Due South: Fraser/Ray K Fic Recs
Nov. 25th, 2009 06:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mysticalchild_isisLast updated June 5, 2014.
Due South will probably always be one of my favorite things, in large part because of how awesome the fandom is. The sheer volume of truly amazing fanfic is almost mind-boggling.
I'm a Fraser/Ray K. OTPer, and so that's the focus of the list. It's split into Pre-CotW, Post-CotW, and Alternate Universe, and then by subsections within each. (Be aware, a large majority of these fics are adult.)
PRE-COTW
Pre-Slash
All of Us Drown by Arrow.
"Here." Fraser clears his throat and offers his hand. Ray takes it and tugs it closer as if pulling him from deep water.
Length: Snippet
Summary: Fraser goes under.
Notes: Fraser is injured, and remembers drowning in the Sound. Beautiful language, and the last line slays me.
And these are all for you by innocentsmith.
When he dared look over, Ray had tilted his head and wore an odd little smile. "Hey, I don't see so good. First time I saw you you were across the room, big blurry red thing saying my name - by the time I got close enough to look at you, I already had my arms around you."
Length: Medium
Summary: The loves Fraser's been offered.
Notes: Fraser frames his knowledge of love in the fairy tales of his youth. Fraser/others (canon), Fraser/Ray K. Mostly pre-CotW, but the final bit is an epilogue to the episode.
Christmas Present by Dira Sudis.
"The doctors decided you're officially lucky. Nine days in a coma and no sign of brain damage, six cracked vertebrae with no spinal cord damage, and they got all the bone chips out and didn't have to fuse any. And they think you're going to keep your left kidney."
Length: Short
Summary: An alternate take from the episode "Good For the Soul", in which Fraser doesn't get off so easily.
Notes: An A/U twist that packs a punch. Nice cameo by Vecchio as well.
No Cocoon by ariastar.
When he awoke on the outskirts of Chicago, he felt raw all over and Ray was holding his hand.
Length: Short
Summary: For much of his life, Fraser didn't experience a lot of human touch. Things change in Chicago, especially with Ray K.
Notes: I love the way Fraser catalogs the various ways he's been touched, and how things shift after Mountie on the Bounty.
Prolix by Dira Sudis.
"It's called a dictionary, Fraser. Amazing invention. See," he flipped it open illustratively, "they put all your smarty-pants words over here on the left in bold type, and next to it in regular print they break it down into little cop words that I can handle. It's like a Fraser-English phrase book."
Length: Short
Summary: If you can use a word three times, it's yours for life.
Notes: Ray's reaction to Fraser's vocabulary, with an awesome punchline.
The Small Indian Mongoose Is Not Immune to the Cobra's Venom by Brigantine.
Ray knew how to take a hit, how to sustain damage and come right back for more. Knowing he could take it, that was half the battle.
Length: Medium
Summary: Ray has a history of not picking on guys his own size.
Notes: Ray's past and present intertwined. Similar to "All of Us Drown" (above) in some ways, though about Ray instead of Fraser, and by a different author.
First Time
American Way by Resonant.
Twenty-four hours ago, Ray would have said working alongside Constable Benton Fraser was the biggest temptation he could imagine. But that was before he spent the day at the station with Detective Ben Fraser. Ben. Who sprawled, who slouched, who snarked, who -- god help us -- swore.
Length: Long
Summary: Fraser has to go undercover as an American in order to track down a Canadian art thief.
Notes: Great plot, and Fraser as an American is to die for.
Crossing the Line Series by anonymous_co
Crossing the Line, Easy Come, Easy Go, Slow Dancing, Moment of Truth, Nunavut Blues, Edge of the World, Home Is Where the Mountie Is, Tangled Up, And Blue, In Cold Irons Bound, Walls of Pride, Knockin' on Heaven's Door, and Merry Little Christmas
Length: 13 stories of varying lengths, but mostly each around medium-long.
Summary: Starting from the end of Dr. Longball, Fraser and Ray get involved. Slightly A/U to the series, and post-series.
Notes: Plotty, long, intense, and involving the whole cast of due South.
Eight Sessions by Speranza.
Dave Berger stared at him in something very near disbelief—a mere fifteen minutes into the session, and Constable Benton Fraser had moved easily into first place as the single worst patient he'd ever had.
Length: Novel
Summary: In the aftermath of a case gone wrong, Fraser and Ray K both have to attend mandatory counseling. Revelations ensue.
Notes: Beautifully constructed, intricate story. The exact details of what went wrong are slowly revealed, layer after layer, as Speranza explores the depths of both characters (complete with fantastic characterizations).
Figure of Speech by Estrella.
This was Fraser he was dealing with here, and while Ray was pretty sure no one could look like Fraser did and live to be as old as Fraser was without having sex, he was still kind of undecided about how much sex Fraser probably had in his life.
Length: Short
Summary: Ray kisses Fraser, and stressed about screwing things up or going too fast. Fraser isn't too worried at all.
Notes: I love the fact that Ray gets worked up about poor innocent Fraser, only too find out that Fraser is not at all naive. Hot and funny, and a nice turnabout of one of the fandom tropes that shows up a lot.
Gun, with Occasional Kangaroo: A Love Story by Punk.
The wolf jumped into the back seat with his pretzel and Ray picked up the slobbery lemonade with two fingers and set it out on the asphalt. It no longer freaked him out that Fraser talked to Dief. These days he was more worried that their conversations were starting to make sense.
Length: Long
Summary: Fraser and Ray investigate a murder. It's about as surreal and cracktastic as the crazier episodes.
Notes: Really funny while still in character, and quite similar to actual episodes (just with slightly more obvious Fraser/Ray K).
How Ray Got His Groove Back by Aristide & Bone.
Fraser looked like he was thinking about... sex. Which should have been the point, they were looking at porn, right, but not the way he was doing it. Fraser looked like there wasn't anything on the screen that was anywhere near as interesting as Ray's face, Ray's... and then his hand had moved, slow, so slow Ray could have pulled away anytime. Could have, but didn't.
Length: Novel
Summary: Ray's rather sexually frustrated and thinks porn is the answer. Fraser has a better solution.
Notes: One of those stories that pretty much boils down to Fraser showing Ray a whole new world, and Ray realizing just how much he likes it; but it is smokin' hot and well characterized.
Interrogation by speranza.
Ray began to pace around the room, his thin arms whipping and slicing the air. "Just—I've never been one to follow the crowd, Fraser. And if you haven't noticed, everyone's in love with you. Like everyone. Perfect strangers on the street. It's sort of sickening, really."
Length: Medium
Summary: Fraser is getting death threats. Ray is concerned.
Notes: One of the many brilliant, funny, and wonderful stories by speranza. For even more awesome, you can read the comic version of this, by zelempa.
It's Like This Old Inuvit Story I Knew by rageprufock.
Fraser had just convinced Ray not to buy Stella a cactus and send it to her with a card that said, "Prickly--just like you," when Ray apparently developed Turrets and blurted out: "Fraser, I think your dad's haunting me!"
Length: Short
Summary: Dead!Bob starts haunting Ray, much to Ray's dismay.
Notes: Hysterical, hysterical lines (worth it for Ray's Fraser translation alone), and ridiculously fun.
Mr. Fidgety Meets Mr. Snippy by pir8fancier.
Ray was slowly beginning to realize that Fraser looked completely and utterly together, but behind the serge, man, can you say clusterfuck? And Ray, who on a good day looked like he was three steps away from having some sort of psychotic break, was actually fairly together.
Length: Long
Summary: Ray practices his freaking out skills, Fraser his enormous capacity for denial, gay things happen.
Notes: The characterizations and the fantastic Ray-voice make up for the slightly uneven pacing and occasional typo.
Parental Guidance by Starfish, Kass, and Alanna.
His dad -- Mr. "I don't judge people" -- couldn't make eye contact with Fraser for even a second. When they'd walked in he'd mumbled something that might've been "hello," but it might also have been short for "Touch my kid and I'll rip off your hands, you funny-hat-wearing homo." Ray couldn't tell.
Length: Medium
Summary: Ray's parents think that Ray and Fraser are dating.
Notes: Fun and funny example of the "third parties know before they do" trope.
Reliance by Arrow.
"Yeah, alone. I get that about you." Ray settled more firmly against wall, widening his stance, telegraphing his intention to stay put. "Alone isn't always such a good thing, though, is it?"
Length: Medium
Summary: Fraser gets a bit hurt, and Ray wrestles him into being comforted.
Notes: I'm a bit of a sap for a good h/c, especially when Fraser is the one in need of said comfort. Throw in excellent characterization and a spot of smut, and I'm sold.
Saturday Clothes by Spuffyduds.
“Know that. Want to,” and Ray gets his mouth around Fraser’s cock and Fraser stops making sentences and starts making noises. I should try this during the next Inuit story, Ray thinks. “You know, Ray, when the caribou herds grow too thin the InuGOD, AGH, OOOOH, GOD.” That would be fun.
Length: Short
Summary: Ray likes it when Fraser wears old clothes.
Notes: Funny and hot, my favorite combination.
Swimming With Sharks by nos4a2no9.
Fraser was silent for so long that Ray wasn't sure if he was going to say anything at all. But when Fraser did speak, he sounded tired, and sad, and defeated. All the things that Benton Fraser, RCMP, wasn't supposed to be. "Have you ever heard the expression, 'The heart asks pleasure first'?"
Length: Novel
Summary: Ray runs into Fraser at the wrong kind of club, and the two men make an unusual arrangement with one another.
Notes: As the author says, a story that incorporates Emily Dickinson, humor, and angst, as well as the "undercover at a gay bar" and "fuckbuddies" clichés. Intricate & lovely.
The Teeth of the Hydra by Resonant.
"Because those who don't remember the past have gotta go through all that bullshit twice, Fraser."
"You're using these to re-examine your past?" Fraser sorted through the albums. Velvet Underground, Sweet, Wire, Pete Townshend, the Effigies, the Pretenders.
"Love'll get you like a case of anthrax," Ray sang back at him, "and that's something I don't want to catch. -- Hey, you got your dad's journals, I got my old record collection."
Length: Long
Summary: Ray and Fraser's investigation into a serial ink rapist (involuntary tattoos) interspersed with flashbacks to Ray's past.
Notes: Fantastic combination of a casefic and a character exploration. Has a little anniversary snippet sequel, Display.
Third Person by Julad.
I'm not Frannie, I never fell for Fraser's Perfect Mountie shit, but I'm falling for him now. Who the fuck cares if he's not perfect? Stella was perfect; enough said. Anyway, what would some dream SuperMountie want with Stella Smith-Hammond's scruffy beat-up ex? Nothing, that's what. So maybe this might-be-crazy in-a-word-gay Fraser guy is the best thing the Mountie's got going for him.
Length: Medium
Summary: Bombs, Chinese food, insanity. All part of getting to know Fraser.
Notes: Ray tries to figure out Fraser's eccentricities, especially the inconvenient and confusing conversations with thin air. Witty and brilliant.
To Unburden by s.a.
Fraser's breath catches, and he thinks he has never loved a person more than he loves this man. He finds, suddenly, that he cannot breathe.
Length: Snippet
Summary: A first time story, told backwards.
Notes: A beautiful short with lovely language and an interesting format.
The Train Goes Slow by atrata.
Ray nods a little, and the look in Fraser's eye changes to a question. "I don't know," Ray says. "I don't know, okay? I don't want you to stop being Fraser, that ain't what I'm asking. You gotta do what you gotta do, I get that, you are who you are. But it's... it's like the tin soldier guy, right? You gotta ask for help sometimes, because who are you gonna be if you're dead? What good's that gonna do anyone?"
Length: Medium
Summary: Ray and Fraser fight, miscommunicate, and eventually start to get it right.
Notes: Fantastic characterization, excellent use of dead!Bob, and all in all, a brilliant examination of the ways Ray and Fraser struggle.
Your Hands, Clasped by pearl-o.
This morning in your car, as you drove us to the station, we stopped at a red light. I turned to watch you in the driver's seat: your head bobbed, you licked your lips, you hummed some unfamiliar song to yourself as you tapped the beat out against your thigh with the hand not occupied on the wheel. The sunlight hit your hair and reflected off your sunglasses, and I felt myself fill with unalloyed tenderness towards you.
Length: Short
Summary: Fraser tries to connect with Ray.
Notes: A Fraser POV story, told out of order. Totally made by the beautiful language.
Established Relationship
The Delivery by Rustler.
"Earth to Stella," Ray interrupted her thoughts, waving his hand in front of her eyes. "Wanna put your peepers back in your head there, Stell?" She thought she detected a hint of amusement in Ray's voice, and when she looked over at him, there was a definite smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Just 'cause my boyfriend is so much cuter than yours, that's no reason for rudeness."
Length: Short
Summary: Stella gets a surprise when she pays an unannounced visit to Ray's apartment.
Notes: Fun discovery story from Stella's POV.
Ray Is Not Actually Graphing The History Of His Relationship With Fraser... by Sprat.
The sex has never not been good. That is not the confusing part of Ray-and-Fraser. They are naturals at the sex; the sex is their friend. If there was some kind of sexathalon, the two of them would be All-State, trophy-winning champs.
Length: Medium
Summary: Fraser and Ray fall into a relationship, have some miscommunications, go to crazy town, and work it out again.
Notes: Funny and awesome and very them.
Spring Thaw by Nestra.
"After you've spent months accustomed to the crunch of snow under your feet, you almost forget that there comes a time when the snow melts away."
Length: Snippet
Summary: Fraser and Kowalski should be kissing. You know they do it all the time, huddled up in bed when it's raining outside (like it is today).
Notes: A lovely ficlet about the rain.
a state of mind that no one knows by brooklinegirl.
He waited a little while, a week or so maybe, though, man, he was thinking about it whenever they fucked, thinking about that hot, desperate look on Fraser's face the last time, like when Ray wrapped his fingers around Fraser's wrists, he got something, understood something that Fraser had never shared before with anybody ever.
Length: Short
Summary: Ray finds out about Fraser's kink. (Mild bdsm)
Notes: Ray discovers that Fraser likes being held down. Incendiary.
Turn Toward Home by Vee.
Maybe Fraser had been expecting him to make a gesture, push him up against something, and show him that he was irresistible. Everybody wants to feel sexy and desired on Valentine's Day. Had Ray missed his cue?
Length: Short
Summary: Ray thinks this probably isn't how they should be spending the early evening of their first Valentine's Day together.
Notes: Ray's trying to navigate his way through a new relationship with Fraser. Subtle and precise.
POST-COTW
Pre-slash
The Love Song of S. Raymond Kowalski by Aria.
Ray thought of the end of the poem about the Prufrock guy, something about waking up and drowning, and maybe since he wasn't remembering the rest he wasn't understanding it right, but he knew he had to do this right, didn't want to go back, didn't want to be nothing, and instead of kissing Fraser he said in a rush, more soft and intense than he'd maybe said anything ever, "Let me stay."
Length: Short
Summary: Ray dared to smush his experimental hair down in hats in Canada, dared to eat everything Fraser gave him including the freaky bark tea, dared ... dared to let Fraser turn his world inside out and meet his eyes afterward.
Notes: Fraser gets a second chance at his story.
The Outline of a Circle by Pearl-o.
Fraser had spent his entire adult life sleeping alone, or with only the company of Diefenbaker's comforting snores, in any number of unfamiliar or uncomfortable places. He had not realized how quickly another person could stop being an intrusion, however welcome, and suddenly become something integral, expected and needed.
Length: Short
Summary: Fraser returns to Chicago for Ray V's wedding, and figures out some things along the way.
Notes: Gorgeous language in a perfect self-discovery story for Fraser.
Square Peg by Capella.
He's happy. And as I lean closer to the photo and look from Benton to Ray and back again, and imagine these two friends - partners - setting off alone into the northern wilderness and calling it fun, I think I know why. It's written all over them, even in a slightly smudgy newspaper photo.
Length: Short
Summary: The dead mother, the absent father, the stern, elderly grandparents and the toy box full of improving books. It's no surprise that he's turned out to be a bit of a square peg.
Notes: Third person observation story by one of Fraser's high school teachers, first, when Fraser is young, and then again post-CotW.
Verse Chorus Verse by Punk.
He doesn't know what Fraser could possibly be scribbling in there night after night, but he's afraid it goes a little something like "Day One: Canada beautiful; Ray bitchy. Day Two: Canada still beautiful; Ray still bitchy. Day Three: Canada beautiful and serene; Ray accidentally eaten by bears."
Length: Short
Summary: Ray and Fraser on the quest, with flashbacks to their first meeting.
Notes: I love the fact that the story revolves around a Gerard Manly Hopkins poem about renewal and second chances.
First Time
Busted by anonymous co.
"I didn't go up to Canada because I needed your protection, Fraser. I didn't need somebody to take care of me. Maybe in some way I was hiding, hell, I got sick of seeing people feel sorry for me. I wanted to go somewhere where nobody would. I didn't think you would. And you didn't."
Length: Novel
Summary: Ray goes north to recover from a terrible injury. As Ray heals up, he and Fraser also begin unraveling the mystery behind it all.
Notes: Epic. Has a sequel, Tapestry (much shorter), and features Ray V and his infant son, as well.
Edge of Snow by Arrow.
"You never said." The gum snaps in his mouth, evidence of his frustration. "In fact, you never say much of anything that's really important, Fraser. Don't you think you could have thrown in this little tidbit, in between caribou stories?"
Length: Medium
Summary: At the end of the Quest, a meeting with an old acquaintance raises issues for Fraser and Ray.
Notes: Poignant and achy, but absolutely brilliant and spot-on with characterization. An unpleasant part of Fraser's past gets raised, causing tension between Ray and Fraser.
Enduring Distance by Speranza.
"That's the point, Fraser—that's just it." Ray licked a wet circle around my ear and I shuddered. "I'm not a friend. I ain't your friend. Cause I can't endure the fucking distance."
Length: Long
Summary: Immediate follow-up to the events of CotW.
Notes: Does an excellent job of tying up all the loose ends in ways that make sense, and that fit the characters.
From Afar by TrueEnough.
I started to reassure myself that he would not be that far away and that we were both willing and capable of making the long journey to each others homes but I didn’t get very far. I was so tired of downsizing my expectations until I was left with nothing but frustration. I was becoming brittle with it.
Length: Long
Summary: Ray and Fraser stop in Inuvik post-quest, and Ray helps Fraser to settle in and join the community.
Notes: Un-betaed, and it shows, but a wonderful story in spite of the typos. A good Fraser POV, and some lovely h/c.
Haven by Aristide.
He built a snowman, something he hadn't done since he was a kid. It was fun, but after a day the poor guy looked lonely out there all by himself, so Ray built another snowman right next to him. That was better, but the day after that he realized that what he had was basically two snowmen stranded together on a non-adventure, and wow was that disturbing, so he built a dozen snow people for them to hang out with. Then it occurred to him that he was kind of turning into a really huge freak, so he disassembled them one at a time and hauled them indoors to boil for baths.
Length: Medium
Summary: After Ray is injured on the adventure, Fraser and Ray are cabin bound and dealing with the fallout.
Notes: Some whumpage (both physical and emotional), some angst, and some really hot smut all in one fic.
Magnificent Mile by Aria.
"When it's dark," Ray said, "and cold, and the sun is never, ever coming back, we light candles. We light candles and we, we huddle up, we create warmth, and I do this every day, Fraser. Every day I gotta do it over again, but I do, because there's things you can't have without the dark."
Length: Short
Summary: Ray struggles to hack it in Canada, especially in the winter.
Notes: Lovely and poignant and wistful all at once.
The Reaching Out One by Alex51324.
Fraser stared down at his soup, as if he hadn't heard. Finally he said, "I've come to realize that the difficulty of living a life stripped of all but the essentials is that I have nothing I can afford to lose."
Length: Novel
Summary: 10 years post CotW, Fraser is having a hard time, and Ray comes to help out. They go on a journey, and figure things out (finally!) along the way.
Notes: The story is sparked by Dief's death, so handkerchief warning, but the story is beautifully constructed, with an understated feel that works really well with Fraser.
Slice by Brighid.
Me being me, I jumped him. Not that kinda jump, not at first, just meant to hug the guy, maybe make free with a noogie or two, but then his breath was on my face, gasping and laughing, and his body was under mine and his eyes were wide and deep and all of a sudden, I was just walking in the sky. About fifteen minutes later, I found out a whole new way to make him go, "Ray!Ray!Ray!Ray!Ray!" and I gotta say, I like it a whole lot better.
Length: Medium
Summary: A few slices of life after Call of the Wild.
Notes: Largely an established relationship fic, but starts out with the first time. Lovely snippets intermixed with pie recipes. I love post-CotW stories where they end up back in Chicago, and this is a great one.
Tip, Slide, Tumble by J.S. Cavalcante.
Ray would have thought Fraser would freak out about the sex. A normal guy would've freaked out about the sex. Not Fraser. Fraser freaked out about happiness. Those hard-ons Ray'd thought Fraser was afraid of? He wasn't afraid of them, just like he'd always said. He was afraid if he touched Ray, he might like it too much, and that meant, God forbid, happiness might run up and attack him from behind like a polar bear or something.
Length: Long
Summary: Ray knew when he found the body in the alley it was going to change someone's life. He just didn't expect that life would be his.
Notes: In Chicago post-CotW, Ray considers the possibility of adopting a child. Lots of in-depth character exploration.
Turning by Kellie Matthews.
I lean back, rub my eyes, and stare at the ceiling. "I've been in a mental hospital before." Since I'm not looking at him I feel, rather than see, his reaction. A little flinch. I look down, see him looking at me with a startled expression. "It was for a case, an undercover assignment, but the disconcerting thing I realized at the time was that just being myself was enough to get me admitted. They thought I was delusional simply for being who and what I am. They wanted to 'fix' me."
Length: Novel
Summary: Fraser starts having issues about the death of his mother while he and Ray are on their adventure. He gets some help in the form of Eric, therapist and shaman.
Notes: Deals with Fraser's problems in a thoughtful and in-character way.
Where the Story Changes by seperis.
He thinks of the words that Fraser whispered to him, sleepy and dazed, touching him like he was afraid Ray would leave when he let go. All this time he'd thought that both of them had been left behind, but maybe that's not it at all.
Length: Long
Summary: Just post-CotW, Fraser and Ray go to Fraser's cabin to make some decisions and get Ray acclimated.
Notes: An excellent (and incendiary) fic bridging the time between Fraser capturing Muldoon, and the happily ever after sled ride into the sunset.
Established Relationship
30 Days in Europe: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, and Epilogue by Capella.
It ought to have been sad, Mort leaving ten thousand dollars to some guy he worked with a few years back just so he could go off to Europe on vacation, but it wasn't, it wasn't sad at all, not when the guy was Fraser. After everything Mort had seen in his life, Fraser must have seemed like a beacon or something, like an island of goodness in the middle of all the other crap.
Length: Novel
Summary: Fraser and Ray, touring the capitals of Europe.
Notes: A wonderful travelogue cum established relationship story. Fraser and Ray spend thirty days seeing the sites in Europe, with sex, squabbling, glimpses at their settled life in Canada, and hints about the past.
All the Comforts of Home by Denise Raymond.
"Ray? May I ask why you came up here?" Mike asked.
Right. "Yeah, that's a whole other story," I muttered. I sat back down with my coffee, stretching my legs under the table.
"I wanted to talk with Benny about my marriage. We're having trouble."
"Why? Ben's never been married."
"No, but he's always been Benny," I said.
Length: Novel
Summary: Ray Vecchio goes to visit Fraser up north, and get some surprises.
Notes: Has a fantastic sequel, Chicago Tales, which is far more plotty, and in my opinion, even better than its predecessor.
Concrete by Spuffyduds.
"So, what you're saying," Ray said, "is that it's like that old word problem with the chicken and the fox and the bag of corn and you've got one canoe that only fits two of them, except that they're all wearing suits, and the fox and the chicken used to fuck?"
Length: Snippet
Summary: The abstract is in the concrete. Fraser finally figures out that they're in it for the long term.
Notes: Post-CotW in Chicago (which I love). Funny and hot.
Could you invent a world for me?
by Pearl-o.
"After a while, you know Dief, he gets distracted, and me and Dad, we started hanging out with you, and finally we couldn't help it. We said, Dief, what would you think about letting us share her with you? And Dief is a giver, so he said okay. And that's why you didn't grow up as a wild naked half-wolf freak girl."
Length: Snippet
Summary: A kidfic in which the "where did I come from" question has a number of answers.
Notes: For such a short fic, this one packs a lot in. Adorable and hilarious and sweet all at once.
Eight Weeks by zellieh.
All Ray’s laundry was done, ironed, starched, and folded. Just the right amount of starch, too...oh, and Ray's favourite shirt, that took such a long time to iron right, was perfect.
Length: Short
Summary: Ray's mom comes to do his laundry, and slowly uncovers the facts of Ray's new relationship.
Notes: Lovely POV and construction, and I adore the characterization of Barbara Kowalski.
Four Virtues by Speranza.
"Tell me what you want. Tell me what I can do for you." Ray always asks this, and Ben nearly always demands kisses—but today Ben grabs Ray's wrists and pins his arms above his head. Today, Ben drops his mouth to Ray's neck and licks a long, slow line up the curve of a tendon. Today, Ben murmurs against Ray's beard-stubbled jaw, "Pip had returned from the docklands..." and beneath him Ray laughs and struggles and yells in mock outrage, "No way! That's cheating!"
Length: Medium
Summary: "It is a love thing and a sex thing. Also a food thing. A cow thing. A beef thing."
Notes: Figuring out life in the NWT, and settling into one another. Funny and hot and made of win.
Likewise by aukestrel.
This is the part I keep waiting for to be over, this roller coaster ride in my stomach, and it keeps going, Space Mountain Mountie-style, and it's finally starting to sink into my damaged but not stupid head that not only are we for keeps, which I knew, but the whole enchilada's for keeps too.
Length: Medium
Summary: A day in the life for Fraser and Ray, ten years on.
Notes: Sweet and lovely and full of all sorts of wonderful details.
Nailed Down by pir8fancier.
When Fraser tossed out the notion one night about buying some land and building a cabin, I said, "Greatness," and meant it because the hotel room with a shared shower was getting really old. I don't like half-wolves listening to me beg for Fraser's cock up my ass. I'm funny that way.
Length: Short
Summary: Ray and Fraser are building a cabin together (with incidental sex).
Notes: Great Ray voice, the sex is hot, and the humor is spot-on.
Naked by Arrow.
Fraser gives a last shudder, and Ray pauses a second, holding still until Fraser's eyes open again, looking glazed over with pleasure. He's completely, totally undone. Ray did that.
Length: Snippet
Summary: Lovin' in a tent.
Notes: Gorgeous, insanely hot PWP that is made so much more by the rich descriptive language.
Now I've Just Come Ashore by sli.
In the morning there was coffee. When Ray's friends and family wrote to him, tactfully worded letters, considering, hinting at how out of place he must be up in the far-ass freezing north, and how welcome he'd always be back in Chicago or Arizona, he always flashed on the coffee.
Length: Snippet
Summary: Slice of life (and sex) for Ray and Fraser in Canada.
Notes: A fantastic PWP with added depth, and an especially gorgeous final line.
Price of Distance by nos4a2no9.
"Right you are, Ray." Fraser grins as he says this, one of those big, goofy, no-holds-barred smiles that makes Ray's chest ache. He doesn't see Fraser smile like that very often, and for a few seconds Ray thinks that he would do anything--anything--to see that smile every day for the rest of his life.
Length: Medium
Summary: Ray has made this trip every two months for two and a half years, regular as clockwork.
Notes: Immigrating didn't work out, so Fraser and Ray are doing what they can to stay together. Beautiful imagery and attention to detail (and a happy ending). Has two sequels, Something Borrowed & Seven Years Later.
Sestina Series by Basingstoke.
Zen, Tidal Waves, Cigarettes, Baby's Breath, Collision, and North.
Length: 6 stories of varying lengths.
Summary: Slices of life in Chicago, post-CotW, with a crossover appearance by Tim Bayliss (from Homicide: Life on the Street), who has transferred to Chicago.
Notes: A nice balance of Fraser & Ray with all of the rest of the cast. Excellent even for those unfamiliar with H:LotS.
The stone that looked like a dog by Deputychairman.
"I did not emigrate to Canada for the dogsledding, Fraser. It was a nice bonus, I grant you, but I’m here for - ” Ray paused, gaze firmly in front of him. “I’m here ‘cause a you, y’know. Which I did not in so many words tell my parents, no.”
Length: Medium
Summary: Ray's parents come to visit in Canada leading to some tension, as Ray and Fraser aren't explicitly out to them. To add to it all, dead!Bob returns for the first time in months.
Notes: I like that while they're in an established relationship, Ray and Fraser still have to deal with new stresses and work on their communication and partnership.
Truths Like Gravity by nos4a2no9.
He wanted to make it better for them. All of them—his girls, and even Fraser. That was his job as a dad. Security, stability, love—that was the most he and Fraser had to offer as parents. He'd seen enough to know that, even if he and Fraser turned out to be spectacularly bad at raising kids, everything else would work itself out as long as they did okay on the basics.
Length: Short
Summary: A reflective, older Ray considers the reality of his and Fraser's adoptive children growing up.
Notes: A lovely kidfic/futurefic, in which Ray and Fraser have adopted three children, who are now mostly grown. Lovely and honest and poignant- really not your average kidfic.
Upon Close Inspection by Zelempa.
"Can we try to be normal?" said Ray. "Just for a day. For like, two hours. I'll be Ray, and you'll be Ben, and that'll be Dief, our dog." From the doorway, Diefenbaker whined. Ray pointed at him. "You, suck it up. Take one for the team."
Length: Medium
Summary: Fraser and Ray try to make it through a pre-adoption interview, all the while hiding the fact that Fraser's been injured.
Notes: Fun and adorable, with just a hint of poignancy. Excellent characterizations.
Waiting for the Weird by KindKit.
Ray's not sure whether to crack up or punch Fraser in the head. This is a feeling he's used to by now. "You know what I mean. I'm waiting for all the little iron filings of weirdness to come flying towards the giant weird magnet, which is you."
Length: Short
Summary: Fraser and Ray are at Dewey's wedding, and Ray fears that bizarre, Fraser-esque chaos will enuse.
Notes: A fun, fluffy established relationship/snippet of life story.
With Six You Get Eggroll by Speranza.
Man, Fraser always looked so damn comfortable out here, like he never, ever did back in Chicago. It was like something deep in him eased up--even his posture relaxed, although maybe that slouch was mostly about holding the kid steady. Still, Fraser looked pretty damn happy, standing there with Robby in the crook of his arm, and Kowalski looked--okay, yeah, still edgy, still basically an asshole--but the kids brought out some gentle streak in him that Ray hadn't ever seen before.
Length: Novel
Summary: Ray V. and Stella go to the NWT for a honeymoon trip, and find Fraser and Ray K living with the six children they've adopted.
Notes: The kid!fic to beat all other kid!fics. Speranza spun the dial on the epilogues of all the due South characters, so Fraser and Ray K end up with the six kids... but this is not your average kidfic. The kids are very real (from a troubled teen to a non-stop fussy toddler), and Ray and Fraser are perfectly characterized harried parents doing their best (and still remaining true to themselves).
ALTERNATE UNIVERSE FIC
Academic Punk by The Hoyden.
"I first came to Chicago on the trail of documentation referencing letters that Wyndham Lewis wrote, and for reasons that, well, don't bear exploring at this juncture, I was persuaded to apply for a position."
Length: Long
Summary: Fraser and Ray as English Lit professors. Ray is the rebellious genius type, and Fraser is displaced and reeling from Victoria.
Notes: Pure genius, and wonderfully in character, despite the transposed universe. Nice slow relationship build, and all sorts of nerd-a-licious literature references.
Accidental Bonding by Luzula.
There was a popular conception that people who were gifted could share all their thoughts and reach a perfect understanding, but this was not so, even through a link such as the one that bound Ray and me. There was just as much space for misunderstanding—one might feel an emotion, but mistake its significance or cause.
Length: Short
Summary: Urban fantasy A/U, where Ray and Fraser work at the department of magical crimes.
Notes: Wonderful world building in such a short fic, and perfectly in character despite the very alternate universe. And now there's a sequel- Push and Pull, which is longer and equally brilliant.
Either/Or by DesireeArmfeldt.
Ray steps into Fraser’s arms again, and Fraser tries to keep his body relaxed and fluid, like Ray’s. He takes a tentative step forward, and Ray responds with a step back and an encouraging smile. They dance a few sets of steps, and although Fraser feels awkward and self-conscious, it really is easier than before. Ray seems to know—to feel—what Fraser wants, sometimes before Fraser is consciously aware of it himself.
Length: Medium
Summary: Make one choice differently and your whole life takes a different path...or are there things that are fated to happen, one way or another? Benton Fraser, RCMP, meets Ray Kowalski, ballroom dancer.
Notes: An A/U wherein Ray K is a ballroom dancer, and he and Fraser meet when Ray V wants to work on his dancing skills for Stella.
Family Portrait by Journey.
Fraser shook his head. He'd known Ray had children, but somehow he hadn't quite imagined what that really meant. This morning he'd found out it meant rules and sleepwear and breakfast and brushing teeth and love and care and...family. Ray had a family. And being here this morning, he'd realized that the Ray he saw at work was an incomplete Ray.
Length: Novel
Summary: A universe in which Ray K is a widower with two kids, who takes over for Ray V without having to go undercover.
Notes: Wonderful kidfic, with well-developed and realistic children. Nice slow development in the friendship and relationship department, as well.
Find Me a Find by green_grrl.
Had Ben asked him on a date in Canadian and Ray just didn't realize it? It was probably a good thing that woman had gotten all pissed off at him, or he probably would have hurt Ben's feelings, taking off and dancing with someone else.
Length: Long
Summary: Ray Vecchio sets up a matchmaking agency. Stella wants him to find her ex-husband a love match. Fraser, of course, gets involved.
Notes: Only slightly A/U. Fraser and Ray K were never partners, but otherwise, much the same as canon.
The Heart's Compass by Zabira.
Ben asks enough questions for both of them. He comes running every single time Ray shows up and doesn't leave Ray's side if he can help it. His rapid-fire chatter is peppered with questions and orders barely disguised as requests. It's not entirely unlike spending an afternoon with adult Fraser. Ray helps Ben build things, gets dirty, ends up climbing and falling out of things, and deflects as many inquiries about his life as he thinks he can. The ways in which it isn't like a day spent with Fraser? Hurt Ray just a little.
Length: Medium
Summary: Inspired by The Time Traveler's Wife. Ray can't control the places and times he ends up, but he keeps returning to Fraser's childhood.
Notes: Lovely and poignant, and a wonderful portrait of wee!Fraser.
Not One Sparrow Falls by J.S. Cavalcante.
Father A shook his head. "Nothing like that." He paused and looked kind of intently at Ray. "The Lord gives us all our challenges. Perhaps that young man also needed to see an angel this morning."
Length: Medium
Summary: Fraser's dogged investigation of a strange feather at a crime scene leads some unexpected places.
Notes: Wingfic, but lovely and poignant and really doesn't even seem that A/U to me.
Want by dessert_first.
Someday, Fraser will be ready to accept this new partner for who he is. He will wish him to not look so much like Ray Vecchio, because that makes it so much harder to properly grieve the loss of his friend, but he will understand why the charade is necessary. And he will want to know who the blond man is, his loyalty and open heart making him even more fascinating than he was as a mysterious stranger.
Length: Short
Summary: An fascinating A/U take on the two Rays situation. In a world where some humans have superpowers, Ray V. is replaced by a shape-shifting Ray K. It takes Fraser a long time to find out exactly what is going on.
Notes: Ingenious twist on the oddness that is the two Ray situation, with a wonderful build-up, and a deft handling of the Victoria aftermath.
Length Scale:
<1500 - snippet
1600-5000 - short
6000-12,000 - medium
13,000-25,000 - long
26,000+ - novel
Due South will probably always be one of my favorite things, in large part because of how awesome the fandom is. The sheer volume of truly amazing fanfic is almost mind-boggling.
I'm a Fraser/Ray K. OTPer, and so that's the focus of the list. It's split into Pre-CotW, Post-CotW, and Alternate Universe, and then by subsections within each. (Be aware, a large majority of these fics are adult.)
PRE-COTW
Pre-Slash
All of Us Drown by Arrow.
"Here." Fraser clears his throat and offers his hand. Ray takes it and tugs it closer as if pulling him from deep water.
Length: Snippet
Summary: Fraser goes under.
Notes: Fraser is injured, and remembers drowning in the Sound. Beautiful language, and the last line slays me.
And these are all for you by innocentsmith.
When he dared look over, Ray had tilted his head and wore an odd little smile. "Hey, I don't see so good. First time I saw you you were across the room, big blurry red thing saying my name - by the time I got close enough to look at you, I already had my arms around you."
Length: Medium
Summary: The loves Fraser's been offered.
Notes: Fraser frames his knowledge of love in the fairy tales of his youth. Fraser/others (canon), Fraser/Ray K. Mostly pre-CotW, but the final bit is an epilogue to the episode.
Christmas Present by Dira Sudis.
"The doctors decided you're officially lucky. Nine days in a coma and no sign of brain damage, six cracked vertebrae with no spinal cord damage, and they got all the bone chips out and didn't have to fuse any. And they think you're going to keep your left kidney."
Length: Short
Summary: An alternate take from the episode "Good For the Soul", in which Fraser doesn't get off so easily.
Notes: An A/U twist that packs a punch. Nice cameo by Vecchio as well.
No Cocoon by ariastar.
When he awoke on the outskirts of Chicago, he felt raw all over and Ray was holding his hand.
Length: Short
Summary: For much of his life, Fraser didn't experience a lot of human touch. Things change in Chicago, especially with Ray K.
Notes: I love the way Fraser catalogs the various ways he's been touched, and how things shift after Mountie on the Bounty.
Prolix by Dira Sudis.
"It's called a dictionary, Fraser. Amazing invention. See," he flipped it open illustratively, "they put all your smarty-pants words over here on the left in bold type, and next to it in regular print they break it down into little cop words that I can handle. It's like a Fraser-English phrase book."
Length: Short
Summary: If you can use a word three times, it's yours for life.
Notes: Ray's reaction to Fraser's vocabulary, with an awesome punchline.
The Small Indian Mongoose Is Not Immune to the Cobra's Venom by Brigantine.
Ray knew how to take a hit, how to sustain damage and come right back for more. Knowing he could take it, that was half the battle.
Length: Medium
Summary: Ray has a history of not picking on guys his own size.
Notes: Ray's past and present intertwined. Similar to "All of Us Drown" (above) in some ways, though about Ray instead of Fraser, and by a different author.
First Time
American Way by Resonant.
Twenty-four hours ago, Ray would have said working alongside Constable Benton Fraser was the biggest temptation he could imagine. But that was before he spent the day at the station with Detective Ben Fraser. Ben. Who sprawled, who slouched, who snarked, who -- god help us -- swore.
Length: Long
Summary: Fraser has to go undercover as an American in order to track down a Canadian art thief.
Notes: Great plot, and Fraser as an American is to die for.
Crossing the Line Series by anonymous_co
Crossing the Line, Easy Come, Easy Go, Slow Dancing, Moment of Truth, Nunavut Blues, Edge of the World, Home Is Where the Mountie Is, Tangled Up, And Blue, In Cold Irons Bound, Walls of Pride, Knockin' on Heaven's Door, and Merry Little Christmas
Length: 13 stories of varying lengths, but mostly each around medium-long.
Summary: Starting from the end of Dr. Longball, Fraser and Ray get involved. Slightly A/U to the series, and post-series.
Notes: Plotty, long, intense, and involving the whole cast of due South.
Eight Sessions by Speranza.
Dave Berger stared at him in something very near disbelief—a mere fifteen minutes into the session, and Constable Benton Fraser had moved easily into first place as the single worst patient he'd ever had.
Length: Novel
Summary: In the aftermath of a case gone wrong, Fraser and Ray K both have to attend mandatory counseling. Revelations ensue.
Notes: Beautifully constructed, intricate story. The exact details of what went wrong are slowly revealed, layer after layer, as Speranza explores the depths of both characters (complete with fantastic characterizations).
Figure of Speech by Estrella.
This was Fraser he was dealing with here, and while Ray was pretty sure no one could look like Fraser did and live to be as old as Fraser was without having sex, he was still kind of undecided about how much sex Fraser probably had in his life.
Length: Short
Summary: Ray kisses Fraser, and stressed about screwing things up or going too fast. Fraser isn't too worried at all.
Notes: I love the fact that Ray gets worked up about poor innocent Fraser, only too find out that Fraser is not at all naive. Hot and funny, and a nice turnabout of one of the fandom tropes that shows up a lot.
Gun, with Occasional Kangaroo: A Love Story by Punk.
The wolf jumped into the back seat with his pretzel and Ray picked up the slobbery lemonade with two fingers and set it out on the asphalt. It no longer freaked him out that Fraser talked to Dief. These days he was more worried that their conversations were starting to make sense.
Length: Long
Summary: Fraser and Ray investigate a murder. It's about as surreal and cracktastic as the crazier episodes.
Notes: Really funny while still in character, and quite similar to actual episodes (just with slightly more obvious Fraser/Ray K).
How Ray Got His Groove Back by Aristide & Bone.
Fraser looked like he was thinking about... sex. Which should have been the point, they were looking at porn, right, but not the way he was doing it. Fraser looked like there wasn't anything on the screen that was anywhere near as interesting as Ray's face, Ray's... and then his hand had moved, slow, so slow Ray could have pulled away anytime. Could have, but didn't.
Length: Novel
Summary: Ray's rather sexually frustrated and thinks porn is the answer. Fraser has a better solution.
Notes: One of those stories that pretty much boils down to Fraser showing Ray a whole new world, and Ray realizing just how much he likes it; but it is smokin' hot and well characterized.
Interrogation by speranza.
Ray began to pace around the room, his thin arms whipping and slicing the air. "Just—I've never been one to follow the crowd, Fraser. And if you haven't noticed, everyone's in love with you. Like everyone. Perfect strangers on the street. It's sort of sickening, really."
Length: Medium
Summary: Fraser is getting death threats. Ray is concerned.
Notes: One of the many brilliant, funny, and wonderful stories by speranza. For even more awesome, you can read the comic version of this, by zelempa.
It's Like This Old Inuvit Story I Knew by rageprufock.
Fraser had just convinced Ray not to buy Stella a cactus and send it to her with a card that said, "Prickly--just like you," when Ray apparently developed Turrets and blurted out: "Fraser, I think your dad's haunting me!"
Length: Short
Summary: Dead!Bob starts haunting Ray, much to Ray's dismay.
Notes: Hysterical, hysterical lines (worth it for Ray's Fraser translation alone), and ridiculously fun.
Mr. Fidgety Meets Mr. Snippy by pir8fancier.
Ray was slowly beginning to realize that Fraser looked completely and utterly together, but behind the serge, man, can you say clusterfuck? And Ray, who on a good day looked like he was three steps away from having some sort of psychotic break, was actually fairly together.
Length: Long
Summary: Ray practices his freaking out skills, Fraser his enormous capacity for denial, gay things happen.
Notes: The characterizations and the fantastic Ray-voice make up for the slightly uneven pacing and occasional typo.
Parental Guidance by Starfish, Kass, and Alanna.
His dad -- Mr. "I don't judge people" -- couldn't make eye contact with Fraser for even a second. When they'd walked in he'd mumbled something that might've been "hello," but it might also have been short for "Touch my kid and I'll rip off your hands, you funny-hat-wearing homo." Ray couldn't tell.
Length: Medium
Summary: Ray's parents think that Ray and Fraser are dating.
Notes: Fun and funny example of the "third parties know before they do" trope.
Reliance by Arrow.
"Yeah, alone. I get that about you." Ray settled more firmly against wall, widening his stance, telegraphing his intention to stay put. "Alone isn't always such a good thing, though, is it?"
Length: Medium
Summary: Fraser gets a bit hurt, and Ray wrestles him into being comforted.
Notes: I'm a bit of a sap for a good h/c, especially when Fraser is the one in need of said comfort. Throw in excellent characterization and a spot of smut, and I'm sold.
Saturday Clothes by Spuffyduds.
“Know that. Want to,” and Ray gets his mouth around Fraser’s cock and Fraser stops making sentences and starts making noises. I should try this during the next Inuit story, Ray thinks. “You know, Ray, when the caribou herds grow too thin the InuGOD, AGH, OOOOH, GOD.” That would be fun.
Length: Short
Summary: Ray likes it when Fraser wears old clothes.
Notes: Funny and hot, my favorite combination.
Swimming With Sharks by nos4a2no9.
Fraser was silent for so long that Ray wasn't sure if he was going to say anything at all. But when Fraser did speak, he sounded tired, and sad, and defeated. All the things that Benton Fraser, RCMP, wasn't supposed to be. "Have you ever heard the expression, 'The heart asks pleasure first'?"
Length: Novel
Summary: Ray runs into Fraser at the wrong kind of club, and the two men make an unusual arrangement with one another.
Notes: As the author says, a story that incorporates Emily Dickinson, humor, and angst, as well as the "undercover at a gay bar" and "fuckbuddies" clichés. Intricate & lovely.
The Teeth of the Hydra by Resonant.
"Because those who don't remember the past have gotta go through all that bullshit twice, Fraser."
"You're using these to re-examine your past?" Fraser sorted through the albums. Velvet Underground, Sweet, Wire, Pete Townshend, the Effigies, the Pretenders.
"Love'll get you like a case of anthrax," Ray sang back at him, "and that's something I don't want to catch. -- Hey, you got your dad's journals, I got my old record collection."
Length: Long
Summary: Ray and Fraser's investigation into a serial ink rapist (involuntary tattoos) interspersed with flashbacks to Ray's past.
Notes: Fantastic combination of a casefic and a character exploration. Has a little anniversary snippet sequel, Display.
Third Person by Julad.
I'm not Frannie, I never fell for Fraser's Perfect Mountie shit, but I'm falling for him now. Who the fuck cares if he's not perfect? Stella was perfect; enough said. Anyway, what would some dream SuperMountie want with Stella Smith-Hammond's scruffy beat-up ex? Nothing, that's what. So maybe this might-be-crazy in-a-word-gay Fraser guy is the best thing the Mountie's got going for him.
Length: Medium
Summary: Bombs, Chinese food, insanity. All part of getting to know Fraser.
Notes: Ray tries to figure out Fraser's eccentricities, especially the inconvenient and confusing conversations with thin air. Witty and brilliant.
To Unburden by s.a.
Fraser's breath catches, and he thinks he has never loved a person more than he loves this man. He finds, suddenly, that he cannot breathe.
Length: Snippet
Summary: A first time story, told backwards.
Notes: A beautiful short with lovely language and an interesting format.
The Train Goes Slow by atrata.
Ray nods a little, and the look in Fraser's eye changes to a question. "I don't know," Ray says. "I don't know, okay? I don't want you to stop being Fraser, that ain't what I'm asking. You gotta do what you gotta do, I get that, you are who you are. But it's... it's like the tin soldier guy, right? You gotta ask for help sometimes, because who are you gonna be if you're dead? What good's that gonna do anyone?"
Length: Medium
Summary: Ray and Fraser fight, miscommunicate, and eventually start to get it right.
Notes: Fantastic characterization, excellent use of dead!Bob, and all in all, a brilliant examination of the ways Ray and Fraser struggle.
Your Hands, Clasped by pearl-o.
This morning in your car, as you drove us to the station, we stopped at a red light. I turned to watch you in the driver's seat: your head bobbed, you licked your lips, you hummed some unfamiliar song to yourself as you tapped the beat out against your thigh with the hand not occupied on the wheel. The sunlight hit your hair and reflected off your sunglasses, and I felt myself fill with unalloyed tenderness towards you.
Length: Short
Summary: Fraser tries to connect with Ray.
Notes: A Fraser POV story, told out of order. Totally made by the beautiful language.
Established Relationship
The Delivery by Rustler.
"Earth to Stella," Ray interrupted her thoughts, waving his hand in front of her eyes. "Wanna put your peepers back in your head there, Stell?" She thought she detected a hint of amusement in Ray's voice, and when she looked over at him, there was a definite smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Just 'cause my boyfriend is so much cuter than yours, that's no reason for rudeness."
Length: Short
Summary: Stella gets a surprise when she pays an unannounced visit to Ray's apartment.
Notes: Fun discovery story from Stella's POV.
Ray Is Not Actually Graphing The History Of His Relationship With Fraser... by Sprat.
The sex has never not been good. That is not the confusing part of Ray-and-Fraser. They are naturals at the sex; the sex is their friend. If there was some kind of sexathalon, the two of them would be All-State, trophy-winning champs.
Length: Medium
Summary: Fraser and Ray fall into a relationship, have some miscommunications, go to crazy town, and work it out again.
Notes: Funny and awesome and very them.
Spring Thaw by Nestra.
"After you've spent months accustomed to the crunch of snow under your feet, you almost forget that there comes a time when the snow melts away."
Length: Snippet
Summary: Fraser and Kowalski should be kissing. You know they do it all the time, huddled up in bed when it's raining outside (like it is today).
Notes: A lovely ficlet about the rain.
a state of mind that no one knows by brooklinegirl.
He waited a little while, a week or so maybe, though, man, he was thinking about it whenever they fucked, thinking about that hot, desperate look on Fraser's face the last time, like when Ray wrapped his fingers around Fraser's wrists, he got something, understood something that Fraser had never shared before with anybody ever.
Length: Short
Summary: Ray finds out about Fraser's kink. (Mild bdsm)
Notes: Ray discovers that Fraser likes being held down. Incendiary.
Turn Toward Home by Vee.
Maybe Fraser had been expecting him to make a gesture, push him up against something, and show him that he was irresistible. Everybody wants to feel sexy and desired on Valentine's Day. Had Ray missed his cue?
Length: Short
Summary: Ray thinks this probably isn't how they should be spending the early evening of their first Valentine's Day together.
Notes: Ray's trying to navigate his way through a new relationship with Fraser. Subtle and precise.
POST-COTW
Pre-slash
The Love Song of S. Raymond Kowalski by Aria.
Ray thought of the end of the poem about the Prufrock guy, something about waking up and drowning, and maybe since he wasn't remembering the rest he wasn't understanding it right, but he knew he had to do this right, didn't want to go back, didn't want to be nothing, and instead of kissing Fraser he said in a rush, more soft and intense than he'd maybe said anything ever, "Let me stay."
Length: Short
Summary: Ray dared to smush his experimental hair down in hats in Canada, dared to eat everything Fraser gave him including the freaky bark tea, dared ... dared to let Fraser turn his world inside out and meet his eyes afterward.
Notes: Fraser gets a second chance at his story.
The Outline of a Circle by Pearl-o.
Fraser had spent his entire adult life sleeping alone, or with only the company of Diefenbaker's comforting snores, in any number of unfamiliar or uncomfortable places. He had not realized how quickly another person could stop being an intrusion, however welcome, and suddenly become something integral, expected and needed.
Length: Short
Summary: Fraser returns to Chicago for Ray V's wedding, and figures out some things along the way.
Notes: Gorgeous language in a perfect self-discovery story for Fraser.
Square Peg by Capella.
He's happy. And as I lean closer to the photo and look from Benton to Ray and back again, and imagine these two friends - partners - setting off alone into the northern wilderness and calling it fun, I think I know why. It's written all over them, even in a slightly smudgy newspaper photo.
Length: Short
Summary: The dead mother, the absent father, the stern, elderly grandparents and the toy box full of improving books. It's no surprise that he's turned out to be a bit of a square peg.
Notes: Third person observation story by one of Fraser's high school teachers, first, when Fraser is young, and then again post-CotW.
Verse Chorus Verse by Punk.
He doesn't know what Fraser could possibly be scribbling in there night after night, but he's afraid it goes a little something like "Day One: Canada beautiful; Ray bitchy. Day Two: Canada still beautiful; Ray still bitchy. Day Three: Canada beautiful and serene; Ray accidentally eaten by bears."
Length: Short
Summary: Ray and Fraser on the quest, with flashbacks to their first meeting.
Notes: I love the fact that the story revolves around a Gerard Manly Hopkins poem about renewal and second chances.
First Time
Busted by anonymous co.
"I didn't go up to Canada because I needed your protection, Fraser. I didn't need somebody to take care of me. Maybe in some way I was hiding, hell, I got sick of seeing people feel sorry for me. I wanted to go somewhere where nobody would. I didn't think you would. And you didn't."
Length: Novel
Summary: Ray goes north to recover from a terrible injury. As Ray heals up, he and Fraser also begin unraveling the mystery behind it all.
Notes: Epic. Has a sequel, Tapestry (much shorter), and features Ray V and his infant son, as well.
Edge of Snow by Arrow.
"You never said." The gum snaps in his mouth, evidence of his frustration. "In fact, you never say much of anything that's really important, Fraser. Don't you think you could have thrown in this little tidbit, in between caribou stories?"
Length: Medium
Summary: At the end of the Quest, a meeting with an old acquaintance raises issues for Fraser and Ray.
Notes: Poignant and achy, but absolutely brilliant and spot-on with characterization. An unpleasant part of Fraser's past gets raised, causing tension between Ray and Fraser.
Enduring Distance by Speranza.
"That's the point, Fraser—that's just it." Ray licked a wet circle around my ear and I shuddered. "I'm not a friend. I ain't your friend. Cause I can't endure the fucking distance."
Length: Long
Summary: Immediate follow-up to the events of CotW.
Notes: Does an excellent job of tying up all the loose ends in ways that make sense, and that fit the characters.
From Afar by TrueEnough.
I started to reassure myself that he would not be that far away and that we were both willing and capable of making the long journey to each others homes but I didn’t get very far. I was so tired of downsizing my expectations until I was left with nothing but frustration. I was becoming brittle with it.
Length: Long
Summary: Ray and Fraser stop in Inuvik post-quest, and Ray helps Fraser to settle in and join the community.
Notes: Un-betaed, and it shows, but a wonderful story in spite of the typos. A good Fraser POV, and some lovely h/c.
Haven by Aristide.
He built a snowman, something he hadn't done since he was a kid. It was fun, but after a day the poor guy looked lonely out there all by himself, so Ray built another snowman right next to him. That was better, but the day after that he realized that what he had was basically two snowmen stranded together on a non-adventure, and wow was that disturbing, so he built a dozen snow people for them to hang out with. Then it occurred to him that he was kind of turning into a really huge freak, so he disassembled them one at a time and hauled them indoors to boil for baths.
Length: Medium
Summary: After Ray is injured on the adventure, Fraser and Ray are cabin bound and dealing with the fallout.
Notes: Some whumpage (both physical and emotional), some angst, and some really hot smut all in one fic.
Magnificent Mile by Aria.
"When it's dark," Ray said, "and cold, and the sun is never, ever coming back, we light candles. We light candles and we, we huddle up, we create warmth, and I do this every day, Fraser. Every day I gotta do it over again, but I do, because there's things you can't have without the dark."
Length: Short
Summary: Ray struggles to hack it in Canada, especially in the winter.
Notes: Lovely and poignant and wistful all at once.
The Reaching Out One by Alex51324.
Fraser stared down at his soup, as if he hadn't heard. Finally he said, "I've come to realize that the difficulty of living a life stripped of all but the essentials is that I have nothing I can afford to lose."
Length: Novel
Summary: 10 years post CotW, Fraser is having a hard time, and Ray comes to help out. They go on a journey, and figure things out (finally!) along the way.
Notes: The story is sparked by Dief's death, so handkerchief warning, but the story is beautifully constructed, with an understated feel that works really well with Fraser.
Slice by Brighid.
Me being me, I jumped him. Not that kinda jump, not at first, just meant to hug the guy, maybe make free with a noogie or two, but then his breath was on my face, gasping and laughing, and his body was under mine and his eyes were wide and deep and all of a sudden, I was just walking in the sky. About fifteen minutes later, I found out a whole new way to make him go, "Ray!Ray!Ray!Ray!Ray!" and I gotta say, I like it a whole lot better.
Length: Medium
Summary: A few slices of life after Call of the Wild.
Notes: Largely an established relationship fic, but starts out with the first time. Lovely snippets intermixed with pie recipes. I love post-CotW stories where they end up back in Chicago, and this is a great one.
Tip, Slide, Tumble by J.S. Cavalcante.
Ray would have thought Fraser would freak out about the sex. A normal guy would've freaked out about the sex. Not Fraser. Fraser freaked out about happiness. Those hard-ons Ray'd thought Fraser was afraid of? He wasn't afraid of them, just like he'd always said. He was afraid if he touched Ray, he might like it too much, and that meant, God forbid, happiness might run up and attack him from behind like a polar bear or something.
Length: Long
Summary: Ray knew when he found the body in the alley it was going to change someone's life. He just didn't expect that life would be his.
Notes: In Chicago post-CotW, Ray considers the possibility of adopting a child. Lots of in-depth character exploration.
Turning by Kellie Matthews.
I lean back, rub my eyes, and stare at the ceiling. "I've been in a mental hospital before." Since I'm not looking at him I feel, rather than see, his reaction. A little flinch. I look down, see him looking at me with a startled expression. "It was for a case, an undercover assignment, but the disconcerting thing I realized at the time was that just being myself was enough to get me admitted. They thought I was delusional simply for being who and what I am. They wanted to 'fix' me."
Length: Novel
Summary: Fraser starts having issues about the death of his mother while he and Ray are on their adventure. He gets some help in the form of Eric, therapist and shaman.
Notes: Deals with Fraser's problems in a thoughtful and in-character way.
Where the Story Changes by seperis.
He thinks of the words that Fraser whispered to him, sleepy and dazed, touching him like he was afraid Ray would leave when he let go. All this time he'd thought that both of them had been left behind, but maybe that's not it at all.
Length: Long
Summary: Just post-CotW, Fraser and Ray go to Fraser's cabin to make some decisions and get Ray acclimated.
Notes: An excellent (and incendiary) fic bridging the time between Fraser capturing Muldoon, and the happily ever after sled ride into the sunset.
Established Relationship
30 Days in Europe: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, and Epilogue by Capella.
It ought to have been sad, Mort leaving ten thousand dollars to some guy he worked with a few years back just so he could go off to Europe on vacation, but it wasn't, it wasn't sad at all, not when the guy was Fraser. After everything Mort had seen in his life, Fraser must have seemed like a beacon or something, like an island of goodness in the middle of all the other crap.
Length: Novel
Summary: Fraser and Ray, touring the capitals of Europe.
Notes: A wonderful travelogue cum established relationship story. Fraser and Ray spend thirty days seeing the sites in Europe, with sex, squabbling, glimpses at their settled life in Canada, and hints about the past.
All the Comforts of Home by Denise Raymond.
"Ray? May I ask why you came up here?" Mike asked.
Right. "Yeah, that's a whole other story," I muttered. I sat back down with my coffee, stretching my legs under the table.
"I wanted to talk with Benny about my marriage. We're having trouble."
"Why? Ben's never been married."
"No, but he's always been Benny," I said.
Length: Novel
Summary: Ray Vecchio goes to visit Fraser up north, and get some surprises.
Notes: Has a fantastic sequel, Chicago Tales, which is far more plotty, and in my opinion, even better than its predecessor.
Concrete by Spuffyduds.
"So, what you're saying," Ray said, "is that it's like that old word problem with the chicken and the fox and the bag of corn and you've got one canoe that only fits two of them, except that they're all wearing suits, and the fox and the chicken used to fuck?"
Length: Snippet
Summary: The abstract is in the concrete. Fraser finally figures out that they're in it for the long term.
Notes: Post-CotW in Chicago (which I love). Funny and hot.
Could you invent a world for me?
by Pearl-o.
"After a while, you know Dief, he gets distracted, and me and Dad, we started hanging out with you, and finally we couldn't help it. We said, Dief, what would you think about letting us share her with you? And Dief is a giver, so he said okay. And that's why you didn't grow up as a wild naked half-wolf freak girl."
Length: Snippet
Summary: A kidfic in which the "where did I come from" question has a number of answers.
Notes: For such a short fic, this one packs a lot in. Adorable and hilarious and sweet all at once.
Eight Weeks by zellieh.
All Ray’s laundry was done, ironed, starched, and folded. Just the right amount of starch, too...oh, and Ray's favourite shirt, that took such a long time to iron right, was perfect.
Length: Short
Summary: Ray's mom comes to do his laundry, and slowly uncovers the facts of Ray's new relationship.
Notes: Lovely POV and construction, and I adore the characterization of Barbara Kowalski.
Four Virtues by Speranza.
"Tell me what you want. Tell me what I can do for you." Ray always asks this, and Ben nearly always demands kisses—but today Ben grabs Ray's wrists and pins his arms above his head. Today, Ben drops his mouth to Ray's neck and licks a long, slow line up the curve of a tendon. Today, Ben murmurs against Ray's beard-stubbled jaw, "Pip had returned from the docklands..." and beneath him Ray laughs and struggles and yells in mock outrage, "No way! That's cheating!"
Length: Medium
Summary: "It is a love thing and a sex thing. Also a food thing. A cow thing. A beef thing."
Notes: Figuring out life in the NWT, and settling into one another. Funny and hot and made of win.
Likewise by aukestrel.
This is the part I keep waiting for to be over, this roller coaster ride in my stomach, and it keeps going, Space Mountain Mountie-style, and it's finally starting to sink into my damaged but not stupid head that not only are we for keeps, which I knew, but the whole enchilada's for keeps too.
Length: Medium
Summary: A day in the life for Fraser and Ray, ten years on.
Notes: Sweet and lovely and full of all sorts of wonderful details.
Nailed Down by pir8fancier.
When Fraser tossed out the notion one night about buying some land and building a cabin, I said, "Greatness," and meant it because the hotel room with a shared shower was getting really old. I don't like half-wolves listening to me beg for Fraser's cock up my ass. I'm funny that way.
Length: Short
Summary: Ray and Fraser are building a cabin together (with incidental sex).
Notes: Great Ray voice, the sex is hot, and the humor is spot-on.
Naked by Arrow.
Fraser gives a last shudder, and Ray pauses a second, holding still until Fraser's eyes open again, looking glazed over with pleasure. He's completely, totally undone. Ray did that.
Length: Snippet
Summary: Lovin' in a tent.
Notes: Gorgeous, insanely hot PWP that is made so much more by the rich descriptive language.
Now I've Just Come Ashore by sli.
In the morning there was coffee. When Ray's friends and family wrote to him, tactfully worded letters, considering, hinting at how out of place he must be up in the far-ass freezing north, and how welcome he'd always be back in Chicago or Arizona, he always flashed on the coffee.
Length: Snippet
Summary: Slice of life (and sex) for Ray and Fraser in Canada.
Notes: A fantastic PWP with added depth, and an especially gorgeous final line.
Price of Distance by nos4a2no9.
"Right you are, Ray." Fraser grins as he says this, one of those big, goofy, no-holds-barred smiles that makes Ray's chest ache. He doesn't see Fraser smile like that very often, and for a few seconds Ray thinks that he would do anything--anything--to see that smile every day for the rest of his life.
Length: Medium
Summary: Ray has made this trip every two months for two and a half years, regular as clockwork.
Notes: Immigrating didn't work out, so Fraser and Ray are doing what they can to stay together. Beautiful imagery and attention to detail (and a happy ending). Has two sequels, Something Borrowed & Seven Years Later.
Sestina Series by Basingstoke.
Zen, Tidal Waves, Cigarettes, Baby's Breath, Collision, and North.
Length: 6 stories of varying lengths.
Summary: Slices of life in Chicago, post-CotW, with a crossover appearance by Tim Bayliss (from Homicide: Life on the Street), who has transferred to Chicago.
Notes: A nice balance of Fraser & Ray with all of the rest of the cast. Excellent even for those unfamiliar with H:LotS.
The stone that looked like a dog by Deputychairman.
"I did not emigrate to Canada for the dogsledding, Fraser. It was a nice bonus, I grant you, but I’m here for - ” Ray paused, gaze firmly in front of him. “I’m here ‘cause a you, y’know. Which I did not in so many words tell my parents, no.”
Length: Medium
Summary: Ray's parents come to visit in Canada leading to some tension, as Ray and Fraser aren't explicitly out to them. To add to it all, dead!Bob returns for the first time in months.
Notes: I like that while they're in an established relationship, Ray and Fraser still have to deal with new stresses and work on their communication and partnership.
Truths Like Gravity by nos4a2no9.
He wanted to make it better for them. All of them—his girls, and even Fraser. That was his job as a dad. Security, stability, love—that was the most he and Fraser had to offer as parents. He'd seen enough to know that, even if he and Fraser turned out to be spectacularly bad at raising kids, everything else would work itself out as long as they did okay on the basics.
Length: Short
Summary: A reflective, older Ray considers the reality of his and Fraser's adoptive children growing up.
Notes: A lovely kidfic/futurefic, in which Ray and Fraser have adopted three children, who are now mostly grown. Lovely and honest and poignant- really not your average kidfic.
Upon Close Inspection by Zelempa.
"Can we try to be normal?" said Ray. "Just for a day. For like, two hours. I'll be Ray, and you'll be Ben, and that'll be Dief, our dog." From the doorway, Diefenbaker whined. Ray pointed at him. "You, suck it up. Take one for the team."
Length: Medium
Summary: Fraser and Ray try to make it through a pre-adoption interview, all the while hiding the fact that Fraser's been injured.
Notes: Fun and adorable, with just a hint of poignancy. Excellent characterizations.
Waiting for the Weird by KindKit.
Ray's not sure whether to crack up or punch Fraser in the head. This is a feeling he's used to by now. "You know what I mean. I'm waiting for all the little iron filings of weirdness to come flying towards the giant weird magnet, which is you."
Length: Short
Summary: Fraser and Ray are at Dewey's wedding, and Ray fears that bizarre, Fraser-esque chaos will enuse.
Notes: A fun, fluffy established relationship/snippet of life story.
With Six You Get Eggroll by Speranza.
Man, Fraser always looked so damn comfortable out here, like he never, ever did back in Chicago. It was like something deep in him eased up--even his posture relaxed, although maybe that slouch was mostly about holding the kid steady. Still, Fraser looked pretty damn happy, standing there with Robby in the crook of his arm, and Kowalski looked--okay, yeah, still edgy, still basically an asshole--but the kids brought out some gentle streak in him that Ray hadn't ever seen before.
Length: Novel
Summary: Ray V. and Stella go to the NWT for a honeymoon trip, and find Fraser and Ray K living with the six children they've adopted.
Notes: The kid!fic to beat all other kid!fics. Speranza spun the dial on the epilogues of all the due South characters, so Fraser and Ray K end up with the six kids... but this is not your average kidfic. The kids are very real (from a troubled teen to a non-stop fussy toddler), and Ray and Fraser are perfectly characterized harried parents doing their best (and still remaining true to themselves).
ALTERNATE UNIVERSE FIC
Academic Punk by The Hoyden.
"I first came to Chicago on the trail of documentation referencing letters that Wyndham Lewis wrote, and for reasons that, well, don't bear exploring at this juncture, I was persuaded to apply for a position."
Length: Long
Summary: Fraser and Ray as English Lit professors. Ray is the rebellious genius type, and Fraser is displaced and reeling from Victoria.
Notes: Pure genius, and wonderfully in character, despite the transposed universe. Nice slow relationship build, and all sorts of nerd-a-licious literature references.
Accidental Bonding by Luzula.
There was a popular conception that people who were gifted could share all their thoughts and reach a perfect understanding, but this was not so, even through a link such as the one that bound Ray and me. There was just as much space for misunderstanding—one might feel an emotion, but mistake its significance or cause.
Length: Short
Summary: Urban fantasy A/U, where Ray and Fraser work at the department of magical crimes.
Notes: Wonderful world building in such a short fic, and perfectly in character despite the very alternate universe. And now there's a sequel- Push and Pull, which is longer and equally brilliant.
Either/Or by DesireeArmfeldt.
Ray steps into Fraser’s arms again, and Fraser tries to keep his body relaxed and fluid, like Ray’s. He takes a tentative step forward, and Ray responds with a step back and an encouraging smile. They dance a few sets of steps, and although Fraser feels awkward and self-conscious, it really is easier than before. Ray seems to know—to feel—what Fraser wants, sometimes before Fraser is consciously aware of it himself.
Length: Medium
Summary: Make one choice differently and your whole life takes a different path...or are there things that are fated to happen, one way or another? Benton Fraser, RCMP, meets Ray Kowalski, ballroom dancer.
Notes: An A/U wherein Ray K is a ballroom dancer, and he and Fraser meet when Ray V wants to work on his dancing skills for Stella.
Family Portrait by Journey.
Fraser shook his head. He'd known Ray had children, but somehow he hadn't quite imagined what that really meant. This morning he'd found out it meant rules and sleepwear and breakfast and brushing teeth and love and care and...family. Ray had a family. And being here this morning, he'd realized that the Ray he saw at work was an incomplete Ray.
Length: Novel
Summary: A universe in which Ray K is a widower with two kids, who takes over for Ray V without having to go undercover.
Notes: Wonderful kidfic, with well-developed and realistic children. Nice slow development in the friendship and relationship department, as well.
Find Me a Find by green_grrl.
Had Ben asked him on a date in Canadian and Ray just didn't realize it? It was probably a good thing that woman had gotten all pissed off at him, or he probably would have hurt Ben's feelings, taking off and dancing with someone else.
Length: Long
Summary: Ray Vecchio sets up a matchmaking agency. Stella wants him to find her ex-husband a love match. Fraser, of course, gets involved.
Notes: Only slightly A/U. Fraser and Ray K were never partners, but otherwise, much the same as canon.
The Heart's Compass by Zabira.
Ben asks enough questions for both of them. He comes running every single time Ray shows up and doesn't leave Ray's side if he can help it. His rapid-fire chatter is peppered with questions and orders barely disguised as requests. It's not entirely unlike spending an afternoon with adult Fraser. Ray helps Ben build things, gets dirty, ends up climbing and falling out of things, and deflects as many inquiries about his life as he thinks he can. The ways in which it isn't like a day spent with Fraser? Hurt Ray just a little.
Length: Medium
Summary: Inspired by The Time Traveler's Wife. Ray can't control the places and times he ends up, but he keeps returning to Fraser's childhood.
Notes: Lovely and poignant, and a wonderful portrait of wee!Fraser.
Not One Sparrow Falls by J.S. Cavalcante.
Father A shook his head. "Nothing like that." He paused and looked kind of intently at Ray. "The Lord gives us all our challenges. Perhaps that young man also needed to see an angel this morning."
Length: Medium
Summary: Fraser's dogged investigation of a strange feather at a crime scene leads some unexpected places.
Notes: Wingfic, but lovely and poignant and really doesn't even seem that A/U to me.
Want by dessert_first.
Someday, Fraser will be ready to accept this new partner for who he is. He will wish him to not look so much like Ray Vecchio, because that makes it so much harder to properly grieve the loss of his friend, but he will understand why the charade is necessary. And he will want to know who the blond man is, his loyalty and open heart making him even more fascinating than he was as a mysterious stranger.
Length: Short
Summary: An fascinating A/U take on the two Rays situation. In a world where some humans have superpowers, Ray V. is replaced by a shape-shifting Ray K. It takes Fraser a long time to find out exactly what is going on.
Notes: Ingenious twist on the oddness that is the two Ray situation, with a wonderful build-up, and a deft handling of the Victoria aftermath.
Length Scale:
<1500 - snippet
1600-5000 - short
6000-12,000 - medium
13,000-25,000 - long
26,000+ - novel