I love this a lot, even though my heart is aching for the two of them, because this:

At the dry rasp of his voice, Fraser turns back to him, and the loneliness in his eyes makes Ray want to crawl over the seats to get to him, to hold him, to pour out everything in his head, to tell him that he'll never be that far away again, because Ray won't let him go.


killed me. I so very much love your writing, and I remember reading the first part of your story for the water challenge, but for some inexplicable reason I missed reading the second part (which I quickly remedied). Your characterization of them is wonderful, and even though it hurt, I had a grin on my face because of this:

"Oh god, it is you," Ray moans. "I don't even know what that means."

And I love you for writing the arc of stories and I thank you.