The Truth Will Out	 The Truth Will Out by Manna LaDroit

 Author's webpage: http://members.tripod.com/~mannaladroit

  

 *The Truth Will Out* 

 by 

 Manna LaDroit 

 Pairings: Fraser/Vecchio 
 Rating: NC-17 for m/m sex 
 Warnings/Notices: I use spoilers for all sorts of episodes, in my
universe the series ended with "Flashback," and there's major hot Mountie
love ahead. 

 Mortimer Bolt, cousin to the infamous "Bolt Brothers," drew deeply on his
Cuban cigar and checked the time on his quietly diamond-studded Rolex with
satisfaction. The cop and the Mountie had been delivered right on
schedule. 

 He regarded the bound and gagged men in front of him with a small smile
which went unreturned. Doubtlessly neither of them appreciated the timing
and skill that had gone into their abduction, each man taken from the
street in a matter of seconds: one while he wasted his time impersonating
a signpost, and the other while he was surreptitiously helping an old
woman across the street. 

 No, they were probably only concerned with the discomfort they must be
feeling in their arms and hands and mouths...and with their lives. But
that was only to be expected. 

 "I have no plans to kill you," Bolt said finally. "I have no need." He
shifted slightly in his chair, as though considering his options. "It's no
secret, I'm sure, that there are some in my family who would delight at
the opportunity to see you two dead, but, as I suppose you can imagine,
I'm really not much of a...family man." 

 Despite his clever pun, there was still no comment from the men in their
chairs. Detective Vecchio's eyes were narrow, and Constable Fraser's were
blank. 

 "I hope you also appreciate that my goals are quite unlike my cousins' as
well." Bolt picked a bit of tobacco from his tongue and nodded to the
specialist he had flown in from Columbia just for the occasion. "While
they are interested only in money, I truly do understand the...grandeur of
a good cause, and have been most flattered by the businessmen who have
turned to me for this task." 

 Dr. Halden nodded as he set up his tray of medical instruments. Vecchio's
eyes went slightly wide as the scalpels were set out, and turned a little
green when two long syringes were placed side-by-side, both needles
dripping with the clear fluid. 

 "Now, this is going to be extremely easy on me, whichever way the two of
you decide to play it," Bold continued, motioning for the eager doctor to
await his command. "But one way will be decidedly harder on the two of
you. I need to know the security codes for the exhibit and the schedule of
guard rotation for tomorrow's shifts. It's a matter of only a sentence or
two. I don't even care which one of your gives me the information "Now,
you can tell me while you're still in control of yourselves, as a choice
between men, or you can tell me when you're out of your heads on Dr.
Halden's concoction there. I have been told the side-effects are somewhat
unpredictable, though he tells me you are both in excellent
cardio-vascular condition -- a bit of a surprise for you, Detective,
considering the amount of donuts you buy at the shop near your precinct." 

 He smiled. "I wonder what sort of EKG we could get from that wolf of
yours, Constable." 

 He nodded at Halden again, and watched the man pick up his largest
scalpel to slice through the gags in two little nicks. 

 Dramatic. 

 "You can consider yourself under arrest, Fruitcake!" Vecchio announced. 

 Fraser nodded. 

 Bolt chuckled. "That's fine. I assume we're going to do this the
undignified way?" 

 No response, other than a flicker of Vecchio's eyes. Bolt guessed Fraser
would actually be the one to fold first. The willow bends in the storm
while the oak shatters. 

 He raised a hand to Halden and watched the doctor cut away Vecchio's coat
sleeve, nicking just a little blood to get his attention, though Bolt
thought he would probably be more upset at the ruined Armani. Then the
Mountie's tunic -- all that lovely red wool. It was almost a pity. 

 "Last chance?" he offered. 

 "Go to hell," Vecchio tossed out, then hissed as Halden drove the needle
into his arm. Fraser turned to watch his own injection. Interesting. 

 "It will take a few minutes," Halden said. 

 Bolt nodded and left the room to call in his progress. His associates
seemed pleased enough, considering he still didn't have the information.
When he returned, Halden was watching both men keenly and making notes on
a chart. 

 A few more minutes passed, and when Vecchio's eyes turned glassy, Bolt
shot Halden a look. Halden put his finger to each man's neck pulse, then
nodded. 

 "All right, Constable Fraser. We can start with you." 

 "Leave him alone," Vecchio snarled. 

 "Ray, I believe it's much better if we don't talk." 

 "It's not not talking, Fraser. It's just not talking about certain
things." 

 "Yes, but by talking at all, about anything, you invite slips of the
tongue, phrases with double-meanings, and other ways of revealing much
more than you intend." 

 "Well, don't look now, Fraser, but you're talking up a storm." 

 "I hardly believe my few sentences constitute a 'storm,' Ray." 

 "You're still talking, Fraser." 

 Fraser closed his lips firmly and lifted his chin, looking very much like
a pouting four-year-old. Vecchio was doing better. He only looked like a
sulking seven-year-old. 

 Bolt looked to Halden, who nodded before reporting, "The G-HEK affects
all subjects somewhat differently, but this is proceeding within
expectations. Besides, it's just started to affect them. The symptoms will
build until it will be absolutely impossible for them to keep from saying
anything that occurs to them. When that happens, you need only ask for the
information you want." 

 Bolt nodded and settled back with his cigar. 

 Vecchio glared at him, but his optical targeting seemed slightly off. But
Bolt was sure his own left shoulder was properly terrified. Fraser was
beginning to sway slightly, despite his bonds. He steadied himself after a
moment, however, but then busied himself wrinkling up his face over and
over. 

 Vecchio watched him. 

 Next, Fraser started leaning his head over and trying to bring up his
shoulder, neck muscles straining against the high Mountie collar. 

 "What the hell are you doing?" 

 "My nose itches, Ray." 

 "Your nose itches?" 

 "Well, yes." 

 "You stand guard duty two shifts a day for forever and your *nose*
itches?" 

 "I'm not drugged when I stand guard duty, Ray." 

 "What's being drugged got to do with your nose, Fraser? It doesn't itch,
all right?" 

 "It does too, Ray." 

 "No, it doesn't! You just think it itches. Now stop talking." 

 Fraser blinked at him, then tried to return to his guard-duty expression,
quite familiar to Bolt from well over a dozen photographs. However, the
Mountie's lower lip began to quiver, and in a few moments he was once
again crunching up his nose. 

 Vecchio shot him a look of death. Fraser quailed slightly, then made
another attempt to rub his nose on his own shoulder. Vecchio sighed and
hung his head forward. Fraser, interestingly, began to look happier,
though he partially schooled his expression when Vecchio looked at him
again. 

 *Bump!* Vecchio had scooted his chair closer to Fraser's. Another wriggle
of his hips, another *bump!* and Vecchio's chair was right next to his
friend's. With another sigh, Vecchio leaned his head forward, presenting
his prickly pate. 

 Fraser leaned forward eagerly, rubbing his nose against the short hair.
His eyes closed as a sigh of bliss escaped him. Then his eyes opened wide
and he sat up, almost expressionless. 

 *Bump!* *Bump!* 

 Vecchio's chair was returned to its original location. 

 Bolt realized his cigar was in danger of going out and puffed on it
carefully. Vecchio glumly watched the smoke. 

 "Thank you, Ray." 

 Vecchio grumbled something doubtlessly meant to be indistinct, but "Crazy
Mountie" was clear enough. 

 "I am not crazy, Ray. My nose itched. Now it doesn't, and I am in
considerably more comfort." 

 Vecchio made a slow, somewhat expectant half-nod. 

 "Well, that's not to say I'm 'comfortable,' Ray, not with my hands tied
up and my mind quite unsettled by the knowledge that I have been drugged.
In fact -" 

 "Will you please for the love of God shut the hell up?! I can't believe
you were getting on me for talking and now you're babbling like you're
Frannie in the Bears locker room!" Vecchio shot Fraser an odd look, as
though reflecting an old grudge. 

 Fraser picked up on it, and was obviously struggling not to speak. Bolt
smiled in satisfaction when those lips opened. 

 "You should have more respect for your sister than to talk of her like
that." 

 "I don't think you got any business telling me how to treat my sister.
You got a sister, Benny?" 

 "None that I know of, Ray. However, common courtesy would indicate more
discretion on your part. Not to mention that your sister values your
opinion of her, and it's certain to hurt her feelings should she be aware
of the way you sometimes speak of her. Indeed, I would have thought that
in role your as Italian patriarch, you would be more careful to protect
her." 

 "You saying I don't protect my family?" Vecchio seemed suddenly calm,
except for his eyes. 

 Fraser considered this. "No, Ray." 

 "You saying I don't watch after Frannie?" 

 "No, Ray." 

 "You saying I don't put myself on the line every day, day in, day out,
for everybody living in my house?" 

 "No, Ray." 

 "You saying I don't put myself on the line for people who are just
invited over every now and then for dinner?" 

 Fraser was starting to squirm. 

 "No, Ray." 

 "Then you're saying that when said person comes over for dinner my dear,
nun-like sister doesn't paint herself into low-cut dresses and try to jump
you on the dinner table?" 

 "Well, I would hardly put it in those terms, Ray. Indeed, that's my
point." 

 Muscles on Vecchio's neck were starting to stand out. "Fraser, has it
ever occurred to you, just once, that if I started talking like a
dictionary everyone around me would think I was an uptight little Canadian
iceman?" 

 Fraser's lips went into a hurt little purse. 

 "Is that how you think of me, Ray?" 

 "No, it's not. But you know why it's not? Because I don't let you act
that way with me, that's why not. If it was up to you, I don't think I
ever would have liked you at all!" 

 "You're the one who called my father's murder the 'dead Mountie thing.'" 

 "And I'm the one who came and apologized!" 

 "And I'm the one who forgave you, no questions asked." 

 "And I appreciated it." 

 They sat there quietly for a moment, nodding just slightly to themselves.
Bolt relit his cigar with a lighter, and everyone else startled at the
sharp slick of the flint. 

 "We have to get out of here, Ray." 

 "It doesn't look good, Benny." 

 "I'm very sorry, Ray." 

 "Not your fault, Benny." 

 "Well, actually, Ray, if I hadn't involved you in the security
arrangements for the exhibit, you wouldn't be here." 

 "No, I'd be busting a gut trying to find you. Besides, what are you
saying? You saying you wished you'd rather be stuck here with Huey or
Lambert?" 

 "Well...only..." 

 Vecchio was back to bug-eyed rage. His arms kept twitching against their
bonds as well. "'Well only'? We're stuck here looking down the barrel of
death, and you're giving me a 'Well only'?!" 

 At Fraser's expression, Bolt was astonished at a vague stirring of pity. 

 "I was only going to say -- and only because of the drug, Ray, please do
try to remember that -- that I would rather be with someone else only
because whatever I said under the influence of Dr. Halden's concoction
wouldn't matter so much. An insult to Detectives Huey or Lambert, while
regrettable, would hardly cause the level of sorrow I would feel at
hurting your feelings, Ray." 

 Vecchio considered this for a while, his body and eyes calming. 

 "Well, that's all right then, Benny. But I'd still rather be here where I
can keep an eye on you." 

 "Well, from a purely selfish point of view, Ray, I have to confess --" 

 "Gentlemen," Bolt began. "It's time for us to discuss the --" 

 "Aw, shut the hell up, you freaking nut case." 

 "Now, Ray. We have no proof that Mr. Bolt suffers from the same manner of
delusions and mental quirks as we have witnessed in his cousins, though
perhaps at this juncture your comment should be considered a means of
expressing simple likelihood." 

 Bolt was still working all that out while Vecchio boggled. "Did you just
insult him?" 

 Fraser began a strange sort of keening giggle. 

 "You did!" Vecchio was obviously delighted. "You insulted him! I swear,
if I wasn't all tied up I'd kiss you!" 

 "I wish you weren't tied up, Ray." 

 Vecchio laughed and Fraser giggled some more. 

 "Interesting," Halden noted quietly. Bolt flicked a glance his way. The
doctor was writing something else on his chart. 

 "I swear, if I'd known you'd loosen up like this, Fraser, I'd have spiked
your milk a long time ago." 

 "Ray." 

 "Maybe I should slip you some whiskey before your next shift, and you'll
tell the Dragonlady to kiss your balloon-panted butt!" 

 "The jodhpurs of my dress uniform are not balloon pants, Ray." 

 "Ha! I knew it." 

 "What?" 

 "You defended your uniform instead of your superior officer." 

 Fraser paled and Vecchio looked immediately contrite. 

 "Hey, it's okay, Benny. She's a bitch." 

 "We share an inappropriate attraction, Ray. It's important for her to
keep boundaries up between us." 

 Vecchio's face elongated slightly. "You like her a lot, then, huh?" 

 "Yes, I do." 

 "But she hates you! Why do you keep falling for women who hate you? Why
don't you fall for somebody who'll treat you nice? Loving the Dragonlady's
gonna be just as bad for you as loving Victoria!" 

 "I hardly think so, Ray. Inspector Thatcher's devotion to the law matches
my own. In fact, we're matched in many ways." 

 "Yeah, like you're both unable to open up. If you married her, Fraser,
she'd just push you further into yourself until I couldn't even find you
anymore." Vecchio's eyes and voice bordered on heartbreak. Bolt frowned
and puffed on his cigar. 

 "I'm not going to marry her, Ray. I'm not going to marry anybody." 

 "Yes, you will," Vecchio accused. "You'll get married and make lots of
little Frasers and I'll be the unmarried pathetic guy who comes over and
watches TV until your wife makes noises and you send me home." 

 "Don't be absurd, Ray. That will never happen." 

 "Yes, it will! One of these days some woman out of the hundreds who try
every day will get you and then you won't be there for me anymore." 

 "Ray, that's not true." 

 "Yes, it is." Vecchio sniffed. 

 Fraser strained against his bonds and stared at Bolt in resentment. 

 "I really wish you would untie us. It's at moments like this that I'm
able to touch Ray, under the guise of being comforting, though even then I
do have to be careful." 

 "What are you saying, Benny? I'm some sort of bomb? I'm gonna explode if
you shake me?" 

 "Ray. Ray, of course not. You're simply protective of your personal
space, hardly an unusual concern for a man with your cultural background."


 "You don't know squat about my cultural background, Fraser." 

 "Well, actually, Ray, since we've become acquainted I feel I've learned
quite a lot about the cultural mores of the typical Italian-American male,
particularly in regards to such matters as personal space, acceptable
touching, expressions of affection, or the lack thereof --" 

 "You saying I don't show affection?" 

 "You know, Ray. I have suspected for some time now that you deliberately
misunderstand what I say in order to accuse me of things I don't mean and
force me into a defensive position." 

 "If I don't get what you're saying sometimes, it's only because you don't
speak English." 

 "Gentlemen, I really would like to return to --" 

 "I believe Ray requested that you be quiet!" 

 "Benny! Damn! I wish I had a tape recorder." 

 Bolt looked at Halden, who shrugged and made another note on the chart.
"I've never seen this reaction before, but then, that's why we call it an
experimental drug." 

 "So it's not working?" 

 "Oh, it's working. But the connection between the two of them is keeping
their attention focused on what I can only assume is its usual target."
Halden made another note on his chart. "It would seem the two of them are
quite fixated on each other." 

 "Well, how do we unfixate them?" 

 "We could try separating them." 

 "Nooo!" Vecchio wailed. 

 "Ray! Don't let them!" 

 "However, they might simply fixate on their separation, in which case
distracting them would become even more difficult." 

 "Yeah! That's just what we'd do! They might take me outta the room,
Benny, but you'll still be all I think about." 

 "We might try again, after the drug wears off, by separating them first."


 "And how long will it take to wear off?" 

 Halden looked the men over, frowning. "Considering their weight and
age...four to five hours." 

 Bolt grunted in irritation. 

 "Oh, Ray. How I wish things were different." 

 "Me too, Benny." 

 Fraser's eyes were wide and soft as a puppy's. 

 "You do?" 

 "Yeah. I wish we were headin' home. Ma's making picatta tonight." 

 "Oh." Fraser looked ready to cry. 

 "Yeah, and you'd put a tablecloth over your uniform and eat yourself into
your usual stupor and sit on the couch. And I'd sit next to you to protect
you from Frannie and make you watch TV until you went to sleep and slumped
all over me and Ma would just smile 'cause her boys were well fed and
all." 

 "That does sound nice, Ray," Fraser sighed, glumly regarding the floor. 

 "Do you suppose they've been keeping this up since they met?" Halden
murmured. 

 "Detective Vecchio! What are the security codes for --" 

 "What's the matter, Benny? Don't you like Ma's picatta?" 

 "It's delicious, Ray. Everything your mother cooks is delicious, except
for her pizza." 

 Vecchio's latest smile vanished. "Her pizza? What's the matter with her
pizza? It's traditional as it comes!" 

 "Yes, Ray. And traditional Italian pizza is simply the bread-like crust,
marinara sauce, and a sprinkling of cheese. While the quality of the food
is as superb as always, I do prefer the Americanized version of pizza with
much more cheese and various other toppings." 

 Vecchio scowled. 

 "Well, it's not as if I would ever have mentioned it by choice, Ray.
Ordinarily, I would no sooner have mentioned my preference for
American-style pizza than I would have said something about your
turtleneck sweater." 

 "My sweater? What's the matter with my sweater?" 

 "Nothing's the matter with it, Ray. It's very flattering. It brings out
the line of your neck." 

 "Aw, don't be picking on my giraffe-like neck." 

 "I'm not picking on it, Ray! On the contrary, it's one of your best
features. Besides, I was trying to make the point that your neck is just
the sort of topic I wouldn't ordinarily mention." 

 Vecchio spent a moment blinking, evidently trying to work through that.
Bolt felt the oddest impulse to call him a moron. 

 "Why wouldn't you mention it if you think it's a good feature?" 

 "Because it would make you uncomfortable." 

 "Says who?" 

 "Says all the times in the past when I have attempted to address you
sincerely regarding your virtues only to have you either mock me, change
the subject while refusing to meet my eyes, or accuse me of being 'all
mushy.'" 

 "No, I don't." 

 "Yes, you do. I, on the other hand, make a point of accepting your
compliments with grace and gratitude. Even when I had lost my memory, I
was most accepting of your comment that I look good in my uniform." 

 "You said that was all forgotten!" 

 "Well, obviously I was lying, Ray." Fraser's sigh was pure martyrdom.
"Just another in the seemingly endless assortment of lies I have to
perpetuate if I wish to continue to enjoy your company." 

 "Argh! I knew it! You slept with my sister!" 

 "I didn't sleep with your sister." 

 Vecchio looked stunned, then furious. "You have to be drugged before
you'll finally tell me that? You couldn't tell me two years ago and save
me sleepless nights?" 

 "I find it more than a little hurtful that you would believe I would
sleep with your sister, of all people, Ray." 

 "Of all people? I wouldn't put it past her to clomp you on the head to
get in your pants." 

 "I do know that, Ray. However, your sister's wishes in this matter are
not of concern to me." 

 "Ha! Just like a I said." 

 Fraser's brow reflected the effort of slogging through chemically
impaired thoughts. 

 "You mean the part about my not noticing? Or the part about its being a
fairy tale for me to marry her?" 

 Vecchio was looking pissed again. "You heard that?" 

 "I was watching you through the mirror." 

 "You spied on us?" 

 "Yes, Ray." 

 "How could you?" 

 "I wanted to know what you were going to say to her. I wanted to hear if
you would say you wanted her to keep her hands off me because you wanted
me for yourself. Or at the least, I was hoping to see you display your
love towards your sister, as at that point I had yet to witness
unconcealed love from you, and even the prospect of a brotherly version
fascinated me. Besides, I wanted to make sure Francesca did not lie to you
about the incident. While I was willing to protect her honor, I was
unwilling to aid in the perpetuation of a falsehood." 

 Everyone in the room waited for Vecchio's response, watching those
somewhat unfocused green eyes slowly and surely turn to Fraser's face. 

 "You figured out how I felt about you, huh?" Vecchio finally asked, his
voice drooping. "And so, what? You gotta spy on me, make sure I'm not
going to show up in your room in the middle of the night, drop my coat,
and beg you to take me?" 

 Fraser moaned. 

 "Just because you're always tripping on my sister's tongue doesn't mean I
didn't figure out five seconds after we met I wouldn't have a chance!" 

 "Ray?" 

 "I'm asking you honestly here, Fraser. I ever come on to you?" 

 "Ah...No, Ray." 

 "I brush up against you even once when you drag me in that closet?" 

 "No, Ray." 

 "I try to slow dance with you when you were Ms Fraser?" 

 "No, Ray." 

 "I ever tell you if I could find a piece of sky the color of your eyes
I'd build a house where I could watch it all day? I ever say your cute
little mouth drives me crazy or I wish I had a lock of your hair in my
desk so I could feel it when I miss you?" 

 "Never, Ray. Not once." 

 "Well, then count your blessings, Mr. Mountie, and stop spying on your
best friend!" 

 "Did you want to do those things, Ray?" 

 "Wanting and doing ain't the same thing, Fraser. I never did nothing to
you." 

 "No, you never did." 

 "You got that right!" 

 "But did you want to, Ray?" 

 Vecchio's eyes flickered desperately around the room, and came to dazed
rest on Bolt. 

 "Didn't you wanna ask us about codes or something?" 

 "Ray!" 

 "Yes, I wanted to!" 

 "Thank God! Oh! Thank God!" Fraser laughed, then threw back his head and
howled so very much like a wolf that the hair on the back of Bolt's neck
stood up straight and Halden made another note in his chart. 

 "Benny?" 

 "Oh, Ray. Thank you. Thank you so much! I never thought you'd want me,
not like that!" 

 "What are you saying to me here?" 

 "If you only knew, Ray, if you only knew how much I've wanted you, and
how much I've wanted to tell you!" 

 "You're lying to me!" 

 Fraser boggled now. "Why would I do that? How could I be doing that?" 

 "You feel sorry for me or something! Or the drugs are just making you
loopy." 

 "Ray, I've desired you intensely since the moment I fell in love with
you, or perhaps sooner. Yes, I have to confess, it was sooner than that,
though it arose gradually, and I was very much in the middle of it before
I had realized it had begun. I only know for certain that you had touched
me deeply, reached me when I was so far from the world I would not have
thought anyone could reach me. But you gave me a saw and promised me a
toilet and suddenly I knew." 

 Bolt couldn't help meeting Halden's eyes at that one. 

 "What did you know?" Vecchio whispered. 

 "I knew I had two axes, that somehow, whatever way I would have to find
two of them in my father's things, I would. And then I knew I was in love
with you." 

 "You were in love with Victoria!" 

 "Yes, and yet I knew I was in love with you as well. It terrified me, the
power of that sort of love not only for her, but for you. And I knew you
were much more dangerous to me than she had ever been." 

 "How can you say that? If she could, she would have chopped your soul
into pieces and fed it to her cat." 

 "I don't believe she owed a cat, Ray. However, you are correct that she
wished me harm, that she hated me as much if not more than she loved me." 

 "Then how can you say that I'd --" 

 "She was oblivion, Ray, the complete loss of myself. But at least what I
felt for her was returned; as twisted and dark as her love was, it was
love. She might have killed me, but she would never just be my friend,
chase women while I had to watch and approve, pat me on the shoulder when
I longed to be bent over a sofa and ridden like a stallion at full
gallop." 

 Vecchio gulped. 

 "You are kindness itself, Ray, and generosity and loyalty and light. But
being just your friend these past years has been harder and more torturous
than anything Victoria could ever have devised." 

 *Bump!* 

 "Ray?" 

 *Bump! Bump!* 

 Vecchio's chair rattled against Fraser's as the detective strained
forward, his face turned towards the Mountie's, his lips puckering. Fraser
stared in shock, then eagerly leaned forward. The ropes, however, had been
tied -- by sheer chance, Bolt acknowledged -- with just too little slack
to allow their lips to meet. 

 "Damnit! I can't reach, Benny!" 

 Fraser squirmed frantically, but their mouths remained an inch apart. 

 "Have you really wanted to do those things you said, Ray?" 

 "Those aren't the half of it, Benny. God, how I've wanted to kiss you and
get you naked and touch you and be in you and have you in me." Vecchio
finally gave up on reaching Fraser's lips and let his head droop down so
that he could kiss the only part of his friend he could reach: a section
of the right side of his uniform-covered chest. 

 Fraser moaned. 

 "Can you feel me kissing you?" 

 "Not really, but the thought...the sight of it..." 

 Vecchio got inventive, kissing with little wet sounds down the side of
Fraser's pocket. When he reached the brass button, he tongued it, looking
up into Fraser's eyes. Fraser bucked and groaned Vecchio's name. Vecchio
continued the path down, displaying truly impressive flexibility, but was
unable to reach farther than the edge of Fraser's belt. 

 "I can't reach it! I'm sorry, Benny." 

 "Ray," Fraser whispered. "Knowing you want to touch me like that is
already so much more than I ever thought I would have." 

 Vecchio strained against his bonds harder than ever, then rested his head
against Fraser's torso. 

 "I've dreamed of sucking your cock, Benny." 

 "Daydreams or sleeping dreams?" 

 "Both." 

 Fraser nodded, then realized he could kiss the top of Vecchio's head and
did so. Vecchio gasped, and Fraser began to rub his lips and nose slowly
through the prickles of hair. 

 "Have you ever wondered what I think about while on guard duty, Ray?" 

 "Guarding Canada?" 

 "Besides that." 

 "Me?" 

 "Yes." 

 "Me naked?" 

 "Usually, though for a time after the incident with Frank Zuko I kept
envisioning you in your dress uniform." 

 "Yeah?" 

 "I wanted so much to comfort you with my body, Ray. To bring you peace
and pleasure. To watch your eyes fill with desire for my touch. Starting
you off in your dress uniform just made the fantasy last longer, I
suppose." 

 "Mountie discipline," Vecchio mumbled into Fraser's chest. "See, if it
was me? I'd have a chubby the size of Alaska thinking things like that." 

 "Oh, I would always get erect with that fantasy, Ray." 

 "What?!" Vecchio's head whipped up, but Fraser got his nose out of the
way in time. 

 "The length of my uniform's tunic and the...balloonness of the pants
allow a great deal of undetectable movement, Ray." 

 "You've been guarding the Consulate with a boner you got thinking about
me?" Vecchio's expression was transcendent with wonder. 

 Fraser smile was shy. "Yes, Ray." 

 "Wow." 

 "Gentlemen, I...oh, never mind." 

 "I love you, Ray." 

 "I don't believe it, but I love you too, Benny." 

 Fraser pulled forward again, trying to reach Ray's forehead, lightly
trailing the tip of his tongue along the skin. "Do you remember when we
had to search through all those strip clubs?" 

 "Yeah." 

 "For weeks afterwards I kept thinking about you on stage, taking off your
clothes, but it was a stage just for one, Ray, and when you were done I
would get on my knees and kiss your feet, then your legs, then up, and
up..." 

 "You put me in weird costumes?" 

 "Your gray Armani, your blue Cardin, your deep brown Versace..." 

 Vecchio moaned. 

 Fraser struggled hard against his ropes, then slumped in defeat. "If only
I were free, Ray. I would show you how much I love you." 

 "I think I'd be the one showing you, Benny. Damn, but I bet you taste
like you smell, hot and sweet, and I bet you'd be just a little shy but
once I got you going, watch out!" 

 "I've thought about it so often, about what your hands would feel like on
me, about how I could give you everything and perhaps get all of you in
return. I've thought about your hot cock moving inside me, about the easy
weight of your hips in my hands, about what color your eyes would be when
you came." 

 "Oh, God, Benny. I can't believe that asshole tied us up so tight." 

 "I can't free myself from my bonds either, Ray. But I see...don't I? You
have an erection?" 

 "I'm hard for you, Benny. I'm hard thinking about us together. Are you? I
can't see a damn thing!" 

 "Yes, oh yes, Ray. Would you let me drape you naked over my table?" 

 "That little table in your apartment?" 

 "Yes, where I eat, where I've thought about having you all spread out,
standing between your legs, touching my cock to your cock, watching you
eyes as you let me press my tip to yours...you are circumcised, Ray?" 

 "Yeah. You?" 

 "No, but I thought that with your cultural background --" 

 "You're not? You got a foreskin?" 

 "Yes." 

 "I'd have to pull it back to get at you?" 

 Fraser groaned. 

 "I bought a gay porn movie once, to see how things work. Funny thing was,
I was totally turned off until I started thinking about how one guy was
you, and the other guy was me." 

 "What were they doing?" 

 "69ing, at first, then everything." 

 "I've read a few books. Some of them had pictures." 

 "Library?" 

 "Mail order." 

 "I've masturbated in your seat in the Riv." 

 "Oh God!" More mutual struggling against the ropes ensued. And in the
sudden quiet, Bolt became aware that Halden was breathing hard. The hand
holding the clipboard was gripping tightly as well, the knuckles showing
white. 

 "I've sat there in the driveway of my own damn house, terrified that Ma
was gonna show up in her robe and slippers and ask me what I thought I was
doing at one in the morning, and I've breathed in the scent you left
behind and brought my hot cock out into my hands, touching myself and
thinking it was your hand on me. Like you would just reach over while I
was driving and take me out and play with it, like it was yours and you
just used it whenever." 

 "Would you let me? Oh, Ray. Is it mine?" 

 "All yours, Benny, whenever you want it." 

 "Mine too! I mean, mine is yours...whatever of mine you want." 

 Bolt looked up at Halden. The man did not want to look back at first, but
eventually those brown eyes turned to his. Bolt saw what was there, then
spread his legs just slightly, and leaned back in his chair. Halden bit
his lips, and Bolt smiled. 

 "Does that include your sweet ass, Benny? 'Cause I gotta tell you I've
thought about being in there more than is probably healthy for a guy who's
looking at forty." 

 "Looking at it from quite a distance, Ray." 

 "Looking at forty or at your ass?" 

 "If I had my wish, there would be no distance at all between you and my
ass, Ray." 

 Halden put down the clipboard. Bolt let his hands rest on the sides of
his chair. 

 "I'd be so deep inside you, Benny, you wouldn't ever be able to hide from
me again." 

 "Would you hold me down?' 

 "Would you like me too?" 

 Halden knelt, unzipped Bolt's pants, and slipped his hand inside. 

 "Oh! You bastards! Like it's not bad enough...oh, God. Look what he's
doing to him, Benny! I wanna do that to you!" 

 "No, let me do it to you first, Ray. See the way he's licking the
cockhead? I'd do it just like that, except that I'd nibble a bit on the
tip first. I had a woman do that to me once, and it was wonderful!" 

 "What woman?" 

 "Shelia Donner. I knew her during my Academy days, though I never went
any farther with her once I discovered she had made a project out of
getting as many cadets into her bed as she could. Oh! He's not taking him
very deep. I would swallow you whole, Ray." 

 "I would be too worried about gagging you, Benny. I wouldn't want that
for the world." 

 "Actually, Ray, I believe I could achieve it through a simple matter of
blocking off my airway and controlling my gag response." 

 "Oh, man. I'd never push you down over me like that! I'd be so gentle
with you, Benny. Nothing but gentle." 

 "I wouldn't always want it gentle, Ray. Inside me, I'd want you to be
hard and fast. Oh, they're finding their rhythm now. Yes...yes, just like
that, Ray. Perhaps while you were driving?" 

 "I'd crash the Riv and we'd be found that way." 

 "Yes, they'd have to separate us with the Jaws of Life." 

 "Not if I had anything to say about it. Oh, Benny. I'm leaking here." 

 "I've give anything to be able to touch you there. My hand on your heat
and hardness. I bet you're so soft there, so strong. How big are you,
Ray?" 

 "How'm I supposed to answer that one?" 

 "You never measured it?" 

 "When I was excited? No!" 

 "Oh." 

 "Have you?" 

 "Well, after the crash, Ray, do you remember when I was concerned about
the relative length of my legs?" 

 "You were nuts then, Fraser." 

 "Still...would you moan like that for me, Ray?" 

 "Now?" 

 "No, when I was inserting my finger inside you like that." 

 "Yeah, sure." 

 "Ray?" 

 "Yeah?" 

 "Would you? Now?" 

 "Ohhhhh, Benny. I want you sooo -- Yeah! Oh, yeah, Doc! Fuck him." 

 "No!" Bolt screamed, arms flailing. 

 "You know you want it, bitch!" Halden ground out, plunging inside him. 

 Bolt screamed and thrust up, meeting him stroke for stroke. 

 "Gently for us, Benny," Ray whispered, resting his head on Fraser's
shoulder. "Gently, with love." 

 "Harder, you fuck!" Bolt ordered. Halden groaned. 

 Fraser looked deep into the eyes of the man he loved. 

 "Always with love, Ray." 

 The door behind them burst open with the force of Huey, Lambert, and two
uniforms behind it. 

 "Freeze! Oh my God!" Huey yelled, all at the same volume. 

 "Jack! Thank God! Untie us!" Vecchio yelled back as Bolt and Halden
scrambled apart and to their feet, Bolt reaching for his gun until Huey's
was jammed into his face. 

 Bolt and Halden were ordered to lay on the ground so the uniforms could
cuff them, though at Lambert's insistence they were allowed to do up their
pants. Meanwhile, Huey found a good-sized scalpel and started in on
Vecchio's ropes. 

 "Hurry up, Jack!" Vecchio whined, pulling hard. 

 Huey grunted. "These are nylon reinforced. There! Got your hands." 

 Vecchio grabbed the scalpel and turned to Fraser just as Bolt decided to
be cute. Huey went to help the others and paid no attention to Vecchio and
Fraser as they hustled Bolt and his boyfriend out of the room. It took
several minutes to get them into the car and call in the report, then Huey
looked around, noting with surprise that Vecchio and Fraser hadn't come
out of the warehouse yet. 

 "This is gonna be a good one for Perry, huh?" Lambert asked. 

 Huey laughed, thinking about the media relations director for the Chicago
PD and the rep she was building for making the most out of Vecchio and
Fraser's more colorful cases. Still, he looked back at the warehouse.
Fraser and Vecchio had looked all right, but perhaps they'd been injured. 

 "I'm gonna go make sure they're okay," he muttered to Lambert, who nodded
and looked bored. 

 Back inside, Huey followed the walkway in to the main office, which led
to the small storage room where they'd found Bolt and...what were those
noises coming from there? 

 Self-preservation instinct, or maybe just plain tact, made Huey do
nothing more than open the door a crack. What he saw was more than enough
to make him close it quickly and quietly. But then, standing there, he
wasn't entirely sure what to do. 

 "Oh! God! Benny!" 

 Huey moved away from the door until he couldn't hear things like that
anymore, then pulled up a chair and sat down, keeping a look-out for the
cops who were bound to show up with the investigation unit. Bolt and the
guy in the lab coat must have drugged them or something...and maybe gotten
into it themselves. Hopefully, they'd work it out of their systems before
the lab van showed up. 

 If not...well...Perry would be putting in a little overtime, that was for
sure. 

 THE END