Larry Stylinson One Shots II

...But You Can Be Brave

"Niall, what are you doing?" Liam chuckles. The boys have just finished an interview, and Niall has headed straight for a snack table; he is currently stuffing his front hoodie pouch with bags of chips.

"Getting a snack." He looks at Liam like a deer in the headlights, then grabs a cookie and takes a bite. Liam laughs at Niall, and Louis and Zayn join in. After watching Niall try to walk with a stuffed hoodie pouch, Harry laughs out loud, his laugh coming out more like a giggle than anything else.

"Aw, that was so cute," Louis fondly says, a wide grin still on his face from laughing at Niall. "I love your little laugh and smile," he adds in a hushed tone, making sure people passing by don't hear.

"I love you," Harry whispers, and Louis blows him a kiss before they are escorted back to the tour bus.

"Oi, Harry," Dennis snaps his fingers to get Harry's attention. He pulls Harry away from the group, and Harry anxiously watches his band mates leave without him.

"Yes?" Harry politely says. He wonders what Dennis could possibly say to him, since he has done everything he can to act more like a man.

"Do men giggle?" Dennis' forehead crinkles as he raises his eyebrows, causing a rather abrupt stop from the rest of his bald head. Harry pulls his eyes back down to meet Dennis' before he gets yelled at, then silently shakes his head. "Exactly. Man up, come on." Dennis sounds disappointed and frustrated, and Harry frowns.

"I'm sorry, sir. I'll do better from now on," Harry says, instantly falling in line.

"I'll be making sure of it. Now go." Dennis shoos Harry off once again, and he jogs to the bus before they leave without him.

"Hey," a sharp whisper cuts through to Harry's ears, causing him to stop in his tracks. "Why'd you let him speak to you like that?" The voice says, and Harry immediately recognizes it as Louis.

"Because he's one of our bosses. It's not like I can talk back to him. Why aren't you on the bus?" He wonders, now walking alongside Louis.

"I heard him call you over and he sounded mad. Just wanted to make sure you were gonna be alright."

"Oh."

"But seriously, stop apologizing to him, you're not doing anything wrong," Louis says, momentarily resting his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"He's making me change how I act," Harry mumbles.

"Well don't." Louis sounds frustrated, which makes Harry upset. He just wants Louis to listen to him, not to fix the situation, because nothing can be done about the situation; whatever management says, goes.

"Okay," Harry dismissively says, not caring to keep the conversation going. Louis kisses Harry on the cheek before separating from him and walking behind him to the tour bus, just in case there are fans or paparazzi outside.

-

The boys have just gotten back to their hotel rooms, but it appears that Louis is already getting ready to leave.

"Where are you going?" Harry dejectedly asks.

"Just over to Zayn's. Wanna come?" Louis replies as he fixes his hair in the bathroom mirror. Harry suddenly remembers his and Louis' conversation before they got on the bus less than an hour ago, and he suddenly wants to be alone.

"No, I'm okay," Harry decides. Louis comes out of the bathroom and heads straight to Harry. He hugs him, then kisses him, then pulls away and gives him a soft smile.

"I'll be back before you go to sleep," he softly says. "I love you."

"Love you too," Harry slowly says, then watches Louis leave. He remains standing, furrowing his brows at his statement. "It's not manly enough to say 'I love you' to another man." He mockingly sighs. "Real men keep their feelings in," he bitterly adds, punching a wall on his way to the minibar. "Real men turn to the drink." Harry squats down and flings the refrigerator door open, eyeing over the various tiny bottles of alcohol. He ends up grabbing all of them, because his goal is to not feel anything by the end of the night.