Archive of Our Own

Harry was tired. 

He was so, so tired, and all he wanted was to crawl into his bed and sleep for the next twenty-four hours. Yet he had to finish one task before going to bed, or the thought of it being would plague his mind.

It had been a couple of months since he’d finished his first-ever world tour and, in those few hectic months, he had managed to write some excellent songs. All thanks to his muse.

And now that he’d written some good songs, his management had been bugging him to make more public appearances—since he’d been on the low since the tour ended. His PR team wanted him to be seen in the public more often, whether it’d be him leaving the studio, or talking to songwriters. Spreading the word that Harry Styles might soon make a comeback.

That is exactly what they discussed with his team  earlier that day. The meeting had gone for hours and, to no one's surprise, it was dead tiring.

But the good thing was: they finally crafted a strategy on the next steps of his career.

And the first thing in their plan was: Harry would post a short video playing his guitar. The idea actually came to fruition because of his Instagram story mishap earlier that year—he had wanted to post a story to his close friends of him watching a movie but had accidentally posted it to his public story. The internet had blown and his fans were freaking out over it It shouldn't have been such a big deal, but Harry had always kept his personal life extremely private, and therefore his fans devoured any snippets of it they could get.

He realized his mistake ten minutes later when his dear boyfriend—who was comfortably sitting on his lap—pointed out that Harry had indeed not posted that story to his close friends. Harry immediately scrambled for his phone and deleted the post but with how fast his fans were, no matter how fast he would have deleted it, he would have still been late.

Anyway, that story had blown up and came to be regarded as the unfortunate story incident and Harry did not wish to repeat it.

However, it gave a great PR idea to his team and now they wanted him to post a video of himself, in his house, playing the guitar. Like a tiny peek into his life.

Harry thought it was a genuinely good idea, so he did not need much convincing. His team wanted him to post that story by the next afternoon and, honestly, it was just a thirty-second clip of him teasing his fans with a new tune. It would literally take him five minutes to do it, but he wanted to finish recording the video itself so all he had to do was post it the next day and spend the entire day doting on his boyfriend, as he had originally planned.

He was exhausted from the long day, and all he wanted to do was to snuggle with his boyfriend for a bit, have some late dinner—probably takeout—, and fall asleep with his hand wrapped tightly around his lover.

But before all that he needed to record that clip.

He psyched himself for it the entire ride home. Yet, all his psyching up went out the window as soon as he walked into his bedroom and saw Louis sleeping in their bed, all curled up around himself. He looked so tiny and adorable, Harry couldn't help himself as he audibly cooed.

He carefully tiptoed to the bed and sat next to Louis’ sleeping figure. He gently ran his hand through Louis’ messy hair, and smiled to himself when he felt lean into his touch.

He knew how tired Louis had been for the past couple of weeks. He was in his last year studying to become a pediatrician, and the past few weeks had been hectic as he had a lot of assignments to complete. And along with that, he had to juggle his part-time job as an intern in one of the nearby hospitals.

Tomorrow was the first Sunday in weeks that Louis did not have any work, which was why Harry had decided to take up the role of a doting boyfriend and take complete and good care of Louis. That was why he needed to record that clip soon and throw his phone away for Tomorrow or even tonight.

Begrudgingly, he got up from his place next to Louis—the only motivation being the fact that, once he was finished, he could snuggle his boyfriend in their unnecessarily large bed, on which louis currently looks extra tiny. He went towards the floor-to-ceiling window in the room. In front of it there was a brown, wooden coffee table and two cushioned chairs facing the city view. It was Louis’s idea to have a table with chairs in there because he loved the view from Harry’s room, and, in his words, it wasn’t the same to look at it from the bed. And Harry, never being able to say no to Louis, had gotten him a table and two chairs, telling Louis to place them however he wished.

Harry had decided to film there, it would give a view of his room but only a little, since he would be taking up most of the screen space anyway so there wasn't much that could be seen.

He picked a tripod from the closet and set it up on the table. He was as quick as possible because he genuinely wanted to be done with it. Once he finished setting his phone up, so that the focus was just on Harry. Before Harry could open the camera app, he got a notification about being tagged on some Instagram pictures.

It was one of the songwriters tagging him on his story about a writing session And, obviously, Harry had not much intention of reposting it. Instead, he wanted to double tap the writer’s message but he accidentally added to his story.

He tried to click on the back button to not post it and it removed the story, but he was still in the story option. He was about to exit Instagram completely when he heard a series of sniffles behind him, and then he heard Louis coughing violently.

That was enough for Harry to worry and make his way to Louis. In his haze to get to him, he forgot to let go of the tripod, it almost slipped but he caught it at the last minute. The settings of the insta story changed but he wasn’t that worried about it since he could hear Louis calling out his name in a faint whimper.

Harry moved out of the chair a bit too haphazardly and almost toppled it and himself to the floor. He managed to walk up to Louis with no accidents. Louis was almost awake; his eyes were still closed but Harry could tell from the flutter of them that he was awake enough to know about his presence.

He quickly made his way to the bed and sat next to him Louis frowned at him; his mouth pouty. Harry ran his fingers through Louis’ hair, a soothing action to calm him and check his temperature.

He knew how easily Louis got sick, even a slight change in the weather could give him a runny nose which would eventually lead to a cough and fever. Harry had gone through the routine way too many times in the years they had been together.

And, in Harry’s honest opinion, Louis is not the best patient. Don’t get him wrong, Harry absolutely loved it when Louis was clingy, but when he got sick the clinginess got to a completely different level. And not just that, whenever Louis was sick, he constantly whined or cried which did nothing to help his sickness.

It was a real test of Harry’s patience.

He was relieved to see that Louis did not have a fever at that moment, no coughing either, but his sniffling meant he definitely had a cold.

“Baby, wake up.” Harry gently coaxed Louis from his semi-conscious state, it took him a few more tries for Louis to open his eyes and adjust to the light in the room, causing Louis to blink repeatedly.

Whenever Louis was like this, he got extra sensitive to everything: light, sound, the texture of clothing on his skin, which are just a few reasons why Harry tried his best to not let him get sick in the first place. Bundling him up in jackets and warm clothes when going out, always keeping the heater on in the flat because he knew Louis got cold easily.

Harry was snapped from his thoughts when he heard Louis groan his name.

“Oh, baby,” Harry cooed. His heart felt for his boyfriend. If Harry hated Louis being sick, Louis hated it even more. He hated how his entire body felt sore, and how even the smallest thing can escalate into a fever. His immune system needed to up its game.

“Darling, you don’t have a fever, but you do have a cold. Do you want me to draw you a bath? I’m sure that it would make you feel a little better.”

All he got in response was a whine one that was abruptly interrupted by a coughing fit.

“Baby, I need you to use your words.” Louis had closed his eyes once again, probably because of the overstimulation from all the light. He made a mental note to dim them when he went to draw Louis a bath.

“Harry.”

“Yes darling, I’m right here.” Harry rubbed his hands up and down Louis’ arms and back, alternating it with running them through his hair.

“Don’t want to get up. Can’t breathe,” Louis says, trying to keep his eyes open, knowing that once his eyes adjusted to the brightness it wouldn’t hurt as much as if he kept closing them after every five seconds.

“I know sweetheart, I know. But we both know  that if you don’t get up it will only get worse, so let me draw you a warm bath, it will relax your muscles and unclog your nose.” Harry had had this conversation every time Louis was sick, and he knew what cards to play. It probably been three minutes since he heard Louis whimper and, usually, it took him about five minutes of coaxing before he agreed to whatever Harry said, not having any energy to disagree.

“And while you take a shower, I’ll even order some soup from your favorite Indian place, the spices will help with your cold.” Louis looked up at him with doe eyes now, cheeks red from the cold and his thin pink lips in a pout.  Harry couldn’t help but think how beautiful his boyfriend was even when he was like that.

“A warm bath and soup does sound very good right now,” Louis said, bringing a smile to Harry’s face.

“Right, darling up you go then, let’s move you from the bed, yeah? Maybe you can sit and look out the window while I prepare the bath and then change the sheets? That's okay?”

“Okay,” Louis said as he got up and unraveled the cocoon he built around himself with the duvet. Harry can see Louis wore one of his merch hoodies, it was evident that it was his by the way it fell down Louis’ arms and gave him sweater paws. He couldn’t stop himself from cooing at the adorable sight.

“You’re wearing my hoodie, the one I put on for washing. You could have picked a different one, darling,” Harry said as he helped Louis remove all the duvets from around him.

“Nuh uh. Wanted something that smelled like you and this hoodie reeks of your smell,” said Louis, a sort of innocence on his face but a teasing smile on his lips. The first genuine smile Harry had seen on him since he woke up.

“Reeks of me, does it?” Harry asked with the same teasing smile.

“Mhm. All sweaty and manly and kind of gross.” 

Harry scrunched his nose, and it caused Louis to giggle, though it soon turned into a gasp when Harry lunged towards him for a tickle attack.

“Gross? Me and gross in the same sentence? How dare you say that, baby. I’ll show you what gross is.” And then Louis was being attacked by Harry’s tickles, big hands tickling all of Louis' sensitive spots making both of them laugh—Louis because of being tickled, and Harry because Louis laughed.

“Harry! Harry, stop! I am sick, have some mercy,” Louis let out between bouts of laughter. The silence around them was now filled with their giggles and Louis’ pleas. He still laughed, and Harry could see the tears in his eyes from all of it.

“Oh yeah? You want mercy now? Should have thought about it before calling me gross. I am not merciful towards people who call me gross, baby.” 

Yet, Harry did stop his attack, not wanting Louis to have another coughing fit. They still have smiles on their face, Louis lying on the bed with Harry on top of him. Both their chests heaved, but their eyes shone with love for each other—well Louis’ with unshed tears and love.

He could see Louis sniffling and having to breath through his mouth. “Right sweetheart, let’s get you out of bed and into the bath,” and got off of Louis, allowing him to breathe a little easier , and helping him to get up and out of the bed.

He was about to walk to the bathroom when he saw his phone still on the tripod, he quickly went to remove it from the tripod before Louis saw it. If Louis were to see it, that would only make him feel guilty for disturbing Harry from doing whatever work related stuff he was doing, and Harry didn’t want that. Louis was always his first priority.

The phone hung loosely from the tripod, thanks to his gangly limbs, he had knocked off the thing when trying to get to Louis. As he was about to reach for it, he felt Louis wrap himself around his back. His face mushed against Harry’s shoulder blades and arms wrapped around his middle.

Harry smiled to himself, he would forever be endeared by everything that Louis did, even if it was him being super clingy that it almost became too much, Harry didn’t care. Louis had always been a very tactile person. Since the moment they started dating their physical boundaries had been almost non-existent, both of them being tactile— though Louis definitely more than Harry.

Yet Harry couldn't find it in him to care. He didn’t mind that Louis broke through his physical boundaries solely for the reason that it was Louis, and in his opinion, that was a very valid point, no matter what anyone said.

He puts his outstretched hand behind him, wrapping around Louis' middle to bring him to Harry’s front so that he is now smushed against Harry’s chest, both of Harry’s hands wrapping around Louis’ waist, holding him tight.

Louis snuggled closer into Harry’s chest, eyes closing. Harry rocked them back and forth, kissing his forehead from time to time. Harry genuinely believed Louis was a cat in another lifetime, and those suspicions were always confirmed in moments like these. Especially with the way Louis rubbed his nose against Harry’s sternum, if Harry let it go on for a few more minutes, he might just hear Louis purr out of contentment.

It was only a few seconds before he felt Louis shiver, and he was brought back into the present. Remembering that he had to draw Louis a bath.

“Sweetheart, you gotta let go of me so I can prepare your bath,” Harry whispered, not wanting to disturb the calming silence that had fallen around them. Louis whined but eventually let go of Harry. The thought of a warm bath—actually the thought of an unclogged nose—was really tempting.

Harry dropped one last kiss on Louis’ forehead and made him sit overlooking the city and into the night sky, he snatched the tripod from the table, quickly removing the phone and pocketing it.

He folded the tripod on his way to the bathroom, putting it in his pocket, reminding himself to return it to the closet. Once he was in the bathroom, he was quick to turn on the water and check the temperature of it. Once he was happy with it, he filled the tub and picked the bath oil that they kept in the cabinet below the sink.

He picked the lavender one and put in a few drops of it in the water, he then took the a soft towel—which was almost all of them, because Louis liked everything soft and fluffy, and Harry was only a man who would buy anything to make his boy happy—and put it on the towel warmer, hoping it would be warm enough by the time Louis finished his bath.

Harry shut the tap and went to get Louis.

The sight he met almost made him melt. Louis sat with his legs to his chest, arms wrapped around his knees and the hood of Harry’s jumper pulled over his head. It was only then that Harry realized he  wore just Harry’s hoodie and a pair of underwear and, of course, a pair of the fluffiest socks they owned.

Louis looked absolutely adorable, Harry cooed internally. It was as if Louis had sensed him coming into the room, he turned just as Harry was about to make his way to him.

Harry got there in quick strides and Louis was quick to lean into him, head resting on Harry’s thighs with hands running through his hair.

“Come on baby, the bath is ready,” Harry said as he slightly moved away from Louis, prompting him to get up from his place. Louis followed, getting up from his seat and walking with Harry to the bathroom.

Once they got there, Harry helped Louis to undress and get into the tub. Once Louis was comfortably settled, Harry informed him that he was going to go change the sheets and order dinner. Louis only hummed in response because the warm water around him did wonders.

Harry fondly shook his head and made his way to the bedroom. He first went to the kitchen to place their orders from the Indian place that they both love, using Louis’ phone to do that because it was usually Louis who had all the names of the food places around them saved on his phone. He ordered some chicken soup and pepper chicken for Louis, and chicken tikka masala for himself along with some flatbread and white rice which they could share.

Once the order had been placed, he walked back to the bedroom, stripped the sheets from the bed, and put on new ones. He then walked into the closet, picking another one of his hoodies along with a pair of leggings and  cotton panties, and placed them on the bed for Louis. He then placed the tripod back in the closet.

It had been almost twenty minutes since Louis had been in the bath and Harry was about to go check if he wanted to get out or not when he heard him sneeze. Hopefully, that was a good sign that his blocked nostrils were getting unclogged. He entered the bathroom saying: “Bless you, darling.” and received a thank you as a reply.

He squatted next to the bathtub and asked: “You done, darling, or you want to stay in the tub for a few more minutes?”

Louis shook his head and said, “Ready to get out, don’t want to stay in too long.”

Harry nodded as he muttered an ‘alright’ and walked to the towel warmer to get a towel. In the meantime, Louis drained the tub and stood up to get out. Harry wrapped the towel around Louis’ body when he heard Louis’ phone ring from the room.

He quickly let Louis know that it might be the food delivery and walked out of the bathroom to attend to the call. He told the delivery guy to give their food to security and he would collect it from them. It was something that they always did when they ordered in, not wanting to give away Harry’s address.

Just as Harry hung the call and was about to go down to collect the food, Louis walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. Harry informed him that he was just going to go down to get their food and would be back in five minutes tops and Louis asked him to hurry because his stomach was growling.

Harry then walked out of the flat and into the elevator, thankful that it was already on their floor. Once down, he was quick to collect the food.

He offered the security a polite smile and thanked him returned to the lift. By the time he was back in the flat, Louis had changed into the clothes he had laid out on the bed and was now in the kitchen taking out plates and spoons. Louis was just placing it on the counter when he heard the front door click.

Just a few seconds later, Harry walked in and placed the food on the dining table. Their flat was not extravagantly huge for two people, but it was much better and bigger than the one they used to live in before Harry’s career shot to fame.

Their flat had two bedrooms, three bathrooms,  and a large enough living room; the room itself was large enough to fit the entirety of their first flat. From the door, there was a small hallway where their coat and shoe racks were and the hallway that opened into the living room. On either side of the living room were the doors to the bedrooms, Louis and Harry used the master bedroom, and the other one was made into a guest room.

From the living room, there was an open archway into the kitchen and, since they had an open kitchen, everything happening in it could be seen from the living room. The kitchen had a built-in oven and dishwasher and all the cupboards and essentials that one might need. Next to the guest bedroom was another washroom, one that the guests could use without having to enter the bedrooms.

Harry had bought it as a fifth-anniversary gift and Louis remembered just how much he had cried that day, not only from all the love he felt towards Harry, but also because they had decided to christen every room that day and he had always been a crier during sex.

It was a great day.

While it was Harry who had bought the flat, he had declared that it would be Louis who would be in charge of decorating it to his heart’s wishes, and Louis had ridden his dick silly when Harry said that.

Louis had decided on an overall beige theme for the walls, but for the master bedroom, he chose to have the two walls painted beige, the one right opposite the bed which also had its TV was to be painted brown and the other wall was just floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the London's night sky.

He had chosen white countertops for the kitchen, and all the cupboards were varying shades of brown that complemented it all. The kitchen also had a wooden island big enough to hold four people.

The living room had a couch, a love seat and a recliner, and all of them were also in shades of brown, facing the TV because Joey was right. Where does all your furniture point if not at the TV? The TV in their living room was a bit larger than the one in their bedroom.

In the living room, they had a glass coffee table and a few shelves below the TV to hold their DVD collection and pictures.

On the left corner of the TV there was a library corner, which was nothing elaborate, just a rotating shelf that held their book collection. From the living room right next to the kitchen was a tiny hallway that could not hold more than two people at once and opened onto their balcony, which was big enough for Louis to decorate.

Initially, he wanted to make it into a mini-football field but that idea fizzled out because the more he spent in the balcony, the more he realized it was not meant to be a football spot, but rather a soft corner of sorts. So, he decided to hang a tapestry and fake vines with fairy lights. The tapestry was hung on the window side because he didn’t want to obstruct their view from the balcony.

He also placed a sofa that could be converted into a bed, it overlooked the view in front of them. The sofa could not be completely opened because the balcony was not that big, but it was enough to fit them both and that was all Louis needed. He also bought a few crochet plant hangers and put up some plants. All in all, it was a very aesthetic pleasing balcony and Louis loved it.

Another touch that Louis added to their flat was fairy lights and polaroids. Louis had made sure to hang lights throughout their entire flat and attached polaroids of them to the string. So anyone who visited their home would get a tiny sneak into their lives and all the happy moments without having to know the full context.

Every corner of their house had fairy lights but there were a few places where there weren’t any Polaroids attached to them and they were the bathroom, the guest bedroom, and the kitchen. The bathrooms because Louis didn’t like the idea of the pictures getting soggy and ruined, also it just felt weird to have pictures in the bathroom. The guest bedroom because it was not a room that they visited that often and also they didn’t inhabit it enough to guarantee their polaroids in there. And the kitchen because he never trusted himself in the kitchen, Louis completely and absolutely believed that one of these days his attempts in the kitchen would set it on fire and he would hate for their polaroids to burn in it.

Their kitchen had fire detectors and a working chimney to prevent smoke hazards, but Louis never trusted himself with those, it wasn’t that he hadn’t tried to cook, but how badly they ended up that prevented him from trying again.

The first thing he ever tried to make was soup, and he still didn’t know how he ended up burning it—he didn’t even know soup could be burned. He’d tried it when Harry had a cold and Louis, being the caring boyfriend that he was, wanted to help him recover faster, and decided to make some. But, obviously, that went sideways, and it was then that he found the one Indian restaurant, and ever since then, anytime they were sick—which was more often than not for him—, they would order soup from there and watching Harry pour it into his bowl right now always reminds him of that failed cooking incident.

While Harry poured the soup into Louis’ bowl, Louis decided to open the chicken curry and transfer it into the bowl and put the two flat breads on Harry’s plate, while also placing a little bit of rice on both their plates. He then opened the pepper chicken container and put a few pieces on each of their plates. When his nose unclogged, he could actually smell the food, and it was divine.

Once all their food was plated, they got seated opposite each other on the island and dug into their food. Louis’ throat was not exactly sore, but the first spoonful of soup gave him a sense of relief that he didn’t even know he needed.

“Oh, no matter how many times I drink this, I could never get tired of it,” Louis moaned exaggeratedly, his appreciation for the food brought out a fond chuckle from Harry. There was very little conversation between them, both being extremely tired from their respective days and the food was so tasty that the moment they swallowed the food they were taking another bite, not wanting to miss the flavorful explosion in their mouths, thereby warranting not much scope for a conversation.

They finished their food in record time, there were some leftovers, and Louis decided to pack them and put them in the fridge while Harry decided to do the dishes, not wanting Louis to put his hands in the cold water this late at night when he already had a cold.

Once Louis had repacked and put the leftovers in the fridge, he decided to clean the island while he waited for Harry. Harry was almost done when Louis finished cleaning. As he waited for Harry to finish the washing, he sat next to the sink on the counter, swinging his legs back and forth.

They had fallen into a comfortable silence with just the occasional sound of dishes clattering and the water forming the background music, when Harry said softly: “You can go and rest, baby, I’ll be there as soon as I finish these.”

Louis quickly shook his head and dropped a kiss on Harry’s cheek. “It’s okay, I don’t mind waiting. I missed you all day.”

Harry chuckled fondly, “I missed you too, sweetheart, always miss you when I am not next to you.” The statement made blush rise to Louis’ cheeks, and Harry's smirk was proof enough that it didn’t go unnoticed by him.

“Well, did missing me inspire you to write any new songs then?” Louis asked coyly, his eyelashes fluttering. 

Harry at this point was done with the dishes and wiped his hands with a rag. He moved to stand between Louis’ legs, which immediately wrapped around his waist. 

“Well, yes, my darling. Anytime I think about you I am greatly inspired to write and, as you already know, I am forever thinking about you,” He said as he gently placed his hands on Louis’s waist.

“Oh my god! Harry! Stop! You are so fucking corny,” Louis giggled as the blush on his cheeks deepened. And, because he loved to be a brat: “Is this how you talk to all the others as well? Is that why they fall to their knees?”

Harry raised an eyebrow with his smirk still intact. “No, sweetheart. I only talk to you like this.” Slowly, he leaned forward until his lips were right next to Louis’ ears and whispered: “Because as far as I am concerned, I only want you on your knees for me,” with a tender kiss to his temple before pulling away, looking smug and far too satisfied with himself.

Louis would like to retort back with something smart, but he couldn’t think of anything, other than the visuals of what Harry said, so he smushed his face to his chest, “Shut up and take me to bed,” and under his breath he muttered “prude.”

Harry only laughed, self-satisfied, and said, “I love you, baby,” and carried Louis to their room. With his face smushed between Harry’s shoulder and his neck, Louis mumbled I love you too. Harry smiled to himself.

Once in the bedroom, Harry laid Louis on the bed and was quick to strip out of his clothes, tossing them in the hamper.

Once done with everything, he turned off the lights and got into bed with Louis who was quick to attach himself to his front. While Harry was undressing, Louis took the medicine from the bedside table.

Louis wanted to stay awake for a bit longer and ask Harry about his day and just spend some time with him in general—because they hadn’t had many opportunities as of late. Louis had been busy with university and his internship at the pediatric department, and Harry—even though was on a break after his first world tour—still had some meetings here and there with his label about his next album. But the medicine made him drowsy, and no matter how hard he tried to stay awake ,he couldn’t,. His eyes were getting heavy and droopy. He eventually gave in when Harry assured: “It's okay, baby, you can sleep. We have the entire weekend to ourselves.” 

And it was true. It was the first weekend in a long time that Louis was free—Harry had also asked his label to not disturb him for the next few days just so they could spend some quality time together.

Louis could only hope his health would be proper by the next day, and they wouldn’t have to spend it surrounded by tissues and Louis’ snot.

It was Harry who first woke up first in the morning—they forgot to close the blinds the night before and the sun rays were falling right on Harry’s eyes. It was not really that much of an inconvenience for Harry, he usually preferred to wake up early,—it made him feel like he had much more time on his hands. But Louis always preferred sleeping in on every occasion he got, never understanding the appeal of waking up early in the morning on a holiday just to do nothing.

Louis had the blankets up to his neck, his face smushed on Harry’s chest with his nose pressing on it. For a moment ,Harry worried if Louis could breathe properly or not. Their legs were tangled in a way that he didn’t know where his end and Louis’ began. Harry had both his hands wrapped around Louis, he freed one to run through Louis’ hair. Louis’ early morning hair was one of Harry’s favorites—it looked so messy and unkempt and made Louis look so young and carefree, that his heart skipped a beat reminding him of the Louis he had fallen in love with all those years ago.

Louis and Harry’s love story was probably the most cliché one. They were high school sweethearts, Louis was a sophomore, a year his junior  when they met. Louis was the perfect example of the phrase ‘t wo sides of the same coin ’, he always loved having the attention on him, and  would make jokes and talk to all the people in the group allowing them to acquaint themselves with each other, but at the same time when he received all the attention all at once, he would get shy, flustered and draw in on himself, allowing some of the attention to pass off before he chose to speak again.

It was what Harry first noticed about Louis: his ability to command the entire room but to become invisible when he wanted to. Harry was a gone man the first time he saw him, Neither Louis nor Harry ran in the same friend groups— Harry did not really have a friend group because he had just joined that school—having been transferred after moving further away from his previous school.

Harry did not really worry about fitting in at the new school. He was confident enough that he could—and would—make friends. And he wasn’t wrong. The only thing he worried about was befriending the wrong people, but that was something he never should’ve worried about because his first ever friend was a loud boisterous Irish boy, Niall. They both were in the same literature class. It was the first lecture of that day so Harry decided to arrive early and catch a seat for himself. He waited for the entire class to fill, hoping someone would sit next to him, yet no one did but that did not bring down his spirits.

It was just as the bell rang and the teacher entered the room when this dirty blonde-haired guy was panting at the door, trying to sneak in silently but the teacher saw him and sent a dirty look to which he only smiled and shrugged as the teacher said “I hope there is a day where you won’t be late, Mr. Horan.” 

This Mr. Horan didn’t deem it necessary to answer the teacher and made his way to his seat, not so silently anymore.

Harry watched the boy make his way through the classroom, but it wasn’t until he walked up to him and sat in the seat to his right that it hit him that someone sat next to him. But that thought was short-lived since as soon as the boy sat down and turned towards him his grin turned into a frown. 

“Where’s Louis? You’re not Louis?” 

Honestly, how was Harry supposed to answer that? 

But it seemed Harry didn’t really have to answer that because the boy’s frown had once again turned into a grin.

“Oh, you’re the new kid.”

Once again Harry didn’t know how to answer . He waved awkwardly. “Yeah, that’s me.” 

It was probably the lamest reply Harry had ever given to anyone, but he had always been an awkward kid, it didn’t really phase him that much anymore. The boy introduced himself as Niall and Harry told him his name then once again the boy frowned. 

“You are sitting in Louis’ place, then where will he sit if he comes?” At this point, Harry was worried that the only two facial expressions that Niall could give were a grin or a frown.

He turned to his other side, where another empty seat was available, and back to Harry with a grin back on his face. “Tomorrow you will sit on this seat and Louis will sit on the seat you are on, and I will sit right where I am,” he said.

Harry wasn’t in a place to object, so he just shrugged and agreed, which seemed to appease the boy as he turned back to the teacher with a satisfied smile. It had probably been only a few seconds since he turned when he once again turned to Harry with excitement. 

“You should definitely meet the group, I feel like you would fit right in.”

Harry didn’t know to what extent that was true, but he didn’t want to deny an opportunity to meet new people and make friends, so he agreed, and the boy once again, satisfied with the answer, turned away. Harry thought that would be the end of the conversation, but for the rest of the class Niall kept talking about something or the other, and Harry kept listening, he was never the biggest talker, not with the people he had just met anyways.

Once the period was over, they went over their timetables, finding out they both had the next two hours free. Niall decided it was the best time for Harry to meet his friend group. He dragged him to a Starbucks on campus, and, on his way there, he kept trying to make him remember the names of all the people he was going to meet. Harry tried to keep up and learn but he was only human, so he couldn’t remember any name except for Louis.

When they entered the Starbucks there was only one group large enough and Harry could immediately figure out that it was Niall’s group. They made their way to their table and Niall made the necessary introductions. 

It was then that they first met, Louis and Harry. 

Louis was the last person introduced to Harry, when their eyes met he could see a blush tinting Louis’ cheek and his shy smile, and he knew the boy would have him wrapped around his finger in no time. It didn’t take long for the two of them to figure out that they had a connection, something special. 

Niall was right, Harry did fit right into the group, and it had only been a month since he got on good terms with all the members of the group before he decided to ask Louis out on a date. They went on many dates after the first one, and soon made it official. 

It was a few weeks after their first anniversary that Harry had brought up the conversation of wanting to apply for the X Factor and Louis supported him, just like he always did And it was Louis’ unwavering support and encouragement that had Harry auditioning for the program back then, and the reason why he got where he did. 

So, if there was anyone that he needed to be thankful for in his career it was Louis.

But it wasn’t always easy, it wasn’t always simple. When Harry got selected for the X Factor and got a chance at becoming a global pop star, he had to keep in mind that he could not publicly be in a relationship with Louis. To an extent, Harry was okay with it because he thought it would mean they would not make it known who Louis was, yet it would be made public that Harry was in a relationship. But that was not the case. The label wanted him to date other people to increase his reach and visibility.

It was something both Harry and Louis were uncomfortable with, and they fought and argued about it, but they always communicated, with each other and with the label. Harry was lucky to have had a good manager because he made sure to convey the message that while he was completely okay with keeping his relationship private, he would not, under any circumstances, date models. He could go out and hang out with them, but strictly as friends. And after many negotiations the label gave in and from there began Harry’s career.

Keeping their relationship private worked well for both of them. Harry figured out very early that in an industry as corrupted as his, it was always better to keep your private life private. Louis also never really liked the idea of getting all the attention that he would from Harry’s fame. He knew how nasty people could be, how badly they defamed and criticized the partners of actors and singers, and he did not want to be any part of it. So, he was okay with not being seen in public with Harry. It sometimes hurt but you can’t get everything you want, and they were happy with what they had

All Harry ever wanted was his boy’s happiness and if not being in the public eye was what would keep him happy then so be it. That didn’t mean Harry didn’t enjoy his fame, because he did, he hung with all the big shots who he only dreamt of meeting. He had many friends in the industry, but there were only a few he trusted, and even fewer were the people he trusted when it came to introducing Louis. He invited only those people to his flat whom he trusted explicitly and those were scarcely any. There were only five people from the industry that have met Louis, and they were both content with it.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Louis shivered a little. He smiled to himself before dropping a kiss to Louis’ forehead and wrapping the duvet tightly around him before turning to get his phone. He plugged it out of the charger and unlocked it.

If Harry had any remaining sleep lingering in his consciousness it would’ve immediately vanished when he saw the number of missed calls he had from his manager and label—especially when he had informed them to not disturb him for the entire weekend. He had tons of messages and notifications but the most frightening of them were the ones for his manager, Carl.

Carl usually didn’t text him when he had already informed him not to, or even when he knew Harry needed some personal time to recharge. Just the day before they had that conversation, Carl told him to take a rest for the weekend and spend time with Louis. So seeing so many texts and missed calls from him put Harry on edge.

He gently removed Louis from his chest and placed him on his pillow. Once he made sure Louis wouldn’t wake up, he got up and went to the chairs near the window and called Carl. 

Harry looked out the window, lost in thought. He knew if it was something related to his image he could just log onto his socials and see what all the fuss was, but something in his gut told him it was something really bad and hearing it from Carl would be the best, because if there was anyone he trusted in the industry it was Carl.

Harry stood with one hand on his hip and the other one holding his phone with his eyes closed, hoping Carl would just pick up because the suspense of it all  made bile rise up his throat and he didn’t like it one bit. 

Just when he was about to cut the call and try once again, Carl picked up, 

“Harry,” he said, tone clipped.

“Carl, What the fuck happened?” Harry cut straight to the point, not having him beat around the bush.

Carl’s reply didn’t help one bit. “Do you have any idea what you did last night?” 

Harry knew from years of experience that he was trying his best to keep his voice in check—trying with every last bit of his energy to not raise his voice. And that was probably what scared Harry the most, because Carl was always good with keeping his patience.

“Carl, what do you mean what I did last night? I didn’t do anything; you know I was with you the entire day and then I came home right to Louis.” 

Harry's mind scrambled to catch anything from last night, anything that he might have done wrong, but it was difficult because he didn’t know what he searched. He had no context whatsoever. But every one of his thoughts ceased when he heard Carl’s next few words.

“Oh the entire world saw you go home right to Louis last night, believe me. You could not have made it clearer.” 

And that, that wasn’t something Harry was ready to hear. He started properly panicking, what the fuck did Carl mean with that? Did someone follow him? Did someone bug his phone, and his location got out? Did someone follow Louis? And the last one scared and angered him in equal measure.

His head spinned, there were so many worst-case scenarios running through his mind and he didn't know what the hell happened. 

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard Carl’s voice on the other end of the line, “Harry what did you do after going home last night? What did you do after leaving the studio last night?”

Harry knew what Carl was trying to do, he tried to walk Harry through the entire night, so he remembered what happened to warrant such a reaction from him.

, “When I left the studio last night I went straight to my car and told John to drive me home. We were past the rush hour so we made our way through the roads easily, when I got home I went to record the video we talked about I set everything up and opened up my Instagram as well ready to record when I heard Louis sniffle so I left my phone to go check on Louis—”

Harry rambled, he tried to recollect everything that happened, but he didn’t have to anymore because Carl stopped him.

“Did you close Instagram when you left to go check on Louis?” 

Harry had a feeling Carl already knew the answer to this question, but the fact that he was still asking it made Harry’s stomach drop.

“What? Why does it matter?” Harry could hear his voice shaking. He still didn’t know what went wrong, but he did know it had something to do with the fact that he might have somehow forgotten to close the app the night before, he doesn’t know what could have happened but the anticipation of what Carl would say is already making him dizzy.

“Last night you went live on Instagram and the entire world watched you check on Louis.” It was probably the first time since the call started that Carl’s voice was soft; it was as if he detected Harry’s anxiety and wanted to break it down to him gently.

But no matter how gently Carl spoke, it still hit him like a bullet train. The revelation was like a bucket of ice cold water, startling him out of whatever thoughts he had.

Harry could hear the voice from the other end of the line but couldn’t make out the words. All he heard was static noise. He could hear Carl, but his mind was not present in the room, completely drifted away. It was blank, blank in a way that so many thoughts ran together at the same time and he could not pick out one and focus on it.

He felt dizzy, the room spinned around him. He didn’t know how long he stood there or when he sat down, but he was pulled out of his stupor when he heard Louis’s voice.

“Harry?” 

Soft and sweet, sleep hazy. Harry didn’t bother looking at Louis, knowing his own face looked like shit, the entire conversation written on his face, so he didn’t bother.

“Carl, I’ll call you later. Louis woke up,” his voice seemed far away, it didn’t feel like it came from his throat. It sounded as if it was in the next room or the world outside, the window muffling the noise.

“Harry, we will sort this out, you take care of Louis and yourself, and I’ll take care of this?” Carl assured, and then, “okay?”

He waited for Harry to give some sort of confirmation, and while Harry didn’t have even the smallest of hopes at the moment he still hummed in response, just for the sake of it.

He was about to hang up when Carl spoke again, “I'll call you later with all the details straightened out about our next action, ‘till then, take care of the two of you and tell Louis I said hi.” 

Harry replied with a dull “Will do,” and cut the call.

He sat with his head in hands, contemplating and revisiting the entire conversation with Carl, so lost in thoughts that he did not hear Louis calling him again or even walking towards him, so it was only out of reflex that he startled when Louis put a hand on his naked shoulder.

He looked up to see Louis standing there, eyebrows furrowed in concern and it only increased when he saw the state of Harry—his hair frazzled, curls going in every direction—, but the thing that concerned and worried Louis the most was the hopeless look on his face. He looked tired despite just waking up, he looked on the verge of tears and Louis hadn’t seen him this way in so many years.

Louis didn’t wait long, he was quick to move Harry’s head out of his hands and place himself in his lap, hugging him close, wrapping both arms around Harry’s head in comfort. Harry’s reaction was immediate, he was just as quick to wrap his hands around Louis’ waist and bury his face deeper into Louis’ chest. His grip on Louis was tight, bordering on painful, but Louis didn’t care, didn't say anything, just let Harry hug him, squeeze him. All he did was give reassurances, repeating them like a mantra everything will be alright, whatever it is we will get through it, you will always have me by your side.

He lost track of time, unsure of how long he sat there, wrapped up in Harry’s arms, trying to assure him that everything would be okay, and even if it wouldn’t, they’d find a way through it. They always did, but Harry wouldn’t say anything, just sat there, occasionally holding Louis tighter as if scared that, if he didn’t hold tight enough, Louis would just slip right out of his fingers.

They sat in absolute silence for many minutes, maybe hours—Louis wasn’t sure,  but long enough. Harry finally came out of his hiding spot and looked up at Louis—usually, it was him who had to look up at Harry but  sitting on Harry’s lap, he had the height advantage.

When he saw Harry look up at him, he still had that broken look, Louis smiled at him, a small smile that conveyed that he was there with him, and whatever was going on would pass. He didn’t ask or pried; he knew Harry would tell him in due time.

Harry still looked up at Louis as he tried to untangle all the knots in Harry’s hair. “They know,” he said so silently that Louis was sure he wouldn’t have if he wasn’t literally sitting on Harry’s lap. lap. But he did hear him, and it only confused him.

He stopped his movements and looked at him. “Huh? Who knows?” His eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“My fans, the whole world.”

It was Harry’s only reply with a noncommittal shrug, as if it was way past the point of return. What has been done is done kind of attitude. No other context. 

“What do your fans know? Is it about the new album? Did something leak?”

Louis knew how many times Harry had to deal with leaked songs, he hated it every single time because sometimes the songs  are private, just for the two of them. Maybe something that Harry wrote and recorded just for Louis’ ears, and when they got out, Harry always got upset, albeit never as upset as this.

Harry never had to deal with the leaks of the songs that he had planned to release, but Louis heard Harry talk about how his other friends in the industry faced their songs being leaked before they wished to put them out. Louis had seen how upset Harry was for those people, so maybe something like that could’ve happened.

“They know about us, about you.” This time Harry maintains eye contact, making sure to keep Louis’ eyes on him so Louis knew. And it stopped his every thought and movement.

Harry’s words were loud and clear, lodged in Louis’ brain but they sounded muffled as he thought them over. Jumbled and lost their meaning the more he replayed them in his head. For a second he wondered if he heard them wrong, if Harry said them wrong, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask Harry to repeat himself because he knew. Deep down, he knew he didn’t hear it wrong, Harry didn’t say it wrong.

Harry squeezed Louis’ waist, trying to ground him. It was only moments ago that he tried to ground Harry and help him, and now the roles were reversed. 

“How?” Louis asked as Harry squeezed him again. It almost sounded as if he breathed out, as if Harry’s hands squeezed the word out of his mouth.

Harry didn’t say anything for a few seconds, but his hands moved from Louis’ waist and Louis immediately missed them. He had always been a physical person, the best way to reassure him in a moment of distress was to give him comforting touches, and hugs and kisses and cuddles. And Harry removing his hands—especially at a moment like this—was only going to stress him further, but he didn’t have to worry much about it because Harry had removed his hands from his waist to hold his hands , intertwining them together.

It prompted Louis to look at their hands, Harry squeezed them once, twice, and thrice, I love you. And finally Louis finally met Harry’s eyes. Harry attempted a tiny smile but Louis could see right through it, an effort to appease Louis' panicked state.

“Yesterday at the meeting, we were discussing new promotional strategies and one of the members suggested we do something related to the unfortunate story incident,” Harry paused, waiting for Louis to catch onto it, when he saw the recognition on Louis' face, he continued. “And I agreed to it because it didn’t seem that bad of an idea. A way to tease my fans with a sneak peek into my life, my house but not really giving them anything.” 

They both realized the irony of the statement the moment Harry said it.

“I had to post a short second clip of me playing a guitar piece of one of my new songs, a teaser of sorts. I decided to do it last night so I could spend the rest of the weekend with you with nothing else disturbing us. So I got back home, saw you sleeping in the bed, and decided to get done with it as soon as I could so I could snuggle with you.” He squeezed Louis’ hand one more time, more for himself than for Louis, trying to stay there with him.. “So I got the tripod and set up the phone on the table, then I got a notification. I opened it and instead of liking the message I accidentally added to the story but I immediately clicked the back option not to click it, I was just about to exit Instagram completely but then I heard you cough and call me so I panicked and got up to get to you.” 

A deep breath.

“But you know me, always so clumsy. When I got up, I dropped the phone and—I don’t know how—I pressed the Instagram live thingy, but I didn’t notice it. So that’s how it happened, that’s how the world knows about us, through a grainy livestream.”

Louis did not say anything for a solid minute, just sat there, quietly taking it all in and Harry let him, didn’t force or pester him to answer or say something, even if he was anxious to know what Louis was thinking.

“So that’s it? Everybody knows then?” Louis did not really know what to say to everything Harry said. He didn’t know what to make of the situation either. It wasn’t that he was extremely upset, sad, mad or any other negative emotion. He was just in shock. 

They never really discussed how Harry would come out, it was inevitable that he would one day. Probably after his next album, or sometime in the next two or three years. But suddenly he was out and everyone knew who he was dating. It was like a shock, something that completely blindsided Louis.

“Yeah, baby. They know.” Harry's voice was calm, nothing else but. Not disappointed, or happy, not anything. Just calm, almost neutral. And at once it hit Louis how much more difficult it must be for Harry. He was the one whose career was on the line. He was the one who had to face his manager, his label, his fans, the people in that nasty industry. Harry was the one at risk, not Louis. The thought jolted him, waking him up.

He removed his hands from Harry’s and placed them on his face, covering his cheeks. “And how do you feel about it?” His voice was soft, concerned, caring. Harry seemed caught off guard by the question, and for a second Louis felt guilty for not asking it sooner, for not considering Harry’s feelings earlier.

But Harry recollected himself, his hands back on Louis’ waist, having nowhere else to keep them. “I don’t know, I mean—I honestly don’t know. I knew this was going to happen—like me coming out and telling people about you, but not like this. I thought it could happen at my time, my pace, my doing and—I mean, even now it is my doing but you know what I mean?” And Louis nodded, because he did, he knew what Harry meant.

“When Carl first told me about it, I was shocked, scared, terrified about what would happen and the consequences. Now that I have had enough—maybe not enough, but a little time to process it, I think it is not so bad? I mean, I know how I sound, God, I know I sound ridiculous.” Harry let out a humorless chuckle, one that showed how in disbelief he was.

But before Louis could assure Harry that he did not sound ridiculous and that Louis got him, Harry continued. “I mean, I know how bad this could be for my career, I have only put one album out and my career is just starting. People are just starting to love me and discover me and suddenly they are hit with the fact that Harry Styles is gay. And not just that, but also the fact he is in a committed, long term relationship with another man. Cy career could crash before it even takes off and it scares me shitless, but—” he stopped abruptly to look straight at Louis. His eyes take in every little detail of his boyfriend, every freckle, smile line, eyelash. He looked at his pink lips and his blue eyes, and once their eyes were locked Harry went on: “But it feels great to let the world know that I am dating you. That for me you are it. In every universe, every alternate reality, and every imagination you are it. I could never scream it at the top of my lungs before, but now I can and that fills me with joy. Finally the world knows you and by association, they know the real me.” His smile was watery, probably the first genuine one since they both woke up that morning.

Louis’s own eyes started to water, hearing Harry say all that and falling short of words to express his own feelings. Louis dived in for a kiss, one that he hoped would represent all the feelings he never had the words to say, because his love for Harry had  always been beyond words, all-consuming and overpowering.

They knew that, from this moment onwards, their life would change—for the better or for the worse, but it would change. And they knew they had a lot to discuss about it, with each other as well as with Harry's representatives to see how to proceed further, but for the moment, they decided to enjoy the last of their privacy.

The kiss was nothing big, it was not a clash of teeth in the throes of passion kind of kiss, it was a rather softer, milder, sweeter one. One that said I am here, you are, and we are there for each other, through it all we can walk together and make it work.

Once they break apart, Harry joined their foreheads, eyes closed and small smiles on their faces despite the situation. 

 “I love you,” Harry said.

“And I love you,” Louis didn’t waste a second before saying it back. 

Harry smiled because Louis didn’t say I love you too . He said, and I love you.

During the very start of Harry’s career, whenever Harry was nervous, Louis would try his best to comfort and encourage him. It was during moments like those that Harry realized how lucky he was to have a boyfriend as understanding and supportive as Louis and not knowing how to express his gratitude he would say ‘I love you’ and Louis replied with an ‘and I love you.’ Over the next few years it has become some sort of tradition that whenever Harry has stressed, worried or anxious about anything Louis would say ‘and I love you’ and not ‘I love you too’ in response.

Once, late at night, while they snuggled under the duvet, Harry asked Louis why on any other occasion he would reply to Harry’s I love you with an I love you too , but on certain occasions, he would reply to it with and I love you, and Louis had, albeit a bit shy and bashful, explained it to him. He said that, in those moments, when Harry started to question everything, Louis wanted to let him know that he never had to question Louis' love. If he had responded with I love you too, it would look like he was responding to Harry. And, in a way, he was, but by and I love you Louis was saying that he loved Harry not because Harry loved him, but because Louis just loved him. Period.

Hearing Louis say the same thing warmed Harry's heart in a way he could not comprehend, but still cherished. Harry pecked Louis’ lips one last time before they got up to start their very long day. Louis went to the washroom while Harry stretched a bit.

He still had a lot of messages to reply to, but he believed he could do it after freshening up, not in the mood to discuss this topic any further. He entered the washroom to brush his teeth and found Louis already at the sink. He first uses the loo to take a much-needed pee and then walks over to Louis and takes his own brush to start brushing as well.

They brushed their teeth side by side, exchanging foamy smiles in the mirror. Louis finished before Harry, washed his face, and walked out into the bedroom. He changed into something else. Whenever he felt sick, he constantly kept changing outfits because he felt like, if he didn’t, the germs would stay on his body.

Once he was done changing, he walked into the kitchen to make them their morning coffee and tea. He put the kettle on for Harry’s black coffee and his tea. By the time the water boiled, he went around to get the tea and coffee powder and collected the milk from the fridge. He put two mugs for. Once the water was boiled he started preparing their drinks.

He was just adding a splash of milk and two spoons of sugar to his tea when Harry walked into the kitchen. He made his way to Louis, wrapping his arm around him from behind and nuzzling into his neck. Louis relaxed in Harry’s hold and happily accepted the neck kisses Harry peppered him with.

Harry took both the mugs and walked out onto the balcony. Louis finished putting everything back in their respective place and walked out to join Harry. Harry opened the sofa into a semi-bed and sat there, his eyes looking straight ahead, lost in deep thought, unblinking.

Louis slowly made his way to Harry, climbing next to Harry and settling under his arms. Harry had their drinks on the armrest, one hand holding them steady, the other outstretched on the back of the couch, wrapped around Louis and snuggling him closer.

Harry handed him his tea and took his own mug, sipping lightly. Harry promised himself not to think about the future  at that moment, wouldn’t let the few moments between him and Louis be disturbed by the uncertainties of the future but he could not help himself. He wasn’t lying when he told Louis he was, to an extent, happy the world found out about them, because then he could serenade Louis without having to hide or use code words.

He knew he should trust his fans to accept him, trust them that they would accept him irrespective of his sexuality, because if the fans still loved him then there is no reason for the label to sack him. If his fans loved and supported him just as much as they did before his career would not have to go down the drain.

“Harry?” Louis whispered, afraid to spook Harry and disturb whatever trance he was in. Louis knew what Harry was thinking, what he worried about, and Louis also worried about the same thing. He didn’t want Harry to think about it, he knew if he left Harry to his thoughts, they would spiral into something worse and  make him even more anxious. What was to happen would happen, no matter how much they worried about it.

“Hm?” Came Harry’s reply, his thumb rubbing along Louis’ arm, indication that he listened, apart from the verbal confirmation he just gave.

“What are you thinking? Let me in please.” Louis didn’t demand, didn’t plead, he just asked to be let in so he could share the load, so Harry didn’t have to bear it all on his own. Louis was right there to shoulder half of that burden. And if he had to remind him every once in a while, then he would do it.

Louis’s words caused Harry to look at him, who already looked up at him. Ocean-blue eyes open and comforting, welcoming and accepting just like Louis himself. The thought made him smile, albeit a small one but still a smile, and he leaned down to peck Louis’ lips, just a graze of their lips. “Nothing, baby.”

Louis still looked up at him, trying to see if Harry told the truth, so Harry smiled a little bigger, not a fake one to appease Louis but a real one because here was his boy trying to make sure that Harry didn't have to worry all alone. Harry would only be a fool if he didn’t try just as hard to appease all his worries as well.

Once Louis saw Harry’s smile he decided to drop the topic, he snuggled deeper into Harry's side and continued sipping his tea while Harry sipped his own. Louis then decided to tell Harry about his day at the hospital, if not for anything than just to take Harry’s mind off other things, also because they didn’t get to talk much about their day last night.

Thinking about his day at the hospital reminded him of the twins he saw and how excited he was to share the news with Harry yesterday. “Oh my god Harry!” And the exclamation was so sudden that Harry startled, spilling his coffee, he managed at the last second. He looked at Louis in slight confusion.

Louis giggled at Harry’s look. “I saw the cutest thing yesterday. You know I work in the pediatric section, I like to walk around the NICU sometimes, and yesterday I was looking at those cute, tiny babies,” just talking about it made Louis coo again, his hands and fingers doing the actions to show just how tiny they were and all his antics amuse Harry enough to keep a permanent smile on his face.

“As I was walking around, I saw these twin babies, they were so small, Harry! Poor babies were premature so they’ll be kept in observation for a few weeks until they are stable enough, but they were so tiny and so cute,” Louis pouted at the thought of the babies having to stay away from their mother. He remembered how they clung to him when he took them in his arms.

He excitedly moved away from Harry’s arms and turned so now he is sitting on his legs in front of Harry as he talked with just as much energy as before. “They were a boy and a girl, and the boy was crying so I asked the nurse in charge if I could hold him and she said okay, so I took him in my arms and started to rock him—you wouldn’t believe Harry—he immediately stopped crying. His tiny, red face with those big blue eyes just looking up at me and even though I know it is impossible because they still don’t have enough strength but his tiny hand was pawing at my chest, Harry.” Louis bounced with excitement.

His eyes shone brightly and the smile on his face was so big, it crinkled his eyes the way Harry loved. Louis’s excitement was contagious always, and that time was no different. His happiness, giddiness and energy pulled Harry into his orbit, making him revolve around Louis, go round and round around him, soaking up his energy and bathing in it.

“I am sure the baby didn’t want to let go of you, baby,” Harry said, smiling fondly, always fond when it comes to Louis.

That excited Louis even more. “And—and—and when I tried to put him back in the incubator he would start crying, every time I put him down, he cried and stopped only when he was in my arms. So, I spent the rest of my shift in the NICU. There was only an hour left but I spent it rocking the babies and playing with them until it was time for me to come back home.”

“Sweetheart I am sure the baby just didn’t want to be put down because it was you. If I was a baby, I would do the same thing.”

“Oh, shut up,” Louis said, even if the blush on his cheeks was evident, showing how pleased he was with Harry’s words. “Oh, Harry! I have a picture of the two of us. I know it isn’t appropriate for me to take pictures with the babies for so many reasons but the nurse in charge was sweet enough to get a pic of us, and the face of the baby is hidden, but we look so cozy,” his excitement came back once again.

Louis immediately got up and ran into their room to get his phone. Harry shook his head fondly at his boy and made his way back into the house, carrying both their mugs.

He was in the kitchen, placing the mugs in the sink when his phone rang. If he had to make a wild guess, he’d say it was Carl. He turned to get his phone from the bedroom, only to be met with Louis by the door with Harry’s ringing phone in his hand and the expression of unease on his face is a clear indicator that it is Carl calling.

Harry breathed a few times before he grabbed the phone and dropped a kiss on Louis' head as he walked out to the balcony to talk with Carl.

Louis knew that, if he didn’t occupy himself with something, he would waste his time thinking and worrying about Harry’s conversation, wondering what the next plan would be and if everything would actually be alright. No matter how many times he told himself things would be alright, he still worried. And having some sort of confirmation of the next plan of action would assure him of it.

In order to not think and worry, he decided to tidy up the house. He started with the dishes, then he cleaned the kitchen and fridge, and took out the trash. He then moved to the bedroom.

Once Harry had walked out onto the balcony he listened to carl talk about how the public has responded to the news

“Harry, I want to start by saying that the management was absolutely livid when they found out, especially when you didn’t answer your phone. Last night I tried to talk with them and work something out, but they were pretty pissed. This morning after talking with you, I explained what had actually happened and how it was just as devastating to you—although for completely different reasons—that the world got to know about your relationship in such a way.” Harry could already feel the throb behind his eyes from all this negative talk. “And no matter how much I tried, they wouldn’t see things rationally. And then they saw the massive support and love that you and your relationship received from the public—especially your fans—and the streams and as well as the sales of your album have increased, they finally started to come around. I know their coming around was not for the right reasons, but we have to make do with what we get.”

Carl paused for a minute, he spoke fast as if to get everything off his chest, and Harry did understand because the entire time he was talking, Harry didn’t realize he also stopped breathing.

“Anyways, they want to do as much damage control as possible but also use this to give you more publicity, to make you more appealing to the public. Basically market you more efficiently. I am not going to lie and say that everyone is absolutely happy, but we always knew that it would happen. You might lose a good chunk of your fans but the team is trying to market this in a way that it will also get you new fans. And as much as I'd want to argue about how immoral it is, it does seem like a good option, at least to keep the label happy.”

Harry didn’t have any patience left, he just wanted to get that over. He knew Carl was just dragging it out, it was good to know about the support, and just as good to know Carl didn’t sugarcoat stuff.  He also knew there was more to the matter, and he just wanted Carl to get it out and down.

“As already mentioned, the team wants to do some damage control, and they think the best way to do so would be for you to give an interview.” There. Carl said it. Finally the other shoe dropped.

It was the first time since the call started that Harry opened his mouth. , “And say what? Do they want me to deny it? Say that everything they saw was all fake?” Harry could feel himself getting worked up, he could hear himself even as he asked this question and realized just how silly it sounded, because not a single soul could believe that whatever they saw was fake. And if the label was actually suggesting that, they were quite literally a bunch of fools.

“No, Harry, they do not want that, it would be absurd. They want you to tell the truth, tell the world about you and Louis—not everything, but a few things. A sneak peek into your relationship. How you met and just how Louis is generally. How much he means to you, because the world fell in love with your love—even though they saw it through a stupid grainy Instagram live, it was noticeable in every action how in love the two of you are.  In this generation, everyone just wants to be in love, the kind of love you share.”

Hearing Carl talk like that warmed Harry's heart, despite the situation. It was the first time since the entire debacle that Harry allowed himself to hope. Hope that everything would be alright, they would be alright, just like Louis said. He knew he still had to do the interview, but if it was to talk about Louis and how much he loved him, then maybe he could do it. If given the chance to talk about Louis, he never shut up.

He knew that was different, but he could get through it. It was better than having to sit there and pretend he never dated Louis and everything that the world saw was fake.

“Harry? Hello?” Carl’s voice broke through his thoughts and brought him back to the present.

“Alright, I’ll do the interview,” Harry said, his voice sure.

“You will?” Carl sounded almost shocked and Harry didn’t blame him. Harry had always been very private when it came to Louis and his personal life, and having him say yes to that interview—where he essentially would talk about the one thing he never mentioned that quickly would shock anyone that knew him well. But maybe it was time he told the world about it, to let them know who Louis was to him. He knew  how to withhold the information he didn’t want to give, and, when it came to Louis, he was extra careful about it. So he knew the interview wouldn’t go so bad, that was if the label didn’t try to muck things up purposefully.

“Yes, Carl, I will,” Harry replied, firm and sure, letting him know that he took this decision after considering everything.

“Alright then, that’s good. I'll tell them about it. They will be happy to know that you agreed so quickly,” Carl still sounded like he didn’t register what Harry had said—or even believe it—, but he did his duty well and professionally, and Harry appreciated him for that.

“Just let them know that I have agreed to talk about it but that doesn’t mean I won’t have boundaries, I will let the world know only what I want them to. They already know something about me that I didn’t willingly share, and I do not want people knowing anything more than they need to,” Harry made sure Carl knew how serious he was about that.

“I will let them know that. I don’t think they will try to make it any more difficult, neither of us wants that.”

“Alright then, just let me know when the interview is, message all the details to me, including the questions that the interviewer might ask. I want to see them for myself. And if they seem too invasive I want to blacklist them.”

“The interview would mostly be two days from now, until then it's better if you make a public appearance. Maybe put out a tweet about the entire thing, make sure to keep it brief and not let them know anything about the interview, the label wants to release an official statement about it.”

“Alright, I’ll think about it. Thanks, Carl.”

“Okay, take care of yourself and Louis. I‘ll see you in a few days.” Harry could hear the sincerity in his voice, Carl had always been fond of Louis, they hung out a few times, and Carl was one of the few people from the industry that Harry trusted., If not, he wouldn’t have been his manager so long. There had been times when Louis was not able to reach Harry, and Carl had taken care of it. Carl had, on many occasions, not only taken care of Harry, but also of Louis.

“Will do, Carl. Thanks once again.” Harry cut the call. He made a mental note to send Carl a gift for all the stress he was going through and all the support he offered. Trying his best to keep Harry afloat.

The call was over and Harry could finally think and process everything that happened. He took a deep breath, letting his shoulders relax in the process. He didn’t realize how stiff his shoulders and jaw were until that moment. He pocketed his phone and just stood there with his hands on the railing, looking up towards the sky, letting everything sink in. Everything that had happened and everything that would happen.

He allowed himself to stay like that for a couple of minutes before walking back in, knowing that Louis would worry himself sick the longer he stayed out there.

He walks into the kitchen hoping Louis would be there, but he wasn’t. He then moved into their bedroom, Louis was still not seen. He checked the bathroom, thinking that maybe he was just taking a shower, but he was still nowhere to be seen. Harry returned to the living room ready to call out for Louis. Only to see him walking out of the guest bedroom, looking all sweaty. He is looking down as he did so and startled when he saw Harry standing there.

“Harry!” He exclaimed, hands flying to his chest.

“What were you doing in the guest room?” Harry asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Oh, I—um,” Louis stuttered, looking down at his feet and rubbing his neck. Harry stepped forward until he was just a few inches from Louis and pulled him in by the waist, one hand under his chin.

“Baby, what happened?” Harry asked patiently. His eyes searched for anything in Louis' face, he was sure he already knew the answer. Louis’ state was a pretty good indication of what that could be, but he wanted Louis to say it.

“Um, I was cleaning the guest room.” But Harry looked at him with an eyebrow raised, as if he knew there was more to Louis’ answer. Harry knew him well so it was no use to try and keep it from him.

Louis sighed. “Alright, I was stress cleaning. I did the dishes, cleaned out the fridge, made a note of all the things we needed to stock up on, scrubbed the counter clean and I had nothing else to do so I decided to clean the guest room bathroom, I was going to get the cleaning supplies from our room when you came in and scared me.”

“Baby, first of all, I’m so sorry for scaring you, and second,” he didn’t finish the sentence to pull Louis closer and hug him tight. Harry knew that this decision - about his coming out had not only affected him but also Louis—someone who didn’t like the limelight and the popularity that came from Harry’s fame. Louis absolutely loved that Harry was so famous, so loved and so widely known but he didn’t want the fame of it, he didn’t want the attention because it was not his to enjoy, it was all Harry's. He was there to keep him afloat and support him, and Harry loved him for that. Loved that Louis stayed by his side despite the dark side of his job ,and in all his haze about how that whole thing would jeopardize his career that he didn’t think of how it would affect Louis.

He knew after the interview—hell even right then—the entire world would know who Louis Tomlinson was, not only who he was to Harry but also who he was. I t would not only be him who would be harassed in public anymore, but also Louis, and Harry knew how much Louis hated that, how much he hated being ambushed in public, especially by people he didn’t know. Harry dived deeper and deeper into how it would all affect Louis.

“Harry? I can hear the cogs in your brain turning from here.” His face was still hidden against Harry’s chest, his voice coming out muffled, earning a chuckle from Harry.

“I can't help it, baby, I was thinking about you.” That made Louis look up into Harry’s eyes, eyebrows furrowed in concern. Harry couldn’t help but lean down and kiss right in between Louis’s brows, smoothing the crease there and bringing a blush to Louis’ cheeks.

“Why are you thinking about me? I am literally right here,” Louis said with an air of sass, Harry to pinched his waist making Louis squeak out in indignation and slaps Harry’s waist playfully. All Harry did was take hold of his wrist with a raise of his eyebrows and a smirk on his face.

A low whimper left Louis’ mouth and Harry was never one to not notice such sounds from Louis’ mouth. The moment he heard the sound his eye widened and his pupils dilated, arousal coursing through him.

“Baby,” Harry warned but all he got was a breathy ‘Harry’ . That was enough for Harry to leave all his thoughts aside and kiss Louis as if his life depended on it, tongue immediately seeking dominance. Louis gave up his restraints like the good boy that he was. The moment Harry kissed him with vigor he let go, almost melting into him, he would have fallen to the ground if it wasn't for the arms around him.

They didn’t kiss for long, the hunger to explore each other's body forced them to break apart, though not for long. Just enough for Harry to bend down and pick Louis up, hands wrapped around Harry's neck and his legs wrapped around Harry's waist.

Once Louis was secure in Harry’s arms, they kissed once again. Harry walked them to their room. Their lips separated only long enough to remove their shirts before they reattached, not wanting to waste any second.

Once Harry’s knees touched the edge of the bed, he pulled from Louis, a string of saliva still connecting their lips. He gently laid Louis on the bed and walked to the bathroom to get the lube, since the one that they kept in the bedroom was done with. He didn’t bother with a condom because they stopped using those a long time ago, having eyes and hearts for just each other ever since they met. Harry didn’t think they even had a stock of condoms at this point.

He quickly made his way back to the bed, and the sight he was met with made his mouth water. Louis splayed on the bed, stark naked, gently playing with his nipples, rubbing them in between his fingers. Nothing too stimulating, just enough to give him some sort of pleasure.

“Playing with your tits, doll? Do you like that, sweetheart?” Harry asked, making his presence known. 

Louis stopped his ministration and whined high in his throat, “Harry, please, need you.”

“I don’t think you do, baby. You seem to enjoy yourself pretty well without me,” Harry tsked letting Louis know who called the shots there.

Louis whined high, on the verge of tears. “No no! Harry, please, need you, always need you.”

Harry almost felt bad at how desperate Louis looked and decided that it was enough teasing, they could always do it another time. For now he just needed to stretch his boy so he could bury his cock deep in him, fill him up and eat his cum out of him.

The thought of watching his cum drip out of Louis’ abused, red hole made him walk quicker to the bed. He smirked as Louis’ legs immediately fell open for him, he didn’t delay in fitting himself between them.

“Hi, baby,” he greeted, voice soft. Louis already losing himself a bit, and while they would both love it, he wanted Louis to be fully there for just a bit more.

Louis looked up at him, face flushed down to his chest, his nipples erect and inviting and mouth open while his eyes were half-lidded. “Hi.”

“I'm gonna open you up now sweetheart, that okay?” Harry smiled gently, a stark contrast from what he was just mere minutes ago. Louis nodded, not enough energy to talk, but Harry would not accept that. “I need your words, baby, you know how this works. Use your words.”

“Yes, Harry, want you to open me up now.” And it was all the encouragement Harry needed before he opened the lube and drizzled a generous amount on his fingers before he inserted one into Louis’ tight hole. 

Louis and Harry’s sex life had always been pretty active, that was not to say they never had dry spells because just like every other couple, they did, though they never lasted long. And the previous week was just that, they were both too tired to be intimate, so they did nothing even remotely sexual in the past days. Which was why Louis’ hole was tight, therefore needing extra attention from Harry in opening him up, not wanting to hurt him in the process.

Harry stretched Louis with one finger for a bit, Louis getting impatient. “Harry, I can take another. I need another.”

"Such a bad boy and doesn’t even know how to ask for something politely,” Harry sighed. “Maybe I should just stop, I should just finish myself off in the bathroom. Or maybe I could sit here right next to you and finish, not let you get even a drop of my cum, would you like that baby?”

“No, no. Don't want to waste your cum, need you to fill me up please. Please, I can take another finger, please, Harry.” Louis cried, almost begging at that point.

“See, was it hard to ask politely, baby?” 

Louis didn’t answer, whenever Harry had his fingers, cock, or mouth anywhere near his hole he was reduced to a babbling mess, nothing that came out of his mouth made sense.

Harry added a second finger, scissoring them to stretch Louis even more. Louis whined and moaned as  Harry leaned down to attach his motion to Louis’ nipples. He lost it, shouting Harry’s name and arching his back so his mouth was even tighter against his nipple, fisting his hands in Harry's hair to keep him there.

Harry used his mouth and fingers skillfully, fingering Louis as he bit and sucked Louis’ nipples, altering between both of them, giving them equal attention until they were red and sensitive. The moment Harry’s mouth left the nipple and cold air came in contact with it, Louis shivered, adding onto the pleasure. Harry also left a bunch of hickeys around Louis’ chest, loving the blossoming red on his usually tan skin.

Harry used three fingers, making sure Louis was properly stretched before he could take his cock. As usual, Louis was getting impatient, begging Harry to fuck him, enticing him with the thought of his cum pumping deep in Louis, swelling his tummy and dripping out of him.

To Louis’ credit, and Harry’s desperation, Louis was very convincing. Harry quickly pulled his fingers from Louis, making him whine from the sudden loss. Just long enough for Harry to lube his cock and give it a few tugs to ease the pressure.

Louis looked at Harry with dazed eyes, his skin entirely flushed and chest heaving, drooling. The sight had Harry positioning himself at Louis’ hole, his tip just touching the entrance.

He placed Louis’ legs on his shoulders and slowly pushed forward, making Louis feel every inch of him, letting him experience it in slow motion as Harry’s cock split him open. By the time he bottomed out, Louis was bent in half and panting. Harry was no better, after not having fucked Louis in a week his hole was as tight as a virgin and it squeezed Harry so good he  stars.

Harry paused for a minute, giving himself and Louis time to adjust. He knew they wouldn’t last much longer. But when Louis begged him to move he abided Slow at first, letting Louis adjust to the pace, but when Louis begged him to fuck him hard and rough, split him open, Harry could do nothing but obey.

He thrusted hard and fast, not giving Louis enough time to catch his breath between each snap of his hips. He fucked Louis so hard that with every thrust Louis was  pushed up the bed. Harry placed a hand on Louis’ head to not let him bump against the headboard

Louis was so far gone, a constant stream of please and Harry pouring from his mouth, spit and tears streaking his pretty face. That had always been Harry’s favorite sight: Louis was so gone that he didn’t even realize what he babbled, whether he cried or drooled. So lost in pleasure that he could barely think. Harry was always so proud and smug about the fact that it was him who brought such pleasure to Louis, that he was the reason that Louis lost all his bearing and inhibitions, lost  in so much pleasure that gave all his control to Harry, showing the trust he had in him.

It was  just a few thrusts before Louis  came untouched, and with the tight grip that his hole had on Harry, it didn’t take much longer for him to empty himself in Louis. His whole body spasmed as he finally let go, his hips slowing, lazily fucking his cum into Louis until they come to a final stop.

Once Harry had completely emptied himself and stopped fucking into Louis he dropped on top of Louis, his head resting in the crook between his neck he held him close. Louis had his own arms wrapped around Harry, one of his hands played with the curls on the nape of Harry’s neck. 

They stay like that for a few minutes, naked bodies cuddling with Harry’s cum dripping from Louis’ hole. Harry nuzzled into Louis’ neck, Louis breathed in the comforting scent of Harry.

Louis was almost dozing off when Harry moved to get up, his hands falling from Harry’s body limply. He didn’t put up much of a fight when Harry left to get a rag to clean them up, only wincing when Harry slipped out of him. Harry shushed him with kisses. 

Harry quickly walked to the bathroom and grabbed a rag and a mugful of water. He joined Louis on the bed as he gently wiped him down, and then proceeded to clean himself as well.

Louis didn’t say anything, letting Harry clean him up. Sex always made him tired and that day was no different. He just wanted to cuddle up with Harry and fall asleep for a few hours. His body ached, but he knew later it’d become a pleasant ache.

Once Harry was done, he dumped the rag and the water and walked back to the bed. Cream in hand for Louis’ nipples, they  always got sensitive after Harry played and bit them. They had turned red and raw, Harry feared they would be too sensitive for him to wear a top if he didn't apply some numbing cream. So he carefully rubbed it over the small pink buds. Louis’ face contorted in discomfort, Harry tried his best to be as gentle as possible.

Once he was done, he dropped the cream on the bedside table, not having enough energy to put it where he got it. He slipped into bed next to Louis, who was quick to turn to attach his back to Harry’s front. Not even two minutes later he fell asleep, Harry following him soon after.

The sun was high up in the sky when Louis woke up, the sharp rays falling on his face. Even after waking up, he took a few more minutes to finally open his eyes. The first thing he realized when he opened his eyes was the absence of Harry’s warmth behind him.

When he realized Harry wasn’t in the room and the sheets were cold on his side, Louis decided to get up and seek him out. Harry, ever the caring boyfriend, had dressed Louis in one of his shirts and a pair of soft cotton panties. Louis could already feel his body buzzing with the pleasant ache that one got after a good round of sex followed by the best nap ever.

When he walked out of the bedroom searching for Harry, he heard his voice in the kitchen and followed it. Louis had only just reached the kitchen when he heard “Alright Carl, thank you so much for everything.” And cut the call.

Harry made Louis’ comfort food: cheese toasties and tomato soup. Louis could tell by the smell alone. His stomach grumbled. Just when he was about to make his presence known, Harry turned and startled a little, not expecting Louis to be there.

“Hi, baby, you’re up,” he said, smiling. Louis’ hair is all rumpled and messy, face covered in sleep lines and his eyes were a little puffy. Proof of how good he slept. “Come here, sweetheart.”

Louis wasted no time and went straight to Harry’s open arms, fitting himself right where he always belonged. Harry turned off the stove and hugged Louis tighter. 

“What did Carl say?” 

Harry knew by his tone that he wasn't asking  just about then,  but also about the call before—the one Harry took on the balcony. He heaved a sigh as he explained the details from the previous call.  Louis listened attentively as they slowly rocked from side to side. 

“Then Carl just called me to inform me that the interview is in two days, he also sent me the questions that they might ask. I’ll check them when we are done with lunch.” Once Harry finished, the room grew silent, neither of them saying anything, lost in thought.

“Are you scared of doing the interview?” Louis’ voice was timid as he broke the silence, almost like he didn’t want to know the answer.

But that was the thing, even if Harry was scared because a hundred things could go wrong, he actually wanted to do it. Wanted to clear some shit up while he could, and he knew how to steer an interview in the direction he wanted, how to make it seem like he gave an answer but not really doing so. No he wasn’t as scared as he thought he would, especially now that he had time to sleep on it and actually consider it properly. And he told Louis just that.

Louis for his part seemed relieved. All he said in reply to Harry’s explanation was an ‘I love you’, hoping Harry would understand every unsaid word because he just couldn’t seem to put all his thoughts and feelings into words.

And Harry did understand Louis just like he did. That was the reason why they worked so well together, not everything needed to be said. They knew to find the unsaid words in the small moments, the tiny, insignificant ones, adding meaning to them.

“Can we eat now?” Louis asked suddenly, making Harry burst out in laughter. He nodded, making Louis sit on the island so he could bring him the food. Once everything was on the counter, they plate it and dig in.

Harry asked about Louis' cold, the reason everything happened, and Louis said he felt much better, especially having his comfort food with his comfort person. They talked about the most random things, thinking about something to watch after dinner—whether another rerun of Friends or Grease, maybe a rom-com or something new.

It was late afternoon by the time they were done with lunch, so they decided to watch a few episodes of Friends, not wanting to start something new or something that would require effort.

Louis would burn a hole through the floor with how much he paced around, but he couldn’t do anything about it because if he didn’t channel that nervous energy into something physical then he would start breaking down. That was the better option of the two. He was currently in Harry’s dressing room at the interview studio.

The last two days they tried their best to not let the inevitability of the interview ruin their weekend. Louis never actually accompanied Harry to any of his interviews before, he had gone to Harry's shows, stood in the VIP section and listened to Harry serenade him. But both Harry and Louis preferred it if he didn't come to those promotional events.

It wasn't that Harry didn't like him to be there—or that Louis didn't like to be there and support him in person instead of only through a good luck text—it was just that Harry didn’t trust those. He didn’t like to leave Louis with those people only for them to hurt him or make fun of him or just bring him any sort of discomfort and louis never really liked being left alone when it came to interacting with people of Harry’s job, it isn't that Louis can’t because he can and he tried but sometimes, some people give him certain looks and whisper about him even though he is right there and sometimes they just straight up talk about him with other while he is still standing there completely ignoring his presence.

They had problems during the start of Harry’s career, and it was eye-opening enough that they didn't want a repeat of it. Louis decided to stay out of all the glam part that came with Harry’s lifestyle. 

But now that everything was out, Louis decided to accompany Harry, when he first mentioned it to Harry the night before while they cuddled. Harry immediately put some distance between them, enough so he could look in Louis’s eyes and confirm that what he heard was right. When Louis repeated himself, that he wanted to come and wanted to support Harry, because the interview was a big thing. He did ask Louis multiple times since then, making sure of his decision, but Louis had been firm.

And now there he was, in Harry’s dressing room. Alone. Harry had gone out to the studio, he was set to come back to the room to get his make-up done before they would start filming. They had about an hour left before the filming started, and another hour before they could go home.

Louis couldn’t wait for it to be over.

He still paced  around when the door opened. He relaxed when he saw that it was Harry. He entered the room and locked the door behind him. He smiled tiredly and wrapped Louis in a tight embrace.

“Hi, baby.” Harry greeted Louis with a kiss to his forehead.

Harry suddenly picked Louis up, making him squeal a little and quickly wrap his arm and legs around Harry. Harry walked them to the couch and sat down with Louis on his lap.

“Baby, are you sure you want to be here? if you’re uncomfortable you just have to say the word and I’ll have the driver drop you back home,” Harry asked, his voice gentle and sweet, comforting.

Louis was quick to shake his head. “No, I want to be here, I want to support you. And this interview isn’t like the others. It’s probably one of the most important ones of your career and I want to be here.”

“Sweetheart, is everything alright?” Harry questioned. He could feel something was wrong, Louis had been quiet all morning and the previous night as well.. Harry knew Louis supported him and encouraged him, and was his number one supporter, but Louis had never been so adamant about going to his interviews to show his support. He prefered being home and sending cute texts to lighten Harry's mood.

“Yes, Harry, everything is alright. How hard is it for you to believe that you actually have a supportive boyfriend?” Louis asked, almost angry. Before Harry could apologize Louis continued: “I mean, if you can’t see that I am supportive then how will those fans online know? Maybe they are writing about me being more supportive." Insecurity seeped into Louis’s words. And Harry felt like shit.

“Baby, first of all, I am so sorry for making you think that you don't support me enough because that is just the biggest lie ever, there has never been a day where I didn't feel your support, every interview, song, show I have ever played I knew you would be right there, waiting for me with whatever I needed. And if that doesn't mean supportive, sweetheart, I don't know what does,” Harry stated as earnestly as he could because everything he said was the absolute truth.

Harry hated that he even had to have that conversation, it felt like he failed to let Louis know that what he did was more than enough. That he was Harry's rock in every situation, he was his anchor, keeping him afloat when he felt like drowning. And Harry failed to make him know all of that. He hated that Louis looked so small, folding onto himself, his eyes sad.

“Do you really mean all of it?” Louis asked in a tiny voice, and it just broke Harry’s heart all that more.

“Yes, baby. You know I never lie to you, especially not when it comes to this.” Harry was not beyond begging Louis to believe him.

“Okay then.” Was Louis’ reply, but Harry knew he still didn’t believe him.

“Sweetheart, whatever made you think that, please don't believe it. Actually, talk to me, tell me what it is that made you think something so stupid, please, baby.”

Louis didn’t respond at first but he looked up at Harry, trying to see if he really wanted to know it. He must have seen something on Harry’s face because he took a big breath and “I know you told me to not spend much time online, checking Twitter for what people say about me and you, but when we browsed it together yesterday, I saw some comments.”

He paused and Harry waited patiently.

“The comments were not the best, they were mean. There were a few comments about me not being there for you and stuff—you didn't really notice them, skipping past. Still, I was bugged about it, so later I opened Twitter again and read those tweets. Reading those led me to some others and then some more, and I kept reading. There were so many  mean things about me never being at your shows, about being with you for your money—the glam that you get from your career while just being in the back doing nothing but—" He paused as he felt the lump in his throat grow. 

Harry rubbed his back, giving him comforting touches, wanting to step in and tell Louis to stop speaking so he didn’t have to relive it. But he also needed Louis to speak about it, to let it all out.

“—doing nothing but just giving you a body you can fuck and keep your bed warm. That you only come back to me only because I am a good lay. And then there were the tweets about how they could be a better person for you, because, not only would they be a better fuck, but also a more supportive lover. Something that I am not.” Louis cried by the time he finished, tears freely flowing down his cheeks.

Harry’s heart shattered into a million pieces just thinking about how Louis had kept that to himself since yesterday. And it was not just the fact that he read such mean things but also believed them. Believed every single one of those lies. He wanted nothing more than to let Louis know just how wrong those people were, but first he needed to calm Louis.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s okay, let it all out, baby.” Harry held him tight, letting him cry it all out for the sake of catharsis, offering him kind words and comforting touches. Tender kisses and warm words was all he could offer until Louis' cries subsided.

It took a few minutes and a lot of coaxing from Harry, but Louis’ cries eventually diminished to occasional sniffles. Louis rubbed his runny nose against Harry's shoulder, Harry only smiled to himself. He put two fingers under Louis' chin to lift it and make him look at him. “Feeling better?” Probably not the best thing to ask but he did anyway.

“A little.” Louis nodded.

Harry dropped a kiss on his forehead, then to his lips before he breathed and prepared himself for what he was about to say. “Sweetheart, it breaks my heart so much that you had to, not only see such mean things being said about you, but also keep them to yourself and believe them.”

Louis didn’t say anything, only shrugged and fiddled his fingers.

“First of all I need you to know that whatever they said was completely not true, and you know it too. Louis, we have been together for six years now, baby. To think that you would still believe some random person on the internet breaks my heart. sweetheart. Knowing that you believed them makes my heart hurt.” Harry's voice sounds small, and that had Louis raising his head to look at him.

The broken look on Harry's face made Louis’ stomach twist, he placed his palms on Harry’s cheeks. “Harry, that's not true, you know I believe and trust you more than anything,” his voice with a pleading edge.

“Then why, baby? Why would you let those tweets hurt you so much?”

Louis was silent for a few seconds. “Because they are your fans, Harry, and all this time I was not in the limelight, I stayed away but now that they know me. I don’t want them to have the wrong opinion of me, and there were so many people saying those things. The sheer amount made me think that ,maybe, I ought to do more, be more present in this part of your life instead of cowering away in fear. Hoping you'd come back to me. And everything else, I know it was stupid of me to believe those tweets and I don't know why I did.” Louis looked at his hands, refusing to make eye contact with Harry.

Harry lifted his chin. “Baby, in this line there will always be people who think badly of you—mostly because they wish they were you—but that doesn't mean you forget your own worth. You are more than whatever those people think of you, you are your own person. My rock, my reason, my muse. No matter how much they try to put you down they can never change the fact that, for me, it is only you. Only you, baby. And from today onwards, I'll try to prove it even more fiercely because I love you, more than I can comprehend sometimes.”

Tears spilled down Louis’ face, happy ones this time around. He felt so foolish for letting those stupid tweets plague his mind when Harry had repeatedly proven how much he loved him and appreciated him.

“And you don't have to do anything you don’t want to. Your support is what keeps me afloat, never once think that, just because you don't do it publicly, it  means our private moments don’t hold importance. To me, that is the only thing that matters, no matter how much the fans, the label, other big shot singers or industry people validate and gratify me, at the end of the day I'll always need your supportive, calm and soft words to keep me going.”

Louis looked at Harry with eyes filled to the brim with tears, one blink and they’d start freely flowing down his cheeks. He was so overwhelmed by Harry's declaration that, even if he tried to say anything, words wouldn’t come out. Instead he hugged Harry, tight, and Harry returned it just as tight. Through the embrace Louis tried to tell him everything he couldn’t say, because all he could do at that moment was apologize. Apologize for not having enough trust and faith in Harry, for believing something that he had time and time again proved to be otherwise, for bringing pain to both of them because of his insecurities.

Harry shushed him, telling Louis that there was no need to apologise. Though the next time something like that were to happen, Harry wanted Louis to promise that he would talk to Harry about it. Louis dutifully agreed and vowed to not let it get that bad next time. 

They both sat like that, wrapped around each other for a while, Louis' cries had almost ceased, and he clung to Harry tightly. It didn’t take long until there was a knock on the door. Harry didn’t really bother about moving away from Louis, asking the person to come in. No one was allowed into his dressing room except for Carl.

“Hi, Harry, hi Louis,” Carl greeted them as he closed the door behind him. Carl walked up  to where they sat intertwined. “Alright, Harry, the makeup artist is coming in minutes, and in another twenty minutes we will start shooting, okay?”

Harry nodded as they started discussing strategies to dodge unwanted questions. Even though they had gone through that conversation a thousand times already, Louis knew why it was so important. He sat there listening to them talk, so engrossed, he barely realized when he fell asleep. 

The next time he came to consciousness Harry had put him down on the couch to get up. Louis was about to protest when Harry asked him to go back to sleep softly.

Harry talked to Carl about the interview stuff when there was another knock on the door, Carl went to open it. Harry turned to talk to Louis, but found him sleeping peacefully. He smiled to himself, feeling nothing but absolute love and adoration for that boy.

He takes the blanket from the arm of the couch and throws it over louis, he drops one last forehead kiss onto louis and then goes to get his makeup done.

He greeted the makeup artists cordially; her name was Susie and she seemed sweet enough. The makeup didn’t take long, and while Susie was getting Harry ready, she engaged him in small talk Nothing personal, just about how she'd heard his songs and even though not his biggest she still loves his tunes and can't wait for more from him And that was when she told him she had seen the live that got them there.

“You did?”

“I sure did, and it was the cutest thing ever. I mean, the interaction between the two of you was sweeter than the gulab jamun I was eating and, believe me, it was very sweet.” The words brought a laugh out of Harry.

“No way, Louis' favorite sweet is gulab jamun. He hates sweets in general but that one he absolutely loves,” Harry said fondly, glancing back to Louis' peaceful sleeping face.

“Well, he's got impeccable taste then,” Susie said with a smile. “But on a serious note, though. He is super adorable. I thought that when I saw him on the live but now that I see him in real life, he is even more adorable. It's hard not to sneak a peak of him every once in a while.”

Harry couldn’t help but agree with her, though he didn't have to worry about sneaking a peek at Louis every once in a while, because that was his boy. They got done with the makeup  just as Carl entered the room to inform them that everyone was ready for shooting.

Susie wished him the best of luck and bid him goodbye. Harry took a deep breath, blew it out, and glanced one last time at Louis' sleeping form before he went out into the shooting room.

The interview started off well, the interviewer did not immediately dive into the reason for the interview, but rather circled around subjects and asked about his recent tour, the release of new music, and some other stuff.

When she came to ask about the Instagram livestream Harry only said about the world already knew. He did not go into details. Harry answered everything skillfully. He talked about how he and Louis met, and how they had been attached to the hip since. He talked about him adjusting to the fact that the whole world knew about his sexuality, and he was equally  relieved and scared about it.

The last question was something that Harry didn’t want to be on the questions list, but Carl encouraged him to let it be.

“So Harry, before we finish our chat, would you like to share with the world what your boyfriend means to you and who he is to you?” 

Harry didn’t want to answer that, he knew he got pretty vulnerable when it came to Louis and what he meant to him, but Carl insisted that it would be good to let the people know about their love.

“My boyfriend Louis means the world to me. He is the reason why I am where I am. He supported me throughout my entire career, from the start to this moment, even when it became incredibly difficult. He keeps me afloat, he anchors me. He is my muse—every song I’ve ever written is about him. I don't think that will ever change. The more I get to be with him, the more I fall in love. To know him is to know love. I hope the world can see it too because he is everything soft and sweet and kind and caring and wonderful.”

As Harry answered the last question he finally felt like they would be alright, because their love transcended every obstacle they’d faced and would face. And, in Harry’s opinion, every one they had ever come across had only made them stronger, brought them closer. As long as they had each other, nothing could come between them. They may be two different identities in two different bodies but they both were two halves of the same soul, and together they completed each other.