221B Recs

Title: In Which Neither Coulson nor Sherlock are Dead (and John sort of joins the Avengers)
Author: DullYellowEye
Pairing: John/Sherlock (plus several Avengers pairings)
Length: 43,358 words
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Warnings: None provided by author. Reccer warnings: minor suicidal ideation.
Verse: Sherlock BBC and The Avengers (movies verse)

Author's summary: While Coulson's recovering from being stabbed in the chest by a magical spear, Fury is rapidly running out of Agents willing to play babysitter for the newly founded Avengers. So he calls in Captain John Watson, late of the British Royal Army, and blogger and best friend to the infamously antisocial (presumably deceased) Sherlock Holmes. In hindsight he's not sure if this was a good call or a very, very bad one.

Reccer's comments: This fic combines two of my favorite things: angsty post-Reichenbach and seeing familiar characters through the eyes of other familiar characters (a.k.a. crossovers!). It's also just really fun. John is called in by Nick Fury to take over for the (presumably dead) Agent Coulson. BAMF!John, former colleague and friend of Coulson, is the perfect man for this impossible job. Still, he says 'no' at first--causing Nick Fury to foolishly try to blackmail him into it. John doesn't respond, simply hands him over to Mycroft, which I found hysterical. Ultimately, John agrees to take the job if for no other reason than to get away from London, where everyone and everything reminds him of Sherlock, whom he's so recently lost.

It goes well--at first. We are treated to chapter after delightful chapter of John meeting and interacting with each of the Avengers and their circles of friends & colleagues, and it's interesting to see which people he ends up bonding with. It's not always the ones you'd expect. The author does a fantastic job of showing how John, the friendly everyman, who every man underestimates, whips the team back into shape in no time. All is going swimmingly until Tony Stark (Iron Man), well-meaning but hopelessly immature, tries to do something nice for John. It goes horribly wrong, and John is devastated when he loses Sherlock all over again. Don't worry though--happy endings for all. This fic is FUN, with a smidgen of angst and a final dollop of shmoop.