Fandom: SPOOKS (MI-5)
Pairing: Lucas North / Elizabeta Starkova
Length: 3 short stories (about 2000 words total)
Author on LJ: afiakate
Author Website: Afia on Fanfiction.net
Why this must be read:

The relationship between Lucas and his ex-wife Elizabeta was fraught with lingering glances, strained conversation and smoldering looks; well-intentioned lies, and unintentional betrayals.  Underneath was the sense that, despite eight years, a divorce, and someone else’s child, the two of them still shared an intense connection they didn’t really know how to deal with. Who was the handler and who was the agent, and could they ever be just people around each other, with two intelligence services manipulating both of them?

These three stories show both Lucas and Elizabeta struggling with their feelings for each other and their difficulties dealing with Lucas’ return to London in series 7 after eight years in a Russian prison. “In Which Elizabeta Reflects” is a short drabble which reflects on her experiences and the hardship of Lucas’ disappearance.  “Skinny Love” examines both perspectives and the turmoil of Lucas’ return. “Back Pay,” the longest of the three, is about Lucas’ struggles to adjust to life amidst eight years of accumulated emotional baggage and financial compensation.

Instead of vilifying either character, these stories show both Lucas and Elizabeta as sympathetic, complex characters, caught up in a complex web of competing loves and loyalties.

Excerpt:

What did eight years mean? Her life had moved on; she had remarried, had a son, re-decorated their house, and took a different job.

Looking at him had been painful. Lucas had spent eight years in a Russian prison. For all his handsome features and broad shoulders, he was gaunt and exhausted and looked shell-shocked. His face was more hawkish then ever, all planes and angles, a mathematician’s dream come true. His eyes, even in his confusion, had been cold and biting.

Later as he sat on the bench, his hands had been trembling. Elizabeta had felt both reviled and relieved. He was here, relatively whole, shaking at her words of deceit.

She steeled herself; she knew she had to seem completely sincere. This lie, after all, was the price of his life.



Skinny Love (550 words) on FF.net

In Which Elizabeta Reflects (180 words)

Back Pay (1500 words) on FF.net

Fandom: SPOOKS (MI-5)
Pairing: none
Length: 2000 words
Author on LJ: tigertrapped
Author Website: Fanfiction masterlist (note that some stories are locked, but these are open to all)
Why this must be read:

Connie and Lucas: two enigmas, wrapped in riddles, surrounded by mystery. For every word each said, ten things went unsaid; behind every meaningful look, countless motivations lurked.

This pair of stories is all about the two of them and their wonderfully complex dynamic in series 7.  “Ten Minutes Towards Midnight” is a brief encounter in early series 8, as they ponder where they stand with Harry Pearce and what loyalty MI-5 brought them.  The followup, “Three O’Clock in the Morning” is a coda to the series 7 finale, in which Lucas reflects on their shared journey.

Tigertrapped’s stories are filled with poetry and imagery, beautiful words in harsh contrast with the horror of Lucas’ experiences in Russia and the noir-ish atmosphere of doubt, deception, and betrayal. However, it was the fantastic characterization of Connie and Lucas which really drew me to these stories.

Whether they were to each other -- enemies, allies, foils, or something altogether indefinable --  Connie and Lucas understood each other. These stories capture their dynamic perfectly.


Excerpt:

‘You’re a little better. Sleeping at last?’

He knew she’d seen the shape of his skull in the thin carpet. No wool, knitted or otherwise, got pulled over the eyes of Connie James. ‘It’s the quiet. I can’t get used to it.’

She nodded. ‘Very noisy in prison. I’ll put the kettle on shall I?’

He marvelled at the careful construction of her clothes, tepid shades of grey in comfortable folds, the silver halo of her hair and the slow landslide of her face, makeup encouraged to trespass in the wrinkles she wore as armour. He was trying to put back some of the weight he’d lost, aware that the bones in his face were too near the surface. He needed to get rid of the edges, blend back in. He wished he could buy a decade’s worth of Connie’s disguise.

Ten minutes towards midnight

Three o'clock in the morning