This story is slash, containing characters who (sadly) do not belong to me and both happen to be men who want to have sex with each other. I'm not writing this for any gain other than my own personal amusement. This story is rated NC-17.

What follows is the fourth installment in the "One Ray, Two Ray, Old Ray, New Ray" (with all due deference to Dr. Suess) which will have something in it to please or offend everyone, including Fraser/Kowalski pairings, Fraser/Vecchio, and even Vecchio/Kowalski. You have been warned.

Although this is the fourth in the series, it actually begins about a year before "Burning Down the House." It is not directly a sequel to anything, and can be read independently.

any comments, suggestions, or complaints can be sent to me at magik@socketis.net

"Liquor, Guns, and Ammo" by Barbara J. Webb

"Go go go!" Ray Vecchio pushed at Fraser's back to get him moving as they dived for cover under a hail of bullets. The pile of cardboard boxes they had been crouched behind exploded under the high caliber weapon's fire. Vecchio spun as he ran, letting go a few rounds of his own. It was a useless gesture - there were too many people shooting at them, too well entrenched in their own cover - but he had to do something.

A metal bin full of books gave them a slightly better chance of protection. Fraser was peeking over a stack of psychology books, flinching back down as the white cover exploded from bullet fire. Ray squeezed off another couple shots, then checked his clip. "I'm getting low."

"If we can get out of the open and into those shelves, evasion might be easier."

"No, really?" One of their assailants was climbing the stairway up to the mezzanine that ran around the upper level of the warehouse. A carefully aimed shot crippled his leg and sent him tumbling back down. "Damn. If a couple of them get above us, we've got problems."

Even Fraser looked somewhat concerned at the situation. "I have an idea."

"Oh, no. There is no way I'm listening to one of your-" A bullet found a hole in the books, penetrating the metal wall of the bin right above Ray's shoulder. "Okay, what are you thinking?"

"You keep their attention. I'll run for the shelves. I think I can get up to the mezzanine if I climb them, then come at our attackers from above?"

"Come at them? Come at them with what, Fraser? You don't have a gun."

Fraser simply gave one of those grins that occasionally made Ray wonder if the man was stark raving mad, and made a run for the shelves. Ray had no choice other than to cover him. Fraser hit the ground in a roll, coming up safely behind the shelves. Ducking down again, Vecchio could do nothing but wait, trying to figure out how once again, everything had seemed to spin out of control.

As these things so often did, it all started with a friend of Fraser's. Some kid who lived in Fraser's building, a High School dropout, a runaway who'd been living on fake ID's so long no one knew how old he really was - even him. The boy took the L all the way across town every day to his job in this warehouse. As it turned out, this was a front company from one of the multiple criminal families in Chicago, and the boy had been running payments for bribes in his off hours to help pay the bills. That is, until the kid had gotten shot, and Fraser had dragged the two of them into the middle of it.

There were days his life reminded Ray of a Laurel and Hardy sketch: "Well, that's another fine mess you've gotten me into, Benny," he mumbled under the sound of the gunfire.

There was a deafening crash that echoed through the rafters. And then, silence. Ray carefully stuck his head out, but there were no gunshots that came at him. Fraser was coming down the stairs from the mezzanine and waved at him to come out.

Vecchio wasted no time. He ran over to where the mafiosos had been screened to find them all sprawled on the ground, with heavy biology books scattered around them. The empty shelf above their heads told the rest of the story. "You have the right to remain silent." Vecchio pulled out his phone and tossed it to Fraser. "Call the 18^th while I cuff these bastards. We're on their turf, let them do the paperwork this time." Now that the gunshots had died down, Dief came trotting out from his hiding place.

Since he was only carrying three sets of cuffs, Ray had to get creative on the last two, who started to revive just as he got them secured with packing tape. "That's gonna hurt when it comes off." He heard Fraser snap the phone shut and the distant sound of sirens approaching. "Okay, Benny, lets-"

A single shot rang out, sending Ray diving for cover. "Fraser!" He looked up just in time to see Fraser crumple on the stairs. Ray emptied the rest of his clip in the direction the shot had come from as Dief took off in the same direction.

In a heartbeat, Vecchio was at Fraser's side. The bullet had gone through Fraser's right shoulder, and it looked as though he'd knocked his head falling down the stairs. Vecchio grabbed his phone where it had fallen and called for the paramedics.

Vecchio stayed at Fraser's side until the ambulance arrived, keeping pressure on the bleeding wound. Officers from the 18^th arrived and began marking off the scene, but Ray waved them away from helping them. Dief came trotting back and nosed at Fraser, looking up at Ray and whining.

"It's okay, buddy. He's gonna be fine." Ray wasn't sure who he was trying to convince.

As the paramedics arrived, Fraser stirred, looking up at Ray. "Shh, Benny, don't talk." As they immobilized his neck, preparing to move him, Fraser grabbed at Ray's arm.

"Find them."

"We will, don't worry." The medics were looking nervous around Dief who was watching them all carefully as they lifted Fraser onto the stretcher. "Right now, though, I'm coming with you."

"I'll be fine, Ray. Go find them."

Ray couldn't say no. "C'mon, Dief. Let's see what we can do." He grabbed the driver as the man prepared to get into the front of the ambulance. "Take good care of him. Here's my card - it's got my cell phone on it - have them call me as soon as anything happens."

As the ambulance sped away, Ray looked around for the detective in charge of the scene. His scanning eyes fell on a lanky, young-looking, blonde man in shades, wearing clothes that looked like they were found in the back of an alley somewhere. Ray's eyes would have just passed over him, except for two facts: the man was giving directions to the uniforms on the scene, so he seemed to be the ranking officer - and he was gorgeous.

"Yo!" Ray flipped his badge out. "Detective Vecchio, from the 27^th. And you are?"

"Detective Kowalski, 18^th. You the guy who called us?"

"No, that was my partner."

Kowalski nodded. "Yeah, the guy who got shot? Hope he's okay. What's with the dog?"

Ray leaned down and scratched Dief on the head. "He's a friend of mine. You catch the guy who was running?"

"We'll get him, don't worry." Kowalski turned away, heading back into the building.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Ray trotted after the detective. "This is my investigation."

Kowalski spun around. "You called us in, it's ours now. Our jurisdiction, and we've been tracking this case for months. Thanks for getting these guys to shoot at you, though - makes it easy for us to arrest them."

"Oh no you don't." Ray grabbed the collar of Kowalski's jacket. "You can count me in on it, too." Kowalski looked as though he were about to hit Vecchio, but a low growl from Diefenbaker made the younger detective freeze. "The wolf and I, we've got a score to settle with these punks."

"Okay, fine. Just call him off, okay?" Kowalski pulled out of Ray's grip. "But it's my collar."

"Sure, whatever. Let's just catch these guys."

* * * * *

"How ya' feeling, Benny?" Ray held the door for Dief, then went to set the fresh flowers he'd brought by the bed.

"Much improved, Ray. Thank you, kindly." Fraser rubbed Dief on the head, waited for Ray to sit down. "How is the case going?"

Grinning, Ray slapped Fraser on his good shoulder. "We did it, Benny. We caught the guy, and talked the others into testifying."

"We?"

"Yeah, this hothead kid from the 18^th, I've been helping him out. I tell you, Fraser, if he weren't so damned hot, I'd have gotten rid of him days ago, but he's awfully cute. Idealist. Reminds me of you - has that same death wish. Just goes running into danger, instead of standing and shooting at it from a distance, like any sane human being." Ray laughed and patted Fraser's shoulder again. "All the same, Benny, I'll be glad when you're back on your feet. It's just not the same, you know?"

Fraser smiled and lay back. "I'll be glad, too." His eyes flickered closed. Ray had noticed that whatever medicine they had him on kept him somewhat groggy - not at all his talkative self - and gave him a tendency to just fall asleep without warning.

Dief jumped up on the bed, curling up at Fraser's feet. Vecchio wasn't worried about the wolf getting thrown out - he had all the nurses on the floor wrapped around his paw. He moved his hand up to Fraser's face, stroking the Mountie's hair. "I miss you, Benny. Get better soon, okay?"

* * * * *

"Hey, Ernie, pass me another one."

"Sure thing, Ray." The bartender slid another draft beer down the bar counter, and Ray deftly caught it. "Where's big red? Still in the hospital?"

"Yeah. They say he'll be out in the next day or so." Ray took a long swig. "I caught the guy who did it, though."

With a sharp slap to the bar counter, Ernie flashed his teeth. "Good deal. This one's on the house."

Ray slammed back the rest, feeling pretty good about himself. While he wasn't quite so obsessed about getting his man as Fraser, the minute they'd hurt his Mountie, they'd insured that Ray wouldn't stop until they were brought in. Frankly, he'd be just as happy if they were gang-banged in the lock-up on top of it.

That train of thought only led him back to thinking of Fraser, lying wounded and drowsy in the hospital bed. The big, beautiful Mountie, usually seemed so invulnerable, and maybe that was why it always seemed to squeeze Ray's heart to see him hurt. His best friend, his partner. And one of the few pieces of ass Vecchio was fairly certain he could never have.

Leaning down over his beer, Vecchio saw a familiar reflection in the glass. In a dark corner, hunched over a table, was Kowalski. Waving at Ernie to bring him another stein, Ray snagged a chair and sat down across from the younger Detective. "Hi there."

Kowalski looked up, then returned his attention to the table. "What do you want?"

"Boy, you are just a ray of sunshine. Can I buy you a drink?"

"Jus' leave me alone, okay?"

"Fine. Just trying to be friendly." Ray shrugged and stood up, started to walk off. But Kowalski looked so miserable, so lonely, sort of curled in on himself - it was as bad as one of Fraser's big-eyed Mountie looks. He sat back down. "Look, Kowalski, I think we got off on the wrong foot, here. I mean, we're both cops, we've worked a case together, so that makes us friends, right? Don't be so surly."

The younger cop didn't say anything, but Ray noticed his fingers tapping on his leg - one of the many nervous gestures Vecchio had noticed over the past few days that Kowalski tended towards. It didn't take a detective to figure out the kid was really upset about something. "C'mon, Ray, what's up?"

"None of your business."

This was turning into actual effort. Normally, he didn't work this hard unless he thought he was going to get laid, and this guy hadn't shown any signs of being like that. Still, there was always hope - he certainly wouldn't be the first straight boy Vecchio had coaxed into bed - and he was awfully damned hot, a real cookie. "You know, I don't see anyone else standing in line to keep you company. Maybe you should take advantage of me while you have the chance. I'm actually not a bad listener." A cheesy pick-up line, but the best Ray could do on the spur of the moment.

"Oh yeah, that's great. That's gonna make me wanna talk to you. Just remind me-"

The sentence was cut off, but for a moment, there had been a spark in Kowalski. Ray decided he must be spending way too much time with Fraser; surely he hadn't been this much of a softie before. Then again, as pretty a face as Kowalski had, who knows what Vecchio would have done before Fraser's charity urges started rubbing off. "Remind you of what, Ray?" Vecchio asked softly.

"Nothing," Kowalski mumbled back at the table.

Ernie came over with two beers, giving Vecchio a wink as he left them on the table. "Have a drink, Kowalski." Leaning back in his chair, Ray tried a different track. "So, what brings you here, tonight? I've certainly never seen you in here before."

Kowalski pulled his beer in close, hovering over it like a vulture masking its food. "I was in the area, looking at apartments."

As far as Ray knew, there were only two reasons for a grown man to be looking for apartments: either the last one burned, or he was thrown out by a woman. "Looking at apartments? Trying to find a better location?"

"No, I'm...looking." Vecchio didn't miss Kowalski's quick glance down to his left hand, where there was a noticeable shiny band of skin where a ring used to be. "Just looking."

Ray took a stab in the dark. "Divorce? That's rough, man."

"Oh yeah, rough." Kowalski pulled at his beer. "Wadda you know?"

"I know it can be rough. What do you want me to say? Nothing I say can make it better, I know that much."

Ray almost laughed as Kowalski struggled with the corner he'd been backed into. Either he had to actually agree with Ray, or argue that there was actually something Ray could say to make it better. "Why don't you just leave me alone?"

"Maybe because I like you. Maybe I think you've got promise. Or maybe I just don't got anything better to do." Vecchio pulled out his most charming smile. "Sit here and chat, and you just might figure out which, you being a detective and all."

"Oh yeah, some detective. I work this case for months, then you and your friend show up, jump onto my case, and we got it solved in three days, the bad guys nicely squared away. Oh, I did some great work on that one."

Vecchio waved discreetly at Ernie. The kid's glass was almost empty. "Well, you can blame the Mountie for that. He did most of the work; I was just along for the ride." Ray had learned enough about Kowalski in the past couple days to know that he hated few things more than having his case stolen from under his nose.

"So you really work with a Mountie? I mean, everybody talks and all, but I was never sure if they was serious." Now there seemed some genuine interest in Kowalski's face, some actual life creeping back into his posture. Ray would have to remember to thank Fraser for being so weird that the mere rumor of him was enough to grab this gorgeous young man's interest.

"Sure. Although I must confess, there are times I think Fraser is just one big practical joke the universe is playing on me. You have no idea."

All it took was a few bizarre Fraser anecdotes and the ice was broken. Kowalski went through several more beers while Vecchio talked, listening to him with wide green eyes and the occasional ghost of a smile Ray really wanted to see more of.

"Wow. He sounds like a real super-cop."

"Yeah, red suit and everything. But you shouldn't sell yourself short. You did some good work on this case."

That seemed to startle Kowalski. "Stella, she always said I couldn't find my way out of a paper bag with street signs." It was meant to be a joke, but the last few words were choked out.

Ray decided this kid was almost too adorable to live. Good looking, not a bad detective, and practically crying into his beer over his recently-ex-wife, who didn't exactly sound like she thought the world of him. Vecchio wanted him, and was beginning to care less and less whether Kowalski was actually interested in him or not.

"Well, she obviously didn't know what she was talking about." Vecchio put a supporting hand on Kowalski's shoulder. "You're a good cop, Kowalski. Don't let anybody tell you different."

Kowalski looked for all the world like a dog expecting to be kicked and finding an offered bone instead. "You really think so?"

"Yeah, I really do. And pretty cute, too."

"What?" Now Kowalski looked poleaxed. He flinched away from Vecchio's hand. "Whadda you mean?"

Vecchio shrugged, took another drink of beer. "Just an observation."

Now Kowalski looked wary. "Stella used to say I was nothing but a Chicago flatfoot with experimental hair."

"Again, I must disagree with this woman. I think you're probably one of the most attractive members of the Chicago Police force. But that's just my opinion."

"You really...you...what?"

Ray was beginning to wonder how many beers Kowalski had actually drunk; while he hadn't been the most eloquent person Ray had ever worked with, he could usually string a sentence together. After a bit more sputtering, Kowalski stopped, rubbed his thumbs over his eyebrows, took a deep breath and started over. "Are you hitting on me or something?"

"What would you do if I said yes?"

"I dunno. Are you saying yes?"

"I might be." Another swallow of beer, and his most charming smile. "I just might be."

Kowalski didn't seem to know what to say to that. Another sign he'd been spending way too much time with Fraser: he expected everyone to have an immediate response to anything that came out of his mouth. Not necessarily an answer, but at least a response.

"Okay."

Vecchio wasn't sure he'd heard the soft word. "What?"

"I said okay, okay? As in, sure. I mean-" and here he seemed hesitant again, "I mean, if you mean yes, or I mean yes, or you mean yes to me saying yes."

Standing up, Ray pulled Kowalski to his feet as well. No sense giving the kid a chance to change his mind. "Where are you staying these days?"

"Motel. Why?"

"Cause we're going back to your place. I'm driving." Thus, the decision was made. Vecchio pushed the still somewhat dazed looking Kowalski before him, out to the Riv.

Once in the car, he was attacked by the younger detective. Kowalski was a bundle of nervous energy, too long held in check, suddenly given a direction to go. Grabbing Vecchio's head in his hand, Kowalski pounced, kissing Vecchio with a desperate fervor that seemed a complete about face from the withdrawn martyring Kowalski had been trying to pull off an hour ago.

But while Vecchio admired the kid's passion, his head was starting to hurt, pressed at a funny angle against the window, and the turn signal lever was poking him in the side. On the other hand, Kowalski was sucking on his tongue in a deeply suggestive fashion, and the kid's right hand had found it's way under Ray's shirt and was making delicious movements over Ray's left nipple.

"Mmph...Kowalski, slow down just a second." Reluctantly, Ray pushed him back a couple inches. "While your enthusiasm is commendable, why don't we wait till we can get inside and comfortable."

Ray had never seen anyone switch between cold and hot and back to cold quite as unnervingly fast as Kowalski. This was getting truly exasperating; Vecchio had half a mind to kick the kid out of the car right now if he was going to insist on being a total loon.

On the other hand, he'd already put this much effort into picking up this guy, and he was so close to the payoff - and he could just keep telling himself that was the real reason he didn't kick out Kowalski, not some soft-hearted pity thing that Fraser had somehow implanted in his brain. Although he could almost hear Fraser whispering in his ear, reminding him Kowalski was going through a tough time, and was young and inflammable, and - as far as Ray had been able tell - rarely thought before he opened his mouth and let things pop out. Damn Fraser for turning him into a nice guy.

But nice guy or not, he still wasn't going to let Kowalski get away with just turning off like that. Grabbing the younger man by the collar of his beaten up t-shirt, he dragged him back for another kiss. Vecchio had learned by the end of their first day working together Kowalski couldn't be stared-down, threaten, or beaten into submission, but it usually worked just fine to ask him nicely - or not to ask him at all.

At first, Kowalski struggled, but then with that same schizophrenic suddenness, he gave in to Vecchio, opening his lips to Vecchio's probing tongue, and pressing against the older detective. Raising a hand to Kowalski's chest, Vecchio pulled back, keeping Kowalski where he was. "Now, put your seatbelt on."

Ray was expecting Kowalski's hotel room to be a complete mess - he'd seen how the kid kept his desk - but the floor was completely visible, and the counter-tops only vaguely cluttered. "So, you wanna drink?"

Ray took off his coat, hanging it on a peg in the closet. "Not really, no."

"So then, uh, what?" Kowalski was a mere two feet away from Ray, hovering as though not sure which direction to go, his eyes mostly on the floor, but flickering up occasionally to Vecchio's face. He was adorably nervous.

"Let me take a wild guess - you don't do this a lot, do you?"

"Do what?" The guarded, almost hunted look was back. Vecchio was beginning to piece things together: the kiss in the car had been far to easy and eager for a straight boy, but Ray suspected Kowalski didn't like to think of himself as anything but. Ray had definitely been picking up on some masculinity issues from the kid. Ah well, it was what Ray should expect if he was going to pick up cops.

Vecchio put his hands out, trying to look as unthreatening as possible, took a step forward. "Relax, Kowalski. I just meant pick up people in bars. Figured, what with your recent divorce and all, it's probably been a while for you."

"Yeah, kinda. What about you, Vecchio? You do this often?"

"Yeah, kinda," Ray echoed Kowalski's answer with a winning smile. "And you can call me Ray."

"No, you can call me Ray." Kowalski grinned, and Ray had to smile back at what he could only assume was an attempted joke.

He crossed the small space between them. "Fine then, we'll both be Ray." Grabbing the back of Kowalski's head, Ray pulled him in for another kiss.

Kowalski certainly got an "A" for enthusiasm. He kissed with the same energy and abandon with which he threw himself into every other task Ray had seen him do. It was a welcome change from the bored, jaded, over-experienced men and women Vecchio so often ended up bringing to his bed.

Ray wondered if this was what it would be like to kiss Fraser, if the Mountie would have the same openness, the same honest desperation as Kowalski.

No, that was a direction Ray refused to let his thoughts take. Better to concentrate on the quivering man in front of him than to cast his thoughts to his untouchable partner.

With one hand tightly around Kowalski's waist and the other out for support, Vecchio maneuvered them onto the bed, Kowalski on his back beneath him. The deceptively thin body felt solid and taut against Ray's, with very noticeable definition, now that Ray was this close. The kid was certainly eager - his hands were all over Vecchio, and Ray could feel a definite hardness in Kowalski's jeans. "Easy, Ray, there's no hurry." He buried his face in the hollow of Kowalski's neck, just breathing warm air over the skin to watch goose-bumps rise.

Kowalski's legs were wrapped around Vecchio's thighs, and the kid was dry-humping against him. It had been so long since Vecchio had been with someone who was so unabashed with their wanting, their raw, naked lust: Ray wasn't quite sure if Kowalski's frenzy was infectious, or if he was just so gorgeous he was completely destroying Vecchio's usual sense of calm, but there was something going on.

Still, he was Ray Vecchio, and while he'd humored this kid on the case, letting him take the lead, there was no way he was going to let Kowalski dictate the way things went in bed. He pulled Kowalski's t-shirt up, moving down to suck on an exposed, pink, nipple. It stood up erect when Ray lifted his head, and he repeated the treatment on the other. Beneath his hand, the muscles of Kowalski's stomach twitched, and Ray could hear the vibrating rumble of a moan in Kowalski's chest.

Pulling Kowalski farther up on the bed, Ray pulled his legs slightly apart, kneeling on Kowalski's thighs, effectively immobilizing his lower half. Squirming around, Kowalski slid out of his shoulder holster, dropping it on the floor next to the bed. Vecchio reached back and pulled out both his leg gun and Kowalski's, setting them next to each other on the bedside table, as Kowalski pulled out Vecchio's sidearm and dropped it on the floor. "Three guns?" Vecchio laughed. "Are we a little paranoid, there, Kowalski?"

"You carry two." Kowalski's hands had worked their way around Ray's hips, rubbing down over his ass, then back up to his belt. "And three pairs of cuffs?" There was a clinking sound as Kowalski unhooked them and tossed them away.

"Bad guys travel in packs, and with the Mountie around, I can't just shoot them, so I'd better have enough cuffs for 'em." Sometimes, that seemed less of a joke than others. Kowalski had his hands on Ray's ass again, trying to pull Ray forward. Vecchio planted his hands, one on either side of Kowalski's ears, then leaned forward, very slowly. Kowalski's hands moved up Ray's back, hooking up and around his shoulders, as Kowalski pulled himself up to meet Ray's lips with his own.

Fighting down any need to hurry, Ray took a moment savoring the taste of Kowalski, the feel of his slightly wind-chapped lips, the whisper feel of eyelashes against the bridge of his nose. Leaving one hand on the bed to support them, Ray brought the other to the back of Kowalski's neck, rubbing down over the bump of his spine, to the small of his back, pulling the slender man more tightly against him.

Kowalski was pulling at Ray's shirt - an expensive silk flower print - and Ray slapped at his hand. "Hey, careful of the clothes." Kowalski bounced slightly as Vecchio dropped him back on the bed in order to free both hands for unbuttoning his shirt. Taking advantage of Vecchio's distraction, Kowalski pulled his t-shirt over his head and tossed his own single set of handcuffs against the wall.

When Ray leaned back down over Kowalski, there was nothing between their bare chests; the sensation of skin on skin was something Ray never really grew tired of. He slid off Kowalski's legs, pulling their hips together. "Oh yeah," Kowalski hissed. "Yeah, c'mon." Against Vecchio's lips, he could feel the kid smiling - one of those smiles almost as pretty as Fraser's.

*Come on, Vecchio, stop fantasizing about your partner and concentrate on this gorgeous, eager piece of ass you've got underneath you.* Ray was pretty sure it was about time to put them both out of their misery. "Stay here a minute."

"What?" Kowalski sat up as Ray slid off the bed. "What?"

"Patience, Raymond." Kicking off his shoes, Ray went over to the closet and reached into a pocket of his jacket, grabbing the small bottle of lube he kept in his pocket. When he came back over to the bed, he stopped, standing in front of Kowalski.

The younger detective smiled at Ray's crotch that was right in front of his face. Reaching his hands around Vecchio's waist, he lowered his face towards the bulge in Ray's pants. Vecchio could feel his warm breath through the fabric, and pressed himself against Kowalski's face.

Kowalski tilted his head up and kissed the skin right above Ray's waistband, then flicked his tongue over the same skin. Eager fingers worked to get Ray's pants undone, then pulled the pants down, along with the boxers underneath, to Ray's ankles. Kowalski's warm mouth was over Ray's erection barely a moment later, dismissing any lingering doubts Ray might have had as to whether Kowalski had done this sort of thing before. Kowalski knew just what he was doing with his lips and tongue.

This was nice, but not entirely Ray's plan. Carefully, he pulled away, then pushed Kowalski back onto the bed. With a minimum of effort, Kowalski was as naked as him. Ray ran his hands up the younger man's well-defined thighs, spreading them apart. He considered rolling Kowalski over onto his stomach, but Ray really wanted to be able to look at that pretty face while he fucked the kid.

"What are you doing?"

"What, you never been fucked before?" Ray kept his tone easy, soothing. The last thing he wanted was Kowalski getting jumpy now. "Relax, gorgeous, I promise you'll love it." He squirted some lotion onto his hand, coating his fingers. Sitting on the edge of the bed, between the younger Ray's legs, Vecchio stroked Kowalski's cock with one hand as he carefully worked a finger inside.

Kowalski was nervous, and suddenly tense. "Shh, Raymond, easy."

"I don't know...."

"It's okay, Ray, just relax. Come on, everybody does it." Ray figured if anyone he knew was likely to be influenced by peer pressure, it was Kowalski. With his finger, he located Kowalski's prostate and began to stroke it. "Yeah, that's better, isn't it." Kowalski was moaning and twisting under Ray's caressing hands. He worked a second finger in, carefully. "Oh yeah, baby, that's good." He moved his hand from Kowalski's dick down to rub his thigh.

Kowalski had his head tilted back, his eyes squinted shut, his hands in fists. Vecchio leaned over him, licked Kowalski's lips to get his attention. "You okay, Kowalski?"

"Yeah, great." The words were gasped out as Kowalski kissed Ray deeply.

"Good." Ray removed his fingers from inside the young detective. "Now, just relax." Spreading Kowalski's legs a little further, lifting them into a comfortable position, Ray smeared more of the lotion on his own cock. Then, ever so gently, he pressed into Kowalski.

The younger Ray's legs wrapped around him tightly; his back arched with pleasure. Ray thrust into him, increasing the speed of his strokes as Kowalski started to push back against him. They fell into a rhythm, as Ray reached down to stroke Kowalski's erection.

Kowalski came first, causing a contraction of his ass that pulled Ray over the edge. He erupted into the man beneath him, falling onto his elbows above Kowalski, panting hard. He ran a hand up Kowalski's chest, his neck, taking a hold of his chin and pulling him into a deep, wet kiss. "You are awfully hot, Kowalski, have I mentioned that?"

Kowalski didn't answer, just kissed Ray harder. When they came up for air, Ray patted the young detective on the cheek, then sat up. "You going to stay?" Kowalski queried.

"No, I gotta get home." Ray stood up and began looking for his clothes. "But I'll give you a call tomorrow."

Once again, an abrupt shift in Kowalski as his face clouded over. "Oh yeah, sure."

Vecchio caught his hand, brought it to his mouth and kissed the rough knuckles. "I mean it. I had fun. I like you, Raymond."

Hope, tentative and beautiful, was just daring to peek out from those lovely green eyes. "Really?"

"Really. I mean it." Vecchio barely had time to brace himself to keep from falling as Kowalski pounced on him to catch him in another kiss. "I'll call you, okay?" He flashed another smile at the younger detective and worked himself free to find his clothes.

On the way out, Vecchio turned for one more look and saw Kowalski sprawled out on the bed, already dead asleep. With the sigh of one much put-upon by life, he walked over and tucked in the young detective, who didn't so much as stirred. Vecchio blamed the alcohol, and had to wonder if Kowalski would even remember this in the morning.

Ray Vecchio wondered if he wanted him too.