And I'm sorry for responding to your lovely comment so late, I was out of the country and then had the flu. But I'm absolutely thrilled that you liked this so much! This was a fun story to write, once I figured out what I was doing (your mention of "twisted clichés" was my starting point, and the cliche_bingo masterlist came in very handy :D) -- thank you for the opportunity to push myself a bit! I hope your recovery is progressing well, and happy New Year!