crack_van | Fraternally Yours, by JoJo (PG)

Fandom: STARSKY AND HUTCH
Pairing: Starsky/Hutch, ambiguously
Author Website: http://bcl.skeeter63.org/wjojo.shtml
Why this must be read:

JoJo is one of the best writers in the Starsky and Hutch fandom, and really any of her stories are a good bet. But this one goes well with my chosen theme of gash/slen ambiguity. On the face of it, Hutch and Nick are fighting over the rights to be big brother to a dying Starsky (yes it's post-SR). But on another level, Nick is fighting the bond between the two, a bond that is so sensual and visceral that it transcends brotherhood:

"They let us go right on in and I could feel Hutchinson's eyes on my back. He felt like it was his place to be there, and not mine.

But I ask you. Haven't I always tried to protect David? Every time I talk to him on the phone I say to him -- when are you going to throw in your badge, man, and go and get a job that that'll give you a paycheck without having to scrape the bottom of the barrel of humanity every damn day? And he laughs at me. This is who I am, Nick. And I don't want to manage a bunch of buses. Yeah, but, managing a bunch of buses don't matter, and managing a bunch of buses don't get you killed. So... haven't I always tried to protect you, brother?

And, more important, what was there today? What was there to protect you today, Davey? Not your badge. Not your gun. Not your partner."

Fraternally Yours