Scribble, by Rae
Nov. 18th, 2004 04:24 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
rjm-257.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
ds_flashfictionFor the "Ice" Challenge. 1000 words exactly. F/K pre-slash-ish. I couldn't decide if frost on a windshield was 'ice' so I came up with an alternative.
"Well, Ray, I must admit that my rather solitary upbringing precluded such activities."
Ray took a second to let that process before he added more M&Ms to his coffee. "Right, Fraser. Like, there was not a single girl whose initials you could write? Not a one?"
Fraser got that pinched look where he wanted to argue but didn't have a good defense yet. Ray looked down at the folder in his hands and grinned.
"You could always go find a marker and put Frannie's initials on your hat." If he'd actually thought Fraser might do it, Ray wouldn't have found that so funny. As it was, it'd be a great way to disgrace the uniform and tease Frannie at the same time. Two-fer.
"Ray!" Okay, it might have been funnier if Frannie hadn't shown up about that time. Ray got whapped on the back of the head with a couple of folders. "Hi, Fraser." The irritation drained out of her voice faster than Ray could drink his straight-from-the-tap coffee in the morning.
"Hello, Francesca." Fraser clenched his hat in his fingers and did his best to look like he wasn't about to choke on his own embarrassment.
Taking pity on him, Ray stood up, jostling Frannie to the side as he did so. "Come on, Frase. We've got perps to bust and stoolies to talk to. Later, Frannie."
"Of course, Ray," Fraser agreed, quickly stepping into his place at Ray's side. The relief in his voice was well-masked, but Ray could see it in Fraser's eyes when he looked at his face.
"So, really, you never did the whole thing where you put yours and someone else's initials down someplace? Stella used to do it to every notebook she ever had." Her initials and his, with "Forever" written in ink and pen across every cover and spare sheet. Back when "Forever" was a lot longer than fifteen years.
When Fraser opened his mouth, he didn't give a direct answer; he drifted onto a tangent about traveling libraries and otters and after a while, Ray decided the answer was a plain and simple 'no.' Trust Fraser to take five hours and the scenic route to get to the point, though.
*****
Ray gripped the coffee cup with red, cold fingers. The heat seeped into his hands slowly, but the cup was half-empty and wasn't much warmer than hot tap water. It wasn't going to work as a mini-heater much longer. Time to find Fraser and go.
"Yo, Fraser," Ray called. He ditched his coffee cup in a dumpster as he made his way out of the alley. Fraser wasn't out front sniffing the sidewalk like Ray had expected. It took him a moment, but he caught a flash of red down the street and set off after it.
When he got to Fraser, his partner was squatting down in the gutter over a frozen puddle of water.
"Fraser, what the hell are you doing?" Ray asked, bending down beside Fraser to see what had attracted his attention. It was just the ice. It wasn't even smooth and clean anymore. There were a bunch- oh, wait, those weren't just random lines. The surface of the ice was covered with dirt and looked like normal, Chicago style-ice, but when Ray tilted his head to the side there were lines scratched deep enough that the letters "BF" were visible below the level of grime. "Um, Frase?" He paused, realizing he didn't know what to ask. "What did you, uh, use?"
Fraser seemed frozen for a second before he stood up. "I used my knife, of course." Like it was natural, going around with his big old knife and carving his name into things. "I take it you're ready to go, Ray, so I won't keep us any longer." And Fraser started to walk away.
Ray stood up, too, but he couldn't pull his eyes away from those two letters. They seemed kind of lonely, standing there all by themselves in the ice. Lonely, the same way dancing alone was lonely, the same way waking up with the other half of the bed empty was lonely. Ray knew that kind of lonely and if Fraser was getting so... what was the word... whimsy? If Fraser was writing his name into the ice, then Fraser knew that kind of lonely, too.
"Ray?" He heard his name, but he didn't look up, even when Fraser started to walk back to him. Instead, Ray squatted down and fished his keys out of his pocket. He picked the longest one, one that hopefully he wouldn't need if it broke, and began scratching the ice himself. His fingers were already half-stiff from the cold and the ice was, well, frozen, so it wasn't that easy, but he didn't stop until he'd scratched his third letter, so that there were five on the ice. "Ray."
"You did it wrong," Ray said, doing his best to sound casual. He jammed his hands into his pockets, his fingers curling into fists. "Come on, now we can go." He hunched his shoulders as he walked past Fraser, half-expecting Fraser to ask him just what the hell he'd done.
"Ray," Fraser said, sounding like he didn't know what to say, but still following. Ray didn't look at him. After a moment, Fraser spoke again. "The ice will melt."
Ray knew that one; nothing was permanent. "Yeah, well, we always threw the notebooks away, too." That didn't seem to be enough, not even to Ray. He didn't know how to say it better.
"The memory remains," Fraser said quietly. Ray looked at him sharply, then smiled. Trust Fraser to get it without the explanation. "I thank you, Ray."
"You're unhinged. What are you thanking me for?" Ray hunched his shoulders, both wanting to and not wanting to hear Fraser say it. "Come on, Fraser." Forever wouldn't even last until spring.
>"Ray, do you know what permafrost is?"
Ray thought, grinned. "You're completely unhinged, my friend."
"Well, Ray, I must admit that my rather solitary upbringing precluded such activities."
Ray took a second to let that process before he added more M&Ms to his coffee. "Right, Fraser. Like, there was not a single girl whose initials you could write? Not a one?"
Fraser got that pinched look where he wanted to argue but didn't have a good defense yet. Ray looked down at the folder in his hands and grinned.
"You could always go find a marker and put Frannie's initials on your hat." If he'd actually thought Fraser might do it, Ray wouldn't have found that so funny. As it was, it'd be a great way to disgrace the uniform and tease Frannie at the same time. Two-fer.
"Ray!" Okay, it might have been funnier if Frannie hadn't shown up about that time. Ray got whapped on the back of the head with a couple of folders. "Hi, Fraser." The irritation drained out of her voice faster than Ray could drink his straight-from-the-tap coffee in the morning.
"Hello, Francesca." Fraser clenched his hat in his fingers and did his best to look like he wasn't about to choke on his own embarrassment.
Taking pity on him, Ray stood up, jostling Frannie to the side as he did so. "Come on, Frase. We've got perps to bust and stoolies to talk to. Later, Frannie."
"Of course, Ray," Fraser agreed, quickly stepping into his place at Ray's side. The relief in his voice was well-masked, but Ray could see it in Fraser's eyes when he looked at his face.
"So, really, you never did the whole thing where you put yours and someone else's initials down someplace? Stella used to do it to every notebook she ever had." Her initials and his, with "Forever" written in ink and pen across every cover and spare sheet. Back when "Forever" was a lot longer than fifteen years.
When Fraser opened his mouth, he didn't give a direct answer; he drifted onto a tangent about traveling libraries and otters and after a while, Ray decided the answer was a plain and simple 'no.' Trust Fraser to take five hours and the scenic route to get to the point, though.
*****
Ray gripped the coffee cup with red, cold fingers. The heat seeped into his hands slowly, but the cup was half-empty and wasn't much warmer than hot tap water. It wasn't going to work as a mini-heater much longer. Time to find Fraser and go.
"Yo, Fraser," Ray called. He ditched his coffee cup in a dumpster as he made his way out of the alley. Fraser wasn't out front sniffing the sidewalk like Ray had expected. It took him a moment, but he caught a flash of red down the street and set off after it.
When he got to Fraser, his partner was squatting down in the gutter over a frozen puddle of water.
"Fraser, what the hell are you doing?" Ray asked, bending down beside Fraser to see what had attracted his attention. It was just the ice. It wasn't even smooth and clean anymore. There were a bunch- oh, wait, those weren't just random lines. The surface of the ice was covered with dirt and looked like normal, Chicago style-ice, but when Ray tilted his head to the side there were lines scratched deep enough that the letters "BF" were visible below the level of grime. "Um, Frase?" He paused, realizing he didn't know what to ask. "What did you, uh, use?"
Fraser seemed frozen for a second before he stood up. "I used my knife, of course." Like it was natural, going around with his big old knife and carving his name into things. "I take it you're ready to go, Ray, so I won't keep us any longer." And Fraser started to walk away.
Ray stood up, too, but he couldn't pull his eyes away from those two letters. They seemed kind of lonely, standing there all by themselves in the ice. Lonely, the same way dancing alone was lonely, the same way waking up with the other half of the bed empty was lonely. Ray knew that kind of lonely and if Fraser was getting so... what was the word... whimsy? If Fraser was writing his name into the ice, then Fraser knew that kind of lonely, too.
"Ray?" He heard his name, but he didn't look up, even when Fraser started to walk back to him. Instead, Ray squatted down and fished his keys out of his pocket. He picked the longest one, one that hopefully he wouldn't need if it broke, and began scratching the ice himself. His fingers were already half-stiff from the cold and the ice was, well, frozen, so it wasn't that easy, but he didn't stop until he'd scratched his third letter, so that there were five on the ice. "Ray."
"You did it wrong," Ray said, doing his best to sound casual. He jammed his hands into his pockets, his fingers curling into fists. "Come on, now we can go." He hunched his shoulders as he walked past Fraser, half-expecting Fraser to ask him just what the hell he'd done.
"Ray," Fraser said, sounding like he didn't know what to say, but still following. Ray didn't look at him. After a moment, Fraser spoke again. "The ice will melt."
Ray knew that one; nothing was permanent. "Yeah, well, we always threw the notebooks away, too." That didn't seem to be enough, not even to Ray. He didn't know how to say it better.
"The memory remains," Fraser said quietly. Ray looked at him sharply, then smiled. Trust Fraser to get it without the explanation. "I thank you, Ray."
"You're unhinged. What are you thanking me for?" Ray hunched his shoulders, both wanting to and not wanting to hear Fraser say it. "Come on, Fraser." Forever wouldn't even last until spring.
>"Ray, do you know what permafrost is?"
Ray thought, grinned. "You're completely unhinged, my friend."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-11-18 02:16 pm (UTC)Trust Fraser to take five hours and the scenic route to get to the point, though.
and then the scratching of initials into ice... very nice.
no subject
Date: 2004-11-18 02:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-18 03:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-18 09:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-18 06:53 pm (UTC)And I love the "permafrost" thing!
no subject
Date: 2004-11-18 09:27 pm (UTC)The permafrost comment kind of kicked me in the shin at the last minute and had to be added.
no subject
Date: 2004-11-18 09:29 pm (UTC)It's a sad thought to think Fraser hasn't done it, but I can't imagine when he would have. My brain would not lend itself to it.
I'm glad you liked it. ^__^ Permafrost may not last forever, but it'll last long beyond spring.
no subject
Date: 2004-11-19 08:44 am (UTC)I love Ray's understanding of Fraser in this. It's a really evocative hint at where they both are in their lives in this moment. Thanks so much for sharing it!
no subject
Date: 2004-11-19 09:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-19 01:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-19 06:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-23 09:13 am (UTC)That really hurts but ray is just a cutie writing his initials next to Ben's ::sigh::
"The memory remains," Fraser said quietly. Ray looked at him sharply, then smiled. Trust Fraser to get it without the explanation. "I thank you, Ray."
::smiles::
no subject
Date: 2004-11-23 12:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-23 11:09 pm (UTC)"You did it wrong," Ray said, doing his best to sound casual. He jammed his hands into his pockets, his fingers curling into fists. "Come on, now we can go." He hunched his shoulders as he walked past Fraser, half-expecting Fraser to ask him just what the hell he'd done.
"Ray," Fraser said, sounding like he didn't know what to say, but still following. Ray didn't look at him. After a moment, Fraser spoke again. "The ice will melt."
So much unsaid between them! Awwww. :) :)
no subject
Date: 2004-11-23 11:16 pm (UTC)