Work Text:
Saturday
"What are you doing lying on the floor?"
Harry rolled his shoulders, back arching up off their super soft, but utterly annoying to hoover, black mat and blinked slowly.
"We need a new sofa, I think my arse has actually worn a groove in the seat."
Liam sighed, they couldn't afford anything new - they'd not paid this lot off yet and as helpful as his mum was to put it all on her credit card, he couldn't ask for her to do more. "We'll get cushions. Now, why again are you on the floor?" he asked once more, sitting cross legged beside Harry as he rubbed at one eye with a closed fist, yawning.
"I told you, my arse was going numb on our sofa and I need to get this essay done and -" he paused to yawn again. There were dark circles under his eyes and his speech was slower than normal - which was truly saying something in Harry's case.
They both turned to look up at the television screen. Harry had Half Blood Prince on again and it was all madness and mayhem inside the Weasley's store. It was Harry's favourite out of the Harry Potter movies and usually it meant he was either tired and couldn't sleep or needed something in the background to fend off the quiet of their flat when Liam wasn't home.
Liam leaned over, running a hand through Harry's curls as Harry crossed his arms in front of the pillow Liam recognised as one of his own that Harry was mostly lying on. Harry breathed out this hum of appreciation before turning his head, dropping it to rest on his arms, blinking slow as Liam scratched lightly over his scalp. Harry yawned again, loud and wide and Liam could hear his jaw pop.
"How much more do you have to do?" Liam asked softly, watching as the Harry on screen fell to the floor with Draco's well timed petrificus totalus spell.
Harry waited until Draco had left the carriage before answering, "Not much. I just have to wind it all up in a few paragraphs. I can edit it in the morning." Harry yawned a third time, his eyes staying closed longer and Liam let his fingertips slide gently over Harry's forehead, slipping Harry's curls behind his ear. Harry smiled a little and rubbed his face against his arm, he was such a bloody cat when it came to having his hair played with. Liam knew it wouldn't take much more to have Harry dozing off. He'd watched Anne do this enough times at Harry's house when they were growing up to know just what would have Harry falling into slumber with little more than a gentle touch.
"I know what you're doing," Harry said, whisper soft as his eyelids fluttered once more, "an hour, Li. No longer. I really do need to get this done and Lou is coming over tonight and I can't-" the sound of Harry's jaw popping was loud once more and Liam knew it wouldn't be long now and Harry wouldn't be speaking at all. Unless you counted snoring as a form of communication which Liam did not.
"An hour," Liam said, thinking he could probably draw it out to two, maybe three - it was only half twelve and if Louis was coming over - Harry could probably do with the extra sleep. Liam felt a pull in the bottom of his gut at the thought of exactly what Louis would be coming over for. It wasn't as if Liam didn't like Louis - he did, he introduced them after all - he just didn't like how Harry sort of forgot all about the important things when Louis was around. Louis who kissed Harry at parties when he was drunk but would freeze up if Harry went to hold his hand while waiting in line to get into the one decent club in town. Louis who was loud and brash and wicked with his witty tongue but who Liam also knew could be quiet and patient and the best listener you could ever ask for.
Louis confused him when it came to Harry.
Yet Harry aparently had no problem with all the juxtapositions that Louis seemed to be composed of. He would throw his arm around Louis in public and never say a word if Louis shrugged him off. He'd have no problem snogging the life out of Louis in the privacy of his and Liam's shared flat and wouldn't bat an eye the moment Louis would shift out of his arms and along the sofa the moment Liam came in the door. Liam didn't understand it and he didn't want to upset Harry by asking about it. Harry'd always talked to him about his problems but in his own time. This was just taking a lot longer for Harry to open up to Liam about than anything else going on in his life before.
Maybe Harry had no problem - and it was all Liam. Or maybe Harry didn't trust Liam like that anymore.
"Oh you're so pretty," Harry mumbled, knocking Liam out of his musings in time to look from Harry's serene sleepy face to the screen where Draco was opening the Vanishing Cabinet's door. Liam snorted, picking up where he'd left off from patting Harry's hair and yawned himself. He'd watched this particular movie so many times with Harry that most of the time he couldn't get past the opening titles without falling asleep himself. They really should have learned not to put movies on repeat when they discovered weed and how Harry's dad's basement basically was airtight - or enough to make a bowl or two last far longer than it should with the air sticky and sweet around them. They both were giggly when stoned but the giggles would fade into sleepy snuggles on the sofa and they'd wake with hours gone.
They didn't have and hadn't smoked up in a while but with the sun shining in a near perfect way through the window, warming his skin, Liam found himself sliding down beside Harry, eyes begining to droop as well. He only realised that he'd fallen asleep, too, when the sound of Katie Bell's blood curdling scream had him jumping. Harry rolled over with the noise, nuzzling into Liam's side, nose pressing against Liam's neck. Liam just wrapped an arm around Harry's waist and pulled him close, the sound of Snape and McGonnagal discussing cursed jewelry the last thing he heard.