Bodyswap ...every single scenario I can come up with for this ends up at variation on "Ezar is dying in a way that would be very inconvenient for the Imperium; Aral is young(ish) and strong and devoted to the Emperor and the closest thing to an heir that everybody might be able to agree on, but also desperately doesn't want the job, and is emotionally at something of a personal nadir; it is arranged that they secretly swap bodies so Aral can quietly and peacefully die in Ezar's place while young strong Ezar-in-Aral's body reconsolidates power; it's horrible but vaguely plausible in a world only about two steps darker than canon and I don't want to think about it anymore. D:
Sexpollen/fuck or die/aliens made them do it ...I don't believe anyone or anything could ever make Ezar do anything he didn't want to do, sorry. So the only way this happens is if Ezar arranges for it to happen.
Dark!fic Canon. This is canon. (This is also any possible during-canon Ezar/Aral that doesn't go rapidly AU.)
Secret kinks They both like hurting each other. And not in a fun-with-whips-and-knives way, in a 'causing serious emotional damage' way. There's a lot of resentment there, and they both feel like each other is maybe the only safe outlet for lashing out. (NO this is not in any way healthy for a relationship but you did ask for Aral/Ezar.) And they provoke it in each other - Aral because he thinks he deserves it, Ezar because he thinks being hurt proves he can still feel. (They like it when they're not hurting each other, too, but that part never lasts.)
Their first kiss From the outside, looked wonderfully, perfectly romantic after a candlelight dinner etc. From the inside, was the result of a carefully planned campaign of manipulation on Ezar's part (...that he may have rushed a little in the end, yes, but not to the point where he was taking any undue chances.)
Meeting the parents Piotr sighed a lot but privately admitted to Ezar that the boy could have chosen a lot worse, and probably would have if left to himself, given some of his friends from school.
Moving in together After Aral becomes Regent, he stays at Vorkosigan house not just because of the political symbolism, but also because Ezar is still far too present in the Residence: he never feels alone there, even when he is; and the fact that he finds it more comforting than anything is the most disconcerting part.
After they have to move in anyway, the scent of smoke and plasma-fire that still permeates the place helps some, because it's a reminder that this is Cordelia's house now, she's renovated it in a way that's far more Cordelia than she ever did any of the Vorkosigan properties, but Ezar is still there too, somehow, soaked into the wood deeper than any smoke. He makes his peace with it eventually, more or less.
A crossover of my choice ...what I am discovering in this meme is that crossovers are not really about non-crossover pairings for me. Uh. The Doctor shows up when Ezar is young and takes him exploring, and then they drop by later and pick up young!Aral, too? It is a very scary Team Tardis, that.
An au of my choice This one. (Or the one you were writing upthread from that, I'm not picky.)
no subject
Let's just go with this one. :P
Bodyswap
...every single scenario I can come up with for this ends up at variation on "Ezar is dying in a way that would be very inconvenient for the Imperium; Aral is young(ish) and strong and devoted to the Emperor and the closest thing to an heir that everybody might be able to agree on, but also desperately doesn't want the job, and is emotionally at something of a personal nadir; it is arranged that they secretly swap bodies so Aral can quietly and peacefully die in Ezar's place while young strong Ezar-in-Aral's body reconsolidates power; it's horrible but vaguely plausible in a world only about two steps darker than canon and I don't want to think about it anymore. D:
Sexpollen/fuck or die/aliens made them do it
...I don't believe anyone or anything could ever make Ezar do anything he didn't want to do, sorry. So the only way this happens is if Ezar arranges for it to happen.
Dark!fic
Canon. This is canon. (This is also any possible during-canon Ezar/Aral that doesn't go rapidly AU.)
Secret kinks
They both like hurting each other. And not in a fun-with-whips-and-knives way, in a 'causing serious emotional damage' way. There's a lot of resentment there, and they both feel like each other is maybe the only safe outlet for lashing out. (NO this is not in any way healthy for a relationship but you did ask for Aral/Ezar.) And they provoke it in each other - Aral because he thinks he deserves it, Ezar because he thinks being hurt proves he can still feel. (They like it when they're not hurting each other, too, but that part never lasts.)
Their first kiss
From the outside, looked wonderfully, perfectly romantic after a candlelight dinner etc. From the inside, was the result of a carefully planned campaign of manipulation on Ezar's part (...that he may have rushed a little in the end, yes, but not to the point where he was taking any undue chances.)
Meeting the parents
Piotr sighed a lot but privately admitted to Ezar that the boy could have chosen a lot worse, and probably would have if left to himself, given some of his friends from school.
Moving in together
After Aral becomes Regent, he stays at Vorkosigan house not just because of the political symbolism, but also because Ezar is still far too present in the Residence: he never feels alone there, even when he is; and the fact that he finds it more comforting than anything is the most disconcerting part.
After they have to move in anyway, the scent of smoke and plasma-fire that still permeates the place helps some, because it's a reminder that this is Cordelia's house now, she's renovated it in a way that's far more Cordelia than she ever did any of the Vorkosigan properties, but Ezar is still there too, somehow, soaked into the wood deeper than any smoke. He makes his peace with it eventually, more or less.
A crossover of my choice
...what I am discovering in this meme is that crossovers are not really about non-crossover pairings for me. Uh. The Doctor shows up when Ezar is young and takes him exploring, and then they drop by later and pick up young!Aral, too? It is a very scary Team Tardis, that.
An au of my choice
This one. (Or the one you were writing upthread from that, I'm not picky.)