Flor, by canarycreams (R/NC-17)
Flor
Fandom: Real Madrid RPF
Pairing: Guti/OMC, Guti/Arancha de Benito
Length: 2,451 words
Author on LJ: canarycreams
Author Website: available on her livejournal
Why this must be read: when we slash real people who have relationships and families in real life, it's often easier to just gloss over the conflicts. this is a really amazing story that chooses to do the opposite: to provide a realistic portrayal of what suppressed desire and infidelity can do to a family. guti (aka josé maría gutiérrez hernández) is an especially interesting character, because of how rumors of homosexuality dogged him throughout his playing career; the most famous chant about him involved a homophobic slur. this is a really beautiful piece, in that it it's sympathetic to his struggles, while also showing the damage he's left in his family.
"I'm sorry," Guti tells her closed eyelids. The words feel heavy on his tongue. He touches her hand, gently slides the script free and sets it aside, removes her glasses. He showers quickly, throws his filthy clothes in the hamper, brushes his teeth, fills the sink with water and props her flowers in it. She'll see them; she always wakes up before he does.
She doesn't stir when he climbs into bed. She used to be a light sleeper. Years of infidelity, absence as anesthesia. He kisses her forehead. "I love you," he whispers, and laces their fingers together.
(These are two things he never says to her when she can hear him, the two things that he tries to say in peonies and carnations instead. After seven years she is tired of the former and doesn't want to hear the latter. If you love me then why do you do this to me, José María.)
(I can't help it. I would tear this thing out of myself if I could. I've tried. I try. You don't know how hard I try. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I love you.)
Flor
Fandom: Real Madrid RPF
Pairing: Guti/OMC, Guti/Arancha de Benito
Length: 2,451 words
Author on LJ: canarycreams
Author Website: available on her livejournal
Why this must be read: when we slash real people who have relationships and families in real life, it's often easier to just gloss over the conflicts. this is a really amazing story that chooses to do the opposite: to provide a realistic portrayal of what suppressed desire and infidelity can do to a family. guti (aka josé maría gutiérrez hernández) is an especially interesting character, because of how rumors of homosexuality dogged him throughout his playing career; the most famous chant about him involved a homophobic slur. this is a really beautiful piece, in that it it's sympathetic to his struggles, while also showing the damage he's left in his family.
"I'm sorry," Guti tells her closed eyelids. The words feel heavy on his tongue. He touches her hand, gently slides the script free and sets it aside, removes her glasses. He showers quickly, throws his filthy clothes in the hamper, brushes his teeth, fills the sink with water and props her flowers in it. She'll see them; she always wakes up before he does.
She doesn't stir when he climbs into bed. She used to be a light sleeper. Years of infidelity, absence as anesthesia. He kisses her forehead. "I love you," he whispers, and laces their fingers together.
(These are two things he never says to her when she can hear him, the two things that he tries to say in peonies and carnations instead. After seven years she is tired of the former and doesn't want to hear the latter. If you love me then why do you do this to me, José María.)
(I can't help it. I would tear this thing out of myself if I could. I've tried. I try. You don't know how hard I try. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I love you.)
Flor