Brave Love (Larry Stylinson)

one

"Wanna talk about it?"

It was strange that Harry looked as if he had been sobbing all day, when he was the one who broke up with David and not the other way around. Although, Louis figured either position, the one to break up or the one to be broken up with, was emotionally draining. Still, it was also strange that he would break up a relationship on Valentine's Day eve, especially when he had already decorated the apartment in preparation for David coming over the next day.

Louis cringed at the thought. He felt an unfair sort of sudden relief that he wouldn't have to leave the apartment tomorrow night so Harry could have sexy times with his boyfriend.

"I found out-" he paused to rub at his eyes again, a little too harsh for Louis' liking. Harry did that sometimes, punished himself in stupid ways because he thought he deserved it. He exhaled and laughed a little bit but there was only coldness in the sound, and a certain waver that indicated another round of crying soon to come. "I found out he has a wife."

It took a second to sink in. "Wait, what?" He wasn't quick enough to filter the horror from his voice.

"He's been married for three years. Her name is Juliette and she seems like a lovely woman."

"Oh." Louis was baffled. David was a bit older than Harry, somewhere in the five to ten year range but Louis wasn't really sure. He always liked older men, at least that's what Louis gathered from his past relationships. "How'd you find out?"

"It was so stupid. She was at the diner with a big group for lunch. Showing each other pictures and talking about their plans with their husbands tomorrow. Because they're all married. I saw the pictures and heard her say his name, obviously."

Harry had worked at the diner ever since his first year of college, and he stuck with it all these years even though he usually hated it. He was a great server and people loved him for his pretty face and charismatic personality so he made more tips than the average person, which he confessed was the reason why he hadn't quit yet.

Louis enjoyed visiting Harry at work. Over the years he secretly memorized which tables to sit at so that Harry would be his server, since each server had an assigned region of the dining area. Sometimes when there was a lull in the typical crowd of people, Harry would sit down at his table and share a pot of coffee with him, telling him stories of crazy things that happened while he was working.

"Oh Harry," Louis breathed, feeling really bad for him. He knew how much Harry liked David, even if things had been going to shit lately. Seeing as they were best friends, Harry would often confide in him and divulge the complications of his relationship with David. Only two weeks ago, when they had a little too much wine at dinner and ended up lying on the kitchen floor staring up at the ceiling, Harry admitted he felt that their relationship was slowly falling apart. The moments of fighting were becoming more frequent than the moments of being in love.

"Yeah. I confronted him about it and he tried to hide it but I'm not stupid like he thinks I am, apparently. So he confessed."

"That's really shitty. I'm sorry." It still hadn't fully sunk in yet. The more Louis thought about it, the angrier he got. He could just imagine the asshole going home to his wife and trying to figure out how to split the day between her and Harry tomorrow. What a two-timing scumbag. Meanwhile Harry was planning an elaborate surprise for him to revive their wilting relationship.

Harry shrugged again but obviously it was affecting him more than he let on. "I'm just pissed because I was his side hoe and I didn't even know it," he laughed sarcastically, a bad attempt at a joke, given the situation. "And I have to figure out how to tell Juliette. Which means I'm breaking up a marriage, and that's a fucking shitty thing to do. That's a real fucking shitty thing to do."