under your bed in new york. // larry stylinson

nine.

"Just because I'm a professional chef doesn't mean I don't appreciate other people's food," Harry protested. "Of course I'll help you if you need it. What are you making?"

"There's only one possible dish I could make for you, Harry." Louis felt a wave of nostalgia hit him as he stepped into what used to be his home for three years. "Chicken stuffed with mozzarella, wrapped in Parma ham, with a side of homemade mash."

"Ooh, sounds exciting. I'm prepared to see how much you've improved since the time you made it for me so many years ago."

Louis set his groceries down on Harry's kitchen counter. "Probably not much, I haven't made it since, except for the two times I made it this week to practice." He pulled out a small bottle of red wine from his bag and handed it to Harry. "Here, I brought this. You said you can drink red wine, right?"

Harry took the bottle from him. "You brought wine? Fancy. Yeah, I guess I can drink this, doesn't look like a lot of alcohol."

" 'm gonna wine and dine you, Styles."

"I feel so privileged to be wined and dined by the one and only Louis Tomlinson," Harry said with an amused twinkle in his eyes. He set the bottle of wine down onto the countertop and looked around. "Where did that puppy of yours get to? You know what - never mind, I'll go find her myself. Do you want to start cooking first or look around the flat first?"

"Cook first, I guess," Louis said as he started taking things out of his grocery bag. "I can take a look around after dinner."

"Alright. I got you a few scraps from work, they're in the fridge if you want them. Just shout if you need me."

"What are you going to do now?" Louis set his ingredients across the counter and pulled up a recipe on his phone.

"I'm going to go play with Milky, of course," Harry said gleefully. "She's so cute!"

Louis rolled his eyes, but he couldn't deny the fact that Milky was the cutest puppy in the whole word - not like he was biased. "Okay, have fun."

"Oh, I will."

Louis shot him a weirded out look and shook his head fondly as Harry disappeared further into the flat, on a mission to find Milky. After realizing that he loved Harry and accepting all of the feelings he'd repressed for so long, it somehow hurt even more whenever Louis saw Harry. The green-eyed boy was so close, yet so far. What's more, he was taken, and Louis couldn't do anything about his love. Harry didn't want him, anyway.

Sighing, Louis grabbed an apron that was hanging in the kitchen and put it on, preheating the oven and looking at his phone for the instructions. He could faintly hear Harry's giggles and Milky's barks. If he hadn't left Harry, would that be what his life would be like? With an endearing boyfriend - or even a husband - and a little puppy, playing and having fun? If he hadn't left, would Louis be playing with them now?

He should really stop thinking about things like that, because it wasn't helping Louis feel happier. All he could do was stand in the sidelines with his heartbreak and pretend like he was okay with everything.

Louis' eyes scanned over the groceries set on the counter and decided to get started on the homemade mash first, so he grabbed the potatoes and rinsed and peeling them in the sink, hoping he wouldn't accidentally cut himself and make himself look stupid in front of Harry.

While the potatoes were boiling, Louis decided to take a break from cooking and see what Harry was up to. He made sure the water wasn't boiling too vigorously and left the kitchen, almost immediately spotting Harry and Milky in the living room, playing fetch with what looked like to be a balled up sock.