Archive of Our Own

~~*~~

Harry's been staring at the blond in the corner for the better part of the last hour. It's just that there's something familiar about him, but Harry can't quite pinpoint what it is. Regardless, he's enjoyed watching.

The blond thrums with energy, even from where Harry's standing, hands flying about as he talks to the two girls next to him. They're giggling, doing that thing that girls do where they look up through their eyelashes--and okay, Harry's employed that trick a few times himself--but blondie doesn't seem to have noticed the blatant flirting. A moment later, he dips his head to say something and then breaks away, heading to the bar. Harry follows, curious.

When he comes up behind him, the first thing that hits is the Irish brogue. It makes Harry grin.

"A bit far from home, aren't you, Irish?" Harry half-hollers in the noise of the club. The blond briefly glances over his shoulder, then turns back a second later, eyes narrowing a little. Harry gives him his best grin and amusement filters through the blue eyes staring back at him.

"Name's Niall," he finally offers Harry with a wide smile. There's a pause, like he's expecting Harry to know this already. He sticks out his hand after a second, adding, "And yeah, I guess you could say I'm far from home, but I've got family in the area. Thought I'd visit." The bartender slides Niall's glass across the counter and Harry watches as Niall gives it a sour look. "Your beer's piss though, gotta say that."

Harry laughs. "Guess you'll just have to drink more of it then, yeah?" He nods at the bartender, raising two fingers. He turns back to Niall. "Or you could join me in a round of shots? It'll get you where you want to go faster, trust me."

Blue eye narrow, and Harry gets the feeling that he's missing something again. It disappears when Niall salutes him with his pint glass.

"You're on."

The rest of the night is a blur of shots, loud music, a fag or two, more shots, and cab ride back to Harry's place that results in the cabbie warning that he'll dump their asses if anyone's prick makes it out of their pants. They both crack up and make promises they barely keep.

Niall's got braces, for god's sake, but there are callouses on his hands that feel bloody amazing on Harry's cock. He repays Niall with a wickedly slow blowjob that ends with a tug of Harry's curls and a shout. Everything's tinged with the haze of alcohol, but Harry remembers bright laughter, happy curses and it's just--

It's fun in a way that getting off hasn't been in a while.

He's a bit disappointed when he wakes up alone the next morning.

*

The buzz of his mobile slices sharply through his head and Harry sits straight up. It's a stupid move, the abrupt movement turning his stomach a bit and making the pounding in his head kick up a notch. He'd forgotten to grab some water and paracetomol like he usually does after a night out, but he'd been a little busy this time.

He remembers Niall then, glancing over. The other side of his bed is empty.

The frown he's wearing turns into a grimace when his mobile goes off again. He glares as the obnoxious strains of What What in the Butt filter through the bedroom. Louis is never as funny as he, or Liam, thinks he is, and one day Harry is going to actually tell him that. Once he figures out how Louis keeps getting a hold of his phone anyway.

For now, he reaches out and answers with a coarse, "'lo?"

"Rough night, mate?" Brian's light brogue just makes Harry think about Niall and the empty spot beside him and he frowns harder. "Did you get caught on the walk of shame, young Styles?"

"There's no such thing as a walk of shame," Harry grumbles and Brian laughs again. It's loud, even through the phone, and rattles around in Harry's head for a bit.

"I know, I know. Sex is not a shameful act, power to yourself, blah, blah. I've heard it a million times, boyo." Scowling, Harry opens his mouth to retort when Brian adds, "So, are you coming or not?"

"Whut?"

"Marko's? Did you forget? I'm sitting here by myself, like an arse. They're going to toss me out if I don't order anything soon." Harry glances over at the clock on the wall. It's half-ten. He curses, shoving the sheets off and swinging his legs around.

"Give me ten," he says. Glancing down, he sees the dried mess across his stomach. "Twenty," Harry amends after a slight pause. Brian just laughs at him like he knows exactly what's going on and tells him to hurry up before dropping the call.

Harry's only five minutes later than he promised, sliding into the wrought-iron chair across from Brian. He smiles up at the waitress, who turns bright red and nearly trips over her feet when he requests a mimosa.

"You're behind two already. Hurry up."

Harry shakes his hair out, sweeping it out of his face and grins. "So impatient, young Kelly. Some of have lives and enjoy them." That gets him a hand wave and a fond look of disgust.

"Yeah, yeah. It's easy with that face, you wanker." Harry's saved from retorting by the return of the waitress. He tells her to put it on Brian's tab. There's a snort, but no protest. They both order and she takes off again. Harry notices Brian looking past his shoulder and he glances over. Nothing but the regular Sunday crowd.

Turning back, he asks, "You expecting someone?"

Brian's face lights up. "Yeah, my step-brother's in town." Harry frowns.

"You remember, don't you? He was your age, the both of you following me around like lost puppies." That makes Harry flush.

"Shut up," he mutters. He remembers always trying to impress Brian, doing stupid shit. "I thought you were cool. Obviously, I've learned since then."

Brian tosses a napkin at him, laughing. He glances over Harry's shoulder again. "You remember him; the two of you were stuck like glue back then. Too much energy and not enough space for ya." Something clicks in Harry's brain and he does remember. Big blue eyes. Broad smiles and crooked teeth.

Something sinks in Harry's stomach as he watches Brian's gaze move over his shoulder again and his eyes light up. He's half-out of his chair, grinning. "Come on, Harry, you remember--"

Harry turns and comes face to face with the boy he'd taken home last night.

"Niall."

Harry's a little off for the rest of lunch.

And Niall just sits across from him, laughing ridiculously loud at Brian's jokes and stealing food from everyone's plates. (That hasn't changed it seems. Harry does have some vivid recollections, now that his memories been jogged, of Niall constantly asking, "Are you going to eat that?")

He barely pays Harry any attention either. Except for the initial greeting and the firm handshake--Harry flashes back to last night and would blush, except there's nothing to blush about--he's hardly said two words to Harry. It's not rude though, just fairly obvious that the two of them haven't seen each other in years. Harry's hard pressed to know why Brian even wanted him to come.

Harry's chasing a piece of melon across his plate when that becomes clear.

"So, Harry." Brian's voice is a little hesitant, an odd enough occurrence that it makes Harry glance up with a frown.

"Yeah?"

"Um, Niall here--" he motions toward Niall, nervous, like Harry doesn't know who he's talking about. That makes his frown slip up and he sets his elbows on the table, chin on his fists and waits for Brian to finish. The smirk on Harry's face gets him a narrow-eyed look before Brian finishes. "Niall's interning at the local studio this summer and I can let him crash at my place, but Fi's only just moved in and the place's a bit of a mess--"

Harry knows exactly where this is about to go.

"And you've got that stupidly big flat to yourself while Louis's away on holiday. Was wonderin' if it'd be okay for him to crash with you for a while? At least until Lou gets back."

He says it like they both don't know that Louis'll be bunking with Liam for good when they get back, despite Liam's many protests. That means that Niall's probably in for the entire summer. Harry glances over to find Niall studying him. There's amusement in his eyes, even bluer in the sunlight, and Harry's hit with a memory of last night. The double-take at the bar.

Niall had known exactly who he was.

Harry smiles, slow enough that Niall begins to look a little uncertain. To Brian, Harry just says, "I'd love to have him."

No one but Harry notices the faint tinge of red that stains Niall's cheeks for the rest of lunch.

*

Niall's only got a duffle, one suitcase, and a guitar. The sparse amount of luggage makes Harry raise an eyebrow, but Niall just shrugs and says, "Gonna be running errands and filing papers, most likely. Don't need a lot of clothing for that, yeah?" Harry concedes the point with a tilt of his head and leads Niall into Louis's room.

"It's a bit of a wreck," Harry apologizes. "Lou's not the tidiest person ever," like Harry's one to talk, "and he went a little mad before he left."

That gets him a curious look. Stripping the bed, Harry continues, "He's just gone on a long holiday with his boyfriend. Their first one." Harry rolls his eyes and drops the bedding on the floor. Frowning, he tries to remember where Louis put the extra sheets.

"S'not that big a deal is it?" Niall asks. He's in the bathroom, stepping out a second later with a triumphant lift of his hands. Sheets. Harry grins and Niall smiles back. They work in tandem, making up the bed again as Harry explains.

"Not generally, no. The thing is that Louis is so far gone on Liam that he's constantly in a state of thinking that Liam is going to leave him at any moment."

Niall points at Harry to move the edge of the top sheet up a bit. Harry rolls his eyes, but does it anyway. "Is he?" Niall asks.

"Nope," Harry tells him. "Liam pretty much thinks Louis hung the moon. Created rainbows. Breeds unicorns. Liam is probably even more gone on Louis, if that's possible." He tugs the duvet off the floor and flings it across the bed. "You'll see soon enough; they're back in two weeks"

"Oh. Right." Niall's shaking his head. Harry hums a questioning sound and he looks over. Shrugging, Niall offers, "I'll have to check around then, see if there's a cheap flat available before they get back."

Harry doesn't think about the flash of disappointment that goes through him at that. Instead, he tosses a pillow at Niall's head and tells him, "Trust me, you won't have to go anywhere, Nialler." Plumping the other pillow, he puts it on the bed and looks up to find Niall grinning at him.

"What?"

"Nothing," Niall says, shrugging. "You used to call me that all the time. I'd forgotten until now."

Harry can't help smiling back at the laughter in Niall's eyes. He'd planned to bring up last night, to talk about why Niall didn't tell him who he was, but instead he just asks, "You hungry again yet?" and laughs at the way Niall's face lights up.

*

Somehow or another, they never get around to talking about it. But after Niall's second night in the flat, both of them splayed across the couch and Harry flipping through the channels on the television, bored out of their minds, Niall had looked at Harry and asked, "How 'bout a tug then?"

It's been exactly like Harry'd thought. Niall is just fun in bed. He doesn't mess around and he always tells Harry what he wants. It's a bit refreshing actually.

Harry's beginning to think this might be the best summer ever.

*

"What day is it?" Harry sits up, wiping his mouth off. There's no answer from Niall, just a disgruntled groan and a hand smacking Harry in the forehead. Harry starts moving his hand again, but his grip is loose; he's obviously distracted. "No, really? What day is it?" He glances around, his hand slowing even more.

Dropping his head against the back of the sofa, Niall groans. "You're an arse, Harry." He pushes Harry's hand off his dick and tucks himself back into his trousers. When Harry sits back on his heels and gives him an apologetic look, Niall just sighs and asks, "It's the 15th. Why?"

"Are you sure?" Niall nods.

Grabbing Niall's wrist, Harry checks the watch there and groans. Not in the fuck yeah, your hands kind of way he normally does. No, this one's more like White Rabbit and oh shit, I'm really fucking late way. On cue, Harry's mobile starts ringing.

Harry scrambles up, nearly falling on his face because he'd unzipped his trousers earlier and gravity has them falling to his ankles the minute he stands. Niall starts cackling and it gets him a throw pillow in the face. He just bats it away, getting up off the couch and leaning over to tug Harry's trousers back up. Harry just stands there, hands fluttering about as he tries to help until Niall grunts, "Stop it," and he lets them flop back down to his sides. A second later, he's all zipped and buttoned.

Easy as you please, Niall grins and presses a light kiss at the corner of Harry's mouth. He turns away, leaving Harry standing there a little stunned. A second later he's handing Harry his mobile, mouth tilted up at the corner as he says, "It's Louis."

He watches Niall wander into the kitchen as he answers the phone. Niall's foraging and Harry feels so incredibly fond of him at that moment. It's broken by Louis' terse, "Harry."

"I know! I'm so, so sorry, Lou." Harry starts looking for his keys. Niall yells that they're on the hall table and Harry flashes him a quick grin. "I'm about to head out--"

"Who was that?" Louis interrupts. "It didn't sound like Zayn."

"No, that's Niall. Brian's step-brother," he clarifies. Harry pats his pockets. Where the hell is his wallet? Something hits him in the arm, then tumbles to the floor. Wallet! He slides it into his trousers and gives Niall a thumbs up. Turning towards the door, he adds, "He's in for the summer and I told Brian he could stay here."

"Oh. In my room?" Something in Louis' voice makes him pause. He leans back against the wall, glancing over to find Niall back on the couch with the biggest sandwich Harry's ever seen. He's not eating yet though, just watching Harry.

"Lou, what's wrong?" he asks, holding Niall's gaze. There's a really long pause. Long enough that Harry asks, "Do I still need to pick you guys up?"

"Um." It's one syllable but Louis sounds wrecked. Harry's starting to panic.

"Louis?"

"Yeah, yes," is what he gets. Followed by a quiet, "It's just me though."

Harry frowns, something twisting in his belly. "Why?" he asks hesitantly. "Where's Liam?"

"He went home. To Wolverhampton," Louis clarifies, like Harry hasn't known Liam and his family for ages. Immediately Harry thinks of Liam's dad, factory accidents, and he blurts out, "Is everything okay?"

"Not really," Louis offers. His voice sounds funny.

Harry wants to shout at him, yell Just tell me what's going on, but he doesn't. A hand on his elbow has him looking up. Niall's there, frowning, and Harry just shrugs a bit helplessly at him. "Louis," he finally says, voice firm. "What's going on?"

On the other end of the line there's a shaky breath and then Louis says something that Harry didn't expect in a million years.

"We broke up."

*

Louis is a pathetic moper. He spends most of the time sprawled across Harry with this stupidly sad face that makes Harry want to punch things. The What the hell is going on? text he'd sent to Liam only came back with an ask lou :((((( and if there's something even more horrible than Louis being sad, it's Liam being sad.

Normally, Harry would just go poke him until he got an answer, only Liam's hiding away in Wolverhampton. Coward. Harry's just got Louis, sighing every five minutes and refusing to shower.

Niall flops down on the other side of Louis. His face scrunches up in a way that Harry thinks is entirely too adorable. (Louis's been home for three days and Niall hasn't touched his dick once. Harry thinks he might be having withdrawals.)

Niall's, "You're a bit rank, mate," pulls him out of his head and Harry realizes he's been staring at Niall's hands. It must have been pretty obvious, what with the grin that Niall gives him. Harry scowls.

"Fuck off," Louis murmurs. There's absolutely no heat behind it though which makes Harry inordinately happy. It means that Louis likes Niall.

Still.

"He's got a point, Lou." Harry squeezes his shoulder. "You do have a definite--" Niall pulls a face and Harry has to bite his lip not to laugh. "Tang, so to speak." Louis grunts into his chest. "It'll make you feel better, I think," Harry adds, dropping his voice a little. "Come on."

He nearly crows in victory when Louis sighs and sits up. Niall just watches as they get off the couch, Harry shuffling the two of them towards Louis's room. He's still in the same spot when Harry comes back.

"What are you doing?" Harry hisses. Niall just looks confused. "Well? Come on!"

"Why?" Niall asks, not moving. "And why are you whispering?"

"I was whispering," Harry says at normal volume, "because I didn't want Louis to hear it when I asked if you thought we had time for some mutual hand jobbies." That makes Niall's eyebrows raise. Harry continues. "But now I think I'll just make a snack instead." He heads toward the kitchen and Niall scrambles off the couch.

"Oooh, a snack sound grea--" he breaks off laughing as Harry tosses a dish towel at his face. Harry ignores him after that, actually grabbing some stuff from the fridge. Niall just watches in amusement for a couple of minutes before he goes up on his tip-toes behind Harry and sets his chin on Harry's shoulder.

Harry doesn't say anything, just continues to make his sandwich. His hands fumble a little though, when Niall slides his hands around and unsnaps the button of Harry's trousers. Harry sucks in a sharp breath when Niall's fingers trace the edge of his underwear. He doesn't do anything else, just keeps running his fingers just underneath the elastic.

It doesn't take much before the sandwich is forgotten and Harry's hard. Niall's still not properly touched him and finally he whines, "You're being an arse. Just fucking touch me already."

Niall huffs out a laugh, the air warm across Harry's neck. It makes his dick twitch."We're running out of time," he complains.

Fingers dip a little further down and Niall asks, "What do I get out of it?"

"I'm making you a sandwich, for god's sake," Harry grumbles. Niall laughs again until Harry adds, "I'll let you fuck me, later. When Lou's gone to sleep."

Niall's hands still at that. "Really?" he asks. They haven't done that yet.

"Yes, yes." Harry presses back. Niall's hard too. "Seriously, Niall. Louis doesn't take the longest showers to begin with."

Niall slips his hands back out and Harry's about to protest when he finds himself turned around, back against the counter. Blue eyes are sharp on his. "You sure?" he asks Harry.

Nodding, he says, "Definitely, yeah."

With a sudden, wide grin, Niall tells him, "Well. We should get this matter taken care of, yeah?" and before Harry can tell him to hurry the fuck up, Niall's dropping to his knees. He looks up at Harry. "This shouldn't take very long."

Harry's about to protest Niall's dig at his stamina, when his trousers and pants are down around his ankles in two seconds and Niall's lips are sliding over him. He hisses instead, the slick heat of Niall's mouth making his hips jerk. Harry's about to apologize, but Niall doesn't even choke. "Fuck."

There's a soft touch behind his balls that makes him groan and look down. Niall's mouth is stretched wide around his cock, lips red and slick. There's a shock of blond hair falling over Niall's forehead and Harry reaches down to brush it back. Niall's eyes look amused so Harry just sticks his tongue out.

Niall responds by sucking harder and brushing his fingers further back. He circles Harry's hole lightly, pauses for a second then presses in, just a little. There's a strangled moan that Harry can't stop. It's the only warning that he's able to give before he comes.

"Hazza?"

He can feel his dick twitch, finishing out his orgasm, as he spins around. There's a quiet thud from behind him that makes Harry wince. He's never, ever more grateful for the counter as he is right now, despite the number of times he's run into it while drunk. Not when Louis is standing there, across the living room, in the doorway of his bedroom.

"Yeah?" Harry manages. A foot hits his calf and Harry kicks his foot back, half-heartedly, but doesn't connect with anything. All it gets him is another blow, harder this time, even as Louis frowns at him. Harry says quickly, "What's up, Louis?"

"I'm out of shampoo. Can I borrow yours?" Louis is still looking at him strangely.

"Of course," Harry answers. It's a clear view into the kitchen from Harry's room, so he adds hastily, "I'll bring it to you in a sec, yeah? Just going to-" he waves at the sandwich, "finish putting this together and I'll have it to you."

That gets him a nod and quiet, "Thanks," then Louis is gone, back to the shower. Harry spins around and promptly gives a half-shout of laughter, clamping his hands over his mouth a second later to stop the sound.

"Really?" is the first thing out of Niall's mouth. He's sprawled across the floor, up on his elbows and giving Harry a rather spectacularly unimpressed look. There's come smeared across his cheek, a splatter of it darkening the shoulder of his t-shirt, and Harry can't help giggling.

Tucking himself back into his trousers, Harry drops to his knees. He reaches out with a grin and swipes his thumb over Niall's cheek. "Sorry," he mumbles, still trying not to laugh. Harry contemplates the mess on his thumb and then wipes it on Niall's shirt. It earns him another look and Harry shrugs. "Your shirts already a mess?"

"I want my sandwich," is the grumbly reply and Harry just grins wider. He stands up, pulling Niall with him.

"Sorry, sorry," he offers again. Tugging on the hem of Niall's shirt, he adds, "Come on, I'll grab the shampoo for Lou and we'll go get you a clean shirt, then you can have your sandwich."

Niall grumbles, but a little while later, while he's eating the sandwich Harry put together, Harry can feel a socked foot work its way between his. Niall smiles with a mouth full of food and Harry makes a face, responding with a disgusted, "Gross."

He ends up smiling back anyway.

*

Sex with Niall is like everything else. There's a lot of giggling, sloppy kisses and such. If Harry thought Niall's fingers felt good on his dick, the way they feel moving inside him is amazing.

Fuuuuck," he moans, loud enough that Niall slaps a hand over his mouth, giving him a wide-eyed glare. He slides his fingers out of Harry's ass, coming back with a third and Harry turns his head a bit, biting into the meat of Niall's palm to stop the next moan.

The fingers inside him press up and white blooms behind Harry's eyes. It's entirely possible he's going to come from just this. He pulls the hand away from his mouth, gasping, "Come on, Nialler. Please."

It should be a little weird, using the childhood nickname, but Niall's teeth flash bright in the room as he grins. He pulls his fingers out and Harry has to bite his own lip at the loss. There's the sound of tearing foil, a quiet hiss from Niall as he rolls the condom over himself, and then he's back. A hand slips under Harry's knee, fingers still a little slick, and then there's the nudge of Niall's cock at his entrance.

When Niall is finally seated fully, Harry has to take a moment. It's been a while since he's been on this end. However, Niall finally starts moving and Harry remembers that he really, really likes being fucked. He curls his other leg over Niall's hip, using it to press Niall in closer.

"Jesus, Harry," Niall gasps. His thrusts are already growing choppy and Harry's fairly certain he's not going to last much longer. Reaching down, Harry gets a hand around his cock. The back of his knuckles brush Niall's stomach every other stroke and suddenly Niall is slamming into him, harder than before. Niall's fingers dig into his leg and Harry can feel the twitch of his cock as he spills into the condom. Three strokes later Harry joins him, his own hips lifting up and causing Niall to slip out of him. They both moan quietly at the sensation.

Niall flops down on his back beside Harry. There's the sound of something hitting the trash can beside Harry's bed. "Why the hell haven't we been doing that this entire time?" he whispers at Harry.

"Obviously it's because we're idiots," Harry answers. Niall giggles into his shoulder. He turns on his side toward Harry, hand skating across Harry's stomach only to jerk back.

"Ugh." Harry rolls his eyes even though Niall can't see him in the dark. "Aren't you going to clean yourself up, mate?"

"I can barely feel my legs right now, Niall. Give me a second." There's a pleased little hum from beside him and Harry reaches over and pokes him in the stomach. That gets him a swat and a retaliatory tickle.

"Come on, Haz. I want a cuddle and I've had enough of your bodily fluids on me for the day," Niall tells him. There's laughter in his voice and Harry grins in the dark. With the corner of his sheet, he makes quick work of the mess on this stomach.

"Happy now?" The answer is a nudge at his shoulder. With a sigh, Harry rolls onto his side. Niall's arm curls over his side, fingers warm as the slide over his stomach and tuck in between his hip and the bed. "I'm usually the big spoon," Harry mumbles. Niall just murmurs some nonsense against the back of his neck and pulls Harry in closer. A few minutes later, they're both asleep.

Harry drifts into some semblance of awareness when the bed shifts. He means to say stay, but the heavy weight of sleep makes him too slow, and a second later the quiet snick of the door opening and closing floats through the air. He tumbles back into sleep seconds later.

*

Two weeks later and Liam's still in Wolverhampton, but at least Louis is taking regular showers. He still won't tell Harry what happened, which is incredibly frustrating

"Come on, Lou. It can't have been that bad, can it? Just tell meeee." Harry can't help feeling slightly hurt. Louis has always told him everything.

It must be evident in his voice because Louis sighs, butting his head against Harry's shoulder. "I don't want you to yell at me," Louis tells him, voice quiet.

"Why would I yell at you?"

Louis buries his face in Harry's shirt, his mumbled, "Because it was stupid," barely audible. "Really stupid," he adds a second later. "Epic levels of stupid."

Harry waits but no more information is forthcoming. He pokes Louis in the belly. Nothing but Louis shaking his head. Exasperated, Harry finally bursts out, "Oh my god, Louis. Just bloody tell me so we can work on fixing it!"

With a heavy sigh, Louis sits back. He bites his lip, avoiding looking at Harry. Like he's really afraid.

"Hey," Harry says quietly. Louis finally looks at him. "You know whatever happens, I'm always on your side, right? Liam's my friend, but you're my best mate, Lou. Always." That gets a nod. "Okay," Harry murmurs. "Now tell me."

"We were talking about his lease. You know it's coming up again, yeah?" Harry nods. Everybody knows. "And-and I started going on about seeing if they had a bigger place and Liam was all, 'Why would I need a bigger space?' and I told him it was going to be awfully hard to fit my stuff in his current flat so the obvious solution was to get a bigger one."

Louis glances down at his lap, his fingers twisting together. "And there was this silence, so I looked over at him." He glances back up at Harry and gives him a sad smile. "And he just looked a bit gobsmacked, you know? But it's not like this was a new thing. I've been going on about it for months now, but he was just standing there like I'd told him he'd never be able to sing ever again."

He stops there, a lost look on his face, and Harry can tell that he's back there, in that moment. "Lou?" he says, voice soft.

Louis shakes himself out of it, gives Harry a shrug. "It kind of went pear-shaped from there. I think I said something along the lines of 'If he didn't want me to move in, there probably wasn't any reason for us to be seeing each other anymore'." He nods at himself, "Yeah, I think that was it. Yeah." He looks at Harry, eyes shiny, and shrugs again. "That's it, really. Not my best moment, I'm aware."

"Oh, Lou," Harry sighs. He drags him forward, wrapping both arms around Louis's shoulders. There's a shake exhale against his neck and Harry just tightens his grip. "You're such an idiot," he murmurs.

Harry's never quite understood why Louis always thinks everyone's going to leave him. Louis is one of the most amazing people Harry's ever met - loyal to the death, smart, and always looking out for everyone - but for some reason he never thinks he's good enough. Harry hates that.

"The thing is, Lou, it's going to happen." There's a murmur of dissent from his neck and Harry responds with a, "Hush. You know it will. Liam is stupidly in love with you. You're both so disgustingly with each other, I want to puke half the time." Harry can feel the frown on Louis's face, even though he can't see it. "But you keep pushing him, like you want him to go away. I don't understand it, I never have. And if I don't get it, Liam sure as hell isn't going to."

He pulls back, looking Louis in the eye. "It doesn't help that this is his first relationship with a guy." That makes Louis look away. "And maybe that's it. Maybe you're scared that he's going to decide that you're not what he wants."

There it is, Harry sees. Louis is absolutely terrified that's going to happen.

"But Lou--Louis," He finally looks back at Harry's insistence, "Everyone on the planet knows Liam loves you, but this is a really big step for him. A really, really big step. And just because it's not happening right now, doesn't mean it's never going to happen."

Harry searches his best friend's face. His eyes are sad, but there's a trace of hope in them that makes Harry think some of what he's said's gotten through. After a bit, he says, "We'll fix this. Okay?" He waits for Louis to nod, then pulls him back in.

This is how Niall finds them a while later. He walks into the living room, guitar case in hand, and takes in the situation. Harry offers him a smile and Niall grins back.

"Having a bit of a cuddle, yeah?" He puts his guitar case down against the wall and flops himself on the other side of Louis. "Can I get in on that then?"

Harry waits for Louis to answer, it's his comfort cuddle. Without hesitation, Louis lifts an arm up and Niall tucks his head under it, wrapping an arm around Louis's middle. His smile widens when he looks up at Harry, their fingers brushing.

There's a comfortable warmth in Harry's belly at the touch. He links their pinkies together, discretely, and they all sit there quietly for a while.

*

Niall and Louis have their heads together when Harry walks in. They break apart abruptly, Louis gathering up the papers on the counter and smiling brightly at him. Narrowing his eyes, Harry asks suspiciously, "What are you two planning?"

The two of them have been thick as thieves since that day on the couch. Louis is mostly back to his old self, and obviously plotting something. He's apparently chosen Niall as a co-conspirator which irks Harry a little. He'd even tried to get it out of Niall a couple of times, withholding sexual favors, but Naill just got himself off right there in front of Harry. It was hot, Niall flushed down his chest, cock red and leaking in his hand. Harry's only human.

Unfortunately it means he's still got no idea what's going on.

He glares as the two of them grin at each other, then turn back to Harry and say simultaneously, "Nothing."

"Lying wankers," he mutters. He fills the kettle, pretending like he's not listening as they whisper furiously to each other. They ignore him, moving into the living room. By the time his tea's done and he makes his way in, they're on the couch, watching football. "Borrrring," he whines.

Louis's legs are stretched across the length of the couch, toes tucked under Niall's thigh. Harry frowns.

"Come or go, Hazza," Louis smirks at him. "You're blocking the game." Harry glances over at Niall, but he's not paying attention. Case in point, he shouts at the telly, cursing a ref call and pays absolutely no attention to Harry whatsoever.

"Harry." Louis's voice is quiet this time, drawing his attention back. Louis makes grabby hands at him, adding, "Sit. I demand cuddles." With a sigh, Harry slides into the space that's left when Louis pulls his legs out of the way. Slumping against a bony shoulder gets a hand in his hair, something that makes him melt a little. After a moment, he slings a leg over Niall's lap.

He barely reacts, just wraps a hand right above Harry's knee. It stays there for the rest of the game.

It's another week of the two of them sneaking about, and Harry's trying not to pry, but twice this week he's fallen asleep waiting for Niall, only to wake up and find him fast asleep on the couch the next morning. He only gets even more curious after overhearing a quiet conversation between Niall and Louis.

"All done, yeah?" Niall hands Louis something that Harry can't make out. "Hope it works, mate." Niall's voice is sincere, more solemn than Harry's ever heard from him.

Louis throws an arm around Niall's shoulder, his, "Me too," carrying softly across the room. "Thanks again." That gets a shrug from Niall, a quick grin and a waggle of eyebrows. He jerks his head toward the door. "Off with you then."

Once Louis is gone, Harry steps out and leans on the door frame of his room. Niall just looks back at him. "Well?" Harry finally cracks. "What was that about?" It earns him a shrug.

"Just doing my part to help save true love," is the response he gets. Harry's got his mouth open to ask what that means when Niall gives him a thoughtful look.

"What?" Harry says instead.

"How long does it take to get to the post office?" Niall asks.

Harry shakes his head. "I don't know. Twenty, twenty-five minutes there and back maybe. Why?"

"I just thought I might reacquaint myself with your cock is all." He laughs as Harry visibly brightens. "You got lube, yeah?"

"It's like you don't even know me anymore," Harry intones with a sad face. It doesn't last long as Niall pushes him back into his room, fingers digging into Harry's ticklish spots. Turns out that Harry doesn't have lube, but they make do anyway.

*

Harry gets an inkling of what's going on when three days later there's a knock on the door and Liam is standing on the other side. He looks kind of terrible.

Pulling him into a hug, Harry just murmurs, "It's good to have you home, Li." Arms wrap around him and they just stand like that for a bit, until Liam finally pulls back, clearing his throat.

"Is Louis here?"

Harry stares at his friend. Liam looks tired, like he hasn't slept in a couple of days. There's a bit of brightness in his eyes though, that makes Harry breathe a little easier. "Not right now, mate. He should be home soon though." Liam nods, awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other. He looks relieved, nodding, when Harry asks, "You want to hang out 'til then? Have a cuppa?"

He's puttering around the kitchen, getting the tea prepped, asking over his shoulder, "What brought you back then?" He kindly doesn't add other than the fact that you're stupid over my best friend which takes a lot of self control to be honest. Liam's surprised murmur makes Harry turn around. "What?"

Liam shakes his head. "I just thought it was you." Harry looks back, puzzled. "That helped with the video," he adds, like that should make things clearer.

"What video?"

There's a blush rising on Liam's cheeks that is making Harry infinitely more curious. It hits him all of a sudden. "Oh my god." A surge of delight makes Harry smile so wide it hurts. "He made you a video. And it totally worked." Liam just blushes harder and Harry has to physically stop himself from clapping in glee. "Louis has always been the grand gesture type," Harry says to Liam, sliding onto a stool next to Liam. He wants to see it so bad. "Was it amazingly cheesy? Please tell me it was amazingly cheesy. Please."

Liam giggles, shoulders curving toward Harry, until his face is pressed against Harry's shoulder. And finally he can't stand it, begging, "Do you have it? I wanna seeee." Liam nods and Harry drags his laptop across the counter, sliding in the disc that Liam hands him.

A window pops up and as Harry clicks to open it, Liam's voice quiets. "You can't laugh," he says. Harry hovers over the file marked please come home. He glances over at Liam, nodding, but Liam's staring straight ahead at the computer screen. Turning back, he double-clicks the icon.

The first notes start and Harry recognizes the song immediately. It's one of Liam's favorites and he can't help glancing over, but Liam doesn't even notice, his gaze soft on the computer before him. Harry turns back as Louis's voice starts, shaky at first but growing stronger as he goes. Pictures of the two of them, old and new, fade on and off the screen as the song goes on. It's a bit ridiculous, but Harry finds himself smiling.

Look into your heart and you'll find love

It's not until the second verse kicks in that Harry startles, realizing that Niall's singing harmony. That this is what they've been doing for the last week or two, off by themselves with secret conversations and smiles. Something warm twists in Harry's stomach.

The music changes, shifting smoothly, and Harry thinks Niall probably did that. More than running errands and getting coffee like he'd originally thought then. Harry wonders how long it took them to come up with the arrangement.

And then Louis comes up on the screen.

He's looking down, concentrating on the guitar strings under his fingers. It takes a bit before he finally looks up and Harry can see how scared Louis is right then, knows that Liam must have seen it too. Louis keeps singing and playing, pouring everything into a few short verses.

We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in

It should be cheesy, terrible, just like Harry wanted. But the last notes fade away, Louis staring straight at the camera, and Harry finds it really hard to swallow all of a sudden. Liam sighs next to him and Harry looks over. They stare at each other for a bit and then Harry gives him a small, soft smile. "Yeah?"

Liam smiles back. "Yeah."

The sound of the front door opening has them both swivelling around. Harry reaches back and hastily puts the lid down on his laptop. When he glances over, there's a look of blind panic on Liam's face. Louis's laughter rings out in the flat and it fades, replaced by the stupid, soft look from earlier. Harry has split second of jealousy before Louis's voice breaks in.

"Oh."

The two of them just sit there and stare at each other. Harry glances behind Louis, to find Niall looking like he's trying not to laugh. He glares but it just makes Niall press his lips together harder. Harry rolls his eyes and climbs off his stool. It makes a loud, screeching sound as the legs drag across the floor, startling everyone.

It's too much for Niall, who bursts out laughing. "Way to ruin the moment, Harry!"

"Oh shut it," Harry snaps back. "You were already two seconds from laughing." Niall bites his lip, trying to get himself under control and Harry glances about to find both Liam and Louis just staring at them.

"Sorry, sorry," Harry mumbles. "Me and Nialler, we'll just," he points a thumb toward the door, "leave you two alone to talk now. Sound good? Great. Let's go, Niall." He grabs Niall's arm and drags him out the door of the flat. They're barely out of the door before they both start giggling.

After a moment, Harry wraps his hand around Niall's wrist, pulling him down stairs. "Come on." His voice is a little raspy, laughter still hanging onto its edges. "This is going to take a while, trust me."

"M'hungry," Niall tells him a few minutes later. Harry nods.

"I know," Harry hums, glancing over. The sun is making Niall's hair almost white blonde and his blue eyes are bright as he flashes a lightning grin in Harry's direction. Harry immediately smiles back, adding, "Ella's sound good then?"

Niall just smiles wider.

"Liam's a very nice fellow. Simple," Harry tells Niall. They're walking down the street, toward Ella's, the local pizza place. "But he's a good guy. Got a great heart."

"Louis seems to like him all right." That makes Harry look over. Niall's grinning again, but it's quieter. He's sincere, even with the light tone. "Bit dramatic, the whole thing though?" he adds a few minutes later. "Don't you think, yeah?"

Harry shrugs. It's Louis. "Things are always kind of dramatic with Louis," he offers. "It's what makes Louis, well, Louis."

That gets a snort from Niall. "True," he mutters and they grin at each other. Their arms brush off every so often as they continue walking. "Got to be a bit exhausting sometimes, I imagine."

Harry thinks about it, the last couple of years or so. He says, "Sometimes it's rough, like now," then remembers the look on Liam's face as he watched the video. "But someone loving you like that. Should be worth it, wouldn't you say?" Harry looks at Niall, whose eyebrows are pulled together as he thinks about it. It's cute.

"But I think it can be simple, too," Niall finally answers. "And still mean something. Like, just because it's not hard doesn't mean it matters any less. S'that makes sense?" He looks over, questioning. Harry nods. That's definitely true, too. Harry is fairly sure he prefers that actually. Before he can say anything though, they're standing in front of the restaurant and Niall's through the door and ordered half the menu before Harry can make it to the counter.

He puts it all away and Harry laughs, teasing him about a hollow leg. It leads to some weird one-legged dance thing that makes Harry laugh so hard, he nearly pukes.

*

Niall seems to throw Liam for a loop, for a while at least.

Of course, Harry's had over a month to get used to the constant state of don't-give-a-fuck-ness and the fact that Niall really only has one level: loud. Or that he's constantly playing his guitar. It's just a lot, Harry knows. Liam's used to Louis, who's also loud and can be horribly obnoxious, but then again, he gets orgasms out of Louis. Harry's pretty sure that goes a long, long way to tolerating the noise level.

And now that Harry thinks about it, he's getting a lot of orgasms from Niall.

Huh.

And it's not that Liam doesn't like Niall. He does, Harry can tell. Liam's the youngest and as Harry watches the two interact, it's like Liam has a younger brother all of a sudden. One that likes music as much as he does, that will sit on the couch and play video games long after Louis and Harry get bored. It's fascinating to watch how they all slot together.

So it really shouldn't surprise Harry when Liam sits down next to him on the sofa, mid-morning on a Thursday approximately a month since returning, and says, "I don't think it's very fair that you make Niall come back to sleep on the sofa every morning."

They're the only two in the flat, Niall at the studio and Louis off at a shift at the coffee shop. Harry would be curious as to why Liam is still here, but then Liam's been spending most of his time around their flat lately. It's not like Harry's going to complain. It's the cleanest the place as looked in ages.

Still.

Harry chokes.

"What?"

Liam gives him an unimpressed look, which unfortunately, he's very good at. Harry tries again.

"I'm not sure exactly what you mean." Liam frowns at that, disappointment in Harry evident. And Harry is immune to the puppy dog looks, he is, but finds himself asking anyway.

"How did you know?"

Liam fidgets, looking down at his hands. Harry notices the faint hint of red on the tops of his cheeks and grins. "You dirty old man, were you listening?"

"You're not exactly quiet, Harry!" His face is even more red now. Harry barks out a laugh.

He thinks about teasing him further, about telling him about Louis bragging about all the dirty sex the two of them got up to. Used to brag anyway, before Harry asked if he could video tape it. That had earned him a glare and a small lecture on how what they did in the privacy of Louis's bedroom was no business but their own. Thankfully, it was the last time they discussed either of their sex lives in any great detail.

It's a terrible temptation, what with Liam obviously wishing the floor would open up and swallow him, but Harry reigns it in. Instead, he just says, "Sorry, sorry," and pats Liam on the leg until he learns how to breathe again.

Once Liam has himself under control again, he just looks at Harry. "So?"

Harry shrugs. "I don't make him leave. He's just always gone by the time I wake up in the mornings." He always managed to slip out when Harry's too satiated and sleep-drugged to protest, so he'd eventually given up trying. Niall never complained about sleeping on the couch. He shrugs again.

Liam's nodding, enough like one of Harry's old uncles and just so Liam, that Harry can't help the fond smile that spreads across his face. When Liam looks up and catches it, his own face softens. "Well. Louis and I wouldn't say anything about it. You know, if he were to stay with you."

That's a lie. Louis would tease the both of them mercilessly. Liam pauses, then amends, "Okay, I wouldn't say anything." Harry can't help laughing, Liam joining him.

They've been quiet for a few minutes, a comfortable silence -- it's always a comfortable one with Liam -- when Liam bumps his shoulder. "You should ask though. I think Niall'd like it if you did."

Harry lifts a shoulder. Niall hasn't really seemed upset about it, but then the only thing that seems to upset Niall is when his team loses a footie match, or when the pub's out of chips. Even then he just curses a lot and then that's that. But Harry likes a warm body in bed next to him, he'll admit.

"Can't hurt, can it?" is all he says and Liam gives him a bright, wide smile.

That night, Harry fights really, really hard not to fall sleep right afterward. When the bed shifts, he reaches out, wrapping an arm over Niall's stomach. "Stay," he murmurs.

He can feel Niall still. "You sure?"

Harry mumbles into the back of Niall's neck, pulling him closer. His hand feels huge, spread over Niall's skin. He can feel it flutter when he presses his lips just under one ear, when he hums a yes there. Niall finally relaxes, body going loose again and Harry makes a happy noise.

Niall just snorts softly, wriggling closer. "Fine," he tells Harry quietly. "I'll let you be the big spoon this time, I guess."

Harry makes a pleased sound and falls asleep with Niall's fingers laced with his.

The next morning, when Harry stumbles out of his bedroom, Niall trailing behind him a second later, Louis points and shouts gleefully.

It's too early for shouting, Niall tells him, but Louis won't shut up. At least not until Harry threatens him with no more fry-ups. Ever. Louis whines, but Harry just adds that he'll have Liam make Louis's tea from now on. (Louis is very serious about his tea.) That makes Louis gasps in horror even as Liam looks disgruntled at the maligning of his tea-making skills.

It gets Harry what he wants though.

*

Harry's been in a terrible mood and it's not until Liam points out that he's making Niall's last week in town very unpleasant for everyone, that Harry realizes that it's nearly the end of summer. Unfortunately, that just seems to make him feel even more miserable.

Liam drags Louis off to his place that evening and Harry tries to make it up, but it's fast, hurried, like he's trying to grab a hold of something before it's gone. Niall flounders a bit, not knowing exactly what do with Harry, but he rolls with it. He's good like that.

*

Louis forces them out of the flat, to the local end of summer fair. It's a lovely summer night and everyone's in high spirits, laughing as they wander around. Niall eats one of everything, unsurprisingly, but he tears off pieces of candy floss for Harry. He shoves them it Harry's mouth, so Harry just nips his fingers instead. The tips of Niall's ears turn red but he just laughs and does it again.

Harry grabs a quick kiss behind the hall of mirrors; Niall tastes like sauce (turkey leg) and a bit sweet (ice cream sandwich) and it turns into a proper snogging session. Niall laughs, pushing him back and telling him they need to go hit up the rides. They ride the ferris wheel and Harry's a bit disappointed that they don't get to stop at the top, but Niall slides their fingers together when they tumble off the platform, pulling him away to find Liam and Louis.

When they do find them, Louis looks like he's trying to climb Liam. They're kissing, making a right public display of themselves. Harry hollers at them to get a room and Louis breaks the kiss.

"We are," he grins at them. "I've just been invited to bunk with Liam here. Fit fellow, don't you think?" He pats Liam's stomach. Liam blushes because Liam always blushes, and Harry smiles so hard that he thinks his face might break in two.

Later on, they head back towards the flat. Liam and Louis are walking slightly ahead. Harry watches them, a little melancholy settling back around him. He startles when Niall jumps on his back, but automatically wraps his arms around Niall's legs to keep him there.

"You weigh a ton, wanker," he complains. Niall just laughs, mussing his hair.

"Hey," Niall says quietly a few minutes later. Harry hums in response, watching the two up ahead of them and how they keep looking at each other. "So." Niall pauses. Harry can't stop his fingers from tightening around Niall's legs just a little. "You've been a right tit lately."

Harry nods. "It's true," he answers, offering, "I'm not big on change, I don't think." Niall seems to accept that reason. He's warm, pressed against Harry's back. It's nice.

Bright laughter floats back toward them and Harry hitches Niall up more securely, his feet moving them forward automatically.

"So," Niall says again. "The studio offered me a job." Harry's proud he only stumbles a little before he stops.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Niall responds. "Someone showed them Louis's disc. Told the studio they'd be losing out if they didn't keep me around--" Harry starts to grin. From the corner of his eye, he can see a matching one on Niall's face.

He starts walking again. "You going to accept the offer?"

Niall snorts, "I'd be stupid not to, right?" Harry nods. Up ahead, Liam keeps glancing back at the two of them. He's smiling too and Harry's got a pretty good idea of who went to the studio.

"Right," Harry echoes, "You'd be stupid not to."

Liam's walking backwards now, fiddling with his phone. They've almost caught up.

"I'mma need a place to stay," Niall says a moment later, and Harry laughs.

"I might know of something," he offers.

"Yeah?" Harry can hear the smile on Niall's face. Up ahead Liam raises his phone.

"Definitely."

They both look up and the flash goes off.

[the end]