Groff's Wife by hafren (G)

[aralias.livejournal.com]

Fandom: BLAKE'S 7
Pairing: Tarrant, Avon
Length: 1697 words
Author on LJ: hafren
Author Website: on AO3, Hafren's Gloomy Patch
Why this must be read: Still in 2007. This is a lovely, quiet, thought-provoking fic of the kind hafren excels at. Interestingly it spins off a completely absurd series 3 episode that begins with the crew playing space monopoly and then largely takes place in a parallel universe seemingly run by a magical ringmaster. But within that wacky parallel universe are some normal, helpful, unflashy people, living their lives as best they can - a character type that B7 excels at, even as it also excels at the flashy characters with awful personality problems.

This fic sends two of our flashiest characters, Avon and Tarrant, to see the widow of one of the extras they met in the parallel universe. In doing so, it gives us a highly sympathetic and plausible Tarrant (Tarrant is not universally beloved, but this fic showcases some of the finer points of his character - loyalty, courage, chivalry, a willingness not to give in to Avon). The fic also depicts a three-dimensional Avon, who is at turns awful and at turns surprisingly compassionate, and who learns something emotionally important from this meeting with an unremarkable dead-man's wife.

Excerpt: This is the beginning:

Avon shifted uneasily in his seat and made a pretence of sipping his drink as he watched Tarrant, lounging by the bar, chatting to one of the shipyard workers who'd just come off shift. This was evidently their local and must suit them down to the ground, he thought sourly, noting the wall with its peeling paint, bare but for a calendar of impossibly pneumatic young ladies. He rested his elbow on the table and hastily removed it as he felt the stickiness of spilt alcohol.

Link: Groff's Wife