Fandom: KUROSHITSUJI
Pairing: Sebastian/Elizabeth
Length: 1305 words
Author on LJ: eevilalice
Author Website: eevilalice on AO3
Why this must be read:

Sometimes a short, explicit story is pure PWP, where its hotness is its own reward and justification. But sometimes, when we're very lucky, we get one that's not only scorchingly hot, but goes well beyond that, using all the hotness to tell us something new about the characters and their lives.

This is one of the stories where we got lucky. Sebastian and Elizabeth may not make the most obvious of couples at first glance, but eevilalice gives us a relationship makes all the sense in the world, while keeping both delightfully in character.

Her Butler, Solicitous

Fandom: GRIMM
Pairing: Nick/Monroe
Length: 28,407 words
Author on LJ: macx_larabee
Author Website: AO3
Warnings: spoilers for episode 6
Why this must be read:

Author's Summary: Angelina's appearance and her brief but stormy connection with Monroe left the blutbad with a bad aftertaste. Now Nick's life hangs in the balance and whatever that is between them, he needs to figure it out soon or it might be too late.

Macx is one of the more prolific authors in Grimm fandom and a favorite author of mine. Choosing a specific story to highlight was hard, but Drifting made the final count. It has so many elements of love that it just screams to be shared.

A lovely get-together for our two boys, some hinting at a connection between Nick and the local Regnant, painful h/c, and Wesen ready to rally behind and protect their Grimm. It's another story that builds off the episode "Three Bad Wolves" and uses it to build on/start a relationship between our favorite Grimm and Blutbad. What it brings new to the table is a house-bound, injured Grimm being taken care of by Monroe who has an epiphany where Nick is concerned. Seeing him near death after a convenience store robbery opens his eyes to the possibility of a world without his Grimm, and he is pushed to pursue a relationship to a beautiful and loving ending. The author also lays some seeds for future sequels in the form of connections between Nick as Grimm and Renard as Regnant to explore the history between Grimms and the royal houses.

Drifting in Shadows, Waiting for the Storm

Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Length: 135,000 words
Author on LJ: hgdoghouse
Author Website: HG at AO3
Why this must be read: For the image of Doyle, unable to see, splayed over silk and velvet sheets in front of a stunned Bodie. Oh wait. I mean, for the plot. Yes.


Another long story for the weekend, and it's very long, so I'm posting early (also, I am away then...) This is another of HG's novel-length Pros AUs. It's not quite as AU as the historical half of her Re-Discovered in a Graveyard, though - all of this one takes place in Pros-era London, for a start. The big AU element is that while Cowley runs CI5 and Bodie works for him, Doyle has followed entirely another career path and is manager of a London agency which provides everything from plumbers to escorts. He worked his way up, and he didn't start as a plumber.

And then his path crosses that of Bodie. But neither of them know. For what seem entirely reasonable reasons while you're reading it, Doyle can't see for the duration of their night together - a night which moves from trepidation to delight - and their paths separate immediately after. Inevitably they meet again, but it does not go well. This sets the pattern for this story: the attraction is there, but misunderstandings abound.

( It starts with Doyle being detained by CI5... )
Doyle is released from CI5, obviously, but by this time he has re-encountered Bodie, not that he knows they have met before, which causes its own problems. All sorts of bad stuff happens along the way, with angst and argument and abandonment (and that's just the first letter of the alphabet.) But there is so much good stuff too: determined Doyle who just keeps on despite circumstances; conversation and banter between him and Bodie; some great friends backing Doyle up; and Doyle's incredulity at Bodie's taste for brie and pickle. And did I mention the velvet bed?

Rainbow Chasers is not currently available online, but is definitely available via Proslib (details here), to which it was re-posted in the spring, 2012-08-13: ETA and - wow, what timing, arrived on AO3 a few days after I originally posted this.

NB: There are warnings in the author's notes on AO3.

Rainbow Chasers, by HG

Fandom: SKINS
Pairing: Tony/Effy (gen 1 + 2)
Length: 5,200 words
Author on LJ: iridescentglow
Author Website: (fanfic tag)
Why this must be read: Tony and Effy's relationship has so many layers to it - whether or not you're including the quasi-canon incest factor - that it's hard to find fic that captures that, while still maintaing the bizarre humor that is inherent in Skins canon. This fic weaves both of those together seamlessly, giving a glimpse at a post-gen 1 casually incestuous relationship between that fits in so well with canon, you'll barely even notice you're not watching it play out onscreen. Also, there's the bonus brilliant Cook characterization.

( Excerpt )

Not Exactly an Epistolary Romance