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switchbladeeyesI'm back with more "Grantchester" fic, still messing around in earlier seasons of the show.
Until it happened, Leonard and Daniel getting back together after season 2 wasn't necessarily a given. Probably wasn't even likely.
(From the characters' perspectives, that is. From a meta perspective, their arc followed the classic "boy meetsgirl boy" trope.)
In season 2, the two met and started seeing each other socially. While Daniel made repeated romantic gestures and saw them as dating, Leonard kept pushing back, trapped in ambivalence about their relationship because of his fears and anxieties about his sexuality. Daniel became increasingly frustrated with Leonard's behavior.
Despite Leonard's reticence, the audience (but not Daniel) learned that Leonard was, in fact, falling in love. Alas, because by the time Leonard seemed ready to stop friendzoning Daniel, he discovered him having an assignation with another man. At that moment, Leonard revealed the depth of his feelings to Daniel, and walked away with a broken heart.
Season 3 then saw Leonard's internalized homophobia ramp up drastically, resulting in more than one sad event. But, by the end of the season, he found a measure of self-acceptance that led him to rekindle a relationship with Daniel on unquestionably romantic terms.
Everything that happened over this span of time on the show was 100% Leonard's story.
I thought it would be interesting to tell Daniel's story, to dive into his head and describe events from his perspective, starting with the weekend getaway to the seaside town of Brighton that Leonard refused to take with him, and ending with them finally getting back together.
This fic gave me the chance to flesh out what Daniel was up to, how he was living his life, what he was thinking and feeling during certain canon scenes, and, with respect to season 3, to introduce more of a progression between him and Leonard than we saw on the show.
(Also: some #Justice4HilaryFranklin. Because I wish the show had given us more closure with her.)
The End and the Beginning (rated M)
Until it happened, Leonard and Daniel getting back together after season 2 wasn't necessarily a given. Probably wasn't even likely.
(From the characters' perspectives, that is. From a meta perspective, their arc followed the classic "boy meets
In season 2, the two met and started seeing each other socially. While Daniel made repeated romantic gestures and saw them as dating, Leonard kept pushing back, trapped in ambivalence about their relationship because of his fears and anxieties about his sexuality. Daniel became increasingly frustrated with Leonard's behavior.
Despite Leonard's reticence, the audience (but not Daniel) learned that Leonard was, in fact, falling in love. Alas, because by the time Leonard seemed ready to stop friendzoning Daniel, he discovered him having an assignation with another man. At that moment, Leonard revealed the depth of his feelings to Daniel, and walked away with a broken heart.
Season 3 then saw Leonard's internalized homophobia ramp up drastically, resulting in more than one sad event. But, by the end of the season, he found a measure of self-acceptance that led him to rekindle a relationship with Daniel on unquestionably romantic terms.
Everything that happened over this span of time on the show was 100% Leonard's story.
I thought it would be interesting to tell Daniel's story, to dive into his head and describe events from his perspective, starting with the weekend getaway to the seaside town of Brighton that Leonard refused to take with him, and ending with them finally getting back together.
This fic gave me the chance to flesh out what Daniel was up to, how he was living his life, what he was thinking and feeling during certain canon scenes, and, with respect to season 3, to introduce more of a progression between him and Leonard than we saw on the show.
(Also: some #Justice4HilaryFranklin. Because I wish the show had given us more closure with her.)
