ds_flashfiction | Button Challenge by leafy22

Title: Unbuttoned
Author: leafy22
Notes: F/K. Unbetad because I'm so new. I've re-read it loads and loads but........

Unbuttoned

Whereas Fraser wore his uniform almost regardless of whatever tasks each day brought, a morning in court always meant a collar and tie for Ray. On this particular morning the collar and shirt were gray, the tie was navy and the case involved a vodka-smuggling gymnastic team.

The tie had lasted only slightly longer than the hearing, being removed and stuffed into Ray’s jacket pocket on the way out of the court building. Once they’d got into the GTO, Ray reached over to drop his jacket onto the back seat and Fraser had noticed the third button on Ray’s shirt slide out of its button hole. However carefully ironed Ray’s shirts were these days, nobody could control how carefully Ray put them on or wore them and as a consequence Fraser had found the last five hours and twenty two minutes more than a little distracting. He had been about to say something to Ray but the words had been chased out of this mouth by the sight of Ray’s skin through the gap in his shirt as he twisted back round to start up the car.

They were now back at the 27^th, finishing their report on the bicycle thieves disguised as Easter bunnies and the restraint of the morning in court meant that Ray seemed to be more restless than ever. His almost constant movement gave Fraser frequent peeks of skin through the ever changing shapes made by the opening in the cotton shirt– a quick flash as Ray reached over for his coffee; teasing, shimmering slivers as he looked all over his desk for the right files and for endless seconds - as Ray leant over to the computer screen to check Fraser hadn’t typed the word ‘germane’ – Fraser had been able to see right through the gap across Ray’s body almost to the shirt seam.

These intimate glimpses of Ray had caused Fraser’s own skin to heat up and he realised that all his fantasies of undressing a shirted Ray Kowalski had up until now been quite, well….orderly…

… kissing his way down Ray’s neck, starting with the top button and slowly uncovering Ray, softly sliding his tongue over a larger and larger ‘vee’ of skin as if he was causing Ray to grow out of his shirt like an creature emerging from a second skin – revealing more and more of Ray’s torso until the trail of undone shirt buttons led inevitably to the buttons on Ray’s pants….

… pulling Ray’s shirt out of his waistband and nuzzling his skin before undoing the buttons one by one as he moved up Ray’s body towards his mouth. Ray’s patience would break before he could get there and he would drag Fraser up by his hair to kiss him desperately, hungrily, unable to wait any longer as he tried to free himself from his shirt before reaching out to tear at Fraser’s clothes…

This new idea of a button being undone entirely at random, however, was something liberating and exciting; the image of Ray waiting impatiently for the surprise of each fresh touch particularly intoxicating. Fraser could imagine sensing Ray’s curiosity and anticipation, hearing Ray’s happy sighs of satisfaction, feeling Ray’s enjoyment at being loved so carefully, so thoroughly. He would resist Ray’s fingers in his hair, gently caressing and guiding him, choosing instead to reveal the most unexpected area of skin each time, keeping Ray guessing and heightening the tension between them. Where would he touch Ray next? Would it be soft, sucking kisses around the base of his throat and collarbone? Gentle licks around his navel? Fingers stroking up and down small patches of his toned stomach? What would happen when that last button – the middle one maybe? – was finally slipped out of that last buttonhole revealing not just a thin stripe of Ray but the landscape of his whole upper body from ribs to ribs, nipple to nipple, shoulder to shoulder….

“I think we’re about done here.” Ray’s words brought Fraser back to reality as he closed the final file and sat back in his chair. Fraser shut down the computer and Ray stretched his arms out pulling the shirt fabric to reveal a narrow diamond of pale skin.

At that same moment Francesca came past Ray’s desk on her way out of the building for the night.

“Hey bro,” Francesca said casually. “You’re unbuttoned”

Ray got to his feet, shuffled his shoulders and pointed his fingers at her.

“It’s unhinged, Frannie, unhinged. Although you might want to take a look in the mirror before you start….oh”

Ray stopped as his gaze tracked down to where Francesca’s long, tickling fingernails were threading the homeless button back through its hole. Fraser watched as Ray was covered, conscious of a sharp pang of disappointment.

“Un. Buttoned.” Francesca emphasised, matching each word with a strong prod to Ray’s chest. She turned to Fraser, sighing as she looked at each perfectly-buttoned button on his tunic and with a “Hey Frase,” continued on her way.

Ray span on his heel, turning his body and his still-pointing fingers in Fraser’s direction.

“What about you, Mister Observant. Why didn’t you…?”

Ray broke off again, his eyes narrowing and a smile of realisation drawing across his face

“So that’s why you’ve been looking at me all funny,” he said, with more than a faint trace of smugness. “Been admiring the view, huh?”

Fraser said nothing, just cleared his throat and followed Ray out through the door.

As they got to the car, Ray stopped and turned around.

“Hey,” he said in a much gentler tone. “You’re very quiet all of a sudden. Everything okay?”

Fraser lifted his hand up to Ray’s chest and twisted the button back out of its buttonhole. As he did so, he took advantage of the cover of the early evening’s dim light to rub his thumb lightly over the patch of skin which had tormented him all afternoon. He felt Ray shudder under his touch, as he had many times over the last few extraordinary weeks.

He looked back up at Ray smiling at him – his Ray, never so perfect as when he was slightly flawed – and smiled back.

“It is now.”