Top 5 Fics in Pairings Not My Usual, but Darned if They Don't Make Me Forget It:

[amybnnyc]

And another fic-related Top 5:



Top 5 Fics in Pairings Not My Usual, but Darned if They Don't Make Me Forget It:

1. 
   Story:               Lies We Tell Ourselves
   
   Authors:           ely_jan and sweptawaybayou
   
   Pairing:             David Boreanaz/Christian Kane (RPS)
   
   Rating:             NC-17
   
   Why:                Oh God.  That’s pretty much how every single comment I’ve written in reply to the installments of the series has begun, and every new piece blows me away with insight, with heat, with tension, with angst, with love and anger and hurt and hope and despair and a thousand other emotions that you wind up feeling with every breath you take.  Gorgeous, intense, and beautifully told, with ely_jan giving us Christian’s perspective and sweptawaybayou giving us David’s.  I can’t get enough of this.
   



2. 
   Story:               You Made Me Forget Myself ( Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)
   
   Author:            lillianmorgan
   
   Pairing:            Spike/Angel
   
   Rating:             NC-17 overall
   
   Why:                And again with the Oh God.  A beautiful, beautiful exploration of Angel and Spike, both as individuals and as an eventual couple, post-NFA.  When the Shanshu isn’t everything Angel dreamed it would be, and life’s a little more aimless for Spike than he knows what to do with, the support that they offer the other is crucial.  And beautifully handled, nuanced, and full of both snark and heart.
   



3. 
   Story:               Useless Desires
   
   Author:             engimaticblues
   
   Pairing:            Spike/Tara
   
   Rating:             R
   
   Why:                Every pairing enigmaticblues touches turns to gold, in my eyes, including pairings that I had never before sought out.  Set in an AU in which Spike didn’t return to Sunnydale immediately after the soul-and only does return, with a friend in tow, to say good-bye at Buffy’s grave-the story juggles the weight of the past, the hope of the future, and the pain and joy of the day-to-day.  It’s a lovely look at second chances, moving on, and finding out you can sometimes go home again-even if it’s never felt like home before.
   



4. 
   Story:               Coming Ashore ( Part 1, Part 2)
   
   Author:            lillianmorgan
   
   Pairing:            Spike/Xander
   
   Rating:             R
   
   Why:                And more with the finding home, even when you didn’t really know it was home.  A wonderful, older, wiser, battle-scarred Xander; an equally battle-scarred Spike; a flash to a past that we never saw but which feels as though we just might’ve; and a future that’s as up to the reader as it is to Spike and Xander.
   



5. 
   Story:               Tales of Giles and Anya
   
   Author:             talesofspike
   
   Pairing:             Giles/Anya
   
   Rating:              R
   
   Why:                 I never much thought about a Giles/Anya ‘ship until talesofspike wrote the first installment of this series as a birthday gift for a friend, but after that, I was well and truly hooked.  Branching off from the wedding-that-wasn’t and giving Anya a friend and a choice that doesn’t cost her her humanity, Tales has created here a lovely relationship, full of heart and friendship, mutual respect and growing love.  Each new installment is a wonderful treat.
   

ETA:
Apologies for the wonky formatting--apparently Word and the Rich Text editing window don't like each other much.