Work Text
Street Faire: 1020 wordsMoon Phase: 876 WordsCrazy Day: 714 wordsProton Practice: 1093 words
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You look at yourself in the bathroom mirror and check everything for what feels like the hundredth time.Satisfied you've done everything you can, you step out and see Janine approaching."There you are, we thought you got lost."You smile at Janine and take a deep breath. "The guys ready?"She smiles and nods. "Don't worry. You look great, he'll be putty in your hands."Your eyes widen and you shake your head. "No, we're just… this is just friends…"Janine laughs and walks with you out to the front of the firehouse, past Ecto One, and out to the street.Egon and Ray stand waiting, Egon dressed like he always does, but Ray has made more effort than usual… even though there’s absolutely nothing wrong with Ray’s everyday appearance… He's wearing a deep green tee shirt and khaki shorts, Summertime Casually Dressy, and his hair has been carefully combed. By the time you and Janine reach them, a slight gust has ruffled his bangs. He frowns and tries to finger comb his hair back into shape.Egon holds his hand out and Janine takes it. They're dating in every way except acknowledging it.Ray holds his hand out, almost as if he was advised to follow Egon’s lead, and you take it with a smile, letting him pull you into a bear hug. You reach up and ruffle his hair a little, letting it fall in his eyes. As he gapes in surprise, you kiss his cheek. "It looks better this way, actually.""If you say so.” He visibly resists trying to neaten his hair, and blushes. “You look fantastic." He lets go and smiles at you.It takes no time to catch a cab, the boys have become known as large tippers, so the cab drivers pay close attention. A short drive gets you to the edge of a giant street fair, and the driver apologizes for being unable to get closer.Once the cab is paid and driving away, you turn your attention back to the faire."What do you want to do first?" Ray asks you, letting his fingers entangle with yours."Probably the baby rides, and games, like always." Peter's voice surprises us."Behave," Dana punches his shoulder, a little hard, and smiles. "Not everyone wants to die of a heart attack." She tells him."Let's go look around." You say, smiling up at Ray.He smiles back, but he's obviously embarrassed by what Peter said."Don't worry." You tell Ray. "I know Peter's being a jerk.""He always makes fun of me." Ray says."Well, you promised me to do what *I* want today, right?""I did?" He whispers.You nod. "Yep."Even though you keep together, mostly, you end up scattered into three couples. It's a relief when you can no longer feel Peter's presence.You take turns playing carnival games and riding the various rides, avoiding the monster coaster that's advertised all over.“You sure you don’t wanna ride the monster?” Ray asks, pointing at the sign.“I’m sure.” You squeeze his hand, and he smiles in relief. “I want to win that giant teddy bear over there.”“Axe throwing? Sure, let’s give it a go.” Ray smiles.By the time the sun sets, you are both full of faire food and Ray is carrying the giant teddy bear in a fireman's carry on his back.You see Egon and Janine approaching, wearing matching tee shirts and shorts that advertise the Faire, which surprises you."Ice cream accident… don't worry, we're fine." Janine smiles. "Peter wants us all to meet for the fireworks. You coming?"Ray nods. As you all walk to where Peter waits, Ray pulls you back slightly."Hey, uh… I know what you did."You look at him in the sunset light, his natural softness glowing in the golden hour as it fades. "What? I enjoyed myself?""You deliberately avoided the wilder stuff. I heard you're an adrenaline junkie." His blush is almost lost in the sunset."Less so since joining the company.” You smile up at him. “You have a good day?"He stops and leans forward to kiss your forehead. "Absolutely. Thank you. You?"You nod. "Absolutely.” You echo his words. “There they are…"Egon and Janine are already cuddled together on their blanket on the grass, Dana and Peter are smoothing theirs out.You and Ray spread out the third one, annoying a couple who was making a beeline for your spot.They stalk away and Ray sets the bear down on the blanket."Got a name for this monster yet?" He grins at you and you shake your head. “I’m working on it. He hasn’t told me yet. Something butch and manly, though. Maybe Mr. Squishy.”He laughs heartily as he sits down and you sit beside him. Suddenly you feel awkward, a little shy. Everyone sees the two of you as a couple, but Ray has never said anything at all.He lies back on the bear's leg, and reaches his arms out. You snuggle up and lie your head on his shoulder."Ray-"He says your name and you both giggle."You first." You say.He takes a breath and leans up, dislodging you so that you lean up. "Um, well…"You smile at him.He's so awkward and flustered. His hair still in his eyes, which are soft and sparkling, almost, his smile a little gooey. He leans forward and kisses you on the lips swiftly, a chaste peck, and he pulls back, waiting for a reaction.You grin and pull him closer, kissing him warmly and deeply, just as the fireworks start."Peter, you're missing the show…" you hear Dana say."Different show." Peter says.You pull back from kissing Ray and flip off Peter, who laughs.You settle into Ray’s arms, the two of you leaning on Mr Squishy, and watch the fireworks, his arm lazily petting your back, your hand on his chest.Ray whispers your name, and you lean in. He whispers. “I have had the best day of my life.”You kiss his cheek. “Me too.”
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It's quiet when you get home… usually Ray is home first, his blues gently filling the air, assuring you he's there. in the time it takes you to start worrying, softer music plays, some of that nu-age tones and frequencies that seems to make the rounds. Somehow, it always helps when your time if the month attacks you from behind like a third rate wrestlemania celebrity.You sigh, the mood music doing its job and easing a layer of tension. Then you smell the lavender candle and see the coffee table fillled with snacks and water and Ray's hydration concoction… lemon juice and honey mostly but some other herbal he got from a customer that he likes to call his secret formula.Weird thing is, he's jumping the gun. You feel fine.Ray peeks in from the kitchen and grins wide at you, hisnhair in his face, his eyes sparkling. "Hey! Making your favorite! I've got a movie marathon queued up and the bathroom stocked up and everything else you need!"You grin and walk over to kiss his forehead, then his cheek. "Are you sure? I'm fine… nothing's going on…"Ray blinks, then startles as a timer pings. He rushes back to the oven and presents the best looking and best smelling food in the world."Ah…" he vocalize a moment as he sets the food down and looks at the calender on the wall. "Yeah. You always fall on the Half moon after full… and five or take a day or two… yeah, it should have already started. You could set a clock to your cycle. It's perfectly predictable."You shrug your shoulders and Ray moves in close, wrapping his arms around you. "Are you okay? You don't feel unwell?"Another layer of stress crumbles as you hold each other. You.smile and nod, even though he can't see either. "Today was really stressful… we can still do the routine… it would help."Ray steps back and kisses your forehead, then your cheek, then your lips. "Sounds good to me… go sit down and I'll plate up."You grin and go into the living room, settle.on the couch with your stomach cuddle pillow. Ray appears with a tray and sets it on the coffee table.Cheesy black and white horror films, good food, and Ray's warmth fills the evening, escorting the night through into early morning. He practically carries you to bed as the morning birds start to stir.The next few days, Ray continues to greet you with the full routine, and nothing changes.Sometimes, you catch him looking at you thoughtfully, and it's fifty fifty whether you'll see concern or a soft unspoken hope in his eyes.Two weeks later, you kiss him good bye as you separate to your jobs… Ray offered to close the shop for the day but you preferred him keeping busy, hopefully fretting less.He probably knows you're taking the morning off to see your doctor. Ray would absolutely be a comfort to have with you, but he would also distract you. You would be more worried and focused on him. That's why you asked if Janine could meet you there. You know she will be a tough but fair advocate, and her rabid reading habit means she knows things others might not.A few hours later, after embarrassing exams and blood tests and ultrasounds, and a consultation with a specialist, the best they can come up with is stress.You think on the way home, distracted, rehearsing the best way to tell Ray. You know he will be relieved nothing's wrong… but you also know there will be some attempt to hide disappointment.When you come inside, everything is set up just the way it has been, Ray always buying more snacks and making more drinks to keep up with things.Dinner is already on the table, a very large homemade pizza, and you know just by that choice Ray has been too anxious to do anything.He rushes in from the kitchen, his arms up in a t-rex pose, hands clinging to each other.You take his hands and kiss his wrists, and he buries his fingers in your hair to kiss you warmly."What… did the doctor figure anything out?"You nod and grin, "I'm perfectly healthy."He nods slowly, trying to hold back hope."I'm not pregnant, though…" You answer.He nods, you can see the mix of relief and sadness in his face. "I admit I got a little worked up on the idea."You kiss him lightly. "And when the time comes you will be brilliant. Look at you taking care of me. Best guess is stress, honestly, work has been a nightmare."He holds you, petting your back, and it feels good, just the way it always does…You laugh, resting your forehead on his chest. "Ray, darling?"He looks at you, his eyes wide. "Yes?""I need to go to the bathroom. Then let's cuddle and eat and watch that horrible movie that just came out… would you set a couple of Midol on my plate for when I get back?""Really? Now?" He asks, but his eyes sparkle.You kiss him again. "Pranked by my own body."
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"Crazy day, huh?" Ray says, pulling you out of a soft doze. You startle at the sound of his voice, and blink wildly as you focus on him.He's frozen in place at the foot of the bed, one towel barely clinging to his waist, the other on his head as he has frozen half way through towel drying his hair."I'm sorry, you really didn't look asleep…"You grin, he sighs, and the towel slips a little lower. Tease.He walks over and sits down. Tossing both towels over by the door."I'm sorry," you say. "What did you say?"He grins and settles into bed, his arm out in an open invitation. You cuddle up, grateful for air conditioning."I said it was a crazy day." He says softly, his hand lazily petting your hair.You sigh. "Too weird. That… thing… had some strange abilities.""Did you get caught in any of the… uh… weirdness bubbles?"You nod slowly. "Several… I don't know what everyone else experienced in there… I'm just glad it's over and that psychotic dorito is in containment.""It got me thinking." Ray says softly, shifting to look at you. "About the future, mostly."You nod. Some of what you experienced was too sad to want to remember. You cling to him a little. "Some of it was silly little things… like you being goth or having different colored hair."He laughs. "Yeah, there was one where we were… merfolk.""Ooooh. I like that idea. You'd be a hot Merman."Ray chuckles, then takes a deep shuddery breath. "I don't want us to die alone and lonely."You shuffle to look into his eyes. "Ray! Not gonna happen!"He smiles. "Oh, no, not us… there was nothing those things could throw at me that broke my faith in us... Egon… though.""You've been best friends your whole life, Ray. You'll be fine."He snuggles closer, for his comfort, for yours. "I made the last payment today. The house is clear and fully mine again.""Oh! That's such a relief. What now?""Start a savings." Ray yawns. "You know. Just in case.""Smart." You sigh and pet his chest absently, "My lease is up in a couple of months.""Wanna move in? You barely go back there anymore anyway."You sit up and look at Ray, who now eyes you with a little concern as he sits up."Are you serious?" You ask him.He nods slowly, that same hesitant expression you see so often. "Of course I am… maybe I was wrong to be so… confident about it?"You grin and shake your head. "It would be a dream." You answer. "I love your house and I love you and I even love my job, despite having lived a few moments in an episode of the Simpsons.""Eew." Ray says simply. "I was Fred Flintstone for a minute."You giggle. "Oh my god. What if we ended up in one of those Looney Tunes cartoons… where someone is drawing the character all weird?""I love those episodes!" Ray answers, eyes bright and grinning madly. "Wouldn't want to live it though!"You nod. "Wabbit season." You tickle him lightly."Duck season!" He tickles back."Wabbit season!""Duck season!"The tickle fight escalates, both of you carrying on shouting seasons at each other, until Ray has you pinned and you start hiccuping."Oops. Overboard." He resettles beside you and waits til you stop, then cuddles up again. "Forever. That's what I want. A little spooky shop for the local witches, a ton of books, I have such a collection already. A back room for research, the guys could hang out…""That sounds wonderful. Can I work there too?"He kisses your forehead. "If that's what you want, baby, Absolutely."You yawn. "Mmm. Happy." Suddenly the weird day catches up to you. You realize Ray is being gently clingy.He says your name the same time you say his."You first." You both say, and then laugh."I'm… honestly… glad you're here… tonight." He says."I think I know what you mean. I may focus on the light stuff… but some of those things were… hard."You both cuddle closer, cling a little tighter, and fall asleep, driving each other's nightmares away.
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He stands beside you and looks into your eyes. "Okay… are you ready? Feet planted, knees bent, lean forward a little. This thing has a recoil."You get lost a second in his heterochromia, his eyes soft and sparkling with genuine excitement."Hey, babe… pay attention…"You blink and nod. The weight on your back was a comfort, at first, but it is starting to lose its novelty."You hold tight to the wand and I'll turn you on."There your mind goes again. "Ray?"He flips the switch in back and you feel the electricity build in the proton pack. You adjust your grip on the Neutrona Wand."Yeah?" He asks. Double checking your stance and grip."You need to work on your wording. My inner twelve year old is giggling."He pauses, confused, blinking rapidly as he thinks, then a slow grin spreads across his face. He winks, then takes a deep breath. "Ok… ok. You ready? Look at the target, relax. You've been practicing aim for a while, I know you've got this."You take a breath and cock the wand… you swear Peter must have invented half the terminology here… and Ray steps back, giving you a double thumbs up.Safety procedures now mean that anyone new firing the Ghostbusters' most well recognised tool had to do it alone, geared up for safety, with a licensed observer on hand.Ray was behind the blast shield. He nods enthusiastically and gives thumbs up again.You turn, take a deep breath and hold it. You let the breath go in a soft slow hiss and then fire.The first target hits, a little off center, then you shoot short rapid bursts at the other five, three hit perfectly center and the others off by a small bit. You knew Ray was right. You were good.The sound of the pack changes, and you swiftly return the wand to neutral and replace it on the pack.The buckle won't let go. You're stuck in a mini Cern that's making new noises.Ray is beside you in a heartbeat."Don't break protocol! I'm stuck, you can't help! You'll be blown up!" You shout.He rattles behind you, the device starts to smell warm and your back feels uncomfortably tingly.Ray hisses, and then he's in front of you. He makes brief eye contact, winces, and grabs you by the belt, yanking it so that the heat of the proton pack sears against your back. You shout in pain, and are startled when the pack falls to the ground. Ray grabs your hand and pulls, the both of you running away from the now popping weapon.Ray shoves you hard and you land on your stomach behind the barrier, he falls on top of you, slamming into your back, shooting pain up and down your spine, your vision goes white and you recoil under him.He scrambles off of you, all in a small set of heartbeats.Whatever he says is drowned out by the explosion of the proton pack. He covers you- more pain, now nausea- and you feel the heat and shuddering of the barrier. You hear it shatter and you curl up, terrified.Ray isn't covered.The silence is sudden and complete. It slowly starts to resolve, but not much. You blink, trying to dislodge yourself from Ray, the debris that is half melted to your clothing."Don't move." He whispers. "Stay still. Wait for the rescue team. They're on the way.""You sound terrible." You fight to stay calm."Yeah. Sorry."You love the way he says sorry, that cute almost Canadian Chicago thing he does. It makes you smile. But now you can hear the pain and weakness in his voice, you fight not to break down and sob."Tell me…" you clear your throat. "How bad?""Ah… I'm guessing the pack burned you. That should heal with time. I don't think you have any broken-""You, silly." You manage."Oh. Um… well. I think I might have broken a few bones… there might be shrapnel. I can't tell if my leg is bleeding or just… numb… and well… my hearing is muffled.""Mine too. Sorry, Ray.""Why are you… sorry?" He asks, his breathing is getting ragged."I messed up the pack-""That was not operator error. No!" He cut off your protest. He hisses and grunts once, in pain. "No. That was a fault in the device. Would have happened to any of us. We'll get it."You laugh a little hysterically, causing waves of pain and nausea, making Ray groan. "Sorry. Where's the rescue?""Right here sunshine." Peter says, somewhere to your left. "We got ambulances on the way and we're now gonna get this debris off you as best we can. Might end up cutting your jumpsuits off. I hope you are wearing something under it."You groan."Shut up, Peter," Winston snaps. "Stop gabbing and start getting the glass separated from them. Don't cut them any more than they already seem to be."You hear Peter's breath close by, and sigh. "Peter?""Yeah, Sunshine?" He starts delicately removing debris from your face."Ray's gonna be ok… right?" You ask, weakly."Of course," he assures, but his hands are shaking. "You're both gonna be great."You hear the sirens, the shouts and confusion of Peter and Winston both talking to paramedics, and you feel Ray's weight lifted from you, yourself lifted and settled onto a gurney. Last thing you see is Ray being put into his ambulance almost exactly the same time you are yours."We'll follow you in Ecto." Peter says. "Don't worry." A week later, you hobble awkwardly up the drive to the firehouse and lean on your crutches to ring the bell. The door opens, Ray leaning on his crutches. You smile at each other."Hi." He says."Hi." You answer."Good idea. Pretty sure I got some weed. I'll need it now you're back. Ray has been practically floating all day."Ray nods. He risks falling to touch your face, and you turn to kiss his fingers. "Thank you." He says."What for?" You ask, blinking."Getting better." He answers."Well, then. Thank you, for the same.""Would you two get in and sit down? Geeez, we disnt rearrange the entire first floor for you two to flirt like acrobats on the highwire. God!""Missed you too, Peter!"You and Ray make your way awkwardly to the mini lounge setup and sit down on opposite couches. You grin at each other.