MFU Hurt/Comfort Recs

[tinturtle]

In response to a topic glennagirl started in section7mfu, I recently spent a long time writing up a list of some of my favorite MFU hurt/comfort and injury fics. I never posted it, however, because I decided that most of them were darker than glennagirl was looking for. Not being one to let good recs go to waste, I've decided to post the list here. I'm not sure who will benefit from it, since most of my handful of LiveJournal friends are not MFU fans, and many of those that are don't like fics like this. I hope someone will find it useful at some point, though.

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It appears I like this sort of thing. Looking through my collection of favorites, I came up with 23 possible recommendations, and if I'd interpreted the theme a bit more loosely (or included slash stories), there would have been many more. Here are the ten selections I was left with after whittling down my list. (Assume that all of these stories are gen-mature except where otherwise noted.)

One of the most affecting and memorable hurt/comfort stories I have read:

Scheherazade by leethet (5799 words)
Napoleon and Illya are captured.

Two h/c episode tags:

Easment by queenafoster (1871 words)
Takes place after The Master's Touch Affair.

Guilt by AconitumNapellus / aconitumn (1694 words)
Takes place after The Secret Scepter Affair. (The author notes that this story can be read as either gen or slash.)

Two fics with very similar premises—I couldn't choose between them, so I included both:

Long Distance by otherhawk (1788 words)
Illya is injured. Napoleon keeps him awake. (Includes mild background het.)

Need by Paper_Crane_Song (370 words)
Comfort crosses distance.

Another two very good h/c stories:

The Peace of Wild Things by Paper_Crane_Song (1974 words)
Illya is captured. Napoleon rescues him.

Life's Footprint by N. L. Hayes (2959 words)
Napoleon is injured. Illya tells him a story.
(WARNING: disturbing violence. I mean it.)

Two unusual fics, a fusion and a crossover:

The great Work-master / leads to no excess by Malteaser (7168 words)
A reworking of The Master's Touch Affair in which Napoleon rescues Illya from captivity.
I love this fic (strange title and all). It is a fusion with His Dark Materials, and my favorite of the fics I have read that incorporate Philip Pullman's idea of dæmons.

The Lost Time Affair by celticmuse (2233 words)
A crossover with Sapphire and Steel. This fic is not hurt/comfort (as the rest of these are, to one degree or another) but it does involve injury to one of our heroes, and it highlights the bond between them.

One humorous drabble to read when you've finished the others:

What Comes This Way? by jantojones (100 words)
This one has always tickled me. (Just gen.)