Fandom: QUANTUM LEAP
Pairing: Sam & Al
Length: 15,000
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: FF.net page
Why this must be read:

H/C gen is what makes this fandom go 'round, I swear. This one has all the things I like about the genre: casefic, Al worrying about Sam, Sam feeling comforted by that, something going wrong with the leap, Al worrying more, and something totally random and awesome happening at the end.

Please ignore the author's ff.net styling, the story is worth it, I promise.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Fandom: JUSTIFIED
Pairing: Ava Crowder/Boyd Crowder/Raylan Givens
Length: 14,167 words
Author on LJ: someotherstorm
Author on Website: at AO3

Why this must be read: It has a truly standout depiction of Ava.  She's strong and confidant, but not without her scars from her terrible marriage.  This is technically the sequel to a lovely (read: scorching) Boyd/Raylan fic: there's a devil waiting outside your door, which I also highly recommend.  I happened to read love was shrewd and bold first, though, and while there were references to the first story it still read fine on its own- so whether to read both is up to you.

I want to focus on love was shrewd and bold, rather than both fics, because of the lovely depiction of Ava.  It's only fair that, since she died in my last rec, she should have some fun in this one.  Ava wants to convince Raylan to have a threesome with her and Boyd.  It isn't easy, but worthwhile things often aren't.  Both fics are rated mature, and admittedly they could be more graphic, but they are mostly smut, and the Boyd/Raylan parts are fairly violent.  Prepare accordingly.

love was shrewd and bold
 

Curses, given the title, I should have posted this on the fifth. Pretend I did!

Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle, Bodie/OMC
Length: 9237 words
Author on LJ: madmogs
Author Website:
Why this must be read:
This is another story that was temporarily lost. It was first posted back in 2005. Subsequently, the LJ community it was posted to. Thankfully, madmogs was good enough to repost it earlier this year and those of us who had not been around for the santa_pros comm got to read it at last. And hooray, because I loved it. I am having trouble separating out all the whys. I think a lot of it is to do with the madly unflappable Bodie - unflappable on the outside, at least - whether faced with a proposition to blow things up for money, a hulking nightmare of an antagonist from his past, or a determined Doyle who has something to say to him.

Bodie was enjoying himself, Doyle decided grumpily.
It wasn't every day that the mad bastard got to tell George Cowley that he and an unspecified number of other mercenaries had just been recruited by an Irish ex-merc to blow up one of London's department stores. Doyle had never seen Cowley's eyebrows raise quite that far before.

The dialogue and the narrative style are definitely another reason I enjoy it. Bodie's casual tone in a dangerous situation (the 'family pet' mention cracks me up every time I read it), his 'most sophisticated look', his rueful acceptance of the peril to his hubcaps - and then the switch into serious mode as he settles his mind on the job and enters the meeting place.

And certainly part of the reason that I personally enjoy it is that I do enjoy stories that are either non-con or very much into dub-con territory. And this story involves the Game as backstory and consequently, as the author puts it on the repost, there are some "deeply dodgy attitudes to consent"...
( So what's the Game? )
To complicate things still further, each partner is interested in the other, but neither initially plans to act on it. Doyle presumes that Bodie's jokey come-ons are just jokes and wishes they weren't. Bodie certainly does fancy Doyle, but has no intention of letting that get in the way of the partnership. But when the op is over, Doyle wants answers. And he's not leaving Bodie alone until he gets them.

Oh. I totally forgot to mention. Hot sex too :)

A Few Little Fireworks

Fandom: WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE
Pairing: Cecil/Carlos
Length: wordcount 3,616
Author on LJ: novembersmith
Author Website: novembersmith on tumblr; works on AO3
Notes: Kid-fic; spoilers for ep. 22, “The Whispering Forest”
Why this must be read:

A temporal tornado reduced our most beloved scientist, Carlos, into a darling little toddler version of his already darling self, didn’t it? Yes it did, oh yes it did! Plus, a jellyfish migration is underway, a mysterious series of unexplained crevasses are appearing in the streets of Night Vale, and valuable advice is provided on the care and feeding of children.

If you’re still trying to figure out whether or not you’d enjoy WtNV, reading this fic is a great test; novembersmith not only replicates the show’s format (there’s even an embedded weather segment!), she completely nails its tone. Everything is perfect: the opening epigram, the news stories, the word from the sponsor, the calls from the Faceless Old Woman and the Glow Cloud — dead on.

If you’re already a fan, then you should read it because it turns out that the only thing more hilarious than Cecil’s swooning over Carlos is his squeeing over toddler!Carlos.

And, by the way, you might think you have an inkling of just how perfectly adorable a baby Carlos is, but I assure you, you do not. You cannot possibly imagine the magnificence of his tousled little curls. And his rosy cheeks! His teeny, tiny glasses! And oh, the way his entire little face just squishes up when he smiles at you!

“The Temporal Tornado” on AO3; podfic linked in notes