>>52 I enjoyed the story and I love the composition. Looking at the marks of your craftsmanship, I can see the reactions you were aiming for—and you got them in me. Four—four!—times your story threw me for a loop, like an emotional rollercoaster, and it was perfect. My thoughts/emotions while reading were literally these: 1. Sniper is in Paris looking for Spy, who never shows up. It’s driving him slowly crazy. Spy left him, what a son of a bitch. (Resentment.) 2. Oh god. Oh no, Sniper... oh no. Spy didn’t leave you, he’s dead, you killed him in that alley and you’re clinging to your made-up explanation to keep from accepting the truth. (Sadness/pity.) 3. Wait... if Spy is the pianist, why is he doing this? Why doesn’t he reveal himself to Sniper so they can be happy together? (Confusion.) 4. Oh. No, no, no, oh Sniper. Oh, Spy. Oh, my heart. (Sadness/understanding/resolution.) The ability to emotionally manipulate the reader is a hallmark of a great story, and yours did it four times! Maybe >>53 is correct that a few extra details and a little less vagueness wouldn’t be bad—if Spy has to guess that Sniper’s ghost is wearing the suit they buried him in, how does he know where Sniper was hit by the bullets? Sniper himself couldn’t have told him and you don’t mention if the ghost is pulling a ‘Sixth Sense’ and showing the wounds that killed him. For that matter, how does Spy know how Sniper died at all? Sniper always tells the story as if he didn’t, and Spy didn’t know Sniper was dead until he saw his ghost at the bar. Maybe a little exposition on this would prevent >>53’s confusion. Still, I understood it easily enough and I think this is a brilliant story, one of the best I have read in the fandom. As I said on tumblr, this isn’t my otp, but you still just about had me crying at the end. At work. Very awkward. I’ll have to make a note only to read your sadfics in the safety of my own home. Now, please write us a happy one? One where Spy thinks he has lost Sniper, but then they’re happily reunited and Sniper is moved by Spy’s emotional outburst because he wasn’t quite sure if Spy returned his feelings. Yes, something like that, please. To ease my aching heart.