Tropes Touch Starved Short

Best Short Touch Starved Fanfics

Touch Starved novellas — 10k to 50k words, polished and contained. Curated from AO3, ranked by kudos.

Touch Starved 17 short fics Avg 24,167 words 10,000–50,000 words

Top 17 Short Touch Starved Fanfics

Ranked by AO3 kudos. Each fic is tagged with touch starved and falls in the 10,000–50,000 words range.

1

where every mask cracks

by skyl_tales

Four years after the birth of the Galactic Empire, Obi-Wan approaches Darth Vader with an offer he doesn't expect.

12,513 kudos 23,543 words 7/7 chapters Explicit Complete
2

Compliments? That's suspicious

by Ijustlikereadingcutefics

5+1. The 5 times Loki thought Mobius being nice to him was a trick and the 1 time he didn't. Or Loki is touch starved and has a praise kink. Mobius won’t stop touching him. And complimenting him. It’s becoming a problem. Russian translation here

9,848 kudos 10,892 words 6/6 chapters Teen And Up Audiences Complete
3

quid pro quo

by Quintessence

"They’ve been together for a week and Todoroki is almost dizzy from it, from Izuku taking his hand unprompted, or pressing a kiss to Todoroki’s cheek whenever the urge strikes him, or smiling a small, secret smile at him from across the classroom. It baffles him every time he thinks about it. Out

7,796 kudos 11,829 words 5/5 chapters Teen And Up Audiences Complete
4

say i reckon (i love you, for a millisecond)

by red_lettering (redamancyy)

There’s a hand on his shoulder, barely making contact. A red gauntlet glows around the wrist. Sonic blinks, the pain having evaporated so fast he feels almost weightless. “Shadow?” Shadow’s breathing heavily. “Problem.” The retrieval of the ancient tech Shadow (and Sonic, in tow) has been sent

4,649 kudos 30,205 words 7/7 chapters Teen And Up Audiences Complete
5

Mercy/Theft

by blorboenjoyer

“How much will it cost?” Aki asked. Angel looked up, as if he was running some numbers in his head.“Thirteen years, once a month, every month, for the next thirteen years of your life. You’ll be delivering about two thousand years in total,” he said. “Then whatever else you take is yours to keep.”-H

2,947 kudos 15,952 words 3/3 chapters Explicit Complete
6

Cold Feet

by margotwrotethis

“I will void your contract with the Curse Devil and offer you full use of my weapon,” Angel begins. Aki’s lips part in surprise—weapon? He can’t be referring to the infamous lifespan weapon…can he? “In exchange,” the devil continues, bringing Aki’s running thoughts to a halt. “I get…your touch. When

2,465 kudos 14,663 words 3/6 chapters Explicit
7

Monsters are always hungry, darling

by notaqueenakhaleesi

No one had ever held Roman in such a way, and here he was, watching the two weirdo peripheral members of the family find solace in one another.God. How fucking desolate, how cold, how fucked up was the Roy family, exactly, that the only source of genuine, intimate warmth that Roman had witnessed… wa

1,588 kudos 15,050 words 2/2 chapters Explicit Complete
8

Confirmation Bias

by BatBratsAndTheirCrossovers

Confirmation bias: the human tendency to search for, interpret, and recall information that aligns with our existing beliefs, while ignoring or dismissing evidence that contradicts them. No matter what Grace tries to tell him, Simon is very sure that the man is divine in nature. It just makes sense.

819 kudos 24,345 words 7/? chapters Mature
9

Let me get over you (please don’t leave me)

by HoneyxxxMoon

“So you think I’d mess up your game.” Mike snapped. “I didn’t say that.” “But that’s what you mean.” “Fine,” Will closed his eyes, just for a second, and let out an even breath. “Yes. I want to hook up without worrying about you freaking out.” Or What happens when Will actually starts going to Gay b

184 kudos 37,605 words 35/? chapters Not Rated
10

i want trees instead of gravestones (and nothing to confess)

by Soulweaver

Simon is broken, a failure, a waste. That's what he's always been told, time and again. Enter Ryland Grace, who promptly throws a wrench into everything Simon was raised to believe.   -- title is from Big Houses, by Squalloscope --

176 kudos 20,786 words 7/? chapters Mature
11

All Hat and No Cattle

by Twinsand

SEQUEL TO MY PREVIOUS WORK "SKIN DEEP" !!!!! Takes place a few months after the events of that one. Exploring more Cassie and her relationships with Syzoth... and Erron. :)

116 kudos 31,207 words 14/? chapters Explicit
12

the shape of obedience

by hollowbonds

Omegas were protected. That's what the government says, at least. Oliver Locke has spent twelve years in the Omega Control Center, learning to stay quiet, obedient, and easy to place. After a failed bonding leaves him returned and marked difficult, he expects the rest of his life to fade behind the

104 kudos 36,046 words 11/? chapters Mature
13

Infinity, Interrupted

by SubMeIn13

Her whole life, Yua's technique has allowed her to live almost entirely ignored.She disappears into the spaces between things—between crowds, between conversations, between existence and absence.One night, her technique fails.Standing on an empty road, in front of a man with impossible eyes and the

66 kudos 15,269 words 8/? chapters Explicit
14

Beautiful Dangerous Things

by dancingindocktown

She was never meant to be a Crow. He was never meant to be a Thread. Life has a way of carrying on whether you want it to or not, and now it’s the end of the world. What’s the worst that could happen?

13 kudos 45,545 words 11/? chapters Explicit
15

Amongst the Wolves

by Anxiety_filled_Brioche

Finn has settled into life in Jackson, Wyoming. Five years have passed since the hospital in Salt Lake City, and for the first time, life has begun to feel almost normal. Patrols. Horses. Snowstorms. Winter dances. Family. But peace in this world has always been fragile. After ghosts from the past i

12 kudos 33,874 words 7/? chapters Mature
16

The Aftermath of Silence

by T_Bar

Starvation, in any of its forms, was a condition requiring patient treatment. This was a fact Jim was painfully familiar with. No matter how much someone wanted to gorge themselves on the suddenly abundant resources that they were previously denied, doing so would leave them even worse off than befo

11 kudos 10,397 words 3/3 chapters Teen And Up Audiences Complete
17

°•𝔽𝕝𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕤 𝕕𝕖 𝔻𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕫𝕟𝕠•°

by Angelo_Nero

Wukong y Nezha lidiando con la paternidad y todo lo que esto conlleva con sus gemelos, quienes no colaboran mucho con sus Papis.

6 kudos 33,634 words 25/? chapters Not Rated

More Short Touch Starved 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 Touch Starved

A character has been deprived of physical affection and desperately craves touch. Simple gestures become incredibly meaningful and powerful.

The emotional vulnerability, the sweetness of simple touches becoming profound, and the healing power of gentle affection.

Common scenarios: Characters unused to kindness, isolated individuals, people recovering from trauma, first experiences with gentle touch.

About This List

23,543
median words
41%
complete
12,513
top kudos
~1.6 hours
median read time

This list of 17short Touch Starved fanfics spans 410,842 total words. Kudos range from 6 on the newest entries to 12,513 on the most established. 41% are marked complete — check the status flag before committing to a longfic. The most common rating is Explicit (7 of 17 fics).

Recurring tags across this list: Touch-Starved · Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence · Angst · Slow Burn · Hurt/Comfort.

Read short touch starved 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.

Free to download
Offline reading
Custom themes