Night changes into a cloudless morning, the sun shining and brightening up the big guest room where two men fell asleep in a tight embrace the previous night.
Harry stirs awake due to the brightness, frowning profoundly once he realises he didn't shutter the windows last night. Sighing quietly, knowing he won't be able to go back to sleep, he slowly and cautiously rolls around, enjoying the fact he still has two strong arms around his body.
Louis is still asleep. He quietly snores, his hair an endearing mess around his face. Harry smiles groggily, his mind is still sleeping, although the fact that the first thing he sees in the morning is Louis simply makes his stomach flip once or twice.
It's something he never thought would really happen again - one month ago he would've sworn he never wants to meet Louis ever again. But he knows better it's a complete lie because one month later he is lying in the rich man's arms, and God forbid if it's just another phase of theirs.
He wouldn't survive another fling with Louis, and he is not even dramatic. This is too powerful, it's something even bigger than them but if it's meant to be just temporary, what's the point?
All the broken hearts and despairing thoughts of what once was and what could've been; that's something Harry doesn't want to repeat. He just hopes he won't because he is too deep, again. He is foolishly in love with Louis all over again, maybe even more than he ever was. There are no words to describe the devotion and affection he feels for the man he has close to him right now.
He doesn't care if he wakes Louis up, he reaches out and strokes the rich man's cheek, managing to get all the hair off of his flawless face. He can't contain himself, he kisses Louis' corner of his lips, then nose, eyelids, forehead, cheek and lastly, his lips.
Louis snickers, snuggling into Harry's chest to escape the attack, though Harry doesn't stop and kisses the top of Louis' head.
"What time is it?" Louis asks with a raspy morning voice.
"No idea. But we should go eat," Harry answers stroking Louis' hair softly.
"I'm not hungry and I want to be here with you."
"Okay, just for a little because I am hungry," Harry nods, already thinking about what he is going to make for him and Louis this morning, "Do you want egg sandwiches?"
"Yes, sounds good," the rich man finally pulls away from Harry's chest, blue eyes looking up into Harry's and it doesn't matter the morning breath, they kiss immediately as a proper morning greeting.
"The divorce is tomorrow," Louis sighs, tearing off of Harry completely and lying down on his back to face the ceiling. He feels so many feelings, it's a strange mixture leaving him fairly confused and anxious.
"It will be fine. It will go smoothly, you'll see," Harry assures the rich man, lying his head onto his chest and hugs him with one of his hands.
"Do you think Eleanor is in the city already?" Louis wonders, "Do you think she is here with Penelope?"
"I have no idea. Maybe. Wouldn't she come here, then?"
"Probably not. You see, we shouldn't be contacting each other and I bet her father wouldn't allow her to come here, anyway."
"Yeah, it makes sense. Would she freak out if she met me?" the curly man can't resist but wonder what it would be like to meet her.
"I guess. I mean if she got to know you, she would adore you just like everyone else does. But she would freak out if her husband would tell her he is in love with a man," Louis sighs, perfectly imagining Eleanor's shocked face if she came here and saw Louis and Harry together.
It would be understandable, though. Louis never talked about men, not in a sexual way and he was always like the typical straight man - boobies and butts, look at that waist and red lipstick, and long legs. He never gave away he would think of a man.
They both know if they want to continue this relationship, Eleanor will definitely find out, just as the public, eventually. Louis doesn't know how will everyone react, which scares him a bit. Maybe he is not ready for such a thing just yet.
"Can we go get breakfast, I am hungry," Harry pleads.
"Of course, darling," Louis kisses the top of Harry's hair lovingly, softly patting his back twice to let him know to stand up.
___
After breakfast, Harry decides to continue the canvas, he is almost finished. No matter how slowly he will work, it's a high possibility he is going to finish it today.
Louis is just taking Peanut to the living room when his phone starts to ring. He pulls it off of his pants, gasping, "Holy shit."
"What?"
"It's Eleanor, she must be in the city," Louis quickly says, not waiting for Harry's answer and picking the phone, "Hello?"
Obviously, Harry can hear nothing that is said on the other line, Louis is too far away.
"Is she?" Louis' browns raise a bit, "Oh God, of course. Yeah. I'll be there in a bit."
"Where are you going?" Harry asks immediately.
"Eleanor is staying at Trump Tower. With Penelope and Liam. She invited me for a day to go and see my baby," Louis exclaims excitedly, laying Peanut down on the couch and walking straight into the entrance area.
"That's great, when you'll come home, though?" Harry asks curiously.
Louis pushes the lift button a few times, he is just so hyped and if he could he would fly to the tower just to be there as soon as possible, "No idea. Probably until Eleanor kicks me out. Don't wait with dinner on me."
"Louis, Jesus put a jacket on you," Harry frowns, seeing the man only put sneakers on.
"It's 5 minutes walk, I'll be fine," he waves his hand dismissively, just when the lift doors open, "Okay, see you. I love you!"
The doors close right after and suddenly it's quiet as if not a single soul occupied this apartment. Harry is dumbfounded on his spot, the was Louis left so suddenly left him at a shock.
"Well, I guess it's just me and you, miss girl," Harry looks over to his kitty, who has actually grown a lot since he got her. She is almost as big as a normal cat, though she won't stop growing when she reaches a normal cat's height.
The kitty jumps from the couch where Louis left her as if she was wondering and looking for the rich man.
Harry sighs, and starts to paint again.
He totally understands Louis. Obviously throwing a fit because Louis rushed out to meet his daughter would be childish and overly dramatic. They are not teenagers to overdramatise things anymore. And to be frankly honest, Harry is happy for Louis, because God only knows how the man missed his baby girl.
It's like Harry can feel Louis' relief and happiness even though they are not together right now and Louis is most probably already there. Harry actually secretly wishes he could go, too. Metting Louis' daughter would be an absolute delight, maybe even meeting Eleanor and reunite with Liam wouldn't be such a nightmare.
___
Later that day the inevitable happens and Harry is finished with the last art piece for this apartment. He lets the canvas dry on the easel and makes himself a cup of tea Louis has stuffed in one of the cupboards. Harry is shocked at how much Yorkshire Tea's Louis has in the kitchen, wondering if he will ever drink all of it.
He makes himself a nice brew with a bit of milk, also deciding to give Peanut some milky treat as well. In the fridge, he finds yesterday's left over's from Louis' cooking, so he puts it in a microwave and goes to switch on the TV to see what he can watch the whole afternoon.
He leaves the programme on Judge Judy, eating vegetarian homemade pizza. He gets annoyed by Peanut who tries to get a bite from Harry's late lunch, he shoves her away from his face all the time. If the kitty could, she would literally put her head into Harry's mouth and steal a half-chewed meal right from him.
Judge Judy soon starts to bore the curly man, so he decides to take a nice bath upstairs. He relaxes in the warm water full of bubbles he found in his bathroom, listening quietly to slow music and getting sleepy by looking at the city through the window wall. The sun is already setting down, quite soon because of the still ongoing winter but it's not a long time when the days start to prolong and the spring will be welcomed.
By the time the sun sets, the bubbles disperse and the water becomes cold, so Harry dries himself with a big, fluffy white towel. Naked, he walks to his room, finding his oversized black hoodie and thick black pants, with fluffy, adorable light pick socks. He puts his hair into a bun on the back of his head and slowly wanders downstairs to feed his cat who is chilling on her heated blanket.
The canvas is fairly dried now, so he starts to slowly clean the place, for good. He manages to carefully take the painting upstairs where other canvases are stored until Louis calls up the maintenance guys to put them all up at once.
He puts down the easel and cleans all the brushes properly with soap, oil and water. He puts them into a nice box he bought, locking them up, ready for future use.
He makes sure all the colours are properly closed and protected, leaving them near the box with the brushes. He looks over, now at the empty space where he was painting for 3 weeks, sighing. He could maybe find another place in the apartment for one more art to work on. But he could do this all the time, but still, in the end, he has to come to terms it's over, sooner or later.
The curly man starts to peel off the masking tape with the newspapers from the perfectly white, shiny floor, crunching the dirty papers into one huge ball. He decides to take a small walk to go and dump both the paper and the kitchen bin, taking a lift down into the lobby and marching his way to the doors that lead to the bin area.
While he is binning the rubbish, his phone goes off. Who the hell, Harry frowns.
It's Gemma.
"Hello?" Harry greets his sister, closing the big trash can.
"Dude, you're on the news," is the first thing his big sister says.
"Are you high?" Harry asks sceptically, not the first time it would happen.
"Swear to God, am not. You just were on the TV and The Sun has an article about you," Gemma explains and at that moment Harry understands.
The pictures of him and Louis came out.
"You have to be kidding."
"Harry! You didn't tell me you know Louis Tomlinson!" Gemma exclaims.
"Um... In reality, I did tell you about him," Harry notes, quickly taking the lift up into the apartment.
"You didn't. I would definitely rem- wait. Wait! Is he the dickhead you had a thing with over the summer in 2021?!" Gemma screams into the phone.
"He might as well may be," Harry sighs, "Fuck, those pictures shouldn't come out."
"You're fucking with one of the richest people in the world! Insane!" Gemma wouldn't stop hyperventilating, "But like, he is married! And has a child! Harry!!"
"Stop screaming! It's all a little complicated," he admits.
"You better tell me everything."
"I will, not now, though. I need to solve this thing first. Call you later?" Harry promises.
"If you won't call, I certainly will. Bye, my rich brother."
Not even a second after they hung up, Louis storms into the apartment, his face crunched and furious, almost red.
"What the fuck! Did you read it?!" Louis screams and the curly man can't tell if the rich man is mad at him or at the situation overall.
"N-no. I just found out through my sister."
"Eleanor freaked out and sent me away because of that! Fuck!" Louis punches the nearest wall and, swear to God, Harry starts to feel intimidated.
"I fucking need to call my lawyer. She is gonna know what to do for tomorrow. FUCK. I knew those motherfuckers would put it up at the most inconvenient time."
"Louis, I'm-"
"Shut the fuck up now, Harry. I need to think," Louis barks out, the tone so vile and full of hatred. Harry's breath hitches.
He doesn't say anything because if he did, his mouth would probably whimper and he would start to cry. He looks down only to see his fluffy pink socks and even though he repeats to himself to not be a cry baby, his eyes water anyway. Finally, he finds his voice, "Okay. Sorry."
"Why the fuck is everything happening to me," Louis complains, dialling his lawyer's number. Once Louis says 'hey' into the phone, he disappears into the office to solve yet another problem.
Harry can still hear Louis' muffled, angry and quick conversation through the walls. The curly man sighs, swiftly wiping off the tears from the corner of his eyes. It's not that he doesn't understand Louis' rage, he does. Although he is frankly hurt and shocked at how Louis shouted at him. Angry Louis is intimidating.
He sits down on the couch, pulling his legs up and wrapping his hands around them.
This is not what Harry expected. Louis is not ready to come out with Harry, because if he was, he wouldn't do such a fuss right now. And Harry doesn't want to be near a man who is angry about some articles. He would be more scared of Louis and thinking about Louis' outrage each time a new article would come out than being happy in a relationship.
And as much as Harry loves Louis, this is definitely not what he wants.
Sighing again, he unlocks his phone, deciding to see with his own eyes how bad it is. He searches up The Sun website, immediately seeing the first headlines with Louis and Eleanor's picture. He clicks on it and reads:
In Harry's humble opinion, it is not as bad as he thought it is, according to Louis' reaction. But what Harry knows? He is just an ordinary stupid man who doesn't know shit about showbusiness.
Being at the end of the article, he sees related articles about Louis and Eleanor, and one of them catches Harry's attention. He didn't follow Louis' life since the summer they met, so he didn't know anything. And this next article, a one-year-old article, makes his heart shrink uncomfortably.
The sour and scary words from the article run a million miles a second through Harry's head, leaving the worst taste on Harry's tongue. This is something he didn't know and wishes it wouldn't happen. It must have been so, so stressful and painful - not knowing if your child will even make it. There is no wonder Louis is so attached to his baby. He almost lost her.
Harry is not sure if he can believe a source such as The Sun, though this is possibly the worst time to ask on such a topic. But Harry sympathises with Louis.
However, it doesn't make Harry feel any better. The situation is chaotic and he feels hurt. He knows Louis, this shouldn't even flinch with the curly boy in the first place, but he hates to be shouted at. And this is not his fault, at least not fully, so Louis has no reason to be mad at him. But he is mad and he is shouting at Harry.
The doors from the office open, Louis walking silently into the living room, sitting on the other couch. It's quiet for a while, Harry looking at Louis who is still scrolling the phone and texting furiously some texts.
"Why did you even invite me here?" Harry can't resist and asks.
The rich man looks up from his phone, inspecting Harry's face for a few long seconds, before answering, "Because I wanted you to make some art for this apartment."
"Just that?"
"Yeah... Well, I thought we could- I don't know, Harry. Why the fuck are you asking now?" Louis questions back, frowning slightly. He looks less angry than before, it must be a good sign.
"Why wouldn't you try to save your marriage and stay with your daughter and wife?"
Louis bursts, "Because I love you! Don't you get it?! I do not love Eleanor, not like I love you! For once I wanted to be selfish and do what I want, not what everyone wants from me!" Louis stands up from the couch, his rage slowly coming back. This is too much bullshit for one person to solve in one evening.
"You say you love me, but you left me!" Harry starts to be irritated by Louis' behaviour, getting angry as well.
"Are you doubting my love for you?!"
"No! That's not what I mean!"
"Then what the fuck are you on about now? Can we not do this right now?" Louis sighs loudly, running his hand through his messy hair.
"When then? When are we gonna finally talk?" Harry question sternly, "I think it's time for us to solve our shit."
"The fuck you wanna talk about?!"
"How can you declare you loved me then when you left me and married right after!"
"Harry, we went over this! I thought you understood me!" Louis shouts, frustrated Harry is once again splashing this fiasco into his face.
"How could you love me when you left me," Harry repeats.
"I didn't! I waited for you to call me, to the last second! I waited for you to give me a sign that we are still on! How would I know when you didn't even open the door to talk to me!" Louis bites back quickly, letting out the bottled feelings from long ago.
"Why would I call you, when you literally were about to marry, and you kept it from me all along!"
"I told you I would cancel the wedding if you just called me! But you didn't!" Louis shouts and after his outburst, the apartment falls into a deadly silence.
"You never told me that!" Harry finally says.
"I did! I sent the message through Niall-"
"Through WHO?" Harry gasps.
"I sent-" Louis is ready to repeat the sentence, but seeing Harry's shocked and dumbfounded face, he gets the vibe, "Holy fuck. He didn't tell you."
"No..." another silence spreads throughout the place, leaving both men in their own thoughts. When the realisation settles in, they both at the same time sit down on the white couches, trying to come to terms with the truth that just surfaced.
"We could- We could be together the whole time," Louis finally speaks out, his elbows supported on his knees, head in his hands desperately, "Maybe we could be married now."
"He wouldn't be such a dick and not tell me."
"He exactly did that, Harry! He is the most idiotic person I ever met, and believe I met a lot of idiots," Louis groans, he can't believe this. All this time he thought Harry abandoned him when in reality, it was just Niall standing in between both of their happiness.
"Oh my God," Harry breaths out, "E-excuse me."
The curly man stands up, rushing up to his guest room where he dials Niall's number. After a few rings, the Irish man picks up with a happy tone in his voice, "Hello, pet! How-"
"You didn't tell me!" Harry immediately confronts his best friend, if he can even call him like that.
"What- Harry you okay?" Niall asks concerned.
"You fucking- You fucking snake! You didn't tell me!"
"Harry what- Calm down-"
"How can I calm down when I find out my best friend ruined my chance to be happy in a relationship with the man I love! I was miserable all this time because of you!" Harry shouts. He feels hugely betrayed.
"What are you talking about?"
"Are you gonna play dumb? About Louis! Tell me, what did he tell you to tell me?" Harry challenges.
It's quiet on the other line for a few, until Niall's voice says, "Oh, so he told you."
"He did, but you supposed to do it back then, but didn't!"
"It was for the better, Ha-"
"What better? As far as I know, I was miserable without Louis and he was in a marriage he didn't want to be, all because you failed as a friend and for whatever reason, you didn't tell me!"
"Whatever reason?! I would lose you, you dumbass! He would take you away, to the UK or even LA and I just couldn't let that happen!"
"YOU ARE NOT MY FUCKING OWNER!" Harry screams so loudly, even Louis could hear it in the living room.
The rich man is aware of who is Harry talking to, and he is trying so hard not to go upstairs and have a chat with that Irish asshole.
Everything could be different. But because of one stupid man, both Harry and Louis suffered a rather long time. A year and a half is a long time.
"Right, so this is how it is? For Tomlinson, you will forgive whatever he did to you. But when I try to protect you and have you close I get yelled at and thrown away?" Niall asks, his voice sad.
Harry sighs, "Who said I am throwing you away? I just can't believe you did this to me."
"You would leave me."
"No, I wouldn't. We would still be friends."
"You would leave Rome, though."
"I won't polemise what I would or wouldn't do when you never really gave me a chance to do it in the first place," Harry reasons, "I'm disappointed, hope you know that."
"I'm sor-"
"Save it. You are most probably not. I don't wanna talk to you now. We'll talk later," Harry hangs up.
It's a shock.
The truth keeps Harry up in his room, thinking. He doesn't go downstairs to talk to Louis, nor he isn't answering Niall's apology texts, nor his sister's curious questions.
He needs to be alone and think.
𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆?