Five Challenge by Aingeal
Aug. 7th, 2007 11:37 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: Four Times Fraser Picked Lint Off Ray For Practical Reasons And The One Time Ray Realised There Were Reasons Other Than Practical
Author: Aingeal
Pairing: Fraser/Vecchio
Rating: PG
Summary: Fraser seems to enjoy picking lint off Ray. Ray wonders why.
Notes: Based on that little canoncial event in TEHDT? amnd expanded to a logical conclusion. Many thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
leda_speaks for beta and for making a clearer title (you should have seen the first one).
Four Times Fraser Picked Lint Off Ray For Practical Reasons And The One Time Ray Realised There Were Reasons Other Than Practical
Fluff on your shoulder
The first time it happened Ray had barely been aware of what Fraser was doing, but then he'd had his back to him. He’d felt a gentle touch to his shoulder and had turned around to see Fraser examining a tiny piece of lint.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry, Ray. I noticed these fibres on your jacket. They seem to be nylon, perhaps with some cotton fibres. Natural fibres are quite different from artificial ones and can be recognised by…"
Ray had sighed. “It’s just lint, Fraser.”
“Lint?”
“Yeah, you know, fluff that gets on your clothes or under your bed or something.”
Fraser had cocked his head. “So lint is the technical term?”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
“Ah.”
“So, you were picking lint off my shoulder?”
“You seem to take pride in your appearance, Ray, and I wouldn’t want anyone to think you didn’t.”
“And you think lint is going to make them think I don’t care about the state of my clothes?”
“Perhaps, Ray.”
Ray had smiled and shaken his head. He hadn't known Fraser long, a matter of weeks, but it had been endearing to hear the guy talk about lint as if it was a blight on Ray’s public appearance. Ray had to admit it was nice to have someone care about it. Still, he thought nothing of it.
You get really bored on a stakeout
It had been the first stakeout Fraser had accompanied Ray on. Ray wished he could have taken Fraser on a stakeout that didn't involve sitting in a cold, draughty, dusty apartment for days on end but there wasn't much he could do about it.
He’d sat on the only bed in the place. Fraser had chosen the floor. He had been doing some kind of weird Inuit exercise thing and Ray had been playing with a pack of cards. He’d been so distracted by watching Fraser that he’d dropped the cards onto the floor and some of them had made their way under the bed.
Ray had sighed and had got onto his hands and knees to retrieve them. There was some kind of weird smell under the bed and Ray really hadn't wanted to know what it was. It had been dusty and dark and Ray had sneezed a couple of times. Finally, having picked up all the cards he’d been able to see in the gloom he had come out from under the bed.
“Are you all right, Ray?” Fraser had asked as Ray had coughed and spluttered.
“Yeah, I’m fine, Benny, I just got attacked by dust bunnies.”
“Are you sure they were bunnies rather than rabbits?”
“Dust bunnies, Benny, you know, like lint?”
“Oh, I see, Ray. You do seem to have quite a bit on your clothes.”
Ray had turned to look and sure enough there had been a a large heap of dust on his shoulder. “Great.”
“Let me, Ray,” Fraser had said.
Gently he had begun to pick off each bit of lint, and brush the dust away. It was the lint equivalent of a hand laundry. Fraser had been so focussed in his task. Ray had maintained a gentle silence as his clothes were carefully cleaned by an expert. By the time Fraser was done, Ray couldn’t see any visible specks of dust.
"Thanks, Benny, I look like you after you’ve been under beds; clean."
"You’re welcome, Ray."
This wasn’t part of the dream
Ray had hoped he'd got all the parasites out of his clothes. He hadn't been sure he'd want to wear them again; what if the bugs had laid eggs? At least Fraser had stopped him before he'd got in the Riv. They could have started breeding in there.
In fact, once he’d leapt out of the dumpster Fraser had been sufficiently concerned to spend the next ten minutes examining Ray’s clothing in minute detail.
“Get them off me, Benny,” he’d said.
“I think I got them all, Ray.”
“You think?!”
“Ray, there’s nothing to be concerned about.”
Ray hadn’t taken that well. “There were wiggling maggots on me.”
“I don’t think they’re maggots, Ray,” Fraser had replied, looking at the ones he had collected.
“Can you not do that?” Ray had asked.
“Sorry.”
“Just make sure you’ve got them all off me.”
Fraser had done a good job of picking the bugs off his clothes, he’d had to admit. Of course, that hadn’t stopped him from leaping in the shower afterward to make sure the things were completely off. He’d used up a bar and a half of soap but he’d made sure.
Of course, Fraser had to be in the same room at the time. Not that Ray minded. What he minded was Fraser talking about parasites whilst he was trying to forget about them. It had been nice, though, to have some vaguely private time with Fraser before his family had burst in. After all, the guy did know how to get parasites off Armani pants and that was something.
I do have a drycleaners you know
Ray hadn’t been sure that it was a good idea to go anywhere with Fraser since it was his clothes that somehow always bore the brunt of Fraser's goodwill. This time they had followed a suspect into a warehouse. Ray had stupidly thought he could keep up with Fraser who seemed to be half monkey at the best of times, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Of course, he hadn’t been able to.
“Look at me,” Ray had said.
He’d fallen into a pile of feathers. Feathers. It could have been worse, of course, he’d thought. It could have been something sticky but, still, his suit hadn’t been in the best shape.
Fraser had cocked his head. “You don’t look that bad, Ray.”
“Are you saying I look good in feathers?”
“You know, Ray, in some cultures the wearing of feather signifies a warrior's prowess.”
Ray had snorted. “Well, my prowess was falling off that ladder onto a pile of feathers.”
Fraser had come closer and had begun picking each feather from Ray’s suit.
“What are you doing?” Ray had asked.
“Removing the feathers, Ray.”
“I can see that, but do you have to do it now?”
“I didn’t think you’d want to get lint in your car.”
Ray had sighed. “Feathers aren’t exactly lint, Fraser. They’re feathers.”
“But the same principle applies.”
Ray had spread out his arms. “I do have a drycleaner you know.”
“I know, but I doubt they would be skilled in feather removal.”
“And you are?”
“I seem to be getting a lot of practice in picking things off your clothes.”
Ray had to admit Fraser had a point. He seemed to have developed quite a love of cleaning things off Ray's clothes. And Ray hadn’t wanted to complain. Fraser was like his own personal hand laundry.
The meaning of grooming
They were sitting quietly in Fraser's apartment, finishing their Chinese takeout. “If I get noodles on my clothes, I guess you can pick them off, right?” Ray joked.
“Yes, Ray. Grooming you would be a pleasant experience.”
“Grooming? That’s a weird way of putting it, Fraser.”
“Iin animals grooming is often seen as a social activity, a way of asserting the bonds between individuals. In fact, it’s also a sign of respect.”
“So, do you want to pick lint out of my hair?” Ray had asked.
“No, Ray, I couldn’t groom your hair as it’s...well, it’s…”
Ray let Fraser off the hook and finished the sentence himself. “Thinning?”
“I was going to say very clean and immaculate and that there would be no reason for me to groom it."
“But you do it when my clothes are dirty?”
“Yes. Then I’m happy to do it.”
“And they get dirty because you drag me into dumpsters.”
“You come in of your own free will. Although it is nice to be able to…groom your clothes afterwards.”
“So, you respect me?”
“Yes, Ray. And it helps our bond.”
“Does our bond need help?”
“Well, there are other reasons.”
Ray was interested now. “Such as?”
“In some species grooming is a prelude to mating, or related to gaining favour with a potential mate.”
“So you picking crap off my clothes means you’re interested in me?”
“Very.”
“Really? The lint picking thing was..?”
“My way of registering my interest.”
Ray smiled. It wasn’t like he’d let anyone pick lint off his clothes. “Cool.”
“Cool?”
“You know, if you had any lint on you now, Benny, I’d be picking it off.”
“To register your interest?”
Ray smiled. “Yeah.”
“I’m sure we can find some, Ray.”
“How about I show you something a little more intimate?”
“That would be nice, thank you, Ray.”
“You know there are other places where you can find lint,” Ray said, trying to sound casual.
“There are?”
“Yeah, you can get bellybutton lint.”
“Really, Ray?”
“Yeah, and seeing as you’re so good at this lint picking thing I was thinking you might want to take a look.”
“I would, Ray, yes.”
“Of course, I’d have to kiss you first, to make sure you had fully registered my interest.”
“That would be the next stage in courtship after grooming.”
“Then let’s take it to the next stage,” Ray said and leaned across to kiss Fraser.
“Ray, do you really have lint in your bellybutton?” Fraser asked when the kiss had ended.
“That’s for you to find out. “
Ray hadn’t thought he’d had lint in his bellybutton but later that night whilst they were in bed Fraser found some. Ray had never known the bellybutton was so sensitive. And it was definitely fun to look for lint on Fraser. Even if he never found any.
Author: Aingeal
Pairing: Fraser/Vecchio
Rating: PG
Summary: Fraser seems to enjoy picking lint off Ray. Ray wonders why.
Notes: Based on that little canoncial event in TEHDT? amnd expanded to a logical conclusion. Many thanks to
leda_speaks for beta and for making a clearer title (you should have seen the first one). Four Times Fraser Picked Lint Off Ray For Practical Reasons And The One Time Ray Realised There Were Reasons Other Than Practical
Fluff on your shoulder
The first time it happened Ray had barely been aware of what Fraser was doing, but then he'd had his back to him. He’d felt a gentle touch to his shoulder and had turned around to see Fraser examining a tiny piece of lint.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry, Ray. I noticed these fibres on your jacket. They seem to be nylon, perhaps with some cotton fibres. Natural fibres are quite different from artificial ones and can be recognised by…"
Ray had sighed. “It’s just lint, Fraser.”
“Lint?”
“Yeah, you know, fluff that gets on your clothes or under your bed or something.”
Fraser had cocked his head. “So lint is the technical term?”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
“Ah.”
“So, you were picking lint off my shoulder?”
“You seem to take pride in your appearance, Ray, and I wouldn’t want anyone to think you didn’t.”
“And you think lint is going to make them think I don’t care about the state of my clothes?”
“Perhaps, Ray.”
Ray had smiled and shaken his head. He hadn't known Fraser long, a matter of weeks, but it had been endearing to hear the guy talk about lint as if it was a blight on Ray’s public appearance. Ray had to admit it was nice to have someone care about it. Still, he thought nothing of it.
You get really bored on a stakeout
It had been the first stakeout Fraser had accompanied Ray on. Ray wished he could have taken Fraser on a stakeout that didn't involve sitting in a cold, draughty, dusty apartment for days on end but there wasn't much he could do about it.
He’d sat on the only bed in the place. Fraser had chosen the floor. He had been doing some kind of weird Inuit exercise thing and Ray had been playing with a pack of cards. He’d been so distracted by watching Fraser that he’d dropped the cards onto the floor and some of them had made their way under the bed.
Ray had sighed and had got onto his hands and knees to retrieve them. There was some kind of weird smell under the bed and Ray really hadn't wanted to know what it was. It had been dusty and dark and Ray had sneezed a couple of times. Finally, having picked up all the cards he’d been able to see in the gloom he had come out from under the bed.
“Are you all right, Ray?” Fraser had asked as Ray had coughed and spluttered.
“Yeah, I’m fine, Benny, I just got attacked by dust bunnies.”
“Are you sure they were bunnies rather than rabbits?”
“Dust bunnies, Benny, you know, like lint?”
“Oh, I see, Ray. You do seem to have quite a bit on your clothes.”
Ray had turned to look and sure enough there had been a a large heap of dust on his shoulder. “Great.”
“Let me, Ray,” Fraser had said.
Gently he had begun to pick off each bit of lint, and brush the dust away. It was the lint equivalent of a hand laundry. Fraser had been so focussed in his task. Ray had maintained a gentle silence as his clothes were carefully cleaned by an expert. By the time Fraser was done, Ray couldn’t see any visible specks of dust.
"Thanks, Benny, I look like you after you’ve been under beds; clean."
"You’re welcome, Ray."
This wasn’t part of the dream
Ray had hoped he'd got all the parasites out of his clothes. He hadn't been sure he'd want to wear them again; what if the bugs had laid eggs? At least Fraser had stopped him before he'd got in the Riv. They could have started breeding in there.
In fact, once he’d leapt out of the dumpster Fraser had been sufficiently concerned to spend the next ten minutes examining Ray’s clothing in minute detail.
“Get them off me, Benny,” he’d said.
“I think I got them all, Ray.”
“You think?!”
“Ray, there’s nothing to be concerned about.”
Ray hadn’t taken that well. “There were wiggling maggots on me.”
“I don’t think they’re maggots, Ray,” Fraser had replied, looking at the ones he had collected.
“Can you not do that?” Ray had asked.
“Sorry.”
“Just make sure you’ve got them all off me.”
Fraser had done a good job of picking the bugs off his clothes, he’d had to admit. Of course, that hadn’t stopped him from leaping in the shower afterward to make sure the things were completely off. He’d used up a bar and a half of soap but he’d made sure.
Of course, Fraser had to be in the same room at the time. Not that Ray minded. What he minded was Fraser talking about parasites whilst he was trying to forget about them. It had been nice, though, to have some vaguely private time with Fraser before his family had burst in. After all, the guy did know how to get parasites off Armani pants and that was something.
I do have a drycleaners you know
Ray hadn’t been sure that it was a good idea to go anywhere with Fraser since it was his clothes that somehow always bore the brunt of Fraser's goodwill. This time they had followed a suspect into a warehouse. Ray had stupidly thought he could keep up with Fraser who seemed to be half monkey at the best of times, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Of course, he hadn’t been able to.
“Look at me,” Ray had said.
He’d fallen into a pile of feathers. Feathers. It could have been worse, of course, he’d thought. It could have been something sticky but, still, his suit hadn’t been in the best shape.
Fraser had cocked his head. “You don’t look that bad, Ray.”
“Are you saying I look good in feathers?”
“You know, Ray, in some cultures the wearing of feather signifies a warrior's prowess.”
Ray had snorted. “Well, my prowess was falling off that ladder onto a pile of feathers.”
Fraser had come closer and had begun picking each feather from Ray’s suit.
“What are you doing?” Ray had asked.
“Removing the feathers, Ray.”
“I can see that, but do you have to do it now?”
“I didn’t think you’d want to get lint in your car.”
Ray had sighed. “Feathers aren’t exactly lint, Fraser. They’re feathers.”
“But the same principle applies.”
Ray had spread out his arms. “I do have a drycleaner you know.”
“I know, but I doubt they would be skilled in feather removal.”
“And you are?”
“I seem to be getting a lot of practice in picking things off your clothes.”
Ray had to admit Fraser had a point. He seemed to have developed quite a love of cleaning things off Ray's clothes. And Ray hadn’t wanted to complain. Fraser was like his own personal hand laundry.
The meaning of grooming
They were sitting quietly in Fraser's apartment, finishing their Chinese takeout. “If I get noodles on my clothes, I guess you can pick them off, right?” Ray joked.
“Yes, Ray. Grooming you would be a pleasant experience.”
“Grooming? That’s a weird way of putting it, Fraser.”
“Iin animals grooming is often seen as a social activity, a way of asserting the bonds between individuals. In fact, it’s also a sign of respect.”
“So, do you want to pick lint out of my hair?” Ray had asked.
“No, Ray, I couldn’t groom your hair as it’s...well, it’s…”
Ray let Fraser off the hook and finished the sentence himself. “Thinning?”
“I was going to say very clean and immaculate and that there would be no reason for me to groom it."
“But you do it when my clothes are dirty?”
“Yes. Then I’m happy to do it.”
“And they get dirty because you drag me into dumpsters.”
“You come in of your own free will. Although it is nice to be able to…groom your clothes afterwards.”
“So, you respect me?”
“Yes, Ray. And it helps our bond.”
“Does our bond need help?”
“Well, there are other reasons.”
Ray was interested now. “Such as?”
“In some species grooming is a prelude to mating, or related to gaining favour with a potential mate.”
“So you picking crap off my clothes means you’re interested in me?”
“Very.”
“Really? The lint picking thing was..?”
“My way of registering my interest.”
Ray smiled. It wasn’t like he’d let anyone pick lint off his clothes. “Cool.”
“Cool?”
“You know, if you had any lint on you now, Benny, I’d be picking it off.”
“To register your interest?”
Ray smiled. “Yeah.”
“I’m sure we can find some, Ray.”
“How about I show you something a little more intimate?”
“That would be nice, thank you, Ray.”
“You know there are other places where you can find lint,” Ray said, trying to sound casual.
“There are?”
“Yeah, you can get bellybutton lint.”
“Really, Ray?”
“Yeah, and seeing as you’re so good at this lint picking thing I was thinking you might want to take a look.”
“I would, Ray, yes.”
“Of course, I’d have to kiss you first, to make sure you had fully registered my interest.”
“That would be the next stage in courtship after grooming.”
“Then let’s take it to the next stage,” Ray said and leaned across to kiss Fraser.
“Ray, do you really have lint in your bellybutton?” Fraser asked when the kiss had ended.
“That’s for you to find out. “
Ray hadn’t thought he’d had lint in his bellybutton but later that night whilst they were in bed Fraser found some. Ray had never known the bellybutton was so sensitive. And it was definitely fun to look for lint on Fraser. Even if he never found any.
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no subject
Date: 2007-08-07 11:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 09:23 am (UTC)Thank you for reading.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-07 11:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 09:23 am (UTC)Thanks for reading.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-07 11:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 09:30 am (UTC)Thanks for reading.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-07 11:40 pm (UTC)I am so in agreement with that! Any time Fraser needs to be sure he's lint-free, he can count on me--um. Or, y'know, Ray. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 09:30 am (UTC)Thanks for reading.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-07 11:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 09:31 am (UTC)Glad you liked it ;-)
Thanks for reading.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 01:10 am (UTC)Heh.
“No, Ray, I couldn’t groom your hair as it’s...well, it’s…”
Ray let Fraser off the hook and finished the sentence himself. “Thinning?”
And hee!
Lovely piece of funny, and very in character.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 09:39 am (UTC)Thanks for reading.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 01:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 09:39 am (UTC)Thanks for reading.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 03:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 09:40 am (UTC)Thanks for reading.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 09:41 am (UTC)And awww the title is the best ever. Thanks for all your input.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 10:34 am (UTC)Great banter (as always).
And love and tenderness - perfect. And nice, gentle humour.
Top notch story.
What prompt did you have in mind for this?
no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 11:33 am (UTC)I enjoy banter and like to amuse ;-)
Closest I could get was snow. Lint is like snow. Yeah...
no subject
Date: 2007-08-09 01:16 pm (UTC)*Blinks*
*Blinks again*
*Coughs*
Hmmmmm. I think that might be a tad too far out of the box, but I can see where you're coming from.
Hmmmm. Writers' Choice???
no subject
Date: 2007-08-09 06:23 pm (UTC)Yeah out of the box and across the room...writer's choice I feel.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 10:10 am (UTC)As always your turn of phrase is tremendous.
WC it is then. *Adds to list*
no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 10:59 am (UTC)*also adds*
And yay only 12 left. That's great.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 11:20 am (UTC)It's tremendous.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 10:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 11:01 am (UTC)Hee! *hearts*
no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 11:52 am (UTC)And thanks for reading.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 02:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 09:19 pm (UTC)Thanks for reading.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 03:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-08 09:27 pm (UTC)Thanks for reading.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 01:40 am (UTC)Very funny, sweet, wonderful story!
no subject
Date: 2007-08-10 10:47 am (UTC)Thanks for reading, glad you enjoyed it.