Busted, Adorned, Surface

[akamine_chan]

Like bertybertle and sam80853 before me, I had an almost impossible time picking out three to rec. I'm gonna assume that everyone knows to read kelliem and aukestrel and cesperanza. Right? So, while I am an angstmuffin (so dubbed by qe2), I am easily seduced by a happy ending. So, the beloved fics of my heart are:

Title: Busted
Author: Anonymous CO
Pairing: F/K
Rating: NC17
Length: Long at ~60k words
Why I'm reccing this fic: There are so many reasons why I love this story. The main reason, though, is Ray. He is so believable in this story; his voice is clear and right. This is Ray in all his possibilities - prickly, wounded, strong, loving, broken, sexy, stubborn, tender. Alive and open.

I love how easy it is between Fraser and Ray. Their partnership is strong and they have an unbreakable bond between them. There are parts of their relationship that aren't simple, they fight and they argue, but the love shines through, constant and undiminished by distance and time.

Part of the charm of "Busted" is watching the relationship between Ray and Fraser grow to encompass something larger: the town of Owl Creek and its denizens, Ray's family back in Chicago, the cops at the 2-7, all entwined together to form a larger whole.

The original characters in this story are wonderfully realized and dynamic, drawing the reader in and not letting go.

"Busted" has so much going for it: great characterization, lovely story-telling, smokin' hot sex, mystery, angst, passion...I always come back to this story, no matter how many times I've read it.


Fraser keeps looking at me, Fraser's fingers sort of stroke my cheek and then I get it, I get it, take in another shaky breath. Everything I wanted, everything I hoped, and it's like standing in front of a Christmas tree, looking at a package you just know has your heart's desire. Shaky or not, I reach out for it. "Yeah." And my voice cracks a little. "I get it." Wonder for a minute if I'm dreaming or if Fraser really is looking at me the way I think he's looking at me. Just like me looking at him, like a kid standing in front of that Christmas tree, like someone who sees everything he ever wanted appear in front him.


Busted


Title: Adorned
Author: resonant8
Pairing: F/K
Rating: NC17
Length: Medium at ~7k words
Why I'm reccing this fic: I guess I'm a sucker for great Ray-voices. And this is another one. Ray's personality is very vivid and immediate, with so many textural details - I feel like I've met him. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a real person.

Ray is romantic and open and terribly in love with Fraser. And he's waiting to be left behind when Fraser goes home to Canada. He's opened himself up before, with Stella, and it nearly broke him. Yet he doesn't hesitate to do it again, because Fraser is worth it. This story has so many poignant moments as Fraser and Ray struggle to find a balance of what they both want and what they need.

It's interesting to watch Fraser and Ray dance around the specter of Canada in their lives - it's the elephant neither wants to speak of but neither can ignore. Fraser is going back to Canada, it's just a matter of when. And what will happen to Ray when he does?

"Adorned" has everything I could ask for in a story. Realistic characters, ridiculously hot sex, World Wildlife Federation tattoos, reindeer mittens and secretly luxurious Canadian soap. What else does one need?



Ray's body is a roadmap of his life. Three tats, including one that nobody but Fraser's ever seen, even though it's not new. Both ears have been pierced at least once at various times, and he was that close to piercing his septum, back in his safety pin days. So far, he's been content to let Fraser think the brand on his ankle was an accident.

There's more when Ray gets dressed. Bracelet. Rings. Even his hair is dressed -- nature didn't make it that color, and she certainly didn't make it stand up under its own power.

Ray likes his body to show the touch of human hands, like somebody cares for it, even if it's only himself.


Adorned


Title: Surface
Author: imkalena
Pairing: F/K
Rating: NC17
Length: Medium at ~10k words
Why I'm reccing this fic: I love imkalena's writing. Spare yet richly detailed, she has a way of bringing Ray and Fraser to life and setting them free.

In "Surface," Fraser is driven by his unrequited love of Ray into someone else's arms. Eventually, he realizes that sublimating his desire for Ray isn't working and he throws himself at Ray, wanting, if nothing else, a single night of passion. He doesn't realize that Ray is willing to give him more than just passion. Ray's willing to give Fraser everything. Heart, body, soul.

Watching these two together is awkward in many ways - they both are striving for the same goal, but spend so much time getting in each other's way - it's almost funny.

But it's really the emotions that spark during the sex that makes this fic shine so brightly. Heart-wrenching and honest and raw, this story remains one of my favorites.



Fraser was touching his hair now, like he couldn't quite believe it--patting the spikes with his palm, then brushing his hand back and forth over the top of it.

Fraser was giving his hair the troop review, running a fingertip along the scalp and stopping in places to pull gently along a clump of hair from root to tip. It made his whole body light up, all the way down to his toes.

God, he missed that so much. He missed being touched, now, more than he missed her. Not being touched after almost a whole lifetime of Stella, all the way back to holding ice cream hands, made him feel like a ghost even more than being Ray Vecchio. At least Ray Vecchio was a real person. Stanley Ray Kowalski didn't have anybody to show him where the inside started and the outside stopped.


Surface

Edited for numerous spelling errors *smacks self in head*

Comments

[zebra363.livejournal.com]

Surface has my favourite Fraser lines in dS fandom:

"Well, that seems new. I've never noticed that about you before. And, Ray?" He pinned Ray under his gaze, eyes narrowed. "I notice everything about you."

[akamine_chan]

"Surface" has an abundance of great lines. Another one is The need in him went so deep that Ray couldn't see the bottom. Shit, Fraser had his own black hole he carried around with him. Gah, makes me melt into a puddle every time I read it.