the words she knows, the tune she hums

Star Trek Reboot

Graduate Vulcan for Fun and Profit by lazulisong
"There has been one other human that has attained this level of mastery of the Vulcan language, and she is an ambassador's wife." Sakel stares at him pointedly. / Jim kind of just has to gape at him for a second. "Are you saying I should let everybody know I know Vulcan so I can marry up?" / "That is illogical," says Sakel primly. "I merely mean to point out that it is a rare accomplishment, and one you should take satisfaction in." / "Oh my God, you have some sort of Vulcan crush on this woman!" howls Jim, even more horrified than he was a second ago. / "Amanda Grayson is young enough to be my granddaughter," says Sakel, which is totally not a denial. Utterly lovely story about Kirk and growing up and languages.

How Many Roads? or, 27 Times Jim Kirk Hit On Nyota Uhura by captanddeastar
Jim Kirk is a pig. He is unquestionably a pig. But when Nyota steps on a sharp stone and falls, Jim helps her up without question, and he asks her deferentially whether she'd like him to give her a hand, with no innuendo, and without just assuming he's welcome. Lovely story of the long bickery friendship between Kirk and Uhura.

~*~

a state that's untouchable like Eliot Ness

White Collar

Quid Pro Quo by scribblinlenore
Neal fleetingly wonders if this was the real reason he kissed Elizabeth, to get Peter's hands on him. He's always been so much better at understanding other people's hidden motivations than his own. Highly enjoyable Peter/Elizabeth/Neal UST.

Study of an interior by smallbeer
Lovely story of Elizabeth, Peter, and Neal's first time.

~*~

every poet is a thief

Being Human

Everything Arrives at the Light by troyswann
Mitchell and Annie give George Hanukkah, even though he thinks he doesn't deserve it. Lovely.

~*~

Bones

This Space Intentionally Left Blank by kita0610
(And oh, you remember now, this is what she does: she reads the dead like Braille, like ancient hieroglyphs, she interprets the space and silence of things long gone, then whispers all of their secrets back to you, in words you can understand.) Lovely, delicate look at Booth dealing with his amnesia, trying to fit himself back into the life he doesn't remember.

~*~

Dark Angel

Dogs of War by aflightoffancy
Sequel to "Loose the Hounds" (previously recced). Someone's discovered hidden triggers in some of the transgenics, causing missions to go bad just when things were starting to work out. Interesting plot with some good Max/Alec angst (and the usual whumpage *sigh*).

~*~

Friday Night Lights

Not Flesh and Blood by queenofthorns
Eric would rather spend an afternoon getting relationship advice Mac Magill than let the truth out of the deepest, darkest corner of his unspoken thoughts: he loves his boys. All of 'em, jackasses and smartasses, benchwarmers and superstars. He loves them for their occasional moments of sweetness and their constant low-level idiocy; he loves them for the boys they are and for the men they might become. But there are only two of them who've ever made Eric think If I had a son, this is who I'd want him to be. One was Jason Street. The other is hunched over a plate of untouched food, Eric's daughter by his side, politely listening to Buddy Garrity say something or other that's totally out of place. This totally made me bawl my face off at work (much like the episode [spoilers for 4.05 "the Son"]). Fathers and sons, Coach Taylor and Matt Saracen, in the aftermath. *sniffle*

~*~

i didn't want to hurt you, baby

Crossovers

Band of Brothers/The Book Thief

The Easy Men by buffyaddict13
Amazing crossover between "Band of Brothers" and "The Book Thief" - I'm not familiar with the former except in passing, but I don't think you need to be. Takes the narrator from the latter and uses the book's style perfectly to tell a heartbreaking story that rings with truth.

*

Battlestar Galactica/The Handmaid's Tale

Blessed Be The Fruit by daybreak777
A BSG AU set in the world of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Fantastic - it takes the show's gender and reproductive issues and follows them to their logical - and horrifying - conclusions. Brilliantly done. I love that it's Caprica, and that Sonja and Boomer and Athena are involved, and that Ellen and Saul are still together and still as impotent to effect change as they ever were.

*

House/Supernatural

My Brother's Keeper by ducks_in_a_row
Amusing, in-character House/SPN crossover. Sam's in a zombie-induced coma, Dean knows why and how to fix it, but House and Cuddy won't let him remove Sam from the hospital. Hijinks and banter ensue.

*

Iron Man/Spider-Man

Tabloid by basingstoke
"What sort of facilities do you have at home, Spider-Man?" Dr. Richards asked. "Do you make your own costumes?" / "Uh, yeah. I have a sewing machine from--" from his aunt's garage, an old Singer with three stitches. "Yeah, I make my own gear." He used plain old swimsuit material from the store, fused on a dumpster-dived ironing board with rubber webbing for strength. Took him about six hours per piece, which was why it was such a BITCH when some jerk shredded one. / "That isn't mechanized?" Dr. Richards looked surprised. "But your security system--what kind of server do you have?" / "Uh..." Peter looked at the robots, stamping out tracer after tracer. Utterly adorable sequel to "Paparazzo" (previously recced). *hearts Peter Parker*

~*~

too low to find my way

Supernatural

And we are here as on a darkling plain by lunabee34
Lovely bittersweet triptych of vignettes focusing on Gabriel, Dean, and Ellen. The Ellen section is especially heartbreaking.

Camouflage by whereupon
He thinks about a world in which he would have belonged, in which he wouldn't have been transparent, in which the things he said to her might have been true. He touches his hand to his mouth for a moment and thinks that maybe it was never a choice at all. He would never have been able to escape this, not really; it might as well be in his blood, in his bones, in a very literal sense. Oh, Sam. Wonderful look at Sam figuring himself out through his rare one-night stands.

Fathers & Other Creatures of Legend by coffee_in_bed
"Dean?" Sam is twelve years old, still babyfat in the face but wiry everywhere else. They're out behind the trailer, sparring while Dad's inside sleeping off a hunt, or a hangover; probably both. They seem to go hand in hand these days. It's summer in Alabama and the air is thickly humid, buzzing with mosquitoes. The old air-conditioner drones from the window. "Do you remember much about Mom?" *sniffle* Dean shares his memories with Sam, both of Mary, and of John. *heart*

Hey, Little Sister, Keep on Dreamin' by little_murmurs
Jo looks back and numbers her regrets. Heartbreaking.

I Can't Remember (the sound that you found for me) by bellatemple
*sniffle* wonderful, achy story of how Dean and Bobby first met.

Sine Qua Non by dreamlittleyo
Sam cockblocks Dean. hijinx ensue. Hot hot hot first time Wincest.

Smart People Who Do Dumb Things by candle_beck
The thing was, Sam hadn't been a dumb kid. Fucked up and bitter and possessed of no filter between brain and mouth, but that didn't make the unthinkable things he'd said to Dean any less sincere. Dean had had four years on his own to think about the mark Sam had left on his throat, the starry look in his brother's eyes that night at the drive-in, Sam telling him, I know it's not just me. Dean had had to bury it all away because it was true, every goddamn word of it. There was nothing Sam wanted that Dean didn't want too. But Sam had been gone, so Dean couldn't let it matter. Fantastic look at Sam over the years, wanting what he can't have - what Dean can't (won't) give him - until he can (does). (Wincest)

Trading Up by derryderrydown
Kat wasn't dumb. When Dean had told her stay out of haunted houses, she'd known he was talking sense and decided she was going to live her life by that tenet. Kat's not looking for ghosts, but they do seem to find her.

~*~