Snape/Lupin - "The Ill-Made Knight", by orange_crushed

Title: The Ill-Made Knight
Author: orange_crushed
Length/Word Count: ~10,800 words | ONE-SHOT
Pairing: Snape/Lupin
Rating: PG-13
Summary: “The boy thought that there was something wrong with him. All throughout his life-- even when he was a great man with the world at his feet-- he was to feel this gap: something at the bottom of his heart of which he was aware, and ashamed, but which he did not understand." -T.H. White
Author's Website: LJ memories || Author's page on ff.net
Why everyone should read this: This isn't light entertainment, the kind of fic you can read and enjoy with half your brain shut off. This is fic that requires your attention and rewards every bit of it. The AU premise is original, the plot twists like a fist to the guts, the characterization is fascinating, relationships masterfully woven. More than anything though, I adore orange_crushed's unusual style of writing - it's realistic and coherent, yet at the same time it can feel like pieces of a strange dream. Simply beautiful.

Some comments from other impressed readers, to complete the picture:
* "... Cutting lines and stirring plots may make a story intriguing, but what makes a story stick are characters who are real, and you have all three. ..." -- stoicstella
* "... The tone, the beautiful construction, the casual yet breathtaking prose...this is one of the best things I've read in ages. ..." -- valis2
* "... even when your plotting is epic and tense and fabulous, it's always the less history-making moments, the tender, absurd, grudging, complete, truthful, every-day miraculous moments that you write that set your stories apart. ... Little stitches like these hold everything together, and make it glorious. ..." -- the_grynne
* "... The dialogue is so perfect. The subtext so painstakingly and lovingly and achingly drawn. The relationships so taut. Wow. ..." -- innerslytherin
* "... it's brilliant and the kind that can be read over and over and still offer new insights. I'm looking forward to it, actually. ..." -- _lore
* "... the whole is perfectly Noire and thick and vibrant and full of twists and lovable lines. ... The way you picture the war, the distrust, the distance growing, the spying, the banality of it is marvelous. The ambiance is just perfect. ..." -- etrangere
* "Oh. This is beautiful, and smart, and full of unexpected angles." -- bronze_ribbons

Three short excerpts, letting the quality speak for itself...

Excerpt #1:
He never did get it right. It doesn’t taste like fire or amber or sex- it tastes like the blissful end of control, the moment when the rope snaps and you hang in space like a dragonfly, an affront to gravity and desire. It tastes like the moment your bones crack open, because you want them to; you want to hunt in the dark and shed the man you wish you were, and aren’t; the man that everyone hates, who can’t help himself.

Excerpt #2:
Severus grunts softly and sticks his forehead into Remus's arm, and then wakes with a sudden jolt. Remus does not bother to tell him good morning; just smiles and rolls onto his side, and shuts his eyes.

"You should go." Severus says, a little coldly.

"I will."

Ten minutes pass, give or take; and Severus curls into the warmth of his back.

Excerpt #3:
The fall comes, and the world settles into its waiting. There's a stillness that's untouched by sorrow still, and the leaves hang onto the trees longer than they should; leaving the world red and gold and orange in brilliant shades. It's the kind of weather that makes Remus go about without a jacket, and lie in the side of the hill with his tie undone and his eyes closed.

PS - I read this fic today for the first time (of many, I'm sure). Mid-way through, I knew I would be compelled to rec it here, even though it doesn't quite fit in with my theme for the month. Reaching the end I'd realized that, in some odd way, it *is* about family: the family you choose.