Rated G
This is what happens when insomnia and a plot bunny collide.
I have to thank the lovely Silvina for putting the wonderful image in my head that spawned this story.
Alliance owns these characters, and I make no legal claim to them by writing this story; and no profit will be made.
SWEET DREAMS
Ray sat in the Riviera, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel and glaring out the window.
He was at the Consulate to pick up Benny and give him a ride home. Ray had arrived about five minutes ago to find Ben standing sentry duty, and his anger had been rising ever since.
It was nearly ninety degrees outside, for God's sake- with humidity to match. What in the hell was Thatcher thinking making Benny stand guard duty?
The clock across the street started to chime, and Ben broke his pose and headed for the car, followed closely by Dief, who was all too happy to leave his shady spot under the building's overhang for the even cooler comfort of the Riv.
Ben opened the door and allowed Dief to precede him into the vehicle. Diefenbaker jumped into the car and over into the back seat and curled up; his tail wagging.
Ben placed his Stetson carefully on the dashboard before entering the car. He settled into his seat with a barely audible sigh of comfort.
"Hey Benny."
"Hello, Ray." Ben turned to him with a smile.
As he got a good look at his lover, Ray's anger kicked up another notch. Benny's face was bright red and sweaty, And Ray could see that Ben's hair was also soaked with sweat. "How long were you out there?" He asked.
A pause, then a sigh. "Ray, it's all right. I'm all right."
"How long?" Ray asked in a deceptively calm voice.
"Four hours."
"Four hours!" Ray's grip on the steering wheel tightened, and he felt his jaw clench. "You've been out there since one o'clock?"
Ben nodded nervously.
"Jesus! What is wrong with that woman?"
"Ray..."
"Don't even start, Benny," Ray snapped. "One of the hottest goddamn days of the year, and Thatcher sends you outside in a wool outfit to stand in the glaring sun all afternoon."
Ben didn't say anything, he just bit his bottom lip and looked out the window.
After a few blocks, when Ray had calmed down, he asked "Are you all right, Benny?"
"Yes, Ray."
But Ray had noticed the slight hesitation before Ben's answer. He stopped the Riv at a red light and turned to inspect his lover. "You sure you're all right, love?" He asked quietly.
"Well, I am a bit tired," Ben admitted.
Ray quickly did the translation in his head. 'A bit tired' for Benny equaled 'completely exhausted' for most people. "Not sleeping well lately?" Ray asked.
Ben shook his head. "The heat has been getting to me the past few nights. It's hard to fall asleep, and when I do fall asleep, I have odd dreams that wake me up."
"Why didn't you say anything, Benny?"
Ben shrugged lightly. "There's no use in griping about it."
Ray sighed. Right. Mounties don't whine, Fraser men don't complain. "All right Benny, I'm going to take you home so you can get some sleep, okay?"
Ben smiled faintly. "Yes Ray. Thank you."
When they got to Ben's building, Ray ushered him upstairs and into his apartment. "Why don't you take a nice cool shower, love?" He asked. "It will help you feel better."
Ben nodded and quickly removed his red tunic. Ray took it from him. "I'll take care of your uniform, Benny, okay? You just go."
Ben nodded again and finished undressing, then slipped into his bathrobe. Grabbing a change of clothes, he headed down the hall towards the community bathroom.
Ray carried Ben's tunic over to the closet and opened the door. He had a sudden, almost irresistible urge to throw all the uniforms away.
The middle of summer in Chicago and all he had were heavy woolen uniforms! Couldn't the Dragon Lady at least issue him some summer-weight uniforms?
With a heavy sigh, Ray hung Benny's uniform neatly and carefully beside the others, then grabbed Benny's rucksack from the closet shelf.
Carrying it over to the bed, Ray tossed in some underwear and a change of clothes, then went in to Ben's tiny bathroom to pack his toiletry kit.
Ben re-entered the apartment just as Ray was closing the rucksack. "Ray, what are you doing?"
Ray turned to face Ben, and paused for a moment in appreciation. Ben was now dressed in a pair of tan cotton shorts and a white t-shirt. Most of the high, fever-like color had faded from his face, leaving a healthier glow behind. "What's it look like I'm doing? I'm packing your stuff."
Ben looked at him in confusion. "Why?"
"Because, I said I was taking you someplace where you could get some sleep. That sure as hell isn't here."
"Ray..."
"No, Benny. This place is stifling. Not to mention that you can hear every sound from the street- and from your neighbors' apartments through these paper-thin walls.
"And if you did manage to fall asleep, you'd probably just be woken up by one of your neighbors who wanted you to fix their ice maker or something."
"But if they need me..."
"God, Benny!" Ray snapped in irritation. "This building can survive without you for one night. You spend all your time taking care of everyone else, but who takes care of you?"
Ben gave him a beautiful smile. "You do, Ray."
Ray's annoyance was gone in an instant, swamped beneath a sudden wave of love and tenderness that was almost painful. "Then let me, Benny."
Ray stepped up to him and gave him a gentle kiss. "Let me take care of you."
Ben nodded. "All right, Ray."
"Good," Ray smiled. He gave Ben another quick kiss, then led him to the door.
Diefenbaker, who knew what the rucksack that Ray was carrying meant, rushed past them and down the stairs; his tail wagging furiously.
Ray led Ben into the kitchen of the Vecchio home, tossing the rucksack carelessly in the corner. Dief ran through the kitchen and out the swinging door, searching for the Vecchio matriarch.
"Hey Ma!" Ray called. "I'm home, and guess who I brought with me?"
The two men could hear Rosa's voice calling out happily from the hallway. "Diefenbaker!"
Ben turned to Ray with a rueful smile. "Diefenbaker?"
"Don't worry Benny," Ray said, patting him on the shoulder. "Ma still likes you second-best."
Ben laughed as Rosa entered the kitchen. "Hello Caro; hello Benton," she said, giving each man a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey Ma, Benny's going to stay the night. His apartment is an oven, and he needs to get a good night's sleep in a decent bed."
"Of course," Rosa smiled. "I'm glad you're here, Benton. Why don't you take your things upstairs and I'll get dinner started?"
"All right, thank you," Ben said; and the two men headed upstairs. Dief sat down next to the table and watched Rosa with great interest as she opened the refrigerator.
"Ray," Ben said as the two men climbed the stairs, "I know you said it would be quieter here, but it's very quiet." He was looking around almost nervously.
Ray grinned. "Yup, it's your lucky night, Benny. You know the kids are away at summer camp. So Tony and Maria decided to take advantage and went away for the weekend. And Frannie is out on a date with her latest loser."
"Ah," Ben said. They reached the hallway and Ben headed towards the guest room.
"Where are you going?" Ray asked, grabbing Ben's arm.
"To my room," Ben said in surprise.
"Oh no, Benny; you're staying in my room."
"I can't kick you out of your bed, Ray."
"You won't. We'll both be staying in there."
"But Ray, your mother..." Ben glanced back towards the staircase, and he was starting to blush.
Ray grinned. "It's all right love. Ma knows all about us, you know that. She's cool with it. And we will only be sleeping in there."
"Yes, I'm afraid that's true," Ben said.
Ray noticed the exhaustion on Ben's face and in his voice, and his expression softened. "Come on, Benny."
Ben allowed Ray to slip his arm around his waist and lead him into Ray's bedroom.
"Sit down for a while," Ray said, pushing Benny gently down onto the bed.
Ben sat quietly as Ray unpacked Ben's clothes and personal items.
When he was done, Ray sat next to Ben on the bed. Ben wrapped his arms around Ray's waist and rested his head on Ray's shoulder.
Ray happily returned the embrace, and the two men sat silently together for a few minutes. Finally, Ray reluctantly pulled away. "We'd better get downstairs."
Ben nodded, and Ray frowned at him. "God Benny, you really look wiped out."
Ben just smiled at him tiredly.
"Okay," Ray said. "We'll just get you some dinner so you'll have food in your stomach and not wake up starving at 3:00 a.m. Then we're coming back up here and you are finally going to get a good night's sleep."
Ben nodded. "All right; that sounds nice, Ray."
Rosa, Ray and Ben enjoyed a wonderful meal of chicken and pasta salad, homemade rolls and key lime pie- "Because it's your favorite, Raimondo."
The three relaxed over their meal, holding a quiet, comfortable conversation. None of them could ever remember the dining room being so peaceful.
Ray lingered over the last of the dessert, telling Rosa all the details of his latest arrest. She listened raptly, glad to be able to give Ray her undivided attention for once.
Ray glanced over at Benny and saw that he was nearly asleep at the table. His head was drooping and he was blinking his eyes repeatedly in an effort to stay awake.
"Hey Benny," Ray said, squeezing his arm lightly.
"Hm?" Ben turned his focus on Ray.
"Did you get enough to eat?"
"Oh, yes."
"Good. Let's get you up to bed then."
"We should help with the dishes first."
"Oh no you shouldn't," Rosa said before Ray could even reply. "You should go up and get yourself to bed and get some decent sleep."
"Yes Ma'am," Ben said, smiling faintly.
"Thanks Ma," Ray said, standing up and drawing Benny to his feet as well.
"Yes, thank you Rosa."
"Good night boys."
Once upstairs Ben headed into the bathroom, while Ray went into his bedroom and over to the bed. He tossed back the covers, then fluffed up the pillows.
After he had turned down the bed, Ray picked up the phone and turned off the ringer. Tomorrow was Saturday and in theory, Benny could sleep for as long as he wanted. But it would be just like the Dragon Lady to decide the entire filing system needed re-arranging, and drag Benny down to the Consulate to help.
Well, if she wanted to find Benny tomorrow, she would have to come here in person. Ray smiled grimly. If that happened, he would be only too happy to tell the Inspector face to face that Benny was taking a day off- and why.
Ray sat the phone back down, then turned off the alarm on his clock radio. After a moment's thought, he unplugged the clock from the wall.
Ray heard a light footstep behind him and turned to see Benny entering the room. "Hey love, you all ready for bed?"
"More than ready," Ben nodded.
Ray crossed the room to give Benny a kiss, and he smiled. Benny tasted like toothpaste. Ray stepped away from Ben slightly and pulled Ben's shirt over his head. "Oh, I love undressing you, Benny," he said, dropping the t-shirt to the floor.
Ben grinned and stood silently while Ray removed his shorts. Now clad only in his boxers, Benny lay down on the mattress; and he couldn't hold back a sigh of pure enjoyment as his head hit the pillows.
Ray smiled and pulled the sheet over Benny, fussing over it and tucking it carefully around him.
"Ray, it's fine," Ben finally said.
"You sure?"
"I'm positive," Ben assured him.
"All right." Ray got up and closed the bedroom door.
"You're shutting Diefenbaker out?" Ben asked in surprise, a little offended on behalf of his wolf.
"Are you kidding? Dief won't want to come in here. He's going to spend the night curled up next to Ma's bed."
"That's probably true," Ben nodded. "Although I can understand his motivation."
"Oh really?" Ray asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Oh yes. Diefenbaker is not the only one who follows a member of the Vecchio family around like a love-sick puppy."
Ray looked at Benny, feeling amused and absurdly touched. He could feel himself starting to blush. "Go to sleep, Benny; you're becoming delirious."
Ben laughed. "It's the truth, Ray."
"Good night Benny," Ray said pointedly.
Ben lapsed into silence, and Ray picked up his clothes from the floor; folding them and putting them on the dresser.
He walked quietly back over to the bed and sat down next to Benny. Ben was lying perfectly still, his breathing deep and even.
Ray felt a tightness in his chest- Benny looked so beautiful. Unable to stop himself, Ray ran his hand through Benny's hair.
"Hmmmmm?" Ben said, his eyes blinking open.
"It's nothing, Benny. I'm sorry, go back to sleep," Ray whispered.
Ben sighed and fell back asleep, a small smile on his face.
Ray remained seated on the edge of the mattress, watching Benny sleep until the last of the light had faded from the sky and he could no longer see him.
THE END
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