less than ninety degrees

Series Metadata

Creator:

thisstableground

Series Begun:

2017-04-24

Series Updated:

2025-03-26

Description:

After Jamaica, Ruben finds a new start, and then some.
aka, the main Usnavi/Vanessa/Ruben crossover verse, wherein Ruben moves to New York and finds love, twice.
All of my ITH fic is technically prequel to this, and the first chapter of Maps Won't Show Us Where We're going is official 90-verse Ruben backstory (but none of the subsequent chapters.) You don't have to have read those to follow this though, really. (I also feel like it should be pointed out that in my head Usnavi and Ruben look pretty different to each other, some similarities but played by different people.)

Notes:

01/08/2020: Did a big tidy-up of the series, so everything's been edited and uploaded in an order that makes more sense!

Stats:

Words:: 341,001
Works:: 34
Complete:: No
Bookmarks:: 21

Listing Series

Pages Navigation

those who go out early by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes
26 Apr 2017
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado/Usnavi (In the Heights)/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Usnavi
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
- Recovery
- Panic Attacks
- Flashbacks
- Friendship
- Pre-Relationship
- The series will become UVR later
- Aftermath of Torture
- Aftermath of Violence
- Post-Canon Fix-It
- But like a real long burn on that fixing it
Summary

Ruben wants a new start, a new city, and some early-morning coffee. Usnavi wants people to stop tagging his goddamn wall.

Series
- Part 1 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

3,333

Chapters:

1/1

Comments:

66

Kudos:

107

Bookmarks:

3

Hits:

1,359
i can tell just what you want by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes
25 Oct 2019
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado/Usnavi (In the Heights)/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Usnavi (In the Heights)
- Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Pre-Relationship
- Character Study
- Getting to Know Each Other
- Friendship
- Grief/Mourning
- Minor Character Death
- Dysfunctional Family
- Sickfic
- The character death is Usnavi's parents
- The dysfunctional family is Vanessa's
- And the sickfic is Ruben having the sniffles
Summary

Usnavi and Vanessa have their routines long since settled over a lifetime, but they don't mind making a little space for the new guy in town.

Series
- Part 2 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

9,517

Chapters:

3/3

Comments:

13

Kudos:

81

Bookmarks:

2

Hits:

829
your body is a triangle by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes
25 Apr 2017
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Usnavi/Vanessa
- Ruben Marcado (Do No Harm)/Usnavi/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Usnavi
- Fluff
- Fluff and Angst
- Fluff and Smut
- Friends to Lovers
- Polyamory
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
- Fix-It
Summary

Ruben's living his life post-Jamaica in a neighborhood called Washington Heights. It's going...well. Suspiciously well, in fact. Unimaginably, mind-blowingly well.

Series
- Part 3 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

10,932

Chapters:

2/2

Comments:

43

Kudos:

131

Bookmarks:

8

Hits:

2,028
be right-right where you step by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes
21 Jun 2017
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado (Do No Harm)/Usnavi/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Usnavi
- Ruben Marcado
- Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Sonny (In the Heights)
- Benny (In the Heights)
- Daniela (In the Heights)
- Carla (In the Heights)
- Fluff
- Fluff and Angst
- Oblivious Bisexual Usnavi De La Vega
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
- Neurodiversity
- Pre-Relationship
- Developing Relationship
- Friends to Lovers
- Polyamory
- Bisexuality
- Panic Attacks
- Sexuality Crisis
Summary

Usnavi's got a friend, and a very confusing crush, and an equally confusing girlfriend. It's a wonder that he gets through the day as calmly and coolly as he does - hey, stop laughing, he's trying his best here.

Series
- Part 4 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

21,034

Chapters:

5/5

Comments:

91

Kudos:

142

Bookmarks:

5

Hits:

1,961
circling all round the sun by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes
19 Sep 2019
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado/Usnavi (In the Heights)/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Usnavi (In the Heights)
- Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Pre-Relationship
- Fluff
- Fluff and Angst
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
- Recovery
- Character Study
- Crushes
- Nightmares
- Scars
Summary

Ruben isn't 100% sure how friendship works: he's supposed to dream about his platonic friends and cuddle them during movie nights and want them to play gently with his hair even though he usually hates people touching him, right?
[Companion piece to Your Body Is A Triangle, getting a little more in depth on Ruben's Romantic Epiphany]

Series
- Part 5 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

11,952

Chapters:

3/?

Comments:

35

Kudos:

68

Bookmarks:

1

Hits:

841
sure as hell retaliate by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes
16 Feb 2022
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado/Vanessa/Usnavi de la Vega
- Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Usnavi de la Vega
- Daniela (In the Heights)
- Carla (In the Heights)
- Polyamory
- Pre-Relationship
- Fluff
- Fluff and Angst
- Healthy Relationships
- Bisexuality
- Friends to Lovers
- Will tag other characters as they appear
Summary

Vanessa isn’t mad at Usnavi for having a bit of a crush on his newest customer: it’s always gonna be a rollercoaster suddenly finding out you aren’t straight in your mid-20s, and she knows he’s still head-over-heels for her, it's nothing they can’t handle together.
This Ruben guy better watch his back though, because she isn’t gonna let him get in the way of their relationship, and she definitely isn’t going to befriend him or get emotionally attached to him or develop feelings of her own for him so don’t even fucking think she will, okay?

Series
- Part 6 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

6,452

Chapters:

1/?

Comments:

15

Kudos:

40

Bookmarks:

1

Hits:

345
come out and level up by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes
26 Oct 2019
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado/Usnavi (In the Heights)/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Usnavi (In the Heights)
- Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Developing Relationship
- Fluff and Smut
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
- Character Study
- Morning After
- Morning Cuddles
- Morning Sex
- Friends to Lovers
- Birthday
Summary

Okay, yes, so Vanessa and Usnavi kissed Ruben, and then they all had sex, and now they're cuddling in bed, but like, do they like him?

Series
- Part 7 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

7,639

Chapters:

3/3

Comments:

4

Kudos:

61

Bookmarks:

3

Hits:

731
not to put too fine a point on it by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes
30 May 2020
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado/Usnavi (In the Heights)/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Usnavi (In the Heights)
- Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Humor
- Birds
Summary

There's a bird in Usnavi's apartment.

Series
- Part 8 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

1,554

Chapters:

1/1

Comments:

9

Kudos:

51

Bookmarks:

1

Hits:

446
what a world you have made here by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV)
03 Jul 2018
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado (Do No Harm)/Usnavi/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Estefanía Marcado
- Ruben Marcado
- Autism
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
- Family
- Usnavi and Vanessa are discussed but don't appear onscreen
- Angst
- Angst with a Happy Ending
- Aftermath of Torture
- Family Feels
- Aftermath of Violence
- Recovery
- Parenthood
- Neurodiversity
- Grief/Mourning
- No actual character death though
- they just think he is
Summary

Estefanía Marcado isn't sure what she imagined raising a child to be like, but she can safely say she never predicted a single thing about her son.
[set pre/during Do No Harm canon through early UVR. Estefanía's POV.]

Series
- Part 9 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

11,513

Chapters:

1/1

Comments:

20

Kudos:

57

Bookmarks:

1

Hits:

813
say what your soul sings to you by thisstableground for curiouswildflower

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes
08 Jul 2017
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado (Do No Harm)/Usnavi/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Usnavi (In the Heights)
- Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Fluff
- Straight up fluff
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
- (but only in the background)
- Autism
- Established Relationship
- Drunken Shenanigans
- Fluff and Smut
- Idiots in Love
Summary

Who needs to go away for the weekend when right here in Washington Heights there's box wine, rainy days, and Usnavi's supernaturally good massage skills?

Series
- Part 10 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

16,538

Chapters:

3/3

Comments:

67

Kudos:

95

Bookmarks:

3

Hits:

1,283
adventures in solitude by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV)
26 Oct 2019
Tags
- Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
- Ruben Marcado/Usnavi (In the Heights)/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Usnavi (In the Heights)
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
- Recovery
- Angst
- Angst with a Happy Ending
- Aftermath of Torture
- Mental Health Issues
- Flashbacks
Summary

Ruben’s in a relationship and couldn’t be happier about that, but it doesn’t mean he can just forget what happened to him before he came here.

Series
- Part 11 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

5,244

Chapters:

3/3

Comments:

4

Kudos:

47

Bookmarks:

1

Hits:

497
necesito tus besitos by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV)
26 Oct 2019
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado/Usnavi (In the Heights)/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Usnavi (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Fluff
- Cute
- Established Relationship
- Polyamory
- Autism
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Neurodiversity
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
- Idiots in Love
- Smoking
- Romance
- Sleepy Cuddles
Summary

Vanessa, Usnavi and Ruben might be lacking in a lot of things – emotional stability, regular sleep schedules, non-tragic backstories - but what they do have is great hair, each other, and a whole truckload of cute dumbass energy.

Series
- Part 12 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

14,791

Chapters:

5/5

Comments:

8

Kudos:

53

Bookmarks:

2

Hits:

597
let love flower by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes
26 Oct 2019
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado/Usnavi (In the Heights)/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Usnavi (In the Heights)
- Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Idiots in Love
- Fluff and Smut
- Romantic Fluff
- Light Dom/sub
- (that's dom vanessa/sub ruben)
- Light Angst
- Established Relationship
- Explicit Consent
Summary

Usnavi's having bodega problems, Vanessa's having Vanessa's Dysfunctional Family problems, Ruben's being morally supportive and unacceptably sexy, and meanwhile they've all fallen in capital-L Love so...busy week, overall.

Series
- Part 13 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

12,669

Chapters:

3/3

Comments:

7

Kudos:

55

Bookmarks:

1

Hits:

618
got static instead by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes
26 Oct 2019
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado/Usnavi (In the Heights)/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Usnavi (In the Heights)
- Neurodiversity
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Autism
- Learning Disabilities
- internalized ableism
- Autistic Ruben
- Autistic-ADHD Usnavi
- I mean they both always are
- But more specifically so here
- Light Angst
Summary

Maybe it's different if you're literally a supergenius like Ruben, but Usnavi's here about to cry over filling in a freakin' form and he doesn't think a label telling him why he finds it so damn hard is going to make him feel any better.

Series
- Part 14 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

2,613

Chapters:

1/1

Comments:

4

Kudos:

47

Bookmarks:

2

Hits:

538
catch the manic rhapsody by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV)
26 Oct 2019
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado/Usnavi (In the Heights)/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Usnavi (In the Heights)
- Fluff and Smut
- Smut
- Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot
- Light Bondage
- Light Dom/sub
- Slight sub!Usnavi
- Enthusiastic Consent
- Explicit Consent
- Established Relationship
- Post-Coital Cuddling
Summary

There are probably ways to get Usnavi to slow down for a while that don't involve literally tying him to a bed, but this is what they've settled on and he's sure as hell not complaining about it.

Series
- Part 15 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

5,365

Chapters:

1/1

Comments:

9

Kudos:

48

Bookmarks:

2

Hits:

650
to the bone im evergreen by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes
30 Aug 2017
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado (Do No Harm)/Usnavi/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Usnavi (In the Heights)
- Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Jason Cole
- plus most of the other ITH folk
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
- Family
- Recovery
- Everyone Needs a Hug
- Violence
- Flashbacks
- Nightmares
- Stalking
- Panic Attacks
- Past Abuse
- Aftermath of Torture
- Aftermath of Violence
- Protectiveness
Summary

Vanessa's future is causing some conflict, Ruben's past has tracked him down, and Usnavi's present is frankly just a mess.

Series
- Part 16 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

51,430

Chapters:

18/18

Comments:

306

Kudos:

128

Bookmarks:

4

Hits:

2,359
casualty of abnormal normality by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes
26 Oct 2019
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado/Usnavi (In the Heights)/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Usnavi (In the Heights)
- Benny (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Aftermath of Violence
- Friendship
- Hospitals
- Childhood Friends
Summary

Immediately following the events of to the bone i'm evergreen, Benny waits with Usnavi at the urgent care.

Series
- Part 17 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

4,885

Chapters:

1/1

Comments:

2

Kudos:

38

Bookmarks:

3

Hits:

435
set my eyes to the wind by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV)
15 Nov 2017
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado (Do No Harm)/Usnavi/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Usnavi (In the Heights)
- Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Sonny (In the Heights)
- Depression
- Trauma
- Recovery
- Aftermath of Violence
- Mental Health Issues
- Light Angst
- Angst with a Happy Ending
- Emotional Hurt/Comfort
- Fortunately Everyone Gets A Hug
Summary

Everyone recalibrates in the aftermath of Jason's bullshit and the bodega closing.

Series
- Part 18 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

34,612

Chapters:

3/3

Comments:

44

Kudos:

76

Bookmarks:

4

Hits:

1,364
explosions off in the distance by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV)
04 Jan 2020
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado/Usnavi (In the Heights)/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Usnavi (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado's Mother
- Mercedes Marcado
- Paola Marcado
- Meeting the Parents
Summary

Between being orphaned and being from the world's most dysfunctional family, neither Usnavi nor Vanessa have really done a traditional meeting the parents before, but the Marcados are visiting New York, so no time like the present.

Series
- Part 19 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

16,112

Chapters:

2/2

Comments:

8

Kudos:

30

Bookmarks:

2

Hits:

423
walking to jfk by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV)
05 Jan 2020
Tags
- No Archive Warnings Apply
- Ruben Marcado/Usnavi (In the Heights)/Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Vanessa (In the Heights)
- Usnavi (In the Heights)
- Ruben Marcado
- Sonny (In the Heights)
- Daniela (In the Heights)
- Benny (In the Heights)
Summary

Vanessa achieves a dream.

Series
- Part 20 of less than ninety degrees
Language:

English

Words:

3,711

Chapters:

1/1

Comments:

1

Kudos:

23

Hits:

269

less than ninety degrees

Series Metadata

Listing Series

Pages Navigation

those who go out early by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes

Tags

Summary

Series

i can tell just what you want by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes

Tags

Summary

Series

your body is a triangle by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes

Tags

Summary

Series

be right-right where you step by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes

Tags

Summary

Series

circling all round the sun by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes

Tags

Summary

Series

sure as hell retaliate by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes

Tags

Summary

Series

come out and level up by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes

Tags

Summary

Series

not to put too fine a point on it by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes

Tags

Summary

Series

what a world you have made here by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV)

Tags

Summary

Series

say what your soul sings to you by thisstableground for curiouswildflower

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes

Tags

Summary

Series

adventures in solitude by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV)

Tags

Summary

Series

necesito tus besitos by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV)

Tags

Summary

Series

let love flower by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes

Tags

Summary

Series

got static instead by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV), In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes

Tags

Summary

Series

catch the manic rhapsody by thisstableground

Fandoms: Do No Harm (TV)

Tags

Summary

Series

to the bone im evergreen by thisstableground