crack_van | A Plant of Slow Growth by Versaphile (PG)

Fandom: HORNBLOWER
Pairing: Archie/Bush implied
Author on LJ:

versaphile
Author Website: http://versaphile.com/
Why this must be read: You think you know where this one's headed, but don't be fooled. A series of snapshots take the reader someplace, showing just enough of the development of a friendship to make you think that you know where you're headed, and when you get to the end, you find out you were going someplace totally different -- and equally good.

"Slow Growth" is an LKU that deals with Horatio's marriage, and how he and his friends handle it. This is a good example of a relatively rare form of "Hornblower" story -- the LKU that doesn't concentrate a great deal on being an LKU.

(LKU is fenspeak for "Live Kennedy Universe.")

... Kennedy sighed and set aside his own utensils.

"I thought the wedding most pleasant, Horatio," he said. "You have made Maria a very happy woman."

"Yes," Hornblower said, drawing out the word. "It was a ... a joyous day for her."

"And for yourself? Be truthful with me, Horatio. I know you too well, and I would think that you have no need to dissemble on my account."

"She will make a devoted wife," Hornblower said. Kennedy huffed in annoyance at him. "She cares for me, Archie. She ... she loves me."

"And do you love her?" When he received no reply, Kennedy continued. "Horatio, marriage must be an accord for both wife and husband. If you do not love her ... Horatio, she will know this."

"No. My feelings do not--"

"Your feelings will show in your actions towards her. She is not blind, Horatio, no matter how much her affection might lend her to deceive herself."

"It matters not," Hornblower said, resignation in his voice. "I have pledged myself to her, and that cannot be undone."

A Plant of Slow Growth