Let Me Show You How to Love Yourself (Larry Stylinson) ✅

Date

Harry released Lou, holding him gently by the arm to make sure he didn't get too close to the moving train, and then looked into his bright blue eyes. Something about Louis just made him feel.... happy. Careless. Free. Like he could truly be himself without worrying about anything... without even worrying about his disordered thoughts.

"Haz, I really hope you like this place I picked. It's a little upscale -- it's one of those fusion restaurants. But I wasn't sure what kind of food you wanted, so I figured we'd just try a combination of a bunch," Louis said excitedly, as he took a seat next to Harry in the train car. Harry nodded excitedly, trying to think of how the old Harry would have reacted to a fusion restaurant. He would probably have been stoked -- not nervous and shaking.

"That sounds pretty cool, Lou. I've never been to a fusion place before," Harry said, stroking Louis' hair softly with his hand. "Neither have I," Louis admitted, biting his lip. "My friend recommended it to me. So if it's not good, it's on him." Louis tried to ignore the butterflies in his stomach as Harry grabbed his hand, tracing small circles on it with his thumb. He really wanted this date to be perfect for Harry. Because after working so hard in rehab, he deserved something special-- and Louis wasn't sure if he could give him that something special, but he would be damned if he didn't at least try.

"Oh, we're here," Louis cried, jumping up at the Waterloo stop. Harry followed after him, his long legs quickly outpacing Louis' short ones. "Where do we go? I'm following you, babe," Harry said in a deep voice, licking his lips a bit. Damn, Louis looks hot in those skinny jeans... he thought. Mmm...

Before meeting his longtime girlfriend a few years back, Harry had been a bit of a wild rollercoaster when it came to relationships. When he felt attracted to someone, it was a feeling he couldn't shake, and he quickly began to crave their body, their scent, their skin. Back in uni, Harry was into hot, wild hookups, with either gender, letting his body do the talking as he smashed genitals with strangers, trying to ride out the wave of euphoria before he crashed the next morning. He wasn't one to text back the next day, but he certainly wasn't one to reject a second round if it went well.

Harry had of course, matured over the years, finding something more meaningful with his girlfriend Kaley, who showed him that sexual attraction was just a small part of a romantic relationship. Kaley showed him what it meant to have butterflies for someone just after a short conversation and what it felt like to be the reason for someone else's smile. Kaley was his first -- his first serious girlfriend, the first person he loved. And if he was being honest, he still loved her, but not in that way anymore... Their relationship had gotten toxic by the end, and they wanted different things, had different desires. Kaley went on to date some guy named John from Liverpool, moved in with him even. And Harry, well, he spent the past two years getting sicker and sadder until death was the only thing on his agenda.

Until he met Louis.

There were a million people in his life who told him he had to recover -- Liam, Zayn, his mum, his sister. But none of that seemed to matter until the blue-eyed boy in too-tight skinny jeans found him freaking out over a pie and told him a story about his sick sister who recovered. Louis gave something Harry he hadn't had since he got dumped by Kaley and lost his baking job: he gave him a passion, a purpose, a reason.

As the two boys manuevered through the evening foot traffic of the tube, Harry grabbed Louis' hand gently, giggling as he tried to slow down his long legs as he followed after the shorter boy. "Oh my god, Harold," Louis laughed. "What on earth are you doing?" He stopped short at the top of the stairway and jut out a hip, giving Harry a snarky smile.

"Just following you, daddy," Harry said, biting his lip in embarrassment as he realized what he had just said. "Where on earth did you learn such a term?" Louis asked, cocking an eyebrow as he pointed forward in the direction of the restaurant. The sun was beginning to set and the street lamps were coming on now, creating a soft glow around the greywashed city streets.