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I add my wails to the choir of "impossible!" It's terrible to try to pick only 3 fics of my heart for this fandom. I don't know what tack to use to approach the question, whether it should be the things that I have reread the most, the things that have pressed my buttons the hardest, the things that have surprised me and therefore found a sneaky way into a special corner of fondness. With my head still spinning with possibilities, I have to just close my eyes and pick three.
Title: Auld Acquaintance
Author: secretlybronte
Characters: RK/BF
Rating: PG
Length: Approximately 3000 words
Why I'm reccing this fic:
Fraser is alone on New Year's Eve, until Ray calls and asks him to come out with him, and to wear something "classy."
This fic is a delight, and I think that it got a bit lost in the holiday shuffle this year. This is a "new classic" for me, and fills much of the same niche that Dining Out by kalena has in the race for my heart. I totally dig the going- on -a -date trope, and this story has a very direct, crisp style that really makes it feel fresh and modern. I love the descriptions of the clothing, the food, the energy of the party. It is sweet, romantic, and great fun.
A horn honked out front, just as Fraser was finishing tying his shoes. They could have used another coat of polish, but they would have to do. Fraser plucked a few bills out of his hat and picked up his key. After shoving them in his pocket, he headed downstairs, Dief trailing at his heels.
At the front door, Fraser pulled his overcoat off its hook and put it on. He took a deep breath and practiced smiling a couple of times before throwing open the door.
Instead of being in his car, Ray was standing in front of the door with his back turned to it. Ray turned at the sound, but stopped abruptly before making it the whole way around, his eyes dancing over Fraser's body.
Fraser rubbed his eyebrow. "I could... I mean, I have other..."
"No!" Ray blurted, just a bit too loudly. "I mean, no. You look real good. Nice threads."
"Ah. Well, you look quite dapper yourself, Ray. I don't believe I've seen you wear anything like that before."
Auld Acquaintance
Title: Relax
Author: Dira Sudis
Characters:F/K
Rating: adult
Length: about 12,000 words
Why I'm reccing this fic: This is another older classic that always grabs me hard whenever I reread it. Dira has such a talent for taking themes that seem odd or a little shocking (involuntary hypnosis, tear fetish, etc.) and making it into something fascinating and in character.
After his lapse in Seeing is Believing where he can't resist using hypnosis recreationally, Fraser accidentally finds that he has the ability to hypnotize Ray during ordinary conversation.
As he watched, Ray tilted his head back, and the light traveled down his face, touching closed eyes, the high points of his nose and cheekbones, before coming to rest on his slightly smiling lips, still a little parted. The light glinted off white teeth, guarding the entrance to the shadowed cavern of his mouth.
Fraser forced himself to look away. A survey of the room showed him the Inspector, the Lieutenant, and Francesca, all sitting still, all waiting for his word to release them. All still themselves, only a little suspended by the hypnosis. But Ray... he dared another look. Ray was still smiling, open-mouthed, perfectly at ease for perhaps the first time since Fraser had known him.
"Ray," he said softly, and Ray lifted his head, turning it toward him even though he kept his eyes closed. The movement cast his features into shadow, easing the constriction of Fraser's throat, letting more words loose. "Why are you so different?"
Relax
Title: Eight Sessions
Author: Speranza-cesperanza
Pairing: Fraser/RayK
Rating: NC-17
Length: Very Long
Why I'm reccing this fic: I usually resist the urge to rec Speranza's fic. Her stories already have terrific word-of-mouth, and almost everyone is steered toward them from the moment they decide they want to read Due South fic. (I know that there is nothing so frustrating, too, as checking recs and finding no surprises, and nothing new to read.) All that being said, I've just got to go with my strong feelings about this fic.
You probably haven't reread this one for awhile, right? Maybe you've forgotten that although this story is lighter on the graphic sex than, say, Hanged Man , this story has some amazing character moments for both Fraser and Ray.
Ray and Fraser must attend eight mandated therapy sessions while Ray is under investigation by IA for shooting several suspects in a confrontation. They have very different experiences of therapy, but find themselves facing some truths about their lives, and learning how to tell the truth to each other. Fraser's meltdown is poignant and obvious, and involves pie and bowling, but Ray's quieter, more internal meltdown is equally compelling.
"Okay, if I sit here?" he asked, slouching deeper, his crossed leg rising higher as he sank back into the chair. Melissa wondered if he was going to try to hide behind his long, skinny legs and those leather ankle boots he was wearing. "Or are you one of those shrinks who does the lie-down-on-the-couch thing?"
"No, that's-" Fine, she was going to say, but he never let her get there.
"Good, great," he said, cutting her off. "Okay, so look-here's the deal. I'll lay this out for you, maybe save us both a lot of time. Me, I'm thirty-seven, a cop and a borderline alcoholic, divorced three years ago which was a whole mess in itself, except it was probably mostly about my own deep insecurity issues plus the crummy relationship that I had with my father. I hate being a cop, I hate being divorced, but there's nothing I can do about either of those things. I just shot four people to death last Tuesday, and my partner's a Mountie. Plus I peed myself in a bank back in 1972 which I'm still pretty traumatized about. So that's basically the deal with me. What comes next?"
Eight Sessions
Title: Auld Acquaintance
Author: secretlybronte
Characters: RK/BF
Rating: PG
Length: Approximately 3000 words
Why I'm reccing this fic:
Fraser is alone on New Year's Eve, until Ray calls and asks him to come out with him, and to wear something "classy."
This fic is a delight, and I think that it got a bit lost in the holiday shuffle this year. This is a "new classic" for me, and fills much of the same niche that Dining Out by kalena has in the race for my heart. I totally dig the going- on -a -date trope, and this story has a very direct, crisp style that really makes it feel fresh and modern. I love the descriptions of the clothing, the food, the energy of the party. It is sweet, romantic, and great fun.
A horn honked out front, just as Fraser was finishing tying his shoes. They could have used another coat of polish, but they would have to do. Fraser plucked a few bills out of his hat and picked up his key. After shoving them in his pocket, he headed downstairs, Dief trailing at his heels.
At the front door, Fraser pulled his overcoat off its hook and put it on. He took a deep breath and practiced smiling a couple of times before throwing open the door.
Instead of being in his car, Ray was standing in front of the door with his back turned to it. Ray turned at the sound, but stopped abruptly before making it the whole way around, his eyes dancing over Fraser's body.
Fraser rubbed his eyebrow. "I could... I mean, I have other..."
"No!" Ray blurted, just a bit too loudly. "I mean, no. You look real good. Nice threads."
"Ah. Well, you look quite dapper yourself, Ray. I don't believe I've seen you wear anything like that before."
Auld Acquaintance
Title: Relax
Author: Dira Sudis
Characters:F/K
Rating: adult
Length: about 12,000 words
Why I'm reccing this fic: This is another older classic that always grabs me hard whenever I reread it. Dira has such a talent for taking themes that seem odd or a little shocking (involuntary hypnosis, tear fetish, etc.) and making it into something fascinating and in character.
After his lapse in Seeing is Believing where he can't resist using hypnosis recreationally, Fraser accidentally finds that he has the ability to hypnotize Ray during ordinary conversation.
As he watched, Ray tilted his head back, and the light traveled down his face, touching closed eyes, the high points of his nose and cheekbones, before coming to rest on his slightly smiling lips, still a little parted. The light glinted off white teeth, guarding the entrance to the shadowed cavern of his mouth.
Fraser forced himself to look away. A survey of the room showed him the Inspector, the Lieutenant, and Francesca, all sitting still, all waiting for his word to release them. All still themselves, only a little suspended by the hypnosis. But Ray... he dared another look. Ray was still smiling, open-mouthed, perfectly at ease for perhaps the first time since Fraser had known him.
"Ray," he said softly, and Ray lifted his head, turning it toward him even though he kept his eyes closed. The movement cast his features into shadow, easing the constriction of Fraser's throat, letting more words loose. "Why are you so different?"
Relax
Title: Eight Sessions
Author: Speranza-cesperanza
Pairing: Fraser/RayK
Rating: NC-17
Length: Very Long
Why I'm reccing this fic: I usually resist the urge to rec Speranza's fic. Her stories already have terrific word-of-mouth, and almost everyone is steered toward them from the moment they decide they want to read Due South fic. (I know that there is nothing so frustrating, too, as checking recs and finding no surprises, and nothing new to read.) All that being said, I've just got to go with my strong feelings about this fic.
You probably haven't reread this one for awhile, right? Maybe you've forgotten that although this story is lighter on the graphic sex than, say, Hanged Man , this story has some amazing character moments for both Fraser and Ray.
Ray and Fraser must attend eight mandated therapy sessions while Ray is under investigation by IA for shooting several suspects in a confrontation. They have very different experiences of therapy, but find themselves facing some truths about their lives, and learning how to tell the truth to each other. Fraser's meltdown is poignant and obvious, and involves pie and bowling, but Ray's quieter, more internal meltdown is equally compelling.
"Okay, if I sit here?" he asked, slouching deeper, his crossed leg rising higher as he sank back into the chair. Melissa wondered if he was going to try to hide behind his long, skinny legs and those leather ankle boots he was wearing. "Or are you one of those shrinks who does the lie-down-on-the-couch thing?"
"No, that's-" Fine, she was going to say, but he never let her get there.
"Good, great," he said, cutting her off. "Okay, so look-here's the deal. I'll lay this out for you, maybe save us both a lot of time. Me, I'm thirty-seven, a cop and a borderline alcoholic, divorced three years ago which was a whole mess in itself, except it was probably mostly about my own deep insecurity issues plus the crummy relationship that I had with my father. I hate being a cop, I hate being divorced, but there's nothing I can do about either of those things. I just shot four people to death last Tuesday, and my partner's a Mountie. Plus I peed myself in a bank back in 1972 which I'm still pretty traumatized about. So that's basically the deal with me. What comes next?"
Eight Sessions