Hurt/Comfort
One character is hurt (physically or emotionally) and another provides comfort and care.
What is Hurt/Comfort in fanfiction?
Hurt/comfort is the archive's emotional infrastructure: injury, trauma, or breakdown engineered specifically so that care can be shown rather than said. It thrives in fandoms whose canons are rich in damage and poor in aftermath — fic supplies the missing scene where someone actually processes the thing. The good stuff is honest about recovery being nonlinear; the great stuff knows the comfort changes the person giving it too.
One character is hurt (physically or emotionally) and another provides comfort and care. With over 920,000 works on Archive of Our Own, Hurt/Comfort is one of the most beloved tropes in fanfiction.
Why readers love Hurt/Comfort
The vulnerability, the tenderness, seeing characters take care of each other in their worst moments.
Examples of Hurt/Comfort
Nursing injuries, emotional breakdowns, nightmares, recovery from trauma.
Best Hurt/Comfort Fanfics
The highest-rated Hurt/Comfort stories across all fandoms on AO3.
you took my heart (i was sleeping)
Completeby lameparties
It’s winter in Hawkins, and Mike and Will aren’t speaking anymore. Living in Mike’s house, Will tries to be invisible, spending most of his time in the basement. Then the power goes out — and if there’s one thing he dreads more than facing Mike, it’s the cold. or Seven nights in which Mike and Will
In Another Life
Completeby LittleLuxray
Sleeping didn't come as easy as it used to. Bokuto knew this, and now Akaashi did, too.The hospital AU that no body asked for, but that I took upon myself to write.
Salvage
Completeby MuffinLance
Mid-Season-One Zuko is held for ransom by Chief Hakoda. Ozai's replies to the Water Tribe's demands are A+ Parenting. Hakoda is… deeply concerned, for this son that isn't his, and who might be safer among enemies than with his own father. Podfic and translations in Dutch, German, Hungarian, Russian,
The Way You Used To Do
Completeby edema_ruh
"We're really sorry," his father says, in a teary-eyed, wobbly way. "But your friend, Izuku, he's... He's gone, son."Katsuki can do nothing but blink up at them for moments that feel like an eternity, eyes darting between both his parents in obvious confusion, disbelief, and, more than anything, ind
tommyinnit's clinic for supervillains
Completeby bonesandthebees (bonesandcacti)
“W-What do you- I mean can I- are you here to rob us?” The person managed to stammer out. Siren snorted. “No. I’m just here to order some food.” “Wh-What about him?” The cashier asked, glancing at Tommy. “Did you- did you kidnap him?” “I mean… yeah, let’s go with that in case this ends up on
count your blessings, not your flaws
Completeby PitViperOfDoom
Midoriya Izuku has never been asked out, confessed to, or flirted with, except as a joke.
Lock All The Doors Behind You
Completeby entanglednow
He has no idea what you're supposed to say when you find one of your...werewolf acquaintances, completely out of their mind, growling like they're about to see what your insides taste like. There's no handbook for this. Stiles is thinking that if he survives he might write one.
The Third Option
Completeby orphan_account
Homecoming AU.Ben and May divorced before Peter’s parents died, so when Ben is murdered Peter goes into foster care. It takes just a tiny taste of superpowers for Peter to decide he doesn’t want to put up with his horrible foster father anymore—the streets are infinitely more appealing. All he wants
Fanning the Flames
Completeby cjr2
The Voyageurs ask Shane to join FanMail in order to foster a better connection with fans. Internet sleuths start to notice some interesting details in the background of Shane’s videos, and then the internet does...what the internet does. Or Shane and Ilya are granted an opportunity to come out on th
Away Childish Things
Completeby lettered
Harry gets de-aged. Malfoy has to help him.
The Cadence of Part-time Poets
Completeby motswolo
“They’re… chaos,” Remus said firmly. “And chaos is—”“Rock and roll.”He looked at Sirius sharply, and for once, matched his grin. “Yeah.”“Maybe that’s my excuse then,” Sirius said. “I cause a bit of chaos now, and maybe one day, it’ll turn into rock and roll.”After losing his mother at age eleven, Re
Batcellanea
Completeby envysparkler
A collection of outtakes, alternate POVs, and missing scenes from my existing work. 222-236. whumptober fills.
so come over now (and talk me down)
Completeby kurtstiel
Ilya’s hand wraps around his bare wrist and squeezes. Shane barely stops himself from collapsing to his knees. The pressure lights up every receptor of his touch-starved nervous system, wrenching a small, pained noise from the back of his throat. Every muted sensation comes flooding back so intensel
Fitting In (Tiny Spaces)
Completeby aloneintherain
Peter's trapped beneath a collapsed building during a mission, hurt and unable to move. Luckily, his comm still works. Unluckily, the Avengers don’t realise how bad of a state Peter is in, and Peter isn’t inclined to tell them. “Spidey, they’ve got reinforcements. We’ve hit a bit of a snag here, and
The Shape of Me Will Always be You
Completeby MissDisoriental
A post-canon Hannigram fix-it fic.Fan videos here and hereAnimations hereFanart masterpost herePodfics here, here and hereFan playlist hereTranslations in Deutsch | 中文 | Ελληνικά | Magyar | ไทย | Русский | Polski | Cymraeg | Español | Українська
Don't Go
Completeby Annacharlier
They stay that way for a long time, Catra’s face tucked into Adora’s shoulder, Adora gently cradling Catra’s head. Adora is careful not to hug Catra too hard or make her feel restrained, anticipating the moment that Catra will start to pull away — but Catra doesn’t. She hangs on so tightly it hurts,
something you can fix
Completeby some1_around
Maybe if the video ended there, Shane thought, it would be okay. Okayish. Still incriminating. Still a fucking disaster. Still embarrassing, to have his breakup with this beautiful actress filmed and disseminated on Reddit of all fucking places, but not a nail in his coffin, burying him alive. But t
The Waiting Game
Completeby Rizandace
“Lily,” Hayden says automatically. “You know about Lily?” Something flickers across Rozanov’s face. His jaw twitches. “Yes, I know about Lily.” He raises his eyebrows. Hayden feels like a complete asshole, all of a sudden. There’s just been too much going on to even think about Shane’s mystery girlf
Wolfbird
by OpalApparition
Shane Hollander is hockey’s closeted golden boy with everything to hide. Ilya Rozanov is a professional Dom with everything to lose and an expired visa. Through their arrangement at a discreet Montreal kink bar, where NDAs protect secrets and sessions are charged per hour, they discover the most dan
I Would Bring You the Stars and the Moon
Completeby GutterWitch
“Houston, do you copy?”Caitlyn panicked, feeling extraordinarily unprepared having been thrust into her new position without so much as even a handbook to consult. What were the formalities? What was she supposed to respond with? Where was the damn push to talk button…“Hellooo? I said Houston, do yo
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many Hurt/Comfort fics are on AO3?
There are over 920,000 works tagged with Hurt/Comfort on Archive of Our Own.
What fandoms have the most Hurt/Comfort stories?
Popular fandoms for Hurt/Comfort include MCU, Supernatural, Attack on Titan.
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