Title: Hit Me, Baby
Fandom: due South
Pairing: Fraser/Kowalski/Vecchio
Rating: PG
Word count: 606
Summary: Ray is hiding his injured arm from his family.
Notes: For mrs_laugh_track, as part of my sound effects prompt. Prompt: ka-pow.
Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me and I am not making any money off this.
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"What's that, Uncle Ray?" Gia asked, pointing at Ray's arm.
Shit. Ray had managed to hide the deep bruises on his wrists all through dinner--Frannie had asked if being Canadian was catching when he'd asked her to pass the polenta instead of just reaching halfway down the table. And then he'd agreed to play house with Gia and forgotten all about it.
He tugged his sleeve down to cover the bruise. "It's nothing, Gia," he told her reassuringly. "I just hurt my arm. It will be better in a few days."
"Does it hurt like last time?" she asked.
"Nah," he said. "I'm okay, I promise." He wanted to ask her not to tell his ma or his sisters, but asking kids to keep secrets wasn't cool, he knew that. He hoped she wouldn't mention it, though. Ma would worry, and he'd have to listen to yet another lecture about his dangerous job, while he bit his tongue and didn't say that at least in his profession he didn't have to worry about two behind the ear from his best friend if he pissed off the wrong guy.
"Uncle Ray hurt his arm before," Gia told Fraser.
"I know," Fraser said gravely.
"Twice," Gia said. "Mamma cried."
Ray glanced at Fraser and didn't really like what he saw. "Your mamma cries at the drop of a hat," he said. "I'm fine. Right, kiddo?"
"Bad guys try to hurt Uncle Ray sometimes, but Uncle Benny saves him," Gia said, and Ray burst out laughing.
"Did Aunt Frannie tell you that?"
Gia nodded.
"Aunt Frannie is a very smart lady," Ray told her. "She's right, Uncle Benny and your other Uncle Ray watch my back, so you don't have to worry. You shoulda seen what Uncle Benny did to the bad guy that gave me this." Sure enough, Fraser went from guilty to embarrassed in the blink of an eye.
Gia looked at Fraser expectantly--and if there was one thing Benny couldn't resist, it was a little kid with an expectant look. "I hit him." Fraser made a fist and lightly punched the air. "Ka-pow."
"Yeah, he was begging for mercy," Ray said.
Gia smiled delightedly.
He held off with an impressive effort of will, but as soon as Maria carted Gia off to bed and Ray and Fraser were left alone in the living room, Ray cracked up. "Fraser, that was a first for you!" he said. "Lying and using slang in one sentence!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Fraser said. He was blushing a little, but the way his gaze lingered on the purple handprint circling Ray's wrist--his sleeve had slipped again the second he stopped being careful--was anything but innocent.
"Hit me, baby, one more time." Ray leered.
Fraser's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, is that what that song is about? And I didn't lie, Ray."
"Oh yeah? Because I was there last night, and nothing you did to Kowalski made a sound even remotely like 'ka-pow.'"
Fraser cleared his throat. "Well, no, not last night. But I did once strike Ray Kowalski. Over my protests, of course, but nothing else would satisfy him."
Ray leered some more. "Yeah, I bet you satisfied him."
Fraser sighed theatrically. "Is there anything I can say that you won't turn into a crude double entendre, Ray?"
"Double entendre, what is that, like you doing me and Kowalski at the same time?" Oh yeah, Ray was good. He grinned. "I will never understand why horrified librarian is such a good look for you," he told Benny, "but get your ass over here now."
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Horrified librarian: Ray has just suggested "onomatopoeia" as the Greek tragic concept most appropriate to their plight in "Vault":