✨My favorite fics of 2025 in no particular order ✨
Remember to leave kudos, comments and love to the authors/artists of this fandom!
Performance Review by @wishingforloushair
the one where Louis is just trying to make it through to the weekend at the job he hates, and Harry’s the bratty intern that won’t give him a moment’s peace.
This fic had everything: great banter, hot smut, fun OT5, really good dynamics and amazing writing !!!
gambled our souls to the summer by @harruandlou
It's the summer of '99 and, after helping Harry run away from his wedding, Louis has one week on a secluded Maine island to get the second chance he's always wanted.
Love LOVE THIS FIC! Their relationship, the setting… so many good things! I want more fic like this!
please remain on the line by @fckingfreakshow
harry’s looking for love, or at the very least a date that doesn’t make him want to walk off the brooklyn bridge. his friends call him a serial dater, but he prefers romantically persistent. he believes in the process and sometimes, you gotta kiss a few toads and pay sketchy astrology sites for the answers.
what he really wants is simple. someone fun, who keeps him on his toes, who doesn’t take themselves too seriously. someone who’ll flirt shamelessly, make him laugh, maybe even whisper sweet nothings into his ear…
he just didn’t expect the last part to be so…literal.
This series is excellent !! Already read it twice! It’s funny, really well written and lovely.
wildflower by @blueskiesrry
a 1950s hollywood story spanning half a decade where harry and louis are constantly growing towards, away from, & around each other and everything harry wants are things he can’t have.
Beautiful piece of art !! Really vivid, vibrant & cinematic ! I enjoyed their story, their journey and their relationship felt natural. Great pacing with a good mix of angst, fluff and smut.
a guy like you (should wear a warning) by @ursulalequeen
harry is a single parent who just wanted a casual shag, but everything gets complicated when he accidentally sleeps with his daughter’s new teacher (who can only communicate through sarcasm, apparently).
Ooooh this was so good! Love the writing, their banter, Harry’s inner monologue is *chef’s kiss *… Every characterization is a gem: Harry, Louis, Lily, Gemma and Niall…
Seriously I couldn’t put this story down!
when close to satisfaction by @givesuethemoon
After a string of unlucky events, Louis finds himself forced to bring his sharp financial acumen to Harmonia, a beauty and apparel brand known for its whimsical aesthetics but hurt by its inability to make a profit in all its years of operation. Unfortunately, his assistance seems to be far from appreciated by the co-founder and CEO, Harry, who is stubborn, spoiled, and much to Louis' dismay: drop-dead gorgeous.
With no other option, he and Harry form an unlikely team in the mission to make Harmonia successful. But as the lines begin to blur through late nights and stolen glances, Louis realizes that the traits he had once despised might just make Harry impossible to resist.
This story was so lovely and cute!! Love their meeting, their banter… Loved the pace of their relationship and the smut was hoooot!! Beautiful writing, great plot, wonderful characters!
terms and conditions may apply by @grlfriendrry
Louis is the senior manager at the Apple Store in the Fashion Show Mall. He comes in, gets his job done efficiently, and remains emotionally distant. He is very much not here to fall for a dramatic illustrator with a deadline and a god complex.
So when Harry walks in wearing sunglasses inside and snapping gum in Louis’ face, it’s just another customer to tolerate. He talks too much, complains loudly, and Louis is positive he’s never met anyone more annoying in his life.
It should've ended there, it doesn't.
This story was lovely !! Really well written, love Louis’ inner monologue and Harry was so sweet. Love their dynamic and how their relationship evolved. Gorgeous!!
Dull Light, Sharp Edges by finelinefeelings
Harry’s never been lonelier and thats when he meets bridgeboy, a homeless louis who can avoid questions like no other. naturally he brings him home.
Really heartwarming and tender. Beautifully written! Really loved it!
come home to me by @aquietlarrie
an exploration into how the ages of seventeen to your late twenties can feel anything but stable. a realistic, and sometimes confrontational deep dive into healing yourself as a whole away from the one you love the most, sprinkle in a relationship dynamic where boundaries of said friendship are blurred with codependency and jealousy, and the complexities of such emotions are explored.
A story full of emotions, full of depth… even if it was hard sometimes, frustrating… all made sense to me! Love their journey around the world. This fic could be a movie!! The settings, their story…. Everything would be grandiose !I’m going to miss them…
The Island of Misfit Boys by @bananaheathen
3 years before Of Mates and Men begins... this is also a love story.
The one where Zayn is a starving artist and Liam is a sheltered rich kid with a gallery.
Or, the one where Zayn's art changes Liam's life (and consequently, everyone else's lives too).
Or, the one where it all begins.
Prequel of Mates (Ziam fic) The perfect beginning of a love story for two perfect boys!
It's beautiful, sensitive, lovely, sweet... I love the little winks to Mates!
What do you after all your dreams have come true?
And you're discovering just how much they've cost you?
One of the best fics of this year! Shaylea always writes such vivid stories ! Exes to lovers, dancers, Swan lake, Asia… stunning!!
We’re a Matching Set, Babe by @emilarry
Louis loves the jacket he wore to the Super Bowl, but when his husband Harry shows up at the after party wearing the matching skirt, Louis is less than thrilled. Harry, however, has some surprises up his sleeve (and up his skirt).
Fun & hot !! Perfect banter, always love Emily’s writing!
all the sins you didn't have by @twopoppies
It’s 1880, and premier danseurHarry Styles is running out of time. At twenty-five, he’s fast becoming too old for the lecherous benefactors who frequent The Paris Opera Ballet’s infamous backstage, and the only way to ensure he isn’t left penniless or rotting away in a brothel is to secure a permanent patron.
Enter Lord Louis Tomlinson: wealthy, young, handsome. And, unfortunately, a notorious rake. Harry strikes him and his gigantic ego off the list immediately… At least until they realize they have a common set of enemies and a common goal: revenge.
From start to finish this fic was sublime... The setting, the era... I'm going to miss them!!! The writing is stunning !
where the spirit meets the bones by @outropeace
When Louis discovers his husband is having an affair that could ruin his future, he recruits the most qualified person he knows to bring him down: Harry Styles, the asshole who's been pining after Louis' husband since university and somehow thinks no one has noticed. Now Harry has to choose between protecting his unrequited love or helping Louis destroy him.
or; the high infidelity au
So good! Couldn’t put this one down! The story, their chemistry, the tension… so so yummy!!
