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You would never know it’s 1 am by the way Los Angeles is lit up. They say New York is the city that never sleeps, but it’s 4 am there so now it’s Los Angeles’ turn. They’ve been driving around for hours, because when you wake up late, you eat breakfast late and then all your meals are late. By the time they’re hungry for dinner it’s 11 PM. Louis wanted In and Out and Harry wasn’t craving anything so he didn’t mind. They laid on the couch all day watching Netflix and Harry wanted to go for a drive, so here they are 2 hours later. Louis has his feet up on the seat, criss crossed with Harry’s hand in his in his lap.
Harry has been rubbing his thumb across the back of Louis’ hand, silently asking Louis what he’s thinking about. It’s also his way of grounding him, reminding him he’s still there. Louis turns his head away from the window towards Harry.
Harry brakes the car, approaching a red light. Coming to a complete stop, Harry turns his head, mirroring his position. “What are you thinking about?”
Louis squeezes his hand, “I miss the stars.”
“The stars?”
Louis nods, “I was thinking about that night at your mom’s house. The stars were so bright and I’ve never seen that many at once. I just miss it. It’s Los Angeles and all you see are the lights from all of the same stores & restaurants. I don’t care about any of them and I hate the lights. I want to see the stars. I miss the stars.”
Harry smiles at him as the light turns green, “You’re my star.”
Just as Louis is about to respond the car behind them honks. Louis laughs, “They agree with me that that was a terrible joke.”
Harry laughs with him stepping on the gas, bringing their joined hand up to his lips to kiss the back of Louis’ hand. “Do you want to go to the lookout?”
“I don’t want to have sex in the car tonight.”
“That’s not what I was implying,” Harry looks over with a raised eyebrow.
“I know, but everyone around us will and it will be weird,” Louis shakes his head with a disgusted look on his face, focus on the road.
“Okay,” Harry smiles at his husband's face, “What about the Griffith Observatory?”
Louis turns his head towards Harry, “That’s not what I meant.”
Harry matches his gaze, “You want to get out of LA?” Louis nods. “I promise you Lou, I’ll take you to see the stars one day.”
“Thank you baby,” Louis kisses Harry’s hand this time. He then repositions himself so his head is resting against the window.
Surface level, Harry would’ve thought Louis was implying he wanted to go on a date to the Griffith Observatory and see the night sky through the lens of a Hollywood staple. Scratch the surface & underneath Louis wanted to get out of LA. Harry spent 2, unplanned, months in Tokyo and Louis missed him more than he initially thought he was going to; and he initially thought it was going to be a lot too. Harry, Mitch, and Tom wrote the bulk of Harry’s next album there and were now putting the final details on it now that they’re in Los Angeles, in Columbia Studios. Louis also had writing sessions with a couple different artists frequently in LA, so he couldn’t leave even if he wanted to, not that he would since Harry is still very much here. They both are going on world tours next year and they both decided they wanted to spend as much time together, before album promotions and the hectic schedule of international pop stars inevitably caught up with them.
Harry called it in for the night and turned on the street that lead them back to their LA home. Harry glanced over and saw Louis asleep against the window, which always somehow always happens on the nights Louis says he’s not tired. Before he knows it Harry is pulling into the garage and turning off the car.
Harry squeezes his hand that’s still interlocked with Louis’. On his third hard squeeze Louis opens his eyes and slowly turns his head to meet Harry’s gaze. “Hey, we’re home.”
Louis doesn’t say anything in response. He does nod his head, squeeze back, peck Harry’s lips, gets out of the car and lead them up the stairs into their room. The both strip down to just t-shirts and pants. Even in his sleepy state Louis is still the big spoon and right when Harry thinks he’s slipped back into unconsciousness he mumbles, “You’re my home.”
Harry is going to take this boy to see the stars if it’s the last thing does, because he deserves the world.
~~~~~
“Louis. Louis my love, wake up,” Harry whispered in the darkness, lightly shaking his husband’s shoulder. After 2 minutes of lightly shaking and no response, Harry starts peppering little kisses all over his face. It takes another minute, but Louis is smiling so Harry knows he’s awake. “Lou you don’t have to fully wake up, but I need you to get in the car. You can immediately go back to sleep.”
“Why am I getting in the car at 2 in the morning Harold?”
“It’s actually 4 in the morning, but it’s a surprise.”
“4 A.M. doesn’t exist, we’ve talked about this,” Louis mumbles into the darkness of their room.
“I know, we can discuss it later, but right now I really need you to get in the car,” Harry softly giggles, rubbing circles on Louis’ back. For a second he thinks he might’ve fallen fully asleep again, but Louis’ legs swing over the bed and is now standing up. “I have clothes for you, you just have to step into them.”
Harry opens up one of the sweatpants legs and bends down so Louis can hold onto his shoulders for balance as he steps into them. As he’s putting on the second leg Louis mumbles, “You mean it’s not okay to be naked in the Range Rover?”
Harry laughs, “Under different circumstances, yes. Not for this particular trip though.” He then hands Louis his green adidas hoodie.
As soon as Louis’ head pops out of the hoodie, he grabs his pillow and whacks Harry in the chest with it, “That’s for waking me up this early,” but slowly makes his way out of their bedroom and downstairs to the garage.
In all honestly, out of his husband’s earshot, getting hit by the pillow was way more adorable and not at all painful, like Louis had intended. Harry follows him closely and gets in the driver’s seat, Louis curled up in the passenger seat, already fast asleep again. Harry smiles at him, before starting the car and backing out of the garage and out of the driveway. He watches the garage door close as he drives away and starts their 8 hour trip. He puts on his travel playlist he made for himself and the directions to Grand Canyon, Arizona. Dreams by Fleetwood Mac starts playing and Harry settles into his seat, mentally preparing himself for the drive.
Their late night drive last week inspired Harry to take this trip. The couple hasn’t been on a vacation that was solely the two of them with no songwriting or work in general in quite a while. He knew Louis wanted a change of pace & routine then what they’d been doing recently. Los Angeles wasn’t their home by any means, they weren’t California people and California was keeping them from home. When Louis wrote Home for him 3 years ago, Harry was severely missing home and his mom. They also were going through a hard time in their relationship with seasons of doubt with constantly being on the road and not being able to have a place to call home. Harry needed a reassurance and Louis gave him the biggest one he could’ve asked for. This trip isn’t that song by any means, but it's the change of pace, or at the very least a break from the routine for them.
Harry planned out the whole trip last Sunday and he was very excited. He knew Louis wasn’t going to love every activity he had planned for them, but the end of the trip was going to make it all worth it. The drive was going pretty well and since they left so early there was hardly any traffic, especially getting out of the city. Harry drank his water bottle and sang along to some of his favorites on the playlist and Louis was dead asleep the entire time, only shifted once after 2 hours.
Harry made a stop at the last city before they left California at a Shell gas station. He filled up the car and when he was done he went inside and went to the bathroom. He bought a bottled smoothie and granola bar. We he opened the driver’s door he saw Louis sitting up and one his phone. Harry smiled, “Hey-“
“Harold, where in the world are we right now?” Louis looked over at him with what he tried to make as a stern face, but came across more as a sleepy puppy. Harry was not about to tell him his hair was in a million directions, because even though Louis hated it, Harry absolutely loved it. Only he got to see Louis like this and it made his heart melt.
Harry chuckled, putting his smoothie in the cupholder and closing his door, “California.”
Louis looked side to side, “It doesn’t look like it.”
“We’re about to be in another state,” Harry leans across the console, silently asking for a kiss.
Louis stares back at him, “Why would I kiss you? You kidnapped me Harold, that’s some serious Stockholm Syndrome shit. Yes, I know you wrote that song, so shut the fuck up, but you did kidnap me.”
Harry’s jaw dropped, “I did not kidnap you, you willing got in the car. I said it was a surprise, you got in the clothes I gave you, and then you whacked me in the chest with your pillow.”
“Whatever, you kidnapped me,” Louis rolled his eyes, but leaned over the console to peck Harry’s lips for their good morning kiss. If it weren’t in his stupid vows he’d continue to be stubborn, but he loves being married so he can give up the facade to kiss his husband. Settling back into his seat he grabbed Harry’s smoothie from the cupholder, “What is this?”
“A smoothie.”
“Naked. Blue Machine,” Louis dropped it and looked at Harry, “Am I not enough for you?”
Harry laughed, “You’re more than enough baby. Do you want some?”
Louis shook his head, putting the smoothie back in the cupholder, “Absolutely not. Can we go to McDonalds?”
Harry turned the key in the ignition, “Yes, we can go to McDonalds. When did you wake up? I wasn’t inside for long.”
“When you turned off the car. It’s hot as shit Harold, I didn’t realize how cold you kept you car until it wasn’t on anymore. I’m not complaining, I actually love it, but it felt like you were inside for so long and I was getting over heated,” Louis explained as he put his feet up on the dashboard.
Harry turned into the McDonald’s parking lot, “If it gets warm I start getting sleepy and you don’t like when I roll down the windows.”
“Smart man,” Louis pat Harry’s thigh.
Harry laughed, looking over as he came to a stop, “What do you want? Your usual?”
“I don’t know, what are you getting?”
“I don’t want anything, I also got a granola bar,” Harry pulls forward to the menu board.
They wait 30 seconds and then hear, “Welcome to McDonalds. What can I get for you?”
Harry changes his mind at the last second, “Hi, I’m gonna have an iced tea.”
“Sweet or Unsweet?”
“Sweet,” Harry looks over, eyebrows raised in question.
Louis leans over, “Can I get a Sausage McMuffin with egg please? With 2 hash browns and a mocha frappe?”
“Anything else?”
He then whispered to Harry, “How much longer do we have?”
“About 4 hours.”
Louis nods and speaks up again, “Can I also get a fruit & maple oatmeal and that will be it!”
“Any sauce?”
“No,” Louis shouts across one more time.
“Your total is $14.63, pull around to the window.”
Harry drives up to the first window and hands the woman his card. When the window closes he looks at Louis, “I thought you don’t like their oatmeal.”
“I don’t.”
The woman hands back Harry his card and he drives up to the second window, “Then why’d you order it?”
The man at the second window has their order ready and hands Harry the tea, frappe, bag, and then granola. Harry gives everything to Louis to situate, but he won’t take the oatmeal from him, “I ordered it for you.”
“But I got a granola bar,” Harry explained to him, trying to hand him the oatmeal. He drives up a spot so the people behind them can go to the window.
“Harry my love, you’re taking us on an 8 hour car ride, you need more than a granola bar and a hash brown,” Louis tilts his head.
“You got me a hash brown too?” Harry tilts his head to match Louis’.
Louis laughs, “Yes I got a hash brown for you dummy.”
Harry leans over and pecks his lips, “I love you.” Another kiss. “Even if you did just call me dummy.”
Louis laughs, “You love the crap out of me.”
“I do,” Harry smiles, driving out of the parking lot and back to the highway.
Louis starts to unwrap his McMuffin, “So are you really not going to tell me where you’re taking me?”
“I think you’ll be able to figure it out soon,” Harry smiles, restarting his playlist.
Louis nodded, starting to eat his sandwich and scrolling through his phone. He’s just about to start his hash brown when Harry taps his leg. He looks up and sees a “Welcome to Arizona” sign. Louis looks over, “We’re going to Arizona?” Harry nods. “What the hell is in Arizona?” Harry points to the overhead sign. “We’re going to the Grand Canyon? Harry, when have I ever told you that I want to go to the Grand Canyon?”
Harry chuckles, “You haven’t, but it’s the first stop to where I’m actually taking you. We’re not going anywhere outside of Arizona.”
Louis squints his eyes, “Are you sure I’m going to like it?” Harry nods with a smile. “Okay, I trust you.” Louis hands him the other hash brown and Harry takes it from him. “Are you going to give me any more details?”
Harry took a bite out of the hash brown, “Can I make you squirm a little first?” Louis pinches his side and Harry swerves the car in reaction. “Louis! Can you not kill the both of us please?”
“Harry Styles you cannot kidnap me in the middle of the night and and not tell me where you are taking me!” Louis throws his wadded up muffin wrapper at his head.
The wrapper lands in Harry’s lap and he throws it right back at him, “I just told you we are going to the Grand Canyon!”
“And?” Louis pulled a face like he was going to pinch him again.
Harry didn’t want to risk it so he sighed, “Okay we are going to the Grand Canyon today and tomorrow. On Saturday we are going to a different city in Arizona, I’m not telling you so don’t pinch me again, and Sunday we go back home.”
Louis threw away his and Harry’s trash in the old McDonald’s bag and put it in the back seat. “What are we going to be doing at these places?”
“Can nothing be a surprise with you?” Harry raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of his tea.
“I guess,” Louis sinks into his seat, taking a sip of his frappe. “I just don’t like not knowing.”
“Were you or were you not in the same band as I with people sending us half way across the world saying ‘Pack a bag, you’ll be gone for a week,’ not knowing where that week was going to be?” Harry looked over with a bored expression on his face.
Louis hit his arm, “Shut up. Also, it’s been like 4 years, so forgive me if I forgot.”
“It’s just going to be the two of us,” Harry smirked.
“Are you actually going to take advantage of it?” Louis was the one to raise his eyebrows this time.
Harry’s face fell, “Is this about last night?”
“It’s absolutely about last night! Harold, I was literally begging for you to fuck me, but no!” Louis immediately responded.
“I gave you a blowjob!”
“It’s not the same!”
“You didn’t give me anything in return!”
“You didn’t ask!
“Yes I did!” Harry’s jaw drops
“Well you didn’t fuck me, so you don’t get a blowjob!” Louis threw his hands up.
Harry breathes through his nostrils, “Louis, you would literally never speak to me again if I fucked you last night and then make you do what I have planned today.”
“What do you have planned for today?” Louis tilts his head.
“I’m not telling you.”
“Well then it’s not my fault I wanted to have sex with my husband. My husband, who did not tell me that he was planning on kidnapping me the next morning.”
Harry cracks a smile, “I wouldn’t be kidnapping if I told you I was going to do it.”
Louis’ jaw drops, “So you do admit to kidnapping me?”
“I admit nothing,” Harry lifts his fingers off the steering wheel, since he can’t actually raise his hands in defeat.
Louis just shakes his head. He takes another sip of his frappe before putting it back in the cupholder so he can hug his pillow as he scrolls through his phone. He’s responding to a text from Lottie when he feels a hand on his thigh.
“Still love me?” Harry glances over.
Louis interlaces their fingers, “What kind of question is that?”
Harry doesn’t say anything in return, but Louis can see he’s pulling his famous frog smug face. They continue the ride like that for the next 3 hours, only ever breaking hands to take sips from their drinks. They have light conversation and Louis reads Harry the funny tweets he comes across.
Harry pats his leg, “Babe sit up, we’re here.” Louis does, adjusting the pillow to his lap and puts his feet on the ground. “You don’t have a fear of bridges I don’t know about do you?”
Louis shakes his head, “No babe."
“Okay good,” Harry smiles, and then drops it, “What about bungee jumping?” Louis looks over with the widest eyes. “Not doing it, just watching people.”
Louis’ face drops, “Oh, then yeah I’m fine.”
Harry laughs, “Okay good, because we’re about to do both of those things.”
Louis shakes his head as he can literally see the bridge about 500 feet in front of him. He sees a sign that says Navajo Bridge, just as they drive onto it.
“We’re on the new Navajo Bridge, but the old one over there,” Harry points out his window, “You can bungee jump off of. We’re going over the Colorado River right now so it’s not just the ground you’re staring at.”
Louis looks over and he can see someone swinging, having just jumped off the bridge. “Some real dare devils.”
“I know,” Harry looked over, “You want to do it?”
“Do you have it planned for us to do it?”
“No, but we can if you want.”
Louis shakes his head, “Then no, I don’t really want to.”
Harry laughs, “That’s okay. I didn’t think you would.”
Louis smiles, “Remember when we were on top on the London Bridge? Seems like just yesterday.”
“I know, hard to believe that was over 5 years ago,” Harry smiled. “They let us stand next to each other up there.”
“I know,” Louis smiles, “So where are we headed first?”
“Dessert View Watchtower,” Harry smiles.
They get to the Watchtower about 10 minutes later. Louis changes into a tank top and they both put on hats and sunglasses. They don’t think that they’ll get recognized here, but it helps to still try to be a least conspicuous as possible. It’s only 4 stories so they’re up at the top in no time. The look on Harry’s face was one Louis would never forget, being able to see a full view of the Canyon from there. Louis asks an older gentleman to take their photo and he gladly accepts and snaps a couple pictures of the pair after they take off their sunglasses. They each put an arm around the other’s waist and lean into each other as they smile at Louis’ phone. Louis thanks the man profusely and they spend another 5 minutes at the top before they head back down to Harry’s car.
They drive for about 30 minutes to the village where they have lunch at a Mexican Food Truck before they check into their hotel. They’re staying at the El Tovar Hotel and when they get to their room Louis smiles.
“In all the hotels we’ve stayed in, we’ve never had a yellow door,” Louis points out as Harry is opening it with their key.
Harry gets it open and holds it open for Louis, “You’re right. That’s crazy to think about those small details.”
Louis drops his pillow and himself onto the middle of their king size bed. He buries his head and squeezes his eyes shut.
Harry locks the door behind them, “Don’t fall asleep, we’re just dropping off our stuff. I have something else planned for us.”
“Harry those tacos literally put me into a coma,” Louis says with his eyes still firmly shut.
“Well clearly they didn’t, because you’re still awake.”
“20 minute power nap. Please.”
Harry sighs, “Can I be the big spoon?” Louis nods. “Fine, but I’m setting an alarm and then we both have to get up.”
“Deal,” Louis mumbles.
Harry gets their chargers out and plugs both of their phones in. He sets a 20 minute alarm on his phone and then settles behind Louis, wrapping his arm around and interlocking their fingers.
The alarm goes off and they both open their eyes, but stay there for a moment before Harry reaches over turning it off. They both lay there for a moment before Louis mumbles, “I will never get over the fact that Temporary Fix is your alarm tone.”
Harry laughs, standing up, walking over to their shared duffle bag, “The opening chords are better than any alarm Apple will ever put out.”
“You’re not wrong about that,” Louis says just before clothes land on his face. “Harry.”
“Get changed. You’ll want to, trust me.”
Louis then stands up, pushing his sweatpants down to his ankles, “So you don’t want me free-balling all day?” He says as he steps into the pants Harry gave him.
“Not for what we’re about to do,” Harry laughs, going into the bathroom.
“Why am I wearing long sleeve in June in the dessert?” Louis calls out to him.
“It’d ruin the surprise!” Harry calls back, turning the water on for the sink. He washes his face with warm water and reapplies his deodorant before putting on his long sleeve shirt. He walks out to see Louis tying the laces of his vans and thankfully in the clothes Harry threw at him.
They head out the door and thankfully Louis doesn’t question what’s in the backpack Harry’s bringing with them. They head back to Harry’s car and Harry takes them to their next stop.
“Any guesses where we’re going?” Harry smiles.
“Umm,” Louis laughs, “A cave? I know we’re not going hiking, because it’s the dead of summer and you would not put me in these clothes if we were hiking. Also, I hate hiking.” Harry bites his tongue. “I’ve never expressed interest in cave searching, but it could be fun. I also love these shoes, so that would be tragic. No, I honestly have no idea.”
Harry smiles, “We’re not doing either of those. Any other guesses?”
Louis shakes his head. They pull into, wherever they were headed, but there’s no indication of what it could be. Harry parks the car and goes to the trunk and gets out their hats. When he walks around to Louis he gives him the weirdest look.
“What are those for?”
“You’ll see,” Harry smiles, putting Louis’ hat on top of his head. He readjusts it, but thankfully doesn’t take it off, like Harry was expecting him to do. Harry leads the way and after they walk into the building Louis finally sees what they’re doing.
“Mule Rides? Are you serious?” Louis looks over with the most puzzled look.
Harry nods, “They’re not common many places, so I thought this would be cool!”
Louis shakes his head, “You never cease to amaze me. Okay, let’s ride these asses.”
“Those are donkeys Lou,” Harry chuckles. He leads them to the desk, checking them in for their reservation. They go out the back of the building and see the mules lined up. They listen to the tour guide as he gives a brief explanation of everything they’ll need to know for their ride and approves of their outfits. He assigns them their mule. Harry gets on his easily, but Louis struggles with the footing and hoisting his other leg around.
When he’s finally up he lets out a sigh and looks over at Harry, “I’m only doing this because I love you.”
Harry smiles, “I know. I love you too.”
Their guide then takes them out for their 2 hour ride. Harry booked a private tour so thankfully it’s just the 3 of them, but those 2 hours fly by. The view of the canyon from the trail is absolutely breathtaking. Harry wouldn’t be able to look away if it weren’t for the fact he keeps getting distracted by Louis having to regain his balance every so often. He keeps his laughter to himself though, trying not let Louis notice too much.
“Yoga really helps with balance Lou. Maybe you’ll actually try it with me now,” Harry smiles.
“Yoga does not help balancing on top of a mule Harold,” Louis snaps back.
Their instructor, Peter, turns his head back to them, “Actually yoga is quite useful. My wife is an instructor at one of the loges in the village and we do yoga together every night before bed.”
Harry looks over, “See Louis! That could be us! Doing yoga together before bed to help us sleep better.”
“We’re not doing that,” Louis looks over with the blankest expression.
Peter laughs, “You two are funny. How long have you guys been together?”
“9 years in September. Married for 6 of them,” Louis smiles, instantly brightening his mood.
“Wow, you guys are a proper old married couple,” Peter astonishes, “How old were you guys?”
“Harry was 16 and I was 18. Loved him since I was 18,” Louis winks at Harry who just shakes his head at his song reference.
“That’s amazing you guys. Did you meet at school?” Peter asks, blissfully unaware of the predicament of their current situation.
Harry laughs, “No, we actually met when we were put in a band together.”
Peter nods, “Oh you guys are musicians. What instruments do you play?”
“I play the guitar and piano.”
“I play the piano, but I’m learning how to play guitar. Haven’t quite given it the time like Harry has,” Louis tells him.
They rest of their ride goes smoothly and Peter graciously takes a couple pictures of them on and off their mules. Harry gives him a generous tip as a thank you for a wonderful tour and excellent host. They check out at the desk and head back to Harry’s car. They change back into tank tops with Harry’s trunk open, but change into shorts inside the car.
Harry is driving them to their next destination, “Any guesses now?”
“Snack time?” Louis raises his eyebrows.
Harry laughs, “They’re in my backpack.”
Louis nods, “Where are we actually going though? I have no idea.”
“We’re going to the Grand Canyon Skywalk.”
“Is that literally what I think it is?”
Harry nods, “It extends 70 feet out into the canyon and it’s clear so you can see straight down.”
Louis eyes light up, “That’s wicked.”
Harry smiles, “I thought you’d like it.”
They get there about 10 minutes later and Louis grabs the backpack from the trunk and they both have a granola bar and water bottle in the car before getting out and making their way to the skywalk. Harry grabs their tickets and before they know it, they’re at the edge of the skywalk, looking down into the canyon. Thankfully it’s overcast so it’s not too crowded there today, but they’re back in their snapbacks and sunglasses.
They’re looking out into the canyon when Harry looks over, “I’ll eat you out tonight if you can guess how deep it is.”
Louis’ eyebrows shoot above his sunglasses and looks down, for good measure. He looks back up at Harry and smirks, “4,000 feet.”
Harry smiles, kissing his lips, “Someone’s getting lucky.”
Louis kisses him back and smiles wider than Harry, “There was a sign at the front.”
Harry throws his head back in laughter, “You really do notice everything, don’t you?”
“It’s a gift,” Louis chuckles. “We’re not eating dinner here are we?”
Harry shakes his head, “There’s a steakhouse in the village. It’s like a 5 minute walk from the hotel.”
“Walk? So that means we can drink? Wine and dine, okay Styles, I like your moves,” Louis smirks.
Harry though shakes his head, “Not too much. We have a really long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
“Longer than today?”
“Some ways yes, some ways no.”
“Should I be worried?” Louis eyebrows shoot up.
“A little,” Harry smiles.
Louis shakes his head, letting out a breath, “The things I do for love. You’re going to be the death of me one day Styles, mark my words.”
“Hopefully that day isn’t tomorrow.”
“For your sake, I hope so too.”
They spend another 15 minutes looking out into the canyon before Louis has to use the bathroom and they both head inside to the gift shop. When Louis comes out Harry hands him a hand woven figure.
“It’s made by one of the native tribes. Little something to remember our trip by,” Harry smiles, watching Louis turn it in his hands.
“We can name it Peter,” Louis smiles back at him.
Harry nods, taking his free hand and leading them back to the car. Harry drives them back to the hotel for a silent drive. When they get back to their room Harry takes a shower and gets ready for dinner while Louis sends the pictures he took of their day to his sisters.
When Harry steps out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist Louis tells him, “Phoebe couldn’t believe I got on a mule.”
“I couldn’t believe you got on a mule,” Harry laughs. “It was really fun, something different.”
“The things you do for love,” Louis says, standing up from the bed, giving Harry a quick kiss and heading into the shower himself. After Harry gets dressed, he’s doing the same as Louis and sending their pictures to Anne. He starts scrolling through Instagram and quickly dozes to sleep. He wakes up to a fully dressed Louis smiling down at him.
“You still dining me sleepy head?”
Harry nods, “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“Glad to see you still have that ability to fall asleep anywhere,” Louis points out, bending down to kiss him sweetly. He then slaps his ass, causing Harry to flinch, “Let’s go, I’m hungry and you have 2 dinners tonight.”
Harry shakes his head, “Why do I put up with you?”
“I’m entertaining as hell,” Louis laughs, following him into the bathroom.
Harry puts his damp curls into a neater position and then the 2 of they are walking out the door with their wallet and room key. They walk to the restaurant hand in hand. Thankfully it's cooled down, so it’s not as sweltering hot as it was before. They get to the Arizona Steakhouse and are quickly seated. They share a bottle of red wine over their bread and side salads before Louis’ steak and Harry’s chicken are brought out. They talk a lot about what they want their new albums to sound like. Harry’s album is set for December 13th and Louis’ is tentatively set for November 22nd, but he’s still going back and forth a lot so it’s probably going to be pushed to early 2020. Harry and Louis are both equally excited for each other and for themselves, with Harry’s sophomore album and Louis’ debut.
Harry pays for the bill with their shared account card quickly and they’re headed back to the hotel for the rest of the night. The wine was hitting them as they made their walk back, causing their feet to grow heavy. When Harry got the room unlocked it was quickly shut again with the two of them kissing feverishly against it. Harry locked the door as he moved down to give Louis’ neck attention as Louis undid Harry’s buttons on his shirt. They undressed each other as they made their way to the bed and Harry was able to keep his promise he made to Louis on the skybridge.
~~~~~
The opening cords of Temporary Fix start playing in the darkness of their hotel room. Both their eyes open, but Harry is the one to detangle himself and turn off his alarm. They both lay there for a moment, waiting for their heart rate to return to normal.
“What time is it?” Louis mumbles against Harry’s chest.
“5:30.”
“Why is it so early? I thought we were on vacation Harold.”
Harry laughs, “We are on vacation, but I have things planned for us Louis.” He kisses his head and then shifts him, so Louis isn’t laying on top of him anymore. He walks over to their bag and gets out their clothes for the day. He quickly puts his on and lays Louis’ out on the bed for him. He walks into the bathroom, first using the toilet and then doing his daily skincare routine before brushing his teeth. When he comes out of the bathroom he sees that Louis is dressed, but laying back on the bed with his eyes closed like he’s trying to fall back asleep. “I’m done in the bathroom.”
Louis nods.
“Are you going to use it?”
Louis nods.
“Now?”
“Are we in a rush?”
“Not really.”
“Can we cuddle for 5 minutes?”
Harry smiles, thinking if he cuddles Louis now then maybe he won’t be so mad at him later. That probably won’t work, but he’s willing to give it a shot. Also Louis looks absolutely adorable in this position so Harry can’t really argue. He sets a timer and goes to lay on the bed with him, holding him from behind.
The alarm goes off again that morning and Louis gives him a squeeze before releasing him and walking into the bathroom. They have similar morning routines so while Louis does his Harry packs his backpack of all their essentials, double checking he has everything. He’s finishing when Louis walks out, looking slightly more awake.
“So what do you have planned for us today?” Louis leans on the door frame.
“You’ll see when we get there,” Harry smiles, zipping up the backpack. He stands up, putting it on and goes over to kiss Louis for the first time that morning. They both smile into it, but Harry pulls back, “You ready to go?”
Louis nods and the walk out of their room. They go to Harry’s car and after a 20 minute drive they get there and it’s 6:30, but that fact didn’t make Louis want to kill Harry when he realized where they are.
“We’re going hiking?”
“We are,” Harry smiles.
“Why are we going hiking?” Louis looks at him like he’s gone absolutely mad.
“It’ll be fun, I promise,” Harry says, opening his car door. He grabs his backpack from the backseat and meets Louis at the back of the car. “You ready?”
Louis starts walking towards the trail entrance, “You are literally going to be the death of me Harry Styles, mark my words. If I die on this hike, a lot of people are going to be very angry with you. You hear me? We’re also in America so they’re going to be extra hard on your ass, doesn’t matter that you have a pretty face you’re illegal.”
Harry just laughs at everything Louis is saying, “I’m really enjoying the view.”
“Yeah, you wish you could have an ass like mine. Didn’t even have to work to get this like you did. You were literally a board when I met you and now look at you. Your arms are like the size of my face, what even is that about? I mean don’t get me wrong, it has made for some very fun times, like sexy times, but man times they are a changing,” Louis tilts his head.
Harry laughs at all of Louis’ ramblings and man, there’s a lot, but he knows they’re helping make it a better experience for Louis. About an hour in the stop on a rock to eat breakfast that Harry packed for them along with water. They left early enough that it’s not too hot to be drinking tons of water, which is good so they can save it on the way back. Louis keeps asking how long it’s going to be before they get there. It’s hard to tell, because they’ve been hiking downhill the whole time. Harry keeps reassuring him that he’ll know when they’re there. To Louis’ surprise Harry is right and after 4 hours of hiking they’re finally met with a waterfall.
“Welcome to Havasu Falls,” Harry smiles, putting down the backpack at his feet, taking in Louis’ surprised look on his face.
“It’s so beautiful Hazza,” Louis turns to him.
“I thought you’d like it,” Harry smiles. “I was thinking we could eat lunch and then swim for a little. Does that sound good?”
Louis agrees and they eat the sandwiches Harry made for them along with the fruit and more granola that they didn’t eat at breakfast. They quickly finish and in one of the bushes change into swim trunks Harry packed for them. They walk up to a rock where Harry beautifully dives in and Louis cannon balls in after.
Harry throws his head back in laughter as Louis swims up to him, “You like it?”
Louis nods, putting his hands on Harry’s shoulders to help him float, “It’s crazy beautiful down here. This water is crazy blue, I guess I just didn’t expect for it to be so bright since we’re just surrounded but all of the dirt. I know I’ve also said it a 100 times but the sky is so blue today too.”
“I know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it that blue. Which is weird to say since you see it everyday,” Harry pushes his wet hair out of his face.
“That’s literally what I’ve been thinking all day.”
Harry bites his lip, “Do you still want to kill me for bringing you on this hike with me?”
Louis, to Harry’s surprise, shakes his head, “No, it’s been actually a lot of fun. Despite how much I’ve bitched at you today.”
“I know you didn’t really mean any of it,” Harry smiles. “I’ve had fun too. It made me think back to when Liam and I hiked Machu Picchu and I just kept thinking how much I wish you went with us.”
“Probably would’ve been a lot smarter to go there than where I actually was,” Louis clenches his teeth.
Harry laughs at his face, “Chicken in Chili! Pew pew pew-“
“Shut up,” Louis slaps his chest, despite the fact that he’s also laughing.
“Make me,” Harry keeps laughing, but Louis actually takes him up on the challenge kissing him.
Louis pulls back for a second, "Wait is this hike why you haven't fucked me in 2 days?"
"That and the mule ride," Harry clenches his teeth, not knowing what Louis' reaction is going to be.
The two just stare at each other for a while before Louis cracks a smile, "You're a smart man."
Harry shrugs, "I have my moments."
Louis kisses him and the couple kiss softly for a few minutes before they realize they’re both getting pruney from the water. They get out and change back into their clothes, despite being a little wet and make their way back up the trail. Louis still leads them the whole way, but isn’t talking as much due to the incline causing him to be a little out of breath.
They finally make it back to Harry’s car after 5 hours. They just sit in the A.C. for a few minutes not saying anything, drinking the rest of their water supply. Louis finally turns to him, “Anything else planned for today?”
“One thing,” Harry smiles, “I think you’ll love it.”
“Okay, I trust you,” Louis reaches back and puts on his seatbelt as Harry does the same. Harry drives them to their next spot, taking about 10 minutes, pulling them right in at 5 P.M. Louis is really excited. “We’re going on a helicopter tour?”
Harry nods, “We’ve only seen the south and west parts of the canyon and I thought this will allow us to see all of it. You excited?”
“Hell yeah I’m excited! What are we still doing sitting in the car?” Louis unbuckles and is out of Harry’s Range Rover in record time.
Harry follows him inside to check them in and before they know it they’re climbing in the helicopter on the launch pad. The pilot does a good job explaining what everything is they’re looking at through their headsets. Harry has a hard time focusing on the canyon due to how excited Louis looks taking everything in. The sun is starting to set at the end of their tour and sky is becoming less blue, but filling up with pinks and purples. It continues to set as they drive back to their hotel for the night. They quickly change in their room and are quickly leaving again to head out to dinner. They don’t leave the hotel since they are eating at the El Tovar Dining Room located inside the hotel. They’re sharing a bottle of red again tonight over their dishes.
“You’re really not going to tell me where we’re going tomorrow?” Louis raises the glass to his lips, taking a long sip of his wine.
Harry puts down his own glass, “No, I’m not. Because if you do, you’re going to look it up and realize why we’re going there and ruin the whole trip.”
“I’m not going to do that.”
Harry makes a face at him.
“Okay, maybe I would do that,” Louis admits.
Harry laughs, “Can you not just enjoy the moment?”
Louis shakes his head, “I can, but I’m also just very impatient. You know this Harold, which is also why you know exactly what I would do if you told me.”
“That’s what you get for being my best friend. I’m very observant,” Harry raises his eyebrows as a matter of factly.
Louis shakes his head with the widest smile, “I don’t know why I get more bashful when you call me your best friend than I do when you call me your husband.”
“Probably because our friendship is ruined, because fans have forced it upon us. I still can’t believe I was forced in a room and was forced to make a song with you. A song called Perfect, which you are not,” Harry laughs the entire time as he says it.
Louis is almost in tears he’s laughing so hard, “I still can’t believe I was forced, against my will, to write Medicine for you. That song is not your style or range at all. You can’t even pull it off performing it live.”
“You said you weren’t going to bring it up again,” Harry throws his head in his hands, pretending to fake cry, but Louis knows he can’t stop laughing.
The rest of their dinner continues like that with the two of them making jokes back and forth all throughout their course. They walk back to their room hand in hand and make their way into bed. They exhaustion from their hike is setting in, so they don’t do anything. They’re talking lightly to each other as Harry is tracing shapes into Louis’ bare back.
“Are you waking us up at the ass crack of dawn again tomorrow?” Louis raises his eyebrows.
Harry shakes his head, “No, I planned for us to sleep in and eat lunch and then hit the road. It’s about a 2 hour drive from here.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Louis smiles, quickly pecking his lips. “Love you.”
“I love you too.”
~~~~~
Harry’s eyes shoot open as he wakes up from being painfully hard. He normally never wakes up like that, but then again he also doesn’t wake to morning blowjobs that often either. It doesn’t take long for Harry to come, having already been so on edge right when he woke up. He pulls Louis up to him, kissing him hard before breaking it to return the favor. It takes about 3 tugs before Louis is spilling onto both of their chests.
They’re both breathing hard and Harry is the one to break the silence, “Good morning to you too.”
Louis mischievously smiles, “Good morning. Your little friend was poking me in the back, which made me wake up. I figured I’d help him out a little.”
“He’s really grateful for you,” Harry smiles back and kissing him again.
Louis kisses him back, “What were you dreaming about?”
Harry smiles, “We were at the beach and you were naked and tanning. You were also really sweaty so you went in the water and you came back and you were just dripping-“
“A literal wet dream,” Louis interrupts.
“Yes, a literal wet dream,” Harry laughs.
“Well the only difference now is we’re in a bed in the desert. You still have me though.”
“Yes, yes I do,” Harry kisses him.
They lazily kiss in bed for a while before Louis complains that they’re starting to get sticky and pulls them both into the shower. They get dirty again in the shower before Harry is washing both of them clean. Harry gets out first and gets dressed. While Louis gets dressed Harry is packing up all of their things, getting ready for checkout. Once they’re both finally ready they head out the door and head to lunch. They eat at a local burger place called Fred Harvey Burger, which Harry heard from the person at the front desk who swore by it. They weren’t wrong as they both love their burgers. They finish their lunch, fill up on gas and start driving to Sedona, Arizona.
Harry’s playlist is playing when Louis says, “Harry, what are we listening to right now?”
Harry’s jaw drops, “Louis Tomlinson, do not pretend that you don’t know the words to every song on this playlist.”
“Why would I know the words to songs with a playlist title like 'Old Lover’s Hippie Music’?” Louis reads from Harry’s phone.
“I‘ve literally had this playlist for like 3 years now. I have been playing it every time we got in the car this whole trip,” Harry tries justifying to him.
Louis just rolls his eyes, “Whatever. Can I please change the music?”
Harry gives up, “Fine, play what you want.” He continues to listen to the rest of the Fleetwood Mac song while Louis finds what he’s looking for. The opening cymbal of Golden starts playing and Harry looks over with a smile. “If you wanted to listen to Golden you could’ve just said so.”
Louis shrugs right on the ‘Hey!’ and starts dancing, causing Harry to start laughing. Louis rolls down the window and they both start singing the song as both as they loudly could. They go back and forth listening to each other’s unreleased music the whole ride there. They finally get there at 2:30 and quickly check into their hotel. They get into their room and when Harry goes to slide the lock into place it falls off.
“Are we in an episode of Schitt’s Creek right now?” Louis laughs at the dangling lock.
Harry is laughing too, “Maybe, I mean our blue door is broken.”
Thankfully there is another lock on the door and that one actually works. They quickly freshen up before Harry is having them head back into the car. They pass a Helicopter Tour sign and Louis looks over, “Are we going on another helicopter tour?”
Harry shakes his head, “We are going on another tour, but it’s not in a helicopter.”
Harry pulls into their destination and Louis reads, “A pink jeep tour? Seriously Harold?”
Harry shrugs, “I thought it was quirky and that you’d like it.”
Louis pauses, “No you’re right that’s quirky as hell.”
They head inside for their tour and to both of their surprise it’s actually insanely fun. Their guide is borderline insane, but a Sedona native so he’s going on the entire time it makes the couple wonder when this guy actually has time to breathe when he speaks. Regardless of the fact he has both of them laughing the entire time. At the end of the tour the 3 all take a picture together, not wanting to forget their crazy tour guide Jason.
Harry takes them to Gerardo’s Italian Kitchen, as suggested by Jason, and enjoy their pasta dishes on the patio enjoying the sunset. When they get in the car Louis thinks Harry is taking them back to the hotel, but they pull into Cathedral Rock.
Louis looks over with a raised eyebrow. “You’re not going to make me worship in a cult are you?” Harry shakes his head with a laugh and gets out of the car. He grabs a blanket from the trunk and holds out his hand for Louis to take. They’re walking for about 5 minutes when Louis asks, “We’re not going on another hike are we?”
Harry shakes his head again and after another 5 minutes Harry walks them onto what Louis can see is Cathedral Rock. He spreads out their blanket with Louis’ help. When it’s all spread out he lays down and silently asks Louis to lay with him. He does and when he looks up at the sky he gasps, “That’s why I took you on this trip.”
Louis starts immediately tearing up, “You took me to see the stars.”
Harry nods, “Sedona has light pollution laws where people can only have a certain amount and they can’t be on after a certain time. You can literally see galaxies from here.”
“When did you plan all of this?”
“The morning after we took that drive. This was the first free weekend for both of us, so I took it,” Harry smiles, looking over at Louis who looks like he doesn’t plan on looking anywhere but the stars for a while.
“This really puts ‘How many nights does it take to count the stars?’ into perspective,” Louis laughs.
Harry laughs with him, “Yeah, but we found our way back to each other.”
“We always do,” Louis said holding out his hand.
Harry took it, interlocking their fingers, “Did I do a good job?”
Louis nods, “If I wasn’t already married to you I would marry you on the spot. This is even better than what I could’ve ever imagined.”
“I can’t promise you Sedona every time, but when you want to get out of L.A. let me know and we can go. We can go anywhere you want, I promise Lou.”
Louis tears his eyes away from the sky, “Harry you are literally the love of my life. Thank you for loving me every day, even when I don’t deserve it and allowing me to love you everyday. I literally don’t know what I would do without you in my life. I don’t say it enough, but I love you with every fiber of my being.”
Harry starts tearing up, “I love you immensely Louis. You deserve the world and everything in it. You’re the strongest person I know and you say I’m you’re rock, but you’re mine too. You inspire me every day and are the inspiration for all my songs. I literally wouldn’t be where I am today without you.”
They’re both crying when Louis kisses him hard, vows of declaration can be a lot when they come from eloquent song writers. After their kiss Louis shifts to rest his head on Harry’s shoulder so he can keep looking at the stars. “Thank you for this trip.”
“Thank you for coming. I'll take you anywhere in the world we want to go.”
“Just remember you don’t have to kidnap me to do it next time,” Louis smiles underneath Harry’s chest which vibrates with laughter.
~~~~~
Harry walks into the studio Monday morning greeting Mitch and Thomas, “Morning.”
Mitch is strumming on a guitar, “How was your trip with Louis?”
“Absolutely amazing,” Harry smiles, going into details about his trip with Louis. He told both of them where he was going, since he had to cancel their studio time they had scheduled for Friday. Mitch and Thomas both laugh at Harry’s retelling knowing Louis quite well and how he’d react to some of the shenanigans Harry put them through.
“The way you talk about him you can tell how much you truly love him,” Thomas smiles at him.
“You talk about that way with Jenny sometimes,” Harry tilts his head.
“Yeah, but you and Louis are on a whole other level,” Thomas shakes his head.
“Soulmate shit,” Mitch tells him, strumming on his guitar.
Harry laughs, “It’s inspiring though, you have to admit. I had an idea for a song.”
“I bet you do lover boy,” Thomas smiles, “Let’s hear it then.”
“I have an idea for the title, but that’s all I got,” Harry hold his bottom lip, “Canyon Moon.”
Mitch nods and shows Harry what he was working on on his acoustic guitar he’s been strumming on since Harry walked in.
~~~~~
Album: Fine Line
Artist: Harry Styles
Track 10: Canyon Moon