Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine, I'm just borrowing them.
Feedback, chocolate, and otters accepted at wy236@victoria.tc.ca

			     I Love You, Idiot

"I love ya, ya idiot!" There was frustration, exasperation,
and pleading in Ray Kowalski's voice.

"Pardon me, Ray?" Fraser sounded puzzled. Who could blame him?
thought Ray. It was probably the oddest declaration of love
he'd ever heard. 

"I said, I said I love ya, Frase." The corners of Ray's mouth
turned up slightly. "I also said yer an idiot." 

"But Ray, why?" asked Fraser. Ray had confirmed what Ben had
thought he'd heard his partner say, but he was no less
puzzled. 

"Why do I love ya, or why did I call ya an idiot?" asked Ray.

"Either. Both. " Ben found himself unable to think clearly.
Ray loved him. Ray *loved* him? The declaration had come
completely out of - what was the American expression? - out of
left field. It was so bewildering that Fraser temporarily
ignored the part about Ray calling him an idiot. It wasn't
much different than Ray's calling him a 'freak' when they'd
first met.

Ray hadn't intended to tell Fraser of his feelings in quite
this manner. He had been avoiding telling Fraser at all, but
had tentatively intended to invite Fraser over for a quiet
dinner or something at his apartment, preferably without the
wolf there to distract them, and somehow - he hadn't planned
exactly *how* - tell him then. He stammered, "I, uh, well, I
love ya just 'cause yer *you*, Frase."

"But what is it about my being *me* that causes you to love
me?" asked Fraser.

Damn. Ray had the feeling that banging his head against the
wall could be more productive than talking to Fraser
sometimes. "Well, yer always there when I need ya. You've
saved my life more than once. "

Fraser nodded as if to say, 'Continue.'

"Yer just, yer a good person - ya open doors for people, ya
help little old ladies across the street. Yer *nice*." Ray
swallowed and took a deep breath. "And, and - ya don't resent
me fer replacing Vecchio. Ya just accept me. Whether I'm
chasing after Stella, which was completely hopeless, or trying
to solve an eight year old murder case that was already closed
- ya just go right along with me. Yer, yer amazing, Fraser."

Fraser smiled. "Thank you kindly, Ray," he said. Then his face
clouded slightly. "But why did you call me an idiot?" 

"Aw, Frase," sighed Kowalski. "Sometimes, I just, I get
frustrated, ya know? Yer always taking risks, ya jump off
buildings, ya go after armed perps without any weapon of yer
own, and, and, I'm afraid that one day yer gonna get yerself
killed. So when ya asked me why I wouldn't let ya go after
that psycho who robbed the liquor store, I just had to tell ya
the truth. " He paused. "But I didn't mean to say it quite
like that. I was kinda hard on you, Frase. I'm sorry. Yer not
an idiot."  

"No, Ray, I think I *am* an idiot," replied Ben. 

"Wha--? Why?" asked Ray in confusion.

"For not seeing what you have obviously been feeling for me
for some time. For not paying closer attention. For not
telling you that I love you, too."

A wide grin split Kowalski's face. "Ya love me, Frase?" he
asked.

"Yes, I do. Very much, in fact," Fraser replied.

"Why, Frase?" Ray asked. Turnabout was fair play.

"Because, as you said, Ray, you are *you.* You are Ray."

Ray stepped close enough to Fraser to look directly into the
Mountie's clear blue eyes, close enough that they were almost,
but not quite, touching. "And what," he asked, "is it about me
being me that you love?" 

Fraser put his hands on Ray's shoulders. "You have accepted me
as I am, which I believe was just as difficult, if not more
so, than my accepting *you.* You not only accepted my presence
as Ray Vecchio's partner, you made me *your* partner. You are
obviously very deeply committed to your job as a police
officer. You believe in justice. You will go to any lengths to
right what you perceive to be wrong, even if no one else can
be bothered. And," he added, his eyes twinkling, "you have
cute hair."

"Awww, Fraser!" exclaimed Ray. Fraser cut off any further
protests by leaning forward and kissing his partner, hard. Ray
sighed. "I love ya, ya idiot."

Fraser grinned. "I love you too, Ray." 

End