Summary: Louis and Harry broke up seven years ago, and those same years later, Louis wants to get back together. But things don't go quite according to plan.
This was a request by
@AnnaPark041 Thank you so much for your patience. I know you made this request forever ago. I hope you enjoy!
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It was the biggest mistake of his life, Louis knew that now.
Giving up the only good thing he had going for him. All because he wanted to 'work on himself' or whatever words he'd used that felt right at the time. He'd given up. Given up on the band, their relationship, on his best friend—Harry. Louis had been so scared of what would happen with Harry and the boys after the hiatus, that he walked away from it all. Barely any fight.
Louis regretted everything, and if he could do it all over again, he would. Go back seven years time and choose the band and choose Harry, choose to fight for it all. Damn it, what had he been thinking? Louis couldn't go back and change anything, so the only thing to do now was move on.
Sort of.
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Louis couldn't convince himself that he was over Harry even if he had tried. And believe him, he tried. He won't even mention the sort of things he'd attempted to rid his mind of those green eyes and that beautiful dimpled smile. God, he still loved Harry after all these years, and he hated himself for letting him go.
So maybe inviting the man over to his house for some tea, because they couldn't exactly go and have one out in public, wasn't the most subtle thing for him to do considering they hadn't talked in a few months.
Though, Louis couldn't back out of it now, Harry had just rung his doorbell.
Shit.
Louis wiped his suddenly sweaty hands on his jeans, taking a deep breath. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. Their breakup was really messy, and the guilt was all consuming. Building up and eating away more at him the closer he got to the door. But at the same time, his heart raced with excitement.
"Hey," Louis breathed out, opening the door wide for the green eyed man. He felt his heart flutter at the sight he was met with. "Come on in."
Harry stepped over the threshold with a small smile, taking a look around. The man was as stunning as ever. Standing tall, his brown curls hung over his forehead and reached down to the middle is his neck. An oversized, mustard colored turtleneck and brown slacks covered his figure. Louis had to force himself to look away.
The man was so different. Stunning. Of course, he always had been, though Louis was seeing a whole new side of Harry right now.
"Um," Harry cleared his throat, voice as deep as ever. "I was a bit surprised when I got your text. It's been what? A... year? Two?"
"Nine months." Louis spoke without missing a beat. Harry nodded, blinking. "Yeah, um—come, come, sit, please." He motioned over to the kitchen after closing the front door. He pulled out a barstool for Harry, who thanked him, and rounded the counter, moving to fill the kettle. He set it on the stove and turned back slowly to face the man once more.
"How've you been?" Louis tried, trying to fill the silence.
"Ehm," Harry coughed again and Louis had to hide a grimace. "I'm doing alright. What about you?"
"Good, good." Awkward. Make this less awkward. "How's tour going? And the movies? I've seen the trailers and they look amazing." You've been doing so well without me, the words went unspoken.
"Yeah, it's great. I mean, I'm happy for the opportunities."
Scripted. "Come on Haz," The old nickname rolled off his tongue easily. "It-uh, It seems like a lot. N-not saying you can't handle it, or course you can, but I-uh," Louis cleared his throat, catching Harry's lips twitch upwards. "You can talk to me, you know. If you want to. We are still friends, right?"
Louis watched as Harry let out a breathy chuckle, rubbing his nose while a small blush covered his cheeks. He gave a small nod. "Thank you, Lou. I appreciate that."
They fell into a conversation pretty easily after that. It was nice, they both could admit, to catch up and talk as if those painful gap years hadn't even happened. Just like old times, Louis remembered thinking. And then the next thing he knew, a couple hours had passed.
"Oh, shit," Harry laughed, standing up from the barstool next to Louis. "It's late. I should be getting home."
"Yeah, yeah, of course." Louis stood as well. "Oh, don't worry about those, I'll wash them later." He shrugged when the other moved to grab an empty mug.
It felt so good to be around Harry again. The man was the same, despite the obvious physical changes. He was his kind, courageous and genuine self.
He was still the boy Louis fell in love with.
So walking Harry out the door definitely brought up some indifferent feelings. From the many times they parted before. There was a pause when they reached the threshold, both staring into one another's eyes. Before either knew it, they were leaning in, and Louis could feel it against his own lips. The warmth of Harry's breath. Desire churned in his stomach.
"I want you back." The words spilled from his mouth before Louis could stop them.
And he could feel his heart drop with the way Harry's breath hitched.
"I, uh, I have a girlfriend."
The words burned in Louis's chest and his throat started to burn. Of course. What had he been thinking? Just because they had a good night together, he thought they could just kiss and make up? That something like tonight could just fix what had happened seven years ago? What the fuck was he thinking?
Louis pulled away, taking a deep breath while trying not to sound too upset. "Oh." He whispered, face flushing with embarrassment.
"Yeah, um, it's Olivia. We've been together for awhile."
Well, shit. That was like another punch in the gut. But who was he to feel like that? To think him and Harry could just forgive and forget and just be happy together again. Stupid.
"Yeah, yeah, of course. Of course. Um, I'm sorry." Louis murmured with a wince, pushing himself farther away from the man. He held the front door open, looking at the floor. He couldn't stand to look up and have Harry see the tears forming in his eyes. "Drive safe, Haz. I'll- uh, I'll see you around. Good luck with everything."
He could feel Harry's stare, but only for a moment before the man whispered.
"See you around, Louis."
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Harry sighed as he started his car and began the drive home. He had a sense of... accomplishment almost, settling itself in his chest. Seeing the hurt in Louis's eyes felt almost as good as it did bad. He'd been waiting for this moment for awhile.
When Louis broke up with him seven years ago, he was hurt. So heartbroken, Harry couldn't remember a night for weeks he didn't cry himself to sleep. However, soon enough those feelings turned into anger. Anger towards Louis for not giving him a better reason for leaving him. It was like out of no where that his best friend and boyfriend had just dumped him.
So for the longest time he worked on himself. Putting all his emotions into his music and his career, and fuck, did it paid off. Harry released a new album, kicked off his career in acting, won a few awards, and honestly, as much as it was for himself, he wanted to prove to Louis that he was alright. That Harry didn't need Louis.
Yet, he still cried some nights. Still craved the man's touch—missed his love. Harry hadn't given any effort into any new relationship, or even tried with any hook up ever since Louis, because he still loved the man with all his heart.
So maybe the stunt with Olivia was fake. Louis didn't have to know that though, at least not yet. Louis deserved to hurt for a bit. Just like he did. Right?
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It was about an hour later that Louis found himself driving down the road all teary eyed while sobbing his heart out. Thinking him and Harry could reconnect the way he wanted, was stupid. Ignorant.
Louis knew he shouldn't be driving in this state, but he needed to get away. He was hoping to relieve himself of the heartbreak and embarrassment he'd just endured with the escape that driving brought. But, he could barely see the road lines now, eyes so blurry with fresh tears leaking down his face. The heartache engulfed his chest, racking his body with full forced sobs, each one coming out more harsh then the last. He began to choke. And then it all happened so fast.
The quick swerve of the wheel as a bright light flashed in front of him. A loud honking rang in his ears before everything went black.
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"When can I see him?"
"I'm sorry, sir. The doctors are doing everything they can."
"Three, two, one, clear!"
"Please! I just... He's been in there for hours. Can't you tell me anything?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Styles. Please, take a seat."
"Again! Three, two, one, clear!"
"Please, Lou. Please, please, please."
"Again! Clear!"
"I love you."
"We've got a heartbeat!"
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Harry never would've thought Louis would keep him on his emergency contact list. So when he was informed over the phone that Louis had been badly injured in a car accident, he couldn't feel worse.
Harry knew how Louis worked. And he should've known that Louis would've gotten up to act instead of sitting in a state of heavy emotion.
This was all his fault.
"Mr. Styles," A nurse called. "You can see him now."
Harry stood up fast, vision blurring and head spinning. He had to stand for a moment before moving forward, and when he did, he arrived at the entrance of Louis's room.
The sight was awful. Louis laid there, unconscious. Multiple scrapes and strips of medical tape adorned his face. A large bandage was wrapped around his head, casts on his left arm and right foot.
Harry walked over to Louis's bedside slowly, face breaking as he pulled a chair over to sit, placing his hand over Louis's cast as he began to cry. The heart monitor was the only thing heard in the room along with Harry's sniffles. Fuck, he couldn't stop shaking. This was all his fault.
"...all my fault. All my fault, I'm so sorry, Lou. I'm so sorry. Fuck."
Harry didn't know how much time passed, nor did he care. He just needed Louis to wake up. So Harry could hear his voice. So the boy could hear his apology—if he would.
At that moment, he felt a small, almost nonexistent squeeze on his hand.
"Lou? Louis? Come back to me, love." Harry watched as the man's blue eyes came into view. "Hi, love. Hey, how're you feeling?" He breathed.
Louis blinked dazedly, staring at the ceiling before turning his head with a wince to look at Harry. He closed his eyes again and grunted after a second.
"Like I got hit by a bus."
Harry breathed out a chuckle before he was overwhelmed with sorrow again.
"Lou, I'm so sorry."
Louis stayed silent.
"If I hadn't told you about the Olivia thing, you wouldn't have been upset and you wouldn't have-"
"Harry, stop, okay?" Louis grimaced, breathing heavier than normal. "Please, just stop. I don't want to talk about this."
"Not talk about this? Lou, this is the reason we're here. Because I rejected you, because I ..." Harry didn't finish his sentence and instead peered up at Louis with guilt in his green orbs.
"What?"
"Because I lied about Olivia."
The room went quiet once more.
Louis's next words were timid. "What do you mean?"
Harry's mouth opened and closed a few times. "We're not together."
The solemn look on Louis's face was enough to make Harry break again.
"I'm so sorry." Harry sobbed. "I just wanted... to hurt you, like you hurt me. I'm so sorry, Lou. Fuck."
When Harry was able to calm down, he noticed Louis's hand still squeezing his. The man didn't let go. So he squeezed back.
"Haz..." Louis began. "This wasn't your fault." He shot Harry a look when the man went to speak. "I got in the car, and I chose to drive when I wasn't in any state to, alright? This wasn't your fault. Yes, I was upset about hearing that the love of my life was with someone else, which, even though turns out wasn't true, I chose to do what I did. This isn't your fault."
They stared at each other for awhile, emotion heavy in both their eyes. Harry hesitantly stood, placing a gentle kiss on Louis's lips when the boy didn't push away.
"I love you, Louis."
"I love you too, Harry."
Leaning their foreheads against one another, they stayed like that.
"So does this mean we're okay?"
"Yeah." Louis smiled. "We're okay, Haz."
And they would be. Sure there were things to work out and talk more about, but they could do it. They always did.
They were Louis and Harry, and their history would always bring them back to one another.
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