Middle of Nowhere - Chapter 18

[poppyhoney_67]

Title: Middle of Nowhere
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They were created by Annie Proulx. I make no money from this and don't want to.
Rating: NC-17 for the whole story
Thanks: To Em (smilesalot) for your great help with this chapter, and to Keren for your constant encouragement. 
Feedback: Oh yes please!! I appreciate every word.
Authors

Comments

[rt_in_town]

It's been a long wait, but well worth it. You give us so much in this chapter. One of the things I loved the most was how faithfully and intimately you followed the course of Jack's heart and mind through this part of the story; we are invited to see into his experiences with love, rejection and romance. You show us all the fear, despair and exhilaration he feels over the course of this dramatic turn in events. At various points, we get to feel weak-kneed, joyous, resigned and wary alongside him.... he's such a sympathizable character because we see how directly and honestly connected his emotions are to his being. How we long for him to find someone who will take good care of those feelings and gather him into a tight embrace when he wants to slip to the ground....

Ennis' scene in Howie's office sure was a close call. You faithfully give us Ennis' stubborn, almost self-destructive pride, that fatal, defensive obstinacy that he airs again as he sets his mind to leaving camp.... it's a very believable Ennis response. At that moment, he can't think about how his actions will hurt Jack, how they'll affect Justin, or whether anyone else, such as Meli, might miss him.... He can only think of his own sense of outrage, his clenched fists, his anger at Ryan for attacking his mate.... Even after all that, he'd punch Ryan again if he had the chance. But fortunately, this outrage on his end does have its roots in good soil, in his instinctive desire to protect what he and Jack had, a sense that it was sacred and not to be profaned by Ryan's callous threats. Hooray for Meli and friends for having found a way out for him with their diligent concern. Ennis stood up to external threats in the last chapter; it leads him to learn that he must stand up to his emotions in the even more dangerous internal sphere, and to own up to his feelings and desire for Jack....

“I missed you so much. I missed this. Touching you, holding you.”

“Shit, damn you, Ennis.” Jack surrendered into Ennis’s arms, hugging hard and burying his face in Ennis’s neck, inhaling the smell of the man he thought he’d never touch again.

Ennis pulled back, looked down into Jack’s eyes, and kissed him sweetly on the lips.

Melting!Jack is ever such a joy to read. I love it when our boy finally gets what he's been waiting for, especially after he's been forced to wait and has been driven to the utter extremity of despair be - the light at the end of the tunnel seems all the more welcome and appreciated then :)

[poppyhoney_67]

rt_in_town, thank you so much for such a long, lovely and detailed comment! I'm a little overwhelmed, but extremely flattered, and you expressed everything I was wanting to get across in this chapter - about Ennis and Jack, both together and separately. So glad it all worked for you :)