Five short, classic Spuffy fics I can't stop re-reading

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You know the feeling. It's late, you're half asleep, you need the right sort of reading to get you ready for bed. Or, you know, *bed.* Here are some classic faves, with the warning that they reflect my sweet, hurt/comfort-y proclivities:

Illumination, and it's sequel, Incandescence, by Annie Sewall-Jennings.

There's something magic about this fic, from its rich food imagery, to its sweet-yet-believable mood. The "Showtime" hurt-comfort and rehabilitated Giles really make it something great.


A Totally Random Occurence, by herself_nyc

I love the source material for the inspiration here (there's no finer movie than "The Manchurian candidate," in my estimation), I love Herself, I love this fic. It just jumps off the page. It's entirely its own creature, so real to me that it's tactile, almost. To me, it reads as a hurt/comfort, no physical injury required; the emotional layers are far too vivid to need it.

Offerings, by OneTwoMany.

I admit this is a bit of a blind spot for me; it was the first Buffy fic I ever read, right after I finished the series and just *ached* for a satisfying ending. My love for the soft comfort comes through here, too. But this fic holds up, I think. It caught the spirit of Season Seven and distilled it, filtered it a bit. It's a pick-me-up, when you need a little more fluff than is good for you with a little angsty self-indulgence mixed in.

Misery Made Beautiful, by hollydb.

This is a bit longer than the others, a few chapters, but oh, what a punch it packs. Season five, if Buffy were just a bit softer, if Spike's foot was just a centimeter farther from his mouth. What? I like me some sweet hurt/comfort fics - if you do, this is the king of them all.

Not to cheaply name-check an author twice, but she's a big fave of mine,
Wagering History, by Annie Sewall-Jennings.

A poker game, some Scoobies, a civil conversation in Season Five. Don't ask me how, but it's deeply believable anyway. :)