Fandom #7: Due South, "Faith In Him"
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100fandomhellTitle: Faith In Him
Author: Apache Firecat
Rating: PG/K+
Fandom: Due South
Wordcount or Timestamp: 1561
When he had first met the man now lying beside him, his snores rattling the windows, Detective Ray Vecchio had thought he'd seen everything. He'd thought he'd seen everything and endured most of it. He'd become old in his young age, ornery, and set in his ways. Dogged by society, he'd become so many of the things his parents had never wanted for him, and although it didn't really bother him that he was not his father's son -- he'd striven hard to be exactly opposite his father in many ways --, he knew his mother had always wanted a better life for him. Granted, she had wanted him to find a good, Catholic girl and settle down, but like every other woman in their lives, she had been wooed over to Benton's side, agreeing to please the handsome Mounty and eventually welcoming him into their family in the only way she could. She still had the Mounty for a son-in-law, even if she remained displeased, it seemed, with Ray's every other choice.
He sighed. At least he could do that right, but damn, if the hunk beside him didn't marvel him still on a daily basis! Benton Fraser didn't just have a way with women; he seemed to have a way with everyone he encountered. He had turned Ray's world rather quickly upside down, making him question things he had always taken for granted, forcing him out of his weary way of no longer caring about the people around him or, in truth, about himself, forcing him to actually make moral decisions again... He really had turned his world upside down, and he had shocked and marveled him starting with the very first day they had met until right now, as he slept so soundly, deeply, peacefully, and downright beautifully beside him despite the case they were currently working.
The murders were plaguing Ray's mind, especially as the killers seemed to be preying on old widows in their neighborhood, the precise reason he'd insisted on spending the night at his mom's tonight, but knowing Fraser, he already had it figured out! He never would have slept otherwise, especially not so soundly. Dief whined softly. Ray's dark eyes flicked down to the wolf who was curled beside his master's feet even though Ray also lay beside him. Benny was so tall, and Ray had such a tendency to curl up into a ball, that the wolf still had plenty of room.
"Yeah," Ray muttered, "tell me about it." His thoughtful gazed return to his lover, however, and he whispered softly, "He is beautiful, though, isn't it?" Beautiful and almost the exact opposite of Diefenbaker in many ways. The wolf was wild; Benny, however, no matter how much he liked the wide, open spaces of their homeland, remained quite tamed, although he would surely argue the opposite. He was tamed not by the city but by the people he loved. He was tamed not because he couldn't be wild -- he'd probably have even less trouble surviving in the wild than Dief, what with the wolf's love for doughnuts and all --, but because he could not shut himself away from the people and from helping every single living being that needed his help.
Ray had thought about stopping him from doing that once, and he had tried to curtail his generous nature for several years, but it had never worked. It didn't matter if it was animal or human, Benny loved everybody on first sight, cared for everybody, and would give anything of himself to anyone who needed him, even his very life. Ray had finally lost him in his attempts to keep him safe, and it had only been when he had stopped trying to protect him and allowing himself to get frustrated and flustered over his quick, willing sacrifices that their friendship, partnership, and more had truly bloomed.
Benton loved people. He loved helping people, and he did not believe that anyone was lost. Ray Vecchio himself was a prime example of that stern belief. Benny should have let him go a long time ago, but he never had. Ray was the son of a gambler, not a Mounty, and he didn't really have the heart for police work, not like Benny did. Hell, nobody had the heart for policework like Benton Fraser did! Ray seriously doubted that there was even one other Mounty who had such heart as his Benny did.
And that, right there, was the most miraculous thing about the Mounty, wasn't it? he thought, cuddling closer to Benton's side. He could have the world. He could have any man or woman he wanted. He was so much better, if naiver, than Ray could ever be. Yet Ray was the one he chose to love. He was the one with whom he had chosen to settle down and even give up on his beloved Canada to stay here in Chicago with him.
Ray thought about it sometimes. He thought about going home with Benny to Canada, finding a good log cabin, and settling down. He thought about escaping the rat race, but every time he'd almost convinced himself, and he thought Benny might listen, a case like this one came up, reminding them both that they were still needed, that no one else was going to fight for the innocents and the people who truly did need help like Benton Fraser was going to. Ray pursed his lips in contemplation, and then almost jumped up off of the bed when his lover's lips moved and he spoke.
"Ray, try to get some sleep." He had not opened his eyes. A single eyelash had not even moved on his handsome face -- at least not that Ray had seen. There had been absolutely no indication, other than the fact that his snoring had stopped, that he had awakened. Yet here he was again, sacrificing his sleep to care for Ray.
Ray slowly shook his head. "You are a strange man, you know that?" he demanded to which Benny's lips actually twitched up into a quirky smile, which was both irritating to his older lover and completely adorable.
He couldn't stay mad, even though he had scared him senseless, cutting into his private reverie like that. He never could stay mad with Benny, and that was no wonder. The man was a miracle! And it was a miracle he chose him, of all people, to love!
"Yes, Ray, I know. Now get some sleep."
Ray sighed. "I don't know how you can sleep!" he blustered.
"Because," his beloved Mounty, whom he was so lucky to have love him, answered calmly, "I have faith. I know we will stop them, and I know your mother will be unharmed."
"We don't even know she's on their target list -- "
"No, we do not, but even if she is, they will not reach her. We will stop them. Tomorrow."
"How do you know?" Ray asked, genuinely puzzled.
"I have faith," Benton again replied simply. He turned onto his side, wrapped an arm around his partner, and pulled him close against his muscular, bare chest.
Ray stopped as Benny curled around him. I have faith. Benny was already starting to snore again, and although a part of Ray's mind questioned if it was an act (although Benny never acted -- he felt it was too close to lying), an odd contentment settled over him. Benton was right, as he always had been and, Ray knew with a mixture of irritation and pride, always would be. He had faith, and Ray had faith in him. They'd stop the killers tomorrow. Tonight, he thought, smiling, settling down, and curling his own, considerably more petite body around his lover's, he would sleep with the man he loved and be thankful for him and their family, such as it was.
Ray swore, as his eyelids began to slide shut, that he could even feel Dief settling back down. He didn't want to raise his head to look again at the wolf, though. Let him get sleep or do without; that was his choice and his problem. Ray wasn't moving out of his husband's arms for the rest of the night. Finally, he dozed off, leaving Dief to snuggle closer to them both and Benny to open a single eye, survey that Ray had indeed succumbed to sleep, and return to slumber himself with a sweet smile upon his lips, which many men and women both had called angelic over the years.
He didn't know what their problems were. They so often acted so silly around him. Ray said it was because they found him sexy and other such things, but he was not a sexy man. He was just a simple man, a simple man in love who wanted to spend a long and happy life with his partner of choice. He would have liked for them to be able to have a peaceful life, but that had never been his destiny. He was destined to help people, as was Ray, and they always did it best together. They always did everything best together. That was the last thought floating in Benton Fraser's mind before he dozed off to sleep again, dreaming sweet visions of the future he'd have with the man he held in his arms and loved in all ways.
The End
Author: Apache Firecat
Rating: PG/K+
Fandom: Due South
Wordcount or Timestamp: 1561
When he had first met the man now lying beside him, his snores rattling the windows, Detective Ray Vecchio had thought he'd seen everything. He'd thought he'd seen everything and endured most of it. He'd become old in his young age, ornery, and set in his ways. Dogged by society, he'd become so many of the things his parents had never wanted for him, and although it didn't really bother him that he was not his father's son -- he'd striven hard to be exactly opposite his father in many ways --, he knew his mother had always wanted a better life for him. Granted, she had wanted him to find a good, Catholic girl and settle down, but like every other woman in their lives, she had been wooed over to Benton's side, agreeing to please the handsome Mounty and eventually welcoming him into their family in the only way she could. She still had the Mounty for a son-in-law, even if she remained displeased, it seemed, with Ray's every other choice.
He sighed. At least he could do that right, but damn, if the hunk beside him didn't marvel him still on a daily basis! Benton Fraser didn't just have a way with women; he seemed to have a way with everyone he encountered. He had turned Ray's world rather quickly upside down, making him question things he had always taken for granted, forcing him out of his weary way of no longer caring about the people around him or, in truth, about himself, forcing him to actually make moral decisions again... He really had turned his world upside down, and he had shocked and marveled him starting with the very first day they had met until right now, as he slept so soundly, deeply, peacefully, and downright beautifully beside him despite the case they were currently working.
The murders were plaguing Ray's mind, especially as the killers seemed to be preying on old widows in their neighborhood, the precise reason he'd insisted on spending the night at his mom's tonight, but knowing Fraser, he already had it figured out! He never would have slept otherwise, especially not so soundly. Dief whined softly. Ray's dark eyes flicked down to the wolf who was curled beside his master's feet even though Ray also lay beside him. Benny was so tall, and Ray had such a tendency to curl up into a ball, that the wolf still had plenty of room.
"Yeah," Ray muttered, "tell me about it." His thoughtful gazed return to his lover, however, and he whispered softly, "He is beautiful, though, isn't it?" Beautiful and almost the exact opposite of Diefenbaker in many ways. The wolf was wild; Benny, however, no matter how much he liked the wide, open spaces of their homeland, remained quite tamed, although he would surely argue the opposite. He was tamed not by the city but by the people he loved. He was tamed not because he couldn't be wild -- he'd probably have even less trouble surviving in the wild than Dief, what with the wolf's love for doughnuts and all --, but because he could not shut himself away from the people and from helping every single living being that needed his help.
Ray had thought about stopping him from doing that once, and he had tried to curtail his generous nature for several years, but it had never worked. It didn't matter if it was animal or human, Benny loved everybody on first sight, cared for everybody, and would give anything of himself to anyone who needed him, even his very life. Ray had finally lost him in his attempts to keep him safe, and it had only been when he had stopped trying to protect him and allowing himself to get frustrated and flustered over his quick, willing sacrifices that their friendship, partnership, and more had truly bloomed.
Benton loved people. He loved helping people, and he did not believe that anyone was lost. Ray Vecchio himself was a prime example of that stern belief. Benny should have let him go a long time ago, but he never had. Ray was the son of a gambler, not a Mounty, and he didn't really have the heart for police work, not like Benny did. Hell, nobody had the heart for policework like Benton Fraser did! Ray seriously doubted that there was even one other Mounty who had such heart as his Benny did.
And that, right there, was the most miraculous thing about the Mounty, wasn't it? he thought, cuddling closer to Benton's side. He could have the world. He could have any man or woman he wanted. He was so much better, if naiver, than Ray could ever be. Yet Ray was the one he chose to love. He was the one with whom he had chosen to settle down and even give up on his beloved Canada to stay here in Chicago with him.
Ray thought about it sometimes. He thought about going home with Benny to Canada, finding a good log cabin, and settling down. He thought about escaping the rat race, but every time he'd almost convinced himself, and he thought Benny might listen, a case like this one came up, reminding them both that they were still needed, that no one else was going to fight for the innocents and the people who truly did need help like Benton Fraser was going to. Ray pursed his lips in contemplation, and then almost jumped up off of the bed when his lover's lips moved and he spoke.
"Ray, try to get some sleep." He had not opened his eyes. A single eyelash had not even moved on his handsome face -- at least not that Ray had seen. There had been absolutely no indication, other than the fact that his snoring had stopped, that he had awakened. Yet here he was again, sacrificing his sleep to care for Ray.
Ray slowly shook his head. "You are a strange man, you know that?" he demanded to which Benny's lips actually twitched up into a quirky smile, which was both irritating to his older lover and completely adorable.
He couldn't stay mad, even though he had scared him senseless, cutting into his private reverie like that. He never could stay mad with Benny, and that was no wonder. The man was a miracle! And it was a miracle he chose him, of all people, to love!
"Yes, Ray, I know. Now get some sleep."
Ray sighed. "I don't know how you can sleep!" he blustered.
"Because," his beloved Mounty, whom he was so lucky to have love him, answered calmly, "I have faith. I know we will stop them, and I know your mother will be unharmed."
"We don't even know she's on their target list -- "
"No, we do not, but even if she is, they will not reach her. We will stop them. Tomorrow."
"How do you know?" Ray asked, genuinely puzzled.
"I have faith," Benton again replied simply. He turned onto his side, wrapped an arm around his partner, and pulled him close against his muscular, bare chest.
Ray stopped as Benny curled around him. I have faith. Benny was already starting to snore again, and although a part of Ray's mind questioned if it was an act (although Benny never acted -- he felt it was too close to lying), an odd contentment settled over him. Benton was right, as he always had been and, Ray knew with a mixture of irritation and pride, always would be. He had faith, and Ray had faith in him. They'd stop the killers tomorrow. Tonight, he thought, smiling, settling down, and curling his own, considerably more petite body around his lover's, he would sleep with the man he loved and be thankful for him and their family, such as it was.
Ray swore, as his eyelids began to slide shut, that he could even feel Dief settling back down. He didn't want to raise his head to look again at the wolf, though. Let him get sleep or do without; that was his choice and his problem. Ray wasn't moving out of his husband's arms for the rest of the night. Finally, he dozed off, leaving Dief to snuggle closer to them both and Benny to open a single eye, survey that Ray had indeed succumbed to sleep, and return to slumber himself with a sweet smile upon his lips, which many men and women both had called angelic over the years.
He didn't know what their problems were. They so often acted so silly around him. Ray said it was because they found him sexy and other such things, but he was not a sexy man. He was just a simple man, a simple man in love who wanted to spend a long and happy life with his partner of choice. He would have liked for them to be able to have a peaceful life, but that had never been his destiny. He was destined to help people, as was Ray, and they always did it best together. They always did everything best together. That was the last thought floating in Benton Fraser's mind before he dozed off to sleep again, dreaming sweet visions of the future he'd have with the man he held in his arms and loved in all ways.
The End