"I still don't know how you are managing to lift me so easily" said Harry while Louis lowered him on to the couch in living room.
"You underestimate the power of Tommo" said Louis. He put a pillow behind Harry's back and one under his leg. He ruffled his hair and left for kitchen.
Harry settled and switched on the television. He was browsing through channels when he heard utensils falling.
"Oh my god, are you planning to cook? Wasn't the morning enough to discourage you?" Harry shouted in a playful tone.
Louis came back to the living room holding a wooden spoon.
"You, told me it was decent" he said while pointing the spoon towards Harry.
"Uhm..it was! I mean to say..." began Harry but Louis dramatically sighed and turned around.
"No no....I didn't mean it like that. I mean, we can order in. It's just the boys, what's with the formality?" said Harry laughing with mild internal panic about probably hurting Louis' feelings.
"I am just going to fry some frozen food that we have. Sausages and stuff" said Louis.
"Umm..Okay. But, that's a wooden spatula" said Harry pointing at Louis' hand.
"Yeah...so?" said Louis looking puzzled.
"You need a draining spoon if you want to deep fry something" said Harry without missing a beat. Louis continued to stare at him, biting his lower lip, looking clueless.
"It's the spoon with holes in it" said Harry while trying to hold back laughter.
"it'saspoonwithholesinit...I knew that!" said Louis in a mocking tone and went back to the kitchen.
Harry laughed and shook his head.
"Lou! Keep the flame low, and wait for the oil to heat up first. Oh and maintain distance from the pan, if you are too close while dropping frozen pieces in there, you might get burnt!" Harry shouted while still scanning channels.
"Mind your own business Harold!" yelled Louis from the kitchen, while obviously following all the instructions that Harry was giving.
The bell rang not after long and Louis ran to open the door.
"Where's our boy!" screamed Niall and lunged towards Harry, giving him a hug. Zayn and Liam followed the same suit.
"Easy now, he's not allowed to move much" Louis said while eyeing everyone's movement.
"Yes yes..So, how are you feeling man?" Zayn asked.
Everyone settled around. Louis kept going in and out of the kitchen. He handed Harry his medicines and put a glass of water on the table and left.
"I am alright..I am alright. I am just enjoying being pampered" said Harry with a big grin but dropped it immediately. His doubts started flooding back in about whether Louis would be comfortable with the comment, or if he would rather go back to being reclusive in front of guys. They anyway had not talked about where they stand together.
He gulped the medicines to distract himself and took a few sips of water, keeping the half empty glass back on the table.
"That's good. Management has cancelled our meet & greets for the next week. And they have pushed some interviews too." said Liam.
Louis came out with three beer cans and put them on the table. He looked at the half empty glass and picked it up, put it back in Harry's hand and left. Harry sighed and finished the water in one go and put the glass back on the table.
Liam and Zayn observed the interaction with a peculiar look.
"Our tour dates are yet to be finalized. But hopefully, it won't start for the next 3 months. Will give you plenty of time to recover fully" said Niall and Harry nodded.
Louis came out and put fried nuggets and sausages on the table and went back to the kitchen.
"If you cooked this, I am leaving" said Zayn with an alarmed face.
"Oh don't be dramatic. And no, I just fried them" said Louis who came out of the kitchen with a plate full of chopped banana and apples.
"Lou, where's my beer?" asked Harry with hopeful eyes.
"Shut up, you are on meds. You're having fruits" said Louis gently lifting Harry's legs and settling on the couch next to him. He let Harry's legs rest on his lap. He picked up few cut banana pieces with a fork and raised it towards Harry's mouth.
Harry stifled his surprise and opened his mouth to accept the fruit. He couldn't help but feel relieved that Louis wasn't distant. He looked at Zayn, Liam and Niall, each of who sat with mouth slightly agape. Louis flipped through tv channels oblivious to the whole scenario and kept feeding Harry with his hand until he realized no one's talking.
He looked at everyone and shrugged his shoulders saying "What?"
"So, you two made up?" said Liam and everyone else came out of their trance.
Louis sighed and shook his head.
"You know what I mean.." said Liam eyeing him curiously.
"Yes, I have apologized, if that's what you are insinuating" said Louis raising his eyebrows.
"And I have forgiven him" said Harry grinning proudly.
"Everything's alright then? Do you both care to explain what is happening? Because as you can guess, we don't know the whole story. Trying to connect the dots here" said Zayn.
Louis shifted in his position, clearly uncomfortable but he knew everyone deserved to know. He took a deep breath and decided to get this over with in a single go.
"I am in a contract with modest where I am supposed to be in a fake relationship with Eleanor and maintain as much distance from Harry as possible so as to not encourage the Larry Stylinson rumors. I am legally bound to this, I cannot break it or it'll lead to consequences like losing rights on songs or some financial loss or probably getting kicked out of the band. All is done in good faith by Mr. Simon to protect the integrity and image of the band as 5 straight dudes so that we continue to have our huge female fan following" Louis said. He avoided eye contact with all of them and continued to mindlessly flip through channels.
"Louis. What? Is that...is that true?" said Niall.
"Is that even legal?" said Zayn and Liam nodded to him.
"It's fucked up. But it is legal. Maximum musicians have binding contract with their labels that restricts their public behavior" said Liam with a defeated tone.
"But, this is too far. They can't possibly ask him to stay away from his band mate. Rumors are rumors, they will go away with time. And Louis, you should have told us before singing this garbage. You should have negotiated!" said Zayn, anger lingering his words.
"Yeah well, I didn't have a choice mate. It was either this or exit" said Louis in a fake chirpy tone, the hurtfulness behind which was very easy to see through.
"If fans think I am gay, it will destroy all of your careers. Our band is just now starting to achieve recognition and we can't risk any scandals" continued Louis.
"You sound like you agree with Simon?" asked Niall.
"To an extend I do. I mean, it's alright guys, it's only for the media. I am trying to manage it. Don't worry" said Louis. He was getting irritated with the scrutiny and wanted to forget all this mess that he didn't want to keep tackling. He also didn't want the boys to panic for him.
"Why didn't you tell us? And I don't understand, both you and Harry are involved in these rumors. So how are they not forcing Harry into a similar contract?" asked Zayn
"They can't. He is not 18. They will have to involve his legal guardian and stuff. Louis was the easier target" said Liam.
No one spoke for another five minutes possibly trying to absorb the news. Everyone looked upset.
"So.. Eleanor is fake?" said Niall, finally breaking the ice.
"Yeah, I just have to replace her batteries time to time" said Louis cheekily. No one laughed.
"No but, you guys went on a vacation. Do you like stay in separate rooms??" asked Niall with a softer tone. Harry mentally thanked him because he wanted to know the answer to this but didn't know how to ask. He stared at Louis patiently waiting for an answer.
"Separate beds" said Louis, he was now mindlessly breaking the fruits in the plate in his lap into smaller pieces with the fork.
"Oh. She is okay with this?" said Zayn
"Imagine having a job which involves hanging out with a handsome looking lad like me. I mean, come on. Easy popularity and no effort" said Louis and gave a big grin that no one returned.
"Oh come on you guys. You are spoiling the mood now. Why don't you direct your questions towards this reckless kid and what he has done to himself" said Louis pointing at Harry with his fork and got a small punch on his arm from him in return.
"He has already been yelled at, at the hospital. It is your turn now" said Liam with a small smile.
"But I mean..She is hot. You might as well.." started Niall
"Oh for God's sake Niall, I am Gay!" interrupts Louis loudly. "Wow, it feels good to actually say that out loud" he says surprising himself even.
"What..for real? Wait, so Larry IS real?" asked Niall with wide eyes.
Zayn and Liam look back and forth between Harry and Louis.
"Hold on a minute. Are you two....?" asked Liam
"Oh god I am out" says Louis and retracts from under Harry's legs.
"No no no, hold on. Are you two together?" asked Liam while Louis is already leaving for kitchen.
"No" answers Harry. He looks at Louis from his peripheral vision to notice his demeanor but doesn't see any changes.
Louis goes to the kitchen and rubs his eyes. He takes out a beer from the fridge and stands next to the counter. Zayn comes carrying his beer and stands next to him.
"Go on.." says Louis while not looking at him.
"I know you have feelings for him. I think we all know" Zayn said while staring at Louis. Louis doesn't respond.
"I mean, except Niall maybe, who can be thick sometimes" said Zayn finally eliciting a laugh out of Louis.
"I do. I am just stuck in a bad situation" said Louis and opens his can.
"Have you guys discussed what you're gonna do?" asked Zayn.
Louis starts getting uncomfortable again. Zayn's prying was forcing him to confront things; he didn't want another panic attack. He just wanted things to remain as it is, without overthinking.
"I myself don't know what to do. What do you expect me to discuss with him. All this is very difficult Zayn" said Louis sounding harsher than he intended to.
"The line of work that we are in, when is it ever not difficult mate? You need to think about it sooner or later"
"Hmmm. I just need some time to process this. That's what I kept saying but this stupid man went ahead and crashed his car" said Louis taking a sip of his beer and staring at the ceiling.
"You need to know that all this is impacting him as well. And, he is sensitive" said Zayn. Louis can't help but feel a tinge of jealousy. He doesn't need Zayn to tell him Harry is sensitive. But he knows Zayn genuinely cares about them both.
"I am not going to hurt him" said Louis looking at Zayn. He smiles and puts a hand on Louis' back.
______x_______x______
In the living room; Liam scooted to sit closer to Harry. Niall switched to a golf match on tv and relaxed in his chair.
Harry couldn't help but spiral with inner turmoil. Did the "no" affect Louis? But they hadn't talked about their current status. But he did tell him he loved him. Harry had not yet stopped replaying those words in his head. One thing was for sure, Harry wasn't going to initiate any such conversation. He knew Louis had a lot of things to deal with, so he will let the ball be in his court.
He was lost in his thought until he heard Liam's "Oii". He almost jumps, pausing his trail of thought and looks at him.
"So....I know something's up, don't deny it" said Liam with a smirk on his face.
"What? What do you mean?" said Harry squinting his eyes.
"I can see the hickey" said Liam pointing at Harry's neck.
Niall as well turns his head immediately towards Harry with wide eyes.
"What?" Harry became flushed and touched his neck with his fingers where he can recall Louis latching. He feels the sensitive skin under his hand and gets chills as his mind flashes back to what they were doing mere hours ago.
"You are blushing!" said Liam nudging Harry with his hand.
"Shut up.." said Harry, unable to hold back his blushing smile.
"Soo, did you...have you...?" said Liam while bringing his index finger towards his other closed fist.
"Oh God Liam. Keep it in your pants. Stop making obscene gestures" said Harry laughing.
"Come on! We want to know!" said Liam
"No, we don't" said Niall immediately and earned a playful slap from Liam.
"We, we..haven't slept together if that's what you're asking" said Harry while drawing circles on the couch like a kid.
"Details!" said Liam.
"Oh God, no. Please no details" said Niall palming his face.
"What?? We just made out!" said Harry with fake exasperation.
"Was it good?" said Liam with a wink.
"So good" said Harry smiling sheepishly, feeling the butterflies returning to his stomach.
"But, you two aren't dating?" asked Liam.
"No, no. Actually, we haven't yet discussed. It's kinda soon? Maybe?" said Harry. He didn't want others to think negatively about Louis for some reason but at the same time he didn't want to look nonchalant.
"Okay, that's okay. You can keep it casual, as long as you are both on-board with the idea" said Liam nodding intensely.
"It doesn't...It doesn't feel casual though" said Harry blushing. Liam raised his eyebrows urging Harry to continue.
"He is so, gentle Liam. And he takes care of me. You know....after....." said Harry now sounding like an excited kid talking about his favorite candy flavor.
"Aww, that actually is cute. But please no more talking" said Niall furrowing his eyebrows and getting another slap from Liam.
"But at the same time, he is kinda rough. You know? Like he is holding back but not able to..." continued Harry almost bouncing.
"Oh for the love of God" said Niall and covered his ears.
Both Harry and Liam laugh.
______x_______x______
In the kitchen; Zayn nods on Louis' resolve of not hurting Harry and removes his hand from his back.
"Well, I hope for your sake you both are able to figure things out" said Zayn and Louis nods in agreement.
"So?...did you guys....?" said Zayn raising an eyebrow.
"Third base.." said Louis without making eye contact.
"Cool..." said Zayn.
"Cool.." Louis replicated.
"Cool" said Zayn awkwardly raising his beer in cheers.
"Cool" Louis reciprocated and both took a sip. Then walked back towards living room.
Liam, Harry and Niall put on poker faces once they watch Zayn and Louis return. Harry's flushed face didn't escape Louis, he felt a warm fuzzy feeling in his stomach but didn't say anything.
Everyone sat in silence and started having their snacks.
"But...you know Louis you can go to jail for..." said Niall pointing back and forth between Louis and Harry.
"Oh God dammit!" said Louis palming his face which was now beet red and everyone laughed.
Liam nudged Harry with his fist playfully at which Harry winced "Oww!" but kept laughing.
"Heyy! Careful" said Zayn sitting alerted raising his palms towards Harry.
"Liam, I will chop of your hands!" said Louis glaring at Liam while others laughed louder, except Liam.
"Jeez, control your man" said Liam looking at Harry who shook his head smiling.
The boys spent rest of the afternoon watching telly and having junk. Louis' focus remained on Harry, he made sure no one physically disturbed him and brought him everything he needed to the couch.
"I have to go to the store to pick some groceries, you guys can order in until then" announced Louis and got up from the couch where he had again settled under Harry's legs.
"Give me your phone, I will make the list of items we are running out of for kitchen" said Harry.
Louis unlocked his phone and passed it to him. Harry added the list of items in his notes, and since he had the privilege of having access to Louis' phone, he changed his own contact name to 'Hazza' with hearts instead of boring Harry. He passed the phone back to him with a grin on his face which Louis noticed but chose to ignore.
"I will come along" said Zayn and got up as well.
Louis ducked next to Harry on the couch and said; "Your crutches will come in a short while, but don't use them yet. The doctor said you will be able to gradually support yourself with them, so let's wait probably for 1-2 weeks. If you want milk or something, ask lazy Liam to warm you some. And if you face any pain, take the painkiller". Harry kept nodding at all the instructions, he would be lying if he said he wasn't loving the attention. Although, the pain in his shoulder and arm had already been building back up. There was no way he was going to tell Louis because he knew he would worry too much and blame him for having put pressure on his broken body hours ago for some very selfish reasons. He stared at his own lap instead while Louis kept talking.
Once Louis finished talking, he observed Harry's neck for the first time since morning and saw a deep red and purple bite mark. It was now so dark that it looked like Louis had chewed off his neck for hours. Louis felt chills travel through his whole body towards his groin. The idea that Harry was 'marked' by him, for everyone to see was doing something crazy to his insides. He cleared his thoughts and snapped out of the insane headspace.
"Call me if you need anything" said Louis but Harry was lost in his thoughts of trying to not let the pain show on his face.
"Hey? Are you going to be okay?" said Louis again noticing that Harry wasn't 'there'.
"Yes yes. I am fine, just go" said Harry smiling at him.
Louis nodded and looked at him awkwardly for a few seconds, unsure of whether he is supposed to pat/hug him or something before leaving. He chose not to do anything and stood up.
"**cough**whipped**cough" muttered Zayn following him and Louis just glared at him and both left.
The moment Harry heard the main door shut he cried in pain dropping his shoulders and sinking lower in the couch, startling both Niall and Liam.
"Are you okay?" said Liam placing a careful hand on his shoulder.
"No, please get me a painkiller Liam, I feel like my arm is going to fall off" said Harry dropping his head on the couch's back.
Niall quickly went and retrieved the medicines that Louis had marked and arranged in a box kept on the kitchen table. Harry smiled while Niall was rummaging through the box for the painkiller as an image of Louis sitting in the kitchen with labels and marking his meds came into his mind.
He ingested the medicine and lied down on the couch, he couldn't stop replaying the events of the day. He didn't realize when he fell asleep.
______x_______x______
Louis and Zayn came back shortly after and found Harry passed out on the couch. The boys left after a while and Louis cleared up the table and did the dishes. He ordered pizza and woke Harry up. It was around 7 pm and Harry still looked drowsy. Both had the pizza while watching the TV.
Once they finished, Louis picked Harry and carried him to the washroom, putting him down on the commode. Harry called out to him once he was finished, stretching his arms out for him to help him to the wash basin where he brushed his teeth. Louis stood next to him with his arm around his back comfortably supporting him.
"You are going to spoil me you know" said Harry blushing since Louis kept staring at him.
"Is that so?" asked Louis brushing some of his curls back.
"I may never want to do anything by myself again" said Harry again raising his arms for Louis to carry him back to the bedroom. Louis obliged and took him to his bed.
Once he was settled in bed, Louis came back with his medicines and water.
"I don't want to have the painkiller, I am fine. Give me the rest" said Harry. He had had a third painkiller less than 2 hours ago, he knew he shouldn't be having more. But he also didn't want to admit to Louis that he was in pain then.
"Why? Come on, you are supposed to have these before bed time at least. you have just had one since morning, what if the pain flares up at night? Don't be a baby" said Louis putting the meds in his palm and stood in front of him, to ensure he has all the drugs.
Harry sighed and had the drugs silently. Louis helped him lie down on the bed and stood awkwardly next to him. He wasn't sure what he should do next. Harry's phone had arrived so Louis could sleep in his room; Harry could call him if he needed anything. He didn't want to appear clingy but he also didn't want to leave him alone.
"What are you waiting for?" said Harry looking at him with a puzzled look.
"Umm... right. I'll just.. You call me if you need anything" said Louis backing away from him.
"What? You're not sleeping here?" asked Harry looking like a small kid who has been denied ice cream.
"I mean, I don't mean to impose?" said Louis biting his lower lip.
"You have already had my dick in your mouth, stop acting like a shy bride and sleep next to me" said Harry laughing.
"Oh wow, Jesus, how strong are your tablets?" said Louis raising his eyebrows in bewilderment.
"I am just trying to break the tension" chuckled Harry patting the space next to him on the bed for Louis.
Louis crawled into the sheets next to Harry and settled. Both lied next to each other staring at the ceiling. Louis' mind started to coil, he wasn't sure if he should talk to Harry about the recent 'events', or about them overall. Like he had always been, he wanted to keep putting off the issues until they were absolutely necessary to confront. And he liked where he currently was with Harry. But he wasn't sure if Harry was too, for that it was important to speak to him. He should at least ask him if he was comfortable with how things were going. He gulped and prepared mini speeches in his head. He wasn't sure how long he kept scenarios running in his head because when he finally decided to speak he heard little snores coming from Harry. He smiled and turned towards him. Harry was lying on his back with his mouth agape and already in deep sleep. Louis' turned towards him and stared, somewhere along the way he too fell asleep.
"Lou.."
Louis heard faint words coming to him but he was in deep sleep. He thought he was dreaming about hearing Harry.
"Lou...I need you"
Louis jolted out of his sleep and opened his eyes. His eyes were trying to adjust to the darkness, but he could see Harry leaning towards him. He quickly turned on the side lamp and raised his body on his elbow to face him. Harry was sweaty and breathing heavily, his face was pale and grimacing.
"What, what is it Harry? Are you alright?" said Louis touching his forehead with his palm to check his temperature which seemed fine.
"I am having a chest pain" said Harry and Louis noticed he was rubbing his chest with his hand.
"What? Is it too much? Should we go to the ER?" said Louis quickly sitting next to him. Panic filling his words more than worry.
"No, I don't know" said Harry shutting his eyes and scrunching his nose.
"Hold on, I will call the nurse and check. Relax okay?" said Louis and reached out for his phone.
"Lou, I...it might be the painkillers" said Harry weakly.
Louis paused dialing and looked at him. "What? You have just had two, no?"
"Four. But, some were with less than 2 hours of gap" said Harry and opened his eyes to look at Louis. He needed to know what will kill him first, the pain or Louis.
"Are you fucking crazy Styles?" yelled Louis.
'Last name', so he will die from Louis' hands; thought Harry. Louis ignored Harry and the budding anger within him and went to the living room to call the nurse. He returned within 5 minutes with warm water and put it next to Harry.
"So, this is definitely a side effect of the meds because they are strong and you did not follow the precautions or common sense for that matter. But, It's gonna be alright, it's just the excess heat they are causing. You will have to bear this. The discomfort should last for the next hour or so" said Louis while helping Harry sit.
He helped him drink water, without letting go of the glass. Harry put his hand on Louis' where he was holding the glass and Louis could sense him shaking.
"Honestly, this is good, you deserve this. You are not a child that should be told how to take bloody medicines" said Louis
"Louuu.." said Harry through his pain throwing his hand in air.
"No seriously. Why didn't you tell me you'd already had the medicine?" said Louis not able to hold back his anger.
"I just didn't want to worry you"
"When did you have the painkillers even?"
"I had one when you were gone but the pain didn't subside so I had one more." said Harry
"In how much gap?"
"mmtwohours" whispered Harry
"How much gap Harry?" roared Louis
"Tow hours!" said Harry covering his face with his hand.
"Oh seriously Harold. What is wrong with you? And you didn't tell me you were in pain. What even goes on inside your head?" said Louis with an irritated scowl. Harry didn't say anything ad closed his eyes, while continuing to rub his chest.
"What is your reason behind holding things back from me I don't understand. In your own words, I have already had your dick in my mouth, so I don't know who you are trying to impress" said Louis sounding meaner than he intended to.
"Well thank you Louis, this is exactly what I need when my chest is on fire. Thanks for your encouraging words" scowled Harry turning his face away from him.
"No, Sorry. I don't mean to cause you stress" Louis said realizing his dominating behavior. He crawled up next to Harry on the bed.
"Can I hold you?" asked Louis and Harry nodded with a pout. Louis pulled him between his legs, with Harry's back settled in Louis' chest. He removed Harry's hand and started gently rubbing his chest.
Harry rested his hand on Louis' hand in motion and let him comfort him. It then dawned upon Louis that Harry must have been in pain due to the physical exertion that he put him through in the morning.
"Oh..fuck, this is happening because of me isn't it? Harry, I am so so sorry.." said Louis with urgency and panic returning to his voice.
"Heyy, no no. Please don't think like that" Harry turned his face towards Louis' neck and cooed into his ears.
"Noo, I shouldn't have...I am so sorry. I don't know what came over me. You were already hurt"
"Hey, I asked you to..yeah?"
"Noo, you were in..drug haze or something. I was the one who was supposed to think rationally. I am sorry Haz" said Louis rested his head on Harry's.
"Lou, I would happily do it again despite the pain. Stop apologizing." said Harry now smiling. His pain was getting better, or he was getting distracted.
"Shut up. Flirt!" said Louis allowing a smile to finally break through his lips.
"Come on, try and sleep now" said Louis stretching under Harry and resting his back on the headboard. Harry sunk deeper into Louis' chest and closed his eyes.
"Thanks for taking care of me Lou" whispered Harry.
"Anytime babe" said Louis and placing a kiss on the back of his head.
Louis continued to rub Harry, and both dozed off sometime during the night eventually.