The Future Is Now - Larry Stylinson

Chapter 14

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When they got back to the house and away from prying eyes, Harry shifted uncomfortably in the hallway as Louis took off his coat and scarf, hanging them up by the door. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do or say, didn't even know if Louis wanted him around. He supposed he could wander the house and watch television or something, but part of him wanted to stay with the brunet and just get to know him. They were supposed to be husbands, after all.

"Come on, then," Louis said, trailing into the kitchen, and Harry followed after him, not knowing what else to do. "I'll make us some lunch since you haven't exactly eaten today."

"Alright," Harry said hesitantly, stopping by the table as Louis went over to the fridge. "Do you need any help?"

"I'm not totally incompetent anymore," Louis said with a small eye roll. "I can make you something simple. Mac and Cheese, or something."

Harry smiled a little at that, even though he felt like it was an inside joke with the other Harry. The one Louis had married, the one Harry had kind of replaced. He was practically an intruder in his own skin and he kind of hated it.

"Liam and Niall texted, by the way," Louis said lightly as he pulled out a box and read over the instructions on the back. "Niall's still in Ireland with Greg, Denise and Theo, but Liam wants to come see you tomorrow. You think you're up for that?"

"Who the hell are Liam and Niall?" Harry asked, perplexed.

Louis glanced at him and a tired smile tugged at his lips. "The two other boys we got put in a group with."

"Oh," Harry said quietly. "Which one is which? There was that blond and the, erm, Justin Timberlake look alike?"

Louis smiled genuinely at that as he turned away to pour the Mac and Cheese in a bowl, and Harry even caught a soft chuckle. "Niall's the blond. Liam is the, ah, Justin Timberlake look alike, as you put it."

"Well, yeah I guess so," Harry said after a moment. "As long as he realizes I wont have any idea who he is."

"He knows," Louis said lightly, his back to Harry. "Listen, I know this is probably stressful for you and I can give you any information you need but... I think it would be best if you pretended like nothing is wrong for Luke."

Harry blinked at that and slowly shook his head. "He's going to talk to me about things I won't know about," he said quietly. He wanted to be able to, though- who wanted to let a kid know that one of their fathers didn't remember them?

"I'll try to tun interference," Louis said softly, turning to face Harry and. Oh. He looked so upset and stressed and worried that Harry automatically wanted to go to him and hug him tight. He wondered briefly if that was his own response or the body that he was currently living in. "I'll interrupt if you don't know the answer to something. Just... Luke's already got enough on his plate."

Harry nodded quickly, anything to get the distressed look off Louis' face. "Yeah, okay, I wont say anything to him," he said. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, just some kids at school giving him grief," Louis sighed, going over to the cupboard to get out a bowl. "Thank you, though. He really needs a sense of normalcy at home."

Harry nodded again, slowly this time, and thought that over. He'd always had a tough time in his childhood. No one had really understood the goofy curly haired kid who'd rather stare at the clouds than play football. Even though he didn't know Luke, he was kind of upset that his kid was getting the same treatment he had when he was a child. Wouldn't having two famous fathersprotect him from that?

Louis set a bowl in front of him, and handed Harry a fork. "Lunch is served," he said with a small smile, and he looked a little less stressed now. Harry was thankful that Annie was just a baby and wouldn't be able to tell that he didn't know her, didn't remember her. Pretending for one child was enough.

"Thanks," Harry said, returning the smile and digging in to the Mac and Cheese. It was good, tasted exactly like the way he generally liked his done. He guessed that maybe Louis had spent ten years perfecting that. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Louis shook his head, leaning against the counter facing him and just watching him eat. It should have been creepy but it felt homey. "I already had breakfast before I went to wake you up, and I'm not really all that hungry."

"Oh," Harry said quietly, chewing for a few moments. He wanted to know his past, wanted to figure out how he'd gotten here, in this giant house with two kids and a gorgeous husband. With paps clamouring to get a picture of him and three ex-bandmates that were supposedly his best friends. "Louis, you said when I asked about the sparrows that it tied into a long story. We still have an hour or so before Mum gets here..."

"You want to know how we got together," Louis sighed, pushing away from the counter and taking a seat at the table, across from Harry. "That's basically what the story is. We didn't exactly have the easiest time of it."

And. Two gay band members in a band that seemed to cater for teenaged girls. Harry suddenly realized why the paps had been so desperate to learn about their marriage. Why Louis had said they'd been a big deal when they'd come out of the closet. It would have been huge, unheard of.

"Okay," Harry said after a moment. "Tell me."