Shrapnel 1/3

Gift fic for a friend, who's one of those rare birds to not only meet me in person but to also see parts of me I try damn hard to keep hidden, yet (so far) seems to be willing to tolerate me despite all that. This isn't my best pairing (if I have such a thing), and I'm not going for sterling IC-ness, as it is considerably after the canon period, so I see any story has having far more leeway. It's also got an implied OC, so if you're a diehard "no one else comes between" maybe this isn't entirely for you. But all that aside, yes, I am writing a 3=4 story, even if this first part is bittersweet.

Final versions will most likely be a little different (and posted on GWA, and maybe gwfan). This version has not been edited, revised, reviewed, beta'd, spellchecked, grammar-checked, or anythign else in any other way. Rough draft, read it here, hot off the frickin' pixels.

( He would've been wearing a shirt that actually fit, and didn't have tomato stains at the collar, from some chili-eating contest six years before.  )