I CH-CH-CHOOSE YOU [for Asher; plot: ILU Day]
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 ( Read more... )
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.
Ray's chest hurt so fucking much. He really wished Fraser were here to see this. Ridiculous odds and a speck of hope that they'd beat them - that really was all it had taken, in the end. And he and Asher were beating them hands down.
Loitering on the boardwalk, he slipped the photos into the pocket of his suit and straightened the cuffs, making sure he looked more that just presentable. He didn't know what Asher had planned but he did know he wanted to look his absolute best for him.
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When he wasn't busy in the kitchen he was with the twins or Danica or making one of a half dozen runs down to the docks, all of that broken up with a few intermittent bouts of much appreciated (and needed) downtime with Ray. He should have been exhausted, but he was running on adrenaline and pure excitement, maybe a little anxiety near the end, wondering if he'd forgotten to get to anything.
Asher smoothed down his tie while he concentrated on running down his mental checklist for the fifth time as he made his way down the boardwalk. All that concentration was shot to hell once he saw Ray, though, a smile in place in an instant. "Someone stand you up, gorgeous?" he asked, coming up beside him and shrugging a shoulder. "Their loss."
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"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?"
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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.
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"Nah." Especially not on nice, impressive vessels. "That mean you're taking me on a boat?" he asked, lips tugging back again. That really would be alone-alone together, just them, away from the island. Just like Ray had longed for.
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He's had the boat for over a year now, and he could count how many times he'd actually taken it out on the water without breaking into double digits. Tonight seemed like a good night to add to that count, and the current company would definitely beat the usual company Onyx provided.
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"Should I close my eyes?" With his free hand, he slipped a couple of fingers just below the knot of his tie, pulling it out a little and glancing over at Asher. "Blindfold myself?" He tried not to think about what they could do with two ties when they were all alone.
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Once they reached the dock, with not a rock climbing wall in sight, Asher pointed his boat out of the bunch, hoping Ray wasn't too disappointed by the fact that it wasn't one of the fucking pirate ship looking vessels. Clearly, some people on the island were trying to compensate for something.
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"That baby's yours?" He asked, eyes wide with wonder. He started towards it automatically; it had the same irrestible pull on him that his own Riv did. That Asher did. "Christ, you know how to work this thing?" Asher was such a multi-talented individual. How could Ray not be impressed?
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"Watch your step climbing on," he told him, motioning to the steps and beginning to untie the rope attaching the boat to the dock.
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Oh man, this was so embarrassing. He'd been on boats before. With people he had to impress too but this was different. If only the thing would stop moving for one second...
"Uh...hey, is that your sister?" Ray pointed behind Asher, hoping he'd look, then shut his eyes and jumped. "Oh fuck, oh...I made it," he mumbled, straightening up, thoroughly surprised that he was on dry...boat. "I mean, oops," he called out, "it was just a bird, never mind."
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"Uh, you can go inside, if you want. It's gonna take a few minutes to get us out on open water. And there's something for you on the table." Technically, it was an entire plate of somethings. Cupcakes, just like Ray would have won if their pool game had turned out differently that day. Also on the table was a note, directing Ray to the small refrigerator where he could find the buttermilk to go with them, and informing him that he'd feel sort of put out if he really did wind up calling him Nero at any point that night.
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He was so caught up in his appreciation of the boat that he almost forgot to look on the table. But when he saw what was there, cupcakes of all things, he was suddenly appreciating something very different. Someone, rather. He could hardly believe that Asher had remembered, let alone made them for him, and it was impossible to keep the smile off his face. The note caught his eye when he reached for a cake and his hand diverted to the paper instead, scanning the words then glancing over at the refrigerator. A small laugh of disbelief escaped but when he opened the door, there it was, his eyes didn't lie. Buttermilk.
Jesus. He could feel his heart slipping away more and more after every passing moment. When he tasted one of the cupcakes, he reliquished his hold on it all together, happy for Asher to just take it and keep it.
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"Everything up to your standards?" he asked, grinning as he left the sliding doors open so the cool air circulated the cabin freely.
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It only stopped once Ray'd kissed him, hoping to convey his appreciation for all the work without torrents and torrents of words. "It's amazing. All of it. Thank you." He mouth quirked teasingly and he pulled away. "Not-Nero."
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"Don't mention it. Really. Thank you for sucking at pool."
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