Pet Names — Tag Meaning
Tags the use of endearments as a feature — sweetheart, darling, and fandom-specific coinages deployed sincerely, ironically, or as escalating warfare. A classic configuration: one character uses pet names casually until the day one lands differently, and suddenly nothing is casual.
What to Expect From "Pet Names" Fics
Endearments doing emotional work, from established-couple softness to the weaponized 'sweetheart' of an enemies-to-lovers standoff.
How to find Pet Names fics on AO3
On AO3, click any tag to see every work that uses it, then refine with the "Filters" sidebar — combine it with your fandom or ship, set a rating, or exclude tags you don't want. See our AO3 filtering guide for the full walkthrough.
Browse "Pet Names" works on AO3Popular Fics Tagged "Pet Names"
Real examples from AO3's most-kudosed works:
Habibi
by Just_here_for_a_laugh
Kimetsu no Yaiba Kinktober 2020
by melodiouswanderer
if you’re still breathing
by noodlebunny
Darling
by BeeLove
i don’t believe in god but i believe that you’re my savior
by kit_marriott
fade out, syrupy slow
by rainzow
Related Tags
Flirting
Tags fic where the flirtation is the show: charged banter, escalating dares, compliments deployed like chess moves. It often marks dynamics where one or both characters are canonically smooth — or where the comedy is that they think they are.
Tag guide →
Teasing
Affection expressed through provocation: needling, mock insults, and relentless gentle mockery between characters who adore each other. The tag covers both playful couple dynamics and the longer arc where teasing is how two emotionally guarded people admit they're paying attention.
Tag guide →
Established Relationship
Skips the courtship entirely: the couple is already together when the fic begins. Authors use it to explore what comes after getting together — domesticity, conflict, growth, or simply love in operation — territory canon and getting-together fics rarely cover. It is among the archive's most-used relationship tags.
Tag guide →
Banter
Celebrates rapid-fire, affectionate verbal sparring as a feature worth tagging. Fics under this tag lead with dialogue — teasing, wit, comebacks — and it is a signature tag for ships whose canon chemistry runs on quips. For many readers, good banter is the entire reason to open a fic.
Tag guide →
Read Pet Names fanfiction on the go
Fanfict Reader is the best way to browse, search, and read AO3 fanfiction on your iPhone. Download for free and start reading your favorite stories today.