Songfic Challenge by chesamus

[chesamus.livejournal.com]

372 words. Affair on 8th Avenue is one of those mournful, grandly forlorn ballads that only Gordon Lightfoot (and Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues) can get away with. I’ve been hearing this song in my head since the first time I saw “Victoria’s Secret.” It’s up there on the angst meter, but then, so is the song.



Affair on 8th Avenue
by chesamus

“Tell me.” The voice was quiet, slightly less than a whisper against his back, against his Mark of Cain...

I was in the hospital for for two months after I was shot. There was another six weeks in the rehabilitation facility. And through all the pain and tears learning to walk again, the one thought driving me was getting home, being alone, mourning her - us.

Ray told me no trace of her had been found in my apartment, but I knew she had been there. Her perfume lingered, even after she’d gone. Sometimes at night, when I thought I would go insane, I’d catch a whiff, a shadow. I never smelled it before or since on anyone else. It belonged to her. When I went on leave to Canada, I left the windows slightly cracked, hoping the wind and pollution of Chicago would erase her from my home. And returning to find the apartment burned and in ruins, my first thought was ‘I shall never feel her scent again.’

I remember the way her hair flowed down her back, over her breast, over my skin. She had a silver-handled brush she kept in her purse. After we - after - she’d pull it out and sweep it through her curls with long languid strokes while I watched, and every stroke was another caress.

She told me stories full of treasure and mystery. She spoke of fairytales and riddles. She asked me questions, and yet never wanted the answer. It was as if I was being tested, measured against some scale only she could see. It was as if we were playing a game - but she was the only one who knew the rules, and the rules were always changing.

I wondered if she wanted me to make a decision, if I was, indeed, allowed to choose. Every conversation took on the importance of life and death, when really, she had already judged me and found me wanting.

I had no hope of winning a future with her, and I could see no possibility of a life without her. When Ray shot me, I wanted to die...

“I’ll dig out the files, Ray. As a story, there isn’t much to tell.”

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/g/gordon-lightfoot/61509.html

Comments

[mergatrude.livejournal.com]

Oh wow! This is beautifully done. And in the end he's still unable to talk about it. *hearts this*

[chesamus.livejournal.com]

Thanks - I'm trying not to overload this challenge, but due South has always had a soundtrack in my head, and they are all clamoring for attention!

[loz]

Ahuh. That's just right. Right voice, right tone, right soundtrack. You wield your swordpen well.

Poor boy. He needs a hug.

[chesamus.livejournal.com]

He's needed hugs all his life - poor Benton...

[loz]

Of course, he has people offering him hugs all his life too. He doesn't accept them. Poor, stubborn Benton.

[bohemian--storm.livejournal.com]

Oh, ouch. Beautifully done. Lovely, lovely voice.

[chesamus.livejournal.com]

Thank you - that's quite a compliment! Love/Obsession can be a hurtful thing...

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

Great fic. Wonderful voice and execution, and I commend you for handling the "Victoria's Secret" arc. That theme is my favorite of everything in due South.

Tiny nitpick, and I'm sure you couldn't have avoided it due to the lyrics...but curly-haired girls don't brush out their hair. I did it until sixth grade, and then I learned better. *Points to icon*

[chesamus.livejournal.com]

eah - I've been picking mine out for years! There just isn't much romance in a pick...

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

I suppose it depends on the size of your curl. I use a pick on mine in the shower to help me wash through tangles, and if it's ratty after a night out and I'm just going to put it up in a bun...but I can't imagine Victoria, with her curls, brushing them out without planning to put them up.

[torakowalski.livejournal.com]

Aw, lovely and lyrical. Well done *g*

[chesamus.livejournal.com]

Thanks - was a touch worried it was slightly overdone.

[icheb-lover.livejournal.com]

Wow. This is just beautiful. You seem to have captured Fraser's soul here. Amazing job.

[chesamus.livejournal.com]

I'm going to credit Gordon Lightfoot for most of it - now if I can just get Ray and Mr. Springsteen to cooperate!

[vienna-waits.livejournal.com]

Wow. Wow. Really, wow. I am an inarticulate admiring mess. And this?
Every conversation took on the importance of life and death, when really, she had already judged me and found me wanting.

Is one of the best summations of Victoria's treatment of Fraser I've ever seen.

[chesamus.livejournal.com]

Thank you - I always thought the difference between due South and some of those "woman of the week" shows was that Fraser's past actually meant something for more than the one episode. They led up to Victoria, and they let her linger.