Due South Fic
Title: Another Wednesday (might change)
Author: krazykate1332
Fandom: due South
Pairing: Fraser/RayK
Rating: PG-ish. There's light cursing.
Warnings: First time author, so might be crap. Work it progress.
Wordcount: 2240
Notes: Beta'd by by the amazing akamine_chan, who is very sweet to newcomers. Guys, this is my first shot at Due South. Its the first installment in what will be a longer story if I decide to continue. This is kind of my testing my ablilities out. I'm going to decide from the range of responses I get if I'll continue.
Feedback: Very much appreciated. You can be honest, but please be kind. :D
Another Wednesday Night
It started out as a pretty typical Wednesday night. They had just cracked a bitch of a case and Welsh had ordered him to take the next two days off. On top of that, Welsh had somehow convinced the Ice Queen to let Fraser off as well. Plus, Ray had convinced Fraser that eating Chinese out of the carton was good for the environment. He didn’t think Fraser had really been convinced by his spiel about saving water by having less dishes, but he had gone along with it. So all in all Ray was in a pretty good mood
His team was just about to score and get ahead when Fraser randomly asked him a question.
“Ray? Would you say that I am a good person?”
Without looking away from the screen, Ray reached across the couch, patted Fraser on the knee and replied.
“Sure, Fraser, you’re great.”
Fraser sighed discontentedly, “No, but would you say that my good qualities out weigh my bad?”
Ray shot Fraser an odd look. What was up with him tonight?
“Yeah, Frase. I mean, you’re a Mountie. Isn’t it, like, against the rules for you not to be a good guy?” Laughing at his own bad joke, Ray turned back to the game.
Fraser sighed again and said, in an almost sarcastic fashion, “Thank you, Ray. That’s very enlightening.”
Ray finally let loose his own sigh and turned off the TV. This was evidently not a quick- fix conversation. Ray turned his body towards Fraser to show that he now had his full attention.
“Okay, Frase, what’s up? Since when do you need me to reassure you that you’re a good guy?”
Fraser raised his eyebrows, “Is there some reason that I wouldn’t ask you, Ray? You are one of the most innately good men that I know. You are always honest and-“
“Fraser! Jeez, stop to breath now and then, will ya? That was not me fishing for a compliment and you know that. What I meant was, since when do you need reassurance from anyone? You don’t need nobody to tell you if you’re a good guy or not.”
“Ray, your opinion of me has always been of most importance to me. You are not only my partner, you-“
“Fraser.”
“Yes, Ray?”
“You’re doing it again.”
Fraser rubbed his eyebrow and cleared his throat. “Doing what, Ray?”
“Not answering the question.”
“Oh, yes, well. I’d quite hoped you wouldn’t notice that.”
“Sorry. Can’t get nothing past me. Now spill.”
“Well, you see…that is…what I mean to say is…”
“Fraser!” Ray exclaimed, throwing his hands out in exasperation.
Fraser let out a heavy sigh and looked resolutely ahead.
“I had a date, Ray.”
“What?! You dog! When was it? Oh, it was Monday, wasn’t it? That’s what had you in such a rush when we left the station! I wondered what coulda made you think of something other than that case! I shoulda known it would be a girl!”
“Yes, I was quite excited about my dinner with Sam.”
“But then, why would that make you-oh. Didn’t go so well?” Ray cringed in sympathy then broke out in a wide grin and hit Fraser’s shoulder lightly. “Well, that’s alright, buddy, we all have misses.”
Fraser let loose another sigh and settled back into the cushions.
“It's not so much the miss that bothers me, Ray. I know that not all romantic endeavors are a success. What bothers me is that I don’t really know where the dinner went badly.”
“What do you mean?”
“When Sam and I met at the grocery store, she seemed quite interested. I was very attracted to her as well and therefore, rather quiet and awkward, I thought. But she continued to show interest, regardless, and I thought surely that must have meant her attraction to me was strong. I forced myself to relax at the restaurant, and thought things were going well. So I told her about my childhood. She was a wonderful listener. She never once had to interrupt me to have me explain something, and usually people tend to be quite confused by some of my stories. True, she didn’t really laugh at my joke, but I didn’t place too much weight on that, and-“
“You told a joke?”
“Oh, yes. A quite delightful one about a blind beaver.”
“Wow.”
“Yes, I know. It’s quite clever. Would you like to hear it?”
Ray cleared his throat and shook his head. “No. No that’s okay. Finish your story.”
“Right you are, Ray. Well, when we got to the end of the meal, I asked her if she would like to go see a film or perhaps take a walk as it was still quite early, but she said she needed to get home. This seemed odd to me because she hadn’t mentioned before that she was on a time limit, but I didn’t say anything as I walked her to her car.”
“Wait, she drove?”
Fraser’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Well, yes, she drove herself to the restaurant to meet me, of course.”
“So how did you get there?”
“I walked of course, Ray.”
“You walked to your date?”
“Yes. Why is that so odd? Sam seemed concerned by it as well. It was a perfectly pleasant walk, though I felt bad that I couldn’t take Deif with me.”
Ray shook his head softly. “Fraser, you don’t walk to a date. You should have told me, I would have let you borrow my car.”
“I hardly see how it matters. If it had meant she would have to walk I would understand her concern, but how does it affect her whether I walk somewhere or drive there?”
Ray sighed again. Fraser was doing that thing where his voice started to get higher and Ray knew he was about to start getting pissy.
“I know it shouldn’t, but women have these weird rules about dates.”
Fraser waved him off. “It doesn’t matter. I think the date could have recovered from it if that had been the only problem.”
“So then what was else went wrong?”
Fraser sighed. “I think it was just me. When I asked her at the car if she wanted to see me again she told me that she would call me, but then got in her car without asking for my number, and I don’t think it was an accident.”
“That’s rough, man. But sometimes dates go bad. That doesn’t mean it’s your fault.” Ray said, rubbing Fraser’s shoulder.
“Well, I think it was. When I got back to the consulate, I sat down and went over the date again in my head and I realized that her quietness throughout the date wasn’t politeness. She simply had nothing to say. I realized this because she never, not once, laughed or responded in a positive way. In fact, she had a look of slight confusion on her face throughout the date. That got me to thinking. The only people who are ever attracted to me are strangers, people I have just met. And it is always based on physical appeal. I realize this and never accept because of this, so I never know if the attraction might go further. Then, the first time I do take it further, she becomes almost immediately disinterested. So, that makes a man think. Is my physical appearance the only thing I have to offer a woman?”
Ray suddenly sat up straight and turned more fully toward Fraser. “Fraser, that’s crazy! How can you think that’s true?”
Fraser gave a half hearted shrug. “That’s what the evidence shows me, Ray.”
“Fraser, you’re one of the best people I know. That sounds cheesy-“
“Cheesy?”
“Corny.”
“Corny?”
“Cliché.”
“Ah, I see. Continue.”
“Well, it’s true. You’re honest and polite and genuine. You’re the bravest guy I know and the weirdest and even though you’re the smartest, too, you never make anyone feel dumb. You’re compassionate and you see everyone equally and you’re one of the few cops I know that still actually believes in the cause. That’s a good guy.” Ray sat back heavily, feeling he had made his point.
“True, that makes me good at my job, and likely a good partner to have.”
Ray turned his head back toward Fraser sharply. “Fraser, you know you’re not just my partner. You’re my best friend. You hardly knew me when I first started acting crazy around you and you stuck with me. I took a bullet for you on our first case and you didn’t tell me I was an idiot when I went after Stella again. You comforted me after an innocent woman almost died because of me and I couldn’t have gotten though this last year without you. So don’t try to tell me no crap about how you’re ‘likely to be a good partner’”.
“That’s very kind of you, Ray, and I value your friendship highly as well, but that still doesn’t really explain why no one ever seems to be attracted to my personality as well as my looks.”
Ray scratched at the back of his head. “Sure they are, Frase.”
“Who?”
“Frannie would marry you in a second.”
Fraser laughed harshly. “Francesca has no idea who I am. The day she met me she decided she wanted me and she has since created an idea of who I am and is blind to anything that disagrees with that image she has. For heaven’s sake, she dated a carbon copy of me that didn’t even speak English and was just as happy for it. If that doesn’t prove that the only thing that attracts people is my looks, then what does?”
Ray pursed his lips and mumbled, “Okay, so Frannie was a bad example.”
Fraser crossed his arms over his chest. “No. She was a perfect example.”
“Frase-“
“Let’s stop talking about it.”
“But you’re still-“
Fraser turned resolutely back to the screen. “I’m fine. You really should turn the television back on or you’ll miss the end of your game.”
Ray sighed and turned the TV back on. Fuck. Since when was Fraser the insecure one? Ray didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t used to comforting people and he sucked at it. That had always been one of Stella’s complaints. But how could Fraser, of all people, think that he didn’t have anything to offer a woman? If Fraser had nothing, then Ray was hopeless.
“Hey, Fraser…”
‘Shh, Ray, I’m watching the game.”
Ray sighed. Well, hell. How was he supposed to help Fraser out if he wouldn’t even let Ray talk to him? Then again, it wasn’t like Ray had had anything good to say anyways. What could be said? What could he possibly say that would convince Fraser that his personality outweighed his looks? What he needed was a friend. He needed a female friend that could tell him all about how awesome he was. But Fraser didn’t have female friends, did he? Truth be told, did he have any friends, other than Ray? Ray didn’t think so. And his opinion obviously only went so far. Ray understood though. Ray could think Fraser was a god and that didn’t really help him much with understanding what went wrong with women. It still didn’t show him how to attract someone. Well, shit.
“Fraser-“
“Shh.”
“No, I won’t shh. You don’t get to throw that on me then just tell me to shh.”
“Why not? It's my problem, and if I don’t want to talk about it, that should be my choice.”
Great, now Fraser was getting snippy. How was Ray going to make Fraser listen to him while he was pissed? He tried sounding sensitive.
“But you’re still upset, so you need to talk about it.”
“Obviously not, since I told you I didn’t want to.”
Okay, fuck sensitive.
“Obviously yes, since that doesn’t mean anything except that you’re a stubborn asshole.”
“Oh, that’s nice. Calling me names now? That’s really going to boost my self-esteem. I can see you’re point that it would be wrong of me not to let you talk about this further.”
“Fraser, you are such a-“
“Yes, Ray?”
“…”
Suddenly, Fraser felt a pair of lips pressed harshly against his. His eyes opened wide and his mind went blank. By the time he processed the fact that his best friend was kissing him the lips were gone.
Ray plopped back down on his side of the couch, breathing heavily and looking toward the TV. They were both silent for what felt like hours before Fraser finally spoke up.
Fraser spoke tentatively. “Ray, why did you-“
“I thought you didn’t want to talk, Fraser.” Ray faced the television stiffly.
“I just wondered why you kissed me, is all.”
“Look, I don’t know, okay. I just thought-I don’t know okay?”
Fraser stood up abruptly. “Indeed. Well, I have to go.”
Ray groaned loudly and twisted toward Fraser with his hands out. “Fraser, you don’t have to do that. We can pretend nothing happened.”
“No, Ray. I assure I had planned to leave as soon as the game was over in any case. Dief will need to be walked before he settles down for the night, and I have a few documents I must complete before I go to bed. I appreciate you listening to me and I will see you tomorrow.”
“Hey Fraser, we don’t-“
The door closed quietly.
“-work tomorrow.”
Author: krazykate1332
Fandom: due South
Pairing: Fraser/RayK
Rating: PG-ish. There's light cursing.
Warnings: First time author, so might be crap. Work it progress.
Wordcount: 2240
Notes: Beta'd by by the amazing akamine_chan, who is very sweet to newcomers. Guys, this is my first shot at Due South. Its the first installment in what will be a longer story if I decide to continue. This is kind of my testing my ablilities out. I'm going to decide from the range of responses I get if I'll continue.
Feedback: Very much appreciated. You can be honest, but please be kind. :D
Another Wednesday Night
It started out as a pretty typical Wednesday night. They had just cracked a bitch of a case and Welsh had ordered him to take the next two days off. On top of that, Welsh had somehow convinced the Ice Queen to let Fraser off as well. Plus, Ray had convinced Fraser that eating Chinese out of the carton was good for the environment. He didn’t think Fraser had really been convinced by his spiel about saving water by having less dishes, but he had gone along with it. So all in all Ray was in a pretty good mood
His team was just about to score and get ahead when Fraser randomly asked him a question.
“Ray? Would you say that I am a good person?”
Without looking away from the screen, Ray reached across the couch, patted Fraser on the knee and replied.
“Sure, Fraser, you’re great.”
Fraser sighed discontentedly, “No, but would you say that my good qualities out weigh my bad?”
Ray shot Fraser an odd look. What was up with him tonight?
“Yeah, Frase. I mean, you’re a Mountie. Isn’t it, like, against the rules for you not to be a good guy?” Laughing at his own bad joke, Ray turned back to the game.
Fraser sighed again and said, in an almost sarcastic fashion, “Thank you, Ray. That’s very enlightening.”
Ray finally let loose his own sigh and turned off the TV. This was evidently not a quick- fix conversation. Ray turned his body towards Fraser to show that he now had his full attention.
“Okay, Frase, what’s up? Since when do you need me to reassure you that you’re a good guy?”
Fraser raised his eyebrows, “Is there some reason that I wouldn’t ask you, Ray? You are one of the most innately good men that I know. You are always honest and-“
“Fraser! Jeez, stop to breath now and then, will ya? That was not me fishing for a compliment and you know that. What I meant was, since when do you need reassurance from anyone? You don’t need nobody to tell you if you’re a good guy or not.”
“Ray, your opinion of me has always been of most importance to me. You are not only my partner, you-“
“Fraser.”
“Yes, Ray?”
“You’re doing it again.”
Fraser rubbed his eyebrow and cleared his throat. “Doing what, Ray?”
“Not answering the question.”
“Oh, yes, well. I’d quite hoped you wouldn’t notice that.”
“Sorry. Can’t get nothing past me. Now spill.”
“Well, you see…that is…what I mean to say is…”
“Fraser!” Ray exclaimed, throwing his hands out in exasperation.
Fraser let out a heavy sigh and looked resolutely ahead.
“I had a date, Ray.”
“What?! You dog! When was it? Oh, it was Monday, wasn’t it? That’s what had you in such a rush when we left the station! I wondered what coulda made you think of something other than that case! I shoulda known it would be a girl!”
“Yes, I was quite excited about my dinner with Sam.”
“But then, why would that make you-oh. Didn’t go so well?” Ray cringed in sympathy then broke out in a wide grin and hit Fraser’s shoulder lightly. “Well, that’s alright, buddy, we all have misses.”
Fraser let loose another sigh and settled back into the cushions.
“It's not so much the miss that bothers me, Ray. I know that not all romantic endeavors are a success. What bothers me is that I don’t really know where the dinner went badly.”
“What do you mean?”
“When Sam and I met at the grocery store, she seemed quite interested. I was very attracted to her as well and therefore, rather quiet and awkward, I thought. But she continued to show interest, regardless, and I thought surely that must have meant her attraction to me was strong. I forced myself to relax at the restaurant, and thought things were going well. So I told her about my childhood. She was a wonderful listener. She never once had to interrupt me to have me explain something, and usually people tend to be quite confused by some of my stories. True, she didn’t really laugh at my joke, but I didn’t place too much weight on that, and-“
“You told a joke?”
“Oh, yes. A quite delightful one about a blind beaver.”
“Wow.”
“Yes, I know. It’s quite clever. Would you like to hear it?”
Ray cleared his throat and shook his head. “No. No that’s okay. Finish your story.”
“Right you are, Ray. Well, when we got to the end of the meal, I asked her if she would like to go see a film or perhaps take a walk as it was still quite early, but she said she needed to get home. This seemed odd to me because she hadn’t mentioned before that she was on a time limit, but I didn’t say anything as I walked her to her car.”
“Wait, she drove?”
Fraser’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Well, yes, she drove herself to the restaurant to meet me, of course.”
“So how did you get there?”
“I walked of course, Ray.”
“You walked to your date?”
“Yes. Why is that so odd? Sam seemed concerned by it as well. It was a perfectly pleasant walk, though I felt bad that I couldn’t take Deif with me.”
Ray shook his head softly. “Fraser, you don’t walk to a date. You should have told me, I would have let you borrow my car.”
“I hardly see how it matters. If it had meant she would have to walk I would understand her concern, but how does it affect her whether I walk somewhere or drive there?”
Ray sighed again. Fraser was doing that thing where his voice started to get higher and Ray knew he was about to start getting pissy.
“I know it shouldn’t, but women have these weird rules about dates.”
Fraser waved him off. “It doesn’t matter. I think the date could have recovered from it if that had been the only problem.”
“So then what was else went wrong?”
Fraser sighed. “I think it was just me. When I asked her at the car if she wanted to see me again she told me that she would call me, but then got in her car without asking for my number, and I don’t think it was an accident.”
“That’s rough, man. But sometimes dates go bad. That doesn’t mean it’s your fault.” Ray said, rubbing Fraser’s shoulder.
“Well, I think it was. When I got back to the consulate, I sat down and went over the date again in my head and I realized that her quietness throughout the date wasn’t politeness. She simply had nothing to say. I realized this because she never, not once, laughed or responded in a positive way. In fact, she had a look of slight confusion on her face throughout the date. That got me to thinking. The only people who are ever attracted to me are strangers, people I have just met. And it is always based on physical appeal. I realize this and never accept because of this, so I never know if the attraction might go further. Then, the first time I do take it further, she becomes almost immediately disinterested. So, that makes a man think. Is my physical appearance the only thing I have to offer a woman?”
Ray suddenly sat up straight and turned more fully toward Fraser. “Fraser, that’s crazy! How can you think that’s true?”
Fraser gave a half hearted shrug. “That’s what the evidence shows me, Ray.”
“Fraser, you’re one of the best people I know. That sounds cheesy-“
“Cheesy?”
“Corny.”
“Corny?”
“Cliché.”
“Ah, I see. Continue.”
“Well, it’s true. You’re honest and polite and genuine. You’re the bravest guy I know and the weirdest and even though you’re the smartest, too, you never make anyone feel dumb. You’re compassionate and you see everyone equally and you’re one of the few cops I know that still actually believes in the cause. That’s a good guy.” Ray sat back heavily, feeling he had made his point.
“True, that makes me good at my job, and likely a good partner to have.”
Ray turned his head back toward Fraser sharply. “Fraser, you know you’re not just my partner. You’re my best friend. You hardly knew me when I first started acting crazy around you and you stuck with me. I took a bullet for you on our first case and you didn’t tell me I was an idiot when I went after Stella again. You comforted me after an innocent woman almost died because of me and I couldn’t have gotten though this last year without you. So don’t try to tell me no crap about how you’re ‘likely to be a good partner’”.
“That’s very kind of you, Ray, and I value your friendship highly as well, but that still doesn’t really explain why no one ever seems to be attracted to my personality as well as my looks.”
Ray scratched at the back of his head. “Sure they are, Frase.”
“Who?”
“Frannie would marry you in a second.”
Fraser laughed harshly. “Francesca has no idea who I am. The day she met me she decided she wanted me and she has since created an idea of who I am and is blind to anything that disagrees with that image she has. For heaven’s sake, she dated a carbon copy of me that didn’t even speak English and was just as happy for it. If that doesn’t prove that the only thing that attracts people is my looks, then what does?”
Ray pursed his lips and mumbled, “Okay, so Frannie was a bad example.”
Fraser crossed his arms over his chest. “No. She was a perfect example.”
“Frase-“
“Let’s stop talking about it.”
“But you’re still-“
Fraser turned resolutely back to the screen. “I’m fine. You really should turn the television back on or you’ll miss the end of your game.”
Ray sighed and turned the TV back on. Fuck. Since when was Fraser the insecure one? Ray didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t used to comforting people and he sucked at it. That had always been one of Stella’s complaints. But how could Fraser, of all people, think that he didn’t have anything to offer a woman? If Fraser had nothing, then Ray was hopeless.
“Hey, Fraser…”
‘Shh, Ray, I’m watching the game.”
Ray sighed. Well, hell. How was he supposed to help Fraser out if he wouldn’t even let Ray talk to him? Then again, it wasn’t like Ray had had anything good to say anyways. What could be said? What could he possibly say that would convince Fraser that his personality outweighed his looks? What he needed was a friend. He needed a female friend that could tell him all about how awesome he was. But Fraser didn’t have female friends, did he? Truth be told, did he have any friends, other than Ray? Ray didn’t think so. And his opinion obviously only went so far. Ray understood though. Ray could think Fraser was a god and that didn’t really help him much with understanding what went wrong with women. It still didn’t show him how to attract someone. Well, shit.
“Fraser-“
“Shh.”
“No, I won’t shh. You don’t get to throw that on me then just tell me to shh.”
“Why not? It's my problem, and if I don’t want to talk about it, that should be my choice.”
Great, now Fraser was getting snippy. How was Ray going to make Fraser listen to him while he was pissed? He tried sounding sensitive.
“But you’re still upset, so you need to talk about it.”
“Obviously not, since I told you I didn’t want to.”
Okay, fuck sensitive.
“Obviously yes, since that doesn’t mean anything except that you’re a stubborn asshole.”
“Oh, that’s nice. Calling me names now? That’s really going to boost my self-esteem. I can see you’re point that it would be wrong of me not to let you talk about this further.”
“Fraser, you are such a-“
“Yes, Ray?”
“…”
Suddenly, Fraser felt a pair of lips pressed harshly against his. His eyes opened wide and his mind went blank. By the time he processed the fact that his best friend was kissing him the lips were gone.
Ray plopped back down on his side of the couch, breathing heavily and looking toward the TV. They were both silent for what felt like hours before Fraser finally spoke up.
Fraser spoke tentatively. “Ray, why did you-“
“I thought you didn’t want to talk, Fraser.” Ray faced the television stiffly.
“I just wondered why you kissed me, is all.”
“Look, I don’t know, okay. I just thought-I don’t know okay?”
Fraser stood up abruptly. “Indeed. Well, I have to go.”
Ray groaned loudly and twisted toward Fraser with his hands out. “Fraser, you don’t have to do that. We can pretend nothing happened.”
“No, Ray. I assure I had planned to leave as soon as the game was over in any case. Dief will need to be walked before he settles down for the night, and I have a few documents I must complete before I go to bed. I appreciate you listening to me and I will see you tomorrow.”
“Hey Fraser, we don’t-“
The door closed quietly.
“-work tomorrow.”