Chapter Text
Most of Harry's time for the rest of the week was spent occupied in front of the typewriter, poised upright on the stool in front of the kitchen counter. The writing was coming along swimmingly, Harry working on it for hours a day while Louis took care of the house and ran errands. Louis had basically become Harry's little housewife, attending him with different meals and taking up the status of the house.
Thankfully this only last for a few days, Harry finishing off the article on Tuesday night after most of the city of New York was asleep. Harry typed in the last sentence, pounding the period key dramatically and feeling adrenaline rush through his veins as he plucked the last piece of paper from the top of the typewriter and into the stack.
"Louis!" Harry called up, getting up from the stool, "Louis, c'mere! It's done, the article, it's finished!"
Stumbling through the kitchen, Louis came up behind Harry, breathless, "What? Are you serious? Let me read it!" Louis exclaimed, rushing toward the stack of papers and picking them up.
Harry watched as Louis' eyes scanned from left to write over the black letters, his lips slightly mouthing the words as he read along. He took a seat on the stool after a while, licking his finger to flip through the pages that were all about himself. No doubt, Louis was beaming from ear to ear as he read over the article. Harry lingered around, watching Louis peruse the pages through the his eyelashes. About ten minutes later, Louis was re stacking the pages in order and turning to Harry, his eyes brimming with tears.
"So, what did you think?" Harry asked before giving Louis the chance to give him feedback by himself.
"I don't even know what to say," Louis remarked, on the brink of tears, "I'm sorry, I'm trying not to cry," Louis said turning away.
"Was it that bad?" Harry asked, moving toward him and putting a hand on his shoulder.
"No!" Louis insisted, "Your article was probably one of the best things I have ever read, ever, and the fact that it was about me made it so much better," Louis says, his lips curling back into a smile, "No one has ever said anything so nice about me before."
"That's a shame," Harry gushed, "I think you deserve all the love and attention in the world."
Louis didn't respond to this statement, just nodding his head and grinning at Harry, "I'm going to head off to bed, goodnight, Harry."
"I'll be in later, I need to make a few calls," Harry replied, waving awkwardly at Louis, "Goodnight and sweet dreams, if you do fall asleep before I end up stumbling into bed."
"Thanks, you too," Louis responded, exiting the room.
When Harry heard their bedroom door close, he lunged for the telephone that was attached to the wall, his finger jumping from key to key as he dialed Liam's home number. London time was 5 hours ahead of New York, meaning it was about 6 am on a Wednesday morning. Harry decided that his usually ethical boss should be awake by now, so he went through with the call, pressing the phone up to his ear as he listened to the ringing on the other end.
"Harry! How are you on this fine Wednesday morning?" Liam asked in a chipper tone.
"I'm great, how are you?"
"That's great to hear. I'm better now that you called, I assume you have good news to tell me about?"
"Yes, yes I do. The writing is finished and ready to revised and published!" Harry exclaims, feeling his stomach pool with excitement as he says this.
"Wonderful! How about I arrange a flight back to London for you tomorrow? I'd love to get this article on the stands by the end of next week," Liam insisted, Harry's heart sinking.
"That would be great, sir, but what about Louis? He had just as much involvement in this as I did," Harry stated, twisting the phone cord between his fingers.
Liam sighs on the other end, and after that it's silent for a couple minutes, until he gives in, "Fine, I'll order a second ticket."
"Oh, thank you so much, Liam! I'll see you soon!" Harry squeals.
"No problem, kid. I'll let you go, I've got to jet anyway, I have to get to work early today. See you later!" And with that, Harry hears the line go dead and hanging the phone back up on the wall receiver.
Excitedly, Harry slid off the stool in front of the counter, hurriedly lugging the typewriter off of the counter top and back into its ginormous case. Harry tucked the papers of the article into a binder where they would be safe from any type of accidents, stowing the binder into the typewriter case. He then remembered that Zayn wanted to read the article, and that he would have to stop by his place prior to arriving at the airport.
Harry started thinking about the airport again and how much he disliked it, but then he recalled that he would be with Louis, and hopefully that would make the trip back to London more pleasant. Louis, Harry hadn't even thought about what Louis would say or if he even wanted to go to London in the first place. Harry smacked himself on the forehead, rushing to their bedroom and slowly swinging the door open to see Louis lying content in bed. His eyes drifting over to Harry, whom was standing in the doorway.
"Off the phone already?" Louis asked, sitting against the headboard.
"Yeah, about that," Harry said, sauntering over to the edge of the bed, his backside slumping into the down mattress, "This is really far fetched, and well, it's kind of crazy, but would you like to go back to London, with me? I mean, for the best interest of the article, so you could see how it flourishes within the town. You know, if you want."
Louis stares at Harry blankly for a second, letting the information he just told him sink in.
"How long would we be in London?"
"However long you want. A day, a week, a couple months, forever."
"And, and we'd just, leave this place? Forever?"
"Yes, Louis, I already told you this wasn't my permanent home. I have a pathetic little shack back in London that's waiting for me, and possibly you, if you want to come."
"But what about my job?" Louis inquires.
"With the article, I'm sure you could get a job anywhere you wanted back in London."
"Is that a guarantee though?"
"Maybe, it's a 50/50 shot. Oh, come on Louis, just ask Paul for Friday off and you can test out the waters, see how you like it in England. It's so wonderful there Louis, oh, you'd just love it. I promise," Harry pleads, practically sticking out his bottom lip in protest.
Louis ponders for a bit, weighing his options of continuing his life as normal or to jump and take that chance of being something great. Louis taps his chin, taking his sweet time as Harry watches him, his hopefulness fading to dust before Louis answers, "When's our flight?"
Harry practically squeals, launching himself on top of Louis, "This is going to be fantastic! I promise!" Harry mumbled out, his voice becoming increasingly inaudible as his excitement swelled in his chest. "Liam will call tomorrow and give us the information for the flight, and he'll have the tickets faxed over more than likely. Oh! I'm so excited, I could-" Harry cuts himself off, noticing how incredibly close his and Louis' faces were, and how uncomfortable that made the current situation and his choice of words, "I'm so excited I could scream," He finished.
"Well you already have been screaming for the last five minutes, I bet the neighbors downstairs are phoning the police as we speak."
"Oh, I wasn't that loud, I'm sure," Harry shrugs, letting the room quieten for a second before he starts again, "I just can't believe I'm going back home, after all this time here in New York. I'm not even going to be able to give this place a proper goodbye."
"Maybe you don't have to. I'll have to come back sooner or later, but you could visit every once in a while, if you'd like?"
"Where would you stay?" Harry asks, furrowing his brow.
"Not sure, I'd eventually find somewhere."
"But what if you never do? I couldn't let you couch hop every night, or even worse, be homeless. If things go over well, maybe you could eternally stay there, and we could be, like, lifelong roommates."
"As great as that sounds, I just don't know right now. I'm sorry, Harry, can we talk about this in the morning? It's been a really long day."
"Of course, goodnight Louis," Harry smiles, getting up off the bed and grabbing a pair of pajamas, quickly putting them on and crawling into his bed in New York for the last time ever.
--
The New York sun was splitting through the white curtains of the master bedroom, light dancing across the room as Harry awoke to the sound of the telephone once again. Yawning, Harry stretched behind him, putting the device to his ear and mumbling out, "Hello?"
"It's the big day Harry! You're coming back to London!" Liam exclaimed on the other end with glee.
"I know, I'm thrilled to return home," Harry replied, his voice monotone, "Did you order the plane tickets for two?"
"Yes I did, give them your name and provide some type of authentication and they'll give them to you at the airport," Liam states, "So Louis decided to come after all?"
Louis began to stir in his sleep, so Harry lowered his tone, "He did. The convincing part took quite a while, but in due course, I got him to accept the offer, and a wonderful one at that."
"This is marvelous! I can't wait to meet him. You two can drop by the office tomorrow morning since you probably won't arrive back home until tonight, so I'll give you the night off."
"What time should we be home?" Harry asked, twisting the phone cord between his fingers.
"Around seven or eight tonight."
"Alright, great, thanks Liam, I have to get going now, but I'll talk to you tomorrow!"
"Your flight's at noon!" Was the last thing Liam said, the phone clicking and signifying that he had hung up.
Harry sat in silence for a couple seconds, his chest welling up with anticipation for the day to come. He checked the time on the clock on the wall, seeing that it was already eight in the morning, and thinking that in just twelve hours he could be back home in his own bed surrounded by his own bedroom walls and his own familiar sound of the London streets.
"Louis, wake up, it's the big day," Harry said, poking Louis in the side repeatedly until his eyes fluttered awake.
Louis lay in bed for a couple minutes before he spoke, "I'm going to London today."
"That's right," Harry smiled, "Actually, we're going to London today, and soon. We need to leave for the airport in a little less than three hours." Harry stated, but then he remembered that they had to stop by Zayn's apartment on the way, "Wait, scratch that, we still have to see Zayn."
"And I have to call Paul," Louis ponders, pushing himself up from the fluffy pillow, "I guess I'll get that out of the way right now, switch spots with me."
Harry stood up from his New York mattress for the final time, glancing at the ruffled sheets that would never be ruffled by his body ever again.
Louis moved himself over to the spot where Harry just was, taking the phone off of it's holder and dialing in the number to Paul's residence. Harry's head was elsewhere, only hearing tidbits of Louis' conversation with his boss, as he gathered clothes from his closet and tossed them on the bed. Harry smiled to himself, his mind racing with different thoughts of different things, but mostly thoughts of London and thoughts of being domestic with Louis.
Paul wasn't happy with Louis' need for a day off at first, but he gave in after Louis' constant pleads.
The next two hours were spent cleaning and packing, added with more cleaning, and definitely a lot more packing. Harry could feel himself sweating through his shirt as he sat on top of his suitcase, jamming its paraphernalia into the crammed space of the luggage. Louis had packed his things right off the bat, spending the rest of his time at the temporary home making sure everything was spotless before they left.
When everything was stowed away into its proper place, both in luggage and in the penthouse, Harry and Louis found themselves locking the doors for the last time.
A trip down the elevator and a cab ride later, Harry and Louis found themselves knocking on the door of Zayn's apartment, being greeted by the boy with raven hair and brown eyes for the only remaining span.
"I'm glad you actually stopped by," Zayn said, taking the paper from Harry's hands, "I'm excited to read this."
"I'm excited for you to read it too," Harry grins, taking a seat next to Louis on the couch across from Zayn, who was sitting in an armchair.
Zayn finished reading the article after about ten minutes, his eyes watering as he handed it back to Harry, "Truly beautiful, and I can't believe I was the one who fire started this whole thing. I'm so proud of all of us," Zayn wept dramatically, pulling both Harry and Louis up from the couch and into a group hug. They stood like that for what felt like forever, the three taking in the warmth of each other until it was time to go,
"I might be back soon, don't miss me too much," Louis laughed, wiping his eyes.
"Good, but what about you, Harry? Plan on coming back?"
"Sooner or later," Harry nodded, "I've grown to love this place too much, I could never not come back."
"I anticipate the day of your return," Zayn said confidently, sniffling up the last bit of sadness, "I guess you must be on your way now, even if I don't want you to be."
"We'll keep in touch," Louis insists, giving Zayn one last hug before they leave.
The cab ride to the airport is full of pointing and nostalgia, mostly from Louis because he was leaving his hometown for the first time ever. Even though this city had everything Louis could ever dream of, he thought that maybe once he got to London, that could be his new home, and his chance for a fresh start.
Harry, on the other hand, was indicating Louis to all the spots where they had been before, like The Polka Dot and the boardwalk and the burlesque club, until they finally reached the airport.
Going through the airport was a piece of cake, they got their tickets on time and boarded the plane when they were supposed to, and they spent eight hours in the air as planned. They landed in London around a half hour into seven at night, ditching the plane for a cab back to Harry's run down shack that belonged to the elderly couple that was supporting.
His homecoming was a surprise, Harry knocking on the door and being greeted by a look of astonishment. The woman wrapped him into a hug, giving Harry a kiss on the cheek as she stumbled him inside. Louis patiently waited on the porch, all of their luggage by his side.
"Mrs. Austin, I brought someone back from New York with me if that's alright," Louis heard Harry from inside.
"Oh, the more the merrier! I'm sure Dan will be delighted to meet them also, bring them on into the house!" The woman exclaimed.
"Louis?" Harry asked, stepping outside, motioning Louis to come into the house. Louis followed Harry, stepping into the quaint living room that was filled with an overwhelmingly amount of floral fabrics and pinkish patterns. "Louis, this is Mrs. Austin, I've been living in the small room outside of hers and her husbands home until I can afford my own place."
"Lovely to meet you sweetheart," Mrs. Austin grinned, pulling Louis into a hug, "He's a pretty one too."
"Yeah," Harry gushed, beaming at Louis with all of the love in his body.
"Well, thank you. I must say, you have a wonderful home," Louis compliments, smiling back at the woman.
"Oh, and he's proper too! You got yourself a keeper, young Harry," Mrs. Austin winks.
Harry blushes, "It's not like that," He responds, his voice not convincing at all.
"Of course not," Mrs. Austin winks, "Would you boys like something to eat? I'm sure it was a long flight, I mean you were coming from New York."
"Only if you cooked already, I don't want you going out of your way for us," Harry says, kicking off his shoes.
"Nonsense, I'll have to cook eventually for when Dan comes home, it shouldn't be long now. I'll head off to the kitchen, and you two boys make yourself at home, alright?" Mrs. Austin concurs, Harry and Louis agreeing with her as she goes off into the kitchen.
Now they're alone, and even though this all feels foreign to Louis, he can't help but feel at home somehow.
"You can sit down if you want," Harry says to Louis, lowering himself onto the floral couch. Louis sits down next to him, their knees touching, and before Louis knows it, he's got Harry's arm draped around his shoulders. "So, how are you liking London?" Harry asks once they're comfortable.
"I haven't seen much of it yet, but it's really homey. I like it," Louis nods, leaning his head on Harry's shoulder.
"You'll see more tomorrow once we make it up to the offices, tonight is really the only night we'll have for relaxation if things work out, so let's enjoy it, yeah?"
"That would be nice," Louis smiles, "This is nice."
"It is," Harry finishes, putting his head of curls atop of Louis' soft fringe.
The two of them lay like this for a while, Louis almost falling asleep until he's jolted awake by the slam of a door, and an infamous line, 'Honey, I'm home!'
A man, about the same age as Mrs. Austin, was taking off his hat at the front of the door, but stopped midway during his action when his eyes danced over where Harry was sitting.
"Harry! You're back!" Mr. Austin announced with excitement.
Harry got off the couch, leaving Louis' side cold and empty, as he walked over to the man. Mr. Austin was beaming from ear to ear as he shook hands with Harry, asking him questions that most people ask after you've been on a long vacation. Harry returned to his spot on the couch, Mr. Austin sitting across from them in his armchair, and the two discussed New York and how wonderful it was. Louis zoned in and out of the conversation, giving his own input every once in a while. Louis smiled to himself, because as silly as it may have seemed, he felt at home.
--
Dinner went faster than a freight train. A lovely home cooked meal was served with a side of catching up between Harry and the Austin couple. They were like parents to Harry, Louis noticed, interrogating Louis with questions about his personal life and that of the burlesque club. Louis had found out that Harry had been calling Mrs. Austin on a regular basis, filling her in on the status of their relationship, or whatever was going on between the two of them.
After dinner, Mrs. Austin was left in the kitchen by herself, piling up the plates into her arms. Harry and Mr. Austin were heading out into the front room, but Louis stopped, giving the elderly woman a once over before saying, "Would you like a hand cleaning up the kitchen?"
Mrs. Austin smiled a sincere smile, exhaling and responding, "That's alright, deary. You're a guest here, you don't have to help me."
"But I'd like to," Louis insists, taking a couple plates from her arms, "If you'd allow me."
"I guess a little help would be nice," Mrs. Austin complies.
A comfortable silence set the room as the two worked in perfect sync, Louis retrieving the dirty dishes from all around the kitchen whilst Mrs. Austin filled up the sink with warm water and detergent. When everything was in the sink and ready to be washed, Mrs. Austin assumed the role of cleaning the dishes by hand, giving them to Louis to dry off and put in their proper spots.
Mrs. Austin made small talk, asking Louis head on about New York and how odd it must be to be suddenly thrust into a setting. Then, the conversation somehow led to Harry, because honestly, it always does.
"Harry's a sweet kid, isn't he?" Mrs. Austin asked. Louis could tell that she had intentions of getting information on how he felt about Harry, and he was totally okay with giving her that satisfaction.
"He really is, he's my lifesaver," Louis gushed dramatically.
"Oh?" She replied, sounding intrigued.
"Yeah, of course. Without Harry, I'd still be couch hopping, and I'd still be an unrecognized talent at my workplace. I owe everything I have to him."
"Harry's that kind of person, everything he does is for everyone else around him. It's a blessing and a curse, because he spends so much time devoting his life to other people, he rarely has time to focus on what he wants himself, you know?"
"I understand what you mean," Louis abides by, nodding his head, "What is it that he wants, anyway?"
Mrs. Austin shrugs, her eyes averting from Louis' and back to the pan she was washing, "Success in his job, marriage, a nice husband, preferably someone, but yeah, mainly just success."
Louis smirks, "He already has someone in mind?"
Mrs. Austin stops washing the dishes and looks over at Louis, a sly grin across her lips, "Louis, you seem like a smart boy. Don't tell me you're that oblivious."
Louis' cheeks burned, "Oblivious to what?"
"Oh, sweetheart, do you not see the way Harry looks at you? The boy dropped his peas in his lap tonight at dinner because he was too busy focusing on you. I thought it was obvious, but I guess I may have been wrong."
With his head spinning, Louis replied, "So he really likes me?"
"No, Louis, he really loves you," Mrs. Austin finished, a heartwarming expression settling on her face.
"That's...this is really great!" Louis exclaims a little too loudly, "I love him too, even more than I could ever tell you!" He yells again, but then composes himself, "I apologize for that little outburst, it's just a little alarming when you find out that someone out there actually loves you back."
"It's alright, deary," Mrs. Austin assures, "Have you broken the news to him, yet?"
Louis shakes his head.
"You must do that tonight, but when you two are in private. Tell him everything you feel for him, he'll be ecstatic. This is all he's ever wanted, Louis. You're all he's ever wanted."
"Thank you, for everything tonight, Mrs. Austin," Louis said, kissing the elderly woman on the cheek after they finished up the dishes.
"Any time, now go get him, Louis, and don't ever let him go," Mrs. Austin winks, patting Louis on the back and sending him out of the kitchen to his new destiny.
--
Hours of talking later, Harry was leading Louis out from the front door of the Austin residence. The time was a quarter passed midnight, and the street lamps above were illuminating the sidewalks and the quaint homes that decorated the neighborhood. The dew on the grass was still visible from the rain that had let up about an hour earlier, and the streets were still damp from the storm. The air was perfect, setting a peaceful mood for the spring London night.
Harry had his hand pressed against the small of Louis' back, creating a feeling of warmth beneath his shirt. Louis believed this was the perfect time to initiate the conversation he was dying to have with Harry, but he didn't know where he should even start.
Thankfully, he wasn't the first to say something. Harry spoke up before him, swallowing the lump in his throat and saying a simple, "I'm sorry, Louis."
Bumfuzzled, Louis asked, "Why's that?"
"Remember that thing you told me not to do when I first met you?" Harry stopped on the sidewalk, half of his face lit by the lights above, "Well, I sort of broke that promise."
Louis knitted his eyebrows in confusion, "Remind me of what that was again, I can't seem to recall."
"You told me not to fall in love with you, and well, here I am," Harry exhaled a laugh, raising his shoulders and then letting them fall.
"Are you telling me that you're in love with me?"
"If you don't want me to be, then no, I'm not. We'll just forget this whole thing ever happened, because, I'm totally not head over heels for you or anything like that."
"Lucky for you," Louis stepped closer, their faces so close that if this were a middle school dance, a nun would be harassing them with a ruler at the moment, "I just happened to have broken that promise myself, because from the second I saw you, I knew you were worth falling in love with, even if I ended up heartbroken."
At this moment, a drop of water falls from the sky and onto Louis' cheek, making him screw up his face.
Harry laughs, wiping the raindrop from Louis' face, "Looks like the London rain is about to get us."
"Maybe I like it," Louis replies lamely, but he really can't think at the moment, because him and Harry are sinfully close and Harry's hand is currently resting on his cheek.
"Maybe I should kiss you now, and we could be like every other cliche couple that kisses in the rain," Harry teases.
"It's only cliche if you think it is," Louis finishes, closing his eyes and meeting his lips with Harry's. The kiss is perfect, their lips touching as soon as the rain begins to downpour for the second time that evening. Neither of them notice that much, Harry's hands in Louis' hair, pulling him closer to the kiss. Louis' hands are exploring Harry's back, eventually finding a resting spot on his lower back.
They stay out there until they're completely soaked, the rain not letting up any time soon. Harry finally breaks away from the kiss, pecking Louis on the cheek and muttering his love for him about a million times until he insists that they go inside. Harry dumbly takes off his coat and holds it over Louis' head in an attempt to keep him dry, but obviously, Louis gets even wetter than before. Louis insists that Harry is an idiot, but he still loves him in spite of that, which he does.
--
Things fell into their place following the events of that night, the duo waking up quite early and quite sore from a night of bliss, getting dressed at lightening speed and heading to Harry's office building. Liam loved the article, as expected, and published it the following week. The article spread like wildfire, Louis being the word of mouth for several days. Jobs were offered left and right, things as big as movies and permanent dance roles in popular television shows swarming Louis by the hour.
Nonetheless, the article was a huge success for Louis' career.
Louis decided to call Paul one evening to discontinue his job at the Burlesque club because, really, if Paul couldn't recognize his talent until a dire emergency, he didn't really need him anyway. Paul was saddened by this news, sadly realizing that he had wasted the best potential that had ever set foot into his run down Burlesque club. Paul eventually accepted Niall back as front man, but nothing was ever the same as it was before Louis' rise to fame.
Harry, on the other hand, got great things from this also. A job promotion was in Harry's future, and he took up the title of London's best creative writer and reviewer for the paper. Liam was honored to give him the promotion, seeing how well he manufactured his own creative piece, and was fairly excited to see what else he had in store.
As for Louis and Harry as a whole, they in due course got wed. It was a small celebration in the backyard of the Austin's home, only a couple people being invited. Zayn even flew all the way from New York, and maybe he now he a romance of his own with Harry's extremely sweet and extremely perfect boss, Liam, but that's a whole other story.
With all the money Louis and Harry acquired as a whole, they moved from the tiny shed outside of the Austin's home to their own place in downtown London, a suburban penthouse with everything they could ever dream of. They also offered to buy the Austin's a new home, but they declined, claiming that they would rather live out the rest of their days in a place they saw as home. The Austin's stayed in touch with the new Styles family of two, often inviting them for dinner or just time to spend as a family.
All in all, everything was a great success. Harry frequently revisited these memories, smiling to himself as he looked at the life he had now, and all he had done to achieve it. Sometimes he would think what would have happened if he hadn't chased after Louis, taking that leap and asking for a second chance at everything. This thought alone was enough to put a pit at the bottom of his stomach, but Harry was okay again when he was holding Louis in his sleep, or while he was watching him perform on stage or television, and most importantly, when they were saying their vows under the flower knitted arch in the small backyard.
Harry realized that no matter what would have happened, everything would have fallen into place eventually. That was the magic of destiny, and if it weren't for him being a writer and Louis being a dancer, they would have met anyway and fallen in love. In some sort of alternative universe, Harry still would have realized that Louis was really worth it, and that he would have to reach for a second opportunity to obtain him in any way he could.
He was never a firm believer in destiny until these events happened, but now he was convinced. Harry couldn't imagine a life any different, a life without Louis or a life without his own achievements.
In the end, Harry and Louis got everything they ever wanted, and more, and more, even more.
fin.