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It’s raining when Louis walks back to his flat. He’d had a good night out with the lads, but he’s really looking forward to crawling into bed and passing out because he doesn’t have work tomorrow, thank god. He hums lowly and shakes the rain out of his hair, feeling the chill of the air make his skin tingle. Louis is about to enter the building when he sees an unusual sight – a man with a flower crown standing outside and beaming as he looks up at the sky. He’s covered in rain and his skin is glistening almost as bright as his smile.
Louis stops for a moment to take it all in, and he shakes his head as he tries to piece it all together. “Uh, mate?”
The man turns around to reveal the most beautiful green eyes Louis has ever seen. Wet curls are matted to the sides of his face. A grin even bigger than before spreads across his mouth. “Oh, hello!” he chirps, holding out his hand. “I’m Prince Harry.”
Louis laughs right out loud. He thinks he might not be sober enough to handle this. As pretty as he may be, he’s seemingly crazy. “Right. And I’m Prince William.”
“You’re a prince, too?” Harry, apparently, replies, eyes sparkling as he bounces on his feet excitedly and fixes the flower crown that almost falls off his head. “Oh, William, that’s wonderful!”
Who the fuck doesn’t know who Prince William is, Louis wonders, but he shakes off the thought.
“Me being Prince William is as believable as you being Prince Harry,” Louis counters as he rolls his eyes. “The name’s Louis.”
“What an enchanting name!”
Louis’ brows furrow and he clicks his tongue. He just should’ve kept walking and ignored the man because this is a little too much. Between the flower crown and his cartoonish features – this is ridiculous. “Do you have some place to go? You’re obviously a bit plastered if you think you’re a prince. Have you got anyone you can call to come get you or a cab or something?”
He shakes his head nervously, shimmer in his eyes faltering a little. Louis wants to kiss him. “I’m so far from home. I don’t know how I got here. Well, I do, actually. I came here through that.” He points to a manhole cover, leaving Louis dumbfounded.
“Right,” he says again, as he pats Harry’s shoulder carefully. “Come up to mine, and we can get you sorted. You can stay the night, and we can call someone for you in the morning.”
“That’s so kind of you, Louis!” Harry exclaims, pulling him into a tight hug before Louis shakes him off. He doesn’t want to admit to himself how nice it is to be in Harry’s arms – he’s been single for a long time and this boy is so very pretty, but that’s neither here nor there at this point.
They start into the building, and Louis motions Harry up the stairs. “This is quite different from my castle at home. It’s still very beautiful, though.”
“What exactly are you prince of?”
“Andalasia.”
Andalasia. What the fuck is that? Louis’ sure he’s never even heard of such a place, so it’s totally possible that Harry really is prince of wherever it is, but really, what the fuck? What sort of prince gets lost in a manhole cover and wears flower crowns and is left unattended and apparently has no one looking for him? Whatever. He chooses not to press the issue – he’s way too tired for this.
They continue the walk to Louis’ flat in silence, though Harry seems entranced with everything around him. It’s a dingy building – why he’s looking at it like it’s the most beautiful thing makes no sense to Louis, but amuses him more than he wants to admit. The one thing Harry has going for him is that he’s hopelessly endearing. “Well, this is my place,” Louis tells Harry, unlocking the door and flicking on the light as they walk inside.
“And what a beautiful place this is!” Harry exclaims, grabbing Louis’ hand excitedly as he looks around. “You’re so lucky to live in some place this lovely!” He lets out a happy sigh as he strolls through the small kitchen.
Louis snorts as he throws his keys down on the kitchen counter. “Yeah, real fantastic. It’s a piece of shit, but I don’t have enough money to move.”
“I could give you some!” Harry tells him brightly before his brows furrow. “Oh, but I’ve left my jewels back in my castle.” An exaggerated frown dulls Harry’s features, and Louis feels a grin tugging at his lips. “Louis, oh, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s alright, mate. Thanks, though. You can, um, sleep on the couch tonight, yeah? I’ll get you a blanket, and then we can call someone in the morning for you.”
“You’re so kind, Louis.” Harry’s voice and smile are warm as he follows Louis a few steps into the living room and plops himself down on the couch. “Thank you so very much for letting me stay in your home!”
As he walks over to pull a blanket from the closet, he mumbles to himself, “he’s straight out of a fucking cartoon.” He grins as he brings Harry a blanket, though, draping it over him gently. “Yeah, no worries. Goodnight, Harry. Sleep well.”
“Goodnight, dear Louis!” Harry blows him a kiss before closing his eyes and curling his fists into the blanket.
The first thing Louis does when he gets into bed is google Andalasia.
*
Louis wakes up to the scent of pancakes dancing around his nose. He hasn’t woken up to the smell of breakfast being cooked in years, and the night before comes flooding back to him – yes, okay, he met “Prince Harry” on the street and let him stay at his flat. He ignores the pounding in his head from his inevitable hangover and follows the smell into the kitchen.
Where he runs into a deer.
A deer.
In his flat.
A deer.
That seems to be wearing a necklace of flowers.
That is staring at him.
“WHAT THE FUCK?” he finally shouts once it all registers, swatting at the animal as he tries to get it to move. A bluebird swoops near his head, causing him to yelp and nearly fall over. He lets out a squeal as he pushes past the animal and into his kitchen.
Harry is singing happily with a bird on each shoulder, yet another deer standing to his left, and a chipmunk and rabbit are resting on the counter. “What the hell is going on, Harry?” Louis asks, and when Harry turns, he sees that he’s ditched his flower crown for a headscarf and is now wearing an apron. Louis doesn’t own an apron. Where has he seen that print before?
He figures out where when he turns his head to see his living room curtains completely demolished to make Harry’s new outfit. “Good morning, lovely Louis! I called over some friends to help me make breakfast today!”
A cardinal lands on Louis’ shoulder and he yelps again as he shakes his arm, making the bird squawk and find its way back to Harry. “He didn’t mean it,” Harry tells the bird softly, petting its feathers with his index finger. “He’s just never met you before.”
He wants to yell at Harry and just can’t.
By all means, Louis should be angry – there’s a petting zoo standing in his kitchen, and his curtains are unsalvageable – but when Harry looks at him with a bright grin and curls pooling around his newly made headscarf, he can’t be. His childlike innocence and adorable dimples insure that Louis can’t be cross with him. That and there’s a plate of freshly cooked pancakes waiting for him, so of course he can’t be mad.
Louis sits down at the table. “These are for me, right?” he asks, pointing to the pancakes that are smothered in raspberries and whipped cream.
“Of course they are! I called in a favor with a few of my deer-est friends!” Harry giggles at his own joke, and Louis can’t help but join in, shaking his head at how silly this boy is. “They brought the raspberries from the forest!”
“Yeah, okay,” Louis says around a mouthful of pancake. “Can you get them out of my house, though?”
“Not until we clean up! I did notice that your flat is a little bit messy, Louis, so I figured all of my friends could help me clean it up for you! It’s the very least I could do since you have been so kind to me.” He bats his eyelashes, and Louis would like to kiss him.
His flat is a little messy. And he supposes if the animals are already here…
“Fine, I guess.”
“Wonderful!” Harry claps his hands and starts singing a tune that makes every animal in Louis’ flat run right towards him as they bob their heads and twirl with him. It’s a sight to behold, really, as Harry tightens the scarf around his head and instructs the birds to get the soap and the deer to start cleaning the windows. He hums as he starts around the kitchen, skipping around and grinning as he lets the animals know their next task.
The bunny starts to dust things with its tail as the chipmunk picks up stray socks and small clothing items left around the room. It’s bizarre and magical and ridiculous and straight out of a Disney movie, but Harry just spins around the kitchen singing and cleaning like there’s nothing he’d rather be doing. Maybe Harry really is some sort of lost prince – at this point, that seems like a totally reasonable explanation.
Louis finishes his pancakes, and as he takes the last bite, a deer stops at the table to pick up the plate with its antlers. Two birds carry the plate from the antlers to the sink, chirping cheerily as they fly. What the fuck?
He wants to call everyone he knows to tell them exactly what’s going on, but nobody would ever believe him.
*
Once all the animals have scurried back to wherever it was they came from and everything has calmed down, Harry sits down on the couch next to Louis wearing a smile. “All done! Don’t you feel better now that it’s tidier, Louis? My animal friends are so good at helping out with things like that. Sorry again about the curtains.” His cheeks flush a deep shade of pink, and Louis waves his hand as if to brush it off.
Louis does have to admit that his flat looks much nicer, and Harry has even created a new set of curtains from fabric the bunny got him from god knows where. And god, he’s just so…endeared. Everything this man does seems to ache of preciousness, and Louis’ cold, dead heart wants to burst. “I appreciate it, Harry. Really. Thank you.”
“Oh, I’m so glad!” Harry pulls him into a hug again, and Louis happily accepts it this time, even though he’s still slightly wary. “I love making people happy! Isn’t making people happy wonderful?” His eyes glisten.
“Uh, of course,” Louis replies with a nod. “Um, okay, but I have to ask – why are you here exactly? You can’t stay in my flat forever.”
“Are you sure?” He looks so earnest as he says it, smile starting to melt off his face. “It’s so cozy! And this couch is very nice. And you have the prettiest blue eyes I’ve ever seen.”
Louis’ brows furrow before a grin finds its way to his face. “And you have the prettiest green eyes I’ve ever seen, but that still didn’t answer my question, Harold. Prince Harold.”
“It’s just Harry,” he answers sheepishly, tugging at his headscarf nervously. “I, um, didn’t tell you last night. That, um, I.” He stops and takes a moment to study Louis’ face. Louis doesn’t know him well enough to be able to read him, and it frustrates him. “Um. I am a prince.”
“You mentioned that,” Louis supplies, leaning back on the couch and putting his feet on the coffee table. “From Andalasia.”
“Goodness, Louis, please get your feet off the table!” Harry shakes his head gently. “Cadbury just cleaned that! She worked very hard dusting it!”
Louis starts to laugh, but Harry looks so serious and concerned that he bites his lip to keep more giggles from escaping. “But anyway, Harry, go on.”
“Um. Right. So I don’t know how or why I got here or what exactly happened, but I was, um.” His voice gets so low Louis can’t understand him anymore. He puts a reassuring hand on the boy’s shoulder, seeing his eyes brimming with tears.
“What happened?” Louis asks softly, rubbing circles on Harry’s back.
“I was banished,” Harry answers barely above a whisper. His features droop like he’s a cartoon drawn by Walt Disney himself. “Now you probably think I’m a terrible person. But I’m not! I promise.”
Louis smiles, brushing his thumb under Harry’s eyes to wipe away the unshed tears. “I don’t think you’re a terrible person,” he assures, and Harry’s lips quirk up. “You’ve just invited animals to clean my house and make me breakie. I think you seem pretty great.”
“Thanks, Louis. Um, I was banished because.” He takes a deep breath and focuses his attention on the ceiling for a few long moments before letting out a long sigh. “Um, I’m supposed to get married, right? So I can become king and all that and have a queen alongside me. But the only thing is.” Harry stops again to look at Louis and touches his hand gently. “I wasn’t looking for a princess. I wanted a prince.” He cheeks turn red again, and Louis smiles.
“Oh. You’re gay?”
Harry nods. “And, like. They said I had to find a princess because, like, then I could have kids and carry on the family name. I love kids, but, um. I want a prince. And they banished me. And, oh, Louis, I don’t know how I got here, but I have to get back home! I have to! I already miss it so much, and I haven’t even been gone long!”
A confused expression colors Louis’ face. “You want to go back?”
“Of course I do,” Harry tells him instantaneously, nodding emphatically. His curls bounce, and Louis resists the urge to wrap one around his finger. “It’s my home.”
“But they banished you. They banished you for wanting to be who you are. Harry, why would you want to go back to that?”
Harry stops for a moment, looking like he’s reevaluating his entire life. He takes a few moments to let Louis’ words sink in before he finally speaks again. “Well, Cadbury told me earlier that she would miss me, you know? And all my animal friends – what would they do without me? You said I can’t stay in your flat forever, and they most certainly wouldn’t be able to!” Harry looks so flustered that Louis just wants to hug him…so he does.
It’s a long, reassuring hug, and when they pull away, Harry looks slightly calmer.
“No, you can’t stay in my flat forever, but you could stay until you find a place. And when you find your own place, your friends can visit you whenever you want them to. And I guess they can visit here, too…” He winces. “Until you can find somewhere to live on your own. And you can make new friends. Friends that love you for who you are. But don’t go back there. You’re better than that. You’re a prince, for god’s sake. You deserve the best.”
“But it’s all I know.” Harry’s eyes grow wide. “Everyone will be let down if I don’t go back!”
“They let you down,” Louis says, grabbing Harry’s hands. “It’s not the other way ‘round, love.”
There’s another silence as Harry seems to mull everything over. Louis takes in everything about him – the wild curls, the long eyelashes, the sweetest dimples. He doesn’t know how he feels so weirdly attached to Harry since he hasn’t even known him 24 hours, but the thought of him going back to a place where they wouldn’t appreciate him for the person he is seems stupid and unbearable.
“You really think I should stay here?”
“I really do.” He leaves out the fact that he’s becoming more and more attached to him as the time ticks on, though he really can’t figure out why.
“Y’know what they say back home?” Harry asks suddenly, sparkle returning to his eyes, and Louis shakes his head. “That you’ll know when you find true love’s kiss. And, um. I’ve kissed princesses. A lot of princesses, actually, and there was never – isn’t there supposed to be music that sounds? And fireworks? And rainbows? Isn’t that it, Louis? That’s what happened for my parents.”
“That doesn’t happen literally in the real world, mate,” Louis tells him with a bit of a chuckle. “Maybe there are rainbows or summat in your kingdom, but here there’s not. There’s a spark, though. You’d know.”
“A spark?”
Louis nods.
“Like fireworks?”
“Not in the literal sense, no. You’d know if you felt it.”
“But is it magic? That’s why everything happens like that at home. Because it’s magic.”
“I’m not so sure magic exists, but okay, sure.”
It’s like the world stops for a moment as Harry’s fingers ghost up Louis’ jaw. Louis feels his breath hitch in his throat as Harry leans in, eyes wide and lips inviting. “I’ve never, um, kissed a guy,” he whispers, and Louis leans in to close the gap between them.
It’s soft and sweet and meaningful. Harry lets out little noises of contentment as Louis threads his hand through the curls he’s been wanting to touch, and it’s all as perfect as it could possibly be. But, wait – what the hell is that?
As they pull away from each other, there’s music from a symphony swirling in the air, violins are ringing out though Louis can’t figure out where they’re coming from, and he’s startled at the sound of a loud boom in the sky. He rushes to the window to investigate, and despite the fact that it’s broad daylight, there are fireworks exploding in the sky – blue, then green. As the fireworks dissipate, a rainbow slowly starts to fade into the blue sky, colors bright and brilliant. Louis shifts his gaze from the amazing display in front of him to look at Harry. “True love’s kiss?” he asks, feeling slightly breathless as the boy nods and smiles.
“And a little magic,” Harry tells him.
“Things like this don’t just…this isn’t…”
“I told you – magic,” Harry whispers, wrapping his arms around Louis’ waist and pressing a kiss to his temple. “Maybe, dear Louis, it was worth getting banished for. Be my prince.”
Louis doesn’t think twice before he says “yes.” Another firework explodes in the sky, and okay, yeah, he thinks, maybe he does believe in magic.