don't come back for more

Stranger Things

Every Breath You Take by Sholio
"You can leave if this is weird," Nancy said anxiously into the dark and the quiet, once they'd finally stopped moving around.

"Who were you talking to?" Jonathan asked into her hair.

"Either of you."

"It is weird," Steve said, and after a moment, "But not, like, bad weird."

The funny thing was, that actually made sense, maybe only because they were all so tired that anything would make sense by now. Jonathan and Nancy invite Steve back in. Oh heart.

Every Night You Stay by maplemood
"Nancy?" her brother asks. Over his shoulder she can see that Mike's hand is still tangled with El's.

"What?"

"This feels…" he stops, and when Mike starts again it's quieter than the wind, quieter than El's breathing.

"It feels like we're a family."

Nancy bites back a giggle. What, so Hopper's the dad and Joyce is the mom and the rest of them are all brothers and sisters? Like they'd be so lucky. Lovely coda to season 2.

The First Day by Sholio
Eleven and Hopper and breakfast. Oh heart.

i never wanted trouble (but i sure got enough) by QueenWithABeeThrone
All the kids and the teens road tripping to stop the apocalypse. Hilarious.

Ice Cream Social by Sholio
Steve shows up to pick up Dustin after the Snow Ball, and ends up with a car full of kids. <333

passenger side by seventhe
Lyrical and lovely look at how Nancy weaves her way into the Byers family.

Survival Skills by Sholio
Hopper teaches the kids self-defense. <333

~*~

i sighed, but you swooned

Harry Potter

Common Woodbrown by imochan
"Because you can't -- you can't go around thinking that magic is the cure-all. Magic can't do shite to fix the things we really want."

He'd narrowed his eyes; Sirius's silhouette went blurry and slanted. "You use magic to tie your shoelaces, Pads."

"So? Shoelaces are -- those are shoelaces. They're just -- they're the kind of thing what magic was meant for, aren't they? I mean. Christ, it won't. It won't bring back the dead. It won't let you be someone else. It won't let you live forever. It won't get you real money, or love, or - you know. It doesn't do that. You still have to do the best with what you've got. And that means - it means knowing who you are. Even if it's - painful, or. Something you don't like. You just have to know that about yourself."

He'd closed his eyes. He remembers, then, what it felt like, to be surrounded in darkness and Sirius Black's voice telling him that love was something human. That love and death were things that escaped magic itself. That they were made you what you were - what you were supposed to be. Remus realizes Sirius is innocent and sets about proving it. This is so melancholy and beautiful, with lovely illustrations too.

Hermione Granger's Hogwarts Crammer for Delinquents on the Run by waspabi
Long, smart, hilarious and sweet AU in which Harry never gets to Hogwarts, and in what would be his seventh year, Hermione, Ron, Draco and assorted others find him and convince him he's a wizard and he should come with them if he wants to live.

Strap In & Strap On by shaggydogstail
Lily could take the piss with the best of them, but she was never cruel. James could say no and Lily would understand, and they might still even have sex in a more familiar manner. Saying no to Lily wasn't something James made a habit of, though. He wanted, more than anything, to make Lily happy. And if what Lily needed to be happy was to strap on a magic dong and dish out a good, hard spot of bumfucking then by Merlin's beard he, James Potter, was the man to let her have at it. Lily pegs James. Hot, sweet, and hilarious. (And I really want the story of Sirius taking Lily shopping for sex toys.)

~*~

it's hard to look right at you, baby

Check, Please!

en hiver by spqr
Bitty gets injured and Jack rushes to his bedside. Lovely. (they don't hand out yellow cards in hockey though.)

Mother's Weekend by rosepetals42
Alicia grapples with motherhood and meets her son's new best friend at his first Parents' Weekend at Samwell. Oh my heart.

~*~

still a little bit of you laced with my doubt

DCU

Yesterday's Voices by Lemonade_Garden
Bruce gets amnesia and the post-Jason Batkids get to see what pre-Jason's death Bruce was like. And Bruce and Jason reconcile. Oh my heart. (has some spacing issues and also the baseball stuff in the epilogue is...definitely off, but so many excellent Batfamily feels are worth it.)

~*~

Narnia

Terms and Conditions May Apply by edenfalling
Lovely look at Cor and Aravis during their married life. <3

~*~

what you know you have or what you think you want

Crossovers

Wonder Woman/Captain America

a bridge to arch the flood by Siria
"You know," she says as she gets into position, "I've never done this with someone who's bearded. You'll have to convince me of the benefits."

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," Steve says, already sounding more winded than he does after sprinting a full league. Diana takes Steve (Rogers) to bed. Mm...yes good.

*

Leverage/Avengers

The Red Room Job by Hinn_Raven
Parker is a Red Room escapee. Years later, she and the team encounter Natasha Romanov on a job. Connections everywhere! Fun, tense crossover.

~*~

man, I'm dressin' sharp and feelin' dull

Thor

black sheep and mischief by grim_lupine
Thor and Loki and a quiet reconciliation in the aftermath. Lovely.

i brought a knife to a gunfight by paperclipbitch
Nice look at Bruce and Valkyrie after everything's over.

the ship at the end of the universe by Lise
Loki works out his place in the aftermath. Lovely.

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Doggy Door by sadlikeknives
Or, the one where Fenris is closer to his mythological origins but, if everyone's honest, takes after Uncle Thor more than anyone, and Mummy's Dead is the worst game he and Loki have ever played. This is adorable and hilarious.

~*~

Daredevil

Novitiate by domarzione
"You want to sit at Ben's desk, inherit Ben's beat? Then you have to learn this city so you can write about it like you know what goes on here. Like he did," he tells her. "Jimmy Breslin, Ben Urich -- the best speakers for the city we've ever had -- they knew this place like their own faces. They didn't have to read a dozen blogs every day to figure out what to say. Their hearts beat to the pulse of this city and all they had to do was listen. You want to live up to that legacy? Get down to the City desk."

She goes. Karen learns how to be a journalist and how to be a New Yorker.

~*~

Defenders

The Zombie Ninja Apocalypse Survivors Club by igrockspock
"I lost my arm, and now there's this thing wired into my brain. How do I know this is really a good idea?" she asked, deciding at the last minute not to mention that her shiny new hand had disemboweled a teddy bear this morning.

"Well, Danny was involved, so I see your concern," Claire conceded.

Colleen shot them a sharp look, then shook her head. "I really can't defend his planning skills, but trust me, signing the check was the limit of his involvement."

Misty looked at Claire. "That sound reassuring to you?"

Colleen sighed. "Alright, how's this? I don't think your arm is evil, but if it is, I promise to cut it off."

"Really?" Misty asked. Some of the tension slid out of her shoulders at last.

Colleen nodded. "My teacher cut off your arm while he was trying to cut off Claire's head. Amputation is the least I owe you." Colleen and Claire help Misty get used to her (possibly evil) robot arm. <3

~*~

I'm in love with the way you're in love with the night

Star Wars

Flesh of My Flesh by igrockspock
Leia goes to live with Vader as a young girl. He has some things to learn about parenting. Oh my heart.

a gift with a price by wreckageofstars
Lovely moment early on in Anakin's apprenticeship where Obi-Wan has to convince him that being sick won't get him sent away. *sniffle*

This Miracle by Shadaras
Leia Organa and Han Solo married three times, and only planned one of those occasions. Exactly what the summary says. Oh my heart. *sobs*

~*~