Fic: She'd tried to make them strangers, once

[adrenalin211]

Fandom: Justified
Title: She'd tried to make them strangers, once
Word count: 721
Characters: Raylan Givens/Winona Hawkins
Warnings: Season 2 spoilers

This is for you, sardonicynic. The Dec 3rd prompt was "If I am a stranger now to you, I will always be. The prompt post is here! (If anyone wants to add to that, I just ask that you only request dates after

Comments

[sardonicynic]

SHRIEK.

Oh, A.

I - you - and this. Oh oh oh, what have you done to my brain and my heart? (I am so incoherent it's like I've had a mild stroke. A good thing, in this particular case!)

Your language here, and the way you have stepped into this canon and stolen into its cracks and crannies like a silent witness, is a lot like being a fly on the wall in Raylan's room.

I just keep reading. And re-reading. Because this is motherfucking perfection.

(AND YOU REFERENCED JOHN PRINE. AHHHHHH, BE STILL, MY HEART. When I saw that man last winter when he played Singletary Center here in town, I spent the whole show alternately laughing and crying, because I grew up with his music, thanks to my dad, so there are a lot of ~feelings~ there. And, of course, "Angel From Montgomery" had me a hot mess, man.)

Oh my god. Everything. Helen. Fruit snacks. Headless Scooby-Doo. This conversation that I can hear between Ray-Ray and Winona, and Yoda.

And this:

(Only time he ever likes his own name is when it comes out of her mouth.)

White noise, dude. I love this so damn much, I have been reduced to white noise; I legit just looked at the dog and said, "Sugar, oh my god. You don't even know. WHY CAN'T YOU READ, SUGS."

Thank you for this. It's a roughed-up kind of beautiful, and perfect, and I am not lying when I say I am tearing up over here.

I know you were more than a little worried about this one. There is no goddamn reason under the sun or the moon that you should ever worry about tackling Justified, ever. Because. This. Thiiiiiis.

I have to go surprise a lady with a birthday cheesecake, but know I am shouting my love for you, and for this, from the rooftops.

<333

[adrenalin211]

Darlin'! (as you would say)! Your response has given me flaily hands!

You have no IDEA how worried I was to write some Kentucky-like headspace. And just. Taking a first try at ANYTHING is always tough, but because this was for YOU and I respect YOUR writing and ease with language so much, it was extra-specially nerve-rumbling to sit down and try to go to Harlan county in my head. So it brings me SUCH joy that this made you all smiley.

Thank you so much for the specific commentary. And John Prine! I don't often find myself liking anything I write, but when I heard Angel From Montgomery the other day, I thought, goddamn, those words are perfect for Winona's feelings towards Raylan's aloof impenetrability. But then, from Raylan's perspective, it's like... he is just all broken-homed and clueless and reluctant to believe anyone would care enough about his feelins to expose themselves to that...darkness, or something! I don't know! Perhaps I'm misreading the undertones.

In any case, your lovely comment has me grinning ear to ear like a giant dork.

One last thing? I would die of teleportation-to-heaven gratitude if someone ever surprised me with that cheesecake. You MUST discuss what it's like to put that in your mouth.