Hi everyone! This is going to be my last rec of the month. Thanks for letting me come play, I hope you've enjoyed the fic!

Fandom: BIG TIME RUSH
Pairing: James/Camille
Length: 5 chapters
Author on LJ: poisonivory
Author Website: Fic master list
Why this must be read: This is, bar none, my favorite fic in the fandom. And not just because it's my OTP, I swear! This fic perfectly captures the tone of the show: it's seriously funny. Set a few years into the future, it's full of hijinks, hilarious situations, and fantastic dialogue. The characterization is also brilliant and true to the show, giving everyone who appears a moment to shine, even extremely minor characters who are only around for a line or two.

And besides, it's James and Camille fake dating while secretly pining for each other, my favorite, favorite trope. It's also warm and fun and sweet, and perfect if you want to end the month smiling.

( excerpt )

Dak Zevon's Guide to Fake Dating in Hollywood

Fandom: INCEPTION
Pairing: Arthur/Eames
Length: ~ 22,000 words
Author on LJ: heyheyrenay
Author Website: Fic on AO3; Fic Masterlist
Why this must be read: I'm not a huge fan of kid!fic, but I am a huge fan of this author and this story. Eames disappears from dream-sharing and even Arthur, with all his skills and the motivation to match, can't find him. Everyone around him is waiting for Arthur to realize that Eames is probably dead, and to move on with his life.

Then by complete chance, Arthur runs into Eames and is ready to kill him himself until he realizes Eames isn't alone. He's got a baby, and Arthur, equally relieved and furious, isn't going anywhere until he gets the full story.

This story isn't so much about the baby as it is about what people are willing to do for love. Eames used Arthur's reputation to ensure no one would look for him--after all, if Arthur couldn't find him, no one could. And now that Arthur's found him, a whole new set of problems arise: are Eames and Hannah in danger? Can Arthur consider staying and raising Eames' child with him? Can he leave Eames the way Eames left him? Is Eames even willing to give them a chance knowing that Arthur can walk out the door at any time?

I like to think I'm not a complete sap, but this story always makes me cry. (It makes me laugh, too. Some of the dialogue is absolutely priceless. She's captured the way they snap at each other perfectly.) Arthur and Eames are both trying to do the right thing in this, but it isn't always enough to do the right thing if you have nothing left for yourself. Eames is cautious and Arthur's deeply hurt, but they keep moving closer to one another, trying to erase one another's doubts as they build a new relationship out of the ashes of the old one.

( 'Oh my god,' Arthur says once the store security escorts them out. 'That's a goddamn baby.' )

On Dreamwidth: Can't Get Enough of You (Baby)

On AO3: Can't Get Enough of You (Baby)

It doesn't matter how old or new or (how popular) a story is, authors love feedback!

Fandom: THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Pairing: Mark/Eduardo
Length: 13,600 words
Author on LJ: oflights
Author Website: Masterlist
Why this must be read:

I'm finishing on a few fandom powerhouses. In this one, Eduardo is allowed to make some mistakes on the path to reconciliation with Mark; a mulligan is a free shot in golf when you completely screw up a shot the first time...

He calls Chris, who is not on this coast this week, who he wishes dearly he could go to right now and maybe cry with his head in his lap for a little while. “Chris,” Eduardo says hoarsely. “I am Sean Parker.”

“Oh Jesus,” Chris says. “Hold on a sec, let me put the iron down for this.”

At one part, Mark helps him make onion dip in his office’s little kitchenette, talking idly for some reason about cooking classes he’s been taking.

“And they taught you how to stir onion soup mix into sour cream?” Eduardo asks, fighting to put some derision in his voice so he won’t sound as fond as he feels. The sight of Mark stirring the dip so carefully, biting his bottom lip in concentration like this is an incredibly arduous task, is really, frighteningly endearing. “You should get your money back.”

Fandom: KUROSHITSUJI
Pairing: none
Length: 887 words
Author on LJ: khilari
Author Website: khilari at AO3
Warning: For major character death
Why this must be read:

Sebastian and Ciel's story begins with Sebastian saving Ciel's life; here it ends with Ciel saving Sebastian's.

“Worthy Of His Hire” carries a humor tag, and perhaps Ciel would consider that appropriate. And his view should count, because this is really Ciel's story, for all that we see it from Sebastian's point of view: the last moments of Ciel's life give us a moving and razor-sharp vision of what makes Ciel Ciel, someone who against all the odds could fascinate and command (and perhaps even be loved by) an ancient demon of incalculable power. If these are Ciel's final moments in the world, they're last moments that are worthy of him.

This is a story that leaves me with very much the same sort of feeling that the end of the first anime series leaves me with: a blend of aesthetic pleasure and desolation. It's not a happily-ever-after kind of ending, but it's one I suspect Ciel himself would be content with: he has the grandeur here of Ulysses in Dante's hell. It's a stunning story, and the most moving and satisfying not-happy ending I've seen in anywhere in the fandom.

Worthy Of His Hire