Top 20 One-Shot Angst Fanfics
Ranked by AO3 kudos. Each fic is tagged with angst and falls in the short stories under 10,000 words range.
count your blessings, not your flaws
by PitViperOfDoom
Midoriya Izuku has never been asked out, confessed to, or flirted with, except as a joke.
True Love
by platonic_boner
AU where soulmates can’t lie to each other.(That’s okay, Merlin wasn’t planning to lie to Arthur anyways! Haha.. ha.. ha…)
What The Fuck Did You Just Call Me?
by reading_raindrop
“A-ah B-Bakugou! You dropped some pencils!”Katsuki stiffened. Kirishima and Kaminari froze. Basically, everyone within earshot stopped what they were doing to look at Izuku like he sprouted a second head. What did he just call him? “What the fuck did you just say to me?”Katsuki whipped his head towa
I'll be Jane
by gurlsrool
It’s not going viral because Jane’s true identity was exposed—or even because Ilya was blatantly sexting in public. That part’s as expected as Shane doing yoga or any human being on earth breathing. No, the texts are going viral because no one can believe how bad this “Jane” is at sexting. The women
Sweet Quiznak
by CheckeredCloth
"You're really into him," Hunk mutters, and wow, Lance's face is on fire. Hunk is killing him."Look, read into how you like, Freud, just make sure that if I die Keith knows I totally would've mowed his ass like grass. That way, I can laugh hysterically at his emotionally-constipated expression fro
Strike of Lightning
by helloearthlings
Uther's commandment was very simple: If there should come a day when Arthur met his soulmate, he would drive a sword through their chest and kill them on sight.
wrong number
by adelfie
There’s a few rings, then the phone picks up.“Wayne Residence.”That’s funny, Tim thinks, Mrs. Mac doesn’t sound like herself.--On a hot July evening while home alone, eight-year-old Tim gets a fever. He means to ask Mrs. Mac for help — but ends up accidentally calling Alfred Pennyworth. Somehow, eve
Sharing is Caring
by platonic_boner
Arthur hadn't really given his soulmate much thought, until he beat a peasant with a broomstick and every blow hurt like he was hitting himself.
nothing left but scars
by SailorChibi
Steve wakes up to the fact that no one ever compliments or even says thank you to Tony, and that he has fallen into the same trap of painting Tony with a specific paintbrush.This is how he showers a very confused Tony with praise to make up for it.
No Harm Will Come to You Here
by fancyh
"That was magic," Arthur accuses."Oh." Merlin just nods, looking unperturbed. Arthur fights to keep his expression calm, mind racing and heart pounding. "Sorcery is outlawed in Camelot. On pain of death."Merlin splutters, finally fixing Arthur with an affronted glare. "It's not like I meant to do it
Sand Dollar Child
by withay
There's far too much divinity in Percy Jackson. It oozes from him, to the point where he's sometimes mistaken for Poseidon. Percy doesn't know this yet. All he knows is that this nereid is asking to borrow five drachmas.
so why don't we fall
by aknightley
Five times Lance used a pet name for Keith, and one time Keith used one for Lance. Keith has no basis for having a relationship with someone, so he's trying to follow Lance's lead.
I Choose You
by TripsH
There's a tiny clock on his wrist, bright red numbers. It's supposed to tick, supposed to move, supposed to tell him when he'll meet his soulmate. The time will run to zero when they've met, moving numbers will become stationary—the ticking that signified uncertainty transforming to the silent stabi
Do it Again
by thisgirlsays22
By the twentieth time Geralt has gone through the loop, he decides to just throw himself off the cliff’s edge after Borch. He wakes up to his twenty-first attempt. “Fuck.”
Scotty Fucking Knows
by Oaks118
Shane’s voice was almost a whisper as he admitted, “I fucked up.” Ilya stopped in his tracks, “What do you mean?” “He knows. Scott Hunter fucking knows.”---OR: Shane calls Ilya crying after the fight. Ilya yells at Scott Hunter about it.*Now with Kip's POV in part 2 and everyone at the Kingfisher in
No Difference
by The_Bookkeeper
Derek has been in a lot of bad situations. This one easily makes the top five. Or would, if Dean and Sam Winchester were actually acting like the sadistic psychopaths he expected them to be. Instead, Dean is referencing Star Trek, Sam is comforting Reid, and Derek has never been more confused.
"Average Person Gets Kidnapped 3 Times A Year" Factoid Actually Just Statistical Error
by ohshiddlesticks
"Midoriya Izuku just sort of assumed that everyone else got kidnapped at least once a year, and his once-or-twice-a-month ordeals were just a little bit more than normal."Bakugou gets kidnapped, and Izuku is surprised that nobody else knows what to do. It's a normal childhood occurrence, right?Trans
we'll make it, you and me
by ghostcribs
"Keith, if we make it out of this alive, I'm going to kiss you."
Triplet
by limesicle
Midoriya Izuku grows up thoroughly believing that, just like a quirk, he doesn’t have a soulmate either. He’s right. He doesn't have one soulmate; he has two.
If You Give A Ghost A Cookie
by alienzil
It's a generally accepted fact amongst the members of the bat family that Alfred's cookies are the absolute best and that the last cookie is the best of all. The last cookie is coveted and fought over. The last cookie is important.When the Justice League needs to summon the Ghost King and every offe
More One-Shot Angst Fics on AO3
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About Angst
Stories focused on emotional pain, drama, and intense feelings.
Sometimes you want to feel deeply - angst delivers emotional catharsis and meaningful character exploration.
Common scenarios: Unrequited love, misunderstandings, tragic backstories, emotional confrontations.
About This List
This list of 20one-shot Angst fanfics spans 134,763 total words. Kudos range from 18,914 on the newest entries to 70,831 on the most established. 75% are marked complete — check the status flag before committing to a longfic. The most common rating is Teen And Up Audiences (14 of 20 fics).
Recurring tags across this list: Fluff and Angst · Angst · Hurt/Comfort · Fluff · Angst with a Happy Ending.
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