Cormoran Strike

Tokens of Affection by sprl1199
Strike and Robin exchange Christmas gifts. Lovely.

~*~

Firefly

Good Luck Charms by Nary
Wistfully sweet Wash/Zoe backstory.

~*~

Harry Potter

Where the Air is Rarefied by thirty2flavors
"I could teach you."

Startled, Lily blinked. "What?"

"To fly. I could teach you how to fly. Properly, I mean, not that rubbish from first year."

She sat back in her seat, sighing. She'd known he wouldn't understand — after all, wasn't he one of the very purebloods she'd described? — but still it stung. "That's… that's not really the point, Potter."

"I know," he said, seriously enough that she believed him. "But I can't fix those other things. I can teach you how to fly, though."

Immediately she was shaking her head and folding her arms protectively across her chest. "I don't know…"

"You were right before," he went on. "You don't need to know how to fly. There are loads of other ways to get around, and it doesn't mean you're bad at being a witch. But I still think you're missing out, and you shouldn't have to miss out because of something that happened in first year, or because a bunch of inbred idiots want to drag our society back to the Dark Ages." His expression was earnest now, the usual mischievous glint gone from his eyes. "You don't have to do it if you don't want. But if you'd like to learn, I'd like to help. What do you think?" James takes Lily flying. Oh my heart. <333

~*~

Timeless

Wyatt, Out Of Time by burglebezzlement
Wyatt figures out one way to bring Jessica back. Ouch.

~*~

Crossovers

Firefly/Avengers

In Two Straight Lines in Rain or Shine by sienamystic
Utterly perfect crossover where Natasha is another product of the hands of blue, and River convinces Mal to help save her.

*

The Losers/Avengers

one for the road by beardsley
Silly little white girl, thinking all her training and all her skills would be enough to get her a seat at the grownups' table. Aisha loved proving her wrong, back in Sarajevo. She loved proving her wrong with her forearm against Red's throat, Red's gun under Aisha's chin and her thighs clamped so tight around Aisha's waist Aisha thought she might actually have to kill her to get away. She didn't. She's glad. This way, they get to do it again. Sharp, hot Aisha/Natasha.

*

Criminal Minds/Avengers

there is no hunting like the hunting of man by jedibuttercup
Highly enjoyable story in which the BAU profiles various Avengers.

*

Mission Impossible/Avengers

What's Wrong With Spiders? by coralysendria
Five times Natasha worked with Ethan Hunt and the IMF. I enjoyed this a lot.

~*~

Firefly

The Story by Kass
"I recognize your allergy to religion."

"That's one way to put it," Mal agrees.

"But would you object if I held a service on Christmas Eve?"

The request surprises him, though he's not sure why it should. "Object?" Mal shrugs. "What you do on your own time is your own business."

"So you wouldn't have a problem with my holding Christmas services on your ship."

"Wouldn't expect too many people to come," Mal cautions him. "This ain't exactly the godliest of crews."

Shepherd Book's smile is wry. "Doesn't rightly matter. I've observed Christmas all by my ownself before. I can do it again, if need be."

He shouldn't ask, but his curiosity gets the better of him. "Then why bother with a service?"

"It matters to me that I tell the story," the shepherd says quietly. "Whether or not anyone's listening is another matter entirely." I'm so sad we never got a Firefly holiday episode, but this fits the bill. Everyone sounds just like themselves. <3

~*~

Teen Wolf

one more dance to help me sleep by redweathertiger
Lovely future fic in which Allison, after a few years of running, finds Lydia and a place to settle down.

~*~

The Bourne Legacy

offered me a shade of blue by topaz
really lovely first time for Marta and Aaron.

~*~

Firefly

Choosing Family by DesireeArmfeldt
Sometimes, when the ship gets too noisy and her head too crowded, River retreats into the empty shuttle and closes the door behind her. It doesn't help much, but she can stare out at the black and the stars, and if she concentrates hard enough, she can fill herself with all that dark empty silence for a little while.

Sometimes, when bits are flying in all directions because she doesn't have enough gravity to keep them all in girl-shape, Wash will tell the Captain he's going out for a run around the block, and he'll fire up the shuttle, and River will slip in behind him and shut the door. He never asks her along, but he always gives her a smile and a nod as she buckles in beside him. And he never goes without her.

It's almost like floating alone among the stars. Wash doesn't talk to her unless she speaks first, and his thoughts are partly ship and partly slow and still and streaked with starlight. really lovely (and heartbreaking, in light of things) look at Wash and Zoe via River, with a great River-voice.

~*~

Crossovers

Angel/The Middleman

A Succubus Walks Into a Bar by st_aurafina
Roxy Wasserman visits Caritas. Perfect little crossover.

*

Sherlock/Fringe

The Case of the Empty Eyes by jaune_chat
When something about a case strikes Sherlock as familiar, he and John are off to Boston to consult with Dr. Walter Bishop. (Spoilers for Fringe through s4; none for s2 of Sherlock.) I enjoyed this a lot, mostly for the Sherlock-Walter interaction.

*

Firefly/Captain America

Time Watches From the Shadow by shadesofbrixton
Steve has the common sense - or good grace - to look a little bashful now, like that'll do a gorram thing for Mal's opinion of him. "I'm looking for someone - I was told you were the man to come to. That this ship did things other people wouldn't."

"She maybe does," Mal monotones, tipping his head at Inara, who rolls her eyes.

Steve sighs, obviously fed up with his treatment of the "lady." Well, good. He deserves as much frustration as Mal's feeling. "A - a friend of mine is trapped in a facility." He's searching Mal's face, those baby blues suddenly real sharp. "I heard your crew had experience - "

Mal's gun is out and tipped up under Steve's chin before he can finish the sentence. "Heard from who."

To the stranger's credit, he doesn't stammer under the press of steel. "Shepherd Book," he says calmly. Eeee! Steve and Bucky 500 years in the future! Bucky trapped by the same people who had River and Steve asks Mal's help to get him back! Mal being frustrated that everything is out of his control. I love this so much!

~*~

Crossovers

Leverage/Inception

Born for Adversity by katiekins22
It's been awhile since Eliot saw his little brother. Staring down the barrel of Arthur's gun was not exactly how he'd hoped a reunion might happen, but he has to admit the odds had been better than even.

"What's up with your hair?" he asks curiously.

Arthur's jaw tightens like he's chewing on his first response, his brows furrowing in a way that Eliot can admit looks pretty badass.

"My hair?" Arthur finally growls, and Eliot smirks and does the Revlon hair toss, using the motion to conduct a quick visual survey of the hotel room his baby brother is guarding. hee! Eliot and Arthur as estranged brothers works surprisingly well in this adorable crossover.

*

Captain America/X-Men: First Class

Lab Rats and Tin Soldiers by dancinbutterfly
Bucky's not the only one Steve saves from that HYDRA facility. Erik Lehnsherr joins the Allied war effort, as well. Lovely and sad and hopeful all at once. (could use another beta pass)

*

DCU/Firefly

Made Perfect Sense by runespoor7
A slip of a girl is standing there, pale-faced and with dark hair - longer than Cass. He blinks, and tenses his muscles in anticipation of the fight.

She can't be older than Tim. It's not, as he well knows, any kind of testament to her skill-levels; when Bruce was younger than Tim is now, he was already one of the most dangerous fighters on Earth. Without even going into the likes of Cass or Damian.

Or she could be meta. In which case, of course, all bets are off. Bruce feels his lips set into a thin line. All considered, that is still preferable to magic.

But she doesn't attack him, simply looks at him, solemn and unafraid. Something deep in Bruce's chest shifts. Batman finds himself in the future with only River Tam for company. Awesome. Excellent at showing how good Bruce can be with damaged kids. And River is, of course, amazing.

*

Sports Night/BSG

We're Replacing Segment 12 by miabicicletta
"I don't get it," Dan said.

"I still don't get it," Casey agreed.

Dan looked at his co-host. "This amazes me. I am wonderstruck with amazement. I can grasp the fundamental purpose of pretty much any sport there is."

"Football."

"No problem."

"Badminton."

"Piece of cake."

"Jai-alai," Casey said with gusto.

"My alai," Dan replied with emphasis, and Casey gave him a dubious look. "Yeah. That's something I'll never say again. You know what I was going for."

"Sadly, I do."

"I don't get Pyramid man. Help me, Sam. Help me understand." hee! This is awesome! Sam Anders visits the set of Sports Night. Dan and Casey are bemused. <3

~*~

Firefly

At the Last Reaches by fourteenlines
Achy and beautiful Inara/Nandi that fills in their backstory believably.

Plum Blossom Song by Unovis
In a small scarlet book, in neatly inked numbers, Inara tracked her year according to Sihnon. Today in the city of her birth and training was the feast of the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and the longest night of the year. In their celebrations and prayers, people looked to the waning of the Yin and the waxing power of the Yang. Sacrifices were offered to ancestors and red dumplings were eaten in broth. For Companions the day had another, bittersweet taste: it was a day to contemplate the turning of the wheel. It was the day novitiates were accepted to the Academy and girls who had passed the initial training received their first-level names. It was the day a deceased Companion's name was embroidered on her House's banner and retired. Lovely story of Inara remembering Nandi and mourning her.

~*~

Firefly

Five Sharp Points [The Healing Remix] by Sour_Idealist
River deals with her fear of needles. Really lovely. And the original: If I Could Will You Whole by spiralleds, in which Simon and Inara discuss a possible curriculum for River.

How She Shines by Framlingem
The fairytale of River Tam. Lovely. I wish we'd gotten to see more of her interaction with Wash. And the original: dTigeas a damhsa dom by mjules, in which she and Mal share a dance.

Wife Soup (The Best Served Hot Remix) by vnilla
The crew helps Zoe gather the ingredients for wife soup. Adorable.

~*~

Crossovers

Angel/Supernatural

The Exiles by briarwood
From last year's big bang, an engrossing SPN/Angel crossover featuring John teaming up with Kate Lockley on a hunt. Nicely done - feels true to both characters.

*

The Losers/The A-Team

These things get louder (or, five times the losers met the a-team) by storm_petrel
Highly enjoyable Losers/A-Team crossover.

*

The Losers/Leverage

Something Worth Dying For by zillah975
Clay and his team help out when Eliot gets caught on a job that goes slightly wrong. Highly enjoyable.

*

Psych/Firefly

Little Pieces by blackeyedgirl
Fascinating crossover where Shawn Spencer was at the Academy with River. "He just sees everything. Everyone else, they just see pieces but Shawn-"

"No," Shawn interrupts. "Gus, no. Everyone else sees the whole and I see the pieces. All the little tiny puzzle pieces and they don't fit together right and sometimes I know why but not always and I can't just let them go out of focus they're always-."

*

The Simpsons/Supernatural

What Remains by geonncannon
Supernatural/Simpsons fusion in which Lisa=Sam. YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE! *hearts*

~*~

Sports Night/Star Trek Reboot

Earth, Renaissance by loneraven
Gorgeous look at Sports Night as if it existed in the Trek Reboot universe. But what I do is important. Sports are important. Do you think the Federation only does battles and science and politics? I am a Federation citizen and I think sports are important and of our, I don't know, one thousand five hundred member worlds and ten trillion citizens, I think there are enough people who agree to make it worthwhile for me to do my job. And even if there weren't I would still do it, because it is important."

~*~

Calvin & Hobbes

Stupendous Man and Pretty Cool Dude (for an old guy) Join Forces by mjules
Adorable story of Calvin finding out his Uncle Max is gay.

*
Firefly

Something from Nothing (The Gratitude Sings in Me Chorale) by Laura
"This is what I have to be doing," River says. He's wary of her, and that's going to have to change now.

"Well, you can't just go on staring at me. Makes a man nervous after a time. That time, you understand, being now."

She smiles, and says, "I could help you. You can't cook, you know."

"There ain't nothing wrong with my cooking," he says. But he scratches the back of his neck and looks away. "And 'sides, it don't seem like the best idea to be letting you loose with all the boiling water and the knives and such."

She sighs and reaches across the table to pull the carrots and the knife toward her. The knife feels right in her hand, another kind of dancing when she lets herself feel the rhythm of it. When she looks back at Mal, there's a pile of finely chopped carrot in front of her, and he's staring at her, mouth open. Wonderful Mal and River voices, as River begins to fit herself into the crew after Ariel.

*

Friday Night Lights

We're Glad For What We've Done, Done With What We've Lost: The Sing Me Anything Remix by zulu
Sharp, melancholy AU where Matt and Tyra don't get out of Dillon as quickly as they'd hoped.

*

Harry Potter

Several Ways to Apologize by Aria
After Sirius sent Snivellus down the Willow, James didn't talk to him for a week. Sirius thought this was particularly unfair, considering that he had a month's worth of detention and meanwhile Professor Dumbledore was acting like the sun shone out of James' arse. He started saying so, loudly, until James hauled off and hexed him. The shouting match that followed happened with legumes growing out of Sirius' ears. And after that everything was back to normal between them.

Remus, on the other hand, acted like nothing had happened at all, and that was much worse. Nicely done prank-aftermath story.

*