Chapter Text
The door to Louis’ apartment burst open, and he dropped his keys haphazardly on the floor.
He and Harry were clinging to each other, lips pressed together as the two of them grabbed at the other’s body through the many layers of their clothes.
“God, I love you,” Harry mumbled against Louis’ lips as he toed off his shoes.
Louis tugged his coat off and kicked the door shut behind them.
“Love you so much,” Louis replied.
They broke apart so that Louis could pull his shirt over his head and Harry did the same once his coat was tossed onto the floor, as well.
The two of them joined lips, sighing at the contact and backed toward Louis’ bedroom.
They crashed into the wall, leaning against it to support themselves.
Harry moved his lips down to Louis’ neck and started sucking dark bruises into it.
Now that they didn’t have to hide anything, he’d gotten more reckless with marking Louis up whenever he got the chance.
“Harry, shit,” Louis groaned. He tangled his fingers into Harry’s hair and brought his face back up, touching their lips together again.
This one was gentler. Harry licked his way into Louis’ mouth, hearing the deep sigh his boyfriend let out and loving the reaction he was getting.
He started to undo Louis’ jeans and dipped his fingers under the waistband of his briefs.
Louis moaned and pushed back against Harry.
The two of them made their way once more down the hallway.
They bumped into the wall again, and remained there for what seemed like an eternity before Harry had both hands down Louis’ pants.
“Fuck it, I can’t wait.”
With that, Harry dropped to his knees and yanked Louis’ jeans and briefs down.
“God, yes,” Louis moaned once his cock had sprung free.
Harry took Louis into his mouth immediately, getting him nice and slick with spit.
When he pulled off, he kissed Louis’ inner thighs while jerking him off with his hand.
“Like that?” Harry purred, looking up at his boyfriend.
“You know I do, fuck.”
Harry grinned and slowed down his hand, only to soon replace it with his mouth.
Louis awoke with a start, feeling disoriented.
He definitely wasn’t in the hallway of his apartment, but, hearing a slurping noise, realized that Harry did have his mouth on him.
He looked down and saw Harry’s pretty pink lips stretched across his dick as he went up and down.
He remembered that he stayed over Harry’s last night, so he must be in his bedroom, and if this was the kind of wake up call he would get, he told himself he would stay over more often.
“Oh, my God,” he gasped.
Harry looked up and smiled around Louis’ cock, but didn’t slow down his motions.
He sunk down slowly, hollowing his cheeks as he went, and tilted his head from side to side a few times when he had Louis completely in his mouth.
Louis took a firm hold on Harry’s hair and pulled. He dropped his head back down to his pillow when Harry’s eyes rolled back into his head and he let out a groan.
This only prompted Harry to bob up and down a little faster, swirling his tongue around the tip whenever he reached the top.
Fuck, he wasn’t going to last.
Harry stopped his movements soon after and slowly walked his hands under Louis to cup his ass, giving each cheek a firm squeeze before pressing upward.
Louis looked back at Harry, who only raised his eyebrows innocently.
He knew how to take a hint.
Keeping his hold on Harry’s head, Louis started thrusting upward, feeling his dick sliding over Harry’s tongue and hitting the back of his throat.
Louis knew that Harry could take it, so he sped up his pace, effectively fucking his mouth.
The older man was soon working up a sweat, and the beads of sweat that formed along his hairline matched the size of the tears gathering in Harry’s eyes.
Harry gagged once or twice, but didn’t make a move to stop Louis as he chased his orgasm.
He merely closed his lips around Louis even tighter, if that was even possible.
“Almost there,” Louis promised.
Harry just blinked as he waited for the inevitable cum to spurt down his throat.
He moved one hand to fondle Louis’ balls, and soon, Louis was done.
He came, hard, into Harry’s mouth, and watched as Harry swallowed him down.
Once he was finished, he dropped his hands to the mattress, and closed his eyes, exhausted at his unexpected early morning workout.
He was trying to catch his breath and felt Harry tuck him back into his shorts before crawling up his body to straddle him over his waist.
“Good morning,” Harry rasped in his ears.
Louis opened his eyes to find Harry hunched over him, and he nearly came again at the sight that was waiting for him.
Harry looked absolutely wrecked. His cheeks were flushed, his lips were deep red in color, his curls were in disarray and his eyes were puffy like he’d been crying.
But that voice. God, Louis thought Harry had a deep voice before, but it was nothing compared to now.
“You can say that again,” Louis grinned. He sat up and pulled Harry’s face down to his own, crushing their lips together in a passionate kiss.
Harry kept his hands on Louis’ chest and responded eagerly, parting his lips so Louis could slip his tongue right inside.
They kissed until Louis could feel himself starting to get hard again, and then he pulled away.
“Good fucking morning,” Harry rasped again now that he could breathe.
“I love you,” Louis told him, pressing a soft kiss to Harry’s bare chest.
“I love you, too,” Harry responded. “You hungry?”
“After that? Starving.”
Harry giggled and rolled off Louis, headed out of the room.
“Haz?”
Harry looked over his shoulder toward Louis when he reached the door.
“Did you need me to… You know?”
“Oh, no, I finished just after you did.”
“Fuck,” Louis sighed. If it wasn’t the hottest thing ever that Harry could get himself off just at the mere act of Louis fucking his throat, then he didn’t know what was.
Louis stretched and followed his boyfriend out into the kitchen.
“French toast OK?” Harry wondered, looking in his fridge.
“Perfect.”
Louis jumped up on the counter top and got comfortable while Harry got out the necessary ingredients.
“So um, while I’m definitely not complaining about how I was woken up this morning…” Louis smirked, “is there any reason for it?”
Harry shrugged. “Just wanted to.”
“Uh-huh. What else?”
Harry hesitated before answering. “Um, I guess I’m just glad you took care of me last night; made me feel better. And I’m happy we’re both OK.”
Louis let out an internal sigh.
“It’s OK to be scared, you know,” Louis reminded gently.
“I’m not scared,” Harry shook his head as he started cracking eggs. “I’m really not. I’m more frustrated with myself.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t remember anything, at least nothing that would help. I didn’t really get good looks at the guys because of how dark it was. Plus, they had hoods up and I was staring mostly at the ground. I remember their voices, but how good would that be on a police report?”
“It would be plenty helpful. Especially if these guys have done this before.”
“But I don’t think they have,” Harry stated.
“Why do you think that?”
“I don’t know. I just… I feel like they were, like, acting on orders? Like, one of them said they didn’t want to hurt us, and then they barely touched us. Doesn’t that seem weird to you?”
“Not really. They didn’t want to waste any energy; pretty smart, if you ask me.”
“I guess so,” Harry responded, turning the stove on. “It still just seems weird.”
“You’re overthinking it,” Louis smiled. “All this stuff lately has you all worked up: the fake brother story, Niall’s accident, first day of filming tomorrow night… Oh, by the way, did Ben sell you on an apartment yet?”
“No, and he’s not going to. I wrote it into my contract that I get final say over if I move or not. And I haven’t spoken to Niall about it yet, so right now, it’s a ‘no,’ and it’ll most likely stay a ‘no.’”
“But why? Think about it: you guys could live closer to work, you could live closer to me, Niall will be closer to his rehab place. You can hang out with the rest of us more, and Niall won’t be so lonely all by himself while you’re at work and he’s stuck in the living room with his leg propped up on the coffee table.”
“I can’t see Niall caring about any of that, to be honest. I mean, this is our home,” Harry gestured around him with the fork he held in his hand. “He can’t wait to come back here; and I love it here, too.”
“But Harry,” Louis frowned slightly, “you could move to a better neighborhood; a safer one. This place isn’t the most secure one you could find.”
“Based on?”
“Based on twelve hours ago when our wallets were stolen by some unknown criminals.”
“So twenty-four hours ago, you had no issues with my apartment?”
“Well no, but-“
“So one little incident shouldn’t make a difference in the issue of my safety?”
“It’s not little, Harry,” Louis rolled his eyes. “It’s a pretty big deal. And just because you think that it was a planned incident doesn’t make it any better.”
“I don’t want to move.”
“At least consider it. You know Ben won’t let up on it until you do, and it really only makes sense for you to get a new apartment.”
“I’ll consider it, sure. Doesn’t mean I’ll actually do it.”
“That’s all I can ask, I suppose,” Louis pursed his lips slightly. “Is there anything I can do to sway your decision, though?”
Harry shook his head. “Nope. I’ll make the one that’s best for me, and for Niall. We’ll be fine. We always figure out how to solve our issues.”
“Well let me know what you decide. Although, I think you could solve any issues you have by getting a nicer apartment.”
“Louis, just drop it, alright?” Harry warned. He was so over talking about this.
“Fine,” Louis raised his hands in surrender. “Just consider moving, that’s all I want.”
“No, you want me to move, which I said no to. Why can’t you respect that?”
“Because I don’t understand it, that’s why!”
“Well it’s not your decision to understand! I don’t want to leave my apartment so that I’ll be closer to work or that Niall will have more friends in the area, or even because I’m scared of the guys that mugged us last night. If I leave my apartment, I want it to be because I want to. And right now, I don’t want to.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
“Let’s just eat breakfast and go file a police report, OK?”
Harry nodded hesitatingly. “Yeah.”
“That was just an empty threat, babe. They’re not going to come after us just because we went to the cops.”
“How do you know?” Harry asked quietly.
“I just do. Trust me, we’ll be fine.”
The thing was, Harry did trust him. How could he not? Louis had never given him a reason to feel otherwise. It was just the muggers that he didn’t trust: the ones that were still out there, who could be watching him.
---
On Monday night, Louis arrived to the bar a little earlier than he had to.
It was only 9:30, and fucking dead, but he knew it would pick up by the time he and Harry were equipped with their microphones.
He saw Ben standing with Meredith and the sound guys near the back corner and made his way over.
“Louis, is that you?” Ben asked jokingly. “Are you early?”
He looked down at his watch and then back up at Louis. “Never thought I would see the day.”
“Haha,” Louis fake-laughed. “Just wanted to make sure everything was good for Harry’s first night filming, that’s all.”
“Well we can’t complain about that,” Meredith smiled. “He just texted, by the way. He’s running a little late.”
“Of course, the one time I’m actually on time, he’s late,” Louis laughed.
“Whatever works,” Ben told him as he set him up with his microphone. “Oh speaking of your boy, looks like I have to find him a new apartment.”
“Oh yeah?” Louis looked over his shoulder at Ben. He hadn’t actually heard the news yet. Maybe Harry wanted to tell him tonight.
“Yeah, I’m so glad he’s moving,” Ben sighed. “It’ll make everything so much easier.”
Ben walked around so that he was now facing Louis, adjusting the microphone on his shirt.
“I’m thrilled he’s moving,” Louis admitted. “I hate his apartment.”
He left out the part about their mugging, not wanting to worry Ben with the news.
“I mean, I’ve never seen it, but it’s far away, and that’s all I have to hate about it.”
“Yeah, that, too. We even got into a disagreement about it yesterday morning. I told him that he needed to move. Glad he listened.”
“Me, too,” Ben said. “All right, you’re all set with your mic. Just gotta wait for him.”
---
Zayn: Harry, heard the good news!
Harry: ??
Zayn: That you’re moving. Louis just told me.
Harry: Oh, he did?
Zayn: Yeah. If you need to use my realtor, I’ll give you her number. She’s awesome. She actually found my apartment when I first moved out.
Harry: Uh, sure. Thanks.
Zayn: No problem! I’ll let you get back to filming. Oh, shit, you’re not on camera right now, are you?
Harry: Nah, just getting here. But I think I might be running late now.
Zayn: Shit, sorry. Anyway, I’ll send you her number later.
Harry: OK, thanks.
Harry was in a cab heading over to the bar, and suddenly he wanted to tell the driver to turn around and take him home.
He was pissed. How dare Louis tell Zayn, or anybody for that matter, that he was moving? He hadn’t decided anything yet, and now Zayn thought he definitely was.
Fuck, Louis probably told Ben that he was moving, too.
Sure, Harry had considered it, but hadn’t said that he was definitely looking for a new apartment. Niall hadn’t been sold on the idea when he talked to him at the hospital earlier today.
Speaking of, Harry probably should’ve waited to tell Niall that information, because it threw his roommate into distress.
“Goddamn it, Harry, don’t you dare sign anything else!” Niall started yelling at his roommate.
“Niall, calm down!” Harry pleaded, watching as his heart rate spiked on the monitors.
“No! It’s bad enough you signed on to this soul-crushing reality show, to pay for me, no less. I’m still not completely thrilled about that, by the way.”
“I know you’re not, Niall, but-“
“But nothing! This sucks. I’m already forever indebted to you, I don’t want the stress of being owned by a television show on my shoulders, too.”
“You’re not indebted to me,” Harry explained for the millionth time. “It’ll be my money, and I can do what I want with it. I’m helping you.”
“But you shouldn’t have to. None of this should be happening. This whole fame thing is total bullshit!”
“You think I don’t know that?” Harry yelled.
Niall threw his head back on his pillow in exasperation.
An alarm suddenly started beeping, but the boys ignored it.
“I think about this all the time. How my life would be so different if one little thing didn’t happen. If I didn’t meet Louis, or if I didn’t work at the restaurant, or if my dad didn’t do what he did? It’s literally what goes through my head most of the time like it’s on a fucking loop. But this is my life, and I’m trying to deal with it. I told Ben that I wouldn’t be moving unless both of us were OK with it, so calm down. We’re not moving, alright?”
“Good!” Niall exclaimed with a frown on his face.
“Mr. Horan, are you alright?”
A nurse was walking into the room, with a clipboard in hand and a worried expression on her face.
“I’m fucking fine,” Niall grunted.
“Mr. Horan, I need you to calm down.”
“Why do you people keep telling me that? I’m plenty calm. I couldn’t be calmer if I tried.”
“Not true,” Harry muttered.
“Shove it, Harry.”
“Mr. Horan, this isn’t good. Your heart rate is through the roof. You need to relax, because this stress isn’t good for your body. Don’t forget, you’re still in recovery.”
“I’m fine, it’s just my roommate,” Niall kicked his good leg in Harry’s direction. “He’s being a dick.”
“You're the roommate?” The nurse asked with side-eye.
“Yeah,” Harry nodded.
“I need you to leave, then.”
“What?” Harry wondered while Niall let out a triumphant “Ha!”
“You being here isn’t good for Mr. Horan’s heart right now, so please leave.”
“This is bullshit,” Harry rolled his eyes.
“Now, sir.”
Harry looked at Niall, who had his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face.
“You know what? Fine,” Harry stated. He grabbed his coat and started walking toward the exit. “I have filming to do anyway. Gotta pay those bills somehow, right, Niall?”
“Oh fuck you!” Niall shouted after him.
“Love you, too, roomie,” Harry shot back as that damn alarm started beeping again.
After Harry left the hospital, he immediately felt guilty about how he reacted to Niall. He hoped that being with Louis for a little while, despite the cameras filming their date, could make him feel better.
Now, it was clear that wouldn’t be happening.
He was just annoyed all over again. Who did Louis think he was, making decisions like that for Harry when he knew how Harry felt about the whole moving situation?
Typical Louis, Harry thought to himself.
The cab pulled up to the bar then. Harry paid him, and with a ‘Thank you,’ he stepped out onto the curb.
There were a few people already waiting outside.
He smiled at them, surprised that they seemed to be waiting for him.
“Hi, Harry,” they echoed as he made his way to the door.
“Can we have a picture with you?” one girl boldly asked.
Harry paused. They were just teenage girls, and seemed to be harmless enough. There were only four of them, so Harry shrugged and agreed to a quick group shot.
He stood in the middle of them and waited while one random passerby told them to huddle closer together.
He took the photo, and the girls thanked Harry.
“Are you here to see Louis?” one of them asked.
Harry nodded. “Yeah, first night of filming for me.”
“Oh, that’s so cool,” she said.
A second one jumped in. “I hope you don’t mind that we waited for you. My older brother’s a bartender here, and he knows how much I love the show, so he told me the cameras were waiting for you guys.”
“No, that’s cool,” Harry shook his head.
He remembered something that Louis had told some fans just a few days ago. “Um, just don’t tell anybody else that we’re here? Trying to avoid crowds, you know.”
The girls all nodded in agreement.
“Oh, of course,” the third girl said. “We haven’t told anybody. We won’t put out this picture until tomorrow, if you want.”
“Yeah, let’s do that,” Harry agreed. “Um, I actually have to get in there. They’re sort of waiting for me.”
“Oh, sorry, we’ll let you go,” the fourth girl apologized.
“Not a problem. Have a good night.”
Harry waved to the girls and then walked inside, trying not to smile at the squeal he heard the girls let out behind him.
“Hey, superstar,” Meredith greeted when he walked up to her. “Made some friends out there, I see.”
“Yeah, it’s still a bit surreal, honestly.”
He stood still as she set up his mic pack.
“You’ll get used to it,” Meredith said. “Liam and Sophia did. The two of them weren’t used to fame in the slightest, and look at them now.”
“Yeah, I suppose.”
A few minutes later, Harry’s mic was set up, and Meredith told him that Ben was talking to Louis, and then they would begin filming.
Harry listened closely to her instructions: they were just to talk about whatever they wanted. There was no agenda for tonight, since it was Harry’s first night.
Oh, there’s plenty I want to talk about.
Ben walked over then, and told Harry that the cameras would film Louis sitting by himself first, and then Harry would walk over and join him. They would hug or however they wanted to greet each other and then they would start talking.
“Seems easy enough,” Harry responded.
“It is, you’ll see,” Ben smiled. “And if you’re not happy with anything you say, you can always restate it and we’ll fix it in post-production.”
And there it is, Harry thought to himself. The lack of reality in the ‘reality show.'
Harry just nodded and moved closer to where Louis sat.
Ben stood next to the camera guy and counted him off.
Louis was lounging back in his seat, playing with his new cell phone.
When he saw Harry coming over, a smile spread on his face. He stood, and wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist.
“Hi,” he greeted Harry with a kiss.
Harry returned it, although stiffly.
Louis’ eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a second, before he wiped the look off his face, smiling even wider.
They sat down in their seats and Louis jumped right in.
“So you’re moving?” he asked, unable to hide his grin.
Harry pressed his lips together, wanting to smack that smile right off Louis’ dumb face.
As much as he wanted to calmly tell Louis that he wasn’t moving, the day’s events just weren’t allowing him to do so.
So, he went the petty route. Fuck the high road.
“Nope, I’m staying right where I am. I like my apartment.”
That did it. The grin was gone.
“You’re not moving? Seriously?”
“Nah, I’ll stay put. I mean, Niall and I spent so long looking for that place. And it took us forever to get it fully decorated and everything, and I like my neighbors, so, yeah I’m gonna stay.”
Louis leaned back in his chair. Any excitement he had to be there tonight had been completely replaced by annoyance and anger.
“After what happened? You’re staying in that apartment?” Louis asked in amazement.
“Yeah, that’s what I just said.” Harry sent a sarcastic smile Louis’ way before crossing his arms across his chest.
Louis tapped his fingers on the table a few times before speaking.
“Harry, that place is a shithole, you really want to stay there?”
“Oh, so now it’s a shithole?” Harry knew they would have to censor that out in post-production, but he really didn’t care.
“No, actually, it’s a fucking shithole,” Louis responded grumpily. “You have a leak in your ceiling, the water in the shower takes forever to heat up, it’s never quiet, it takes you more than a half hour to get to work every day and most importantly, we got mugged outside of your building. Did you forget about that?”
“You can get mugged literally anywhere in New York City. It’s like, the mugging capital of the world.”
“It is not!”
“It is, too,” Harry argued. He leaned forward as he continued speaking. “And you know what? You’re the one who wanted to come over to my apartment. If you hate it so much, why did you even bother coming?”
“Oh, I’m sorry I wanted to hang out with my boyfriend at his apartment. My mistake.”
“No, don’t turn this around on me, Louis, that’s not what I’m saying.”
“So what are you saying, Harry?”
“I’m saying that I like living in my apartment that I pay for with my own money. I like living with my roommate and being independent, and that’s where we chose to live. I’m not depending on someone else to take care of me. End of story.”
“I just don’t understand why you didn’t choose a safer neighborhood. It’s not like you have to live in that one.”
“Yes, we do,” Harry stated fiercely. He could tell people around them were staring, but he didn’t care. This was something he wouldn’t back down from.
“No, you don’t! It’s not like you’re required to live in some shitty apartment. There’s no chains around your wrist preventing you from leaving.”
“You just don’t get it!” Harry yelled, throwing his hands in the air.
Yeah, people were definitely staring now.
“No, I don’t, why don’t you explain it to me?”
“Not everybody is as lucky as you, Rich Boy,” Harry blurted out.
Well that took Louis by surprise. He tilted his head to the side and blinked a few times before he said, “So it’s coming down to money now, is it?”
“You know what? I guess it is. I can’t just pick up and leave an apartment and go find another one. That’s not how my life works. At least, that’s not how it’s supposed to. I have a job that pretty much supports me, and doesn’t leave a whole lot of extra money to do anything else. I can’t just pick a neighborhood and say, ‘I want to live there.’ It comes down to what Niall and I can pay for, and right now, that’s it. Sorry that was too hard for you to understand.”
“I never meant that, and I never talk about money when I’m with you. I can’t believe you just threw that in my face. I totally apologize for worrying about your safety.”
The sarcasm was just rolling out now.
“Oh screw you, Louis,” Harry snapped. “Loosen the reigns a little, Jesus Christ. I am a grown man, you know. I can make my own decisions and support myself.”
“I never said you couldn’t!” Louis yelled back.
“You don’t have to say it, Louis! It’s obvious in the way you act toward me.”
The older man rolled his eyes and looked away from the table as Harry kept talking.
“You always insist on paying for me, no matter what it is. It doesn’t matter if it’s dinner, or if we’re gambling in Vegas. You tried to pay Niall’s hospital bills and I wouldn’t let you, and now I won’t let you have your say in my choice of apartment. For God’s sake, why can’t you just understand that I love being independent, and I’m not eager to go back to having someone pay for me? Not my rent or anything else?”
“What does it matter who pays your rent as long as you have a nice place to live?”
“My place is nice. It’s not my fault that you don’t see that.”
“Yeah, real nice place to get mugged outside of. Sure.”
“God, the location doesn’t have as big of an effect on the chance of getting mugged as you seem to think.”
“You sure?” Louis asked condescendingly. “Because, I’ve never been mugged outside of my apartment, or near my mom’s place.”
“That doesn’t make your neighborhood better than mine, Louis. It just means you have more money than I do. Good for you, do you want a prize? Next you’ll be saying that we can’t be together unless I move.”
“I would never say that!”
“You say that now. Until you deem yourself to be above going to my apartment. God… You know what? It’s like you have some kind of control issue, and it all comes down to money.”
“So not true,” Louis said through gritted teeth.
“It is true! Well, guess what, you can’t control everything. It’s not possible. Maybe that’s just what you’re used to, but where I come from, people can only control their own actions.”
“Oh, what I’m used to? You mean in my magical, wonderful land filled with money and endless free time to spend it all?”
“Yeah, actually, that’s what I mean,” Harry growled.
Louis set his jaw and just stared at the other boy. There was nothing else he could say without setting Harry off again, and he knew it.
“On that note, I think I’m going to head home.” Harry stood up from his seat. “You know, back to my shitty apartment. And when I get there, I’ll watch a movie on my TV that isn’t a flat screen, drink water that’s from the tap and sit on the couch that we got as a hand-me-down from Niall’s parents. Bet that sentence just sent chills down your spine.”
“Fuck you,” Louis spat at him.
“Right back at you. Have a great fucking night.”
Harry stormed off then, leaving Louis at the table.
The older man covered his eyes with his hands before dragging them down his face.
Only after he slammed a fist down on the table did he faintly hear, “Cut.”
---
As Harry prepared to leave his apartment on Tuesday morning, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.
He recognized the number for the hospital and picked up right away.
“Hello?” he answered.
“Harry, it’s Niall.”
“Hey, man, I’m on my way to come get you now.”
“Don’t bother,” Niall stated sadly. “They want to keep me two more days.”
“What? Why?”
“Well, thanks to our little shouting match yesterday, the nurse who kicked you out said something about my heart rate getting too high and my blood pressure escalating or something. I don’t know, I wasn’t really paying attention.”
“Niall,” Harry gently scolded.
“I know, I know. But, yeah, they said I can come home Thursday as long as I stay relaxed. The stress I was under wasn’t good for my lung… Or my ribs… Or my kidney, or anything else.”
“OK, then. Well, I guess I’ll see you Thursday, then?”
“Yeah, um, Harry, listen,” Niall started. “I just want to say I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“You know for what. Don’t make me say it, you know how much I hate apologizing.”
“I honestly don’t get what you’re saying sorry for, though. If anything, I was the insensitive one here.”
“No, I was such an idiot. Like, I said all those things, and I don’t even remember why I did. Just, I don’t want to rely on you for anything else.”
“What-?”
“Just, let me get this out. Please?” Niall requested.
Harry nodded, even though Niall couldn’t see him. “OK.”
“I already count on you for way more than I should. Like, you’re the one who gets me to work on time and makes sure I always have everything. You’re the one who keeps us on top of our bills. You’re the responsible one. And then the accident happened, and now I’ll have to count on you to take care of me until I can get around myself, and get me to rehab and help me through it all. Plus, I’ve been out of work for so long that I’m gonna be short on rent and everything else this month, and I have no idea when I’ll be able to start working again. I don’t want to have to count on you to keep a roof above our heads, and I definitely didn’t want you to sign on to the show to pay my hospital bills; it’s just one more thing to do for me. So, when you said that the show could be paying for an apartment for us, too, which I wouldn’t even have if it weren’t for you, I just had a bit of a freak out.”
Harry didn’t say anything, even though he was dying to. He just waited while Niall caught his breath and formulated his next thought.
“It’s just… This isn’t how I thought life would be, you know? Like, I always thought we would make it. I would be a chef and you would be in a bakery and we’d be doing what we want to do. Instead, we’re a bartender and a waiter; the only time I get to see the inside of the kitchen is when I walk through it to get to the storeroom for more beer. All of our money, what little we actually make, goes to rent for our apartment where there’s a certain trick to the shower head to get lukewarm water to flow out in less than sixty seconds and our downstairs neighbor specializes in combining the sounds of a blender and a vacuum and calling it music.”
Harry let out a laugh at the last comment.
“So, I guess above all, I’m tired of feeling like you take care of me, when really, I’m just trying to take care of myself.”
“Can I talk now?” Harry wondered when it seemed like Niall was finished.
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“First off, I love you. You’re my absolute best friend in the world, and I would do anything for you, no questions asked. Let’s just clear that up right now.”
“Harry-“
“Second, I know our lives haven’t panned out exactly how we pictured them. I mean, you’re still laying in a hospital bed, for fuck’s sake. But you know what? That’s happening to plenty of people our age. Not the hospital part, but the ‘not having their shit together’ part. And for the record, I think we’re doing a pretty great fucking job.”
“I guess.”
“Third, I feel the same way you do. I love feeling like I can actually take care of myself, and this whole ‘getting a free apartment’ thing is amazing, but I don’t want to go back to being taken care of. You’re right: I want to take care of myself. But at the same time, I have to do what’s best for us, especially for you.”
“So what are you gonna do?”
After some internal debate, Harry answered, “I think I have some calls to make.”
---
Louis: I love you.
Louis: I’m sorry.
Louis: Can we talk please? I don’t want to fight any more.
Harry read through his texts from Louis last night as he made his way toward the restaurant they were supposed to meet at for lunch.
Louis had texted him apologizing, but Harry wanted to meet face to face so that they could resolve any underlying tension once and for all.
So, they agreed to meet in the middle, choosing a place neither of them had been to before.
He crossed the street, approaching the restaurant.
He pulled his phone back out to tell Louis that he was out front when he walked right into someone.
“Oh, sorry,” he apologized, glancing up.
“No worries, it was my fault,” said a scarily familiar voice.
He looked up fully this time, and came face to face with Peter Washington.
He felt his eyes widen and his posture stiffen as he stared right into the eyes of the paparazzo who single-handedly belittled and taunted both Harry and Louis for their, as Louis called them, “daddy issues.”
“Peter, you really should be more careful where you’re going,” said a petite brunette from next to him.
Harry looked down at her pretty face, an apology written all over it.
“Yeah, I’m just so, um…”
Peter struggled to find the right words.
“Dad, can we go?”
Harry looked down again and finally noticed the two kids lingering behind Washington. One, a boy, had his face hidden behind his Game Boy, so it must have been the young girl firmly gripping his hand that had spoken the words.
Harry, ever the logical thinker, blurted out, “Peter! It’s so good to see you! I almost didn’t recognize you with that forest you call a beard on your face!”
The woman, who Harry assumed was Washington’s wife, let out a shocked laugh before covering her mouth with her hand.
“I didn’t realize you two knew each other,” she said. “And thank you, I’ve been telling him that for about a month, um…?”
“Harry,” he introduced himself.
“Harry,” she repeated. “Yeah, maybe you can talk some sense into him.”
“Yeah, Pete, come on. You look like Paul Bunyan. Not attractive.”
Washington’s wife laughed again.
She looked toward the restaurant, the same one that Harry was about to walk in and muttered, “Ooh, it looks crowded in there. I better go put our names in.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” Washington agreed, moving to walk into the building.
“No, I can do it. You two hang out for a few minutes. Come on, kids.”
She led the children away and as she was about to close the door behind her, she called over her shoulder, “Seriously, Harry, convince him to shave it!”
“I’ll do what I can,” he replied cheerily.
As soon as she was out of sight, Harry turned on Washington.
“You fucking-“
“Harry, please not here, OK?”
“Oh why not? Huh? Afraid I’ll make you look bad in front of your wife and kids? I mean, come on. You’re a father. And you dare to bring up my obvious family struggles to me on a day when you know I’m hurting.”
“Harry, I’m sorry, it’s not like I want to-“
“So why do you? Get an honest job, you prick. And it’s bad enough you do it to me, but you do it to my boyfriend, too? Is it some kind of game that you like to play? See how much of a rise you can get out of people with family problems and watch them break?”
“It’s not like that!”
“So what is it like? Please, tell me, because I would love to know.”
“I… It’s, it’s- Well, it’s complicated, all right?”
“Oh, that’s the biggest bullshit excuse I’ve ever fucking heard in my life,” Harry rolled his eyes.
“Look, it’s my job, OK? And I’m not proud of it, but it pays my bills and it supports my kids.”
“That’s great and all, but it doesn’t excuse what you do. You stalk people and invade their privacy with your ridiculously personal questions that don’t improve anybody’s lives by learning the answers to. If I wasn’t in the public eye, what you do would be a criminal offense.”
“But you are in the public eye. You signed on for this kind of stuff.”
“Funny, I don’t remember signing on to be taunted and have my own weaknesses used against me. I choose what parts of my life to share with people, and your job drags out whatever parts I want to keep in the dark, no matter what my reasoning behind it is.”
“You think I don’t know that? You think I like my job?”
“Seems like it; you’ve been doing it for enough years where you staying in your field is a choice and not a fallback option.”
“You don’t know anything about why I do what I do,” Washington snarled.
“Oh please enlighten me, then. Is this the part where you tell me about your own problems with your dad? How you took on photography hoping he would notice you and take interest in what you enjoy, but instead, he kept ignoring you, so you joined the paparazzi field hoping he would one day realize how talented you were? But, by the time he did, it was too late and you’d already crossed over to the dark side?”
“Wow, that was a great story. You should save that for your next cast meeting and have someone turn it into a movie or something.”
“Sure, why not?” Harry mocked. “I’d love to make money off you for once. That would be a nice change of pace, wouldn’t it?”
“You really think you’re so much better than me, don’t you?”
“I don’t think; I know. Unlike some people, I don’t take pride in hurting people and gaining something from it.”
“Then you should really re-examine your friend group, shouldn’t you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Harry questioned with another eye roll.
“You heard me,” Washington sneered. “Who do you think paid me to take those photos of you and ask you those questions? It was the same situation with Louis, too, before you ask.”
Harry froze. Washington wouldn’t possibly stoop low enough to accuse one of Louis’ friends for setting them up for a scandal, would he?
“You’re lying.”
Washington scoffed. “Sure. I’m lying. Whatever helps you sleep at night. Just don’t come crawling to me when it happens again. Actually, are you sitting on any more breaking news stories? I can run home and grab my camera and we can take some photos now; just get that over with.”
Harry shook his head. “You’re a piece of shit, you know that?”
“No worse than the people that you voluntarily associate with.”
“Who was it?”
Washington smirked and went to open his mouth. But before he could say anything else, he glanced into the distance and instantly shut it.
“You don’t want to continue this conversation any more.”
“Why not?”
“Because your boyfriend is coming this way.”
Harry whirled around, and sure enough, Louis was just getting to an intersection across the street. He hadn’t seemed to notice Harry and Washington yet, but in just two more light changes, he would be right where Harry stood.
“Well, it’s been great talking to you, but I’m going to be going now,” Washington muttered as he headed into the building.
“No, you don’t,” Harry stated, snatching Washington’s phone out of his back pocket where it rested.
“Hey!” Washington protested.
Harry paid him no mind as he quickly dialed his own number from Washington’s cell.
He looked over his shoulder to see Louis about to cross the street and find them. Just then, his phone started ringing.
He was extremely thankful that it worked on the first try. He’d only had the phone for two days and had been struggling to memorize the new number.
Now that he had Washington’s number, he shoved the other man’s phone back into his hands.
“We’re not done here,” Harry promised. “I’ll be in touch.”
He waved his phone in front of him before shooing Washington away.
Reluctantly, Washington walked into the restaurant, letting the door fall shut behind him.
“Hey, babe,” Louis greeted from behind him.
“Hey!” Harry exclaimed happily.
He immediately wrapped the older man into a giant hug.
“Missed you,” Louis mumbled against his chest.
“It’s only been two days,” Harry smiled.
“Yeah, but I yelled at you. It doesn’t count.”
“So… three days?”
“Yes! Far too long for us to be apart.”
“I agree.”
They pulled apart and grinned at each other.
“Hi,” Louis greeted. He leaned up and kissed Harry square on the mouth.
“Hi,” Harry said a moment later.
“Ready to eat?”
Louis took Harry’s hand and started heading for the door.
“You know what?” Harry pulled on Louis’ hand and led them in the opposite direction.
“Let’s go somewhere else?”
“Oh. How come?”
“Uhh…” Harry stalled. “The, line. It’s really long. The hostess said it would be like a 45 minute wait, and it didn’t matter that I was with the one and only Louis Tomlinson.”
“Oh, you didn’t really name drop, did you?” Louis groaned.
“Of course I did. What’s the point of having a hot, famous boyfriend if it doesn’t get me anything?”
“You’re hilarious,” Louis deadpanned. “And alright. We can just do Twisted if you want. Doesn’t matter to me.”
“Yeah, that works. It’s not too far away.”
They walked hand in hand down the busy sidewalks, fortunate enough to only get stopped by a few fans.
The girls all squealed when they saw Louis and Harry’s joined hands.
They were even more excited when Harry decided to be in the picture with them, instead of being the one taking it.
They soon got to Twisted and settled into a booth near the back.
“So…” they both started to say after they had ordered their food.
The two of them laughed awkwardly before Louis spoke.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too,” Harry said.
“I was such an asshole to you and I wish I could take it back.”
“I was just being stubborn, and didn’t want to listen to you or anybody else about anything, to be perfectly honest.”
“Harry, you’ve probably noticed this by now, but I get extremely overprotective when it comes to the people I love.”
“I did, but you’re allowed to be.”
“Not when it makes you think less of yourself, it’s not. You were right; I do treat you like you can’t take care of yourself and I shouldn’t. It’s just… And this is not to demean you at all, by the way… I do it because I can, and I know you can’t. Again, not to sound like a total prick.”
“You don’t. But you’re right. I can’t just drop money wherever I want just because I feel like it. I have to be more practical with it. But I like that. I like knowing that I’m responsible for what I spend and how I spend it. I like being on my own and not having to rely on anybody to take care of me. That’s why I reacted so negatively to just the idea of having Ben find me an apartment and have it paid for. I told Niall, I would love to get a free apartment, but I just…”
“Don’t want to owe anybody anything,” Louis concluded.
“What?”
“That’s it, isn’t it? You don’t want to feel like you owe Ben a favor, or like you have to pay me back for something…That’s stupid.”
“Hey!”
“No, shit, I didn’t mean that you were stupid or anything like that. But, your thought process confuses me. Like, you’re allowed to let other people help you, Harry. It doesn’t mean they control you or that you owe them one. It just means they’re helping you. That’s it.”
Harry looked down at his lap, a little afraid of how easily Louis saw right through him.
“What else?” Louis wondered when Harry didn’t respond quickly enough.
“Well,” Harry glanced up to Louis, who had a concerned look on his face. “I just don’t want you to think that I’m using you.”
Louis’ eyebrows shot up before a smile broke across his face. “After this fit you threw, I don’t think there’s ever a chance of me thinking that, Harry.”
Harry let out a laugh.
“I’m serious. You yelled at me when I tried to get you a new, free apartment. I think that’s the exact opposite of gold-digger behavior.”
“Well, when you put it that way…”
“Harry, look at me,” Louis requested.
The younger man did so, tearing his gaze away from his fingers to find his boyfriend watching him with a cautious expression.
“From the start, I’ve known you weren’t after my money. For fuck’s sake, you didn’t even know who I was in the beginning. And after you learned about my show and found out who my mom was, your behavior never changed. I mean, I took you to Vegas and you spent more time on the trip staring around the plane and hotel room than asking me for money or going on shopping sprees. I know it’s never been about the money for you. So you taking up Ben on his offer for the apartment is a logical, practical choice. It’s got nothing to do with me. I won’t look at you any differently for doing something I’ve been doing for a while now.”
“You promise?” he asked shyly.
“I promise.”
Louis reached his hands across the table, leaving his palms facing up.
Harry slipped his hands into Louis’.
“OK,” he smiled.
“So, while I have you in a good mood…”
“Shit, now what?” Harry grinned.
“I have a proposition for you, that’s all.”
“A proposition?”
“Yes. For now, while you’re looking for a new apartment and Niall’s working with this physical therapist, why don’t you guys stay with me?”
Harry felt his jaw drop a little.
“I mean, you basically lived with me for most of the time that Niall was in the hospital, anyway. And this way, Niall won’t be by himself all the time, and he’ll have a way to get to his appointments and stuff.”
“You would take him to see his physical therapist?”
“I like Niall,” Louis stated. “And he pushed you out of the way of that cab. If I can’t pay his hospital bills, I can ask Preston to get us to his appointments on time.”
“You’re gonna get really sick of him after a day or two,” Harry laughed. “He’s all about farting and eating and belching and swearing. And he does it all in his underwear on the couch.”
“You just described my perfect day,” Louis joked.
Harry laughed again, louder this time.
“Look, just think about it. Let me know what you decide. Either way, I love you.”
“I love you, too.”