[REC] Stories For Reading And Sharing With Friends: The List (3/3): TO-READ-2
The second batch of stories I wasn't able to finish reading this year is under the cut. As before, some of these are beloved and familiar, but I just wanted to read them again. Others I started and got excited about. Still others I haven't read at all, but they sounded amazing. Give them a try, and consider writing up a rec; if you do, and you tell me about it, I'll link to it here. Please? (And if you're confused about that request or what's going on, see this post here.)
All other fandoms, in some semblance of order. I think:
The Avengers (movie-verse) / Marvel Avengers (comics-verse)
Aria: Shatter (Thor/Loki | NC-17 | 32,209 words) "Loki," Odin says, heavy with disappointment and regret for all he has to raise his voice, "Odinson. I cast you out."
astolat: Athelas (Thor/Loki | NC-17 | 19,324 words) There was a sharp and bitter edge crept into the words, a reminder that not all was well: that Thor still had a brother, but not a friend.
astolat: Chaos War (Thor/Loki | NC-17 | 34,203 words) It was never easy to find Loki when he wanted to hide, but he wasn't doing a particularly good job of it at the moment. Probably he didn't think anyone from Asgard would be wasting their time hunting for him while the shining ones churned their way steadily through all the realm.
aubkae: many names in history, none of them are ours (Steve/Tony | NC-17 | 35,588 words) Steve's not sure if he'll ever understand Tony Stark, but it's good, living here. If he still wakes up sometimes convinced this was all a dream, well, it's better than it was before, and that's something, isn't it? The Avengers live in a world that both glorifies and fears them, but they know each other now behind the scenes.
bellinibeignet: Chemistry for Dummies (Steve/Tony | NR | 7,185 words) Steve is awakened by nightmares, and Tony refuses to sleep. So, naturally, that leads to a lot of awkward nights of running into one another in the kitchen. Except, tonight Tony actually speaks to Steve, which opens a box that will probably never be closed again.
elspethdixon + seanchai: When The Lights Go On Again (Steve/Tony | PG-13 | 170,000 words) Aliens have invaded earth, and the Avengers are scattered. While Steve leads the resistance, Tony once again finds himself playing captive scientist. In the midst of a violent alien regime, separated by seemingly insurmountable boundaries, Steve and Tony have nothing to keep themselves going but each other.
epistolic: The Wheel (Thor/Loki | R | 24,130 words) 1535, England. As ward to the Earl of Huxley, Loki has been brought up since childhood to be the perfect counterpart to the Earl's only son and heir. But in the cut-throat world of Tudor England, where ambition and opportunism are the only guarantors of success, Loki must decide between loyalty and betrayal; between the past and the future; and between power and love.
hetrez: Make Way For Ducklings (Steve/Bucky | NC-17 | 28,505 words) Steve leads a Tactical Defense training course a few months after the events of the Avengers movie, and gains himself some SHIELD-issue ducklings. A series of interconnected stories set in the same universe.
jadedoll: Buy You A Mockingbird (Steve/Tony | NC-17 | 29,652 words) Babyfic! When Tony unexpectedly becomes a parent, his world view drastically changes. And changes. Then it changes again. And then again.
marinarusalka: Look here, look back, look ahead (Steve/Tony (Marvel: Noir) | PG-13 | 33,498 words) September, 1941: Returning from a mission as Iron Man, Tony Stark crash-lands in the Carpathian Mountains and is rescued by Captain America. The two heroes team up to investigate Nazi activity at a mysterious castle. But Captain America is keeping secrets that could destroy their new partnership before it has a chance to begin.
Renne: Where the Circle Ends (Steve/Bucky | R | 29,802 words) In which the world has gone to hell in a zombie apocalypse handbasket and, in the middle of it all, Steve finds the one person he never thought he'd see again. Angst and feelings (amongst other things) ensue.
stereobone: Desiderata (Loki/Tony | NC-17 | 30,248 words) Tony doesn't know anything about love. He's convinced himself it's for the best.
whizzy: Adamant (Steve/Tony | PG-13 | 60,993 words) Over a full stomach and a skin of watered wine, Anthony showed the letter. Rhodes lounged back, his knife coaxing a game piece from driftwood he'd found on the beach. "A lost knight? Those litter history as common as shipwrecks."
Die Hard 4
poisontaster: Dying Is Easy (John/Matt | NR | 37,496 words) John McClane is too damn old to be going through a sexual identity crisis.
scaramouche: Orbits, Drift (John/Matt | NC-17 | 17,179 words) John and Matt get used to each other.
verasteine: A Trail Of Sparks (Steve/Danny | NC-17 | 31,866 words) AU. After Steve is invalided out of the Navy, he ends up stripping at Mamo's gay club.
isawet: I woo'd thee with my sword (Arthur/Eames | PG-13 | 22,922 words) There's a job in Antarctica, during which Ariadne slowly ropes Arthur into being her point man and Eames and Arthur make literary references.
laceymcbain: The Habit of Countless Years (Arthur/Eames | R | 10,946 words) "They've made a habit of this: the late night knock, the doorbell lean, the quickly picked lock. Turning up in one another's spaces unannounced, though not unwelcome. The promise of sanctuary has been there as long as they've known each other, which is longer than most people realize and much longer than they'll admit to." In which Arthur and Eames have always relied on each other to keep one important secret.
LadyVader: Pet (Arthur/Eames | NC-17 | 100,250 words) AU fic - Arthur is in his final year of high school and finds himself entirely too interested in the new English teacher.
The Losers (2010)
Cattraine: Security Blanket (Cougar/Jensen | R | 9,581 words) Cougar shifted minutely under the flimsy camo tarp, blinked and set his eye to the scope again. To any onlooker he was the picture of glacial calm. Silent, focused, and deadly. Inside his head he had a fiery inner monologue going that would rival one of Jensen’s Red Bull fueled rants.
peaceful_sands: A Wolf Among Men (Cougar/Jensen | R | 64,500 words) A Mission goes wrong, the team live to fight another day, but the consequences stay with them.
Smallville
alandrialore: Refracting Light (Clark/Lex | PG-13 | 18,281 words) When Clark goes to see Lex after Unsafe to get their friendship back on track, he finds more than he was expecting.
Lenore: Love For Sale (Clark/Lex | NC-17 | 54,253 words) An AU retelling of Clark’s RedK days (and nights) in Metropolis, with hooking and Lex and romance.
seperis: A Handful of Dust (Clark/Lex | NC-17 | 50,000 words) At the end of the world, Lex can't stop running.
Sports Night
ashinae: Small Town (Dan/Casey | NC-17 | 41,750 words) Dan and Casey, roommates since college, co-manage the town's sporting goods store. Dan (who is not-so-secretly in love with Casey) spends most of his time hunting the local longshoremen. Casey (who is very secretly in love with Dan) is sleeping with Sally Sasser, the town's ambulance chasing lawyer. When Bobby Bernstein comes to town to recruit Dan for a GM position at SportChek in Halifax, Casey has to confront his feelings for Dan, or lose him to the 'big city'.
helenish: Call of the Wild (Dan/Casey | NR | 8,610 words) A Sports Night story which picks right up after Kafelnikov and pretty much ignores anything else. Alternative title: Gigolo to the Stars.
helenish: Semaphore (Dan/Casey | NC-17 | 8,510 words) Batten down the hatches and prepare for mel-o-drama: while no one will get terminally ill, liberties will be taken with greco-roman wrestling, Jeremy's fantasy sex life, and certain European figure skaters. Scrabble will be played by the international rules and Dan's mouth will do that thing. No, not that thing. Okay, that thing, too, but first it will do the thing where it looks like he might cry.
Watchmen
findmyantidrug: All the Pale Nightmares (Dan/Rorschach | NC-17 | 26,979 words) Rorschach is drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, where the Comedian takes him under his wing (incl. sequel, "Lodestar")
i_am_your_spy: Ordinary World (Dan/Rorschach | NC-17 | 24,000 words) In which Manhattan hesitates, Laurie goes to Jupiter, and Dan is left behind in a post-apocalyptic NYC to save Rorschach from himself.
mustinvestigate: Masquerade (Dan/Rorschach | R | 10,552 words) Sundry ideas nicked from the kinkmeme. Rorschach secretly follows Nite Owl and Ozymandias’ investigation into a notorious vice club, with surprising results. And, as always, by ‘surprising results,’ I mean ‘really awkward sexy time.’ For once, this is set in a purely movie!verse, meaning Walter is five or so years into vigilantism, but still a young ‘un of 21, and Daniel is somewhat older.
X-Men: First Class
aesc: Extended Jam 'Verse (Charles/Erik | NC-17 | 36,741 words) Charles and Erik are graduate students about to begin their fifth year of studies at MIT. But it's the summer of 1969, and dissertations take a back seat to more important things.
aesc: The changeling; or, Charles Xavier (a Novel by a Lady) (Charles/Erik | PG-13 | 84,217 words) [1834] The changeling Charles Xavier, friendless and dispossessed of his fortune, arrives at Ironhill Hall to tutor the two children of the mysterious Mr. Lehnsherr. Or, the one where XMFC meets a heavily-revised Jane Eyre meets steampunk.
cimorene: Excellent Judgment (Charles/Erik | NC-17 | 10,968 words) "Your friends go to school while dating," says Charles thoughtfully. "Lots of people do that, Charles. You're just a workaholic who owns a speed-dating business."
dvs: The Courtship (Charles/Erik | NC-17 | 97,920 words) A story about a courtship that began five hundred years ago.
Etharei: A Curious Carriage of Crystal and Cold (Charles/Erik | NC-17 | 114,215 words) Charles, a miner from a poor village in the countryside, saves the life of Erik Lehnsherr, scion of a successful business family and the richest man on the planet Eisen. Charles is a telepath and somewhat anxious about it, while Erik abstains from relationships because the lights flicker and doors open and electronics vibrate when he gets too excited. Also featuring a long-suffering sister, a foul-mouthed bodyguard, and a best friend with a heart that is definitely not gold. In which there are princes, spaceships, long journeys, and old secrets uncovered. (An AU sci-fi fairytale)
kaydeefalls: Celestial Navigation (Charles/Erik | PG-13 | 9,470 words) Not everything has to be life or death. Sometimes it snows in September, just because a little girl wills it so.
Regann: Guilty by Association (Charles/Erik | R | 61,766 words) While investigating the homicide of a John Doe who he suspects might've been murdered while working the streets as a prostitute, Detective Erik Lehnsherr finds an unexpected ally in a hooker named Charles who seems as determined as he to solve the case. As they become more deeply involved both with the case and each other, there's just one thing that Charles neglects to mention -- that he's really an investigative journalist, one quickly convinced that what they're dealing with is more than simple murder. cop!Erik, fake-hooker-slash-reporter!Charles, Modern AU.
twelve_pastels: For I Mean to Conquer Troy (Charles/Erik | R | 34,570 words) Set one year post movie, Charles overloads himself in Cerebro, and his mind goes walkabout; wherever he is (and he’s around), it’s not in his body. Erik temporarily takes over the school in his absence, and finds that there’s little time for resentment or hatred when he’s busy organizing assigned reading for English lit, keeping the youngest children out of trouble, and trying to talk Raven into wearing clothing for the boys’ sake. Somewhere in between taking responsibility for the students and dreaming Charles’ dreams every night, he manages to remember that he’s something rather more than a weapon. In other words: A Love Story between two Gentlemen, told in Prose, Epistles, and Nonsense Rhymes
Yahtzee: Appropriate Boundaries (Charles/Erik | NC-17 | 33,346 words) Charles has been having serious problems with back cramps in the year and a half since he's been in a wheelchair. His doctor prescribes massage therapy. But when Charles meets his masseur, Erik, in some ways they begin to heal each other. So how do you cross the boundaries between professional touch -- and the personal?
Yahtzee: Paralyzer (Charles/Erik | NC-17 | 43,521 words) In 1965, Erik Lehnsherr has infiltrated the NYPD for his own purposes -- but his powers make him a brilliant detective. Yet that's not why FBI agent Charles Xavier has sought him out. It's because the mysterious killer they're both trying to find is murdering people like them: other mutants. Their search for a madman binds them together. Their inner demons may tear them apart. But the greatest danger comes when the killer they're looking for looks back ...
---
... and lots of other bits and baubles ...
13th Warrior
mlyn: Gods and Monsters (Ahmed/Herger | NC-17 | 109,625 words) Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan Ibn Al Abbas Ibn Rashid Ibn Hamad knelt on the soft thick moss and put his hands in front of his knees, bending until his forehead touched his knuckles. Allah help him, he was a sinner.
nos4a2no9: Go Bravely to the Morning (Ahmed/Herger | NC-17 | 10,740 words) After seven long years of separation, Ahmed ibn Fahdlan returns to the land of the Northmen and begins to search for the friend he left behind.
3:10 to Yuma
manic_intent: Platitudes (Evans/Wade | R | 15,897 words) Ben Wade runs into a familiar stranger south of the border.
melfice: All These Words Are Underlined (Shaun/Desmond | NC-17 | 10,971 words) There is something about the guys that Shaun dates that sets Desmond's teeth on edge. Jealousy is a pretty good bet.
Band of Brothers
andrealyn: A Love Like The Sea (Liebgott/Webster | PG-13 | 24,020 words) Joe Liebgott is roused in the middle of the night by a phone call (an intervention in disguise) and ends up anchored down to one place while he tries to reconcile the man he's become with the man who went to war.
Kenna McGuire: Scars and Souvenirs (Winters/Nixon | NR | 8,660 words) Dick Winters didn’t need to go to Paris, and he didn’t want to go, either.
Books: Asimov
Dorinda: C/Fe (Daneel/Elijah | R | 15,343 words) Set directly after their third novel, The Robots of Dawn. After the events on Aurora, Elijah Baley anticipates an uneventful trip back to Earth. But the trip is anything but uneventful, and soon Baley is faced with more mysteries--both professional, and personal.
Books: Cooper/The Dark is Rising
Aria: No Second Coming (Will/Bran | G | 16,724 words) "But there's only me," Will said in sudden panic. "I have no one --" He stopped abruptly. "I must correct mistakes."
Eildon Rhymer: Two Worlds (Will/Bran | R | 128,000 words) Will and Bran meet up again as students in Oxford, but an unexpected enemy is stirring, and nothing will be the same again, for two young men, or for the world.
Books: Dumas/Three Musketeers
Quoshara + speakmefair: Outside Under Broken Leaves (Athos/Aramis | PG-13 | 155,936 words) A modern-day prequel to The Three Musketeers. In this story that answers 'how they met', the Sûreté, Interpol, the Interior, Paris and Rome are the stage.
Quoshara + speakmefair: The Book Of Thoth (Athos/Aramis | PG-13 | 65,371 words) It's the Sûreté. There's a serial killer. There are Tarot cards, Connie's incredible legs, Olivier's smoking and Isa's t-shirt slogans. This is not the introduction to the world of excellence that D'Artagnan was hoping for…and it's certainly not going to lead to a professorship anywhere in the known world…
Books: Heyer
cimorene: Clean Linen (Claud/Felix | R | 21,898 words) Claud Darracott isn't looking forward to going home for Christmas: for a Dandy like Claud, there's nothing to do in the country, and on top of that, the Darracotts will be a sorry bunch, because his cousin Richmond, in Paris with Wellington's Army of Occupation, has still not returned. Being trapped by a blizzard at a country inn on the way turns out to be a blessing in disguise, when he meets Felix Hethersett. But inviting Hethersett to the family home seems to have been a mistake: something's afoot there, and whatever it is, with the Darracotts, it's bound to be a mess...
Casablanca
Dorinda: Nom de Coeur (Rick/Louis | PG | 14,200 words) This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship -- but beginnings are only seeds, and it's a long way to Brazzaville.
Doctor Who
sahiya: Atonement (Ten/Jack | NC-17 | 23,854 words) The Doctor goes back for Jack a bit sooner. But sooner still might not be enough.
Fallout
icecrystal2k: Apocrypha (Arcade/Courier | NC-17 | 22,765 words) Arcade lost his father when he was young, and he never got over it.
out_there: Warning Signs (House/Wilson | NC-17 | 12,239 words) Warning signs can indicate any potential hazard, obstacle or condition requiring special attention.
Life On Mars (UK)
Petra: The big affair I cannot forget (Gene/Sam | NC-17 | 13,072 words) The detective's stories were what made Sam look at him more than once, and swear under his breath, because they were really what cemented the crush.
Magnificent Seven
ms_artisan: All That Remains (Chris/Ezra | NC-17 | 18,200 words) The truth was, Ezra had let Chris Larabee in closer than anyone in quite some time… Was it so outrageous to expect his lover to show a little concern for his safety?
sakana17: Prizes Over Discovery (Aubrey/Maturin | NC-17 | 84,001 words) This story is set just after the movie, and is mostly based on movie canon, but it also draws from book canon.
julad: Love of His Life (Brian/Justin | NR | 12,484 words) After the party after the election after a very long fucking month, Brian drank a lot of booze and took a lot of drugs and fucked a lot of men. Then he went back to the loft and hit his head on the kitchen counter as he passed out
RPS: Actors: Troy
Lobelia321: When in Malta (Brad/Orlando | R | 9,298 words) Orli and Brad have a meal and discuss career options. The sun sets. Memories waft by.
RPS: Historical
Circadienne: Every Land (Lewis/Clark | NC-17 | 30,000 words) Clark was -- oh, hell, Clark was as he had always been, about Lewis.
RPS: Sports: Baseball
candle_beck: Backstory (Mulder/Zito, Mulder/Chavez, Zito/Harden | R | 45,529 words) This is why I am the way I am. This is the explanation.
altri_uccelli: Prise de Fer (Kane/Toews | R | 32,444 words) A Regency AU. Jonathan Toews, captain of a regiment of sharpshooters in the Napoleonic Wars, suffers a head injury in battle that ends his career. Back in England recovering, he realizes that, as the heir to the family estate, he must wed. At a ball, Jonathan meets Jacqueline Kane—and her brother, Patrick. Parties, fencing, secrets and misunderstandings ensue.
impertinence: My Siberia: A Russian Knitting Circle Story (Crosby/Malkin | NC-17 | 53,938 words) The last thing you want to do with the guy you've been hung up on for ages is teach him how to be decent at sex. So of course, that's exactly what Geno does. Featuring interfering Russians, thorough devirginization, and equal parts alcohol imbibing and hockey playing.
jedusaur: Bye Bye Blackhawk (Kane/Toews | NC-17 | 10,427 words) Patrick is actually rooting against the Blackhawks the day he wins the contest, which makes it kind of embarrassing when the jumbotron shows him going nuts about it in his Sabres jersey. (AU in which Kaner is a Blackhawks fan who wins a contest to spend a week with the team.)
liketheroad: where the wild things are (Kane/Toews | NR | 40,910 words) Seeing Johnny skate, Patrick realizes two things at the same time. One, Johnny is an incredibly gifted, terrifying hockey player, and two, Patrick is completely and irredeemably gay for him. Also, he’s definitely a vampire, but whatever, Patrick doesn’t really give a shit about that part. (Twilight AU.)
Sentinel
esteefee: Somewhere to Be (Jim/Blair | NC-17 | 31,837 words) What if Jim's senses didn't go dormant after Peru? Two years later, Jim is a burned out vet working in a soup kitchen. A certain grad student shows up to do research on a paper about homeless culture.
Fluterbev: Lasting Imprint (Jim/Blair | NC-17 | 22,277 words) No one is more surprised than sentinel Jim Ellison when primary imprinting occurs between him and a profoundly damaged guide called Blair Sandburg. Now they have just three days to achieve a final bond through a series of secondary imprintings. If they fail? The guide will be sentenced to a living hell.
Suits
Arsenic: All In (Harvey/Mike | NC-17 | 68,223 words) Harvey’s all but got the potential client in Pearson Hardman’s metaphorical lap when the kid walks in the room and changes—quite literally—the game.
liketheroad: this tornado loves you (Harvey/Mike | R | 59,792 words) A story about first loves and true loves, about friendship, growing up, and growing together. Atlernatively, this is a story about Mike figuring out what he deserves, and learning how to ask for it. (AU)
The Sting (1973)
Dorinda: The Buried Treasure Racket (Johnny/Henry | PG-13 | 26,786 words) After a while, Henry realized he'd started smiling at the newspaper as he read it. Grinning away to himself like some kind of lunatic. He sighed and read a piece on the latest trends in the stock market. This day wasn't turning out how he'd expected at all. He'd been ready to get out as soon as the mark blew, back on the lam again--and back by himself, just like it had always been since the Federal warrant went up.
linaerys: The Art Auction Racket (Johnny/Henry | PG-13 | 15,956 words) Two years after the events in the movie, Johnny and Henry meet up in New York to fleece an old adversary.
Top Gun (1985)
chemm80: What You Don't Know (Iceman/Maverick | NC-17 | 7,670 words) Maverick finds Iceman handcuffed to his bed. He has a hard time getting over it.
cherryvanilla: Andy, You're A Star (Sid/Andy | NC-17 | 16,909 words) “On the field I remember you were incredible.” Or, three years after high school, Sid’s a mechanic and Andy’s home for winter break when his car breaks down.
cherryvanilla: only living boy (Sid/Andy | NC-17 | 12,048 words) The last time Andy saw Sid Phillips was at graduation.
Wilby Wonderful
kuonji: Points In Common (Duck/Dan | NC-17 | 68,398 words) Buddy isn't the sort of person Duck pays attention to normally. He's just not part of Duck's crowd. Life, however, has a funny way of not turning out how you expect it to.
Wiseguy
LynnC: St. Christopher's Lie (Vinnie/Sonny | NC-17 | 9,032 words) Vinnie copes with a jealous Sonny, in a way he didn't expect. It makes him happier than he has any right to be while he's undercover.