Why Do You Put Up With Me by Iris Gray
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Web Page: http://victoria.tc.ca/~wy236/fic.html

Ray Kowalski stretched and yawned. He turned to his life partner. "I'm
gonna hit the sack," he announced. "Got an early shift tomorrow." Fraser
nodded, but he appeared distracted. 

"Everything okay there, Frase?" Ray asked in concern.

"Yes, everything's fine," Ben answered, but Ray could tell he was being
evasive. 

"C'mon, truth. What's up?" the detective asked.

The Mountie sighed. "Why do you put up with me, Ray?" he asked.

"Put up with ya? I love you, you crazy Mountie. Why wouldn't I put up
with you?" 

"Ours is not exactly a conventional relationship," Fraser answered. 

"Conventional?" Ray laughed. "You mean, heterosexual, right?"

"Well ..."

"Listen, Ben. I'm not exactly Mister Conventional here, am I?"

"I'm sure that you and Stella had a very conventional marriage," said
Ben. 

"And look how long that lasted," replied his partner.

"Do you still love her?" Fraser asked.

Ray was quiet for a few moments. Finally, he said, "Part of me will
probably
always love Stella. She was my first love. And even though I know we
weren't right for each other, for awhile things were good between us,
at the beginning. But she's in the past. I love you, Benton Fraser."

"And I love you, Ray Kowalski."

"So why the insecurity all of a sudden?" Ray wanted to know.

Frasaer gestured toward the television set, on which a political debate
had been showing. "It just seems so strange that politicians are using
relationships like ours as a political issue. Some of them are saying
terrible things about people like us, people who simply happen to love
our own gender."

"So what?"

"Excuse me?" asked Fraser, bewildered.

"What does what some boneheads in Washington or Ottawa think matter?
They can't stop me from loving you, or you from loving me. I don't care
if we have a piece of paper making our relationship legal.  It didn't
keep my marriage to Stella from falling apart. Look, there's always gonna
be people who don't approve of us being together. So screw 'em." 

"But there are some people who would like to take away all of our civil
rights, even make same- sex relationships illegal."

"So, if that happens we'll move to Canada."

"And if they're made illegal in Canada?"

"We'll go somewhere else. Sweden or somewhere like that."

"You're remarkably blase about this, Ray," commented Ben.

"Hey, I gave up worrying about what other people think a long time ago."

Fraser smiled. "That's one of the reasons that I love you," he said.

Ray grinned. "So, do you wanna show me how much you love me?" he asked
suggestively. 

Fraser jumped up and followed him into the bedroom.

END