Wake, Sleep, Wake by Minnow (PG)

[lyr]

Fandom: ANGEL/BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
Pairing: Faith/Illyria
Length: 2239 words
Author on LJ: minnow1212
Author Website: just her LJ
Why this must be read: This story takes place twenty years after Minnow's amazing series of twelve short perspectives on the aftermath of "Not Fade Away", Things Left Undone, which I am only not reccing here because I checked and discovered that someone had already beaten me to it. In this epilogue, she follows Faith and Illyria, all these years later, as they come to a major crossroads in their time together. Minnow's writing here, as always, is lovely and elegant and poignant, and her voices are simply exquisite. She has a gift for imbuing an amazing amount of emotion into a surprising economy of words. What I think I love most about this story, though, is the relationship between Faith and Illyria; theirs is not what one might call a standard romance, and certainly not of the hearts and flowers variety. Nevertheless, the connection Minnow portrays between them is so real and vital and densely layered with meaning and feeling that one could not possibly say that their relationship is one iota less important or less true than any epic romance.

Wake, Sleep, Wake