due South: "Dinner Table Discussion " by aingeal8c
Title: Dinner Table Discussion
Author: Aingeal
Fandom: due South
Pairing/characters: Fraser/Vecchio
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own them and merely borrow them from time to time.
Prompt: 296. Due South: Ray Vecchio. Ray comes out to his family as bisexual.
Summary: Ray decides to come out to his family.
Author's Notes: Thanks to leda_speaks for beta. I know most people tend to interpret the Vecchio family's reaction as disowning Ray straightaway, this is a slightly more restrained view.
Dinner Table Discussion
The dinner table in the Vecchio household was the site of several momentous moments. It had been over dinner that Ray had first learned he was going to have a younger sister. It had been the same place where his mother had cried over her son choosing to enter the academy, and his father had slammed his fists on the table in protest. All the important moments of Ray's life had been mentioned or discussed at the table: his engagement, marriage and subsequent divorce. There was one thing, however, that had never been discussed and one which Ray was determined to bring up.
He'd talked things over with Fraser first. He'd asked him when the best time to tell your mother you were bisexual was. Fraser had no answer; he'd never been put in that position. Ray knew logically there was only one place to tell his family; the dinner table. Fraser had done the supportive partner thing - was Ray sure, was it because of him?
Ray admitted his relationship with Fraser was the catalyst but it wasn't the reason he was who he was. He'd known since he'd been a teenager on the rebound form a brother to a sister. Not that he hadn't loved Irene. He'd never even admitted the whole story to anyone, although Fraser had probably pretty much guessed the truth. He wasn't going to go into details with his family, he was just going to tell them one thing.
He'd discussed with Fraser whether it had been lying.
“I should have told them years ago,” he'd said one night when he'd felt up to broaching the subject. “I mean, I've known for nearly twenty years. You know I've never kept something secret from my mother for that long?”
“No, Ray.”
“I've been lying to her.”
"You haven't been lying to her, Ray, you just never revealed the information. That's not lying.”
“Well, I'm going to tell them. All of them,” Ray had replied, determined.
“Even Francesca?”
Ray was more concerned about his younger sister's reaction than his mother's. His mother wasn't likely to resort to physical violence if she thought he was doing it for attention. Francesca, on on the other hand, might have a slightly less rational idea that Ray was doing it to steal away her boyfriends. Of course, this wasn't true and Fraser had never been her boyfriend anyway.
Still, as he sat down for dinner Ray couldn't hep but feel nervous. He picked at the pasta on his plate and decided to wait for the right time, well, perhaps not the right time but a slightly less bad one. He was barely listening to the cacophony going around him.
“You can't just quit your job! Maria protested to her husband.
“Hey, it's not the right job for me,” Tony replied, with a large mouthful of food.
“Oh yeah, because you actually have to work?” she shot back.
“If they paid him to sit in front of the TV that would be his perfect job,” Francesca piped up.
“How many jobs have you had this month?
“Two! One was only part time.” Tony turned to Francesca. “At least I want to work.”
“I want to work!”
“So why don't you have a job?”
“Ma!” Francesca turned to her mother to adjudicate.
Their mother held up her hands. “I don't choose who works.”
Ray noticed there was silence, everybody seemed to waiting for him to speak. When this discussion usually came up Ray was the one who pointed out he was the one who supported the family but they hadn't heard a word out of him.
“What?” he asked.
“Aren't you going to say something?” Maria asked.
“About what?” Ray hadn't really been paying attention.
Francesca rolled her eyes.
“Raimundo doesn't have to say anything,” his mother said, coming to his defence.
“I do,” Ray admitted.
“See, he can't keep his mouth out of this,” Francesca said. “Unlike you Benton.” Her tone was attempting to be seductive. Fraser didn't respond.
Ray hadn't noticed that Fraser was quiet too. Not that he was ever really loud but he hadn't ventured any of his usual defusing comments.
“I think we should let Ray speak,” Fraser replied, diplomatically.
“Is it the pasta?” his mother asked, worriedly.
“No, Ma, it's fine.” Ray picked at it with his fork. The background noise picked up.
“You've barely touched it. Did I put too much garlic in the sauce? I was going to try a new recipe Mrs Donato gave me but I'm not sure it's quite right.”
“It's fine, Ma.” Ray took a half hearted bite as if to prove it.
“Are you feeling okay?” Maria asked.
Ray put his fork down. “Benny's right, I need to tell you something.”
“What?”
There was an uncharacteristic silence and Ray felt all the eyes of his family drilling into him. Now or never. He gripped his fork in his hand.
“I like guys,” he said, quietly.
“This is your big news?” Francesca scoffed.
“I like like them,” Ray added. “Like I like like women.”
“You're gay?” Maria asked.
“No, I like both.”
“I believe Ray uses the term bisexual,” Fraser added for everyone's benefit.
“What does this mean?” his mother asked, the look on her face plainly confused.
“It means I've just come out to my family and I think we should all just act normally,” Ray replied.
“Coming out?”
His mother was unfamiliar with the term. Ray wasn't surprised.
“Yeah, telling someone you like guys not girls,” he explained.
“You don't like girls?” his mother seemed shocked. Everyone else was silent.
“I do like girls.”
“Oh.”
“And guys. And I'm telling you I like girls and guys.” Ray felt as if he was forcing the words out, as if it wasn't really him speaking them.
“Is this a new thing?”
Still the questions came. Ray was no longer sure he could do this. He no longer had a choice, however.
Francesca seemed to be focussing on Fraser. “I bet this has something to do with Fraser.”
“Who I am does not have anything to do with Benny, Ray replied. “I've been...bisexual.” He'd said it, he'd actually said the word. “Since I was...I don't know...since I was born.”
There was no response. Ray looked at the faces of his family. The looks seemed to be shock, generally. Ray remembered similar looks when he'd said he was getting divorced. “Ma?”
“You told me,” she said. “I'm glad you told me. The rest...it might take time.”
Francesca was next to reply. “As long as you don't start stealing my boyfriends,” she said, sounding threatened.
“I already have one,” Ray said, as low as he could.
“It's Fraser isn't it?” Maria said.
Francesca glared daggers and tightened her hold on her knife. “Ray! How could you?!”
“Frannie, you just have see the way he looks at him.”
"It's not fair!” She pouted. She seemed to be glaring at Fraser who wisely kept quiet.
“Ray is gay?” Tony asked, catching up.
“No, you wouldn't understand, eat your pasta,” Maria told him.
“Maybe we should all eat,” Fraser suggested.
Ray's mother nodded. “I hope you're enjoying it,” she said to Fraser.
“I am, thank you.”
“Take care of my son.”
Ray knew his mother wasn't one hundred percent okay with it, she was clearly confused and she would have more questions, but if there was one thing to help it was food. Food had always helped, it had when he'd told her he was getting divorced and it was helping now. There were more things that perhaps needed to be said but for now, it was enough. Ray took a bite of his pasta, finally feeling hungry enough to eat a little more.
Author: Aingeal
Fandom: due South
Pairing/characters: Fraser/Vecchio
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own them and merely borrow them from time to time.
Prompt: 296. Due South: Ray Vecchio. Ray comes out to his family as bisexual.
Summary: Ray decides to come out to his family.
Author's Notes: Thanks to leda_speaks for beta. I know most people tend to interpret the Vecchio family's reaction as disowning Ray straightaway, this is a slightly more restrained view.
Dinner Table Discussion
The dinner table in the Vecchio household was the site of several momentous moments. It had been over dinner that Ray had first learned he was going to have a younger sister. It had been the same place where his mother had cried over her son choosing to enter the academy, and his father had slammed his fists on the table in protest. All the important moments of Ray's life had been mentioned or discussed at the table: his engagement, marriage and subsequent divorce. There was one thing, however, that had never been discussed and one which Ray was determined to bring up.
He'd talked things over with Fraser first. He'd asked him when the best time to tell your mother you were bisexual was. Fraser had no answer; he'd never been put in that position. Ray knew logically there was only one place to tell his family; the dinner table. Fraser had done the supportive partner thing - was Ray sure, was it because of him?
Ray admitted his relationship with Fraser was the catalyst but it wasn't the reason he was who he was. He'd known since he'd been a teenager on the rebound form a brother to a sister. Not that he hadn't loved Irene. He'd never even admitted the whole story to anyone, although Fraser had probably pretty much guessed the truth. He wasn't going to go into details with his family, he was just going to tell them one thing.
He'd discussed with Fraser whether it had been lying.
“I should have told them years ago,” he'd said one night when he'd felt up to broaching the subject. “I mean, I've known for nearly twenty years. You know I've never kept something secret from my mother for that long?”
“No, Ray.”
“I've been lying to her.”
"You haven't been lying to her, Ray, you just never revealed the information. That's not lying.”
“Well, I'm going to tell them. All of them,” Ray had replied, determined.
“Even Francesca?”
Ray was more concerned about his younger sister's reaction than his mother's. His mother wasn't likely to resort to physical violence if she thought he was doing it for attention. Francesca, on on the other hand, might have a slightly less rational idea that Ray was doing it to steal away her boyfriends. Of course, this wasn't true and Fraser had never been her boyfriend anyway.
Still, as he sat down for dinner Ray couldn't hep but feel nervous. He picked at the pasta on his plate and decided to wait for the right time, well, perhaps not the right time but a slightly less bad one. He was barely listening to the cacophony going around him.
“You can't just quit your job! Maria protested to her husband.
“Hey, it's not the right job for me,” Tony replied, with a large mouthful of food.
“Oh yeah, because you actually have to work?” she shot back.
“If they paid him to sit in front of the TV that would be his perfect job,” Francesca piped up.
“How many jobs have you had this month?
“Two! One was only part time.” Tony turned to Francesca. “At least I want to work.”
“I want to work!”
“So why don't you have a job?”
“Ma!” Francesca turned to her mother to adjudicate.
Their mother held up her hands. “I don't choose who works.”
Ray noticed there was silence, everybody seemed to waiting for him to speak. When this discussion usually came up Ray was the one who pointed out he was the one who supported the family but they hadn't heard a word out of him.
“What?” he asked.
“Aren't you going to say something?” Maria asked.
“About what?” Ray hadn't really been paying attention.
Francesca rolled her eyes.
“Raimundo doesn't have to say anything,” his mother said, coming to his defence.
“I do,” Ray admitted.
“See, he can't keep his mouth out of this,” Francesca said. “Unlike you Benton.” Her tone was attempting to be seductive. Fraser didn't respond.
Ray hadn't noticed that Fraser was quiet too. Not that he was ever really loud but he hadn't ventured any of his usual defusing comments.
“I think we should let Ray speak,” Fraser replied, diplomatically.
“Is it the pasta?” his mother asked, worriedly.
“No, Ma, it's fine.” Ray picked at it with his fork. The background noise picked up.
“You've barely touched it. Did I put too much garlic in the sauce? I was going to try a new recipe Mrs Donato gave me but I'm not sure it's quite right.”
“It's fine, Ma.” Ray took a half hearted bite as if to prove it.
“Are you feeling okay?” Maria asked.
Ray put his fork down. “Benny's right, I need to tell you something.”
“What?”
There was an uncharacteristic silence and Ray felt all the eyes of his family drilling into him. Now or never. He gripped his fork in his hand.
“I like guys,” he said, quietly.
“This is your big news?” Francesca scoffed.
“I like like them,” Ray added. “Like I like like women.”
“You're gay?” Maria asked.
“No, I like both.”
“I believe Ray uses the term bisexual,” Fraser added for everyone's benefit.
“What does this mean?” his mother asked, the look on her face plainly confused.
“It means I've just come out to my family and I think we should all just act normally,” Ray replied.
“Coming out?”
His mother was unfamiliar with the term. Ray wasn't surprised.
“Yeah, telling someone you like guys not girls,” he explained.
“You don't like girls?” his mother seemed shocked. Everyone else was silent.
“I do like girls.”
“Oh.”
“And guys. And I'm telling you I like girls and guys.” Ray felt as if he was forcing the words out, as if it wasn't really him speaking them.
“Is this a new thing?”
Still the questions came. Ray was no longer sure he could do this. He no longer had a choice, however.
Francesca seemed to be focussing on Fraser. “I bet this has something to do with Fraser.”
“Who I am does not have anything to do with Benny, Ray replied. “I've been...bisexual.” He'd said it, he'd actually said the word. “Since I was...I don't know...since I was born.”
There was no response. Ray looked at the faces of his family. The looks seemed to be shock, generally. Ray remembered similar looks when he'd said he was getting divorced. “Ma?”
“You told me,” she said. “I'm glad you told me. The rest...it might take time.”
Francesca was next to reply. “As long as you don't start stealing my boyfriends,” she said, sounding threatened.
“I already have one,” Ray said, as low as he could.
“It's Fraser isn't it?” Maria said.
Francesca glared daggers and tightened her hold on her knife. “Ray! How could you?!”
“Frannie, you just have see the way he looks at him.”
"It's not fair!” She pouted. She seemed to be glaring at Fraser who wisely kept quiet.
“Ray is gay?” Tony asked, catching up.
“No, you wouldn't understand, eat your pasta,” Maria told him.
“Maybe we should all eat,” Fraser suggested.
Ray's mother nodded. “I hope you're enjoying it,” she said to Fraser.
“I am, thank you.”
“Take care of my son.”
Ray knew his mother wasn't one hundred percent okay with it, she was clearly confused and she would have more questions, but if there was one thing to help it was food. Food had always helped, it had when he'd told her he was getting divorced and it was helping now. There were more things that perhaps needed to be said but for now, it was enough. Ray took a bite of his pasta, finally feeling hungry enough to eat a little more.