(no subject)

[dracostella.livejournal.com]

Here's to delusions of grandeur.



Merriam-Webster Dictionary
voy·eur :
2 : a prying observer who is usually seeking the sordid or the scandalous

Timeline: During Call of the Wild.

The one thing I didn't miss about the 2-7 is the noise. Everybody's talking at once and nobody's listening. Christ you could whack someone at the station and no one would notice.

What's weird though is that through all the chat chat chat, I keep on hearing this soft flop flop flop. I'm spinning my head around a few times before I find the source-- Kowalski. He's sprawled out on a chair as far away from my table as possible, flipping his ID wallet open and shut. Jeez, I never heard an ID wallet making a sound before. How hard is he flipping that thing? But the guy doesn't look angry, he's just staring at it like some confused little kid.

I cannot believe this guy's been pretending to me for a year.

He's been avoiding me since he tossed all his files off my desk, and I feel kinda bad. I mean, I get it. I'm displacing him. And I've seen the ID. My name's on it. It's my height and weight and everything, because no way that skinny Polack weighs as much as me. But it's got his picture on it, and that's got to be freaky for the both of us.

So I just watch him flip the ID wallet, and it just keeps on going flop flop flop as it opens and closes.

Then, he's sitting up straighter, he's shoving the ID away, and he's looking up. So I look at what he's looking at, and what do you know, it's Fraser.

Fraser's holding the door for Frannie and listening to whatever it is that Frannie's yapping about nowadays. Good to know that some things never change. Mobsters and terrorists coming off of the seams of Chicago, and Fraser's still being polite and listening to Frannie.

I look back at Kowalski and he looks like he hasn't blinked. And shit, he just adjusted himself. I turn back to Frannie and Fraser so fast I think I just gave myself whiplash. Even as I'm turning, I'm praying that Frannie didn't just flash Fraser or something and gave Kowalski a free show. But no, Frannie's standing a couple of feet away from Fraser and Fraser is licking a stapler. Then, he hands it back to Frannie, says something I can't quite catch and Frannie's nodding like it makes sense. Crazy mountie-- and then it hits me… Kowalski just…

Oh Jesus Mary and Joseph. I can't decide if I want to pass out or freak out. But before I can do either, Benny finishes talking to Frannie and a flash of red is walking through the station. He smiles at me but he's walking towards Kowalski.

Before he even gets there, Kowalski is already standing up, and shit I did not need to see him adjust himself again. What is he, thinking he's being subtle or something? I'd recognize that move if I was blind!

But Benny either doesn't see it or doesn't care because he's standing less than a foot away from Kowalski like the concept of personal space is just not happening.

"Ray, about the Muldoon stakeout tonight," Fraser says.

"Look Fraser, you're riding with Vecchio tonight. I'm going with the Ice Queen. So Vecchio can tell you all about his buttermilk and Vegas, and you can catch up. And you can complain about me, coz..."

Somewhere in the middle of Kowalski's second sentence Fraser starts chanting 'Ray' like he's reeling in a fish or something. Fraser got about to the fifth 'Ray' when the line finally catches. Kowalski finally shuts up and look at Fraser expectantly. "Thank you, Ray," Fraser says and smiles. And shit, I haven't seen that smile since before Victoria came, and I shot Benny.

The smile does Kowalski in too. Whatever nervous energy he was burning off of clears off, and he just sits back down on his chair. "Yeah, okay," he says and he's got this look on his face. I know that look. Hell, I invented that look when I let Angie leave. It's the I'm-jealous-as-hell-but-I'm-man-enough-to-let-you-go look.

Shit, shit, shit. They are in the middle of the fucking station and I feel like a goddamn voyeur for looking.

I'm staring intently at the scrawl writing on the file in front of me when Fraser comes over and stands beside me.

"Ray, I think we should be getting ready for tonight."

I glance at my watch before I glance at Benny, because I need a moment. "Sure, Benny."

So really, he's Kowalski's partner now. And, I'm good with that. I can deal with that. Kowalski can play martyr all he wants over there, but I get this funny feeling that I know Fraser wants to partner up with. Okay, it's an I-think-I'm-going-to-throw-up sort of funny feeling, but it's better than the I'm-going-to-die-feeling I used to get five days out of ten when I was partners with Benny.

So I get up and I start out of the station, and I feel Fraser following me. He's riding with me tonight, just like old times. And tonight, the mountie's got my back.

Word count: 845