#for all mankind fanfic

[curator-on-ao3]

Five sentence fic: Margo x Sergei

Regular People (Redhead)

“You don’t feel pain the way regular people do,” says the little boy in the airplane seat next to Margo’s, his tone superior in that way of intelligent children who have a fact to share.

And it’s as if the whiplash of that evening returns as she sits in her seat, seatbelt fastened, choking, she’s choking, Sergei was choking, shy touches turned hungry turned throat-closing fear, he could die, she couldn’t let him die, what could she do to keep him safe, no, no, no, no, no —

“I’m so sorry,” the boy’s mother leans over, an affectionate hand on the child’s knee, “my husband is a dentist and he told our son how redheads often need more anesthesia and smaller doses of painkillers. We don’t mean to bother you.”

“No bother,” Margo says, a bald-faced lie of false reassurance as, safe in her airplane seat, she feels pain, she feels pain, she feels pain.

———

Research about redheads and pain: https://www.ucihealth.org/blog/2018/04/redheads-pain

Sorry about the angst. If sexy fluff is more your Margo x Sergei vibe, I’ve got that over here: https://www.tumblr.com/curator-on-ao3/775045884823158784/five-sentence-fic-margo-x-sergei

[gordopickett]

And If It's Not Okay... and Confined

@allatariel Thanks for the ask! So, these are both For All Mankind fics.

And If It's Not Okay... is my post-season 2 fix-it fic I've been working on for a couple months now. I couldn't stand the way s2 ended! 😭💔 But bc I'm writing a "fix it," that will change a lot of things that happened in seasons 3 & 4, which I'm super excited about writing! I have 21 chapters of this one up on Ao3 so far & LOTS more to come!!!

Confined is a "missing scene" I've started writing for the 1x07 "Hi Bob" ep. Basically, it's what happened in the time between when Ed confined Gordo to the Jamestown base & when we see them again 15 days later when Dani is trying to fix the Bob tape. I haven't posted anything from this one yet.

Thanks again for the ask. 😊💙💙

[ddagent]

"Found Family"

Matching March Day 11

Margo slid the first earring into her earlobe, then reached for the other - only to find that it wasn't there. She groaned, shoulders slumping in defeat. Not today. "Aleida?"

No answer. "Aleida?"

Margo padded across her bedroom, tapping two fingertips on the grand piano and the sheet music as she passed. Her room was pretty sparse other than the piano and the bed and a stack of Stephen King books awaiting a bookshelf that neither Margo nor her two roommates had found the time to put together. It was a million miles away from the bedroom that Margo entered through the door to her right: Aleida's room was covered in band posters, design schematics, with the occasional stray sock adding to the decor.

The occupant was currently going over her notes from school, orange headphones nestled over her ears. Margo waved a hand in front of her face. Aleida slid the headphones down. "Hey. You look good! You nervous?"

"I'm...fine. Have you seen my other earring?"

It had been a long time since Aleida Rosales had borrowed any of Margo's clothing. There had been a period, when she was a fifteen year old kid with nothing but a duffel bag to her name, that she had borrowed Margo's clothes – a jacket here; a pair of earrings there. Margo hadn't minded. Anything to take care of the teenager that had posed as a college student to rent the room Margo had going. But Aleida had grown up and developed a style more befitting a twenty-one year old college student. She just laughed; shook her head.

"No, I haven't. You can just find another pair, though, right?"

Margo balked at that. Today she had to look perfect. Today, she was interviewing to be Director of Johnson Space Center. Everything had to be perfect. From her shoes and her panty hose to her American blue suit to her diamond earrings. She had to be perfect. "Thanks anyway. I'll check with Sergei."

Aleida offered her a thumbs up before returning to her notes. Margo crossed over her room and opened the adjoining door into the next bedroom. Sergei's room was more cluttered than Margo's but infinitely tidier than Aleida's. His shelves were filled with poetry and murder mysteries; there were framed postcards of Moscow on the wall. Since his defection in 1973, they had tried to find little pieces of home for him. Margo now scanned over his dresser for her earring, and the stack of mixed country-western tapes that Aleida had made for him under suffrage. She checked his bedside table. Even checked the sheets. Nothing.

Annoyed – mostly at herself for not being sufficiently prepared for her interview today – Margo slipped out of Sergei's room and into the main living area of the loft, where Sergei was busying himself in the kitchen. "Good morning, Margo."

"Mornin'." She settled himself at the breakfast bar. A glass of orange juice was already waiting for her. "Thank you."

"That is not all. I made breakfast," Sergei announced, sliding chocolate chip pancakes shaped like rockets onto the mismatched crockery. "For your big day."

She glared, good-naturedly, at him. "You shouldn't have. You've got your presentation with the Boeing board this afternoon."

"It does not matter. If I fail, I will know the new head of JSC and simply get a job there."

Sergei chuckled, his laughter filling the cavernous space of their loft. Margo soon joined in, which was how Aleida found them when she surfaced for food. They were an odd trio: a teenage runaway, a Soviet defector rejected by every landlord in Houston, and a woman who had been living out of her office. Some days, when the hours were long and she slept on her couch, Margo missed the ease of living at JSC. Other days, when she shared breakfast with the two of them or the nights they worked on the engine prototype in their living room, Margo was glad that security had kicked her out.

Margo took a sip of her orange juice and just watched Sergei and Aleida teach each other today's phrase in both Spanish and Russian. After practicing the phrase three times, Aleida then turned to Margo. "Did you find your earring?"

She shook her head. "No. I checked everywhere. Your room, my room, Sergei's room. The dresser, the bed sheets—"

"—what would your earring be doing in Sergei's bed?" Aleida cut in, fork tapping thoughtfully against her chin.

Margo flushed. She resolutely did not meet Sergei's eye. "I thought it might have got tangled up in the laundry."

"Sure. Sure." Aleida ate another mouthful of pancake. "Okay. Well, I've got an early class. Call me after the interview, okay?"

"I will. Enjoy Professor Alper."

"I will if he ever shuts up."

Aleida dumped her plate in the sink, grabbed her backpack, and headed for the front door. As soon as the door slammed shut, Sergei reached across the table for Margo's hand and pressed his lips against the knuckle. "She is a smart young woman. She knows."

"She suspects." Margo let herself be led from the kitchen island into Sergei's orbit. "We could be more discreet."

"Especially when it comes to beautiful future NASA Directors leaving their earrings in my bed." Sergei grinned and produced her missing earring. "I believe you are looking for this?"

"Sergei."

"Let me."

Gently, with great care, he reached over and slid the diamond earring into her ear. They had been a gift from him, and he admired them now in the early morning light. Then, he leant down and left a soft kiss behind her earlobe. Along her neck. Her throat. Margo placed a firm hand against his chest. She would not be late to this interview because she and her boyfriend fell back into bed. "To be continued?"

He nodded. Grinned. "Definitely to be continued. And maybe we can see what else you can leave in my bed."

"Perhaps I might even stay."

She left him with a brief peck to his lips before she finished getting ready for her interview. Things were changing. Aleida would be graduating next year and looking at entry level engineering positions. Sergei was finally overseeing an important Boeing project but it was a long time coming. Margo had never been one for nepotism. But Aleida and Sergei were incredibly talented engineers; NASA would be lucky to have them. And if they were to move – to a one bedroom to start a new life; to a house in the suburbs to start another – at least they would still be together in the halls of JSC.

She just needed to become Director, and then everything Margo had never knew she wanted could become a reality.

[lis5664]

Fic Teaser: "Last Call"

“Ms. Madison? Dr. Nikulov?” the older man asked as the two entered the room. She and Sergei both nodded in confirmation.

“I’m Frank Tompkins, Head of Security here at the Imperial.” He gestured at the young man with him.  “This is Bobby Lange, with our bar staff.”

“I do apologize for disturbing you this evening, but there’s a matter I need to address with the two of you. I’ve been made aware that you took a bottle of liquor from the lobby bar without paying for it. Bobby and Simon downstairs both saw you, and our security cameras will have picked it up as well. And, well –”

He looked pointedly at the half-full bottle of Macallan itself, right there on the coffee table, evidence enough on its own.

“I’m sure you’ll understand, theft is not something we can allow at the Imperial. We are running a business here, after all. But we don’t need to make this into any sort of major incident. Don’t worry, no one’s going to get thrown into prison over this. We simply need the bottle to be paid for now, and that can be the end of it. Bobby has an invoice here with the amount.”

Margo quietly groaned. God. Could this night possibly get any more embarrassing? She moved to the dresser, picked up her purse.

At the same time, Sergei removed his wallet from his pocket. “Margo, I will pay for the bottle. I took it, and I’m the only one who drank any of it, anyway.”

She shook her head at him. “No. I will. It was my suggestion.”

The young bartender looked between the two of them anxiously, holding out the piece of paper in his hand, uncertain what to do with it.

“Margo –”

Before they could argue any further, there was another knock at the door.

[youreorangeyoumoron]

Chapters: 6/6 Fandom: For All Mankind (TV 2019) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Margo Madison/Sergei Nikulov, Margo Madison & Aleida Rosales Characters: Margo Madison, Sergei Nikulov, Aleida Rosales, Javier "Javi" Diaz, Wernher von Braun (mentioned) Additional Tags: 1989, Season 3, Canon Compliant, References to Canon, Character Study, Character Development, Backstory, Friendship, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Pining, Double Entendre, Awkwardness, cultural exchanges, russian language, Motherhood, Babysitting, Cooking, Bad Cooking, Bedtime Stories, Piano, Alcohol, There Was Only One Bed, There was only one baby monitor Words: 3,332 Summary: It’s 1989. Margo experiences difficulties babysitting 9-month-old Javi. Thankfully, Sergei is in town.

Her eyes drifted to the tan line on his ring finger.

Even back in the Apollo-Soyuz days, something about him had rattled her, unbalanced her. Something that had made her want to wear a colour he liked, made her agree to crawl into a docking module with him. Something rusty and unexpected that she had lacked the words for.

He stimulated her like no one else, even after all those years. Talking with him was always thrilling, and comforting at the same time. She had not known how much she needed unwavering friendship and respect, given and received so easily and peacefully, until it was right in front of her face. Sergei was always so in tune with her – intuitively, he never gave her more than she could take, or asked more than she could give.

She was at ease with him before she'd even realised she'd been tamed.

Margo had only had herself to rely on for so long, she had always figured that a comfortable, long-term relationship with someone would not interest her. At least not the way it had been expected of her thirty years before. Yet here it was. Sergei was someone she cared about deeply, who she knew cared about her in return. They shared a bond that was about more than just work. One that fuelled her and supported her.

Of course, the man who understood her best had to live on the other side of the iron curtain. She sighed.

Final chapter is up!

Thank you all for a very fun couple months of posting and refining this fic! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter <3

[sparkleplatypuswriter]

Brazilverse morning after fic

Because what we all needed was some Margo/Sergei awkward realness, followed by smut and fluff.

Seeing no other choice, Margo squares her shoulders and turns the knob quickly. Sergei’s position, perched on the edge of the bed in his own robe, startles her slightly when she steps into the room.  She’d hoped he’d still be asleep.  His eyes meet hers and his lips curve up at the edges, though there is a slight caution behind it.  “I had wondered where you went,” he eventually says, quietly. 

Read more on AO3

[vqmpircs]

“best friends to lovers trope” this “enemies to lovers trope” that, what about the trope where the love between two individuals is so strong, so all-consuming, so desperate it makes them defy heaven, going against god and everything they once believed in. they risk EVERYTHING for one person, dedicating their life to them, their devotion to them so primal it eats them from the inside out.

[itwasrareiwasthere87]

I still feel self conscious about posting my fic, even if it feels like an emotional release to write it .

Here are some of Margo's parts

Age 5. Shy, quiet. Is afraid of being too loud or "too much". Wants love but is afraid to voice needs because her father would be angry. She loves to look at the stars and daydreams that they will take her far away. Equates work with love. Doesn't know how to play or what play means.

Silent , Frozen up Margo-- can be any age. This is the result of an overwhelming or too horrible to think about flashback. When she comes out of it, speaking is difficult. She'll say one or two words, but will use a white board and markers to communicate.

Age 10. Little perfectionist. Loves to read. Her favorite planet is Mars and she'll talk to you about it for as long as you will listen.

Age 16- 20 Angry. This part holds all of Margo's anger. At her father, at Warner .. at Irina.. everyone.

And Margo is still very much present. I am toying with the idea of a more flushed out part named Margaret Reynolds. This was the part of Margo under Irina's control and is very sympathetic to her.

[floralcyanide]

𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 - 𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐧

ed baldwin x gn!reader

In which your husband, Ed, returns home to Earth from the Jamestown Base on the Moon after being stranded.

warnings: none, just fluff (:

word count: 525

author’s note: I'm back from my hiatus, except it's for my new hyperfixation, the Apple TV original For All Mankind. if you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend it! especially if you love history, alternate history, space, etc. this is a little fic for a moment that isn't shown between Ed and Karen on the show. reader is gender neutral!

masterlist | add yourself to the taglist here

ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴄᴏᴘʏ, ʀᴇᴘʀᴏᴅᴜᴄᴇ, ᴏʀ ᴄʟᴀɪᴍ ᴍʏ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ᴀs ʏᴏᴜʀs ᴏɴ ᴛᴜᴍʙʟʀ, ᴀᴏ3, ᴡᴀᴛᴛᴘᴀᴅ, ᴏʀ ᴀɴʏ ᴡᴇʙsɪᴛᴇ. ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴘᴇʀᴍɪssɪᴏɴ ᴛᴏ ᴜsᴇ ᴍʏ ᴡᴏʀᴋs ɪɴ ᴀɪ ɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀᴛᴏʀs ᴏʀ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀʀᴛɪғɪᴄ��ᴀʟ ɪɴᴛᴇʟʟɪɢᴇɴᴄᴇ. ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴀʏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴜsᴇ ᴍʏ ᴡᴏʀᴋs ᴛᴏ sᴇʟʟ ғᴏʀ ᴀs ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴏᴡɴ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛɪᴏɴ

Your heart is thumping rapidly in your chest as you stand with the welcoming crew of NASA. Today is your first time seeing your husband, Ed, in over six months. Even in the South, it’s a bitterly cold December, so you pull yourself further into your coat. You cross your arms to keep in some warmth as you giddily bounce on the balls of your heels. Gordo and Danielle are close by, waiting to welcome their friend and colleague home as well. You can’t imagine what they went through together up there, but you know better than to ask.

Ed has to be cleared by NASA before making his first appearance since splashdown, so everyone is waiting as patiently as possible despite the tedious process. The press is everywhere, and you’ve been asked several questions. You never minded answering harmless questions to the media but still kept to yourself quite a bit. You and Ed liked your lives to be kept somewhat private. 

The sound of clapping begins at the start of the crowd to your left, mission control coming out of their pit, and the landing crew to shake hands with Ed. You scan the area, waiting to spot your husband. You finally do, but he doesn’t see you yet. You swear your heart feels like it’s going to explode. Ed finally finishes shaking hands with the crew and isn’t too far from you now. His eyes dart across the crowd, looking for someone- looking for you. His eyes meet yours, and for a second, everything stops.

You start walking over to him, then begin briskly picking up your pace until you’re running over to Ed. You can hear the sounds of cameras popping as you dart to your husband, who looks over to you and opens his arms just in time to catch you mid-run. He spins you around in his arms as you bury your face into his neck. Your arms are wrapped tightly around his neck as you’re afraid to let go as if he’d vanish at any second, like this was all a dream. But it’s not; it’s real, and you can feel Ed’s strong arms supporting you. You take your time breathing in his scent that had long since disappeared from his pillow and clothes at home. You pull away from his neck, tears streaming down your cheeks as you grab ahold of Ed’s face, looking him closely in the eyes for the first time in ages.

“I love you,” you choke out, “so much.”

“I love you too,” Ed grins, leaning in to give you the kiss you’ve been waiting so long for.

Everyone cheers and claps as you and Ed laugh into the kiss. He lets you back down onto the ground, his arm immediately snaking around your waist protectively as he leads both of you over to Gordo, Danielle, and the rest of the astronauts waiting. The entire time Ed speaks to them, you can’t help but beam up at him, watching as his face contorts into a laugh before he hugs Gordo and his other friends. Ed is finally back, and you couldn’t be happier. 

[thefrakkintrinity15]

I Keep reading Fan Fiction by those amazing writers on Archive of our own. 🤩

Now I recommend especially “Puzzle Pieces”, another story set in our dreamy Brazil. 🇧🇷 I don’t know if the writer, CaffeinatedCrab, is around here. 👏🏼

Cheers everyone ❤️

[gabolange]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. spread the self-love ❤

I always love this meme, because my answers are always different! Here are today's.

acts of survival made generous (For All Mankind, Margo Madison, Margo x Sergei, 20K words, canon-divergence, rated T). An AU from the end of S3 in which Aleida doesn't tell anyone about the engines. A story of what it takes to forgive and move forward.

the wheel of the headlong year (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Marie Batel, Marie x Chris, 16K words, post-ep, rated T). In which Marie Batel survives the Gorn, but survival is really fucking hard.

for the possession of our smallest sensations (The Wheel of Time, Moiraine Damodred, Moiraine x Siuan, 11k words, post-ep, rated E). In which Moiraine loses the source, and struggles not to lose herself.

Tomorrow's Dust (Babylon 5, Susan Ivanova, Delenn, 2.5k words, future fic, rated G). Susan celebrates her first Chanukah on Minbar. A story of legends, friendship, and moving forward.

When the Long Trick's Over (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Jack Robinson, Jack x Phryne, 5.5K words, post-ep, rated G). I never know what goes in slot 5--there are good options. But someone recently told me this story is the standard against which they judge my writing (hi!), so you know. Jack Robinson follows Phryne to England. The logistics are the easy part.

[ddagent]

"Meeting Again After Years"

Matching March Day 10

Margo Madison arrived at Lyndon B Johnson High School at an hour that her former classmates would probably call fashionably late. In actuality, Margo had spent the last hour on the phone to Houston, checking in on every conceivable project NASA was running and that Margo had even the slightest oversight over, in order to avoid attending. But Emma had, eventually, put her foot down. You're going. It will be good for you. There's more to life than what's going on in space. Margo thoroughly disagreed. But, to avoid her assistant setting her up on a blind date, Margo had agreed to attend her high school's thirty year reunion.

God help her.

The Alabama high school had not changed much in the intervening years. The football field was well-kept; the grounds neatly mowed every Wednesday. There was a little more budget to be found in the Science labs compared to other high schools this size – but only because of the university, and Margo's own, annual donation. There was no sense of nostalgia. No walk down memory lane as Margo retraced the old halls towards the gymnasium. This was a building. She had attended it for four years. Some of the people had been nice. Some of them had not.

Honestly, Margo did not understand the desire to look back when the path forward offered all kinds of exciting possibilities.

That was, unfortunately, not a sentiment her classmates shared. As she stepped foot inside the gymnasium, decked out in the school colours, it was clear so many of her peers from the class of '60 were reliving their glory days. The football players were in faded letterman jackets, guts creeping over their waistbands as they fumbled with the half-deflated pig skin. The cheerleaders were discussing their families and whatever pyramid scheme they were selling door-to-door. The outcasts were playing up their achievements and how much they had outgrown high school in a desperate attempt to win the approval of their peers.

And Margo Madison, head of NASA, went to the free bar and got herself a drink.

She had taken two sips when one of her classmates ventured over. Fuck. She was hoping to remain undisturbed. "Margie Madison!"

"Margo."

"Yes! You!" It was Christie, head of the Yearbook committee. The '60 volume was safely ensconced in her hands. She then flipped it open to Margo's entry: a small photograph of a teenage girl, long red hair over one shoulder, wishing she was back in the classroom instead of in front of a photographer. "You had that strange message for your comment."

Margo took a sip of the whiskey the bartender had (no brandy, apparently). "It's geo-coordinates for Houston, Texas."

Christie nodded, blankly. "Okay. And here you are in the school orchestra, and President of the Engineering Club, and here you are with Sergei—"

Margo faltered for a moment, before eagerly ushering the yearbook into her own hands. Sergei Nikulov. God, she hadn't thought about him in years. His mother had worked at the university as a visiting lecturer, so Lyndon B Johnson had had a Russian student their senior year. Tall, blond, with an easy laugh and a calm disposition. Nothing rattled him. Not when the football players strung him up on the field and swaddled him in an American flag. Not when he joined the school musical and his co-star fell off the stage next to Margo's piano. Not even when Margo gave him the hardest equations she could devise, as the President and VP and only attendees of Engineering Club.

"—you two were pretty good friends!"

There had been the possibility of more than friends, Margo remembered. A spring of stolen kisses after a Valentine's Day prank. A polite yet eager invitation to Prom. A virginity taken under the stars. But then Margo had gone off to college and his family had moved back to Russia and she had never seen him again. Huh. I wonder what he's doing now.

But Christie would not have those answers. If she didn't know Margo was head of NASA, she wouldn't know anything about the internal workings of Roscosmos. So, she shrugged. "I guess."

With no gossip shared or secrets revealed, Christie ploughed on. "So, I don't see any ring. Are you married? Divorced? How many kids? I've got three." She then tugged out her purse and began pulling out professionally shot pictures of all her children. "This is Amy, and this is Bradley, and this is—"

At some point, Margo lost interest and began working on ideas for the Mars habitat in her head. Christie lost interest in Margo, too, and went off to find another target. She kept at the bar, and sipped her inferior whiskey, and spent time calculating how long she could feasibly stay here and not endure the wrath of Emma Jorgens. Occasionally, she would hear a Margo! and face the awkward small talk of someone she went to high school with impressed that she had met the President and was running NASA – but was so sorry to hear she wasn't married.

"One more, please." Three drinks. Sipped slowly with nibbles foraged from the dessert table. That's how long she had to stay for. "Thank you."

"Margo?"

Dear Lord. But when she turned around, it was actually someone she wanted to see. Actually wanted to catch up with. "Sergei?"

"I cannot believe you are here."

They embraced awkwardly, as two people who had confessed their teenage love to each other under the stars, only to be torn away by circumstance, could do. There was a little grey in his blond hair, now, and his beard. Lines around his eyes and mouth where he still smiled. And a bare line around his finger. "It's good to see you, Sergei."

"And you, as well. It has been...thirty years?" He laughed readily. "I cannot believe it. And you are running NASA, as you always intended you would. Your Mars program is rather exciting from what I have seen so far."

Her fingertips pressed nervously to a spot behind her ear. "You...you know I'm head of NASA."

Sergei grinned. "Of course! One cannot be anyone in the aerospace world without knowing who Margo Madison is. First woman in Mission Control, first woman in charge of JSC..." He tailed off. "I must admit to keeping up with your career. I had always hoped you would do wonderful things, Margo. And, like our capsule design, I was proven right."

Margo shot him a look. "Seriously? It's been thirty years; how have you not realised that my design was the better one." But he was laughing again and she couldn't help but laugh, too. "So, what about you, Sergei? You always wanted to work for Roscosmos."

"I did. For a number of years. But my time in the US did not allow me to advance." He shrugged. "It is no matter. My mother got a job in Cambridge and we moved to the UK. I now run a small aerospace firm in London. Cardinal Aerospace. Perhaps you have heard of us?"

She had heard of them. Small was not a word she would use. "I hear you're making a Mars bid."

"You hear correctly." He leant in closer to her, as if sharing a confidence. "Perhaps we can give NASA a run for Mars."

"We're not adverse to a little competition. If you can keep up."

And all of a sudden it was like they were eighteen again, in a sun filled classroom after school, debating schematics and calculations and failed prototypes and Sergei was staring at her as if she was the answer and she was staring at him as if he were a ticking clock, only allowed seconds before she had to return to the work, her great plan to run NASA. But now they were older, of course. Wiser. Everything that had prevented them from exploring this outside the halls of Lyndon B Johnson High School didn't exist any more.

So, Margo made a decision. "Can I get you a drink?"

"Yes, of course. Uh—"

"My hotel has an excellent selection of brandy."

Sergei beamed, delighted at her boldness. "Well, it would be a shame not to sample them. After you, Margo."

The class of '60 didn't notice them leave. They hadn't really noticed them while they attended Lyndon B Johnson High, after all. There was a little gossip from the staff at the hotel bar but no one recognised Margo Madison after all these years, and no one recognised Sergei Nikulov, either. But she did. He was exactly the same. Older. Wiser. Hers.

[lis5664]

Here we go: I’m so excited to post the first chapter of my first fanfic ever! Huge huge thanks to everyone for the enthusiasm and encouragement. I hope you enjoy!

Turning from the end of the bar and the clean glasses he was setting down there, Bobby blinked. Had he really just seen what he thought he’d seen out of the corner of his eye? The director of Roscosmos taking a half-full bottle of whisky from the bar, two glasses in his other hand, and then quickly walking, soon in fact running, away with them across the lobby?

The young bartender turned to his older coworker. “Simon, did you see that?”

Simon sighed. “Yes, I did. Heard her tell him to grab that bottle a minute ago, too.”

“Her? You mean, Director Madison from NASA?”

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: For All Mankind (TV 2019) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Margo Madison/Sergei Nikulov Characters: Margo Madison, Sergei Nikulov, Original Characters Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fix-It, Really quite a mix of silliness with angst and eventual bits of fluff, Elevators Summary:

Canon divergence during 3x03 – everything has happened as in canon, with the kiss and with Sergei asking for the engine designs, until there is a knock on the door of Margo’s hotel room. But it’s not the KGB, it’s hotel staff there to follow up regarding a certain bottle of whisky…

[youreorangeyoumoron]

Chapters: 4/6 Fandom: For All Mankind (TV 2019) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Margo Madison/Sergei Nikulov, Margo Madison & Aleida Rosales Characters: Margo Madison, Sergei Nikulov, Aleida Rosales, Javier "Javi" Diaz, Wernher von Braun (mentioned) Additional Tags: 1989, Season 3, Friendship, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Pining, Double Entendre, Awkwardness, Babysitting, Cooking, Bad Cooking, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Character Study, Backstory, cultural exchanges, Canon Compliant, russian language, References to Canon, Feelings Realization, Motherhood, Character Development, Bedtime Stories, Piano, Alcohol Words: 4,589 Summary: It’s 1989. Margo experiences difficulties babysitting 9-month-old Javi. Thankfully, Sergei is in town.

Margo could not resist and fetched the handful of Tootsie rolls from her purse in the hallway, offering him some as she sat next to him.

Sergei declined with a laugh. “I'm just thinking of – two, three years ago in London, when you had us look for another restaurant to have dessert.”

She smiled. They had had dinner late in the evening and the waiter had been sorry to inform them that they were out of desserts and the kitchen had just closed. Finishing a meal without a sweet note was inconceivable to her. “I did not hear you complaining over that floating island.”

“No, you are right, it was worth the adventure,” he replied with a fond smile.

She knew she had entertained him. She had gone through all the restaurants on that street, and every time she'd pushed open the door and asked, “Hi, do you have any desserts left?” she'd heard him struggle to contain his laughter.

They had been a little drunk.

Margo settled deeper into the cushions, chewing on her Tootsies.

“Would you allow me to be curious, Margo?” he asked softly.

She took a sip of her wine. “Hm-mh.”

Chapter 4 is up!

[sparkleplatypuswriter]

For the WIP ask. I’m going to be greedy and ask about Fitting, there are a few…

Thanks for asking :) Ok so! This one starts in 1975 and presupposes that, the timeline divergence happened (Soviets landed on the moon first), but Apollo-Soyuz happens earlier, under Ted Kennedy (I know, just roll with it). Also, unlike the solving of the docking issue in one single evening (which always was a little unrealistic), the planning takes months (IRL it took years to come to fruition, which is fascinating to read about). Honestly, I think it just has kinda morphed into a writing exercise for me, and I don't know if I will ever publish it, but it's been fun! The initial idea was to start in 83 with them in an established relationship, but then I floated backwards and forwards. There's a lot of Molly in it too. And then I really started thinking about how to bring Aleida back if not for Apollo-Soyuz. Some of it is in pieces, and they are hard to connect. This bit is from the 'prequel' or the first chapter; I don't know what's what anymore.

*******

He grabs a pencil from his shirt pocket and begins scribbling. She instantly feels protective of the piece of paper but tries to let it go. It’s not like the idea of an airlock is all that novel.

She stands to come over to his side of the table and peers over his shoulder at what he’s drawing, right-side-up. “I already thought of that,” she says, taking in his loose sketch of the Soviet docking collar on one side. “Either way there will still need to be an active and passive mechanism,” she says. “And I doubt your superiors will allow for Soviet equipment to be launched with the module from Houston.”

“Hmm,” he starts. “I presume NASA will approve their equipment being taken to Moscow and loaded on Soyuz then?”

Touchez, she thinks. 

They stand silently for a moment, staring at her sketch, before he peeks at his watch and folds his arms, frowning. “There is a saying in Russia,” he says. She gestures for him to continue. 

“Work is not a wolf. It will not escape to the forest.”

She looks at him quizzically. “Meaning?”

“Perhaps we should take a break,” he says, his brow softening a little. “But if only you can tell me… where did you get your meal from?” he adds, pointing to her sandwich. 

She snorts. “Down the hall and to the left,” she says. He smiles slightly before heading out the door. 

And this is how Margo finds herself eating dinner with a Soviet in the design room – between mutual scribbles of calculations and design ideas – every single night that week. 

[nadia-el-mansours]

Margo stop talking about Sergei for three seconds challenge... you're literally in the middle of NASA surrounded by the spies of probably 7 different agencies