Clean Criminal // l.s.

ix.

[Kind of short, but I think  you'll forgive me. ;) -M]

Harry let out a deep sigh before entering the interrogation room. He hated doing these questionings. They definitely weren't his favorite part of the job, but they must be done. He entered the small room, sitting himself at the table across from the boy.

"Name?" he questioned, arranging his notepad and files. The young adult didn't say anything at first. He showed no emotion and was quiet until Harry started to grow impatient. "Alright, No Name, tell me if you know this person," Harry slid a few pictures Louis had given him across the table, waiting to gain some reaction from the suspect. Harry slid a few of the crime photos across the table after taking the others away, "maybe you know him better like this, huh?"

"I don't know him at all," the suspect said.

Harry raised an eyebrow, "you're in several of the same classes and you share a mutual friend. How do you not know him?"

The other shrugged, "I know Oprah from T.V., but I don't really know her."

"Alright, Smart-Ass," Harry said, getting frustrated so early on in the questioning, "do you know of him? Have you seen him before? Have you ever stopped to talk to him?"

"I've seen him around, he's always hanging out with groups of people. He must be an extrovert or something like that. I've never really talked to him," the suspect answered.

Harry hummed, writing down any useful information. The suspect was squirming in his seat, could be because he's lying. "Have you ever spoken to his best friend?" Harry questioned, showing a picture of Louis and Zayn together. Louis had told Harry that when the picture was taken, they had just spent the whole day together hiking up a mountain in Colorado and they were both worn out.

"Oh, Lou? Yeah, we've been lab partners," the suspect stated.

"Funny that you would know his best friend, but not him," Harry spoke. 

"Like you would know your lab partners best friend." 

Harry didn't reply to the comment and instead pulled out a few more pictures from one of the files, "well, it seems to me you and Zayn were friends as well. We've got some footage from the college of you and him walking together. Looks like you know each other kind of well. Did this eventually stop?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "all good things must come to an end."

"Why did this stop, Mr. Horan?" 

Niall shrugged, "the guy was kind of weird. He had fetishes, weird ones at that. I didn't want to associate myself with a creep." 

"So what? He made you mad? Caught you off guard and you beat the shit out of him, is that it?" Harry questioned, his voice raising. 

Niall stayed calm, cool and collected, "never happened. I just simply stopped hanging out with him, talking with him." 

"Phone records show that he had called you multiple times in the past month. Care to explain what he may be calling about?" Harry asked, showing Niall the records.

Why wasn't this guy cracking? Harry wondered, was he telling the truth or was he a really good liar? 

"No idea."

"Do you know why someone might want to hurt or kill him? Any enemies that you know of?" Harry questioned, trying to get something out of the blonde bloke.

Niall shook his head, "no one that I can think of," he let out a chuckle, "he probably tapped the wrong ass."

Harry didn't pay attention to the rude comment, he instead wrote down Niall's behavior and stood, "I think that's all for today, Mr. Horan. We'll probably call you in again." Then Harry left, stopping to talk to Cris who was waiting outside the door, "bring me that box with the things you found from Payne's hotel room. I'm going to need the lab run finger print tests."

.

"Louis?" Harry called as he gently tapped on Louis' apartment door later that day, "Lou, are you home? I brought dinner. I'm pretty sure Mondays mean Chinese, right?"

Louis went to unlock the door, carefully making sure it was actually Harry and Harry alone. He let the taller man inside his apartment and then shut and locked the door seven times for good measure. I smiled weakly as he cuddled into his jacket, "hi, Harry."

Harry set the things on the dining table turning to see Louis' swollen eyes and puffy cheeks. His hands went to Louis' face and his thumbs gently rubbed away the tears, "what's wrong, love?"

Louis took Harry's hand away from his face, because God knows how many germs were on his hands, but also because he wanted to hug Harry. He wrapped his arms around Harry's torso and held on tightly. "He's gone. I...I don't have a best friend anymore," Louis said quietly.

Harry rubbed circles on Louis' back, trying to calm him down, "it will be okay. We'll find out who hurt him and why and then everything will get better. You just need closure, that's all," Harry said with a weak smile. He pressed a quick kiss on the top of Louis' head.

Louis leaned back to look at the guy who respected him most, "Harry, I-I want you to kiss me."

His green eyes went wide, "what?"

"I want you to kiss me," Louis said softly, but more sure this time, "just kiss me like you would kiss any other guy."

"Louis, I don't think you want me to--"

"Please," Louis added, "just this once. I just need to feel close to someone."

Now, Harry wasn't about to disagree with the boy he was infatuated with. So he slowly leaned in, his eyes fluttering shut, and kissed Louis. It was a simple kiss, nothing extraordinary or astonishing, no tounge, no biting, just lips against lips. But Harry thought it had the power to turn the world inside out and flip it upside down.

They both pulled back at the same time and Harry was too amazed to try doing it a second time. Louis cuddled into Harry's side, his ear against Harry's heart, "for some reason, Harry, you make me feel a little less of a germ freak and more of a person."

And those might have been the sweetest words Harry had ever heard.