[FIC] Valentine's Day Exchange - Into the Saloon

[walkingivy]

Title: Inside the Saloon
Author:  Walkingivy
Pairings: Greg/Clive, Richard/Tony, other side pairings
Rating: R?
Summary: Set in the Wild West, Greg returns to his old stomping grounds to help a friend and finds old flames still burn hot. A/N:  Written for Rosedamask in the Valentine fic exchange, who requested Greg/Clive or Richard/Tony and

Comments

[rosedamask]

Oh my god, I had SO MUCH FUN reading this. Right from the very first word, even - I mean, the town’s called HATTRICK, jfc. That’s genius, and I love the whole town so much - you’ve populated it so beautifully, and I love all the ensemble touches. DOC MOCHRIE. DEPUTY WAYNE. Greg and Richard being bros! Ryan as a slightly more aloof sheriff bro! Mike the carpenter! Paul’s perfect deadpan entrance! The sheer amount of OH TONY NO that you've managed to fit into his appearances! Ryan winning all the poker! <3 Also, I love all the references to a fancy edjumacated university Greg, because I do find it really intriguing how smartness is such an aspirational thing for him, and it works SO well in this setting.

But my absolute favourite thing was the Greg/Clive - bb!Greg being adorable and rambunctious and willing to do all kinds of bad things all over the saloon bar, Clive accidentally talking himself into bed with Greg, and being so sweet when he's taking care of his poor hungover prodigal ex (He wasn’t sure if he should thank Ryan or challenge him to a duel for leaving him in the bartender’s care - :DDDD) - they're just totally lovely, and I think the ending was perfect for them. My favourite line would have to be Clive Anderson, owner and vigilant bartender for the Saloon, was not the most handsome man Greg had ever laid eyes on, but he knew that the magic of Hattrick had always been between the two of them - partly because I love how it picks up that quote from Greg where he's like "I love the other guys and they're my friends, but the magic I found on the British version was with Clive," and that's just the most adorable quote ever, but also because I love how it foregrounds the slight unexpectedness/oddness of their attraction, while still emphasising how lovely and enduring their bond is despite it all their differences. This is a really lovely gift, and I feel totally undeserving of such an amazingly generous take on so many of the prompts I left, but please accept ALL THE THANKS, because it made me very happy. <3

[walkingivy]

I'm so very glad you liked it! To be honest, I was a little scared when I saw your massive list of prompts because you seemed like you knew what you were talking about, and I'm not particularly strong on anything outside the realm of RyCol. So I looked into your links for more information (where I got descriptions for Tony's behavior, etc) to try and piece together something that made sense. It took me forever to find where Greg talks about Clive, but once I heard that quote, I had to use it. Plus, it puts together the idea of hattrick and magic for like a third meaning slipped in there. It's just spectacular that you picked up on my little nuances; comments like this really make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I accept all your thanks. ;)