For Richer or Poorer challenge by Aingeal
Mar. 29th, 2006 05:23 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
aingeal8c.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
ds_flashfictionTitle: Dollars and Doughnuts
Author: Aingeal
Genre: Slash
Pairing: Fraser/Vecchio
Word Count: 1262
Rating: G
Summary: Ray is puzzled by an unusual phonebill.
Thanks: Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lozenger8 for giving this fic a quick beta.
Dollars and Doughnuts
Ray Vecchio was taking the opportunity of a quiet Sunday afternoon to go through the bills. Living with Fraser meant he had two sets of bills, one from the Vecchio house on Octavia Street and the other set from his own home with his lover. They had been living in a new apartment together for the past 6 months. Fortunately, Ray knew roughly what to expect on the bills. Still, he carefully went through them all making mental notes about how much the costs had been this month so he could compare them next month.
He jotted down the pertinent information in a ledger notebook Benny had bought him for just that purpose. Ray was surrounded by various bills and bits of paper but used the calculator he had bought for himself to try and cut down on the amount of time he had to spend on calculations.
Fraser was out with Dief so Ray was able to take the time to go through the bills. He didn’t mind it. It had been snowing and was cold outside. So cold only Mounties and their wolves would be mad enough to venture out in it. Although, the wolf had done so somewhat more reluctantly.
Ray checked each total on the bills. Their own were very easily covered. Benny wasn’t one for living with extravagances. Their rent, heating, electricity and gas bills were all pretty much the same each month. Even though it was winter, they weren’t a huge amount, and Ray had no need to worry. He knew that their salaries could easily cover the expense, allowing Ray to also support the rest of the Vecchio family.
Even the phone bill was predictable. Fraser hadn’t been sure that they needed a home phone, but Ray had persuaded a man to whom smoke signals were probably the best form of communication that a phone would be useful in the event of an emergency. After all, it allowed Benny the luxury of phoning Ray to check what time he’d be back or for Ray to relieve the boredom of a stakeout by calling his lover. Even Fraser had admitted it was a useful thing to have.
They didn’t use it all that much, though. There was the occasional call to the Consulate, or the station, or to Ray’s cell. There were a few calls to the Vecchio home, but Ray’s mother usually pre-empted any phone calls they’d make to her. There was also the odd call to the various takeout places the two men liked to frequent. As a result, the bill was usually quite small. This was why Ray was rather shocked when he read the bill as stating $250.
Checking the breakdown, he managed to work out that there had been call after call to a certain number. Ray didn’t recognise it. Each call hadn’t cost that much, but added up they really did add up. Ray wondered if Fraser had made the calls, but then, the Canadian rarely used the phone. Ray couldn’t imagine him using it to call the same number over and over, particularly as Fraser would have told him. His Mountie was useless at keeping secrets like that. Still, Ray decided to ask him when he came home.
He didn’t have wait long. Just as he was examining the bill, the door to the apartment opened and in stepped a well wrapped up Fraser and a rather cold looking wolf who headed straight for the nearest source of heat.
“Hey, Benny,”
“Hi, Ray.” Fraser wandered over to Ray. He was quite happy to leave the financial side of their life to Ray, admitting that whilst he could save and be frugal, the financial complexities that city life entailed still confused him.
Ray smiled as he and Benny shared a quick kiss. Benny’s cheek was cold from being outside, not that Ray cared.
“Benny?”
“Yes, Ray?”
“Do you recognise this number?”
Ray held the phone bill up to Fraser and pointed to the number in question.
“I can’t say as I do, Ray. It does seem to appear a lot.”
“Yeah, there’s a couple hundred dollars worth of calls to that number. I was hoping maybe you knew what it was.”
“I don’t know it, Ray.”
“I didn’t think you would, I mean, you’d tell me but I thought I’d ask anyway.”
“There is a way to find out, Ray.”
“We could call it.”
“Yes.”
“Alright,”
Ray headed over to the phone with the bill clutched in his hand and carefully dialled the number. It rang and he waited for it to be answered. He didn’t have to wait long.
“Hi, Dunkin’ Donuts, how can I help?”
Ray suddenly felt he knew who exactly had been making the call.
“Hi, I‘m sorry I think I got the wrong number,” Ray said and put the receiver down.
“Well, Ray?”
“It was a doughnut place, Benny.”
“Doughnuts?” It seemed to dawn on Fraser.
Both men looked around for Dief who was happily seated by the fire, a pciture of innocence.
“Diefenbaker,” Fraser said sternly.
The wolf opened his sleepy eyes. He could obviously tell he was in trouble and put on his most persuading ‘who me?’ expression.
“Dief have you been making calls to Dunkin’ Donuts?” Ray asked.
The wolf looked at floor. It was an expression which indicated he’d been found out.
“Diefenbaker!” Fraser admonished. “How could you run up over $200 in phone calls?”
The wolf whined.
“I know you enjoy doughnuts, but that’s not the point.”
“Ah, he can’t help it if he likes doughnuts,” Ray said surprising himself with coming to the defence of the cause of the biggest phone bill they’d had. He was a sucker for the big eyed wolf look. “They do say it’s harder than heroin.”
“Ray!”
“I know, I know, he’s your wolf and you know what’s best for him.”
“Thank you, Ray,” Fraser said, although he had said before he thought of Ray as being ‘co-parent’ to the wolf. “However in a way he’s no-one’s wolf. He’s part of our pack.”
“Pack? Do I look like a have four legs and a tail?”
“Family.”
Ray glanced at the wolf. He knew he loved Dief almost as much as Fraser did. “Yeah.”
“You’re forgiven Dief,” Fraser said.
Dief seemed pleased with this and got up, wagging his tail. He clearly wanted to lick both Fraser and Ray in gratitude.
“However,” Fraser continued, stopping the wolf in his tracks. “This bill is coming out of your savings account.”
Dief whined, but didn’t complain too much. From his perspective, it could have been worse. He could have been banned from ever having doughnuts again.
“May be we should enrol him in some form of addiction course,” Fraser said to Ray.
“What? Doughnut eaters anonymous? Come on, Benny, he’s a wolf nobody’s gonna take him on a course.”
“Perhaps you’re right, Ray.”
“Look, all we have to do is give Dief an allowance.”
“An allowance? I regularly put money into his savings account in order to cover vet’s bills…”
“No, Benny. What Dief needs is a doughnut allowance.”
“A doughnut allowance?”
“Yeah, you can’t expect him to go cold turkey. Anyway, if we give him a doughnut here and there, he won’t go behind our backs running up the phone bill.”
“That’s a good idea, Ray.”
“Don’t sound so surprised.”
“Never.”
“So, furface what do you think?”
Diefenbaker happily and promptly leapt all over his fellow pack mates. Things were looking up and he still had the number to the pizza parlour after-all.
Author: Aingeal
Genre: Slash
Pairing: Fraser/Vecchio
Word Count: 1262
Rating: G
Summary: Ray is puzzled by an unusual phonebill.
Thanks: Thanks to
lozenger8 for giving this fic a quick beta. Dollars and Doughnuts
Ray Vecchio was taking the opportunity of a quiet Sunday afternoon to go through the bills. Living with Fraser meant he had two sets of bills, one from the Vecchio house on Octavia Street and the other set from his own home with his lover. They had been living in a new apartment together for the past 6 months. Fortunately, Ray knew roughly what to expect on the bills. Still, he carefully went through them all making mental notes about how much the costs had been this month so he could compare them next month.
He jotted down the pertinent information in a ledger notebook Benny had bought him for just that purpose. Ray was surrounded by various bills and bits of paper but used the calculator he had bought for himself to try and cut down on the amount of time he had to spend on calculations.
Fraser was out with Dief so Ray was able to take the time to go through the bills. He didn’t mind it. It had been snowing and was cold outside. So cold only Mounties and their wolves would be mad enough to venture out in it. Although, the wolf had done so somewhat more reluctantly.
Ray checked each total on the bills. Their own were very easily covered. Benny wasn’t one for living with extravagances. Their rent, heating, electricity and gas bills were all pretty much the same each month. Even though it was winter, they weren’t a huge amount, and Ray had no need to worry. He knew that their salaries could easily cover the expense, allowing Ray to also support the rest of the Vecchio family.
Even the phone bill was predictable. Fraser hadn’t been sure that they needed a home phone, but Ray had persuaded a man to whom smoke signals were probably the best form of communication that a phone would be useful in the event of an emergency. After all, it allowed Benny the luxury of phoning Ray to check what time he’d be back or for Ray to relieve the boredom of a stakeout by calling his lover. Even Fraser had admitted it was a useful thing to have.
They didn’t use it all that much, though. There was the occasional call to the Consulate, or the station, or to Ray’s cell. There were a few calls to the Vecchio home, but Ray’s mother usually pre-empted any phone calls they’d make to her. There was also the odd call to the various takeout places the two men liked to frequent. As a result, the bill was usually quite small. This was why Ray was rather shocked when he read the bill as stating $250.
Checking the breakdown, he managed to work out that there had been call after call to a certain number. Ray didn’t recognise it. Each call hadn’t cost that much, but added up they really did add up. Ray wondered if Fraser had made the calls, but then, the Canadian rarely used the phone. Ray couldn’t imagine him using it to call the same number over and over, particularly as Fraser would have told him. His Mountie was useless at keeping secrets like that. Still, Ray decided to ask him when he came home.
He didn’t have wait long. Just as he was examining the bill, the door to the apartment opened and in stepped a well wrapped up Fraser and a rather cold looking wolf who headed straight for the nearest source of heat.
“Hey, Benny,”
“Hi, Ray.” Fraser wandered over to Ray. He was quite happy to leave the financial side of their life to Ray, admitting that whilst he could save and be frugal, the financial complexities that city life entailed still confused him.
Ray smiled as he and Benny shared a quick kiss. Benny’s cheek was cold from being outside, not that Ray cared.
“Benny?”
“Yes, Ray?”
“Do you recognise this number?”
Ray held the phone bill up to Fraser and pointed to the number in question.
“I can’t say as I do, Ray. It does seem to appear a lot.”
“Yeah, there’s a couple hundred dollars worth of calls to that number. I was hoping maybe you knew what it was.”
“I don’t know it, Ray.”
“I didn’t think you would, I mean, you’d tell me but I thought I’d ask anyway.”
“There is a way to find out, Ray.”
“We could call it.”
“Yes.”
“Alright,”
Ray headed over to the phone with the bill clutched in his hand and carefully dialled the number. It rang and he waited for it to be answered. He didn’t have to wait long.
“Hi, Dunkin’ Donuts, how can I help?”
Ray suddenly felt he knew who exactly had been making the call.
“Hi, I‘m sorry I think I got the wrong number,” Ray said and put the receiver down.
“Well, Ray?”
“It was a doughnut place, Benny.”
“Doughnuts?” It seemed to dawn on Fraser.
Both men looked around for Dief who was happily seated by the fire, a pciture of innocence.
“Diefenbaker,” Fraser said sternly.
The wolf opened his sleepy eyes. He could obviously tell he was in trouble and put on his most persuading ‘who me?’ expression.
“Dief have you been making calls to Dunkin’ Donuts?” Ray asked.
The wolf looked at floor. It was an expression which indicated he’d been found out.
“Diefenbaker!” Fraser admonished. “How could you run up over $200 in phone calls?”
The wolf whined.
“I know you enjoy doughnuts, but that’s not the point.”
“Ah, he can’t help it if he likes doughnuts,” Ray said surprising himself with coming to the defence of the cause of the biggest phone bill they’d had. He was a sucker for the big eyed wolf look. “They do say it’s harder than heroin.”
“Ray!”
“I know, I know, he’s your wolf and you know what’s best for him.”
“Thank you, Ray,” Fraser said, although he had said before he thought of Ray as being ‘co-parent’ to the wolf. “However in a way he’s no-one’s wolf. He’s part of our pack.”
“Pack? Do I look like a have four legs and a tail?”
“Family.”
Ray glanced at the wolf. He knew he loved Dief almost as much as Fraser did. “Yeah.”
“You’re forgiven Dief,” Fraser said.
Dief seemed pleased with this and got up, wagging his tail. He clearly wanted to lick both Fraser and Ray in gratitude.
“However,” Fraser continued, stopping the wolf in his tracks. “This bill is coming out of your savings account.”
Dief whined, but didn’t complain too much. From his perspective, it could have been worse. He could have been banned from ever having doughnuts again.
“May be we should enrol him in some form of addiction course,” Fraser said to Ray.
“What? Doughnut eaters anonymous? Come on, Benny, he’s a wolf nobody’s gonna take him on a course.”
“Perhaps you’re right, Ray.”
“Look, all we have to do is give Dief an allowance.”
“An allowance? I regularly put money into his savings account in order to cover vet’s bills…”
“No, Benny. What Dief needs is a doughnut allowance.”
“A doughnut allowance?”
“Yeah, you can’t expect him to go cold turkey. Anyway, if we give him a doughnut here and there, he won’t go behind our backs running up the phone bill.”
“That’s a good idea, Ray.”
“Don’t sound so surprised.”
“Never.”
“So, furface what do you think?”
Diefenbaker happily and promptly leapt all over his fellow pack mates. Things were looking up and he still had the number to the pizza parlour after-all.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-03-29 05:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-29 05:17 pm (UTC)Thank you! Glad you liked it.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-30 08:43 am (UTC)Oh, lovely. Very clever.
I love the last line too, and can easily envisage Dief thinking it.
My favourite bit though was:
“Ah, he can’t help it if he likes doughnuts,” Ray said surprising himself with coming to the defence of the cause of the biggest phone bill they’d had. He was a sucker for the big eyed wolf look.
So perfect.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-30 04:39 pm (UTC)Oh, lovely. Very clever.
Thank you.
I love the last line too, and can easily envisage Dief thinking it.
I like to give Dief good lines *g*.
So perfect.
Thanks for commenting.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-31 07:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-31 10:12 am (UTC)Thank you.
I had fun being your beta.
I'm glad.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-14 01:28 pm (UTC)