The Straight Way and Envinyatar by HF (R/NC-17)

[melina123.livejournal.com]

Fandom: LORD OF THE RINGS
Pairing: Aragorn/Faramir
Author on LJ: aesc
Author Website: on the qt

Why this must be read:

This isn't a story about what happens; it's a story about how people feel, and how they long for what can never be, and find themselves and each other in the process. It's beautifully written, expressive but never self-indulgent, in a style that suits this pairing perfectly:

Tearing his gaze away from the sea-girt cliffs of Dol Amroth, Faramir looked back to where Imrahil and the King stood, near the pilot. Imrahil was gesturing toward the distant curve of Langstrand and the watchtowers ordered along the coast, but the wind picked up his words and carried them away before Faramir could hear what he was saying. Not that he would have heard the words, for his eyes were now fixed upon the King.

Aragorn, dressed in the loose clothes favored by seamen, stood confidently on the tossing deck, rocking with the motion of the ship. The confidence brought back quick memories of old soldiers' tales – now confirmed – concerning their king's role in the naval battles against Umbar, and Faramir spun a swift image of a younger man with battle-fierce grey eyes standing on this same deck, surrounded by smoke and the cries of men. Yet the violence of the fantasy melded with the suppressed energy in the King's stance, and the alert gaze that swept over the deck – and touched on Faramir, and in that moment imagination faded away in the face of the reality.

Fabulous, sexy, thought-provoking stuff.

The Straight Way and Envinyatar