Bringing Sexy Back & Dirty   Both parts of this story were written for the April's Fool Challenge 2007. Bringing Sexy back was done for April 13th, Down and Dirty for April 14th. Rating: NC17

Bringing Sexy Back

It had taken Ray a few weeks to ease into being Vecchio. The first week had been fine; getting to know the boys and girls of the twenty-seventh, reading old cases, getting it all straight in his mind. The second week, Fraser had come back and he'd had his first taste of the weird. The third week he'd kind of bonded with the Mountie in a crypt during an eclipse, thereby tossing a little bit of his own weird into the ring. He thought that was only fair.

The fourth week he'd started to mix it up a little. A guy could only be another guy for so long without starting to make it his own. He'd never gone for the sharp Italian suits, he'd lost the wheels on the first day with Fraser, and, let's face it, he was never gonna fool anyone who'd actually known Vecchio that he was the same guy. So he began to bring a little Kowalski into work with him.

He'd started small – a t-shirt under his suit jacket instead of a button down. And not all the time – the key was to make the change as unnoticeable as possible. Except Fraser had noticed, not that he'd said anything. But Ray had noticed him noticing – a quick assessing glance whenever Fraser first walked into the bullpen.

Then he'd moved onto leaving the jacket off altogether – it was summer – it was hot – he was a guy in need to a little air. No big deal. Except that Fraser's eyes would linger on him a little longer when he just had a tee and his holster on. And Ray didn't mind that. Not at all. He just couldn't be sure if it was disapproval or something else.

So he'd begun to wear more of his own old stuff and less of his new Vecchio stuff. And the more he did it, the more Fraser watched, as if fascinated by the slow transformation from a guy playing his partner, to a guy becoming his partner. Which, actually, was exactly what was happening. They were starting to work together as a team, not because that was Ray's job, as a place-holder for Raimundo, but because they were good together. The one-two punch – the duet Ray had bullshitted Fraser with on that first day out together. It turned out to be true.

But it was the leather jacket that had really made Ray sit up and take notice of the effect he was having on the Mountie. Before then it had been too subtle to act on – there, but too unfocussed to call Fraser on. The jacket changed all that. Fraser's steps had slowed – swear to God, actually slowed that first time he'd seen it.

Ray had felt a little shiver, seeing Fraser's eyes go wide and dark, sweeping him up and down and up again. Like Ray was something. And it definitely wasn't something Fraser disapproved of. Of course, being Fraser, he then covered it by rubbing his forehead and making a comment about the weather, but Ray was trained to notice these things – and he'd got good at watching Fraser.

So here they were, eating dinner at a Chinese place just off Halstead, hanging out after work. Buddies. Partners for seven months now. Close. Ray's lucky leather jacket was hanging from the back of his chair. Ray was watching Fraser, and Fraser was pretending not to notice him.

But Ray was working it.

He leaned back in his chair, sipping his beer, making sure he lifted it high enough that Fraser got a good view of his throat as he swallowed, then made a big show of licking the last trace of the bitter, hop flavour from the corner of his lips.

Fraser's knuckles were white from holding his chopsticks so tightly, Ray noticed. He hoped that was a good thing.

"You done there, Frase? You didn't eat much," Ray said quietly.

Fraser put his napkin on the table and took a sip of water. "I find I'm not hungry after all," Fraser replied.

"Really? You sick or something?" Ray asked, knowing the answer already.

"No, Ray. I'm quite well, just a little distracted."

Ray nodded and waved for the bill, barely waiting for it to touch the table before he was dropping notes on top, pulling on his jacket and herding Fraser toward the door.

"Distracted, huh?" Ray pressed as soon as they hit the sidewalk, walking shoulder to shoulder. "Anything I can help you with there?"

It was quiet down the alley they were parked in. Ray's Ford gleamed dully in the streetlight as he bent to unlock the doors.

"Fraser?"

The Mountie opened his door and quickly got in, and Ray wondered if he'd just fucked up in a quite unprecedented manner. Damn it, he'd overplayed it and pissed off... or worse, scared off Fraser.

He got in, feeling a little bit sick. "Fraser," he began, hoping to find out what damage he'd done and what he could do to fix it. He'd been so focussed on playing the game, he'd forgotten that he was playing it with a guy he liked an awful lot. A guy he didn't want to lose.

"Stop it," Fraser ground out. His face was terrible, dark and anguished from what Ray could make out.

"I didn't mean to..."

"Just stop, Ray. You did mean to. God!" Fraser clasped his hands in his lap and bowed his head. "What did you think would happen if you kept looking at me from under your eyelashes like that? Or smiling so slowly? Or licking your fucking lips? I'm not stupid, Ray! I do know when I'm being teased, I just don't always..."

"I'm not teasing," Ray asserted, reeling from the profanity that had slipped so naturally from Fraser's mouth and stopping him mid-flow.

"Oh, please! Don't insult me any further. It's obvious that I have given myself away in some manner, but I honestly never had you down as the sort to..."

"You stop now, Fraser," Ray spat. "Unless you want me to pop you one."

Fraser turned his face away, his features twisted with torment.

Ray breathed through his nose, calming himself enough to speak. "Listen to me. I was flirting with you Fraser, but not messing with you. I kind of noticed you noticing me. I just wanted to know if you knew what you were doing."

"Do you think I'm a child?" Fraser asked in a voice filled with despair.

"No. I think you're my partner. And my friend. And I think you're just about the hottest fucking thing I've ever laid eyes on, Fraser. But what I didn't know was whether you were curious or appalled or as hot for me as I am for you."

When Fraser's hand grabbed a handful of his hair, yanked him over the parking brake and practically onto his lap, Ray was too shocked to react for a few seconds and by that time Fraser's mouth was on his, his tongue butting impatiently against his lips, and his hot hands were on his scalp and under his jacket, searching for skin.

"The latter, Ray," Fraser growled against his lips, not letting him go. Ray twined his arms about Fraser's neck, pulling him in so close, it almost hurt, his leg trapped at an angle under the steering wheel, his hip squashed into the parking brake. But Ray didn't give a fuck for any of that. He could only focus on Fraser.

Ray opened his mouth, gasping and kissing and asking for more all at once. And Fraser gave it to him – Ray was overwhelmed. No one had ever gone for Ray with such desperation before. Like Fraser would die if he didn't get enough of what he needed from Ray.

It wasn't smooth and it wasn't skilled. Fraser's teeth caught at Ray's mouth, his hands pinched and grasped painfully, but Ray wasn't made of glass and a few bruises were a small price to pay to see Fraser letting it all go like this.

Ray was shaking, like it was his first time again. His jaw chattered, his fingers trembled in Fraser's hair and his he could feel every beat of his heart from his toes to his fingertips. Fraser was making these low moans, needy and possesive. It made Ray crazy and so hard it hurt.

"My place," Ray growled, pushing at Fraser and struggling back into his own seat. His hands were useless, fumbling to get the keys into the fucking ignition.

"You can't drive like this," Fraser grated, and Ray had never heard that tone before. He'd heard Fraser command, but this was... man, there was no doubt in his voice; not an inkling that his word would be anything but obeyed. Ray's dick throbbed at that. He would never have pegged himself as a submissive kind of guy, only that tone just made Ray want to comply and just give it up to Fraser, whatever it was he demanded.

Fraser's head turned, scanning the deserted street. He was so together suddenly, so focussed. When he turned back to Ray, his eyes were narrow and dark. Ray's heart thumped painfully and Fraser smiled slightly as if he'd seen that.

Leaning over Fraser kissed him, then quickly unbuckled Ray's belt, undid his jeans and released his aching cock. Ray should have known that Fraser would be efficient and task-oriented, even in situations like this. Ray groaned as Fraser's palm closed around the base of his dick, certain and unhesitating. But it was the shock of Fraser's sweet, wet mouth as he leaned down and took him in that dragged a high-pitched whine from Ray and shredded the last vestiges of caution from his mind.

Ray's arms flew out as if he'd been shot, his right hand clutching the back of Fraser's seat and his left rapping hard against the window. His head fell back at the overload of sensation. Once again, Fraser was not gentle, his mouth was hot and big and like nothing Ray had felt before. There was no delicacy, no finesse; this was a sprint for the finish line and no messing.

Ray held on tight. It felt utterly fucking perfect. There was a time for teasing and a time for taking it slow and this was neither. Ray just wanted to fucking come already. He was trying too hard, so desperate to get there that it was keeping him from his prize. He had to just relax and let it happen; he had to trust Fraser to do it for him.

Uncoordinatedly, Ray lifted his head and looked down where Fraser's dark hair was a dishevelled mess in his lap. Fraser had no room to move in, his face pressed up close to the steering wheel, so he was working him with his tongue and with suction rather than bobbing those pretty lips up and down his cock.

Fraser's tongue circled the crown deliberately and roughly. Ray knew he was going to be sensitive if not sore after, but couldn't bring himself to care. It was building. In his thighs, in his shoulders, in his gut he could feel it spreading, growing, swelling to fill him; a brilliance, a sharp edged, icy perfection that burst into a billion shards and became liquid heat. He spilled into Fraser's beautiful, clever mouth and shouted from a place deep inside that seemed to have held this sound too long.

Fraser didn't let up, either. His tongue pulled at him, his throat worked around Ray's flesh making him twitch and sob until Fraser decided he'd had enough.

When Fraser let him slip from his mouth, the cool of the air was brutal. Ray felt Fraser's hands on him, tucking, zipping, making him presentable. Then his weight was gone, leaving a sense of unreality that Ray fought to rationalise.

He wanted to kiss that mouth; wanted to gentle that stern line. Ray knew exactly how he could do that. He leaned toward Fraser, only to have a large, strong hand hold him back. Fraser's eyes, when Ray could focus, were so hungry it sobered him in an instant.

"Fraser, let me..." Ray pleaded.

"Take me home, Ray," Fraser murmured. "I have waited this long for you. I can wait another seven minutes."

Ray swallowed, marvelling at the man's control, then nodded. He found, in his post-orgasmic haze, that his fingers had regained some measure of skill, and he started the car, pulled out of the alley and turned toward home.

Down and Dirty

Ray Kowalski had never experienced a longer seven minutes in his life.

Every traffic signal was against them. Every. Single. One. Chicago's slowest drivers had chosen tonight to take to the roads, he was sure of it. And all the way he had the feeling that he was driving some force of nature back to his place – Vesuvius or Krakatoa or something – something dangerous, something wild, something that needed space or else it was all going to get very, very messy.

Fraser was simmering. He was perfectly still, silent and breathing as evenly as he ever did, but Ray could feel it building like a shaken bottle of champagne – sure, it looked okay from the outside, but the second you loosened those wires...

He felt clumsy; driving his own car on a route he'd done a hundred times before, he felt like a novice again, he was that rattled. And he was pretty sure that Fraser was noticing it too. Each time he revved the engine too hard, or changed lane too late Fraser would be looking at him when Ray looked across to see if he'd noticed.

And this was weird because he was normally about the most mellow guy you'd ever met just after getting blown. It was a sure-fire way of calming Ray the fuck down, and back when Stella had given a damn, she had been known to use it to her advantage whenever Ray got too antsy and out of hand.

But tonight, only seven minutes later, Ray was as wired as he'd ever felt, thrumming in sympathy with Fraser's simmering. He could still feel the sheen of Fraser's spit on his cock, still picture the Mountie's big, wide mouth sliding down him, his skin was still hot from the friction of Fraser's tongue. And if he kept on thinking about that, he was going to crash and kill them both. And that would be a dreadful waste, because Ray was pretty sure Fraser had plans for him tonight.

It seemed to take forever to drive back to his neighbourhood, and Ray sighed with relief when he finally pulled into his parking spot.

Fraser was out of the car before Ray was and stood waiting. Ray got out and joined him, leading the way into his building, up the stairs and to his front door without speaking a word. It took him a second to coordinate his hands enough to unlock the door, but then they were inside and Fraser was quietly, deliberately closing the door behind them and locking it.

Ray dropped his keys on the counter and slid his jacket off his shoulders, throwing it onto the couch. Fraser was still standing by the door, watching him intently without bothering to conceal it. It was dark in the apartment, the only light coming from the streetlights outside and from the turtle tank, but it was enough to see the determination in Fraser's eyes.

Ray couldn't just stand and wait for Fraser to act, he needed to move; he needed to bring a little normality back into this whacked-out scenario.

"Do you want a drink?" Ray asked, forcing his voice to sound right, and went to the refrigerator without waiting for Fraser's answer.

Ray bent down and pulled a beer from the shelf. Standing and shutting the door, he came face to face with Fraser who gently, but firmly took the bottle from Ray's hand and placed it on the counter.

"Hey," Ray protested half-heartedly, there was no way he was gonna argue with that look on Fraser's face. Ray had never seen that expression aimed at him, but he knew it was Mountie for ‘do not fuck with me'.

Fraser leant in, his weight braced by a hand against the fridge door. His kiss, when it came, was at odds with his appearance - not tentative, but it wasn't rough either. Ray had half expected Fraser to demand, but this wasn't like that at all. This was a knowing kiss, it didn't expect to be refused and it wouldn't stand for anything in its way. Fraser's tongue was fast and hard when Ray opened to him, and Ray sucked on it enthusiastically, searching for his own flavour in Fraser's mouth. He tried to move closer, to get some contact going, but Fraser held him away with a hand on his shoulder.

Fraser moved back and ran his hand to Ray's shirt hem. He tugged at it once. "Take this off," he murmured - the first words spoken since he had ordered Ray to take him home.

Ray brought his chin up slowly, watching Fraser for a couple of seconds before he complied - taking his time. He had to play this just right, he had to pitch it so Fraser was irritated enough to make him obey, but not so angry that he lost control – Ray wasn't frightened for himself, he knew he would always be safe with Fraser, but he was pretty sure that unrestrained was something Fraser wouldn't enjoy. This teasing and goading, this elaborate game of dare they had going on was a finely balanced thing, and judging from Fraser's small smile when Ray dropped his shirt to the floor, it was something the Mountie could really get behind.

Fraser's eyes took their time as they raked over Ray's chest, shoulders and abdomen, so long that Ray wondered if Fraser were having doubts. Finally Fraser's eyes came back to Ray's face. "Take the rest of your clothes off, Ray," he instructed in that same compelling, flat tone.

Once again Ray didn't leap to comply. He looked away to the window, as if he were thinking about it and then casually took off his shoes, socks and jeans, and straightened up. Fraser's eyes darted to Ray's shorts and back to his face. His eyebrows lifted slightly and Ray shrugged, hooked his thumbs in the waistband, pushed his shorts down and slowly stepped out of them.

Ray's cock was half hard again, getting a pick me up from Fraser's uncharacteristic behaviour. Ray wasn't normally a guy who was this comfortable in his skin, but something about the way Fraser's eyes glittered just a little more each time Ray shed another layer was enough to convince Ray to humour him no matter how embarrassed he felt.

"Better," Fraser muttered, still making no move to touch.

"What is this? Some kind of revenge thing?" Ray asked with a nervous smile.

"Yes," Fraser said simply.

"That's not exactly healthy, Fraser," Ray told him, taking a step closer.

Fraser crossed his arms – a tangible barrier between himself and Ray. It made Ray wonder what Fraser meant by it.

"You have been mocking me for months with your games. I think a little payback is in order."

That was what he meant. "It's not a game, Fraser. It's flirting."

"I know what it is, Ray, I'm just not equipped to deal with it or reciprocate, and you know that."

Ray couldn't argue with that. He'd watched Fraser struggle with his reactions to his clothes – and then worn something even tighter the next day. Watching the way Fraser's eyes got dark, watching him breathe harder or find something mundane to distract himself had been something of a guilty pleasure. Ray guessed he was due to be called on it.

"I didn't do it to make you unhappy. I was interested... am interested in you."

"And you knew I returned those sentiments, yet you persisted, Ray." Fraser's voice was low and controlled, raising every single goose pimple on Ray's skin. "In fact you increased your provocation. That wasn't fair, Ray."

"I wanted to see if I could make you react," Ray admitted, wincing slightly at how that sounded.

"You can. You have. Are you happy now?"

Ray nodded, his eyes riveted to Fraser's mouth.

"Turn around, Ray."

Ray's cock leapt, coming fully hard again. He had no idea how Fraser was keeping it together – Ray'd already come once tonight, but here he was begging for it again.

Ray turned gracefully on the spot to face the refrigerator. His skin tingled with the anticipation of Fraser's touch; waiting, waiting to feel his fingers, his mouth, his dick against him. Ray shivered as he tried to guess what Fraser would do next.

"All the way around," Fraser said softly.

Surprised, Ray turned back to face his partner. Fraser's critical gaze swept across him, up and down, mapping him with his eyes.

"Go and kneel on your bed," Fraser told him.

Ray cocked his head to one side and watched. Fraser's eyes widened slightly at the blatant disobedience. He unfolded his arms and stood up straighter.

"Have we not just established that your methods went beyond the realms of what was justifiable, Ray?"

Ray nodded slightly.

"So are we not in agreement that some kind of recompense is in order?"

"What? So...I owe you?" Ray asked with a quirky half-smile, which would have come off as cute if he hadn't been standing naked in his kitchen with a fully dressed Benton Fraser bent on getting even.

"That is my understanding, Ray. And I would expect you to make good on such a debt. Go and kneel on the bed. Now."

Ray's feet obeyed, even before his mind had sorted out what a great idea it would be to do what Fraser was telling him to.

He walked quickly to his dark bedroom, his dick bobbing uncomfortably, and knelt on the unmade bed.

Fraser followed, slowly shedding his clothes as he came. He took off his socks and jeans at the foot of the bed and came to stand next to Ray, his groin and Ray's nose on a level. Deliberately he pushed off his tented cotton shorts, letting them drop to the floor and allowing his hard-on to brush against the skin of Ray's cheek.

Ray swallowed, his mouth suddenly watering at the sight and scent of Fraser's cock so tantalisingly close. He wanted to touch it, taste it, feel the hardness and heat. He opened his mouth and leaned forward, but Fraser's hand in his hair stopped him.

"Lick, don't touch or suck," Fraser growled.

It was torture. With nothing to steady it, Fraser's dick slipped away from him each time he licked with anything harder than the slightest of touches. Fraser was still and silent, only his breathing betraying his pleasure at Ray's attentions. His hand stayed heavy and solid on Ray's head, a reminder and a subtle warning. Ray was forced to lap at the hard, smooth skin rather than devour it the way he body was screaming for him to do. The flavour of him was salty-sweet, the glistening tip making his tongue prickle whenever Ray could get a taste.

Fraser stepped away, making Ray groan in frustration. He moved to Ray's nightstand and went directly to the back of his drawer, taking out a bottle of lube and a box of condoms.

"How d'you know that was there?" Ray asked, shocked enough even in his deeply horny state to notice this.

"It stands to reason. You're a young, single, attractive man. Also, I've been here before, Ray."

Ray struggled to remember Fraser ever having been in his bedroom. He'd been to the apartment sure, but... it must have been that time when he'd gone AWOL to catch Ellery. Fraser had found him by looking for clues in his home. Ray just hadn't realised how thorough that search had been.

Fraser went around to the other side of the bed and his hands reached for Ray... finally... and he pulled him across the sheets and positioned him on all fours with his knees on the edge of the bed.

There was no warning and Ray gasped when Fraser's thick, blunt finger, mercifully slicked, pushed inside him. Ray closed his eyes and forced himself to relax while Fraser worked him, quickly and hard. The second finger still came too soon and Ray gritted his teeth as he stretched to accommodate the new pressure. For the first time Ray could remember, Fraser wasn't being polite. His actions were just the good side of rough; his impatience with the steps required before he could fuck Ray was almost palpable.

Despite the discomfort, Ray was in total agreement. He also thought this was the hottest fucking thing he'd ever known.

Fraser was pushing him, forcing him open, scissoring his fingers as he rubbed Ray's muscles loose. It had been a long time since Ray had done anything like this and the burn was much more than he remembered, like a sharp, bright flare in his guts. He dropped his head between his arms.

Ray was too lost in breathing and relaxing to keep up, and was shocked again when a third finger joined the others. Fraser's hand twisted, screwing in and out as he worked Ray's hot, sensitive hole. Ray grunted and squirmed, only to have Fraser's strong grip take him by the hip and still him again. Fraser added more lube, the coolness of it a brief blessing as he worked it into Ray's ass.

Then his fingers were gone, leaving Ray open and tender. It was too soon, Ray was certain he couldn't be ready to take Fraser with such hard, fast preparation. He tried to speak Fraser's name, to warn him but before his croak could resolve into actual words, Fraser's cock was right there – huge and alive and insistent. Ray leaned away, giving himself time to adjust, but Fraser's hands caught him by both hips, taking away his options.

Ray gulped a lungful of air, letting it out in harsh pants as he rode the exquisite pleasure of Fraser pushing into him. He couldn't decide, he couldn't think. The slide of Fraser fucking into him was everything. It was too good, too wide, too much, too hot – a whole existence of excessiveness.

Fraser was unrelenting, moving in and in and in when Ray thought he had no more to give. He could feel every inch of Fraser's cock, touching everywhere inside him. He ached, deep in his belly, balls and the bones of his hips and spine. Ray's arms were shaking, threatening to give at any moment.

With a groaning sigh, which made Ray feel better, Fraser was finally fully within, his hands pinching the skin of Ray's hips. Ray lifted his head, holding his body as still as he could, waiting for it to be used to the width and length of Fraser.

Fraser leaned slowly forward, dropping his mouth the Ray's back and kissing it, leaving a cool trail across his spine. He leaned up, making Ray gasp as he shifted inside him. "You drive me insane, Kowalski," he growled against Ray's shoulder. Hearing his name – his real name – coming from Fraser's mouth made Ray's dick twitch and begin to fill again, the shock of Fraser's entry having softened him.

"You distract me. You tease me. You make me..." He pulled out a couple of inches, then pressed back in. "...mad," he gritted.

Ray couldn't speak; the drag of Fraser inside him was starting to feel good...really, really good like a sharp smack on an itch or the press of an ice cube on a dull pain.

"And you knew all along," Fraser continued, lifting himself back onto his feet and setting up a rocking thrust that was making Ray moan. "You knew it and you did it anyway. Every single minute we were together, you were pushing me, goading me, making me want..." Fraser raised his pace, his hips jerking, rubbing Ray just right.

"Making... me... so... fucking... hard," Fraser groaned pushing harder, harder, harder into Ray, fucking him as deep as he could, using all his weight advantage and the leverage he had to fill Ray's hole to breaking point.

"God!' Ray whispered. "Yes!" He took all his weight onto one hand and reached for his cock with the other.

Fraser slammed into him, harder than ever. "Leave it," he ordered. Ray felt the bed dip as Fraser moved them forward, kneeling on the mattress himself now. He leaned, wrapping his arms around Ray's chest and lifted him up onto his knees, driving up into him as he spread their thighs wide. He ran a damp hand down Ray's abdomen and brushed a finger down the length of Ray's now solid dick.

"Is this what you want?" Fraser whispered into his ear as he curled his hand loosely around Ray's hard-on.

"Please," Ray gasped, straining into Fraser's hand to get more friction, but Fraser pulled him back, dragging him down onto his hard-on. Ray's thighs were screaming, but the unbearable pleasure of Fraser's cock, splitting him apart as he ground down onto his lap drove any thoughts of discomfort from Ray's head.

Ray knew Fraser must be close now, he could feel Fraser's stomach muscles spasm against his back as he lifted up into Ray each time he sank down. But Fraser's fingers still teased his cock; light, feathery touches that were driving him utterly crazy.

Fraser's fingers suddenly tightened on his chest, pinching a nipple and he, incredibly, pushed deeper and faster. Ray knew he was speaking, but his own words were just noise to him, he had no idea what he was saying. He was probably begging, pleading for release.

With a deep, desperate grunt Fraser stilled and Ray could feel his dick swell inside him and pulse as Fraser came, frozen solid, grasping Ray hard. The sensation was incredible and almost enough, so, so nearly enough that Ray cried out. Fraser's hand tightened on him, jerked twice and Ray was there, twitching and writhing as he came too.

As the second time that night, Ray's cock had little to give up, although he felt just as good as if he had. But Fraser was unstoppable. His dick throbbed over and over, pressing inside Ray and setting off ripples of pleasure throughout Ray's body until they both toppled onto their sides amongst the crumpled cotton bedding.

When their chests stopped heaving, Fraser pulled out gently and Ray heard him dealing with the condom – he didn't have the energy to look. Fraser lay back down and rolled Ray toward him, slinging a heavy arm across his waist. Ray smiled, but didn't open his eyes.

He was totally fucked out, just wrecked. No matter how good his imagination or how dirty his fantasy he never came like that on his own. He ached in the sweetest possible way from his lips to his ankles and he knew that he would pay for this tomorrow, but tonight, with the high still swilling through him, he felt just fine.

After he'd dozed for a while, he remembered that he was the host here and he should offer Fraser a shower, some tea or at least a blanket. He hoped he wouldn't have to offer a ride home, he hoped Fraser would stay, but he didn't quite know where they stood now.

He opened his eyes, and was unsurprised to find Fraser staring back at him.

"Hey," he murmured.

"Hey," Fraser returned, watching him closely, waiting to see if he was gonna freak out probably.

Ray pulled some consciousness together and leaned up on his elbow. "We quits now?" he asked with a sly grin.

"Well that depends," Fraser said seriously and Ray's heart sank.

"On what?"

"On whether you are going to start behaving in a more circumspect manner, Ray," Fraser replied, the start of a grin appearing at the corners of his mouth.

"Circumspect. Right," Ray said, making a note to look that up in the morning... and do the opposite.

"Do you want a drink or something?"

"If you're getting one, a glass of water would be most welcome," Fraser answered.

Ray got up and walked to the door, his muscles still kind of funky and feeling pretty sore. He didn't bother with the lights, but something caught his eye, distracting him. On the sofa in a dark, tangled heap was his leather jacket. Ray looked back toward the bedroom, grinned and picked it up. With unprecedented care he hung it up – on a hanger – in the closet, then went to fetch Ben's water.

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