Work Text:
The day everything changed started off just like any other. Harry was sitting on one side of the stairs at the front of his high school waiting for his first period and listening to his friends/study buddies Niall and Nicole argue about if Pluto was a planet or not (it was really starting to become a problem because this same argument happened practically everyday). Louis was standing on the opposite side of the stairs, talking to Zayn and Liam about the preview for the next Captain America movie he watched last night when he was supposed to be giving his sister a bath. Now, Harry and Louis didn't really know each other, only enough to put a name to each other's faces, but when they accidentally made eye contact ten feet away from each other they just...felt like smiling.
Harry is generally an optimistic person, so his average day is a pretty good one. But that day he felt...really happy, like he was walking on air. He didn't know why, but he wasn't complaining. It was time to go home and Harry was putting his school supplies away when, just like most teens do once in a while, he dropped his folder with all of his Calculus homework in it. He didn't realize another person was helping him gather his things from the ground until he saw the hand of another person handing him one of his papers. He looked up to see Louis Tomlinson smiling at him for the second time that day. He suddenly got slightly nervous and didn't know how to thank him so he just grabbed his pack of gum from his bag and handed him a stick. Louis smirked at him and...oh....
Their first date was dinner and a movie (the Captain America one...who would have thought) because Louis wanted to keep it classic. As simple as it was, this had probably been best day of their lives so far, but when Louis pulled up in front of Harry's house to drop him off, neither of them had any idea what to do. Louis didn't know if he should just say goodbye, ask him out for another date, or kiss him (he really wanted to kiss him though). Harry on the other hand didn't know if Louis was gonna ask him out again (because let's face it, Harry was too shy to do it himself) or if he was just waiting for Harry to get out of his car. Neither of them did anything but smile shyly. Finally, Harry couldn't take the awkardness anymore so he felt around for his pack and handed Louis another piece of gum. Louis realized that everytime Harry got nervous or anxious he would pull out his pack of gum. Harry didn't expect Louis to let out a boom of laughter, and he REALLY didn't expect Louis to reach over and kiss him. And when Harry was finally waving goodbye and walking into his home with an obvious blush on his cheeks, Louis got the strangest idea. He pulled out a pen from his glove compartment, pulled the gum wrapper out of his pocket, and got to work.
As the year went on their relationship grew stronger. Louis introduced Harry to the area in the park down the street from their school that he liked to go to when his family became too much and/or when Zayn and Liam were being too... Ziamy. From then on it wasn't just Louis' place anymore, but LouisandHarry's place. They spent a lot of their free time here afterschool, from chasing each other and playing around, to talking about literally anything, to sneaking behind a tree and kissing, to just laying down and chewing on a piece of gum (ok that was probably dangerous but neither of them really payed attention to how bad that could end up). Even when winter came and covered the park in a cold white mess, the boys just stayed with each other in THEIR spot and they were happy as can be.
Harry started to notice that Louis picked up Harry's habit of taking out his (Harry's-Louis never bothered to buy gum) pack of gum when emotions got the best of him. On prom night, while they were about to enter the dance with their friends (they bonded with each other as well) Harry noticed Louis looked so excited he was gonna explode like a firework. Harry was glad he brought his gum, because when Louis got overly excited he tended to turn into a squirrel and run around everywhere, knocking down things as well. So before they walked inside he reached over and put a stick of gum in Louis' cost pocket, which made Louis grin so wide his eyes did that crinkly thing Harry loves.
And Louis kept doing what he started doing after their first date. In his room after prom, he grabbed a pen and gum wrapper from his desk. At the park after Harry fell asleep under their tree, Louis hoped Harry wouldn't wake up as he worked on a different wrapper.
One of the biggest fights they ever had was when they realized that high school didn't last forever. They forgot that they had both originally thought of different plans for themselves after high school. The stress of finally picking which university they were gonna go to had gotten to their heads. While Louis was planning on staying and going to the university in their hometown, Harry had told Louis that he had been planning on going to uni in the states, more specifically California. Louis was hurt after hearing this, realizing he didn't want to lose Harry ever. About ten minutes after their fight, Harry began to see Louis' point of view on the situation and did the one thing he'd been doing since he was 13 when everything got too intense. While Louis was lost in his train of thought, he was startled by seeing a hand in front of him holding, what a surprise, a piece of gum.
Even after their big fight, one of the hardest days of Louis' 18 years was when he was seeing Harry off at the airport. He tried to keep his tears in his eyes. Harry could see the pain in Louis' face, and although he tried to reassure him they would both be fine, he couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat as he said goodbye. After Harry turned to say goodbye to his parents and Robin for the last time before boarding the plane, Louis did the only thing he could do in this situation: he took the pen and gun wrapper out of his jacket pocket, and created another one of his pieces.
Louis and Harry NEVER missed a Skype date. Even when their school work got the best of them, they found time for each other. And as time went on, Louis realized how much Harry was changing: he was becoming a man and he looked more beautiful each time he saw him. And although he never noticed, Harry kept thinking the same thing about Louis.
Louis was always excited when Harry flew back home to be with his loved ones each break, and each time he waited for Harry at the airport, he pulled out another piece of gum and took out a pen (since Harry left he started buying his own gum).
When Harry was finally done with university and was moving back home for good, Louis felt the happiest he had been since the night after their first date. Either than when Harry was coming home for breaks, Louis never really made his gum wrapper creations anymore (although he kept up the pulling gum out when it was all too much habit). The day he was picking Harry up from the airport (for hopefully the last time), he realized he had a few minutes to begin another gum and pen work, barely finishing by the time he heard Harry's loud steps as he ran to him. Just as Louis pocketed the wrapper and pen Harry jumped into Louis' arms and they were reunited again.
After Harry came back from the states, and after he was welcomed back from his family and several old friends, him and Louis spent even more time together than they did in high school. And eventually, after they realized they couldn't live without each other, they both found kind in London and moved into a pretty decent flat together.
One night, after a day spent inside watching Netflix and eating junk food all day (they decided a day of splurging and being lazy couldnt hurt once in a while), as Harry was asleep on the couch and Louis was watching him like he always did when Harry fell asleep around him, Louis decided this was another gum wrapper moment. But...just as he was about to pull out another gum wrapper from earlier, he stopped and realized that this moment was much more than that. He then got another wild idea (ideas as large as these came to him at the most random times, he began to notice).
It was their 6 year anniversary (neither of them ever thought they would be devoted to anyone for this long) and Louis had told Harry to meet him at Zayn's art gallery (after he majored in art and saved enough money he opened his own, and he was letting Louis use it today). Harry had just gotten there and was waiting outside, wondering why Louis was taking so long when Louis called and told Harry to just walk in, so he did. Harry looked around and saw that it was empty inside. This was weird, considering the art gallery was usually pretty crowded. But then he was something in the corner of his eye. He turned to look at the wall, to see a gum wrapper, framed with a drawing of two people interacting with papers in their hands. It was then he realized that this looked exactly like the day Louis asked him out for the first time. As he kept walking he realized that there were dozens of small gum wrappers framed with sketches that looked just like the most special times he and Louis had together. From the drawings of their first kiss, to pictures of Harry and Louis in their spot in the park, to the sketches of their winter snowball fights, to their prom night and Harry getting off the planes, they were all framed perfectly on the wall.
Then, finally, Harry got to the last frame. He honestly couldn't think of any other things Louis could have drawn. He looked and saw a drawing of what looked like Louis down on one knee proposing to Harry. The boy was confused until it dawned on him. He heard slight shuffling behind him and slowly began to turn around. He was met with his love on one knee with a ring in his hand, just like the picture. Harry held his hands to his mouth to stop the loud sobs and screaming he wanted to let out so badly, and ran to louis, jumping into his arms. Louis smiled so big he felt like the Joker, already knowing Harry's answer.