SPN Reclist: Mundane AUs
I say I like h/c, horror, action, and mystery in my fics. These stories don 't really have those things and yet I still loved them so that is a hell of a testament!

Category: Dean/Sam

A Life Most Ordinary by sonofabiscuit77. Rated R, Sam/Dean, 69k. Summary: Sam and Dean Winchester are two ordinary brothers living ordinary small-town lives. Okay, so having a mother who was brutally murdered by one of America 's most notorious serial killers and a father who was forever mentally scarred by the event is not that ordinary, but the rest of their problems: marriage breakdowns and relationship failures, job disappointments and sexuality crisis, and Dean 's two kids, 9 year-old Jonah with his disturbing passion for the music of Lady Gaga and 6-year old Simon with his severe hearing loss, well they 're all completely ordinary. The only thing extraordinary about Sam and Dean is how they fell in love.Written for 2010 spn_j2_bigbang challenge
ao3.org/series/34151
my thoughts: mundane AU of domestic bliss. I honestly didn 't think I 'd love this but I loved this. Their love is warm and their kids are interesting+cute, just an awesome story. Also in my daddies reclist .

Home Visits by dimeliora. Rated NC-17, Dean/Sam (unrelated), 18k. Summary: Dean Winchester is in the process of adopting a daughter when a government worker throws his delicately balanced world off its axis.
ao3.org/works/686647
my thoughts: man this is just a really sweet story, almost a fairy tale. I loved the OC, a traumatized girl named Hannah that takes such a shining to Dean. The familial drama that unfolds had me reading contentedly through the whole thing. Sam 's character was so supportive and loving (and ace! very cool). Just a really harrowing and lovely read. Also in my daddies reclist .

Category: J2

Lazarus Rising by cherie_morte. Explicit, J2, 61k words.Summary: Jared's had a rough year. His boyfriend dumped him and he's out of work, saddled with a pile of student loan debt after dropping out of school to care for a sick relative. Hoping to cheer him up, his sister enters him into a contest for an unusual prize: ten days alone with world famous rock star Jensen Ackles, Jared's childhood hero. No cameras, no entourage, just a chance to get to know one of the biggest names in music one-on-one.
Jared wins, but it's not the dream come true it should be. It's been a long time since Jensen's glory days, and he's fallen on hard times himself. Fresh out of his fourth stint in rehab, Jensen is now better known for his bad attitude and party lifestyle than his music. When he arrives, Jensen turns out to be even worse than the tabloids say. Jared can hardly stand him and the feeling seems to be mutual, but Jensen's label is offering a generous per diem and Jared needs the money almost as much as Jensen needs the good press.
As the days pass and Jared begins to see through Jensen's bad boy act, he discovers a heart that beats to the same broken rhythm as his own. But ten days go quickly, and it's hard to imagine a future outside of the quiet world they've shared in Jared's home.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/24868333
Oh my gosh I'm not usually one for mundane AUs and especially not rock star ones but OMG I was up until 3 reading last night reading this & then woke up & DELAYED GOING TO WORK to finish it 😂
The pacing of the emotional beats and the character development and the ways they found compatibility with one another. This was such a brilliant romance. I adored how cherie_morte wrote these characters so comprehensively, their whole deep lives, tracing back to super formative memories that still makes them who they are now, and then how they legitimately mature with one another during the story. I LOVED this.

Bring the Fire by zarah5. Mature, J2, 60k. Summary: After a bad breakup and a subsequent move to join the Homicide Squad in New York, the last thing Jared Padalecki wants is a dangerously attractive, adrenaline-seeking, and almost certainly straight new partner. Unfortunately, that's exactly what he gets. 
https://archiveofourown.org/works/33656443
This was a charming romance with some light angst. I loved how possessive Jensen's character came to be, especially because it was kinda against his will. Like, he never wanted to be so fond of Jared and he battles that for awhile as Jared just keeps being a sweetheart. I liked the action too, the climax was riveting and J2 are bamfs. Excellent law enforcement AU aka another mundane AU fics reclist (PS at some point this mundane AU reclist will split off into its own subcategories like law enforcement AUs)

The Only Twenty-Four-Hour Bookstore in Brooklyn by tsukinobara, rated NC-17, Jared/Jensen, 38k. Summary: Jared is the proprietor of The Moose and Mayhem, New York City's only twenty-four-hour bookstore. It takes up most of his brain but he loves it – the employees, the customers, the shelves and shelves of books. Jensen is co-owner of Two Brothers Bar, Red Hook's finest purveyor of bourbon, beer, and country bands. It takes up increasing amounts of his time but he loves it – the bartenders, the customers, even line-dance nights. Jared's weird year begins on No-Pants Day with the unusual presence of people riding the subway in their underwear in January. Jensen's weird year begins with an impulse to cross the river into Manhattan at three in the morning to see if the tall Texan guy he met a week ago is as cute as he remembers. But neither of them is expecting the challenging year that follows, and they'll need the things about New York that keep them sane to help them survive it.
ao3.org/works/4576272
my thoughts: This fic was utterly, absolutely unparalleled in charm. Like just such a relaxing, sweet, wholesome read combined with equally amazing artwork from petite madame. Genuinely wanted to either work in a bookstore or live in NYC after reading this, lol. This fic is included in my love letters to location reclist.

Invisible Unicorns by dimeliora. NC-17, Jensen/Jared, 4k words. Summary: Jensen, the head engineer of a top tier haunted house, is really into his best friend. The problem? Jared 's never seemed interested.And Jensen is about to find out why.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/18170615
my thoughts: I can 't believe this was only 4k words because it was such a satisfying fairy tale. You could tell dimeliora did the research on ace relationships she said she did because it was very wholesome, there were sexual aspects to this story, and yet Jared 's character was undeniably asexual. Lovely fic!

The Execution of the Last Steal by soulmatecest. NC-17, Jensen/Jared, 96k. Summary: Anyone who meets Jared Padalecki would think he has the perfect life: a college degree, a normal life and an apparently perfect fiancé, Stephen Amell, the son of a Senator with a bright future. Except for one thing: it 's all based on a lie. Five years ago, he created a new identity for himself to cut all ties to his criminal past and ex-boyfriend Jensen Ackles, a world-renowned thief. But Jared can 't run forever. A threat from his past comes back looking for him and the only person who can help him is the man he thought he left behind forever, the only person Jared 's never been able to forget. Incredibly charming and just as cocky, Jensen Ackles is a thief that is too good at his job for his own good, who would do anything to protect Jared now that his life is in danger. Years have gone by, but he has never been able to forget Jared either. And perhaps now that they are forced to escape together, Jensen might be able to do what he 's best at: steal Jared 's heart one last time and win back the only person Jensen has ever loved.
ao3.org/works/8978110
my thoughts: This premise didn 't really get me going but the writing was just so good. I read this fic so quickly just super delighted to see what 'd happen next. The pacing and adventure and chemistry and angst was brilliant!

These Violent Delights by dimpleforyourthoughts. NC-17, Jared/Jensen, 81k words. Summary: Jared Padalecki has only ever wanted to get out of Sin City. Trapped by extenuating circumstances, he works as a waiter in a Las Vegas strip joint, doing what he can to get by, including spending a romantic evening with a handsome stranger who wanders into the club one night. Hoping to see the stranger again, but not disappointed when he doesn 't, Jared moves on with his life. A month later, Jared interviews for a job as a financial consultant at one of the largest and newly made over Hotels on the Vegas strip. Jared gets the job, only to discover that his new boss is the same man he slept with: Jensen Ackles, the enigmatic and ice cold business man. Jensen Ackles, the city 's biggest mob boss. Torn between his longing to get out of the city and his yearning to be closer to Jensen, Jared finds himself being sucked into a new and dangerous world where loyalty is everything, passion exists on a knife-edge, and the ever-increasing violence makes it impossible to escape.
ao3.org/works/7345837
my thoughts: I read this story a long time ago but I remember loving it. Jared 's written as totally relatable and as the plot thickens over what Jensen really does, it 's easy to get as sucked up in it, to want Jared to stay long enough to be a criminal in the organized crime underworld with Jensen too, haha. Great story that kept me hooked all the way through!

Operation: Mistletoe by dimpleforyourthoughts . Rated NC-17, Jensen/Jared, 40k words. Summary: FBI Agent Jensen Ackles is a damn good agent, but his devil-may-care attitude, gut instinct, and sheer dumb luck have finally run out. With his job and reputation on the line, Jensen is assigned to a new partner: the overzealous and overachieving Agent Jared Padalecki. Their mission: Infiltrate a ring of drug dealers hiding out in Suburbia in the midst of the Holiday season.The only catch? They have to pretend to be head-over-heels in love with each other.
ao3.org/works/5553827
my thoughts: Okay, I actually adore Law Enforcement AUs, whether it 's Sam+Dean or Jensen+Jared, just the mystery and thrill of solving crimes together with some actual authority & resources, having a network of coworkers to banter with, etc. is just kind of an amazing atmosphere to get lost in. Also dimpleforyourthoughts is a fantastic author that brings their stories to life so well. This fic is also in my winter holiday fic reclist and my undercover couple fic reclist