One Direction recs
Well, I haven't done this in a while!
More updates here and added to the masterpost. Behind the cut: 2 Harry/Nick, 2 Liam/Louis, 2 Harry/Zayn, 1 Louis/Zayn, 2 Harry/Niall, 1 Liam/Niall, 2 Harry/Louis, 1 multiship, 1 threesome, and 1 other pairing (Niall/Julian). Whew!
Harry/Nick
The Miseducation of Harry Styles, by junkshopdisco, 30k. An early Nick/Harry story (both in terms of fandom chronology and in terms of real chronology). Nick's really into Harry, but convinced Harry isn't into him. A lot of the enjoyment I get out of this fic comes from Nick's very funny internal monologue--not just the content, but also the way it's worded. The conversations between Nick and Harry are pretty great, too. Just really lovely all around, and one of those narratives that is kind of foundational in how I think about Nick and Harry together.
Going Solo, by tilda, 1.7k. Nick's new intern asks to meet Harry, so even though they've kind of been avoiding each other, they end up in a toilet stall together anyway. Definitely not a happy one, or even hopeful, but gorgeously written and emotionally hurty in just the right way.
Liam/Louis
Step Into My Office, Baby, by ferritin4, 11k. Louis owns a video game company, and Liam's his secretary. One of those cute fun ones where you're literally screaming for them to get together and they're (cluelessly but believably!) not doing that. Nice side bit from Zayn, who doesn't take any shit from Louis, as he shouldn't. There are no grand emotions in here, but it's sure cute as fuck.
Better With You, by harriet_vane, 38k. Single dad Liam needs a nanny; Harry introduces him to a friend named Louis who needs a job. This one has good use of the supporting cast/other 1D members, and it does a good job of making single parenthood actually difficult for Liam, even with his resources. The Louis here is also a little unusual--he hasn't been as successful in life, so it's definitely still Louis, but with different edges than he has in real life. The story is a bid sad in parts, but overall really good and satisfying, with a few hilarious moments.
Harry/Zayn
(i feel them) crash against my skin, by gorgeousnerd, 4k. A really interesting take on bodyswap, both in the nonsexual scenes and also in the eventual sex scene. Writing something like this requires some really sharp character observation that the author pulls off well, and an unusual sense of physicality.
go the distance, by ymorton, 1.5k. Orgasm delay porn. Good stuff.
Louis/Zayn
baby you were my picket fence, by oliviacirce, 2k. Some post-Zayn-leaving Zayn/Louis angst and porn, with the relatively unusual quality of being Zayn POV (I've read much more Louis POV of that, though that may be due to the authors I read and not the drift of the fandom--who knows). Packs a wallop of a punch for something so short.
Harry/Niall
This One's Not Pretend, by acastle, 22k. Futurefic; Selena has Christmas plans, so Niall heads to a ski resort on his own, and Harry comes by to surprise him. Has lots of that angsty "we didn't make it work before, can we make it work now" futurefic stuff I love. It also has some of the "in denial about their feelings" stuff that can be fun in pining plus, only in this case it's particularly interesting because it seems more intentional than the denial usually does. Does contain infidelity.
only time is ours series by littlecather, 197k total. In the first fic in this series, Harry Styles wakes up from an accident with retrograde amnesia, not remembering anything about his life as a model or his fiance Liam Payne. But it's not only Liam he appears to be involved with--there's also Liam's assistant Niall. I'm not usually a fan of amnesia fics, and this one is very angsty in the way I often don't like, but the specificity of the thing between Harry and Niall is really lovely and more than enough to make up for it. The sequel is even more of a gut punch than the first, because it's actually a prequel and you know how it will end; at least there are the later fics to catch up, though. I'm not an expert, but this seemed more realistic about the progression and prognosis of a head injury resulting in amnesia than most fics are (in a way that also, y'know, ups the angst). I wouldn't read this on a day when you were already feeling kinda down, but as a nice shot of angsty romance when you're in the mood, it's great.
Liam/Niall
no guilt in pleasure here, by teaspoon, 3k. Liam and Niall and a dildo. Bit D/s-y, very hot, sometimes sweet.
Harry/Louis
So much stays unknown until the time has come, by becka, 5k. 27-year-old Harry shows up, saying he needs to talk to 19-year-old Louis. This one is VERY heavy on the angst (which I love when it's well-done), though it has its moments of humor as well. It has some sharp observation on how Louis would react and what he would notice, too. Lovely, but super sad.
Louis Love, by OhSlashy, 68k. Um. So definitely read the warnings and tags on this. This is definitely id fic, but if your id is like mine you might enjoy it anyway. It's quite underage (13 yo with 18 yo) A/B/O, lots of size kink porn (in both senses) and heat porn, with kinda shaky worldbuilding. There are also a couple of tough scenes, as warned for at the top of the fic, NOT between our main pairing of interest. Definitely a fic I'm reccing for only a subset of the people who read this recs list, but for that subset I think you might enjoy it. (There are sequels but I have not read them yet.)
Multiple ships
Easy as All That (Go Around a Time or Two) (85k) and Forever and a Night (28k), by sunsetmog. Easy as All That is the main story, a high school AU that involves best friends Liam and Louis moving towards a relationship, with lots of fits and starts and roadblocks. This one can be tough at times: there's a lot about discovering you're queer and coming to terms with that, and that involves some trouble for both members of the main pairing, in different ways and to different degrees. A side issue in the first fic is that Harry is interested in his friend Nick, who's a decade older; the second fic is Harry's eighteenth birthday, when Nick finally agrees to sleep with him, and it is very sweet and very hot and my little OTP heart loves it very much.
Threesomes and moresomes
Die Another Day, by wildestoftales, 40k. Secret agent Nick gets wounded on a mission that's left incomplete, and rookie agent Liam is assigned to help guard him at home--a home also containing Nick's teacher boyfriend Louis. This is a lot of Nick, Liam and Louis being cranky and bored because they can't leave the flat very often, but cranky in a funny-for-the-reader way. Super cute overall.
Other pairings
no remedy for memory, by siempreniall, 36k. Niall starts hooking up with Julian, only it's not clear whether or not it's just that. A lot of this fic is working through Niall's feelings (and the rest of the band's feelings) about Zayn leaving, and it's interesting to watch some of the people around Niall trying to help him when Niall himself isn't totally aware of that. Also, some really hot sex scenes. I will end with one caveat--this author has a dialogue punctuation problem that bugged the heck out of me, but it's mostly fixable with a search-and-replace in the HTML. It's worth reading through that annoyance, though.
More updates here and added to the masterpost. Behind the cut: 2 Harry/Nick, 2 Liam/Louis, 2 Harry/Zayn, 1 Louis/Zayn, 2 Harry/Niall, 1 Liam/Niall, 2 Harry/Louis, 1 multiship, 1 threesome, and 1 other pairing (Niall/Julian). Whew!
Harry/Nick
The Miseducation of Harry Styles, by junkshopdisco, 30k. An early Nick/Harry story (both in terms of fandom chronology and in terms of real chronology). Nick's really into Harry, but convinced Harry isn't into him. A lot of the enjoyment I get out of this fic comes from Nick's very funny internal monologue--not just the content, but also the way it's worded. The conversations between Nick and Harry are pretty great, too. Just really lovely all around, and one of those narratives that is kind of foundational in how I think about Nick and Harry together.
Going Solo, by tilda, 1.7k. Nick's new intern asks to meet Harry, so even though they've kind of been avoiding each other, they end up in a toilet stall together anyway. Definitely not a happy one, or even hopeful, but gorgeously written and emotionally hurty in just the right way.
Liam/Louis
Step Into My Office, Baby, by ferritin4, 11k. Louis owns a video game company, and Liam's his secretary. One of those cute fun ones where you're literally screaming for them to get together and they're (cluelessly but believably!) not doing that. Nice side bit from Zayn, who doesn't take any shit from Louis, as he shouldn't. There are no grand emotions in here, but it's sure cute as fuck.
Better With You, by harriet_vane, 38k. Single dad Liam needs a nanny; Harry introduces him to a friend named Louis who needs a job. This one has good use of the supporting cast/other 1D members, and it does a good job of making single parenthood actually difficult for Liam, even with his resources. The Louis here is also a little unusual--he hasn't been as successful in life, so it's definitely still Louis, but with different edges than he has in real life. The story is a bid sad in parts, but overall really good and satisfying, with a few hilarious moments.
Harry/Zayn
(i feel them) crash against my skin, by gorgeousnerd, 4k. A really interesting take on bodyswap, both in the nonsexual scenes and also in the eventual sex scene. Writing something like this requires some really sharp character observation that the author pulls off well, and an unusual sense of physicality.
go the distance, by ymorton, 1.5k. Orgasm delay porn. Good stuff.
Louis/Zayn
baby you were my picket fence, by oliviacirce, 2k. Some post-Zayn-leaving Zayn/Louis angst and porn, with the relatively unusual quality of being Zayn POV (I've read much more Louis POV of that, though that may be due to the authors I read and not the drift of the fandom--who knows). Packs a wallop of a punch for something so short.
Harry/Niall
This One's Not Pretend, by acastle, 22k. Futurefic; Selena has Christmas plans, so Niall heads to a ski resort on his own, and Harry comes by to surprise him. Has lots of that angsty "we didn't make it work before, can we make it work now" futurefic stuff I love. It also has some of the "in denial about their feelings" stuff that can be fun in pining plus, only in this case it's particularly interesting because it seems more intentional than the denial usually does. Does contain infidelity.
only time is ours series by littlecather, 197k total. In the first fic in this series, Harry Styles wakes up from an accident with retrograde amnesia, not remembering anything about his life as a model or his fiance Liam Payne. But it's not only Liam he appears to be involved with--there's also Liam's assistant Niall. I'm not usually a fan of amnesia fics, and this one is very angsty in the way I often don't like, but the specificity of the thing between Harry and Niall is really lovely and more than enough to make up for it. The sequel is even more of a gut punch than the first, because it's actually a prequel and you know how it will end; at least there are the later fics to catch up, though. I'm not an expert, but this seemed more realistic about the progression and prognosis of a head injury resulting in amnesia than most fics are (in a way that also, y'know, ups the angst). I wouldn't read this on a day when you were already feeling kinda down, but as a nice shot of angsty romance when you're in the mood, it's great.
Liam/Niall
no guilt in pleasure here, by teaspoon, 3k. Liam and Niall and a dildo. Bit D/s-y, very hot, sometimes sweet.
Harry/Louis
So much stays unknown until the time has come, by becka, 5k. 27-year-old Harry shows up, saying he needs to talk to 19-year-old Louis. This one is VERY heavy on the angst (which I love when it's well-done), though it has its moments of humor as well. It has some sharp observation on how Louis would react and what he would notice, too. Lovely, but super sad.
Louis Love, by OhSlashy, 68k. Um. So definitely read the warnings and tags on this. This is definitely id fic, but if your id is like mine you might enjoy it anyway. It's quite underage (13 yo with 18 yo) A/B/O, lots of size kink porn (in both senses) and heat porn, with kinda shaky worldbuilding. There are also a couple of tough scenes, as warned for at the top of the fic, NOT between our main pairing of interest. Definitely a fic I'm reccing for only a subset of the people who read this recs list, but for that subset I think you might enjoy it. (There are sequels but I have not read them yet.)
Multiple ships
Easy as All That (Go Around a Time or Two) (85k) and Forever and a Night (28k), by sunsetmog. Easy as All That is the main story, a high school AU that involves best friends Liam and Louis moving towards a relationship, with lots of fits and starts and roadblocks. This one can be tough at times: there's a lot about discovering you're queer and coming to terms with that, and that involves some trouble for both members of the main pairing, in different ways and to different degrees. A side issue in the first fic is that Harry is interested in his friend Nick, who's a decade older; the second fic is Harry's eighteenth birthday, when Nick finally agrees to sleep with him, and it is very sweet and very hot and my little OTP heart loves it very much.
Threesomes and moresomes
Die Another Day, by wildestoftales, 40k. Secret agent Nick gets wounded on a mission that's left incomplete, and rookie agent Liam is assigned to help guard him at home--a home also containing Nick's teacher boyfriend Louis. This is a lot of Nick, Liam and Louis being cranky and bored because they can't leave the flat very often, but cranky in a funny-for-the-reader way. Super cute overall.
Other pairings
no remedy for memory, by siempreniall, 36k. Niall starts hooking up with Julian, only it's not clear whether or not it's just that. A lot of this fic is working through Niall's feelings (and the rest of the band's feelings) about Zayn leaving, and it's interesting to watch some of the people around Niall trying to help him when Niall himself isn't totally aware of that. Also, some really hot sex scenes. I will end with one caveat--this author has a dialogue punctuation problem that bugged the heck out of me, but it's mostly fixable with a search-and-replace in the HTML. It's worth reading through that annoyance, though.