meretricula | september recs, day five: eric staal

It really should not be this difficult for me to pick out five fics about Eric Staal. \o/

mardia requested this, so any and all blame falls on her doorstep! Also, I am really alarmingly mono-ship about EStaal (to the point where I sort of irrationally dislike Sasha Semin SOLELY BECAUSE PEOPLE SHIP HIM WITH ERIC) and therefore you're not going to find anything but Staal/Skinner on this list: you have been warned. (JEFF is allowed to date whoever he likes, though, and in fact I encourage him to acquire sexual experience with multiple partners, preferably including Actual Swedish Prince of My Heart Gabe Landeskog. The part of my brain responsible for shipping is a dark and scary place.) With these disclaimers solidly in place, on to the list!

the chatfic where Eric is Jeff's babydaddy, by

shoemaster &

go_gentle
If you only read one ridiculous, sprawling, epic chatfic in your life, make it this one. (Or, uh, maybe the one where Ebs and Hallsy go on an accidental couples vacation, I would need to search my soul A LOT before picking a favorite.) I love everything this fic chooses to be. The degree to which Eric pines for someone he has ALREADY KNOCKED UP is astronomical and yet perfect. Also perfect: the degree to which he lives in fear of all parental units and their reaction to the fact that he knocked up a teenager. (Shout-out to Enough To Crush Your Veins, because sometimes when I'm feeling down I go back and reread all the parts about Jeff's mom hating Eric and cackle to myself. Parental hatred is so good for me.) MOST PERFECT: ALL THE DOMESTICITY, FOREVER AND EVER, AMEN.

Essentials, by lightgtsin
Ahahaha speaking of domesticity. Clearly I have a pattern.

I Think That It's Best If We Both Stay, by

distira
Written for me, written for me, my objectivity is nil because this was written for meeeeeeeeeee! And it's beautiful and perfect and full of fabulously unsexy details of athlete life. And seriously, why IS it that everyone writes AUs where Jeff never makes it in the NHL, but this is the only one where Eric's the one who washed out somewhere along the way? I call shenanigans.

Call It A Draw, by

rsadelle
La la la DOMESTIC THREESOME FIC lalala

If Heaven's Hypothetical, by

impertinence &

shoemaster
Y'all didn't really think I was going to leave this one out, did you? PERSONAL FAVE. I sincerely doubt anyone who's ever heard of hockey fandom hasn't at least seen this fic, but if you've been holding off on the "Jeff is homeless" AU because you're afraid it's going to be unavoidably sketchy, let me reassure you that it is beautiful and wonderful and not in the least dubcon-y. (At least in my opinion? Obviously your mileage may vary but I think it's handled as gracefully as possible.) And god, the payoff for all that pining is glorious.