And now for some stories that celebrate the change from friendship to lets shag each other senseless. Yes, it's time for some pre-slash goodies.

Fandom: MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Napoleon Solo/Illya Kuryakin
Author on LJ: viviana7
Author Website: at her lj and at The Chrome and Gunmetal Madhouse here.

Why this must be read:

Little Bombs is an exceptional piece of pre-slash for it takes the convention of the near-death moment of realization and makes it feel brand new. Where most authors would resort to angst, Viviana instead has weaved together humour, sensuality, and suspense to draw us into an emotionally as well as physically explosive turning point. The result is pure enjoyment for the readers.

Little Bombs

Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: Abigail Sciuto/Timothy McGee; Leroy Jethro Gibbs/Donald 'Ducky' Mallard
Warning: Major character death.
Author on LJ: feenixandashes
Author Website: None of which I am aware.

Why this must be read:

As any one who knows me will know I am very much a happy ending person who loves romance and love and the gentle side of fanfic. However, I also have rather a penchant for a death story (at least the 'right' kind of death story). And this very much fits the bill.

It's set in the future, Abby and Tim have been married for thirty-five years and they are in Scotland to 'celebrate' and remember something very important. We are thus taken back in time to the NCIS office and to Gibbs and Ducky's relationship and indeed Abby and Tim's. We see both romances, both love stories, the depth and caring of the couples for one another, for each other and for the rest of the team.

Ren takes us back and forth between the 'now' and the 'then' very well indeed. Normally I am not a fan of this kind of 'jumping' as I tend to get wrapped up in one part and then get irritated when we move. However, in this story that irritation doesn't happen, quite the opposite. The fact that we move from Abby and Tim of 'now' back to Gibbs, Ducky, Abby, Tim and the rest of the team 'then' adds to the poignancy and beauty of the story.

The story makes me sniff and wipe my eyes in places, smile in others, laugh in others, go 'awww' in others, and many other emotions. Ren captures the characters extremely well, not just Gibbs, Ducky, Abby and Tim, but the rest of the team too. She writes with passion for the characters, for the story and for the joy of writing. She also uses several quotes and a poem to superb effect. The balance of the story is excellent; I love it.

( Extracts )

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For All The Good Times

Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Author on LJ seperis
Author Website: Here... I think.
Why this must be read: In SV, the mpreg fics are kinda a mandatory thing, but this one leaves all others behind for this sheer crackiness and sweetness. Plus it has a kick ass Lois, a motherly Martha, a great X-men crossover and all of it happens in Lex's filled to the gill with house guests penthouse.

Author's Synopsis - Being knocked up by Lex Luthor is *awesome*.

( Excerpt )

Dealing With the Unexpected

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: Sheppard/McKay, Rodney/Katie (dating)
Author on LJ: mmmchelle
Author Website: chelle's nightstand
Why this must be read: Lt. Laura Cadman. Of all the characters that appear in one or two episodes of SGA, she's one of my favourites. The sassy tap-dancing bomb expert who got under Rodney's skin in "Duet" is often used as a means to get the boys together. She's got the right blend of annoying and won't-back-down qualities that tends to unsettle Rodney and make him think twice, which is exactly what he does in this story.

And then there's the kissing. There's oh-yeah?-so-there! kissing, and participation-is-good kissing, and oh-God-I-want-you-so-much kissing, and we-should-really-stop-kissing. Kissing!! Lots of it, lots and lots of beautifully described, irresistible kissing.

( Cadman grinned. 'Yeah, but does she kiss as well as Colonel Sheppard?' )

Read the Story / Feedback the Author: In Which Rodney Dates, John is Curious, and Cadman Helps

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: Sheppard/Cadman, McKay/Cadman, Sheppard/Cadman/McKay, Sheppard/McKay
Author on LJ: smittywing
Author Website: SmittyWorld!
Why this must be read: The second of my Cadman-related recs, in this one she plays an even more ... active, shall we say? ... role in getting the boys together. I've never been to a rave, but the atmosphere of this story captures the kind of feeling I imagine might go with being at one: that feeling of being outside yourself, being free to be someone else, to do someone else, to have no consequences for one's behavior. There's a room in Atlantis for exactly that purpose, full of music and shadows and warm willing personnel, and the temptation of the room is calling to both Rodney and John, but they need a little help to find one another.

( John dips his head and pitches his voice low. 'What are the rules here, Lieutenant?' he asks, his lips brushing her ear as his breath makes her shiver. 'No ranks,' she whispers back and she's been drinking something sweet and alcoholic. He can smell it on her breath. 'No titles. No repercussions. What happens in this room stays in this room.' )

Read the Story / Feedback the Author: Rave Atlantis

Fandom: POPSLASH
Pairing: JC/Joey
Author on LJ: snarkyllama
Author Website: snarkyllama_fic
Why this must be read: This is definitely not a pairing I would normally read because I have some major issues with the idea of Joey being in a present-day gay relationship, what with being married and child-having and all. Except that the author managed to make all my issues with the pairing into JC's issues, which Joey then has to overcome through some trickery and awesomeness. But mostly what I love about this are the characterizations. JC is weird and freaky without being annoyingly spacey; he has thoughts and theories (about Disney Princesses) that are intricate and detailed and make him ten times more interesting than he might even be in real life. And Joey is sneaky and wonderful; by the end I am really rooting for their relationship and I believe in the possibilities because the author really does manage to assuage all doubts as to the perfection of the pairing.

( It's not about aliens, it's about design aesthetic. )

link: My Big Gay Disney Courtship

Fandom: Torchwood
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Author on LJ: titti
Author Website: Titti's Realm
Why this must be read:
Simply this story does an amazing job tracing Ianto's changing emotions for Jack throughout the course of season 1. It shows Ianto's feelings are complex and not as straight forward as it would seem on the surface about Jack.

Love and Hate