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"If you boys don't get your act together, we will drop you." their sales manager snarled.
Harry, Louis, Liam, Niall, and Zayn all sat in the cold, corporate meeting room. Harry wanted to grasp his hand in Louis' for comfort, but knew it was only going to make their management more mad. This was, in fact, what the meeting was about.
Liam and Zayn had already been chewed out for getting a little too close during their most recent show in Birmingham, even if it drove the fans wild. Now it was Harry and Louis' turn; they had almost been caught by a few fans after that same show. Thankfully, they were able to play it off before anything really happened, but it was too close of a call for management's liking.
"We're sorry." Harry, ever the peacemaker, said quietly.
"This is your final warning, boys." Simon glared. "Get back on the bus and we'll see you in Manchester tomorrow."
The boys got up, stone-faced and doing their best to stay strong. They had already pissed management off enough and really didn't need any more reaming from them.
As they piled back on to the tour bus, they all found themselves heading for the big bed in the back and settling in together. For a while, no one really said anything, as Harry curled up to Louis' side, Zayn rested his head on Liam's chest, and Niall lay between the two couples, glaring at the ceiling as though it had personally wronged him somehow.
Harry is the first to speak up, his voice muffled by Louis’ chest. “This is fucking bullshit,” he says, and the other four boys nod in agreement.
"I know, babe," Louis says as he rubs Harry's back. "It's tough."
“They can go fuck themselves.” Niall mutters.
Liam sighs heavily. “I don’t know what to do anymore,” he admits. “I feel like I’m at my breaking point.”
"Why is it such a big deal? So the girls can imagine they have a chance with us?" Zayn muses.
The others all nod in agreement again, and they all fall silent as they try to process everything that’s happening. It feels like their world is crumbling around them, and they don’t know how much more they can take.
They had to keep going, keep smiling, keep pretending like everything was okay. But it wasn’t okay. Not anymore.
Harry was the first to break down, his body trembling as he buried his face in Louis’ chest and let out a gut-wrenching sob. Louis held him tight, stroking his back gently as he fought back his own tears.
Liam was next, burying his face in Niall’s neck as he cried silently into his skin. Niall held him tight, running his fingers through Liam’s hair in an attempt to soothe him. Zayn was next, burying his face in Harry’s chest as he let out a low moan of pain. Harry held him tight, stroking his back gently as he fought back tears of his own.
Niall was the only one not in tears, but he was getting pretty close, watching his four closest friends have to deal with this day after day.
"At least we're in this together?" Liam adds, face still buried in Niall's shoulder. "I guess the fact that we're all going through the same thing makes it a little better."
"Yeah, we have each other." Zayn adds, sniffling.
Harry is still too emotional for words, so he settles for nodding into Zayn's hair. Seeing Harry is what finally breaks Niall, and seeing Niall cry brings on a fresh round of tears from everyone.
"I hate seeing what they do to you," Niall begins, with an uncharacteristic venom to his words. "You aren't allowed to love each other. What fucking year is it? Such bullshit."
He's nearly shouting by the time he finishes his sentence, prompting Louis to stroke a hand down his back.
"Be glad you don't have to deal with it, Nialler." Louis coos.
"No! I'm not glad!" Niall is properly shouting now. "Seeing my best friends get hurt and shouted at just because of who they love is painful for me too! I love you all. So, so, much. And to see you not be able to express yourselves publicly-- it just, it makes me so--"
Niall cuts off, unable to find the words, so a loud sob just comes out instead.
Harry and Zayn untangle themselves from each other, swarming Niall on either side, letting their own tears fall down the blonde's shoulders. Louis and Liam look on with red-rimmed eyes, touched by Niall's words.
"We love you too, Ni." Liam says, leaning forward to press a kiss to his temple as Louis comes closer to join the little group hug they have going on.
The five boys sit like that for a while, crying it out and whispering words of comfort to each other until there are no tears left. They collapse onto the bed in a heap of limbs, emotionally exhausted from their tear-filled night.
Eventually, Louis speaks up. "You know," he says, "I don't know what I would do without you guys."
The others all murmur their agreement, and Niall adds, "We're family, yeah? No matter what."
Too tired to bother getting up or changing, they all just lay together in the bed, limbs tangled around each other. Harry has already started softly snoring, eyes still red. Louis presses a kiss to his boyfriend's forehead before cuddling into his chest and closing his eyes.
On Niall's other side, Liam and Zayn are spooning, Liam's head pressed into Zayn's shoulder, Zayn's hand clasped around Liam's in a death grip. Like if he lets go, he'll lose Liam forever.
Niall smiles at the cute displays of affection around him, before gently taking Zayn's free hand in one of his and Harry's in the other, hoping that one day, his boys would be free to love who they loved.
He gives each hand a gentle squeeze before settling in to fall asleep himself. It feels good to finally let everything go and just be surrounded by the people who understand them best.