Yes! Of course the book wasn't explicit, but the emotional tension between them was pretty resolved. They didn't have any, like, feeling betrayed or anguished about each other, even implicitly, so it kind of felt established, and that didn't stop people from writing first time fic of course - whether before or after the book - but there's less feeling of urgency when the characters in canon seem to have it all together.
Whereas the clear implication is that they don't have it together, and not only that, aren't in the, shall we say, highest percentile when it comes to emotional self-awareness and clear communication goals, so everyone wants to rush in and fix it and lovingly call them idiots. Fandom LOVES "idiots to lovers", so the hint of obliviousness is like catnip too.
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Date: 2019-06-12 09:47 am (UTC)Whereas the clear implication is that they don't have it together, and not only that, aren't in the, shall we say, highest percentile when it comes to emotional self-awareness and clear communication goals, so everyone wants to rush in and fix it and lovingly call them idiots. Fandom LOVES "idiots to lovers", so the hint of obliviousness is like catnip too.