecchio didn't miss the sharp jerk as Ray kicked Fraser under the table. "Ray - what - it *was* your - stop that!"

"Your idea, Stanley?"

Kowalski shrugged, but still wouldn't look Ray in the eye. "Sure, I guess."

"You guess." Something wasn't completely right about this. The eager, hopeful look in Fraser's eyes, the stony, sullen look of Kowalski's - he just didn't have enough information yet to figure out what it meant. It was simply difficult to focus his entire attention on the problem, since his brain kept dragging him back to images of Fraser and Ray and him, all together.... "Fraser, is this something you Canadians do all the time? Cause if it is, I gotta tell you, it's not normal in America."

"To my knowledge, Ray, this is no more of a common occurrence in Canada than it is here in Chicago. However," and there it was - Fraser's lecturing tone, "I do feel obligated to point out that in general, Canadians do tend to be a bit less...uptight about sex than is common in the rather puritanical American model."

Vecchio flashed him a grin. "We don't need sex, Benny - we've got guns."

"Has it ever occurred to you that you - and I speak in the generic sense her - might feel fewer urges to shoot people if you were less...um, frustrated?"

"So what is this, you think I'm frustrated, on the verge of shooting someone?" Although if he'd ever been at that point - right now, he felt like he needed to do something. Scream, run, shoot - anything to get rid of some of this tension. What was Fraser thinking? As if he didn't think about the two of them enough, and here he was being offered this chance to - to what? To live out the fantasies that crept up on him at night.

"No, of course not."

And still, Kowalski hadn't so much as glanced in his direction. What was he - nervous, upset, embarrassed, something else? Vecchio could hardly blame him. Personally, he would have been less addled if someone had hit him upside the head with a two-by-four. "Look, Benny, while I appreciate your offer, I don't really want to get dragged into the middle of whatever weird thing you two got going here. Sorry."

Kowalski's palm slapped against the table, and Vecchio flinched at the sudden sound of it. The blonde cop pushed back from the table, and went to shut himself in his bedroom. "What's his problem?"

"I'm not sure." Fraser seemed almost as puzzled by Kowalski's behavior as Vecchio felt. "Perhaps he feels rejected."

"Rejected? Come on, Benny. This is - this whole thing is just crazy. Why are you doing this? Really, what's all this about?"

With more calm than his partner had exhibited, Fraser also pushed back from the table, coming around to crouch in front of Ray, one hand resting lightly on Ray's knee. "Ray, you are my friend. You and I, we have shared so much, and I have always cherished that. And now I have this whole part of my life - this wonderful, beautiful, exquisite part of my life that I don't - can't share with you."

"C'mon, Benny. You never heard of talking? I seem to recall, maybe once or twice, you've about worn my ear off trying to share something I wasn't there for." Fraser's talk of his wonderful, exquisite, beautiful other half was doing nothing to aid Vecchio's resolve.

"Sometimes I don't feel you give me your full attention. And I don't - wouldn't feel entirely comfortable talking about it with you. You are, in this, an outsider, and I don't care for that. I don't want you to be an outsider, Ray. Once you've come in, then it would be different."

Of course Fraser was talking him into this. Fraser could talk him into anything, and Ray knew that, and so the fact that he stayed to listen meant that he really wanted to be talked into it. Big surprise there. Looked like Mamma Vecchio had raised herself an idiot after all. "Okay, Fraser. Just this once. For you." Only once. More than that -

But that was later, and Vecchio wasn't thinking about later. He certainly wasn't wondering what would happen to them - to all of them after. Sex and friendship - never the best mix. Friends don't let friends....

Sliding one arm around Vecchio's neck, Fraser pulled him down for a kiss, and Vecchio didn't fight it. Fraser's lips were soft, warm; his mouth opened slightly under the pressure of Ray's. It was a sweet kiss, betraying none of the passion Ray knew simmered beneath the Mountie's cool demeanor.

As he pulled back, Vecchio's eyes feel on the door to the bedroom, still closed. "You mind if I go talk to him a minute, just me?"

"Not at all." Now that Ray had agreed to do this, Fraser was beaming like a nut. "I'll wait out here."

"Thanks, Benny." Kowalski was sitting on his bed, tossing a baseball up into the air and catching it. Unless his habits had changed over the years, Vecchio could take this as a good sign. If he were throwing it against the wall, that would be a sign of anger or brooding; throwing into the air simply meant thinking.

At Vecchio's entrance, Kowalski caught the ball, stared at him challengingly. "What are you doing in here. My room, you can't come in. Fraser let you in?"

"I'll come in if I feel like it." Ray went over to the bed, sat down close enough that Kowalski was forced to either move his legs or have them caught under Vecchio, glanced around. "Looks about the same as last time I was in here. I think that shirt was in that exact same spot on the floor."

"You want me to kick you in the head?"

Kowalski tensed as Vecchio rested a hand on his thigh, looked almost ready to bolt. "Look, I, uh, I told Fraser yes."

The news didn't quite seem to thrill the spiky-haired cop. "Sure, whatever. Fraser talked you into it."

"Yeah, I guess. Gave me a speech about friendship and sharing, and-"

"And it made you go all hard. Sure, I got it."

And Vecchio still couldn't figure the kid out. "Look, if you don't want to-"

"Course I want to. My idea, right?"

"I don't know. Seems like you'd be a bit more eager if it was your idea."

"You want eager?" Vecchio was knocked back onto the bed as Kowalski propelled himself forward, landing on top of the Italian, his lips locked against Ray's. Unlike Fraser, Kowalski made no attempt to disguise the animal lust that fueled this kiss, and the electricity of it passed back and forth between them. Vecchio actually found himself gulping for air when Kowalski pulled back. "That eager enough for you?"

Ray saw no need to answer the question verbally, simply pulled Kowalski's head back down. No more thinking, no more arguing, just simple concentration on the rough feel of Kowalski's stubble rubbing against his chin, the cracked feel of his winter-chapped lips, the warm eloquence of a tongue twice as expressive in Vecchio's mouth than it ever managed to be when forced to communicate verbally. Kowalski's sweatshirt was balled in Vecchio's fists, holding him down - not that he was trying to get away.

Vecchio managed to drag his mouth free just long enough to yell at the door. "Fraser, you waiting for a subpoena?"

Not a heartbeat later, Fraser was sitting on the bed beside them. "I was simply waiting for you to finish your discussion."

"Done. Vecchio talks too much - had to shut him up." Ray pushed at Kowalski's shoulder, rolling the slighter man off him playfully so that he ended up wedged between Ray and Fraser. Drawing a hand affectionately down Kowalski's chest, Fraser smiled at Vecchio, who sat up to draw him into a kiss not far removed from the one he'd just shared with Kowalski. Ray's hand met Fraser's on top of Kowalski, separated, met again as they stroked the writhing detective.

Kowalski let out a sigh, and Vecchio broke away from Fraser to look down at him. "Problem there, Stanley?"

"Just you two - you look so good like that. Kissing."

"Hmm." Vecchio pinched at a nipple through Kowalski's shirt. "Glad you're enjoying it." A brush of his lips back against Fraser's, then another, and then the Mountie was leaning down to kiss his partner. Vecchio took that opportunity to unbutton his shirt, toss it on the floor - ignoring the little nagging voice that insisted the silk was going to wrinkle horribly under such treatment. Other things were important right now.

Like Fraser, back to kissing him again, chewing at his lip. The Mountie would nip sharply, then soothe the area with his tongue, before slipping it back into Vecchio's mouth. A hand - too large to be Kowalski's - was slowly running up his thigh. Where were Kowalski's hands?

A quick glance down, and Ray found them. Gazing raptly up at Vecchio and Fraser, Kowalski had opened his jeans and had his hands inside, rubbing himself as his hips lifted several inches off the bed. "Getting eager there, Kowalski?"

"You both looked kinda busy there, Vecchio."

Ray ran his hands down Kowalski's arms, pulled Kowalski's hands out from his pants. "Slowly, Stanley."

Kowalski groaned, pulled free of Vecchio's grip. "I hate that. Whenever you say 'slowly, Stanley,' it means I'm not going to like it."

"You don't think?" Moving his hands under Kowalski's shirt, Ray rubbed at the detective's flat stomach, smiling as Kowalski arched into his touch. "When did you ever not like it?"

"Well, you know, at the time. Was always good later."

"I guess we can't have that." Ray continued to stroke at the twitching golden skin. "What would make you happy right now?"

The shit-eating grin that came to Kowalski's face seemed to stretch from his ears to the flashing grey-green eyes. "Somebody sucking my dick."

Fraser had been silent during the entire interchange, his attention moving back and forth between the two Ray's, his tongue flicking out to lick his lips in what Ray guessed to be an entirely unconscious gesture. "Think you can handle that, Benny?"

"I certainly wouldn't want to keep you from it, if that were something you wanted to do."

"No, you go ahead." Ray had other ideas. He watched as Fraser quickly, efficiently brought Kowalski to a state of complete nudity, brushing his fingers through Kowalski's hair in a way that made it stick out even more than usual. The remainder of his own clothes were only in the way, so he kicked free of those as Fraser's mouth descended onto Kowalski's cock.

Now that was a beautiful sight, the gorgeous blond stretched out, curved ever so slightly towards the gorgeous Mountie, who's red tongue stood out in perfect relief against the creamy-gold skin of Kowalski's erection. That image alone was worth any trouble that might come out of this little escapade, and Ray knew with absolute certainty there was only better to follow.

He slid off the bed, moving behind Fraser where the Mountie knelt between Kowalski's legs. The flannel shirt was easy to remove without breaking Fraser's contact with his partner; the jeans took a bit more work, but with Fraser's help, he was able to remove those too without interrupting Kowalski's requested blowjob. Ray lingered a bit longer over Fraser's boxers, running his hands over Fraser's ass. Stroking with the thin fabric, Ray was completely aware of how the motions would similarly drag the material across Fraser's cock. There was a low rumbling in Fraser's chest, and he pushed back against Ray.

"Like that, do you, Benny?" He wrapped one arm around Fraser's waist, leaned forward to kiss along the line of Fraser's shoulder. The other hand found Fraser's erection through the fabric, held it tightly. "You look great like that, you know? His dick in your mouth." Ray tensed and released the muscles in his hand, but didn't move it. Fraser tried to thrust, but Ray only moved with him. "I love it when you're like this, hot, desperate, animal. Do you have any idea how much it turns me on?"

From behind, he sucked on Fraser's earlobe, running the tip of his tongue along the edge. Fraser groaned, stopped what he was doing long enough to turn his head and kiss Ray possessively. Vecchio could taste Kowalski's salty, caffine-sharp flavor on Fraser's tongue and lips. Kowalski whimpered at the loss, and Vecchio leaned back so Fraser could return to his oral attentions.

Climbing back onto the bed, Vecchio stretched out next to Kowalski, brushing his hand along the length of the narrow torso. "That feel good?" he whispered against Kowalski's ear, indicating Fraser with a nod.

"Oh yeah." Kowalski's eyes didn't open, but his head turned enough he could blindly nibble along Vecchio's chin. "Fraser ever done this to you?"

"Once," Vecchio answered without thinking. The timing of that once might have sparked an argument - a fight Vecchio really wanted to avoid at the moment - but Kowalski let it go.

"Always wondered where he learned to do that. Was afraid to ask."

Vecchio's chuckle became a gasp at the feel of Kowalski's teeth, light against the sensitive skin in the hollow of his throat. "Secret Mountie training camps?"

"Yeah, that's what I always figured." Kowalski lifted his head, opened his eyes. "And in the department, all we ever got was self-defense and suspect grabbing. You ever feel cheated?"

Vecchio stared pointedly at the Mountie. "Do you?"

That beautiful smile - how could anyone be that radiant? "Naw, not me. I feel pretty fucking lucky."

Leaning over, only the thinnest breath of air separating their lips, Vecchio returned the grin. "Bet I can make you feel luckier."

Closing the distance, Kowalski circled Ray's lips with his tongue. "How you gonna do that?"

"You'll see, Stanley." Reaching over Kowalski for the bottle of lotion on the night stand, Vecchio squirted a liberal amount into his hand.

"Hate it when you call me that, Vecchio."

"Get used to it."

With the practiced ease of one long accustomed to anticipating the needs of others, Fraser pulled at Kowalski's hips, adjusting him so that Ray lay stretched out on his side. Then, with that extra layer of thoughtfulness that made Fraser so special, the Mountie reached around to help guide Vecchio's cock so that it slid into Kowalski.

For a moment, Vecchio lay still, his body pressed against Kowalski's lean form, re-acquainting himself with the warm, tight feel of Kowalski's ass around him. "Baby, you feel great."

"C'mon, Vecchio," Kowalski whispered, tightening his muscles around Ray's cock. "Fuck me."

Keeping a hand on Kowalski's arm to keep him steady, Vecchio thrust slowly against Kowalski, finding a rhythm that matched Fraser's movements. Small whimpers were escaping from Kowalski as his hips moved back and forth, caught in the push-pull between Fraser and Ray. Resting his forehead on the back of Kowalski's neck, Ray pressed harder, faster, deeper.

Kowalski's orgasm sent the most incredible sensations through Ray, as the detective's muscles rippled around him. Vecchio and Fraser both pulled away, Fraser stroking his lover's thighs as Vecchio pulled Kowalski back over onto his back to run his hands over Kowalski's chest. "Damn," the blonde Ray murmured.

"You going to be okay?" Vecchio teased, leaning down to lick one of Ray's nipples like a cat. "You're looking a little brain damaged, there."

"I feel a little brain damaged."

Warm, strong hands slid around Vecchio from behind - Fraser. He allowed himself to be pulled against the solid body, felt the press of Fraser's erection against his back. "Well, Benny, guess that leaves us."

"I suppose it does." Those fingers, capable of such delicate precision, were following the lines of Ray's chest, leaving lines of warmth that didn't dissipate immediately. The rise and fall of Fraser's chest, the feel of the air moving against his neck, Ray could feel the shaky, uneven quality of Fraser's breathing. The Mountie was on the edge, ragged with passion, and that thought was almost enough to get Ray off just sitting there.

"What do you want, Benny?" The words came out as a whisper, as Ray leaned his head back against Fraser's shoulder, exposing his neck to the Mountie's roaming mouth.

Fraser didn't answer immediately, trailing his tongue up from Ray's collarbone, circling it around his Adam's apple, stopping at his chin to kiss the spot. Under lowered eyelids, Ray's gaze sought Kowalski, who was still lying on his back, watching the two of them, his expression one of not-yet exhausted passion. It struck him like a brick to the head, the force of the combined lust of these two men, focused, for the moment, on him.

Fraser's rich baritone vibrated against Ray's throat. "I think the arrangement we were just in was an outstanding one; it would simply require some slight repositioning."

Definite possibilities. Ray screwing Fraser while Kowalski wrapped that pretty mouth around Fraser's dick. Or, even better, Ray in the middle, with Kowalski in front and Fraser behind. "What were you thinking, Benny?"

"I...I think I just told you, Ray."

"But where do *you* want to be?"

"Well, I-"

Vecchio laughed lowly, shifted his entire body against Fraser's, rubbing as many points as he could. "If you can't talk about it, you probably shouldn't be doing it."

"Now, I hardly think that's an accurate-"

"Fraser."

Thank God for Kowalski's short attention span. The clipped interruption seemed to bring Fraser back into focus. "I want...I would like to...penetrate you, Ray."

"C'mon, Fraser, you can do better than that," Vecchio grinned. "I want to hear you say 'Ray, I want to fuck you.' It's not that hard."

If possible, Fraser's breathing became even more ragged. "Ray," he whispered, and his arms around Ray tightened, fingers dug into Ray's side. There was the feel of teeth against Ray's neck, just the barest brush. "Ray." Fraser's voice was rough with passion, no longer held quite so tightly in check. "I want - I need - I'm going to fuck you."

The words themselves sent almost as much of an electric thrill through Ray as the feel of Fraser's cock pressing into him. "Benny...Benny, God, yes."

Fraser pulled them both down to the bed, Ray on his side with Fraser behind. That put him staring directly at Kowalski, who advanced on Vecchio slowly, never once taking his eyes off the Mountie and ex-cop. He moved down between Ray's legs, but didn't immediately move to take up his part of the triangle, instead simply resting his head on Ray's thigh, looking up at Fraser and Ray.

Vecchio reached down to brush his fingers through that endlessly fascinating hair. "You waiting for something?" It was a moment of personal accomplishment to be able to form words, with Fraser inside him, still moving with shallow strokes, finding a rhythm. The Mountie's heat soaked into him from behind; Kowalski's heat radiated up from below - and here it was Hell they'd always said was the hot place.

"You're just...you two are so...it's so beautiful."

"Come on, pretty boy, stop mooning and suck me." Kowalski simply smiled, swirled his tongue around the head of Ray's cock just as Fraser thrust deeply into him. "Oh, Jesus, Raymond, please."

Apparently finding some pity in his heart, Kowalski took Vecchio's entire length into his mouth, just as Fraser pressed his entire length into Ray for a second time. It was better than anything Ray could have imagined. His fingers tightened on Kowalski's head, not pushing, just seeking some sort of anchor. Fraser was practically growling at his ear, fucking Ray with animal abandon. Kowalski lay still, letting Fraser's motion push Vecchio in and out of his mouth, his eyes burning into Ray's.

Ray could feel his climax building, but fought it as long as he could, not wanting this to ever end. Not ever. But he couldn't hold back forever, could only ride the wave when it hit, letting his orgasm rip through him, dragging a moan from his lungs. Behind him, Ray was dimly aware of Fraser shuddering, clutching at him, but for that moment, he was trapped up in his own explosive pleasure.

When he came back down, he leaned his head back against Fraser, stroked an affectionate hand down Kowalski's cheek. "Wow."

Fraser's hand on his chin pulled his head gently around for a kiss. "Stay here tonight," the Mountie murmured against his lips.

No one needed to twist his arm. "Sure, Benny." He turned to look down at the blonde head pillowed on his leg, wrapped his other leg possessively around Kowalski's waist, let out a sigh. "I sure don't want to go anywhere right now." Kowalski kissed Ray's stomach, lightly petting the leg that held him captive.

"Hey, leggo." Kowalski squirmed free, moving up to sandwich Vecchio between himself and Fraser. There were about a hundred worse ways Ray could think of to fall asleep than pressed between these two men. One of Fraser's arms was cradling Ray, the knuckles stroking up and down Kowalski's shoulder. The other hand rested on Ray's leg, rubbing gentle circles. Kowalski lay against Ray, his eyes wide, drinking in the tableau before him. "I love you."

For the briefest moment, it seemed as though Ray had been speaking to him, but Fraser's answer from behind sent those thoughts racing from Vecchio's head. "And I you, Ray."

Fraser drifted, his breathing evening out, his fingers' idle movements along Ray's thigh slowing. Kowalski was, true to form, somewhat more fidgety. "Settle down, Stanley. Go to sleep."

"Don't call me that."

"Shh...the Mountie's asleep."

That beautiful body twisted and squirmed against Ray, searching for the perfect position to settle into. "Can't you just be still?"

"What, m'I keeping you up, Vecchio?"

"Yeah." In more ways than - no, he was way too worn out to be thinking thoughts like that. "Don't you ever get tired?"

"Sometimes."

Moving carefully, trying not to disturb Fraser, Vecchio wrapped his arms tightly around Kowalski: one arm up his back, cradling his head, the other around his waist, over his ass, hand resting on Kowalski's thigh. "Now would be a good time."

This position pressed their soft cocks against each other. "You're not helping," Kowalski whispered, twitching his hips just enough to cause delightful friction. "How'm I supposed to sleep like this?"

"Slut," Vecchio taunted affectionately.

"Takes one to know one."

All teasing aside, Vecchio could feel Ray's dick stirring against his. Now he was wide awake again. "Was this really your idea?"

"No. Well, yes, sorta, I guess."

"Well, that was only barely an answer."

"Look-"

Vecchio cut him off with a kiss, felt the tension leave Kowalski's body in sudden surrender. "I'm not trying to start a fight. Just wondering."

"It was a joke, okay. I didn't mean it. Well, I guess not a joke, cause I didn't think it was very funny. It was just, Frase came home, and he was all, you know," a wild gesture and one of those expressive Kowalski sounds Vecchio could only interpret as meaning horny, "all over having lunch with you, and I was all - guess I was upset and - and don't look at me like that, I know what you said and he said and I was just...it was stupid, okay?"

The tension was back in Kowalski's body; it was practically vibrating against Ray. Brushing his fingers lightly, soothingly, up and down the back of Kowalski's neck, Ray kissed at the front of it. "Easy, Raymond. Not worth getting all worked up about."

"All I said was, if Fraser was so happy about you, maybe you two should be sleeping together. Or that maybe we all should, and then everybody would be happy. Only he took me serious, and I couldn't, couldn't back down cause I'd said it already."

"Great. How very third grade of you."

"Well, now I'm sorry I said it."

That wasn't at all what Ray wanted to hear. "Are you really?"

"Yes." A pause, Kowalski relaxed a bit. "No. I don't know. This is all just...weird."

"No shit."

A soft kiss, just the briefest touch of his lips against Kowalski's, and Ray was beginning to suspect he wasn't done for the evening after all. The pretty detective obviously wasn't, a fact to which his growing erection testified. "Still think I'm fuckable?"

"Oh yeah, baby. Isn't it obvious."

"You ever think about me, Vecchio?"

The questions caught him off guard. "What do you mean?"

"Like, you ever think about me - us? You ever miss me, or think maybe you shouldn'ta dumped me back then?"

"What do you care? It was a long time ago."

"I care. Come on; I wanna know."

Vecchio ran his hand down Kowalski's chest, working it between their bodies, over Kowalski's stomach. "Look, you've got Fraser. Isn't that enough for you?"

"Cause I think about you, sometimes." The words rushed from Kowalski, broken only briefly by small hitches of his breath when Vecchio found his cock and began to stroke. "About what it was like, back then. I just wonder, sometimes, what it was. For you, I mean. Did you ever actually like me, or was it just sex?"

"Just have to be difficult, don't you." His deep kiss attempted to remove any possible sting the words might cause. "It's all in the past. Why do we have to talk about it?" Vecchio didn't want to talk about it, didn't want to think about anything except the way Kowalski's breath quickened when he ran his thumb over the smooth head of Kowalski's cock, the way he could feel the muscles of Kowalski's stomach ripple with his every movement, the way Kowalski's thigh was pressed between Vecchio's, applying direct pressure to his groin.

"I wanna know."

Maybe it was the way the forced steadiness of Kowalski's voice clashed with the plea in his eyes, or the way he pressed into Vecchio's hand, like a cat begging for more attention, or just the simple fact that Vecchio still felt he had sins to atone for. Whatever it was, he answered Kowalski - even answered him truthfully. "Yeah, sure. Sometimes I still think about you. And it wasn't just sex, okay? I liked you, Ray. Liked you a lot." Liked him an awful lot.

"So why-"

Ray didn't need to hear the end of that question, cut it off simply by pressing his mouth hard against Kowalski's. "I don't know. Maybe just because that's how I was, how I did things. It's in the past - can we just let it go?"

He didn't give Kowalski a chance to answer, locking his mouth on Ray's. Pulling himself gently out of Fraser's grasp - Fraser hardly stirred - Vecchio rolled on top of Kowalski, pushing the cop onto his back. Startled by the sudden move, Kowalski gasped, twisting under Vecchio.

Moving his lips back along Kowalski's cheek, Ray let his tongue dart into Kowalski's ear before he whispered into it. "Quiet, Raymond. How quiet can you be?"

"I can be quiet." Kowalski's glance flickered over to the sleeping form of his lover. "Sides, he sleeps like a rock." A warm hand found Vecchio's erection.

"That doesn't surprise me. I remember Fraser's never been much of a morning person. Always takes him a bit to get past that sleepy-eyed grouchy phase." The short, soft hairs of Kowalski's thigh brushed the back of Vecchio's hand as he cupped Kowalski's balls.

"You're telling me." Their hands met, and Kowalski pressed their cocks together.

"Not that I remember you being much better." Vecchio pulled Kowalski's hand away, began rocking on top of the younger detective, rubbing their erections against each other, pressed between their bodies.

"Shut up, Vecchio."

That request, he wasn't going to argue with. He found Kowalski's mouth, open and inviting, and devoured it. Beneath him, Kowalski's hips were bucking, thrusting, humping against Vecchio. They were breathing each other's air, in and out, sucking new oxygen through their noses and the corners of their lips. No words, no sounds, just the feel of their bodies against each other, tongues thrusting in counterpoint to cocks.

It was sheer force of will that kept Ray from making way too much noise as he came for the second time that evening. Kowalski wasn't quite so restrained, but most of the sound was muted by Vecchio's mouth over his. Out of the corner of his eye, Ray glanced at Fraser, but the Mountie still seemed to be asleep. "Shh," he smoothed down Kowalski's hair, soothed the body still shaking with the force of their shared passion. "Pretty Raymond. You tired yet?"

"Why? I get you all worn out, Vecchio?"

"Yeah," Vecchio smiled tolerantly. "You did." He settled back against Fraser, pulled Kowalski into his arms. This time, Kowalski was quick to calm down, tucking his face against Vecchio's shoulder, curling around Vecchio's body.

Exhaustion dragged Vecchio quickly towards unconsciousness. "Night, Ray," he heard mumbled against his chest.

"Night, Stanley."

"Stop that."

"Nope."

"Bastard."

And then sleep had him.

* * * * *

They were yelling in the kitchen again. Frannie and Maria. This time it was late, had started after Ray had gone to bed. Ma would put a stop to it soon - she didn't like her children keeping her awake once they had grown out of the stage of needing to be fed and changed.

Not that Ray had been sleeping. Too much on his mind. Last night. What had happened last night? How the hell had last night happened?

Too much. This morning - now, this morning was easy. Kowalski had awakened in a foul mood, snapping at anyone who'd opened their mouth in his direction. Alone, in the dark, Vecchio could admit to himself that he hadn't helped - he'd taunted Stanley every chance that had been presented to him. And Fraser had watched the two of them, confused, wondering what had gone wrong.

Not that Ray, himself, was entirely sure what had gone wrong. Unless it had been that shared moment of intimacy and the feelings it had invoked. Feelings that were - should be outdated, long dead. Not bubbling back up in him when Kowalski gave him a sleepy smile, tilted his head, winked at him.

Bad enough the business with Fraser. Now Kowalski. Vecchio obviously needed more friends - or to get laid. By someone else. Someone he'd never been involved with in the crazy, incestuous way that he seemed tied to these two men. These gorgeous, compelling, irrepressible men.

Both of them. No, that wasn't true. It wasn't Fraser tugging on Ray's brain tonight, it was all Kowalski, all the time. The way he looked, the way he smelled, the way he tasted - the way he tasted Vecchio. The way his tongue....

This was getting Ray nowhere. Thoughts of Kowalski, memories, images, fantasies - nothing changed the fact that he was just as untouchable as Benny. His friends. His life.

On top of it all, it was making Ray horny again. Thoughts of Kowalski.

Automatically, he reached down under the covers to cup his hand around his genitals, rubbing ever so slightly. In Vegas, he'd gotten into the habit of sleeping nude (because, of course, Armando Langoustini had slept nude), and this was one of the very few hold-overs from Armando Ray had chosen to keep. Especially now that he was retired, and no longer getting emergency phone calls - or Mounties - in the middle of the night.

How many nights had he done this back in Vegas, lay awake jerking off and thinking of home. Well, thinking of Fraser. Only now it wasn't Fraser making his cock press against his hand, making little jerks under his fingers as Ray shifted his body to find a more comfortable position. This time it was his partner, the man who'd stepped into Vecchio's life and apparently managed to do better with it than Vecchio ever had.

Ironic, that Kowalski had wanted to be him. Ironic that Kowalski had gotten to be him in a way Vecchio never had. Ironic, when Kowalski seemed completely unaware of his own extraordinary qualities: his fearlessness, his sensitivity, his passion. Deep down, Kowalski was, in so many ways, a better man than Ray had ever been, than Ray ever would be. He and Fraser belonged together, Officers Goodness and Light.

Oh, and here, Vecchio's other hand was sliding over his chest, taking hold of a nipple, pinching it. Not enough to hurt, but the feel of it certainly sent little pleasure signals to his dick, which was now definitely hard beneath his hand. Hadn't he gotten enough sex the night before?

Not that those thoughts were going to do anything to calm him down. Last night. Still, it was Kowalski who kept popping into Vecchio's head, his mouth, his ass, his body pressed against Ray's in that final, mad, Fraserless round. What had they been thinking?

About what Vecchio was thinking now, as he stroked a single finger up the underside of his cock. Something that wasn't quite words, not quite feelings - impulses, instinct. Basic, primal. Lust. That simple.

And if he kept telling himself that - he had to keep telling himself that. Just sex. Sexy Kowalski. Well screwed, begging for more. The feel of that crisp-soft hair brushing the inside of his leg while Kowalski blew him, his warm breath on Vecchio's chest as he slept. One of those could stay, the other had to go. No words, no feelings.

Just sex.

Bad enough he wanted to have sex with Fraser's property. Well, maybe that was almost okay. It had been Fraser's idea, after all - no matter what Fraser claimed, Ray believed that little threesome had been all Fraser's wet dream. Kowalski's early assertions to the contrary, the later confession had rung much more true-sounding to Ray's ears.

But it wasn't just sex he wanted. And that was bad. Incredibly bad.

Safer just to think about the sex. Easily enough done. Gripping his erection, Ray lightly dragged his nails across his other nipple. Sex and Kowalski seemed nearly inseparable thoughts in Ray's mind these days. As inseparable as Fraser and Kowalski were outside Ray's head. Inside - no, only sex.

Stroke, twist, down. Stroke, twist, down. Kowalski's body arched against him as Ray fucked him. Stroke, twist, down. Kowalski's head bobbing up and down. Stroke, twist, down. Kowalski's chest rising and falling as he slept, nestled close to Vecchio. No. Kowalski writhing in ecstatic abandon as Fraser sucked him off. Stroke, twist, down.

Kowalski's mouth locked against his, kissing for all he was worth, sucking all his cool, dispassionate, aloofness right out of his body. Shattered by the sheer force of Kowalski's radiant sexuality. Shattered like Vecchio's center. Shattered like Vecchio's control.

Shattered like Vecchio's calm as he came, biting on his pillow to keep from making any sounds. Not that he could be heard over the din from the kitchen, but it was force of habit. He ran his hand over his stomach, rubbing the fluid into his stomach. The orgasm hadn't exorcized the thoughts of Kowalski, but it had reduced them to a low babble, quieter than the sounds of his sisters' argument. Quiet enough that Ray could sleep.

That was enough of a solution for right now, and all Ray could ask for.