Hi! Long time, no rec list lol. Anyway, I just thought I’d share some of my personal favorite Destiel fics. I tried to limit my fics to ones not created by big names within the fandom but some might be more popular than I thought they were. Explicit rated fics are below the cut. These authors did an amazing job and they deserve lots of love.
G-rated, Teen, and Mature
Bittersweet Heart by @whelvenwings
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Tags: Alternate Universe – Fantasy, Alternate Universe – Greek Mythology, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Sharing a Bed, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Minor Character Death, Love Confessions, First Kiss, POV Dean Winchester, POV Castiel
Word Count: 56,781
Summary: The Ancient Greek Gods live on – and sometimes, they walk among us.
It’s a dark time for the Winchesters. Dean is doing his best to hold what remains of his family together – but his younger brother, Sam, can’t move on from the death of the girl he was going to marry, and it seems like there’s nothing Dean can do to ease that sadness. Far, far below them, in the Underworld, the blue-eyed Lord of Death – Hades himself – is struggling with his own grief. And more than that – Hades is in trouble. He needs help.
When, one fateful evening, Hades meets the boys in a night-struck graveyard, he and Dean make a pact that will serve them both. It’s a mutually beneficial agreement, nothing more – a little play-acting in return for a single soul. And play-acting is all it is; Dean and Hades, God of Death, aren’t really together. Of course not. They just need to convince a Pantheon of Ancient Gods that they could be.
Thoughts: I get the urge to read this every time the seasons change. It’s one of those fics where the ideas are just so damn intriguing that I want to live in in the world of the fic for days inside my head. I’m just so weak for mythology AUs and this one takes a really interesting approach to mythology AUs. For one, the names of gods are more like titles as these gods die and need to be replaced by humans suitable for life with these powers. There’s a touch of reincarnation here, but not quite as the new gods aren’t born right when the old ones die. Still, it’s very interesting.
The characters cast as the gods are so on point. I was so pleased to see the casting that the author used here, especially with the characters on Olypumus. This fic re-tells two classic Greek myths, and I enjoyed both of the versions the author presented. There is also a wonderful scene where Cas and Dean make their way to Olympus and the way it’s done is heavy but it works well. I could have literally read 100k more of this AU, but I’m very hapy with what the author gave us.
War of the Broses by @eriquin
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Tags: Prank Wars, Alternate Universe – High School, Fluff, April Fools’ Fluff, Sexual Harassment, Unprofessional Behavior, Prom
Word Count: 33,726
Summary: High school rivals Dean and Castiel are locked in a prank war. How deep is their commitment to the cause? How low will they go? Which one will bend first? Who will come out on top? And other innuendo.
AKA: Jock!Dean and punk!Cas (let’s be real they’re both actually big nerds) play gay chicken. Except neither of them really wants to win. Or lose, for that matter.
Thoughts: I don’t usually enjoy reading high school AUs, but I really enjoyed reading this. I love a good prank war fic, and these are some really fun and creative pranks. The characters also feel like real teenagers, which is something I really liked. It was a fun enemies to lovers fic and I really liked seeing their relationship grow. Also, there are lines in this fic (like when Anna lets Cas she’s a lesbian and he responds “Oh. Okay. Well, Dad’ll be pleased” “And the Novak kids are oh-for-three with heterosexuality, it seems”) that really made me chuckle. This was also another fic where the reveal at the end surprised and delighted me, so give it a read if you haven’t already. It’s definitely worth it.
What I Take with Me by @tellthenight
Raiting: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Tags: Soldier!Cas, mechanic!Dean, Pining, soooooo much pining, Unrequited Love, Love Letters, Destiel – Freeform, Alternate Universe, love letters AU, Slow Burn, John Winchester’s A+ Parenting, POV Dean Winchester, Selectively Mute Dean Winchester, Depression, Mute Dean Wincheste, rMute Dean, Selectively Mute Dean
Word Count: 56,344
Summary: In his head Dean understands that no one is actually leaving him, but as they pack boxes and tear down beds it sure feels that way. Sam is moving in with his fiance Jess, his best friends Cas and Benny deployed to Afghanistan, and Dean is going to live on his own for the next eight months until Cas gets back and they resume their roles as roommates.
Just before they finish loading the moving truck Dean finds a long-forgotten box under Cas’s bed crammed full of handwritten letters. Most of them are from Cas’s sister Anna, but some are labeled for Dean. He can only resist reading for so long, and once he starts he can’t stop. Each letter reveals more of Cas’s perspective on their relationship over the four years they’ve known each other, and with each one Dean finds himself changing too.
Thoughts: This fic still sticks in my mind a year after I read it. It’s damn beautiful, honestly and there were whole chapters that absolutely broke my heart. I love that so much of the drama and tension were created because Dean and Cas were in different countries and that Dean’s snooping puts him in a situation where he knows more than he should but still doesn’t everything. There’s also some really great stuff in the fic with Dean dealing with depression and selective mutism. It’s a beautiful fic and it hurts to read but it hurts in a wonderful way. The fic is really centered around Dean and his understanding of the world around him. He has his own issues with depression and those come through strong in the fic without ever feeling overdone. Also, John Winchester makes an appearance and I kinda wanna punch him in the face for it. The emotions are real and palpable and I remember needing to walk the fic off at times. It’s a wonderful story and I highly suggest you read it.
Explicit
Gray Matter by PaperAnn
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Tags: Alternate Universe – Modern Setting, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Dark Comedy, Suicidal Thoughts, Alcohol as a Coping Mechanism, Explicit Sexual Content, Drunken Shenanigans, Jo Ships It, Omega Dean, Alpha Castiel, Smut, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy EndingDean/Cas Big Bang Challenge 2016
Word Count: 22,340
Summary: It should have been a night like any other night, but for Dean Winchester this evening was different.
Tonight was his last on Earth.
The omega finally snapped; the weight of his kills moonlighting as an assassin were too heavy to carry. So he decided to set out to numb the pain with whiskey and the white noise of whatever seedy bar he randomly ambled into. Although he’d intended to drown his sorrows alone, a bold alpha (who introduced himself as Castiel) wormed his way into his party-for-one, but more importantly: his story.
After brazenly announcing that Dean’s plan to shoot himself in the head was “unoriginal,” the alpha lured him out into the bar to prove there are much more interesting and creative ways to go.
A bizarre, deranged game turns into a night of passion, and leads Dean into introspective questions he never would’ve asked before. Maybe everything wasn’t as black and white as he thought, maybe there’s more to his own story that he, himself, didn’t even know. The stupid fucking alpha had transformed his world into shades of gray and made him doubt everything.
Thoughts: This fic revolves around suicide, so if that’s an issue for you I don’t suggest you read the fic. I will say, however, that the fic handles the topic with both a morbid sense of humor and a seriousness that is well balanced. The moral of the story comes through loud and clear at the end, even if a large part of the first act is spent playing a morbid sort of game. There are two twists in this fic, one of which you’ll most likely be able to pick up and one that might surprise you. The author does try to shake you off a bit regarding the second twist, but not to the point that it feels completely out of nowhere. The atmosphere of the fic is up there with some of the best I’ve read in a really long time. I can practically smell the bar when I read it and it feels both heavy and oppressive and light and easy as the fic goes on. It’s a good fic and I enjoyed it. I just wish there had been more Sam here, but it makes sense in terms of plot as to why he’s not in it.
Dean (and Cas’) Top 13 Zepp Traxx by @pantheonofdiscord
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Tags: Post-Series, Mutual Pining, Getting Together, Road Trips, Angst, Fluff, gratuitous Led Zeppelin references, Background Sam/Eileen, ‘cause fuck you buckleming: I reject your reality and substitute my own, Canon-Typical Violence, Case Fic, also there’s bedsharing, Human Castiel, Sam gets a dog!, this fic is completely mixtape-induced, WhumpSex
Word Count: 82,450
Summary: Dean eases Baby down the frontage road, trying not to look in the rearview mirror as his home gets smaller and smaller behind him.
He’s done this a hundred times. He’s driven down this road in the soft morning light, heading out to some little town in some distant corner of the country. This is a job like any other.
“It’s not like we’re never coming back,” Cas says from the passenger seat.
*
Dean and Cas and the open road, to the tune of Led Zeppelin.
A post-series story in thirteen parts.
Thoughts: This fic is a breath of fresh air after… well, you know. It’s a long fic set in canon verse that feels pretty possible. Dean and Cas continue to hunt after Sam decides he’d rather set up a headquarters in the MoL bunker, and there are several cases that Dean and Cas tackle together in the fic. Sam gets his own chapter, as well, and a girlfriend and a dog! I really like the set up for TFW post-canon in this fic. Dean and Cas get to be happy but also continue to hunt, Sam finds his niche and gets his slice of happiness, and even though Dean and Sam are apart for extended periods they’re not distant or estranged. Both brothers make their own paths and they’re happy. The cases have good pacing and deal with different issues for both Dean and Cas and panic is presented really nicely in the fic. It’s a good fic and I really enjoyed it. Also, it’s got a built-in soundtrack!
I Don’t Want a Lot For Solstice by aerialste
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Tags: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Christmas Tree, Fluff and Smut, Fluff and Crack, Domestic Fluff, Winter Solstice, Witch Castiel, Witchcraft, Domestic Castiel, Fluff, Christmas Smut, Shameless Smut, Christmas Crack, Porn with Feelings, Cultural Differences, Neo-Paganism, Pagan Festivals, Pie, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Coming Out, Alternate Universe – College/University, Sam at Stanford, House Party, Gløgg
Word Count: 23,287
Summary: The tree catching on fire, Dean would maintain to the end of his days, had clearly been started by the squirrels. Or outlet overload, or outdated breaker boxes; possibly a frayed extension cord, or maybe a malfunctioning string of fairy lights. Not to mention Kevin Tran.
It most definitely had not been caused by him and Cas.
•
In which Dean drives out to Palo Alto to stay with Sam over winter break, and meets Sam’s new co-op housemates, including comparative literature PhD candidate, fundamentalist cult survivor, and practicing witch Castiel Milton—which would all be confusing enough, if Cas weren’t also unfairly gorgeous, especially in cowboy boots.
Thoughts: This is required holiday reading for me. Witch!Cas is a giant weakness for me, but especially when Cas is like he is in this. The tone of the work is fairly funny and I enjoy the way the house Cas, Sam, Kevin, and Charlie live in is portrayed. It’s a little nuts, but it makes a lot of sense given the characters living in the house. Cas is very upfront with shades of Endverse!Cas and nice to watch the way he and Dean interact. It’s a fun fic that’s also a little wacky, and it’s well worth the read. And, I pretty fair depiction of some neo-Pagan practices.