Fanfic Recs by coprime

Pretend (Donatello | G | 1,522 words): Donatello's birthday present leads to some serious conversations. Ah, this is a lovely exploration of a serious issue that the young turtles and Splinter must have faced at some point during the turtles' childhood.

Excerpt:
Suddenly, Donatello ducked his head, hand still running possessively over the length of the instrument as he struggled to give voice to a question he'd been too frightened to ask before. He blinked slowly. "Sensei? Where is our mother? I've studied the shows on TV and most of those children have two parents, a mother and a father." Splinter sucked in a breath, hoping he didn't look nearly as panicked as he felt. He'd always known this day would come, after all. But so soon? "Where is our mother?"

Splinter's thoughts leapt to Tang Shen, to Miwa. He was not certain what expression formed on his face, but Donatello gasped, leaving his present in an instant so he could cling to his fur and exclaim how sorry he was. A warm smile melted Donatello's fears away. "There is no need for apologies, Donatello. I was merely… surprised."

When Gus Met Shawn (and She-Ra) (Gus/Shawn | G | 1,292 words): Gus tries to bail on Christmas Eve Eve tradition. This is delightful. The dialogue is spot-on for the show, and Gus and Shawn's silly holiday tradition seems like a very them thing to do.

Excerpt:
"Laugh all you want. I am going to have dinner and, if I'm lucky, make time with a very beautiful woman tonight. Shawn, we can watch cartoons any other night this week! You have everything on DVD."

"But..." And here, Shawn's snarky bravado began to fail. "It's tradition."

Gus found himself at a loss in the face of Shawn's earnestness. This crossroads was one at which he had stood in his adult life many times before: choose spending an evening of goofing-around time with Shawn, which he had done since his preadolescent years, or go out on a date and try--just try--to find himself a life partner who was not a heterosexual man obsessed with late '80s animated holiday features.

Feminist Icon and Woman without Fear: Kirsten McDuffie (Kirsten/Matt | G | 2,360 words | sequel to Fearless, sequel is The Best Kind of Us): Kirsten and Matt get interviewed after making their relationship public knowledge. While one would hope that this isn't how such an interview would go, it does feel like an interviewer only being interested in Kirsten with regards to Matt would be a real possibility. But I love how Kirsten stands up for herself and refuses to play that game and also how Matt completely backs her up.

Excerpt:
Was it your decision to keep your relationship under wraps, Miss McDuffie?

MCDUFFIE: Honestly, it's difficult to say. We knew that going public with it would be controversial, and there would be a lot of risks attached to it. At first, we thought it'd be best to stay quiet about it.

What did you think about it, Mr. Murdock?

MURDOCK: You can call me Matt. I mean, I agree with Kirsten. It was a mutual decision. Anyone having any kind of tie to me tends to put people in danger, and I was worried, of course, about what that mean for Kirsten's safety if we went public. And not only that, we had the professional implications about our law firm to take into consideration. I didn't—and still don't—want people thinking that Kirsten's using my status as Daredevil for her own career because that's not true at all.

MCDUFFIE: [Laughing] As if I'd need your help.

MURDOCK: This is also true. Counselor McDuffie is a very capable lawyer who doesn't need my help at all.

Leveling Out (Kirsten/Matt | G | 2,040 words | sequel is (You're a) Beautiful Sight (to Behold)): A moment from Matt and Kirsten's canonical boardwalk date. This is so sweet and flirty. I love how their adoration for each other shines here.

Excerpt:
"Didn't know you were into courtroom dirty talk, but I can't say that that surprises me." Kirsten sounds like a damn cat purring, and Matt shifts as she says the phrase, "dirty talk." He can feel her mouth curve and melt beneath his hand, and he's surprised to find that he wants to touch her lips. Actually, no, he's not all that surprised. He's wanted to touch her lips since the day she said her first smartass comment to him.

"I'm not dirty talking," he protests, a smile on his own face. "I'm just…talking."

"If this is how Matt Murdock flirts, then it's terrible," Kirsten replies, but he can tell that she doesn't really mean it. He continues to trail his hand over her face, feeling each and every part of her that there is to touch except her mouth. Her chin is small and compact, and her forehead is even and symmetrical—God, even her nose is the cutest fucking thing he's ever touched. He touches her face everywhere. Except for her mouth.

"Can't believe you have dimples," he says, more to himself than to her. He sounds like a grumpy old man as he says it, but Kirsten laughs, and it's like the sound of it is a prism catching a sunbeam. "I never pictured you with dimples."

Of Superheroes and Ninja (G | 1,059 words | Violet-Michelangelo): Violet makes a new friend. This is adorable. I like how excited Mikey is to meet a superhero.

Excerpt:
Raising her right hand and hoping to whatever god out there he wouldn't try to kill her, her lips lifted in an ever so graceful awkward smile that inwardly had her cringing at herself.

"…hi?"

And it was there that Violet almost stumbled back at the sheer adorability the mutant exuded with a single smile. She jumped when he reappeared next to her, "That. Was. So. COOL! Are you a superhero?! I bet you're a superhero. You're a superhero aren't you?"

He beamed at her, expectant and giddy like a kid. And with Violet's weakness toward children softening the paranoia built into her through a couple of years as a hero, she nodded. Slowly.

All The Best Things, Come From Russia (Chekov/Ivanova | G | 1,161 words): Pavel tries his luck with Ivanova. There is something inherently delightful in the idea of Pavel Chekov interacting with a bunch of people who know Alfred Bester. And Pavel is very charming in this story.

Excerpt:
"Forgive me," he murmured, glancing pointedly sideways at the drink nestled by her elbow. "I thought you were off duty." She opened her mouth to argue, and he rushed in his invitation before she could. "And it is Pavel, my lady. For one such as you, my name is Pavel only."

She blinked, and paused, mildly stunned by his temerity, and the courage he seemed to miraculously pull from nowhere. On first sight, she would not have credited it to him. "Pavel," she echoed, half contempt and half curiosity, and he smiled happily as if he had won a great victory.

Something That Never Happened To Lyle And Brainy (Brainy/Lyle | PG13 | 1,658 words): Lyle is irritated with the visiting, 21st century Titans and complains to Brainy. This is cute! There's some nice banter and a sweet reveal of feelings.

Excerpt:
Querl just bared his teeth sharply in that little half-smile of his that could mean anything from, 'Why must I be surrounded by idiots?' to, 'I'm thinking of all the different ways I could make your life hell for annoying me, and I can't see an end in sight.'

Lyle always got turned on by that smirk. He had a feeling that wasn't exactly healthy, but it was by far the least problematic of his personal issues. Seeing that he wasn't going to win this argument, Lyle performed a less-than-deft change of subject. "So how difficult do you think it would be to get most of the Legion to wear nametags to the next meeting with our time-displaced colleagues?"

Querl not only didn't even blink at the non-sequitur, but he also had a ready answer. "Twenty-five percent of the Legion would go along with your request if you asked them, but I calculate that you'd only be able to convince another seventeen percent without a direct order." Left unsaid was that Lyle couldn't order them to wear nametags; Querl had finally stopped stating the obvious 'for the benefit of less intelligent minds' – at least to Lyle.

Lyle was pretty sure that that shouldn't turn him on, either.

Ayurnamat (Nishinoya/Tanaka | G | 1,022 words): Tanaka is feeling down after a recent lost match. The relationship between Noya and Ryuu is incredibly sweet here, how Noya knows just what to say to lift Ryuu's spirits.

Excerpt:
Still, Nishinoya watches his friend out of the corner of his eye a little more intently than he normally would. He keeps quiet himself, too; less so because he's thinking, more because he can't quite say what he wants to say. Which isn't all that common an occurrence either.

"Ryuu," he starts, because sometimes (or, okay, in Noya's case, most of the time) it's better to just say the first thing that comes to mind instead of thinking it over too hard. "We had a good practice today. You shouldn't dwell too much on yester--"

Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy (Cordelia/Doyle | G | 1,052 words): Cordelia, after Doyle's sacrifice. This is a lovely vignette exploring Cordelia's grief over Doyle.

Excerpt:
But if you learned anything from your years in Sunnydale, you learned that no one lives forever, not even immortals, and sometimes, good people have to die. You have gone to enough funerals to know, have stood over too many graves. He will just be another headstone.

(Except- the bright, blinding light flares, and when it's gone, so is he. There is no body, there isn't even ash. There will be no funeral, no grave, no headstone with his name carved into it. He is dead, well and truly dead, and he has left behind less of a body than even vampires)

Jeeves and the Snide Acquaintances (Jeeves-Wooster | G | 1,818 words): Bertie comes to Jeeves's defense. This is a lovely vignette showcasing what Jeeves sees in Bertie, why he prefers to stay in Bertie's employ, and why Jeeves considers Bertie a friend.

Excerpt:
I have been exceedingly fortunate in finding a fair employer in Mr Wooster. While he can be a mentally negligible young man, he more than makes up for his slight defects with a cheerful disposition and kind treatment of all living things, from the lowest chambermaid to the highest lord. I kept this in mind as I floated through the kitchen door to face the small teatime party of Mr Wooster, Mr Glossop, Mr Little, and Mr Prosser.

'How may I be of service, sir?' I addressed Mr Wooster, not trusting Mr Glossop with the question.

'Oh, erm, nothing, Jeeves. Is there any more hot water in the kettle?' he stuttered.