ext_11421 (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
brynnmck.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
crack_van2007-05-11 08:20 am
brynnmck.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2007-05-11 08:20 am
Retired Guy Hobbies by Greensilver (PG-13)
Fandom: Due South
Pairing: Vecchio/Stella
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
greensilver
Author Website: metatextual.net
Why this must be read:
At the risk of being over-cautious, I'm gonna cut here. So, I don't think I'm alone in the opinion that most of the characters not named Benton Fraser or Ray Kowalski (or possibly Harding Welsh) got kind of hosed by the end of CotW. And, given that he was a cornerstone of the show at one point, Vecchio's hosing made me even sadder than the rest. Fortunately, we have fic to address these oversights. :) Greensilver does a fantastic job here of taking the head-scratcher of "Vecchio and Stella move to Florida and open a bowling alley" and turning it into something believable and emotionally powerful. Her Stella is excellent, strong and sexy and sympathetic, but this fic is really all about Vecchio, and Greensilver just gets him—all the things that he values, the things that mean home to him. It's a wonderful character piece, made all the more impressive for having such a bizarre canonical premise as a starting point.
An excerpt:
In the end, he didn't go back to Chicago, but Ma and Frannie didn't relocate to the sunny south, either.
He made sure to be extra flip on the phone for a few weeks, so they wouldn't know he was disappointed. He even half-convinced himself that he wasn't disappointed; after all, being young and retired and living on the beach with Stella was kind of like being on an extended honeymoon, and he'd always loved Florida. The sun, the clubs, the women – okay, maybe not the women, not anymore, which meant definitely no clubs, but the sun, sure.
Unfortunately, the sun got real old real fast. He did the beach bum thing for a while – snazzy towel, sand-clogged radio, suntan oil – and then Stella peeled off his swim trunks one night and burst out laughing, which put an abrupt end to his sunbathing period. From the waist up, he had the best tan of his life; from the waist to mid-thigh, he was white as a ghost.
"Oh, honey," she said, clutching his swim trunks as she laughed, "Ray – how did you—"
As much as he loved to hear her laugh, he didn't want her to laugh at him while he was naked. He wasn't about to strip down for a tanning booth, so instead, he invested in a beach umbrella and started slapping on SPF40.
Sunbathing wasn't the only thing that got old fast; the whole concept of an extended honeymoon turned out to have a shelf life of about a month. Stella was theoretically retired, too, but in practice, that meant she was on the fast track to partner at some high-class law firm; he hardly ever saw her during the day.
He didn't exactly whine – that wasn't his style – but he did hint here and there that he was the most bored he'd ever been in his entire life. After a couple weeks of hinting, she came home one day with an enormous set of golf clubs and a fishing rod, which was her none-too-subtle way of telling him to get some good old-fashioned retired guy hobbies.
Find it here: Retired Guy Hobbies
If you enjoy the story, don't forget to leave feedback!
Pairing: Vecchio/Stella
Author on LJ:
greensilverAuthor Website: metatextual.net
Why this must be read:
At the risk of being over-cautious, I'm gonna cut here. So, I don't think I'm alone in the opinion that most of the characters not named Benton Fraser or Ray Kowalski (or possibly Harding Welsh) got kind of hosed by the end of CotW. And, given that he was a cornerstone of the show at one point, Vecchio's hosing made me even sadder than the rest. Fortunately, we have fic to address these oversights. :) Greensilver does a fantastic job here of taking the head-scratcher of "Vecchio and Stella move to Florida and open a bowling alley" and turning it into something believable and emotionally powerful. Her Stella is excellent, strong and sexy and sympathetic, but this fic is really all about Vecchio, and Greensilver just gets him—all the things that he values, the things that mean home to him. It's a wonderful character piece, made all the more impressive for having such a bizarre canonical premise as a starting point.
An excerpt:
In the end, he didn't go back to Chicago, but Ma and Frannie didn't relocate to the sunny south, either.
He made sure to be extra flip on the phone for a few weeks, so they wouldn't know he was disappointed. He even half-convinced himself that he wasn't disappointed; after all, being young and retired and living on the beach with Stella was kind of like being on an extended honeymoon, and he'd always loved Florida. The sun, the clubs, the women – okay, maybe not the women, not anymore, which meant definitely no clubs, but the sun, sure.
Unfortunately, the sun got real old real fast. He did the beach bum thing for a while – snazzy towel, sand-clogged radio, suntan oil – and then Stella peeled off his swim trunks one night and burst out laughing, which put an abrupt end to his sunbathing period. From the waist up, he had the best tan of his life; from the waist to mid-thigh, he was white as a ghost.
"Oh, honey," she said, clutching his swim trunks as she laughed, "Ray – how did you—"
As much as he loved to hear her laugh, he didn't want her to laugh at him while he was naked. He wasn't about to strip down for a tanning booth, so instead, he invested in a beach umbrella and started slapping on SPF40.
Sunbathing wasn't the only thing that got old fast; the whole concept of an extended honeymoon turned out to have a shelf life of about a month. Stella was theoretically retired, too, but in practice, that meant she was on the fast track to partner at some high-class law firm; he hardly ever saw her during the day.
He didn't exactly whine – that wasn't his style – but he did hint here and there that he was the most bored he'd ever been in his entire life. After a couple weeks of hinting, she came home one day with an enormous set of golf clubs and a fishing rod, which was her none-too-subtle way of telling him to get some good old-fashioned retired guy hobbies.
Find it here: Retired Guy Hobbies
If you enjoy the story, don't forget to leave feedback!
no subject
no subject