Missive for capeofstorm

[spyfestadmin]

Author: hjbender
Recipient: capeofstorm
Title: Stitches
Characters/Pairing(s): Alex, Yassen
Summary: When a mission goes wrong and Alex is critically wounded, the fifteen-year-old spy finds himself the unwilling captive (and patient) of a man he believed to be dead.
Rating: PG-13
Warning(s): violence, language, adult situations
Word Count: ~31,000
Author’s Notes:

Comments

[lullabylily]

Wow… Just wow. It took me a couple days to read this story, but in the end I was really just savouring it, making the wonderful experience last longer. I thoroughly enjoyed this and am very much impressed. The first part especially has all the elements that make Horowitz’ novels brilliant; it was witty, fast, intense, the descriptions worked… And then the Yassen/Alex elements. Wow. It was so like canon; the tension between them, the interactions. Oh I could write a really long review and go into detail and pinpoint so many amazing moments in this fic. Because there were a whole lot of them. The sexual tension was brilliant as well; that kiss was just heartbreakingly beautiful and it does the story and the characters justice that they may not pursue a sexual relationship at all; their relationship is strong and complex even without it. Alex falling into Yassen’s arms, and Yassen giving in reluctantly to return the hug.. Perfect ending. This story is definitely one that I’ll treasure and reread. Words cannot express the awesomeness!

[hpstrangelove]

I feel so bad, taking this long to leave a comment. I had to print this out and take it with me so that whenever I had a free moment, I'd pull it out and read. I finally finished last night, and boy - this is fantastic. It reads so much like canon. I can never come up with (believable) missions for Alex, but this one was perfect.

I very much love how Alex and Yassen's relationship progressed - the subtle changes are what made it realistic, how Alex came to understand that people are not all black and white and Yassen finally accepting Alex's feelings for him.

I certainly wasn't expecting Alex to get off the plane and come 'home' to an empty house - that had me on the edge of my seat, wondering how Alex was going to find Yassen (because of course, he had to - he just had to!).

This is the way the last Alex Rider book should have ended.

[hjbender]

Hey, better late than never! Really, I don't blame anyone for taking their time--this baby was a colossal undertaking and I knew it might be slow to get feedback just based on its length alone. But that's what makes these slow-burning love stories... er, slow-burning love stories. The huge amount of text they take up. In any case, I'm thrilled to hear you enjoyed it so much. Many thanks for reading, HP!

[hjbender]

You're very welcome, Cape! It was truly a pleasure writing this. :)

[anomaly42]

This story is AMAZING! I loved how you wrote Alex and Yassen's relationship developing from an "I-hate-you-get-away-from-me" Alex to him understanding more of the human side of Yassen.

I really really hope you'll write a sequel to this. I usually don't like reading sequels, but this story's ending has so much potential for another work. Maybe one where Yassen goes out of retirement again but this time with Alex :)

Anyways, great job, and I look forward to reading more of your Alex/Yassen works! (:

[hjbender]

Wow, thanks so much for reading and commenting! I've definitely thought about a sequel, but it might come a bit later (if it comes at all). In any case, I'm really glad to hear you enjoyed this story, and I hope you'll enjoy any future Yassen/Alex works I have in store. :)

[aegeis]

Hey, i just wanted to tell you how much i liked your story! It's rare to find such a good characterization of Yassen, he seems so much like a cartoon villain in the most of the fictions. And the relationship development between the two of them was also top on-it took time for them to truly understand each other. All in all it was really one of the best AR story i read, and please please please write a sequel!!!

[hjbender]

Thank you! Your comment is incredibly appreciated, and I'm thrilled that you liked this story enough to say so. It would be tough writing a sequel to this as I raised the bar on my own writing, but I think it'd be more than worth the effort. We'll just have to see.

Again, thanks so much for reading!