FIC: Surprise (Ray Levoi/Walter Crow Horse, PG)
TITLE: Surprise
RATING: PG
FANDOM: Thunderheart
PAIRING: Ray Levoi/Walter Crow Horse
SUMMARY: Ray’s first birthday on the rez. My writing thing's still wounded; this has no literary value and, I think, qualifies as fluff.
AUTHOR’S NOTES: For rarepair100 prompt young.
Crow Horse was in the kitchen cobbling together breakfast when the phone rang. They usually didn’t get calls so early; he hoped it wasn’t another damn telemarketer. The balls on those guys.
“Hello?”
“Good morning, Walter.” It was just Ray’s ma. Crow Horse relaxed. “How are you?”
“Can’t complain. What can I do for you so early?”
“I was hoping to catch the birthday boy before he went to work.”
It took Crow Horse a long moment to figure out what she was talking about. Son of a bitch.
“Eyah,” he said slowly, “Ray’s just outta the shower. I’ll holler for him.”
Instead of yelling, which Crow Horse suddenly had a strong urge to do, he set the phone down on the counter and poked his head in their bedroom. Ray looked up from buttoning his shirt.
“Your ma’s on the phone.”
“Thanks.”
Crow Horse poked at his oatmeal and tried not to be obvious about his eavesdropping. But it was just standard stuff; at no point did Ray explain to his mother why he’d neglected to mention to his boyfriend that it was his damn birthday.
Ray ended the call, and went to investigate the breakfast situation. Crow Horse had put out some fruit and granola for him, back when it was just a regular day.
“I can make you some eggs or something, if you want,” Crow Horse said.
“This is great.” He brushed a kiss over Crow Horse’s temple. “Thanks.”
Crow Horse tapped his spoon on the table, watched Ray eat.
“What’d your ma want?” he asked.
Ray shrugged. “The usual.”
“Uh huh,” Crow Horse said. He studied Ray’s face. “Nothing you wanna talk about?”
Ray frowned. “With my mom?”
“With me.”
“No. . . .” He slanted a suspicious look at Crow Horse. “Is this one of those things where I’m in trouble, but I’m supposed to know why, so you’re not going to be happy until I figure it out and apologize?”
Crow Horse sighed, and slammed his dishes into the sink.
“I ain’t a woman, Ray,” he said. “Hurry up; we’re gonna be late.”
***
Ray had barely set foot in the station when Terry had a call for him. Crow Horse shut himself in his office, and pawed through the file cabinet until he came up with Ray’s hiring paperwork. Well, son of a bitch. Today was his birthday. Crow Horse kicked himself for not knowing, and then wished Ray were there to kick, instead. One swift kick in the pants, that’s what he needed.
But that would hardly do for a present. Shit! He had to get him a present. He wouldn’t know what to get him even with time to think about it; this was just no good at all.
And then there was the question of why Ray hadn’t said anything. Crow Horse thought maybe he hadn’t grown up celebrating birthdays, but immediately that didn’t make any sense; his ma had called first thing, and Ray had been real good with Crow Horse’s own birthday a few months prior. Nah, it was probably nothing. Ray wasn’t a secret keeper, but he also wasn’t a talker, and he never made a fuss about himself.
Fine. That was fine; Crow Horse didn’t have much patience for blowhards, anyway. But still, sometimes a fuss was appropriate. He guessed, as usual, he’d have to work around Ray being Ray and do things for his own good.
***
They were a few hours from shift change, but Crow Horse had traded in a few favors, and it was a slow night, anyway. He stopped by Ray’s desk, interrupting his paperwork.
“Need you to come with me; got a domestic up at the Crow Creek tract housing, sounds rowdy. It’s a two man job.”
They’d been driving about ten minutes when Ray got suspicious.
“You missed our turn,” he said. “Crow Creek’s that way.”
“May’ve stretched the truth a bit,” Crow Horse said. “We ain’t going to Crow Creek.”
“Okay,” Ray said evenly. “Where are we going?”
Crow Horse shrugged. Ray sighed.
“Any idea when you’ll tell me?”
“Dunno,” Crow Horse said. “Maybe after you tell me why I had to find out about your birthday from you ma.”
Ray winced. “Shit, Walter, I’m sorry. I just-I didn’t want to make a big deal about it, and I know you’ve got lots of crap with the state’s audit coming up; I just thought-”
“Am I your partner, or not?”
“What-of course you are-”
“Partners are on the same footing, Ray. You can’t keep things from me, even if you’re doing it for my own benefit. You understand?”
“Yes,” Ray said softly. “I’m sorry.”
Crow Horse nodded. “That’s okay, Ray. I know you didn’t know any better. But now you do, and if it happens again, then I’m gonna be mad. Okay?”
“That sounds fair,” Ray said, and chanced a small smile.
Crow Horse smiled back. “Thought we’d drive down to Rapid, get us some of that inedible foreign food you like for dinner. How’s that sound?”
“About perfect.”
***
Ray helped Crow Horse find something Japanese that didn’t taste half bad, and Ray ate too much, a surefire indicator that he was serious about letting his hair down. They were walking back to the car when a question struck Crow Horse.
“So, Raymond. How old are you today?”
“Thirty-two.”
Crow Horse choked, and froze in his tracks. “I’m sorry?”
A slow smile spread over Ray’s face. “How old did you think I was?”
“I dunno-I never really thought about it before. Jesus, Ray, I’m almost forty; what am I ’sposed to do with some kid ’round the house?”
“The same things you’ve been doing with me,” Ray said. “It’s all still legal. Look, don’t get worked up; it’s not a big deal, and it’s only a few years-”
“Few years, hell! When I was losing my virginity, you were still playing with Legos!”
Ray laughed. Crow Horse glared. “This ain’t funny.”
“Yeah, it is,” Ray said. “You’re really worked up about this.”
“And you find that amusing?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, of all the things that make me hard to be with-that I’m a guy, that I’m only a quarter Sioux, that I was raised Wasi’chu, that I don’t drink-you’re caught up on the one I never even thought to worry about. I mean, we work together; who cares if you’re a cradle robber?”
Crow Horse frowned. “You better watch your mouth, Ray. Apparently, you ain’t too old to be spanked.”
Ray closed the distance between them. He slipped his hands around Crow Horse’s waist, pulled him close. He purred in Walter’s ear.
“Lighten up, old man.”