Pine4Pine 2021

[greygerbil]

Dear Pine4Pine Writer,

I'm greygerbil on AO3, thank you for writing for me! Right from the start, I want to say you don’t have to do anything with my prompts, they’re just here in case you want some ideas. If it has my pairing and avoids my DNWs, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it! All ratings are great. I included a list of my general likes and smut likes which apply to all my requests. When it comes to kinks, you can include anything not listed under my DNWs.

Feel free to entirely erase the existence of canon relationships or break them up if they get in the way of the pairings I requested, whichever works best with what you’re trying to do.

Some prompts may read like ideas for longer fics, but if you’re interested in them, please just grab a scene with the general idea out of the middle of those hypothetical longfics and write me that! I love fic of all length and don’t want anyone to feel like they have to go above the minimum word count. I just get excited writing prompts sometimes.

Considering the number of canons I have where you slaughter your way through untold heaps of NPCs, I should also point out I generally have no problem with gore, blood, and graphic violence.

Table of Contents

DNWs
Likes
Smut Likes
Assassin’s Creed: Alexios/Stentor
Hades: Zagreus/Chaos
SK8 the Infinity: Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry/Nanjo Kojiro | Joe
Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game): Sandayu Oda/Goro Takemura
Boku no Hero Academia: Sasaki Mirai | Sir Nighteye/Yagi Toshinori | All Might
Dragon Age: Dorian Pavus/Felix Alexius
Dragon Age: Fenris/Varric Tethras
Mass Effect: Andromeda: Jaal Ama Darav/Evfra de Tershaav
Mass Effect: Andromeda: Akksul/Evfra de Tershaav
Pride & Prejudice – Jane Austen: Fitzwilliam Darcy/Charles Bingley

DNWs and Likes

DNWs

• permanent death of requested characters (they can die temporarily and come back to life, though)


• requested characters cheating on anybody


• open relationships/poly for requested pairings


• completely unhappy endings (vaguely hopeful or bittersweet is fine, just not full dark)


• smut involving underage characters (under 18)


• unrequested incest (not a problem for background characters)


• ageplay, diaper play, daddy or mommy kink


• raceplay


• scat, emetophilia


• necrophilia, cannibalism, debilitating mutilation of requested characters for sexual pleasure, vore


• crackfic (humour is great, but I don’t enjoy complete randomness)


• high school/college AUs (other modern AUs as well as all other sorts of AUs are fine; modern characters just going to school or college as part of their life at some point is also no problem, I just don't want, for example, Ancient Greek characters in a modern college)


• 1st and 2nd person POV (they are fine for epistolary fic and mock articles/social media entries/documents/research papers, though)

Likes

• UST (and also eventual resolving of UST)


• friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers, friends with benefits to romance


• battle couples fighting together


• loyalty kink


• admiring competence/skill


• sparring


• protectiveness


• possessiveness


• hurt/comfort


• fluff


• mpreg, kidfic


• epistolary fic


• angst


• arranged marriage turning into marriage of love, characters pretending to be in a relationship falling in love


• tough characters being driven to their breaking point


• character who is suffering trying to soldier through


• hurt character trying to comfort distressed person who is helping them


• dancing


• one partner manhandling the other


• focus on height differences if applicable


• PWP


• Soulmate AUs, played straight or averted


• I also enjoy A/B/O AUs, so in case you’re inspired to write that, I placed the character I most enjoy as an omega behind the /. For mpreg childbirth, A/B/O or otherwise, feel free to give them new genitalia to manage it or just have an anal birth or a Caesarian. Male lactation is also fine to include.

Smut Likes

• rough sex


• slow, loving sex


• marking with biting and love bites, scratch marks, bruises


• overstimulation


• focus on hands, fingering, handjobs


• intercrural, intergluteal


• oral


• anal


• rimming


• body worship


• first times (in general, or with that partner, or with a partner of that gender)


• BDSM, D/s, honour bondage


• generally playing around with dominance, one character calling the shots very clearly, or both challenging each other during sex, fighting for control


• however, I also love smut that is just really vanilla and fluffy and gentle


• for vampires (and other people who don’t do lasting damage to each other): bloodplay

Assassin’s Creed: Alexios/Stentor

Alexios and Stentor have such a deliciously complicated relationship. Stentor is obviously threatened by Alexios’s presence, and Alexios is probably jealous that Stentor got to have Nikolaos as a father whereas Alexios got to be shoved off a mountain. However, considering how attached Stentor is to Nikolaos, I doubt he has any birth family that cares about him, either. He and Alexios might eventually find themselves unexpectedly able to bond over some things. They would also make a great battle couple and their verbal and physical sparring is a lot of fun. I write mostly with protagonist!Alexios in mind, but feel free to go for Deimos!Alexios if you want to, I like him, too. For smut, I prefer bottom Stentor. If you include mpreg, I prefer pregnant Stentor.

Alexios/Stentor (Alexios pining)
Alexios/Stentor (both pining)
Alexios/Stentor (Stentor pining)
Feelings eventually requited

Character A Pines For Character B Not Realizing It's Requited

• Since I picked requited pining, this is sort of an undercurrent to quite a few prompts as well as a prompt in itself. They don’t always both have to be pining hard – maybe one of them is a lot more tortured and intense about it while the other is more low-key crushing or even not yet in love at first –, but I would like them to eventually end up together or at least on the road there.

B is oblivious to A's pining and A wants to keep it that way

• Can see this for both of them, as each of them may be convinced the other one doesn’t like them at all and each of them has good reasons for that. So they pine away. How does it come out eventually?


• I can see both of them, but especially Stentor, being hot-headed enough to really want to keep this from the other, but blurting it out in the middle of an argument, anyway.


• Always love fics about the difficulty of sparring/wrestling in the hot sand with only flimsy tunics on and desperately trying not to let it on they’re into the other (and perhaps failing, leading to smut?)

Character A distances themself from Character B to try and get over them

• The pining one (or both of them simultaneously) tries dodging the other and to be fair, it’s not like they’re friends, so it’s not too weird, but the Fates have other ideas for them and they just keep running into each other/being forced to work together.


• The pining one tries dodging the other, but this is after they’ve built up a careful rapport and the other keeps pushing to have their attention back now (maybe this is because the other one is also pining, but has a different approach that doesn’t involve distancing? But could also be because they just enjoy the other’s presence).

Pining A thinks about B while having sex with others

• Would generally prefer no serious partners for this, rather someone that either of them spends a night with, but isn’t in a real relationship with. Whether they had every intention to purge the thought of the object of their pining with the tryst but just can’t shake it, or whether they actually went into it guiltily knowing that they’d think about the object of their pining (maybe even picked someone who looked similar?), both would be fun.


• How does this eventually lead to sex between Stentor and Alexios? Maybe the other one sees them with a suspiciously similar-looking lover, or questions why the other has a string of lovers who never seem to stick around?

Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement

• Or maybe they have sex with each other, but can’t quite bring themselves to admit that they want more. How does it come out?


• Sex that accidentally turns a lot more gentle and/or passionate than both sides planned and the fallout of that when they’re finished.


• The one being pined after is very thorough and gentle and that just makes it so much harder to keep up the facade for the pining one.

Pining because they think they're just a rebound

• Could work for either of them! Maybe Stentor had a messy break-up that Alexios noticed because he was in Sparta at the time and he thinks Stentor just wants him because of that (but can’t stop himself from going with it because he’s pining for Stentor so hard)?


• Stentor running into any of Alexios’ many possible love interests would also work. Thaletas would be especially poignant, maybe, since Stentor might convince himself that Alexios just wanted another Spartan polemarch to fill the void (but he’s so deep in he actually goes with it despite his pride).

Character A pines while Character B Thinks They're Already Dating

• I can see these two being so bad at communicating their feelings (especially Stentor) that this could happen to either of them. Would love to see all the needless pining and then also the moment when either the other realises that their partner doesn’t understand they’re together and clears things up, or when the pining one suddenly realises they are already being seen as a partner through some accident or circumstance.

Deathbed confession of love

• Plenty of opportunity for either of them to give one of these, either because they don’t want to take the secret to their grave or because they are delirious and thus more honest than usual. Would not want the person to actually die, of course (or only if the other one then recaptures them out of Hades!). How do they deal with this confession suddenly being in the world when the confessor makes an unlikely recovery?

Arranged Marriage - mutual pining between spouses

• Generally, I love me some pining between spouses who think the other dislikes them/is alright with them but is only here out of responsibility/pity. And, of course, I would love it if they eventually resolved their mutual pining.


• The kings stipulate that to really get back into the family and Sparta, Alexios has to marry Stentor. Meanwhile, Stentor will have to marry Alexios to keep his place in the family (so they can basically be first sons together because they have a shared household that inherits now). They agree. How does it go?


• Alexios and Stentor didn’t think they would get along, but agreed to the marriage. Then, the wedding night is unexpectedly scorching hot, and afterwards they get to know each other better and start pining.


• Alexios and Stentor each thought the other doesn’t really like them and thus didn’t have a wedding night or really a life as husbands, but they’re actually both pining.

Hades: Zagreus/Chaos

I just really like the relationship between these two. Chaos is such a strange entity – unsurprisingly, they are the embodiment of primordial chaos, after all – and Zagreus still manages to relate to them in his own way. The end of their relationship full heart arc, when they tell each other they will miss each other when Zagreus will leave for good, was so cute. I also love that Zagreus is the one who helped Chaos out of their isolated loneliness by dropping by and reconnecting them with their daughter, and Chaos pointing out that Zagreus showed them loneliness isn’t an inevitable fate.

For pregnancy, I like pregnant Chaos, and for smut I prefer bottom Chaos – that is if you want Chaos assuming some sort of human (or human-ish) body for these purposes, since from the waist down Chaos seems to be mostly half-formed faces so far (I’m also fine with any genitalia for Chaos). I’d also be totally down for weird cosmic sex that escapes human experience, though, where Chaos is the whole of their realm, or Zagreus gets to exploring a body that is mostly composed of unmade reality pieces, as long as they both still get sexual pleasure out of it. Something in between of those two options would also be fun! As a sidenote, I really enjoy size differences, so feel free to make Chaos as big as the other “normal” gods are, or even bigger, considering they’re quite the singular being (with perhaps the power to adjust their size somewhat if need be for smut purposes).

Zagreus/Chaos (both pining)
Zagreus/Chaos (Chaos pining)
Zagreus/Chaos (Zagreus pining)
Feelings eventually requited

Character A Pines For Character B Not Realizing It's Requited

• Since I picked requited pining, this is sort of an undercurrent to quite a few prompts as well as a prompt in itself. They don’t always both have to be pining hard – maybe one of them is a lot more tortured and intense about it while the other is more low-key crushing or even not yet in love at first –, but I would like them to eventually end up together or at least on the road there.


• I feel like it’s understandable to not realise the pining is requited in this case, since Chaos seems to be pretty bad with human feelings in general (took them a while to work out the process of gift giving and receiving), and Zagreus would have no concept of how a being like Chaos shows their affection, so how can he even guess whether it’s requited? Would love to see the two of them figure it out.

B is oblivious to A's pining and A wants to keep it that way

• Zagreus is in love with Chaos and kind of happy they’re so different because he figures that Chaos is not going to notice. However, maybe Chaos does eventually realise that something is off. How do they approach Zagreus?


• Chaos does not think there is much of a point in confessing their feelings to Zagreus, since they realise what a different type of being they are and doubt Zagreus would be interested. How does Zagreus find out?

Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement

• Zagreus and Chaos sleep together, but it was experimental (has Chaos even ever had sex? It seems they were the sole parent of all children they had) and meant to be just for fun. Then feelings develop.


• Sex that accidentally turns a lot more gentle and/or passionate than both sides planned and the fallout of that when they’re finished.


• Chaos tries to hide their feelings during sex, but it starts to warp the Chaos realm around them in some way. Does Zagreus eventually notice?

Character A distances themself from Character B to try and get over them

• Zagreus walks past every Chaos gate now because the feelings he has for Chaos are just a bit too complicated. How does Chaos manage to lure him back? Maybe an escape attempt is going bad and Zagreus takes a gate as his last chance? Maybe Chaos just spawns one under his feet? Maybe Nyx asks on Chaos’ behalf why he hasn’t visited and now Zagreus feels like he has to go? Or maybe Chaos even manages to clamber out of their realm and search Zagreus out?


• Game mechanics could be funny here, too. Chaos doesn’t spawn any more gates to avoid Zagreus, but you can buy a guaranteed Chaos gate spawn from Charon’s shop. So maybe Chaos is doing their best to stay away, but Zagreus just won’t have it? Does Zagreus think he just has bad luck with Chaos gates lately or is he trying to figure out why he’s being avoided? And how do they get together from here?

Character A pines while Character B Thinks They're Already Dating

• This could also easily happen with how unique communication with Chaos is. Maybe Chaos already considered them mated (or whatever term they would use for dating), but Zagreus is still pining. How does Zagreus realise? Or does Chaos notice Zagreus doesn’t seem to know and tells him?


• Or maybe it’s Chaos who doesn’t realise Zagreus already considers them a couple. It’s harder to learn social context clues like that when you spend eons sitting alone in the void. How does Chaos learn of it? Or does Zagreus figure it out and corrects Chaos’ impression?

Guilt over enjoying friendly hugs/physical closeness too much

• Has anyone ever hugged Chaos? Nyx and him seem to share a bond of a different sort, but Zagreus can be pretty human, so maybe he is the first one to introduce Chaos to such things and he also happens to be someone Chaos already likes a lot. On the other hand, we know Zagreus could definitely use a hug, so maybe he is the one who enjoys physical affection form Chaos more than he feels he should?


• This veers into the cosmic side, but the relation between Chaos The Person and Chaos The Realm does seem to be somewhat open-ended at the very least. Maybe Zagreus just being there is a sort of friendly physical touch to Chaos and they definitely enjoy it too much. How do they deal with that? Do they eventually reveal it to Zagreus? Or, on the other hand, maybe it’s Zagreus who really starts to like just hanging out inside, well, Chaos and isn’t quite sure how to communicate that or how to take it further, or wondering if he should.

A pining because they think B isn't interested in interspecies relationships

• They are both gods, so this isn’t exactly an interspecies relationship, but Chaos is pretty different from basically anybody else, even the divine people. Maybe Zagreus just doesn’t think a small, relatively regular consciousness like his own can even hold Chaos’ attention? Or he thinks Chaos isn’t interested in that sort of thing in the first place?


• Chaos may also think that Zagreus would prefer a more regular mate who doesn’t happen to be the void beginning of all of creation.

SK8 the Infinity: Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry/Nanjo Kojiro | Joe

They’re like cat and dog and fight all the time, and yet you can immediately sense how important they are to each other. Fic set before, during, or after the show is all great. I’d prefer fic of them as adults, but prequel fic of them at school is also an option, though I’d like both of them to be at least eighteen years old. Flashbacks are always cool, though! I’d also be very interested in fic that happens in the years between them graduating school and being in the obviously quite established professional positions they are in during the show. For smut, I prefer bottom Kojiro. If you include mpreg, I prefer pregnant Kojiro.

Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry Blossom/Nanjo Kojiro | Joe (both pining)
Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry Blossom/Nanjo Kojiro | Joe (Cherry pining)
Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry Blossom/Nanjo Kojiro | Joe (Joe pining)
Feelings eventually requited

Character A Pines For Character B Not Realizing It's Requited

• Since I picked requited pining, this is sort of an undercurrent to quite a few prompts as well as a prompt in itself. They don’t always both have to be pining hard – maybe one of them is a lot more tortured and intense about it while the other is more low-key crushing or even not yet in love at first –, but I would like them to eventually end up together or at least on the road there.

B is oblivious to A's pining and A wants to keep it that way

• Either of them thinks that if something could happen between them, it probably already would have (ignoring that they also haven’t made a first move). It’s best not to ruin a friendship over this, right? However, things don’t go as planned.


• Since Kaoru was with Ainosuke in the past, Kojiro thinks that someone generally laid-back like him is probably as far from Kaoru’s type as one could get (also, Kaoru keeps calling him a gorilla, which doesn’t exactly speak to him enjoying his body type). Turns out he’s wrong about that.


• Kaoru figures Kojiro is straight, since Kojiro has never really been with a guy. Whether Kojiro just didn’t flirt with guys so openly (maybe purely because they didn’t tend to hit on him in the streets) or was still kind of wrestling with internalised homophobia (though I’d like that to be directed against himself and not him being hateful to others), him not being into men, or Kaoru, is definitely not the problem.


• How does the pining one reveal their feelings? Too much alcohol? Delirious from sickness or pain killers or something? Maybe in a rare real fight between them, or even in a relaxed, comfortable moment, they just accidentally let it slip? Or maybe they’re found out?

Character A distances themself from Character B to try and get over them

• After Ainosuke and Kaoru get together and then break up (or maybe even before the break-up if their relationship lasts longer), Kojiro up and moves to Italy. He has a good excuse and he did want to work in a restaurant there, but it’s mostly to disentangle himself from Kaoru. However, I have a feeling Kaoru won’t let him slip away so easily.


• Maybe this is later in life, which would make running away a bit more difficult for either of them. Kaoru stops coming to the restaurant, or Kojiro stops going to “S” on the same evenings as Kaoru, or either of them pretends they just have so much work they can’t meet up anymore. How long do they manage to keep it up and/or how long does the other let them get away with it?

Character A tries to convince themself that a platonic relationship is enough

• They’re best friends since forever, that should be good enough! It’s not like many people even get that sort of relationship. Yet, the pining one just can’t stop wanting more and probably feels bad about that, too.

Guilt over enjoying friendly hugs/physical closeness too much

• This could be both or either of them. I love that tortured pining and guilt about enjoying friendly touches just a bit too much.

Pining A thinks B is still hung up on past lover

• Kojiro doesn’t seem that attached to any of his flings, but I could definitely see this with Kaoru if he used to be with Ainosuke. Maybe they start to get closer again now that Ainosuke has been humbled and Kojiro remembers acutely that feeling of being the third wheel that he’s had before. He’s not a teen now, though, so maybe he just withdraws, or at most just hovers at “S” because he doesn’t trust Ainosuke not to hit Kaoru with a skateboard again? Or maybe it spurs a confession from him eventually.

Pining because they think they're just a rebound

• Another prompt that seems tailor-made for past Kaoru/Ainosuke. Kojiro knows it’s unlikely Kaoru is in love with him, but he’s so smitten than he forgets his pride and goes with it. However, Kaoru was already over Ainosuke and just wanted Kojiro.


• Maybe Kojiro is right and he actually was just a rebound, but eventually Kaoru develops feelings for Kojiro, too (maybe this means they’re now mutually pining because Kaoru is well-aware Kojiro knows he’s the rebound and thinks he won’t take Kaoru seriously when he says he loves him).

Character runs into someone who reveals past traumatic/shameful event to the one they're pining for

• I could see Kojiro as the kind of person who just eats trauma and deals with it on his own time – he’s rather stable, after all, so he might not feel he needs to burden other people. Maybe something happened back in Italy or even in Japan (abusive relationship, noncon (for this specific prompt strike the DNW, of course)), but he somehow managed to keep it away from Kaoru until that moment and really isn’t very happy about Kaoru knowing now, either.


• Ainosuke reveals something arguably pathetic/desperate Kaoru did back when they were together. Kaoru is very embarrassed. However, Kojiro doesn’t super care about Ainosuke’s opinion, nor (if this happens around the time when they meet again, when they’re older) does he think it’s relevant what stupid thing Kaoru did when he was eighteen or twenty or whatever, because like, who hasn’t been there when they were young?

Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement

• Maybe they have sex with each other, but can’t quite bring themselves to admit that they want more. How does it come out? How many years do they need to admit it?


• Sex that accidentally turns a lot more gentle and/or passionate than both sides planned and the fallout of that when they’re finished.


• The one being pined after is very thorough and passionate and that just makes it so much harder to keep up the facade for the pining one.

Character A pines while Character B Thinks They're Already Dating

• I feel like with their squabbling would lend itself to something like this. Maybe they’re sleeping together, and one of them thinks it’s clear they’re together whereas the other one thinks their relationship hasn’t shifted that much (because they were basically an old married couple before).


• It would be funny if this came out when one of them is casually like “are we doing something for first month anniversary” or something along those lines. However, I would also enjoy a more angsty story with tortured pining.


• Kaoru seems especially prickly whereas I feel like Kojiro might be a bit more obvious if he’s in a relationship, so Kojiro not knowing would be fun. However, I’m sure Kaoru could also find ways to misunderstand Kojiro being cuddlier (he’s just affectionate with people he sleeps with!).

Deathbed confession of love

• Bit dramatic here, but maybe one of them gets in an accident and almost dies. When they think they’re about to slip away, they confess to the other, or the other one confesses to them as they sit over their bed. Then, the person who was hurt doesn’t actually die.

pining character A finally makes a move after B almost died

• Whether a deathbed confession was involved or not, after one of them almost dies, the other decides they cannot wait any longer.

Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game): Sandayu Oda/Goro Takemura

Takemura was one of my favourite side characters in this game and we didn’t see much of Oda, but I really enjoyed what we got. Though the dignified middle-aged bodyguard in the pretty suit and the cyberninja with the 2004 jrock hairdo and combat gear are quite the stark contrast, their attitudes are plainly very similar. Their backstory is great, too – that at some point Takemura started being a mentor to Oda, probably when it became clear he was destined for a higher position at Arasaka, and that their relationship then developed into a friendship that lasted for a quite a while before the beginning of the game. The push and pull of that friendship against the intense sense of duty these two have was great to watch. Since I don’t like major character death, I’d like both Takemura and Oda to survive (actually possible!). I’d also prefer if Oda were at least 20 when they first start to get to know each other. I prefer bottom Takemura for smut. If you include mpreg, I prefer pregnant Takemura.

Sandayu Oda/Goro Takemura (both pining)
Sandayu Oda/Goro Takemura (Goro pining)
Sandayu Oda/Goro Takemura (Sandayu pining)
Feelings eventually requited

Character A Pines For Character B Not Realizing It's Requited

• Since I picked requited pining, this is sort of an undercurrent to quite a few prompts as well as a prompt in itself. They don’t always both have to be pining hard – maybe one of them is a lot more tortured and intense about it while the other is more low-key crushing or even not yet in love at first –, but I would like them to eventually end up together or at least on the road there.

B is oblivious to A's pining and A wants to keep it that way

• Could be either one of them. Maybe they think the feelings aren’t requited, maybe they think the other will figure them unprofessional for even considering it, or they just don’t want things to get awkward between them – whichever it is, they’re trying their best to make it unnoticeable.


• How does the pining one reveal their feelings? Too much alcohol? Delirious from sickness or pain killers or malfunctioning implants or something? Maybe in a rare fight between them, or even in a relaxed, comfortable moment, they just accidentally let it slip? Or maybe they’re found out?


• Something that could be interesting is if one of them was using braindance equipment and gives the raw data to the other to scour for more information/intel, but forgot that there was a short section where they interacted and it will be obvious in the braindance that they’ve been looking closely at the one they pine for, not to mention the feelings that are being transported (or the pining one very much didn’t forget, but are forced to hand it over anyway by one of the Arasakas).

Character A distances themself from Character B to try and get over them

• Which is difficult when you’re working closely together like they do. But maybe that’s all it is then – just strictly work, no more sparring, conversations, or Takemura cooking for Oda, and whatever else they might do. However, I can’t see either of them letting what is probably their most trusted friend slip away like that. How does the person who is being pined after find out what is going on?

Character A pining because they think a relationship would be inappropriate

• Takemura might think this, especially if they’ve not known each other for super long and he’s still Oda’s mentor.


• Even if they have known each other for years by that point and are basically equals, they’re still colleagues and should concentrate on their jobs, not each other. However, not being together doesn’t really help them not think about it.

Character A tries to convince themself that a platonic relationship is enough

• They are friends and you don’t get a ton of those in a nest of corpo rats! It should really be enough and the pining one might feel bad for even wanting more, but can’t stop it.

Guilt over enjoying friendly hugs/physical closeness too much

• This could be both or either of them. I love that tortured pining and guilt about enjoying friendly touches just a bit too much.

Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement

• Or maybe they do have sex with each other, but can’t quite bring themselves to admit that they want more. How does it come out?


• Sex that accidentally turns a lot more gentle and/or passionate than both sides planned and the fallout of that when they’re finished.


• The one being pined after is very thorough and gentle and that just makes it so much harder to keep up the facade for the pining one.

Character A pines while Character B Thinks They're Already Dating

• This could happen in a Friends With Benefits arrangement that never had totally clear lines. Maybe to Takemura it was obvious he would never start a sexual relationship if he wasn’t serious, but Oda didn’t realise; or maybe Oda was still kinda sleeping around a bit before getting with Takemura, and Takemura thinks he’s just another one on the list.


• It would be funny if this came out when one of them is casually like “are we doing something for first month anniversary” or something along those lines. However, I would also enjoy a more angsty story with tortured pining.

Deathbed confession of love

• Maybe one of them gets hurt on the job and almost dies. When they think they’re about to slip away, they confess to the other, or the other one confesses to them as they sit over their bed. Then, the person who was hurt doesn’t actually die.

pining character A finally makes a move after B almost died

• Whether a deathbed confession was involved or not, after one of them almost dies, the other decides they cannot wait any longer.

Arranged Marriage - mutual pining between spouses

• Saburo decides that it would make sense to formalise the connection between his bodyguard and his daughter’s, since she is the favoured child and he wants her to carry forward his ideals and/or he wants to give her this as a sign of trust and/or something else. While there’s surely many interesting, subtle company politics reasons for which he could be doing this, Takemura and Oda have to deal with the direct fallout, namely that they are now husbands.


• If their marriage was arranged without any input from them, do they decide from the start to just stay friends and then start massively pining eventually?


• Takemura and Oda both face down the idea that they’re going to be asked to pick a nice Arasaka spouse just to make sure their loyalties are never divided. They’re loyal to the cause, of course, but not enthused about the prospect. Eventually, they decide it’s best just to marry each other, whether it’s as a cover or because they figure it’s the best option. Either way, they fall in love.


• I could also see only Oda facing this order from Hanako, and Takemura, being older and still a little protective, decides that he will be Oda’s cover because he feels Oda is too young to have to choose like that (or just because he’s his friend... I mean, we don’t actually know how young Oda is, considering anti-aging technology). The plan was that Oda can still date freely while married, but it turns out they then soon fall in love for real.

Boku no Hero Academia: Sasaki Mirai | Sir Nighteye/Yagi Toshinori | All Might

These two break my heart. It’s clear that even to the last, they still like and respect each other, but a real reunion was not in the cards for them. If you’re going into that part of the timeline, please fix it for me and have Mirai survive so that they can work on their issues (or fall into bed together and add a thousand other issues and then maybe resolve all that). Whether you see them as old lovers or friends who were always pining, all is great. Of course, I would also love to see them together in the glory days, though, so if you feel like writing me anything from the era when Mirai was Toshinori’s sidekick, I’d totally be here for it. For smut, I prefer bottom Toshinori. If you include mpreg, I prefer pregnant Toshinori.

I’m generally up to date with the manga, so feel free to include any and all spoilers. Incidentally, spoiler here if you aren’t (or at least I think it is a spoiler because I’m not fully sure where the anime is): I’m fine with where canon is now in the manga and find it interesting, but I admit I also liked the school setting, so if you want to write an AU where the villains bide their time a little more and things can continue there, I’d also love that.

Sasaki Mirai | Sir Nighteye/Yagi Toshinori | All Might (both pining)
Sasaki Mirai | Sir Nighteye/Yagi Toshinori | All Might (Mirai pining)
Sasaki Mirai | Sir Nighteye/Yagi Toshinori | All Might (Toshinori pining)
Feelings eventually requited

Character A Pines For Character B Not Realizing It's Requited

• Since I picked requited pining, this is sort of an undercurrent to quite a few prompts as well as a prompt in itself. They don’t always both have to be pining hard – maybe one of them is a lot more tortured and intense about it while the other is more low-key crushing or even not yet in love at first –, but I would like them to eventually end up together or at least on the road there.

pining between ex-lovers

• Six years is a long time to get over an ex. Shame neither of them managed it.


• Toshinori hesitates to reunite because now his prophecised death is very close. When the reason for his hesitation is revealed, Mirai makes it clear he doesn’t care, he wants to twist fate and even if he can’t, he wants to spend Toshinori’s last days with him.

B is oblivious to A's pining and A wants to keep it that way

• Toshinori can be a bit oblivious when it comes to that sort of thing, I think, so maybe Mirai doesn’t thave to try all that hard, but that doesn’t make doing it not hurt.


• Toshinori knows very well Mirai is sharper than him. Does he have any hope of keeping up the charade if he’s the one hiding?


• How does the pining one reveal their feelings? Too much alcohol? Delirious from sickness or pain killers or a quirk they got hit with or something? Maybe in a rare fight between them, or even in a relaxed, comfortable moment, they just accidentally let it slip? Or maybe they’re found out?

Character's hero-worship turns to pining

• I’m sure Mirai had to hear jokes about this from quite a few people with all his All Might merch, but obviously he just admires All Might and his vision of being a hero! And that’s actually how it used to be, but then he becomes his sidekick and they work together and he realises what a genuinely likeable person Toshinori is and now he has a problem on his hands.

Character A distances themself from Character B to try and get over them

• I feel if Mirai started giving Toshinori the cold shoulder, Toshinori would just work extra hard to get back into his good graces, which just makes it even more difficult for Mirai not to like him.


• Similarly, it’s so unusual for Toshinori not to be friendly with someone that it would immediately be obvious (and I doubt he’d be that good at pretending, either). Maybe he piles on as much work as he can so he won’t see Mirai as often? But then Mirai starts getting worried that he’s going to overwork himself.


• Maybe this is in a Mirai Survives AU where they get closer again, and then one of them starts drifting away on purpose. However, the other doesn’t want to let them get away a second time.

Character A pining because they think a relationship would be inappropriate

• Perhaps when they’re still working together, Toshinori thinks he’s a bit too old for Mirai, and Mirai is his sidekick, too! Obviously, Mirai joined him in his late twenties and not exactly as a high school intern, though, and they’re really more partners than anything...

Character runs into someone who reveals past traumatic/shameful event to the one they're pining for

• For Toshinori, maybe something that happened when he was still a young hero right out of school and that wasn’t publicised? Feel free to go hard on the angst – maybe he was captured and tortured or even nonconned (for this specific prompt, that DNW wouldn’t apply). Whoever tells Mirai might want to ruin his perception of him as a perfect hero and maybe Toshinori worries that it will, but it really doesn’t.


• Perhaps Mirai needed a little to find his groove as a hero and actually wasn’t super good at it at first because he hadn’t yet learned to play to his strengths? Someone reveals his early failures to Toshinori and Mirai is mortified, but Toshinori doesn’t think it’s bad at all, everybody needs to learn, after all.

Character A tries to convince themself that a platonic relationship is enough

• Mirai figures he should be happy to have made friends with All Might, who he always admired. He sadly can’t keep himself from wanting more.


• Toshinori also doesn’t seem to have had that many actually close relationships, so Mirai being his friend is quite special and very important to him, but that being true sadly doesn’t help his pining.

Guilt over enjoying friendly hugs/physical closeness too much

• This could be both or either of them. I love that tortured pining and guilt about enjoying friendly touches just a bit too much.

Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement

• Or maybe they have sex with each other, but can’t quite bring themselves to admit that they want more. How does it come out?


• Sex that accidentally turns a lot more gentle and/or passionate than both sides planned and the fallout of that when they’re finished.


• The one being pined after is very thorough and gentle and that just makes it so much harder to keep up the facade for the pining one.

Character A pines while Character B Thinks They're Already Dating

• Mirai is might be too smart and Toshinori too obvious for this to happen that way around (although perhaps you have an idea!), but I could see Toshinori not quite realising they’re dating. How does he find out? Does Mirai makes an offhand remark? Is Toshinori asked about a partner in an interview and denies it, and Mirai tells him he wouldn’t mind making their relationship public later on?

Deathbed confession of love

• Maybe one of them gets hurt on the job and almost dies. When they think they’re about to slip away, they confess to the other, or the other one confesses to them as they sit over their bed. Then, the person who was hurt doesn’t actually die.


• Mirai (almost) dying at the point where he did in canon would also make for a good opportunity for this, with the twist of him not actually dying.

pining character A finally makes a move after B almost died

• Whether a deathbed confession was involved or not, after one of them almost dies, the other decides they cannot wait any longer.


• This could be after Toshinori avoids the fate Mirai prophecised for him and Mirai makes an unplanned move because relief overwhelms him.

Dragon Age: Dorian Pavus/Felix Alexius

Dorian says it’s an odd question when you ask him if he was involved with Felix, but I don’t think it is at all. They seemed fond of each other and Dorian obviously had nothing but the highest regard for him. Besides, Felix did say he liked trouble! For smut, I prefer bottom Felix. If you include mpreg, I prefer pregnant Felix.

Since I’m not into character death, I’d prefer if the fic wasn’t all about the tragedy of Felix’s looming demise or about said death. It could be set before he was infected or in a Felix Lives AU. Oh, and if you do decide to save him somehow, feel free to include all the angst about his (soon to be averted) death. I just don’t like it if the death actually follows. As for Dorian’s relationships with Iron Bull or The Inquisitor, should you choose to set the fic during/past DA:I, it’d be great if they were very clearly broken up by the time he gets to Felix, or he didn’t romance either of them. It would also be nice if Dorian isn’t in love with either of these dudes anymore (though him still being bitter or disillusioned about love if it ended badly, as well as Felix believing that Dorian is still in love or that he couldn’t give Dorian what he got from his former lovers, are totally fine).

Dorian Pavus/Felix Alexius (both pining)
Dorian Pavus/Felix Alexius (Dorian pining)
Dorian Pavus/Felix Alexius (Felix pining)
Feelings eventually requited

Character A Pines For Character B Not Realizing It's Requited

• Since I picked requited pining, this is sort of an undercurrent to quite a few prompts as well as a prompt in itself. They don’t always both have to be pining hard – maybe one of them is a lot more tortured and intense about it while the other is more low-key crushing or even not yet in love at first –, but I would like them to eventually end up together or at least on the road there.

B is oblivious to A's pining and A wants to keep it that way

• Dorian is pining hard, but think Felix is straight or has other things to worry about (if he’s currently recovering from the blight), or is just not interested in more than friendship. He doesn’t want to compromise their friendship.


• Felix thinks Dorian is uninterested because he’d never been so tame around someone he wants and is convinced Dorian thinks about him as nothing more than a friend – which, he loves their friendship, but he also wants something else, so it’s difficult to handle.

Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement

• Or maybe they have sex with each other, but can’t quite bring themselves to admit that they want more. How does it come out?


• Sex that accidentally turns a lot more gentle and/or passionate than both sides planned and the fallout of that when they’re finished.


• The one being pined after is very thorough and passionate and that just makes it so much harder to keep up the facade for the pining one.

Character A distances themself from Character B to try and get over them

• Either one of them might think this is a good idea. Of course, the other one is completely confused why their good friend doesn’t seem to want to have anything to do with them anymore.

Character A pines while Character B Thinks They're Already Dating

• Communication isn’t Dorian’s strong suit sometimes (talking is, but talking about feelings?), so they might end up in this situation. Does the one pining realise by accident that the other one already considers them a couple? Or does the one pined after find out their partner doesn’t realise they’re together?

Character runs into someone who reveals past traumatic/shameful event to the one they're pining for

• This could be in a prequel were some of Dorian’s ‘transgressions’ are revealed to Felix (I mean, just meeting his father in a brothel would work here, but I’m sure Tevinter has much more to say about him, lots of it unfair). To Dorian’s surprise, Felix doesn’t have any issues with his sordid past. Or, this could be about Felix learning about what Dorian’s father did trying to use blood magic on him and giving him some comfort/understanding.


• For Felix, we don’t know much about his past, but his status as non-magic heir to a magic legacy probably left him the victim to a lot of more or less overt mocking and worse (I mean, his own grandfather tried to have him killed!). Maybe Dorian finds out and, to Felix’s surprise (especially if they haven’t known each other so long yet), is firmly on Felix’s side, despite being himself a very talented mage who could easily just join in with the people who are mocking him.

Guilt over enjoying friendly hugs/physical closeness too much

• This could be both or either of them. I love that tortured pining and guilt about enjoying friendly touches just a bit too much.

Character A tries to convince themself that a platonic relationship is enough

• The two of them obviously have a close and affectionate friendship which is important to both of them. That should be enough! Except it doesn’t stop the pining.

Deathbed confession of love

• Felix gets treated in Skyhold, but it doesn’t seem to work. Delirious on his deathbed, Felix confesses to Dorian. Except he makes a miraculous discovery and now they have to deal with that...

pining character A finally makes a move after B almost died

• With or without deathbed confession, if Felix just veeeery narrowly cheats death, I can see Dorian throwing caution to the wind and just going for it.

Dragon Age: Fenris/Varric Tethras

I always thought these two could work out pretty well. Varric teases Fenris and brings out a bit of a humorous side in him, but at the same time you can see in the banter he cares about him, and Fenris obviously likes Varric well enough, too. Varric’s big strength is that he’s good with people, so I could see him navigating Fenris’ hang-ups pretty well. I prefer bottom Varric for smut. If you include mpreg, I prefer pregnant Varric.

Fenris/Varric Tethras (both pining)
Fenris/Varric Tethras (Fenris pining)
Fenris/Varric Tethras (Varric pining)
Feelings eventually requited

Character A Pines For Character B Not Realizing It's Requited

• Since I picked requited pining, this is sort of an undercurrent to quite a few prompts as well as a prompt in itself. They don’t always both have to be pining hard – maybe one of them is a lot more tortured and intense about it while the other is more low-key crushing or even not yet in love at first –, but I would like them to eventually end up together or at least on the road there.

B is oblivious to A's pining and A wants to keep it that way

• Either of them is pining after the other, but thinks it’s not an endeavour that’s going to lead anywhere or doesn’t believe the other is interested in them. How does the other find out and where does it go from there?

Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement

• Or maybe they have sex with each other, but can’t quite bring themselves to admit that they want more. How does it come out?


• Sex that accidentally turns a lot more gentle and/or passionate than both sides planned and the fallout of that when they’re finished.


• The one being pined after is very thorough and gentle and that just makes it so much harder to keep up the facade for the pining one.

Character A distances themself from Character B to try and get over them

• This is a very Fenris move, but I can’t see Varric just letting him get away with it. However, Varric being so determined to save their friendship just makes Fenris like him more...


• Maybe Varric is the one doing this also, though he would probably be a bit more subtle about it. To his surprise, Fenris cares enough that he questions him about it (which only makes Varric pine more).

Character A tries to convince themself that a platonic relationship is enough

• They are friends and Fenris doesn’t have too many of them, nor does Varric have many he trusts as much as the Kirkwall gang. Their friendship is important to them. And yet, that doesn’t stop the pining...

Deathbed confession of love

• Maybe one of them gets hurt during a quest and almost dies, or Fenris almost gets assassined by people from Tevinter, or Varric by assassins from the Merchant’s Guild. When they think they’re about to slip away, they confess to the other, or the other one confesses to them as they sit over their bed. Then, the person who was hurt doesn’t actually die.

pining character A finally makes a move after B almost died

• Whether a deathbed confession was involved or not, after one of them almost dies, the other decides they cannot wait any longer.

Arranged Marriage - mutual pining between spouses

• Maybe Fenris is in danger of being pulled back to Tevinter because of some law or rule. However, this can be stopped if he’s married to a Kirkwall native. Varric volunteers and arranges a marriage between them which is supposed to just be for Fenris’ benefit. However, one/both of them might already be pining.


• Generally, I love me some pining between spouses who think the other might like them, but is only here out of responsibility/pity. And, of course, I would love it if they eventually resolved their mutual pining.

Mass Effect: Andromeda: Jaal Ama Darav/Evfra de Tershaav

I always thought these two would make a sweet couple. Jaal is very much the quintessential angara with his emotional honesty, whereas Evfra seems unusually closed-off for his kind. Opposites attract! However, they also have a lot of ambitions and skills in common, both being passionate fighters for the freedom of their people. There’s also this conversation (with timestamp at 1:47) of Jaal praising Evfra to Drack, which just sounds like he may have a crush. Whether it’s set before, during, or after the game, it’s all great. For smut, I prefer bottom Evfra. If you include mpreg, I prefer pregnant Evfra.

Jaal Ama Darav/Evfra de Tershaav (Evfra pining)
Jaal Ama Darav/Evfra de Tershaav (both pining)
Jaal Ama Darav/Evfra de Tershaav (Jaal pining)
Feelings eventually requited

Character A Pines For Character B Not Realizing It's Requited

• Since I picked requited pining, this is sort of an undercurrent to quite a few prompts as well as a prompt in itself. They don’t always both have to be pining hard – maybe one of them is a lot more tortured and intense about it while the other is more low-key crushing or even not yet in love at first –, but I would like them to eventually end up together or at least on the road there.

Arranged Marriage - mutual pining between spouses

• Generally, I love me some pining between spouses who think the other dislikes them/is alright with them but is only here out of responsibility/pity. And, of course, I would love it if they eventually resolved their mutual pining.


• The angara apparently have ‘important families’, who do support Evfra, but it’s not indicated the de Tershaavs are part of them. Maybe they are pushing for him to marry into their structure, since a lone angara is weird and they’re worried he’ll eventually crack and/or some of them may want to exert more control over him. Evfra is tired of arguing about it and tells them they can send him a husband, whatever. They pick Jaal (who does come from a well-regarded family and who they hope already has an in with Evfra). If Evfra is already pining, he wishes they’d stuck with someone he doesn’t find actually interesting. And why did Jaal agree? Was he hoping to find his place like this, or is he already in love with Evfra and pining?


• As above, but Evfra feels like he’s being pushed towards a marriage he really doesn’t want. He grumbles to Jaal about it, who offers unconventional help. It was really meant as a good deed on Jaal’s part, as he doesn’t think Evfra should be drawn into political bickering while he’s trying to save the angara, but maybe he or Evfra or both of them are already pining...


• Maybe Jaal is the one who is supposed to marry someone from another good family and Evfra offers his help. It’s not like he ever plans to marry for real again, so why not assist a promising soldier who he thinks deserves a chance at a real relationship and not to get shut up in an arranged marriage (yes, maybe he already is a bit fond of Jaal...)? Evfra didn’t want that relationship to be with him, though, and yet they’re growing closer.

B is oblivious to A's pining and A wants to keep it that way

• Evfra has a thousand reasons why it’s a bad idea for him to be with Jaal or even let Jaal become aware of his pining and he’s already used to hiding his feelings more than most angara, so that’s just what he does. How does it come out?


• Jaal doesn’t think Evfra is interested in him, but he’s probably not very good at hiding his feelings completely, since he doesn’t often do it. How does it come out?

Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement

• Or maybe they have sex with each other, but can’t quite bring themselves to admit that they want more. How does it come out?


• Sex that accidentally turns a lot more gentle and/or passionate than both sides planned and the fallout of that when they’re finished.


• The one being pined after is very thorough and passionate and that just makes it so much harder to keep up the facade for the pining one.

Character A distances themself from Character B to try and get over them

• Evfra seems like he would do this and maybe he hopes it doesn’t really register with Jaal, since he basically distances himself from everyone. However, Jaal does notice the subtle differences to before and wants to know what happened.


• Maybe Jaal is the one who tries to distance himself, which is much more noticeable. To his surprise, Evfra wants to know why (and that Evfra likes him enough to care does not help Jaal with his feelings).

Character A tries to convince themself that a platonic relationship is enough

• Being considered Evfra’s friend is probably already a very rare thing, so Jaal knows he shouldn’t mess with it, but he can’t help feeling what he does.


• Evfra likes Jaal’s friendship and doesn’t want to mess it up, but he can’t stop thinking about him.

Guilt over enjoying friendly hugs/physical closeness too much

• When is the last time Evfra got a hug, like about ten years ago? He probably tries to tell himself that’s why he likes Jaal being physical with him so much. But the truth is, it’s more than that and he does feel very guilty...


• Jaal knows how rare it is for Evfra to be physical with anyone and wants to enjoy it for what it is, but he can’t stop thinking about more.

pining character A finally makes a move after B almost died

• This could happen to either of them, considering they both have ample opportunity to get into dangerous situations. Is it a planned confession or do they just blurt it out?

Mass Effect: Andromeda: Akksul/Evfra de Tershaav

Evfra and Akksul have a lot of similarities, both being leaders who managed to galvanise sizeable movements, and both doing what they did because they felt that the current version of the Resistance wasn’t useful. I think Jaal may have pinpointed the difference between them quite well, though: Evfra is a pragmatist. That’s probably also why his version of the Resistance persists, despite everything, whereas the Roekaar were a more volatile, unstable group. Still, I feel like Evfra and Akksul would have a lot to talk about if they met again and that they probably see more of themselves in the other than they are comfortable with. They would bounce off each other in a really fascinating way and I’d love it if they eventually got closer. For smut, I prefer bottom Evfra. If you include mpreg, I prefer pregnant Evfra.

Akksul/Evfra de Tershaav (Akksul pining)
Akksul/Evfra de Tershaav (both pining)
Akksul/Evfra de Tershaav (Evfra pining)
Feelings eventually requited

Character A Pines For Character B Not Realizing It's Requited

• Since I picked requited pining, this is sort of an undercurrent to quite a few prompts as well as a prompt in itself. They don’t always both have to be pining hard – maybe one of them is a lot more tortured and intense about it while the other is more low-key crushing or even not yet in love at first –, but I would like them to eventually end up together or at least on the road there.

Arranged Marriage - mutual pining between spouses

• Generally, I love me some pining between spouses who think the other dislikes them/is alright with them but is only here out of responsibility/pity. And, of course, I would love it if they eventually resolved their mutual pining.


• Who arranged the marriage? Was it to bring the Roekaar back into the old? Maybe to protect Akksul from being put on trial by the Nexus? Some old angaran rule or law (Akksul is an historian, after all, so maybe that is something he take serious, and other people do, too, since the Moshae and her studies are revered)?

B is oblivious to A's pining and A wants to keep it that way

• Considering their recent history, it makes sense neither of them is openly volunteering this information. They probably think the other really doesn’t like them.

Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement

• Maybe they’ve gotten into a frenemies with benefits/other type of casual sex agreement. Neither of them expected it to be more than that at first, but things went wrong.


• Sex that accidentally turns a lot more gentle and/or passionate than both sides planned and the fallout of that when they’re finished.


• The pining one wanted to go rough, but then the one being pined after is very thorough and gentle and that just makes it so much harder to keep up the facade.

Character A distances themself from Character B to try and get over them

• Either of them might do this. They did not expect the other to care enough to ask why.

Character A pines while Character B Thinks They're Already Dating

• Evfra is probably not a master at communicating his feelings, unlike most other angara, and Akksul also seemed somewhat wounded after his experiences. When does the pining one realise that the other already considers them a couple? Or maybe the person being pined after realises the other one doesn’t seem to know they’re in a relationship.

pining character A finally makes a move after B almost died

• This could happen to either of them, considering they both have ample opportunity to get into dangerous situations. Is it a planned confession or do they just blurt it out?

Pride & Prejudice – Jane Austen: Fitzwilliam Darcy/Charles Bingley

Bingley and Darcy have such a great relationship in the novel and obviously are already very fond of each other, so it shouldn’t be difficult to push that a little further. (This could be pre-canon or canon divergence, but I’d rather the women they end up married to in canon were not in the story as their lovers.) I really enjoyed their dynamic, with Darcy being protective of Bingley and having influence over him and Bingley seemingly being quite fine with that, and the obvious way they care about each other even though they like to tease each other, too, and I would love to read a whole lot more about them. When it comes to homophobia, feel free to keep it historically accurate or go for a No Homophobia AU, whichever you prefer. For smut, I prefer bottom Bingley. If you include mpreg, I prefer pregnant Bingley.

Fitzwilliam Darcy/Charles Bingley (Bingley pining)
Fitzwilliam Darcy/Charles Bingley (both pining)
Fitzwilliam Darcy/Charles Bingley (Darcy pining)
Feelings eventually requited

Character A Pines For Character B Not Realizing It's Requited

• Since I picked requited pining, this is sort of an undercurrent to quite a few prompts as well as a prompt in itself. They don’t always both have to be pining hard – maybe one of them is a lot more tortured and intense about it while the other is more low-key crushing or even not yet in love at first –, but I would like them to eventually end up together or at least on the road there.

Arranged Marriage - mutual pining between spouses

• If the marriage was arranged (in a no homophobia AU), maybe by their parents, did Darcy think Bingley was a bad choice at first, figuring him simply vapid? Did Bingley find Darcy intimidating or too stern? How did they work it out?


• Generally, I love me some pining between spouses who think the other dislikes them/is alright with them but is only here out of responsibility/pity. And, of course, I would love it if they eventually resolved their mutual pining.

B is oblivious to A's pining and A wants to keep it that way

• A very Darcy move for sure. He will just brood in the corner about his favourite friend and never ever tell him. How does Bingley find out, after all?


• Maybe Bingley is the one pining, but because of period-typical homophobia, or just because he doesn’t think Darcy would be romantically into someone like him, he tries to keep quiet. But can he hide something this big from Darcy forever?

Pining while in a Friends With Benefits arrangement

• Or maybe they have sex with each other, but can’t quite bring themselves to admit that they want more. How does it come out?


• Sex that accidentally turns a lot more gentle and/or passionate than both sides planned and the fallout of that when they’re finished.


• The one being pined after is very thorough and gentle and that just makes it so much harder to keep up the facade for the pining one.

Character A distances themself from Character B to try and get over them

• Again, a very Darcy thing to do, and since Bingley can be easily influenced, maybe he thinks Bingley will go with it and leave him alone. However, it is not that easy. Bingley wants to know what’s going on.


• Perhaps Bingley feels he has to do this, or he’ll surely eventually break down and confess, which he knows he shouldn’t do. However, Darcy won’t let him get away so easily.

Character A pining because they think a relationship would be inappropriate

• With period-typical homophobia, this would make sense. Maybe neither of them wants to be the one who gets the other into trouble (Darcy is very protective of Bingley, and Bingley wants to be a good friend to Darcy), and/or they are worried that the other would not want to be friends anymore if they found out about the pining one’s sexuality.

Character A tries to convince themself that a platonic relationship is enough

• Related to many prompts here. They are good friends and the pining one doesn’t want to ruin that, but at the same time they can’t help but feel what they do.

Guilt over enjoying friendly hugs/physical closeness too much

• This could be both or either of them. I love that tortured pining and guilt about enjoying friendly touches just a bit too much.