A Waltz 'Round My Subtext by Fialka (R)
Fandom: XENA
Pairing: Xena/Gabrielle
Length: 14,000+
Author's website: Not on LJ as far as I can tell, but you can find their fics here.
Why this must be read:
I am sitting here and trying to find the best way to tell you why this story is so wonderful, so deserving to be read and savored.
Is it the amazing way the author gets into Xena's thoughts and feelings without making her a sappy shadow of herself? Is it the wonderful vision the author gives the reader of a Season One Gabrielle, full of wonder and childish impulses?
Well, sure, it is those things and so much more. This story gives an excellent overview of a Season One that we did not see on screen - a time filled with two women learning about one another, about themselves, about friendship and sex.
And speaking of sex, it is heartbreaking in this story - well written and so on the mark for these two characters.
She was delighted when you told her the new prince would be named Gabriel, but then she said nothing else as you slowly wandered through the village on your way out. It was the first evidence you had that her feet and mouth were not connected, that she could actually walk and not talk at the same time.
"You're awfully quiet," you said at last, because it really was odd for her to go so long without blabbering, and even odder that you missed the sound. "What are you thinking about?"
"Babies." She sighed and fingered the fraying edge of her jacket. "If I'd married Perdicus last winter like my parents wanted, I'd probably have one by now."
You laughed, that she'd be worried about not having a baby at the ripe old age of -- what was she? Sixteen, seventeen? By seventeen you had fought Cortese, conquered half of Thrace, used your plunder to buy a boat and were gleefully learning how to be a pirate. A moon ago Gabrielle was still in Poteidaia, tending her father's sheep.
You said, "You'll meet someone soon enough."
"I've already met someone," she answered, and you could have sworn all the air in the world disappeared. And then she laughed and bumped into you, sending you careening into Argo, who looked over and glared at you both.
"By the gods, Xena, your face. It's you. The someone that I met is you."
She put a hand on your arm and pulled you to a stop, which was just as well as she had you so confused by then you'd nearly walked into a wall. Your heart sang as you looked down at that shining face, but you muffled the song as best you could, though you were fairly sure she wouldn't recognise the tune.
"I didn't know I could be this happy," she said, as calmly as if she was saying she didn't know she could gut a fish or light a fire or any of the other things you'd taught her over the last moon. But then she stood on her toes to kiss you, right there in the middle of the street.
"I bet you didn't kiss your sister like that," you teased, when she was done. She'd left you a little short of breath, and you really didn't like being kissed in public, but you thought you could let this happen, as long as you were the one in control. She was just a kid exploring options -- really, how far could it go?
She rose against you to whisper in your ear, arms draped around your neck. "Not my sister. My friend, Seraphin."
This time, when she finally let you up for air, you thought maybe it had already gone quite far enough.
A Waltz 'Round My Subtext
Pairing: Xena/Gabrielle
Length: 14,000+
Author's website: Not on LJ as far as I can tell, but you can find their fics here.
Why this must be read:
I am sitting here and trying to find the best way to tell you why this story is so wonderful, so deserving to be read and savored.
Is it the amazing way the author gets into Xena's thoughts and feelings without making her a sappy shadow of herself? Is it the wonderful vision the author gives the reader of a Season One Gabrielle, full of wonder and childish impulses?
Well, sure, it is those things and so much more. This story gives an excellent overview of a Season One that we did not see on screen - a time filled with two women learning about one another, about themselves, about friendship and sex.
And speaking of sex, it is heartbreaking in this story - well written and so on the mark for these two characters.
She was delighted when you told her the new prince would be named Gabriel, but then she said nothing else as you slowly wandered through the village on your way out. It was the first evidence you had that her feet and mouth were not connected, that she could actually walk and not talk at the same time.
"You're awfully quiet," you said at last, because it really was odd for her to go so long without blabbering, and even odder that you missed the sound. "What are you thinking about?"
"Babies." She sighed and fingered the fraying edge of her jacket. "If I'd married Perdicus last winter like my parents wanted, I'd probably have one by now."
You laughed, that she'd be worried about not having a baby at the ripe old age of -- what was she? Sixteen, seventeen? By seventeen you had fought Cortese, conquered half of Thrace, used your plunder to buy a boat and were gleefully learning how to be a pirate. A moon ago Gabrielle was still in Poteidaia, tending her father's sheep.
You said, "You'll meet someone soon enough."
"I've already met someone," she answered, and you could have sworn all the air in the world disappeared. And then she laughed and bumped into you, sending you careening into Argo, who looked over and glared at you both.
"By the gods, Xena, your face. It's you. The someone that I met is you."
She put a hand on your arm and pulled you to a stop, which was just as well as she had you so confused by then you'd nearly walked into a wall. Your heart sang as you looked down at that shining face, but you muffled the song as best you could, though you were fairly sure she wouldn't recognise the tune.
"I didn't know I could be this happy," she said, as calmly as if she was saying she didn't know she could gut a fish or light a fire or any of the other things you'd taught her over the last moon. But then she stood on her toes to kiss you, right there in the middle of the street.
"I bet you didn't kiss your sister like that," you teased, when she was done. She'd left you a little short of breath, and you really didn't like being kissed in public, but you thought you could let this happen, as long as you were the one in control. She was just a kid exploring options -- really, how far could it go?
She rose against you to whisper in your ear, arms draped around your neck. "Not my sister. My friend, Seraphin."
This time, when she finally let you up for air, you thought maybe it had already gone quite far enough.
A Waltz 'Round My Subtext