#plot-heavy

Albert had always hated his birthright. The entitlement of his family and the others in the social circles made his stomach churn–he’d rather have been born a pariah than live this luxurious, empty life. Arranged marriages were common among nobility. His father had told him something about blood purity that Albert had chosen not to remember. The concept disgusted him, the idea that a drop of their blood could be worth more than any other human being’s. He’d been vaguely aware of his own betrothal to the daughter of some equally horrible family and had resigned himself to that fate. That is, until Louis and his brother came into his life.

After a life of self-hatred, he had a reason to not hate the power and wealth that came with his status–after all, it allowed him to dedicate himself as an invaluable tool in William’s already impressive arsenal. The day his family died and their lavish estate was burned was the day Albert finally started to live.

Unfortunately, considering that the three boys had no remaining family, guardianship of them was given to the family of Albert’s intended bride. His betrothed, Y/N, seemed tolerable enough–pretty, well-spoken, and intelligent. However, when you lie with dogs, you tend to walk away with fleas, and her family was even worse than Albert’s had been. After only a few days with them, the Moriarty brothers had already deemed them the next target of their plan, and Albert was not attached enough to Y/N to make plans to spare her. In his eyes, she was at best complacent in her family’s horrible deeds and at worst being groomed to become one of them.

That assessment of her remained until a few days before their plan was set to go into motion. Albert had been walking to the servants' quarters–Y/N’s family had insisted upon housing Louis there, just like his family had, so he and William often made visits there. This time, however, he heard crying from the room next to Louis’s, and a gentle voice speaking in a soothing yet worried tone. “Amelia, please just let me wrap it for you. It can’t be healthy to leave that open, especially since they won’t let you change your work enough to keep it clean.”

When Albert pushed open the door, the offer of help died on his lips as Y/N shot up to her feet, putting herself between him and the sobbing servant girl. The fire in his betrothed’s eyes caught him off guard, as did the steady strength in her voice. “Your opinion matters little to me in this situation, Lord Moriarty, so I’d prefer to hold your tongue. Amelia has been injured, most likely at the hands of my father, and I intend to help her.”

He realized she’d taken his silence as horror instead of surprise. “My lady, we keep a small medical supply kit under Louis’s bed. I believe it has the items necessary for sutures. Do you have a steady hand?”

It’s Y/N’s turn to be surprised–all she could do was nod. Albert leaned slightly to look past her, assessing what Amelia might need. The bruises on her wrists and the deep, still-bleeding gash visible on the palm of her hand made his heart hurt. “I’ll fetch the kit. Would you be able to get some hot water? I’d prefer to resterilize the tools and clean that cut properly before sewing it shut.”

Y/N seemed to have regained her composure as she nods again. “I’ll bring some clean cloth from my room as well–I’d prefer to know that whatever material we use is unlikely to carry any sort of infection.”

Both completed their missions, reconvening in Amelia’s room to begin the task of tending to her wounds. True to her word, Y/N’s hand was steady, deftly stitching up the cut while offering soft words of encouragement to the girl. Albert busied himself with the cloth that she’d brought with her, cutting it into thin strips in order to make it better for bandaging. To his surprise, the material seems to be rather expensive. “My lady, where did you get this?”

“I cut it from one of my dresses–Mother won’t miss it, I’m sure, and the material is plain enough that nobody would suspect anything without closer inspection.” Albert found himself with a new appreciation for his intended bride, deciding to allow her to finish helping Amelia before asking her more questions.

Once Amelia was bandaged and comfortable, Albert offered to walk Y/N back to her room, which she tentatively accepted. As they walked down the hallway, Albert cleared his throat. “I take it that you don’t approve of your family’s behavior, then?”

“Of course not! It disgusts me that people can think they were born with the right to treat other humans like dirt.” Gears started turning in the oldest Moriarty brother’s head. “If there was a way you could change that, would you do it? Even if it meant leaving it all behind?”

“Yes.” There was no hesitation in her voice, but she looked at him with a guarded expression. “Do you have a way to do that?”

“No, but my brother William does, and we could always use more help. I must warn you, though, if you accept this, there’s no going back.” Y/N came to a stop, forcing him to do the same as she stuck out her hand towards him. “I’d be happy to assist with that, Lord Moriarty.”

4) Tied Down | Explicit | 48551 words

The most interesting case in Liam and Niall's careers falls directly into their laps, courtesy of an epic fuck-up of one Harry Styles, partner to the almost-infamous drug dealer Louis Tomlinson.   The investigation yields an unexpected yet satisfactory outcome for Liam and Niall.  For Harry and Louis, however, things are far more complicated.

5) Now That This Old World Is Ending | Explicit | 49184 words

Needing a good distraction from his broken heart, Louis Tomlinson goes on a camping trip with his friends to Northern England. However, a different kind of distraction arises when his friends disappear from their camp. Hellbent on finding them, Louis soon discovers that the area has been taken over by a cult and teams up with a resentful archer with fire in his eyes and blood on his hands.

Far Cry inspired AU.

6) It's A Long Way Down | Explicit | 52658 words

It’s June 2013, and the legalization of gay marriage is the most discussed political issue in the country. As a member of parliament Louis Tomlinson has decided to do everything under his power to keep marriage between a man and a woman. Little does he know a boy with green eyes and pink lips from his past is on a mission to change his mind.

7) We’ve Got the World in Our Hands | Explicit | 54964 words

Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

A mutants/superpowers AU. Louis and his friends attend the Cowell Institute for General Education and Mutant Training in London; when Louis meets Harry, the newest student at the Cowell Institute, he immediately recruits Harry to help play matchmaker for his friend Zayn. Harry and Louis are so caught up in meddling in Zayn's love life, though, that they don't notice that their own friendship is progressing into something more. Meanwhile, an ominous threat up north grows slowly until suddenly, no mutant - or human - is safe.

8) Somethin’ Bout You | Explicit | 59855 words

Of all the government agents in the world, Louis had to go and land the most charming one.

9) Like Real People Do | Explicit | 64175 words

Louis didn’t ask for a lot of things. He didn’t ask for his entire family to die in a car crash that may or may not have been his fault. He didn’t ask to get powers out of that accident, either, powers that eventually led him into a two-year relationship with a man who was far more than met the eye. But one night, he chose to ask for a replacement to a broken camera from someone he hadn’t spoken to in a year and a half. He did ask for that. And that kind of led to everything else.

10) We’ll Cast Some Light (You’ll Be Alright) | Not Rated | 74409 words

There’s a standard procedure for this. Scan, track, kill. But with a solar eclipse and a Greater Demon with unfinished business looming, the path to keeping England safe from harm becomes complicated and shadowed by mystery and secrets. For Harry and his team, times have never been harder, especially when a few old friends turned foes show up. Harry is left with just over forty days to overcome the hurdle of tension between them and reconcile their past, and figure out just what Louis is hiding from him before it’s too late.

11) Waiting On You | Explicit | 76584 words

“Vampires,” Louis says with disgust, glaring over at the vampire who is noisily slurping from the woman’s neck nearby.

 Zayn gives the neat fang marks on Louis’ neck a meaningful look.

“Can’t live with them, can’t live without them,” Louis finishes, ignoring Zayn when he rolls his eyes.

Louis takes a long sip of his milkshake, presses his fingers against the marks on his neck, and definitely doesn’t think about the vampire who left them there.

12) Through Struggles, To The Stars | Explicit | 80582 words

Louis is a Starfleet captain trying to find his place in the universe. Harry is a prince just trying to do what's right.

13) Cameras Flashing | Explicit | 81773 words

With his breakout single platinum three times over and his second album still selling out in stores around the world, Louis Tomlinson has made it to the top. However, his position as Pop Heartthrob of the Decade is threatened by the edgier, more artistic Zayn, who happens to be releasing an album a week after Louis’ upcoming third. Louis needs something groundbreaking- scandalous, even- to push past him in the charts. Much to Louis’ dismay, his PR team calls in The Sexpert.

Consulting with PR firm Shady, Lane and Associates pays the bills so that Harry Styles can spend his down time doing what he really loves: poring over data. On weekends and late into the evenings, he researches gender, presentation, and sexual orientation, analysing the longitudinal study that is his father’s life’s work. That is, until his newest client, the popstar with the fascinating secret, drags him off his couch and frighteningly close to the spotlight.

As the album’s release date approaches, will Tomlinson and Styles be able to pull off the most risky PR scheme of the millennium and beat Zayn in sales or will the heat of their feelings for each other compromise everything?

14) And Down the Long and Silent Street | Mature | 86090 words

Wherein Louis and Harry are on the opposite ends of the social ladder, but their paths still cross on the filthy streets Louis calls his home. The odds are staked against them from the beginning, and even more when Louis' past finally catches up with him.

15) A Taste Of Desire | Explicit | 104414 words

A Victorian ABO where Harry is the owner of the most successful cotton mill in Manchester, and Louis is an opinionated social activist about to disrupt Harry’s world.

16) Saving Symphony Hall | Mature | 124766 words

Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users. This fic is also a sequel to this fic, so you probably want to read that fic first.

“I think I have an idea,” Louis said. Slowly, and reluctantly, but with a growing sense of the inevitable. “God damnit, I think I have a really good idea.”

“Oh christ, that's the problem-solving face,” Babs said. “Last time we saw that face, he sold a company.”

“Wait, what?” Zayn asked.

“Right place, right time,” Louis said. “Also, fuck my life,”

“What?” Zayn repeated. Niall patted his hand.

“I usually just roll with whatever Louis is about to do,” he said. “It’s better for us all.”

“That’s the attitude,” said Louis, “I’ll tell you tomorrow. Tonight, I need to do some research. Zayn, give me your number. I’m gonna save our symphony.”

17) Tainted Saints And Velvet Vices | Mature | 126057 words

A self-fulfilling Hogwarts AU in which Louis is new to seventh year and Harry is the resident devil-may-care Slytherin set to make his entire experience a living misery. Due to less than favourable circumstances they're forced to forge an unwilling, tentative relationship for their own survival. Repressed emotions, decidedly unromantic ballroom dancing, Triwizard Tournament tasks, creative jinxes and twilight flying above the Forbidden Forest ensue.

18) Run Like the Devil | Explicit | 138095 words

Note: This fic has BH mentions.

Supernatural AU. Louis hunts demons; Harry's the strangest demon he's ever met, and he keeps fucking meeting him.

19) You Are The Blood | Explicit | 175151 words

Note: This fic has BH mentions.

A seventh-year Hogwarts AU in which Niall gets all the girls, Liam goes on a journey of self-discovery, Zayn falls in love, Harry wants something more, and Louis tries to figure out once and for all why he, a Muggleborn, was sorted into Slytherin.

20) Collision | Not Rated | 209473 words

Mythology/Fairytale!AU in which Louis is a dainty fairy with a temper who wants to be intimidating and Harry hurts people. Naturally, they hate each other.