Just a quickie - my first Justified fic. Please let me know what you think, I may turn this into a series of shorts.
I do not own Justified, or any of the characters therein.
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They're a rare breed, the people of Harlan County. Seldom venturing out of the county boarders, watchful and mistrustful of outsiders. In their seclusion they had found safety, and in their county and hollers, a whole unique lifestyle was born, though it was anything but glamorous. There was a weariness shared amongst the residents of Harlan, even the children.
Growing up was serious business in Harlan. There were not a lot of exciting career prospects, no career day. It was an unsaid rule that they would either work the mines, digging the black dust that killed their kin while making the outside owners richer, try to scrape a living as honest businessmen, or maybe become part of the local law. There were always sports, and while no one had ever been drafted from Harlan, many hoped to be the first. Some, out of desperation, ran off to join the military, seeing that as their one way ticket out of Harlan, and Kentucky altogether. Those that survived the wars always came back, shoulders hunched in defeat, as they trudged into the mines they were so sure they'd escaped from. A few would find employ at the hands of the local criminal element, providing the 'honest' working man with liquor in a dry county to quench his thirst, narcotics to numb the bleakness of his reality, and willing women to ease his frustrations.
For the women, there was really only one choice – marriage. Some worked part time, but most married young. It was not unusual to celebrate graduation and a wedding in the same year.
Leaving Harlan – permanently – was unheard of. Anyone who could pull that off would be a legend, spoken of in a mix of disdain and awe. Celebrated for being able to leave, yet scorned for turning his back on his home.
Raylan Givens was once such a legend. He'd escaped, not just Harlan, but all of Kentucky, and had stayed gone for almost 20 years. Now he was back in Kentucky, and had become a frequent visitor to Harlan, bringing the typical Givens chaos with him.
Raylan Givens was born in Harlan and, despite his best efforts, it was increasingly likely that he would die there too.