#well hang on can i please get 6k+ of a rarepair that is all characterization and slowburn that will leave me

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I stumbled across your old Xander/Owain fic again recently and haven't been able to get it out of my head, I love the leo trio with my heart and soul and xanlow is great but there is something so compelling and wholesome about them being in such close proximity for so long bc of Leo and Laslow but not close enough to actually have any sort of relationship with one another otherwise until they finally get a moment alone and are able to forge a connection. I love We Meet Like This At Least Once and it's honestly so aggravating that the only other fics on ao3 under the tag are porn involving one of Xander's siblings in some way, for some reason, and seemingly have absolutely nothing to do with Odin being drawn to Xander's strength of mind, body, and character and the tenderness he embodies with those he trusts and loves nor with Xander getting to see him as the competent, profound, and thoughtful man he is and growing to find his theatrics a welcome familiarity that brightens the moods of those around him and alleviates some of the stress that weighs heavy on his shoulders >:/ Anyway this became a rant whoops but I simply wanted to tell you that I am eternally grateful for your wonderful writing and carrying this rarepair and ask if you've ever thought about how slowly or quickly their relationship would develop after your fic or how you think they may get together in a canonverse setting

(referring to this fic) 🥺🥺 I love!! Rarepairs!! And I'm really glad you liked "We Meet Like This At Least Once" and had fun with it! Because even though that fic was written in 2017, I had fun writing it and honestly would like to see more Xander/Odin fic where nobody expects that to work and keeps assuming they're with someone else or single, but they are wrong. Anyway, I reread my old fics sometimes and thank you for reminding me about this one. :D

Regarding your question of "if you've ever thought about how slowly or quickly their relationship would develop after your fic or how you think they may get together in a canonverse setting," I think in canonverse, Xander/Odin would bond like in the Gay Fates Hack, wherein they meet over swordsmanship and then get to know each other as people through that. In the fic-verse that I wrote specifically (and ignoring any other AUs that could happen), I showed how they got together. In terms of their relationship developing over time, I imagine there would be an engagement in two years or less. I don't know if Owain pays attention to the passage of time; more so his feelings, and they're already pretty solid about how they feel about each other. Owain liked Xander since he was a kid (childhood crush nurtured into love) and Xander, though his feelings took longer for Owain to grow, recognized those feelings within himself a few months before confessing. With this in mind and having grown up together, they have a solid base to work with already.

First few months of the relationship are getting used to each other in a romantic context + getting to know what each other wants out of the future on a deeper level (kids or no kids, what type of living arrangement would work best for them, what does their financial future look like, etc.) and then the next year or so is routine (and not so different from how their friend & family dynamic worked before, though obviously they have to make much more of an effort to see each other now due to their different schedules. Plus the ups and downs of Owain working + rewriting his book for publication while Xander works hard in the office and probably stays late a lot. So I think the time apart would be their biggest hurdle.)

The one difference between them I could see is that if Owain got the idea to take things further first, he'd suggest living together so it wouldn't be so hard to see each other, whereas Xander, raised a bit more formally, would probably have a ring and propose first and say "let's move in together as fiances/as a newlywed couple." A proposal may come as a surprise to some by that point, but Xander would point out that a year and a half/two years is a common amount of time for couples to wait to propose + they already have known each other much longer than that. So what are they waiting for? This would solve so many problems. And Owain would agree in this universe, I think.

Thank you for asking! :D