Into This World We're Thrown by tempore (Teen And Up)

[turlough]

Fandom: BANDOM
Pairing: Frank/Gerard, Lyn-Z/Matt Skiba
Length: 16,600 words
Author on LJ/DW: tempore / tempore
Author on AO3: Tempore

Why this must be read: The one where Frank and LynZ loves riding their bikes and an encounter with a strange man on the trail leads them into quite an adventure.

This is a wonderful adventure story. It's captivating and entertaining, and the premise and setup fascinating. I love how rooted in nature it feels - as if the time travel is a completely natural phenomen with no outside intent or power involved.

I really liked the way Frank and Lyn-Z's friendship was written and that it stayed important even after Gerard and Matt had been introduced to the story. I also really appreciated that the growing closeness between Frank and Gerard - no matter how lovely it was written - wasn't allowed to completely dominate the story. That the relationship between all four of them, and their struggle to find a way to reunite with their families and to survive in the forest for maybe years, was just as important for the story. And the ending was absolutely perfect.

Excerpt from the story:

And he really needed to get away from the thing - the guy staring at him from where he clung to a low branch in the tree with his legs, eyes wide and pale, with a crude knife in his hand.

The air shivered, and the guy's head cocked slightly, listening, but Frank couldn't hear anything except his own breathing.

"Don't hurt me," Frank croaked out, even as the guy grunted and put his knife back in the sheath strapped to his side. He swung out from the tree, where it looked like there was a crude stand, and came padding silently over to loom over Frank.

"Oh god, oh shit, oh fuck," Frank said, but the guy bent down and looked at Frank curiously.

Frank took a deep breath and looked back, bracing himself on his hands, ready to bolt.

"You're hurt," the guy said.

Up close, he was really pale, with dark, dirty tangled hair and brown eyes. His beard was actually one of the most ridiculous things Frank had ever seen, scraggly and a piss poor showing for a crazy hermit. He had the bow slipped over his shoulder, and up close, Frank could see that it was hand-carved, slightly crude but definitely serviceable, especially with the arrows sticking out of the quiver strapped to his back.

The guy ran a careful finger down over Frank's sock, then pulled it back. "Such fine cloth," he murmured. Frank risked sitting up on his elbows and watching. He realized now, at least, that the guy wasn't going to hurt him, at least not yet.

He carefully tugged at the shoe on Frank's foot and unlaced it, looking in obvious awe at the shoe before returning to his examination.

The ankle didn't seem too bad, but when the Guy put pressure on the ankle, Frank yelped. Further examination, as well as Frank's own experience with accidents, found it swollen, but not broken. That was something of a relief, but still.

"You can't walk without assistance," the guy said. "Can you ride that thing?"

"My bike?"

Frank looked at his bike and sighed. "Not back into town, I can't. Not today."

"Hmmm." The guy went over and touched the handle bars. The air seemed to shimmer around the bike. The handles were clear, lying in the shadow of the tree, but the part in the sun took on a kind of haze, like seeing it through a window that hadn't been washed for a while. The guy tugged at the bike, but the bike wouldn't budge. When he tried to twist it or lift, it wouldn't move. It was stuck.

He finally sat back on his heels, staring at it.

"This happens sometimes," he said finally, turning to Frank. "It usually lasts only for a few days, but I'm afraid we won't be able to get you home just yet."

"What do you mean?" Frank asked. "What's going on?"

"It's the fairy ring. It's why I'm stuck here."

"Here?" Frank asked. "In this wood?"

The guy nodded, biting his lip. "And here, in this time."

Into This World We're Thrown