Benton Fraser | Due South

[dogsled]

BENTON FRASER。

"You know, Fraser, when they offered me this assignment, they made it sound kind of normal. They say, 'Hey, Ray, here's a chance to start over, ditch the past.' 'What's the catch?' I say. 'Oh, your partner's Canadian.' Canadian? I got nothing against Canadians, except for the time when they won the World Series, which I'm willing to overlook. But at no time did they say, 'you'll be working with a Mountie who's got a wolf that's a florist'"

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[dogsled]

Mmm.

[ It wasn't altogether clear what had made him so happy. The declaration of his being a freak, or the fact that Ray said it so possessively and with such affection that it was the equivalent of his saying "I love you too, Fraser" without actually doing so. Translating Rayspeak was important sometimes too; sometimes it didn't come out in pure English, was gently transformed or manipulated so as to better protect the speaker. This was one of those moments.

Or maybe his little "Mmm" was a sound of contentment where Ray's tongue dashed against his lips. Maybe it was a thoughtful "Mmm" that had more to do with what Fraser intended to do now that he'd been baited so beautifully.

Maybe it was all those things and more, a little nod of confirmation to the invitation that was their own happy ever after. No more Ray or Stella or Florida; but they had each other and that worked for them in a way that was closer to perfect than either of them had ever had.

For right now, it could just be the kiss. Ray's concerns had been addressed, and he was inviting Fraser back in. This moment was the one they'd been chasing up to, where wild desperate kisses in semi-public spaces finally gave way to time alone. Where they could kiss, and put their hands all over each other and let it build into whatever it wanted to become without reservation--restrained only perhaps by whatever Ray would let him have.

He slid half up into Ray's lap as he kissed him, tipping his weight forward, sliding his mouth firmly against Ray's and letting their tongues catch and slide and grind against each other. Desire stoked for the night like a fire, Fraser sought out the heat of his partner's mouth like he was coming in from a blizzard, longing for the safety and comfort of the familiar, but willing to draw it out for as long as they both could stand.

He was really kissing Ray, he thought again, with contentment this time. With the understanding that this wasn't going to go away--at least not for so long as Fraser held on as tightly as he could. Now they'd passed those barriers he could kiss Ray whenever he liked, could be kissed whenever Ray elected to do so. Their lives had changed, even if it was just in that simple physical way, and Fraser couldn't help but think it was for the better.

He felt loved. He loved. This was what living was really about.

He tried to guide Ray down on the couch without really forcing the matter, his free hand sliding up across his partner's side again, drawing his tongue back with such languid grace as to invite Ray to take his mouth in turn. It was give and take with Fraser--it hadn't always been that way. Ray had made him that way. ]

[kickem]

[That "Mmm" was replied back to with a low hum of his own, accepting and lightly amused because sometimes it really is best if Fraser just doesn't speak. He loves the guy, he really does, and he could admit that in more than just the platonic way now, but there were still times in their lives that the Mountie had ruined a perfectly good moment by opening his mouth and letting words fall out.

Yes, good, put that mouth to better use. Ray's already learning that it's a damn fine mouth, and a skilled one at that. Maybe it's all that licking Benton gets up to, or perhaps he's just read it from some book like he does with so many other things. Doesn't really matter so long as it's good, and Ray responds to it steadily, no rushing or pushing like they'd been doing moments before in the elevator.

Fraser was climbing into his lap, pushing into the kiss and using his weight as leverage. Ray didn't fight it, relaxing under the suggestion as he slid back into the seat, his back settling into the cushioned arm and allowing him to support his partners weight if needed. Both arms curl around Fraser's waist, loose but encouraging, hands settling at his lower back.

This he could manage. This was easy going and relaxing on his jittery, alcohol fuelled thoughts. Grappling and fighting over clothing was an all too appealing notion, but Ray's not sure if he'd lock up the second the underwear came off. No, this was better. This was more like dancing, one step at a time, building up to something beautiful.

He took the invitation of the kiss, chasing Benton's tongue with his own, curling and twisting against teeth and tongue with Ray's usual rapid sort of eagerness, even if the rest of his actions were slow and purposeful.]

[dogsled]

[ Falling into this kiss was like falling into the future. There were going to be more kisses like this--maybe not drunk ones, but more on top of more, and Fraser could embrace that. He hadn't ever really been the kind of man who thought that far ahead. He thought of cases, and occasionally of home, but only ever in a very abstract way, never in a way that took permanence and shape; a specter.

Now the future took the shape of Ray's body under his own. Of his mouth, his demanding tongue, the scrape of his teeth. It was quick and slow at once, deliberate and yet all over the place, and that was Ray through and through. Fraser sucked on his tongue, taking advantage of the moment in reflection of the way Ray had plundered his mouth as they left the elevator, and he shifted his legs and weight over, staying up in Ray's lap but now half straddling him, one knee up against his side, his other thigh between Ray's legs, his hip and Ray's hands keeping him in balance.

Oh they were dancing alright, but there were no steps, not with their feet off the ground. If angels danced, this would be how they did it. No hands and no feet, flying high on emotion and arousal. His hands rubbed up Ray's sides and crossed his chest, but there was no stopping to linger on his nipples--Fraser treated them like everything else, ran his hands across and moved on, curled into the wings of muscle of Ray's back instead.

The last time he'd tried to generate some friction between them, Ray had held him very still--vice like, even. This time he tried to be at least a little more subtle about it, languidly rocking his body against Ray's, panting sucking breaths into the kiss; slow and purposeful. It didn't demand anything more than a little bump and grind, and it was more instinct than anything else. Short of strapping Fraser down there wasn't going to be any keeping him absolutely still when it came to this. This was what all those muscles were really made for. Shifting, moving, working, rather than the constant stillness of a Mountie whose life was a parade.

A whole other side of him.

He bit Ray's bottom lip, withdrawing just for a moment, his eyelashes concealing the hunger in his eyes. ]

You can touch me too. If you want. [ It meant 'I'd like you to', but Fraser was careful to include 'If you feel like it's appropriate' in the general meaning. Just because Ray was down with the kissing didn't mean he'd necessarily want to touch, and that could be okay. This was still experimental, exploratory. ]

[kickem]

[It was still difficult for Ray to process the fact that this was actually happening. It felt like some odd dream and the alcohol wasn't exactly helping the hazy state of his mind as he settled into the embrace of the cushioned upholstery. His eyes kept drifting open during their kiss, observing the close up of his partner through half lidded eyes as if consistently checking who it was. It was Fraser. Fraser, the one who'd agreed to this, who'd accept the kissing and admitted out loud to his affection for Ray. The one person in Ray's life who'd declared any sort of love for him in years.

This could work. There's no reason why it couldn't. The two of them had resolved and worked their way through more arguments than Ray ever could with Stella. It was communication that had worked for them so well, some sort of understanding between the two during their working partnership that had meant they could read each other even when nothing was said. Stella had always complained that Ray didn't know how to talk to her, but perhaps she just didn't know how to listen to him, how to understand and read beyond his fumbled words and fast movements. Fraser knew Ray's language and in turn Ray had learned Fraser's.

And Fraser was definitely speaking his language now. Those drifting hands and purposeful rolls into him were enough to get him panting and gasping out softly into Benton's mouth, arching just lightly under him in encouragement.

He's almost glad when Benton withdraws, humming out a low groan at the teeth at his lip but sucking in a few well needed deep breaths.

Touch Fraser. If he wanted.

Of course he wanted. It was just such an alien concept to him to be getting this close, this intimate with virtually anyone but Stella. Sure, there'd been the odd woman here and there, but this slow and steady arching and curling into one another on the couch wasn't something he got a chance to often do. Especially not with male buddies.]

Yeah.

[Because that single word can mean a million different things, but right now it's something of a hesitant agreement. Yeah, he wanted.]

Hey, uh. Can I... uh?

[One arm slides free from Fraser's waist, and yes, that is his hand drifting to the front of his partner's jeans, fingers popping the button open while his eyes meet with that hungry gaze of Benton's, a questing, curious look in his own greyblue eyes. So maybe he had just given a lecture on his general disinterest in dicks, but this was different. It was just going to be a peek. A look. Maybe a touch. And this was Fraser, not some random guy.]

[dogsled]

[ A little space; a little gap between them, that was what was needed, because then both Fraser and Ray had a chance to breathe, a chance to get the perspective on what they were doing that they both needed. For Fraser it was a chance to acknowledge that yes, Ray did want him. He wasn't breaking his gaze or seeming the least bit unwillingly, and that brought him immense comfort.

For Ray, it must have given him similar confidence. Fraser just hoped it didn't fracture, hoped he didn't get overconfident and find himself regretting it when the reality ended up being too much to handle. Like Ray had said, he wasn't in it for cocks, and like it or not that was what Fraser had. No pretty feminine curves - although there was something undeniably feminine to his face that he'd taken advantage of before - no feminine parts. Make or break.

Honestly, he'd expected hands on his chest first, something experimental, fingers in his hair--he wasn't sure. Instead Ray's arm dropped back, one hand questing down the front of his jeans, plucking open the button. He exhaled a little harder, but he didn't break Ray's gaze to look down, at least not at first.

The thing was that as much as he was afraid of what might happen if he unsettled Ray, he was as much anticipating, wanting. He wanted to be looked at, wanted to be touched, and he couldn't really fight down that desire. Certainly if they were going to go further, they had to get past this stage first. He licked his lips in earnest, his mouth wet and his lips decidedly dry, shifting his hips forward, watching Ray--watching Ray's hand. ]

Do it.

[ And if he sounded the least bit desperate it was because he was. Aching, but also needing to establish their boundaries. He needed to know one way or the other whether this would be too much, and with every second that passed the question just resounded--could Ray do this? If he couldn't do it now would he ever be able to? Could he - would he - touch him, the way Fraser desperately needed to--wanted to be touched.

He tried to resist the urge to press up into that hand again, since the first time when the instinct had caught him off guard. He didn't want to frighten him, had to hold on. He held his breath; kept holding it. ]

Do it [ Whispered. ] Please.

[kickem]

[Experimental touches should have been the next logical step. But logical and Ray never really got on anyway.

He'd touched Fraser a million times before, a friendship that had stood the test of a hundred different life threatening moments that had only brought them closer each time. There'd been plenty of touching in the last few years, of buddy embraces and helping hands and huddling close for warmth. Canada had practically been nothing but close contact, where they spent months on end barely ever apart, and Ray learnt not to give the slightest of shits at whatever Fraser had to throw at him. Get naked and roll around in the snow? Sure, sounds totally fucking logical. Strip off for hot springs and those weird ass sauna huts? Whatever, might as well. Cuddle up close for body warmth? Well, it sure is cold enough not to argue with that one. And so on it went.

So Ray had seen it all, done it all. Well, almost all of it. He'd seen Fraser with his clothes off enough times now to know what to expect, and there's an unconscious knowledge of every inch of skin that he's seen. There's more than enough times that he's touched it too. Maybe not bare skin, not often, but damn he's had his hands on far too many bits of Fraser over the years, and now he's got lips to add to the list.

Dick is the next step. It has to be. He's touched and seen almost everything else, even if it'd all been strictly platonic at the time (at least he assumes it had been). Sure, he's seen it before, but it's not like he's ever stared. That's not buddies. Buddies don't take long, considering looks at each other's dicks, they just accept that it exists and it's there and that they're both naked and they get on with life. They certainly don't touch each other's dicks, not unless there's some totally life threatening reason where dicks must be touched, but that's some rule in the buddy code, Ray's sure of it.]

Y'know this is like a one way ticket to uh. To some place that's not buddies. A dick is a dick though, right?

[A reminder to himself just as much as it is to Fraser. But Fraser's already approved it, and Ray's already thought about it too much to back out now. If he backs out now he's always going to be wondering 'what if', and thinking about a guys dick forever more is probably much worse than actually going for it.

And so he goes for it, peering down between them as thumbs down the zipper and tugs at the jeans to give them both a little more working room and then, after the briefest pause for thought, tugs at those boxers too. Best to get the guy fully out of the house rather than peeking through a God damn window. And yes, Ray's looking, because he's been allowed to look.]

Heh, there he is.

[Dicks are a very mature subject for a guy like Ray.]

[dogsled]

[ There is a great deal of difference between this and well...and anything they'd done so far. Rubbing up against each other had been a stage. Shoving each other's tongues down each other's throats had been up there on the scale of challenge too. And then there was the peck on the lips Fraser had given Ray down in the ballroom, much to everyone's chagrin and some horror.

But exposing himself to him, and in particular being exposed by Ray himself, like his partner was opening him like a Christmas gift. That took a certain amount of restraint, and it was a challenge that Fraser hadn't realised would make such an impact on him when it came. It seemed like such an unremarkable thing, after all it was absolutely necessary if the two of them were going to explore any kind of sexuality in this situation--which was the plan, at least in Fraser's mind. But actually doing it...

Ray hadn't even helped him in and out of his clothes when he was running a fever, and though they'd been naked in front of each other - even with each other - before, in relieved moments where they'd found a hot spring or quick rolls in the snow, there was an unspoken rule of not looking (that Fraser had none the less broken on one or two occasions, to be fair) that held to this moment.

So he was remarkably tense as he waited, his right arm uncoiling from Ray to make space between them. He looked down into the gap, trying to keep his breathing steady as Ray's thumb worked the zipper down, and then he was rolling his hips, helping dislodge the jeans slightly, boxers slipping down his hips, his half hard erection springing free with a certainty that made Fraser hiss, turning his head into Ray's neck.

He flushed at his partner's words, ducked his forehead against Ray's throat. ]

God--I mean. I mean--that's very good, Ray. [ He shivered, licked his lips and panted into the hot gap between his own neck and Ray's collarbone. ] See...do you see anything you like?

[kickem]

[This wasn't so bad. He could do this. There was no awkwardness or anxiety behind the touches, no concerns about trying to impress or be someone he's not. Fraser already knew who Ray was and had no expectations of what he should and shouldn't be doing. They could be comfortable around one another and that meant far more to Ray than tits or good looking women.

If adjusting to dick was one of the only compromises he had to make, then things might not be so bad after all. Especially not if the mere act of exposing Fraser is enough to have him panting and stuttering over his words.

Ray can't help the low chuckle that he exhales out against Benton's ear, nuzzling in against his head to try and keep his viewing window clear. There's something about those words coming from his partner that entertains, the idea of dirty talk sounding just a little surreal coming from Fraser's lips and yet somehow that makes it all the more appealing. It's unheard of, not something anyone but him gets to hear, and that makes it damn special. Yes, he sees something he very much likes, but he saw that long before the pants came off.]

Yeah. Yeah, I can get with this.

[His hand hesitates nearby, resting at the top of Fraser's thigh as his thumb circles right near the base of that half-hard erection.]

So uh, you get this guy out much? I mean, no offence Fraze, but I'm havin' a hard time imaginin' you spankin' one out every night at the consulate.

[Because it's a totally appropriate conversation that needs to be discussed, and Ray can ask these sort of questions kthx.]