Hi! I have a road trip rec, so I'll list that one and include a few world travel fics, too!

✤ Road Trip

For the Right Reasons by @juliusschmidt

Harry doesn’t agree to be the Bachelor expecting to find love. He’s just hoping for an exciting jaunt around the world, half a dozen new friends, and, if he’s lucky, an amazing hj or two.

Louis may have signed up to be a contestant on the Bachelor, but he’s not interested a ring or a proposal, not from Harry, not from anyone. He wouldn’t turn down a few more Instagram followers, though.

Limerence by @allwaswell16

Louis Tomlinson needs to get away from his life for a bit. So he's going on a trip across Europe that he once planned to take with his best friend. He expects to meet up with a lot of old friends and see the sights. What he doesn't expect is to keep seeing the same (kind of annoying) TikToker everywhere he goes…

You Come Beating Like Moth's Wings by supernope

Harry smiles. He's only known Louis for about two hours, knows nothing about him past his first name, but he's nice and sarcastic and helpful and so, so pretty. And Harry's still got a few days left in Barcelona, and he thinks he wouldn't mind spending them with Louis.

Also known as, Harry takes the summer before uni to travel Europe and meets Louis in Barcelona, and they end up traveling together.

An Amazing Race Around the World (And to my Heart) by Thingssicant / @slowlyseducedbycurls

“This year marks our thirtieth race around the world, thirty seasons of teams bound by friendship, family, and even some people who just band together for the chance at the prize. But this year, we want to remove that dynamic,” Phil said, rubbing his hands together gently.

The cameras were whirring around them, trying to get every shocked face and gasp from the teams. Louis could feel a ringing in his ears, a new nervousness he hadn’t felt during the entire journey to this competition.

He was sweating more now, more than he could blame on the California sun, as Phil started to read the names of the new teams, the members hugging their loved ones before joining a complete stranger in their new allotted spot.

happy mondayyyyyyyyyy

Louis drew in a sharp breath. Greengreengreen. -- @twopoppies

Though, if he’s being honest, it’s really not that gritty. There is a fucking Whole Foods up on the corner of Houston and Second Avenue after all. -- @crinkle-eyed-boo

And then the cat came along and made it even better.  -- @homosociallyyours

“Very illuminating,” Harry deadpanned. He had no idea what Louis was going to ask, but he had a pretty good idea that he was going to say yes regardless. Louis had that effect on people.  -- @loveislarryislove

What does Harry want, he wonders as he darts across the room, trying to get back to the elevators without spilling his tea on anyone. Does he want to be friends? Does he want to have sex again? Does he want to marry Louis and have his babies? -- supernope

He flips open the outdated House and Garden, and starts to thumb through it. His set-up is intricate, with the magazine propped up against his knees as he balances the pint of ice cream on his chest. Lesser men would not be able to handle it.

“You should come by,” Harry says, smiling at Louis from over his mug, dimple – sorry, crater – on full display. And really, Harry could ask for the moon, and Louis would be in conversation with NASA the next minute, working out a plan to get it for him. -- @backonefish

It’s embarrassing, really, how Louis turns him into a sixteen-year-old with a crush, but it is what it is. -- @screwstyles

“I was clearly nervous,” Harry protests, rolling his chair back up to this desk. “I bought cheese! I didn't know this was a thing! I didn't— Liam was there! Was it a date?” -- @kingsofeverything

A Change In Momentum by kingsofeverything | G | 666 Louis tries to surprise Harry by carving pumpkins by himself.

perfect pumpkins by shiptattou | G | 666 Harry decides a pumpkin carving 'contest' is the best way to tell Louis.

Made Just For Me by casuallyhl | nr | 2227 “What the fuck are you doing?” From where he’s sitting on the floor, Harry chooses not to answer. Instead, he continues laying out old newspapers around him. He layers them so they completely cover the carpet, leaving no space for anything to stain. “Harry,” Louis’ voice comes again. “What are you doing?” “I’m getting ready to carve a pumpkin,” Harry replies simply, still not looking at Louis. “But…why?” Or, Harry and Louis carve a pumpkin.

squash! goes my heart by sarcangel | T | 3331 Niall just laughs and ruffles Freddie’s hair, and says, “Maybe next time, buddy,” in a way that shuts Louis up, because suddenly all he can see is years of Octobers, years of them, Freddie getting taller and Niall planting seeds on his stupid back porch like the stubborn-arsed Irishman he is, and all right.

May The Gourds Be With You by BayouSexual | nr | 3496 “Next time you want to go on a road trip to the middle of nowhere, I’m saying no. ASDA has plenty of pumpkins.” Louis says darkly. Harry shoves his phone back in his pocket, “Just start the car like I said and we can see if we can get back the way we came.” Louis turns the key slowly and isn’t even surprised when nothing happens. He just sighs, “God hates us.” ____________ Or that one fic with where Harry can't read maps, and Louis hates pumpkins.

You're The Pumpkin Of My Eye by rockstarlwt28 | G | 4122 Harry and Louis go on a seasonal date, that is sweeter than the confectionery in a trick or treat bucket. It’s filled with sweet snuggles, cute kisses and pumpkin picking.

You Are the Moon That Breaks the Night by supernope | T | 4168 Harry doesn’t realize he’s been squeezing Louis’ hand until Louis nudges him in the hip and laughs, “They’re just pumpkins, Harry, calm down. Let’s go have a look.” Harry lets Louis drag him off toward the closest pile of decorative gourds, then tugs him down into a crouch so they can begin to search through them all. He wants carving pumpkins, but he also wants little ones for decoration and a couple of ripe ones to bake with. Louis does not understand the art of selecting a pumpkin, Harry discovers, and he has to give him a hands-on tutorial that involves way too much touching for such a public, kid-friendly place. Harry wants so many pumpkins that they end up making it into a contest to see who can choose the best ones, both drifting from pumpkin pile to hay bale, turning pumpkins over and pressing on the bottoms like they’re pumpkin experts.

make this feel like home | G | 4362 He doesn’t know if he’ll ever be graced with a sight cuter than his boyfriend standing in the middle of a pumpkin patch in October, holding the pumpkin version of him against his hip. Harry wants to be the one held up against Louis’ waist. Not a silly pumpkin. “Gonna the return the favor or what, curly?” Louis motions to the cute little stocky half of the orange dream team behind him and winks. “I’m a good enough pumpkin for you, aren’t it?” [harry and louis are 17 and besotted, feat. halloween]

 Follow Me Down This Time by supernope 

Words: 27k

Harry first noticed Louis in his second term at Hogwarts, and despite three years of inventing ways to stumble across Louis, he's never managed to actually work up the courage to speak to him. Also known as, self-indulgent Hogwarts AU, because every fandom needs Hogwarts AUs.

But Why Wonder, Why Wonder? by @100percentsassy

Words: 30k

The one where Marcel Styles has improbably landed a job in the fashion industry, and Louis Tomlinson is the actor-turned-lingerie-designer he’s been infatuated with for years.

Life Saver by @horsegirlharry

Words: 30k

Nerd Boy’s giant, dorky, adorable hand shoots into the air. Louis notices he has chipped red polish on a few of his nails and some tattered friendship-looking bracelets, like the sort you make in camp, and he might hear the distant chime of wedding bells. He thought he didn’t even believe in marriage because it’s, like, oppressive and heteronormative or whatever, but that was before Styles, Harry (Harry Styles!!! What an absurd, wonderful name! What a perfect thing to scrawl in the margins of all his notebooks surrounded in hearts!) appeared in the bio lab at his new school and ruined all his principles forever.

or Louis is a sweetheart punk with a theater background and a heart of gold, Harry is an inexperienced nerd who plays by the rules. Classmates, lab partners, and eventually friends, what happens when Louis knows he’s in love, but doesn’t know how tell Harry?

tell them we're like magnets by you_explode

Words: 31k

Louis and Harry are roommates and best mates who like to kiss when they're drunk. Louis doesn't want her feelings to ruin things, so she starts seeing someone else, but she still can't seem to stop kissing Harry.

uni au where girl direction/little mix live together and get wasted a lot and make questionable choices.

Beneath the Sheets of Paper by missberrycake

Words: 55k

In which Harry Styles is about to start his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. While his best friends Liam, Niall and Zayn battle with the trials and tribulations of another school year, it’s all Harry can do not to fall head over heels for Slytherin prefect Louis Tomlinson. Harry soon comes to realise that discovering Louis was a far greater piece of magic than anything Hogwarts could teach him. Magic, though, is not always what it seems …

♡ credit to the owner of the manip

Re-Reads:

1. My Kingdom for a Kiss (Tonight You’re on My Mind) (leighbot) - Zayn and Louis make a friendly wager and it goes too far, Harry’s a baker with a heart of gold and really great hair, Liam is an overworked PA who just wants to enjoy his holiday and Niall is completely at ease, as always. An accidentally married AU mixed with a splash of modern royalty.

2. Just a Memory (and All that We could have Been) (trustingno1) - Harry wakes up in a reality in which he and Louis are very much together. Which is pretty awesome. Or - it would be. If Harry could remember any of it.

3. It’s Just that It’s Delicate (acciocreativity (condescendingsmirk)) - Harry giggles sleepily and Louis’ heartstrings give a little tug. “Come snuggle, then?” he asks hopefully, blinking up at Louis slowly. He brings a hand up to rub at his tired eyes. “Body heat and all that.”

4. All I Wanna Do (dimpled_halo) - After they decide to break up, Harry and Louis spend the hiatus apart. A year later, the band reunites to start working on their new album.

New Reads:

1. We Will Find Our Way (supernope) - Harry and Louis are uni students studying abroad in New York, stuck in the dorms together over Christmas.

2. Breathing in Your Dust (togetherwecouldbealright) - Harry doesn’t believe in soulmates despite living in a world where soulmates and fate are key words. Louis is just a boy he meets but at the same time, he’s so much more.

3. It’s Just Not the Season to be Lonely (colourexplosion) - Harry owns a bakery and Louis is visiting home for the holidays. They fall into something like love.

4. I Can’t Stop Thinking ‘Bout You (lostboysoflondon) - After an unfortunate amount of time, Harry’s useless staring finally pays off. (High School AU)

5. We’re Looking for Something Dumb to Do (soleilouis) - Harry and Louis decide that they need to come up with the best senior prank possible. If it means pretending that they’re married, that’s a sacrifice they’re willing to make.

6. Search and Rescue Me (wildhalos) - Louis never really paid attention to Harry until they get stuck in the locker room together.

7. Let’s Embrace the Point of No Return (sweaterpawstyles) - Harry is an omega intern at an all alpha company. Louis is his boss. There are some complications.

8. Sound Like a Song (allwaswell16) - Harry helps out at a farmer’s market and gives Louis free vegetables.

9. When You Look Like That (hrrytomlinson) - Louis is a songwriter who is nominated for a Grammy and he needs a suit. Fast. He seeks out help from a very popular, very mysterious designer who just so happens to be his ex-boyfriend.

10. Nine-Tenths of the Law (eleadore) - Louis doesn’t get jealous.

11. Couldn’t See Past Me, Till I Saw You (lululawrence) - Harry and Louis have been best friends since they could remember and their friendship has withstood it all . . . but an unexpected pregnancy might change everything.

12. I’m Going Back to the Start (softestlesbian) - On the break, Harry and Louis move in together.

13. After Midnight (zarah5) - Louis hates how often people forget that Harry is only nineteen.

14. You Drive Me Crazy (I Just Can’t Sleep) (objectlesson) - The first time Louis ends up in Harry’s bed is a total accident.

This is a rec list of One Direction fics that feature someone’s birthday as part of the story as requested in this ask. Hope you enjoy the fics! If you do, please leave the author kudos and comments! You can find my other fic recs here. Happy reading! (Deleted fics below the cut)

- Louis / Harry -

🎈 Own the Scars by @crinkle-eyed-boo​ 

(E, 144k, addiction) Louis has never felt like he was good enough. After an accident that nearly costs him his life, Louis' parents send him to rehab where he’s forced to face his demons.

🎈 Just Me, You, And This Box of Matches by  tomlinsunshine / @tornlinsunshine 

(M, 87k, neighbors) Louis is fairly sure that his new neighbour is going to destroy him. And also their apartment building, and the dumpsters outside, and all the forests within a thirty mile radius. But. Mostly him.

🎈 Feels Like Coming Home by @phdmama​

(E, 60k, exes) 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. 

🎈 Keeping You Forever and For Always by  Rearviewdreamer / @all-these-larrythings​ 

(NR, 52k, Kyle XY au) Louis only went poking around in the woods one evening in the name of science and saving the polluted lake that everyone else had long since given up on. 

🎈 It Had To Be You by @kingsofeverything​ 

(M, 45k, When Harry Met Sally) Ten years after their post-college road trip, Louis and Harry meet once again, but this time they become friends. Eventually, things get complicated.

🎈 It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year (series) by @2tiedships2​ 

(NR, 32k, omegaverse) the one where Niall's dead car and and a foot of snow conspire to force Louis into spending time with an alpha he hates.... or does he?

🎈 Fugue by iwillpaintasongforlou / @canonlarry​ 

(E, 16k, amnesia) Harry falls asleep a 17 year-old who lives in Cheshire and is probably rockstar Louis Tomlinson's biggest fan. He wakes up 24 with a wedding ring on his finger, two kids, and Louis Tomlinson attempting to wake him up with a blow job. 

🎈 make my wish come true by flicker_album / @flicker-album​ 

(G, 10k, roommates) the one where Louis starts decorating for Christmas in November and Harry indulges him.

🎈 Merry Birthday by @jaerie​ 

(NR, 9k, omegaverse) Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson have unfortunate soulmarks branded onto their skin. The first words their soulmate will ever speak to them are two of the most common greetings, so common that they don't even notice when it finally happens for real.

🎈 What Am I Gonna Say When I See You by runaway_train / @runaway-train-works 

(E, 7k, childhood friends) The one where Louis' unsure if too much time has passed since he last saw his childhood best friend to try and make things right.

🎈 Quite Unconventional by QuickedWeen / @becomeawendybird​ 

(T, 7k, co workers) Louis Tomlinson's mother asked for one thing for her birthday, a murder mystery party. One of the families invited drops out last minute, and Louis absolutely needs to find replacements for their characters or the party will be ruined.

🎈 rebel, rebel, your face is a mess by istajmaal 

(E, 6k, pwp) It's Harry's birthday. Naturally, the festivities involve sex. Naturally, the sex involves cake.

🎈 I’m Like A Scarf Trick, It’s All Up The Sleeve by EmmyLouWho

(G, 2k, strangers to lovers) In which Louis’ siblings are having a birthday party, and Harry is the professional magician hired as the entertainment.

🎈 There Is No Resistance Here by @taggiecb​ 

(E, 1k, part 3 of Broody Sub Boss) It's Harry's birthday and Louis has found him the perfect gift.

- Rare Pairs -

🎈 two and two make five by mcsyndrome

(E, 8k, ot5) “You know what I’ve never done?” Louis wonders. “Had birthday sex.” Louis-centric OT5 smut because everyone should get well fucked on their birthday.

FIC REC’S OF 2017 part 4 (march-april)

Perfect Storm by cherrystreet (80k) CHAPTERED 

What do you do when your best friend asks you and your (now) ex to be the best men at his destination wedding? You can either tell him the truth, tell him you’re not together anymore, and deal with the consequences, or you can pretend you’re still together and roll with it, just pray you don’t spiral. Fake it ‘til you make it. You know, for the sake of the wedding.

Harry and Louis choose the latter.   FAKE/PRETEND RELATIONSHIP WITH A TWIST

You Always Seem To Bring Me Light by sinisterist (18k) CHAPTERED

He jumps when he feels a hand stroking his hair lightly. “I love it like this,” Louis murmurs, reaching to tug a wayward curl.

“Love what like this?”

“Your hair.” Louis’ touch is hesitant, almost reverent, all trace of humour gone now. “When it’s still kind of damp but the ends are dry and curl up like corkscrews. It’s supposed to look gross but it doesn’t.” He pauses before continuing quietly. “Your curls are so lovely.”

Harry swallows. Louis is a hurricane, and amidst his whirlwind of emotions, he slowly says; deliberately says, “So are you.”

In a world where YouTuber baker Harry pines for the (inconveniently taken) Louis. In other words, another YouTuber AU.

Emperor’s New Clothes by sunsetmog (92k) CHAPTERED

The fact that Louis’s most precious belonging was a cat with a face like thunder and an uncanny ability to cover every single inch of Louis’s clothing with cat hair was something that Louis chose not to think about too much.

or: Harry’s a pop star and Louis isn’t, and there’s a non-disclosure agreement where there used to be a relationship. SECRET RELATIONSHIP

✤ Christmas Fics ✤

A series of posts with the top five fics of each category by kudos plus five more hidden gems from that category! Remember to leave kudos and a comment on the fics you enjoyed to show your appreciation! You can find the library's other recs here.

- Top 5 H/L Fics -

1️⃣ all the lights are full of colour by @infinitelymint {E, 26k}

So, fast-forwarding eight years from the day Harry met Louis, he is now a twenty-seven year old owner of one of the most up-and-coming eating establishments on the London restaurant scene, father of two wonderful boys and… separated from his husband. Now, that last part definitely was never a part of the original plan.

Or, Harry and Louis are separated, but for the sake of their two sons, they choose to spend Christmas together. It may just lead to a Christmas miracle.

2️⃣ the impossible now by @stylinsoncity {M, 64k}

A wish on Christmas Eve sends Louis to an alternate dimension where Harry is a member of One Direction.

3️⃣ We Will Find Our Way by supernope {M, 9k}

Harry smiles at Louis, quick and easy, and says, “Well, since we’re in the same boat, we’ll just make our own Christmas. What do you say?” Louis tamps down on a bloom of warmth in his belly. He barely knows Harry past seeing him walk down the hall in just his skivvies - not that he’s complaining - but he’s being so lovely, smiling at him so hopefully, and, well. Louis doesn’t much fancy the idea of spending Christmas completely alone. Nodding, he reaches out and pokes Harry’s dimple, watches it flirt to life underneath his fingertip. “I say yes.”

AKA, Harry and Louis are uni students studying abroad in New York, stuck in the dorms together over Christmas.

4️⃣ Candles On Air by @isthatyoularry {M, 29k}

Harry’s smile is filled with unconditional love — just not the right kind. Louis has told himself for years that it’s okay. Harry loving him the way he can is enough. Each year it gets a little harder to repeat the same mantra.

"It gets better. It will pass. His friendship is enough."

Harry has taken the liberty of putting on classic Christmas tunes on the speaker in the kitchen, and as their shared flat isn’t the largest Louis can hear Mariah Carey’s crooning from where he’s perched on the small sofa in the living room. Harry is on the floor, humming along. And yes. All Louis wants for Christmas is Harry.

A Christmas AU ft. Pining, Heartbreak, and maybe A Happy Ending.

5️⃣ love is a word (you gave it a name) by @hattalove {T, 21k}

“It’s worth it anyway,” says Harry, looking into Louis’s eyes. He’s untucked his hair from behind his ear, and it falls down in silky strands to obscure his face. He looks so painfully young, even after everything. Louis’s strong, strong boy. “Just for the two of us. We get to be selfish for a little while.”

it's christmas. in between snowman building, tree shopping, and ill-advised skating on a frozen lake, louis and harry get ready to take the most important step of their lives.

HIDDEN GEMS:

💎 Give It To Someone Special by elsi_bee / @elsi-bee {T, 34k}

At the behest of his agent, former child actor Louis Tomlinson signs on to star in the HeartStamp channel’s first Christmas movie featuring a same-sex love story. It may be cheesy, but at least it’s a path to get back into the industry. Now if only his co-star would stop being so critical, and confusing, and overwhelmingly distracting.

💎 You Ain’t Gotta Feel Fear Just Mingle by LadyLondonderry / @londonfoginacup {T, 32k}

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.

Oh, and the guy who works in conservation at the other end of the building is the most beautiful man Harry's ever seen, even when wielding a hot iron as a weapon.

Happy Christmas, here's to many more.

💎 Meet Me Underneath The Mistletoe by 4ureyesonly28 / @evilovesyou {G, 8k}

Louis flies out to Chicago for business just before Christmas... His flight home is cancelled because of a snow storm and he ends up going to his colleague Niall's Christmas party where he meets the most gorgeous man he's ever seen. And if they end up under the mistletoe within less than an hour then that's nobody's business but theirs.

💎 Where All Roads Lead by Rearviewdreamer / @all-these-larrythings {NR, 7k}

Harry's Christmas takes an unexpected turn when he discovers a misplaced holiday card in his letterbox. He never thought that braving the snow to return the card to its sender would be so worth his while.

💎 All The Way Home I'll Be Warm by @justanothershadeofblue {T, 2k}