Missed Romance Opportunities: threesomes and more

[resonant]

These days I'm reading a lot of Witcher, which has tons of delightful nonmonogamy, and Cobra Kai, which has a wife cool enough that sometimes writers keep her around instead of AUing her into a beloved ex-wife. So I have pairing-plus romance scenarios on the brain.

- We got together very young, and I was your first everything, and sometimes I worry that you'll feel that you missed out. You're willing to indulge me by sleeping with other people.

- Variation: You're hypothetically willing to indulge me, but there's nobody in particular that you're interested in. But you're aware that there's someone I'm extremely interested in, even though I'm trying to hide my crush. And that's the person you propose.

- You and I had a casual FWB relationship, but you and he are a love match. When you invited me back to fulfill a fantasy, of course I said yes: I know some secret tricks that work really well on you, and I thought it would be fun to teach him how to do them.

- Or, same as above, but I said yes because I have to make sure he's worthy of you.

- You take care of me. Oh, boy, do you ever take care of me. I'd like to watch somebody take care of you.

- You made the suggestion to me, but you're obviously way out of my league; I don't understand how this is not obvious to you. I have an occasional fun partner who's much more on your level. Maybe I can get the two of you together and then just fade back and leave you to it.

- Been a while since we brought in another partner. You sure you wouldn't like to ease back in with somebody a little less complicated?

- We invited you into our bed, and it was good. And then the next time we saw you, you had slid into the role of Our Rough Trade, Our Bit On the Side, Our Midlife Crisis. You were diminished. It's unbearable.

Comments

[oracne]

This would make a really interesting suite of stories all about the same three characters playing different roles.

[resonant]

I can see that. There are some characters where you could probably put any of the three in the role of "I'm going to participate just as much as I need to to matchmake the two of you, who are clearly both out of my league."

[krait]

These are all good, but the last one is absolute catnip to me! Titles aren't coming to mind, but I encountered at least a couple of fics along those lines in White Collar fandom (which is very, very good for OT3 fics of all types!) and that was when I discovered that this was a plotline that hit me squarely in the id. :D

[resonant]

If you ever find them, link me up. I've read some White Collar, but the Neal & El leg of the triangle never really catches fire for me, though I buy the Peter & El side and the Peter & Neal side.

[minoanmiss]

I was just thinking that I want to write that last one with White Collar, which I recently got back into. (Our gracious host, would you want me to self-rec?)

[resonant]

All the yes! I would adore a chance to read that as many times as anybody would want to write it.

[minoanmiss]

So while I work on that idea among others, I am going to briefly be Ridiculous. Feel absolutely free to ignore me.

Three stories where I put a lot of emphasis on the Elizabeth/Neal leg of things:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29588616

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30535713

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30931913
(this one is largely The Burkes/Neal both separately and together)

and one where the last chapter is, among other things, working through/past/to avoid that last situation (which would happen with Neal *so very easily* which is why I must write it sometime)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/30335343

and an actual rec: from a long time ago one of my favorite Elizabeth/Neal OT3 stories, not least for how it's told:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/117244

[resonant]

saying this very softly in italics: Oh. Um. Just realizing this person I read on DW and that person I read on Tumblr are the same person.

[minoanmiss]

blushes Oh, I thought you knew! Yeah, um, here I am. :D

[resonant]

I don't have the greatest persistence of memory on the internet -- there are people who took the opportunity to change their names when LiveJournal gave way to Dreamwidth, and I think I'm basically interacting with them as if they're new people who mysteriously have written stories with the same titles as people I used to know pre-2007.

[minoanmiss]

That makes a lot of sense. I wouldn't expect anyone to particularly remember all my aliases either way. blushes some more

Threesome Concepts From the Remarkable Resonant

[minoanmiss]

*saves this whole post in my files*

[china_shop]

I don't think it specifically meets any of your scenarios above, but I wrote an "I'm not sure if you're actually into me or just feel like you should be to be polite, because you're dating my husband" (among a few other storylines; it's quite long) White Collar fic, which feels like a dynamic that could have been in your list above (if I'm not missing the point of the list above, that is). :-)

[resonant]

[grabby hands]

[china_shop]

Oh, actually there's this shorter one that focuses on El/Neal that's a bit like that, too, in the subtext, but the one I was think of was this longfic, which addresses each side of the triangle before smooshing them all together. :-)

[lunabee34]

Would read, especially that last. Oh my heart.

[resonant]

You can tell I love it best because I put it last.

[marina]

Omg all of these are SO GOOD. SOOOO GOOD.

I've written a few of these sorts of things in different fandoms (Witcher and The 100 and most recently KD Edwards' "Last Sun" universe and one very beloved (by me) non-fic for White Collar) and I've realized the one that I keep coming back to over and over again is:

You and I are developing a pretty serious romantic relationship, but there's this other person in your life who you care deeply about, but has never quite fit the traditional romantic partner mold, and it's become clear to me that while you tell yourself you can compartmentalize, it will make you miserable in the long run. So, let's just bring the other person in, and see how it goes.

Also known as: the two halves of the protag's heart collaborate to organize a threesome. LOL.

[resonant]

I believe I've seen that in Witcher in a pre-existing bond between Geralt and Eskel. You have to figure that people with extra-long lifespans would probably approach romantic relationships differently.