If This Is Love

Fanfiction
Title:	If This Is Love
Author(s):	sunsetmog
Date(s):	2013-03-07
Length:	85,591 words
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	One Direction/Radio 1 RPF
External Links:	on AO3
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If This Is Love is a popular Nick/Harry fanfic by sunsetmog. It is a canon-compliant coming out story set in 2012 and written from Nick's point of view. Major themes include the impact of media attention on Harry's personal life and Nick's angst over their age difference. The story also includes references to One Direction fandom, complete with a fictional Tumblr reaction post to the coming-out scene.

Author's summary: He's not fucking thirty yet, but he is way too old for Harry fucking Styles. Or: Nick Grimshaw has done some stupid, ridiculous, mad things in his life, but falling for Harry Styles might be the stupidest thing yet.

Reviews/Reactions

From Slash Report:

I think it actually does a really brilliant job of examining what it would be like to be in a real life couple in a fandom that has such an active RPF around it. And it examines what that fourth wall would look like and is also just really fantastic.... It's also got a fucking fantastic weirdo POV voice from Nick and it makes me so fucking happy.

On Fancake:

You don't even need to know these people. Just set aside a day for this fic, make yourself some tea, stay in bed, and wallow in the pining.

AO3 comments on the fic itself:

I AM IN AWE OF YOU. LIKE I'M KIND OF FEELING LIKE I DIED OR WENT MAD AND I JUST DREAMED THIS FANFIC UP BECAUSE I NEVER IMAGINED ANYONE WOULD EVER WRITE THIS. AND BY THIS I MEAN AN EPIC NOVEL LENGTH COMING OUT FIC THAT INVOLVED THE FAMILIES AND HOMOPHOBIA AND MEDIA AND TUMBLR GIRLS. I AM SO FUCKING IN AWE OF YOU RIGHT NOW. I AM GOING TO COME BACK AND READ EXCERPTS FROM THIS FIC FOR LIKE YEARS TO COME. I AM NOT EVEN KIDDING. I DON'T KNOW WHY I WROTE THIS ALL IN CAPS I AM SO SORRY THIS IS GOING TO BE ANNOYING TO READ BUT I JUST FINISHED READING AND I DIDN'T EVEN GO PEE BEFORE WRITING THIS BECAUSE I AM JUST SO AMPED UP. WOW. FUCK. I THINK I NEED TO LIE DOWN AND JUST STARE AT THE CEILING AND CALM DOWN BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE I AM IN SHOCK.

This is rambly because I stayed up all night reading this instead of sleeping. Because it was just that awesome. I just ... every part of this is basically a bulletproof kink for me. Angst angst angsting Nick trying to pretend he's not angsting. And all the parts that made me laugh out loud. Which was a lot. Especially the supermarket scene though. Utterly delightful. And the coming out was so great. Coming out to family and friends and publicists and the tabloids. JUST. SUPER. I especially loved how you handled Harry's ridiculous level of fame. It just felt real and organic to me in a way I don't think any other story about celebrities has. Like, the level of invasiveness was there. Photographers everywhere. Their interactions showing up on the internet because everyone everywhere is taking pictures with their phone. And yet it never felt like this outside perspective, which I notice happens a lot when the media becomes a part of a story like this. Nick's perspective on the whole thing, being watched but not being the one they're really interested in was just amazing to me.

This is brilliant and perfectly written and wonderful and I love you forever for how perfectly British it was (I started squeeing about that at the mug with Sylvanian families on it and pretty much never stopped) and the characterisations and the dialogue and the sex and the kissing and how believably schmoopy it was - god, you got multiple ridiculous "I love yous" in there without me once thinking it was too much or too fluffy, HOW DID YOU DO THAT IT WAS SO GREAT - and I don't know how I was going to finish this sentence. BASICALLY I LOVED IT A LOT.