You just never know Lara. A lot of the readers are women and prefer the b-plot. I love a good a-plot, but I usually prefer a little romance (doen't need to be smut, just romance) tied up in it too, especially if the romance is angsty (yes, I know, I'm evil).
I think that's why I have so much fun as one of the betas for Sue.
Aren't you writing this story specifically for someone? I'm sure that person will give you fdk... I've written stories before where I didn't figure I'd get any fdk, and I was pleasantly surprised (especially if it's a shorter story... sometimes people just don't seem to have time to follow the long ones...)
Take me for example. I'm so busy writing and doing beta work right now, that I don't have much time to read anything. I have to pick and choose and usually it's the shorter fics that get my attention. However, I have every intention of going back and reading some of the longer ones later, when my muse abandons me and I need a good read to lift my spirits.
What I try to tell myself (not always successfully) is - write the story for you... and maybe for your beta(s)... then anything else that comes along is just windfall...
Anyway, there's my 2 cents, for what they are worth.
