She's Awesome

There's a story I recently read in Fullmetal Alchemist, which explores the backstory of a minor female character who so far has been in a whopping two scenes in the anime. I'm hoping to see more of her in the manga because... somehow she's become one of the most interesting characters on the show for me, and that story had some part in it.

Notorious by bob_fish
gen; PG-13; Characters: Madam Christmas; Roy Mustang (aged four), Grumman; ~3,500
Warnings: gangsters, innuendo, sleaze, dominoes and a lot of jazz age slang. No spoilers except for Madam Christmas's character and her connection with Mustang.
Summary: Twenty-five years ago ... Chris Mustang is having a very bad month. The censors killed her show, she's in debt to a couple of very dubious businessmen, and she's working as a hostess in the worst bar in town. As if that wasn't enough, her estranged big brother seems to have gotten himself in an auto accident, and some nut decided to make her guardian of his four year old brat.

In a way that story reminds me of rheanna's Gaila&Uhura friendship fic, which also takes a character who has only a few minutes of screentime and makes her a three-dimensional and fascinating character who I can't wait to see more of. (This was rec'd all over the place but it can't hurt to rec it again...)
Lunch and Other Obscenities
gen; PG-13; 9,786 words
Summary: Nyota liked her roommate just fine until she met her.
A fantastic, well-rounded story about culture clashes, friendship, and linguistics. Uhura and Gaila friendship, with a hint at Spock/Uhura.