Remember Him by Morgan Logan (slash) R, 29K

Now, if you recall, I'd mentioned I'll read death fic if I'm in the proper mood.  This would be one of those stories.  Years have gone by.  Starsky has passed away and Hutch has written a book about their partnership.  His reasons for doing so come clear as the story progresses.  He is interviewed by a young, out and proud gay man who at first feels a bit superior to the older, more closeted man.  But gradually, as he hears more about Starsky and Hutch and their love story, the reporter begins to understand and sympathize.  This story breaks my heart in the best possible way.  Molo gives our boys a life together.  We don't get to read about the details in this universe.  But we do get to see what remains.  Have tissues at the ready.

"So, if you had been the one injured, you think Detective Starsky could have dealt with it?  Seeing his lover at risk again?"

Hutchinson's head jerked, and wariness filled his face.  Riser saw him drop his eyes to the microphone.

"It's already out there, sir," Riser said softly, surprised at his own sympathy for the man's fear.  How terrible, to live your entire life in the closet.  "Were you already lovers by then?  You didn't say in your book."

Resigned, Hutchinson said, "We'd always been lovers.  We just didn't know it." 

The If Love Is Real Series by Flamingo, NC-17
1:  Colby (73K)
2:  Vanessa (148K)
3:  Helen (139K)
4:  Starsky (99K)
5:  Addiction (547K)

This series starts with the guys in the academy.  John Colby announces he has had enough and is going to move on.  But before he does so, he tells Hutch that Starsky has a thing for him.

Colby might have intended mischief, but he didn't lie.  Starsk is in love with his new friend.  Yet despite a past that included the occasional m/m encounter, he had no plans to try and seduce his future partner.  When Starsky opens up to him, Hutch confesses to a bit of experimentation of his own.  The two talk it out.  Hutch loves Starsky too, but isn't in love with him.  Still, he allows Starsky a night of physical intimacy.  This sets in motion a dynamic that continues on through canon.  Whenever the two are looking for comfort—after Vanessa leaves, after Helen's death, after Forrest—they turn to each other, and the physical release they can only find there.

This series doesn't really end on an upbeat note.  I've heard rumors that Flamingo had intended another chapter.  I would really welcome that.  What's already written however is rich with emotion and longing, and contains some of the blistering sex scenes Flamingo is known for.  There's plenty of love here, and plenty of disappointment.  The latter makes the former seem all the more precious.

"You're stuttering, Hutch. Slow down and take a deep breath."

Hutch did as Starsky told him and tried again. "You want me? You? This doesn't make any sense. What about all those girls? Starsky, the other guys call you the stud of the year. They say it with envy. I've seen you date--and score--with two different girls in one day! What's all that about?"

"Exactly what it seems. I happen to like women. Very, very much. Look, I don't know what Colby told you but I'm not some mincin' queen. I'm not even gay. I'm crazy about the ladies, that's no act. I want a wife and kids and the whole picket fence fantasy, just like any other guy. But--" He took a deep breath and Hutch got the sense that Starsky was about to say something he'd never told anyone else. "Come on, Hutch, you remember your first love, don't'cha?"

"Sure. Of course." She'd been a portly little brunette who always made him laugh. He didn't think he'd ever known a woman since who'd ever made him quite that happy.

"Well, my first love was a guy. An older man. He was twelve. I was nine. It was my idea." Starsky smiled fondly.

Autumn Leaves by Audrey (slash) G, 4K

This was written for Love of Me and Thee's Secret Santa.  But it's not a Christmas story.  It's another death story.  I love it because of how spare it is, yet how evocative.  We see a far older Hutch, one who has just lost his partner.  The entire story is told through the perspective of one of his neighbors.  We're given few details, but his heartbreak is vivid illustrated, and so, so touching.  It hasn't been archived yet, with the exception of being placed in the Stories files section on Yahoo for LoM&T.  It's the Secret Santa gift for Enednoviel.

"I wonder if they’re on vacation, him and his friend?"

"Mom, they don’t call them ‘friends’ anymore.  It’s lovers.  Or partners."

"Oh I don’t think it’s like that.  You youngsters all think it’s like that."

Any Day Now by Rebelcat (gen) R, 16K

Starsky is raped.  It's horrific, of course.  But that particular scene is written with such restraint, it's easier to read than you might think it would be.  Yet this story isn't really about the rape.  It's about the aftermath.  Starsky doesn't want to talk about it, even though Hutch is all but demanding he do exactly that.  You can imagine what follows.

I always think of Rebelcat, who is one of my favorite writers in both Pros and Starsky & Hutch, as a bit of a humor specialist.  So many of her stories make me come dangerously close to spitting coffee all over my keyboard.  And yes, even with the exceedingly dark subject matter, there are some pretty darned funny lines in this fic.  Yet, to pigeonhole her in that way is to sell her short.  She can pretty much write anything she wants to with style and flair.  What's really interesting here is Hutch's reaction to the tragedy and how Starsky deals with both Hutch's reaction and the tragedy itself.  Rebelcat took an unexpected direction here, and I love her for it.

"There’s nothing to talk about," you tell him.

"You can’t keep it all locked up inside," he says.

"Sure I can. Watch me!"

Interference (283K)/Turbulences (198K)/Uncertainties (549K) by Keri Mera (slash) NC-17

I'd debated where to put these stories.  For awhile I thought it might be wise to put them under Romance, because they're certainly that.  Then I thought perhaps under Case Stories, as that's part of the series as well.  But finally I decided to put them under angst, because when I look back over this three story arc, that's what I remember most vividly.

This series begins directly after Starsky vs. Hutch.  Starsky is devastated over what he sees as his partner's betrayal, and struggles to understand how Hutch could hurt him as badly as he did.  Hutch is desperately in love with Starsky.  He only bedded Kira as a substitute for what he couldn't have.  Yet he can't tell Starsky that.  So he tells him nothing, glossing over the seriousness of the situation and refusing to talk about it, except to vaguely apologize.  Hutch's cavalier attitude infuriates Starsky, who responds by shutting down completely and cutting Hutch from his life, even going so far as to demand a new partner.  Hutch is destroyed and tries to fix things, only it's too late.  Reeling, he leaves Bay City.  Starsky comes to his senses, discovers Hutch is gone, and goes after him.

Interference is about the guys' relationship changing.  Turbulences is about Starsky's recovery following Gunther's attack.  Uncertainties is about Starsky's return to duty.  Each story features aching love between the two men, boatloads of angst (most especially on Hutch's part), action and some pretty torrid bedroom scenes.  You can wallow in this stuff for days.  It's very, very good.

"You... put in for a new p-partner?" he whispered. It's a mistake. It's gotta be a mistake. Starsky wouldn't go that far. Oh, please, he wouldn't...

The dark, cold eyes never wavered. A quick movement broke Hutch's grip and made him step back a pace. Fear surged up inside him. Starsky looked him straight in the eyes as if readying an invisible dagger.

"That's right, Hutchinson," he said in a harsh voice that drove the blade straight into Hutch's heart. Hutch flinched and staggered backward against the wall. Starsky took the hilt and twisted the knife.

"Can't work with a man I can't trust."

Back to Home

Back to Recs