Derek Hale/Chris Argent Fic Reclist
Derek/Chris is such a very very rare ship that I have been through the (currently) 158 works in the tag numerous times and picked out all my favorites (13 in total), carefully filtering out the stuff I donāt like (OT3s, kinks, unwanted sideships, etc - just my own personal tastes). So I decided to write up a reclist for anybody who was craving content and didnāt want to sift through AO3 themselves! The fics are sorted by season, and my favorites are marked with a ā”.
(A note: because everybody does warnings differently and what needs to be warned for is so subjective and Iām a little short on time, I chose not to cover warnings on this list. If youāre the type of person who wishes to avoid certain material, please check the warnings on the fic page itself before you read!)
The Scars That We Earned by Sandrine Shaw [10k]
The Alpha pack closes in and finds them easy targets: still recovering from their latest battle, old alliances fractured and new ones not formed yet. Chris Argent makes a fateful choice, setting in motion a chain of events that will leave the status quo forever changed.
Firstly: shoutout to this one for being (according to AO3, I donāt know about other sites) the first Derek/Chris fic ever. Itās got werewolf!Allison in it, and deals a bit with what happened to Victoria, and Allison especially has to deal with what happened to Victoria after sheās turned, which is an interesting sideplot I wasnāt expecting when I first read it. It feels really IC; prior to the get-together, Chris and Derek arenāt afraid to hurt each other physically or with words. It takes a little time for them to get used to one another, it isnāt too immediate or sudden.
Back and Forth by incendiary1 [1.9k]
This is how they are, this is how theyāll always be. Derek and Chris have a tenuous balance.
This one is short, but itās basically all unresolved (semi-sexual) tension, which is really what I loved between these two at the very end of Season 2. I like especially that Chris attempts to excuse Gerard and Kate for what they did by excusing Derek for Victoria; it doesnāt quite work like that, of course, but itās nice to see him written a bit flawed.
But It Wonāt Erase by broadcastdelay [8.9k]
When newly-turned werewolves start popping up in Beacon Hills, Chris Argent goes to bring Derek back to town to help clean up the mess. In cleaning up the mess, though, one last werewolf gets created. And somehow thatās not even the most unexpected development in Chrisās life that year.
So this one has werewolf!Chris, which is one of my favorite tropes, mainly because of all the tension and internal struggle involved, which this delivers on. Itās VERY well-paced, and the thoughtfulness in Chrisās internal narrative about his family and their history and his own history with Derek is a nice addition. I like the most that even though Derek is an alpha in this, Chris finds the idea of submitting to his authority laughable; eventually, so does Derek.
ā” a year in the life by allthebees [27k]
Things are as close to normal as theyāre ever going to get for the Hale pack, after everything theyāve all been through in the last couple of years, when Cora starts noticing something weird going on between her brother and Chris Argent at the beginning of senior year. As if that werenāt enough of a problem it isnāt long before the odd monster here and there turns into a coven of witches who roll into town, decide to kick the werewolvesā den, and very nearly ruin everything.
Or: snapshots of a year in the life.
I did not, even a little bit, expect you could sell this pairing to me in a way like this. This fic is almost romcomish, in the plot of Cora trying to figure out whatās going between her brother and Chris before anything is actually going on and the both of them remaining perfectly oblivious to any sexual tension while they contentedly go about becoming better friends. I like also that Chris and Derek hang out with Melissa and the sheriff a lot in this fic because itās very refreshing to get to see Derek around other adults, and for them to have their own friend group outside of the kids. While the fic doesnāt exactly focus on the Derek/Chris (itās one of many plots going on throughout the year) it happens pretty believably and thereās a nice moment where Derek has to address with Cora how itās different than what happened with Kate and how Chris and Allison, similarly, have to talk about what happened to Victoria (another thing I didnāt think I could be sold on; usually I prefer to spare her the horror, but this fic does it really believably and well!). I absolutely love this one and itās definitely the longest one on this list, so if you enjoy longfic, youāll like it too.
Allies by darkmagess [4.1k]
1. The scene at the end of 3x19 between Derek and Chris Argent that was so clearly missing.
2. When Derek wakes up after the nogitsuneās fly almost makes him kill Chris.
3. After the nogitsune is taken care of, Chris disappears into his mourning for Allison. Derek decides to not leave him alone in his grief.
This is actually a series of 3 short episode codas, and while theyāre actually friendship fics and not technically slash, for a long time they were some of the only 3B content I had for these guys, and I still really enjoy them; thereās a lot of rawness and vulnerability in them on both Chrisās and Derekās part.
Nous protƩgeons by salvage [1.8k]
Immediately post-Letharia Vulpina. Chris and Derek in the aftermath of the explosion.
This is another 3B coda, except this one is, to quote the authorās notes, a sexy coda. Iām pretty sure this is the first slash for this pairing I ever read, and the sex really is pretty sexy; despite Chris having to do the work of pulling the shrapnel out of Derekās back, they try to stay impersonal with each other up until they moment they donāt, so itās just the right amount of rough.
Iām no good (youāre no better) by broadcastdelay [1.5k]
Despite his intention of avoiding both Argents and heroism, neither of which he feels particularly well-suited for, Derek ends up with 74 shards of glass embedded in his back and a Chris Argent who seems to disagree.
Yet another coda from from the season that keeps on giving. What I like about this one is all of Chrisās deep existential thoughts meet with Derekās usual impersonal and blunt nature, and the juxtaposition is almost funny. He still winds up eyeing Chris suspiciously, then turns his back on him. The dynamic in this one is really something.
To Vex by Twisted_Slinky [2.3k]
Derek is in the middle of hunting down a deadly creature when Chris Argent appears to save the day and strip off his shirt. Blame it on the gremlins.
A short and sometimes funny fic where Chris and Derek have to use the age-old technique of āpretending to be bangingā to avoid raising the suspicion of the law. As always, Chris gets to make a pretty grand entrance.
ā” Not Yet by d0nquix0te [5.9k]
Three people whoāve lost their families make a family of their own.
In this one Chris and Derek accidentally kind of wind up becoming Isaacās dads right after Allisonās death, and itās honestly such a perfect match-up I wish there were about a hundred more just like it. All three of them know grief and loneliness very well, and it winds up being the perfect environment for Chris, who didnāt cry when his daughter cried, to finally allow the grief to catch up with him. What gives this a nice touch is that heās clearly terrified of facing it, and Derek opens up a little to him in an effort to give him some courage; overall a truly fantastic dynamic.
ā” Box of Wormwood by Emmessann [21k]
When Chris took the headshot, Kate exploded ā burst into a swarm of satanic butterflies. Now Derekās terminally infested, waiting to see what physical or emotional hell will break out next. Chris would give anything to save his friend, but they both know the clock is ticking on their last desperate hope.
This one is a really hard, heavy readāIāve only read it twice myselfābecause of how heavily it deals with the themes of death, grief, terminal illness, and suicide. (And terror of all things buglike, but thatās a personal thing, lol.) The actual slash here is minimal, considering Derekās condition, and the ending is a bit unexpected and pretty strangeābut itās also ultimately hopeful, and the fic as a whole is definitely well-written, spectacularly written; not only are Chris and Derekās voices perfect, itās the only one on this list that actually not only made me cry, but got me crying both times I read it. Ā
(For works that are set in the future, or for where the era it takes place in is unclear.)
ā” Iāve Seen This Face Before by entanglednow [1.1k]
āCome any closer and Iāll shoot you in the throat.ā
Another werewolf!Chris fic, this one is very short and actually preslash, but it packs more tension in a thousand words than I even thought possible, both internal tension on Chrisās part, fighting the shift, and tension of the sexual type between him and Derek. This fic introduced me to werewolf!Chris and Iām now highly into it, so take that as the glowing recommendation that it is.
ā” Slow Dance by RarePairFairy [1.6k]
They dated for some time before admitting that they were going on dates. At first, to reassure themselves and each other, it was just spending more time together. Derek was ājust coming to look over some stuffā. Or Chris was just āheading out for a few drinksā.
Just to get this out of the way, I love this fic for having the most relatable tags:
That struggle is real; it took me about three years to figure out the proper tag to track on tumblr.
That aside, I absolutely adore this one for its own sake as well; as much as I love some nice rough sexual tension, I equally adore the slow and careful tenderness in this fic. Chris and Derek are both hyperaware of their history with each other and each othersā families, and they do the smart thing and take it slow, so they can build something solid; itās different from most of the stuff I see for this ship but a dynamic Iām very very into.
Maybe, In the Future by dedougal [2.8k]
āI like you better as a beta,ā Chris turned to him, looking over his shoulder. That surprised Derek.
The slowest of burns, Chris and Derek donāt even get together in this one until at least five years down the line. Iām not normally one for futurefic, but this one meanders on its way without being too jarring or slow, and itās nice to watch them get to have a lot of time between enemies and lovers. (Also, I know I said I wasnāt doing warnings, but I feel like I should warn for the sex pollen trope in this one; itās usually a hard pass on my part but itās about as consensual as that sort of trope gets if thatās a thing you worry about.)
And finally, Iām not tacky or self-congratulatory enough to rec my own Derek/Chris fic here, but since I did go to the trouble of typing up a reclist, I donāt have enough shame not to say Iāve earned a little plugābut no pressure if longficās not your thing. :ā)
I also set up a tumblr blog for the ao3feed of this pairing; nothing yet, sadly, but if this ship is your thing you can follow it at @ao3feed-dergent.
Enjoy, and please consider hitting the reblog if you did! (I want more people to yell about this with, lol.)
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