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Ray decided to help Fraser look for a new place to live when Fraser mentioned the difficulties of life within the Consulate walls. He'd known Fraser's previous apartment building had been burned down, though by the way Vecchio's notes described it, burning the place to the ground may have been an improvement.
But Ray couldn't believe the building that they stood in front of; it seemed almost too nice. "You sure?" he asks, and once again Fraser shows him the flyer.
"This is the place, Ray," Fraser says. "Address matches and everything. And if you'll notice," he says, pointing to the front window, "there's even a small sign advertising the vacancy."
Squinting, and cursing himself for leaving his glasses back at the station, Ray sees the vague shape of a small piece of paper in the window. But the writing on it was so small, it was barely a smudge in his eyesight.
"Shall we?" Fraser asks, detouring Ray at the last moment. He opens the door, letting Ray go in first, and then Ray hears him call, "Diefenbaker!" over his shoulder, the animal joining them a few seconds later. "Really?" Fraser says, so Ray lets his gaze fall to the wolf. He smiles, shaking his head as Diefenbaker licks what looks to be jelly from his muzzle; he'd obviously already met the baker on the corner.
"You're a menace," Ray says, pointing to Diefenbaker. "So much for being a wild animal," he adds, elbowing Fraser in the side. Looking down at him again, Ray tsks and says, "You know, you're not always that good a pet to Fraser, here," which earns him a snippy sounding snort.
"Now, Ray," Fraser says as they come to stand outside of the brightly painted door that holds a placard that says, 'E. Cavallo, Landlord', accompanied by a brightly colored springtime-looking wreath. "As I have attested on many occasions, he's absolutely not my pet."
Diefenbaker announces his agreement with a huffy whuffling sound. But Fraser cuts it short with, "Though Ray does have a point, Dief." When the wolf sits, Fraser looks directly at him, adding, "Your actions since coming to Chicago have led you to get... Well... A little soft. If you were to somehow be dropped back to the wild right now, well-"
Not having it, Diefenbaker stands, then makes a point of walking forward and stepping on Fraser's foot before turning around and walking back into the daylight. And damn if the wolf doesn't look like he has his nose in the air.
"He'll get over it," Ray says as he clasps Fraser on the shoulder.
Fraser gives Ray a look, as if to convey, 'Shall we?' and then raises a hand to knock at the door. But before his knuckles can make contact, the door opens, and a short Italian grandmotherly figure steps out and glances up at them both.
"Ahh, Miss Cavallo, I presume," Fraser starts. "I'm Benton Fraser. I believe my friend's mother, Carlotta Vecchio, said I would be stopping by about the apartment?"
First looking at Fraser, then at Ray, the elderly landlord squints her eyes, asking, "What?"
Ray notices the hearing aid, tapping on his ear for Fraser to see, so Fraser leans in and raises his voice. "I'm here about the apartment."
"The apartment?" Cavallo responds. "Sorry, I'm holding it for a single gentleman. A friend of the family." She puts her finger to her ear, saying, "I think I need another battery, this pezzo di rifiuti..." Looking back up, she says, "But I wish I would have known... I'd rather rent to a couple than a single man."
"Miss Cavallo," Fraser says, pulling a picture of the Vecchio family matriarch out of his hat, "I'm Mrs. Vecchio's friend of the family."
Ray gets a sudden idea, and just goes with it. He reaches out to Fraser, putting his arm around Fraser's shoulder and pulls him close.
"Ray..."
Not moving his mouth, Ray says, "Just go with it," through clenched teeth. Ray then leans in, smiling, and loudly announces, "I'm his partner..." If it helps get Fraser the apartment, he doesn't care if she takes his words wrong - if she can hear him at all.
"Aah, Carlotta!" Miss Cavallo says as she squints at the picture. "You must be that nice Canadian boy she told me about at the beauty parlor." Smiling, she reaches into her blouse, pulling a key from her bosom. "Take it, take it," she says, dropping the key into Ray's hand when he reaches for it first. "Apartment is at the end of the hall. Go! See!"
"Thank you kindly," Fraser says to his - apparently - new landlord's retreating figure.
Turning as she re-enters her home, Miss Cavallo says, "Come in when you're done. I'll just go set another plate on the table."
Ray doesn't let go of Fraser, though when Fraser moves forward, he lets his arm drop. "We've already eaten, Miss Cavallo," he says.
"Nonsense," she replies with a wave of her hand. "No one leaves my house with an empty stomach. First you look, then mangia."
Fraser and Ray watch her retreating figure, and Ray can't help but smile when he hears her say, "Such cute boys... They make such a cute couple."
After she disappears into the apartment, Ray hands the key over to Fraser. "Shall we go see your new apartment, honey?" he asks with a smile. When he catches Fraser's eye, he notices that Fraser seems a bit nervous, and his ears are bright red.
"Yes, but..." Fraser takes a breath. "Well, she's probably expecting you to move in with me."
Thinking about his own small apartment, three stories up without a working elevator, Ray consider it. "Yeah, well maybe this place is better than mine."
"It's uhh," Fraser stammers, and then the blush completes its journey across his face. "It's a one bedroom, Ray," he says, voice quiet.
Taking a chance, Ray steps close. He decides the signals that Fraser's been sending him the last few weeks are exactly what he's thinking they are, so he leans in. Whispering into Fraser's ear, he says, "We might be able to work something out." But he doesn't right himself immediately; instead he takes his time, sniffing Fraser's neck and generally just enjoying being so close.
Clearing his throat, Fraser lowers his voice and admits, "I'd like that, Ray."
~*~*~
Fifteen minutes, and one or two (hopefully hidden) hickeys later, Fraser nods his head. They'd done no more than a cursory glance around the apartment as they nipped at each others lips and let fingers wander against hair, against flesh. But the apartment seems good enough, so Fraser gestures to the door.
As soon as they are back in the hallway, Ray reaches out, taking Fraser's hand in his. They walk the few dozen feet down to the landlord's apartment and step in, finding Miss Cavallo at the stove.
"Aah, boys," she says, then gestures for them to sit. "What did you think?"
Taking his seat, while simultaneously reaching for Ray's hand across the table, Fraser turns to Miss Cavallo. With a smile on his face, he announces, "We'll take it."