Mission to Mars

4

Harry woke up early the next morning. He sprinted out of bed and threw a pair of shorts and a t-shirt on before he walked into the breakfast room. He stopped on the way in when he noticed Louis rummaging through the fridge.
"So you couldn't sleep either?"

Louis got startled and jumped and hit his head in the refrigerator door.
"Jesus Styles, warn a guy." He said and rubbed the side of his head with a frown. Harry ran over to him.
"Shit! Sorry! Are you okay?"

He stroke Louis's hair looking for a bump and Louis's breath hissed. They were standing really close. Harry stopped his movement and just held his hand on the side of Louis's head. He looked down on Louis with eyes wide open. He was in a situation that he didn't know if he could handle. He felt a strange urge to kiss his teammate. His eyes flickered down to Louis' lips before he made eye contact again. He held his breath and leaned in slowly.
"Good morning mates!" Niall's cheerful voice sounded behind him and he immediately lowered his hand and took a step back and turned around.

That had been a close call. What the hell was he thinking? He couldn't kiss his teammate. Louis! Another man! God, he was so confused. He didn't know what he should do now. Should he apologize to Louis for almost kissing him or should he pretend like nothing.
"Uhm, good morning Niall."

Niall crossed his arms and was eyeing them curiously.
"I'm sorry if I interrupted something...again." He said with a smirk.

Oh, God. Harry could feel the color disappear from his face. Louis chuckled behind him and clasped a hand on his shoulder.
"No worries. I hit my head in the fridge. Dr. Styles here just examined me to see that I was okay. All good."

"Right...that sounds legit." Niall grinned.

Louis rolled his eyes at him and opened the fridge again to have a look inside.
"I don't know about you guys but considering what we'll be eating from now on I'm in the mood for something really unhealthy."

"I can make pancakes." Harry offered.

Louis closed the door and looked up at him with a delighted smile.
"Yeah? That would be freaking awesome or what do you say, Horan?"

"I love pancakes!" Niall shouted excited.

Harry returned Louis smile and went to the pantry to find the ingredients he needed. When Liam came strolling into the kitchen fifteen minutes later he put the last pancakes on a plate. Niall had set the table, eagerly waiting for his pancakes and Louis was sitting on top of a counter, keeping Harry company.

Liam was pleasantly surprised by the breakfast food and after he told them that they had to work extra hard in the gym later they all dug in. Niall moaned out loud after his first bite.
"Ooooh, this is absolutely wonderful. Thanks, Harry."

The two other boys agreed and Harry beamed from the praising. When they were done eating Harry offered to do the dishes. Niall and Liam left the room but Louis stayed behind.
"I'll help you."

They washed the dishes in silence and when they were done Louis leaned his back against a counter and looked over at Harry while he dried his hands on a kitchen towel.
"Harry? I just want you to know that I'm not faking liking you. I mean, it's not an act from my side. I'm sorry I was being such a dickhead in the beginning. You're a great guy."

Harry was surprised. Where did this come from all of a sudden? But he also felt relieved.
"I'm glad to hear that. I'm not faking it either and I'm also sorry. I don't even know why I didn't like you at first. It was totally unfair."

"Good. Let's forget about it. Friends?" Louis suggested.

He usually didn't want to kiss his friends but that was just confusing.
"Friends." Harry agreed with a smile.

Louis returned the smile and they walked together to the gym for one last workout. They all pushed themselves extra hard and went their separate ways afterward for a shower. Harry took his time knowing that this would be his last real shower for a long time.

They met up with the whole crew who was gonna send them to Mars and they went through everything again. They listened to Dr. Zayn Malik who was in charge of ground control despite his young age. He was one of those child genii that had gone through school at a rapid pace.

Their space journey would start at 15.00 so they still had a few hours left on Earth. Harry called his mum for one last chat.
"Hi, mum."

"Hi, sweetie. How are you holding up?" Anne asked, sounding concerned.

"I'm mostly excited. I can't believe they chose me of all people for this mission."

"Of course they did sweetie. The other boys seem nice as well. I really like Louis."

"Yeah, they're great. Louis too." Harry answered.

"He sure is."

Okay, what was she trying to imply? Why did she single out Louis? Harry's stomach made that weird twist again. They talked some more before he hung up. It was time for lunch. Their last meal on Earth. They had been able to do a last request, just like prisoners on death row. He had chosen pizza. Simple but effective and it was something he would miss while they were in space.

He met up with the rest of the guys in the dining area and Liam and Louis had also requested pizza. Niall on the other hand had ordered food from Nandos that could feed a whole football team.

They turned lunch into a food party and they were all in good spirit. Harry looked around at his new team. They were all great guys and he felt really relieved. Spending four years together with the same people day and night would have been really hard if they hadn't gotten along. His eyes fell on Louis and he got stuck. He liked him. He really fucking liked him. In what way was something he tried to not ponder over too much.

Louis turned his head and noticed that Harry was looking at him. He smiled at him before he continued to talk to Niall and Harry's heart skipped a beat. Yeah, this was complicated.

They had one last meeting with everyone before it was time to put on the spacesuits. Harry had his heart in his throat. He had read too many newspaper articles of space shuttles who had crashed at the start to not be nervous.

Louis took his hand in his and squeezed it with a reassuring smile before they walked out. This was it.