B>LET'S SETTLE THIS LIKE GENTLEMEN
Ray Vecchio sighed in perfect contentment. He was back where he belonged- behind the wheel of a 1971 Buick Riviera.
He still couldn't quite believe he had been able to find another one after his return from that ill-conceived escape to Florida, but he had. He also couldn't believe that Benny had managed to destroy his last Riv. Did the Mountie have something against this particular model of car?
He would have to be very careful to protect his newest baby from Benny. As a matter of fact, if it weren't for the fact that Benny's hands were now firmly on his ass and Benny's tongue was firmly down his throat, the Canadian would not be allowed in the car at all.
Ray sighed happily again and pulled Benny closer to him. Life was just about perfect. Benny in his arms, Benny in his car, Benny in his life...
Ray broke the kiss at the sound of the passenger door being opened and blinked in the sudden glare of the dome light. Squinting, he could make out the very angry looking features of a Polish-American police detective. Oh, crap.
"What in the hell is going on here?" Kowalski yelled.
Fraser pulled away from Ray and turned to face the other Ray in his life. "Ray, if you would just let me explain..."
But Detective Kowalski was apparently in no mood for explanations, as he reached into the car and roughly dragged Fraser out of the vehicle.
"You whore!" he shouted, throwing Fraser to the ground. "You know how I feel about Vecchio! You know that we have something going on."
Ray Vecchio tried to intervene. "Stan..."
Kowalski turned to glare at him. "Shut up, you slut," he snapped.
He turned back to face Fraser. "Come on, get up."
Fraser rose slowly to his feet. "Ray, if we could just..."
"What? Talk? Sit down over a nice cozy cup of tea and discuss how the Inuit would handle this situation? I don't think so, Benton 'buddy'. We are going to handle this my way." He curled his hands into fists and held them up in front of him.
"Ray, I am not going to fight you."
"No? Well, that will make things a lot easier for me, won't it?" Ray grinned, but he had a fairly nasty gleam in his eye.
Vecchio got out of the car and hurried around the side. "Stan. Benny. Come on."
"Do not call me Stan," snapped Kowalski. "And don't call him Benny. It's fucking stupid."
Fraser looked hurt, and Ray looked angry. "It is not stupid," Ray said. "And what I call him is none of your business."
"Oh, really?" Kowalski said. "Is that what you call him when he's sucking you off and you're coming?" His voice took on a high, mocking note. "Oh, Benny, Benny, Benny!!"
"As a matter of fact, it is," Fraser replied, giving Kowalski a nasty smile of his own.
"That's it!" Kowalski yelled. Grabbing Fraser by the front of his jacket, Kowalski threw him onto the hood of the Riv. Fraser landed awkwardly on his back, and one of the brass buttons popped free of the red serge and skittered across the hood.
Vecchio swore under his breath. If Kowalski and Benny scratched his paint job, he was going to beat the hell out of them both.
Kowalski grabbed Fraser's shoulders and held him pinned against the car. "You could have any man you want! You could have any woman you want! You have to take mine?"
"Yours?" Fraser shoved Ray roughly away from him and stood up. "I didn't know Ray was 'yours'. There certainly aren't any tags identifying him as such. And believe me, if there were, I would have seen them."
With a furious, wordless roar, Kowalski lunged at Fraser and the two men fell to the ground, grappling each other and rolling around.
Vecchio looked on, unsure as to what exactly he was supposed to be feeling. Guilt? Dismay? He was pretty sure that whatever emotion he was supposed to be having at this moment, it did not include a hard on the size of Kentucky.
He sighed. He supposed he really should try to put a stop to this. "Uh, Kowalski? Fraser? Guys?"
Neither man heard him, or if they did, they just ignored him. Finally, with a loud cry of triumph, Kowalski managed to roll on top of Ben and pin Fraser under his body. He sat straddling Fraser's chest, and held both wrists above his head in a tight grip.
"Hah! I've got you now, Ray-fucker! Give it up. Say it!"
Fraser glared at him and squirmed beneath him.
Kowalski tightened his legs on Fraser's ribs, and tightened his grip on Fraser's wrists. "Say it!!"
With a sigh of utter defeat, Fraser muttered "You win, Ray."
"Damn right I win!" Kowalski said triumphantly. He stood up and brushed the dirt from his clothing. "You know what that means, right?" He glared down at Fraser.
"Yes," Fraser said, slowly sitting up. "It means you get Ray."
"Actually, it means I get Ray first." He grinned evilly at Fraser, then turned to face Ray.
Grasping the Italian by his upper arms, Kowalski backed him over to the Riv and placed him across the hood much more gently than he had Fraser just a few minutes before. "Think you can handle us both, Vecchio?"
Ray swallowed heavily. "I think so."
"Good," Kowalski grinned, then leaned down to capture Ray's mouth in a kiss.
"Oh, Vecchio," he sighed. "Vecchio. Vecchio. Vecchio......"
"Vecchio!"
Ray started awake with a gasp.
"Vecchio, are you with me?"
Ray turned to see Stanley Ray Kowalski glaring at him. They were sitting in a car. Not his late, beloved Riv, but an ugly police-issue car. "Yeah, I'm with you."
"Well, that's great. I mean, I don't want to be too demanding or anything, but it would be nice if you could stay awake on these little stakeouts. I mean, as much as we both may hate it, we are partners now."
"All right."
"I do understand you needing a nap though. 11:30 is probably way past your bedtime."
"Just shut up and hand me the coffee," Ray snapped.
Kowalski obligingly handed Ray the thermos, and Ray poured some coffee into his mug.
"So," Kowalski asked, grinning at his partner, "that was some dream you were having. What was it about?"
Ray nearly choked on his coffee. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you were smiling and sighing and mumbling about something. What was it?"
"Never mind."
"Oh, come on, Vecchio. We're partners. Partners tell each other everything! Can't you share this with me?"
"Not now."
"Not now. Not ever?"
Ray looked his partner up and down, and a slow smile spread across his face. "Maybe someday, Stanley. Maybe someday."
THE END
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