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#Let me live happily with this fix it fic made Canon in some form
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*RTD writing a grand finale where old companions come back and he teases a David Tennant regeneration but then he just splits in half and one of him gets to live his well deserved happily ever after*
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burst-of-iridescent · 2 years
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002: zutara (and totally not asking to know what you look for in a fic, noooo totally not bestie 👀💕)
always happy to deliver, dearest <3
002 | Send me a ship and I will tell you:
When I started shipping them: February 2021, when i finished watching book 1 of atla for the first time. after "you rise with the moon, i rise with the sun", i was a goner.
My thoughts: beautiful, talented, show stopping, spectacular, never before done, marvelous, amazing, absolute perfection. i wouldn't change a single thing about them, i love them so much, and i will never stop believing that they were happy and in love together, canon be damned.
What makes me happy about them: literally everything. i love their development, i love their symbolism, i love that they go from fighting each other to risking absolutely everything to save each other. i love that they're the only people to see each other at their absolute best and worst, i love that they unconditionally support and are there for each other, i love that they get to be open and vulnerable with each other in a way they rarely are with anyone else. i love how much they have in common, i love how beautiful they look together, i love that they're fire and water, i love that they encapsulate the themes of the show perfectly. they're just *chef's kiss*
What makes me sad about them: that their beautiful, deep, intimate relationship was thrown out the window as if it never existed post show. obviously, i'm sad they were never canon, but it's somehow more hurtful that the writers destroyed their wonderful platonic connection too. it breaks my heart to think that after everything they went through, after being the only people who could truly understand each other, they spent the rest of their lives as nothing more than acquaintances. fuck that.
Things done in fanfic that annoys me: when zuko is made out to be some sort of smirking, smooth bad boy, like... did yall watch the show? zuko is an awkward turtleduck with a penchant for excessive drama, not a wattpad romantic lead. give me a zuko who can barely string a cohesive sentence together because he's so dazzled by katara, or give me nothing.
Things I look for in fanfic: zuko being a complete simp for katara (absolute must), fire lord and southern water tribe ambassador fix its, fire lady katara who retains her culture but also loves the fire nation with all her heart, modern au tea shop zutara, FAKE DATING, canon divergences where they end up having to travel together, aang letting go of his crush on katara and being happy to see his friends in love, mutual pining (on ember island or post atla).
My wishlist: time traveling back to 2008 to kick bryke off the show and write the last half of book 3 myself
Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: probably ty lee or sokka for zuko, and suki for katara. imo, zuko is the only male character on the show who could form a happy, healthy and lasting relationship with katara.
My happily ever after for them: fire lord zuko and fire lady katara usher the world into a golden age of peace and prosperity together, working to fix the damage done by years of war and rebuild the ties between their countries. they are second in fame only to the avatar, with hundreds of statues built and cities named in their honour. they remain very much in love to the end of their long, happy lives.
Send me an ask!
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doitwritenow · 4 years
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IronStrange Starter Kit - Master Fic Rec List for all Y’all Because You’ve been Asking and I’ve been Avoiding
Hi! All you anons and askers, I made a list!!! Hopefully some of these are what you’ve been after. :D
(Please reblog this, lol, I spent too much time on it...) 
General rules: These are complete unless indicated otherwise, and end happily unless indicated otherwise. There’s a variety of ratings, as I have no qualms against smut, but I don’t usually read it outside of a larger plot. So I don’t think there’ll be many explicit stories on here. Word counts vary; I indicate general length but don’t go into specifics. What else, uh... Bold stuff is the headers and general subjects. I link the titles. Block quotes are author summaries. Enjoy!!
Okay so first off, there are a couple of Fandom Staples who just have leagues worth of good short stories, and if you haven’t read them, then definitely treat yourself to the array:
A Thousand Futures of Me and You - VisionaryGalaxy (Vishanti, what a legend, ily so much). This is a series of unconnected one-shots, each their own and covering a variety of tropes and moments and themes and AUs. They’re so fun (and/or painful and/or thought-provoking and/or tense and/or sexy)! In-character and amazing, consistantly. 
Prompt Collection -  amethyst-noir (Arbonne). (Also a legendary human). This is exactly what it sounds like: a series of prompt fills in all sorts of tones. You’ll almost certainly find something here that feels like it was just made for you!
Alright, onto the individual stories and series!
Long fics/series:
The of overqualified hands and pi figures series - lantia4ever. (This was my first Ironstrange story, and it is no less magical now.)
A series of one-shots, all set in the same alternate verse in which Tony and Stephen first meet following the events of the first Avengers and then continue to meet after that throughout the canon up until Infinity War and eventually beyond it. Becoming friends - and more along the way.
Time After Time - fancylances. (I love love LOVE this one. Highly recommended.) 
Tony Stark is unstuck in time. Stephen Strange might just be the only person in the universe qualified enough to help.
Citizen Erased - Imagined. (This author. Just... such a wonderful, talented, stunning person who makes wonderful, talented, stunning works. This story is masterful.)
What do you do when no one in the world ever manages to remember you?
Anyone who sees Tony Stark promptly forgets he ever existed after mere seconds. When everyone he has ever cared about has lost their memories of him, he goes to Stephen Strange, possibly the only one who can help him lift the curse. But a terrifying danger is coming, and saving the world isn’t an easy job to do when no one can remember who you are.
if only the gods had mercy on us and it’s sequel a soul too deep - orphan_account. (Vishanti, this series...  It’s so beautiful and emotional and heart-breaking and heart-warming. And it has so few views for so many words! One of my absolute favorites, VERY highly recommended.) 
Tony Stark loved Stephen Strange. He loved him more than anyone could ever imagine. But then a terrorist group attacked the convoy. Then there was a car accident. In the middle of it all, there is tired, battered love. (And, maybe, a little bit of genius)
From the Top - lucifersfavoritechild. (Everyone reads this fic. Written by the blogger Monarch Of The Ironstrange Ship, it’s an MCU rewrite around the relationship. Very fun.) 
“Stephen, if you’re . . . there somewhere . . . when I drift off, I’ll be with you again. I can’t wait.”
|| Personally, I think the MCU would be much better as a love story between Stephen Strange and Tony Stark. Don't you?
Starting from Iron Man, and going all the way to Endgame, with all the appropriate stops in between. Let's take it from the top.
UNFINISHED: Skin Deep - Mystical_Magician. (Super cool premise, and super interesting to read! The dynamic here is very fun.)
A battle that should have finally killed Stephen instead launches him into a parallel universe. Exhausted from centuries as Sorcerer Supreme, he chooses instead to explore this new world in any animal form except human. Having hoped for peace at last, he can't stand to be looked up to, to be responsible for others, to have the world on his shoulders.
If he'd hoped to avoid excitement, however, he really should have stayed away when he noticed an enormous explosion and a falling metal suit of armor as he passed through Afghanistan.
UNFINISHED: The End of Infinity - FriendlyNeighborhoodFangirls. (Self rec. Very long, very slow-burn. Canon-compliant Endgame fix-it. I’m trying so hard, lol.)
In 2023, the battle for the universe has been won. At a cost no one can forget, the fight is over—for all but one. Stephen Strange has an idea. An impossible idea spanning dimensions and timelines, life and death, and the lines of good and evil. But he's played impossible odds before—perhaps he never stopped.
All that Loki wanted was to fight, one last time, for the fate of his universe. So when he finds himself fighting for another, crashing into the past, he has a few intended words for the wizard that forced him there. But not before he finds a boy. Or, more accurately, before the boy finds him.
Peter Parker had been waiting for the next mission. He just doesn't expect it to come from the future, armed with a ridiculous story demanding a ridiculous quest. And he doesn't expect not to be able to tell Mr. Stark.
Tony Stark is trying to rebuild from the Civil War, knowing that someday, something will come that he needs to be ready for. And he doesn't know it yet, but two universes are trying to rebuild around him, and that something is already here.
Seven Stones. Five dead. Two universes. And one impossible quest to tie it all back together.
UNFINISHED: Sunrise in Exile - Ragdoll (Keshka). (Another fandom favorite! And for good reason. This is really really good!) 
Tony does the math and realizes their best chance to save the universe is by... not confronting Thanos on his own turf.
So he steals a wizard and a spider and a space ship. And he runs.
(Three humans and an A.I in space, the alien friendships they make along the way, and discovering how science and magic might coexist in a universe where they can be one and the same.)
Shorter plotty ones: 
Out of Suffering - Mystical_Magician. (So this author??? THIS AUTHOR??? Very very good, much yes, very good.) 
Stephen Strange does not like people, but 14,000,605 lifetimes of fighting and dying alongside this small group have worn down his walls. He likes them, gods help him. He might even consider them friends. It’s really for the best that they all go their separate ways once Thanos has been defeated. In their eyes, he’s barely even an acquaintance.
Now if only Tony and Peter would stop surprising him.
moros - spookykingdomstarlight. (Almost got a spot in the angst section. Very good). 
There were fourteen million universes Stephen had birthed into existence and let die and, in far more than he cared to count, the visitor standing before him had become something… dear.
Shaking is Caring - mariadperiad20. (This is just STUNNING. Highly loved.)
5 times Stephen's hands would shake, +1 time they didn't.
It's Kinda Chalky - DestielsDestiny. (This one’s pretty short, but definitely worth it.) 
You can live an entire lifetime by looking into someone’s eyes. His sister used to say that all the time. Stephen never gave it much thought back then. These days, he can think of little else.
Something Magic - Imagined. (Beautiful!)
There is only ever one rule that matters:
do not fall in love with the enemy.
An Idiotic Theory - FriendlyNeighborhoodFangirls. (Self rec! I tried to be funny.)
His wizard has been cursed, again, and Tony's already used up his luck for the day.
(Stephen says it's not a curse. He says Tony's whole daily-allotted karma-based luck theory has minimal merit, citing the fact that Tony had come up with it while he was drunk.)
Tony really should have saved his miracle.
Love Through Time - babywarg (morphaileffect). (I love this one. It sticks with you.) 
Tony discovers an old drawing of, and finally remembers, his invisible friend Stephen from when he was a child.
Alternates - doobler. (Super cool!)
After being punked by a lowbrow magician, Stephen finds himself falling through doors to otherwordly dimensions. How will he ever get home?
132 - 28ghosts. (Soulmate AU! Very fun, incorporates Stephen’s time-loop with Dormammu.)
Ninety-nine point eight percent of humans have a soulmate mark that tells them the age their soulmate will be when they meet them. Tony Stark has a mark. It's just that his is...different than most people's.
(Or: six people who aren't Tony Stark's soulmate, and one who is.)
and when the world falls (I will fall with it) - HeavenChild. (Another multichap soulmate AU. Absolutely lovely.)
Tony will give anything to those he loves.
People will take everything he gives before leaving him in shambles.
Rhodhey, Pepper and Vision have had enough.
Or the five times Tony had his heart broken and the one time he didn't.
i saw the end of the world - JumpToConclusions. (Why has no one read this fic??? It’s so good!!! Stephen knows the future since he saw it on Titan, and things grow more complex from there.)
Tony and Strange are trying to make this work, this being remaking The Avengers. ...And maybe they'll stumble into something else along the way.
Tiresome heart, forever living and dying - Mystical_Magician. (R e a d  t h i s  p l e a s e. The mythology is so cool and the symbolism is so beautiful and the prose is so satisfying. One of my absolute faves.) 
As a fledgling crane, Stephen was too curious for his own good, and it was this curiosity that led to Eugene Strange finding and stealing away his feather robe. Trapped in human form, cruelly forged into the perfect son, not even his father's death freed him when his robe was so well hidden. He only managed to break his father's mold after breaking completely in the aftermath of his accident, and slowly gluing those broken pieces back together at Kamar-Taj, but not even magic could find what had been hidden. Enter Tony, after the defeat of Thanos.
Fluffy ones:
From The Outside - Live. (Hilarious.) 
Being a sentient life-form surrounded by humanity can be hard. Especially when said humans just can't admit their feelings for each other.
Sleeping Iron Man - Golden_Asp. (Another fun one. Perfect balance of ridiculousness with a touch of angst to make it interesting.) 
Stephen Strange stared at the Avengers on his doorstep, Tony Stark flung over Steve Rogers' shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "He touched something, didn't he?" "Yuup." or The one where Tony touches Sleeping Beauty's spindle, is put into an enchanted sleep, and everyone, even Rocket Raccoon, take their turn kissing him. But Tony only has one prince charming.
Doctor Ob(li)vious - lantia4ever. (One of my very favorites. So cute.) 
Stephen starts getting some weird looks from the Avengers, spanning across disturbed, confused and even scared all the way to curious. He dismisses it at first until weird turns into knowing.
And knowing turns into realizing...even if the scheming teenagers had to all but paint it on the walls for him to do so. Oh wait...
Applied Combinatorics in Two-Player Games - 28ghosts. (Short and fun and full of snark.)
After a battle, Tony Stark and Stephen Strange argue about games.
-
“Chess is not a solved problem.”
“Has been since ‘97, Kasparov versus Deep Blue. Kasparov, 1; Deep Blue, 2; three draws.”
“Chess is a game, not a problem.”
The Courtship of Peter Parker's Father (Figures) - flyingonfeatherlesswings. (Peter plays matchmaker! Adorable.)
Peter couldn't stand to sit by while Tony and Stephen danced around each other any longer. Something had to be done.
Speaking Eyes - Vrishchika. (Not Steve Friendly. Tony is amazing in this. And Stephen is so fantastically dramatic.)
Tony has always had expressive eyes.
The Signs of Sleep Deprivation - FriendlyNeighborhoodFangirls. (Another self-rec. <3)
"Tony said to put the potato in the dishwasher, so that's what I did."
Sometimes, Avengers just show up to say hi. Sometimes, they all show up at once, and Tony makes an party out of it. Sometimes, he invites the snarky, oblivious, somewhat insecure wizard because, and Peter quotes: "everyone else is coming".
Sometimes, something needs to be done.
Show Me Your Scars (And I'll Show You Mine) - Imagined. (Adorable. Lovely. Imagined does it again.)
The worst part is that Stephen keeps tucking his hands away, just as Tony wants to hold them. He keeps hiding them, surreptitiously, no matter what they’re doing. It’s only when Tony kisses Stephen, or hugs him, that he feels the hands settle on his back, uncertain, ready to pull back within seconds.
It only makes him want to cuddle up to Stephen even more, but he backs away, not sure if it’d be welcome.
Promise? Promise. - sharonscarters. (AU, kidfic, absolutely adorable.) 
A four year old Tony Stark runs away from home and finds his Guardian Angel.
What The Doctor Ordered - wakandan_wardog. (Post CW. Kind of not Rogues friendly? So fun, makes me smile. I re-read this one a lot.)
The Rogue Avengers are called back to New York because the heavy hitters are going to be needed against Thanos. Of course, there are some truths that Steve Rogers will need to accept sooner rather than later. Tony Stark has moved on and Stephen Strange will not suffer fools lightly.
Hurt/Comforty ones:
Among The Chaos of The Stars (You're My Safe Harbour) - ShootMeDead. (Oh my vishanti. OH MY VISHANTI. So so so so SO good.) 
Stephen has always been able to hear the stars. Tony is the only one who can silence them.
each night like a white noise frequency - Phierie. (I ADORE THIS FIC. OKAY. I LOVE IT. READ IT.)
Stephen is no stranger to making hard choices. He doesn’t regret his actions on Titan, but months later they weigh on his mind heavier than ever; the cracks begin to show.
Just An Accident - CucumbersInGold. (I really like fics with Stephen’s hands and the difficulties thereabout. Idk, just one of my favorite things. This is beautiful). 
Stephen's hands act up.
Learning, Unlearning - Caaaaaaas. (More character study than anything else. Really good.)
Whatever Stephen wanted with life, life just didn’t seem to know what to do with him.
In which Stephen learns and unlearns some very important lessons.
your eyes have their silence - doctortwelfth. (Oh look it’s another scars fic. I told you I liked them.) 
Tony is gentle with Stephen’s hands even when Stephen forgets to be.
Burning Lines Into The Snow - petroltogo. (Not very Steve friendly. Short and sweet.)
Post CW: It's not just the team that's so broken they are barely able to comprehend how many parts they're missing now, how many have been ripped and twisted and torn. It's Tony as well, right down to the core, the damage so far-reaching even he doesn't know how to fix it.
And then there's Strange, who has his own way of covering the cracks.
Old Bones - CJtheWeeb. (Owch. Dumb geniuses trying to be invulnerable.)
Sometimes Stephen Strange has great days, where he was nearly pain free and his hands still enough to where he could pick up a cup of water and barely spill a drop.
Today was not one of those days.
something taken, something new - meowrails. (So in-character. The premise was a little off to me, but I’m so glad I decided to read this one. I really really like this fic.)
The ChronicConnection implement and app allows a person that lives with chronic or illness-induced pain to transfer their burden temporarily to a willing loved one.
Tony and Stephen sign up as beta testers.
Angsty ones (happy ending unless otherwise mentioned):
day one - days4daisy. (THIS IS SO GOOD OKAY IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE ON THIS LIST READ THIS).
Three days in Stark Tower. Stephen must be in bad shape if he just agreed to this.
His Merlin - babywarg (morphaileffect). (This author keeps showing up on this list because they are A LEGEND. A LEGEND I TELL YOU.) 
As a child, Tony imagined himself a Knight of the Round Table. Little did he know he would grow up to be a king. And that he would have a wizard by his side to lead him to either glory or destruction.
there is no heart for me like yours - turtle_abyss. (Soulmate AU! Wonderful. <3)
Being able to feel your soulmate - a phantom touch, a bone-deep awareness - is a divine torture. To know, but not see. To seek, but not find. To feel someone holding your hand and not be able to hold theirs.
Grace - StrangeMischief. (*cries in beautiful fic* Happy ending!)
“Pain’s an old friend.” 
Us...Me - StrangeMischief. (This will hurt you. So melancholy. Pepper and Tony live their life, and Tony remembers. Not a happy ending.) 
“I don’t believe in happily ever after.” 
One-Thousand Cranes - FriendlyNeighborhoodFangirls. (Self rec, sorry. Hopeful ending.) 
After it all, a man with shaking hands makes a wish.
courtesy - deathofglitter. (Dealing with the fourteen-million futures. So good.) 
Stark looked at him like he looked at the amulet that rested on his chest like a steady promise - dutiful, a bit burdened, and trying to hold a profound lack of personal emotion whatsoever, still personal enough to protect as anyone would a precious object.
La Douleur Exquise - BananasofThorns, StrangeMischief. (More pain. Pepper and Tony, and Stephen watching and trying not to wish. Very good, no happy ending.)
The before was easy. There were fewer boxes in their minds and no chains around their hearts. There was no hurt. No tears. No dreams.
But those days were long gone.
Stigmata - babywarg (morphaileffect). (AU! Soulmates again. Very interesting, beautifully done.)
Since Stephen was little, mysterious wounds have appeared and disappeared on his body, leaving mysterious scars. His mother says it's because he's one of a Pair, and he's absorbing pain meant for someone else.
*wipes brow* PHEW! That gotta a little more in-depth than I first intended... Have fun, my MysticIron friends. Happy quarantine. 
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plaidcladjuno · 3 years
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The Untamed (MDZS/CQL) Fic Recs
Oh man. I’ve been reading SO. MANY. good—nay, great—fics ever since I got sucked into this fandom. I’m already doing my best to comment on them and to add them to my bookmarks on top of leaving kudos, but you know what, I’m also going to share the love and rec some of them here.
Let’s start with 5 for now, shall we?
(is there more to come? yes! soon? maybe! is this going to become a regular thing? who knows! don’t hold your breath, though, I’m not good at staying a. organized and b. committed) 
Note: I put a (?) next to the author’s name when I couldn’t find a Tumblr account for them. If they do have one, please tell me so I can @ them!
The Absolutely True Story of the Yiling Patriarch by aubreyli (?) WangXian | T | 20K | Post-Canon, Getting Together, Junior Quartet
Wei Wuxian’s hand jolts, spilling a drop of wine onto the tabletop. “Love?” he croaks, then clears his throat and tries again. “Lan Zh— uh, Hanguang-jun, in love?”
“Have you not heard the story?” the other young woman asks, looking pitying. “You must, it is a truly heartrending tale of star-crossed romance and mutual pining — go to any storyhouse in town, everyone has been requesting a reading of this book.”
“There’s a book?” Wei Wuxian says blankly.
(In which the junior disciples (namely, Lan Jingyi, Ouyang Zizhen, and a reluctant Lan Sizhui) turn to RPF in an attempt to rehabilitate Wei Wuxian's reputation so that he and Hanguang-jun can get together and get married and live happily ever after. It's... surprisingly effective.)
*stefon voice* This fic has everything: pining, the Junior ducklings, great great great writing. Ugh! I love it so much. It made me laugh, it made me sigh, it’s just one of the best post-canon WangXian get-together fics I’ve read. Have I already mentioned that it’s beautifully written? Yes? Well I’ll say it again: it’s so well-written, it filled me with both intense joy and deep writer envy.
by the light of the dark moon by iodhadh (?) SongXiao | 10K | M | Post-Canon, Yi City Fix-It
“No,” Xiao Xingchen bites out, the words like a whipcrack: “You can’t have him.”
He reaches for the resentment that lies buried in his heart, and rips it out into the world.
As far as Yi City Fix-It fics go (and God knows I’ve already read a number of them, I’m so soft for SongXiao but it also hurts so much 😭) this one does a great job of integrating as much of the events of Yi City as possible while still providing a satisfying and somewhat happy ending for SongXiao (and A-Qing!). It wrangles with original ideas and concepts (i.e. Xiao Xingchen turns to demonic cultivation to free Song Lan from Xue Yang’s clutches, but there’s more) and it’s got great characterizations and dynamics.
Misdirection by feenwitch (?) ZhuiLingYiZhen | 11K | M | Modern Setting, Magic / Night Hunts, Getting Together
Lan Jingyi had not anticipated quite so much kissing when he’d joined the premier cultivation agency in Gusu. As he understood it, he had joined a team responsible for suppressing and eliminating restless spirits and cursed items under the noses of the unsuspecting public. The job description hadn’t mentioned kissing at all, and it certainly hadn’t been covered in training.
And yet, it keeps happening. It just keeps happening.
Look, I’m a sucker for Junior shenanigans in all shapes and forms. Also, I have a particular soft spot for Jingyi and it’s always a delight to read a fic from his POV when it’s as well-written as it is here. There’s so much love for and between the Juniors in this, it’s just... #hearteyesemoji But what really sets this fic apart for me is the worldbuilding and in particular the mix of modern technology and magic used by the Juniors for night hunting, it’s so well-done and so interesting. 
Positive Reinforcement by @ghost--houses ChengYi | 8K | E | Modern Setting, Fluff, Humor
Jingyi sits up and finds himself looking Sandu right in the face. This is definitely a mistake; Sandu is already absolutely livid that Jingyi has had the gall to set foot into his home, and now he's barking like Jingyi looking at him is just rubbing it in.
“Sandu, come on, go lie down,” Wanyin tries. “Sorry.”
“It’s cool, I’m used to it.” Jingyi stands up, grabs his bag, and follows Wanyin further into the house. “Maybe he’ll get used to me this time?”
Wanyin makes a non-committal noise. Jingyi purses his lips, considering. He’s got all weekend, after all.
(Jingyi spends a long weekend with Jiang Wanyin, and decides to befriend his antisocial rat terrier, Sandu)
This is such a delightful read! I had never even considered this pairing before but Jiang Cheng and Lan Jingyi actually work so well together in this fic (while very much staying in character!) and now I have so many feelings about them. It’s a very fun, very entertaining read (Lan Jingyi’s voice is HILARIOUS, I actually giggled out loud more than once) full of love and, well, DOGS. Plus some actually sexy ~sexy times~.  What’s not to like?  Please please please do yourself a favor and check it out.
Uninvited by @theghostcaptain  SongXiao | 40K | E | Modern Setting, Case Fic, Established Relationship
A missing persons case takes a turn for the worse when bodies start showing up. Psychic medium Xiao Xingchen, police consultant, gets called in on the case, but soon notices things are not all they appear to be when an impossible creature starts haunting his visions.
When I saw the summary and tags for this one, I immediately downloaded it on my Kindle and snuggled up on the couch to read it all in one go, and I was not disappointed. It’s an engrossing read and I particularly enjoyed the care and attention that was paid to writing it from Xiao Xingcheng’s perspective as a blind (from birth) character. I loved his relationship with Song Lan too (they care so!! much!!) and the more explicit scenes between them are very hot. (That shower scene! Damn!) Plus, if you like this fic, there’s a couple more set in the same universe!
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elyvorg · 4 years
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The Ultimate Talent Development Plan AU is the one canon AU in which everything is thoroughly good and despair-free and everyone lives happily ever after. …Except for Maki, potentially, because this is also the one AU in which her assassin cult is actually real and she might have to just go back to killing people once she graduates. This is Unacceptable and needs to have something done about it, because Maki deserves a happy life even more than anyone else after what she’s been through.
One of the possible ways of dealing with this is that Shuichi would fix things for her using his detective skills, like he offers to do in her last FTE in canon. He wouldn’t directly take down the assassin cult himself, but he could amass enough evidence of its awful deeds to pass on to some kind of government authority which could then move in and arrest all of its members and take the kids somewhere safe.
One time while I was thinking about this, though, a thought occurred to me: what if the assassin cult got wind of the fact that Shuichi was investigating them? What would they do then?
Imagine Maki going back to her work after graduation while clinging to the thought that it won’t be long now, that this new name on her hit list might just be the last person she’ll ever have to kill before it’s over and she’s free… only to see the name Shuichi Saihara.
And, well, that thought sure wouldn’t get out of my head and blossomed into an entire story. It would take me too long to write this as an actual fic, so instead, here’s just all of the ideas I had for how things would go, essentially telling the story right here in bullet-point form.
Part 1: how we got there
Let’s assume Hope’s Peak privileges meant that Maki didn’t have to work as an assassin while she was attending. So she’d begun to get used to having a relatively normal, non-murdery life for the three years she was there, especially with everything Kaito did to help her start facing her issues and feel more like a normal girl than a murderer.
Perhaps Maki had begun to hope, after Kaito had helped her admit that she never wanted to kill anyone, that Hope’s Peak’s supposed privilege of making its graduates “set for life” could mean that she wouldn’t have to be an assassin any more. Like, the Academy would pull some strings with the assassin cult to just completely cut her ties with it and let her live freely without the fear of those kids starving if she didn’t do what she was ordered to.
Towards the end of the three years, Kaito and Shuichi start to worry about what’ll happen to Maki once she graduates and ask her if they can do anything, but Maki tells them that she expects Hope’s Peak will do something like that for her and she’ll be fine. (She’s not completely sure they will, but she doesn’t want her friends to worry.)
…Except, that doesn’t happen. Turns out what Hope’s Peak meant by “set for life” in Maki’s case is that she’ll get to be an assassin for life. In one of her FTEs, Maki vaguely alludes to the fact that assassins in her cult are killed off once they’ve outlived their usefulness – like, perhaps, when they reach adulthood and are old enough to possibly start thinking for themselves. All Hope’s Peak did by pulling strings was make it so that that won’t happen to Maki, so that she’s trapped in her life of killing people forever! How nice of them!!!
When she learns this, Maki probably doesn’t even want to tell Kaito and Shuichi, because she doesn’t want to worry them and anyway there’s nothing they can do about it (right?). Kaito, of course, notices her acting off and distant and prods the truth out of her. Even then, Maki insists that it’s not a big deal, she’ll be able to handle it now that Kaito’s helped her feel like she’s more than just a killer; she can just live a double-life between horrible murderer and normal person and be fine, right?
Kaito and Shuichi both try to tell her that would not be remotely okay, but she insists that she doesn’t want them doing anything reckless for her sake. Besides, at least this means that she’ll never have to be replaced, meaning that as long as she’s alive and killing people, none of the other kids from her orphanage (those kids that Kaede played piano for, and that Himiko’s arranged to do a magic show for soon!) will ever have to go through what she did. That’s worth it to her.
(Kaito and Shuichi are still not okay with this, but they don’t push the topic for now.)
 At Himiko’s orphanage magic show, everything is generally adorable and lovely, and Maki uses this to firmly remind herself that these kids’ smiles are what she’s being a murderer for, that it’s fine and she can handle this and nothing needs to change.
But while she’s there for the show, Maki happens to get talking with one of the kids, a girl of around ten or so, and gets the most horrifying pit in her stomach as she realises that the men who recruit assassins have been visiting, and they have their eye on this girl.
They’re replacing Maki anyway. She’s not saving anyone by continuing to be a murderer. Nothing she does as an assassin, not even as the Hope’s Peak-approved Ultimate Assassin, is ever going to make a difference to this cycle of misery.
And, that’s it. That’s the last straw. Maki manages to keep herself together long enough for the magic show to end and Himiko to remain unaware of anything weird, but as soon as they’re alone, she turns to Kaito and Shuichi and begs them to help her end this. She doesn’t want this any more, not for herself or for any of those other kids. Hope’s Peak has shown itself to not give a fuck, so Kaito and Shuichi are the only people she can turn to. She has no idea how they can do something about this – it barely seems possible at all – but that… that’s never stopped Kaito, right!?
As it turns out, Kaito and Shuichi have already been having discussions about how they can help Maki while she wasn’t around (because they knew if they brought it up in front of her she’d just shut them down), so Shuichi has already been thinking about investigating the assassin cult and taking it down that way.
Kaito was still planning on bringing this up to Maki soon and persuading her to let Shuichi help. But he’s so incredibly proud that Maki realised on her own that she didn’t want this anymore and has made the decision to try and change her fate and claw her way towards something that seems impossible! (Of course, she’d never have been able to reach that mindset without everything Kaito’s done for her, but because he didn’t have to push her to take that final step, Kaito probably doesn’t quite realise just how completely thanks to him this is.)
Part 2: the ickiest job
So now we’re basically at the point I described in the beginning of this post. As soon as they graduate from Hope’s Peak, Shuichi gets underway with investigating the assassin cult to prove what it really does and who its members are. Maki has to go back to reporting to them and acting like she works for them for the time being, but she knows it won’t be long until Shuichi ends this.
Kaito put his astronaut training on hold for now just so that he can keep an eye on them both. He has Shuichi keep him updated about the progress of his investigation, and he keeps talking to Maki as often as he can to make sure she’s feeling okay about being suddenly thrust back into that world that she’d almost escaped from. She’s mostly doing fine, but that’s only because she hasn’t received any new hit requests yet.
Until she does. Maki tells herself that this new order is going to be the last one ever, that she’ll only have to kill one more person before Shuichi can save her… and then she sees Shuichi’s name, and everything falls apart.
She can’t refuse the order. She just can’t. The cult is still fully functional and in control of her orphanage – who knows what they would do to those kids (and to that one girl they’ve already got their eye on!) if she refuses. The kids have always been why she’s doing this. She would do anything to keep them safe; she made that promise to herself long ago.
She also knows perfectly well why the cult gave this job to her rather than any of their other assassins with no connection to Shuichi. They wanted to see if she was still capable of doing it, because if she wasn’t, then she’d be compromised and of no use to them any more. If she refused, they’d probably kill her off anyway, despite their agreement with Hope’s Peak.
It’s not like that would even save Shuichi, either – they’d just pass the job onto another of their assassins. And not all of them specialise in painless deaths. Shuichi was already doomed from the moment the cult realised what he was doing and decided he had to die. Surely Maki being the one to do it, as quickly and kindly as she can, is the best way for it to happen?
Who was she kidding thinking she could ever get out of this, anyway? Assassins are always necessary. Her being an assassin has always been necessary. It doesn’t matter what she wants or how she feels. It never mattered. The impossible is just impossible; she should never have allowed herself the luxury of believing any of Kaito’s idealistic nonsense.
Kaito, who reached out to her and still believed in her even after learning the truth about her, and now she’s going to repay that kindness by murdering his best friend. He never should have got close to her and made the mistake of caring about her in the first place, and then Shuichi wouldn’t have put himself in the cult’s way and the two of them could have been just fine without her. She’s just a murderer who only ever hurts people. She never deserved them.
So, as she’s sinking into a pit of utter despair (and I am not using that word lightly here), Maki prepares herself to break into Shuichi’s house at night and kill him in his sleep. That way, at least he’ll never know that his “friend” betrayed him.
Meanwhile, Kaito heard from one of Shuichi’s recent check-ins that at one point he worried his cover might have been blown, but things seem to have been okay for the past few days, so, eh, probably not?
Except… that night, Maki suddenly doesn’t show up to Kaito’s regular mini training sessions to check on how she’s doing. She doesn’t answer his texts or calls when he tries to ask her where she is, either. He might have brushed it off as simply something having come up and her having forgotten to tell him, and also forgotten to charge her phone… but Maki doesn’t forget things like that. Then Kaito remembers what Shuichi told him the other day, and he pieces it together.
and, no, no no no no no, this can’t happen. He won’t let this happen. He’s meant to be their hero, he has to be able to do something about this, he has to.
So Kaito drops everything and just fucking sprints to Shuichi’s house in the middle of the night, his heart in his mouth, begging the stars and the universe and every force of good in the world to let him not be too late.
Maki stands over a sleeping, oblivious Shuichi, trying to convince herself that her hand holding the knife isn’t shaking, that she never had a choice, that she’s just a heartless killer who doesn’t care – only to be snapped out of it by Kaito’s voice yelling her name at the top of his lungs. Not just her name, her nickname: Maki Roll! He knows why she’s here, but she doesn’t want to do this!
And Maki, knowing that she should just finish the job right now and escape out the window before Kaito has to see her do it, finds herself frozen. Shuichi’s awake now, staring at her in bewilderment and fear, no longer blissfully oblivious… and Kaito’s right. She doesn’t want to do this. It shouldn’t matter, but he’s right.
Moments later, Kaito makes it into Shuichi’s bedroom and immediately puts himself between Maki and Shuichi. (Shuichi, having only just woken up, is not only frightened but also extremely confused and is quite happy to just stay behind Kaito where it feels safer for the moment until he can get his brain to process what the hell is going on.)
Kaito makes it very clear that if Maki’s going to kill Shuichi, she’s going to have to kill him, too. He’s not letting either of his sidekicks get hurt.
Maki’s assassin mask is not on so tightly that she can’t realise what Kaito means by those words. He’s not only protecting Shuichi from being killed; he’s trying to protect her from carrying out the act by making it as difficult for her as possible. He still cares about her, even though she was moments away from murdering his best friend. He still believes that she won’t kill him despite what she was about to do to Shuichi. How can he be such an idiot?
But of course Kaito still believes in her; Maki Roll’s his sidekick! – and Maki snaps at him to stop calling her that! She’s not a normal girl; she’s never going to get to be one. He’s doing that thing he does, where he makes her believe that she deserves to be happy, that the impossible can be possible, and maybe it is for him, but it’s not for her; it never was.
This whole time, she’s still brandishing her knife, but it’s like in those sprites of hers – she’s not pointing it at Kaito or Shuichi; she’s just holding it out like some kind of barrier, like she can stop Kaito’s words getting through to her. She can’t falter here, because those kids, that girl – who knows what’d happen to them? And it’d be all her fault, because she was selfish, because she let herself care too much, because Kaito brought that out of her like he never should have done.
But Kaito just smiles and tells her that hey, sure the impossible’s possible for her as well, they’ve just gotta work together to make it so! There’s gotta be a way out of this, too, right, Shuichi?
(because Kaito doesn’t have a goddamn clue how to actually fix this situation beyond putting himself between Maki and Shuichi in this moment so she won’t be able to go through with it, but Shuichi should know a proper way out of this, right? Shuichi always knows what to do.)
Shuichi, having more or less managed to calm his panic enough to understand what’s going on by now, tells her that he’s almost finished with his investigation. He’s pretty sure he only needs a few more days’ work to have everything he needs to take it to the authorities and take down the cult. Then those kids will be safe and Maki won’t have to do anything she doesn’t want to do any more. She just needs to trust him and believe that it’s possible.
While he’s telling her this, Shuichi moves out from behind Kaito, a silent show of the fact that he still trusts her despite what he knows she almost did. He believes just like Kaito does that Maki doesn’t want to do this, that so long as she knows that there is a way out of this, then she’ll be brave enough to take that risk and let him help her.
It works. Maki had already admitted that she didn’t want this life any more before getting the hit request on Shuichi; her mask was hanging on by a thread the whole time she was here and it can’t withstand this. She kind of just breaks and begins to cry – the first time that Kaito and Shuichi have ever seen her do so. Kaito goes to hug her, partly as an excuse to gently take the knife from her, but mostly just because she really, really needs it. She doesn’t resist.
Kaito spends the hug telling her that everything’s going to be okay, not like it’s a reassurance but just like it’s fact, and in that Kaito way he has, he manages to get her to just about believe it herself.
 Part 3: on the run
After Maki’s done sobbing into Kaito’s shoulder, she pulls herself together and gets down to business. The cult will be expecting her to report in that she’s completed the job soon, possibly as early as tomorrow. As soon as they realise she hasn’t and has gone rogue, they’ll send in other assassins to kill both her and Shuichi, so they can’t stay there.
(She’s still worried about what’ll happen to the kids, but Shuichi reassures her that they won’t be able to risk doing anything drastic to them for now, not when they know Shuichi’s onto them and looking for evidence of shady activity. Now of all times is when they’d want to keep pretending to be a perfectly normal orphanage that takes care of its kids. If they’re going to hurt the kids, it’ll happen later, and Shuichi’s going to make sure there won’t be a later for those assholes.)
For the time being, though, Shuichi and Maki are going to have to go into hiding. Shuichi will continue to investigate as best he can from there and Maki can use her knowledge of assassin methods to predict the ways in which the other assassins will be looking for them and keep them both safe.
And Kaito? …Technically he has nothing to do with this; the cult has no reason to want him dead and possibly doesn’t even know he has any connection to Maki or Shuichi beyond Hope’s Peak. He could just walk away from this right here and be safe.
When Maki tries to point this out to him, Kaito just stares at her and says, “Are you stupid or something?” and that’s the end of that.
(Of course she knew he’d be too stubborn to even consider leaving them like this, but she still couldn’t help but try and get him to do so, just because then at least he’d definitely get out of this alive and unhurt.)
So the three of them get the hell out of there, cut all communication with everyone else they know for the time being for their safety, and go into hiding.
(Maki makes Kaito ditch the hairstyle before they leave because it’s way too eye-catching when they need to lay low. He pretends to be indignant at first – surely there’s gotta be some kinda downside to doing that! – but then dutifully sticks his head under Shuichi’s shower for a couple of minutes without complaint.)
Kaito may not have much skill in terms of investigating or physically protecting them, but he’s here for moral support. Which isn’t just a trite excuse to make himself feel important – his friends genuinely need that more than ever.
After all, Shuichi and Maki are both kind of terrified and barely holding it together. Shuichi’s never been in a situation this dangerous before, and he’s anxious enough at the best of times. And Maki’s afraid not just for the three of them but also for the kids – if they don’t succeed, those kids will suffer the consequences too and it’ll be all her fault. So having Kaito there, somehow still managing to be his usual optimistic self, means the world to them right now.
(Kaito is equally terrified, of course. He’s just better than either of them at hiding it, and determined to do so because he knows that they need him to be strong for them, and that this is the only thing he can really do for them in this situation at all.)
Maki is quietly impressed by how strong Kaito’s managing to be for them. She’s always seen him as – well, sure, the friend who changed her life and inspired her to believe things could be better, but also as just a carefree ridiculous idiot who’d never had to go through the kind of horrors from her world. She was never entirely sure whether he’d really be able to stay that optimistic if he experienced anything close to as serious as what she’d been through – not that she ever wanted to have to find that out, of course.
Yet here Kaito is, in this life-or-death situation, still managing to make this seem like it’s just a big adventure where the good guys are obviously going to win, because that’s just how things work!
(And Maki knows full well that there’s no way Kaito’s really that oblivious to how serious the situation is, that he’s doing this on purpose to help them, and that’s… kind of incredible, actually?)
Shuichi’s much less surprised to see Kaito like this, because he’d always been under the impression that Kaito really is this strong. He’d never exactly imagined they’d ever be in this kind of situation, obviously, but even so, it just feels natural somehow that Kaito would be able to do this for them.
Kaito, on his end, is so proud to see how well his sidekicks are holding up. It’s such an incredible sign of Maki’s growth that she’s able to bring herself to fight against the cult and try and escape the reality she’d resigned herself to for so long.
And meanwhile, Kaito never realised Shuichi would be so good in a crisis. Sure, he still seems to be scared, but despite that, he’s able to focus on his task and Get Shit Done in a way that Kaito himself feels utterly lost with right now. This is the first time in this universe that Kaito has really found himself not only being proud of Shuichi, but almost… looking up to him?
(Oh you poor innocent UTDP Kaito, you have no idea.)
Being Kaito, he is also significantly underestimating the extent to which Maki and Shuichi are only able to be this strong because he’s there supporting them, despite the fact he’s very deliberately trying to do that for them and knows that it’s the only thing he’s really contributing here.
I’m not sure precisely how things go while they’re on the run, because the exact plot logistics of how Shuichi can investigate the assassin cult are not a thing I’m great at figuring out. (This is part of the reason why I won’t actually write this as a fic, aside from just not having the time.)
I’m here for the character stuff, so I’ve mostly been thinking about the quiet moments in between the detective espionage where the three of them are relatively safe together in whatever hideout they’re using. Kaito would, of course, still insist on training sessions each night – at least as much as is possible while they’re trying to stay inconspicuous and keep an eye out for enemies – and they’d be able to use those as moments to collect their thoughts and reflect on the situation.
Maki would feel awful for the fact that Kaito and Shuichi are putting themselves in this much danger just to help her. When Kaito notices she seems bothered about something that isn’t just the situation itself and prods this out of her, she’d try to insist that it’d have been better if they’d never met her and befriended her in the first place, and then they wouldn’t even know or care that child assassins like her are suffering because nobody was ever supposed to know or care.
Kaito scoffs at that idea completely. He’s a hero! Obviously he’s here to save people who are weak and suffering, so of course he should have befriended Maki in order to be able to help her and those kids like they’re doing now. What kind of idiot is she being to think he wouldn’t have wanted to do this from the start!?
Shuichi, being rather more realistic about things, admits that of course he’s really scared right now and a part of him wishes he hadn’t got wrapped up in this. But still, Kaito (and Kaede, and others) helped him realise during their time at Hope’s Peak how much he cares about helping people, and that he can use his detective skills to do that – so he’s really proud that he’s able to use his detective skills right now to literally save lives, both for Maki and those other kids. So yes, he’s scared… but he doesn’t have any regrets either.
Maki is also still hung up on and feeling awful about the part where she nearly murdered Shuichi. She can’t stop thinking that she might have actually gone through with it if Kaito hadn’t got there in time.
Shuichi hesitantly tells her that he doesn’t think she would have done – at least, he doesn’t want to think so. He saw the look in her eyes as she was standing over him when Kaito’s voice woke him up, and thinking on it now, he’s pretty sure that wasn’t the look of someone who could have done it.
(Shuichi doesn’t consider, however, that that was after Kaito’s voice woke him up, and Kaito’s voice was what started to take Maki’s mask down, too.)
Kaito insists it just doesn’t matter. He did get there in time, and she didn’t kill Shuichi because she didn’t truly want to, and so there’s no point getting worked up about possibilities when they’re not what actually happened and are never going to happen now.
(He wants to tell himself that he believes Maki still wouldn’t have done it anyway, that her better nature would have broken through and stopped her without his help. But, then again, would he really have run so desperately to Shuichi’s place like he had if he’d truly believed that? Kaito doesn’t voice that thought.)
Maki then brings up the fact that there’s always the possibility she could still kill Shuichi right now and potentially get herself and the kids out of this situation safely. How on earth can either of them truly trust that she won’t after she almost did so before?
Kaito’s answer is simple – because he wants to! He wants to believe that she’s stronger than that, that she can believe Shuichi will save them and isn’t going to give up and take the coward’s way out. After all, she’s his sidekick, and of course a sidekick of his is capable of facing something like this with courage! She already showed that when she stopped herself before!
Shuichi agrees that he wants to believe in Maki – because she’s his friend. He knows that he wouldn’t want to kill his friends if he were in Maki’s shoes, and would try as hard as he could to find some other way out, so he wants to believe that Maki feels the same way.
Maki relents and accepts that they really mean that and really aren’t scared of her in this situation at all. After all, she wants to believe that she’s stronger than that, too – and if they believe in her that much, despite everything, then maybe she really is that strong after all.
They are friends. That’s the core of this whole story – these three friends who are so scared of losing each other and of losing themselves, just desperately holding onto each other and protecting each other through this terrifying situation. Shuichi’s detective skills are necessary to take down the cult and end this; Maki’s assassin skills are necessary to protect them while he’s doing this; Kaito’s luminary skills are necessary because without his support Shuichi and Maki would both fall apart. (And without Kaito’s friendship over their time at Hope’s Peak, neither of them would have even dreamed of trying to do this, that it was even possible to take down the cult and give Maki a happy ending in the first place.) They need each other and they are FRIENDS and I love them so much.
Part 4: the end
I’m not quite sure precisely how things would end, because aaaa plot logistics again. But one way or another, they succeed in taking down the cult and get out alive. One universe in which even one of these friends dies is more than enough and I’m not about to make another.
Maybe during some kind of final showdown, Kaito makes an unthinking reckless leap to protect Maki, which succeeds, but he ends up getting shot in his left arm because of it. I dunno, I just think the parallel to what happens to him in canon would be neat.
While everyone is otherwise fine, Maki feels guilty that they didn’t all get out unhurt. Now Kaito’s going to have to postpone starting his astronaut training for several months while his injury heals and it’s all because of her. Kaito literally could not care less, though; this is the most insignificant price to pay for Maki and Shuichi and those kids being safe.
Maki keeps insisting that it’s not okay, that he shouldn’t have got hurt on her account, and in Kaito’s increasingly fervent attempts to get her to drop it, he kind of accidentally blurts out that this is nothing because he was ready to die for them if he needed to.
When Shuichi and Maki press him on that, he clams up and doesn’t elaborate. He meant what he said, but that’s all there is to it, stop talking about it, guys.
(Kaito spent enough time while on the run thinking about how he couldn’t bear to lose Shuichi and Maki, such that he realised he would rather die trying to protect them than live knowing that he’d failed to do so. He has no regrets about having decided that, but… he’s kind of shaken up by the thought of it. It’s the first time in his life he’s really properly thought about his own mortality, not just in the sense that life is short and you never know what might happen (guess who lost his parents to a car crash), but in terms of being genuinely prepared to die if it should ever become necessary. He’s always been so fiercely determined to live his life to the fullest; it’s… weird to know that he would have willingly cut it short. That he’d have been the one to prevent himself from ever making it into space.)
(Oh you poor innocent UTDP Kaito, you have no idea, again.)
Long story short, they’re all safe and free to live out the rest of their lives now, but they’re also just a liiiiittle bit traumatised by this.
Kaito would of course try to hide the fact that any of this got to him, just like he hid how scared he was while it was actually happening, because they need him to help with their trauma and how could he do that if they knew he was struggling too?
Kaito’s outburst about being ready to die for them and the way he was uncomfortable and cagey about it afterwards would give Shuichi and Maki an inroad to realise that something’s up with him, though. So one way or another, with enough prodding and reassurance, they’d eventually be able to get through to him and make him realise that it’s okay to show weakness to them and it doesn’t make him any less inspiring of a hero. 
(Yes, it’s me; I couldn’t resist finding a way to put that outcome in this AU too. Kaito deserves to get over his issues and learn not to be an idiot about this no matter what universe he’s in.)
So they’ll all be okay in the end. Even Kaito.
Regardless of their newfound issues that they’re having to work through, both Kaito and Shuichi firmly agree that it was worth it. They’d have taken twice this amount of pain if that was the only way they could save Maki and all those kids like her from ever having to go through even worse trauma ever again.
Kaito’s a hero, after all! – and this whole thing has made Shuichi realise more than ever, after Kaito points it out to him, that maybe he can be a hero too.
(Alternatively, instead of this ending described here, maybe Kaito has a considerably worse time than just getting shot in the arm.)
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nikkzwrites · 4 years
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Yesterday Once More | Dark Fix-It Fic Series | Chapter 3
A/N: This fic is one that I started with my OC because honestly, I personally didn’t like how season 3 ended. So I am rewriting all of Dark with my OC Annalise Dahlheim. I hope you all like it. Some things will be expanded more on just for more depth to Dark that season 3 kinda skipped over so…. yeah.
CW: Canon Typical Triggers: Smoking, Sex, Language, Drugs, Drinking, Death, Violence, Suicide Mentions, Cutting, Violence.
Word Count:  4.9k
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Jana laid on the couch watching a commercial for Mads’s favorite candy bar called Raider. 
Mikkel blinked and decided to walk into the home. There must have been some mistake. This was just Martha and Magnus playing a joke on him with their friends and his family would be there waiting for him to give him a giant hug. Martha would be there apologizing for never paying attention to him. His brother would be there never letting him go. Katharina would be making his favorite sweets while she tended to his wounds. Ulrich finally getting him that magic set he was eyeing for a while...And Annalise would be there smiling and crying thanking everything that he was back home safe pressing her forehead against his.
When he walked in, he was welcomed to no such sight. He walked into the dining and living room and called, “Mom”
Jana looked up from the couch and responded, “Mads?” She desperately looked at the boy before her.
Mikkel shifted uncomfortably, “Who are you? Where are my parents?” He felt so confused. This was his house. Why wasn’t everything making sense?
Pitifully, Jana moved from around the couch and knelt to study the boy standing in her dining room.
“Who are you,” Mikkel repeated.
Jana held onto the boy and asked, “Do you know where he is?” Mikkel tried to pull away from the woman but she held onto the only thing that may be a clue to her own son having gone missing. “Do you know where Mads is?” she clarified for him.
“You’re hurting me,” Mads protested. He kept trying to get away but Jana’s grip was one of a mother still clinging to the hope of finding her child.
“Want are you doing here,” Jana pleaded, “Say something.” She finally allowed the strange boy to go. She fell back to sob to herself not fully believing any of this was real. Mikkel backed himself into the hallway and bolted to the front door to getaway. Jana bawled, “When is he coming back?” She lowered herself into a ball on the floor to cry.
Ines walked into her work. The sounds of her shoes echoed throughout the white hallways. Her uniform was neat and orderly as always. She paced down the hall before a coworker commented, “Ines, can you do the night shift today too? Mrs. Schuttler’s daughter has a fever and I have to take Benni to soccer. Since you have no…”
Ines stopped and turned. She interrupted the lady to confirm, “No family.”
Her coworker sighed and tilted her head, “That’s not what I meant.”
Ines laughed to ease the tension and commented, “It’s not a problem.”
“Thanks. And please, don’t tell Dr. Reimann?” The lady called to her coworker’s leaving form.
Ines stopped and turned once more to pantomime locking her mouth with a key and putting it into her pocket. “Mum’s the word,” she whispered with a small giggle. Her heart remembering the young boy who had taught her to do that. She wondered what he could be doing and where he could be. It had been at least thirty four years since she had last seen him.
“Thanks.”
Ines continued down the hall once more.
Egon sat in his office listening to the radio berate him about Mads’s disappearance. He sat disheveled at his desk staring at all of the mess around him. His phone started to ring. He sighed then answered the phone, “Tiedemann.” He sat and listened before he asked, “Where?” He continued to wait then responded, “I’m on my way.”
Claudia used her rearview mirror to put on her signature red lipstick. “In times like these...One must face one’s own fears.” She quoted to herself, “Because the future…” She looked down at her speech, “the future belongs to the bold. Not to the doubters, those forever stuck in the past.” She looked at her daughter with frizzy hair in the back. She shook her head and criticized, “Would you take a look at yourself? You can’t go to school like this.” Regina sat in the back of her mom’s car just looking out the window to the forest. Claudia continued, “Sometimes I think you have no idea what it is I do. Food, clothes, fencing classes. Who pays for all of that? And you can’t even bother combing your hair.” Claudia shook her head again. “Look at yourself. You look like a limp dishrag.” Fed up with her daughter’s silence she called back, “Hey, Regina, I’m talking to you. This is a huge deal for me, and I won’t let you spoil it. The board’s decision to entrust this post to a woman for the first time...”
Regina just stared out the window wishing she was already at school.
Mikkel walked to the high school hoping to find his mother, his siblings, or Annalise. He looked around. Everyone seemed to be dressed oddly. 
Katharina leaned against the lockers as she handed her friend a tape, “It’s awesome.” She commented then asked, “Know what the song’s about?”
“No,” her friend answered.
“A man who kidnaps a girl and takes her to the forest, just because she’s wearing red lipstick. In the end, he kills her,” The blonde explained.
Hannah raised her brow but stayed silent as their other friend responded, “That’s heavy.”
“My dad says lipstick is only for prostitutes,” Hannah, then, explained, “Anyway, I like Nino D’Angelo way more than Falco.”
Katharina shook her head, “Hannah, you’re as square as they come.”
Hannah smiled awkwardly.
Their friend scolded, “Come on Katharina. Don’t be so nasty.”
Mikkel slowly made his way to the small group of familiar seeming girls. He stared at them awkwardly.
“What are you looking at,” Katharina addressed the boy, “Weren’t you at Ulrich’s place earlier?”
Hannah looked at him and asked gently, “Are you new here?”
Mikkel shook his head quickly. “I..” he started, “I’m looking for my mom.”
Katharina smiled cockily at the boy, “This isn’t kindergarten.”
“She’s the principal here,” Mikkel defended himself.
Katharina’s eyes widened as she asked, “Mr. Hubert?” Hannah laughed as the blonde continued, “he may be a fag, but he’s certainly not a woman.”
Mikkel looked down at the floor then back up at the girl, “Isn’t this Winden?”
Katharina scoffed at him then started to make her way to class. As she passed him, she asked, “Aren’t you a bit young to drop acid?”
Hannah deflected the conversation to ask, “You guys got history now?”
Mikkel stood and watched them leave annoyed. He had no idea what was going on.
Claudia pulled up to the nuclear power plant. She opened her door but stayed sitting in her car to put on her high heeled shoes.
Helge looked up from sweeping the street of paint. He smiled seeing Claudia. He greeted her, “Morning, Claudia.” He had always admired her even as a child.
“Morning,” Claudia tried to rush past him, but when she saw his sweet face she stopped to talk to him. He was just the same as the little boy she used to tutor.
“Your first day as boss,” He happily commented.
Claudia nodded and reaffirmed, “Yes.”
Helge lightly chuckled and swayed with his broom, “My dad told me the board voted unanimously for you.” He sighed and shrugged before continuing, “I wanted… Congratulations.”
Claudia smiled and nodded, “Thanks.”
“I always knew something would become of you,” Helge continued.
“Oh, Helge.” She nervously laughed. He was doing his weird Helge thing again, she thought to herself.
Helge, then, said as he stopped her from leaving. “And I have…” He paused to pull out a nicely wrapped gift, “A present for you.” He smiled proudly at her. Claudia looked down anxiously. The man then explained, “It’s a book.”
Claudia didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t expecting this at all even if it shouldn’t have surprised her that the man would go to such lengths. She just looked up and thanked him for it before looking back down at it. The stood awkwardly for a moment. Helge stared at her expectantly. Claudia smiled again, “Well, I’m running late. I have to get going.”
Helge let the woman pass finally and called after her, “We’re all behind you, Cl..”Helge stopped himself shaking his head knowing that Claudia didn’t much care. The wet rustles of the broom against the pavement started up once more as he tried to remove the painted graffiti of ‘No Future’ from in front of the plant’s gate.
“I came just before six t feed the animals and found this,” the farmer explained to Egon as the men stood in a field surrounded by a flock of unexplainable dead sheep.
Egon asked, “Maybe a wolf?”
The farmer looked up at the chief of police as if he was stupid, “No bite marks. Nothing.”
Perplexed, Egon looked around the field of sheep corpses around him, “Poisoned?” He asked with a shrug.
The man let out a small instinctual shrug and commented, “Yesterday they were lively as can be. First the thing with the boy, and now this. Such things didn’t use to happen here. Who would just kill 33 sheep? ‘Be on guard. Be alert. You do not know when that time will come.’ The Gospel of Mark, 13:33.”
Egon nodded then shook his head, “Didn’t know you were a churchgoer.”
The farmer nodded, “The parish has a new priest. A good man.”
Egon stared at the man for a second then sighed looking down towards one of the sheep. The autumn trees behind them bare and the bright green grass being early the only color in the dreary field.
Claudia stormed into the large building trying to get to her office. 
“Mrs. Tiedemann,” Her mousy secretary called to the woman boss as she rushed to catch up, “Mrs. Tiedemann. Tronte Nielsen from the paper is here, for the interview.” She smiled as Claudia looked back at her. She handed the other lady a binder, “and here are the figures from 1986 and 1985, as you requested.” The secretary watched as Claudia opened it up to examine the information. “They weren’t easy to get a hold of,” The woman admitted proud of her own hard work. When Claudia basically ignored her, she spoke up once more, “And congratulations again. I still can’t believe we have a woman as boss.” The woman cheerfully beamed.
“Are you sure these are the right figures,” Claudia asked concerned with what she was looking at.
Her secretary confirmed with a simple, “Yes.”
Claudia slowly closed the binder and nodded to her secretary to let her know she did a good job and that she could leave her. Once the other lady left confused, Claudia went back to investigate the numbers.
Egon sat in his office typing up his report. He still seemed to be learning how to use the modern typewriter. There was a small shuffle that came from the entrance to his office. Egon looked up to see a small boy in a dirty red puffy jacket over a skeleton costume. He looked at the dazed boy and asked, “What are you doing here?”
Mikkel looked at the man. He blinked several times. Today was just getting weirder and weirder for him. “I…” He stumbled over his words until he got his footing, “I’m looking for my dad.”
Egon smiled gently. He finally felt as if he could have a win in these dark times. His heart leaped happily at the thought of being able to help this boy. He asked, “What’s his name?”
Mikkel took a breath and replied, “Ulrich Nielsen.”
Egon’s brow furrowed. “Ulrich Nielsen?” he asked, “The Ulrich Nielsen?”
Concerned, Mikkel asked, “Doesn’t he work here?”
“No,” Egon replied, “And I’m certain he never will.” He looked at his report then back at Mikkel in disbelief, “Oh, so this is a joke? Was this Ulrich’s dumb idea?” He walked over to the boy and examined his scraped up face, “Did he do this?” Egon would be surprised if the teen would have beaten up a kid to make him go along with a stupid prank. He asked again, “Did Ulrich do this?”
Mikkel shook his head quickly at the officer. He stared up worried. The realization started to hit him that this wasn’t just a joke.
Egon stood up straight once more and asked, “What’s your name?”
“Mikkel,” the small boy choked out.
“Last name,” Egon asked with a shrug.
“Nielsen,” Mikkel anwsered honestly, “I am Ulrich’s son.”
Egon sighed and then asked, “Now tell me your parents’ real names and I’ll take you home.”
Mikkel shook his head and then asked, “What’s the date?”
“The 5th of November,” Egon replied with a shrug.
Mikkel, then, asked, “What year?”
Egon laughed figuring the boy had a sense of humor. He shook his head as he chuckled, “1986.”
Mikkel took a step back. Everything was fully hitting him now. He repeated back the year to Egon. He, then, watched as Egon went to the phone to make a call. He listened as the man described him over the phone and asked for someone to come pick him up.
After hanging up, Egon picked up his coat and explained to the child, “Someone will be coming to pick you up and take care of that.” He motioned to Mikkel’s injuries before continuing, “In the meantime, I’ll take care of Ulrich.” He walked past the boy and vowed, “He won’t hurt you again. I promise.” The man then closed the door behind him leaving Mikkel to sit and wait.
Mikkel walked over to Egon’s desk and started to play with the Rubik’s cube. As soon as he solved it, he gently placed it down so that he could try calling his house. Sadly, he only got the robotic voice telling him that the number was not in service. Mikkel shook as he held back tears. The boy sat back down and tried to look around to find anything else to do. He found a lighter on the desk. He slowly pocketed it after checking if it still worked. Mikkel, then, spied a report on Egon’s desk about his Uncle Mads. He looked at it still processing that he was trapped in 1986. He looked at a picture of Ulrich and Mads that was near the exact one in his house. Hearing someone coming, Mikkel panicked and placed everything back before jogging to the front of the desk.
Ines carefully walked into the room and greeted the boy. She walked a bit closer then explained, “I’m Nurse Ines. But you can just call me Ines.” Mikkel stayed quiet as he stared at the woman. She slowly approached him and knelt down to be eye to eye with him, “I’ll take you to the hospital now. We’ll take a look at your arm, okay? Then I will bring you home safe and sound.” She smiled gently and held out a hand.
Meanwhile, Egon pulled up to the Nielsen’s. He tried the doorbell then knocking. When he got no answer, he slowly made his way inside the house. Rock music blared upstairs from inside the teenaged Ulrich’s room. Ulrich sat in his trashed room playing an old plug and play game when Egon walked in. Egon looked at the turntable and carefully removed the needle to get the boy’s attention.
Ulrich sneered. His eyes looked him up and down before asking, “What are you doing here?” He stood up from his chair.
Egon placed his hands in his pockets and quoted the song in English, “‘My only aim is to take many lives. The more the better I feel.’ Why do you listen to such stuff?” He walked closer to Ulrich, “The boy you sent, do you think that’s funny?”
Confused, Ulrich shrugged, “What boy?”
“Don’t think you’ll get away with this,” Egon threatened.
Ulrich leaned over to sniff the man. He pulled away and commented, “Have you been drinking again?”
Insulted, Egon asked, “Beg your pardon?”
Ulrich repeated, “I asked if you’ve been drinking again?”
“Who do you think you are,” Egon asked growing angry, “I want us to find your brother just as badly as you do.”
Ulrich stood his ground and watched as Egon turned to leave. 
Egon, then, had something catch his eye. He picked it up. There he held a sheep’s hoof in his hand. He turned and showed it to Ulrich, “What’s this?”
Growing annoyed, Ulrich responded, “A hoof. That’s obvious.”
Egon grabbed the shirt of the boy and pulled him closer, “Did you do that on the pasture?”
“What pasture,” Ulrich questioned.
“Did you kill the sheep?”
Ulrich started to raise his voice, “If you’d stop drinking your brain to mush, then Mads might be back by now.”
Jana walked in hearing her elder son had raised his voice. She stood in the doorway with her hands crossed over her chest. She looked at the man surprised and asked, “Mr. Teidemann?”
Egon let go of the teenager and slowly turned. Ulrich snatched the hoof back from the man. Egon tried to explain, “The door was open.”
Jana nodded, “Because of Mads. He forgot his key.”
Just to stir the pot, Ulrich lied, “Chief Inspector Tiedemann wants to update you on the investigation. They’ve got new findings. Hm?” Ulrich, then, sneered, “Exactly. You have nothing. Now kindly piss off!” The boy put away his hoof and turned his music back on before sitting back to continue his game.
Egon carefully moved past Jana and walked downstairs to see himself out. Jana just stared at her older son grateful that she still at least had Ulrich.
At the hospital, the doctor checked Mikkel’s vitals. Ines stood in the corner as the doctor took a look at the boy’s arm. “Everything’s in working order,” He commented. He then asked the boy, “How did this happen?”
Mikkel remained silent in mourning his old life.
“And you still won’t tell us your name,” The doctor asked the boy. A ring of a pager filled the room. The doctor looked down at it then told the boy, “Nurse Ines will bandage you up, okay? Then you can go back home.” He pet the boy’s head to try and comfort him before leaving.
Ines stared down at the empty name and general patient information on the intake report. Her heart ached. She looked back up at the boy and slowly sat in front of him. Mikkel just couldn’t hold it in anymore. Tears started to fall from his eyes. He was never going to be able to have his life back. Ines’s heart wrenched. She caressed the boy’s face and comforted, “Don’t cry. Everything will be okay.” She forced a small smile at him.
Claudia knocked on the door of the old director’s office. “Brend,” she called to him after opening the door, “I have to talk to you.” She walked into the office and closed the door behind her. She stormed to the retired man’s desk and slammed the binder she was carrying down. “Were you trying to slip this past me,” she accused. She angrily explained, “I said I need to know if there are skeletons in the closet.”
Bernd sighed, “There are things that are worth knowing and things worth not knowing because you can’t change them anyway.”
“What is this,” Claudia motioned with her hand. She opened up the report, “These are nothing like the reported figures. Here.” She looked up and nodded at him, “And here.” She looked up angrily again, “Everywhere. It’s been like that for three months now!” She motioned for him to speak to defend himself.
The man asked, “Do you know what has changed since Chernobyl? People have lost faith. In us, in nuclear power. They saw the images and they can’t get them out of their heads. But fear is the worst enemy of progress.”
Breathing hard, Claudia tried to piece together what he was trying to say. She shook her head, “So?”
“How many people around here rely on the plant for their livelihood,” Bernd counterpointed.
Claudia swallowed realizing now what he was saying. “We have 612 employees, excluding…”
“Everyone!” Bernd corrected the woman, “And when you take over this job tomorrow, you’ll be taking on responsibility for the nuclear power plant, but you’ll also be taking responsibility for the entire town. And now tell me, was I wrong about you?” 
Claudia sighed. She crossed her arms across her chest then stated, “All the more reason for me to know just what this means.
Egon stood in the morgue with the examiner who was opening up one of the sheep’s heads. The examiner droned on about how exciting and historical it was for Claudia to be taking over the plant. He tried to just focus back on the case, “So were they poisoned?”
“Hardly,” the examiner chuckled, “All signs point to sudden cardiac arrest.”
“Cardiac arrest,” Egon asked surprised.
“Yes.”
“All 33?”
The examiner explained, “It’s common with sheep. They’re very sensitive creatures. If a few start to panic, the entire herd freaks out. It’s a vicious cycle. They just drop dead. Like flies.”
Egon, then, asked, “And what could cause such a panic?”
“All kinds of things,” the other man educated the officer.
“A person,” Egon asked surprised.
The medical examiner asked, “A single person?” He replied back, “Unless he’s Freddy Krueger, he’d have his work cut out for him.”
Egon, still focused on Ulrich, asked, “Did one of the sheep…” He stopped and rephrased his question, “I mean, was one of them missing a hoof?”
The medical examiner shook his head, “No. They are all as God created them.”
The men had a bit of an exchange about if this could be Satanists when the examiner found something. His brow pushed together, “Strange.” He motioned for Egon to come to see, “Look here.” The medical examiner pointed to its eardrum, “The eardrums are ruptured. On both sides. Strange.”
Claudia rolled Bernd into the woods to a place that he instructed. The man held out a yellow key to her and said, “What we know is a drop, what we don’t know is an ocean.” He then handed her a flashlight.
Claudia opened up the gate that enclosed a natural cave system. She repelled down into it. Leaves rustled out of the way and screamed as her heels punctured them. She turned on the flashlight and tried to look around.
Ines wrapped Mikkel’s hand and asked, “Won’t you tell me your name and where you live?” Mikkel stayed quiet so she asked, “Don’t you want to go home? If something happened at home… You can stay here for now.” 
Mikkel refused to look at her. He was just trying to focus on not crying. Magnus and Martha would have made fun of him for crying. What was it that Annalise used to do that would stop him from crying? Agony struck him while he started to realize he was starting to forget little things. Or was it that he never actually fully appreciated them so he never paid full attention in the first place. He longed for Katharina’s arms to wrap around him. 
Ines finished her work and told the boy, “If you want to talk, I’m here.” She held his hands in hers and gently rubbed his wrists with her thumbs, “I’m on the night shift too.” Seeing the boy not letting up from the ground he stood on, she placed some comics down on the bed for him and explained, “Here, something to read.”
“I’ve come from the future,” Mikkel explained as she walked away.
Surprised, Ines turned and asked, “What did you say?”
Mikkel turned to look at her and repeated, “I come from the future.”
Ines started to fill with fear. Her eyes darted down to the comics she had placed on the bed seeing that they were called, ‘Captain Future.’ She started to sigh thinking that the boy was just familiar with the comics and not actually telling her the absolute truth that he actually came from the year 2019.
Claudia made her way through the dark caves. She kept walking until she found it. Copious amounts of yellow barrels labeled as toxic. Right there, under the city.
Regina walked into her house and dropped her bag down in the hall. She removed her jacket and called her for her mom. When Claudia didn’t respond, Regina walked to the answering machine and listened to the message of her mother telling her just to heat up a pizza. She sighed as she stared at herself in the mirror and lifted the sleeve of her blue sweater to reveal her self inflicted scars. She sniffled as she tried to pull herself together.
Egon pulled up to the pasture to try and investigate more about the sheep incident. He walked around with his flashlight.
A large mechanical boom resonated inside of Winden.
Egon looked towards the noise only to have a bird drop dead right next to him. His light started to flicker as more birds dropped from the sky attacking him and the earth below with their corpses.
Lights all around Winden started to flicker. Everyone started to panic.
Mikkel used this as his opportunity to try and sneak out so that he could get back home. He pulled the curtain and climbed out the large window just as Magnus had once taught him to do.
Ulrich sat at the bus stop. He looked out into the forest as he smoked. He started to come out here more and more hoping that one day he would spot Mads and be able to bring his brother home. The smooth sounds of a bike chain pulled him out of his wandering mind. He smiled and called to the younger girl riding it, “Hey, Hannah!”
Hannah smiled and rode to meet up with Ulrich at the stop, “Hey Ulrich.” She parked her bike and sat down next to her crush. They sat in silence just enjoying each other’s presence for a second. Hannah spoke up and asked the boy, “Is this the Apocalypse?”
Ulrich hummed and then commented, “A bit disappointing.”
“I imagined it being louder,” Hannah affirmed with Ulrich, “More glaring.”
Mikkel ran through the trees making his way to the caves. Desperate to make it back home into the loving arms of his family. He bolted to the cave in which he came to this world then stopped to take a breath. He took out his stolen lighter and started his way into the caves hoping to find his way home.
“If the world ended today and the world started anew, what would you wish for,” Hannah asked Ulrich.
“Easy,” the teenager replied, “A world without Winden.” The boy watched as the lights flickered in the bus stop.
Hannah paused and thought for a second before proposing a cheer, “To a world without Winden.”
“To a world without Winden,” Ulrich agreed. He took one last puff of his cigarette before tossing it away onto the street. Just then the flickering stopped. Everything seemed to have gone back to normal.
Hannah smiled, “I don’t think Winden is going to give up that easily.”
Ulrich chuckled back and shrugged, “Well, maybe next time.”
Little did Winden realize all of this mirrored the exact feelings all of the town would be feeling 33 years from now. This feeling of hopelessness, confusion, hurt. Claudia slowly opened Helge’s present to reveal a book titled, ‘A Journey Through Time’ by H.G. Tannhaus. Regina looked at her body unsatisfied and selfconsciously. Charlotte still investigating what was making all of these birds die in such a strange fashion. Tronte still coming home late to a disappointed and worried Jana. Ulrich still mourning the loss of a little boy he held so dear to him.
Ulrich, sick of this feeling, drove down to the caves with a crowbar. He crossed the police line and stormed inside trying to find his son.
Mikkel, 33 years in the past, climbed his way through the caves only to get take a slid. His body slid down the rocky floor and only stopped when his leg hit a hard rock at the bottom injuring it.
Ulrich, in 2019, walked up to the metal locked door with his flashlight. He placed his light down so that he could have light as he worked and approached the door. He shoved his crowbar into the door.
In 1986, Mikkel heard the noise coming from all around him. He looked down at his bloody injured leg. He winced and grit his teeth through the pain. He just wanted to make it move again so he could go back to trying to make it home. Hearing the banging noise again, he called to it, “Hello?!” His voice was raspy and desperate, “HELLO? Help!”
Ulrich turned hearing the ghostly echoed voice of his son calling for help. Ulrich stopped banging on the metal door and asked, “Hello?” He repeated himself in a whispered tone, “Hello? Anyone there?” He started to pant and repeated his son’s name in the hope that he would hear him, “Mikkel? Mikkel?”
Mikkel pushed his way up and limped over to his still lit Zippo lighter.
Both ended up struggling out of the cave alone and sitting right at its cursed entrance in torment. Both wishing they were with the other as a lone Tannhaus worked in his office on a new invention. 
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Destiel Fic Rec List Part 5
Last Updated in October 2014. Posted in May 2020 for posterity.  Listed in no particular order - the total rec list will have ~250 fics. Header graphic used with permission.
This part of the list contains: 32 fics.
Other Destiel Rec Lists: [1]. [2]. [3]. [4]. [5]. [6]. [7].
 _____
Casturbatus Interruptus by gaugbrojotr E | 6k | Canon!verse, Hot, , PWP
post-9.01, in a slight AU wherein Cas comes to live with the Winchesters at the Bunker. Written before 9.03. Crossposting from Tumblr. Written for a prompt from hightopsandsharpies: "Okay, so Cas is a virgin, and has no idea what pleasure is and Dean decides to show him and Cas gets all cuddly and needy afterwards. Dean walks in on Cas masturbating. He’s doing it all wrong, but when you’re a bazillion-year-old virgin, that’s to be expected. Dean decides to lend him a hand in a totally platonic, non-romantic way. Things get a little out of control.
 that awkward moment when... by highermagic E | 7k | Hot, wing!Kink
All in all, with a full tank of gas and his radio turned up loud, Dean was in a pretty damn good mood. All that vanished into shock and concern when the sky lit up like daylight, as though someone had decided that black was so passé for nighttime.
 This Temporary Flesh and Bone by misachan E | 5k | Canon!verse, h/c, wing!kink
Castiel doesn't serve Dean, fine, Dean has no problem with that - he just wants to know why Castiel's showing up in his dreams again.
What a fabulous little Fic. Very emotional. S4 cas is my FAVORITE.
 Only Fools Rush In by baka_sensei E | 18k | Canon!verse, soulbond
Dean does something and in angelic tradition that means he's become Castiel's fiancé. Dean doesn't know if he wants to get married, but he doesn't want to let Castiel down either. Cas lets his feelings run away with him, Gabe is a total dick, Sam is concerned, and Dean has to make a choice.
 Learning Curve by blualbino T | 1k | Fluff, Canon!verse
Cas has nice lips. They’re soft looking. Plush even. Dean can do this.
 Dinner At Katz's by nanoochka E | 2k | Hot, canon!verse
Dean might have to teach Cas how to have a When Harry Met Sally-esque orgasm, but he certainly doesn’t have to fake it.
 Free With His Hands by watermaline E | 2k | canon!verse, handprint!kink
The first time it happens, Dean chalks it up to…well, he doesn’t chalk it up to anything, he’s too busy coming his brains out in his jeans with Castiel’s hand on his shoulder.
 Desecrate that Sanctuary by brokentoy E | 3k | Hot, Alt!Canon Verse
Dean develops a fascination with Cas' bones.
 What Once Was Sacred by saltandbyrne E | 55k |  Hot,  AU, Cop Dean, DJ Cas
Los Angeles detective Dean Winchester works tirelessly to atone for the sins of his father one case at a time. When his best friend Charlie drags him to visit Sam at his new job, Dean stumbles onto a bizarre string of deaths that brings him uncomfortably close to his past.Dean can't stop thinking about Castiel, an enigmatic DJ who plays the sexiest music Dean's ever heard. A chance encounter at Castiel's house reveals that Castiel is an incubus, and Dean must face the lies and the reality of his childhood as a hunter. Dean comes to see that he and Castiel have more in common than he thought, and that guilt can be the hardest thing to cast aside.
Freefall by LastKnownWriter E | 128k | Hot, Fluff,  AU, Teacher Dean, Firefighter Cas
AU. The most exciting kindergarten teacher Dean Winchester's life ever gets is when he plays mechanic in his uncle Bobby's shop on the weekends. That is until a birthday party goes tequila-nova and he trips into a one-night stand with an incredibly hot firefighter named Castiel. Dean's life gets a lot more exciting after that.
 The Best Years of Our Lives, My Ass ❤ by ireallyhatecornnuts E | 110k | Hot,  Fluff,  HS AU but not really,
AU after Season 8, episode 6, "Southern Comfort." Dean goes to sleep in a motel room in Texarkana, and he wakes up 17 years old, in his childhood bedroom in Lawrence, Kansas, 1996. He has no idea how he got there, why his parents are still alive, why his brother is an adorable freshman with no memory of his adult life, and why the only ally he has in this place is the angel he left behind in Purgatory – somehow also 17 years old. They have to get out, that's the important thing. Only, falling in love with his angel wasn't a part of the plan....
It's like a HS AU... but better! I love how Dean is given a second chance at growing up, and Cas gets to engage with his humanity is painfully familiar ways. Some homophobia from non-central characters.    
 deus ex nihilo by Valyria E | 7k | AU, dubcon, god cas
Lost on an uncharted island, Dean Winchester is captured by the local villagers and offered up as a sacrifice to their winged god. Castiel takes one look at Dean and decides he wants him for a mate.
 Twist and Shout ❤ by gabriel E | 97k | Angst,  AU, Main Character Death
What begins as a transforming love between Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak in the summer of 1965 quickly derails into something far more tumultuous when Dean is drafted in the Vietnam War. Though the two both voice their relationship is one where saying goodbye is never a real truth, their story becomes fraught with the tragedy of circumstance. In an era where homosexuality was especially vulnerable, Twist and Shout is the story of the love transcending time, returning over and over in its many forms, as faithful as the sea.
Do I really need to say anything? Twist and Shout is one of my favorites simply because it made me bawl. Didn't love the characterization, but I still liked it overall.
Carry On ❤ by TamrynEradani E | 148k | Hot,  AU, Sub!dean, Dom!Cas
 When Sam gets into Stanford, Dean needs a bigger paycheck than Bobby's garage can give him. Luckily, he knows a guy.
Forget 50 Shades of Grey, they should make this fic into a movie! Even if you are not a fan of Sub!Dean, give this fic a shot, because it is nearly perfect.    
Glasses by Samanthapin E | 9k | Fluff, High School AU, punk!cas, nerd!dean
Teasing turns flirting turns dating turns grossly soppy boyfriends
 beer and bacon happy hour by outpastthemoat G | 2k | canon!verse, s8
The problem is that Dean’s been having good ideas all night. “No one insults the trenchcoat,” Dean says, and drives his fist into the other dude’s face. Dean figures he was bound to run out of good ideas eventually.
 Hard Road ❤ by aleishapotter E | 54k | Canon!verse
Dean discovers a few truths about himself when he and Cas are forced to go undercover on a hunt to the very last place Dean ever thought he'd find himself: a gay resort called "Last Hope" that is geared towards helping troubled homosexual couples repair their relationships. This fic is hilarious and hot--my favorite things.  
 Dean Smith Verse by TamrynEradani E | 17k | Hot,  BDSM, AU, Sub!Dean
Dean Smith is a man of routine. Castiel takes him apart.
Bratishka: Little Brother by Valyria E | 33k | Cop AU, Cop Dean, Lawyer Cas
Dean thinks he knows pretty much everything there is to know about his best friend Castiel Novak - he's a smart, gorgeous DA who probably lets Dean get away with more than he should to see the bad guy locked up - but it turns out Cas is hiding some dark family secrets.
 the way to a man's heart by mkhunterz M | 15k | Fluff,  Canon!verse
Dean teaches Cas to cook, and other things as well.
 Branded by garrisonbabe E | 12k | | canon!verse, soul bond, marking/claiming
Michael mocked Castiel, telling him he'd never get Dean the way he truly wanted. No matter the mark on Dean's soul, he'd never get him the way the archangel could take him. Dean finds a ritual that fixes that and a few other issues.
 Our Bodies, Posessed by Light by obstinatrix E | 39k | canon!verse, sastiel bromance, Fluff
Purged of all his souls, Castiel is a changed being, stronger than an angel and too powerful for Jimmy's body to contain. Happily, there's an archangel's vessel on hand, and he could use fixing, too. Dean isn't too happy about the idea of his brother acting as a vessel for Castiel, and Sam can guess why, but it isn't until Castiel gets inside his head and they learn to share the vessel -- and their thoughts -- that Sam realises Cas is as in love with Dean as Dean is with him. It's unfortunate that there's nothing much to be done about it now, but Castiel will get another vessel soon. The Winchesters will make damn sure of that. In the meantime, it's up to the three of them to establish their own strange accord, and Dean realises more fully than ever that it's Castiel, and not his vessel, that he loves.
 So Glad We Made It  ❤by scaramouche M | 16k | Fluff,  AU
At twelve years old, Dean makes a friend, who becomes his best friend, who will eventually become the love of his life.    
Oh, the best friends who grow up together AU. I have a soft spot for fics like these-- comes with pining, awkward misunderstandings, and a good basis for a realistic relationship.
 Shut Up (Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is) ❤ by kototyph E | 23k | Fluff,  college au
Dean's done some pretty stupid things, but getting drunk-hitched in Vegas to a colleague he barely knows might just take the cake. His surprise husband, Castiel, is a little weird but likable despite that, and Dean figures they’ll go back to Boston, get a quiet annulment, and go their separate ways. Six weeks later, he’s still married to one of the strangest, most genuine and definitely most dangerously lov-- likable guys he's ever known. Dean doesn't know why or really even how it’s happening, but it’s getting harder and harder to remember that he has divorce papers to file.
FLUFF EVERYWHERE! This is definitely a feel-good fic and I love reading it when I'm sad. Or just you know, whenever.
 But the Fire is So Delightful by kototyph E | 5k | Hot, hate then love, College AU
Apparently, it’s been snowing all day. [Dean is a Douchebag Fratboy with a Cherry Ass, Castiel is Angry and Aroused]
 Stitches by askance T | 23k |  Fluff, h/c, blindness, Canon!verse
Castiel survived Leviathan--but only barely. Vessel mauled and eyes destroyed, Cas is barely clinging to what's left of his grace when Dean finds him naked and alone on the reservoir's edge; in a panic, Dean brings him home to the cabin where he and Sam have been holed up off the grid. What follows is the slow process of the angel's recovery and the unexpected changes that come with his being blind, and in the three months this takes, their little family slowly begins to patch itself back together in forgiveness, love, and darkness.
 When Charlie Met Cas by riseofthefallenone E | 25k | Fluff,  canon!verse
Charlie is back in all her glory. The Winchesters have showed up on her doorstep and she’s making the best of it the only way she knows how. By being the little sister Dean never wanted and shipping the shit out of Destiel.
The Life After the Morning After by saltyfeathers T | 17k
Dean and Cas get uber drunk on their last day of University. They end up married. Neither of them seem to mind.
The Girlfriend Experience ❤ by Rageprufrock E | 15k | Hot,  Canon!Verse, First time
While it's not like Dean hasn't had a couple of truly regrettable hit-and-runs in his sexual history, this is probably the saddest fucking thing that has ever happened to him.
Classic Casturbation fic. Complete with steamy sexytimes, hilarious dialogue, and fed up and clueless Dean. Perfect.    
Hands, From Which All Things Are Built by MajorEnglishEsquire T | 14k | Canon!Verse, s8
Castiel travels with the angel tablet and without the Winchesters. One day, Dean gets a text from some anonymous number. (They speak in the language of need.)
Cowboys and Real Estate Angels by almaasi E | 36k | AU
Castiel crosses paths with the ever-charming Dean Winchester at a rodeo show in Texas, of all places. Dean's singing days are long bygone, but his crowd-pleasing skills haven't waned one iota. Unexpectedly, Castiel finds himself in Dean's bedroom; they take and they give, and discover that sometimes strangers can find love like this, too. (And if a man's faith can't be put in God, it needs to go somewhere...)
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Re-writing the story I once wrote, but not really
Some of you may remember my fic “The Feelings We Can’t Let Go”.
It began as a head canon, then the lovely person on tumblr wrote the more put together version of it. We decided to write the fic together. It was going well until university and UK fucked me over. During this whole madness my co-writer disappeared from tumblr and I can’t contact her. I have tried it many times. She didn’t reply. I started writing the fic myself determined to finish it, but my life is hell rn and I don’t have the time to write the two last chapters. I do have the outline and hopefully after i start earning money and start actually getting better mentally and studying and money wise, I’ll finish it. For now I went back to the first version of the headcanon I made  with my co-writer and noticed A LOT OF GRAMMAR mistakes as well as some things that weren’t making sense. I wanted to re write this kind of first chapter, so I did. I added a lot of new text, fixed all the mistakes that I could see and ta da! There you have it. You have to be happy with just this until I have the time to finish this damn fic. I want it to be enjoyable, but also make sense, maybe even help people with their own problems, I want it to seem real and I want it to be a lovely love story. I’m a romantic shoot me. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy it! Let me know what you think of it <3 I love reading your comments. Also if any artist wants to idk make a fanart of my work now or after I finish this damn fic and have a beta read  it , then feel free to do so. Okay, I’m talking way too much, just STFU Ola, no one wants to listen to you rumble :D 
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Harry felt like he should have wanted to go back to Hogwarts. Even worse, he knew he should go back there. But he just couldn’t convince himself, not even with Hermione and Ginny returning. Then again, Ron wasn’t going back either, and he didn’t even feel guilty about it, not even after Hermione talked to him about the importance of learning and getting the best possible results in their NEWTs. He got a bit of yelling too, but Hermione directed most of it at Ron, leaving Harry to deal with an angry and sad Ginny, who wanted him to go back.
But there they were on the first of September at King’s Cross station saying their goodbyes and waving after the Hogwarts Express before apparating back to Grimmauld Place. Ron had no intentions of spending the year at the Burrow, it was too far away from London, and he wanted to help George out at Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes in Diagon Alley. He also admitted that he couldn’t really deal with his parents’ grief, and Harry was more than happy to offer him accommodation, not only because Ron was his best mate, but he really needed the company. Grimmauld Place might have looked a lot less gloomy since they renovated it, spending all June and most of July sorting and chucking out old furniture and artefacts, knocking down some of the walls (this being the only way of getting rid of the horrible yelling portrait of Sirius’ mother), and painting the rest in brighter shades, the house was still way too big for one person.
Soon, having turned Hogwarts down, Harry found himself obliged to decide on what he wanted to do with his life or at least the foreseeable future. Of course everyone expected him to become an auror, it seemed like the most obvious choice, but despite admittedly being interested in the job back in their fifth year, he wasn’t sure anymore if he wanted to go along with it. He might have defeated Voldemort, but was that really what he was destined to do all his life? Hunt down dark wizards?
He decided on meeting with Kingsley to discuss further possibilities. After getting detailed information about all of jobs he recommended to Harry, and spending three days straight going through the descriptions, forms and books he got, he was sure he would either want to become an Unspeakable or a Curse-breaker. He would have been happy to dive back into his books and papers to choose one of the two jobs. However Ron was already complaining about the whole house being littered with the papers; how Harry did nothing except sit on the couch, read and compare and read and compare; so Harry decided to give himself some time to consider his choice, meanwhile enjoying his freedom.
Do you seriously want to be an Unspeakable?" Ron asked, his mouth full. This was the only part of the last few days he was enjoying, the takeaway they had every evening. "You can never shut up about what you are doing. Do you really think you could go without telling anyone anything about your job?"
"Probably not." Harry shrugged, picking up another slice of pizza. "Though I guess I’ll have to, and it will be worth it.
"C’mon, Curse-breaking seems much more interesting. I’d go with that without hesitation."
"Well then why don’t you? And let me become who I want to be?" Harry snapped. He ate the last bit of pizza, and wiped his hands. " Sorry I didn’t mean that, I’m tired. " He apologised as soon as he realised Ron said nothing that should have angered him. He rubbed his eyes.
"Hardly surprising, you barley slept these past few days, mate, seriously. Just forget about this job thing for a while, it isn’t going to do you any good. Besides, it’s not like you have to start work instantly, you have enough money to live happily for the rest of your life."
"I did sleep last night." Harry protested, deciding not to comment on the money part, as what Ron said was true, he did have a vault full of money. His friend didn’t, and even though he offered to help them, they never accepted it. What he also didn’t mention was that even though he did get a bit of sleep, he kept waking up from nightmares, and if it hadn’t been for the coffee he had every two hours, he would have nodded off halfway through the day.  The nightmares, and pretty much everything else connected to the war were one of those topics they avoided. It sometimes resulted in uncomfortable silences, Harry agreed that it was better this way.
"I wonder who else from our year is going back to school." Ron said, changing the topic. "I know Neville decided to do the auror training. And Seamus isn’t going back either, he said something about opening some pub in Diagon."
"I think I heard Dean was going back."
"Oh yeah I heard that too. And Padma and Parvati. I don’t know about anyone else though."
"Me neither. I only know that most of the Slytherins aren’t returning, a lot of them got house arrests with their parents and stuff like that."
"Malfoy?"
"House arrest, in France. But I think he will be taking NEWTs."
"He deserves to rot in Azkaban with his father" Ron scowled.
"He isn’t that bad. I mean he did save my life once" Harry said, though he didn’t sound too sure about it. He might not have despised him as much as he did before, but it was still Malfoy.
"Yeah, and then you saved his, so don’t get any funny ideas of owing him or anything" Ron told him, making Harry grin, Ron knew him more than anyone else. He did feel like he owed Malfoy, a bit at least, but he guessed that speaking in his favour at the trials made them equal.
"Alright" Harry laughed. He vanished the empty pizza boxes, and stood up, yawning. "I’m tired, let’s pack it in for the day."
"I second that" Ron stood up as well, and the two friends made their way upstairs to their bedrooms, Ron in one of the guest ones, Harry sleeping in Sirius’s old room.
Days passed, Harry visited Kingsley once again, then spent another day reading before eventually deciding on Curse-breaking, which seemed ideal for him except for one small thing: he needed an Exceeds Expectations in Potions. Which was impossible to say the least with his skill and knowledge. So he went to the Ministry again, and consulted with several people before agreeing to let them find him a tutor.
He ended up spending a week doing whatever he wanted, before he got any news on the matter. He visited Ron and George; he went to Muggle London; he started repainting Sirius’s old motorbike that Arthur fixed for him, leaving the finishing touches for Harry. He also sat around at home, waiting for Ginny’s face to appear in the fireplace, so she could tell him about school, and he could tell her how much he missed her. He also thought about who will be chosen as his tutor. Was it going to be some weird old Potions master like Slughorn or someone distant and cold, but really talented and intelligent like Snape, or maybe just someone of his age, who was better at the subject than him? The Ministry owl arrived on Friday, with the name and address of his tutor. But something was wrong, the address was somewhere in France. And the name was Draco Lucius Malfoy.
"Are you kidding me? Malfoy?"  Ron asked horrified, when he read through the letter Harry shoved into his face as soon as he got home that evening. "Don’t tell me there isn’t anyone else in the whole wizarding world who could help you in Potions. Why did they have to choose that git?"
"I have no idea" Harry sighed. "But it’s not just that. Why France? Why can’t it be someone here in London? I don’t speak French, I don’t know anyone there, it just doesn’t make any sense."
"Can’t you ask the Ministry to find you someone else?"
"Already tried. But apparently Malfoy is the best solution, as we know each other, and we would both benefit from it."
"Both benefit from it?! How would you both benefit from it? What would Malfoy benefit from it? You are lucky to actually learn something if you don’t get killed, but how can he benefit from it?"
"Search me" Harry rolled his eyes.
"When are you leaving?"
"I have a Portkey for next Wednesday."
"Wednesday? But that’s less than a week!"
"I know, but I guess I’ll just have to do it, no matter what."
"This sucks, mate."
"I know. If I don’t get an O after this, I swear I’ll be using some Unforgivables on some people."
The next few days passed quickly, way too quickly in Harry’s opinion, and soon he found himself at the Ministry, looking at the corkscrew on the table, his belongings in his pocket, all shrunken.
"Here goes nothing" he muttered, before taking hold of the charmed corkscrew, and letting it transport him in only a few seconds to his destination: a little French town.
From what he saw on his walk to the Malfoys’ place (Kingsley thought it would be safer for him to arrive outside the town for whatever reason), he thought it could have been England, the small cottages were no different from those they had back there. The one Malfoy and Narcissa were living in was just like the others, a simple Muggle house. The Ministry told him that he would be staying there in a spare bedroom made for him with the help of the expansion charm, until he mastered the needed level of potionmaking, practising in Malfoy's lab. Apart from this, all he knew was that Narcissa had a Muggle job helping out at a clothes shop in the town, and Draco also worked a bit from home, neither of them allowed to leave the boundaries the Ministry had set, and neither of them possessing a wand.
Narcissa greeted him when he arrived, looking as pale and tired as ever, and much to Harry’s surprise wearing a simple blouse and jeans, something he never thought he’d see her in. She showed him around the house before retreating to the living room where she was sorting through some papers, telling him that Malfoy was in his room, and that he should make himself comfortable in the his bedroom. Harry thanked her, and did as she suggested, unpacking, and quickly Flooing Ron and Ginny before lying down, hoping for a decent night’s sleep, not only so he would have all the energy he needed for next day to face Malfoy, but because he would have felt extremely embarrassed if he had woken up screaming from his nightmares like he did sometimes. Then again, a simple muffliato charm should do for the latter.
Next day he woke up feeling surprisingly fresh and well-rested, that didn't mean he was ready to study Potions. With Malfoy. In France. When he could have been at home, spending time with his friends, or just enjoying his freedom.
But then he reminded himself he needed this to get the job he wanted, so gritting his teeth, he headed downstairs to where Narcissa said the lab was, where his old nemesis was already waiting for him.
"Malfoy" he greeted him, sitting down at the table looking around. The walls were filled with shelves of books and tiny bottles, each of them full of liquids of different colours, labelled neatly. The work space however, was empty except for two cauldrons and a copy of a simple Potions schoolbook. Harry's eyes shifted towards Malfoy, who looked pretty much the same as he did the last time Harry saw him, apart from his white-blonde hair being longer, the strands escaping his elegant hair. He also seemed much thinner, Harry noticed, he must have lost at least 20 pounds, it made the boy's features much sharper and angled than they were before.
"Potter." he nodded, restraining himself from scowling, sitting down opposite to Harry. "So, I’ve heard the Chosen One may not be as perfect as everyone thought so. Problems with Potions? Seriously?"
"Shut up Malfoy!" Harry snapped. He wasn’t expecting any different, but it still angered him that the other boy was already getting under his skin.
"Whatever, Potter." Malfoy shrugged. "But then don’t expect to get anything better than a D." He smirked.
"Fine." Harry said angrily.  "Just shut up about other things and let’s get on with it.  I get it, I won’t pass the stupid exam without the help of perfect Draco Malfoy, who is the best Ministry-recommended tutor in the whole Wizarding world, but we’d make better progress if you actually started explaining things" he snarled.
For a moment Harry thought this would be the end, and Malfoy would stalk out, but after glaring at each other, the blonde broke the eye contact and opened the course book without any further ado, and started explaining everything, starting from the very basics. Harry soon found, that even though he would never admit it to anyone else, Malfoy was a good teacher. He cleared up some things Harry previously didn't understand; and apart from the snarky comments, he was almost patient. Well he did snap and start shouting and swearing when Harry messed up a potion even after trying several times, but still. He was way better than what Harry had expected.
Soon they developed a daily routine which consisted of going down to have breakfast on their own, avoiding each other; having a short, theoretical lesson in the morning; having lunch on their own; a longer practical lesson in the afternoon; spending time on their own; then having dinner on their own, except for when Narcissa insisted that they should sit together, which usually resulted in glares and uncomfortable silences.
But Harry was definitely improving at potions, and after all, that was what mattered. As two weeks passed, and October was drawing nearer, Harry found himself tired of arguing with Malfoy, and the other boy must have felt the same way, because all of a sudden the nasty remarks were gone, and they were actually capable of spending time in one room without wanting to kill one another. This definitely was an improvement. Malfoy would actually compliment him if he did something right, and Harry would smile at him. They didn’t try so hard to avoid each other in the time between the lessons, but actually greeted each other, and sometimes even stopped to have short conversations. Nothing too serious or deep, only little things, but this was already much better, Harry realised that Malfoy’s company was actually quite alright sometimes, now that they weren’t constantly arguing.
Weeks passed, and Harry was getting used to living there, and as now he felt more comfortable around the Malfoys, he decided it was time to change some things. He started going for walks around the town and the countryside. He spent a bit more time with Malfoy, they stayed in the lab every so often after the lessons and just talked. One evening Harry even asked Narcissa if he could cook something. They have been eating takeaway pretty much everyday, and Harry didn’t mind it, but after over a month, he had to admit it, it was getting a little repeatable, and he was craving a home-made meal.
Narcissa was surprised, but happy to let Harry work in the kitchen, so after making a quick supply run to the shop around the corner to get all the ingredients he needed for the curry, his favourite dish, he occupied the kitchen.
As he started heating the oil and chopping up the onions, the unmistakable smell of cooking filled his nose, he realised how much he missed it. Cooking was one of those things the Dursleys made him do, but he didn’t really mind it when he was making food for himself or his friends, and after seven years at Hogwarts without cooking, he enjoyed experimenting with all kinds of recipes that he learned from Muggle cook books.
He had started dicing the meat when he grew aware of someone watching him. As he looked up, he saw Malfoy standing in the doorway, watching him.
"You know, it’s not too polite to stare" he said, smirking at the boy. "And do try to be more secretive if you want to look at me." He added, grinning as he saw Malfoy blush, which was definitely something he hadn’t expected to see. Ever. But now that he did, he couldn't stop laughing, making the blonde boy blush even harder, his normally pale face was a deep shade of red. "You should see your face now!" he choked out, holding onto the counter as he tried to calm down, suppressing the laughter that was bubbling in his stomach. Malfoy just stood by the door, glaring at him, his face still flushed. "I’m just messing with you, no need to plan my death" he said with a shy grin as he finally stopped laughing, and went back to chopping the meat, but still keeping one eye on the other boy.
"I wasn’t. I never did. Plan your death, I mean." Malfoy said quietly. Harry looked up and saw that the boy's face was serious. Harry swallowed thickly and nodded, not knowing what to say, so he just kept staring at him, green eyes locked onto the pair of grey ones.
"So, do you want me to show you how to cook?" Harry broke the silence, moving to one side so Malfoy had his space at the counter, offering the boy a little smile. The blonde boy hesitated, running one hand through his hair, and chewing on his bottom lip, which caught Harry’s attention for some reason, he couldn’t explain, he looked away embarrassed, afraid of being caught staring. Malfoy made his way over to the counter. Harry carried on cutting up the meat, giving the other boy smaller tasks, explaining why he did things the way he did, and within half an hour the spicy scent of the simmering curry was filling the room. After tidying up, Harry sat down on one of the chairs, fanning himself with a piece of newspaper that was laying on the dining table, his gaze fluttering to the other boy, who was pouring himself a glass of water, before leaning back onto the counter, flushed, but this time from the heat of the cooking, the top two buttons of his shirt undone, his hair messy and curly from the vapour, making the lines of his face look softer. Harry didn't even know why he thought of that, shaking his head, he stood up, and started setting the table.
"So where did you learn how to cook?" Malfoy asked him, his tone genuinely curious, something Harry still wasn’t completely used to.
"The Dursleys, you know, my foster parents made me cook for them, so I had to, but I actually always enjoyed it a bit." He shrugged.
"They made you cook for them?" Malfoy asked, sounding horrified.
"That wasn’t the worst part. I had to do all the cleaning too, I could never go anywhere. I had to pretend that I didn’t exist whenever they had guests over, and I lived in the broom closet until I was eleven."
"You lived in the broom closet?!" The blonde boy echoed, his voice raised. Harry nodded.  "That’s even worse than how we used to treat our house-elves. At least they had proper bedrooms."
Harry just shrugged again, and went to serve the dinner without a word, he didn’t understand why Malfoy was so shocked by how the Dursleys have treated him, or why he cared at all. Dinner passed quietly, apart from Narcissa complimenting Harry on the curry, but otherwise they ate in a silence. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, it was just strange. He noticed Malfoy looking at him few times, but he always looked away when Harry caught him staring. When they finished eating, Harry did the washing up by magic, not wanting to spend the rest of the evening scrubbing pans, something Draco watched almost in awe, telling Harry his wand was taken by the Ministry, and how he missed using magic, how strange doing everything manually was.
They carried on talking, and walked up the stairs together, but when they stopped on the landing, instead of parting ways, Malfoy asked Harry whether he could explain Muggle technology to him, and Harry was happy to do that, so he followed the other boy into his bedroom. He was surprised to see that the room wasn’t much different from the one he was staying in, except for having more books and other bits of things. But the walls were plain white, the bed wasn’t the posh four-poster he was expecting, and wasn’t covered in Slytherin green sheets with silver lining. It was just a simple bedroom.
"What were you expecting, Potter?" Draco smirked, and Harry realised he must have been staring in shock.  "This isn’t Malfoy Manor."
"I don’t know. I just thought it would be more like you."
"More like me? And what’s that like?"
"Well definitely not this" Harry said, gesturing around the room.
"Oh and you know me so well that you are positive that I loved Malfoy Manor and now couldn’t stand living somewhere that wasn’t green and grey and silver and black and full of snake-patterns" Draco snorted.
"That’s not what I… oh never mind" Harry rolled his eyes, already feeling irritated with Malfoy, but also himself for thinking that they could actually spend time together properly, without things like this. He was on the verge of walking back to his own bedroom, when he noticed that Malfoy wasn’t glaring at him, he was smirking. Harry sighed, and flopped down onto the bed next to the boy, and started telling him how toasters and TVs and computers worked. He actually enjoyed it more than he thought he would, and he was surprised to see that Malfoy wasn’t being difficult, but genuinely curious and interested, and would listen to Harry’s explanations without interrupting, only showering him with questions afterwards, a fascinated smile spreading over his face, Harry thought that Malfoy was much nicer this way, smiling, friendly, patient and interested in almost a childlike way.
They made this a regular thing, often making breakfast or dinner together, and spending hours before going to sleep talking about Muggle things, and sometimes bringing up other topics as well, and Harry realised he was starting to enjoy Malfoy’s company.
Harry was also improving in Potions, he was now able to make quite a lot of decent ones, and Malfoy was almost proud of him. However then he accidentally burned the cauldron down, causing the blonde boy to give him silent treatment and avoid him after yelling at him about being irresponsible and hopeless.
But after a day of ignoring each other they called truce, and went back to doing things together. This was when Harry realised actually how much time they spent together, and how he talked to Ron or Hermione and Ginny less and less, calling the girls late that evening, feeling guilty. Hermione told him about the lessons, and asked him questions about potions, she was happy with his progress, reminding him again how important it was, and that he needed to carry on. She then left Harry to talk to Ginny privately. They talked about school mostly, and how they missed each other, and how Harry had to go home for Christmas, because Ginny couldn’t go any longer without talking to him properly, face to face, or kissing him, or touching him, and before saying goodbye, Ginny pulled her shirt up, teasing Harry, saying all kinds of dirty words she could think of, leaving the boy with a hard-on. He was too embarrassed to wank, being separated from Malfoy by only one thin wall.
He kept thinking about Ginny, even though he didn’t call her for some time, thinking how things would be when they both got back home. Will they get married straight away? Will they have kids? And if yes, how many? He missed her, a lot, but he had to admit, these thoughts were scaring him slightly. He knew Ron and Hermione were planning on getting married and moving in together when Hermione graduated, but Harry wasn’t sure if he could imagine himself settling down already and becoming a father.
In the end he found himself in the lab, as he did quite often for some time now, deciding it was the best time to practice, trying to make some dreamless sleep for himself, but failing, which meant he could only hope for a decent night’s sleep without nightmares, even though he knew it was unlikely.
He did seem to have less nightmares than before, but now when he did, they were the worst ever, and he would wake up screaming, and couldn’t go back to sleep properly afterwards, and would be stressed and irritable all day. He just really hoped Malfoy never heard him screaming, embarrassed even by the thought of it. One night he felt two unfamiliar firm hands shaking him awake, and a voice, unsure yet steady telling him to breathe, and how it only had been a dream, and finally when Harry was calm enough, handing him a vial of dreamless sleep, he thought he never could have been more thankful, even though he was indeed extremely embarrassed.
Malfoy gave him dreamless sleep and that was all that mattered, because he slept until 1 PM next day, and when he woke up, he feels much better than other mornings, except for the sadness and anger that lingered from the nightmare, but he was used to that. He didn’t even want to get up from bed, he wanted to just stay there and disappear, somehow slip into nonexistence. It was mostly on the days after his nightmares, but sometimes even on just ordinary days, that he thought of what it would have been like to stay dead. He knew some people would have missed him, but with the Horcrux in him destroyed, the world didn’t need him anymore. And it wasn’t bad, it didn’t hurt at all, Sirius had been right, he didn’t feel anything. It didn’t really feel like being dead. It didn’t feel like anything to be honest. But he came back, even though he wasn’t sure he should have.
He decided to go and tell Malfoy that he wasn’t in the mood to study, but he didn’t find the boy in his bedroom or the lab or anywhere else. Or at least anywhere he was expecting to find him, he realised why as he entered the kitchen, there stood Malfoy he was cooking something by the stove, it smelt amazing. The smell of cinnamon mixed with apples and something sweet filled Harry's nose.
"Hi." he said quietly, stopping in the doorway.
"Hey," Malfoy looked up to greet him. "You look like shit" he informed him. Harry snorted. He didn’t need Malfoy to tell him that. He felt like shit.  "I’m making you food. Sit."
"What?  Harry looked up at him, shocked, unsure if he heard him right. Malfoy was making him breakfast. Malfoy. For him. How did this even happen? And why?
"Can’t you ever do just one thing you’re asked for?" The blonde boy asked, rolling his eyes. "Are you really that much of a rebel?" He asked, as he watched Harry sit down, still dazed, he smiled. His voice was softer than the usual, and Harry couldn't understand why. He continued to stare at the blonde boy in complete shock, until the latter lets out a soft chuckle, and told him to stop staring at him with his mouth open. Harry felt his cheeks grow warm in embarrassment, and he mumbled something Malfoy couldn't quite make sense of. Harry dropped his gaze to the table, and toyed with the spoon. He runhis hand through his hair which was messier than usual, he didn’t even try to comb it as he was planning to go back to bed. He felt Malfoy's eyes on him. Harry turned his head to meet the blonde boy's gaze just as Malfoy turned away.
Malfoy sat down opposite to Harry, handing him his breakfast and a cup of coffee, he himself only drinking tea.
They sat in silence, the blonde watching Harry eat.
"We don’t have to study today" he said, breaking the silence. Harry just nodded, still confused by the boy’s kindness, and carried on eating.  As he finished, he watched Malfoy sipping his tea, gazing out of the window. He looked different, Harry thought, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on the difference, the only thing he noticed was that his hair was messier than usual. That couldn’t have made such a big difference, it was more than that. It was something about his whole face, all of his features. But mostly his eyes. His eyes were definitely different, no longer cold and distant, but almost soft. Harry watched his eyes fixed on the garden outside, the shape of the window reflected in the sliver greyness. The practically white eyelashes around his eyes. His pale, porcelain-like skin. The pointiness of his nose. The pinkness of his lips, that for once weren’t frowning. His perfect jawline. The way his shoulder length hair fell onto his shoulders. Harry thought he was beautiful. He felt weird had just thought that, but as he continued to look at the boy, he couldn’t help but admit it. He also couldn't help but notice how his heart was hammering in his chest. He tore his gaze away from the boy and looked back down at the table. What was wrong with him? Why was he finding Malfoy attractive? He swallowed hard, allowing himself another glance at the boy. He noticed the longing in his eyes, the sadness on his face, and he realised, Malfoy must be missing being outdoors. Of course he must miss being outside! He had been in the house arrest for over a year.
Harry couldn't stop thinking how terrible it must be, not being able to go out, and within a minute the idea pops in his mind. He stood up abruptly and told Malfoy he’d be back in a sec. He rushed up to the bedroom and called Kingsley on the Floo, begging him to allow Malfoy leave the house with him, explaining what a great teacher he was, and telling the Minister that he trusted him. He didn’t actually realise all of this before he said it out loud, but it was true. He trusted Malfoy, especially after he gave Harry dreamless sleep and made him breakfast. He deserved something good. Harry was really pleased with himself when Kingsley permitted him to open the doors and go somewhere with Malfoy. He had to make him a promise that he’d look out for the blonde and would be careful, which Harry promised he would. He quickly packed few things and rushed back down to the kitchen.
Malfoy looked up startled as Harry re-entered the kitchen, his expression soon turning to shock, as Harry told him to get up because they were going out.
"What do you mean ‘out’?" He asked, looking at Harry in confusion.
"I talked to Kingsley" Harry shrugged, as if it was nothing, already making his way to the door, unlocking it, and casting several counter spells that would let Draco out as well. The blonde boy followed him, still shocked and surprised, but as he stepped outside and inhaled the fresh air and felt the breeze tug at his hair, he just closed his eyes and let a smile spread across his face. Gosh, how he had missed this. Harry stood looking at him, smiling, thinking how gorgeous Malfoy looked with the strands of blonde hair flowing around his face. No. He wasn’t gorgeous, Harry thought, feeling angry with himself, feeling like his thoughts were betraying him.
"There’s a beach a few miles from here" Draco spoke up.
"Are you suggesting we go there?" Harry asked, snapping out of his thoughts.
"thought that was obvious" Draco smirked, and Harry grinned at him as they set off. They walked in silence, until Draco spoke again.  "Thanks. For taking me out." He said quietly. Harry looked up at him.  "And everything" the boy carried on.  "Testifying for my mother. Saving my life in that room."
Harry didn’t say anything for a few moments. The situation was so strange, Malfoy sounded so honest and so vulnerable, and he just didn’t quite know what to say.
"I did what I thought had to be done." He said in the end.  "And… I never thought you deserved Azkaban." He added after a pause, avoiding Malfoy’s eyes. "You saved me too, at the Manor."
"I should have done more" the blonde boy whispered.  "I was a coward. I still am. I should have helped." The words spilled out of Draco, no louder than the wind whistling in their ears, and if Harry hadn’t seen his lips moving, he wouldn’t have believed that he heard what he heard. He watched the boy’s face, noticing the way his eyes were shining, tears flooding them. "I deserved all they planned for me at the trial. You should have left me there, but I guess you can’t stop yourself from saving people’s lives, even if you hate them." He said, a sad smile on his face, Harry found it heart wrenching. He swallowed thickly, once again lost for words. He wanted to tell him that it wasn’t true, that he didn’t deserve to be punished, that he didn’t hate him. He wanted to squeeze his hand and tell him it was okay. But he didn’t, instead he kept quiet, and carried on walking.
Neither of them said anything on the rest of the way to the beach. It was quite a long walk, they both stopped to catch their breaths as they arrived at the end of the cliff from where the carved steps led down to the beach. Harry had been going out for strolls around the area, but he felt a little exhausted after the walk, and Draco, who had been indoors for ages was clutching his side, but it was definitely worth it.
The view was beautiful, the sun was just starting to set, tainting the sky pink and orange, the warm light reflecting on the surface of the water, the white cliffs and the pale sand on the shore making the picture perfect. It was breezy, but not too much, just enough to ripple the surface of the ocean and to catch in their hair.
They made their way down to the beach, Harry spread out the blankets he brought with him, before sitting down, Malfoy following him, they sat down, watching the sky together.
"I miss Sirius." Harry suddenly blurted out, not even knowing why he said it, regretting it immediately.
"Your godfather?" Malfoy asked, not looking at him, messing around with a stick he found in the sand. Harry nodded, and lied back on the blanket.
"He and Remus were the only people who made me feel like-" He took sharp intake of breath. "-like I still had a piece of my parents with me" he sighed. He didn’t know why he was telling Malfoy this, but he couldn't stop himself. As the blonde boy seemed genuinely curious, Harry carried on talking, telling him about third year, how he met Sirius, and about Peter Pettigrew, and the Marauders Map, and about the Order of the Phoenix, and everything Sirius told him about his parents. Malfoy listened intensely, asking questions every so often, being very careful not to cross the boundaries.
"I’m sorry they aren’t around anymore." Malfoy simply said when Harry stopped talking. He tilted his head to the side, looking at Malfoy’s face, studying his expression, but he couldn't see anything except for honesty and sadness, and something slightly even like an affection. He felt like crying, but he didn't want to cry in front of the other boy. He knew he should feel angry, after all if Malfoy hadn’t let the Death Eaters into Hogwarts, if his father hadn’t been there at the Department of Mysteries, Sirius and Remus could still be have been alive, but that’s too many ‘if’s. Harry thought of asking Malfoy what his intentions actually were, or something, but he chose to keep silent.
"I’m going swimming" he announced after laying around for a while, he stood up, already taking his shirt off.
"Are you crazy? It must be minus twenty down there°C!" Draco exclaimed, sitting up.
"Yeah, sure, minus two hundred." Harry chuckled. "Chill Malfoy ." Harry rolled his eyes, shucking his jeans as well, making his way to the water, ignoring the feeling of the other boy’s eyes on him.
"Come back here you prat, I don't fancy being framed for your death. It’s dark and it’s cold and you will drown. We can come back here tomorrow and then you can do whatever you want." Malfoy called after him, making Harry laugh.
"If you are so worried about me, come with me" he snorted, stepping into the water, leaning down and splashing it over his body, before carrying on walking deeper into the water. He was in knee-deep when Malfoy caught up with him, stopping at the side of the water. Harry went in even deeper, looking back and shooting a grin at Malfoy. "You better take that shirt off if you want to rescue me when I drown."
The blonde boy just stood there shaking his head as Harry carried on, the water was now up to his shoulders. He couldn't help but laugh as he looked at the fully clothed Malfoy standing on the beach, and suddenly an idea crossed his mind. What if he faked drowning? Would Malfoy really rush to rescue him? He grinned in anticipation, before going in a bit deeper, and pretending to drown, yelling for help, and sure enough, the blonde was there beside him within seconds, his hands around Harry’s waist.
"You idiot" Malfoy said angrily, letting go of Harry when the brunette burst out laughing.
"And you said I’m the one with a saving people's lives-problem." Harry choked out, still shaking from laughter, clutching his stomach with his arms.
"You’re such an imbecile! We could have both lost our footing! I thought you were really drowning." he sneered, and splashed Harry with water. The other boy splashed him back immediately, still laughing, and soon enough Draco was laughing too. They were splashing each other madly, trying to get away from one another, making their way to the beach.
"Scared?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow as they reached the dry land, still breathless from laughing, clutching each other.
"You wish."  Draco smirked, and chased Harry back to the blankets, ending up on top of Harry, kneeling between the boy’s legs, holding his hands down above his head. "Feeling defeated, Potter? Did I just defeat the Great Harry Potter?
"As if I’d let you." Harry said, wrapping his legs around Malfoy's waist. He knocked the boy over, straddling him, with a triumphant grin, which died down as soon as their eyes met. Until now, Harry didn’t quite realise how close they were, only a few inches between their faces. He was starting to feel uncomfortable, and dropped his gaze, but if anything, this made things worse, as he found himself staring at Malfoy’s chest, his white shirt sticking to his body, the wetness making it almost see-through, the boy’s lean muscles and his hardened nipples visible to Harry, making him blush. What was wrong with him? It was the third time that day that he found the boy extremely attractive.
"Potter…" Malfoy spoke up, sounding a little embarrassed, as he shifted underneath him. Harry didn't get it for a moment, but then he realises he had an unmistakable hardness in his pants, and it was pressing right into the blonde boy’s thigh.
"Shit, I’m sorry, I just…" he stammered, as he stood up as fast as he could.
"Stop, it’s okay. It’s a normal reaction, I guess, I mean you’ve been away from your girlfriend, and…" Malfoy trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished, avoiding looking at Harry, who was also avoiding looking anywhere near the other boy.  "Let’s go home. Or do you want me to go and you can just stay here, think of your lovely girlfriend, jerk off, and meet me back at the house" Draco said, picking their stuff up, his words making Harry blush even harder.
"I’m… I’ll be alright" Harry managed to say. Malfoy snorts.
"For Merlin’s sake, just stay here, and follow me back when you-" "fuck, just take care of yourself, Potter!" With that said, Malfoy was already turning his back to Harry.
"You are wet. You’ll catch a cold." Harry said desperately, not wanting to make this situation any awkward, which he probably was doing anyway.
"Well then cast a drying charm on me, will you?!" Malfoy looked angry. Why was he like that? He was sneering at Harry, Harry felt like they were back at Hogwarts and Malfoy was about to make one of his snarky comments that always boiled Harry's blood. "You are the one with a wand, you arse!" He rolled his eyes and let out an annoyed huff. "if you are so concerned about my health then do it." he snapped, and Harry obeyed. As soon as he did, the blonde haired boy turned around and left in a rush without saying another word. What was wrong with him? Why did he get so pricky about all of this?!
He left Harry there on the beach. On his own. With a bulge in his pants. Still painfully pressing to his trousers.
He tried to think of Ginny, he really did, but he couldn’t help it, his thoughts drifted back to earlier that day, Malfoy’s hair flowing in the breeze, and Harry remembered how much he wanted to run his hands through it. The closeness of the boy made his body shiver, his angular face, his soft silver eyes, his flat yet arousing chest… oh Merlin, he felt like he could melt away just thinking of him, however weird it is, and however guilty he felt about not thinking of Ginny. What the fresh hell?! Malfoy was a boy! Harry wasn't gay for crying out loud! How the hell was he getting of to the thoughts of Malfoy?
The next few days passed in their usual routine, making breakfast together, Potions theory, having lunch together, brewing, making dinner together, and talking about Muggle things until it’s time for bed. Neither of them mentioned the day at the beach, and Harry was thankful for that, but he couldn’t stop thinking back to that very day, and what it felt like to be that close to Malfoy. He kept thinking back, and would often get distracted from doing whatever he was just by looking at Malfoy, or listening the way he talked about Potions, with such enthusiasm, or the excitement on his face when he showed Harry a book on Muggle things and told him how he finally understood how something worked, and it dawned on him, that he was growing more and more attracted to him.
It wasn’t just his looks that made Harry want to press the other boy to the wall and snog him senseless, though he didn’t even try to deny how his soft platinum hair and silver eyes drove him crazy, but it was his whole personality. The way he was nice to Harry now, always, but still kept teasing him, and Harry would tease back, and sometimes it occurred him that it felt almost like they were flirting or something. Or how patient and serious he could be as a teacher. Or how clever and intelligent he was, almost like Hermione, but in a different way. Or how he enjoyed just small things, like walking out into the garden when the sun was shining, or finding a new book among his mother’s belongings that he could read, or a nice meal they made together. How honest he could be sometimes. How passionate he would get if he was talking about something that was important to him. How similar his sense of humour was to Harry’s. He felt like they could be friends, like actual friends, who would stay in contact and have fun together even when they weren’t locked up in a small cottage in France together to study Potions. But real friends. And maybe even more, because Harry wanted to touch him again, to feel his soft skin, or his silky looking hair. Malfoy was driving Harry crazy, and he couldn’t do anything about it.
After another week or so Draco told him that he was doing well enough to pass his NEWTs easily, and they decided to go down to the beach once again, before Christmas. They spent the whole day there, taking a basket of food, they swam, but only a bit because the water was much colder by now, they talked and laughed and talked even more, about school, about their childhoods, about Quidditch, anything they thought of. Harry couldn't imagine his life without the blonde boy by now. He thought of how hard it will be for him to leave this bastard. How hard will it be to say goodbye to all their memories. Forget about all that they have accomplished and of course, about the whole attraction thing. Harry didn't even know if maybe he allowed himself do what his mind, and other parts of his body, told him to do, then would he discover something about himself. He found his mind drifting off to this idea while he stared at the blonde looking up to the sky.
As the sky grew darker, covered in thousands of sparkling spots, bright and shining like diamonds, scattered all over the sheet of the night, they lay back on their blankets, and Malfoy started to point the constellations out to Harry, saving his favourite one, his own one, the dragon for last. His voice proud as he told the boy next to him which one it was, which Harry found adorable, and returned the boy’s smirk with a grin of his own. Their eyes met for longer than they have ever held each other's gaze. It was like looking at the other's soul through them, finally seeing the real version of the person they never got the chance to get to know better. Harry wanted to kiss Malfoy. He wanted to throw his arms around the boy and press their lips together. He didn't. Whether it was because he was scared of what would happen if he did or he was scared of what he would become if he made this move. Harry turned his face towards the ground. The moment was ruined.
Sometime after staying quiet for a while, they started to talk about more serious things, and Malfoy told Harry how he didn’t want to kill Dumbledore, and how he only realised then that his parents were wrong, and how all he wanted before was to make his father proud. How he did everything afterwards just so Voldemort wouldn’t kill his parents. How terrible it was to let the Death Eaters into Hogwarts, but how he had no other choice if he wanted his parents to live. What it was like to live at Malfoy Manor with the Dark Lord. How he wanted to just apparate somewhere where no one knew him and there were no expectations he had to live up to, no war, no pain, no suffering. How he felt like a coward but still didn’t do anything.
Harry saw the tears shining on Malfoy's cheeks, in the moonlight, as he got to the end of his story, and without thinking, he wrapped his arm around the boy, pulling him close to himself. Malfoy instantly pulled back as if Harry's touch burned him. He mumbled something about not wanting to be pitied and knowing that he was a coward and a bad person but he wanted to change, and Harry didn’t know what to say, so he just sat there beside him.
Later they lay down on their blankets, and fell asleep next to each other under the starry sky.
When Harry woke up, to the first rays of sunshine stroking his skin, he found himself wrapped around Malfoy's arms, their bodies pressed together. He stayed in those arms for a while, enjoying the warmth that came from Draco's, not Malfoy's, body. Oh how much he wanted to stay here forever and just breath this air, go for long walks, talk to Draco, discover himself, get away from all the stress that England and people there caused him. But he couldn't do it. He felt too obligated to be the man everyone expected him to be. He couldn't just disappear and stay here with the blonde. It would be mad. Besides, he had his friends in England, his girlfriend, probably soon to be wife. He wanted to have a family and a job that he enjoyed, the job that would make him feel more human than just the Savour of Wizarding World. He had to go back home, no matter how much his heart was begging him to stay here and try losing himself in the unknown, something that didn't feel quite possible and normal, in something that was as exciting as scary. Just trying to be happy without all the shit that was going to await for him in London. Harry got up from under the blanket and Draco's arms carefully, making sure he wouldn’t wake the other boy up. He conjured a piece of parchment and a quill, with a deep sigh he started writing a letter. He knew he wasn’t the best with words, especially when they were goodbyes, and writing it all down helped, he could say all the things he could never say face to face. He could thank Draco and promise him he’d talk to Kingsley and find a way for him to come back to England. At least that's what Harry wanted. If he couldn't stay here he wanted to hold on to this unexpected friendship in any way he could. He wrote how he’d wait for Draco, and would want to see him, when he did come back to WIzarding World where Harry would be. Harry realised how much he's going to miss Draco, his smile, his snaky comments, the lessons with him, their midnight or morning walks to the beach, their inside jokes, their conversations, Draco's eyes that at some point became everything Harry could think of, just Draco Malfoy in general, still the same git, but trying to become better.
Harry rolled up his blanket and put it back into the basket along with all of the other scattered bits, and put the letter on top. He looked down  at the boy below him, and leaned in, pressing a soft kiss onto his cheek, feeling the soft skin underneath his lips and smelling the scent he will never be able to get out of his mind, he didn't realise when a warm tear run down his cheek. He shook himself from the trans he was in. Before he got up to his feet and head back to Malfoy's house and then the town to take his Portkey back to London, he took one last look at Draco sleeping peacefully on the beach, Harry once again couldn't breath. If he never again got the chance to see this idiot, he didn't know if he would ever feel understood and complete as much as he did in Draco's presence. He could only hope for the best.
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Read Chapter Two HERE
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Note
Hope you’re having a great holiday season! I was wondering if you knew of any good fics with johnlock being around their parents (could be Sherlock’s or John’s)? Any situation really, but really just them spending time with parents. If you have anything hat comes to mind, I’d love to hear about it. Hope you’re having a wonderful day ♥️
Hi Nonny! *hugs*
I’ve absolutely some fics with this trope! I’ve actually a list I’ve done previously with this trope!
Meeting the Family With a Fake Relationship
So let’s put them all into one, plus with some newer additions!
PARENTS AND FAMILY
Further Impressions by grannysknitting (K+, 1k+ w. || Friendship & Family) – Sherlock meets the people who made John Watson the man he is today… the reciprocal family dinner. Sequel to First Impressions
There’s Always Three of Us by Itsallfine (T, 1,765 w. || Post-S4, Parentlock, Love Declarations, First Kiss, Anniversary, S4 Fix it Fic, Fluff) – Sherlock takes John and Rosie out to Angelo’s and gets a chance to correct the biggest mistake of his life.
Anne Bonny by Spartangal22 (K+, 2K+ w. || Family & Friendship, Mary is Nice, Watson Family, Holmes Family) – Sherlock just wanted to do something nice for the baby, but a simple phone call leads him and the Watsons back to his parent’s cottage, where Mr. and Mrs. Holmes welcome the little girl as their own.
First Impressions by grannysknitting (K+, 2K+ w. || Family & Friendship) – Meet the Holmes’. John gains some insight into the environment that produced the two prodigies - Sherlock and Mycroft.
Wintery Hell by Belldere (K+, 2K+ w. || Friendship & Humour, Christmas) – With Sherlock being roped into spending Christmas with his family, John had his own Christmas all planned out with his other friends and family… That is until he’s extended a forceful invitation from Mycroft and an assumption from Sherlock who, once again, failed to notice John wasn’t in the room when he ‘asked’.
Engaged by lifeonmars (NR, 3,146 w. || Marriage Proposal, Fluff, Holmes Family, Song Fic) – Sherlock did not believe in marriage, but he wanted to be married. He found this something of a surprise. Part 2 of Damage
In the Bleak Midwinter (A Canticle for Advent) by CaitlinFairchild (M, 3,476 w. || Angst, Injury, Missing Scenes, HLV Timeline) – In the autumn of 2014, Mary Watson shot Sherlock Holmes. This is what happened after.
Nineteen Seconds of Falling by EmmyAngua (T, 3,739 w. || Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Falling in Love) – Sherlock spends exactly nineteen seconds zoned out after John asks him to be best man. He retreats to his mind palace in the desperate hope of figuring out what he wants, unfortunately for him his mind palace is full of people who keep trying to give him advice.
Christmas at Holmes Cottage by johnlockedstarkid (G, 4,295 w. || Christmas, Fake Relationship, Love Confessions, Holmes Family, Pining, Kisses, Fluff, Allusions to Mystrade) – Sherlock doesn’t want to have to deal with his mother’s wishes for him to find a partner when he goes to visit them for Christmas, so asks John to pose as his boyfriend. Little does he know he’s not the only one who wishes that the relationship could be real.
Maybe This Christmas by feverishsea (T, 6,021 w. || Matchmaker Anthea, Anthea POV, Slight Mystrade, Holmes Family) – Anthea has given up her life, her own desires, even her name in service of something greater than herself. But that doesn’t mean she can’t see when someone else wants something – even if she doesn’t happen to care overmuch for that person. And it doesn’t mean she isn’t willing to help.
Caught In The Act by ShirleyCarlton (E, 7,009 w. across 6 stories || Est. Rel, Voyeurism, Character POV’s, Masturbation, Switchlock) – This is a series of six scenarios written from the points of view of six different people as they accidentally walk in on Sherlock and John having sex.
that thing you like by misspamela (E, 7,165 w. || Holmes Family, Fake Relationship, Friends to Lovers) – “Happy Christmas, etc. etc.” Sherlock and John go to the Holmes’ for Christmas, and everyone thinks they’re together.
The Kids Are Alright by p.r. fox (K+, 9K+ w. || Humour & Friendship, TeenJohn, Young Sherlock, Babysitting) – John is struck with a memory from his teenage years.  "You drew this,“ John grins, pointing to the little drawing on the paper. “You gave it to me when you were five. I babysat you.”
Illogical, even. by magikspell (E, 9,119 w. || Grey-Ace Sherlock, Character Study, Growing Up, Victor Trevor, Romance, First Time/Kiss, Sherlock-centric) – Five reasons Sherlock never believed in love and one reason he does now.
The In-Between by blueink3 (M, 10,679 w. || Fluff and Angst, H/C, Parentlock, Fix-It Fic, Canon Compliantish) – Beginning in a Chinese restaurant and ending at the bottom of a well, what about the moments we didn’t see?
Merlot by Itsallfine (E, 14,844 w. || Christmas, Pining Sherlock, Wine, Slow Burn, First Kiss / Time, Love Confessions, Wine, Holmes Family) – Sherlock and John work toward becoming something more as they prepare to host the Holmes parents at 221B for the holidays. Part of 25 Days of Fic-Mas 2015.
Twelfth Night by yourdykeinshiningarmor (E, 15,139 w. || Fake Relationship, Christmas, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, Angst & Fluff, BJ’s, Anal) – John is invited to his aunt’s Twelfth Night ball. Sherlock offers to attend with him as a friendly face among strangers, but John’s family force him to address his true feelings for Sherlock.
Never-Ending Cycle by orphan_account (T, 17,211 w. || Christmas, Est. Rel., Proposal, Fluff) – Or, four times Sherlock Holmes attempted to propose to John Watson, and the Christmas Party at which he finally did. Sherlock thinks he’s a miserable failure, John is confused, Mrs. Hudson and Lestrade provide some unsatisfactory advice, and Mummy is, as always, the solution. All in a lovely, fluffy holiday theme.
With All My Heart by QuinnAnderson (E, 19,257 w. || Red Marks / Soulmates || Magical Realism, Growing Up, First Kiss / Time, Falling in Love) – AU in which every time a person falls in love, a red line like a tally mark appears on their wrist. Sherlock is determined to keep himself from ever gaining one of these marks for fear that love will corrode his mental faculties. Then he meets John Watson.
Winter’s Delights by Kate_Lear (E, 21,173 w. || Holmes Family, Christmas, Fake Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Bed Sharing, Domestics) – Sherlock takes John home for Christmas to meet the extended Holmes family. Part 1 of Winter’s Delights
Once More, With Feeling by cellard00rs (T, 21,178 w. || John’s Family, Fake Relationship, Romance, Fluff, Humour) – To put off his meddlesome, matchmaking mother, John convinces Sherlock to play the role of his significant other. Unparalleled awkwardness ensues.
Ghost Stories by SwissMiss (M, 22,256 w. || Pining, Holmes Family, Christmas, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Bed Sharing, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, First Time) – Sherlock’s parents think he and John are a couple. They might be onto something.
You Can Imagine the Christmas Dinners by ardenteurophile (T, 23,584 w. || Pre-Slash, Drama, Fluff & Angst, Humour, Romance) – Sherlock takes John along for Christmas dinner with Mycroft and Mummy (And “Anthea”, too). Over the course of the evening, John realises that everyone in the room - apart from him - seems to think that he and Sherlock are a couple. Part 2 of Xmas Dinners Verse
Sherlock Holmes & The Mysterious Ex by Gatergirl79 (M, 27,942 w. || Family, Romance, Holmes Family) – Sherlock and John are forced to spend Christmas with Sherlock’s family. An unsettling idea especially when John will have to play ‘Boyfriend’ thanks to Mycroft. But why exactly does Sherlock want to avoid a family party?
Hitting the Water at Sixty Miles an Hour by what_alchemy (E, 30,568 w. || Fake Rel., Roadtrips, Slow Burn, Mummy Holmes) – “You love your mother, Sherlock?” John watched the muscles in Sherlock’s jaw jump. He nodded in one sharp jerk.“Then we’re going to her party and making her happy.” John let out a resigned sigh. “As a ruddy couple, you bastard.”
Our Enthusiasms Which Cannot Always Be Explained by withoutawish (M, 32,961 w. || Christmas, Fluff and Angst, H/C, Post-TRF, Case Fic, Mild Gore, Sherlock Whump) – The list that is tacked haphazardly on the refrigerator of 221B reads, ‘Kidney(s), and/or a full cadaver (preferably male, late 30s, under six feet tall), bag of fresh toes, sixteen cow’s eyes (corneas retained), dual exhaust hand –held flame thrower, an unopened first edition copy of Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’, and no less than ten abhorrently gruesome murders in the upcoming month.” The one neatly hanging next to it simply reads, “Sex.” One of these lists is not John Watson’s. If John Watson were to put what he really wanted in list form, to live in a land somewhere beyond ‘almosts’ now that Sherlock Holmes has indeed returned to him, he would never be able to look his flatmate in the eye ever again.
Pater Noster by SilentAuror (E, 34,256 w. || Case Fic, HLV+, Family Trauma, Sherlock POV, Villain Mary) – During the autumn that John is staying at Baker Street again after Sherlock was shot, he ruminates over the similarity between Sherlock’s shot and the one that killed his father when he was fifteen. Cold case meets series 3 fix-it. Part I takes place entirely within His Last Vow, Part II takes place starting at the end of HLV and continues after.
Where Else Would I Be? by cwb (E, 34,910 w. || Retirementlock, Domestic Fluff, Falling in Love, Parentlock, Fluff and Smut, Reminiscing) – John and Sherlock’s five-year-old granddaughter spends the weekend with them in Sussex. Sherlock happily indulges her whims, and John takes care of them while quietly revisiting the past thirty years of their lives together.
Classified(s) by blueink3 (E, 36,153 w. || Wedding Date AU || Fake Relationship, Jealous, PIning, H/C, Idiots in Love, Happy Ending, Mary is not Nice, Escort Service) – Clara’s American father is the ambassador to some such territory that Great Britain probably used to own, but she (and Harry’s undying love for her) is the reason John is getting on a flight at 12:30pm, flying across the second largest ocean in the world, and pretending to be in a perfectly happy, healthy relationship with an undoubtedly perfectly coiffed stranger. See, Clara is not only American (and wealthy to boot), she’s also best friends with John’s ex-fiancée. Whom she’s placed in the wedding party. As Maid of Honor. And John just happens to be Best Man. Bloody brilliant.
A Promise Made to Be Broken by PlantsAreNeat (E, 37,018 w. || Fake Relationship, Pining, Slow Burn, RST, Eventual Relationship, POV Sherlock) – A young John makes an ‘if we’re still single at 40, we’ll get together’ pledge to a woman who ends up all wrong for him. She keeps reminding him of the promise, and won’t let go of it. John asks Sherlock to pose as his boyfriend at a family wedding, so as to dash her hopes permanently. Sherlock, who has at last acknowledged his feelings for John, reluctantly agrees despite knowing how painful it will be to ‘have’ John, but not keep him.
The Pieces That Fall to Earth by Itsallfine (M, 49,513 w. || S4 Fix-It, Epistolary, Love Confessions, Slow Burn, Parentlock, Past Abuse, Coming Out, Questioning Sexuality, Mental Health Issues / Therapy, Angst, Happy Ending) – John and Sherlock have hit rock bottom, but with all their armor stripped away, they can finally speak honestly, seek healing, and find the truths that matter most. An epistolary post-s4 fix-it fic. Now complete.(This fic is rated T except for one very clearly marked and easily skippable chapter, which is rated M.) Part 1 of The Pieces that Fall to Earth
Bedroom Tales by Junejuly15 (M, 49,950 w. || Friends to Lovers, Through the Years, H/C, Military Kink, First Kiss / Time, Romance, Insecure Sherlock, Voyeurism, Post-TRF, Ficlets, Fluff and Angst, Fix-It Fics) – Bedroom Tales is a collection of John and Sherlock ficlets. They are set at various stages of their relationship and are in no particular order. Some are fluffy, some sexy, some angsty, there is hurt and comfort, romance and love. What unites them is that they all play in a bedroom, but not necessarily the one in 221B.
The Homecoming Series by sussexbound (M, 51,744 w. across 12 stories, WIP || Domestics, PTSD, Love Confessions, Hurt/Comfort, Cuddling, Jealousy, Family Issues, Cuddling) – Sometimes home is all you need. After three years of horror, betrayals, and crushing loss, John and Sherlock find their way back home to one another, and together find new footing in a world that has changed forever.
Spare Change by Ermerness (E, 51,966 w. || Rich Holmeses AU || First Kiss / Time, Holmes Family, Virgin Sherlock, Anal, First Meetings) – The Holmes family is one of the richest and most powerful in England. Sherlock spends his time flying around the world on the family’s private jet drinking a lot and shopping at expensive boutiques as a way of trying to alleviate his endless boredom. His mother decides it’s time he settles down with someone powerful, wealthy and well connected. John Watson happens to be none of those things.
John Watson’s Twelve Days of Christmas by earlgreytea68 (M, 53,464 w. || Christmas, Holmes Family, Fake Relationship, Alternate First Meeting, Falling in Love, Fluff and Angst, Hardcore Pining) – It’s the holiday season. John Watson needs money. Sherlock Holmes needs something else.
Albion and the Woodsman by Glenmore (E, 54,437 w. || Post S3 || Parentlock, Pining Sherlock, Angst, Family, Drug Use, Depression, Sherlock POV) – Sherlock and John are devastated after Mary Morstan makes her final moves. Sherlock relapses at the crack house, John walks around the world … and a lot happens in between. Parentlock, in the good way.
between each beat are words unsaid by darcylindbergh, hudders-and-hiddles (T, 107,998 w. || Epistolary, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Angst, Happy Ending) – On their wedding night, John and Sherlock gift each other with the things they each said when the other could not hear, the things they each put down where the other could not see: a collection of writings that illustrate the way their love for one another has grown over the years. Part 1 of between each beat
The Swan Triad by Pennin_Ink (T, 121,660 w. across 3 works || Swan Lake AU || Magical / Fairy Tale AU, Romance, Falling in Love, Pining, Psychological Torture, Transformation) – Sherlock and John grow up spending every summer together. Their mothers’ attempts to play matchmaker only fuel their mutual resentment and scorn. But then, one summer.
Unkissed Series by 221b_hound (T to E, 184,168 w. across 46 works || Established Relationship, Ace Sherlock) – Sherlock returned from the dead a year ago. John returned to Baker Street six months ago. They’ve been in a couple since then. Or at least, not NOT a couple. For two smart men, they sure can be dumb.
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Destiel Fic Rec List Part 4
Last Updated in October 2014. Posted in May 2020 for posterity. Header graphic used with permission.
This list contains: 33 fics.
Other Destiel Rec Lists: Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.
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Casturbatus Interruptus by gaugbrojotr
E | 6k | Canon!verse, Hot, , PWP
post-9.01, in a slight AU wherein Cas comes to live with the Winchesters at the Bunker. Written before 9.03. Crossposting from Tumblr. Written for a prompt from hightopsandsharpies: "Okay, so Cas is a virgin, and has no idea what pleasure is and Dean decides to show him and Cas gets all cuddly and needy afterwards. Dean walks in on Cas masturbating. He’s doing it all wrong, but when you’re a bazillion-year-old virgin, that’s to be expected. Dean decides to lend him a hand in a totally platonic, non-romantic way. Things get a little out of control.
 that awkward moment when... by highermagicv
E | 7k | Hot, wing!Kink
All in all, with a full tank of gas and his radio turned up loud, Dean was in a pretty damn good mood. All that vanished into shock and concern when the sky lit up like daylight, as though someone had decided that black was so passé for nighttime.
 This Temporary Flesh and Bone by misachan
E | 5k | Canon!verse, h/c, wing!kink
Castiel doesn't serve Dean, fine, Dean has no problem with that - he just wants to know why Castiel's showing up in his dreams again.
What a fabulous little Fic. Very emotional. S4 cas is my FAVORITE.
 Only Fools Rush In by baka_sensei
E | 18k | Canon!verse, soulbond
Dean does something and in angelic tradition that means he's become Castiel's fiancé. Dean doesn't know if he wants to get married, but he doesn't want to let Castiel down either. Cas lets his feelings run away with him, Gabe is a total dick, Sam is concerned, and Dean has to make a choice.
 Learning Curve by blualbino
T | 1k | Fluff, Canon!verse
Cas has nice lips. They’re soft looking. Plush even. Dean can do this.
 Dinner At Katz's by nanoochka
E | 2k | Hot, canon!verse
Dean might have to teach Cas how to have a When Harry Met Sally-esque orgasm, but he certainly doesn’t have to fake it.
 Free With His Hands by watermaline
E | 2k | canon!verse, handprint!kink
The first time it happens, Dean chalks it up to…well, he doesn’t chalk it up to anything, he’s too busy coming his brains out in his jeans with Castiel’s hand on his shoulder.
 Desecrate that Sanctuary by brokentoy
E | 3k | Hot, Alt!Canon Verse
Dean develops a fascination with Cas' bones.
 What Once Was Sacred by saltandbyrne
E | 55k |  Hot,  AU, Cop Dean, DJ Cas
Los Angeles detective Dean Winchester works tirelessly to atone for the sins of his father one case at a time. When his best friend Charlie drags him to visit Sam at his new job, Dean stumbles onto a bizarre string of deaths that brings him uncomfortably close to his past.Dean can't stop thinking about Castiel, an enigmatic DJ who plays the sexiest music Dean's ever heard. A chance encounter at Castiel's house reveals that Castiel is an incubus, and Dean must face the lies and the reality of his childhood as a hunter. Dean comes to see that he and Castiel have more in common than he thought, and that guilt can be the hardest thing to cast aside.
 Freefall by LastKnownWriter
E | 128k | Hot, Fluff,  AU, Teacher Dean, Firefighter Cas
AU. The most exciting kindergarten teacher Dean Winchester's life ever gets is when he plays mechanic in his uncle Bobby's shop on the weekends. That is until a birthday party goes tequila-nova and he trips into a one-night stand with an incredibly hot firefighter named Castiel. Dean's life gets a lot more exciting after that.
 The Best Years of Our Lives, My Ass ❤ by ireallyhatecornnuts
E | 110k | Hot,  Fluff,  HS AU but not really,
AU after Season 8, episode 6, "Southern Comfort." Dean goes to sleep in a motel room in Texarkana, and he wakes up 17 years old, in his childhood bedroom in Lawrence, Kansas, 1996. He has no idea how he got there, why his parents are still alive, why his brother is an adorable freshman with no memory of his adult life, and why the only ally he has in this place is the angel he left behind in Purgatory – somehow also 17 years old. They have to get out, that's the important thing. Only, falling in love with his angel wasn't a part of the plan....
It's like a HS AU... but better! I love how Dean is given a second chance at growing up, and Cas gets to engage with his humanity is painfully familiar ways. Some homophobia from non-central characters.    
  deus ex nihilo by Valyria
E | 7k | AU, dubcon, god cas
Lost on an uncharted island, Dean Winchester is captured by the local villagers and offered up as a sacrifice to their winged god. Castiel takes one look at Dean and decides he wants him for a mate.
 Twist and Shout ❤ by gabriel
E | 97k | Angst,  AU, Main Character Death
What begins as a transforming love between Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak in the summer of 1965 quickly derails into something far more tumultuous when Dean is drafted in the Vietnam War. Though the two both voice their relationship is one where saying goodbye is never a real truth, their story becomes fraught with the tragedy of circumstance. In an era where homosexuality was especially vulnerable, Twist and Shout is the story of the love transcending time, returning over and over in its many forms, as faithful as the sea.
Do I really need to say anything? Twist and Shout is one of my favorites simply because it made me bawl. Didn't love the characterization, but I still liked it overall.
 Angel Slayer by emwebb17
E | 138k | Jensen/Misha, Mystery, AU
FBI Special Agent Jensen Ackles tracked a serial killer dubbed the Angel Slayer for six months in Washington, DC—the murderer was vicious, depraved, carved the names of angels into the victims’ chests…and eluded capture. Over eight years later, a murder in small Elton, NH has too many similarities for Jensen to ignore. Paired with a green agent, Jared Padalecki, Jensen travels to Elton to solve the case that has been haunting him for nearly a decade. In the course of the investigation the agents come across a local police officer named Misha Collins—who may have a deadly connection to the Angel Slayer.
 Carry On ❤ by TamrynEradani
E | 148k | Hot,  AU, Sub!dean, Dom!Cas
 When Sam gets into Stanford, Dean needs a bigger paycheck than Bobby's garage can give him. Luckily, he knows a guy.
Forget 50 Shades of Grey, they should make this fic into a movie! Even if you are not a fan of Sub!Dean, give this fic a shot, because it is nearly perfect.    
 Glasses by Samanthapin
E | 9k | Fluff, High School AU, punk!cas, nerd!dean
Teasing turns flirting turns dating turns grossly soppy boyfriends
 beer and bacon happy hour by outpastthemoat
G | 2k | canon!verse, s8
The problem is that Dean’s been having good ideas all night. “No one insults the trenchcoat,” Dean says, and drives his fist into the other dude’s face. Dean figures he was bound to run out of good ideas eventually.
 Hard Road ❤ by aleishapotter
E | 54k | Canon!verse
Dean discovers a few truths about himself when he and Cas are forced to go undercover on a hunt to the very last place Dean ever thought he'd find himself: a gay resort called "Last Hope" that is geared towards helping troubled homosexual couples repair their relationships. This fic is hilarious and hot--my favorite things.  
 Dean Smith Verse by TamrynEradani
E | 17k | Hot,  BDSM, AU, Sub!Dean
 Dean Smith is a man of routine. Castiel takes him apart.
Bratishka: Little Brother by Valyria
E | 33k | Cop AU, Cop Dean, Lawyer Cas
Dean thinks he knows pretty much everything there is to know about his best friend Castiel Novak - he's a smart, gorgeous DA who probably lets Dean get away with more than he should to see the bad guy locked up - but it turns out Cas is hiding some dark family secrets.
 the way to a man's heart by mkhunterz
M | 15k | Fluff,  Canon!verse
Dean teaches Cas to cook, and other things as well.
 Branded by garrisonbabe
E | 12k | | canon!verse, soul bond, marking/claiming
Michael mocked Castiel, telling him he'd never get Dean the way he truly wanted. No matter the mark on Dean's soul, he'd never get him the way the archangel could take him. Dean finds a ritual that fixes that and a few other issues.
 Our Bodies, Posessed by Light by obstinatrix
E | 39k | canon!verse, sastiel bromance, Fluff
Purged of all his souls, Castiel is a changed being, stronger than an angel and too powerful for Jimmy's body to contain. Happily, there's an archangel's vessel on hand, and he could use fixing, too. Dean isn't too happy about the idea of his brother acting as a vessel for Castiel, and Sam can guess why, but it isn't until Castiel gets inside his head and they learn to share the vessel -- and their thoughts -- that Sam realises Cas is as in love with Dean as Dean is with him. It's unfortunate that there's nothing much to be done about it now, but Castiel will get another vessel soon. The Winchesters will make damn sure of that. In the meantime, it's up to the three of them to establish their own strange accord, and Dean realises more fully than ever that it's Castiel, and not his vessel, that he loves.
So Glad We Made It  ❤by scaramouche
M | 16k | Fluff,  AU
At twelve years old, Dean makes a friend, who becomes his best friend, who will eventually become the love of his life.    
Oh, the best friends who grow up together AU. I have a soft spot for fics like these-- comes with pining, awkward misunderstandings, and a good basis for a realistic relationship.    
 Shut Up (Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is) ❤ by kototyph
E | 23k | Fluff,  college au
Dean's done some pretty stupid things, but getting drunk-hitched in Vegas to a colleague he barely knows might just take the cake. His surprise husband, Castiel, is a little weird but likable despite that, and Dean figures they’ll go back to Boston, get a quiet annulment, and go their separate ways. Six weeks later, he’s still married to one of the strangest, most genuine and definitely most dangerously lov-- likable guys he's ever known. Dean doesn't know why or really even how it’s happening, but it’s getting harder and harder to remember that he has divorce papers to file.
FLUFF EVERYWHERE! This is definitely a feel-good fic and I love reading it when I'm sad. Or just you know, whenever.
 But the Fire is So Delightful by kototyph
E | 5k | Hot, hate then love, College AU
Apparently, it’s been snowing all day. [Dean is a Douchebag Fratboy with a Cherry Ass, Castiel is Angry and Aroused]
 Stitches by askance
T | 23k |  Fluff, h/c, blindness, Canon!verse
Castiel survived Leviathan--but only barely. Vessel mauled and eyes destroyed, Cas is barely clinging to what's left of his grace when Dean finds him naked and alone on the reservoir's edge; in a panic, Dean brings him home to the cabin where he and Sam have been holed up off the grid. What follows is the slow process of the angel's recovery and the unexpected changes that come with his being blind, and in the three months this takes, their little family slowly begins to patch itself back together in forgiveness, love, and darkness.
 When Charlie Met Cas by riseofthefallenone
E | 25k | Fluff,  canon!versE |
Charlie is back in all her glory. The Winchesters have showed up on her doorstep and she’s making the best of it the only way she knows how. By being the little sister Dean never wanted and shipping the shit out of Destiel.
  The Curious Case of Wee Baby Cas Things by tracy_loo_who
G | 4k | Gen, crack
In which Dean and Sam get saddled with a herd of Cas-like baby animals. Meanwhile, Castiel just wants a hug.
 The Life After the Morning After by saltyfeathers
T | 17k
Dean and Cas get uber drunk on their last day of University. They end up married. Neither of them seem to mind.
 The Girlfriend Experience ❤ by Rageprufrock
E | 15k | Hot,  Canon!Verse, First time
While it's not like Dean hasn't had a couple of truly regrettable hit-and-runs in his sexual history, this is probably the saddest fucking thing that has ever happened to him.
Classic Casturbation fic. Complete with steamy sexytimes, hilarious dialogue, and fed up and clueless Dean. Perfect.    
 Asunder by Rageprufrock
E | 23k | Sam/Ruby, Hospital AU Fluff,
Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (Matthew 19:6)
 Hands, From Which All Things Are Built by MajorEnglishEsquire
T | 14k | Canon!Verse, s8
Castiel travels with the angel tablet and without the Winchesters. One day, Dean gets a text from some anonymous number. (They speak in the language of need.)
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