It's his je ne sais quoi.

[belmanoir.livejournal.com]

I adore Vecchio. In catwalksalone's fic "Trample Down Barbed Wire," there's a line, "Ray's heart does the skip, hop, jump thing he's taken to thinking of as his Vecchio-murmur." Yep, I've got one of those. But trying to explain why in any kind of comprehensive way would involve me making you watch the entirety of Seasons 1 and 2 and CotW1, and then every time Vecchio has a line, I would say "See? Did you see that right there? THAT." Because the man never did anything I didn't love. Even when he's being a complete asshole (which doesn't happen OFTEN but does happen), it feels real and believable and fucked-up and I love it. So I'm just going to make a random list of stuff I love about him.

( I've got a thousand reasons, and each one is enough. )

As for recs...nearly every due South fic I have bookmarked has Vecchio in it. Choosing three that somehow encapsulated my love for him would be impossible. So I'm just going to rec one. Please, please read it:

Title: Faster than Sound
Author: troyswann
Pairing: gen (Fraser+Vecchio, Bob)
Rating: G? PG?
Length: 454 words
Why I'm reccing this fic: Set just after Victoria's Secret. This fic is incredibly short and Vecchio doesn't even have a speaking part, and yet everything I love about him, and about his capacity for love, and about his and Fraser's relationship, is right there.

( A brief excerpt )

Faster than Sound

Ray Vecchio: Made Of Awesome

[waltzforanight.livejournal.com]

Vecchio! *adores* I could talk forever about all the things I adore him for, but I think belmanoir's list pretty much covers it. So I'll just give that a big WORD, and do a picspam instead:

( Every man should have some je ne sais quoi. *nods* )

Ahem. Right. Recs!

Title: Dysmas
Author: troyswann
Pairing: Gen (Vecchio, Fraser)
Rating: PGish
Length: ~4,600 words
Why I'm reccing this fic: This fic took my heart, beat it up and then left it weeping in a snow bank. And yet, I completely adore it anyway. The fic takes a sharp turn into AUland towards the end of Victoria's Secret, and features just spot-on characterization of Vecchio. His heart and his loyalty are the things I love most about Vecchio, and this fic is a shining example of both.

( Brief excerpt. )

Dysmas

Title: Little Ray
Author: mondschein1
Pairing: Gen (Vegas!Vecchio)
Rating: PG-13?
Length: ~2,600 words
Why I'm reccing this fic: Oh, Vecchio! *sniffles* I love fics that deal with Vecchio's time in Vegas and this was one of the first ones I read that dealt with it in a serious way. I love the way this takes the Ray we all know and love and forces him to be The Bookman while still being Ray. Also, the formatting is a stroke of genius.

( Brief excerpt. )

Little Ray

And now, after all that angst... some porn:

Title: Boys Like Me / Girls Like You
Author: catwalksalone
Pairing: Vecchio/Kowalski
Rating: NC-17
Length: ~1,700 words each
Why I'm reccing this fic: For reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture, Kowalski has been turned into a girl. And Vecchio? Poor Vecchio is trying so hard to be respectful and chivalrous, but it's really hard when girl!Kowalski is always there and horny and propositioning him.

( Brief excerpt. )

Boys Like Me, and the sequel Girls Like You