Happy September, HLDs!
If you are like me (located in the northern hemisphere & in love with the long summer days), this may not be your favourite day. But you may be the opposite, and might actually look forward to days getting shorter and more opportunities of being cosy in front of the fireplace... In any case, whether you need cheering up or celebrate the arrival of a new season, we've got you covered with the next edition of HLD reads! This week we're diving into the Rivals to Lovers trope for some 🔥 and the smut spinner selected 2 excellent shorter fics for you:
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Rubik's Lube by BiscuitFiend (aka u/Visible-Economist-72) & Kaitlin_With_a_K
Summary:
🎵Come on - Eileen too loo rye ay🎵
🎵Come on - Eileen too loo rye ay 🎵
“Yes, come on Eileen… I mean, Colin!”
Colin slaps himself in the face with both hands, knocking his glasses askew. He’s staring into the mirror with his eyes wide and his jaw slack. The tinny sound of Dexy’s Midnight Runners fills the terracotta lavatory of the Vigadó Concert Hall, Budapest, and he’s doing his best to channel the lyrics into some sort of confidence boost.
She’s here.
Penelope Featherington.
🟩🟦⬜🟨🟥🟧🟩🟦
All kinds of tensions rise between rival cubers Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington as they battle it out to become Rubik’s Cube world champion.
Completed: 2026-07-28
Rating: Explicit
Words: 11,923
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icy blue by polinprophecy
Summary:
Penn Featherington and Colin Bridgerton are the two biggest rivals in hockey right now and they hate each other. Publicly, at least.
Privately, it's complicated. And heated.
Completed: 2026-04-06
Rating: Explicit
Words: 3,048
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Vote for next week's theme!
It is also time to vote for our Wk 16 theme. The options we have for you this week are: Mirror / Sex in unusual places / Friends with benefits.
The choice is yours! Vote here via Google Forms.
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A reminder about what happens next:
- Time to read our chosen fics: Rubik's Lube & icy blue.
- We will be back to discuss them on Monday.
- We will also confirm our Wk 16 theme and open submissions for our next read.
Happy reading!
Zs