Best Short Mutual Pining Fanfics
Mutual Pining novellas — 10k to 50k words, polished and contained. Curated from AO3, ranked by kudos.
Top 20 Short Mutual Pining Fanfics
Ranked by AO3 kudos. Each fic is tagged with mutual pining and falls in the 10,000–50,000 words range.
As the Romans Do
by kooksie
As a straight man, Ilya Rozanov has never had a gay roommate before, but it’s going pretty well. Shane Hollander is kind, silly, and an even bigger hockey nut than Ilya. So when Shane starts bringing men over, and Ilya begins to want to bash their fucking heads in, Ilya comes to a startling conclusi
"what's your type?"
by sapphicflower
“Congratulations on getting nine out of ten questions correct! Without further ado, let’s move on to the last question..” Hanazawa paused for dramatic effect as the lights dimmed and the spotlights overhead honed in on their podiums.“What is … your hero partner’s type?”A brief silence.“‘Type?’” Izuk
undertow
by beansie
Will has never had his first kiss. Mike is happy to lend a hand.
the affliction of the feeling
by nondz (pinkjook)
“Hold on,” Robin interrupts. “Hold on, is this— are you, like. Do you know what masochism is?”“I know I act like it sometimes, Robin, but I’m not actually fucking twelve,” Steve says.OR: Eddie has a black hanky in his back pocket.
your heartbeat, across the grass
by fakeplasticlily
To his unbridled horror, Wei Wuxian sees his face up on the giant screen in real time for the entire stadium to see. Still laughing as his face takes a moment to catch up with the sheer mortification he’s feeling, A-Yuan perched on his shoulders as the Lan Wangji cape drapes over them.There’s also c
bang bang, kiss kiss
by bunkuto
He stops. Or freezes. Either one, really.Because Suguru is decidedly not alone.He’s hovering over a man, his dark hair loose and spilling over his face and he’s…pinning the man to his bed, one strong hand pressed over the other’s wrists.“Fuck,” Satoru wheezes.Suguru brings men home and Satoru wonder
a light hidden and singing
by occultings (microcomets)
Since he was a child, since Lan Wangji had first become aware of his own alienating effect on others, he has long resigned himself to a loveless marriage. Perhaps even a companionate one, so long as his partner was agreeable and unbothersome and let him have his own space.He could not have even begu
Twirl Three Notes and Make a Star
by inexplicifics
The Warlord of the North receives an invitation to the elven summer festival, and Geralt sends Jaskier, Eskel, and Ciri (and more than a dozen overprotective Witchers) off to be diplomatic.Or: Eskel finally gets to take a vacation. If you can call riding herd on Jaskier and the little menace a vacat
but then, my homework was never quite like this
by Jazzfordshire
“Wait, when you say ‘you’ll be teaching’, you mean…both of us?” Kara asks, sounding more than a little apprehensive. “Lena and I will be teaching it together?”Lena’s own apprehension is so high that she’s fairly sure she’s seconds away from hyperventilation, but she’s surprising even herself with ho
a safe pair of hands
by occultings (microcomets)
Lan Wangji gets hit with a touch-starving curse. Wei Wuxian helps.
there it is again, that funny feeling.
by camomile_t
Suddenly, like the unpredictable spring of a cobra, the answer struck her.“Oh. I understand. You’re courting me.”She pauses for a moment, thinking. She notices and chooses to ignore the gradual parting of Enid’s lips as her mouth gapes.“Very well then. You may continue.”AKA: The fic where Enid stumb
Mr. and Mr. Diaz
by jukoist
“Eddie? What’s wrong? There’s no way I missed something, look, we went over everything thrice—” Oh, god, Buck has retrieved his clipboard from wherever in Eddie’s house he’d stashed it last time. He’s waving it around as he speaks. “Information about my spouse,” Eddie says blankly. Buck looks
but, baby, watching you blush
by calvingseason
Eddie opens his mouth. Closes it. Finally, he settles on, “You told your parents you’re married? To a man?” Chimney and Hen both glance at him with twin looks that clearly mean he’s on his own with telling the rest of the story. Which—they had no problem teasing and joking about it three seconds a
should have known better
by wo_osan
“Who do you think the shipper fans would assume tops between the two of us?”What.No, seriously. What the fuck.Wooyoung is so shocked by the question that he wonders if maybe he’d heard him wrong. Surely San wouldn’t have just asked him-“The fuck kind of question is that?” he says. or: wooyoung reall
Cardinal
by taiyakii
“Enough of the poetry,” Scaramouche snaps hastily, mostly to spare himself from more of this perpetual torment. “Find something better to do with your mouth.”Kazuha pauses at that, surprise ghosting over his face as he tilts his head, and Scaramouche savors in his temporary victory, in the triumph o
Paper Planes
by annie_vi
As springs ebbs into summer, Park Jimin unexpectedly spots a familiar face at a pool party - Jeon Jeongguk, his childhood best friend and first love, who disappeared without explanation five years ago and left Jimin heartbroken.
A Timely Intervention
by Rusakko
When an attempt to evade Mr Collins’s proposal puts Elizabeth in an uncomfortable predicament, Mr Darcy’s appearance on the scene obliges her to re-evaluate his character.
what you once wanted
by astrhae
“You know what kept me going, century after century?” Hob is angry enough, desperate enough, that his voice drops low, quiet. “Even when I had nothing?”The music around them crests, waves crashing against the unyielding shores of time –“Chimneys,” Morpheus answers, bland.Oh, what a bastard.---------
Often, Lately
by AngelWithoutAShotgun
“Shane had been used to being alone. He'd never thought of himself as lonely. He honestly often craved the solitude, found it grounding. But that was before he knew what it was like to have someone to call, someone to touch. He was never lonely before Rozanov, but he'd been lonely ever since.”April
10/10
by ironicallyinternational
Stiles rethinks his rating systems and stumbles upon discoveries he wish he'd left unknown. Being in love with your best friend is never easy.--"Who's a twenty?" Lydia asks, with half a smile."Scott." Stiles answers, unthinkingly.Lydia swerves so sharply they almost go off the road.
More Short Mutual Pining Fics on AO3
AO3's search bar accepts custom word-count ranges. We've pre-filled the 10,000–50,000 words range for you. Then read offline with Fanfict Reader.
About Mutual Pining
Both characters are in love with each other but believe their feelings are unrequited. Readers can see the truth while characters remain oblivious.
The delicious frustration of obvious mutual attraction, the anticipation of them finally realizing the truth, and the emotional payoff.
Common scenarios: Best friends both hiding feelings, colleagues thinking the other is out of their league, misreading signals.
About This List
This list of 20short Mutual Pining fanfics spans 511,462 total words. Kudos range from 5,831 on the newest entries to 41,144 on the most established. Nearly all (85%) are complete, so you can start any of them without WIP anxiety. The most common rating is Explicit (11 of 20 fics).
Recurring tags across this list: Mutual Pining · Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates · Friends to Lovers · Idiots in Love · Angst with a Happy Ending.
Read short mutual pining 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.