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„Hello, hello.“ Niall put his phone on the table in front of the couch, him and Liam in frame.
The two and Zayn were currently at Harry’s house; they actually planned to have a late breakfast together and write on their new album. But Harry was still asleep when they arrived and opened the door with the spare key he once gave them.
So Zayn and Niall decided to prank him and wake him with a nice bucket full of water, which they’re going to pour over his head. And since Niall thought it would be even funnier to do that on instagram, live, he pulled out his phone and started a live stream, while Zayn filled the bucket. Liam wasn’t really into that prank but knew that he couldn’t stop them, so he just sat down on the couch and scroll through his phone.
*Where are you?* asked one person between all the ‚OMG’s and the ‚hey Niall’s in the live chat. Niall read it out loud to answer.
„I’m glad you ask, we’re at Harold’s house for breakfast, but he’s still asleep sooo we’re going to prank him.“ A smile on his face.
„I’m not, just Zayn and Niall.“ Liam declared. „Yeah, yeah alright Payno, you are no fun.“ Niall laughed at Zayn’s comment from the kitchen and it seemed like the fans heard it too, judging from the written reactions.
„We planned on throwing ice water over his face. And then force him to make us breakfast.“ Niall informed as he stood up to stand by Zayn. He turned the camera, filming how he filled the bucket. „You know you could help me, yeah?“
„Nah, you’re doing great Z.“ Niall clapped him on the back and answered a few questions he read from the chat.
When Zayn was done, he picked up the bucket and walked into the living area, spilling a bit water on the way. „I’m done. Let’s do this.“
Niall shot up, Liam slowly standing up as well, because, if he’s being honest, he doesn’t want to miss Harry’s reaction. „Hell yes, it’s going to be so funny!“
They walked down the hallway, phone still in Niall’s hand filming himself. Zayn walking in front of him and Liam trotting behind them.
„But wait, what if he’s naked-?“ Liam suddenly said, Niall moving to film him. „Don’t think so, he’s probably under his blanket, so even if he is, it should be alright.“
Liam looked a bit skeptical, but settled with that answer.
So when they reached the door to Harry’s bedroom, Zayn put his hand on the doorknob, trying to make no sound. Niall turned the camera for everyone to see and gave Zayn a sign to open the door. He pushed the door open for everyone to see and stood still for a second, almost dropping the bucket. „Fuck“ he whispered under his breath. „Abort mission! Abort mission!“
Niall looked behind him to see Liam as confused as he was himself. Zayn stood in the way to properly see into the room, so he lifted his head over the raven haired boy’s shoulder. To all of their misfortune, he also lifted the phone, trying to show the stream chat everything. That was a big mistake. And Niall realized it soon, but not soon enough, because he just showed all the 120k people, that wanted to watch them pull a prank on Harry, how said boy layed in bed. Spooning with a, for them, unknown young man.
You see, Harry isn’t out in public. It’s not like he doesn’t want to; he would actually love to show his gorgeous boyfriend to the whole world. It’s just that their management always said, they have to wait for the right time, the right moment, so it’s not that big of a shock and they can also get some sort benefit from it.
Maybe that was the right moment they have been waiting for?
Niall was still in shock, with wide eyes, when Zayn pushed him back, slamming the door shut again. That probably woke the couple.
Liam, who still didn’t know what was going on, asked what just happened, while Zayn continued to push them down the hallway. Niall, who completely forgot about the phone in his hand, told him.
„Fuck, Lou is here. Like, with Harry. In his bed.“ Liam’s confused expression changed into one of shock, similar to how the blond boy looked seconds ago.
„Oh-“ Liam went to say, glancing down to Nialls hand. „Niall, the fucking stream- turn it off!“ He whisper-shouted. The boy cursed first, before lifting his hand and turning the camera, that showed the floor and their feet for the last 2 minutes.
„Um, so…“ He started with a light shade of pink on his face; he tried to read the chat, but it was going way too fast. „Yeah, bye guys-“ He cut himself off at the end, already clicking the little ‚X’.
Fuck.
+++
Meanwhile, the curly haired boy and his slightly smaller boyfriend really woke up from the loud sound of the door. With his eyes still shut, he tried to turn in Louis’ arms, but they were too tight around his torso, so he kissed them and his shoulder.
„Lou, wake up.“ He whispered, but the other boy just grumbled nuzzling his nose further into Harry’s neck. „Don’t wanna.“
Harry chuckled, closing his eyes again, because he forgot why he woke up in the first place for a second. And then his eyes shot open again. „Shit, I forgot that the lads were coming over, that was probably them.“
He reached forward to his bedside table, pulling Louis with him slightly, who still had a firm grip around him. The time told him, that he overslept by nearly an hour. He tried to peal off Louis’ arms one last time, but when it didn’t work again, he slightly bit in his shoulder. He earned a small ‚ow‘ so he kissed the spot before sitting up. „I’m just gonna, great them. I’ll be back in a bit, babe.“
Louis just nodded slightly and when Harry went to stand up, he took his hand and gave it a kiss, making the younger boy smile to himself. He could hear Louis snoring softly again, while he pulled on random sweats and a plain white shirt.
He strolled down the hallway, still tired, to the living room, thinking the other three boys would be there. And he was right, they all sat on the couch, saying nothing. Harry, though, didn’t notice their stiff posture and guilty looks, because of the sleepy daze he still was in.
„Lads, I’m so sorry, we overslept and I honestly forgot about you coming over. Oh, and Louis is here.“ Harry said with a shy smile, but when he didn’t get an answer back, he raised an eyebrow. „You alright?“
„We totally fucked up, Haz, we’re so sorry-“ Niall rushed out, slapping his hand over his mouth quickly. „What? What’d you do?“
Harry was a bit worried now, he couldn’t really imagine what they could’ve done that made them feel so guilty.
But he soon understood, when his three best friends explained him everything, still looking utterly guilty. „But I already looked on twitter, people seem to be fine with it.“ Liam tried to soothe.
When they finished explaining everything, Harry didn’t know what to say, so he stayed quiet for what felt like an eternity. Till he finally spoke up.
„I’m- I’m gonna talk to Louis-“ His bandmates just nodded, watching how he went back to his room.
+++
When Harry was back in his bedroom, he let out a loud breath, not sure how to actually feel. Louis still layed in bed with his eyes shut. He didn’t want to wake Louis; but he noticed that he didn’t have to.
„Hi.“ Louis said and Harry could only manage to whisper back a response „Hi.“
Louis’ eyes opened, „You alright, babe? Everything good with the lads?“
And when Harry saw how sincere his boyfriend looked, how worried, he broke down. Tears started streaming down his face and he let out a sob. The older boy looked startled at first, now even more worried. He stood up to wrap his arms around Harry again; feeling how his tense body slumped down in his embrace.
„Hey, shhh, shh. It’s okay, baby. Come sit.“ Louis guided them to the end of the bed, sitting down with Harry half on his lap. And even if the singer was taller than him, he pulled him on his lap fully, just whispering reassuring things in his ear and running his hands over his back, under the white shirt.
Eventually, the tears stopped and he Harry lifted his head to look into the blue eyes that mean so much to him. Louis wiped over the soft skin under his eyes, leaning forward to peck his lips lightly. They looked at each other for a few more minutes before Louis carefully asked what happened.
Harry took a deep breath, trying not to tear up again. „Hey, it’s alright, take your time.“ Louis said, breaking eye contact to press light kisses to Harry’s exposed collarbones, not wanting to overwhelm him further under his gaze.
And then Harry explained him everything he kept in mind from his conversation with Liam, Niall and Zayn. From the prank to how the filmed them, even if it was only for maybe 3 seconds, and how they slammed the door shut; they also apologized for waking them. At some point, Louis stopped his kisses, but still moved his hands on Harry’s back.
„And- And I don’t even know why I’m crying. This is what I wanted. I can be with you now, but that’s just- It’s-“ Harry let out a sob. „Haz, I know, you wanted it to be more special, and you wanted to take it in your own hands. You can still do that, maybe they just saw my hair and think I’m your new dog or something.“ Louis tried lighting up the mood, with success; Harry let out a quiet laugh. Louis got serious again, „But really, if you… if you still want to come out then, then you can still do that on your own, tell your fans. It would be sooner and without much preparation than we thought but it’s possible. If- if you still want that, of course.“
To be honest, Louis was scared as well, they talked about this a couple of times now, also with Harry’s management. He would love to be out with Harry, and he would totally understand if Harry changed his mind, but he isn’t quite sure how he would actually deal with that now, since Harry always said he wanted this. They managed to keep their relationship a secret for 2 years now, and it probably wouldn’t be that hard to keep going that way, but here it was; the moment, the opportunity management always talked about.
Harry looked into Louis’ bright blue eyes again, seeing something that looked like uncertainty in them, as if he wasn’t sure what Harry would say.
But Harry was still sure. He wanted this, wanted Louis. So he leaned in, connecting their lips again to an innocent kiss. He tried to put all the love he felt for the boy, probably the love of his life, in that one kiss, and he could feel Louis did the same.
They broke apart, but stayed close, resting their foreheads together. „Of course I want that, Lou. You- I love you like I never loved anyone else before and if I’m going to do it, then with you. I want everyone to know how much you mean to me. You are so important.“ Harry whispered his words, not wanting to break the little bubble with comfortable atmosphere around them.
Now Louis was the one with tears in his eyes, blinking rapidly to keep them from spilling. „I love you too Harry, so so much. I’m always going to be by your side, yeah?“ They both smiled at each other, kissing again for a few moments, before they remembered that the other boys were still in Harry’s living room.
„We should talk to the boys.“ Harry suggested. Louis nodded, patting Harry’s thigh lightly to tell him to stand up. Louis pulled on clothes, sweats he once left at Harry’s and one of his hoodies, and then they both left the room.
They saw the others in the kitchen, trying to make breakfast. „Hey.“ Harry said, a bit more quiet than he normally would. Their heads snapping in the direction where the slightly rough voice came from. They said a shy hello back, still looking apologetic and a bit uncomfortable.
Harry knew how sorry they were and he felt bad for letting them just sit here for another hour. He entered the kitchen, Louis behind him, smiling slightly at the three. Harry looked at them for a second before motioning for them to come closer; initiating a group hug. They all were always close and Harry knew they didn’t do all that on purpose; if he’s thinking about it, he would’s been even more mad at them when they poured ice could water over his head while he was sleeping. They we’re always there for him, god, they were probably even the reason that management allowed him to come out at some point; they defended him and always backed him up. If he’s going to come out properly, then he would need them on the way.
„I’m not mad at you.“
„But you should be. We literally outed you.
„Yeah, but now management can’t say ‚We can’t just do it, we have to wait for a good opportunity.‘ They don’t have a chance to deny it now, do they?“
They all looked up at each other, „Yeah, you’re probably right. We are still so sorry, H.“ Zayn said.
„Don’t, really. If you’re going to help me do this right now, then I should probably even thank you. Well no, you still wanted to pull me out of my sleep and drench my whole bed in water.“
They looked at each other again, then started to laugh uncontrollably, the tension and guilt finally leaving their bodies. Louis, who stood at the door the whole time, watching them, smiled. He also learned to love the idiots his boyfriend calls his best friends, because they were also there for him. Especially Zayn, who became one of his best mates as well.
They pulled apart after they came down again. They went back to make breakfast, but Harry shooed them out of the kitchen, scared they would burn the house down any minute.
+++
Five hours, scrolling trough social media, a lot of phone calls with management and even a meeting with them, later Harry and Louis arrived back home; exhausted from the long day.
Management was outrageous after what happened at first, but all five of them could convince them, that now is the best time to let Harry and Louis come out as a couple. They also showed them the positive feedback they received, which surprised not only management, but also Harry, because he still wasn’t entirely sure how their fans would take it. Sure, there were a few dickheads and jealous people out there, but that was only a small part of it. Most of them even suspected Harry wasn’t straight.
So, they were free. Well, not entirely yet; they still had to announce it themselves, which they were free to do in what ever way they wanted. And again, he was absolutely grateful for his friends and bandmates, because they stood up for him like they always do. He wasn’t even mad at them anymore; he isn’t even sure if he was mad to begin with.
They also offered to go back with them and keep them company, but Harry thought that wasn’t necessary.
„So, what do you want to do now?“ Louis asked, coming up behind the taller lad, wrapping his arms around his slim waist. „I’m not sure, I thought it would be cute to post a picture of us, but I don’t know…“
„That’s a great idea, Haz. However you want to do it.“ Louis reassured him, placing a kiss on the back of Harry’s neck, which made him shiver.
„And maybe we could, go live? Like that’s how it started. But you don’t have to be in front of the camera if you don’t want to.“
„Louis turned Harry in his arms to look at him, a smile already on his face. „If you want me there, then I will be there. It’s important to you so I want to help you. You want to do it now or tomorrow?“
Harry was so happy to call this boy his’. „I think, we should do it now? I’m sure I won’t be able to sleep either way and I don’t want to overthink it further tomorrow, you know?“
Louis leaned up and pecked his lip before whispering a small ‚sure thing, Hazza.‘
They moved to the kitchen once again, Louis offered to make tea first and Harry started to look through his photos. He found himself smiling like an idiot, because he got lost in all the beautiful memories they went through together. How can he just pick one picture?
„Take more than one, babe. The feature to pick 10 photos isn’t just vain.“ Louis said and winked when he noticed Harry’s struggle.
And that’s what Harry ended up doing. He chose 7 of his favorite pictures. One he took of Louis while he was still asleep and he just couldn’t help himself. Another one from their first vacation, where they mostly had to stay in together, but it was amazing nonetheless. And his absolute favorite: a picture of them before they were even together. It was taken on the day they met. They looked so much younger than now, but he can still remember it all too well. The way Louis stood out to him from the second he looked around the room. It wasn’t like there were many other people, but even if, he was sure it would’ve happened either way.
„Okay“ he muttered to himself. Louis sat down next to him, placing their tea cups in front of them and playing his hand on Harry’s right thigh.
Harry began to type out a text, deleting it again, rewriting it and deleting it again. That went on for a while till he finally found the right words.
‚I’ve been struggling to put into words how happy and grateful I am. For my whole career, I’ve been keeping a major part of myself from all of you, and I hope you understand that. It’s been hard for not just me, but also for the love of my life; the boy you probably saw for the first time today, and whom I fell in love with two years ago. I wouldn’t be the person I am now without him. And I know, it may take some time till you get used to this, but I really hope you give him a chance, because without you, I also wouldn’t be the person I am now. And to the boys, thank you so much for being there for me. I am really thankful for everything you did for me, us. All the love -H. xx‘
He took a deep breath and showed it to Louis to read it first. He got a bright and proud smile from him and a kiss full of love, which just encouraged him. Then he posted it.
He locked his phone and turned off the notifications. He took Louis’ hand in his own and squeezed it, hugging into his side. They drank their tea in a comfortable silence.
„When do you wanna go live?“
„I think now. I just needed a bit. Thank you.“
They looked each other in the eye, Louis wanted to say something but was cut off by Harry. „For being here. For, for being my boyfriend and helping me through this.“
Louis’ smile only widened and he lifted their still intertwined hands to kiss Harry’s knuckles.
„Of course, baby. C’mon, you wanna change first? I should also shower, hadn’t had time this morning.“ Louis slightly chuckled.
„Yeah sound’s good.“
„You can start already if you want, I won’t take long.“ Louis said, standing up and putting their mugs into the sink.
„Yeah, yeah okay.“
+++
Five minutes later Harry fidgeted on his bed, back to the door so the sun won’t shine too bright in the back, changed into more comfortable clothes and phone in his hand. He still didn’t check the comments of his post and he doesn’t want to do it without Louis.
But he decided to listen to Louis and start the live; he heard the water in the bathroom go off, so Louis will be there in a few minutes.
He took another deep breath, collecting his thoughts, even though he’s sure that his mind will go blank as soon as he clicked the button and placed the phone infant of him. Let’s go then.
He waited for a minute before speaking, giving them time to join. You can do this, he said to himself
„Um, hi everyone.“
He hates live streams. There is no one that will directly answer him and he either talks like a waterfall or he is uncomfortably quiet. This time it’s the latter.
Well, that is, till he hears the bathroom door open and seconds later a shirtless Louis stays in the door, rubbing his hair dry with a towel. He looks so good. Harry immediately starts to smile and when Louis notices that he’s staring at him and that thousands of people can see him topless, he blushes and waves awkwardly. „Hi“ he says shyly, which makes Harry smile even wider.
„Stop grinning like a maniac, H“ Louis says to get the attention from him as he grabs a shirt, not caring if it’s even his.
Harry turns his head to his phone again, this time trying to make conversation. „That’s eh, that’s my boyfriend Louis. But you probably already know that.“
Then Harry allows himself to read the chat, or tries too. He catches a few words, and is relieved when those words are all positive. They already knew, that the majority of people was fine with Harry’s sexuality and support him, but seeing it live was a bit overwhelming, yet a beautiful feeling.
Louis now sat beside him, going through his phone.
„I didn’t really expect this to happen the way it did, but now I’m almost thankful that the lads did what they did and that most of you still support me, at least- at least I hope so. Um we haven’t had time to read the comments on the post yet, but maybe you have questions we can answer, or something. I don’t know…“
Louis seemed to notice how nervous Harry still was so he held his phone in front of him and showed him the comments he was currently reading; all of them sending love and wishing them all the best. „Look, haz“ he said.
Harry teared his head away from the live stream, taking Louis’ offered phone in his hand. And after reading a few of the comments, also the ones Liam, Zayn and Niall and other friends of the industry, he felt relieved and like he could cry right now. And he would’ve, if he wasn’t currently live on instagram.
He looked at Louis and whispered a ‚thank you‘ before hugging him close.
After 5 more minutes they actually started talking to the fans. They asked many questions such as ‚How did you meet?‘ or even ‚Who made the first move?‘ Which made them laugh, because the story of how Harry accidentally peed on Louis’ shoe right after he was mesmerized by the pretty boy he just met.
They really had fun and noticed that the other boys where also watching and send messages with jokes or memories, which gave Harry even more strength.
They continued like that for maybe an hour before saying their goodbyes and thankful words. Harry and Louis also got a call from their families, congratulating them, since they knew how much it means to them.
And at the end of the day, they both layed in bed together facing each other and just smiling, because they were happier than ever.
„Good night, Lou.“ Harry whispered.
„Night, Haz. Love you.“ He responded, pecking his lips and placing one of his hands on Harry’s waist. „Love you too.“