Red Brick Heart

18

He's disappointed when Louis just shakes his head, pushing Harry's hair down over his eyes with one hand. "Not until after dinner, babes. Don't be impatient."

Harry groans and rolls over so he's facing the wall, but Louis does end up taking pity on him and giving him a gorgeous, slow blowjob with two fingers deep inside him, so it's not all bad.

He wakes up to Louis bringing him breakfast – admittedly it's slightly-cold tea in a styrofoam cup from the cafe a couple of roads away and a slightly greasy salmon and cream cheese bagel, but it's still the best thing that he's ever woken up to on a birthday. The rest of the day is a haze of heart-eyes and sickening storybook romance, so much so that he misses his mum's birthday phonecall because he's fast asleep in the middle of the afternoon, again, come streaked up his chest and lube smeared all up his inner thighs after possibly the best fucking in his life (so far, he thinks happily).

"Can I have my present yet?" Harry asks for the hundredth time, as Louis shepherds him out of the room at half five so he can go back to the flat and change into something nice for dinner. Louis, who has spent the entire day looking incredibly smug, shakes his head.

"Not yet."

"But you said it was here!"

"Maybe it's in transit," Louis says loftily, grabbing Harry's hand and leading him off down the corridor, Harry feeling vaguely affronted and led-on (but also incredibly happy and well-fucked and slightly wobbly and like his brains might actually fall out, but in the best way possible).

Harry is in the middle of wheedling Louis about his present – "Can you give me a rough estimate of the size?" "No." "Bigger or smaller than this." "Shut up, Harry." "So bigger? Like more suitcase-sized?" "Oh my god, you are unbearable." – that he doesn't at first notice when they get into the flat and all the lights are off. Louis goes all quiet and even in the dark Harry can see he's biting his lip and trying to contain that stupidly adorable fond grin he does.

"Lou, what-"

"Come with me," is all he says, voice soft, taking both of Harry's hands in his and towing him towards the kitchen door. When he opens it, Harry has to stop and rest against the wall for a moment, because it's beautiful.

The kitchen – which normally is in a state of perpetual post-apocalyptic chaos, dirty washing up and crumbs everywhere – is spotless and everything's been tidied away off the sides to make room for what looks like half a million little tea lights, their flames flickering and reflecting like little stars off the big windows behind the table. He doesn't get long to appreciate it before the whole flat jumps up and yells, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" and he can only laugh – so he doesn't cry – as he pulls Louis in for a long kiss, before hugging all his flatmates in turn, taking the little bag Jesy gives him with a big smacking kiss on the cheek and, "Have a lovely evening and see you in a bit, my love," murmured in his ear.

"I love you all," he says to all of them, as they file out with winks and covert smiles and leaves him with Louis, beautiful and smiling in the middle of the room as Harry kisses him again, hands secure on his hips.

"Love you most," he murmurs, feeling Louis smile against his mouth.

"Would it be very unromantic to say how hungry I am right now?" he says softly. Harry laughs, burying his face in his shoulder. "Really, I'm starving."

"Better impress me, then," he says, and Louis shoos him out of the kitchen to get changed. He doesn't change his jeans, just reaching for the black button-down at the back of his cupboard that hasn't seen the light of day since arriving here in September. He opens the flat's present while he's there – it's a bottle of fairly posh sauvignon blanc, a bottle of strawberry-flavoured lube and a packet of ribbed condoms.