I CH-CH-CHOOSE YOU [for Asher; plot: ILU Day]

[speakscanadian]

Ray had always been a fan of Valentine's Day - it was the best excuse to try and schmooze a woman without losing too much face. This year though, he hadn't really found himself in the schmoozing mood, so he'd just eaten candy hearts and slurped down coffee all day, pouring over the remaining reports he still had to catch up on and avoiding the

Comments

[asher_talos]

If Asher was anything like his sister he would have gone looking for a confrontation two days ago, back when Stephen had let it slip between whining about Frank that 'the bald cop' had been asking questions about him and Danica. But he wasn't like her. He thought before most actions, which was definitely to both his and Vecchio's benefit.

Two days ago he would have said or done something incredibly stupid, he was sure of it. Today, though, cooled down with a slightly more level head, there was only about a forty-five percent chance that he'd do something he'd wind up regretting.

Maybe it was a little close to fifty.

Returning to the compound from Del's, Asher couldn't help but roll his eyes; he'd know that bald head anywhere, and what was worse was the fact that the bastard had the nerve to wear shades while the sun was bouncing off of his head, practically blinding Asher as he reached the stairs a few paces behind him. "Jackass, how 'bout you do the rest of us a favor and try sporting a hat."

[speakscanadian]

Back when he was playing at being a stable boy Ray had learned that Asher had more in common with Kowalski than just the head: neither man was the type of person Ray could deal well with in the mornings and seven of those in a row not too long ago had taught him not to bother trying anymore.

Pressing his lips in a flat line, he pushed open the Compound door and hoped it swung back in time to hit the guy behind. "Sure, just as soon as you fix the muzzle back over your trap," he shot back, ripping off his shades as soon as he'd gotten inside and rubbing his eyes with a thumb and forefinger.

[asher_talos]

"I thought you liked hearing people talk," Asher said, slipping through the door before it closed, never even having to bother to pull his hands from his pockets. It was probably safer if they stayed in there. "Granted, probably not as much as you like hearing yourself talk, but that's an issue for another time."

[speakscanadian]

"Yeah, y'know what?" Ray hooked an arm of his shades down the front of his shirt and turned around, pretty sick and tired of being fobbed off by one Talos and definitely not in the mood today to get fobbed off by another. "I do like hearing people talk," he told him, more aggressive than he'd intended to be, but at least with Asher he had no qualms about getting up close and personal, "so maybe you and I oughta have a little chat and..."

Asher's eyes were so blue, how had he not noticed that before? It was beautiful, like staring into a crystal clear ocean, only Ray was pretty sure an ocean had never made him want to get down on both knees and beg a man to love him back before.

"...get to know each other better," he finished on a breath, which was practically a medical impossibility because Asher had taken it away as soon as he'd seen those baby blues. His own eyes brightened at the thought, his entire body having been given a new and overwhelming lease of life.

[speakscanadian]

Despite the fact they'd arranged a date, Ray and Asher had managed to spend a lot more time together between then and now. Ray had the photos to prove it and he'd just finished sneaking around down in the basement with one of them. He'd thought about giving it to Asher in person but he wanted something more special; he wanted Asher to know that he loved him even when they weren't in the same room together. So he'd written a message on the photo and slipped it under Asher's pillow, so that he'd never forget how Ray felt.

Except for one with both of them in it that he'd hidden in his own wallet, the rest of the polaroids were in his hand and he flicked through them as he walked, perma-smile on his face. On the beach. Kissing under a tree. Asher on the other end of a see-saw. Ray on the floor after having fallen off the see-saw, body wracked with laughter. Cuddling on the couch, Asher rubbing Ray's booboo. Joined hands. A couple of them had been taken by strangers, with both of them caught off-guard and looking happy

[asher_talos]

Asher felt like he'd been non-stop, which probably had something to do with the fact that he had been. Preparations for his leg of the date later on that evening started right after he and Ray parted ways that morning. Or almost right after, anyway. There might have been ten minutes of sulking before he actually got to work, but he just missed Ray so damn much when he'd gone and so it really couldn't be helped

[speakscanadian]

Ray had just finished checking his breath for the fifth or sixth time when Asher appeared beside him. The surprise he could handle, but how damn good Asher looked had him choking on his tongue.

"Jesus Christ, I'm going to hell." The words hadn't been filtered by his brain seeing as that was currently short-circuiting and so they were filled with unrestrained awe. It was clear he had absolutely no problem ending up in hell if he was there because of Asher. He kind of wanted to just tear the suit of him, the fine specimen that he was, and get to work but the nerves niggling in his gut stopped him. He gave him a grin instead. "Miss me?"

[asher_talos]

"You have no idea," Asher said on a breath, leaning in to give Ray a quick kiss. "Hell's gonna have to wait for another day, 'cause I've got other plans and you already agreed to them. No backing out now."

Taking hold of Ray's hand, he led him down the boardwalk, heading toward the dock. "... You're not prone to seasickness, are you?" That was probably something he should have asked in advance, but he wanted to keep the surprise up for as long as he could. Ray being sick the entire time would have been a different sort of surprise, one that Asher really hoped wouldn't be an issue.