Guest rec: Rarepairs revisited III
I meant to use a broader theme for this set? And then it turned into a Frannie lovefest, and I decided just to embrace it.
Frannie/various (includes Frannie/OFC, Frannie/OMC, Frannie/Elaine, Frannie/Turnbull, and Frannie/Fraser/Kowalski) Fun and Games by madsciencechick/somewhatdeluded. Arguably my all-time favorite Frannie story. Frannie doesn't stop until she finds -- until she makes -- her happy ending.
"No, Francesca," Mama's eyes are tight at the edges. "You were just playing, yes?" Frannie nods. Her palms still sting, so she rubs them on her skirt. "There's nothing wrong with having fun." Mama's voice is quiet, steady, fierce. "On this, your papa is wrong. You have as much fun as you can."
Frannie/OFC, Frannie/Stella, Frannie/Elaine, Frannie/Thatcher, Frannie/Maggie Chick Habit by ignazwisdom The author's summary says it better than I can -- Francesca Vecchio learns to want, learns that she can’t have what she wants, and finally learns that she can.
Lucia was two years older and not awkward at all. She was tall and model skinny, and she wore black motorcycle boots that looked like they could shatter convenience store windows. Lucia had been a smoker since middle school and there were rumors that she'd even been in a knife fight with a girl from another school. Lucia was dangerous. Lucia was eighteen but acted twenty-eight -- like the adult Frannie liked to fantasize she was.
But Lucia also liked Frannie, for some unexplainable reason. She didn't mind when Frannie stared and stared at her worn leather jacket; she offered Frannie a cigarette after school and didn't even laugh when it sent her into a breathless, choking cough fit. So after school one day, Frannie walked home with her, back to the tiny apartment Lucia shared with her mother -- at least when her mother was around, which, Lucia said, wasn't very often. There in the quiet, Frannie drank beer while Lucia smoked a joint, which made them both loose and soft around the edges, and then Frannie learned that Lucia didn't just like her -- she really liked her.
Frannie/Ray Kowalski, Frannie/Elaine, Frannie/Turnbull It Never Rains But It Pours by brooklinegirl. A series of joyful encounters.
It had been four years, eight months, and sixteen days since Frannie had had sex. And the last time hadn't even been very good.
How depressing was that?
She stared moodily at herself in the mirror for a minute, then wiped the lipstick off, and went for a different shade. Today wasn't a pink lipstick day. She wasn't feeling it. Today was a red lipstick day. Not bright slutty red, but this deep sort of dark rosy-red that made her feel confident and sexy when she looked at herself. She pursed her lips after she put it on, and turned her head to the side a little, arching her eyebrows. Yeah. That worked. She looked - sultry. Sexy. Hot.
She smoothed her hair down once more, and straightened the skirt that Welsh wouldn't let her wear to work anymore ("…because it's too damn short, Ms. Vecchio. We're not running a disco here."). But Welsh was at court today and Frannie knew as much as anyone else there, if not more, about running the precinct, so she figured she was in charge today. The skirt was fine. She wasn't going to be doing any bending anyway. And besides, she was wearing a totally presentable shirt with it, so it all evened out.
Glancing once more in the mirror, she gave her neckline an upward tug. Totally presentable. One more blast of perfume and she was clicking out the door on her heels. Something good was gonna happen today. She could feel it.
Frannie/Elaine Fangirl!Frannie by innocentsmith. Frannie discovers and embraces media fandom. (One of us!)
"This is not something I imagined I'd be arguing about as a cop on a stakeout. Do you think Jack and Dewey spent their last shift planning semi-legal romantic epics?"
(There was an unsettled pause after that last, as both Frannie and Elaine realized independently and then out loud together that (a) it was entirely possible, and (b) the only thing more terrifying than that thought was trying to imagine what those stories would be about.)
"Okay, okay, fine. Give me the printout, and you watch the building. You owe me coffee and a croissant tomorrow."
Frannie/Elaine 'cause we belong together now by wintercreek A lovely established relationship piece.
"I think you'll manage." Elaine smiles warmly, the way that makes her eyes crinkle, and says, "I'm glad you liked the roses, even if they did freak you out. Happy ten years, Frannie."
"You can freak me out with roses any day," Frannie teases. "Happy ten years, Elaine." She almost can't believe it's been that long. Longer than her marriage lasted, longer than she's been a cop, longer than anything, really, that she's made of herself. She looks at Elaine and thinks, I really got it right, didn't I?
Frannie/Maggie, with background Fraser/Kowalski/Vecchio hundreds of miles north of anywhere by lordessrenegade Frannie goes to visit her brother and his family for the holidays. A sweet story with terrific dialogue -- and never quite as melancholy as my memory tries to make it.
"I apologize for there only being one guest room," Fraser said as he led them down the hall after they said their goodnights, and Frannie smiled.
"Hey, Ray said you were living in a shack up here. I kinda expected mats on the floor or something."
"Your brother's influence, I'm sure," Maggie said with a grin. "I can't imagine him ever sleeping on the floor, shack or no shack."
The guest room was small, but warm and homey like the rest of the cabin. Two beds sat along opposite walls with a small table between them, leaving just enough space to walk in and out of the room.
"It's nice, Frase," Frannie said, because he seemed to be waiting for a reaction. "The whole place is nice. You guys are..." she smiled. "You're really lucky, you know."
Fraser smiled back, some of the nervousness fading from his expression. "I know," he said, and she leaned in to hug him quickly.
Frannie/Kowalski, background Fraser/Vecchio Getting this happy takes practice by belmanoir. Ray goes undercover as Frannie's boyfriend. It's not exactly a deep cover. A guaranteed smile.
"You're the soul of chivalry, Kowalski," she says, fussing with the cuff of her blouse. "Look, I need a date to my fifteen-year high school reunion."
Ray double-takes. "You're asking me on a date?"
Frannie glares at him. "No, I'm not asking you on a date. Well. I'm asking you on an imaginary date. I can't go by myself. I'll look pathetic."
Ray gets that. He went to his ten-year reunion with Stella. He's never going to another one. "What's in it for me?"
Frannie crosses her arms. "I don't tell the precinct you've read my entire collection of romance novels."
"I just read those for the sex," Ray mutters.
Frannie/Fraser, Frannie/Kowalski What You Make of It by dessert_first. Frannie/Fraser is tricky to find in my usual online haunts, and when I do encounter it, it's difficult to overcome my own resistance to the pairing. This one manages it as an AU -- a fusion with 'While You Were Sleeping.' Funny and warm.
There he goes again. Frannie props her chin in her hand, watching him. He's helping an old lady with her bags, honest to God helping a little old lady. His shiny black hair is perfectly combed, his movie-star face is kind and open, and his jeans and Henley are so crisp and neat, Frannie doesn't even care that they're boring. He's perfect. He's like a dream come true.
Or he would be if he knew she was alive.
Frannie/various (includes Frannie/OFC, Frannie/OMC, Frannie/Elaine, Frannie/Turnbull, and Frannie/Fraser/Kowalski) Fun and Games by madsciencechick/somewhatdeluded. Arguably my all-time favorite Frannie story. Frannie doesn't stop until she finds -- until she makes -- her happy ending.
"No, Francesca," Mama's eyes are tight at the edges. "You were just playing, yes?" Frannie nods. Her palms still sting, so she rubs them on her skirt. "There's nothing wrong with having fun." Mama's voice is quiet, steady, fierce. "On this, your papa is wrong. You have as much fun as you can."
Frannie/OFC, Frannie/Stella, Frannie/Elaine, Frannie/Thatcher, Frannie/Maggie Chick Habit by ignazwisdom The author's summary says it better than I can -- Francesca Vecchio learns to want, learns that she can’t have what she wants, and finally learns that she can.
Lucia was two years older and not awkward at all. She was tall and model skinny, and she wore black motorcycle boots that looked like they could shatter convenience store windows. Lucia had been a smoker since middle school and there were rumors that she'd even been in a knife fight with a girl from another school. Lucia was dangerous. Lucia was eighteen but acted twenty-eight -- like the adult Frannie liked to fantasize she was.
But Lucia also liked Frannie, for some unexplainable reason. She didn't mind when Frannie stared and stared at her worn leather jacket; she offered Frannie a cigarette after school and didn't even laugh when it sent her into a breathless, choking cough fit. So after school one day, Frannie walked home with her, back to the tiny apartment Lucia shared with her mother -- at least when her mother was around, which, Lucia said, wasn't very often. There in the quiet, Frannie drank beer while Lucia smoked a joint, which made them both loose and soft around the edges, and then Frannie learned that Lucia didn't just like her -- she really liked her.
Frannie/Ray Kowalski, Frannie/Elaine, Frannie/Turnbull It Never Rains But It Pours by brooklinegirl. A series of joyful encounters.
It had been four years, eight months, and sixteen days since Frannie had had sex. And the last time hadn't even been very good.
How depressing was that?
She stared moodily at herself in the mirror for a minute, then wiped the lipstick off, and went for a different shade. Today wasn't a pink lipstick day. She wasn't feeling it. Today was a red lipstick day. Not bright slutty red, but this deep sort of dark rosy-red that made her feel confident and sexy when she looked at herself. She pursed her lips after she put it on, and turned her head to the side a little, arching her eyebrows. Yeah. That worked. She looked - sultry. Sexy. Hot.
She smoothed her hair down once more, and straightened the skirt that Welsh wouldn't let her wear to work anymore ("…because it's too damn short, Ms. Vecchio. We're not running a disco here."). But Welsh was at court today and Frannie knew as much as anyone else there, if not more, about running the precinct, so she figured she was in charge today. The skirt was fine. She wasn't going to be doing any bending anyway. And besides, she was wearing a totally presentable shirt with it, so it all evened out.
Glancing once more in the mirror, she gave her neckline an upward tug. Totally presentable. One more blast of perfume and she was clicking out the door on her heels. Something good was gonna happen today. She could feel it.
Frannie/Elaine Fangirl!Frannie by innocentsmith. Frannie discovers and embraces media fandom. (One of us!)
"This is not something I imagined I'd be arguing about as a cop on a stakeout. Do you think Jack and Dewey spent their last shift planning semi-legal romantic epics?"
(There was an unsettled pause after that last, as both Frannie and Elaine realized independently and then out loud together that (a) it was entirely possible, and (b) the only thing more terrifying than that thought was trying to imagine what those stories would be about.)
"Okay, okay, fine. Give me the printout, and you watch the building. You owe me coffee and a croissant tomorrow."
Frannie/Elaine 'cause we belong together now by wintercreek A lovely established relationship piece.
"I think you'll manage." Elaine smiles warmly, the way that makes her eyes crinkle, and says, "I'm glad you liked the roses, even if they did freak you out. Happy ten years, Frannie."
"You can freak me out with roses any day," Frannie teases. "Happy ten years, Elaine." She almost can't believe it's been that long. Longer than her marriage lasted, longer than she's been a cop, longer than anything, really, that she's made of herself. She looks at Elaine and thinks, I really got it right, didn't I?
Frannie/Maggie, with background Fraser/Kowalski/Vecchio hundreds of miles north of anywhere by lordessrenegade Frannie goes to visit her brother and his family for the holidays. A sweet story with terrific dialogue -- and never quite as melancholy as my memory tries to make it.
"I apologize for there only being one guest room," Fraser said as he led them down the hall after they said their goodnights, and Frannie smiled.
"Hey, Ray said you were living in a shack up here. I kinda expected mats on the floor or something."
"Your brother's influence, I'm sure," Maggie said with a grin. "I can't imagine him ever sleeping on the floor, shack or no shack."
The guest room was small, but warm and homey like the rest of the cabin. Two beds sat along opposite walls with a small table between them, leaving just enough space to walk in and out of the room.
"It's nice, Frase," Frannie said, because he seemed to be waiting for a reaction. "The whole place is nice. You guys are..." she smiled. "You're really lucky, you know."
Fraser smiled back, some of the nervousness fading from his expression. "I know," he said, and she leaned in to hug him quickly.
Frannie/Kowalski, background Fraser/Vecchio Getting this happy takes practice by belmanoir. Ray goes undercover as Frannie's boyfriend. It's not exactly a deep cover. A guaranteed smile.
"You're the soul of chivalry, Kowalski," she says, fussing with the cuff of her blouse. "Look, I need a date to my fifteen-year high school reunion."
Ray double-takes. "You're asking me on a date?"
Frannie glares at him. "No, I'm not asking you on a date. Well. I'm asking you on an imaginary date. I can't go by myself. I'll look pathetic."
Ray gets that. He went to his ten-year reunion with Stella. He's never going to another one. "What's in it for me?"
Frannie crosses her arms. "I don't tell the precinct you've read my entire collection of romance novels."
"I just read those for the sex," Ray mutters.
Frannie/Fraser, Frannie/Kowalski What You Make of It by dessert_first. Frannie/Fraser is tricky to find in my usual online haunts, and when I do encounter it, it's difficult to overcome my own resistance to the pairing. This one manages it as an AU -- a fusion with 'While You Were Sleeping.' Funny and warm.
There he goes again. Frannie props her chin in her hand, watching him. He's helping an old lady with her bags, honest to God helping a little old lady. His shiny black hair is perfectly combed, his movie-star face is kind and open, and his jeans and Henley are so crisp and neat, Frannie doesn't even care that they're boring. He's perfect. He's like a dream come true.
Or he would be if he knew she was alive.