#bethaboo

KWGJ Score: 9/10

Canon Compliant (from when it was written in 2014)

Secret Relationship

Harry is sitting there, so fucking casual, and Louis realizes in a split second he was not ready. When Harry walked out in Detroit and never looked back, he was a boy verging on a man, still only twenty years old, but there's a man in his place now. Hard and resolute, yes, but still, for the first time in a long time, Louis can kind of see the old Harry in him. The soft, directness of his gaze, the hesitant smile he gives to Lou, the way he wrings his ridiculously large hands in his lap. He's a little bit the eager sixteen year old puppy dog again, his innocence and sweetness resurrected miraculously, and Louis freezes in place. He was prepared to face the asshole Harry. He was prepared to meet a whole new Harry. Louis is not prepared to meet one of the old incarnations of Harry, and it absolutely tears him up. Or the fic where Harry spirals out of control, the band breaks up, and then he shows back up, five years later.

KWGJ Says:

One of the very few fan fics I've read on more than one occasion. The story is well planned, takes its time but moves on quickly when it needs to. It really fulfils that fantasy of Larry being public, if that's something you pine for. I love how drawn out the Larry reunion is, and I also just really like how well the author fleshed out the story and the coming back together of the characters.

Link to Burn to Ash here

Hi, anon...here are some that really gut punched me. It kind of depends on what kind of angst you want, but these three really got me...

Edited to add: here are a few more recs for you if you want more! ✤ Angst / Part 2 ✤ Angst under 20k ✤ Angst with a Happy Ending

some things fade (some never do) by we_are_the_same / @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed

Matching tattoos. He’d never thought he’d be the type for tattoos to begin with, let alone matching or magical ones, but once Harry had put the idea in his mind it had never quite managed to disappear. And it had made sense. With their relationship a long distance one, this was simply another way of feeling close to one another. Of knowing where the other was, how they felt. It had made so much sense.

Back then.

Three years after their break up, Harry calls.

burn to ash by bethaboo / @bethaboolou

Harry is sitting there, so fucking casual, and Louis realizes in a split second he was not ready. When Harry walked out in Detroit and never looked back, he was a boy verging on a man, still only twenty years old, but there's a man in his place now. Hard and resolute, yes, but still, for the first time in a long time, Louis can kind of see the old Harry in him. The soft, directness of his gaze, the hesitant smile he gives to Lou, the way he wrings his ridiculously large hands in his lap.

He's a little bit the eager sixteen year old puppy dog again, his innocence and sweetness resurrected miraculously, and Louis freezes in place. He was prepared to face the asshole Harry. He was prepared to meet a whole new Harry.

Louis is not prepared to meet one of the old incarnations of Harry, and it absolutely tears him up.

Or the fic where Harry spirals out of control, the band breaks up, and then he shows back up, five years later.

This Multiplicity of Powers by @helloamhere

Maybe in another universe he isn’t different. Maybe he hadn’t been given an impossible choice. Maybe he wouldn’t have lost everything and broken everything and then fallen impossibly, irrevocably in love with the first next thing that was kind. Maybe in that universe he doesn’t feel like he’s never breathing, always pretending, teaching the kids even though they all have to learn alone, trying hard not to read the headlines, and so afraid, every day, that he won’t be a good enough teammate to the superhero he can’t live without. He knows that love isn’t supposed to feel this way, slid secret under your skin like a surgical razor, an invisible war held close over the tender vein that keeps you alive. On the other hand, Louis wonders, had he ever known how to do it any other way?

Maybe there’s a universe where he doesn’t have to keep all his secrets on the inside.

But this isn’t that universe.

Re-Reads:

1. Four’s Company (vampire_angel_z) - The alpha triplets need a mate. Louis is too perfect to be true.

New Reads:

1. To the Ends of the Earth (stylinsoncity) - During a yearlong hiatus, Louis visits Harry at his cabin in Idaho, where long-buried feelings ignite like the fire keeping them warm.

2. Burn to Ash (bethaboo) - Harry spirals out of control, the band breaks up, and then he shows back up, five years later.

3. Just a Walk in the Park (comingbackhometoyou , forehead) - Jurassic Park AU, featuring paleontologist Louis, paleobotanist Liam, Niall as the top engineer of the park, Zayn as the raptor expert, and Harry as the grandson of the park’s owner.

4. Feels Like Coming Home (phdmama) - The last thing Harry Styles expects when he’s hanging out at the Someday Cafe in Somerville one rainy October day is for his ex, Louis Tomlinson to walk through the door, but that’s exactly what happens. Having Louis back in his life, not to mention working at the restaurant where he’s a chef, isn’t easy, and the feelings that Harry thought he’d left turn out to be not so easily forgotten.

5. How Fast You Fall (kingsofeverything) - Casual hookups are all Louis has time for, and Harry has a plan to stay single and celibate until he graduates. After going from strangers to roommates to friends, they both start to want more. It just takes them a little while to figure it out.

6. Chestnuts Roasting... and All That (elsi_bee) - Louis is apparently the only person at his new job who is single as can be. It’s not a big deal to just tell his new colleagues that he has a boyfriend, right? Until he has to make this imaginary boyfriend magically appear at the office holiday party. Cue fake relationship antics with a certain someone who is more than willing to play along.

7. To Be a King Beside You, Somehow (ZIAM) (thepriestthinksitsthedevil) - Zayn is a prince who does not want to be king, so he runs away.

8. Paint Me in a Million Dreams (green_feelings) - Harry’s one of Hollywood’s biggest actors, has made a name for himself in prestigious films and lives the life of a superstar. Louis is one of Hollywood’s biggest actors himself, who just came out of the closet and taps new genres in the industry. When Louis sacks the role Harry auditioned for, the irrational feud starts. Who could have guessed it would get even worse when for promo season, their teams decide to present them as a couple for publicity?

through the jungle through the dark by YesIsAWorld | E | 12555 Louis and Harry were best friends, until they weren’t. Five years after they last spoke they’re forced to drive cross-country to visit an injured friend. If they can’t get over the past, it will be a very long week together.

Making Shades of Purple by alexenglish | E | 13348 Sometimes you have to get to where you're going to see where you've been. Or, Louis figures out he's in love with Niall. It's way less surprising than it should be.

Alien Roadtrip! by HelloAmHere | M | 16378 For the first time in his life, Louis doesn’t know where he’s going. Harry doesn’t mind. OR: roadtrip with desert feelings, too much snack food, and empty motels. Harry is definitely absolutely not an alien. That would be ridiculous.

Don't Let the Tide Come and Take Me by kiwikero | M | 28658 The aquarium in the lobby has been there as long as Louis can remember, and so has the merman inside. That is, until the day Louis loses his job and decides to set the creature free. They set off on a road trip to the sea, learning to communicate more and more each day. Their destination is LA, but the closer they get and the more Louis gets to know the merman, the more he dreads having to say goodbye. Or, the one where Louis decides to set a merman free and ends up finding his own freedom along the way.

let's start right now by dramaturgicallycorrect | T | 29621 He turns to Harry. “Do you mind, like. Can I take a picture of your driver’s license?” “Yeah,” Harry says easily, fishing his wallet out and presenting him with a California license to match his California plates. He has got an LA address, Niall notes as he snaps a picture. He’s got longer hair in this picture, waving down to brush his shoulders, a far sight from the short crop he's got now. It looks just as good on him, he notes almost subconsciously. He texts the picture to Louis as Harry puts the license away, give this to the police if I go missing .. What have you done Neil?? comes Louis’ answer quickly, but Niall ignores it, looks up to find Harry looking back at him. “It’ll be fun.” “Promise?” Harry tilts his head. “I never make promises. You’ll just have to trust me.” [Or Harry's a professional cross country road trip driver, and Niall is his latest fare.]

somewhere only we know by bethaboo | E | 44536 Personal assistant Louis knows something is up with his best friend and employer Harry. And it's not just his big tour coming up or the ever-increasing womanizing rumors about the popstar. To get to the bottom of Harry's moodiness, Louis decides he has to kidnap him and take him on a roadtrip up the California coast to Portland. The roadtrippiest road trip fic ever written. Basically an excuse for gratuitous fluff and smut with a pinch of angst tossed in for good measure.

“Harry is sitting there, so fucking casual, and Louis realizes in a split second he was not ready. When Harry walked out in Detroit and never looked back, he was a boy verging on a man, still only twenty years old, but there's a man in his place now. Hard and resolute, yes, but still, for the first time in a long time, Louis can kind of see the old Harry in him. The soft, directness of his gaze, the hesitant smile he gives to Lou, the way he wrings his ridiculously large hands in his lap.

He's a little bit the eager sixteen year old puppy dog again, his innocence and sweetness resurrected miraculously, and Louis freezes in place. He was prepared to face the asshole Harry. He was prepared to meet a whole new Harry.

Louis is not prepared to meet one of the old incarnations of Harry, and it absolutely tears him up.

Hi, anon! So here are some canon fics with a breakup in them. I tried to find ones that take place during that time period in some way...

ETA: also take a look at this rec for more you might like... ✤ Canon Exes to Lovers

the breaking of your soul (upon my lips) by becauselarry

The one in which One Direction in 2015 still includes Zayn, and nothing has been right between Harry and Louis for a long time now. Louis is certain that the situation he finds himself in won't change anything at all - he doesn't want it to, if he is honest with himself, as he doesn't want this situation to be a situation in the first place.

It Goes, It's Golden by auburnstargazer

The chaos Zayn left in his wake wouldn't feel so disastrous if Harry had Louis. But everything between them crashed and burned a long time ago. All Harry is left with is a hopeless longing and a fear that the band's current disarray will set in for good.

... And then he finds himself stuck on a sixteen hour plane trip with Louis Tomlinson.

This could either be the most awkward flight of Harry's life, or the beginning of an atonement he's been dreaming of since 2013.

Canon Compliant AU in which Harry and Louis broke under the strain of it all and now, years on, there's a chance to put all the pieces back together. Set in early April 2015 all the way through to October. Written in Harry and Louis' perspectives, alternating every chapter.

Given a Chance by Fabby

Five years after One Direction took their last tour, the last thing Louis Tomlinson ever expected to happen while on a tea run at the local Piggly Wiggly was to run into his ex-boyfriend and ex-bandmate Harry Styles.

The odds of them ever running into each other again had to be super slim, right?

Wrong.

What happens when you mix ex-boyfriends with a large serving of Small Town America? Will Louis and Harry be able to set aside their differences, or will Louis be able to stay breezy as fuck in the wake of Harry’s arrival?

(or, the one where Louis and Harry run into each other five years after One Direction ends and learn how to love each other again. Featuring: Reggie as the overweight labrador, Niall as Louis’ last grip on reality, and Nowheresville, North Carolina as the setting for Louis’ worst nightmare to come true.)

burn to ash by bethaboo

Harry is sitting there, so fucking casual, and Louis realizes in a split second he was not ready. When Harry walked out in Detroit and never looked back, he was a boy verging on a man, still only twenty years old, but there's a man in his place now. Hard and resolute, yes, but still, for the first time in a long time, Louis can kind of see the old Harry in him. The soft, directness of his gaze, the hesitant smile he gives to Lou, the way he wrings his ridiculously large hands in his lap.

He's a little bit the eager sixteen year old puppy dog again, his innocence and sweetness resurrected miraculously, and Louis freezes in place. He was prepared to face the asshole Harry. He was prepared to meet a whole new Harry.

Louis is not prepared to meet one of the old incarnations of Harry, and it absolutely tears him up.

pairing: louis/harry

wordcount: 44,536