Fic Rec: Adventures In Babysitting

[scrtkpr]

Okay, when I said I wasn't reccing any more hd_holidays fics until after reveals, I, uh, lied. Sorry, I'm just too enthusiastic about this fic! So reccing one more.

Adventures in Babysitting (NC-17, 18,000 words--but it feels much shorter! The fic flies by

Comments

[coffeejunkii]

you know, this story has everything i love in h/d fic--a creative and vivid setting, an intriguing plot, harry and draco secretly attracted to one another, etc. even ron and hermione were fabulous. and yet, i didn't like the story as much as i would. i think it's because i never saw any real affection or care between harry and draco. sure, there was ust and that was resolved but i didn't feel there was much emotional investment. and i thought harry was an ass for shagging draco and then leaving the next day, godfather ceremony or not [i was half-expecting ginny to tell harry he was an idiot for leaving draco in iceland, but then that didn't happen]. i'm probably just a hopelessly romantic sap :p

[scrtkpr]

Hmm...the story definitely ended with the relationship still in early stages, but I thought it (their relationship) had a lot of promise. I get what you mean, with wanting to see more affection and romance (I am a romantic sap too, haha), but I think this Harry and Draco weren't quite there yet

[coffeejunkii]

i agree with everything you said--it was definitely clear that they respected each other. i guess i just felt there was very little in the way of physical affection. i don't think they touched at all aside from that one kiss and shag. maybe there will be more of it as time goes on, but i guess i like to see some of that in the early stages of their relationship as well.

if you like tent sex, i hope you read rurounihime' world's edge!

[scrtkpr]

Yeah, I love seeing physical affection, but I think I might have found it OOC before the point in their relationship the fic ended at--the fic really seemed to be about how their relationship began, so it ended right as they agreed to, you know, pursue one. Hmm... I actually imagine there might be some tentative/affectionate touching on their upcoming date. We will have to ask the author about that after reveals, hahaha.

Oh, that sounds awesome! I love her Arrangement series, but don't know if I've read that one yet!

[coffeejunkii]

hmm, maybe. i think it was a definitely a choice on part of the author to make them not very affectionate with each other.

it's here. it's actually a little similar to the hols fic as harry and draco are in the arctic, observing and photographing penguins. plus trying to figure out some past issues, of course. it's a really wonderful story.

[scrtkpr]

Thanks for the link!

[coffeejunkii]

you're welcome!

[scrtkpr]

Oh! And I forgot to say, this Draco was keeping a pretty tight lid on his true feelings for most of the fic, but I loved the glimpses we got, like when he was jealous over the girl that had been flirting with Harry, and when he was so obviously worried for Harry during the candle incident.

[coffeejunkii]

agreed! i like when draco is guarded regarding the revelation of his feelings--i think it makes sense--but i also like to see the walls coming down.

[scrtkpr]

Yes, Draco's walls coming down is one of my favorite things in H/D fic! I did feel we got some of that in this fic, though his defenses obviously did remain mostly in place for the majority of the fic. I'm thinking my favorite "Draco's walls coming down" moments, aside from the couple I already mentioned, were...maybe when Harry was looking into Draco's eyes and realized he saw more there than he'd imagined before? And oh! I loved when Draco said "Don't ever stop." To me that showed that, however much they might have been acting like the sex was just sex, there was more there that they both wanted. And I did feel like I saw a bit more of the walls coming down when Harry asked him that question at the end, and Draco smiled. But yeah, walls had definitely not all come down by the end of the fic. I guess I just left the fic smiling and optimistic, like Harry did. :)

[coffeejunkii]

again, yeah, i totally agree that that was all there, but i guess it somewhat lacked emotional depth for me. which is fine because we all have different visions of how harry and draco behave and how they will act towards one another, esp. in the early stages of exploring their attraction to one another.

[scrtkpr]

Yeah, we all have different ideas, definitely. Of course, those ideas generally shift from story to story. My expectations change, I think, depending on what versions of Harry and Draco I'm presented with in any given fic. But I think I probably do have a higher tolerance for non-affectionate Harry and Draco in the early stages, maybe because I feel that more defensiveness early on just makes later intimacy more meaningful. If I hadn't felt I'd been given hints that the intimacy was/would be developing, I don't think I'd have liked the story either.