First Love (Larry AU)

1. Love at second sight.

"I still don't understand why I have to stay longer than necessary, Liam." Louis huffed. He sat in one of the comfortable leather seats of their private plane on their way to England. It wasn't that he hated the country; it was the opposite, but the chances of running into unpleasant things were a bit too high for his liking. And by a bit too high Louis meant that there was a tiny possibility instead of there not being one. Louis folded his arms over his chest and looked through the tiny window at the clouds underneath them. He had made it big the last few years, so he understood that he was shackled by some responsibilities, but having to return to England and stay there an extra few days as a 'much needed holiday for the workaholic he was' - as Liam and Zayn put it - wasn't one of them.

"You can't keep running," Liam replied. He hadn't even looked up from his phone, but they were having the same conversation on loop for the last couple of hours, so Liam switched to autopilot whenever Louis opened his mouth to complain again, "Jay will be happy too that you're staying. And if you never take a vacation, your personal team will feel uncomfortable when they do, so be a good son and boss and give up."

Zayn - who was seated next to Liam - rolled his eyes at the two. He had loved Louis, as a friend, from the moment the two of them met, but he agreed with Liam on this one. Not that anyone was really surprised that Zayn sided with the other man. When Zayn had met Louis and Liam in a club, it was true that he immediately got along with Louis, but when his eyes met Liam's... It sounds cliché, but Zayn had felt fireworks. He stills feels them when they are together, but the feeling had now evolved into something else; something deeper and more meaningful. After a few trials, Zayn had almost cried when Liam got down on one knee. Almost. He managed to save the little pride he was trying to hold on to when it concerned his man.

"Can the both of you shut up? We're almost landing."

[***]

When the three of them arrived to the airport, Louis' family was there to pick them up. His siblings tackled the brunet into a giant group hug and even Johannah and her husband joined together with Zayn and Liam.

After everyone had welcomed the men and drove to the Tomlinson's house, Jay announced that dinner would be served in less than an hour, which was enough time for Louis' younger siblings to attack their brother and demand the latter to play with them. Although Louis prided himself with being in shape, he didn't even last ten minutes before he threw Liam and Zayn under the bus with a 'hey, why don't we ask them to play with us too'. With yells of betrayal, the adult men succumbed and ended up swinging around the youngest while having one of the other siblings plead to them for a piggyback ride.

[***]

Miraculously someone had yet to claim Louis' room. When the man opened the door to drop off his single bag of clothing, he was surprised when he realized that everything had remained the same. The mixture of blue and green decorations that adorned the white walls and the photographs that littered a small part of it near his desk made a series of emotions flare up, but Louis held tight control over his facial muscles. The books that he used to read were still piled up like an ill-balanced tower near his bed and the flashlight he used to secretly read them was half-hidden under it. A light breeze ventilated the room and Louis realized that it wasn't by some miracle that his room was still untouched; his mum probably forbid the others from claiming it.

"Wow," Liam stepped out from behind Louis with a smile. His eyes fell on the pictures and he grimaced, squeezing Louis' shoulder as a sign of non-verbal support, "Need any help taking these down?"

"No." The small brunet let a finger hover over one of the pictures. It was one that was taken about twenty years ago. Two young boys beamed towards the camera, posing as superheroes while the tablecloths they used as capes tried their best to move with the wind to give them that 'flying effect'. "I'm not angry at the memories."