"What on earth is that, Ray?" Winston asked as he walked into Ray's office one evening in early winter, finding the man wrist deep in bits of wiring and metal. A set of magnifying lens goggles were pushed up on his head, making his short red hair stick up haphazardly.
"It- that is to say, THESE-" Ray pushed his goggles up off his face, his boyish enthusiasm lighting his face "are emergency beacons!"
"Beacons? What on earth for?" Winston asked, picking up the small, palm-sized button marked with their logo. He had to hand it to Ray, the man was a genius with repairing and building things. It was his hard work that kept Ecto-1 from falling apart under all the stress.
"Well, they're in case we ever get stranded from each other, it'll send out an emergency signal, which this thing-" here he held up a receiver unit "Will respond to. So far I've only built the one receiver, so I thought it'd stay here with Janine! Whaddya think?"
"Well, it's impressive, I'll give it that. Have you tested it out yet?"
"Yes, I have. I've fitted a sound chip to it so it should be fairly audible. I need to get a better speaker and alter the sound so it's more tailored to our siren, but for now, I'm pretty happy."
Ray beamed happily as he finished his spiel, standing up from his chair in a blizzard of clipped wires and bits of plastic.
"I'm gonna show this to Egon!" He announced happily to the amused Winston, "it's a rare day that I get to surprise HIM."
"It's dinnertime, Ray." Winston grabbed his collar to slow him down as he began hunting for the notes he'd made "cool your jets, boy genius."
Ray fidgeted all the way through dinner, earning a good many funny looks from Peter, who wondered what was making his friend so fidgety?
At last, as they all assembled on the couch, he unveiled his new invention. To his glee, Egon WAS pleasantly impressed by it.
"Very useful," the blonde physicist nodded as he read the documentation Ray had created "I can certainly see the practical uses for this on larger busts or even other dimensions, with enough tuning!"
Peter smiled to himself as Ray clapped his hands, grinning ear to ear. The guy was pure concentrated adorable, doubly so when he was in such a happy mood. Ray happened to take his eyes off Dr Spengler's study of his work and glance over at him just then and Peter gave him a grin and a thumbs up. Ray felt himself flush happily, it'd been a good day...
They did a field test with the beacon-badges the next day, in carefully staged conditions with Janine monitoring the radio receiver from HQ. Bar the sound that it made being a little on the too-loud side (it even startled Slimer!), she reported back that it was functioning just fine.
"Excellent work, Ray. Let me know if you make further alterations, will you?" Egon asked as they tidied away the test site at an empty storage lot.
"Sure thing." Ray chirped happily as he got behind the wheel and drove them back to HQ, grinning ear to ear. The others shared looks, this invention had clearly been in the works for awhile, judging by how excited Ray had been to present it!
Ray ran ideas for potential upgrades through his head as he took the trash out, shivering at the chill in the air. The days were getting shorter and colder as the winter months drew in tightly.
"Hay, you." the familiar murmur made Ray snap out of his daydreams as he reached the front door.
"Peter!" he greeted him warmly, feeling his heart skip a beat at the way Peter looked, leaning casually against the doorway, eyes fixed on HIM.
"Impressive work today." Peter smiled, taking in his partner's tousled red hair and content smile. Sweet sanity, he wanted to kiss Ray so badly…
"Thanks," Ray flushed "After the last time we all got separated, it seemed like a good idea. It still needs a lot of work to fine tune it, but..."
Before Peter could open his mouth to tell Ray to stop downplaying his smarts, a finger prodded him between the shoulder blades. Venkman yelped, spinning round to see Egon standing behind him, bundled up in a scarf, coat and gloves.
"Perhaps you could hold this conversation elsewhere, you two?" he asked bluntly, "I need to get outside."
"Oops, sorry Egon!" Ray said with a sheepish grin, scuttling back to one side. Peter rolled his eyes at Egon's back as the doctor left, then simply shrugged. Egon was very pragmatic and to-the-point, if nothing else.
Watching them scurry inside as he walked down the pavement, Egon shrugged and pondered why they'd chosen to have a talk out in the chill evening air, wouldn't inside where it was warm make more sense?
He was still ruminating on this when he bumped into someone standing just around the corner. With a muffled grunt, Egon landed on his rear, glasses knocked askew.
"Hm? Oh, my apologies." a blurry hand reached down and helped the scientist to his feet. Egon dusted himself off, adjusting his glasses as he did.
"It's my fault, I wasn't paying attention-" he looked up as he set his glasses back in place, seeing the figure was gone. Puzzled, he pulled the PKE meter from his pocket and checked his surroundings, but whoever it was hadn't been a ghost, just a very shy person.
"Odd." Egon muttered, then dismissed the incident and continued on his way.
Deep in the shadows of the alley the figure sighed, that'd been too close. Luckily it had been the 'airheaded' one of the group, the one that as far as he could tell was liable to walk into a closed door if he was sufficiently absorbed in his thoughts. Supposedly, he was some kind of genius, not that the man cared much, that one wasn't the problem.
He continued his surveillance from a secondary spot after that, biding his time for now.
That was how the days passed, until the final straw came that pushed his plan ahead by a few weeks.
It was just Ray and Peter alone in the firehouse that afternoon, which meant as much close contact as they could. They knew they wouldn't have long before Janine or the others came back from their various individual errands. They took whatever chances they could get for a kiss or sometimes more...
It began with Peter saying he needed a shower and did Ray fancy joining him? A blushing Ray didn't hesitate, setting his comic book aside and padding along behind Peter as he headed for the bathroom. Their fingers entwined without a word being spoken between them and they paused briefly to share a kiss at the entrance to the bathroom. Peter's eyes gleamed as he looked at his partner, toying with the zip on his jumpsuit and sending shivers of anticipation up Ray's spine.
"My Ray." was all Venkman said as he reluctantly released his partner so he could set about running the water. Ray felt a little light headed, Peter was such a passionate fellow when something caught his eye and part of Ray still thought he'd won some sort of lottery to get Peter's affections the way he did.
Peter looked at Ray over his shoulder as he turned the taps and switched on the shower. The sweet Ghostbuster stood by the doorway, whatever was on his mind making him smile. It reminded Peter of their first night together, when he'd woken to see Ray staring dreamily out the window, the light catching his eyes…
Ray blushed as he realised Peter was watching him and set about removing and folding his clothes neatly, but was soon interrupted when Peter's arms wrapped his middle and the brunette nipped at Ray's neck.
Ray gave a squeak which trailed off into a moan as a lovely shudder went up his spine. It was a sound of want and need, for he'd been thinking about a moment just like this for days now. They both had, in fact.
"You make the cutest noises." Peter whispered in Ray's ear.
"O-oh?' Ray stammered, biting his lip as his heart-rate picked up as Peter continued to nuzzle into his neck. Ray's willpower was fading fast, not that he'd intended to deny Venkman...
"I've missed your voice, Ray." Peter whispered as he plucked at Ray's underwear, pressing against Ray's back as he deftly sent the garment fluttering to the damp floor.
No way was the shower going to be a short one after THAT sentence.
Scarcely had Ray turned round then he was scooped up by Peter, a soft gasp escaping his lips as the chill of the tiles pressed against his back. Peter's warm, strong arms supported him as he braced Ray against the bathroom wall, pressing close so there was no longer any space between their bodies.
In contrast to the cold of the tile, Peter's hands were hot and Ray fancied they left an imprint on his skin as they held tightly to him. He wrapped his arms around Peter's shoulders, idly brushing a kiss across an old scar from Peter's frat days.
The shower muffled their voices as they wasted no further time in giving in to the secret temptation they kept so secret from the others.
Ray bit back a soft groan as Peter reluctantly released him from his hold and set him on his feet after they finished. Peter flushed as Ray reached up and brushed his floppy fringe out of his eyes, an elated smile on the red-head's face.
They stumbled into the shower, grinning at each other as they washed away the evidence of their actions. Ray's heart ached as he seen Peter tense up at a faint sound, before relaxing as he realised it was just the boiler. They were always on edge, even at their most uninhibited, neither wanted to think what would happen if the others were to disprove somehow. They were like a family in that sense, living together and watching over one another, but there was a downside to it as the lovers had found out. That being that a family's approval means more than most care to confront…
Ray wrapped his towel around his waist as he trailed after Venkman back to the bedroom, idly entertaining a fantasy where he could come down to breakfast and wrap his arms around Peter's shoulder, nuzzling into his hair and whispering good morning while nobody batted an eyelid.
"How long were we in there?" Peter grinned at Ray as they dressed. He shrugged a shirt on over his head, smoothing the creases out of it as he turned to look at his partner "reckon the others will be back soon."
"Yeah..." Ray sighed, twisting the bottom of his shirt between his fingers. The thought had been weighing on his mind more and more lately, ever since Janine had remarked offhandedly how much happier the usually irate Peter seemed. He'd found himself wishing he could confide in her, Janine was sweet, she wouldn't laugh at them...
Peter's next smart quip died on his lips as Ray shuffled uneasily, fiddling with his shirt hem. Why did he look so anxious all of a sudden?
"What's wrong? Was it something I said?" Venkman sat on his bed and patted his lap, pulling Ray down soon as he got near enough. Ray smiled guiltily and toyed with Peter's collar, a sure sign something was on his mind. Peter linked his arms around Ray's middle, kissing his lips gently and feeling Ray press longingly into him.
"Spill, Raymond." he said firmly as he let him go and the other Ghostbuster sighed gloomily.
"Spiilll….." Peter prodded verbally, tickling Ray's sides with his fingers. Ray squirmed atop his lap (oh boy..) and it took all Peter's willpower to keep still.
Ray sighed and finally met Peter's eyes, deciding he may as well be honest.
"I wish- I wish we didn't have to hide like this, Peter! I hate keeping something so special a secret from the others, they're our friends Peter. Can we not just…?" he trailed off, guilt dampening his spirits.
His heart sank further as Peter winced and broke eye contact, biting his lip and tensing up.
"Don't you trust them?" Ray pleaded.
Peter idly stroked Ray's sides with his thumbs as he tried to give the man an answer he deserved, but he just couldn't.
"I do, Ray. But I just- I can't do it, not yet." his reluctance was clear in his voice.
"Why don't you want them to know, Peter?" Ray asked and Peter sighed, caressing Ray's worried face with one hand, before settling it on the back of the red-head's neck.
"I don't know," he said at last, slowly rubbing circles on the spot, noting how warm Rays skin was. He was still hot from the shower, Peter curled damp red strands of hair around his fingers as he deliberated.
"I guess I don't want them to find out, only to suddenly find myself at a distance from them. They couldn't possibly stay upset at YOU, Ray- you're just too sweet a guy. But me- I've never been taken seriously, not for long at least."
"Peter?" Ray asked, confusion and sympathy warring for control.
"I've spent so long playing two sides of myself, Ray, the smart one and the flirt/con-man side, that nobody knows which is real any more-"
He was cut off by Ray kissing him firmly, those warm lips claiming his and making him sigh happily. He was concerned however, upon seeing Ray looking on the verge of worried tears when he let him go. "Ray?"
"You're wrong Peter, I know you! So do the others. Please don't talk about yourself that way-" Ray shook his head adamantly "I can't stand it-!"
"Hush now, it's alright." Peter nuzzled him, wanting to erase that sadness from Stantz's features. He fussed over him until Ray calmed down, the worried trembling of his gentle hands stilling at last. He hated seeing Ray so anxious, he was such a sweet guy.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, Ray. C'mon, let's go get something to eat, OK?" he offered, making Ray perk up a little.
But as they descended the stairs, Ray noted Peter hadn't answered his question.
Peter busied himself making an omelette, with Ray handing him ingredients and perching on the counter top to watch him cook.
While Peter hummed and stirred the omelette, Ray stared down at his shoes, lightly kicking his feet so they made a tapping sound every time they bumped against the kitchen cupboards. It took him a second to realise that Peter was humming along and that it was the Dopey Dog theme song he was drumming.
"Aww, that was fun." Peter sulked when Ray stopped.
"My legs are tired." Ray joked weakly and Peter grinned.
"Was I too demanding earlier?" he teased, tapping Ray's nose with the spatula as he spoke. Ray went red, he was so adorably innocent even after this long together and it was part of what Peter loved about him. Ray smiled softly and wiped batter off his nose, shaking his head ruefully.
Peter set the pan on simmer and moved to stand in front of Ray, wrapping the red-head in his arms and kissing him deeply. Ray gave a happy little sigh, letting his worry dissolve at the taste of Peter's kiss. Peter's hands drifted down to the utility belt on the man's uniform, hooking his fingers in it and using it to pull Ray's body as close to his own as he could. Then, he moved them down to rest on Ray's upper thighs as the kisses grew deeper and deeper.
They parted at last, faces flushed.
"Delicious." Peter teased, licking his lips. Ray flushed and ran a hand through Peter's hair, resting his hands on his shoulders. They were about to resume kissing when the smell of burning reached their noses. Peter hurriedly had to let Ray go and take the pan off the heat before it got too burnt.
"Phew, it's fine, just a little toasted." he chuckled "I'd say its still edible. Or, if this looks too gross, I could always eat y-"
"Peter!" Ray objected, turning beet red as he recalled Peter's little "present" to him the day they'd had that argument over Peter's wanton flirting. Peter clearly recalled it, going by the devilish grin on his face as Ray met his eyes.
"So damned cute, Raymond." he repeated, a phrase he used whenever Ray was being too adorable for words.
Ray gave him a stern look, but followed it up with a kiss on the lips as he hopped down from the counter.
"Maybe another time?" he murmured silkily, making Peter's eyebrows raise so high they vanished under his fringe.
"Count on it." Peter retorted as Ray fetched the plates and they set down to eat.
With the meal over with, Ray went downstairs to work on the new receiver for his emergency beacons. Peter remained upstairs to watch a TV show, but once it was over, he came back to his partner's side, curious to see what he was doing.
He rested his chin on Ray's shoulder as the other Ghostbuster tinkered with the machine.
"How's it going?" he asked, the vibrations running down Ray's spine and making him laugh.
"It's fine,-Pffff- Peter, that tickles!"
Peter grinned, continuing to hum merrily so the sensation made Ray fidget and giggle.
"Cut that out!" Ray turned round at last, grabbing Peter by the collar and pushing him back until he was pressed against Ecto-1. There, he kissed him hard, heart pounding at the risk level inherent in making out right in the entrance to HQ. All it would take was one of the guys opening the door right now and- oops. But he didn't care, if Peter was going to tempt him, he'd better prepare for the consequences.
Peter responded very eagerly, wrapping his arms around Ray and letting one hand pat his bottom as Ray let him go.
"That's my Ray," He teased, giving Ray one last quick peck on the lips before releasing him "so how's work?"
"Oh, it's fine!" Ray beamed, gesturing to the unit "all that's left is to test it."
"Nice," Peter grinned as he examined the new model. This one had what looked to be a military garde sonar screen that took up the biggest part of it. "Where'd you get the parts from?"
"I have an old friend who works for the army," Ray smiled "I asked him to keep an eye out for decommissioned parts he can sell me, plus he's always finding little bits and pieces left over from demolition of gear to boot."
They were so absorbed in the equipment that they didn't see a person spying on them from the window in the alley next door.
The stranger had observed impassively as he seen that bright-eyed, red-haired man start work on the funny-looking bit of kit on the bench, but where was the other one?
He grinned now, as Venkman finally made an appearance.
-There you are.- he thought, with a smirk. But his grin soon turned to a scowl as he seen Venkman wrapping himself around the red-head, doing something to make him laugh, resulting in the red-head pushing Peter back against the side of the car and kissing him fiercely. Venkman didn't fight him off, much to the observers fury, instead he held him as close as he could, causally feeling him up as they parted.
He couldn't hear what was going on, but he watched as they turned back to the bench, where upon the red-head- what was his name again anyway?- explained whatever he was building. Venkman seemed very impressed, slipping an arm around the other man's waist and nuzzling his hair. The red-head blushed at whatever compliment Venkman had given him and the observer fumed as they kissed again, an obvious passion in their movements.
He retreated from his hiding spot before he was forced to witness anything further.
His blood boiled, how DARE Venkman do this to him? He'd spent all that time away from New York, torn away from the one he'd loved by his own brother, all because of the family business. Now, he'd finally set up the headquarters he wanted in New York and had been trying to find a way to announce his return to the Ghostbuster's life. He truly believed they'd had a connection, those dates they gone on- he'd even had the chance to sleep with Venkman, recalled the two of them doing the deed in a plush four-poster bed at a hotel.
He'd started observing the firehouse at a distance, trying to gauge when would be a good time to get Venkman alone, away from those nosy friends of his. But now it seemed the selfish fool was sleeping with his co-worker.
-What does he see in him?- he scowled as he hatched a plan to get Venkman's attention for himself. First he had to get him away from that other man, keep him somewhere safe. Then he'd deal with the shameless red-head that had seduced HIS Peter.
Ray and Peter were entirely unaware of this, too busy laughing and chattering as they both went back upstairs to watch TV and wait for the others to return so that Ray could test out his locater mark II.
Three days passed, during which the new beacon locator proved a superior upgrade to its previous version, giving a much more accurate reading. That the beacons looked like innocuous little badges on their lapels was a bonus, nobody would look twice at them.
"Nice one Ray." Winston admired the innocent looking badge, making Ray beam happily. Between Egon's IQ and Ray's engineering know-how, they were pretty much set for whatever came their way!
The most fateful day in the ghostbusting lovers' romance dawned chilly but bright to start with. The four of them got through two early calls, three more time consuming ones, came home and passed out, then went out again for another.
"It's OK guys, you're clear for the afternoon-" Just as Janine spoke, the phone rang and the boys uttered a collective groan. Ray whined softly, slumping against the side of the desk.
"Yes? Oh hi, this is the Ghostbusters. You got spooks, we got traps- uh huh….yes, I see." Janine nodded as she wrote something down "Of course."
The boys gave her despairing looks as she put the phone down..
"It's just a small job, this wont take long, I'm sure." Janine softened the blow as best she could.
"Why don't just two of us go?" Winston suggested.
"Indeed, I require more parts-" Egon began.
"And it's my turn to pick up the groceries, so we may as well go." Winston finished up, nodding to Spengler.
"Gladly." Peter wheezed, crashing onto the floor, face-down, with a muffled snore. Ray yawned and nodded his agreement as he flopped down into a spare chair at the table behind Janine's desk.
After a minute or two they both migrated upstairs to the couch, Peter yawning softly as he did.
Janine got another call not long after, but this time it was a message saying there was a package awaiting pickup, addressed to the Ghostbusters, at a local courier company. She told the boys she'd be back asap and strolled out, humming to herself.
"I need a drink;" Peter said he rolled off the couch and got to his feet "want one?"
Ray nodded drowsily, hearing Peter amble over to the fridge and pry it open.
"Crap, we're out of soda.." Peter sighed a moment later, making Ray jolt back to wakefulness.
"Oh, Well, I'll go get some." Ray offered, bounding off the couch. He grabbed his coat and headed downstairs, Peter following close behind "you stay here, keep an ear on the phone."
"You got it!" Peter gave a mock salute as he sat at the desk, watching Ray as he left.
-If ogling him is wrong, I don't wanna be right!- he thought, grinning ear-to-ear as he leant back in Janine's chair, putting his feet up on her desk. He'd been sitting there about a minute or two when he heard the door open and footsteps tapping across the floor towards him.
"That was fast, Ray. You're gonna wanna rest after THAT fast a food run, wanna sit on my lap?"
"So, it's Ray is it?" an unfamiliar voice said and Peter yelped loudly, opening his eyes. Someone was standing over him, holding a handkerchief. Before Peter could yell or flee, the linen was clamped over his nose and mouth. He struggled futilely, but his head was getting fuzzier and fuzzier.
-Ray...- he thought, his fingers scrabbling for something to hit this guy over the head with as he couldn't reach the beacon button, not with this guy restraining him. His fingers fumbled across something in his attacker's pocket and he dimly felt it cut his finger, then he blacked out, body giving in to the knock-out drug.
The one who'd been following Peter all this time laid him down on the floor now. He returned to his car, coming back with a large rug. He used this to made it look like he was simply moving things in and out of the firehouse. But he'd chosen his time well, there was little traffic here at this hour and he'd gotten the secretary out of the way with a hoax phone call. The fact that this "Ray" had essentially left Peter all alone only made things easier…
He was so busy casually abducting his former lover that he didn't see the business card Peter had dislodged in his struggles, now wedged between the cracks in the floorboards. He only had eyes for what he'd come for..
He drove away, the unconscious Ghostbuster in the back of his car.
"Peter! I'm back!" Ray called cheerily as he strode in the door "I got your favourite-" he cut off as he seen Peter wasn't at the desk.
He called his name, assuming he was probably just in the bathroom or the kitchen. But his voice only echoed back at him, there was no response. He peered round the back of the desk in case Peter was hiding behind it, for he'd done that to Winston once, genuinely startling poor Zeddemore.
He seen a bunch of objects scattered here and there, as well as a seemingly blank square of card wedged between a crack in the floorboard.
Something was wrong, he just knew it…
He dumped the grocery bag down on the desk, kneeling down amongst the wreckage. He thought back to all those mystery shows he and the others liked to watch; these were signs of a struggle, someone had been in here, had they kidnapped or hurt Peter?
Ray began to panic, fingers trembling as he reached for the slice of card that peeked out from between two of the floorboards. It slipped away and Ray uttered a desperate cry, racing to his workbench for a chisel.
Eventually, after much force, he succeeded in lifting the board just enough to rip it out with his bare hands. The jagged wood tore bloody cuts along his hands but he didn't pay any heed, barely felt it. He couldn't take the chance that that card was a clue...
He lifted the card using a pair of tweezers normally used for manipulating small wires. Bringing it up to his face, he turned it over. There was a thin smudge of blood on the edge and a business address in fancy letters.
-Could that blood be Peter's?- he worried, getting up and running upstairs to use Egon's computer.
He shakily logged on and booted up with a local business directory program, Egon always kept it updated and it made getting to their clients easier and faster. The address Rays shaking hands typed in came up with a main building address here in NY, along with two listed 'licenses pending' for other premises. Ray thought about raiding the main office, but if this guy had kidnapped Peter, why would he take him someplace so public? Especially since, if given half a chance, Peter would kick up so much fuss he'd bring every cop in the area down on the place like a ton of bricks.
Ray looked at his hands, then at the blood spattered on the keys. He grimaced and ran for the medkit, cleaned his hands up and wrapped them in bandages. Then he took off, the door slamming behind him. In his frantic state and unvoiced guilt that his leaving had left the door open for Peter's kidnapping, he didn't think to wait for his friends to return with Ecto-1. He'd scarcely been gone five minutes before a rather cross Janine came in.
"Hmph, stupid couriers, "no item on database- ha!" she stopped short as she seen the place was inexplicably empty. She called for the boys as she approached her desk, but got no answer and no note had been left either. Then she seen a discarded grocery bag on her desk, a mess on the floor and a ripped-up floorboard surrounded by specks of blood.
"Just what went on here?!" Janine cried. She grabbed the radio, calling Egon straight away.
Meanwhile, in a newly redecorated warehouse, Peter finally stirred. He soon snapped completely awake when he realised he was tied to a chair.
"Hey, what's goin' on here?" he demanded.
"Oh good, you're awake." a slightly off-kilter voice reached Peter's ear just as someone's hands came to rest on his shoulders.
"Get off me!" Peter snapped in a furious panic, trying to wriggle round and get a look, but the bonds were too tight. The figure came round to face him and Peter stared again, why did he look familiar?
"Who are you?" he asked uneasily.
"I'm hurt, Peter, really I am. Did you forget me so easily?" the man said, laughing brittlely. Peter continued to stare blankly at him in dazed confusion so the man elaborated "I'll assume it's the chloroform I dosed you with and your memory will come back soon."
"Why have you kidnapped me?" Peter said evenly, trying to feel if there was any way out of his bonds.
"Because it was time, Peter. We've been apart for too long, I missed you."
NOW Peter recognised him, he'd a brief fling with this guy, but it hadn't ended well.
"Did you forget?" he pointed out, hoping he'd remembered this right "I broke it off? A small thing like you being too controlling, ring any bells?"
He bit back a curse as the guy holding him captive slapped him hard enough to make his head spin. He coughed, tasting blood and a quick check with his tongue confirmed he'd bitten his lip and he growled, all pretence of civility gone as he glared at his captor.
"Let me go right this instant, you deranged lunatic!"
But all that earned him was another slap.
"Really Peter, you used to be so charming. Whatever has that creature done to you?"
"What creature?" Peter asked, did this guy think he was possessed? The guy in front of him laughed, pressing a hand to chest and looking wounded.
"Why, that "Ray", who else? I seen how he pushed you around that day in the fire-station. It was rather cruel of him, pushing you up against that car-"
"Are you insane?" Peter gaped as the penny dropped and a shiver creeped up his spine "Two things; Ray's about the gentlest guy in the whole goddamn world and on that note, YOU WERE SPYING ON US?!"
"I had to make sure I could get you alone, especially after seeing that monster groping and rough handling you-"
"Shut up, ass!"
"-you weren't safe with that creep. He must've forced you to want him, why else would you treat what we had, so callously?"
"Because whatever we USED to have is long gone." Peter barked "You said you were moving, tried to make me quit my job and go with you and got all crazy when I refused!"
"I know what's best Peter," the guy said and Peter felt like nothing he said was even piercing the veil of lunacy surrounding this man "I haven't forgotten how adorable you were that last night, the way you shouted my name, you were so very delicious to bed."
Peter shuddered, recalling this guys name now. One of the few times he'd let someone else nail HIM.
"Landon, isn't it?" he said cautiously.
A manic gleam of hope entered 'Landon's' eyes, he'd guessed correctly.
"You DO remember me! I knew you would..." He let his eyes roam over Peter, smirking softly. Leaning on the armrests with one hand, he trailed the other hand up Peter's chest, feeling it rise and fall rapidly in what he convinced himself was lust.
Peter struggled to stay calm, but couldn't hide his revulsion when Landon tangled his hand in his hair, forcing a rough kiss onto his lips. Peter coughed and swore as he was let go, how dare that creep-?
Landon uttered a low groan, Peter was just like he'd remembered… He licked his lips, frowning as he tasted something coppery.
"Oh, you're bleeding? Haha, best be careful Peter, I don't want you getting broken..."
-He's lost it, gone completely coocoo for choco puffs. Something's happened to him that's made him snap- or maybe he never got over me, crazy as that sounds.-
"And best of all, you don't need to worry about your friends finding us, I got rid of your gear!" Landon clapped his hands eagerly, as if he'd just announced he'd booked THE best restaurant for their date.
"You did what?!" Peter glanced around now and sure enough, he couldn't see his proton pack and traps. Everything had been removed from his uniform, even the small beacon badge Ray had made. Seeing Peter glance at the lapel, Landon giggled, saying he didn't want Peter trying to hurt himself with the pin. Peter shot him a withering look, whilst inwardly panicking. Without that button he had no hope of escaping.
Time ticked by, in which Landon came and went, he seemed to be setting something up and at one point Peter saw a box of ammunition in his hands. What was he doing, booby-trapping the place?
-Oh hell NO, I am not sticking around to watch him kill someone over me!-
He surreptitiously wriggled his wrists against the ropes tied around them for several pulse-pounding minutes before feeling the cuts start to bleed at last. He felt his shoulders protest against the strain, but at last he got one hand most of the way free.
With a muted gasp, he pulled the whole way free, feeling the rough rope scour his wrists as he did. Ignoring the pain, he undid the other wrist and shakily pulled himself free. Glancing around at the barely furnished room, he spotted a window set high in the wall.
He dragged the chair he'd formerly been strapped to and stood on the back of it, grabbing for the ledge with shaking fingers. He was just about to pull himself up when he heard the chilling sound of a gun cocking. His blood went cold and he risked looking over his shoulder.
Sure enough, a gun was aimed squarely at his back.
"Get down, Peter."
"The hell I will!" Peter snarled and Landon shook his head and tutted, like he was dealing with a disobedient child, not a full grown adult.
"Come down, Peter. Otherwise I shall be forced to hurt you. I don't want to, it doesn't give me any joy to punish you, but if you insist on being so cruel despite my kindness in bringing us back together, you leave me no choice."
Peter's arms were tired, but he tried to haul himself up nonetheless. There was a sudden loud bang and a chunk of plaster to the right side of the window blew away in a spray. Peter yelped, the loud noise startling him bad enough to make his hands lose their grip and he fell to the floor, one ankle twisting painfully under him. He cried out in pain, trying to stand but soon crumpling to the cold floor again.
The barrel of the gun came into view and Peter glared through pain-filled eyes at Landon.
"See, you belong here, with me.." Landon beseeched manically "stop this game, forget that imposter for your affections and stay with ME."
Peter glared at him, trying to force himself to speak, but the words jammed in his throat. Landon's expression soured again and he raised the gun, before striking his captive over the head with it and knocking him out.
This time, he tied Peter up and left him curled atop the threadbare cot in the corner of the room. He'd need the rest.
"Now to deal with this "Ray"," Landon cackled, holstering the gun and heading towards his car.
While Peter was being transported across town to the warehouse, Egon and Winston had arrived home to find the place a mess and Janine in tears.
"Egon!" She ran over to him, throwing her arms around him and burying her head in his shoulder "T-they're gone, both of them!"
"Who? Wait, you don't mean Ray and Peter?!" Winston went pale "what happened?"
Janine told them the little she knew as she pointed to the blood spatters by the ripped up floorboard. Egon took a sample and they all went upstairs to his lab where a quick test revealed it to be Ray's, making Janine worry even more. Egon noticed that, alongside the dried blood on the keys, another program was active on the computer. Bringing it up, he studied the details on the screen.
"This was Ray's work, he knows how to operate my system. Why was he looking at this?"
"A high-rise? That's a business building." Winston shook his head "I don't understand one bit of this, Egon. Did someone coerce them, were they kidnapped?"
Egon puzzled it over for a moment, then he realised the obvious truth.
"Only Peter was." He said at last, making them both look at him.
"Let me explain;" he said seriously "Peter doesn't know how to log into my system, he's always asking Ray or I to do it for him. So it had to be Ray who came up here in such a panic. The bloodstains by the desk indicate that Ray ripped up the floorboard, but why would he do that unless there was some evidence as to Peter's whereabouts under there? He must've left the firehouse just long enough for whoever our culprit is to kidnap Peter, then when he came back, he panicked and went looking for clues."
"Only to run off alone, that headstrong goof-" Winston shook his head, stomach heavy with worry "He and Peter have been hanging out a lot lately, I figured they'd gotten a shared hobby or something."
"They're sharing something alright." Janine muttered under her breath, how were these two so oblivious?
"Huh?" Egon tilted his head at her, looking puzzled "Isn't that what Winston just said, Janine?"
"Never mind." she sighed "let's just find those two."
But where to start first?
Ray meanwhile, was creeping up on the warehouse district, following the two addresses he'd memorized. The first one was a shell, it hadn't even been rebuilt yet, which meant the other one was the most likely place to start. It did occur to him then that he could just call the police and he stopped, hesitating with one hand to his radio. What if the guy hurt Peter when he heard sirens, but on the other hand, what if Ray alone wasn't enough to save him?
He was torn out of these thoughts by the loud scream of a car engine and whirled in time to see a fancy grey sports car pelting right for him!
He yelled and dove aside, dropping the handset and hitting his shoulder hard against the packed dirt floor. Wincing in pain he got to his feet and quickly took off, ducking into the shadows between the warehouses. He hitched in shallow breaths, heart pounding, where was his radio-? He looked for where it'd been, seeing only a frayed wire. It had gotten ripped off in his haste to dive away from the car, meaning he was well and truly on his own-
He glanced down, seeing the badge on his lapel. Hope flared as he pressed it hard, hoping the wiring inside wasn't damaged.
Back at HQ, the device down on the workbench went crazy, shrieking, beeping and scaring poor Slimer, who'd been sniffing at it in curiosity. He reached the stairs just as Egon came pelting down it, bumping into the doctor's chest.
"Take it easy, Slimer." Egon instructed him.
'Where Ray?" Slimer asked "Where Petey?"
"Thats what this thing is going to tell us!" Egon declared triumphantly, picking the device up and racing for Ecto-1 "scramble!"
"Egon!" He halted, looking back at Janine "do you want me to call the police?"
"Yes, have them meet us at the final destination, I'll radio you when we get there!" Egon assured her. She nodded, looking worried.
"Please come back, all of you." She whispered sorrowfully.
Ray gasped in panic as he was forced to dive aside again, the car relentlessly pursuing him. He didn't know who was driving, but he was willing to bet his salary that it was whoever was behind kidnapping Peter. Clearly, he didn't want anyone rescuing him!
Ray felt this stomach sink in horror as he hit a dead end between two warehouses and the heavy metal fence that surrounded the building behind them. He turned to face the car rushing towards him, desperately thinking of an escape as time seemed to slow to a crawl.
He spotted a length of tarp hanging from a pipe vent above his head and ran forward, praying this worked. His boots met the cars bonnet as he jumped up, grabbing the tarp and using it like a rope to swing himself the rest of the way over the car. He let go and hit the ground, rolling into a ball as best he could with the proton pack on.
He winced as he felt sharp chips of concrete slice into the bandages he'd hastily applied, cutting them to ribbons. Gasping breathlessly and feeling about to be sick, he ran off again, trying to lose his pursuer.
Thankfully, the cars limited manoeuvrability in the alley gave Ray enough leeway to lose it and the maniac driving it. As he ran behind another unpainted building, his stomach churned and he dove for a trash can just in time to be violently sick.
A pained sob tore from his throat as he finished, staggering back as shocked convulsions followed.
Spotting a bent panel behind the bin, he crawled inside the building and seen a faded bathroom sign. This warehouse was empty and full of dust, but by some miracle the plumbing still worked. Shaking, Ray took a drink and wiped his mouth, looking at his pallid reflection in the smudged mirror. Now he just had to find his way back to that warehouse at the start of his run, and avoid the loon in his car.
He pushed the door open, only to be confronted by the business end of a gun. He gulped nervously, backing up.
"You didn't think you could evade me, did you?" The guy holding it grinned coldly "your footsteps left a nice dusty trail for me, you did a very poor job of hiding your tracks, tubby."
"Screw you." Ray snapped before he could stop himself, but soon shut up when the guy stepped forward and took the safety off.
"Shut up, you. I don't know how you did it, tricking Peter into wanting you-"
"You think I tricked HIM?" Ray glared back "here's news, bud; he started it!"
"Not one word out of you!!" the guy screamed, silencing Ray.
Under threat of being shot, he was marched out of the building and towards where the car waited. But just as the guy leaned down to open the door, Ray heard a familiar whine up ahead and took a chance. He kicked the guy in the shin and threw himself back towards the alley. He heard his pursuer give chase, heard the gun cock-
Then there was a tremendous crash and the guy whipped round. Ray spun wonkily on one heel and dove back towards him, wrestling the gun from his grip. He opened the clip, throwing it as far away as he could before stuffing the empty gun into his waistband.
Landon stumbled back from Ray as the tables turned, staring in shock as he seen a bright white vehicle had slammed into his, punting the sports car several feet sideways into a wall. On the car's side was a symbol he knew well.
"Stay right there!" Winston yelled as he all but flew out of the car and tore over to the guy whilst rolling his sleeves up.
"Ray!" Egon called, jogging over to the stunned red-head who was staring blankly at them "are you hurt?"
"Huh? Yes, n-no, a few scratches, but I'm fine." Ray said shakily "we gotta find Peter, he-"
"I know Ray, I worked it out from the evidence you left behind." Egon reassured him, "we'll find him!"
Ray nodded, then flinched as he heard a volley of curse words aimed at him and the others as Winston wrestled the guy to his feet. Winston proceeded to hog-tie the kidnapper, dumping him in the back of the Ecto-1 as the other two ran over.
"Where's Peter?" Ray yelled, grabbing Landon by the lapels.
"I'm not telling you, he's mine!" the guy cackled and nothing Ray said would make him say another word. Finally, Ray got fed up and punched him hard enough to knock him out. He massaged his hand, noting the wounds from the floorboard thing had re-opened and fresh blood smeared his palms amid the shreds of bandages.
"I was close to finding the place, then he tried to run me over." he said shakily.
"Relax, Ray, the police should be here soon-" Egon said calmly, but Ray was too frightened to heed him.
"I can't leave him, Egon! What if that creep's done something to him?" Ray looked close to throwing up again "he's obsessed with Peter-"
"Yeah, we got that hint." Winston raised an eyebrow "Did Peter, y'know, try the other side of the coin at some point?"
Ray winced, not wanting or knowing how to say Peter had seen both sides of said coin, enjoyed them both. He felt close to collapsing from panic already, afraid the instructions would blur from his memory the longer he stood still. Thus he took off running, hearing Egon yelling after him, followed by the familiar sound of the physicist's long stride as he ran after Ray.
-He's in shock.- Egon thought, on seeing just how out of it Ray seemed –from what we seen, that madman was trying to run him down with his car, that would be enough to shock anyone.-
Winston hopped back into the car, driving after the other two at a slow pace and keeping an eye on the backseat passenger.
"Uggh...where am I?" the guy groaned as he came to.
"A whole heap of trouble." Winston replied. Landon jolted awake, seeing where he was, how he was tied up and that one of Peter's colleagues was the one holding him hostage. He panicked, this wasn't the plan! He began thrashing about, screaming and shouting obscenities at Ray, Egon, and Winston himself. Winston just shrugged and drove on, the guy wasn't getting out of Ecto-1 any time soon, he'd tied him pretty tightly.
He reached the doors to the warehouse, seeing Ray and Egon standing there. They looked over as he approached.
"Ready?" Winston asked, readying his proton gun.
The other two nodded and Egon took the lead, edging the door open. Instantly, his sharp eyes caught the gleam of what he assumed to be a gun and he motioned the others back. Clearing some distance, they blew the door off its hinges, evaporating the trap in the process. Through some ingenious use of mirrors, tape and a pole, they disarmed some smoke bombs and finally reached the third floor.
"Peter!" Ray cried once more, heart leaping as he heard a muffled "Mmmphhh!" from down the hall.
Ray charged off, reaching the door and wrestling with the lock. But his bloodied hands couldn't grip and the lock was securely closed.
"It wont open!" he cried anxiously, feeling Egon's hand settle on his shoulder a moment later.
"Stand back." Egon said. He ran some calculations in his head and with a sudden movement, he kicked the door with such force it actually tore right off its hinges.
"Whoa." Winston remarked, but this was soon forgotten as they seen Peter, gagged and bound atop the bed. His eyes filled with relief as he seen them and Ray was soon running over and pulling the length of bedsheet from around his mouth. Peter coughed and gasped, struggling to breathe deeply. Ray's hands shook as he helped him sit up, the other two racing over to cut the ties restraining Peter.
Venkman huddled over, still coughing brokenly. Ray sat on the floor with a bump, legs turning to jelly from relief.
"What happened, Peter? Are you OK?" Winston asked, but Peter shook his head, saying he really didn't want to talk about why he'd been kidnapped.
"That guy was crazy, tried to run Ray down when he tried to get in here earlier." Winston stared around the room as he spoke, seeing a notice board covered in photos and newspaper clippings. He walked over, scanning his eyes over the contents.
"The police should be here soon," Egon informed Peter "You're safe now."
Peter nodded dumbly, why wasn't he saying anything? So much was crowding his head...
"Wow, you weren't kidding Ray, that guy was obsessed with Peter!" Winston brought the board over to the bed. It was chock full of things relating to Venkman, from newspaper headlines to photos cut from magazines. One photo that'd clearly been taken recently, showed Ray and Peter exiting a movie theatre, laughing and talking.
"Hey I remember this, you guys went to see that new sci-fi horror movie didn't you?" Winston asked and Peter nodded again.
"This explains why he was obsessed with trying to bump Ray off." Egon frowned "If this guy had an obsession with you and made the assumption that you and Ray were partners, it explains his psychopathic reaction."
Behind them, still huddled on the floor, Ray looked at Peter, so much he wanted to say but feeling it wasn't his place. Peter was the one who'd been kidnapped, if he wanted to say so…
Peter met his eye, but he was too shaken over the incident and thus bit his lip and ducked his head. Ray felt his heart ache and his shaken body didn't take kindly to this extra strain. He suddenly knew he was about to be abruptly and painfully sick again. He wobbled to his feet, running out of the room with a muffled groan.
"Ray?" Peter spoke at last, his voice a dry croak.
"What's wrong with Ray?" Winston asked "Did that weirdo hurt him, Egon? Was he injured?"
"Nothing I could get a proper look at, he would not stay still." Egon frowned "I shall see to him."
With those words he left, leaving Winston with Peter. Seeing Venkman looked shell-shocked and dazed, Winston sat beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"It's OK, Pete." He assured him "we got the guy, you're fine."
Peter nodded, but inside he felt worse than ever. Why was he such a coward?
-Ray..- he thought sadly, resting his head on his knees.
Meanwhile, Egon had tracked Ray to a bathroom down the hall, where he heard a tap running and muffled noises.
"Ray?" he pushed open the door, seeing Ray was stood at the sink, splashing water in his face "are you alright?"
"Just a little queasy, Egon. I got knocked about a bit during the chase." Ray sniffled, trying to hide his distress by pretending to cough as he dried his face, seeing he looked pale and haggard in the mirror. Egon appeared beside him, looking very concerned.
"Come on, we're bringing you and Peter to the hospital." he said kindly and Ray nodded. As they walked, Ray kept his head down and his arms wrapped around his stomach. Winston looped Peter's arm over his shoulders, supporting his friend as Peter clung gratefully onto him.
Just as the four of them reached the entrance, they heard multiple sirens on the air. Two police cars and an ambulance swiftly pulled up, much to Egon's relief. He dealt with the police while Winston went with Ray and Peter to the hospital.
Both men stayed silent through the paramedics' checkups, leading Winston to wonder if there was more to this then first met the eye. Usually, when Peter was in shock or such like, he'd be cracking immature jokes and hitting on the ladies. A blue-eyed redhead was tending to Peter, but he barely managed to answer her questions, let alone flirt. Ray was outright mute, just nodding and shaking his head to each question, his gaze distant. The Paramedic tending to him shot a glance at his female co-worker and shook his head, mouthing "severe shock" to her.
Winston wondered what had happened before they'd arrived? All he and Egon had seen was some guy holding Ray at gunpoint and upon hearing their approach, Ray had kicked his attacker and gotten out of the way before Ecto-1 ploughed into the vehicle. Those sports cars were like tissue paper compared to Ecto-1's sturdy build.
At the hospital, the two were taken to separate rooms and Winston waited for Egon to arrive.
"How are they?" the doctor asked as he met Zeddemore in the lobby.
"Peter's stirring a little, I caught him making a joke to a nurse. But I'm worried about Ray, Egon. He's barely said a word. This is bad, especially for him, I think something happened, wether that guy tried to kill him over his imagined jealously, or what..."
"We'll talk to them once they've had some rest." Egon promised "We'll stay here tonight if we have to, I'm sure I can find us a couch to sleep on."
"You're right, Egon." Winston sighed "it's been a rough day for both of them!"
Peter couldn't sleep, he tossed and turned, sighing loudly each time. The doctors had said he was fine, barring obvious shock and the bruises on his jaw. Compared to the incident where he'd face-planted a concrete floor, this was nothing. He recalled Ray bringing him to the hospital that day and staying with him all night. He felt tears prick his eyes, why hadn't he told the truth? He'd seen how unhappy Ray had looked when Peter hadn't said a word. But knowing Ray, he'd kept silent, believing Peter should be the one to say it.
-I owe him this much. I don't care if I lose my job and the respect of the others, Ray's too goddamn precious!- Peter felt himself start to crack, worried tears spilling onto the pillow as he curled up in a ball.
After he'd calmed down, he realised he really needed some air. So he got up, wrapping a nightgown around himself and padding out into the hallway. He seen Winston and Egon passed out on the couches a little way down the hall and managed a faint smile, he was lucky to have friends like these guys. Once he 'came out' though, would that change?
He was just walking on when Winston made a muffled snoring sound, jolted awake and blurted:
"No officer, it was Peter's fault!"
"Hay!" Peter objected before he could stop himself and promptly face-palmed.
"Peter?" Winston got up with a groggy sigh "what're you doing up?"
"I, uh.." Peter turned his face away so Winston wouldn't see how flushed he was "I needed to pee."
"There's a toilet in your room." Winston smelled a rat, Peter was hiding something.
"Then I needed a drink." Venkman kept his back to him still.
"Theres a jug-"
"Winston!" Peter hissed, whipping round to face him and seen Winston looked smug.
"Gotcha." he said, making Peter fume. He was all set to push his co-worker away, refusing the support he offered, then unexpectedly all the rage left him and he just went blank, shoulders slumping and vision blurring. A ragged sound escaped his throat and Winston was shocked to hear Peter breakdown, the normally stoic ghostbuster had reached the end of his rope it seemed.
"This, it's all my fault. Ray got hurt trying to save my sorry ass!" Peter blurted, his voice hoarse as the words spilled out of him.
"Peter? Shall I call a nurse-?" Winston began.
"No!" Peter shook his head frantically, hands raised in a pleading gesture.
Through all this, Egon slept on, too deeply asleep to be stirred.
"OK, I'm not gonna." Winston assured the high-strung Venkman. Peter uttered a sigh of relief, staring at the floor awhile until a muffled snore from Egon caught his attention.
"Hehe, he sleeps like a stick insect, doesn't he?" Peter whispered, motioning to Egon and Winston chuckled, nodding silently.
"I thought I'd prop him up in the bathroom, it'd bring a whole new meaning to "scared shitless"." Winston joked, seeing this made Peter laugh a little. Good, he needed to make him feel a little better if he was going to get any sense out of him.
He steered Peter away down the hall so they could stand in an alcove and talk privately.
"Ok Pete, what's wrong? I've never seen you this beat down. I know that guy put you through a lot, the police said you'd clearly been restrained for a while."
"It's not that, Winston-!" Peter shook his head, guilt blooming again "it's about Ray."
"He's fine Peter, just a little shocked. That creep assumed he was involved with you and took a grudge against him."
Peter couldn't take it any longer and blurted out "because it's true, Winston!"
"Ah, right- wait, say what?" Winston did a double-take.
Peter slid down the wall until he was sat in a heap at its base. Winston sat next to him, running the words round his head. Peter WAS involved with Ray, then?
"That guy, the kidnapper. He's a guy I went with for awhile, named Landon something or another. Either way, he was way too controlling, so I called it quits and forgot all about him. Suddenly, he's kidnapping me and threatening to hurt Ray…."
"I never thought you might be gay, Peter, why didn't you tell us?"
"Because I'm NOT. I'm bisexual."
"Ohh, got it. Hay, I can get behind that-oh dear sanity that sounded so wrong." Winston face-palmed and Peter managed a short laugh. But it was a pale imitation of Peter's usually vibrant humour and he soon dropped his gaze again, expression twisting in pain.
"I think it's best I leave-, not the hospital, but Ghostbusters.." Peter said choppily "I don't want to make you guys uncomfortable. I still got my degrees after all-"
"Shut up, Peter." Winston said forcefully, stopping him cold with the change in his tone. Peter blinked at him as Winston raised a finger;
"One: have you been flirting with both genders as long as we've all been working together?"
"Duh Winston, of course!" Peter stared at him like he'd lost his marbles "I thought you were the sensible one, what's with the nonsense questions?"
"Two:" Winston asked, raising a second finger and ignoring Peter "Do you think Ray would mind if we knew?"
"No," Peter shook his head, running a hand through his hair, tired red eyes staring at the floor "We kinda argued a bit about it. He was insistent you guys wouldn't freak, but- I didn't think you'd take me seriously. Lets face it, next to nobody does..."
"Well you do ACT a bit flighty," Winston argued, making Peter scowl at him "I said 'ACT', Peter. Let me finish: BUT, you do stand up for what you believe and you've always had our backs Peter, we're not gonna ditch you just because you're a hopeless flirt. We're used to that. Now we just got double the reasons to tease you." He grinned evilly and Peter flipped him the bird.
"Seriously though Pete, we're not gonna treat you any different, it's cool."
"Really..?" Peter whispered, looking painfully close to collapsing again. As if the hope was too much of a weight "But, I thought..."
"I know it's not easy being open about it, but seriously?" Winston shook his head "I say it's better to be spreading love than hate, right? If you care about Ray that much, I'm all for it. Just don't rub it our faces, please."
"Damn, I'll cancel the order for the banner saying "I got a date!" then," Peter chuckled.
"Probably for the best." a third voice joined in and the two looked up as Egon slithered in beside Winston "why are we convening here?"
"Sorry Egon, did we wake you….somehow...from all the way down here?" Peter winced, abruptly nervous again. Egon shook his head.
"No, I rolled off the couch and woke up face down on the floor." he admitted, causing the other two to snicker loudly.
Egon glowered sleepily at them, but soon turned his attention to Peter, who winced and withdrew into himself again, staring fixedly at a scuff mark by his slipper.
"How much did you hear?" he asked.
"Enough to join Winston in assuring you that my opinion of you has not changed. If anything, I'm glad to know and thus to offer my support, should you want it. There is no logical reason to belittle you over this, you're still our friend and you're still a Ghostbuster. What direction your hapless flirting is aimed in bears no difference to the kind of person you are."
"Like I said, you're still trouble." Winston joked, earning a double bird-flip from Peter. But he looked much more hopeful then he had at the start of the talk, much to Winston's relief.
Peter closed his eyes, he hadn't dared hope it could be this simple. But when he opened his eyes, he seen Winston and Egon watching him, their expressions kind and open. Spengler flashed a rarely-seen smile, and Peter knew both him and Winston well enough to recognise their honesty.
"Hey, you mind if I ask how long..?" Winston trailed off, looking at Peter.
"You mean about Ray and I?" Venkman guessed.
"Mm-hmm."
Peter sighed, tilting his head back against the wall "since the trip to Morrisville. I'll let Ray tell that story, he had a run in with his old rival and things got kinda hairy. But, somewhere in there it just...happened."
"Hm, makes sense." Egon suddenly remarked.
"What does?" Peter looked back down at him now, confused.
"When we were tracking where Ray had run off to, Winston mentioned that you and Ray had been spending a lot of time together as of late, assuming you were working on a hobby together."
"And?" Peter felt himself flush slightly.
"And Janine said 'They're sharing something alright.'. I now suspect SHE may have spotted something."
Peter let his head flop onto his knees, uttering a low groan. His face was turning red, he knew it.
"So much for being subtle." he whispered.
"To be fair, you kept it secret from us, we never suspected anything!" Winston said brightly, patting Peter's arm and earning another groan.
"Janine is perceptive, it doesn't surprise me she spotted the more subtle details. She's good at that."
"Yeah, she figured out the way to lure you out of your lab was with scientific magazines!" Peter grinned at Egon, who flushed slightly.
"Man, everybody's shacking up around here!" Winston joked, throwing his arms in the air in mock despair.
"What? I-I'm not...I mean-!" Egon looked oddly flustered and actually lost for words, which was rare and so Peter grinned at him.
"Hey, just ask her out already, Egon old buddy." Peter shrugged "it cant be more awkward then- well, this situation." he gestured to himself.
"Hey, it's all cool Pete." Winston said seriously "nothing's gonna change, except you two don't have to sneak around in secret anymore. Like I said, just don't be too TOO smug about it."
"Agreed." Peter chuckled, feeling like a massive weight was off his shoulders "Ray'll be pleased, if he doesn't hate me for getting him into this, along with not saying something earlier."
"You were in shock Peter, it couldn't be expected that your mind should function properly at that time." Egon said patiently.
"Yeah, we've gotten used to it never functioning the rest of the time." Winston put in, making Peter blow a raspberry, but then he ruined the illusion when he cracked up laughing.
Laughing so hard in fact, that it brought tears to his eyes. The other two were chuckling as well, the mood between them now much lighter. Peter sighed heavily at last, wiping at his eyes.
"Heh, thanks." he said "seriously."
"It's what we do, bud." Winston smiled "have you been thinking about this all day?"
"Yeah. I seen how miserable Ray was, I cant stand seeing him like that!" Peter said, a flush of colour returning to his face "I kept thinking back to when he brought up the whole telling-you-guys thing. I owed him that much, after today."
"I can't believe that guy went after you like that, what a nut." Winston shook his head.
"He's in Police custody, they will want to do follow-up reports with yourself and Ray. At the moment it's looking like charges of kidnapping, assault and vehicular manslaughter. Also, illegal possession of smoke grenades." Egon finished.
"Good." Peter spat out "he deserves it, the creep. I thought I was shot of him, I barely even remembered him. I certainly didn't think it'd put Ray in danger!"
He felt guilt resurge all over again. "But he was watching the firehouse, observing me and he must have seen an intimate moment between Ray and I. That was the last straw, I think and he kidnapped me just a short while later."
"Hopefully he'll get the proper treatment." Egon said "it is abundantly clear that he has had some kind of psychotic break, although we can only guess as to why it triggered now?"
Peter nodded, then shivered as the cold floor finally soaked through to his skin. His friends guided him back to his room, saying they'd be right outside if he needed them. Peter nodded, but was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Outside in the hall, Winston and Egon settled down for another couch-nap.
"That was an enlightening talk." Egon said softly "I'm relieved we got to the bottom of the matter. After today's events, I was concerned for both of them."
"Me too, Egon, me too. Whew." Winston sighed.
"It's good they're not going to need to hide from us after this." Egon said simply.
"Yeah, I'm happy for 'em. Ray's got a big heart and Peters got a wounded one, from what little we've learned about his past. I think they're good for each other. A cynic and a guy with the biggest heart in New York."
"They deserve to be content." Egon said firmly.
"That they do, buddy." Winston yawned, eyes drifting closed "wonder how long Janine knew?"
"Hmmh?" Egon said dozily, "I'll ask her..." then he was out like a light, with Winston not far behind.
Ray woke to someone holding his hand. His eyes flew all the way open and he glanced at the bedside. Peter was sat there, smiling softly.
"Peter?" Ray asked, sitting up in bed "are you OK?"
"I'm fine, Ray." Peter assured him, but Ray noticed he looked more than a little down.
"What's wrong? Don't you feel well?" Ray asked, but Peter shook his head slowly.
"It's- I'm sorry Ray, this was all my fault!" he blurted at last.
"What?" Ray looked even more puzzled now "how is what happened your fault?"
"No, I mean this; you feeling miserable, feeling like I didn't care enough to say anything. I'm sorry Ray, I was too distrustful of our friends to realise they never would've treated us like that. Heck, Janine knows! They talked to me last night, you see, Winston and Egon.."
Ray had a feeling he knew where this was going and blushed pre-emptively.
Peter took a deep breath "I told them, Ray. I told them I care about you, have done ever since Morrisville. We're clear Ray, we don't have to sneak around any more."
Ray looked a mix of nervous and relieved and squeezed Peter's hand gently as he processed this.
"W-what did they say?" he squeaked, making Peter smile.
"They said they're cool with it. Egon said there's no reason for anything to change."
Ray took this in, looking about to cry from relief. Peter brushed them away before they could fall and kissed Ray lightly.
"It's alright.." he said "I'm sorry Ray, I never meant to put all the pressure on you. Can you forgive me?"
"Of course." Ray whispered, pressing his forehead into Peter's shoulder "it's been hard for you too. I know you tend to keep the world at arms length, it's understandable this would be a bit of a shock."
Peter sighed softly, stroking Rays hair "I maintain I don't know WHAT I did right to deserve a heart like yours, Raymond."
"Easy;" Ray said, sitting up and leaning close to Peter "you saved me, both from Favish and from my own self-doubt." he flushed, recalling that first night. Peter smiled back, kissing his forehead gently and whispering a thank you that made Ray blush.
"Knock knock?" A voicer asked from the doorway and Peter yelped, overbalancing and falling backwards off his stool as the door opened fully. Ray put a hand to his mouth but failed to stifle his giggles.
"Whoops." Winston said airily, on spotting Peter glowering at him from the floor.
"How are you feeling, Ray?" Egon asked as he strode in, setting a box of candy on the bed "I figured you would be missing your daily sugar intake by now."
"Wahoo!" Ray cheered and clapped his hands "Thanks Egon, you're the best!"
He happily tucked in as everyone sat themselves around his bed, with Peter perching by the head of the bed. They all partook in some of the candy when Ray offered it, even the normally sugar-avoiding Egon.
"You feelin' alright?" Winston spoke first, Ray smiled and nodded.
"Yeah," he felt the warmth of Peter's presence by his side and smiled softly "much better."
"That's good," Egon said "I was concerned by how shaken you were after the car chase. You were barely able to respond when I located you."
Ray shuddered "it was like a nightmare I couldn't wake up from, but I'm alright now, really. Just needed a good sleep."
Peter thought about his own restless night and the conversation he'd had. His glance moved from Ray up to the other two Ghostbusters sitting by the bed.
"Can I get out of here now?" Ray was asking, oblivious to this "I'm really bored."
"I'll ask the doctor momentarily." Egon promised "We just wanted to talk about a conversation we had last night first, concerning-"
Realising this was THE talk, Ray's confidence fled him, he went beet red and squeaked, drawing his knees up to his chest and burying his face in them in a sudden fit of shyness.
"Squeak?" Winston asked.
"He does that from time to time." Peter chuckled, rubbing Rays back.
"Please relax Ray, we already informed Peter of our acceptance of the situation. As I stated last night to Peter, it makes no difference to us, you're still you. There is no logical reason for any form of mockery, so you can relax."
"Exactly, like Egon said, it's cool." Winston promised. Ray was still hiding his face in his knees, what could be seen of his face so red that Peter was afraid he'd collapse. An idea struck him and he grinned evilly, winking conspiratorially to the other two. Like he'd done that first night in Morrisville, he ran his fingers across the back of Ray's neck, the featherlight touch sending shivers up the red-head's back and making him uncoil instinctively.
"Eeeh- Peter!" Ray squawked indignantly "quit it!"
"Quit what-whoa!"
Peter realised a little late that he had leaned too far aside to avoid Ray's flailing arms and now toppled off the bed with a thud.
"OK, I deserved that." he groaned, as Ray peered worriedly down at him. Winston snickered and Egon just shrugged. Ray glanced at the doctor and was relieved to receive one of Egon's rarely-seen smiles. He felt much better, if a little embarrassed. He hadn't expected they'd find out this way, but he was glad that they had. He just had to get over his own awkwardness now…
The doctor released him that afternoon at Egon's request and the four of them headed home.
Janine was there to meet them at the firehouse, hugging each of them in turn. When she last but not least hugged Egon, he surprised her by returning it. Normally he just kind of stood there, he wasn't the most responsive man in the world. She felt herself flush in surprise, which was added to when Egon actually smiled down at her.
Turning from the hug, the two seen the others were all staring up at the sky.
"Any sign of it?" Ray asked.
"Nope." Winston.
"I got nothin'!" Peter quipped.
"What are you three doing?!" Janine demanded.
"Looking for flying pigs." Peter said, jabbing a finger at the sky "See, we always figured the day Egon finally lightens up is the day pigs will fly...sooo..."
"Well, I can throw you off the roof with a parachute, will that do?" Janine snarked to Peter, who stuck his tongue out at her.
Egon muffled a snort with his hand, while Janine just shook her head, linked her arm through his and said "let's get inside already."
Ray went to go change his clothes with Peter trailing alongside and Winston left to go pick up some dinner.
Needing to think, Egon set about cleaning the pile of dishes that'd been forgotten about since the day before.
He was pleasantly surprised when Janine came in and wordlessly picked up a dishtowel to dry.
"So, how did it go?" she asked Egon, as they stood comfortably together.
"Better than I expected," Egon mused, staring into the distance as he reflected on the memory "I had expected Peter to be angry and defensive of the fact that this vulnerability as he sees it was exposed. But, he told US in fact. Well, he told Winston after he accidentally woke him up and I came across them not long after."
"Really? Wow, talk about unexpected." Janine mused.
"Exactly," Egon nodded, looking at her "I think it's a sign Peter's trusting the world at large just a little more, or trusting us at least."
"What about Ray? How'd he take it?" Janine smiled.
"He was understandably flustered and made a concerted attempt to spontaneously combust going by the colour of his face. But by the time we left, he seemed much happier." Egon confirmed.
"That's good to hear. As much as Peter does my head in, I think Ray's a good match for him." Janine mused as Egon passed her the last dish and she put it away after drying it "Ray's a sweet guy, pretty innocent in a way."
Egon nodded and felt a smile creep onto his lips as Janine stood on her tiptoes to lightly kiss his cheek before strolling away. Egon felt himself flush; she was a lovely woman, Janine.
He joined the rest in front of the TV once the food and Winston arrived back, sitting on the arm of the couch beside Janine and steadfastly ignoring Peter's smirk. Janine seen it however, poking her tongue out at hi when Egon wasn't looking.
Ray was sat beside Peter, of course, but the way he was sitting was adorably tense. It was as if he didn't know how to relax, now that the secret was out!
After a few minutes of this, Peter rolled his eyes and slung an arm around Ray's shoulders, pulling him close and sighing.
"C'mere you. Stop being so tense, you'll sprain something if you keep THAT up." he chuckled. Ray flushed subtly, but did flash Peter a cute little smile when nobody else was looking. Peter squeezed his side gently and Ray finally relaxed, half paying attention to the TV, half revelling in being able to snuggle up to Venkman without worrying about his friends.
In the brief seconds that Ray closed his eyes to yawn, Winston flashed a swift thumbs up to Peter, who returned it then struggled not to blush when Ray shuffled how he was sitting so he could rest his head on Peter's shoulder.
-So. Damn. Adorkable.- Peter thought with a grin to himself –and he's all mine!-
Welcome back to the PeterRay series! I'll be posting the collected chapters I wrote prior to Christmas over the next day or two, including a slightly late holiday themed story! To everyone who's been reading; thank you!