ext_68064 (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
hazelwho.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
crack_van2011-10-07 09:49 am
hazelwho.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2011-10-07 09:49 am
If It Walks Like A Duck... by Beth H. (no author rating - I'd say adult for sex and cussing)
Okay gang, sorry for the delay. Between due South's long run on Crack Van and whatever it is that they've done to delicious, it took a while to confirm that nothing else on my list has been recced before.
Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski
Length: 28k words
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bethbethbeth
Author Website: Beth's master ficlist
Why this must be read: One of the most popular tropes in dS fandom is Everyone-Else-Thinks-They're-Gay, and this is one of my favorite examples of the genre. The story centers around Sara, an original character Beth wrote as Kowalski's childhood best friend, who shows up in Chicago again just after Ray starts working with Fraser. Sara is smart and funny (and, okay, maybe a little too perfect), but she obviously loves Ray Kowalski as much as we do, and she adopts Fraser as part of the group immediately because Ray already has. For me, the joy of watching Ray and Fraser figuring out their relationship is secondary to seeing Fraser blossom in the company of two people who accept him completely. Excerpts behind the cuts:
Ray smiles as an absolutely gorgeous man walks over to join us. Dark, dark hair, smoky blue eyes, leather jacket, and a pair of faded blue jeans that hug a totally great pair of legs.
"Fraser, Sara Knowles, an old friend of mine. She just moved back to Chicago. Sara, my, uh, partner, Benton Fraser."
There's just the smallest pause before Ray's . . . partner? . . . takes the hand I've extended to him. "Pleased to meet you, ma'am." Whoa. A little formal for someone who's hanging out with Ray.
Ray snorts and mutters "ma'am" under his breath. I punch him on the arm, then turn back to face his friend. "Just call me Sara, um . . . was it Fraser?"
Again there's a brief pause before he answers me, or maybe I'm just imagining it because Ray doesn't look like there's anything weird about the way the guy's acting.
"Please, call me Benton . . . Sara." I see Ray nodding a little out of the corner of my eye, sort of like he's a football coach and his star player just scored a touchdown. I wonder if maybe the guy's just shy.
"Good to meet you too, Benton. So, have you been working as a detective for long?"
Ray casually slips his arm around Benton's shoulder and answers for him. "Nah. Fraser's not a detective. He's Canadian. Works as a liaison officer over at the Canadian Consulate."
Okay. I'm thoroughly confused. I'm sure Ray said Benton was his partner. I look from Ray to Benton and back again and then . . . duh! Ray's still standing there with his arm around his extremely gorgeous friend and all of a sudden, I feel like a complete moron.
They're not partners. They're partners!
The thought of The Stella replaced by a guy cracks me up. Wonder what she thinks about this? I guess my amusement must show on my face because Ray frowns a little and tilts his head to one side the way he always used to do when he was trying hard to figure something out in school.
Ray glares at me a little. "What?"
"Nothing that I'm going to share with you," I say, laughing.
"You're a freak, you know that, don't you, Knowles?"
"No, you're the freak . . . Vecchio."
"Yeah? Well, you were a freak first."
"You're a bigger freak!"
We're both gasping with laughter at this point. Ray's co-workers have pretty much stopped working entirely and are staring in our direction, which just makes us laugh harder. Even Ray's way-too-serious boyfriend cracks a smile. "Might I suggest we find another venue to continue this intellectual discussion?"
Ray barks out another laugh and wipes tears from his eyes. "I take it back, Knowles. He's the freak."
All three of us are laughing by the time we walk out of the squad room.
The waitress brings our food. Sara tries to swipe one of my cucumber slices when she thinks I'm not looking, but I swat at her hand and she laughs.
Fraser watches the exchange and then makes a really blatant display of turning around to face away from the table. He hums something to himself - 'O Canada,' I think - and Sara, who gets right away that he's . . . wow . . . trying to play, does her part by slipping a piece of cucumber off his plate.
He turns back to the table and looks down at his salad, then at Sara. "Hmm."
She laughs again, and we settle down to the serious business of eating.
The whole night's good like that. The dinner conversation's pretty much all "Remember when . . . ?" between Sara and me, and I worry a couple times whether Fraser's feeling left out, but he seems to like hearing all this 'memory lane' stuff, for some reason. He's even got a bunch of stories of his own to contribute. Nothing new about Fraser telling stories, but for once not a single one of them involves a caribou.
After the meal, I sit back and listen while Sara and Fraser talk about some book they both read recently. He seems really different tonight. Easy. Relaxed. Just sort of being a regular guy without any of that Mountie stuff getting in the way.
It hits me all of a sudden that none of us have mentioned our jobs once all night, and I have to roll that thought over in my head for awhile. Sometimes it's hard to remember there's anything outside the job, but there is. There's a whole lot out there that doesn't have anything to do with chasing bad guys, writing arrest reports, and drinking lousy coffee - and it's good to be reminded of it every once in a while.
It looks like Fraser needed that kick in the ass, too. I'm kind of surprised at how much I like him when he's like this. Okay, I always like him. Well, almost always. Except when he's driving me crazy. But it's nice to see him just sort of hanging out. Different, but nice.
Sara's arguing with him about some character in the book and he's arguing right back - and I have to wonder how much of this Regular Guy Fraser is finally surfacing just because Sara's around. I get a weird junior high feeling for a minute, like I can hear part of me whining "But he's my friend," and I push that down hard. Yeah, he's my friend, but so's Sara, and I'm glad they like each other.
I do.
Maybe I'm just feeling weird because I'm tired. That's got to be it.
Certainly Sara's warmth and immediate acceptance of my presence added to my enjoyment. She is very easy to be with, at least for me - much like Ray in that regard - and I am already quite fond of her. However, I know Ray is fond of her as well, which is why his avoidance of her this evening seems so odd. Despite his protestations that they are "just friends," it strikes me that perhaps he's merely protecting himself with the thought that they can be nothing more and believes that distancing himself from her will help somehow.
I wonder if what Ray needs is some encouragement in order to see her in a different light. My taking on that role would be ridiculous if I truly believed anything could come of my own feelings for him. I am not so altruistic as to disregard my own self-interest where love is concerned. However, quite apart from the undeniable difficulties posed by two male law enforcement officials becoming romantically involved, I am forced to admit that I have never seen any clear indication from Ray that he would even be willing to consider such a relationship with another man. And now, when I add his avowed beliefs about the inherent incompatibility of friendship and love . . . well, I really can't see a chance in hell of what I want ever becoming a reality.
That being the case, I need to ignore my own longstanding, but futile attraction to Ray - difficult as that will undoubtedly be - and perhaps try to determine whether his hesitancy where Sara is concerned is, in fact, a product of his own fears or not. If it is, I can see nothing wrong with giving Ray a little push in the right direction.
This is not altruism - or rather, not entirely. I will benefit, albeit indirectly, from taking this course of action, although not in precisely the way I would wish, of course. One thing I am certain of is that my feelings for Ray are such that if he and I can never be together, I'd prefer to see him happily in love with someone else - especially with someone as well-suited to him as Sara - than see him remain alone because he is unable to risk his heart.
If It Walks Like A Duck... by Beth H.
Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski
Length: 28k words
Author on LJ:
bethbethbethAuthor Website: Beth's master ficlist
Why this must be read: One of the most popular tropes in dS fandom is Everyone-Else-Thinks-They're-Gay, and this is one of my favorite examples of the genre. The story centers around Sara, an original character Beth wrote as Kowalski's childhood best friend, who shows up in Chicago again just after Ray starts working with Fraser. Sara is smart and funny (and, okay, maybe a little too perfect), but she obviously loves Ray Kowalski as much as we do, and she adopts Fraser as part of the group immediately because Ray already has. For me, the joy of watching Ray and Fraser figuring out their relationship is secondary to seeing Fraser blossom in the company of two people who accept him completely. Excerpts behind the cuts:
Ray smiles as an absolutely gorgeous man walks over to join us. Dark, dark hair, smoky blue eyes, leather jacket, and a pair of faded blue jeans that hug a totally great pair of legs.
"Fraser, Sara Knowles, an old friend of mine. She just moved back to Chicago. Sara, my, uh, partner, Benton Fraser."
There's just the smallest pause before Ray's . . . partner? . . . takes the hand I've extended to him. "Pleased to meet you, ma'am." Whoa. A little formal for someone who's hanging out with Ray.
Ray snorts and mutters "ma'am" under his breath. I punch him on the arm, then turn back to face his friend. "Just call me Sara, um . . . was it Fraser?"
Again there's a brief pause before he answers me, or maybe I'm just imagining it because Ray doesn't look like there's anything weird about the way the guy's acting.
"Please, call me Benton . . . Sara." I see Ray nodding a little out of the corner of my eye, sort of like he's a football coach and his star player just scored a touchdown. I wonder if maybe the guy's just shy.
"Good to meet you too, Benton. So, have you been working as a detective for long?"
Ray casually slips his arm around Benton's shoulder and answers for him. "Nah. Fraser's not a detective. He's Canadian. Works as a liaison officer over at the Canadian Consulate."
Okay. I'm thoroughly confused. I'm sure Ray said Benton was his partner. I look from Ray to Benton and back again and then . . . duh! Ray's still standing there with his arm around his extremely gorgeous friend and all of a sudden, I feel like a complete moron.
They're not partners. They're partners!
The thought of The Stella replaced by a guy cracks me up. Wonder what she thinks about this? I guess my amusement must show on my face because Ray frowns a little and tilts his head to one side the way he always used to do when he was trying hard to figure something out in school.
Ray glares at me a little. "What?"
"Nothing that I'm going to share with you," I say, laughing.
"You're a freak, you know that, don't you, Knowles?"
"No, you're the freak . . . Vecchio."
"Yeah? Well, you were a freak first."
"You're a bigger freak!"
We're both gasping with laughter at this point. Ray's co-workers have pretty much stopped working entirely and are staring in our direction, which just makes us laugh harder. Even Ray's way-too-serious boyfriend cracks a smile. "Might I suggest we find another venue to continue this intellectual discussion?"
Ray barks out another laugh and wipes tears from his eyes. "I take it back, Knowles. He's the freak."
All three of us are laughing by the time we walk out of the squad room.
The waitress brings our food. Sara tries to swipe one of my cucumber slices when she thinks I'm not looking, but I swat at her hand and she laughs.
Fraser watches the exchange and then makes a really blatant display of turning around to face away from the table. He hums something to himself - 'O Canada,' I think - and Sara, who gets right away that he's . . . wow . . . trying to play, does her part by slipping a piece of cucumber off his plate.
He turns back to the table and looks down at his salad, then at Sara. "Hmm."
She laughs again, and we settle down to the serious business of eating.
The whole night's good like that. The dinner conversation's pretty much all "Remember when . . . ?" between Sara and me, and I worry a couple times whether Fraser's feeling left out, but he seems to like hearing all this 'memory lane' stuff, for some reason. He's even got a bunch of stories of his own to contribute. Nothing new about Fraser telling stories, but for once not a single one of them involves a caribou.
After the meal, I sit back and listen while Sara and Fraser talk about some book they both read recently. He seems really different tonight. Easy. Relaxed. Just sort of being a regular guy without any of that Mountie stuff getting in the way.
It hits me all of a sudden that none of us have mentioned our jobs once all night, and I have to roll that thought over in my head for awhile. Sometimes it's hard to remember there's anything outside the job, but there is. There's a whole lot out there that doesn't have anything to do with chasing bad guys, writing arrest reports, and drinking lousy coffee - and it's good to be reminded of it every once in a while.
It looks like Fraser needed that kick in the ass, too. I'm kind of surprised at how much I like him when he's like this. Okay, I always like him. Well, almost always. Except when he's driving me crazy. But it's nice to see him just sort of hanging out. Different, but nice.
Sara's arguing with him about some character in the book and he's arguing right back - and I have to wonder how much of this Regular Guy Fraser is finally surfacing just because Sara's around. I get a weird junior high feeling for a minute, like I can hear part of me whining "But he's my friend," and I push that down hard. Yeah, he's my friend, but so's Sara, and I'm glad they like each other.
I do.
Maybe I'm just feeling weird because I'm tired. That's got to be it.
Certainly Sara's warmth and immediate acceptance of my presence added to my enjoyment. She is very easy to be with, at least for me - much like Ray in that regard - and I am already quite fond of her. However, I know Ray is fond of her as well, which is why his avoidance of her this evening seems so odd. Despite his protestations that they are "just friends," it strikes me that perhaps he's merely protecting himself with the thought that they can be nothing more and believes that distancing himself from her will help somehow.
I wonder if what Ray needs is some encouragement in order to see her in a different light. My taking on that role would be ridiculous if I truly believed anything could come of my own feelings for him. I am not so altruistic as to disregard my own self-interest where love is concerned. However, quite apart from the undeniable difficulties posed by two male law enforcement officials becoming romantically involved, I am forced to admit that I have never seen any clear indication from Ray that he would even be willing to consider such a relationship with another man. And now, when I add his avowed beliefs about the inherent incompatibility of friendship and love . . . well, I really can't see a chance in hell of what I want ever becoming a reality.
That being the case, I need to ignore my own longstanding, but futile attraction to Ray - difficult as that will undoubtedly be - and perhaps try to determine whether his hesitancy where Sara is concerned is, in fact, a product of his own fears or not. If it is, I can see nothing wrong with giving Ray a little push in the right direction.
This is not altruism - or rather, not entirely. I will benefit, albeit indirectly, from taking this course of action, although not in precisely the way I would wish, of course. One thing I am certain of is that my feelings for Ray are such that if he and I can never be together, I'd prefer to see him happily in love with someone else - especially with someone as well-suited to him as Sara - than see him remain alone because he is unable to risk his heart.
If It Walks Like A Duck... by Beth H.
no subject
no subject