stockholm syndrome

six

Louis and Harry slept in until past noon the next morning. To say they had a long day was a severe understatement, and that showed in the grogginess of Harry's voice when he shook Louis awake.

"Louieee. Wake up. What time's it Louis?" His voice was even deeper than usual, all scratchy from just waking up. Louis squinted his eyes open to find Harry's face an inch from his own, his entire body lying on his chest, which explained why he was struggling to breathe. His hair stuck up this way and that, and his eyes were bleary and childlike.

"Have I ever told you how sexy you sound in the morning?" Croaked out Louis, his own voice groggy from sleep. He felt like he'd been run over by a bus, a sharp contrast to the normal restfulness he normally felt after sleeping next to Harry. Harry jumped back a bit at his words, eyes widening and an incredulous smile appearing in surprise.

"No, I don't believe you've ever mentioned how sexy I am." Louis closed his eyes again, burrowing back into Harry's soft pillow.

"Oh. Well, you are." Harry stifled a laugh, leaning up on his elbows and answering,

"Am I?" He was a little teasing, but also sounded like he genuinely wanted to know. As if he doesn't know how utterly beautiful everything about him is.

"Very much so. And it's not just your voice, for the record. It's the whole package." Louis spoke matter of factly, eyes still closed, and Harry actually laughed now. Then his weight disappeared from Louis' body, and soon after Louis found himself being lifted from the bed by a strong set of arms.

"Hey! Unhand me you twat! This is what I get for dating a kidnapper." Just then Harry collapsed to the floor under Louis, his legs unable to support him while he was laughing as hard as he was. They both rolled around a bit, and when they finally pulled each other to their feet, they were fully awake, and their eyes were crinkling with pure happiness. Louis could not think of a single time in his life he'd been happier.

When they bounced their way into the sitting room, the other boys were already there, since it was so late in the day. Niall froze where he'd been walking across the room, popcorn bowl in hand, other hand stopped halfway to his mouth to pop a piece in. Liam and Zayn exchanged glances where they sat on the couch but stayed silent. Niall's hand dropped to his side and he doubled over in laughter, to the point where Harry took the bowl from him so it wouldn't land on the floor.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Asked Louis, thoroughly confused by his friend's random outburst. Niall just cackled and wheezed as he took a step closer to Louis, pushing his chin up to expose his neck. "Niall. What the actual fuck is so funny." Niall laughed harder,

"Mate! Do you not have bloody eyes? You look like you got in a street fight!"

"And lost," contributed Zayn. Niall fell to the floor in another fit, as if this was the funniest thing to ever happen. When he realized Louis was still beyond clueless, Niall grabbed the hem of his shirt, yanking it up to expose Louis' abdomen. Which, Louis could now see, was completely covered in violent purple and red bruises.

Slowly, he lifted his head to meet Harry's eyes. Harry was covering his mouth with his hand to hide his smile, his eyes wide and cheeks turning pink. Louis glared at him, taking a step closer.

"You couldn't have fucking told me? Save me an ounce of embarrassment?" These marks were definitely not there yesterday, although Louis should have expected they'd show up eventually after Harry molested his neck for such an extended period of time.

"Holy shit Harry! Those look like attack wounds, like he was mauled by a bloody bear!" Liam's eyes were building out of his head as he stared at Louis' damaged chest. Zayn had a similar facial expression,