Telephone Challenge

[akite.livejournal.com]

I found this one on my hard drive. It was part of a longer story that never went anywhere. I dusted it off and polished up a bit. So here it is.


Ray lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His apartment was so quiet. He could hear the refrigerator all the way in the kitchen kick on. The phone's shrill ring by his head made him jump. Who the hell would be calling him this late? Did it matter? It wasn't like he was sleeping anyway.

"Yeah?"

"Ray? Did I wake you?"

"Fraser! Hey, buddy. Nah, I wasn't asleep. How are you?"

"I'm fine, Ray. And you?"

The lie started to come out of his mouth. Then Ray thought what the hell. "Not so good, Fraser, but I'll live."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Perhaps you can tell me about it tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? What? You get transferred somewhere that they have phone service all the time?"

"Not exactly, Ray. It's the reason I'm calling. I wanted to see if
possibly you could retrieve me from the airport tomorrow."

"Here? You're coming here?" Oh my God, Fraser was coming.

"Yes, Ray. I'll be in Chicago at 10:56 AM tomorrow, Flight 204 from
Toronto."

"Hold on, let me find a pencil here, Frase. Ok, I got it Flight 204,
1l o'clock. I'll be there."

"Thank you kindly, Ray. I'll let you go now and see you tomorrow."

"Sure thing, bud. Tomorrow."

Ray hung up the phone and lay back against the pillow. Damn. Fraser
coming back to Chicago after all this time. If he wasn't sure he was
awake, Ray would have pinched himself. After the pinch, he could have
smacked himself. He hadn't even asked why Fraser was coming. Did really matter? The important thing is that he called me to pick him up. The rest was, what's the word? Extraneous, that's it. The reasons didn't need to be explored at this juncture. Heh, good one, Ray. And like it or not, Fraser's staying here. We've got unfinished business.

With the decision made, Ray was able to drift off to sleep. He slept well for the first night in a long, long time. He dreamt of the quest, and in his dream he had the courage that he'd lacked in real life. In his dream, Ray hadn't run away. In fairytale dreamland there were no such things as immigration laws, the need for jobs and most importantly no homophobia - on his part or anyone else's.

Ray woke up smiling. He had the courage now. Two years of being alone in Chicago made him brave. That is if Fraser still wanted him. He'd find out today. That thought got him up and moving. Fraser was coming. Today!

Comments

[lamardeuse.livejournal.com]

Okay, where's the rest?

We've got unfinished business.

You tell 'er, Ray! *g*

[akite.livejournal.com]

Uh...maybe someday, if the guys ever tell me what Fraser's going to do with the money he inherits. I kind of got stalled, and I hated not using this bit for something.

[imkalena.livejournal.com]

*happysmileyme*

[akite.livejournal.com]

smiles and hugs back to you, kalena. thanks.

[ardent-muses.livejournal.com]

I'd like to see more of this -- I'm almost as curious as Ray. :)

[akite.livejournal.com]

Thanks, ardent. Who knows? Maybe there will be an airport challenge sometime.

[cesperanza.livejournal.com]

I really love stories where somebody's heart, like--kickstarts like this. Just that sudden rush of excitement is sexy. Thanks so much!

[akite.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, thank you! So glad you liked it.

[marcellapolman.livejournal.com]

Hi. Nearly three years late, but pondering about butter (for reasons you sure will understand) and browsing through challenges, I stumbled upon this story. It has exactly the balance between tension and happiness that I like so much. Great fic.

[akite.livejournal.com]

Hi! Thank you so much. Hee! Pondering butter. I did, in fact, finish this story. If you're interested it can be found at: http://ds_seekritsanta.livejournal.com/11313.html