InsaneJournal

REC: An Exercise in Holding Hands
TITLE: An Exercise in Holding Hands
AUTHOR: ? ETA: noticeably
RATING: R (contains dark themes/mild horror)
PAIRING: Harry/Neville
WORD COUNT: 4,300
SUMMARY: There's a weight on your shoulders, heavy and unrelenting, bearing down upon you until you gasp and collapse and can't breathe. Moving on is easy. Except when it isn't.

MY THOUGHTS: You might call me a little biased, because this fic was written for me for the hpvalensmut 2008 exchange. However, even if this hadn't been written specifically to suit my kinks, I would really have enjoyed the premise alone.

The fic is fairly short and is written in 2nd-person POV, but don't let that put you off. I don't generally like that style of writing myself, but here it was used so well that I honestly can't imagine wanting the fic to be written any other way. The style and pace are wonderful; it's simple and there's a perfect contrast between the angsty, the sweet and the disturbing moments.

As for the content itself, if you've ever wished there was a Harry/Neville post-war fic out there that was neither pure fluff nor incredibly dark and non-con, this is the fic for you. Harry and Neville are both jaded war veterans whose relationship is angsty and awkward and just a little bit angry. If you ignore the epilogue (as most of us do), this is the sort of situation that I could really buy as a follow-up to DH.