tonight, I can't hold a pen

Avengers

reasons why you don't want to talk (about reasons why you don't want to talk) by napricot
Bucky is doing fine after the Blip. He has his amends, he has his exit strategies, he goes to therapy. Steve's gone, but that's fine, Bucky can deal with that, even if he can't deal with feeling like a ghost in the apartment that Steve left behind. But when Steve returns, they'll both have to deal with how to rebuild a friendship and a home that are haunted by the ghosts of who they used to be. Their methods of doing so are perhaps less than ideal, what with how they involve more sex and stealthy surprise interior decoration than any actual communication. Maybe that's all they need to make a new home together. Highly enjoyable! <333

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no matter where you are, no matter how far

Star Wars

chose love by rain_sleet_snow
AU where Fives ends up on the run with Ahsoka and Barriss and they survive Order 66 together. These stores take place in the aftermath. Really lovely and thoughtful.

Duty Bound by acuteneurosis
I've already recommended the other stories in the series of which this is the latest installment, so if you haven't read those, this isn't the place to start, but it is a long, meaty, compelling AU where Leia continues to change the past to make a better future.

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ghostly drifting 'cross the floor

Batfamily

aiding and abetting by Nokomis
Adorable bit of Bat/Cat.

Another Turn on the Roundabout by Imbecamiel
The "Pit Rage" isn't actually a side effect of Jason's dip in the Lazarus Pit. Or… not entirely. It's a tool that Ra's carefully developed before deploying him to targeted effect against Batman. Unfortunately, its intended results wore off too quickly, once away from his influence. This time, he plans to get it right. Oh Jason...

Birds on Jaybird Street by cynassa
Jason doesn't think much of it when Tim needs his help, or Damian moves in, or even when Dick turns up looking beat all to hell. But at some point he realizes that he might be the best option his brothers have to recover from the cycle of violence that Batman has set up, and all he can think is that things were much easier when he was the villain. I enjoyed Jason slowly taking responsibility for his brothers in the wake of Bruce's bad parenting.

the courage of stars by merils
"I was made to be like you," he says. "You died saving the world. I was—don't you get it? Kal, I was made to die saving the world. I was made to die. And I did. So—" His voice cracks. "So why am I back?" Kon has a couple of existential crises after he comes back. Oh Kon... *sobs*

Good Fellows by thatcuriouscat
After rescuing Bruce from floating around the past, Tim is Not Okay.
What comes next after losing everything that really matters?
Tim's got some thoughts. So do the rest of the family.
And Ra's al Ghul.
…And the Joker. This is a long, emotionally satisfying story about what happens after Bruce comes back from the timestream. I cried more than once, so have tissues handy!

in the family of things by deadchannelradio
Dick crouches to be at Damian's eye level, and his voice suddenly takes on a brisk tone, one Wally associates so strongly with being assigned patrol routes that he twitches.

"Wally, this is Damian, Damian, this is Wally. Wally is one of my very best friends. He is very important to me. You aren't going to stab him. This isn't a debate," Dick says, when Damian raises an eyebrow, "Or a rule. You can't physically do it. He is much faster than you."

"I know what his powers are," Damian says, sounding annoyed, and also like he considers them to be a fun challenge.

"I would like it to be a rule," Wally volunteers. Damian and Wally bond. Oh heart.

Once Upon A Kidnap Dreary by PlotlessWanderer
Jason and Tim get kidnapped together from Gotham Academy, and bond while they're held in captivity. Oh boys. (I also enjoyed the first sequel; the second one is still in progress.)

string theory by wingdingery
When Bruce and Dick get transported to an unfamiliar Gotham, it only takes running into a different Batman and Robin for Bruce to realize two things: one, they're in the future; and two—in the future, Dick Grayson is dead. This is very sweet.

where there's a will by batsignal
The email itself seems innocuous, if annoying: Bruce has sent some kind of invitation out to the family and other assorted family-type individuals. Jason would have hit delete without even opening it if Dick weren't rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet in anticipation.

Jason's curiosity wins out. He opens the email. Hilarious!

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