Title: Mend

Author: Mareel

Author's email: Mareel@earthlink.net

Author's URL: http://www.geocities.com/bdebpr

Archive: Permission to archive granted to EntSTCommunity, Archer's Enterprise, Reed's Armory, Others welcome, please let me know.

Category: Slash (m/m)

Rating: G

Status: Complete

Pairing: Archer/Reed

Series: Just Before Morning

Sequel to: Despite Change

Number in series: 11

Next Story: At What Cost

Disclaimer: They all still belong to Paramount, or, more likely, to themselves.

Summary: "We fight and fall down… and mend."

Notes: This is the eleventh in a series inspired by the Treksoap Jon and Mal, but no familiarity with those characters or plots is needed to understand the destructive spiral that can result from a fight between lovers. My thanks to KayJay for mentioning the song "Mend," the source of the lyrics quoted in the summary.

***

Mend

Fight… I don't want to fight with you… I love you. I don't want to damage us. It's hard, being two people in the process of becoming one couple.

Couple… the coupling part comes easy. We fit together so well, share a bed like we were always meant to wake together.

Together… that's the harder part. It's not easy to each relinquish part of our independence to the crucible of commitment.

Commitment… looking forward together. I thought we might want that at some point… deciding to do it now is hard. So we fight.

…

Only love can break the cycle.

*** Finis