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The letter was addressed to both of them, which surprised Ray a little.
He and Fraser had been living together for over a year, so their mail always came together, but there had never been anything addressed to the two of them specifically. It became even stranger when he opened it and saw the contents. It was a wedding invitation, one that would take place in three months in Florida.
Inviting your ex-husband to your wedding was weird, right? Although there was the peculiarity of the groom of this particular wedding being the best friend of your ex-husband's current boyfriend. Ray wasn't the type to know much about etiquette, but he doubted Emily Post covered what to do in a situation like that.
He must have made a strange expression because Fraser, who had gone to put the groceries they had bought at the supermarket in the cupboards after work, stopped his task before it was complete and came over to him.
"We don't have to go." Fraser said, reading the contents of the paper over his shoulder.
"Come on, Vecchio would never forgive you if you missed his wedding. I'm surprised he hasn't called you yet and asked you to be the best man.”
“I would be honored if that were the case, as you know his friendship is of great importance to me, but I would never put you in a situation that would cause you emotional distress. I suppose I could go alone.”
“Why do you want to leave me behind Fraser? Are you planning to see if you can come up with something better than old Stanley Raymond Kowalski for the bachelor party?”
“No Ray, I would never—”
“That was a joke, Fraser.”
“Oh. Right. In the future when formulating your jokes, maybe leave out the topic of cheating because I don't particularly find that topic funny.”
“My mental comedian has noted your criticisms and will take them into consideration in the future.”
“Thank you for that...but you really don't have to go, I imagine seeing the person who was the love of your life marrying someone else must not be a pleasant experience.”
“Okay, uh Stella is not the love of my life.”
“I'm not accusing you of anything, it's just a fact that you fell in love with her in puberty and spent almost two decades in that state. Therefore she retains the title of love of your life in terms of amount of time even if at the present that you are in love with someone else.”
“That's really stupid, so what you won't be the love of my life until we're in our fifties?”
“Yes, if we're together by then.”
“If?”
“We both work in law enforcement, there’s a level of danger involved, no matter how much precaution we take our chances of an untimely death are significantly higher than that of a regular civilian.”
“Morbid, but really what I’m asking is about you leaving me at some point in the future?”
“No, never.”
“Good, you scared me for a moment there Fraser.”
“What about you?”
“Never, so you know I guess I can call you the love of my life in advance?”
“I suppose that would be acceptable,” Fraser said and found himself being kissed by the man who meant the world to him. “You know you’re mine too.”
“The love of your life?”
Fraser nodded.
“In what sense? In terms of the amount of time or that you already know it’s going to be just me from now on?”
“Both. Are you sure you want to go?”
“Yes, for four reasons.”
“And what would those be?”
“First: Florida, sun, beach. I deserve that.”
“I prefer the cold in general, but I can see your point.”
“Second: To say she was right. You know I didn’t take the divorce well, but she was right. She really was. I loved her so much, but we weren’t happy, she said we deserved the chance to find people who could really make us happy, and somehow we both ended up finding them, that’s something worth celebrating.”
“Thanks Ray, really...what’s the third reason?”
“Well...let's be honest, you're way better looking than Vecchio so I win in terms of who got the better deal and I can rub it in her face and in the faces of all her stuck-up relatives.”
“That's a matter of opinion Ray, Vecchio is a wonderful man and Stella is very luck to have found him. And trying to show off to her relatives seems a bit petty.”
“Don't try to play moral police, you're flattered by what I said. It's written all over your face.”
“Well yes, but it's only because I like that you consider me attractive. What about the fourth reason?”
“Actually I already told you the fourth reason earlier, because I don't want to leave you in Florida alone to find out you can do better than me.”
“And I already informed you that I don't find that kind of joke funny.”
“It's not the inner comedian talking this time, just my old friend: insecurity.”
“How can I shut up your insecurity?”
“Just stay alive and keep loving me for the next twenty years and beyond.”
“I think I can do that.” Fraser said very seriously as a solemn promise.
Ray laughed and kissed him.