cousinshelley | Dear Chocolatier

Here's my letter for Chocolate Box 2021!:

Partners (1982)
Inside Men (2015)
Star Trek: The Price of the Phoenix/The Fate of the Phoenix - Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath
The Girl in Lovers Lane (1960),
Truth Seekers (2020)

I view exchange letters as a way to pimp these things to people who are unfamiliar as well as offer prompts, so I go on a bit. Don't feel like you must use one of my prompts, either. These are just my ideas. Feel free to use one of your own!

General likes:

friendship, found families, loyalty and love whether it's sexual or not
deep emotional connections and devotion
third person POV
people figuring things out together
gray areas and difficult choices
missing scenes and fix-its, as well as case-fic and plotty stories
displays of affection and respect
protectiveness and characters sacrificing their own comforts to help others
dub-con in certain fandoms/pairings
mutual pining with a happy ending, unrequited love finally realized
hurt/comfort, especially things like one comforting another after a nightmare, tending wounds, caring for them when they're ill or injured, hovering after something traumatic and trying to take their mind off things
oh my god there's only one bed and every other possible bedsharing scenario
fake couple/marriage for whatever reasons to real romance
forced proximity
first kiss, first realization of feelings, first times
humor, snark and banter, laughing and joking with each other
I greatly prefer flirting/pining/UST, getting there or first times rather than established relationship stories unless the characters are a couple in canon. (For an exchange like Chocolate Box or a flash where a story can be just a short snapshot or a single moment or two, I'm fine with established relationship fic, though.)
happy endings

Smut Likes! I like sexytimes. I'm also perfectly happy to get a story that contains no sex at all or fade-to-black scenes. . I'm totally okay with any sex scenes you want to write being written with more generalities and less blow-by-blow anatomical detail. You can focus on the emotions more than the acts or body parts, and I will love it! Here's some relevant info if you'd like to write something explicit:

I really prefer porn with feelings and emotional sex
possessiveness and a little jealousy
first times
dubcon in some fandoms/pairings
desperate, hungry kissing
one or both partners overwhelmed with passion and feelings
manhandling and displays of strength
looking into each other's eyes while having sex and it almost being too much for one/both of them
fake dating/marriage leading to sex as the characters realize their feelings
up against the wall sex
kneeling (especially for oral sex, but to kiss knees or thighs or anything like that, grand)
penetrative sex, oral sex, fingers, frottage, rimming, mutual masturbation or one watching the other
naked and half-naked or one clothed and the other naked, basically any combo of clothed/not clothed
necking, petting, face and neck and body stroking, kissing and/or licking pretty much anywhere
I really like up against the wall and one riding the other, especially if near the end the one on the bottom sits up and bounces the rider a lot more as things get intense, but any positions are fine
thank god you're/we're alive sex
bed-sharing or forced proximity that leads to romantic moments and/or sex
one character being suddenly so overcome with feeling and desire for the other they kiss them and initiate things out of the blue, like they can't wait another second--love those big music swell moments
bent over and fucked from behind
hurt/comfort that leads to romantic things and/or sex
light hair-pulling in the heat of the moment
either partner sucking the other's finger
one or both saying they need the other

DNWs/Dislikes

anything pandemic-related (let's have it not exist please, no mentions, no masks, no distancing, no deaths).
anything political or related to social justice or current events, including names of any RL people or public figures.
AU (setting, A/B/O, genderswapping, etc.) but minor canon divergence to get non-canon couples together or see what happens if they go left instead of right are fine
unhappy and otherwise bleak endings
first and second person POV. I cannot get into it unless the canon is in first person or it's a fandom where journal entries and epistolary stories makes sense. I like those, so I'll point them out. Otherwise, I don't read them.
unrequested ships and original major characters
kidfic and pregnancy including mpreg
unrequested identity headcanons, a focus on gender identity or sexuality, teach-me-a-lesson fic
surprise serious illness, character death, as well as cruelty to animals/animal death, infidelity, partner betrayal
death of a requested character
original character's outsider POV
holiday stories, unrequested crack/parodies, unrequested crossovers
non-traditional capitalization and punctuation, please use capital letters where appropriate and use quotation marks for speech. I have poor eyesight and reading something in all lower caps or with dashes for speech or something unusual is a lot harder than people with good vision might imagine

To clarify on the surprise serious illness, things like referencing canon trauma is fine but someone having a stroke or a life-threatening non-canon disease is a big no. Injuries are different. A character could get shot in something like a hurt/comfort or casefic scenario, things like broken bones, wounds (physical and mental) and even more minor injuries are fine as long as they'll heal.

Sex DNWs/Dislikes:

non-con (though I often like the dubbiest of dubcon, depending on the fandom)
underage
characters calling each other daddy, baby boy/girl, slut, bitch, mommy or most pet names
lots of conversation during sex, though a little bit is fine, and "dirty" talk that's supposed to be serious (a little in a joking way is okay). A well-placed "fuck me" is also great, (or fuck him/her in a participant voyeur situation!) but ongoing dirty talk doesn't do it for me.
constant "I love you"s and lots of baby and honey and stuff. I'd rather have subtlety than outright declarations about everything.
sex toys, BDSM, fisting, insertions and things like edging, pain, torture, spitting, choking and hitting (unless it's a playful slap on the ass when they're really having fun or something)
bodily fluids or excretions, except sweat and tears (and blood where I mention it), come play or eating (in oral sex, swallowing is fine and I prefer that to the alternatives, but don't focus on the taste/texture, etc.)

I can't list everything sex-related I don't want, but if you stick to my likes, it'll be a winner.

Here are the fandoms and relationships I've requested along with some prompts. Remember the prompts are just my ideas about things I really like and think would be fun to read, but don't feel constrained by them. You can ignore them and write an idea of your own.

Partners

Al/Fred Kerwin
Benson/Fred Kerwin

I was obsessed with this movie in the 80s. A rewatch today makes me a cringe a lot, but I still love it and am nostalgic about it. If you've never seen it and are interested, just know going in that it's very much a product of its time, and it's filled with stereotypes, gay slurs and not movie-uncommon things like a sexual assault (groping) against Sgt. Benson (a gorgeous Ryan O'Neal) being played for laughs. At least they gave us John Hurt as shy, gay, painfully closeted Fred Kerwin.

Kerwin, who works a desk job, gets paired with Sgt. Benson to play gay in order to figure out who's murdering gay men. The heartbreak on his face when this assignment was being explained to him was really something (John Hurt's just always good in everything, his American accent notwithstanding). They get an apartment together and work at solving the crimes and catching the killer. The movie's full of ridiculous things, like a motel manager never asking their names or having them sign anything or PAY before grabbing the key and walking them to their room so he can flirt with Benson.

In fact, despite Benson sleeping with a couple different women in the movie and picking up a man, no one in the entire movie ever asks that motherfucker's first name. He doesn't have one, not even in the credits. Part of me likes to think that was a commentary on sexual mores, or a statement about how somebody gorgeous is seen as an object not a person with a name, but let's face it, it was just lazy writing. I mean Kerwin falls for him for no real reason except how gorgeous he is--he's not exactly full of personality. And Benson's affection for Kerwin seems to come from little more than the fact that Kerwin cooks and takes good care of him (he ran his bath once for fuck's sake, threatening to kill me with cringe).

Throughout the movie, Kerwin plays the role of a 50's housewife, basically, and I still get angry at him instantly bringing Benson breakfast in bed (and bringing it to Benson and Jill when she stays and sleeps with him). My god the stereotype. Anyway, he falls for Benson, but he still does his job and figures things out before Benson who's too worried about getting laid to pay attention to his partner. The end is ridic with Kerwin getting shot while protecting Benson, and Benson goes to him and tells him to hang in there (hope he called an ambulance first) and about how he loves his cooking and how he needs him (as if Kerwin's only reason for living might be him, with romantic music beneath it).

The movie was billed as the gay odd couple during its day, and it in no way lives up to that, but I love John Hurt, and despite the stereotypes it did try (I think) to say a couple of things about the way gay people were treated. There's also the lovely character of Al, their neighbor, who's attracted to Fred from the beginning and never hides it. I really like the idea of Al/Fred. Al was hitting on Fred at his own housewarming party the day they moved into the apartment, and I like to think that's because he had a sixth sense about Benson. He calls him a hustler later, but maybe he has straight-dar and Benson pinged it like King Kong punching a cymbal.

Prompts:

The missing scene of Al and Fred in Al's apartment for drinks where Al explains he worries Benson doesn't care about Fred the way he should and makes a move would be great. And it can canon diverge in that this time Fred can go through with it or at least starts to experience attraction to Al without outright rejecting that as in the movie.
Al/Fred has a delightful age gap, too. Maybe things heat up between them or Al just hangs around him a lot, and Fred's whole worry about it is the age difference, but Al's lovely and keeps trying to flirt with him and/or seduce him.
Fred could take Al up on the offer to stay in his apartment the night Jill sleeps over with Benson, which would be a great opportunity for just about any scenario between them, sex or not. UST and flirting with Fred being won over would be great.
Post-canon (with Fred *not* believing he and Benson are setting up house together, maybe that was the good post-op drugs talking) Al visits him in the hospital and finds out he was an undercover cop, is crushed because he thinks the whole thing was a lie but then finds out Fred's actually gay and there's hope. That can go as far as you want.
Another scenario for Al/Fred would be Al who's tired of pining for him goes out with someone else who turns out to be an asshole and Fred sees him coming into the building upset. Or he has a scuffle somehow and ends up physically hurt somehow and Fred tends to him. Hurt/comfort for the win.
I like the idea of Benson/Kerwin with Benson developing an actual attraction to Fred for more than his lemon chicken, and Kerwin learning something more intimate about Benson (and vice versa). Their relationship stays very surface, and I'd like it to be deeper, at least a little.
Benson does have a little character growth, they try, though it's not consistent. Maybe they have a conversation after the scene in the jail cell, where he shows some growth after being treated in a way he knows is common and getting angry about the clothes, and there's some emotional discussion about that or something.
Them being in a situation where they have to kiss or do more to remain convincingly undercover would be great, especially if Benson can't help but be into it despite himself. Even if it's just kissing or making out or dancing, doesn't have to involve sex (but okay if it does!) like a party where everybody is snuggling up so they have to in order to not look out of place.
It'd also be a okay if a paranoid neighbor pointed a gun at them or something sure they're straight and there to hurt people, and they have to at least kiss to convince him they're gay and attracted to each other, and of course Kerwin, nervous as he is, makes it really convincing
Maybe Kerwin gets recruited to rub the oil on Benson before his Man's Man photo shoot and Benson's little towel (and nakedness in the actual shoot) gives away that he enjoys it
Any story that has a little aside in it to fix the Jill/breakfast scene would be welcome, by the way. I hated that. I mean I loved him running her out of his kitchen saying "I make the breakfast around here." Yay. But when she got smirky and told him how she takes her coffee, I wanted him to tell her he was the one who cooked in his kitchen but he wasn't her fucking butler so she'd have to serve herself. Anything like that instead of bringing them breakfast in bed *shakes fist at sky*. Even if it's just him relaying this event and him telling her off to Al or something, that would be a treat! I'm clearly still pissed about that, haha!

Inside Men

Ahn Sang-goo/Woo Jang-hoon

If you're unfamiliar, in this South Korean film, Sang-goo is an appearance-obsessed gangster who trusts the wrong father-figure and gets his hand chopped off for his trouble. Jang-hoon is a prosecutor down about his lack of connections and opportunities for advancement who ends up saving Sang-goo's life and protecting him from the people who want him out of the way for good. Jang-hoon takes him to stay with his father because presumably no one would find him there, and Dad takes to Sang-goo right away and tells him to take care of his son which, wow, was not expecting that. It's a really shippy film, lots of close-talking and shouting in each other's faces, and guilt and regret about the way things are happening, and a beautiful friendship in the end where gangster has become a term of endearment instead of an insult and Sang-goo thinks Jang-hoon needs a style makeover.

It's a fun movie with a couple of unholily sexy guys, with action, intrigue, humor and sex appeal oozing out of everywhere. I have only seen the 2 hour version, though I would dearly love to see the 3+ hour director's cut. I haven't read the comic it was originally based on, either. But I do love the film! I would appreciate there not being fart or constipation humor. There's not much in the film, granted, but we can skip that kind of thing please.

I love that after Jang-hoon saves Sang-goo's life, he protects him by taking him first to what might be a love hotel (though maybe not, but the bed is pink) and then taking him to stay with his father where he sleeps in Jang-hoon's childhood room. Does he find they had the same actor crush, or maybe he finds a secret diary from his childhood, anything personal that could lead to revealing conversations.
The fact that they're in a romantic looking hotel when Sang-goo wakes up from his beating screams possibilities to me. After Sang-goo is a little healed, of course. Angry flirting. All the angry things. They're already so oddly familiar with each other despite being so at odds. Jang-hoon scratching his forehead and brushing back his hair with Sang-goo's prosthetic hand seems like it's supposed to be a mocking thing, but it comes off more strange and intimate to me, like there's already a grudging sort of connection between them, too. Those little moments like that between them are so great, so something like that would be fantastic.
And I love so many of the getting-together tropes. Omg there's only one bed! Omg we have to pretend to be a couple for reasons! Omg one has a nightmare and the other holds them to comfort them! It's hard to go wrong with that kind of thing.
Maybe Sang-goo needs a little more actual care after he's beaten. Doesn't need to be anything sexual here if you'd rather not, because plain old hurt/comfort is my jam. Maybe Sang-goo has to save Jang-hoon at some point, in a similar situation where he needs some TLC afterwards.
Sang-goo's always shoving huge quantities of boiling hot food into his mouth. His tendency toward a lack of patience when it comes to putting things in his mouth could be played up for fun, I think. He's always either eating, drinking or smoking. Oral fixation? Did he go hungry as a kid so he has the tendency to be gluttonous until he's satisfied because he never knew when the next food would be or something? Jang-hoon's father could notice this when he's there and get a story out of him in front of Jang-hoon.
Post-canon, give me the dinner scene after Sang-goo shows up at his office. What do they talk about? What do they give each other a hard time about? Has Sang-goo kept in better touch with Jang-hoon's father than Jang-hoon? Maybe somebody needs to be pampered and it becomes obvious the more time they spend together that night, and things OCCUR.
I love it when they're being assholes to each other, which is a lot. More of that, each giving as good as he gets and not letting the other get one up on him. Their rivalry and growing friendship throughout the movie is such a blast, and a growing affect and obvious UST would be as much fun.
I also really like the idea of hurt/comfort post-canon. Maybe Sang-goo had a hard time in prison (having his food taken, getting knocked around here and there, afraid to sleep because you don't know what could happen, etc. NOT prison rape, but it's okay to allude the possibility he had to be aware of and his fear of it interfering with his ability to sleep) and Jang-hoon is there for him while he recovers. I like the idea of a friendly offer of a place to stay until he sorts things out and Jang-hoon discovering his problems that way somehow, through nightmares, insomnia, startling him awake accidentally and freaking him out, whatever. Let Jang-hoon try to make him feel safe.

Star Trek: The Price of the Phoenix/The Fate of the Phoenix - Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath

Kirk/Omne
Kirk/Omne/Spock
Kirk/Spock
(though you could write just about anybody with anybody in these books and it'd be golden)

I've meant to nominate these books in various exchanges for years and always managed to forget. I've recently reread them, so it was fresh in my mind this time! When these books were published in the late 70s, I was at a tender age, let's say, so I read this smorgasbord of homoerotic subtext, frequent and seemingly unnecessary nudity, tons of loyalty and devotion between various males, and femdom during my formative years. No regrets! If you like TOS and Kirk/Spock, they're quick to read, especially the first one. (If you've only read the first one, you don't need to have read the second to write me something, by the way.) There's so much of Omne wondering who's willing to beg to save whom, and Kirk and Spock both losing their shit when the other's hurt, which is always. It's grand.

In Price, Spock sees Kirk die in a fiery building collapse. His body is transported back to the Enterprise where McCoy confirms it. (And his and Spock's agony is just so great in the beginning, particularly McCoy's intense worry about Spock's mental state on losing Kirk. These novels were published as fanfic first, and it shows.) But Omne, the one in charge of the planet where it happened, actually set it all up to seem like Kirk died when he didn't, and he's also cloned him--a perfect duplicate complete with feelings and memories. He wants Spock to pay a price for Kirk2 that will help destroy the Federation and its Prime Directive, and wants to leave him thinking Jim Kirk is dead and he's got a perfect duplicate so he can whisk Kirk away to be his slave. Then because of a mind-link with James Spock discovers the real Kirk is alive, and Spock's angst is seriously a thang.

Meanwhile, Omne is obsessed with Kirk for various reasons (Omne thinks the Prime Directive is bullshit--it apparently cost him his wife and children so he hates Kirk but it's an awfully passionate *wink wink* kind of hate). He intends to beat him until he cries, and he does that, and admires Kirk after for not begging him to stop, I think. Spock has two Kirks on his hands, along with the Romulan Commander from the episode "The Enterprise Incident" who's still obsessed and/or in love with him and seemingly also Kirk, and after all is said and done, everyone is rescued. But Omne is so linked with Spock because of it they fear he will return, having cloned himself, and of course since there's a sequel you already know this happens. The Commander goes off with Kirk2 (who is called James to distinguish), who has been altered to look Romulan and consented to stay with her to help from within the Romulan Empire.

There's a lot of philosophizing, politics and too much repetition of the same concepts, but there's such good interpersonal stuff woven in it pulls me though (and some of the philosophizing over the Prime Directive is actually interesting, there's just so much of it).

In Fate, a lot of the book is devoted to the Romulan Commander (Dí'on) Charvón and James, including a long and delightful set of chapters where she and the Doyen are negotiating for the Doyen's Prince, Trevanian, and it screams femdom. Trevanian is also instantly taken with James (and the Commander notices James' reaction to Trevanian too) and ends up protecting him even after he's figured out that he's not Romulan. The loyalty boils off the pages in all these relationships btw.

When I nominated this I originally did just the first book, then went back and changed it to both and somehow forgot to nominate characters for the second one. But I would perfectly happy to receive James/Commander Charvón, James/Trevanian or just about any scene/combo with James, the Commander, the Doyen and Trevanian. So feel free if that moves you more than Kirk/Spock or anything involving Omne.

Of course, in Fate Omne comes back, but there's also a second Omne that he needs to find and stop, and of course our heroes have to find and stop him too, so they have to band together for a while. Omne saves Kirk's life (there's so much physicality), Spock has to be revived, James is kidnapped by Omne2 who still wants his thousand years. It's just a fresh and loaded buffet of iddy goodness.

In just Price alone there's the big beefy giant of a man (Omne) with crazy strength who first beats Kirk until he cries and then tenderly cares for his injuries. He forces James to get naked in front of him, Spock and the Commander, and basically he and the real Kirk are always scantily clad. There's a lot of nudity, one person undressing another and spreading healing foam over them with bare hands, including a scene where the real Kirk works his way down an unconscious Spock's body. At one point Kirk's face is in Omne's crotch when he's forced to kneel in front of him and lets himself go limp while Omne's trying to force his head down so that he facebutts him in the groin. Lots of kneeling or Omne wanting him to kneel. Omne looking forward to having Kirk as his captive slave for a thousand years. Omne obsessed with getting Kirk to call him my lord and for Kirk to realize he's met his better, the more alpha of the two of them. Omne basically did everything but fuck him, and I'm here like damnit, why not that too?

I genuinely still marvel that this saw official ST novel print, tbh. Marvel, and grin with delight. Some of the Timescape novels had serious subtext, but this one has so much more.

Omne's so very constantly "there's a price, what's your price, what will you sacrifice for each other" so of course my brain went to sex. He made sure Kirk's clothes were removed so much and insisted on touching him enough, and seemed to be on board for Kirk/Spock given some of the things he said, even my child brain reading this decades ago went there. I'm not a fan out of outright, particularly brutal, non-con, but I do like dubcon and hurt/comfort, and these books are fat with both and the potential for both. Any story that's more of the same in the books, no sex necessary, would be great. But if you want to write something sexy, I will also read that will bells on.

Prompts:

There are so many deep dives that could be taken into things like Spock's pain at thinking Kirk was dead then having to be parted from James, his desperation to save one or both, or even his rage in the beginning when he fully intended to kill Omne for murdering Jim. Exploring an aspect of any of those things would be great.
Post-Omne beating hurt/comfort between Kirk and Spock. There's a lot of Spock devotion in these books, a lot of Spock watching Jim while he sleeps, etc. Handwave what actually happened and have Kirk rescued right after the beat-down with Spock the one spreading the healing foam all over him and then tending to him. Reverse it and write more Kirk comforting Spock after he's beaten down by Omne. Any situation like that at any point during either book would be grand.
A situation where the price Omne demands is sex. Maybe he wants Kirk to willingly accept him as the price for him not killing or torturing Spock. Maybe he wants both of them to accept him to spare themselves and the others. And maybe he wants Kirk and Spock to accept each other to entertain him (and of course I'd prefer that while they're not happy about that, they've both been pining anyway so neither is totally horrified, they just would have preferred it not be for an audience).
In Fate there's the potential for Omne inside original Spock or in clone Spock getting close to Kirk, whether the intimacy is in dialogue, support or something physical, and the discovery of the deceit afterward. If Omne can't have him as Omne, he'll have him as Spock. (Did I forget to mention Spock2 in Fate who tries to kidnap James, or Omne2 who ends up dying to protect Jim Kirk? Yeah, there's a lot that's going on.)
In Fate here's a point when Omne's in a Vulcan healing trance and when he comes out of it, he doesn't remember much as still considers himself Omnedon. That has to end quickly to protect Spock, but in a little canon divergence it'd be interesting to see him as Omnedon for a while and see more interactions and things *hurrhurr* between him and Kirk before he reverts back to Omne.
When Kirk is often with Omne near the end of Fate and faking amnesia, maybe Omne takes advantage of Kirk not remembering what happened and Kirk has to play along and do whatever he wants not to blow his cover
In Fate, there's great potential for James/Trevanian and James/Trevanian/Commander moments. I screwed up and didn't nominate any of those characters, but if you'd prefer to write them, or a sexier version of the eveningwatch scene with the three of them and Doyen when James and Trevanian as their male salves were serving them food and snugging with them, and since the Doyen had called switcheroo, it'd be dubcon for James having to be even more intimate with her and the Commander and Trevanian seething with jealousy. I would be up for reading any of that.

The Girl in Lover's Lane (1960)

Bix Dugan/Danny Winslow (aka Danny/Big Stupid)

I requested this for RarePairs and got such a great story. When I saw that someone else nominated this for CB I got so excited!

This movie contains a lot of stuff that was common then but we cringe at now. But the thing that interests me the most is the relationship between the main characters Bix and Danny. Bix is a drifter who comes upon Danny, a young man who's fled home in confusion, who's been attacked by riffraff who want to steal his pretty loaded wallet. Bix finds the wallet and throws an unconscious Danny over his shoulder to toss him into an empty train car.

When Danny wakes up, Bix eventually gives him his wallet back and agrees they can travel together. And they hang close throughout, down to Bix keeping Danny away from women, foregoing his own date to take care of Danny after a fight (a fight that's totally Bix' fault, but whatever), and in the end of the movie after the girl Bix fell for has been murdered (cringe-cringe-cringe), Danny takes Bix home with him, honest to Pete.

This movie contains (or contains the potential for) so many things I enjoy. Older man/younger man, streetwise/naive, hurt/comfort, jealousy, living together (they don't share a bed but a room), watching out for each other, one thinking he's no good for the other. It's like a feast of my favorite tropes at every turn.

It's free to watch the MST3K version on tubi, no registration required. It may also be on Youtube. I think the original movie is for rent on Amazon for a couple of dollars, but the free riffed version is really enough to follow the movie, and it's hilarous. The first time Bix says his name it sounds close enough to Big Stupid they call him that throughout. And Joel and the bots pick up on the slashy elements and lean into them. "Bix saves Danny from a second heterosexual experience." I'm a huge MST3K fan so I enjoy it on those terms. It's one of my favorite Joel-era episodes. But I seriously love the Bix and Danny relationship and all that it could be.

I like older Bix as sort of protector of presumably-18-year-old Danny (his parents have been together 19 years), and I'd prefer that instead of Bix dating Carrie and falling for her (beautiful though she is), a relationship begins with Danny instead. Please leave out the whole lovestruck-then-murdered Carrie storyline and just focus on the guys.

Prompts:

I'm okay with the idea that while they're in that first train car, Bix teases him about ways he could get his wallet back if he really wanted it, and Danny potentially goes for it. (Bix is gorgeous, after all, and maybe Danny's instantly got a crush.) I just don't want Bix to be mean about it or force him to do anything.
A redo of the first scene in the diner when Bix pulls Danny away from the woman but this time it's as much his own jealousy as wanting to protect Danny from a prostitute. Let them go back to the single room they're renting and both sleeping in and do something about that jealousy (or not--just the obvious jealousy and Danny figuring it out would be great, too).
Some h/c would be good. What if Bix has dreams of his abusive father and Danny has to pull him out of nightmares and hang onto him while they talk. Cuddling a bit and sharing a bed, good stuff.
Jesse, who's creepy and only has eyes for Carrie in the movie, gets one look at Danny and can't leave him alone. An angry and jealous Bix cannot have that. Maybe even a scene where Jesse gets Danny alone at the lake or anywhere and gets handsy, like he did with Carrie, and Bix rescues him.
Danny has such a crush on more manly, worldy Bix that he embarrasses himself at every turn, but Bix thinks it's adorable.
Let's say Bix got the worse end of the fight and Danny has to take care of him back in their room. And Bix isn't used to anybody giving two shits about him, and can barely believe what he's feeling.
A story where one or the other thinks the other has left town and abandoned him, but of course discovers that's not true. All the pining and angst. All of it.
Just about any scenario you put them in where one is taking care of, protecting, flirting, seducing or being sweet with the other will make me happy.

Truth Seekers (2020)

Helen & Richard Roberts

I’m so in love with the friendship between Richard and Helen. It’s so pure and unassuming and, I think, healthy. Richard is an elderly white guy probably in his late 70s (Malcolm McDowell, who plays him, is 77) and Helen is a young black (and gorgeous, omg) woman who’s agoraphobic and germophobic with all kinds of anxiety issues due to some trauma she experienced (and you learn what that is eventually). Richard sees a Youtube makeup tutorial of hers while he’s watching Gus’ paranormal investigation video, and is so taken with her and her obvious loneliness that he apparently ends up watching all her videos. He attempts to make a video saying hello with his phone and ends up with something comical that ends up bringing subscribers to Gus’ channel. But when they see each other via Gus’ video call with Elton (her brother), they recognize each other and a beautiful friendship is born. They bond over loneliness and isolation, in a way, and it ends up heartwarming instead of sad or maudlin.

The whole group goes to a con. Helen apparently makes elaborate cosplays every year but her anxieties won’t let her go in and show them off. Of course, Richard doesn’t know this, so when they arrive, the first thing he does is ask if they’re ready to go in, and he turns around and says, “Helen?” I mean, he’s ready to accompany her in there and spend the day with her, and I’m clutching my chest whimpering my heart. But Helen is going to stay in the van (Elton says this, sparing her explaining that she can’t bring herself to go in, which is a sweet and brotherly thing to do). So what does Richard do? He volunteers to stay in the van with her because he says he’s not that interested anyway. (<3)

She wants to be alone, though, probably from embarrassment and other emotions, but his willingness to hang there with her touched me so much. And when she says she wants to be alone, he doesn’t question her or act affronted. He looks at her and says, “Yeah. I understand,” with a little smile. These people just immediately like each other and have chemistry, and Richard who is made to seem like an old fart with little patience for Gus is secretly a patient and understanding, kind person. (Just give me a spoon, ‘cause I’mma eat that up right now.) And Helen, despite her discomfort, manages a “thank you” as they’re exiting the van, and I’m positive that was for Richard. :) And then inside the con, which Gus is excited about because Peter Toynbee is speaking, Richard is just worried about it taking too long because he doesn’t want to miss Helen’s fancy dress part when she comes in for the competition. <3

Later when they’re alone at Richard and Gus’ home, he’s noticed some of her quirks and plainly says she seems quite fragile and asks if she’s ill, after explaining that he doesn’t mean to sound patronizing. She answers honestly, and he takes it in stride, never judging her, never trying to talk her out of how she feels. It’s god damn beautiful. Their exchanges in this episode show how much they trust each other (and he even plainly says he trusts her at one point). It’s fabulous found family stuff! I mean, I’ve been in love with Malcolm McDowell since I was a pre-teen in the 70s and all, so I’m a fan of his and that may make me biased, but this particular character is just so lovely in the way he relates to Helen in such a caring and nonjudgmental way. Then he says they should go eat, and when she says she can’t do a roomful of strangers eating he shrugs and says oh, well then let’s order in. MY HEART.

Later in the show, Helen has to overcome some of her phobias to go into a place where there are lots of other people to save Richard, all while she’s not sure she can, but she does go in and she does her best because she cares about him. It’s so endearing because this is the kind of arc you expect of main characters, yet here we are with the side characters and all this growth. I love this show a lot, and this friendship is my favorite thing among many things I loved.

The first time she comes to the house, Richard is horrified that he’s still in his robe and has to go change, and when he comes down and she’s there, they have an exchange where she says, “All my friends are virtual,” and he answers with, ‘All my friends are dead.” It’s a friendship match made in the stars. I don’t care if Helen and Richard are watching The Chase or bitching about the weather or talking makeup or anxiety or con costumes or Richard’s blinky stair-chair and his tendency to ride in it without underwear.

As long as they’re together and being themselves, I will enjoy it so much! As far as prompts, I’m sorry I don’t have any specific plot ideas, but I think maybe a story where she does one of her wild, special effects makeup tutorials on him on video for YouTube would be great, because I think he would love that. Or maybe she lets him give it a shot on her. Or they interview each other. Or maybe she feels safer with him than not and is able to do something she’s afraid of as long as she’s with him, like go into a crowded plaza or something. THEY’RE JUST SO BOMB.

Dear Chocolatier