Beguiled; With Six You Get Eggroll
Hello? Anyone out there?
[listens to the pretty echo for a while]
Huh. Guess I’ll make the first recs this week.
Title: Beguiled
Author: Rhi Marzano
Rating: NC-17
Length: Short Story
Why I’m Reccing This Fic: It’s not just because Fraser’s kid is named Giles. This story has the best intro of an OC I’ve ever seen anywhere, and on top of that, Rhi Marzano has the best Ray K. voice I’ve ever read.
Excerpt:
“If you’re hiding a woman in there, I swear I will kick you in the head.” I stalk in his room and take hold of the doorknob. “And not because I don’t like it when you’re getting action and I’m not. But because you’d’ve lied to me.”
“Ray -- “
I open the door. The good news is that there’s not a chick hiding out. The bad news is that there is a three-year-old boy with brown hair sitting on the toilet.
“Hi,” the boy offers brightly.
“I can explain,” Fraser says hastily.
“You’d better,” I snap.
“Can you wipe my butt?” says the boy.
Title: With Six You Get Eggroll
Author: Speranza
Rating: Not, but I would give it a PG-13
Length: Novella
Why I’m Reccing This Fic: This is the first kid!fic I ever read in *any* fandom that was actually worth the time I spent on it. Speranza took the CotW epilogue, tossed it into a blender, and out popped this lovely gem. Great Ray voice, great Fraser voice. Vecchio comes off as a little bit more of an ass than I think he actually is, but that’s a minor part of the story.
Excerpt:
“You gotta speak up, kid,” Kowalski was telling Robbie. “I can’t hear you.” He leaned forward again, and Robbie moaned something incoherent. “Your what?” Robbie whimpered something, and Ray frowned. “Your zebra? You lost your zebra, is that it? Huh.” Ray leaned back against the sofa and regarded the boy in his lap. “Well, there you go. Mystery solved.” He reached out and stroked the sweaty blond hair away from the boy’s flushed face. “You spilled your juice, your pictures suck, and you lost your zebra. That is a very hard day. That is such a hard day when you are three.”
“Hey, who’re they?” Holly asked, turning to point at Ray and Stella.
“They’re Ben’s friends, come to visit,” Sarah told her. “And don’t point, it’s rude.”
Fraser suddenly looked up at Ray and Stella, face apologetic, as if he’d just remembered they were there. “I’m sorry. I’m really very sorry--please, have some tea.”
Ray raised his hands. “Hey. Benny. No rush! Took us three days to get here, what’s another half-an-hour?” Stella glared at him.
Holly giggled and made a face at Fraser. “Benny? Hey, can I call you Benny?”
“No,” Fraser said firmly.
“That is such a hard day,” Kowalski said, pulling Robbie into the crook of one arm and getting up. “I’ve had days like that,” he added, and then said, almost as an afterthought: “I’ve had years like that. You lose your zebra and your pictures suck, and all you wanna do is cross that day out.” Kowalski raised his free hand and made an X in the air. “Just cross it off and start again. Redo. Start over. Is that what you want?”
Robbie stared up at him for a moment and then nodded; then he, too, raised his arm and made an X in the air.
[listens to the pretty echo for a while]
Huh. Guess I’ll make the first recs this week.
Title: Beguiled
Author: Rhi Marzano
Rating: NC-17
Length: Short Story
Why I’m Reccing This Fic: It’s not just because Fraser’s kid is named Giles. This story has the best intro of an OC I’ve ever seen anywhere, and on top of that, Rhi Marzano has the best Ray K. voice I’ve ever read.
Excerpt:
“If you’re hiding a woman in there, I swear I will kick you in the head.” I stalk in his room and take hold of the doorknob. “And not because I don’t like it when you’re getting action and I’m not. But because you’d’ve lied to me.”
“Ray -- “
I open the door. The good news is that there’s not a chick hiding out. The bad news is that there is a three-year-old boy with brown hair sitting on the toilet.
“Hi,” the boy offers brightly.
“I can explain,” Fraser says hastily.
“You’d better,” I snap.
“Can you wipe my butt?” says the boy.
Title: With Six You Get Eggroll
Author: Speranza
Rating: Not, but I would give it a PG-13
Length: Novella
Why I’m Reccing This Fic: This is the first kid!fic I ever read in *any* fandom that was actually worth the time I spent on it. Speranza took the CotW epilogue, tossed it into a blender, and out popped this lovely gem. Great Ray voice, great Fraser voice. Vecchio comes off as a little bit more of an ass than I think he actually is, but that’s a minor part of the story.
Excerpt:
“You gotta speak up, kid,” Kowalski was telling Robbie. “I can’t hear you.” He leaned forward again, and Robbie moaned something incoherent. “Your what?” Robbie whimpered something, and Ray frowned. “Your zebra? You lost your zebra, is that it? Huh.” Ray leaned back against the sofa and regarded the boy in his lap. “Well, there you go. Mystery solved.” He reached out and stroked the sweaty blond hair away from the boy’s flushed face. “You spilled your juice, your pictures suck, and you lost your zebra. That is a very hard day. That is such a hard day when you are three.”
“Hey, who’re they?” Holly asked, turning to point at Ray and Stella.
“They’re Ben’s friends, come to visit,” Sarah told her. “And don’t point, it’s rude.”
Fraser suddenly looked up at Ray and Stella, face apologetic, as if he’d just remembered they were there. “I’m sorry. I’m really very sorry--please, have some tea.”
Ray raised his hands. “Hey. Benny. No rush! Took us three days to get here, what’s another half-an-hour?” Stella glared at him.
Holly giggled and made a face at Fraser. “Benny? Hey, can I call you Benny?”
“No,” Fraser said firmly.
“That is such a hard day,” Kowalski said, pulling Robbie into the crook of one arm and getting up. “I’ve had days like that,” he added, and then said, almost as an afterthought: “I’ve had years like that. You lose your zebra and your pictures suck, and all you wanna do is cross that day out.” Kowalski raised his free hand and made an X in the air. “Just cross it off and start again. Redo. Start over. Is that what you want?”
Robbie stared up at him for a moment and then nodded; then he, too, raised his arm and made an X in the air.