FIC: The Value of Things (Ray Levoi/Walter Crow Horse, PG)
TITLE: The Value of Things
RATING: PG
FANDOM: Thunderheart
PAIRING: Ray Levoi/Walter Crow Horse
SUMMARY: Crow Horse was beginning to get the feeling that this was not going to be the nice, easy day he’d hoped for.
AUTHOR’S NOTES: For rarepair100 prompt #7: years.
Crow Horse would say he could feel the fight coming like thunder building up on the horizon, but then Ray would just tell him, yeah, right, he must be some kind of genius, recognizing cause and effect. Truth is, Crow Horse was fixing his coffee when he heard Ray yelp, his cry echoing in the tiled vault of the shower, and turn the water off. Crow Horse sighed, and considered adding something a little more fortifying than sugar to his coffee; this was not going to be the nice, easy day he’d hoped for.
Moments later, Ray stormed into the kitchen, dripping, hair matted with shampoo.
“We’re buying a new water heater,” he said.
“Nothing-”
“And don’t say there’s nothing wrong with the old one. It just never seems to get you; the hot water always cuts out on me, and I’m fucking tired of it! I don’t care if you come with me or not, but as soon as I can get this mess rinsed off, I’m going to the hardware store for a new one. End of discussion.”
***
Ray had been on the rez just over a year, and he’d been adjusting okay. Every now and then, though, he’d hit a snag, some part of so-called modern life he couldn’t live without. A few months in, tired of washing his clothes in the tub, he’d insisted on a washer and dryer, and after the first real cold snap he had begged to have the radiator replaced. That had turned out too expensive, and he’d let it go, but Crow Horse’d still had to buy some little space heaters to keep Ray from freezing to death. Then there were the gadgets he’d come in with, a cassette player and a coffee machine so complicated it had taken Crow Horse two solid months to get the hang of it.
Crow Horse had been against all of it, but when Ray got an idea in his head he was as hard to pull off as a dog on a scent; resistance was futile.
For this reason, Crow Horse went with Ray to the hardware store. Maybe he couldn’t put him off the idea, but there might be some damage control he could do on the back end, keep Ray from spending a fortune. Ray wasn’t quite used to being frugal yet. He had his own money, but Crow Horse still felt it was his responsibility to keep Ray from being taken advantage of.
Ray was unhappy with the hardware store’s selection of water heaters, so they got him a catalogue of things they could order for him, and that calmed him down. Ray liked catalogues; he was comforted when he had raw data to study, when he knew the value of things. Crow Horse read over his shoulder.
“How ’bout this one,” Crow Horse said, pointing.
Ray frowned. “You only like that one because it’s the cheapest.”
“Cheap, hell. That cost more than-”
“Look, I know it’s a lot of money, but you have to look at it like an investment. I don’t want to be back here doing this again ten years from now, Walter.”
Ray riffled through the glossy pages. Walter couldn’t be bothered to follow along, though; his attention had snagged. Ten years. Ray counted on them still being together in ten years. Not just counted on it; he took it for granted. That one little sentence was worth the price of the fanciest heater Ray could come up with, many times over.
Crow Horse put his arms around Ray, kissed him.
“Get whichever one you want,” he said.
“Really?” Ray slanted a dubious glance at him. “What’s the catch? You gonna make me install it myself?”
“You just make a good argument, is all. Must be all that fancy college.”
Ray rolled his eyes. “You can’t play that one with me, Walter. I know you too well.”
Crow Horse kissed him again. “I know you do, kola. I know. And I’m all right with it. Even if my Aristotelian argument suffers.”
Ray laughed. Crow Horse smiled; today was turning out to be a pretty good day, just like he’d hoped for.