My ao3
Kingdon centric. Exploring slow-burn relationships, emotional intimacy, and the quiet, complicated space between wanting and acting on it. Heavy on yearning, and character-driven storytelling.
All of my fics are listed under the break!
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The Anatomy of Kingdon
An unhinged, scene-by-scene breakdown of every Kingdon interaction, from full conversations to blink-and-youâll-miss-it background moments.
Admin in Kingdon Nation
Kingdon Creator Plug Post
A post where creators can plug their Kingdon related content.
Kingdon Week 2026
A master list of everything I created for Kingdon Week 2026!
Music is something that has always really spoken to me so almost all of my work is driven by it!
I'm always taking suggestions so don't hesitate to leave an ask!
The Man Who Can't Be Moved - Completed 3-9-26 | E | 52k+
A quiet routine between Mel and Frank that slowly becomes everything, until feelings make it too complicated to keep. One moment changes everything, and losing each other might be the only way they find their way back.
Hey Baby - Completed 3-16-26 | G | 2k+
An AU where Mel is a quiet, routine-driven med student, Frank is the persistent frat boy who just wants her to let loose. And somehow, they end up at a club together.
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Completed 3-25-26 | G | 5k+
Frank at his lowest, and the quiet, unwavering way Mel chooses to care for him anyway. Soft, steady, and healing in all the ways that matter.
We Can't Be Friends - Completed 3-29-26 | E | 41k+
Mel and Frank are nerds together. Abby doesn't like it.
Spring Into Summer - Completed 4-6-26 | G | 3k+
Quiet tension, stolen moments, and feelings that canât exist the way they want them to. Soft, restrained, and full of almosts.
Bowling Alley - Completed 4-9-26 | G | 3k+
A night that was supposed to be nothing turns into something soft and easy, unexpectedly meaningful. And for once, Mel doesnât feel alone.
Pushing It Down and Praying - Completed 4-10-26 | M | 3k+
Mel tries to move on from someone she canât have knowing nothing will ever come close, no matter how hard she tries to replace him. Quiet, consuming, and devastating in the way it never actually ends.
The Best Of Times - Completed 4-10-26 | E | 30k+
6 times Mel and Frank are alone together.
Dancing Queen - Completed 4-12-26 | G | 17k+
Mel returns to roller derby after years of grief, with Frank quietly by her side as friendship turns into something deeper.
Songbird - Completed 4-14-26 | G | 8k+
Frank has a date.
Mel has an epiphany.
Ceilings - Completed 4-15-26 | G | 4k+
Moments blur together, each one feeling almost right.
Mel doesnât question it.
Not at first.
Call Your Mom - Completed 4-19-26 | T | 9k+
After a devastating shift, Frank isnât sure he trusts himself to make it home in one piece.
Mel refuses to let him face it alone.
Just A Notion - Completed 4-21-26 | G | 10k+
A year later, under string lights and fireworks, Frank and Mel finally see whatâs been there all along.
End Game - Completed 4-21-26 | G | 2k+
A rewrite of the ambulance bay scene, with everything left unsaid finally given a voice.
And what happens in the quiet moments after we left them outside.
You've Got a... Friend? - Completed 4-26-26 | G | 12k+
A bad day, a blown tire, and one phone call are all it takes for Mel to realize that
Frank isnât just someone who shows upâheâs someone who stays.
And somehow, that makes everything feel different.
Fever - Completed 4-30-26 | G | 5k+
Frank comes home to a very sick Mel and takes care of her in all the soft, quiet ways she deserves.
A good boy, a bad boy; a good bad boy; A half good, half bad, half boy - Completed 5-1-26 | T | 2k+
Mel and Frank go to a comedy club and get read for filth in front of an entire crowd.
Turns out âjust friendsâ isn't as convincing as they thought.
Paradise - Completed 5-7-26 | G | 6k+
Frankâs birthday is filled with homemade cake, old records, slow dancing in the living room, and the overwhelming realization that he is deeply, unconditionally loved.
Warm Coffee - Completed 6-22-26 | G | 3k+
Frank bumps into Mel outside of a coffee shop right before her first day at PTMC.
Tell Him - Completed 6-24-26 | M | 6k+
Mel and Frank are in Trinity and Yolandaâs wedding party.
Take Care Of You - Completed 6-25-26 | G | 4k+
Mel and Frank both fall victim to the stomach bug and practically compete over who gets to take care of who.
Long Hard Road - Completed 6-26-26 | E | 30k+
Frank brings Mel to the Adirondacks.
Now That I See You - Completed 6-27-26 | T | 13k+
Mel makes educational YouTube videos for kids. Frank is a single dad to two wild children.
Fate brings them together in the children's section of a library in Pittsburgh.
My Someplace Is Here - Completed 6-28-26 | G | 10k+
Mel gets interviewed by her favorite medical journalistâFrank Langdon.
Somewhere Only We Know - Completed 6-29-26 | T | 23k+
Melissa King and Frank Langdon were inseparable, growing up side by side.
They always had big plans.
But sometimes plans change, and even the closest of friends grow apart.
And sometimes, loss is the only thing that brings them back.
Micro Thoughts and Safety Locks - Updated everyday in July
A collection of all of my Kingdon microfics for July 2026!
All Your'n - Completed 7-13-26 | E | 4k+
Frank finally teaches Mel how to do the closed uni-facet cervical reduction.
Or: Mel cries and Frank comforts her
Or: how's about i write the kingdon scenes for season 3, everyone say thank you sarah
cw: child death, medical gore, emotional infidelity
side note: never wrote fic before but have written fiction. i've got a whole bunch of drama that i think i could add to the rest of the shift if y'all are interested <3
Part 1/4?? Updating tmr 8am Pacific đ
wc: 2200
read on ao3 (here)
"Time of death 12:58 pm."
Frank thought he'd eventually get used to when the parents cried. That maybe someday he'd be able to build up that mythical wall Robby did, that maybe he'd be able to break up his life into little boxes. Home. Work. Life. But he was an R4 (and a half, he liked to joke to himself) and it still killed him whenever a parent lost their child.
The nurses moved to make the parents comfortable. Removing blood pressure cuffs, machines and tubes. Cover the mangled body of this child. She was ten. Curly red hair blending with the dried blood from her ears. Battles sign bruises under her jaw and around her eyes hiding freckles on her cheeks.
It was a freak car accident. She'd managed to get unbuckled to sneak a granola bar from the console in the front seat when their car got hit by a truck skidding on black ice. Fifteen car pile up with them in the middle. Mom and little brother walked away with bad whiplash.
Fuck. It wasn't fair.
Mom's animal screams shot a shiver down his spine. Dad was silent, clinging to the covers, face buried while his shoulders shook.
His eyes found Mel. She was still, at least to most people's eyes. He saw the way her hand twisted around the back of her neck, her elbows pinned to her chest, trying to compress herself as small as possible. He was at her side in a moment, stepping between her and the family.
"Take a second," he said, voice low. "I'll be out there. I'll come find you."
She nodded, not meeting his eyes. She moved towards the door out of the trauma room.
He gently grabbed her elbow. "Get your coat," he added. "It's freezing."
She didn't respond. His hand loosened from her arm and she walked away, shoulders hunched.
Frank turned and found himself face to face with Robby. The sabbatical didn't seem to do much to restore his vigor. He came back different, tired. But maybe more at peace.
Robby's eyes met his. His stomach dropped as he anticipated his next words. Talking to the parents. That poor kid's brother in the family room. Robby knew peds patients were hard for him, especially peds traumas. The last time they worked together he was determined to ride his ass all shift. He wondered if Robby would be so cruel to him.
Robby's hand met Frank's shoulder. "Take a breather," he said. "I'll go with Kiara to talk to the kid." His voice was strained and gravelly.
Frank nodded. He tried to not let out too loud of a sigh of relief as he excused himself and walked quickly to the restroom. Thankfully empty, the motion sensor lights flickered on as he entered and he locked the door behind him.
His legs went out under him as he slid to the floor. He knew how nasty bathroom floors were, especially in the hospital, but right now he didn't care. He focused on his breathing. Square breaths.
In. Hold. Out. Hold.
Abby had just about enough of him. She, Penny and Tanner were spending the long weekend with her sister and her kids in Florida. Either Disney or Universal, he couldn't get a straight answer out of her. She probably wouldn't answer his texts or calls if he tried to reach out. And besides, he wasn't sure if she'd even let him talk to them if she did answer. A tearful phone call from Daddy on the verge of a nervous breakdown versus a full day in Orlando. He knew which one she should choose.
He dug the palms of his hands into his eye sockets until he saw stars. That kid. Her body mangled. Free fluid and broken bones. No surgeon in the world with a million hours would be able to put her back together. He knew that. He knew that. But fuck. Why. It hurt just as much every time.
Breathe, Frank.
In. Hold. Out. Hold.
He dropped his hands, his eyes still closed. He sniffed. The ghost of tears and the lump in his throat cleared. He was fine. Fine. Fine.
He stood carefully without touching the floor and stood at the sink. He washed his hands, faucet turned all the way to cold and splashed his face. Droplets hit his undershirt but he didn't care. He looked up into the mirror, meeting his own eyes.
He looked exhausted. He was exhausted.
He sighed. Mel.
He dried his face with the rough paper towel and made his way out past the trauma room to the ambulance bay.
The wind hit his face, icy cold, searing into him like a blade. Mel wasn't in their usual spot, the accessibility ramp from the parking garage, but he made his way there anyway. The deicing salt crunched under his feet, the wail of traffic nearby. It threatened to snow again that evening but so far, the roads were still clear.
He heard her sniffle from beyond where he could see. He rounded the corner of the stairwell and saw her, shivering in her oversized puffy jacket, zipper all the way to her chin. She held her glasses in one hand while trying to dry her eyes with her free hand, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Her head turned to face him about the same time he saw her. Her face was splotchy from the cold and from crying; her nose, her cheeks, the little circles under her eyes. He'd never tell her, and he'd deny it until his dying day, but something about her being so vulnerable endeared her to him. Her laugh, the way her voice got choppy when she was mad, even, as weird as it sounded, the way she cried. She felt everything with one-hundred percent of her heart.
Frank unfolded his arms, slightly bent as he approached her. Inviting. She met him half way, her cheek slamming into his chest as a shuddering sob broke out of her.
Her arms wrapped around his middle as his wrapped his around her shoulders. His hand rested on the back of her head, the slope at the nape of her neck where her braid began. He felt her fingers dig into his scrubs as her shoulders shook. Ragged, uneven breaths.
âShhh,â he whispered, holding her tight. âItâs okay. Itâs okay.â
He learned a few months ago, not long after his first day back, how sheâd been Beccaâs primary caregiver for years. How she was orphaned when she was barely an adult; she lost her father when she was young, then her mother when she was still in high school. Her sister was her only living family.
The way he learned it was very unceremonious. A throw away line in a conversation when they snuck away to grab a sparkling water from the lounge during a lull one of the evenings they worked swing together. She made some sort of comment about holidays and visiting family. How being an orphan meant fewer presents to have to forget to buy.
âWait, wait,â he said, stopping her as she stooped to grab a water from the bottom shelf.
She looked up at him, confused. âWhat?â
âBoth your parents are gone?â he asked.
She shrugged, giving a tight smile that didnât meet her eyes while she avoided his, standing as she shuffled the cold can from one hand to the other. âYeah,â she said. âItâsâŠitâs fine,â she said quickly, clearly uncomfortable from the attention, closing the fridge door.
âMel, Iâm so sorry,â he said.
She swallowed and shook her head. âItâs okay,â she said. âIt was a long time ago.â
He felt his heart break in his chest. Not that anyone deserved to be an orphan, but of anyone, Melissa King was the last person on earth he figured deserved that curse.
âI guess that explains why you and your sister are so close,â he said, voice quiet.
She met his eyes finally. âCan we not talk about it?â she said, voice thin. âIâm sorry itâs justââ
âNo, no,â he said. âIâm sorry. I didnât mean to pry.â
She shook her head. âYou didnât,â she said, giving him a small smile before taking a quick breath and walking back out to the main ER, leaving him dumbstruck in the break room.
Frank sighed, eyes closing, holding Mel here in the parking structure in the middle of November. She was so strong, he marveled. The strongest woman heâd ever met, and yet so tender and gentle. It was so unfair that she had nobody. She had Becca, sure, but as much as she loved her sister, she couldnât turn to her for emotional support. Not with this job. She wasnât the shoulder to cry on.
He knew she and Santos were friends, and even barring her being...not his biggest fan, per se, she wasnât exactly warm and fuzzy to anyone, even Whitaker. She wasnât exactly the kind of person he imagined Mel would go to at the end of a long day for reassurance and comfort.
Heâd have no idea how to even begin to explain this to Abby. If she were to materialize in front of them and demand some sort of explanation heâd be completely at a loss. There was no good explanation, other than in some weird way they both needed each other. Mel needed a rock. He needed to be needed.
Somehow they found each other.
He turned his face towards hers, his mouth touching the hair on her head.
It would be so easy to kiss her.
He felt his ring slip off his finger before the bright ping of it hitting the ground hit his ears. He jolted in the direction of the sound, watching it roll away into a pile of leaves in the corner of the stairwell, a pocket of refuse undisturbed by the wind.
His ring seemed to get looser and looser every day, but it never slipped off before. He knew the body changed as you got older. He wondered if sobriety had something to do with it, too. Not drinking, eating cleaner, taking care of himself. Even with all those changes, all those ways of trying to make himself a better person, a better man, Abby still outgrew him.
Mel sniffed behind him. He turned and met her eyes, still red with tears streaming down her cheeks. Her face was crumpled as she tried to hold back a sob and he could see a faint trickle of clear snot from her nose that she furiously tried to wipe away with her sleeve. Her hair was a mess. Strands from her normally prim and proper braid came loose, wild and covering her face.
She was a mess.
His heart broke again, realizing where heâd left her. How heâd left her.
Everyone left her, he thought. He knew better.
He rushed to her, arms embracing her tightly to his chest, pressing his cheek to the stop of her head.
âIâm sorry,â he whispered, swaying her gently. âIâm sorry. I wonât leave. Iâm sorry.â
A sob broke out of her chest, shuddering through him. He stroked her hair, murmuring to her, over and over again.
Jesse, who was there for a partial shift walked up the handicap ramp, making his way to the first floor of the parking garage, bundled up in his winter clothes. He hoped for a moment that he wouldnât turn his head to see them, but without fail, their eyes met, Jesse's gaze traveled down to Mel. His eyes widened, worried, before their gaze met again.
He shook his head. He had it under control. It was fine.
He gave a sympathetic smile-grimace and thumbs up before he disappeared into the parking garage.
Frank stayed with Mel as long as she needed. Until the tears slowed. Until she caught her breath. Until she dried her face and took some deep steadying breaths before collecting herself.
âIâll meet you in the lounge,â he said. âTo debrief with Robby.â
She nodded, fingers nervously trying to smooth the hair back into her braid.
âHere,â he said, turning her gently and loosening her braid.
âWhat are you doing?â she asked, voice slightly panicked.
âIâve done a braid or two in my time,â he said. âI do have a daughter.â
She gave him a small smile before turning back around. He combed his fingers through her hair, still damp in the bends of the waves from when she braided it this morning. He tied it off with her hair tie and she ran her fingers down the length of it.
âNot bad,â she said giving him a small smile. âPretty good for a pirate, Captain Scurvy.â
He gave her a half-salute. âAnything for you, mâlady.â
She giggled before turning and heading back into the ED.
Frank took a step forward before he stopped, remembering. He backtracked and stooped down into the corner of the stairwell, brushing the dirt off his wedding ring. He held it in the palm of his hand, cold and heavy, considering it for a moment. He turned it over in his hand once before placing it in the front pocket of his scrubs.
He dusted his hands on his pant legs before he followed Mel back inside, shivering as a cold blast of air cut through him like a knife.
maybe it's cause i identify with the loser addict with a bad back whose accent slips through time to time (as a loser addict with a bad back whose accent slips through time to time) but another piece i want to add to the discourse besides mel deserves to be happy and loved is frank deserves to be happy and loved, too.
like could you imagine being loved by a woman like melissa king? that has to be the most life changing earth shattering religious experience type of love i just know it. think about how she's known this dork for less than 24 cumulative hours and she trusts him so implicitly despite hearing the worst rumors imaginable that she lets him take care of her sister, the most important person on the planet to her? do you know what kind of confidence boost that probably gave him that she trusts him like that? after being treated so icily by his former mentor and his coworkers and undergoing the absolute humiliation that is the php for drug rehab and clearly being on the outs with his wife with two young kids at home? literally the one bright spot in his life and it's this amazing wonderful kind and empathetic woman who manages to see the good in him when he probably couldn't even see it himself.
god that had to be a breath of fresh air after the worst almost year of this man's entire life and he deserves it. frank langdon deserves to be loved and cherished too. frank langdon and melissa king deserve the world. if they manage to find it in each other then so be it.
iâve never been this desperate for a ship to go canon omg kingdon do you even know what youâve done to me like theres no going back i love them too much and i need them together in every universe
Day 18-Parade | Exact WC 347 | ao3 | @kingdonmicrofic
Memorial Day was always a very special holiday for Mel and Becca. Every year growing up was spent at their community churchâs cemetery, sticking American flags and fake flowers in their fatherâs plot. And his fatherâs plot. And his fatherâs fatherâs plot. Generations of King men serving.
Their mom was never the same after their dad died while serving. You wouldnât think their father was the only one they lost that day. It was as if their mom was just as gone as he was.
This year, instead of spending the day together at Kennywood, eating junk and getting dizzy on rides, Mel sat in a folding chair on the side of the street. Frank sat on the curb in front of her, his arms stretched over her thighs, and Tanner and Penny were on either side of her, buckets ready to collect as much candy as physically possible.Â
Although Frank would inevitably pull the âdonating some to kids who donât have candyâ trick on them later that night, when they realized that a majority of the artificially colored balls of sugar had somehow disappeared.
âMellie,â Tanner whined, his hand resting over where her bump poked out between her tank-top and her shorts, âwhen is Aunt Becca gonna go by? She promised us sheâd throw us extra candy.â
Melâs head tipped back, her hand settling over his as her belly shook lightly with each laugh that escaped. âVery soon, bud,â she said, ruffling his hair before leaning down to place a kiss to the crown of his head.
After a few more minutes, Penny let out an excited squeal, standing up out of her chair and almost running out into the street, before Frankâs arm reached out to hold her back.
Mel looked over, and coming around the corner, was Middle Hillâs float, Becca and Adam stationed directly at the front, throwing candy out every few feet. She looked so happy. Mel couldnât stop the tears that welled in her eyes.
Sure enough, when she saw Tanner and Penny, she practically threw her whole bucket at them.
do you have any modern baseball recommendations? Songs you feel like Frank loves by them?
I unfortunately am not the best person to ask this, as Modern Baseball was recommended to me as a band that Frank would love by my lovely friend @tvgremlin, and I had listened to their music before but not frequently. Anyways, in my listening research, pretty much every single song seems like something Frank would listen to and relate to!
Day 17-Crowd | Exact WC 317 | ao3 | @kingdonmicrofic
For Frankâs birthday, his parents got him a ticket to see Modern Baseball at The Pavillion for their revival tour. When he opened his card and was met with the ticket, he couldnât stop the embarrassingly boyish sounds that escaped him.
Modern Baseball had been one of his favorite bands since he was twenty, listening to them play over the local independent radio station in between his courses. Listening to them on his old iPhone four, with the shattered back that left glass shards in his finger tips.
He listened to them on the little iPod shuffle that his mom brought to him during his first stay in rehab, full of all of the songs that lived rent free in his brain before benzos took their place. Before he had kids, then left them for rehab.
Not just once.
Twice.
The second time around, it wasnât his mom who brought him the salvation of music.
It was Mel.
She showed up at the rehab facility, giddy to see him despite everything. No matter what, it seemed he could do no wrong in her eyes. At the end of visiting hours, she reached in her bag and handed him a small, pink, mp3 player. One of the ones youâd get from the clearance section of one of those closeout stores.
And it was full of all the music theyâd bonded over since he came back from his first stint. Modern Baseball filled most of the storage.Â
He couldnât complain.
So there he was, standing just at the edge of the venue, the performance just beginning, when his eyes got caught on a familiar blonde braid, swaying just at the edge of the crowd.
âMel?â he asked, walking up beside her.
She turned so fast her hair whipped him in the shoulder.
âFrank? No way!â She gasped, completely overjoyed. âThis just got so much better!â
No air. Just absolutely stifling. Felt like breathing stew. Sweat pouring out of every pore. He could feel the veins throbbing in his head, his head swimming. Several people called out to him. Nothing made any sense. Sounded like people were called from the end of a tunnel.
What was wrong with him?
Frank tried to breath. But his chest was refusing to move.
Panic attack?
What the hell.
It was busy yeah, but Frank couldnât figure out what had triggered it. No major traumas, no triggers he could identify. He stood outside in the bay. The air no cool than it was inside. Baffling. He snapped the air tie heâd found earlier several times. He still had the dizzying sensation of being trapped down a well. Sounds blurred into a roar in his ears. Robby could be screaming in face for all he knew.
âDoctor Langdon?â The sound was familiar. And nearby. Like right next to him. His chest was still trapped in a vice. âOkay. Can you move? Do you want to move.â Soothing. The voice was very soothing. No burden of guilt. Gentle, cool pressure.
He was aware of being guided. Away from everyone.
âDo you know the 3-3-3 grounding technique?âDid he nod? Felt like his puppeteer was yanking on his strings.
âCan you try for me?â
Frank struggled to breath. âThree things I hear: Cars. Sirens. ... The wind.â He rolled his neck, his shoulder and pressed his hands against the wall behind him. âSee.â Oh he needed to open his eyes. The world was startling bright. âBlue of the sky. Ambulances...â He turned his head. Mel standing there. Looking worried but not scared. âAnd my friend.â
At least he hoped so. The panic had mostly ebbed. But his lack of impulse control had him spiralling.
âYou want to be my friend?â Frank was baffled. Who wouldnât want to be Mel Kingâs friend?
