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crack_van2013-12-27 11:48 am
stars-inthe-sky.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2013-12-27 11:48 am
Entry tags:
“strings” by honey_wheeler (PG-13)
Fandom: THE OFFICE
Pairing: Kelly Kapoor/Ryan Howard
Length: 760 words
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
honey_wheeler
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read: This is a short fic that packs a big punch. Unlike the obvious OTP-ness of Jim and Pam, Kelly and Ryan have never really been an obvious couple. She’s bubbly and superficial; he’s a more laconic jerk. It’s never been entirely clear why they keep putting up with each other. “strings” was written back at the beginning of their relationship in Season 2, and it lends just the right insight, from Kelly’s perspective, as to the dynamics at work here. The author does so much in very little space, and it makes me wish the “documentary crew” was a little more nosy about office romances besides the headliners.
If she were anyone else, she might feel guilty for being misleading. But she’s not, so she tells Jim to tell Ryan she’s not serious. They stand near the bar and she smiles and nods and pushes her hip against his when he clarifies that it’s just for fun, no strings attached. She doesn’t tell him that she’s desperate for strings. Her beer mug is cradled in her hands as she grins and laughs and lowers her chin so she can look up at him through her eyelashes. Boys like it when you order beer, she learned that in college.
She wants to touch his hair, give him a pet name, talk about china patterns or kids’ names. She wants to tell him how she likes tulips and wanted to be a flight attendant when she was little because their legs looked so pretty in their pencil skirts and matte heels. Instead she lets him unbutton her sweater. Push her back into the couch cushions. Touch her stomach, her upper arms – all the soft places that resist toning – even though the flesh yields too much at the pressure of his fingertips, making her tense up. He tastes like spearmint gum, smells like her high school boyfriend. She imagines their children would have his eyes.
strings
Pairing: Kelly Kapoor/Ryan Howard
Length: 760 words
Author on LJ:
honey_wheelerAuthor Website: AO3
Why this must be read: This is a short fic that packs a big punch. Unlike the obvious OTP-ness of Jim and Pam, Kelly and Ryan have never really been an obvious couple. She’s bubbly and superficial; he’s a more laconic jerk. It’s never been entirely clear why they keep putting up with each other. “strings” was written back at the beginning of their relationship in Season 2, and it lends just the right insight, from Kelly’s perspective, as to the dynamics at work here. The author does so much in very little space, and it makes me wish the “documentary crew” was a little more nosy about office romances besides the headliners.
If she were anyone else, she might feel guilty for being misleading. But she’s not, so she tells Jim to tell Ryan she’s not serious. They stand near the bar and she smiles and nods and pushes her hip against his when he clarifies that it’s just for fun, no strings attached. She doesn’t tell him that she’s desperate for strings. Her beer mug is cradled in her hands as she grins and laughs and lowers her chin so she can look up at him through her eyelashes. Boys like it when you order beer, she learned that in college.
She wants to touch his hair, give him a pet name, talk about china patterns or kids’ names. She wants to tell him how she likes tulips and wanted to be a flight attendant when she was little because their legs looked so pretty in their pencil skirts and matte heels. Instead she lets him unbutton her sweater. Push her back into the couch cushions. Touch her stomach, her upper arms – all the soft places that resist toning – even though the flesh yields too much at the pressure of his fingertips, making her tense up. He tastes like spearmint gum, smells like her high school boyfriend. She imagines their children would have his eyes.
strings