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crack_van2004-02-23 07:52 pm
thefannishwaldo.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2004-02-23 07:52 pm
Entry tags:
"Peacetime" by Versaphile
Fandom: HORNBLOWER
Pairing: Archie/Bush
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
versaphile
Author Website: http://versaphile.com/undead/index.shtml
Why this must be read:
I once answered a meme that said something like, "List a pairing you'd like to see even though there's no real canon support for it." And I said, "Archie/Bush." They just don't have much screen time together to build a real case for the pairing, but the idea intregued me. And this story anwered the question I'd carried around since that meme: "What *would* that look like?"
Actually, I love the idea behind her whole site: From the main web page:
We've all read Hornblower fixits that take 35 pages to save Archie's life and change the outcome of the trial. But what happens after that? What adventures do the 'dream team' of Hornblower, Kennedy, and Bush share and how are their canon stories altered?
And this story is a nice break from my usual. Some angst, but nothing *too* gut-wrenching. The UST is well-done without being over the top or too subtle.
Despite his announced intention to wake Bush from his nap, Kennedy entered his room with the silence of a scout. He tread lightly on the boards, careful to avoid those that had creaked beneath his feet during previous visits. Bush was still sleeping deeply; his shoes were lying at the side of the bed where they had been lazily kicked off, and a blanket was wound partway around his body, covering his chest and shoulders but leaving his legs to stick out in the air. The room was comfortably warm at this time of day, with the daylight glowing softly behind drawn curtains, but the cool air from the sea would creep back soon and bring a chill to the evening.
As if in response to his thoughts, a light breeze blew into the room, making the curtains shift. Kennedy watched for a still moment as thin beams of light played across Bush's face. For a few seconds Kennedy thought the disturbance might rouse him, for he made faint noises and smacked his lips in his sleep. Then the wind calmed again, and Bush was once more drawn away from waking. In such repose his skin was smoothed of age, the long planes of his cheeks given back the curve of youth.
'Perhaps he needs a few minutes longer,' thought Kennedy. He decided to sit in the quiet of the room and wait a while before he roused his friend. There was the chair he had sat in before, next to the table. He walked over to it and saw that Bush's purchases were upon it, and that some of the items had fallen from there to the floor. He crouched down and picked up the swatches of cloth, brushed them off and began to refold them. As he did so, something fell out of one with a thump. Fearing he had woken Bush, Kennedy looked over at the bed, but the sleeper had not moved. Kennedy placed the last of the cloth in a pile on the table and reached down to see what had fallen.
It was a book, and a familiar one at that. Kennedy rose and walked towards the window with it, curious. The dim light grew somewhat stronger as he reached curtains, and he flipped open the cover to read the title. 'The Works of Shakespeare in Twelve Volumes. Volume Seventh, containing All's Well That Ends Well, Coriolanus, and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.' He smiled, surprised and pleased at the discovery.
Peacetime
Pairing: Archie/Bush
Author on LJ:
versaphileAuthor Website: http://versaphile.com/undead/index.shtml
Why this must be read:
I once answered a meme that said something like, "List a pairing you'd like to see even though there's no real canon support for it." And I said, "Archie/Bush." They just don't have much screen time together to build a real case for the pairing, but the idea intregued me. And this story anwered the question I'd carried around since that meme: "What *would* that look like?"
Actually, I love the idea behind her whole site: From the main web page:
We've all read Hornblower fixits that take 35 pages to save Archie's life and change the outcome of the trial. But what happens after that? What adventures do the 'dream team' of Hornblower, Kennedy, and Bush share and how are their canon stories altered?
And this story is a nice break from my usual. Some angst, but nothing *too* gut-wrenching. The UST is well-done without being over the top or too subtle.
Despite his announced intention to wake Bush from his nap, Kennedy entered his room with the silence of a scout. He tread lightly on the boards, careful to avoid those that had creaked beneath his feet during previous visits. Bush was still sleeping deeply; his shoes were lying at the side of the bed where they had been lazily kicked off, and a blanket was wound partway around his body, covering his chest and shoulders but leaving his legs to stick out in the air. The room was comfortably warm at this time of day, with the daylight glowing softly behind drawn curtains, but the cool air from the sea would creep back soon and bring a chill to the evening.
As if in response to his thoughts, a light breeze blew into the room, making the curtains shift. Kennedy watched for a still moment as thin beams of light played across Bush's face. For a few seconds Kennedy thought the disturbance might rouse him, for he made faint noises and smacked his lips in his sleep. Then the wind calmed again, and Bush was once more drawn away from waking. In such repose his skin was smoothed of age, the long planes of his cheeks given back the curve of youth.
'Perhaps he needs a few minutes longer,' thought Kennedy. He decided to sit in the quiet of the room and wait a while before he roused his friend. There was the chair he had sat in before, next to the table. He walked over to it and saw that Bush's purchases were upon it, and that some of the items had fallen from there to the floor. He crouched down and picked up the swatches of cloth, brushed them off and began to refold them. As he did so, something fell out of one with a thump. Fearing he had woken Bush, Kennedy looked over at the bed, but the sleeper had not moved. Kennedy placed the last of the cloth in a pile on the table and reached down to see what had fallen.
It was a book, and a familiar one at that. Kennedy rose and walked towards the window with it, curious. The dim light grew somewhat stronger as he reached curtains, and he flipped open the cover to read the title. 'The Works of Shakespeare in Twelve Volumes. Volume Seventh, containing All's Well That Ends Well, Coriolanus, and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.' He smiled, surprised and pleased at the discovery.
Peacetime