Title: set me as a seal upon thy heart
Fandom: In The Flesh
Pairing: Simon Monroe/Kieren Walker
Categories/Genres: Established Relationship, Romance, Fluff, Sex
Length: Medium (4288 words)
Warnings: References to past drug abuse

Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: the210west

Summary:

“You didn’t believe all the pamphlets saying we couldn’t have sex, did you?” he hazards.
“We can have sex?” he says, and Simon absolutely should have brought this up sooner.

Review:

For those of you who haven't watched In The Flesh yet, (and shame on you), a quick summary of the premise: the corpses of those who died in 2009 are reanimated, the vicious war that follows brought to an end by the creation of a drug called Neurotripteline, which works to restore the brain functionality of the undead, who are then reintegrated into a society that has learned to fear and despise them.

Got it? Good. Now go watch the show. It's only 9 episodes. Afterward, come read this fic.

It's not my usual policy to rec PWPs, but I made an exception this time because the context and the concept make it so much more than just sex. For the undead, whose blood sits stagnant in their veins and whose bodies are numb to even the most severe physical damage, orgasms and sex simply can't be done. At least, that's the common belief.

The truth, as the210west describes it, runs much more along the lines of patient, intimate seduction than your usual bump-and-grind, tab a into slot b, insert synonym for 'thrust' here. the210west's prose is rich with description and clever use of Simon's fondness for poetry, Kieren's characteristic brand of boldness shining but not overshadowing Simon's helpless compulsion to please him in any and every way possible.

It's an excellent exploration of an aspect of undeath never touched on in the canon, and just a plain nice pick-me-up after all the crying you'll do watching this series.

set me as a seal upon thy heart