Best Short Tendershipping Fanfics
Tendershipping novellas — 10k–50k words, perfect for a weekend. All curated from AO3 and ranked by kudos.
Top 10 Short Tendershipping Fanfics
Ranked by AO3 kudos. Mid-length Tendershipping fics — 10,000–50,000 words.
All The King's Horses
by wildcranberry
The damning silence dragged on for too long while the weight of Yugi’s infraction hung in the air. He stayed where he had collapsed on his aching knees, not daring to look up. He would have groveled if he had not become so paralyzed by fear and the King’s gaze on his shoulders. “You are peculiarly s
Shadow's Ward
by KimpatsuNoHoseki
Harry didn't know where the Shadows came from, just that they were always there for him. However, a chance meeting with others who have Shadows of their own, leads to a better life for him.
For Love of Pharaoh and King
by lightningpelt
Yugi Mutou enjoys wearing decorative chains—for both their aesthetic appeal and their irony, considering his recent transition from slave to Betrothed of Pharaoh Atem. Ryou Bakura, meanwhile, serves both his Pharaoh and exiled Thief King. But neither the Thief King nor his servant counted on the inv
Last Exit For The Lost
by lapiccolacoccinella
Bakura has been gone for five years, leaving Ryou in relative peace. But Ryou is finding his life increasingly lonely, and Bakura is told that he can't be judged in the Afterlife until he lives a life free from Zorc's influence. So the two are forced to meet again, this time in separate bodies. R
King of Thieves
by sitabethel
Ryou returns from Yugi's Ceremonial Duel with a surprise sleeping in his bed. He wants to know more about the mysterious thief's past, but he'll settle for his legend instead.
In Ruins
by lightningpelt
When Ryou swipes an ancient Egyptian artifact to use as a prop for the gang's weekly Monster World session, he expects to get in some amount of trouble for it. What he doesn't expect is to open a gateway into the ruins of the distant past. He certainly doesn't expect to become well acquainted with t
dreamkeeper
by booooin
Kazuki Takahashi says that Yugioh is about questioning authentic selfhood. The character that fulfills this purpose the most is, of course, Ryou Bakura.Character dynamics: spooky/witchy/calculating/cold!Ryou, aggressive/impulsive/angry!BakuraFollows on a combination of the manga and sub canons with
The Pharaoh's Lotus Garden—Part I
by lightningpelt
Chapter Fourteen: In which Pharaoh and King reach something resembling an understandingChapter Fifteen: In which the Thief King attends a royal banquet for the first timeChapter Sixteen: In which the Pharaoh and the Thief King have a proper duel, and make an appropriately high-stakes wagerA collecti
Cat's Cradle
by zuzeca
After receiving the Millennium Necklace during the events of Battle City, Yugi attempts to use it to see the events of the past, and inadvertently sets off a chain reaction of ancient magic. Now, separated from his partner and trapped in a dangerous pocket dimension spawned from Ryou’s mind, Yugi mu
Blind's Eye
by lightningpelt
The notorious and feared King of Thieves has a secret—his eyes don't work especially well.Ryou, with exotically pale skin and white hair, is one of the few things he actually can see. As if that weren't incentive enough, Ryou seems to have some strange ideas about "freedom," and so Thief King Bakura
Find More Short Tendershipping Fics on AO3
AO3's filter sidebar lets you set a custom word-count range. Browse 10,000–50,000 words Tendershipping works sorted by kudos. Then read offline with Fanfict Reader.
Why Read Short Tendershipping Fics?
Novella-length Tendershipping fics — roughly 10,000 to 50,000 words — let writers fully develop a single AU, trope, or relationship beat without sprawling. Plenty of time for setup, payoff, and a satisfying ending; not so much time that you're juggling fifty bookmarks.
Great for trying a new author or testing whether you'll enjoy a sub-genre before diving into something longer.
About This List
This list of 10short Tendershipping fanfics spans 244,625 total words. Kudos range from 306 on the newest entries to 969 on the most established. 70% are marked complete — check the status flag before committing to a longfic. The most common rating is Mature (6 of 10 fics).
Recurring tags across this list: Ancient Egypt · Alternate Universe - Ancient Egypt · Gemshipping · Puzzleshipping.
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