RATED G
Alliance owns these characters, and I make no legal claim to them by writing this story. The story is written for entertainment purposes only, and no profit will be made.
TAKE ME AWAY
Ray sighed as walked through the parking lot of the precinct towards his car. 8:30 p.m. He didn't mind working late if he was chasing down criminals, or even if he was working a stakeout. But staying late doing paperwork seemed very unfair. If people knew going in how much tedium was actually involved in police work, the enrollment at police academies across the country would probably drop by 50%.
Ray got into the Riv, shutting the door firmly behind him. He rubbed his hands over his face, stretched his back and gave another deep sigh. Finally he started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot, heading for home.
He had gone about six blocks when he suddenly changed directions, turning the Riv towards Racine Street. He didn't feel like going home right now. As much as he loved his family, he didn't feel like being with them right now, even his Ma. He wanted to be with Benny.
When Ray pulled up to Benny's building, he found the spot right in front of the door was empty. It always seemed to be available when he came over, and Ray had come to think of it as "his" parking space.
After making sure the car was safely locked, Ray entered the building and ran up the stairs to 3J. He took a couple of steps into the apartment and stopped.
Benny was home, lying on his bed on top of the covers, wearing just his t-shirt and underwear, a washcloth over his eyes and forehead. "Benny?" Ray said quietly.
A smile spread over Benny's face. "Ray!" He pulled off the washcloth and looked at his lover. "I wasn't expecting you tonight."
"I know," Ray said, crossing over to the bed. "I just missed you all of a sudden."
Benny's smile grew even wider. "Oh," he said in a pleased tone of voice.
"You okay, Benny?" Ray asked, sitting on the edge of the bed next to him.
"I'm fine," Benny said. "I just have a headache."
Ray felt Benny's forehead, but it was still cool from the washcloth, so he placed the back of his hand against Benny's cheek. His cheek also felt cool, with no sign of a fever. He smiled down at Benny and smoothed back his hair. "You're sure that's all it is?" He asked.
"Yes, Ray. I was doing deskwork all day; transferring notes from files into the computer database. Between trying to decipher all kinds of handwriting from photocopied documents and the glare of the computer screen, I developed quite a headache, I'm afraid."
Ray leaned over and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Did you take anything for it?" He asked.
Benny shook his head. "I don't have anything."
"Well I do." Taking the washcloth from Benny's hand, Ray went into the kitchen, where he turned on the cold water and ran the washcloth under the stream of water, then wrung it out. "Did you eat any dinner?" He called back over his shoulder.
"Yes," Benny answered. "I had some of the manicotti that your mother sent home with me the other night."
Ray smiled as he got a glass out of the cupboard. "Good." He filled the glass with cold water and headed back towards the bedroom. "It's nice to know that Ma is taking care of you even when she's not actually here."
"A Vecchio family trait," Benny smiled.
"I guess I don't need to ask where the rest of the manicotti went."
A happy whine sounded from the corner of the room, and Ray looked over to see a very content-looking Diefenbaker wagging his tail. "Yeah, that's what I thought," Ray grinned.
He handed the glass of water to Benny, then took two aspirin tablets from the pillbox in his pocket and gave them to Benny as well. "Take these," he said in a tone that was quiet, but left no room for argument.
Benny sat up and obediently swallowed the aspirin and the entire glass of water, and placed the empty glass on the floor next to the bed.
"Good boy," Ray said teasingly, and Benny made a face at him.
"Did you eat dinner, Ray?" Benny asked.
"Yeah, I ordered in Chinese."
"Good," Benny smiled.
Ray sat down at the head of the bed, and pulled gently on Benny's shoulders. "Lie back down now, love," he said.
Benny happily complied, resting his head in Ray's lap with a happy sigh. He squirmed about for a few seconds, trying to find the most comfortable position, then he was still.
Ray placed the washcloth over Benny's eyes and started gently massaging Benny's temples and his scalp.
"That feels wonderful, Ray," Benny murmured.
Ray smiled. "Anything else I can do for you, Benny?"
"Mmn," Benny said, shaking his head. Then he obviously had second thoughts. "Yes, there is. Could you talk to me?"
Ray blinked in surprise. "You want me to talk to you?"
"Yes, please. Your voice is very soothing."
Ray shook his head. "It's never been called that before."
"Well, it's true," Benny insisted.
Ray sighed. "All right, fine. I'll talk to you. What do you want me talk about?"
"I don't know," Benny said. He thought for a minute. "Take me somewhere."
"Take you somewhere?"
"Yes. Please."
Ray was at a complete loss. "Take you somewhere, take you somewhere..." He thought for a minute, and then smiled. "How about Italy?"
"That sounds perfect."
"Okay." Ray thought for a moment, searching for a place to begin. "So, by some miracle, we've managed to get two weeks off at the same time, and we go to Italy.
"We've seen the cities, visited the museums, eaten so much genuine Italian food that we could burst, and hit all the touristy spots, and we decide that we want to see some of the out-of-the-way places. We've rented a great car- Italian, of course- and we're driving out in the countryside.
"It's a beautiful warm day, so we've got the top of car down so we can have a better view and a nice breeze.
"As we're driving along, we come upon this little vineyard. It's nothing big or fancy, just a little vineyard some local obviously owns and runs. We decide to stop and take a look around- after I reassure you about ten times that it's not really trespassing.
"We get out and start walking through the fields, being very careful not to disturb any of the grapes, of course, and we come to an archway. It's like something out of a movie- this white picket-like fence structure with vines and leaves growing over and climbing up it.
"We walk under the archway, and it seems to go on for miles. It's nice and cool in there, part sunlight, part shadow, and we can hear birds singing in the distance.
"I turn to you to say something about how beautiful it is, and I freeze. I mean, my heart stops beating, my breath catches in my throat, I think the blood stops coursing through my veins.
"Because you look so beautiful the Italian countryside would weep if it could. You're standing there in front of me, and you're wearing... you're wearing tan pants, and the new Italian leather loafers I convinced you to buy the other day. It took some doing, but I finally managed to convince you that it's okay to splurge on yourself once in a while.
"And you're wearing a... a white cotton shirt, and you have the sleeves rolled up above your elbows, exposing your forearms, and you know that drives me crazy. And you're standing there smiling at me, speckled with light and shadow, and you look like a marble statue from one of the museums come to life; only warm and breathing, right in front of me.
"And I want to kiss you. I have to kiss you. So I do. I don't even bother to check and see if anyone's around, if anyone can see us. I don't care, and even if someone does see us, we're in Italy, the land of passion and romance, right?
"So I kiss you, and you're kissing me back, and it's warm and it's very passionate, and very sexy, and sweeter than any wine that vineyard could ever hope to grow."
Ray closed his eyes, enjoying his fantasy for a minute. Then he looked down at Benny and smiled softly. Benny was sound asleep, his face peaceful, his breathing slow and even.
Ray removed the washcloth from Benny's forehead and gently wiped Benny's face with it, then slipped out from under Benny and went into the kitchen. He placed the glass next to the sink and hung the washcloth over the towel bar to dry, then pulled out his cell phone and called his mother to tell her he wouldn't be home that night.
Turning off the phone and dropping it onto the table, Ray went back into the bedroom. He pulled the covers from underneath Benny as gently as he could and covered him with the sheet, then shed his clothes down to his underwear and slipped into bed next to him.
Raising himself up onto one elbow, Ray brushed his hand through Benny's hair. "Sogni dolci, Benny." Ray lay down and rested his head on Benny's shoulder and quickly fell asleep.
Ray awoke the next morning to the smell of coffee brewing and the sounds of breakfast being prepared. He stretched slowly, then got out of bed and made his way to the kitchen.
Benny was standing at the counter, already fully dressed, stirring something in a bowl.
"Good morning, Benny."
"Good morning, Ray," Benny smiled. "Did you sleep well?"
Ray nodded. "How about you? Your head feel any better this morning?"
"Yes, the headache is completely gone."
"Good."
"If you want to go take a shower now, the waffles should be ready just when you're done."
"Sounds great to me," Ray said. He went down the hall and took a quick shower, then changed into one of the suits he kept in Benny's closet.
The two men and Diefenbaker had a quiet breakfast, then Ray and Benny did the dishes.
After the last dish was put away, Ray looked at his watch and sighed. "Time to be leaving for work. Are you free for lunch today?"
"Yes, Ray."
"Good. I'll pick you up about 1:00."
"All right."
At the door, Benny paused and turned to Ray. "Ray, I've been thinking about something."
"Uh-oh."
Benny grinned and shook his head. "I heard what you were saying about Italy last night. Well, some of it anyway. I'm afraid I fell asleep while you were talking."
Benny looked embarrassed, and Ray smiled. "That's okay, Benny, you were supposed to."
Benny smiled and nodded. "Anyway, I've been thinking about what you said all morning, and I want to go to Italy. With you."
"You do?" Ray asked, surprised.
"Yes, Ray, I do. I want to see the old cities, walk the cobblestone streets, feel the history, visit the museums, eat authentic Italian food on a patio as we watch the crowds walk by. And I want to do it all with you. What do you say?"
"That would be great, Benny," Ray said slowly, "but..."
"Oh, I know we can't do it right away. There's the small matter of arranging the time off together, and saving up the money for the trip, but if we start planning now, I think we can do it within the year."
Ray felt the smile on his face growing bigger and bigger. "Yeah, I'm sure we could. So, you and me in Italy?"
"Yes, Ray."
Ray leaned forward and gave Benny a lingering kiss. "I can't wait, Benny. Something tells me it's going to be the best vacation of our lives."
Hand in hand, the two men left the apartment to face the day, closing the door behind them.
THE END
Note: "Sogni dolci" means "Sweet dreams."
Return to Home Page