Copyright October 15, 2004 by Matthew Haldeman-Time
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski
Disclaimer: "due South," with its related characters and themes, does not belong to me. I make no money from this venture.
Notice: I finally wrote "due South" again. Haven't done that since
July, 2001. I'm not even sure how this happened. I was just
sitting at my desk at work when Ray started ranting, sending me scrambling
for a pen and paper. It's been great hearing from you again, Ray.
Come back and visit whenever you like.
Fraser wondered at the signs of sudden tension in Ray’s face. Surely Ray had misunderstood him. “Quirky, Ray,” he said.
For no obvious reason, Ray looked away, glaring at nothing in particular, at everything. “Quirky,” he muttered.
“Pleasantly quirky, Ray,” Fraser said, puzzled as to the reason for Ray’s negative reaction. Surely it was no insult to be called quirky. Fraser had enjoyed the acquaintance of many a quirky friend in his time. Rudolph Osterbottom, for one, had-
“What?” Ray snapped.
“I said, pleasantly quirky, Ray,” Fraser said. “Is-”
“You know, Stella used to call me quirky,” Ray said, directing the anger in his gaze onto Fraser.
Ah, well, then. That explained Ray’s animosity towards the term, didn’t it?
“You know, I have all of these quirks, Fraser,” Ray said. “Quirks like being low-class, quirks like wanting to have sex more than once a month, quirks like wanting to go dancing with her once in a while instead of spending every damned night on my own. I’m so quirky, the way I embarrass her in public. I’m so quirky, the way I don’t live up to all of her ideas of what the perfect husband should be. I’m so quirky, the way I’m a cop, and the way I like to kiss her hello, and the way I sometimes like to kiss men. Believe me, there’s nothing pleasant about being quirky, Frase.”
Ah. Fraser took in all of this information. “Then she knew.”
“Knew what?” Ray asked irritably. Turning his gaze away, shifting uneasily, he said, “Yeah, she knew, she knew. I told her before we got married. Figured she oughta knew her fiance’s a little…quirky.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being quirky, Ray.” Fraser couldn’t keep the stern tone from his voice; he always reacted badly to Stella, whether to a mention of her or to the woman herself, and he knew it. Perhaps it was a protective instinct in him, after seeing her effect on Ray. Perhaps it was sheer jealousy.
“You mean quirky, regular, or quirky, queer?” Ray asked.
Ray’s directness was always a pleasant surprise. “Simply quirky, Ray,” Fraser said. “Surely all good men and women have some quirks. I myself have so many quirks I’ve been called downright eccentric, but I have found that those so-called ‘quirks’ have served me well.”
“Yeah, licking whatever you find on the street and running around with a deaf half-wolf can turn out okay, sometimes,” Ray admitted, begrudging him the point. “But that’s you, everything works out for you. I like to know what I’m licking.”
“That’s not one of your quirks, Ray. Everyone has his or her own specific, unique set. Although I’d venture to say, Ray, that some of what Stella may have considered to be quirks in you are actually enviable traits. Kissing your partner hello is a fine, positive habit. Many people involved in a romantic relationship would be more than pleased with that kind of affection.”
“Kiss your partner hello, hunh.” Ray grinned at him. “You trying to give me a hint, there?”
“I meant to imply romantic partner, specifically,” Fraser said, feeling his spine stiffen in automatic response, a defensive move to keep himself from taking Ray up on the offers that grin made. “That really should have been understood.”
“I’m romantic,” Ray said with a comfortable shrug. “I go dancing. I buy flowers. I’m romantic, I’m your partner, sounds like we should be kissing.”
Fraser had never given in to Ray’s teasing before, and he wasn’t going to start now. “I’m not romantic,” he said firmly. “I’m practical, and efficient, and-”
Ray’s arms winding around his neck shocked him into silence. “Yeah, I know,” Ray said with a slow smile, leaning familiarly against his body. “You’re real quirky that way. I like it.” And then Ray leaned in, and he watched in stunned amazement the parting of Ray’s lips, the lowering of Ray’s lashes, and then…
Ray kissed him.