Like A Hole In The Head → [Lilo] ✔️

Chapter 21

Louis doesn't wake when Liam gets up at twenty past eight, restless from lying in bed and thinking. He doesn't wake when Liam showers, or makes tea, or comes back to sit beside him and read a thriller he found in Louis's meticulously-organised bookcase.

Liam's just about done trying to put up with this stupid book when Lou stirs and mutters, "Li?"

He's -- he's adorable, frowny and mussed under the covers. Liam wants to scoop him up and kiss him; he wants to pet him until he falls back asleep.

"Hey, babe," Liam says. He sets his book on the bedside table. "You sleep alright?"

"Mrmm," Louis says, mashing his face into the pillow. Liam takes pity on him and leans down to kiss his cheek, his ear, the curve of his neck. Slowly, Lou shifts until he's face-up and Liam's kissing him properly.

Liam's barely dressed, but he's still not all that inclined to take his T-shirt or boxers off; he's perfectly content kissing his way down Louis's chest, biting gently at his skin until Lou's twisting underneath him, until Liam brushing his thumb over his nipple makes him gasp. Louis's breath goes in a rush when Liam flips the sheets back to look at him, and when Liam pins his hips and licks a stripe up the underside of his dick, Louis actually keens.

"Li, Liam," he whines.

"Shh," Liam says, letting up with one hand to take Lou in his mouth. Louis's rolling his hips against Liam's arm, choking out words, so Liam gentles his movements and sucks him as slowly as he possibly can, until Louis's joints are soft and his voice is gone.

He's never felt Louis go pliant like this, not even when he's been thoroughly drunk and willing to let Liam take care of him without fighting for a bit of his own. Liam can hardly hear him breathe, just quick, faint whispers of air, getting faster and faster until Louis's legs tense up and he's coming, jerking and flooding Liam's mouth.

When Liam sits up, Lou's eyelids are still fluttering; his hands are curled in on themselves. Christ, he's beautiful.

"Lou," Liam says, and he can't not touch himself, watching Louis come back up from wherever Liam sent him, God -- Louis's eyes open as Liam shoves his pants out of the way, braces himself on Louis's knee and wanks himself, and fuck, Louis's face. Liam's suddenly so close, his fingers digging into Louis's thigh as his thumb flickers over the head of his cock. "Lou," he moans, "Louis," and then he's coming, spilling onto his hand and Lou's skin.

"Liam, goddamn," Louis's saying, rising up to kiss him. Liam goes with it, ignores the mess and topples back down beside him.

"Good morning, Liam," Louis says eventually, when they've both caught their breaths.

"Morning," Liam smiles. "And what're you doing today, Academy Award-winning actor Louis Tomlinson?" Louis leans in to bite the tip of Liam's nose.

"Well, we have a flight back to London in -- ten hours," he says, hoisting himself up to look over Liam at the clock. "And then I think I'll take a few weeks off, go up north."

"Visit the family?" Liam asks. Louis shrugs, awkward on his side.

"Something like that. Hear Wolverhampton's nice this time of year," he says. He's not doing a very good job of being serious, Liam thinks, not that he'd trade Lou's badly-hidden smirk for anything.

"Oh, well," Liam grins. "I'll be there, if you want to come by."

"I know," Louis says. "I'll be there too."