"Illya, I trust you. You are the best agent I know, excluding yours truly, of course." Napoleon tried his dazzling smile on his partner, though he knew the tenor of the conversation and the charcoal gray circles under his eyes betrayed the normally highly consistent and effective results he'd grown accustomed to. Trust was utmost in their relationship. Trust mixed with immeasurable mutual admiration for their skill and their commitment to the hard and dangerous work. And added to the trust and admiration, to make their friendship whole and immune to something as pedestrian as electro-shock, was a whole lot of love. Never admitted to, certainly never spoken of, and almost never demonstrated in any physical sense, save the occasional extra-long hold on an assist up from a raging river or when one of them suffered an injury and could not get up on his own. An unspoken love, not noticeable in any way to those outside their tight circle of two. A circle mighty in its minuteness, as was necessary in their line of work. But known to them, and that was indeed all that mattered.

FANDOM:  DUE SOUTH
Pairing:  none, Mort gen
Length:  4220 words
Author on LJ:  vienna_waits 
Author website: here

Why this must be read:

Fanfic fires on all cylinders when familiar characters are used to explore what was left unexplored (or less explored) in the original work, and when the writing is excellent.  The author accomplishes both with this story, which also transcends the fandom itself to have this universal theme of strength and triumph.  vienna_waits  handles the dark subject matter unflinchingly, yet with sensitivity.  Please read the warnings, however. 

Stronger