First (due South story)

Fraser/Kowalski Fanfiction
Title:	First
Author(s):	Ardent
Date(s):	April 2003
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	due South
External Links:	online here online at AO3
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First is a Fraser/RayK story by Ardent.

Reactions and Reviews

Best FF That I Will Definitely Cite As a Reason Not to Have Cable (Assuming the Discovery Channel Is Cable) the Next Time They Try to Sell It to Me. No, Really, I Will. If It's a Telemarketer, I Might Even Read Him the First Part. First, by Ardent, aka ardent_muses. Due South, Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski.

What, you thought I'd do a set of comfort fics and not include a dS story? Clearly, you're thinking of some other idiosyncratic multi-fandom recommender, because when I think comfort, I think about Mounties and Chicago cops engaging in sodomy. And this story - well, it's sweet, but that's what comfort fic is all about, right? Not an angst particle in sight. There's mention of reticulated giraffes, though, and some speculation that I hope is libel about where Fraser gets his sex instruction. And there's a first line that will make my "Top Ten Reasons I Love DS" list, should I ever write it, because there just aren't many fandoms in which a story could reasonably begin after the candy cane factory explosion, and there are hardly any in which the characters could spend the first section covered in candy cane syrup without any explanation whatsoever. Only in dS do we just let that sort of thing go right on by. Because, let's face it, weirder things happen all the time in the canon - no, they do, and I'm not going to tell you to watch said canon again. Or, actually, I am, but I'm not going to go on and on about it. Instead, I will say that this story rates unusually high on the comfortmeter even in this very comforting fandom. And then I will wave cheerfully and go off to take yet another nap. G'night, all!

Continuing in the trend of rec'ing less-well-known authors and fics, today's story is one that to the best of my knowlege has never been rec'ed anywhere else (other than on my own website) - a fact which never fails to amaze and baffle me, because it is just so wonderful. I've always thought it deserves to be far more widely known than it is - and it occurred to me that I am in a position to make that happen!

I love stories that show the growth of the relationship from something the guys think - or fear - might be just casual or temporary or convenient into something real and deep and permanent, and First is a gorgeous example of the genre. It's a series of vignettes, from Ray's POV, each describing a number of his "first times" with Fraser and ordered in a way that illustrates the evolution of their relationship from friendly but casual sex to something much deeper: it begins with the first time they kiss, moves through a variety of other firsts, like the first time they have sex and the first time Ray sees Fraser cry, and ends with the first time they make love. Each scene is sparely written and yet chock full of wonderful little touches and images that bring the characters to life and illustrate their feelings without any unnecessary exposition. (In that aspect it's reminiscent of some of Resonant's fic.)

The tone is wonderful. Many of the scenes are deeply moving, and some are incredibly tender.

[snipped]

Another wonderful thing about First is its rhythm: it flows seamlessly, organically, from one scene to the next in a way that feels easy and almost inevitable, without any indication of the effort that goes into structuring a story like this, into making a series of vignettes come together into a coherent whole. It's deceptively simple (another way in which it reminds me of some of Resonant's writing). The progression of the relationship seems similarly inevitable, and the ending turns me into a big mushball. Yet the guys are always definitely guys, which is very important to me; in the first passage above, for example, Ray shows Fraser the depth of his feelings in such a very guy-like way, without ever saying a word.

First is a relatively short fic, only 5 pages or so. I tend to prefer length and depth, so it's not all that often that I'm blown away by a story like this. But First blows me away; I've never been able to resist it from the first time I read it, and it amazes me how the author manages to put so much feeling into such a little story. It's sweet and achingly romantic but in a good guy-ish, non-cloying way; it's humorous and touching and insightful and - of course! - a little bit hot, and it never fails to make me feel warm and happy inside. It's just a gem, and it deserves to be more widely acclaimed. I'm glad to have the opportunity to share the joy.

Lovely, angst-free, sweet-without-being-saccharine fic about Ray and Fraser's burgeoning relationship. Apart from the almost-sappy last line, this was just plain lovely.