F a v o r i t e F i c s O f 2 0 2 3
As an avid One Direction fan fic reader, 2023 has been a truly amazing year for fics! I read so many incredible fics this year, so please check out all my recs for the year here! Below you will find fics that made me cry or cry with laughter. Others brought me comfort during hard times or filled my heart with joy or had me screaming into my pillow in surprise. I share this list with you all not to say that these fics are better than others from this year, but to say thank you to these writers who have left a mark on me with their fics.
To all our fandom's writers, thank you for the gift of your stories! Sending much love to you in the new year!
āļø Louis / Harry āļø
And What If I Were YouĀ byĀ jacaranda_bloom / @jacaranda-bloom
(E, 109k, famous/not famous) For Louis, will losing his sight give him the clarity to realise what is right in front of him? For Harry, will losing the love of his life give him the strength to finally open his heart? And can they find their way back, before they lose each other forever?
De amore ex temporeĀ by @persephoneflouwers
(M, 101k, historical) the Middle Ages AU where Harry is a philosopher, whose thoughts happen five centuries too soon and Louis is a painter, whose art happens five centuries too late. & Or: the Time Travel AU where alternate versions of themselves live simultaneously in different realities and their paths collide every time, until somehow, they converge into one.
Gemma's Dad (Could Use A Guy Like Me)Ā by @lululawrence
(NR, 82k, age difference) Louis wasn't planning on getting home and learning that Gemma's dad had gotten the house in the divorce and was dealing with things by focusing on work, the house, and his newly planted garden. It becomes obvious early on that Harry is a bit lost and Gemma is worried about him. To help both of them, Louis is more than happy to help Harry find himself again.
Teach me how to loveĀ by @perfectdagger
(E, 70k, one night stand) The one in which Harry is bad at sex and Louis spreads it all over town and to make up for it, decides to help him with no agenda of getting anything from it, but in the end, he ends up getting more than he bargained for.
your memory over meĀ by @shimmeringevil
(E, 64k, exes) The worst heartbreak of Louisā life walks right back into it when his parents invite their family friends on an all-expenses-paid trip for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Facing a past that he tried to bury long ago, Louis learns that some people have a way of sticking with you even when theyāre gone
saw some things on the other sideĀ byĀ we_are_the_same / @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed
(M, 61k, murder mystery) Unfortunately, Louisā plan doesnāt take into account the fact that instead of writing murder mysteries, he will find himselfĀ inĀ one.
and i would search the night sky to find youĀ byĀ devilinmybrain / @thedevilinmybrain
(E, 56k, omegaverse) Harry Styles is a high class, well-bred Omega attending Bosworth Academy - a prestigious boarding school looking over the small town on Kinsey. He has his whole life already planned for him, learning his place as the potential mate for an important Alpha, practicing his home making skills, and be obedient above all else.
Suddenly Last SummerĀ byĀ @disgruntledkittenface
(E, 44k, mystery) Suddenly he has someone who listens to him and cares about what he thinks. Someone who really sees him. But their happily ever after is forever marred by an incident at a party during Labor Day weekend, and Louis is left with a choice to make.
Train Tracks and PorcelainĀ by @jaerie
(E, 41k, historical circus au) Shadows were forming into people and things and, there in the middle of it, Louis watched the humongous head of an elephant emerge from a box car right in front of his eyes. Or a Water For Elephants inspired AU
You're Not My Type (still I fall)Ā byĀ Imogenlee / @imogenleewriter
(M, 38k, omegaverse) This is just a bit of rain; it'll blow over. Then Harry will just... well, alright, he isn't entirely sure what to do when the rain stops because he'll still be stuck and lost.Ā
My Other Half Was YouĀ by @lululawrence
(NR, 35k, small town au) Four years, seven months, and sixteen days after the day that changed everything, Louis turns a corner and literally runs into the man who just might change it all again.
I Really Like Your Styles: The Baking Advent-ureĀ byĀ @homosociallyyours
(T, 35k, coffee shop) Louis isn't much for frills, and the coffee shop he co-owns with his best friend Liam is evidence of that. Yes, it's got a decent sized, well-kept industrial kitchen, but Louis insists that people come to coffee shops forĀ coffee,Ā not mediocre pastry and plastic wrapped cookies.Ā
You Aināt Gotta Feel Fear Just MingleĀ byĀ LadyLondonderry / @londonfoginacup
(T, 32, coworkers) Harry has been at his dream job for less than three months, and he knows two things for sure; first, his project manager doesn't know what he's doing, and second, someone in the office is apparently pure evil, and no one will tell Harry who it is.
Cowboy Like MeĀ byĀ Rearviewdreamer / @all-these-larrythings
(M, 29k, thief au) Going legit and starting over in a small town was supposed to solve all of Harryās problems. That was until a string of robberies in wealthy towns brings him face-to-face with his rogue ex-partner and their dicey, unresolved past.
'cause I want you (for the worse and for the better)Ā byĀ nonsensedarling / @absoloutenonsense
(NR, 26k, omegaverse) When Louis gets invited along to Anne's wedding, Harry is prepared to let people think whatever they want about their relationship. That's what Louis said --Ā let people think whatever they want.Ā
what's left of my halo's blackĀ byĀ LiveLaughLoveLarry / @loveislarryislove
(E, 22k, fwb) A year after a devastating breakup, Louis is still trying to put himself back together - but getting over a breakup is hard when you work as a wedding planner. Thankfully, his coworker Harry is the most supportive friend Louis could ask for.
'tis the damn seasonĀ byĀ YesIsAWorld / @louandhazaf
(E, 17k, girl direction) Harry returns to her small hometown over the holiday season and starts to think about the road not taken.
Captain CupidĀ by @2tiedships2
(NR, 15k, omegaverse) the one where Niall enlists his friends to help start a speed dating side hustle. Things don't go as planned... or maybe they do?
It Will Always Be YouĀ by @phdmama
(E, 15k, older Larry) If you had told Louis Tomlinson a year ago that he would be celebrating his birthday by kissing the man who is the love of his life on a Church Street park bench in Burlington VT as the snow drifted softly down, he would have told you that you were extremely imaginative.Ā
Eyes on the HorizonĀ byĀ yeah_alright / @uhoh-but-yeah-alright
(E, 12k, age difference) Freshly dumped, recently fired, and about to turn 40, Harry's friends insist on taking him skydiving to cheer him up.
You Light Up the PathĀ byĀ QuickedWeen / @becomeawendybird
(T, 12k, mermaid au) Louis Tomlinson left his home in Doncaster as a young man with the intent of making enough money to send it back home to his family and support them however he could.Ā Harry, or so he likes to be called, is the myth and legend himself known as the Staithes Mermaid.Ā
Sex Drunk SuckerpunchĀ byĀ thinlinesĀ / @thinlinez
(E, 7k, sugar baby) Sugar Baby Louis did what any sugar baby should avoid doing but (clichely) end up doing anyways, that is, failing for his sugar mama.
Court WineĀ byĀ @enchantedlandcoffeeĀ ,Ā red_panda28Ā /Ā @red-pandaaa
(T, 7k, omegaverse) after a misunderstanding during a scrabble game, Alpha Louis starts courting Omega Harry without the latter being aware of it.
you give me feelings that i adoreĀ by @alwaysxlarrie
(T, 7k, a/b/o) 5 times Louis scents Harry's things and the 1 time Harry returns the gesture.
Truth or DrinkĀ by @kingsofeverything
(M, 6k, exes to lovers) Harry and Louis broke up years ago, and they're seeing each other again for the first time to play Truth or Drink. On camera.
Perfect, For NowĀ byĀ @parmahamlarrie
(T, 4k, omegaverse) Moving to a new city is always hard, being away from home, finding your new community - none of it is easy. Dealing with all of this while being touch deprived is even more difficult.
UnplantĀ byĀ @hellolovers13
(M, 4k, neighbors) Louis should've looked where he was going, then he wouldn't have to desperately try to save a little flower now.
nights like theseĀ byĀ localopa / @voulezloux
(G, 3k, angst with a happy ending) you smile at me and say āitās time to go.ā but i donāt feel like going home.
sorry for...Ā byĀ stretchmybones / @lookwhatyoumademelou
(M, 1k, roommates) How else was Harry supposed to apologize properly? He was indeed a stress baker.Ā
Mistletoe KissĀ byĀ @neondiamond
(G, 1k, roommates) A little bit of mistletoe is just the thing Louis needed to let his roommate Harry know heās got quite the crush on him.
StillĀ byĀ downcamethelightning / @downcamethelightnings
(G, 666 words, Halloween) FBI Agent Louis calls Harry to investigate a case believed to have taken place in Harry's own home. Harry is quite familiar with the victim's face.
āļø Rare Pairs āļø
The Light Out In The Madness (Hold Tight)Ā by @lalalaartje
(E, 46k, Niall/Louis) When Louis ends up with Niall as a roommate after a messy break up with Harry, he considers it truly life saving. They become fast friends and while Louis is sceptical about Niall's idea to start fake dating to take revenge on Harry, it can't be that bad, can it?
neither wanting more, neither asking why (series) by @justanothershadeofblue
(E, 40k, OT5) If Louis is the origin, Zayn the expansion, Liam the complication, Niall the solution, then Harry - Harry's the completion.
BloomĀ byĀ LadyAJ_13 / @ladyaj-13
(T, 28k, Louis/Liam) In early 1970s Oxford, Detective Sergeant Louis Tomlinson has to deal with the dual pressures of a case that hits too close to home, and the arrival of new colleague Liam Payne.
Jump!Ā byĀ @reminiscingintherain
(M, 15k, Louis/Tommy Longhurst) āI absolutely know what this means, lad,ā he replied, his voice gentle and supportive. āThe way youāre reacting to being out there? Thatās exactly why I chose you for the support slot.ā He gave a reassuring squeeze. āYou deserve this, okay?āĀ
Cold SpringĀ by @nouies
(E, 8k, Louis/Pedro Pascal) Louis is a coffee shop owner and Pedro is his newest customer.
ChaosĀ by @haztobegood
(M, 100 words, Louis/OMC [bodyguard]) Against the barricade, itās complete chaos.




















