endings, but with some help from his friends, Balto hung tight until he finally got his. A hero’s reward.

Author's Note:

This fic was originally posted on Fanfiction.net, but I figured I'd post it here to so more Balto/Steele fans could read it. It's dedicated to two friends of mine, That Nerd Next Door and Brasta Septim, guys who I know like to read Balto/Steele slashes, and were loyal reviewers of “The Revenge and Redemption of Steele”. The music spread throughout this one-shot are compositions by Murray Gold from the Doctor Who two-parter “Human Nature” and “The Family of Blood” (the one where the Doctor becomes human). If any of you like a variety of instrumental music, I suggest you check them out on YouTube.

Ever since I announced to the world I was gay last summer, every once and a while someone would ask me if I was gonna write a Balto/Steele story. I never did write one, partly because I couldn't think of anything, and partly because I was way too busy writing stuff like the Salvation trilogy, "Erdan 2", and "The Revenge and Redemption of Steele". But for the first time in ages I have free time on my hands, so I've been making the most of it by writing long overdue stories.

There are very few Balto/Steele stories on FF.net and Balto Source, which is sad. What's even sadder is that they're divided between PWPs (porn-without-plots) and fluff pieces. Some of them, like "Mates" are made up of nonstop sex in every chapter; while others like "Cuddles" are incredibly short. Now don't get me wrong, I actually like fluff stories and PWPs (by now I've written slashy one-shots of my own for all different categories). And I'm not gonna say any of them are terrible since everyone has their own tastes in fanfics and every story is unique in its own way (who am I to spit on something that some everyday guy like me worked so hard to create?). But what I am saying is that none of them really dive into Balto and Steele's characters like I was hoping they would, and most of them give up the guys' personalities completely to fit the author's vision.

Now there’s nothing wrong with changing a character’s personality; part of what makes fanfiction great is the opportunity to change things to the way you envisioned them. But there is a problem when their new personalities aren’t that believable (can you really picture a stubborn, independent, and strong-willed guy like Balto letting that blowhard Steele control every aspect of his life? Bull. Though if the master/slave thing is your kind of fetish, you’re in luck). In fact, "Cuddles" and "Confessions" are the only two Balto/Steele slash fics that I really love on FF.net, because they’re fair to both Steele and Balto. Though I am starting to warm up to “Hope in Spades” more and more every time I read it, since FlamingReaper toned down Steele’s character in that one.

That said, when I decided to write this story I knew if I was gonna complain about the lack of Balto/Steele romance out there, I was gonna have to walk the walk as well as talk the talk. Like I said, I actually like PWPs, but in my opinion there are already plenty of stories on this site where characters have sex and not enough where their characters change and have journeys; which is why there's no sex here (no sex described in detail anyway), but plenty of drama. Because there’s more to being someone’s mate than just having sex with them, and calling them your ‘bitch’ all the time. I wanted this fic to be a contrast to other Balto/Steele slashes where Steele is this bombasting tough guy who dominates over a wimpy Balto during sex and everyday life. In this fic, Balto is the one who's in control, while bullying Steele is left grasping at straws. And even when they do start their relationship, Steele still has to be patient and wait for Balto to get comfortable with it (like relationships normally progress).

Despite what some of you might think, I’m actually a Christian. Balto’s thoughts about human religion aren’t about it being wrong, but about how mankind interprets it. The human race has a nasty habit of using God’s name and various types of religions to denounce anything they can’t or don’t want to understand. Whether it’s different cultures, races, religion, sexuality, you name it, it’s been shunned (and there are examples of this all throughout history). Plus, I think all the religious references were fitting for the 20s setting (unlike the word ‘gay’, which still meant happy then).

I often compare the Balto/Jenna/Steele love triangle to Shakespeare’s Romeo/Juliet/Paris dilemma. Balto even acknowledges this himself in "Salvation, Part 1", that his relationship with Jenna can't possibly end well, by Shakespeare’s own standards. But for this fic, I wanted to turn it all on its head. Balto and Steele are the ones putting themselves out there, while Jenna becomes the quickly-disposed-of third wheel. I actually like Jenna, and I loved writing for her character in “Heritage of the Wolf”, so it wouldn’t have felt right for me to kill her or write her out of existence to make way for Steele. Instead I had her bow out with honor to another one of Murray’s heartbreaking songs.

As for the scene on the rooftop, I've been wanting to write a scene like that for a while now, because I feel there's no greater emotional wringer in books, TV shows, or movies than two characters making a suicide pact, like in the aforementioned "Romeo and Juliet" (if there's anyone out there reading this who's lost a friend or family member because of suicide, I'm so sorry this story upset you, and I want you to know that I know this isn’t something to be taken lightly. It makes for a great story in fiction, but in real life it’s a tragedy), and it felt right to use it in this one-shot because I can't see any other way in hell Steele would just admit to Balto that he loves him unless he had no other choice.

So feel free to review. Let me know if you liked my first (and probably my only) Balto/Steele fic, or if it was just a waste of your time (if you did like it, tell your friends. I’m serious. If they’re into Balto yaoi, tell them about this). And, just as important, do you think that Balto walked away from this fic with his dignity and self-respect intact?