buffyversetop5 | Five Not-So-Willow Fics I Think Are Great

Since my last list was Willow-centric, I thought I should post a list of five fics I love which don't feature her (I know... didn't think I read anything like that, did you? Surprise!)

1) For My Pain, A World of Sighs (Spike/Xander) by

baudown: This is an exquisitely-wrought cold-chill of a tale - an AU where Spike arrives in Sunnydale earlier than we see in canon... and alone. This is the Spike who rained death and destruction in Europe in all his merciless glory and I am awed anew every time I read this story.

2) Le Petit Mort (First Slayer/OFC) by

snogged: Short and anything but sweet, this tale of the First Slayer joining with that which she is born (and dies, over and over) to fight is absolutely marvelous. It's one of

snogged's finest tales, and when you consider her body of work, that's really saying something!

3) In Another Place (Spike/Buffy) by

brutti_ma_buoni: Angsty, desperate, despairing... smut? Why yes it is, and it's all the more gloriously insightful for it.

brutti_ma_buoni deftly illuminates the pain and emptiness Buffy is longing to fill and how who Spike really is and what he really feels nearly thwarts her efforts.

4) Slip Through Fingers As You Fall (Harmony, Fred, Spike) by

clockwork_hart1: Ever wonder what would have happened had someone else gotten to that sarcophagus before Fred? Well, no need to ask that question any longer because

clockwork_hart1 has created a superb and surprisingly touching vision of what would have transpired had a certain vampire been drawn to the pretty blue jewel. This is a true original and one which will definitely stay with you.

5) Beer Bad (Very Bad) (Fred/Anyanka) by

snowpuppies: What do you get when you mix a cranky Anyanka with a Fred-done-wrong who just won't get with the program? Very evil, twisted crack! You'll never see the ending of this one coming (even if Anyanka does... tee hee). This is a

snowpuppies classic, and you know that means you're in for a heck of a good time.