An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
For @agaricals
Sousuke lost his way, lost his dreams, and lost his future... what does he have now?
Nagisa just wants to help. In his own way.
I was honestly surprised af that you were my giftee!! <3
Okay sooo, the prompt was-
"SouNagi on a roadtrip -post-series, Sousuke is trying to make sense of everything, ~find himself~, Nagisa helps him? Not necessarily this setting, this is just what i thought of. (also pre-relationship? as I'm a sucker for falling in love / pining / first anything tropes OTL)"
-and I was like I FEEL YOU BRUH.
(Lots of foods mentions bc I'm a nerd. Also please expect puns/jokes/references because I can't thrive in an overly serious setting and I can't physically hurt anyone so...)
Anyway, sorry for the delay, I haven't been in a good space of mind lately but I was really fired up about your thing, so let's get on with the thing XD
Summary: Rin will do whatever it takes to find out how to obtain Makoto's so-called 'perfect chest.' He isn't quite sure where his definition of 'obtaining' lies, however.
Excerpt:
Rin feels pressure on his chair as Sousuke hovers over him and looks at the open tab on the the internet browser. “Wasn’t that your background photo on your phone? Why are you pulling it up on Facebook?”
The photo in question was taken the previous year: an updated one of a group of preteen boys fresh off their first win as a relay group, only this time, five years older, reunited, and with the addition of a new, but equally important bespeckled friend. Rin frantically tries to minimize the window to reveal his laptop desktop photo of his new Samezuka perfect relay, a selfie taken after nationals, but Sousuke has already seen what Rin was up to so he decides to come up with a lie instead.
“I was uh. Reminiscing.”
“No you’re not. You’d be crying if you were.”
“Hey!” Rin turns to smack Sousuke, but his stupid best friend has managed to escape with a laugh and lands on Rin’s bed, cross-legged on the comforter like its his own fucking half of the bunk.
“Okay, fine. You were reminiscing. Zoomed in on Makoto’s chest.”
SO. figured it was high time someone did one of these. i've been shipping soumako pretty much since the beginning, back when the tag only had a few offerings. i've seen and read a lot of fic, and i decided i wanted to put together a list of what i consider to be some of the best the ao3 tag has to offer.
this is by no means comprehensive nor exhaustive, but i like to think it'll be a good place to start for anyone looking to get into the ship's best. c:
this should update periodically as more fic is written; as of now it's ao3-only, but we'll see what happens in the future!
hokay so let's start with authors because some of them i just started linking ALL OF THEIR FICS before i realized that wasn't effective. so. some of them have individual fics listed elsewhere in this list, which means of their works, those are my personal favorites:
AUTHORS
nitorisource (28 works)
LadyKnightofHollyRose (5 works)
Miaou Jones (6 works)
ONE-SHOTS
fics rated G:
Oh Baby, It's Cold Outside (1089 words) by Xambonie
When a fire alarm goes off in Makoto's apartment building, he never expected to find an old acquaintance in the midst of the residents. But damn is it cold...
notes: two words: body heat.
walk walk fashion baby (1239 words) by minty
"This has to be a coincidence of cosmic proportions, Sousuke thinks, gaze firmly trained on the guy sitting in front of him, because how else would he manage to walk out of his apartment being twinsies with a complete stranger?
A completely hot stranger."
notes: 'accidentally wearing the same outfit au.' short & sweet!
Because Early Mornings and Worms Suck (1342 words) by LadyKnightOfHollyrose
They don’t even realise that they’re studying at the same university until they’ve been there for a good three weeks and they bump into each other while vacating their dorms for the second time that night. Morning. Ugh.
notes: summary says it all.
providence (2543 words) by JeanSouth
No matter which world it is, Sousuke is still sorta in love.
notes: in which sousuke helps makoto smuggle a kitten.
Not Everything Has a Purpose (2927 words) by supercrunch
...and cats, Sousuke discovers, are the perfect example of this.
(Sousuke makes the mistake of giving his boyfriend a kitten on their anniversary. Makoto is hellbent on keeping the furry bastard, allergies be damned.)
notes: this had me laughing out loud. a+ shenanigans, grumpy!sousuke, and kittens—what's not to love?
fics rated T:
Don't Make Me Kiss You (1174 words) by ThunderDownOnGreenside
It’s official. Makoto Tachibana is too damn hot.
notes: sousuke helps makoto work out. then he realizes a witnessing a sweaty, panting makoto might not be the best idea.
These Moments I Must Steal (5895 words) by LadyKnightOfHollyrose
The first few times they meet, it’s extremely easy for him to overlook the calming balm of Makoto’s presence despite the way he seems to tower above the rest of the Iwatobi boys.
Or, the moments that we didn’t get to see between Sousuke and Makoto, as told by Sousuke.
notes: pre-slash. this fic runs alongside the events eternal summer, and it does so beautifully and believably.
no luck for you and i (4650 words) by clockworkmoon
Sousuke thinks he must be cursed, because each time him and that Tachibana kid interact, he accidentally ends up making Makoto hurt in one or another way. So he decides to distance himself as much as possible, for Tachibana's sake, or rather, his health. Guess how this works out for him.
or
A stupid, fluffy and self-indulgent twist on why we still didn't see Makoto and Sousuke interact+ illustrations, too!
notes: yes, you read this write, this fic is illustrated. and they're lovely pieces of art to go with a lovely fic. go read it right now. revel in the awkward!sousuke. revel.
fics rated M:
basking in the touch of your gaze (835 words) by Miaou Jones
"Happy birthday, Makoto. Please take off your clothes."
notes: it's hard to convey the atmosphere of this fic beyond a lovely, secure melancholy. very sensual—it envelopes you.
not this mind, and not this heart (8531 words) by unsospiro
The end of the world, and what happened after.
notes: a zombie apocalypse au that will rip you apart before it puts you back together. heart-wrenching, well-written, and lovely. you'll reread it immediately and then the next day; i know i did. please be sure to read the author's warnings for potential triggers!
fics rated E:
earth boy (2393 words) by noodles
It takes a few minutes for them to get back into the groove, which for Makoto means more lube and letting Sousuke aimlessly rub his hands along his spine, his shoulder blades, and which for Sousuke means Makoto telling him to relax and just do what feels natural.
What feels natural for Sousuke at this point is to reacquaint himself with his right hand, so that isn’t working out too well.
notes: awkward first time. it's glorious.
Dinner Reservations (2471 words) by babbitly
Sousuke Yamazaki lives a troubled life because his boyfriend likes to wear towels around the house.
notes: as the author put in the tags, "sousuke is a hormone riddled nerd." ft. table sex w/fingering, rimming, and copious mentions of makoto's rockin' bod.
let me violate you (3154 words) by nanifuku
It fills Sousuke with someone carnal and hot because he likes seeing this brand new side to Makoto so much—a side so debauched and wrecked and submissive and he wants to see more, more, more.
notes: includes a blowjob/facefucking, fingering, mild dirty talk, and very slight d/s undertones. lovely prose, too—feels very carnal. big thumbs up.
gorgeous (3279 words) by cellobear
Written for the Free! Kink Meme. Makoto thinks he's pretty average looking, and Sousuke takes a good long while to let him know just how beautiful he really is.
notes: body worship. slight dirty talk. really, what more do you need?
you did this to yourself (3706 words) by kirschfine
There are at least six reasons they shouldn't do this here.
Makoto is struggling with the validity of these reasons, but somewhere in his objective mind he knows that having sex in the swim club—at their place of work—is not a good idea. His objectivity is rapidly shrinking, however. There's probably a graph that shows the inverse relationship between his objectivity and Sousuke's increasing proximity.
notes: makoto wearing sousuke's samezuka jacket, shower sex, exhibition kink—have at it.
Unnamed (4286 words) by tastewithouttalent
"Makoto has a polite welcome on his lips as he pulls at the handle, is ready with a smile and a greeting regardless of how his hopes line up with reality. Then he looks up to the stranger’s face, takes in the black hair over bright teal eyes, and everything goes still and cold in the first wave of horror."
When anonymity fails, Makoto more than makes do with what is left to him.
notes: top!makoto and gruff sousuke, i.e. wonderful things
The Only Way You Can Know (Is Give It All You Have) (6938 words) by Miaou Jones
Makoto has his reasons for swimming the 200m free the way he did. Not everyone understands—but some at least try to.
notes: an alternate timeline for eternal summer eps 6 & 7, focusing on makoto's participation in the 200m freestyle race. major kudos for exploration of makorin friendship, and for exploring makoto's depth of character. lovely writing, with a bonus nsfw illustration at the end. ~
COMPLETED — MULTI-CHAPTER OR SERIES
False Start (3928 words) by buttwade
Sousuke likes Makoto. Makoto doesn't like Sousuke.
rating: T
notes: sharp dialogue, good pacing, and some really good laugh-out-loud moments. written around the time of early eternal summer eps.
Color/Soulmate AU (4983 words) by PaperAirplaneClub
The one who can make him happy, the one whom he can love without regret, because they are soulmates- destined to be together. Nothing in the world could stop someone from being your soulmate.
Absolutely nothing.
notes: au where, once you turn 18, you can see in color—but only if you've seen your soulmate. very sweet. there's some angst, but ultimately ends on a positive note!
Sitting in the street (15239 words) by Codango
Tachibana Makoto has always liked Yamazaki Sousuke's shoulders. What? They're amazing. It's a crush that never quite goes away, taking a variety of forms throughout high school, college, and adult life.
notes: a one-shot series that starts around the canon timeline before a time jump into a future fish au. cute, thoughtful, sexy—just good fun.
rating: ranges from G to E
The Smolder and the Glow (27372 words) by Quente
Sousuke is aware that Tachibana has no clue, none at all. Rin warned him, of course, and Sousuke probably should've listened.
These were drabbles and they grew.
notes: this is one of the first soumako fics i remember reading, and it's still one of my favorites (and is probably what solidified my love for the ship). it was written towards the beginning of es so it doesn't quite line up with canon, but it's still ic and believable.
rating: E
WORKS IN PROGRESS
Angel Face (2474 words) by gloom
Still in a considerable amount of pain, he turns his head to face the inside of Rin’s couch and opens his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up for the second time that day. Blue? No, that definitely wasn’t right. Thinking about it, Rin’s couch was some shade of red (“Cardinal, Sousuke, it’s Cardinal!”) and as much as his childhood friend was the sort of person to go out and do things on a whim when he felt like it, he was sure one of those things wasn’t switching out his furniture randomly within hours of the others having left his home.
Or, that "I came to the wrong house drunk AU" that every pairing needs.
rating: T
notes: summary says it all. exists in a completely au verse.
smoke signals (7299 words) by nitorisource
It starts when Sousuke is called in about his son's behavior at school. The kid that's made his cry? Tachibana's, apparently. A lot has happened in the past ten years.
rating: T
notes: sousuke and makoto, both single parents, learn their kids are in the same class. it's so cute and everyday it doesn't update kills me.
To the Flower of Winter (74827 words) by aesopeau
In the country that greets the sun first as it rises from the darkness of the world, a sakura tree blooms in the depths of winter. Soft pink buds unfurl as the flower greets the snow. Sousuke Yamazaki watched each nip bloom, rippling open from each branch. A wind blew and shook the tree, coaxing it to release the flowers from its stems. Sousuke watched with amazement, wondered how hard the wind would have to blow until a single blossom fell and touched him.
rating: M
notes: yakuza au with some seriously lovely writing. if you're looking for something a bit different, something to sink your teeth into—this is a good one.
Keeper (4104 words) by infinite_wonders
It starts off relatively small, with a quick hello here or a shared meal there, and somehow levels off with Sousuke barging into Makoto’s dorm-room at 10:00pm with his phone held in front of him like he’s making a conscious effort not to throw it against the wall.
Also known as that one where Sousuke and Makoto end up in the same uni together and Things Happen.
rating: E
notes: snappy and witty—with a hint of some really good smut in the future.
Bend Me, Break Me (13360 words) by Ad_Astra
Rin asks Sousuke for a favour.
rating: E
notes: this is technically a soumakorin in which rin asks sousuke to push makoto to the edge. includes voyeur!rin and has some strong dom/sub themes, edging, etc.
Title: 3h26min
Pairing: Matsuoka Rin/Tachibana Makoto
Word Count: 6620
(cw for smoking)
AO3
Summary: The quiet (and not so quiet) hours of the morning, a new relationship stemming from a former friendship, Rin and Makoto praising the other in their own way, but with a lot more kissing than they're used to.
Excerpt:
“Are you sure? Here.” And before Rin can give another retort back, just as he opens his mouth to do so, Makoto closes the gap between them, pressing crumbs from his lip to Rin’s, grossly kissing him with the intent of nothing short of embarrassing Rin, because there’s nothing better than watching Rin get flustered.
(And that’s one of the greatest things about dating a friend. The familiarity is always there, the shift from friendship to romance as natural, but so beautifully unexpected as the kiss of springtime air after a harsh winter. Makoto has always loved embarrassing and teasing Rin, quips of childhood nicknames here, a reminder about how much he loves cats there, but now, he gets to learn how Rin reacts when embarrassed not by one of the few friends he allows to do so without trying to bite their head off, which he very well could, but by his boyfriend.)
Title: Instant Ramen
Author: eatpie
Words: 7000+
Ships: makoharu, makoharurin
Summary: (explicit) A couple years after graduation, Makoto and Haru have an apartment together in the city. In between culinary school, part time jobs, and volunteer work, they make time to show their love to each other.
Haru worries that he's pulled Makoto into a deadbeat relationship. Then Haru's parents call and shake his foundations.
Haruka is a very talented wedding dresses designer, and runs a small wedding boutique in a small town with his three friends, Makoto, Nagisa and Rei.
Rin is a genderfluid model whose promising career is just getting started, but he has one problem. Japan is too traditional for his field, so he needs to leave the Land of the Rising Sun for it to prosper.
This is the story of how their worlds collide and how they manage with the outcome.
Title: The Story of the Lost Sultan
Pairings: Makoto/Rin, Rei/Nagisa
Summary:
Short Version: Arabian ED + coffeeshop-ish + roadtrip AU.
Long Version: In the outskirts of the Iwatobi Empire - where it's as hot as the sun and the sultana mysteriously hints at an upcoming announcement - a customer hands barista Rin a slip of paper with nothing more on it than the word "run." Rin does just that, grabbing the first person he can find, a traveller who has just left the coffeeshop for the last time, with hair the color of the sand and a voice as fine as its grains.
Throw in the fact that Rin has little to no memories of his childhood and has started having frequent dreams about a boy seeking water bluer than his eyes, it's safe to say that Rin's life is a little chaotic at the moment.
Excerpt:
Rin looks behind him in panic, even if there seems to be nothing off inside his former job. “Look, can I get a ride with you?”
“Oh, I would, but I’m leaving town…”
“Perfect!” Rin jumps up onto the back of the motorcycle, using Makoto’s shoulders for support. “Where are we heading off - wait, no, no time, just take me where you’re going, I don’t care.”
Makoto’s turned head simply stares at him, mouth slacked. Rin’s stomach drops, his mind telling him that it isn’t worth trying to convince Makoto, he’s losing time, he may as well run or find someone, anyone else or…
Then Makoto nods in god knows some way of understanding, leaning down (slowly, so slowly, fuck) to the large canvas case strapped to the side of the bike and pulls out a spare helmet. He hands it to Rin, who quickly snatches it with his own nod for thanks before placing it on his head and clasping the strap shut, moving his hands around Makoto's waist and clinging, digging his fingers into the edges of his back.
“Hang on tight,” Makoto smiles, swipes down his visor, and starts the engine for good.
A/N (below the cut):
Okay I KNOW WITH THE TRIPLE AU IT SOUNDS ALL OVER THE PLACE I'M SORRY. I also know that I'm doing another multichapter fic...if we're gonna be honest TWAM (if you're following that) has been frustrating me so it's on the backburner for a bit until S2, and therefore more stuff to play with in terms of the canon.
Oh and the Arabian ED is more like...modern here? Modern in the sense that there's 80s/early 90s technology. So motors, radios, TVs, and roads exist, but it's not terribly complex or anything. Like...it's an AU. I can combine technology with the ancient Arabia setting, whatever!! (this also includes any accidental bringing in elements of ancient South Asia oops)
