om_main | Fraser and Shinobi (Aug 15)

Fraser returns to the United States for the new school year and stays the night with his former roommate. Shinobi Shaw wins the acts of generosity game vs. the rich eccentrics. Hands down.

Fraser arrived safely in New York City after his summer trip home to his grandparents. Classes would start after the weekend, and he knew that he should get back to the school, but it wouldn't be right to stop in the city without seeing his former roommate. Shinobi arranged for someone to pick Fraser up from the airport and once at Shinobi's new residence Fraser was escorted to the roof by a member of the security staff.

There appeared to be… a cabin… on the roof.

Fraser was standing there, blinking in confusion, when Shinobi came out of the cabin clad in blue jeans and flannel, despite the late summer weather, and looking positively rustic for Shinobi Shaw apparel.

"Shinobi-Senpai…" Fraser asked cautiously, "Is that cabin really there?"

Shinobi hefted the ax he was carrying over his shoulder--shiny and new, with the price tag still visible on the haft--and tapped the head against one side of the solid wooden structure incongruously located in the midst of the Manhattan skyline. It made a decided thump as it struck. "I certainly appears to be," Shaw replied with a wide grin, then stepped out further to greet his ex-roommate properly. "It's amazing what you can do with an endless supply of money and a few contractors who are willing to be creative. Do you like it?"

Fraser was baffled. "It's beautiful. Truly." He was relieved that this at least wasn't like his father's cabin, and that it existed on a physical plane. That didn't explain why it was on top of a building, but Fraser was willing to go with it. "I'd hug you, but... ax." He gestured. "And I must ask, what are you doing with an ax? That hardly looks safe. You really shouldn't hold it like that."

"I thought the ax would complete the ensemble," Shinobi replied, holding said accessory up and examining it critically. "You know, capture that rough-hewn, woodsman-ish sort of quality. Don't worry," he went on, tapping the blade against his bare forearm a few times. "My skin's pretty impenetrable, when I want it to be. Which has saved me from any number of nasty scars that might have otherwise blemished the silken perfection that is so superficially me, let me tell you." Nodding toward the cabin, he half-turned to indicate the door, still standing open behind him. "Would you like to have a look inside?"

"Yes, that would be lovely," Fraser said. He stepped closer, hesitant around the ax. He was grateful for Shinobi's momentary invulnerability, but wasn't sure how he felt about his former-roommate handling sharp objects.

Expression twisting into a somewhat lopsided smirk, Shinobi discarded his potentially hazardous prop, letting it drop beside one of the cabin walls. That done, he cheerfully ushered Fraser inside. The main room featured a sofa and arm chair huddled around what looked like an old-fashioned wood-burning stove, with an elk-skin rug spread out in between. "Synthetic, of course," Shaw said, just a bit ruefully. "I'm a bit disconcerted by the notion of actual animal hides as decoration, and besides PETA always seems to find out about these things--and that 's one irritant I certainly don't feel the need to court."

He stepped toward the stove and opened the little grate in the middle, revealing the obviously artificial coals within. "All electric, I'm afraid. I tried for the genuine article, but it would have driven our insurance premiums through the roof--seems they prefer to discourage the use of fire in crowded urban areas. But! You can still fry your hotcakes and bacon and such on the range, never fear--it's fully functional, in cooking terms."

"Huh," Fraser said, eyeing everything with a continuing bewilderment. It was very nice, but it felt a little bit like 'the cabin of the future'. Well, if this were a scifi film. He had hopes for the actual future. "It's very nice. What inspired this?"

"I wanted you to have someplace comfortable to stay when you come to visit," Shinobi explained, his tone implying that he, at least, thought it the most obvious reason in the world. "Now, the lamps," he went on gesturing at the various archaic-seeming lanterns scattered around the main room, or hanging from the roof, "obviously all electric--whale oil is just too difficult to come by these days. But! We've concealed the switches so cunningly that it doesn't interfere with the ambiance. Oh!" he clapped his hands, bounding over to the rough-looking couch and patting one of the cushions next to him in invitation. "Come have a look at this!"

And just when Fraser thought he couldn't be more surprised, Shinobi went and said something like that. He was so moved that he didn't stir at first, before shaking himself quickly from his stunned silence to follow.

Once Fraser was settled, Shinobi rummaged between the rough-spun couch cushions to produce a slender black remote. Pointing it at the far wall--which at that moment displayed a large and exquisitely stylized map of Canada--he pressed one of the buttons, causing the frame to rotate down and away on the axis of its left corner and reveal a large-screen plasma TV. "More than two hundred channels," Shinobi reported cheerfully. "Including the CBC. There's also WiFi access, should you ever have need of it. Or if you ever have guests over, and they have need of it."

"You won't believe how long it took me to master the art of text messaging. I believe you've just presented a new challenge," Fraser said with a small laugh. He smiled over Shinobi. "Thank you. For thinking of me, and doing this. It's amazing."

"This?" Shinobi asked rhetorically, grinning perhaps just a touch manically. "This is a trifle. If I'd wanted amazing, I probably would have had them put in some trees. Maybe a pond. Some proper wilderness-y ambiance, neh? But that seemed a bit excessive. And I'd always worry about the moose falling over the side of the building and crushing some hapless bystander. As interesting a headline as that would make, I really don't need the bad press. Or the inevitable lawsuit. Speaking of which!" He sprang and pushed aside the faux-hide rug, revealing a brass-detailed hatch embedded in the floor.

"We do get some awfully nasty weather in the winter, here in the city," the half-Japanese boy went on pleasantly. "Piles of snow and ice and all sorts of other unpleasant precipitation. For safety reasons, we've made sure you have a way in and out that doesn't require trekking out across the roof in inclement conditions. This will bring you to the hall just outside my penthouse. I never lock the door, so do feel free to make yourself at home whenever the spirit moves you."

Fraser laughed again, peering down. "May I bring Felix to visit? I know he won't venture at a time when there's snow, but I think he'll be highly amused if you haven't shown him already. You and he have a very daring eye for aesthetic."

"Dear fellow, you may bring whomever you like, whenever you like," Shinobi assured, him, sprawling back onto the couch. "It's your cabin, after all." He couldn't help but grin at the thought of his little duckling "roughing it" atop a Manhattan apartment building--the image was simply too delicious for words. "For now, however," he went on, raising a finger to his lips, "this place is our little secret. I wanted to keep it under wraps until you had a chance to give it the Benton Fraser Seal of Approval."

Fraser would be forever astonished by his friend's generosity. "I don't even know what to say," he remarked with a small laugh.

"Just say that you like it, and that you will come by to visit it often," said Shinobi, swinging his feet up onto the arm of the couch an threading his fingers together behind his head. "That is, after all, the entire point."

"I love it," Fraser said easily. "And I will visit as often as I can."

"Superlative," said Shinobi contentedly. "Then all is right with the world! I've supplied your pantry and such to the best of my ability, but let me know if I overlooked anything. I don't really know," he waved a hand vaguely, "cabins."

Fraser laughed warmly and then finally leaned over and gave Shinobi a quick hug. "I'll cook for you once I've gotten the lay of the place. It's only fair."

Tactile a person as he was, something as wholesome as a platonic hug was a bit alien to Shinobi. As a result, he locked up for a moment, before finally patting Fraser companionably on the back. "You know how I feel about fair, I'm sure," that being fairness was something to be shunned and avoided whenever possible, "but I suppose I can be flexible, in this case, neh? Just ... promise me nothing jerkied. Or boiled in whale fat. My love for the exotic only extends so far."