survivors.

Fandom: One Direction
Pairings/Characters: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan/Zayne Malik
Rating: Explicit
Length: 81,459 words / 9.5hr podfic
Creator Links: hattalove on AO3, frecklebomb on AO3
Theme: Food & Cooking

Summary: Louis couldn’t be prouder of his bake, but there’s something—there’s something. Something about Harry Styles and the earnest way he measures, pours, mixes, scrapes. Something about the tip of his tongue poking out of his mouth as he knocks the air out of his batter.

Or, a Great British Bake Off AU in which Louis cares about winning and winning only, Harry is made of sunshine and rainbow sprinkles, and Niall sticks his nose into other people's business. Also featuring Liam as Louis's best friend-slash-concerned mother, and Zayn as a macaron connoisseur.


Reccer's Notes: I love GBBO AUs to pieces and this is one of the very best I've found. This story features characters in their early 20s who love baking for a variety of reasons. They are mostly charming but can be very stressed and vulnerable. They find joy in being good at what they can do with batter and dough, but can also be tough on themselves as well as others. IOW you've seen these characters on the show itself at times. : )

There's an enemies-to-lovers progression happening for one half of the main pairing that is exasperating and very human until it reaches the point where it's also very hot and very fun. The writer deserves a cake stand and a big bouquet for managing to weave all these elements together into a very satisfying story.

There's a marvelous podfic version of the story by frecklebomb as well. It's one of my favorite listens.

Fanwork Links: Leave It To the Breeze by hattalove, podfic by frecklebomb