#5 - Not This Time (F/K, G) for malnpudl
Title: Not This Time
Pairing: F/K implied
Rating: G
Length: 887 words
Recipient: malnpudl
Prompt: F/K "It's not lost, it's pre-found."
Ray watched as Fraser shuffled along the path dejectedly. Every few steps, he'd reach up and pat his hair as if to confirm that yup, his hat was still not there. Ray rolled his eyes. Fraser could be such a drama queen.
"You think you could pick up the pace, Frase? I'm freezing my nuts off here."
"Indeed. It is quite chilly out. My head, in particular-"
"Here we go again. Dief, scout up ahead and see if there's a cliff I can throw myself off of. Anything so I don't gotta here the tragic tale of the missing Mountie hat again."
Dief woofed in response. "See? He agrees with me."
"Actually, Ray, he says he's astonished by your carelessness and disappointed by your insensitivity. The hat is a part of the uniform, and I will be in dereliction of my duty if I report to work tomorrow without it."
"He said all that with one bark did he?"
Fraser ignored him. "I had thought you understood the importance of-"
"I understand," interrupted Ray, tiredly. "Jesus, do I understand. The hat is the center of the universe, all seeing, all knowing, sacred, the source of all your super-mountie powers. I got it already. Look, Fraser, like I said a thousand times now, I set it down on that tree stump. I know right where it is. It ain't lost."
"Understood," said Fraser in that infuriatingly mild way that Ray knew meant 'I'm too polite to say what I really think.'
"As soon as we get back there, I'll find your damn hat and then I'm going to staple it to your head."
After another half hour of walking and twelve hat-checks by Fraser, they finally arrived back at the spot where they'd exchanged fire with Big Louie Tans and Melvin "The Breadbox" Aziq. Ray found the exact spot where he'd stashed the hat, but it wasn't there. Great.
"Well?" asked Fraser.
"I'm sure it's around here someplace. It probably just got blown off the stump by the wind. Just give me a sec." Ray started hunting around. Fraser, however, just stood there, arms crossed, looking superior.
"It's lost. I'm going to have to requisition a new one. Inspector Thatcher will undoubtedly ensure it goes on my permanent record. I don't understand how you could-"
"For Christ's sake, Fraser! Could you lay the guilt on any thicker? I'm telling you, I'll find your damn hat! It's not lost. It's pre-found. Now would you stop sulking and help me? I'm the one that should be pissed here. If you hadn't pulled another of your crazy stunts, I wouldn't have had the damn hat in the first place and-oh yeah, I wouldn't have gotten shot at today either!"
Ray stomped off toward a clump of bushes and kicked at them angrily.
"I'm sorry," Fraser said quietly from behind him.
Ray took a deep breath and turned around. "What is up with you, Fraser? I know the hat's important, but you're being kind of a dick about it."
Fraser looked down. After several moments he finally spoke. "You have the same jacket as Mr. Aziq."
"What?" snapped Ray. Whatever he'd been expecting, that certainly wasn't it. Was Fraser actually trying to change the subject?
"Your trench coat. Mr. Aziq's is indistinguishable from yours. When I returned from chasing Mr. Tans, I saw a body lying in the wood in your trench coat....not moving, covered in blood. I thought..." He trailed off, still refusing to look at Ray.
"Oh. I-Jesus, Fraser." Ray walked over and wrapped his arms around Fraser, kissed him lightly on the temple. "So you decided to throw a tantrum about your hat?"
"I'm sure you're familiar with the phenomenon of misplaced anger."
"Yeah. I'm an old hand at it myself. Why didn't you just say something?"
"Because it quickly became apparent that it wasn't you-that you were in fact alive and rather angry with me because-as you just pointed out, it was my fault. If you had died-it would have been my fault."
Ray sighed, then stood there silently for several moments, arms wrapped around Fraser, before he finally replied. "I don't know what to say, Fraser."
He backed off a bit to look Fraser in the eye. "Yeah, you get me in these crazy situations and you refuse to wait for backup and you ignore the danger, just wade in unarmed. It's like you think you're invincible, and it scares the shit out of me.
But it wouldn't have been your fault if Aziq had killed me. You didn't make him into a drug dealer, into a bad guy, a guy willing to murder. But...if you hadn't pushed it-" Ray looked away. "If you hadn't pushed it, we might have been able to avoid the shoot out."
Fraser nodded. "...understood."
Ray stared at him silently. He looked utterly lost. "You're still the best partner I ever had. Despite-everything-I wouldn't want another partner." If Fraser heard him, he gave no indication.
After what seemed like hours, Fraser finally spoke again. "Where do we go from here?" His voice was barely a whisper, but Ray heard him clearly enough above the noise of the wind shuffling the leaves on the ground.
"I don't know, Fraser. I don't know."
FIN.
Pairing: F/K implied
Rating: G
Length: 887 words
Recipient: malnpudl
Prompt: F/K "It's not lost, it's pre-found."
Ray watched as Fraser shuffled along the path dejectedly. Every few steps, he'd reach up and pat his hair as if to confirm that yup, his hat was still not there. Ray rolled his eyes. Fraser could be such a drama queen.
"You think you could pick up the pace, Frase? I'm freezing my nuts off here."
"Indeed. It is quite chilly out. My head, in particular-"
"Here we go again. Dief, scout up ahead and see if there's a cliff I can throw myself off of. Anything so I don't gotta here the tragic tale of the missing Mountie hat again."
Dief woofed in response. "See? He agrees with me."
"Actually, Ray, he says he's astonished by your carelessness and disappointed by your insensitivity. The hat is a part of the uniform, and I will be in dereliction of my duty if I report to work tomorrow without it."
"He said all that with one bark did he?"
Fraser ignored him. "I had thought you understood the importance of-"
"I understand," interrupted Ray, tiredly. "Jesus, do I understand. The hat is the center of the universe, all seeing, all knowing, sacred, the source of all your super-mountie powers. I got it already. Look, Fraser, like I said a thousand times now, I set it down on that tree stump. I know right where it is. It ain't lost."
"Understood," said Fraser in that infuriatingly mild way that Ray knew meant 'I'm too polite to say what I really think.'
"As soon as we get back there, I'll find your damn hat and then I'm going to staple it to your head."
After another half hour of walking and twelve hat-checks by Fraser, they finally arrived back at the spot where they'd exchanged fire with Big Louie Tans and Melvin "The Breadbox" Aziq. Ray found the exact spot where he'd stashed the hat, but it wasn't there. Great.
"Well?" asked Fraser.
"I'm sure it's around here someplace. It probably just got blown off the stump by the wind. Just give me a sec." Ray started hunting around. Fraser, however, just stood there, arms crossed, looking superior.
"It's lost. I'm going to have to requisition a new one. Inspector Thatcher will undoubtedly ensure it goes on my permanent record. I don't understand how you could-"
"For Christ's sake, Fraser! Could you lay the guilt on any thicker? I'm telling you, I'll find your damn hat! It's not lost. It's pre-found. Now would you stop sulking and help me? I'm the one that should be pissed here. If you hadn't pulled another of your crazy stunts, I wouldn't have had the damn hat in the first place and-oh yeah, I wouldn't have gotten shot at today either!"
Ray stomped off toward a clump of bushes and kicked at them angrily.
"I'm sorry," Fraser said quietly from behind him.
Ray took a deep breath and turned around. "What is up with you, Fraser? I know the hat's important, but you're being kind of a dick about it."
Fraser looked down. After several moments he finally spoke. "You have the same jacket as Mr. Aziq."
"What?" snapped Ray. Whatever he'd been expecting, that certainly wasn't it. Was Fraser actually trying to change the subject?
"Your trench coat. Mr. Aziq's is indistinguishable from yours. When I returned from chasing Mr. Tans, I saw a body lying in the wood in your trench coat....not moving, covered in blood. I thought..." He trailed off, still refusing to look at Ray.
"Oh. I-Jesus, Fraser." Ray walked over and wrapped his arms around Fraser, kissed him lightly on the temple. "So you decided to throw a tantrum about your hat?"
"I'm sure you're familiar with the phenomenon of misplaced anger."
"Yeah. I'm an old hand at it myself. Why didn't you just say something?"
"Because it quickly became apparent that it wasn't you-that you were in fact alive and rather angry with me because-as you just pointed out, it was my fault. If you had died-it would have been my fault."
Ray sighed, then stood there silently for several moments, arms wrapped around Fraser, before he finally replied. "I don't know what to say, Fraser."
He backed off a bit to look Fraser in the eye. "Yeah, you get me in these crazy situations and you refuse to wait for backup and you ignore the danger, just wade in unarmed. It's like you think you're invincible, and it scares the shit out of me.
But it wouldn't have been your fault if Aziq had killed me. You didn't make him into a drug dealer, into a bad guy, a guy willing to murder. But...if you hadn't pushed it-" Ray looked away. "If you hadn't pushed it, we might have been able to avoid the shoot out."
Fraser nodded. "...understood."
Ray stared at him silently. He looked utterly lost. "You're still the best partner I ever had. Despite-everything-I wouldn't want another partner." If Fraser heard him, he gave no indication.
After what seemed like hours, Fraser finally spoke again. "Where do we go from here?" His voice was barely a whisper, but Ray heard him clearly enough above the noise of the wind shuffling the leaves on the ground.
"I don't know, Fraser. I don't know."
FIN.