Work Text:
“Just look at that view.” Ray grinned, extending his arm toward the Atlantic. “You'll never get a view like that in Chicago, that's for sure. Canada neither.”
“I thought you didn't like the water.”
“That's not water,” Ray scoffed. “That's the ocean.”
Fraser refrained from saying a multitude of things, opting to just agree. “Of course.”
Ray just shook his head, no doubt at Fraser's placating tone, then raced toward the beach, nearly tripping as he toed out of his shoes and pulled off his socks. Fraser could practically hear Ray's happy sigh as his bare feet hit the sands; he immediately dug in and wriggled his toes, half-burying them. Arms outflung, Ray leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and breathed deeply; after a few moments he shifted to watch the tide rolling in, waving at Fraser to join him from his spot at the edge of the beach.
Fraser watched Ray a bit longer, committing to memory the way the sun brought out the highlights in his blond hair, the carefree look on his face, the ease of his stance. A protest from Ray got Fraser moving, picking up Ray's discarded footwear and shaking some of the sand off of it as he made his way. Ray grabbed his arm as soon as he was within reach, tugging him closer to the water.
“We're not exactly dressed for swimming,” Fraser reasonably pointed out, keeping clear of the incoming tide.
“Please, like you haven't swum in your clothes before. I'm betting the times you've gone into the water fully clothed outnumber the times you've swum in trunks.”
Ray laughed when Fraser had no answer for that, then pulled on his arm again. “I wasn't thinking about swimming anyhow, just a nice leisurely walk along the beach. Think you can handle that?”
It was appealing. Fraser nodded, pleased when it made Ray smile even wider. “You think Dief wants to come along?” Ray asked, twisting around to try and spot the half-wolf. “He can splash around while we walk, maybe find something nice and dead and stinky for us to chase him away from.”
“I think Diefenbaker's had enough of the beach, at least for today,” Fraser said, nodding toward where Dief was resting in the shade of a walkway at the edge of the sand.
Ray cocked his head. “Dief turning into a beach bum already?”
Fraser shook his head. “He's sulking if you want to know the truth of it. Ignore him, please.”
Ray scrunched his face, expression clearing as he spoke. “It was those birds, wasn't it? He's afraid they're gonna dive bomb him again.”
“I believe they've reached a detente of sorts. Though to be honest, I think it's more that he doesn't want them to make fun of him.”
Ray gave Dief a sidelong glance. “You know, for someone who claims he's deaf, that half-wolf worries an awful lot about what everyone says about him.”
“I'll be sure to let him know your opinion on the subject.”
Fraser stepped back as Ray tried to smack him in the stomach. “You'll keep quiet, you mean, unless Vecchio's couch is where you want to spend your time sleeping.”
“You'd kick me out of bed?”
“For putting me and the mutt at odds? In a heartbeat. He's a lazy bastard sometimes, but he has a long memory. I'm not interested in worrying about payback, thank you very much.”
“If you say so.”
“I do and I did.” Ray made grabbing motions with his hands. “Here, hand me my stuff. And take your shoes off too. Live a little.” Fraser sighed, but did as he was asked. Ray ran their things over to where Dief was situated, leaving them next to him after a short talk and a few good ear rubs.
“There,” Ray said as he jogged back. “Now we don't have to lug stuff around.”
“Do you have a destination in mind?”
“Nope.” Ray took a few moments to survey each direction before heading north. Fraser walked by his side, the backs of their hands brushing as they moved. “Just want to soak in some of that Florida warmth, and enjoy the quiet. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love how noisy Chicago is, but this is nice, y'know?”
“A change is as good as a rest.”
“Well, we could use a rest, that's for sure.”
Up ahead, a group of tiny birds raced away from the incoming tide, only to run back out, pecking at the sand for food.
“Wonder what those are,” Ray mused, stopping to watch their antics. “I thought there were only seagulls and pelicans around here.”
“Oh no, Ray, there's a multitude of birds that feed off what's washed up on shore.” Fraser took a closer look. “Given the size, I'd say those are semipalmated plovers. In addition to the various types of gulls and pelicans most people associate with ocean beaches, there are several varieties of tern, skimmers, egrets, loons-”
“You're a loon,” Ray interrupted, chuckling. “Since when are you an expert on beach birds?”
“It only seemed prudent to do some research before we arrived.”
“Research,” Ray said, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes.”
“Like, to make sure we'd know what we're heading into before we got here. Getting the lay of the land and all that jazz.”
“Exactly,” Fraser replied with a nod.
Ray sighed. “Fraser.”
“Yes, Ray?”
“This isn't some unexplored country. It's Florida. The only terrain we'll be exploring is Vecchio's bowling alley, his house, and this beach.”
Fraser remained silent too long; Ray's annoyingly excellent instincts kicked in.
“You just wanted to show off for Vecchio,” he said, surety in his voice.
“I wanted him to know that we care enough about him to learn about where he lives,” Fraser countered.
Ray rolled his eyes. “Fraser, what have I told you about showing off that big brain of yours?”
“Not to waste it on a sure thing?” Fraser replied, all innocence.
“Okay, yeah, got me on that one,” Ray conceded, though it was obvious he didn't believe Fraser's act for a moment. “I was thinking more along the lines of not overusing it. You're overthinking things. Stop it.”
Fraser thought about protesting, but he knew Ray was correct.
Ray watched Fraser for a few moments more, then toed around the sand, shifting it. “Huh. Can't believe how hard it is to find one freaking unbroken shell. Look at this,” Ray said, picking up the remains of a sand dollar. “This is more like a sand quarter. Didn't know you could make change from these.”
It was an obvious attempt to change the subject, but Fraser chose not to take it. “Yes, I read up on Florida. If Ray's made a home here, it wouldn't be fair to ask him to leave without considering other options.”
Ray continued to study the piece of shell in his hand, flipping it this way and that before tossing it back onto the sand. “I guess I see your point.”
“Would you want to live here?” Fraser wondered.
“Don't know,” he shrugged, looking around. “I mean, it's definitely a nice change, but would I like it year round? No idea. What about you – this isn't anything like you're used to.”
“True,” Fraser acknowledged with a nod, “but I believe I could get used to it, learn the terrain. Find a way to do good work. What I've found over the years is that no matter where I am, I'm inevitably an outsider, even in my home country. It's made me realize that if that's the case, then it's more important who I choose to be with. The place doesn't matter.”
“Whither thou goest?”
Fraser smiled. “Exactly. And who knows, maybe Florida will be more peaceful than Chicago.”
Ray laughed. “Fraser, you found pirates in Illinois, and nuclear subs in Canada. I'm sure there'd be plenty of craziness for you to stir up down here. Hey, maybe if you did, Vecchio would see that it wouldn't matter where we live, there's no escaping the Fraser Zone.”
“Do you think that's why he -”
“Stop it,” Ray interrupted, becoming serious once again. “Do not make yourself into the bad guy here. Vecchio's hesitating because being an us is a Big Thing, and he damn well should think about it. But that doesn't mean we can't help him see the advantages of making a dynamite duet into a terrific trio.”
“Nice alliteration.”
“What can I say?” Ray grinned. “You and Vecchio bring out my inner poet. So, you'd consider moving here? For real?”
“It isn't just my decision,” Fraser pointed out. “But yes, if it was what we all wanted. Though to be honest, Ray hasn't seemed happy here since...” Fraser stopped himself, which only made Ray roll his eyes again.
“Since Stella left,” he finished. “We've been over this. It's okay to say her name. And I don't think he was happy when she was here either. Not because of her, no matter what you think - and no I don't want to get into that argument again – just, I think he came here as an escape. And as someone who's been there to the point of going deep undercover rather than face my own problems, I get it. But it doesn't fix anything.” Ray shrugged. “Anyhow, I think him digging in his heels about staying in Florida is just a cover.”
“You think he's worried about committing to us.”
“To anyone, but yeah. To us, because it is an us, which means all sorts of stuff to worry about, which Vecchio's an expert in. What we're wanting is about as complicated as it gets.”
“It doesn't have to be.”
Ray shrugged. “In the privacy of our own lives, you're right. In the bigger, rest of the world sense? Come on, don't give me that naive Mountie routine.”
“I don't mean to. I just mean that as long as we commit to each other, we can find strength to weather anything else. That our relationship, unconventional as it may be, doesn't have to be complicated in and of itself.”
“What, so love overcomes everything else?” Ray asked, skepticism clear in his tone. “Maybe in a perfect world, but this ain't it.”
“Are you advocating for us to stop our pursuit of Ray as a permanent part of our lives?”
“Let's see, give up on a chance at even hotter sex than I'm already having, and having someone around who both likes to cook and wants to help clean? Do I look stupid? I'm just saying that even the easy parts aren't going to be easy, especially in Vecchio's head. Go in knowing that, and we've got a chance. I mean, we wooed him with calls, letters and emails. We can seal the deal in person, just have to go about it the right way. Which apparently is not with mind-blowing sex.”
“That was surprisingly ineffective,” Fraser said, thinking about Ray's last visit.
“You're telling me. I mean, sure we got to fuck like bunnies, but then it got weird, because we were all acting like it was just a casual thing. Only, I know you don't do casual, I'm not really wired that way either and we both know Vecchio's all about wanting stability. But it was pretend casual, like a mutual pretend thing, and it worked. Boy how it worked.” Ray stopped for a few moments, lost in obviously pleasant memories. “It wasn't until we started talking about making it permanent that Vecchio bolted.”
“I think that perhaps things moved along too quickly.”
“Yeah, but it's not like all hope is lost, or else we wouldn't be here, right?”
“I hope that is indeed the case.”
“Okay, so the plan is to keep things no pressure, show him that we can all get along just fine. Get him to relax enough to let down his guard and hopefully get that stick out of his ass so he can-”
“Ray!”
“-actually see what a good idea the three of us are,” Ray finished smoothly, though the mischievous grin on his face left no room for doubt as to whether or not it was what he’d first intended to say.
“It’s a sound course of action,” Fraser agreed.
“And if it doesn’t work, we’ll pull out Plan B.” Fraser raised an eyebrow and Ray’s grin grew more lecherous.
“Dare I ask?”
"Well, you have told me I've got a pretty smart mouth," Ray said, waggling his eyebrows.
"Fellatio is not a foolproof negotiating technique," Fraser admonished, trying to keep a straight face.
"Maybe not, but it's a hell of an ice breaker," Ray countered with a wink. “Like I was saying, Plan B is where I blow him and you fuck him through the mattress until his brain is too sex-happy to let him say no.”
“I can't think of any reason that Plan B couldn't come into play in either case.”
“Now that,” Ray said with a laugh, slinging an arm around Fraser’s shoulder and pulling him close, “is putting your brain to good use.”