Chapter Text
Louis is six when his family move to a massive farm called Farm Fields with cows and dogs and sheep and cats. His mum is pregnant with his sister and his dad just bought a new tractor that Louis wants to have a go in.
They spend a year living in the big farmhouse with six rooms and three bathrooms while Charlotte sleeps through most of it. Soon enough living and sustaining such a big house while raising a rowdy seven-year-old and an infant becomes too expensive. Mark gets started converting the second barn into a smaller house fit for their small family, along with a few friends.
They move in a week after Jay finds out she’s pregnant with yet another child, and Louis is over the moon at the chance of having another sibling to play with. Jay barely has to worry about watching Lottie constantly, because if she’s not watching her, Louis most definitely is.
An elderly couple move into the big farmhouse a month later, renting it from Jay and Mark and spending their days on the little patio facing the fields.
When Félicité is born, Louis never leaves his mother alone as much as he can help it. He goes out on the tractor with his dad only if Jay stands on the side watching, just so Louis can always be in Lottie and Fizzy’s company.
Mark enjoys doing the farm work with Louis sitting on his lap or at his side. Louis usually asks questions on how and why things are being done, and Mark is always happy to answer them.
It’s summer and Louis is ten when the elderly couple move out of the house and a new family are due to move in. He hasn’t met any of them yet, but he knows they have a son who’s just one year younger than him and will be attending the same school as him.
Louis is excited to meet the boy, excited for another friend to play with who’s closer to his age. He loves playing dress up and trains with his sister’s, but he’d love to add another.
Louis is ten when he meets the prettiest boy with curly hair and pretty green eyes.
He’s gobsmacked, the boy has pink cheeks and a small smile as he stays close to his mum with his sister on his other side. “Hi! I’m Louis! I live in that little house there,” Louis points down two fields to the house perched next to the massive barn. “What’s your name?” Louis asks the boy, tilting his head to the side and smiling wide to try and calm the boy down.
“I’m Harry.” He says quietly, smiling a little bit wider and stepping away from his mum.
Louis takes a step forward and beckons Harry to bring his face closer. “Do you wanna go sneak in the barn and play hide and seek in the hay bales?” Louis pulls back and smiles with his eye’s crinkling, and Harry’s eyes widen.
Harry turns to look up at his mum, “Can I go play with Louis please?” When Anne nods her head and rubs Harry's head quickly, Louis grabs his hand and pulls him towards a gate to the closest field.
“Be careful Louis!” Jay calls after them, laughing when Louis slightly slows down with Harry following behind. He opens the gate and lets Harry go in front of him, briefly letting go of his hand before grabbing it back once the gate is shut.
Anne and Jay smile at them, chuckling when Harry steps closer to Louis as they pass the flock of sheep huddled around the feeder. They step into the house Anne and her family now live in to share a cup of tea and chat, while Gemma plays with Lottie and Fizzy on the floor.
Louis leads Harry through the sheep field and reaches the wooden gate that goes to the cow field. “Now Haz, cows like people, and the second we step in there they’re going to start coming towards us, is that okay?” Louis pulls Harry closer by his hand, stepping in between him and the gate as the cows begin showing interest in them.
“Will they hurt us?” Harry asks quietly with big eyes and a small frown.
“Not at all! They just want to know what we’re up to. They might sniff you or lick you, they’re kinda like big dogs. I like playing games with them. I’ll tell you which one is my favourite!” Louis turns briefly to check where the cows are and sees his favourite one is making her way over to him. “Look! There she is! She’s called Patchy and she likes me the best.” Louis gives Harry's hand a reassuring squeeze and guides him over to the gate.
Harry looks a little hesitant, but calms down once Louis climbs up on the gate and scratches the top of Patchy’s head, her eyes shutting and angling herself towards Louis' hand. “See, she loves me,” Louis smiles, and Harry can definitely tell. He imagines everyone loves Louis.
They make it through the cow field with no issues. Harry shuts his eyes for a little while when the cows all start following them, but opens them when Louis shows him the game he plays with them. They both count to three and turn at the same time and the cows all stop and stare at them. When they turn around and carry-on walking, the cows continue following them. They do that several times, and soon enough they’re shutting the gate behind them.
The barn is massive up close, and Harry can already see the second floor full of round hay bales covered in black and turquoise plastic.
“I usually like going in the ones over there,” Louis points to the corner where hay bales without plastic are stacked together, “But dad is gonna bring the sheep in soon, so I don’t want us to be in his way.” Harry nods his head, still looking at the barn.
The rest of the day is spent playing hide and seek amongst the hay bales, Louis trying to show off and push some of them around even though his dad can’t even do that alone. Harry watches in awe as Louis jumps around with all the energy of a puppy.
As the sun starts setting and the hours drift closer to double digits, Louis hears his mum call for him. He pokes his head out from behind a hay bale, making Harry laugh, to see his mum with Harry’s mum looking up at the barn.
They climb down the ladder and present their muddy selves to their mothers, watching as they grimace. “Right come on Harry, you need to have a shower and dinner.” Harry frowns, stepping away from Louis and to his mother’s side.
“You, young sir Tomlinson also need a bath and food,” Jay agrees, turning Louis around in a circle and inspecting his dirty clothes. She sighs dramatically, “Another load of washing, what will I ever do with you? You smelly boy.” She jokes fondly, giving Louis' cheek a squeeze.
Louis giggles, turning to Harry and pulling him in for a hug. “Smelly boys!” Louis shouts, squishing his cheek against Harry’s. Louis' arms are around Harry's neck, and Harry brings his to go around Louis' waist.
“Yes, yes very smelly, now let’s get some clean boys, say goodbye. You’ll probably see each other tomorrow.” Anne takes Harry's hand as the two boys pull apart and they start on their walk back.
“Thank you for the tea, Anne! I’ll see you tomorrow!” Jay calls, waving over her shoulder as Louis waves too.
“Bye Hazza! Thank you, Miss Anne, for letting us play!” He shouts loudly, “See you tomorrow!”
Louis gets a bye in return before he turns around to run into his own house and try and escape his mum. “Not so fast smelly.” Jay grabs Louis around his waist, hoisting him into the air and carrying him to the bathroom. Louis giggles in his mums’ arms, going to wrap his around her neck and his legs around her waist. “Not too big to be carried yet huh?”
“Never!” Louis answers, giving his mum a big kiss on her cheek.
“Did you have fun today love?” Jay asks, smoothing Louis' fringe down as she puts him on the ground in front of the bath. She starts the water, checking the temperature before pouring in some soap.
“Yeah! Harry is so fun we played hide and seek for ages.” Louis smiles up at his mum, taking off his shoes and socks and placing them on the mat so he doesn’t dirty the floor.
“I’m glad darling,” Jay smiles, giving her son a kiss on his forehead.
Louis and Harry spend every day together during the summer, Gemma tagging along sometimes when they play with Louis' younger sisters. Louis shows them both all the secret spots he knows of and finds even more with Harry. Their two families have lunch and dinner together almost always, Louis and Harry falling asleep in each other’s beds more often than not.
Harry is nine when he attends his first day of a new school while holding Louis' hand. It’s a lot less scary when Louis is there to show him where everything is and to play with during break. Harry has no problem making other friends in his class, but he still loves going to find Louis and merging their two friend groups.
Harry is ten when his eleven-year-old best friend has his last day of primary school. It’s daunting and if Harry’s honest, he doesn’t want Louis to go off to secondary school while he spends another year in primary school.
He does his best to ignore it, and just enjoy their summer together on the farm. They spend long days in the sun, helping Mark and Robin with the animals and other farm work. And other days just relaxing in the top field. They spread blankets out and eat quickly made food while playing silly games with the grass or cards.
They hold hands as they explore more around the farm, still even now finding new hidden places they can call just theirs. They walk down to the beach and go swimming at all times of the day, coming back home with wet hair and sweaty backs.
It’s summer filled with endless laughter and squinting eyes, sweaty palms from holding hands and aching cheeks from smiling far too much. Harry barely thinks about Louis going to the big school, and Louis never mentions it.
They pick a room in Harry's house to sleep in, giggling into the small hours of the night as they toss and turn in the middle of the sometimes-massive bed. Waking up with the sun on their clothed backs never felt as good as doing it together. They hardly ever are alone, and they never get sick of it.
As September rolls around, Harry isn’t as scared anymore, because Louis is always going to be just two fields away.
So, Harry walks with Louis to where the bus will pick Louis up, just at the top of their road, and waits with him until his bus comes, before walking back home and being driven to school. He doesn’t do it often, just on the days Louis asks him to.
And soon enough, Harry’s going into year seven and has got a new uniform on (Louis' old one because he’s already outgrown it), and he’s also catching the bus. They sit together and laugh the whole way there.
Harry sees Louis in the corridors again, sees him walking out of classrooms he’s about to go in, and running to the canteen queue. It’s just like primary school, except now Louis' taller and they have ties around their necks.
Even now, as Louis goes into year nine, they still spend their evenings amongst the hay bales, sometimes doing homework, other times just talking for hours on end.
Louis is fourteen when he realises he has a massive crush on his best friend.
The concept of being gay isn’t new to him, he knows well that he’s attracted to boys, but the term doesn’t ever get used in a positive light in school. He hears boys calling things gay when it’s stupid and dumb, so he’s learnt to keep it a secret.
He knows Harry isn’t one of those boys, and he definitely knows Harry wouldn’t care if he was anything other than straight. But, if he tells Harry he likes boys, he might think he likes someone and Louis can’t stand lying to Harry, and he definitely can’t keep a secret from the boy.
Harry is thirteen when he realises he has had a crush on Louis since the day he met him.
It’s a random night at the top of the barn, it’s no different than any other day, except that Harry finally sees why he likes Louis so much more than his other friends.
It’s because he likes Louis. Like, really likes Louis.
Louis isn’t acting any differently or treating Harry specially. They’re pushed up against a big hay bale, their homework spread out next to them but they’re ignoring it.
Harry yawns and leans his head on Louis' shoulder, and as if it’s by instinct, Louis wraps his arms around Harry and pulls him closer. To get more comfortable, Harry shuffles down and rests his head on Louis' chest, just as he usually would. Louis starts playing with his hair, his other hand gliding down Harry’s arm, making goosebumps appear.
Harry must have said something funny, because then Louis' laughing, and Harry's body is shaking with his and it just hits him. God Harry likes him, way way way more than a friend.
But life carries on. Harry keeps his revelation to himself and pines in silence. He treats Louis the same and doesn’t bother changing his actions because they were always on the other side of flirty anyway.
They still spend weekends and holidays waking up earlier than the sun to help Mark and sometimes Robin with the farm work. Spring passes in continuous work with the sheep and cows as lambs and calves are born. They work tirelessly through the days, holding back from naming all the adorable babies so they don’t get too attached.
Summer arrives with young lambs and calves stumbling around the fields and growing out of drinking milk. They didn’t lose many this year, and only one had to be bottle fed for a few days until another sheep mother took to him.
Louis and Harry spend their fifteenth and fourteenth summer together in the sheep field, along the bank of a river separating their farm from next doors, in the cliffs by the beach and on the golden sand. They buy ice creams and make ice lollies, involving Louis' newest siblings, a pair of more girls, in the process of sticky fingers and strawberry flavoured tongues.
Lottie and Fizzy teach Gemma how to make flower crowns in the sheep field, while Harry gets frustrated with Louis because he can’t do it. They wrestle fingers as Harry tries to show him how to weave the daisies and buttercups together, the girls laughing at them.
The five of them spend days splashing each other in the sea and screaming when Louis and Harry team up to dunk them all under. They eat slightly warm egg sandwiches and drink cold coke from the cooler, Anne and Jay making them wait fifteen minutes before they go swimming again.
Louis and Harry sneak out at late hours, spending hours under the stars leant up against their two favourite sleeping cows (Patchy and Quartz) and whispering quietly, giggling under their breaths as they make out funny shapes in the constellations. Sneaking back in to find Anne tapping her foot or Jay’s arms crossed, smiling sheepishly until they’re let off because it’s summer, they’ve got no school to be up for.
They set up a tent in the shade of the barn, sharing a sleeping bag with a lantern above their heads as light. Harry wakes up with his legs tangled around Louis' and Louis holding his hand tightly against his chest. He admires the way Louis' puffy breath comes out and moves his fringe, how his eyelashes tickle the tips of his cheekbones.
Harry falls in love with Louis when he’s running away from him further into the sea. Harry falls in love as Louis throws clumps of wet grass at him in the cow field while the cows don’t pay them a shred of attention anymore (they all know Louis and Harry, the curiosity fades). Harry falls in love when Louis holds his hand no matter where they are, whether they’re in a shop or hidden amongst the hay bales. Harry falls hopelessly in love with Louis when he kisses his cheek goodnight before they fall asleep tangled together in the same bed, or on a blanket under the stars, or in a cramped tent in an even more cramped sleeping bag.
Louis decides on going to sixth form on the pure grounds that he gets to stay in the same school as Harry for longer. He turns down going to college along with some of his friends, just so he can spend his free lessons texting and annoying Harry during his English or Maths lessons.
Louis is seventeen and really getting sick of it when he labels himself as gay and never looks back.
Louis realises he doesn’t just like Harry but is actually in love with him when he’s waiting outside his classroom just so he can walk him to his next lesson. Louis lets himself completely fall for the boy as Harry blushes when he notices Louis waiting for him. Louis falls in love when Harry squeezes his hand and walks into his chemistry lesson, sparing him a glance as he takes his seat at the front.
Another spring passes with more lambs and more calves. Louis and Harry work together to hide chocolate eggs all around the barn for the girls as lambs bounce around them.
Louis falls more for Harry as he watches him run around with his five-year-old sisters, one of them on his shoulders and the other hanging on to his waist.
Harry falls more for Louis as he watches his eyes crinkle at his younger siblings yelling happily when they find another chocolate egg.
They both fall harder when they laugh together because they’ve forgotten how many eggs they hid and can’t remember if there are more to find. Thus, leading to the end of April and all of May consisting of finding random eggs in different states of matter. Some melted because the sun has reached them, and others rock hard because they’ve been hidden in cold corners.
Louis finishes his mock A-Levels with high marks and an early summer. He spends the three weeks he has off before Harry’s done in his room. He spends the nights in Harry's bed and wakes up with Harry crawling out from under the covers. Louis whines as Harry’s shirtless body is taken away from him at 7am every morning so he can shower. Harry skips a few showers just so he can cuddle up to Louis' bare chest for a little while longer.
He falls back asleep with the echo of Harry leaving the house and wakes up however many hours later with notes on the side table and texts from his favourite boy.
Harry finishes his GCSEs with good grades and a congratulatory kiss on the cheek from Louis. Oh, how he wishes it was his lips. They officially start their summer with a day on the beach in hot weather. Harry sunbathes while Louis buries himself in the sand before they both get up and race to the water.
They spend days in the town, walking around close together and window shopping even though they’ve grown up with these shops. Harry buys pastries from the bakery and Louis buys drinks from a café and they share them, sitting wherever they want and soaking up the summer sun.
Harry tans while Louis burns, not much but enough to get Harry to rub aloe vera on his chest and back under the pretence that it “hurts when he does it.” They both know it’s a lie, but Louis grins at Harry's red cheeks as he does it anyway.
It’s the middle of August when Harry starts getting extremely frustrated.
Louis wakes him up one night when they’re sharing his tiny bed in his little house, whispering an idea that Harry doesn’t catch because he’s still waking up.
“Wha?” Harry groans, rubbing his face against Louis' chest and running over his nipple.
“Let’s go to the beach.” Louis grins, lifting Harry’s head gently and kissing his forehead before jumping out of bed.
“Louis it’s like four in the morning, we can go later.” Harry drops his head onto his folded arms, shutting his eyes and breathing deeply. How Louis can have all this energy in the middle of the night but never in the morning is beyond him.
“Oh, come on Haz! I’ve got a bag packed and all, let's go!” Louis whisper-yells. He’s rummaging around, pulling a thin muscle shirt over his head and leaving his boxers as they are.
Louis can’t help but stop and admire Harry laying in his bed. He’s wearing nothing but boxers, the thin duvet laying on his lower back. His window is open, and his curtains pulled to the side to let the light of the moon into the room. It’s shining all over him, making all the dips of his body look like valleys and his freckles stand out. God he’s beautiful. God Louis loves him.
Harry opens his eyes to see Louis watching him, a bag on his shoulder and his toes wiggling in a pair of flip flops. He sighs on his forearm with a smile on his face, before getting up and out of the bed. “The things I do for you, Louis Tomlinson.”
“Yay.” Louis answers quietly, making tiny fists with his hands and spinning in a circle as Harry pulls one of his shirts on.
Harry pauses and squeezes his eyes shut while his head is in the shirt. Louis is adorable, and Harry really needs to do something about this crush of his.
They quietly make their way down the stairs and out the front door, ice lollies firmly in their hands. Louis reaches out and takes Harry’s free hand, bringing him close as they walk up the road to the path that leads them to the beach.
Time passes as they talk and laugh, the beach coming into view in no time. “Race ya!” Louis shouts, taking off in a sprint with his bag bouncing on his back.
“No fair!” Harry calls after him, but Louis hears the sound of his feet hitting the ground quickly and turns to see Harry chasing after him.
Louis reaches the sand and puts his fists on his hips, smiling widely at Harry when he reaches him, panting and out of breath. “I win.” Louis smiles, patting Harry on his back before taking off again to find a spot to leave their stuff.
Harry takes a few more seconds to catch his breath, watching Louis set their stuff down before pulling his shirt off. He follows him, coming up behind Louis and pulling his own shirt off too. Harry kisses the back of Louis' neck before flicking his crocs off and making his way to the water.
“Aren’t you gonna skinny dip with me?” Louis yells, pulling the band of his boxers past his bum and letting them drop to the ground, stepping out of them. Harry turns around to face him, shock quickly morphing into a smirk.
“Alright.” Harry answers, strutting back over and pulling his own boxers off too. Louis does his best to keep his eyes up while Harry watches his every move as he puts his boxers on the pile of their clothes that has formed. He’s teasing him, he’s got to be teasing him.
Harry turns around and walks a few steps away, swaying his hips excessively, before breaking out in yet another sprint into the darkness of the water. Louis laughs when Harry shrieks at the temperature. “It’s much warmer during the day!” Harry shouts, covering his shoulders as he takes more steps into the water.
The moon casts a shine on the water, it bouncing back onto Harry and mesmerising Louis. He can practically feel his heart swooning and his brain falling. He follows Harry, getting his toes in and trying not to shriek like Harry did. He gets deep enough to dive under and does so, swimming up to where he thinks (and hopes) Harry is, and resurfaces.
Harry squawks when Louis splashes him, pushing at his chest to get him away. Louis does nothing but splash him more, he wouldn’t be Louis if he didn’t. He manages to dunk Harry, making his curls stick flat to his forehead and temples. “You look like a wet dog.” Louis comments, laughing louder when he sees Harry's face of faux offence. Harry dunks him right back.
While underwater, Louis decides to tease Harry too. He slides his hands up the sides of Harry’s legs, bringing his hands around his waist. He pushes his head above the water and pulls Harry up off his feet.
“LOU!” Harry yells, gripping Louis' body so he doesn’t fall and laughing into his hair. “What are you doing? You’re gonna drop me!” Harry adds, wrapping his legs around Louis' waist to stay in his arms.
“I’d never drop you Haz.” Louis answers seriously but still with some humour in his tone. He walks further out of the water, shallow enough so he can sit down in the water with the top of his shoulders above the surface. Louis sets Harry down on his crossed legs, their bodies close and their faces even closer.
“I love you; you know that right Haz?” Louis whispers, taking one arm away from around Harry's waist and up to his face. He moves some of Harry’s hair behind his ear and looks into his perfect green eyes.
“Yeah. Of course. Always.” Harry answers, adding “I love you too.” to his statement.
“I’m sorry, please don’t be mad at me.” Louis whispers, wrapping his arms firmly around Harry again and squeezing him close.
“What do you mean Lou? I could never be mad at you.” Harry buries his head into Louis' neck, breathing him in and closing his eyes.
Louis sees this as his chance, with Harry’s eyes hidden so he doesn’t have to see the rejection there when he tells him he’s only ever seen Louis as a friend. But Harry’s an incredible person, and he’d never let this sort of thing affect their friendship, so he wouldn’t even change a thing about the way they are together. But Louis can’t handle this boyfriend behaviour and then returning to his bed with the daunting thought that Harry could get a significant other at any point.
No, Louis must tell him even if it’s just to finally move on. And it’s going to be easiest with Harry's face hidden. In his neck fuck.
“I like you. A lot. I’ve liked you for years. I’m so sorry.” Louis takes a chance and nuzzles into Harry’s hair, just in case it’s the last time he can.
Louis holds his breath as Harry lets out a huge one.
“Oh my god.” Harry whispers, pulling back slowly to look at Louis who is currently refusing to lift his head. “Oh my god!” Harry says louder, the biggest smile on his face. “Louis oh my god me too! I’ve liked you since I was thirteen!” Harry shouts, jostling Louis and making his head lift.
“What? I’ve liked you since I was fourteen!” Louis answers, a massive smile on his face now too. Harry’s smile drops and his face morphs into a serious expression.
“You’ve liked me for three years and not told me?” Harry says, pulling his arms to his chest and crossing them.
Louis scoffs playfully. “You’ve also liked me for three years and not told me.” He answers, mirroring Harry and crossing his chest. “I actually liked you well before that but only realised three years ago.” Louis adds, squinting his eyes at the boy on his lap. The naked boy on his lap. God Louis had forgotten that.
“I’ve liked you, hum, since the day we met but only figured it out when I was thirteen.” Harry raises his chin and squints his eyes, doing his best not to let his smile crack.
“Oh, look at you. Fine then, you win.” Louis smirks, finally letting his smile show. Harry breaks too, going bright red and smiling wide enough for his dimples to show.
“God you’re just adorable.” Louis whispers, kissing Harry’s nose and making him giggle. “Can I kiss you Haz? Please?” Louis isn’t even embarrassed by how desperate he sounds when he asks it. He’s been waiting well over three years for this.
Harry doesn’t answer him, just wraps his arms around Louis' neck and connects their lips. It’s innocent and it’s sweet and it’s everything Harry dreamed it would be. Their lips move together, Louis moving his hands up and down Harry’s back, trailing his fingers over Harry's spine and squeezing at his love handles.
Harry breathes into Louis' cheek, his fingers scratching lightly at Louis' scalp and fiddling with his soft hair. Louis hums deep in his throat, the sound going right into Harry’s mouth and making him smile. Soon they’re both smiling, far too wide to kiss properly, so they laugh lightly and pull apart.
Louis lets out a breath, grinning widely and squeezing his eyes shut. “Three years huh?” He whispers, pecking Harry’s adorable nose.
“More like seven really.” Harry answers, giggling under his breath and attempting to turn away so he can hide his blush. Louis just pulls him back though, pecking his lips a few more times.
They talk in the water for a little while longer, sharing lingering kisses and red cheeks. When Louis stands up still holding Harry, he all but shrieks once again as he carries him back to the dry sand. Louis sets Harry down and their hands instantly find each other, their fingers linking as they make their way back to their stuff.
The moon is gone, and the sun is making its way above the horizon, and the water is cast in beautiful oranges and pinks. They pull their boxers back on and Harry steals Louis' muscle shirt. Both the shirts are Louis' anyway, but Harry puts the one Louis was wearing earlier on regardless.
They settle down on the sand, sitting on the towel Louis brought in his bag. The sun is rising, and the day is starting, but so much has already happened.
As the sun says hello for the day, Louis, and Harry chat quietly under its warmth. It’s too hot to keep too much skin connected, but they don’t mind letting their hands get sweaty as they hold on to each other. They kiss lazily under the rising sun until the first signs of life in the form of a dog walker makes themselves known.
Mrs. Evans walks past them with a wave and a lick on the cheek each from her German shepherd. They then decide to make their way back home, to try to catch some more sleep before they should get up. “Maybe we can have a nap in the barn later?” Harry asks, reaching his hand out for Louis' once he’s gathered all of their stuff.
“That sounds lovely babe.” Louis smiles, leaning in to peck Harry’s lips.
A comfortable silence settles over them as they make their way back to their houses. Once Harry’s comes into view, Louis chuckles and releases Harry’s hand, jogging down the road towards the centre of the farm. Harry laughs and runs after him, watching Louis' figure run towards the still rising sun.
“Your house?” Louis asks, taking a hold of Harry's hand again and leading him around his house. They’ll have a better chance at getting more sleep if they’re at Harry’s, considering he hasn’t got an army of siblings that wake up at the crack of dawn.
They climb the stairs to Harry’s room, finding the bed made and the floor tidy. “See this is the definition of tidy Lou.” Harry chuckles, pulling his shirt off and kicking his shoes away before climbing under the covers.
“Oh, shut it,” Louis smiles, following in Harry's actions and pulling his shirt off. He flops down onto the bed and shakes his feet to get his flip flops off, before crawling closer to Harry. “Now come here.” Louis mumbles, cupping Harry's cheeks and bringing their lips together. Louis lays down on his back, Harry chasing after him and leaning on his chest.
They spend what could have been hours kissing slowly, tasting, and savouring each other as the sun warmed the room. When they hear Gemma go into the bathroom to shower, they pull apart and laugh into each other’s mouths. “Should we try sleep for a while?” Louis whispers, Harry leaning up and kissing along his jaw.
Harry answers with a breathy ‘Yeah’ before pulling away and settling down on Louis' chest. Everything feels the same yet so different. They’re sleeping just as they normally would, but Harry could kiss Louis' chest, could wake Louis up with kisses on his face. Louis could lean down and connect their lips once they’re both awake, but it’s still so familiar.
It’s mere minutes before they’re both sleeping, breathing the same air as the hot sun warms their bodies enough to not need the sheets at all.
Gemma gets out of the shower and gets dressed for the day, knocking on Harry's door with no response. She walks in anyway, ready to wake Harry up because she knows he doesn’t like sleeping too late. She sees them cuddling, Harry on Louis' chest and Louis' arms snuggly around him and thinks nothing of it. They always sleep like that, always live like that really. So, she just shuts the door behind herself because she also knows Louis won’t take too well to being woken up.
Hours pass as the sun moves through the sky, fixing itself at midday when Louis finally opens his eyes. His boy is still sleeping, his face the other way and his leg hiked up high on his body. Louis takes the opportunity to fiddle with Harry’s hair, it’s soft from the sea water and curling adorably around his ears. Louis makes tiny braids all over, loose enough to come out on their own but tight enough to last at least a little while.
When Harry stirs, his breath coming out shallower and his body shifting slowly, Louis stops and instead massages his whole head. “Good morning my love.” Louis whispers, leaning down to kiss all that he can reach.
Harry hums, wrapping his arms tighter around Louis and kissing lazily at his skin. “Hi babes,” He answers quietly, “How long have you been awake?” Harry asks, blinking his eyes open and squinting at the light in his room.
“Not long, about ten minutes,” Louis smiles down at his sleepy Harry. All small eyes, a red nose and messy hair. “You are absolutely adorable,” The way Harry blushes makes Louis grin, pecking sweet kisses all over Harry's cheeks. “So bloody cute.”
“Stop it.” Harry giggles into Louis' chest, biting lightly at his skin above his nipple.
“Never!” Louis declares somewhat loudly. Louder than they were with their sleepy whispering.
Louis continues to torment Harry with compliments and kisses, rolling him onto his back and tickling him after. Harry’s loud silly laughs fill the room, Louis laughing too because you can’t just not laugh when Harry is.
They eventually make their way downstairs, Louis in one of Harry’s oversized flannels unbuttoned and a pair of his loose shorts, while Harry also pulls on loose shorts with Louis' muscle shirt back on. The house is empty minus Anne reading in the conservatory. They share space in the kitchen, moving around each other to make quick and easy food for brunch in the sheep field.
“Hmm you smell like the beach,” Louis mumbles, burying his face into Harry’s chest and kissing his shirt. “The beach and me.” Louis adds in a groan, wrapping his arms around Harry and pulling him close.
Anne walks in the kitchen and neither one of them bothers to move, and Anne doesn’t think anything about the way they’re acting. They’ve always been touchy feely friends, always been sharing clothes and sharing beds. It’s normal for them and everyone else.
“Hello boys! You slept late.” She comments, opening the fridge to get a bowl of freshly cut strawberries out. She dumps a few in a plastic bag and passes them to Harry who puts them into their bag.
“Yeah, we went to the beach last night.” Harry explains, not even bothering to hide it because Anne knows and trusts them. She trusts Louis with Harry’s life, and Jay trusts Harry with Louis' life too.
“Oh, that’s lovely! Did you watch the sunrise?” Anne settles down on an island chair, using a fork to eat some pieces of strawberry. Louis lifts his head from Harry's chest and steps to stand next to him, wrapping an arm around his waist.
“Yeah, it was beautiful, we also went swimming.” Louis answers, squeezing Harry’s love handle and rubbing his side.
“That sounds nice, you off for a field picnic?” She asks, gesturing to the tote bag Harry has on his shoulder.
“Yes, we should be going, we won’t be long, we’ll probably help Mark with the barn later,” Harry replies, moving away from Louis and stepping towards his mum. “See you later mum.” He says with a kiss to her head.
Louis follows him and kisses her head as he passes her. “Bye mum 2!” He calls, running after Harry and grabbing his hand as they step outside.
They spend the afternoon in the sheep field, feeding each other strawberries and sweet kisses under the sun. They don’t bother trying to hide anything, if someone sees it’s not the end of the world, they’re going to tell them all later anyway.
Later, they go help Mark fix a few gates in the barn, Harry with a bandana in his hair and Louis with his shirt off. They get it done quickly and decide to take some ice water up to the second floor of the barn and maybe have a nap in the comfortable heat.
Harry finds his spot-on Louis chest quickly, and they fall asleep with ease.
It’s an August evening, Louis is seventeen, Harry is sixteen, when they tell their families they’re dating.
It’s easy and it’s received with less than surprised reactions. Gemma and Lottie high five and Fizzy buries her head in her hands when they say it, muttering about losing a tenner. Louis and Harry laugh over the fact that their sisters bet on them, not taking any offence.
Phoebe and Daisy crowd Harry's legs, raising their arms to be lifted knowing full well Harry can’t hold them both at the same time. “Does that mean you and Louis will get married?” Daisy asks, grinning and giggling with her sister. Everyone just laughs as Louis leans down to pick her up while Harry gets Phoebe.
It’s the same August evening when they all go for a walk to the beach and watch the sunset. Phoebe and Daisy fall asleep in Harry and Louis' arms, forcing them to carry them back, but they don’t complain.
After a long day for everyone, they all head to bed earlier than normal. Harry and Louis climb into Harry’s bed, cuddling close with the late-night breeze floating through the room from Harry's open window. They share quiet kisses and even quieter compliments. Their cheeks are red, and they hurt when they both shut their eyes, falling asleep just like any other day.
Louis is eighteen when he finishes sixth form and ducks out of education for what he hopes is the last time.
Harry still has one more year of school, and Louis sure isn’t going to move away to a uni while his boyfriend, whom he is deeply and madly in love with, carries on with school.
They spend the summer bouncing around the topic, not wanting to set anything in stone just yet. Instead, they go skinny dipping, they drive around in Louis' car with the windows down and the radio blasting, they have sex in the barn and in their beds, they teach themselves how to play guitar and piano, they fall in love more everyday and never look back.
June passes in lambs learning who they are and making friends with the calves. July rushes by with unwrapped hay bales and more hidden places found. August starts with Louis driving the tractor with Harry folded onto his lap.
August carries on with short answers and petty arguments, the tension from not discussing something getting to them both.
“Come on Lou, we need to talk about this now. I’m sick of sighing.” Harry breathes, offering Louis an iced lemonade with his favourite straw after yet another misunderstanding ending in a short answer.
Louis sighs, taking the lemonade and standing up to peck Harry's lips. “I know, we do. I love you, thanks for the lemonade.” Louis answers, taking Harry's hand and guiding him over to the patio chairs. He takes Harry's lemonade and sets it on the table before leading him to sit down on one of the chairs and climbing on top of him.
Stupid Harry with his stupid long legs and stupid long torso, getting stupidly taller than Louis.
“I’m not going to uni this year. I don’t even know if I’m ever going to go to uni.” Louis starts off, fiddling with Harry's fringe and pushing his hair off his forehead. His eyes are trained there, an obvious sign of his nerves.
“What do you want to do, my love?” Harry asks, rubbing his hands up and down Louis' sides.
“I want to stay here, work on the farm with mum and dad, Robin and Anne and wait for my gorgeous boyfriend to come home from school everyday. I want to drive him there in the morning even if he’s learning how to do that himself, and pick him up in the afternoon, just because I want to see his pretty face and give him a big kiss.” Louis carries on, looking Harry in the eyes now because this is Harry. His Harry who only ever deserves the best.
“And what happens when I finish school?” Harry asks, squeezing at Louis' thighs and massaging the muscle there.
“What do you want to happen after you finish school?” Louis counters, pinching Harry’s cheeks and giving his pouty lips a kiss.
“I want to be able to start a proper life with my boyfriend. I don’t like the thought of uni either, Lou. You know I’ve always wanted to open a bakery or some sort of food shop. And I want to do that in our little town.” Harry replies, grinning as he sees Louis' smile grow.
“My little baker, how very adorable. You can wear an apron that says kiss the cook and I’ll get to constantly kiss you. I can be one of the sweet treats.” Louis chuckles, licking the tip of Harry’s nose.
“You certainly are a sweet treat.” Harry whispers, kissing Louis briefly on the lips.
“I can be a farm hand to dad, or I could get a job in the town, or I can be your sugar baby, quite literally, or I can do whatever. As long as we’re in our little town and I’m with you, I can do whatever.” Louis smiles, rushing past certain options making Harry giggle.
“See? Was that so hard?” Louis rolls his eyes with a smile and climbs off Harry, reaching out to grab his hand and pull him up. They pick up their lemonades and make their way back inside, their fingers linked between them.
Harry goes back to school and Louis stays home, laying naked in Harry's bed as he leaves, and sitting with puckered lips in front of his house when he gets back.
Louis discusses some plans with all the other adults while Harry’s at school, and they all decide on going ahead with what Louis wants.
It’s the middle of October when Louis drags Harry by his hand up to the barn, the biting wind nipping at their ears as they climb the ladder to the second floor.
“Louis I am freezing, my nipples are about to fall off, what are we doing up here with no blankets or a heater or-” The words die on his tongue as Harry takes in the adorable scene in front of him.
There, in the middle of the cleared-out barn, is an old mattress covered in the fluffiest blankets. There’s two space heaters around it and pillows at the head of it. A basket lays next to the bed, one half of it open with a wine bottle poking out next to a roll of paper.
“I have a surprise for you, my beautiful and perfect boyfriend.” Louis smiles, pulling Harry over to the bed. Harry sees two sets of thick socks and even two sheep wool jumpers.
“Are you proposing? You better not be Louis we talked about that and I’m not ready until I’ve at least finished school.” Harry asks, shock still lacing his features.
“No, no I’m not proposing silly boy. The ring isn’t finished being resized yet.”
“Wha-“
“I’m joking love I’m joking; I’m not proposing.” Louis chuckles, pulling Harry close and planting a deep kiss on his lips. “I can’t wait too though. But that’s not what this is about.” Harry flushes a dark red, Louis grinning because he just loves that colour on his boy.
“Now, put on those socks and a jumper if you want, and sit down.” Louis plops down on the bed, a pillow on the opposite end bouncing with the force of it.
Louis distracts Harry from the rolled-up paper as long as he can. He offers wine and chocolate with fruit. He tickles his sweet love handles and gets him off in minutes just the way he knows how to. The time feels right when they’re both covered in a sheen of sweat and their jumpers have been pushed to the end of the mattress.
“Sit up my darling, I wanna show you the proper surprise.” Louis whispers, because the moment feels so pure and so quiet, and Louis doesn’t dare to break it.
“This wasn’t the whole surprise? God Louis you’re perfect.” Harry chuckles, sitting up next to Louis and crossing his legs.
Louis pulls the paper out of the basket, unrolling it and smoothing it out between them. He turns it around to face Harry and stays quiet for a moment.
It’s light blue paper with sketches drawn all over it, depicting a small open plan sort of apartment, with a small lounge and a kitchen with a counter facing where the tv could be. There’s a wall separating another room with a big bed and two side tables in it, along with an ensuite that has a smart sort of door that either shuts it to the bedroom or to the main apartment.
Harry’s eyes glance over everything, he stays quiet as his head moves slowly back and forth, as if he understands all the measurements and ruler lines.
“What’s this?” Harry whispers, using the tips of his fingers to gently trace along the edge of the thick paper.
“We hired an architect to remodel the top of the barn. He came by for a week while you were at school last month and designed this. This plan allows the most room within a steady budget. This is the final floor plan of what we’re hoping the second floor of the barn is going to look like.” Louis lets out a breath, happy his voice managed to stay steady the entire time.
“Obviously, we can look at it and you can change anything you want, because it’s not just mine, is it? It’s gonna be ours and I want all your input. And we both know you’re the better decorator, so you can decorate it how you want. Mum, dad and I worked out a reasonable budget for everything. We’re going to get a loan to do it and we’re all going to be helping during the building process, Anne and Jay too, and I’m hopefully getting a job in the town soon. I've had about eight interviews this past week, to help pay off the loan. We’re basically getting a loan for this instead of uni hah. But if you don’t want to do this then say so and we’ll never talk about it as long as you don’t want to.” Louis holds his breath as Harry continues looking it over. He hasn’t said anything, hasn’t raised his eyes from the paper since it was shown to him.
It’s at least five minutes until Harry says anything. “We could add a room here for a baby.” He whispers, barely audible to the ear if you weren’t listening intently. And god Louis was, he’s blocked out every other sound except Harry’s breathing and Harry's voice. He’d listen to his heartbeat constantly if he could.
“We could make our room a little smaller and shorten the counter and add a little room for a child.” He adds, tracing his fingers in a small square.
Louis starts crying instantly. Tears pool in his eyes and they fall over in seconds. Harry lifts his head and smiles at him, leaning in and kissing his tears away.
“Oh my god I thought you hated it,” Louis cries, kissing Harry back and scratching his head. “Oh my god oh my god oh my god I love you so much.” Louis all but yells, just nearly missing the paper as he kneels up to kiss Harry more.
“And if they’re twins, knowing your genes, we can have bunk beds for them. We can save up once the loan is paid off to extend the barn if we ever want more kids. And we can have a tv here and I can make the bathroom all pastel pinks and yellows and our kitchen can be labelled and-“ Harry stops himself, getting caught up and carried away, but Louis just fondly looks at him. “I love you.” Harry whispers, mirroring Louis' fond look.
“God, I love you.” Louis breathes, cupping Harry's face and kissing him even harder than before.
“We’re building a flat. We’re building ourselves a little home. Oh! I can help after school. And when it gets hot you can be shirtless, and I can come home to see you working hard and god I’m very excited.” Harry rambles, rubbing his hands all over Louis and kissing him everywhere.
“We’re gonna have a little home in our little town.” Louis adds, smiling softly at Harry when they bring their foreheads together.
It’s February, just after Harry’s birthday when their loan goes through, and they finally start working on the barn. All the hay bales are being stored outside now. They always could have been, with plastic covering them, but with the storage upstairs they were put there just to fill the space.
Harry goes to school every morning, leaving his naked boyfriend behind to wake up an hour later for work. He’s been properly living at Anne’s house since he finished sixth form, allowing Fizzy to have his old room while Lottie moved in with the Styles family too. Considering the house is so big and they all spend every dinner together at one of the houses anyway, it wasn’t much of a change. Daisy and Phoebe also have their own room each in the Tomlinson house since Louis and Lottie moved out.
Harry gets home from school two hours before Louis finishes work, so actually it’s Louis coming home to a sweaty Harry working in the barn sometimes. Either he has homework to do or he’s in the barn, and Louis enjoys distracting him from either activity.
**Brief talk of animal death coming up**
February quickly turns to March and then to April and the foundation is properly in place with their flat. There’s only about four builders on site as well as Mark, Robin, Jay and Anne when farm work isn’t demanding them, but things get done quickly. They’ve had an electrician get the wiring done and a plumber make sure the pipes would be ready once they got there.
On days Louis has off, he enjoys helping with the building, especially as Mark and Jay start with the mothers giving birth to the new lambs and calves for the year. April turns to May and the building is accompanied with the sound of new life downstairs as their flock and herd grows by the day.
Louis cries while sitting with an incredibly old Patchy. She was already past a cows usual culling age when they moved here, and she’s surpassed an average life span, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready. He calls Harry while sitting with her, and Harry rushes out of his History lesson and drives straight back home.
They sit together with her, Louis' eyes wet, his mouth drawn in a frown as he scratches lightly at her head with one hand as Harry squeezes his other. Harry brings Quartz into the pen in the barn, letting her sniff her best friend. Patchy lifts her head briefly, before dropping it back down to Louis' leg slowly. Louis kisses her head as she takes her last breath and Quartz gives her one last lick.
Quartz sticks close to the barn for months after, always mooing for Louis or Harry when they’re available. Harry spends his weekends folded up with Louis against Quartz’s back while he does homework, and Louis plays with his hair.
**over now <3**
Louis focuses on the calves and laughs when a brand new one from that year takes to following him around. Jay and Mark have always been lenient with the animals, letting all the kids pick their favourites and name them. They keep them around the longest, choosing them to be pets while the others go into the work of the farm. He’s got his own three dogs that rarely leave him alone, meant to be for shepherding, but still manage to crawl up by his feet on his and Jay’s bed.
(Lottie has about eight sheep that she’s fond of, and every year the younger twins declare all the lambs as their pets.)
So, when a tiny almost fully black cow, except for one white patch in the shape of a wobbly heart on his belly, won’t leave Louis alone if he can manage it, he decides to call him Patches.
The work on the barn progresses as time rushes past June and suddenly it’s the end of July, Harry has finished school and is working full time shadowing behind the scenes of the café in the town to get a grip on how to run a bakery.
Suddenly, the barn has proper running water and there’s lights strung along the high ceiling. Then there’s walls separating the main living area and kitchen from the two bedrooms and bathroom. There’s an oven being installed, then a fridge, then a dishwasher and a washing machine with a tumble dryer.
Suddenly, the place where Louis and Harry grew up playing hide and seek and climbing on hay bales, is looking like the home they’ve always dreamed of. There’s a massive king-sized bed in the big room, and a double in the smaller one. There’s a colour scheme approved by Harry in all rooms.
And finally, a year after Louis first proposed the idea, they move in. It’s not finished completely on the inside, they still need a tv and WIFI and a couch, and most of the kitchen utensils, but it’s close enough, it’s theirs and it’s perfect. They can keep having dinner at the other houses until they have everything anyway.
They sit together on the floor of the lounge, a big wool rug under their bums that Anne found from the place they send their wool. Their legs are tangled together, and the big fireplace is blazing orange as they look around.
“It’s perfect, isn’t it?” Louis whispers, facing Harry and watching the way the fire flickers on his face.
“I’m in love with it.” Harry answers, turning to Louis and catching him admiring him.
They share a small and sweet kiss, pulling back and smiling at each other. Harry can practically feel the ring on his left finger, and Louis can already hear the little feet running towards them from their future. Two eighteen-year-olds ready to start their lives.