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Harry wakes up semi-naturally, not quite used to the constant buoyancy that comes along with being on a yacht. He has a calm 30 seconds of sleep induced ignorance, until he realizes where he is and who he's with.
"Shit." he groans and brings his hands up to rub his eyes.
Once he realizes he won't have the pleasure falling back asleep, he picks up his phone from the side table next to his bed. He huffs out a breath when the screen is brighter than he expected, but goes onto read the messages displayed on his lock screen. Two from Niall and one from Louis.
How's the sea treatin ya bud ??
Harry chuckles before reading the next message, which makes his heart jump into his throat.
Cos it's treatin tommo bad
Of course it's treating Louis badly, Harry's on a boat in the middle of nowhere with a girl for the one purpose of denying his relationship (his marriage) with Louis. And of course, Louis isn't telling Harry that it's bothering him, just being the sweet and caring husband he always is.
Miss u babe, don't forget sunscreen x
Maybe Niall's just messing with me , Harry tries to reason with himself but he knows deep down that even Niall wouldn't joke about something like this. In actuality, Harry shouldn't have to have Niall tell him it's bothering Louis, he should know by now. They've been through enough stunts for it to just be expected, but Harry hadn't been paying attention. After their last live performance on the X-Factor Final, Harry had really detached. Even though the impending break wasn't the boy’s idea, he was going to take full advantage of it. It wasn't until this moment that Harry realized that he had not only detached from his band, but also from his husband.
Harry clicked his phone off without replying to any of the messages and set it down in the bed before rolling into his stomach and shoving his face into the pillows. He let out a jagged scream and decided to force himself back to sleep, just to escape the nightmare that lived outside his unconscious brain.
-
It's five in the morning in Hampstead and Louis is just sliding his key into the door of him and Harry's shared home. It takes some jiggling to get it unlocked and for Louis to get inside due to the fact that he's had way too much to drink and it's still dark outside.
As Louis climbs the stairs to the bathroom, he wonders why nobody came inside to help him get cleaned up and into bed. But then, even in his intoxicated state, he knows exactly why and it sends a shiver down his spine. He feels a lot more sober at that thought. In the recent years, any drinking that Louis had done was done in the company of Harry, alone in their home(s), and usually ended in Harry helping him up the stairs and into bed, either to shag like giggly teenagers or simply to sleep.
But Louis' alone tonight, and as he looks at himself in the bathroom mirror, the evidence is right in front of him. His ever prominent cheekbones are becoming even more prominent than normal and his eyes are sunk into his skull in a way that even scares Louis a bit.
Louis doesn't feel like he's looking at himself in the present, he thinks for half a second that he's dreaming and coming face to face with himself from two years ago, the last time Harry stunted. But the dull ache from his head tells him differently.
You're fine. Harry loves you. Harry married you. It's all fake . Louis goes over the same four thoughts that always seem to echo in his brain during times like these, but gives into one snide thought he resents himself for. Then why does he make it so damn believable?
After stripping down to his briefs, Louis haphazardly finds his phone stuffed into the back pocket of his discarded jeans.
You have to be supportive, even if it hurts like fucking hell. He thinks as he gets under the covers of the 'too big without Harry' bed.
Now completely sober, he quickly types out a message and sends it before falling into a fitful sleep, the only kind he gets without his little spoon.
miss u babe, don't forget sunscreen x
-
"Are they gone yet?" Harry asked, looking through his sunglasses at Glenn with furrowed brows.
"Yeah, they're gone." She replied dryly.
Harry quickly got up from the only public deck on the yacht and went inside to take a shower. He had spent the last two hours playing heterosexual for the paparazzi with Kendall. It's not like he doesn't like Kendall as a person, as a friend. But the principle of it is that he's being closeted.
He stood in the shower, letting the water soak his face, seeing the articles surfacing in his mind's eye. He knew Louis would see them, even though Harry would tell him not look. It was different when Harry stunted, it shook their relationship more than anything else. That's why Louis had taken more of the stunts. For starters, he was better at making it look fake. Harry was naturally charismatic, to a fault. So Louis would turn away from Harry and into himself for a few days, eat junk food and play Fifa all day until he got sick of it and let Harry cuddle him in silence for hours. It was their silence that always spoke loudest. Silence that screamed 'I love you so much' and 'we're going to just fine as long as we have each other'.
But right now, they didn't have each other. Harry was in the middle of the ocean on a gay yacht and Louis was back in Hampstead, trying not to think about it too much.
So when Harry got out of a too long shower, he pulled on a pair of briefs, Louis' shirt (which he had insisted Harry take with him) that had Styles embroidered on it, and threw his hair up into a towel turban and sat down on the bed. He listened to the dial tone for 3 rings.
"Harry?"
"Louis."
"Did you wear sunscreen?"
Harry chuckled. "Yes, I did, babe. Thanks for reminding me."
"What are husbands for?" Louis replied with a smile in his voice.
"I miss you." Harry said so quietly he was unsure if Louis would hear him.
Louis' breath caught up in his chest. "Well of course I miss you too. Only so much Fifa a man can play before he starts going crazy."
Harry laughed into the phone.
"No, I'm serious, Haz. I think the players might be talking to me in my dreams."
"The real players or the ones on the game?"
"The ones from the game!!" Louis laughed. "When will you be home?"
Harry sighed and scrubbed his phoneless hand across his face. "I'm not sure, Lou. Maybe a week..." Louis groaned. "..maybe two."
The line stayed silent for so long Harry thought the call had been dropped. "Boobear?"
Louis cleared his throat. "I don't see why you can't just take a bunch of photos today and be home tomorrow."
"I don't either. I can ask, I suppose. Do you want me to ask?"
"Please. Use your smile, it always makes me do what you want." Louis grinned, for the first time in days.
"I'll do my best."
They talked for the next hour, about everything and nothing. That hour made them both forget the circumstances. It was good for Harry, but really good for Louis.
-
Louis startled awake on the sofa in their living room to the sound of a key in the front door. He had a moment of fleeting hope and joy that Harry was home, but it was dashed after the door flew open and in walked Niall.
"Louis!!" He hollered from the foyer.
"I'm over here," Louis rasped. "What are you doing here, Irish? Did Harry send you to check up on me?"
Niall walked over and plunked himself down on Louis legs, while Louis yelped and yanked them from under him.
"No, I came to check up on you on my own volition." He smiled sweetly at Louis.
"Since when do you have a key to my house?" Louis said, in the middle of a yawn.
"I've always had one. Liam has one," Niall laughed. "your mum, Harry's mum, Gemma, Lottie, Julian, and I'm pretty sure Zayn might even have one still."
Louis actually laughed along with Niall. "I feel that's a bit excessive."
"Maybe. Maybe not. How're holding up here?" Niall looked around at the empty beer bottles and old bags of crisps littering the living room floor. "Taking advantage of Kale Boy being gone, I see."
Louis rolled his eyes. "I'm absolutely fine. And Harry never liked that nickname. He doesn't even like kale that much."
Niall picked up a controller for Fifa and nodded at Louis to start a game. "Whatever you say."
When Niall left at 1:30am the next morning, he made sure Louis had showered, put on fresh clothes, brushed his teeth, and been tucked into bed. He'd had to endure being cussed out at least 7 times, but he felt better knowing that Louis was warm and in bed, rather than splayed out on the sofa, droll collecting on the telly remote.
-
"Welcome abroad British Airways, nonstop from Miami to London."
Harry did it. It's only been two days since his phone call with Louis and he was able to take all the photos needed and get on a plane to London in said two days. He's buzzing with excitement because Louis doesn't know he's on his way. Harry loves surprises, whether he's receiving them or giving them. He feels the same way about blowjobs. Especially surprise blowjobs.
Harry scrolled through Twitter, then Instagram, then his text messages while waiting for the plane to take off. There's a few texts from Gemma, one from Liam, two from Niall, and five from Louis.
The first is a screenshot of Spotify, playing Come Away with Me by Norah Jones. The next four are:
I still miss u
One of the footballers in my dream had hair like urs
When u get home I'm washing ur hair for at least 3 weeks
It's mine
Harry grinned like a dope as he opened Spotify and turned on the same Norah Jones song. He breathed deeply in and out of his nose as the plane took off, and drifted into a light sleep quickly. He dreamed of Louis, on a sunny day, holding hands with him, kissing him without caring who was watching, running aimlessly through a field of tall grass, tumbling down, laughing, and tangling together without a care in the world.
-
As soon as the plane touched down, Harry was a mess of excitement. He couldn't stop bouncing his legs in anticipation. He got through the airport and into a car without anyone noticing and informed the driver to head to the Hampstead house.
"How quick can you be?" He said, with a grin.
"I can try and get you there within an hour." The driver replied with a thick Scottish accent.
"Works for me," Harry said, lifting his feet onto the seat next to him and pulling his grey beanie over his eyes.
-
"Alright, that was 56 minutes." The driver said looking into the rearview mirror at Harry. "Mr. Styles?"
Harry jolted awake. "Oh hi, just call me Harry."
"Well Harry, you're home."
Harry gave him a huge dimpled smile as he sat up. "I am indeed."
After he got out and the driver helped him with his bags, he thrust his key into the front door and walked into the foyer. It smelled like stale beer and a bit of loneliness. He left his bags by the door and walked into the living room where Fifa was still on the screen paused and there were so many beer bottles and junk food wrappers his head spun a bit. But he smiled, because that's the mark of his husband. Harry made sure Louis ate his veggies and fruits when he was around, but there was only so much he could do when he was away. He left the mess and walked upstairs to find Louis sleeping in their bed. He glanced at the clock on their bedside table for the first time in hours to see that it was only half six in the morning. He swooned at his sleeping husband, breathing heavy and face soft from sleep. He quickly shed his clothes save for his briefs and climbed into bed next to Louis.
Harry was the little spoon ninety nine percent of the time, but there was always times when he needed to be the big spoon and he always enjoyed it. This morning was one of those times. He wrapped his body around Louis, light-headed from his delicious warmth. He laid kisses upon kisses in Louis hair, breathing in his scent. Watermelon, from his shampoo and a tad bit of man, because he probably hadn't showered too recently.
Louis stirred and reached out for Harry in his sleep, leaning in to his touch, letting himself be cuddled, which was a rarity. Louis was the protector, and he didn't like showing his weaknesses. But right then, his subconscious knew what he needed. He needed Harry's warmth and love in that moment. It made everything right again.
Harry couldn't wake him, even though he wanted to so badly. So he settled for singing him into a coma like sleep, until he himself fell asleep.
"Come away with me and we'll kiss
On a mountaintop
Come away with me
And I'll never stop loving you"
He sang it, soft and sweet to Louis, with breaks to kiss Louis forehead, his nose, the part of his cheeks where his eyelashes fell, his chin, and his lips.
"And I want to wake up with the rain
Falling on a tin roof
While I'm safe there in your arms
So all I ask is for you
To come away with me in the night
Come away with me"
He finished the song with a kiss to Louis' fringe before falling into the best sleep he'd had since he left for the yacht.
-
Louis was in the most blissful state of sleep, almost awake but still dreaming that he could feel Harry's arms around him, and he didn't want to wake up further. The longer he laid there, the more he could sense Harry around him. His hair tickling Louis' face and his little snores every third breath. Louis opened his eyes and blinked into focus, realizing that he was actually in Harry's arms. He chocked, tears filling his eyes.
"Harry Styles," he said, nudging his shoulder, "what are you doing in my bed?"
Harry's eyes moved under his closed eyelids and he smiled. "It's been Harry Tomlinson for years now, Lou."
Louis shook his head and kissed his husband's lips, smiling into it.
"Stop smiling, it's not even a good kiss." Harry's laugh rumbled in his chest.
Louis pulled away and took Harry's face in his hands. "I’m sorry, I'm just so happy you're here. How are you here, why are yo-"
Harry cut him off by catching his lips, and taking control for an actual kiss, with just the right balance of heat and love.
"I did what you said," he said when they broke apart. "used my smile, took a lot of photos yesterday, so here I am."
Louis looked at Harry with so much love and fond that he thought his face might crack in half. Being in love with Harry scared him sometimes, it just seemed to bubble over and he didn't know what to do with the emotion.
"I love you," he said, kissing Harry's lips. "so much." He kissed down to Harry's jaw, then started sucking a bruise onto his neck. "I missed you." He said, against Harry's skin, making goosebumps appear almost instantly.
Harry breathed in through his nose, as Louis nuzzled into his neck, peppering kisses down to his collar bones. "Lou," he groaned and swallowed. "Before you start anyway,"
Louis pulled away to look at Harry, his head leaning to one side in question.
"You left a big mess downstairs." Harry grinned, full dimples and all.
"Are you kidding me, Styles?" Louis said with his eye shut.
Harry giggled. "It's Tomlinson, Tomlinson. And no, I'm not kidding. Go clean up."
Louis sat up in the bed. "You know, Niall came over the other night and called you Kale Boy and I defended you." He said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and pulling some joggers on.
Harry leaned back against the pillows, hands clasped behind his head. "And I appreciate that."
Louis walked over to Harry's side of the bed and leaned over to kiss him, but Harry blocked him. "Go clean."
"I'm not unless I can have another kiss."
Harry's eyes sparkled and he leaned up to kiss Louis' lips, sweetly. "I missed you too, you know." He said, breaking the kiss and now he started kissing Louis' neck.
Louis moaned, deep in the back of his throat. And Harry immediately stopped, "Alright, go on then."
"Wha-, Haz, that was just plain mean now."
Harry grinned, "And yet, you still love me."
Louis was already halfway down the stairs before he hollered back. "I don't know how to quit you, St-, oop, Tomlinson."
-
Harry woke up again to a loud crash coming from downstairs.
If he is in that kitchen again , he thought, pushing the blankets off himself and getting out of the bed. why can't he just accept that he can't cook. I love to cook. I'll do all the cooking.
He jogged down the stairs and into their kitchen, to find Louis with a spatula in one hand and a cast-iron skillet in the other.
"Are you trying to make pancakes again?" Harry laughed. "I'm still having nightmares from last time."
Louis flicked his fringe out of eyes. "Where's your clothes, Handsome?"
Harry glanced down at his body, realizing he was only in his briefs still. He opened his mouth to answer Louis, but then remembered why he came down in the first place. "Lou, don't change the subject." He said, taking the spatula from him. "Let me cook us breakfast."
"Fine by me..but it's hardly breakfast at this point." Louis gestured to the clock on the stove.
"Why did you let me sleep until 1:19 in the afternoon?"
"I don't know, maybe because you're so pretty."
Harry laughed silently, shoulders shaking, getting the ingredients for pancakes out and starting to put them all into a bowl. Louis hopped up onto the counter next to him, swinging his legs and humming.
"I like your tan." Louis said.
"Why, thank you. I kinda like it too." Harry replied, examining his arms in front of him.
Harry plopped the first pancake down into the pan, and Louis hopped off the counter, grabbing his phone. They had a Bluetooth speaker system installed through their entire house, which had proved to be extremely useful. Harry looked up from the stove when he heard the song start.
"Is this our new theme song?" He said, turning around to face Louis.
Louis smiled, looking down shyly at the floor. "I heard you singing it to me this morning. I thought it was fitting."
Harry nodded, slipping his arms around Louis' waist, while Louis locked his arms around Harry's neck. They barely swayed to the song, Louis' face pressed into Harry's chest, stealing the warmth from his skin.
"Words can't describe how much I missed this, Lou."
Louis hummed. "Then don't try, just enjoy it." He said, eyes still shut.
The song was almost over, and Harry smelt the burning, and turned the two of them around to flip the pancake with Louis still laid against him.
"I think that one is ruined." He chuckled.
"For a good reason, at least."
They ate their stacks of pancakes in bed, feeding each other bites and sharing sticky kisses from syrup coated lips. Once they finished and their plates were on the floor, Louis cuddled into Harry, tracing the birds on his chest with his finger.
"So you're finished?"
Harry opened his eyes, "finished with what?"
"With your stunt with Kendall." Louis rolled his eyes.
"Uhhh," Harry hesitated, grabbed Louis' hand and kissing his fingers. "There's gonna be some articles, of course."
Louis nodded.
"And in a few months," he gulped. "My mum's iCloud is gonna be hacked, not for real obviously but that'll be the story."
"Do you have any nudes on the cloud?" Louis grinned up at Harry.
Harry barked out a laugh. "Yeah, loads."
Louis laid his head back down on Harry's chest. "What are they gonna find?"
Harry's eyebrows knitted together as he reached over pick his phone up off the bedside table. "Well they're gonna find some genuine photos that my mum took on her own. But there's a few with Kendall too that've been planted."
Louis sat up on his knees. "Can I see?"
Harry lowered his phone down into his lap. "Louis, do you have to see?"
Louis nodded. "Yeah, I wanna see 'em."
"You're just gonna get sad and not talk to me for the rest of the day." Harry sighed. "Let's not ruin our good day, babes."
"Harry, stop treating me like a child and let me see the damn photos." Louis held out his hand for Harry's phone.
"Whatever, here." Harry dropped his phone into Louis' out-stretched palm.
Louis quickly started swiping through the photos, seeing Kendall's face nuzzled into Harry's neck, a photo of them in mirror that Harry took with Kendall by his side, and a photo of Kendall stretched out in Harry's lap and it looked like Harry was whispering something to her. That was it before he had enough. He could feel his blood boiling in his veins, anger making his stomach burn. He dropped the phone into the bed and went to get up, but Harry's arms wrapped around him and pulled him back into bed.
"Oh no, you don't. I told you this would happen. I warned you, Louis. You can't get mad at me. I love you. I married you." He said to the back of Louis' head.
"How do you think it makes me feel?" Louis shouted at him, taking him by surprise.
"Like shit, Lou, I know it makes you feel like shit that's why I didn't want you looking at them."
"I have to see her doing all the things I want to do with you! I want to take photos in the mirror and nuzzle my face into your neck, Harry!"
"You do those things..."
"Shut up, Harry! It's not the same," Louis pushed himself out of Harry's grip. "I want people to see, I want someone to hack your mum's iCloud and see me in there, I want to yell it out, I want people to know that I, Louis Tomlinson, am deeply in love with Harry Styles."
Harry ran his hands through his hair. "So you're gonna get mad at me for that?! Like I have control of the fact that we're in the closet? How do you think I feel, hm? Watching you pretend to have knocked up some stylist from LA?"
Louis scoffed. "It doesn't affect you like it affects me, Harry, we've been over this before. You've always been stronger than me."
"Well what if I'm tired of being stronger than you, what then?" Harry bit back.
"You're out of luck, pal, this is written into my contract." Louis threw his hands up at Harry, got off the bed, and headed for the en-suite.
"Okay and you don't think this with Kendall isn't written into my contract?!" Harry said, quickly following him like a lost puppy.
"Fuck the contracts, Harry! I'm so over the contracts and the promises that 'it'll be next year, babe' and meetings with all the pricks at Modest, letting them decide our futures."
"What are you saying?" Harry said, trying to pull Louis into a hug.
Louis pushed Harry away. "It's me or this band."
Harry blinked a few times. "What?! You can't be serious right now, Louis."
Louis crossed his arms in front of him. "It's me or the band. Take your damn pick."
Harry rubbed his hands across his face and then through his hair. He stayed silent for a few agonizing moments. "I-Louis..I just-, can I have a few days?"
The words hit Louis like a bus. Harry needed a few days to decide if he wanted Louis. A few days. After all these years. After vows had been written and rings had been exchanged. A few days. He hung his head. "Yeah. Take your 'few days'. But get out."
Harry reached out for Louis. "Don't send me away Louis, please. Please Louis, I just got home. I missed you so much, don't make me leave." He pleaded, with tears running down his cheeks.
Louis reached up and wiped Harry's tears. He stood on his tiptoes and kissed his forehead. "I'm sure Niall or Liam would be happy to have you for a few days."
Harry nodded. He didn't even have to bother with packing his bags, because they were still sitting by the door. So he slung on the first t-shirt he found on their bedroom floor, shoved his feet into some trainers, grabbed his phone and got into his car.
-
Harry didn't really know where he was going, he was just driving down some road, trying to stop crying. Never, not once, had Louis kicked him out. They had little arguments and fights here and there, sometimes bigger fights, but they never went to sleep angry at each other. It was one of their rules. They always made up before bed, usually had really great makeup sex, and went to sleep tangled up in each other. This was uncharted territory, from top to bottom. Harry slowed his car down and pulled into a gas station. He got a tissue from the glove compartment and cleaned his face up as best he could. He decided to call Liam, knowing he would take him in without asking too many questions, like Niall would.
"Harry, my main man! How's yacht life?" Liam answered, always cheerful.
Harry took in a jagged breath. "I'm back from the yacht. I came home, but Louis kicked me out."
Liam's heart sank into his feet. "Wha-, how could he kick you out?"
Harry pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and pointer finger. "I'd rather not talk about it right now, Li. Can I stay with you for a few days?"
"Yeah, of course. You're always welcome here." Liam agreed, instantly, ever the supportive best friend.
"Thanks, Lima. I'll be there soon."
-
Harry stood on Liam's front porch, hand raised to knock, when the door was flung open and Liam pulled him into a bear hug.
"Holding up okay, mate?" He asked, into Harry's shoulder.
Harry sighed, wrapping his arms around Liam. "I've had better days."
Liam nodded, but held him in the hug until Harry pulled away.
"You can take whichever guest room you want, okay? There's food in the kitchen, obviously, so have at whatever you want."
Harry smiled wetly. "Thank you, but I think I just wanna go to sleep. I'm a bit jet lagged, what time even is it?"
Liam glanced at his watch. "It's 9:15."
Harry yawned, as if on cue. "I'm just gonna go on to bed, thanks again Payno."
-
Louis looked away from the telly when he heard his phone vibrating. He quickly located it under some of the pillows on the sofa and pressed it to his ear.
"Hey Niall," he answered.
"Tommo, what the fuck is going on?" Niall bellowed into the phone, causing Louis to pull it away from his ear.
"What are you talking about?" Louis asked, even though he knew full well what Niall was talking about.
"You kicked Harry out? He comes home to surprise you and you kick him out?! That's not like you at all, what gives?" Niall prattled on, as Louis sighed loudly into the phone.
"Well if you must know," Louis started, before he started to feel really dumb. Everything had happened so fast the day before, but looking back on it, he felt like he had overreacted. He sighed before continuing. "Harry showed me some photos of him and Kendall." He sniffed. "I got really mad and upset...I don't know, Niall."
Niall stayed quiet for a minute. "Where along the line did you make him leave?"
Louis got up and started pacing around the living room. "I kind of...gave him an ultimatum." He continued when Niall didn't respond. "I told him to choose between me or..me or the band."
"What?" Niall cried. "Louis, how could you do that?! There we go, One Direction is over. I fucking love our band, Louis. You've gone and ruined it!"
"We don't know for sure, I haven't talked to him yet."
"Are you an idiot?" Niall groaned. "Of course he's gonna choose you!"
"Listen Nialler, whenever he comes back, soon hopefully, I'll just tell him I didn't mean it. I overreacted, as much as it pains me to admit. It'll be fine."
-
"Alright, Harry." Liam said, kicking the frame of the bed Harry was sleeping in. "It's been 3 days, get your arse out of bed."
Harry groaned, turned over to his belly, and shoved his head underneath the pillows. "Go away."
"This is my house, you can't tell me to go away. You asked if you could stay a few days to decide what you wanted, not to be a couch potato."
"What do you mean?" Harry said, lifting his head out of the pillows. He was sore all over, after moping around, switching between the sofa and the guest bed for 3 days.
"You need to decide between the band and Louis." Liam said, crossing his arms in front of him.
"How'd you know that?" Harry finally sat up.
"Louis told Niall, and Niall told me. He's proper upset, Haz."
"Louis?" Harry rasped.
"No, Niall. He's afraid you'll choose Louis over the band."
Harry shrugged lightly and shook his head. He had no idea what he was going to choose. They both had contracts. They would be sued if they tried to break them. But, he could try and speak with their management amicably. He just didn't know how much good it would do.
"Okay," Liam said, sitting down on the side of the bed. "I'm gonna play you a song. I'll tell you what lyric I want you to hear, it's at the beginning."
Harry watched as he clicked through his phone, and heard the way too familiar song start playing.
"Liaaaaaaammm." He tried shoving his head back under the pillows, but Liam pulled him back up.
"If I could fly," the phone sang. "I'd be coming right back home to you."
"Right here!" Liam said, pointing toward the phone.
"I think I might give up everything, just ask me to,"
Liam turned the song off and turned toward Harry. "You wrote that. You promised Louis that. Now he's asked you. Are you still willing to give it all up for him? Or was that just a cheesy line in a song?"
Harry shook his head, feeling tears well up in his eyes.
"I didn't think so. You and Louis were made for each other, Harold. You've gotta make this right again. Go get your boy back." He said, patting Harry's knee.
"Yeah," Harry said, standing up. "Yeah, but I've gotta shower first."
-
Within the hour, Harry was bathed, in new clothes, and standing on his own front porch. He didn't know if he should just let himself in or if he should knock or if he should've called Louis before he came back. He stood there, debating with himself for a good 3 minutes before deciding to go ahead and knock. So he waited, and waited. But Louis didn't come to the door. Harry sighed and dig into his pocket for his keys, but he hesitated at the last second.
"I guess I'll call him," he mumbled to himself, out loud.
He clicked Louis name in his phone and waited. He thought Louis wasn't going to answer but he picked up on the last ring.
"Yeah?"
Harry felt like his heart was actually breaking in half. "Hi, um- I'm outside."
Harry could hear Louis rustling around on the other end.
"Are you going to come in or what?"
Harry began pacing the length of the front porch. "Well I didn't know what I should do, so I knocked but you never came to the door.."
"I'm upstairs, that's why."
"Oh," Harry really couldn't seem to form words.
"Harry, come inside the damn house. You live here. Stop acting like an fucking outsider."
So Harry pushed his key into the door and opened it, putting his phone back in his pocket while he did. He met Louis' eye from where he stood on the stairs.
"Hi," he said, waving at Louis, then dropping his arms down to his sides.
Louis reached up to mess with his fringe and Harry longed to touch Louis' hair. He longed to hold him in his arms and kiss him. He wanted to make him feel safe, steal some the warmth from his golden skin. But Louis didn't seem like he wanted anything to do with Harry in that moment.
"So," Louis said, looking up at Harry. "Did you make your choice, then?"
Harry nodded. "You. Of course I choose you. I would choose you over everything, forever. Everyday day of my life." He didn't know when he had started crying, but the tears were falling quickly and Louis was crossing the foyer quicker. As he got closer, Harry opened his arms for him and Louis jumped into them, wrapping his legs around Harry's waist. Louis peppered kisses all over his face, wiping away his tears, but making more of a mess with his own. Finally, his lips met Harry's. It was the most perfect kiss, just what they both needed. Harry could taste the need on Louis' lips and he let himself need just as much. When Louis pulled away, he looked like the actual sun, beaming back at Harry.
"Thank you," he said, putting his hands on either side of Harry's face. "I was going to tell you that I overreacted when you came home, so...I overreacted. And I'm sorry. You don't have to leave the band or Modest, or anything. I was just upset."
Harry shook his head and leaned forward to kiss Louis, to really kiss him. They stood there in the foyer, snogging with Louis still in Harry's arms, pressed up against his body, until Harry's back started to give out and he let Louis down.
"No," Harry said, panting. "No, I want to leave Modest. I want to come out. I want to show the world how strong we are and how in love with you I am. I want all of that. So we can at least talk to them and see what are options are."
Louis' eyes sparkled as he nodded. "You really wanna do that?"
Harry pulled Louis back in his arms. "Of course. For you, anything. It'll be so much better this way."
And after that, Harry cooked dinner when Louis told him he had been eating take out for a week and a half. They ate while watching Love Actually , even though it wasn't Christmas, and drank too much wine.
They gave each other blowjobs on the sofa in the living room, followed by handjobs on the stairs, then had lazy sex in their bed, as if they had all the time in the world to take care of one another. Because they did.
-
“Are we all ready to begin?” One of the big wigs from Modest said, clearing his throat to silence the chatter around the room.
Harry and Louis sat on one side of the long conference tables, hands together, resting on the table top. They had given themselves four days to come up with their game plan, before scheduling an emergency meeting, leaving the topic of conversation to be announced upon their arrival. There were six members of their management sitting across from them, with varying looks of confusion and worry on their faces.
“Go on, boys.”
Harry looked at Louis and Louis looked at Harry. They nodded at each other.
“We’re finished.” They said, at the same time, as they rehearsed.
All of the men across from them were red-faced and arguing within seconds.
“You both have contracts,”
“You can’t just do that,”
“We’ll have no choice but to sue the both of you.”
Louis sighed, letting his fear that they wouldn’t be able to change anything wash over him. They had tried things like this before, to no avail, obviously.
Harry coughed, and began to speak. “We’ve given this a lot of thought, gentlemen. We aren’t kids anymore, Louis and I are both grown, adult men. We’re going to give you all two options.”
“What are the options then, Harry?”
“Your first option is that you let Louis and I come out of the closet, on our terms, in the way we want to do it. That will take place immediately. We’ll continue on with Niall and Liam as a band under your management, but our touring schedules and the rate at which we write, record, and release albums will be reevaluated.”
The men looked around at each other before one of them asked, “And the other option?”
For that, Louis spoke up. “The only other option is that Harry and I leave One Direction and Modest Management as of today. We’ll come out immediately as well, letting everyone know that we’ve been forcefully closeted for at least five years. Everyone knows that Harry is the most ‘popular’, if you will, member of the band and the biggest household name, so losing him, coupled with us revealing that we’ve been closeted for so long will literally ruin the company.”
The chatter started back up once Louis finished, him and Harry sharing an intimate smile, after having delivered their speeches perfectly, just as they had planned.
One of the men wiped at his forehead, blinking a little too rapidly to be considered normal. “Alright, if you can just give us a few minutes to discuss this.”
The two boys nodded, getting up from their seats and walking out. Both were extremely jittery, having basically left their futures and lives there in that room. They had discussed that they would take any hits Modest through at them, not worrying about being sued, as they had plenty of money to fight them in court. Plus, they expected a judge to side in their favor, given the circumstances.
When they got out into the lobby area, they were met by Niall and Liam, both fully engrossed in their phones.
“Oi, why are you here?’ Louis asked, punching Liam playfully in the arm.
Niall looked up from his phone to give Louis and Harry glares. “We just wanted to be here to watch our band get flushed down the toilet.”
Harry and Louis sat down next to Niall on either side. “Oh c’mon, Nialler,” Louis started. “We did really good in there, I think we might have a shot.”
Harry wrapped his arm around Niall’s shoulders, pulling him in closer and pressing a loud kiss on his temple. “Lou’s right, I think we’ll be fine.”
“I’m feeling left out, where’s my cuddles?” Liam said, standing up and depositing himself in Louis’ lap.
They stayed all cuddled up with each other until Harry and Louis were called back into the conference room.
They got settled again, hoping for the best, but not wanting to expect too much.
“Okay,” one of the men said, clapping his hands and then rubbing them together. “We’ve decided to go ahead with the first option you gave us.”
Harry and Louis both gasped and turned to each other. “Oh my god!” Louis shouted. He crashed his lips against Harry’s, not caring about the audience across the table.
Harry smiled, breaking the kiss. “I can’t believe it!”
“There’s a lot of logistics we need to go over, before the two of you can leave.”
The boys both nodded, gearing up for a long discussion. Louis wasn’t really listening for the rest of the hour they were in the meeting, so he hoped Harry was. Instead, he just watched Harry from the side, admiring the way he looked while he listened, nodding every now and then, adding some hums when it was needed. Once they walked out of the office, they had a date. They actually had a date when they were going to come out, in the foreseeable future. They were both on a high, finally getting the freedom they deserved.
Niall immediately started crying when he saw them with smiles on their faces. Liam coming up and wrapping them in a hug.
“Was it good? Did it go good? Are we still a band?” Niall said, in between sobs.
“Yes!” Louis shouted, pulling Niall into the group hug.
“We have a coming out date, lads!” Harry exclaimed, through his own tears.
Somehow, they all had what they wanted, even though none of them thought it was possible.
-
*3 months later*
One Direction Conspiracy Theory ‘Larry Stylinson’ is Real?!
The Internet is a buzz as diehard One Direction fans show their support and love for Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, who came out of the closet yesterday evening with two Instagram posts, both posted a photo of the other. Tomlinson posted an adorable photo of Styles with the caption ‘So long, I’ve been waiting’ and Styles posted an equally adorable photo of Tomlinson with the caption ‘The summertime, butterflies, all belong to your creation. xx’. For 5 years, Larries (as they’ve coined themselves), haven’t ever given up hope. Through all the rumors and countless PR stunts, they have stuck by their boys. It is truly the best day for the fandom. No need for reps to comment on this because Styles and Tomlinson will be appearing on The Late Late Show with James Corden in their first ever interview as a couple, along with both of their mothers. Sources close to the men say “nothing is off limits, they want to be 100% honest after all the years of endless secrecy”. Who knows what will become of Modest!Management, they haven’t agreed to speak with us, so we are unsure if they allowed the two men to finally announce they were a couple, or if the love-birds decided to go rogue. Niall Horan and Liam Payne both posted on Instagram showing their love for the boys and even the former One Direction member, Zayn Malik, took to Twitter, congratulating Harry and Louis on their special day. The outpouring of love being shown to these men is truly heartwarming, One Direction fan or not.
-
“I’ll have my usual.” Harry said, smiling up at the waitress and handing her the menu in his hands.
“Hmm, you know what, make that two of Harry’s usuals.” Louis said, not being able to pick from the expansive menu.
Harry barked out a laugh. “Lou, you really want a kale chicken caesar salad with a side of corn?”
The waitress looked up from her pad and smiled at each of them.
Louis nodded. “I’m trying to be more adventurous!”
The waitress went back to scribbling onto her pad, then took Louis’ menu. “That’ll be out shortly.”
“Thank you!” They both said, in unison.
Louis snuggled closer to Harry in the booth, laying his head onto Harry’s shoulder. He signed deeply, inhaling Harry’s sweet scent.
“So this is what it’s like,” He whispered, into Harry’s hair.
“Hmmm?”
“Being out. We’re sat here in this booth, broad daylight, at Cafe Habana, of all places. I don’t care who’s watching me cuddle you. We don’t have to worry about the waitress becoming a shady anonymous message on Tumblr. It’s just nice.”
Harry nodded, blinking slowly at Louis. “It’s how it should be.”
They waited on their food, talking and laughing about this and that, telling each other about their day. They were halfway through their salads, which Louis actually liked, when Harry looked over at an adjacent table.
“She’s taking photos of us.” He told Louis, grinning like a madman.
“How can you always tell?” Louis said, side-eyeing the teenager, eating lunch with her parents.
“I’m not even sure, it’s like a sixth sense.”
“Well, do you wanna put on a little show for her then, Styles?”
Harry nodded, a bit too eagerly. Louis leaned in, and Harry closed the gap between them, crushing Louis’ lips with his own. Louis’ hands found their way into Harry’s hair, like always, and Harry cupped Louis’ jaw. They proper snogged for a good two minutes before Louis burst into laughter. Harry pulled away, eyebrows knit together in worry.
“No, no,” Louis gasped. “I just love you and I love being out. I get to shout it from the rooftops now, I’m so happy.”
Harry smiled, looking like a frog. “I’m happy too. And I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, but it’s Tomlinson, Tomlinson.”