The Better Angels
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Better Angels |
| Author(s): | Bone and Aristide |
| Date(s): | December 1999 |
| Length: | |
| Genre(s): | slash |
| Fandom(s): | due South |
| Relationship(s): | Fraser/Kowalski |
| External Links: | online here on House of Slack on Bone's site online at AO3 |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Better Angels is a Fraser/RayK story by Bone and Aristide.
Reactions and Reviews
Two of the absolute best slash writers on the net have turned their eyes to DS, and this powerful story is the result. Set post-COTW, Ray K. finds himself out of his element and out of control with his feelings for Fraser. Emotional, steamy...and a must read![1]
The Better Angels is personally, my favorite Bone and Aristide story. And yes, that means that I think I like this one even more than How Ray Got His Groove Back, which is really saying something.The Better Angels is a post-CotW story, with Ray and Fraser up in Canada. The story starts with Ray sitting in a bar and - well - not particularly getting along with the locals. He makes a comment. They make some comments. By the time Fraser gets back, Ray is sprawled out on in front of the bar with some bruised ribs, a swollen black eye and a very, very battered ego. Fraser's rented a cabin for the night, and when they get there Ray's injuries need tending to.
One of the things I love about this story is the perfect balance of h/c. Yes, Ray is hurt. And yes, Fraser takes care of him. But it's a regular bar fight he was in, and while he might be sore and cranky, he's really not seriously hurt, which I love. I like my guys getting a little beat up, but I don't want them on like, feeding tubes or anything. The h/c in this story serves it's purpose, which is to indicate some of the growing physical attraction between Fraser and Ray, and also demonstrate the closeness between the two of them.
[much snipped]
Just - wow.
All the buildup of the plotting of this story, and the perfect pacing, is to get us to - well - to Ray's buildup. And yes, I do mean that literally.
The middle of the night brings us hot, hard, horny Ray, and what he thinks is a quick trip outside to take care of some business. Little does he know he has an audience *g*
I think the thing that gets me with this story, and really, any of Bone and Aristide's stories, are just the absolute perfection of their Ray and Fraser voices. Ray is never too overdone, and Fraser, who I often think is harder to really nail and get right, really balances the line between sounding too stuffy and overdone, while still managing to capture the essence which is just pure Fraser.
Their stories always have the feel of canon plus. If you could take canon; the episodes and characters and mannerisms, only really put them in Canada, in a shack, jerking off in the snow in the middle of the night, well - that would be this story to a T. Bone and Aristide are honestly Just. That. Good.
I don't want to give any excerpts from this point on, because honestly, if it's a story you've never read you really deserve to read it for the first time on your own. With a large glass of ice water very close at hand. If it's a story you have read already, go reread it. It truly holds up after many, many, err - many rereads. I would know. [2]
Bone and Aristide play so *well* together.At this point -- and this could change at any given moment -- my favorite of their collaborations is "The Better Angels."
Due South, Fraser/Kowalski in the wild, angst and heat and lust and the human side of adventure.
And really hot sex, starting with a really hot wank. I've read this one two or three times, which is saying something for me, as it
takes a lot to bring me back to a longer story these days. [3]
References
- ^ JR.'s Parlor, 2006?
- ^ 2004 rec at Crack Van
- ^ "Shake, bad guys, shake. Due South Recommendations". Archived from the original on 2022-12-31.