Title: These Are Great Days
Fandom: Hollyoaks
Pairing: John Paul McQueen/Craig Dean
Categories: Drama, slash, recovery
Length: Medium (6,800 words)
Warnings: References to suicide, canonical character deaths (off-screen)

Author on AO3: Atlanticslide

Summary:
He’s still got some of that surreal feeling, but it’s slipping more and more each day, leaving him feeling achy but alive.

Review:
Sometimes it seems that the only way soap characters can get a happy ending is if they leave the show (and stay away; I'm looking at you, James Sutton :-). That's exactly what John Paul and Craig did, heading off into the sunset for the delights of Dublin to live happily ever after.

Except not. When they first leave Hollyoaks together, John Paul thinks his previous boyfriend committed suicide, possibly because he was getting back together with Craig. That's bound to put stress on their relationship, and atlanticslide does an excellent job of charting what happens next. John Paul and Craig's continuing relationship makes heavy weather of the canonical McQueen family drama, as well it should, and the result is a hopeful ending rather than a happy one. The boys are together, but they take some getting there.

I particularly like atlanticslide's touch with the characters. Both JP and Craig's voices are spot on, quite a feat given how different they are, and you feel for both of them as events pull them to and fro. Those events are just touched on enough to give the reader the idea of what went on without descending into re-running episodes just to pad out a story. It's very nicely done.

These Are Great Days