"You're not going to tell me you're actually enjoying this, Prince Louis." she said, sidling up to him and rolling her eyes. He was outside, in the gardens, hiding behind a large topiary bird, where she'd just found him. She being the girl with the long brown hair and the brown eyes, who was wearing the emerald green dress. It was made of a delicate cut of silk, he noted, looking at the layers of material that gave the dress its wide and sculpted skirt.
He stayed silent, not willing to give her any confirmation on whether or not he was enjoying the party that had been set up for his twenty-fifth birthday.
She raised an eyebrow at his silence. "I'm Gemma, and I'm here because my parents thought it would be a good idea for me to try and get you to marry me because... I don't know why. I zoned out of the lecture."
He nodded at her.
"I can tell you're not enjoying this party, and I'm pretty sure I know why. It's kind of obvious. There is no straight man on earth who wouldn't want to be in a room full of nice enough beautiful girls." He tensed slightly, which was caught by Gemma, who smirked. "Don't worry, I'm not giving away any secrets. Luckily for you - and probably him - my brother escorted me today. He's a couple years younger than you, a hit with the ladies, but usually has an eye for men." His stance hadn't changed much, but she knew she had his full attention. "I'll get him," she smirked. "Thank me later."
She glided off, and he took that as a command to stay where he was. No matter how much he tried to tell himself that he didn't need to decide - or even meet anyone - today, there was only so long he could politely reject his parent's attempts to get him to meet a nice lady. He didn't really want to bring up the fact that he didn't want a woman. He was, in fact, a raging homosexual, which Gemma had somehow figured out.
He fidgeted with the bush behind him, knowing that the gardener, Mr Horan, would kill him later for snapping some of the leaves. Somehow, possibly on instinct, that man just knows when one of his world-renowned bushes was tampered with. It had provided very useful for the one time that a group of teenagers attempted to paint the topiary orange.
Louis was quite close with the gardener's son, and their family were the only ones who knew of Louis's sexuality. Niall and his family didn't mind that he was gay - Niall himself was trying to court one of the men who lived in the village down the hill from their castle. Niall, his parents, and his grandparents lived in a two-storey house on the estate. Niall's father had free residence and paid work for life due to the fact he'd saved the King's life a couple of times, and had brought his wife, son, and, once they retired, his parents to live with him. Louis often had tea with them and hung out with Niall.
It wasn't a crime to be gay, but Louis's parents had sometimes expressed more traditional views on how he should marry. He wasn't ready to come out to the whole kingdom, though - he knew he wasn't quite ready for the title of 'The Kingdom's First LGBT+ Royal Family Member', although he hoped he'd be an inspiration for every member of the queer community in the kingdom and a boost to the change that was already occurring everywhere he knew of.
He was broken out of his reverie by Gemma coming back, leading her brother with her. Her brother was still bathed in the darkness of the night, so all Louis could see was that he was significantly taller than him.
"I hath brought thou my brother, Prince Louis William Tomlinson," Gemma smirked, curtseying exaggeratedly.
Louis rolled his eyes and turned to face the newcomer.
He stepped out of the shadows, holding out a hand for Louis to shake. Louis raised his hand, trying and failing not to stare at him. His eyes. His lips. His hair. His... everything, really. He looked so effortlessly amazing in an elegant off-white velvet blazer with delicate golden embroidery, paired with a navy blue dress shirt, and matching dress pants.
They shook hands, slightly awkwardly, eyes drifting over each other. Louis bit his lip and looked at Gemma, who looked as though she was about to burst out laughing.
She straightened her face, looking between the two of them as they disconnected their hands, both blushing. "Louis, this is my brother, Harry. Harry, this is Louis." Harry. Louis tested it in his head a couple of times. Oddly enough, it fit the man standing in front of him. "I'll leave you to it," she said, giving them a wink.
After a few seconds of painfully awkward silence, Louis spoke up. "You look amazing."
"As do you," Harry said, inclining his head toward Louis.
Louis grinned. "Thank you. Did Gemma tell you why she brought you here?"
"She said something along the lines of 'the prince needs someone entertaining'."
"That I do," Louis laughed, pointedly looking Harry up and down. "You look like you'd be good entertainment."
Harry flushed, hesitated, then leaned closer, placing a finger under Louis's chin and tilting it upwards. "Do I now?"
Louis leaned in closer, licking his lips. "You do."
Harry pulled away. "Let's have a conversation first. I have standards, Tomlinson."
"Fine," Louis said. He put on a posh tone, "What does thou wish to converse about?"
"Let's play 20 questions."
"Ok. You go first."
"Ok. What's your favourite childhood memory?"
"Here I was expecting something like 'what's your favourite colour?'. Straight into the deep end, I see. Uh, probably when I had a slumber party in one of the ballrooms with my mum and all my sisters while Mark was spending the night in another kingdom. Or when Mark legally adopted me. That night was one of the best of my life," he said, face lighting up at the memory, blue eyes crinkling at the corners.
"That sounds awesome," Harry said, smiling sincerely. "Now you ask me something."
"Umm..." Louis paused, thinking. "What is your least favourite childhood memory?"
"Super original," Harry chuckled, "but probably when my "best friend"," he put air quotes around the words, "decided I wasn't worth hanging out with."
Louis flinched sympathetically. "Oh, that sounds terrible. I'm sorry."
"Not you fault. And it's alright, honestly. I got over it ages ago. Who is your best friend?"
"Probably Niall, the gardener's son, but I've also got a couple mates who work in the kitchens. You wouldn't have met them - Liam and Zayn. Professionally trained chefs who make late-night snacks for me so I don't burn the kitchen down. Head over heels for each other, pretty much refuse to see it, although everyone else does." Harry laughed with him. "Gemma mentioned you like men, so, naturally, I'm curious. How did you figure that out?"
"Don't laugh."
"I won't"
"I was looking through a magazine that someone brought me - forget why - and literally blurted out - when my whole family was in the room, no less - that the shirtless guy on the front was hot. It was so embarrassing."
Louis face contorted like he was struggling not to laugh, then he took a deep breath and gave Harry an unconvincing poker face. "How terrible," he deadpanned.
Harry narrowed his eyes at him. "Is it within the rules of this game to give you the same question?"
"I have no idea."
"I'm going to anyway. How did you find out you were gay, bi, pan, whatever?"
"I'm very gay," Louis supplied. "I have not had any interest in boobs since I was breastfeeding," he joked, causing Harry to cackle, snapping a hand over his mouth to muffle the sound, which made Louis grin fondly. "Honestly, I don't know. I was much more into, like, fashion, and things like that than most others. And when a lot of the boys in my class were talking about with girls they liked, and I couldn't relate, it clicked for me. My question for you - what's your favourite colour?"
"Skobellof. Before you ask, yes, that is an actual colour."
"Ok, whatever you say."
Harry laughed. "I'm taking us back into the deep end. Who are you out to?"
"Niall, Liam, and Zayn. As well as Niall's family. And the boy Niall's trying to get to date him."
"Who's that? I might have met him."
"His name is Shawn, I'm pretty sure."
"I have not met him. What's your favourite colour?"
"Are you expecting me to have something like your fancy-pants answer?" Louis asked. Harry laughed, shaking his head. "Well then, I'm going with green. What's your least favourite colour?"
"Russet."
"What? Do you spend your time searching up weird colour names?"
Harry shrugged. "Sometimes."
"Weirdo," Louis said, a fond tone evident in his voice.
Harry snickered. "My turn again. What's your favourite place in the castle?"
"On the grounds or in the castle?"
"You choose."
Louis tilted his head, thinking. "I'd say probably my bedroom, um... Niall's house, and, the flower garden."
"Can you take me there?"
"Where? My bedroom? Eager, you are," Louis smirked.
Harry blushed. "No! The flower garden, idiot," he said, punching Louis's bicep.
Louis smiled, "You won't be able to see much, considering it's night time, but sure."
"Aren't there lights?"
"There are... but I haven't figured out how to turn them on."
Harry laughed at him, "Lead the way."
Louis grabbed his hand, a jolt of electricity being sent to his spine, and led him down the path. Louis turned right, left, went straight ahead, turned left again, turned around because he went the wrong way, went straight, turned right, and then turned to face Harry, disconnecting their hands and suddenly wishing he hadn't. "Here we are," Louis stated, flourishing his hands in a gesture of welcome as they walked past the hedge which walled the garden in. The lights turned on as they walked in. So those were motion censor lights. Turns out you don't have to turn them on at all.
Louis watched as Harry's jaw dropped, taking in the garden. Louis wasn't very familiar with all the different types of plants (the fact that they were plants was about the extent of his knowledge), but Harry seemed to know a few. He moved around the garden, marvelling over different types of flowers, and giving a bear hug to a tree. Louis watched him from the entrance, leaning against the hedge with a fond smile.
Harry beckoned him over, "This is amazing! I wish I had a garden like this one back home."
"Feel free to share this one." The words were out before he could stop them. He hoped he didn't sound too desperate for Harry to come back.
Harry's face lit up. "So you want me back here, then?"
Louis avoided looking Harry in the eye, opting to stare at the floor. "Yeah," he said softly.
Louis watched Harry's boots come into his limited field of vision. He looked up at Harry, who was towering over him, it felt like. Louis couldn't place his expression. Maybe somewhere between surprise, shock, and a little bit of happiness.
He didn't have much time to decipher the expression before Harry had pushed against the low garden wall, his back against some random flower bush that he didn't have much time to think about before Harry's lips were on his, kissing him fervently, as if Louis was oxygen and Harry hadn't taken a breath in months.
Louis pushed back, managing to flip them around so Harry was bending backwards over the low wall. Louis tangled his hand in Harry's hair and bit on Harry's lower lip, eliciting a gasp from him.
The kiss had no time to escalate. They were interrupted by a certain Niall Horan, who was yelling and walking into the garden with a hand over his eyes. "LOUIS! LOUISSS!!!! WE'RE LOOKING FOR YOU AND I KNOW I'VE FOUND YOU AND YOU BETTER DISENTANGLE YOURSELF BEFORE I GET PERMANENTLY SCARRED!"
Louis pulled away reluctantly, nipping Harry's lower lip as he pulled back. They were both panting heavily. Louis recovered first. "I suppose that was a good enough conversation for you, Mr. Standards," he quipped, referencing Harry's earlier remark.
Harry laughed, throwing his head back, eyes shining. "I suppose it was," he agreed, looking into Louis eyes. Louis's breath caught in his throat. The moon was reflected in his eyes just so much that their natural green colour was so much deeper than it was before. Louis gulped.
Niall, again, interrupted their moment. "Alright, alright. I get that you want to keep making out or whatever. But, for the love of everything, please do it in your bedroom. Not in a place where I'm likely to walk in on you. I would like to keep my innocence, thank you very much." Louis stepped away from Harry, letting him stand up straight. "Louis, they're looking for you. I'd suggest looking in a mirror before going in, though." He turned to Harry. "I'm Niall, and you are...?"
"Harry," he supplied.
Niall walked back to the entrance of the garden. "Come on, Larry. We've got to get you back inconspicuously. Unless you want to talk to your parents now, Lou. They'll have to know eventually. You two are endgame - I can feel it." Louis and Harry followed him out, their hands clasped tightly together, fingers laced together.
"Ok, Niall, tone it back a little. I met him a couple hours ago. Not that I'm not going to try and be endgame, if you'd like that too," he added to Harry, who beamed back at him.
Niall pumped his fist, "Dad's mad at you, by the way. He saw you damage the topiary, but then Haz arrived and he didn't want to interrupt you. You right if I call you Haz?"
Harry nodded bemusedly.
Louis read his expression correctly. "Don't worry, you get used to it. His brain works at about a million miles an hour. And he still can't do math."
"I heard that!" Niall said, throwing a middle finger back at Louis, who just laughed.
"Oh!" Louis said, remembering something. "How was your date, lover boy? You told me you were seeing him today."
Niall turned around, walking backwards. "He's the best," he said, a smile on his face. "And - guess what?" He continued, not giving them time to guess. "He agreed to be my boyfriend today! I'm so happy!" The ear-to-ear grin he was sporting proved his statement.
"I'm so happy for you," Louis said, giving his best friend a proud smile.
"And I'm happy for you," Niall repeated, gesturing to Louis and Harry's connected hands as Louis squeezed Harry's hand. "This is the week of happiness - I can smell it on the horizon." Niall turned back around and started leaping and dancing down the path, calling behind him for them to hurry up. "Now we just need to go force Ziam into a broom cupboard."
"Ziam?" Harry asked the question that Louis was thinking.
"Zayn. Liam. Ziam," Niall replied, as though it should have been obvious. "And you guys are Louis and Harry. Larry."
"Oh, my bad for not understanding how your crazy brain works," Louis teased, earning himself another over-the-shoulder middle finger from his best friend.
Harry tilted his head, thinking. "If that's how it works, then you and your boy should have a name too. He's Shawn right?" Niall nodded. "Shawn and Niall. Shiall."
"Heyy, I want to be first," Niall whined.
"Too bad, so sad. Sorry not sorry," Harry grinned.
"I like him. Keep him, Lou." Louis blushed, shushing Niall as they neared the castle.
They made their way back into the ball, where Louis was immediately descended on by Mark, the King, and his mother, who had been eyeing his and Harry's connected hands, and was now eyeing their dishevelled state, raising an eyebrow at him. He blushed, wishing he'd taken Niall's advice and actually looked in a mirror before coming in.
His mother hugged him tightly, whispering "I think you and me need to have a talk. If you're ready, of course," to him. Suddenly, he didn't know if it was her embrace, her words, or knowing that Niall, Harry, Liam, Zayn, and even Gemma had his back through this, he felt ready to tell her. To tell her and Mark.
-----
"I'm gay," Louis said shortly, avoiding their eyes so he didn't have to see their reaction. And so they couldn't see the tears welling in his eyes. Himself, his mother, and his step-father were all sitting in his bedroom, a room with sport and band posters all over the walls, a walk-in closet, large mahogany desk, four-poster queen bed, a bedside table on each side. His phone lay screen-side-up on the closest bedside table (with Harry's number newly saved), where he'd just finished reading the essay of a good-luck-I'm-proud-of-you text that Niall had sent him.
Louis felt the bed dip beside him, and felt his mum pull him into her arms. He collapsed into her, letting the tears spill onto his cheeks as she stroked his hair, planting a kiss in his hair. "We love you," she whispered.
"I wasn't sure you'd be ok with it," he confessed. Mark sat down on his other side, completing their little huddle. He wrapped an arm around both of them, whispering "Thank you. I love you too."
"Love you," Mark whispered.
He lifted his head slightly and moved his arms to wipe his face. "Can we... um... keep this between us... for now? I'll tell the girls soon."
"Of course," Mark replied, "it's your decision who you're out to."
His mum turned to him, eyes shining and grinning mischievously, "Any boys in your life? Who was that boy that you walked in with yesterday?"
Louis blushed, "His name's Harry. He's awesome," he said, a fond tone in his voice and a fond smile on his face. His phone buzzed, a message from 'Harry💚'.
"Speak of the devil," Mark laughed, prompting the other two to burst out laughing, the serious moment broken, allowing them to return to more light-hearted conversation, which Louis was glad for. He wasn't one for long bouts of seriousness.
His mum was the first to calm down, wanting all of her questions to be answered. "Where did you meet? Who introduced you? What's he like? How long have you known each other? Am I going to meet him soon?"
"Whoa, slow down, mum," Louis laughed. "I met him yesterday - his sister was one of girls invited to the ball and she introduced us. From our talking, I gathered that he's kind, and just- amazing. I don't know how to explain it. I really like him. He's really pretty too. And I don't think you'll meet him very soon, no."
"When are you seeing him next?"
"I'm not sure. Probably next week. We chatted over text till about 4:30 am."
Mark arched an eyebrow at him. "I walked in at about 2 and I thought you were asleep. Sneaky."
Louis grinned sheepishly. "I need to tell Niall how this went. And Harry. They're both dying to know. And then I'll go and tell Liam and Zayn. I love you both."
Mark pulled him in for a hug, "I'm proud of you. Love you too," and left Louis and his mother to talk a little.
Louis was pulled into another tight hug. "I love you so much. Just how you are. And I will be meeting the boy who's making you this happy - yes, you're literally radiating happiness - as soon as he's ok with meeting me."
Louis chuckled. "I love you too. Thank you for supporting me."
"I'll always support you. In everything."
"Even if I decide to flood the castle in ball pit balls?"
"Umm... that would be hilarious. I will one hundred percent support that," she laughed, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
Louis grinned back, "We need to do that one day."
"Absolutely," she said, releasing him and walking towards the door. "I'll leave you to your boy and your friends now. Please tell him I said thanks for making you so happy. And I'm going to go and make some cookies with Liam and Zayn as a congratulations for being brave enough to come out to us."
-----
Louis waved at all the people crowded below the steps of the castle. Most of them waving pride flags. In the months since coming out to his mother and step-father, Louis had decided that he'd like for everyone to know, successfully earning himself the title of 'First openly gay prince', and quite a bit of hate. But more love than hate, which was what he focused on. And, looking at the curly-haired man next to him, his brain blocked out all the hate he'd seen. He took Harry's hand, intertwined their fingers and raised their arms in the air, announcing Harry as his boyfriend, which was a title they'd put to their relationship around a month after they met.
As he raised their hands, the cheers got impossibly louder, and the pride flags were waved even faster. He loved the tangible feeling of acceptance that was thrumming through the crowd, and he loved the way he was able to fully be himself now. He loved how he knew that his friends, his parents, and his boyfriend had his back.
He turned around to go back inside and probably cry of happiness, running to hug the other two couples who were on the other side of the door. He nearly suffocated Niall and Shawn, and then threw himself onto Liam and Zayn (both of whom had actually been locked into the walk-in pantry for the better part of a day by Louis and Niall and let out once they confessed to liking each other).
Louis was so grateful for everyone in his life (who had all helped him flood one floor of the castle with ball pit balls), and for the people in the kingdom who loved and accepted him for who he was.
He released Ziam and pressed his lips onto Harry's, a silent 'I love you' passing between them.
He was on top of the world, and nothing could drag him down.
-----
A/N: When I had this idea, I opened a new chapter of this book, as you do. I wrote 'Louis is gay and his parents are bringing in a bunch of princesses. gemma feels the gay-ness and introduces louis to harry'. I am HiLaRiOuS 🤣
I literally started this, like, the day after we got the Elounor bua. This has taken ages xD
LOVE YOU GUYS <33333333333333333333333333 Thank you for boring yourself long enough to digest this story - you're awesome :D
Also, skobellof is a real colour and it is very pretty, in my opinion. Russet is also a real colour.
Song recommendation of the day - a segment that may never happen again: 'Boys' by Aidan Martin.