Doors by akane42me (PG-13)

[elmey.livejournal.com]

Fandom: MAN FROM UNCLE
Pairing: none
Length: 3511 words
Author on LJ: akane42me
Author Website: akane42me on AO3
Why this must be read:

The thread that ties all my recs this month together is that they're all stories by very strong writers, and akane42me is one of the best. Her stories are always completely original, with such depth and humanity that they really do go way beyond the boundaries of fanfic.

In Doors we're introduced to Hal Donovan as he cleans out the apartment of a dead Section Two agent, and gradually we learn the story of why Hal is on the clean up crew; of what happened to him when he learned that instead of making him Napoleon's partner, Waverly decided to bring some Russian guy to New York.

A fantastic character voice, seriousness and horror, leavened as always by akane42me's sly black humor, this is a gorgeous meditation on the doors that open and close in life, on the grace of understanding and acceptance.

Two mushy oranges. Two rubber-skinned apples. He should have known better than to buy fresh fruit. Hot sauce. Taco sauce. Steak sauce. Worcestershire sauce. Yellow mustard. Sweet relish. Ketchup. All jumbo size. Geez, this is from last summer’s cook-out. Man, Jimmy. This is some old shit.

I look at him; he’s face down in a puddle of lemon juice. I think, my refrigerator used to look just like this. On days like these, when I’m kneeling in what’s left behind, I think I’m glad to be out of Section Two. What kind of life is that, really? You might as well have a target on your back. But God help me, there’s still a part of me that wants it to be me out there with them, chasing whoever did this to Jimmy.

Doors

Comments

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

What a really wonderful story! I don't normally read gen, but this one is a definitely keeper.

[elmey.livejournal.com]

I'm really glad you decided to read it! Genre doesn't matter that much when it comes to Annie's stories :)

[eilidhsd.livejournal.com]

Read and enjoyed this before, so Kindling like mad right now!

[elmey.livejournal.com]

Travelling with the Kindle I hope!

[jest (from livejournal.com)]

I hadn't read this one before. Thanks for the link!

[elmey.livejournal.com]

Look who's here! I always find the good stuff :)

[saki101.livejournal.com]

You do always find the good stuff. Despite being gen, I had read this before and admired this beautifully-composed exploration of many levels of darkness and decay.