Fic rec - Hesitation Waltz

[sakura_no_miko]

Title: Hesitation Waltz

Author: cranialaccessory

Fandom: From Eroica With Love

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Klaus/Dorian

Warnings: homophobia, canon-typical violence, jealousy

Other notes: fake dating, undercover mission, spies, action-adventure, outsider pov, friendship

Length: 20k

Summary: “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way,” Dorian said, “but I’ve been preparing for this role my entire life. You, on the other hand, seem far less capable of convincing anyone that you’re in love with anyone, much less me.”

Klaus and Dorian have to pretend to be married for a case. It goes about as well as can be expected.

 

More small fandom recs. Ah, Eroica. I went through a period of massively going through old anime. Old shoujo anime, and the influences of the Takarazuka Revue. Old mecha anime, and how the realistic vs super robots thing got started. Old magical girl anime. Old boys’ love and girls’ love anime.

So, Eroica. It’s been running on and off since the 1970s. It started kind of serious — the tough, serious NATO agent unwittingly forced to do business with his polar opposite, a flamboyant art thief. It got more comedic as time went on. And, uh, yeah, part of the humor I specifically that Dorian is openly gay and is constantly hitting on Klaus, who usually responds angrily. That said, for a manga from the 1970s, Dorian is openly gay and has a fairly good life. If his worst problem is getting shot at during missions and having Klaus yell at him, well, it’s not like some of the other horrifically tragic early 70s gay manga, like A Song of Wind and Trees or The Heart of Thomas.

But, at the same time, even in modern anime, the stereotype of the aggressive gay dude who hits on all men in the vicinity is…unfortunately common. (Though Antique Bakery actually did some interesting things with this trope. Wow. Been ages since I watched that. The anime, not the censored live action version. The OP is such an earworm.) And it’s interesting to look at Klaus — I mean, he is rejecting unwanted sexual advances, in a sense, but you’re kind of rooting for him to eventually give in? It’s interesting to think about, what with the MeToo movement and the way we’re re-examining the old romcom tropes. I’ve seen some interesting commentary on whether Klaus could be deeply closeted, or asexual, or if there is ever a possibility he and Eroica could manage a relationship where they aren’t fighting.

So, I do like this one. It’s very in-tune with canon. You’ve got this big adventure going on, with spies and drama, but at the core of it all is Dorian and Klaus’ tumultuous relationship. It’s one of those fics where, if I wanted to introduce someone to the fandom, I’d probably pick this one, because it’s got the full package.

There are so many excellent one liners in this fic, it’s hard to pick one.

"And when is my birthday?"

"No one actually remembers their wife's birthday. They have their assistant remind them when it's getting close."

"That's a fascinating glimpse into your childhood," Dorian said, and Klaus glared at him. "It's July 28th, by the way. And I already knew yours, even before the mission."

And probably most telling is an early scene where Klaus is confronted by a homophobic guest at the party he and Eroica are infiltrating, and he’s utterly disgusted at the rude remarks — which Eroica immediately calls him out on, because Klaus regularly spots off homophobic bs at him all the time.

They walked past a security guard, and Klaus scowled at him. "The nerve of him, implying that just because I'm a homosexual, that I'm sort of, I don't know, man-whore."

Dorian jerked to a stop in front of a large painting of some past person in a silly hat. "Klaus, you know you say worse things than that about me on a daily basis."

"Well, yes," Klaus said, defensive. "But that's different."

"How is this possibly different?" Dorian said, waving his arm. "Because it's happening to you instead of me?"

"No," Klaus said, trying not to sound sullen. "Because we have a long-standing relationship, and with us it's... banter."

Dorian raised a pair of well-maintained and skeptical eyebrows. “You don’t seriously believe that.”

Admittedly, it’s easier to read fic than canon sometimes, because fic writers tend to point out the enormous elephants in the room, you know.

Also, there is a hilarious scene where Klaus and Eroica are trying to fake having sex, but they end up arguing about their fake sex in the middle. Actually, they spend most of this fic arguing with each other, while everyone else looking in on them thinks about what a lovely couple they are — very true to canon. Can I also mention how nice it is for there to be an original female character who is genuine friends with Dorian? As the canon series got more comedic, you lost some of the nuances from earlier chapters — the darkness in Dorian’s past, the moments where Klaus genuinely acknowledged how good Dorian was. It’s nice to see a bit more of that seriousness in this fic. I mean, I like Dorian and Klaus being all belligerent and comedic, but deep down, it’s good to remember that both of them are professionals, and their strengths compliment each other.

A few other fic recs:

If you like the action-adventure style of this one, Sweet Surrender and A Rose Vine and a Wire Rope are both excellent mixes of action and romance. Both of them examine the relationship of Klaus and Eroica, and how it will take more than a love confession for them to genuinely trust each other.

Also, if you still don’t have a good grasp on Klaus’ character, Naked Courage is short and note-perfect.

I also really enjoyed Le Bel Homme Sans Merci, or, The Unicorn Tamer which is very AU, and yet works. Actually, Evening Star does something similar, while also adding a hot and in character sex scene.

Looking for more fic recs?

Originally posted on pillowfort on 01/22/19