catfish and the bottlemen-cocoon
'I fell straight
Into your arms
Like a drunk
Who's been on it
All morning.'
Hiii guys new chapter heree :) Hope you will enjoy it.
And please loves if you see some mistakes don't be afraid to point it out because sometimes when I'm editing the chapter and then I will copy it from Word some mistakes come back and I don't know whyy :(
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"Take care, both of you okay? And please Harry, make sure he doesn't overwork himself like he used to." Louis' dad said with pleading eyes, his mom staying behind him just nodding her head, they absolutely don't care that Louis is standing next to them and he can hear the whole conversation.
"Of course, I will take care of him. I really enjoyed it with you and I am extremely grateful that you accepted me. I hope to see you again soon and that Louis won't hide me from you," Harry laughed kissing Louis' forehead because he could see his frowning face.
Not that Louis wouldn't like Harry getting along so well with his parents, but he's tired from the whole visit and wants to finally go to his apartment and cuddle with Harry on the couch. He finally wants to discover what it's like to live like Harry's boyfriend.
"Okay, I'm glad that I saw you again after a long time. I love you both, see you soon and I swear this time," Louis winked at his parents and gave a kiss to both of them on the cheek.
After their last goodbye and hug Harry and Louis went on a long journey by car, Louis thought that Harry had come by car and was afraid that he would be alone all the way but Harry came by train so now he could enjoy the whole journey in his presence.
After spending time with Harry and his family, he realized that Harry still hadn't explained to him why his family was just Gemma, he didn't want to push him into it or disturb his comfort zone, but he wanted to know everything about him, even if it wasn't the nicest.
Not sure how he should start a conversation on such a serious topic, he doesn't want to upset Harry in any way, even though he knows Harry can't be mad at him.
"Babe, can I ask you something personal?" Calling Harry 'babe' after becoming his boyfriend is a new feeling. Of course, whenever he called him a pet name, he felt like it was more serious than it is, but now it's a reality and he can finally call Harry his.
"Of course, you can. You don't have to ask if you can ask something, I'm always here for you, and anything you want to know I will tell you," Harry replies squeezing Louis' hand which is sitting on top of Harry's thigh, Louis' other hand on the wheel, his knuckles slightly turning white because of how hard he is grabbing the leather driving wheel from nerves.
"Okay so...I wanted to ask you why you celebrate everything only with Gemma, you mentioned once that you would explain it to me later, and somehow, we didn't get to it. But love, if you are not comfortable with this topic, then we don't have to talk about it," Louis asked while looking at the road, not looking at Harry.
"Oh, yeah...I was thinking about it a few days ago that we never got to this topic, now we have enough time so I can explain it to you in brief." Harry brings Louis' hand to his mouth and kisses his knuckles making Louis turn his head and finally look at him with gloomy blue eyes.
Harry sat more comfortably in the passenger seat and began his talk. "When our parents get married, they knew from the beginning that they wanted to have children, and as soon as possible, which I don't think was a good idea because they got married very young. After a year, they found out that my mother was expecting Gems, and after her birth, they found out that they could start living their dream life. After I was born my dad left us because of alcohol and the fact that he didn't want another child and my mom couldn't take it, she started to blame it on me, that was something that Gemma didn't want to listen to and she started standing up for me, which led to the fact that mom hated not only me but also Gems.
When I was older, around 15 years old, my mother told us that she wanted us to move out when I turned 18, we didn't care at the time because she wasn't home often anyway, she went somewhere to drink or when she was home she just shouted at us and we knew that we were better off anywhere else. Gemma then started working at least two jobs at once, I found a part-time job and after my 18th birthday, we moved in with Gemma's friends until we had enough money for our apartment. It didn't take long because we had enough saved up.
And that's why Gemma cares about saving money, yes, we're better off than the average citizen now, but that's only because we got money from our father when he died after drinking himself to death. If it weren't for my sister, I probably would never have painted and would still be living with my mother."
Louis almost stopped the car so that he could redirect all his attention to his boyfriend. Now that he thinks about it, it probably wasn't a good idea to deal with something like that while driving when he could hurt someone.
"Love, I... I'm not sure what to say. I want you to know that you are incredibly strong and I can't imagine that you had to go through something like that, I don't understand why the worst always happens to the best people if I could I would take at least half of your burden on me. On the other hand, I'm extremely happy that Gemma is the way she is, and I'm also very sorry for her, but she must have an extremely big heart," he tells Harry, looking between Harry and the road.
And he means it, he would take all Harry's troubles on his back so that Harry could have the life he wants because he is the person who deserves it the most.
"I couldn't ask for anyone better than you. When I tell you that in a few days I can show you how much you mean to me, I mean it." Harry leans over the console and kisses Louis' cheek making him all flustered because he realizes that this is what life looks like with Harry. With his perfect Harry with less perfect experiences and memories, he would still change absolutely nothing.
"I'm always here for you, when you call me at night that you're sad or something bothers you, I'm right there with you, even if I'd rather you were next to me in bed every day so I could make sure you're okay," Louis tells him with a frown on his face because he is aware that he would be more satisfied if Harry was lying next to him every morning when he opens his eyes.
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It's been almost a week since Harry and Louis returned from Louis' parents. They both went back to their busy lifestyle and spent only a few moments together, the first day they came back Louis refused to let Harry go home so Harry slept with him, and then when they were together with Liam and Zayn in a cafe where they announced that they are finally together. It was funny and at the same time pleasing to see their reactions, they knew they would be happy for them and would want to know every detail.
The only person who doesn't know about it is Niall just because he is coming home from holidays today, and that's why Louis is now standing in his office, all work done and with a phone in his hand is waiting for Niall, obviously, he's late.
how is it going, babe?
Louis reads a message from Harry on his phone screen, smiling because he loves when Harry calls him pet names, he knows he will never get tired of it.
it's not going because Niall isn't here yet but I know everything will be okay he will be happy for us. When are you coming? :)
Harry is supposed to come right after their friend leaves because they are finally going to visit Gemma together, which Louis is extremely looking forward to, but at the same time, he is nervous and afraid that he will spoil the first real impression.
He has never cared more about making a great first impression than now, he feels as if his entire future depends on it, which is not far from the truth. What if sometime in the future Harry wanted to marry him and Gemma didn't permit him? That would probably be the end of his life.
be there in an hour? and I will open it with my own keys haha xx
yes, of course, love, can't wait for it x
After a few minutes of pacing, Louis hears footsteps outside the door and is aware that if it's Niall, he'll just barge in and not bother knocking. And of course, he was right because now Niall is standing in front of him smiling like a little kid who sees a Christmas tree for the first time.
"Hiiii Lewis, I couldn't wait to see you again, I've missed you so much," Niall immediately walks to Louis and literally throws his body at him, Louis has to be careful so they both don't end up on the ground. Even though he can't breathe and his clothes are sticking to his sweaty skin, he is also happy to finally see his friend and is even happy to be able to hug him, which is not his custom.
"I missed you too. How were you?" Louis sits on his chair and looks at how Niall sits across from him and puts his feet on the table, Louis is used to it and doesn't say anything to him just rolls his eyes.
"It was incredible I was so happy to see my family but home is home and I'm glad I'm back. How were you with Harry... at your parents?" Niall blinks at him as if he knows what happened.
"I'm glad you had fun, it was...nice," Louis can't help but look at his shoes with a sly smile on his lips that he can't hide for several reasons.
His friend finally put his feet off the table. "Fun?! What do you mean by that?"
"It was fun...I finally had an honest talk with my parents and enjoyed the holidays, and then Harry arrived, whom my mom immediately fell in love with, and we had a small New Year's party where I introduced everyone to my boyfriend...so yeah it was fun. " He tries to say it as quickly as possible, ruffling his shirt, wishing that Niall wouldn't even catch the word 'boyfriend', after the reaction he had when Louis said it was just fun, he doesn't know what to expect now.
Niall almost jumped out of his chair, now pacing around the office looking at Louis with murderous eyes. "Who??"
Louis also stood up from his chair and walked over to Niall, standing in front of him, afraid that he would fall after he answered him. "My boyfriend," he said with a smirk on his face, because yes, he is enjoying this very much.
"Aaaaaah," Niall started yelling right into his face, ignoring how close he was to his friend. Most likely in joy, Niall jumps around and hugs him around the neck, wrapping his legs around Louis' waist as well.
Louis will not deny that he is happy with his friend's reaction, he was once the most important person around him and in his new life, someone has now taken that first place.
"Okay, okay I get it that you are happy but pleaseee I can't hold you any longer."
His friend jumped off him, but it can be seen on his face that he would rather not let him go. After this reaction, Louis can't wait to see how Niall will look when he sees them behaving like a real couple. He wouldn't be surprised if he shed even one tear.
"I'm sorry but I'm so so happy. I knew from the beginning that you were soul mates and that you would find a way to each other even if you refused and Harry was in love with you from the beginning," Niall acknowledged right after he sat back in his favorite seat.
"Love? Harry doesn't love me...yet, I think." Louis has his back turned to the door to see Niall who is playing with the ball that is lying on his desk and that's why he didn't notice that Harry just entered his office.
"Are you gossiping about me, love?" Suddenly Louis can feel Harry's arms circling his waist and kissing his neck. He is not sure if he is happy that his love is behind him or to be scared that Harry heard their conversation. He feels the hairs on his neck stand up and the collar of his shirt sticks to his neck from the sweat. He feels as if the ground beneath him has turned to quicksand and he is slowly sinking but Harry's arms save him from drowning. Maybe it would be better if he drowned now.
Before Louis could answer his boyfriend, Niall walks up to them and throws himself onto Harry's back. "Oh my god hi, Harry. I heard the news and I can't believe it's finally true. I can tell you that I was your number one fan. And now, you loverboys, I'll leave you alone. See you soon." And after his speech, Niall leaves as if nothing happened.
Louis turns around in Harry's arms so he can get a better look at him and scan his expression better. "Hi babe, you came a little early. And you look absolutely beautiful." He holds Harry's face in his hands after their kiss and looks at his perfect form with the perfect outfit. His body is covered by a striped black jumpsuit with four big brown buttons that create the illusion of an even narrower waist, not that Harry needs it. His hair is combed back and covered with a thin layer of gel that Louis can barely see but he can smell the scent he likes so much.
Louis is sure that Harry wore this on purpose because he is wearing a striped jacket, white shirt, and black pants. He loves having matching outfits with his boyfriend.
His boyfriend.
"I can say the same about you. I came early because I couldn't wait for you and especially for our activities today," Harry whispers in Louis's ear.
He is a bit taken aback because he didn't expect that there would be more activities today, he only managed to mentally prepare for the first meeting with Harry's sister and he is already stressed for the week ahead.
"Not one activity in the form of your sister's visit, but more activities?"
"Yes love, I didn't tell you this because it was a surprise, but I have an exhibition today, and it's a very special exhibition." Harry slowly walks away from Louis towards Louis' desk and takes his phone, wallet, and keys for him. Louis doesn't quite understand what's going on, but he sees that Harry is coming back to him again, takes his hand in his, his things in the other hand and leads Louis to the door.
"Am I even properly dressed for your exhibition?" Louis asks stroking Harry's thumb.
"Stop underestimating yourself babe, you're always properly dressed it's just that the others didn't dress up for the theme." Harry kisses his forehead, locks Louis' office behind them, and together they both leave the restaurant.
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The two walk hand in hand to the door belonging to Harry's house, completely unknown to Louis. His house looks exactly as Louis imagined, the white door edged with gold ornaments similar to the gallery doors, his porch full of flowers of various colors and decorated with stones of various sizes. The red brick house is complemented by a caramel brown swing with decorative pillows.
Louis is pulled from admiring the beautiful house by Harry's hand on his back leading him closer to the door. "Harry, I'm scared. What if she doesn't like me?" Louis is suddenly afraid of rejection, he can't imagine what would happen if he didn't make a good impression. Maybe he's exaggerating, but he's never had to meet his boyfriend's family, he thinks that his ex-boyfriend's family didn't even really know about him, so this is a huge thing for him.
"Love, please, everything will be alright I'm right next to you and you don't have to worry at all, you've already called together and Gemma couldn't stop talking about you, I can tell you that she likes you already," Harry revealed making Louis lose up a little bit.
He turns to Harry kissing his nose which makes Harry scrunch up his whole face. "Okay we should go," Louis whispered.
Harry takes out his keys and unlocks the white door that Louis admired so much, again Louis immersed himself in the beauty of the surroundings of Harry's house and did not realize that Harry had already unlocked it and slowly pulls him by the hand inside shouting 'we are heree'.
Harry's home smells exactly like thought it would smell. Fresh flowers are in the air, standing on the living room table, Harry's cologne can be smelled from the coats hanging in the hall, and the sweet vanilla scent wafts through the house. Louis is not even surprised that his apartment is starting to smell similar, to Harry's regular presence.
"I'm in the kitchen," Gemma shouted appearing between the doors with a big bowl of salad in her hands. She looks stunning, Louis can see that the Styles family has good genes. As Louis smiles at Gemma, making eye contact with her, Harry takes off his coat and puts his things on the shelf in the hall.
"Hi Gemma, I'm so glad to finally meet you in a real-life not only through the phone," Louis says enthusiastically, giving Gemma his hand to welcome her, but instead Gemma puts the bowl of salad on the shelf and pulls him into a hug. It can be seen that she is Harry's sister, she cannot deny some things.
"Finally, I couldn't wait to see my brother's boyfriend...ugh that's horrible to say. I can tell you right now that you are even prettier in real life than Harry described you, I can't believe that."
Louis' face is flushed from everything that is happening. Of course, he was sure that Harry was talking about him, he is guilty and drags Harry into the conversation with his friends whenever he can, but he didn't expect that he would also praise his appearance. The thing he currently regrets is that he listened to Harry when he told him that he shouldn't wear anything to the welcome because his sister would send them home right away, she's not a fan of gifts on every occasion. He feels like an idiot, standing there with empty hands listening to compliments on his person.
"I hope Harry only says good things about me," Louis replied looking at Harry who was blushing and looking away ignoring their conversation. It is funny for Louis to see Harry dressed in expensive designer clothes ready for his big exhibition, blushing because of a few words from his sister.
"I can assure you that my brother wouldn't say a single bad word about you even if you broke his heart and hit him with a car, so you definitely don't have to worry about that, I promise you. Now that's enough bullshits, we should go eat because the food will get cold," Gemma announced excitedly, taking a bowl of salad into her hand again and walking into the kitchen.
They both immediately go after Gemma, Harry whispering to Louis that he shouldn't listen to what his sister is saying because it's all just lies, Louis just laughed kissing Harry's cheek because he knows it will help Harry calm down, he is sure that he is as nervous as he is even if he doesn't show it.
Louis takes a seat across from Harry, leaving room for Gemma at the head of the table, who arrives in a few minutes with plates in hand. Louis wanted to help her right away, but Harry was faster, handing him a plate of fragrant food.
After fully settling down and looking at the prepared table full of food for the first time, Louis's stomach starts rumbling. He takes a fork and a knife in his hand and with 'enjoy your meal' everyone starts eating, hearing only moans because of the delicious food and clattering of cutlery.
"Can I ask what it is because it's delicious and I need a recipe," Louis asks before taking a break from eating and sipping water instead.
"Thank you, Lou, it's Korean barbecue chicken and fried rice, the salad is practically for Harry because he is the biggest lover of vegetables, but you know that," Gemma smiles at him, continuing to eat and sending a smile to her brother as well.
They didn't talk much during the meal, but when they finished and thanked Gemma for the excellent meal, Louis tried to help her clean up, but Gemma just threw a kitchen towel at him and told him to sit down. After everyone sat down on the couch with a glass of wine, they started discussing various things that came to their mind.
"Do you like cooking when you own a restaurant?" Gemma asked Louis.
"Strangely enough, I'm happy when I make some simple food. I enjoy the atmosphere there and everything that goes on behind the scenes of creating food in restaurants."
"I'm sorry, I can't even imagine you in the kitchen, I feel like the whole city would burn," Harry laughed, hiding it immediately by drinking water.
"Thank you for your kind words, Harold." Louis looked at laughing Gemma, smiling at her.
"I'm sorry babe, you are wonderful in every aspect don't listen to me." Harry puts his glass on the coffee table in front of him and practically pulls Louis on top of him, putting one arm around his shoulders and kissing his forehead.
"Didn't you say I shouldn't listen to your sister?"
"Excuse me, Harold? I should have just called Louis and left you at the door." Gemma almost screams at Harry who just looks at them with a confused expression.
"What did I do to deserve that you call me Harold, and secondly, this is my house too Gemma, which leads me to the fact that I haven't shown it to my boyfriend yet," Harry answers his sister and then stands up from the couch, pulling Louis by the hand. He can only smile at Gemma because Harry is taking him out of the living room, probably on a house tour.
Before Louis could take a good look at other parts of the ground floor, Harry is already pulling him upstairs around, what are, probably Harry's paintings hanging on the wall, among which are also photos, Louis will have to look at them better next time.
"So, here is my bedroom, that's my study, which I actually use for painting, sometimes I also paint downstairs in the living room when I don't want to be alone, there's the bathroom and there's Gemma's bedroom," Harry pointed to the different doors, explaining where each was. Louis was attracted by the door to Harry's study, it was clear that it was painted all over, looking as if he had just covered it with different colors.
Harry lets Louis look around a bit before immediately leading him to his bedroom door. Of course, Harry's scent immediately attacks Louis' nose and almost throws him back.
Harry's king-size bed is covered with white pillows and black blankets, next to his bed is a simple bedside table with a pile of open books next to which decorative bookmarks lie. His table is covered with several paint tubes, it looks like Harry paints everywhere he can. The thing that caught Louis' eyes is the bookshelf opposite the bed on top of which is the television. Harry's library is filled to the brim with books by various authors, the almost destroyed books that have already had to survive a few world events are particularly prominent.
"I love your room, it's so you and so cozy," Louis turns to Harry with a smile and leans down to kiss Harry on the cheek, but Harry suddenly evaporates and walks over to his desk looking for something on the shelves.
He is a little sad that Harry just left him when he went to kiss him, but Harry probably didn't even see him at that speed. "Um, what are you looking for?"
Harry comes back standing in front of his boyfriend holding some golden envelope in his hand. "This. This is for you baby. It's an invitation for today's exhibition, I didn't want you to feel left out because I didn't tell you about it and you only found out today," Harry quickly explains and shoves the envelope straight at Louis ' hands.
He opens the envelope very carefully, trying not to damage it so that he can put it away in his box with letters later. A white invitation with gold ornaments sticks out from the envelope, which Louis pulls out so he can read what it says. The name of the exhibition 'storyteller' and the time with the address '18:00' are written there in decorative font, which is in less than an hour, so it means that they will be leaving in a while because he already knows from the previous exhibition that Harry has to be there earlier.
Underneath the information is Louis' name in gold letters with a heart at the end of the 'n'.
"Harry that's beautiful and don't worry, everything is okay as long as I'll be at the show, even if unannounced. And by the way, shouldn't we be leaving in about an hour?" Louis asks, tucking his invitation into his pants pocket, hoping he won't lose it.
"Yes, you are right. I expected that we would be leaving in a while, that's why I rushed you so that you could at least enjoy my house for a brief moment. And I know that you will be afraid that we are leaving Gemma, but she knows about it from the beginning, so you don't have to." Louis is happy that Harry always thinks of everything and especially makes Louis feels comfortable, and Louis tries to do the same when he has the opportunity.
"Okay, love. Should we say goodbye to your sister and go?"
Harry just nodded hugging Louis with one arm around his waist leading him out of his room and closing the door behind him with the other hand. Louis just smiles at him imagining how would an exhibition of Harry's paintings look, finally after a long time, not knowing that his imagination, this time, is completely wrong and he will be more surprised than he could have ever imagined.
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The gallery is just as beautiful as the last time Louis saw it, the gold ornaments on the door covered with dew, the light shining from the gallery through the windows followed by the laughter of the people already gathering in the gallery. He absolutely loves this kind of atmosphere.
Niall, Zayn, and Liam are now walking towards Louis who is standing a few steps away from the building where Harry disappeared a few minutes ago to check everything. Louis thought that his friends would be there too, but he wasn't sure.
"Hi guys," he greeted them first, hugging his friends individually. Niall is wearing a purple suit with a cream shirt, Zayn is wearing a black suede suit with a white satin shirt, and Liam is wearing a matching white satin suit and black shirt with Zayn. Louis has to admit that everyone has dressed up nicely and he suddenly feels like he's wearing sweatpants among them. That's one of the reasons why he likes to know things in advance so that he can dress appropriately.
"Are you excited?" Liam asked first, almost jumping on the spot from his excitement leaning against Zayn.
"Of course, I'm looking forward to it, I haven't seen any of Harry's new paintings in a while, he's probably been hiding them in the hallway," Louis laughed looking towards the gallery, expecting his boyfriend to appear in the doorway soon.
"Hah obviously," Niall laughed after a moment of silence, looking once at Louis and once at Liam and Zayn looking for answers on their faces. Louis noticed that his laugh was not very genuine. Zayn was going to say something but suddenly Harry appeared next to Louis smiling at their friends. "Hi guys, I'm glad you made it here. We can go inside," Harry blurted out at them immediately, running his hand through his hair a few times and then grabbing Louis' hand and leading him into the gallery, leaving their friend behind them.
Upon entering the gallery Louis stops turning Harry to him and cupping his face in his hands. "Love, can you tell why are so nervous? You are never nervous when it comes to your paintings." Louis is stroking Harry's jaw trying to find the reason in his eyes.
"It's not the paintings...just... you will see Lou, okay?" Harry answers while playing with his fingers.
Louis leans closer to his boyfriend gently kissing his lips to assure him that everything will be fine, leaving a sweet strawberry flavor on them.
Moments after their kiss, they both finally move to the first painting that hangs on the wall behind the snack table, Louis remembers this place very well from their first meeting and their first date.
Maybe Louis is melodramatic but he can't shake the feeling of sadness that maybe they will visit this place together for the last time someday or that he will visit this place alone while saying goodbye to Harry if they ever break up.
These feelings leave him when he feels Harry's hand on his lower back, the first painting shining in front of him and he can't keep his mouth closed. The first work is called 'brief glimpse of your eyes' and it's a panoramic painting from a gallery exhibition, Harry's gallery specifically. The paintings in the galleries on that painting are somehow not well discernible, most of them are just splashes of color, but their frames have detailed gold ornaments similar to those on the doors. Another thing that Louis noticed is that the corners of the entire picture are covered by green forest leaves of various shades, enriched with orange small flowers that almost disappear between the leaves.
It reminds him of the exhibition where he met Harry, nothing in that painting is even that radiant, but just the fact that it is a picture of paintings in the gallery will remind him of Harry's favorite painting.
"How long did it take you to paint this?" Louis asks curiously.
Harry turns to him, visibly less nervous. "You don't even want to know, honey."
Harry and Louis move to the second painting called 'various alternatives of your favorite painting'. Louis would be lying to everyone and especially to himself if he said that those names didn't always remind him of some part of their relationship, first it was their first meeting, and the second painting was practically their first conversation.
This painting could attract many people with its bold colors and hundreds of small flowers painted in different techniques. In some places, the colors blend together and in others, they are distinctly separated. Again Louis' eyes are drawn to the corners of the picture where the same green leaves as in the first picture are found, but in this one there are more of them and the orange flowers are more visible. Louis just loves this painting as much as he loves flowers, he loves their dependence on water and sun, needing a person to take care of them, and he loves their colors and variety.
Louis whispers to Harry that the painting is as beautiful as the first, but Louis is sure that this will say about every single one in Harry's collection. Harry intertwines his fingers with Louis' and they move on to the next work.
This painting features a pile of letters piled on top of each other on a table, looking as if they have been lying there for a long time and the recipient never had a chance to open them. The painting is titled 'Dear Mr...' which proves that the letters will be for a man, Louis wants to know who the letters are for even if it is, for example, a figment of Harry's imagination.
Of course, green leaves sprinkled with details and embellished with orange flowers are part of this picture as well, and just like in the previous one, there are more of them and they are bigger, creating the illusion that they are approaching the center.
Looking at those letters again, Louis remembers how he read a letter from Harry after the Halloween party when he realized that he liked Harry a lot, even if he didn't admit it himself, for him, it was one of the most romantic things anyone had ever done.
"At least once a week I think of that letter from you and I never know if I should cry at that moment or laugh with joy at how far we have come. This picture reminds me a lot... just like the first pictures remind me of our first meeting," Louis tells Harry in almost a whisper to keep this moment between them, wrapping his arms around Harry's waist and resting his head on Harry's chest.
"Yeah...that's the reason why I was so nervous and why I didn't tell you about this exhibition right away. I told you that I have one more gift for you but you'll have to wait for it, so I thought this, this exhibition is for you. It's actually about us, about our moments and especially the memories that can't leave my mind like you. Happy birthday or Merry Christmas, baby, whatever suits you better." Louis lifts his head from Harry's chest halfway through Harry's speech and looks at him lovingly with glossy eyes and opened mouth. Harry kisses his forehead acting like it's nothing, getting an exhibition for your birthday.
"I-I'm not sure what to say, love. This is enormous and I can't describe in words what it means to me and what it evoked in me."
"You don't have to say anything, it's enough when we move on to the next picture to really enjoy your exhibition." And so they did, moving through the center of the gallery to the fourth painting.
In this one, there is coffee, spilled coffee very close up where only part of the table can be seen, because even if there were, more green forest leaves with orange flowers are covering it, getting bigger and closer to the center of the canvas. The texture of the brown color in the coffee is similar to real spilled coffee, and the aroma that comes very lightly from the canvas corresponds to it. Louis guessed that Harry is an experimental painter and uses various tools even from the kitchen.
At first, he couldn't remember any specific event connected with Harry and coffee but then he remembered their meeting after Louis received the letter, they went together to Harry's favorite coffee shop, and they should go there again sometime and repeat it in the form of a date.
This painting is called 'complicated' and Louis isn't quite sure why. "Why is this painting called complicated?"
"Because at the time I had the feeling that everything was too complicated between us, and I slightly messed it up at the time, or at least I thought so. Otherwise, there is no other explanation because our relationship is not that complicated," Harry answers, looking at the name of his work and stroking Louis' back.
"This is the newest painting, I was just finishing it yesterday because I started painting it after we got back from your parents and you probably know why," Harry explains to Louis coming to the fifth painting on which there is a basket full of strawberries.
This painting is called 'coincidence' and Louis immediately guesses why it is called that which brings a smile to his lips. It's probably related to the fact that they both agreed on a strawberry theme for their gifts, which still warms Louis' heart how much they are connected.
Louis begins to think that the last painting will only be leaves with flowers because in this one you can see only a basket with strawberries and no background due to the large number of leaves, he begins to grow even more excited and amazed that Harry has everything thought out.
"I wanted to wear that sweatshirt today, but I didn't because it wouldn't really fit here," he smiles at his boyfriend, leaning on his shoulder and enjoying the moment he'll never forget.
"Are you ready for the last painting? Because I'm sure I'm not...Do you remember when I tell you I will show you one day how beautiful you are?" Louis notices that Harry is starting to get nervous again, looking behind him as if he's looking for an escape route, trying to whisper the question into the air.
"Babe, please calm down and that just makes me even more excited to see that painting in the best way possible. And yes I do, I was waiting for this moment. I'm sorry but I love your work and I know it will be wonderful and as beautiful as your every work."
"That's not why I'm nervous I'm afraid you won't like it I'm more afraid of your reaction," Harry focuses his attention on his shoes, one of his bad habits when he's stressed Louis noticed, slowly walking to the back of the gallery.
"I can assure you that my reaction will be positive and you have nothing to worry about...I just feel like you put your everything into your paintings and that's what I appreciate the most about it, plus the fact that you gave me today's exhibition, that I'll never forget in my life—" their steps stop as quickly as Louis' breath.
Both are standing in front of the last painting, Louis a little closer and Harry behind him, still afraid of his boyfriend's reaction.
Louis isn't quite sure what he's looking at, he sees part of his eye, hair, ear, and jaw, everything else is covered by green leaves just like in the previous works, but in this one, the flowers are not among the leaves but hidden in Louis' hair.
His eyes radiate a beautiful blue mixed with several shades as transparent as water. His facial features, hair, and eyelashes were completely identical to reality, Harry didn't even forget his freckles, prominent long eyelashes, and eyebrows painted in the last details. He feels like he's looking into a mirror and examining every part of his face, on the one hand, it's an extremely weird and scary feeling but on the other hand, he can't stop looking at it.
Slowly his tears make his eyes blurry while looking at the title of the painting 'the lover'. He knows and he knew that Harry likes him, that he adores him, that he would do everything for him and that he will never find anyone better, but he never realized it like now, looking at the portrait of himself and looking at the gallery full of people that came to the exhibition which is for him, even though they may not know it. Every single image carries an important and unforgettable memory made with his lover.
His lover.
"Baby, please don't cry. You don't like it? It's okay I can put down the picture right now and-" Louis stops Harry rumbling with his lips on Harry's, mixing their kiss with tears running down his cheeks and a strong grip on Harry's face, almost smashing their lips like it's no tomorrow.
"Don't ever try to put down that picture, you can't imagine how proud I am to be your other half and to have the opportunity to have you so close to me...Love, I wish I could talk and move the way you paint, endlessly, like beauty in the sorrow, so deeply like I could inhale all the emotions in your paintings...I love it so much." They are kissing again with all the emotions that a person can name, trying to catch their breaths between kisses. The tears slowly disappear from Louis' eyes and are replaced by sparks of joy just as they are depicted in his painting.
"You can't imagine how scared I was of your reaction. You can't imagine how much I want to tell you how much I feel for you and how much I want to be with you for the rest of my life..." Harry leans his forehead against Louis' forehead breathing deeply, searching for courage for his further words.
Louis probably partially understands what Harry is trying to say because he wants to say it too. "Say it," he urges Harry, staring into his beautiful eyes, in which he can currently see the forest leaves complementing every single painting.
"I love you, Louis, and so fucking much that my heart is going to explode. Sometimes when I look at you I can't stop picturing our future, I can' stop thinking about the fact that you are mine and that I love you. And now I can finally say it...I was afraid that if I said it earlier I would scare you and I tried to find a suitable moment for it, if I wasn't an asshole and I wasn't thinking about you, I probably would have said it on the first day I saw you.." Louis' eyes are flooded with tears again and he's not sure exactly what to say. It is clear what he will answer, but how can he cope with how easily Harry can explain his feelings for him?
"Harry, I- I love you too, of course, I love you oh god, and I'm glad you waited because I'm not sure if I would have been able to say it sooner even though I've felt it before. You make me so unbelievably happy and so unbelievably satisfied and self-confident, and you are the kindest person I've ever met in my life, I can't thank you enough for that, but I can promise you that I'll be with you until you will get bored with me, but until then please keep an idea of our future in your head so we can work on it."
A couple in love doesn't even notice that their friends are slowly approaching them, wondering where they went together. Niall was the first to notice that Louis was crying and Harry was in tears.
"What happened, Lou?" Their friend asks with a hint of fear in his voice but then sees the image behind Louis understanding why Louis is crying.
Louis turns to the group with tears streaming down his cheeks and his arms around Harry's waist. "I just...I just love him." He backs up his claim with his mouth on Harry's swollen strawberry lips.
Zayn and Liam just look at each other in disbelief, not because of Louis' statement because they already figured that out, but because of the picture behind Louis. Niall, Liam, and Zayn knew that this exhibition was for Louis, but they had not seen the paintings that would be exhibited, so it was a mini shock for them too.
"Aaaaaa I know it, Louis, finally." Niall squeals hugging Harry and Louis at the same time almost suffocating them from the joy and love he feels for them. Just like Liam and Zayn, he suspected that Louis loved Harry before Louis himself realized it, but hearing it from his friend's mouth is something like a second Christmas.
"Unless I'm going to be in a relationship like you, I don't even want it, you have my blessing for whatever you want to do together," Niall whispers in their ear and lets go of their grip, letting a blushing Louisa finally catch his breath.
"I love you," Harry repeats whispering in his ear ignoring the people around them as the two of them are glued to each other enjoying the closeness.
Louis answers with a shaky voice "love you too so much," feeling like he is saying 'I love you' for the first time.
And maybe he is, maybe he could forget about his previous relationship and break away from everything that had to do with it because with Harry he feels reborn and that's what he needs.
He just needs Harry and everything will be fine.
🦋🦋🦋
Okayyy I just want to tell you that after this chapter we have last chapter before us (not counting on epilogue!) anddd I'm not ready to leave this story behind me :(
I hope that we are getting late night talking mv by the way :)
Please loves drink enough water, sleep enough and think about your health. <3 Love you all.