Undone, Undress (Larry Stylinson)

twenty

He wakes up stifling hot with a crick in his neck but somehow still so comfortable he doesn't want to move.

"Lou," someone is whispering in his ear, humid breath tickling his skin. "Lou, c'mon, let's get you to bed."

"Mmm," Louis hums, keeping his eyes closed tightly to avoid looking into the lights. It's just the lamp and the TV but after waking up everything is uncomfortably bright. Blurry and full of brilliant color.

He feels more than hears Harry sigh; he assumes he's lying on his chest, with the way he's been rising and falling rhythmically to a breathing pattern. In a way it feels as though he's being rocked by the waves of the ocean. He enjoys it maybe a little too much.

"Alright, up you go," Harry whispers, standing up and somehow lifting Louis with him. Louis is awake but not lucid enough to protest when he feels the ground sweeped out from beneath his feet. The swaying movement of the waves increases as he's rocked back and forth, the sound of footsteps and breathing the only resonance his mind interprets.

Deposited on something soft that he barely registers as his own bed, Louis cracks his eyes open to see Harry hovering over him. He looks sleepy and rumpled, but divine all the same.

The thing about Harry is that he has this strange complexity to him that would be confusing if attached to anyone but him. He's shy and fearful but not afraid to hug Louis for hours. He has nightmares that leave him screaming and crying but somehow he sometimes is the one to comfort Louis instead of the reverse. He happily cuddles with a pink stuffed animal meant for toddlers but then lifts Louis' entirety with ease and carries him to bed, taking care of him.

The scariest part of it all is that Louis actually understands.

People aren't cut and dry... nothing is only ever black or white. Nuances exist, adding complexity. Personality is intricate and sometimes convoluted. A singular person's character can contain hundreds of facets, and there's nothing to say some of them won't be contradictory, though the whole typically makes sense.

Harry is the perfect example, Louis is sure of it. He may be confused about who Harry really is right now, but that's because he doesn't have all of the facts and thus doesn't understand his reasons for doing what he does, his motivations.

Louis isn't stupid, careless, or ignorant enough to ignore the damage or even to pretend it isn't there. He's beginning to understand the extent of it, even if he doesn't know the cause.

Harry pulls the blankets up to his chin, tucking him in carefully.

"Thanks," Louis mumbles, snuggling closer to the nest of blankets and closing his eyes. That's all he remembers before he's asleep again.

He's certain he dreams the press of warm lips against his forehead.