Fandom: GRIMM
Pairing: fic heading says pre-Nick/Monroe, but could be read as friendship as well
Length: 2,422 words
Author on LJ: takadainmate
Author Website: Masterlist on LJ
Warnings: spoilers for episode 13
Why this must be read:

Author's Summary: Grimm post 1x13. Pre-Nick/Monroe. Aunt Marie would've called it wallowing, and she'd probably have been right.

I like this fic for all the little nuances it has. We get glimpses into Wesen/Grimm history (bootlegging Wesen! XD), minute exploration on the differences between Grimms (moderate vs. hardline), touches on the mystery that is Nick's mother, and of course the relationship between Nick and Monroe itself.

I really loved this last bit. The author has them down so hard, their hard time in communicating and the deep caring they have for each other that developed over so many adventures and circumstances together. Nick's brooding and Monroe's mother hen tendencies were wonderfully in character after the hard discoveries and painful memories that presented in episode 13 for Nick. At the end of it all, sharing some alcohol, asparagus recipes, warmth, and a loving relationship (be it friendship or more than) helps to heal many of the hurts life throws at you, even the Grimm-y ones.

No Life in Words

Fandom: AVENGERS
Pairing: none; gen
Length: ~6400 words
Author on LJ: vain_glorious
Author Website: @ AO3
Why this must be read:

Tony and Bruce find some information that points to evil scientists producing things they shouldn't have produced, with some serious consequences for Steve and for the team. This is a really funny look at a dark premise, and that sense of discomfort underlies and sharpens the hilarity, and having it in Tony's POV allows for that distance.

( an excerpt )

Without the Usual Cost of Labor by vain_glorious

If you enjoy the story, please let the author know.

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Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Unrequited Turnbull/Fraser
Length: 1000 words
Author on LJ: kindkit
Author Website: AO3 page
Why this must be read: Poor Turnbull! He's tried everything, but he can't seem to find the way to Fraser's heart. And then he tries cheese... The Turnbull POV here is funny and sweet, and the whole thing just made me smile. Thankfully, he finds a better target for his love (and his cooking) at the end.

The Disappointment

Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Length: 3600 words, 21kb.
Author on LJ: don't think so.
Author Website: don't know of one.
Why this must be read: For the countdown at the end.

I don't know anything about this author. There's no contact email, no website with information, no nothing. There are simply two stories on the online Circuit Archive, and a third on the CD. But I love her writing style.

Faint sound in the hollow dark behind him. Run. He couldn't. The pain in his head was at best a concussion, at worst a skull-fracture waiting to shift and - and what? Kill him? He heard his own laughter, a chilly rattle. There were worse things. Jesus. There were worse things; already had been. The sounds focussed. Became - human, searching. Some mad propriety sent his hands to the front of jeans that would never fasten again, then to the remnants of his shirt, which he pulled down and ran.

We begin with Bodie fleeing. Very bad things have happened to him, and as his brain tries to make sense of it, his body is running: running to Doyle. The writing is gorgeous - but, warning ahead, not everyone will want to read it: Bodie has been raped. The event isn't in the story but the references to it are explicit and start right at the beginning. He won't go to a hospital, but does trust Doyle to look after him.

( Which Doyle does. Extract below the cut... )
Doyle calms him, tends to him physically and reassures him emotionally. Eventually, he is able to reduce the pain enough for Bodie to sleep. And right at the end of this story, there is a countdown into that sleep. And the conversation in this countdown is beautifully portrayed. Everything shrinks down to the two of them in that room and what they're telling each other. I desperately, desperately want to quote it -- but it's right at the end of the story, and it would destroy it to do so.

October, by Rowan