Louis and Olivia were taken home after a whole day had past, and the premises were inspected by the security company thrice. Harry did his own homework and uncovered the names of every individual who set foot in their house, without uttering a word to Louis about what his plan was.
They had a blow out on Thursday, the night before Harry's fight when Louis can't sleep with this cloud over his head.
"What are you doing awake, princess?" Louis found Harry in his studio, frowning at his phone screen. He didn't even look up.
"How'd you know it was me?" Louis stood in the doorway with all the pressure off his weaker ankle and his hands in the front pouch of an old hoodie.
"Who else would it be?" Harry locked his phone and sat back in his mafia chair with a sigh.
Louis frowns. It flashes across his features briefly before he wraps an arm around himself from inside the pocket and steps forward into the warm room. "It's almost midnight. When are you coming to bed?"
Harry's had two nights of minimal sleep and maximum agitation. All the secret keeping from Louis has had him on edge. He couldn't share what he wanted with the boy because he wanted this job to clean and taken care of by Saturday morning. It was stressful but it was one of his things that absolutely needed to get done.
The men who broke into their home were undoubtedly Dylan's and were going to kidnap Louis for reasons they're not sure of. Liam and Zayn have promised to be with Harry on Friday when they go into a private meeting spot after the fight. Harry's less than pleased that it has to be Liam at his side too.
"Not yet, darling." Harry cracks the knuckles of his long, deft fingers and runs one hand through his hair.
"Why not?" Louis moved closer to Harry's desk, flooding the man with his natural scent of vanilla and citrus after a shower. "I'm lonely up there."
Harry stretches out his arms, too hypnotised by temptation, and grabs Louis' waist. With careful strokes, he rubs Louis' curvaceous hips and lures him into his lap. Louis tries not to depict all the pleasure he feels from having his feet off the ground. He feels most powerful right here, in Harry's lap, and has therefore made it his throne.
"I have to do this tomorrow." Harry looks away from Louis' face when he says this, pressing his forehead against the boy's shoulder and accepting the comfort he's offered by Louis' fingers in his hair. "I need to prepare."
"Prepare what?" Louis kisses Harry's forehead. He's mothered Harry's baby girl and that gives him more leeway in this relationship.
Harry groans and wheels forward so Louis' back is against the table's edge, caged in by Harry's arms and the chair arm rests. His disgruntled noise gives Louis a chance to frown again and secure both sides of Harry's face to gather his attention.
"You know you can tell me anything, Hazza."
Staring into those translucent blue electric marbles, Harry almost does spill the means. He manages to capture Louis' wrists and kisses them with a deep inhale. "I can't."
"I can see that this is stressing you out so much." Louis presses, worried for the receding hairline Harry had and his constant mood swaps. "I hate to see you like this."
Harry loves Louis enough to be the one swooning whenever his princess said something so loyal. "I know, love. The safety of my family is top priority right now."
Louis tucked himself under Harry's chin, with his arms curled and eyes closed. "Are you still fighting on Friday?"
"Yes." Harry's arm come around Louis' little form to keep him warm. "You, Bean and Niall are going to be at the club until I'm done."
"The club?" Louis puts his hands on Harry's shoulders and straightens up after his brief cuddle-up. "Why the club?"
"It will be closed. The bouncers will keep you safe."
"What about Zayn?" Not that Louis wanted Zayn's presence but Zayn was always there with him and Niall when Harry was fighting.
"He'll be with me." Harry's expression transforms to apprehensive while he answers. "As will Liam."
Liam? "Harry, what are you going to do?" Louis withdraws even further and crosses his arms, eyes resolute.
Harry decides that this night has been long enough and glances at his watch for the madly late time. "Not now, princess. Let's-"
"Now now?" Louis manages to get to his feet with flexibility Harry's not noticed on him before. It's magnificently dangerous. "When on Earth do you want to discuss why you three are forming some sort of mini mafia on Friday?"
Harry doesn't mean to laugh so loudly but his cackle comes out anyway and Louis is peeved.
"Harry!" He appears to be thrown by the amusement but remains angry. "It's not funny."
At last Harry stops mocking Louis' 'mini mafia' analogy by laughing and stands as well. He brushes Louis' cheek with his knuckles gently, always gently. "You worry too much about me, darling."
"It's my job." Louis' raw eyes burn past the walls Harry's set up around his mind. "Let me do my job, Haz."
Harry starts shaking his head but between the left side and his midpoint, Louis kisses him. It's a sweet and chaste kiss, ones they did in the morning before Harry left and at night before bed - no sex.
"I'm fine, darling." Harry sets Louis back on the level of his flat feet carefully. "This will all be over by Saturday."
"Are you-"
"Don't." Harry's gaze flickers to something sharp, something edgy and cold.
"Don't ask questions I don't want to know the answer to?" Louis provides, amusement at none.
"Yes." Harry takes Louis' hand but Louis pulls away and he sighs. "What now, Louis?"
"You're going to kill him, aren't you?" The realisation slams into Louis like a freight train on steroids. His face falls to the deepest pits of heartbroken, angry and furious about being betrayed.
Harry remains impassive. He's a master at the notion, but these few past days have been cracking his skill. "It's late, Lou."
"As if I were worried about the time right now, Harry!" Louis throws his arms up and looks exhausted.
"Raise your voice to me one more time-"
"Enough punishing for crying out loud." Louis does lower his voice but he remains adamant on his position in this argument. "You get to raise your voice and I don't? For as long as we have Bean that rule is void."
"This doesn't concern our baby."
"Everything concerns our baby." The fire in Louis' eyes burned bright and defensive. "Did you think about what this would do to her?"
"How is she ever going to know?!" Harry had to close the door to keep Bean asleep. She always fussed when her parents fought. "She's three months old and I'm doing this for her."
"Oh now you're doing it for her?" Louis hitches one leg on the table - the injured ankle one. "Who were you doing it for before?"
"For me!" Harry pulls on his hair for a short second with one hand. "Is that what you want from me? To know that I'm going to do what I am tomorrow for myself. Someone fucking forbid I do something for myself for once."
Louis rolled his eyes then it sank in what Harry meant. "Are you implying that you do too much for your family or your family demands too much of you?"
It hurt. It did but Louis wasn't going to let that show. Harry blew out a long breath while he thought of rectifying the situation. "I meant that this needs to be done and it needs to be me who does it."
"Sure." Louis draws the other knee up to his chest. "Did you consider what I told you about going back to hurting people?"
"Now you're threatening me?" Harry's black eyes turn yellow with the glint of the faint lighting in here.
"I'm reminding you, Harry." Louis hated how Harry turned everything on him. "Stop putting this on me."
"I'm not going back to my old ways." Harry instead says. "This needs to be handled anyway."
"What about the police?!" Louis shouts when Harry turns to leave the room, leave him alone in here.
"Oh fuck, Louis." Harry closes the door again. "He's a fucking CEO and he's got the best lawyers. They'd rip apart our pasts and show it to a jury if we go to the police."
That's true but after Briarville, the investigation taken has closed with a conclusion in their favour. If they had to go to court, Briarville would serve to dismiss all Harry's charges here and Middleston never had any police records of what he did there. When Louis' boss was murdered back there, and the suspect was found all missing persons were blamed on him.
"You know we can handle something like that." Louis glares at him as powerfully as he can with his eyes heavy as lead.
"Fine then." Harry stands a good distance away and crosses his broad arms over his broader chest. "Do you think he deserves a five year sentence for what he did? To me, to this family."
"It doesn't matter what I think." Louis persists. "Can you imagine how much more peril we'll find ourselves in if and when this comes to light?"
"That's why it's taking me so long to prepare!" Harry exclaims. "Everything needs to be-"
"There is no perfect murder, Harry." Louis sobers his expression. "There never will be."
Harry wasn't listening and he knew that. It made his heart heavy with sorrow and forlorn as he stares at the man he still loves so much, who is plainly staring back like Louis' a stranger.
"You'll see soon enough that there is, darling."
* * * * *
Friday came as Match Day for Harry once again.
Louis did everything as usual except accept Harry's kiss before he left and sleep in the same bed until morning. Olivia woke him up three times during the night with her wailing and he'd shuffle down the hall to her nursery to attend to her, which left him hungry and tired by morning.
He made a full breakfast for Harry but didn't wait to share it with him. Things were on stormy waters between them, to say the least. Harry came downstairs at ten to find Louis asleep on the couch and Olivia on his chest, knocked out like her mom.
After eating his breakfast in silence and a little regret, Harry washed up so Louis didn't have to and dropped by the couch to kiss his family goodbye.
"Don't do this." Louis woke up when contact was made on his cheekbone by a pair of soft lips.
Harry gave Louis a smile instead, not saying anything as he pressed his forehead against the boy's. "I love you."
Louis tried to say it again but Harry kissed him and Louis turned away. He looked at Olivia as she shuffled and her big green eyes flickered to life. She saw her daddy so close and started to smile, flailing her arms around so she at least got the chance to be held. Louis held her out and Harry gathered her in his arms for a small snuggle.
"Morning, angel." Harry kissed her head and cheek, closing his eyes at the peaceful scent she carried.
Olivia babbled and her little pouty lips had spit bubbles forming from her eagerness to convey a message to her Daddy. Harry wiped it off with his thumb and grinned at her, making her reach her chubby fingers out to poke his dimples.
"Be a good girl for your mom, Liv." He tells her before handing her back to an awaiting Louis.
He knows he's getting any affection from Louis so he smiled weakly and turned around without saying anything, duffel bag on his shoulder.
"Wait." The small voice had him halting mid-step and spinning back around.
Louis put Olivia on the couch with cushions to keep her from rolling off, before crossing the distance to Harry. His eyes held a swimming emotion that Harry couldn't read, and it made him frown. Louis' arms locked around his neck and Harry immediately dropped his bag to pick the boy up.
He thinks he's gotten Louis' consent and it's a huge relief. He nuzzles Louis' neck and kisses his shoulder. Louis combs through his hair silently while he shivered with unspoken words.
"Don't do this." He said again, voice chopped in half like he was choking on something.
Harry chose to ignore that and enjoy his moment with Louis. He kissed a few spots of soft skin and crushed Louis against his chest in a hug, letting him go when he knew he wasn't ready.
"I love you." Louis told him in his ear, that indecipherable emotion spreading through his features wildly.
The whole car journey to the gym Harry spent trying to understand what Louis was feeling with such a foreign emotion in his eye. His phone rang and distracted him for a short time.
"Zayn?" He answered with.
"Yeah. Niall left his phone here so I'm calling to let you know that he left." The man on the other end responded.
"Thanks." Harry stopped at a red light and sat back. "Did you speak with Liam?"
"Last night." Zayn is probably getting into his own car because Harry heard a car door close. "He said he'll be there at eleven and stay until it's done."
"Good." Harry chewed his lip, Louis' face haunting him like a nagging at the back of his mind. "I'm ten minutes away."
"You never listen when I tell you to take a fucking short cut." Zayn chuckles, connecting his device to the car's radio for convenience.
"Maybe next time." Harry accelerates into the stream of traffic again and turns into the off ramp that will put him on the gym's road. "Don't forget-"
"-to go to the club and pick up the stuff, I know." Zayn finishes for him. "I'm hanging up. Call Liam."
The call ends before Harry can consent but he sighs and dials Liam number at the next red light anyway. Liam answers in a voice that says he's been awake for a while now.
"Hey, Harry." Liam answers.
"What time will you be there?" Harry had to verify with Zayn's information.
"Eleven, before that even."
"Okay."
"Hey, Harry?"
"What?"
"Do you think he'll show up tonight to watch your fight?"
Dylan hasn't been to any other boxing matches of Harry but he's received a special invitation to this one that Harry sent himself. They were going to settle this once and for all.
"He can't stay away." Harry hangs up.
He gets to the gym in time for Paul to ask why he's seven minutes late. Harry trains for an hour on weights, cardio and swimming. He hates the last part but having a personal trainer like Paul doesn't mean you get any say. He stops when his muscles burn and his heart is one step away from being in his throat.
"Shower." Paul tosses his towel at him. "You've got a visitor."
At first he thinks it's Louis and brightens up but upon stepping into the lobby he realises that it's just Liam on time as he promised.
"Hey." Liam extends his arm towards Harry. "You're trusting me with your safety today, so you better trust me to shake your hand."
Harry shakes his hand firmly. "I'll take you downstairs."
Downstairs meant the basement and Liam was taken to the gym locker room where Harry would be before his fight. He leaves the bag he brought in the locked room and exits for a trip to the loo. Harry is left alone on a plastic bench thinking to himself.
Not oddly enough, it's Louis' face that returns to the forefront of his mind and he decides to call Louis to make sure everything's okay. Niall answers him.
"Hey, H-Harry." The blond friend replies, out of breath.
"What's wrong?" Harry immediately asks, standing up from his seat.
"Nothing. Louis made me run upstairs to get his socks." Niall lies smoothly.
That sounded like Louis when it came to Niall so Harry's worries were eased. "Let me talk to him."
"He's in the bathroom."
"You said he was downstairs."
"He's in the guest bathroom. He made me run upstairs for socks, Harold. Do you think he'll go all the way up there to pee?"
That also sounded like something his Louis would do so Harry let that slide. "Tell him to call me."
"Yeah. Okay."
Harry hangs up and throws his phone into his bag in frustration. He waits for the ten minutes it take Liam to get back, all the while pacing the room while he thinks over and over again about why all of a sudden this thing about Louis' expression is bothering him so much.
Louis objected to what he was about to do but that wasn't his decision to make. Harry was doing this for them, for Olivia. His baby girl whom he loved with all the broken pieces of himself and for Louis, who has had a longer time with those pieces.
The boy had to understand that this would benefit them. Bean will be safe, and all their other babies to come as well. Harry will have one less nightmare now and won't even have a past darkness looming over him.
He waits and on the seventh minute starts thinking about how his life has changed because of Louis, how Louis' life has changed because of him. They were both pretty lost to the world before they found each other and anchored one another to a comfort zone.
Louis became Harry's only obsession in a short period of time. He only wanted the boy's voice to be heard when he woke up, his smile and laugh when Harry made him happy, his body to make love to every night.
Liam returns and he gets distracted once again.
* * * * *
The fight is ten minutes away when Harry checks his phone next and finds no missed calls at all. He's getting ready to go out into the crowd.
Louis never takes this long to call back, everyone knows this. There was no emergency from the security system or neighbourhood watch or-
Harry figures out what the emotion in Louis' eyes was.
That betrayal and hurt was mixing so well into a disguised type of naivety that even Harry didn't pick up on it. He hurriedly dials their home line. He gets no answer, just an endless ring that seems to bounce off his psyche like bullets.
He ran out of the locker room, the gym and shoves people away when they get too close.
He doesn't see the people grabbing onto his, his groupies and fans. He doesn't hear Zayn and Paul's confused shout as he weaves through sweaty bodies with his own. He only hears Louis' final 'I love you' to him and reads what it meant. He can only see Louis packing up and leaving him alone.
His mind races and his heart is slowing picking up the pace, every welling disaster in his life is ruining him slowly. When he hears through a robotic woman's voice that Louis' number has been disconnected, his heart fails.
He only got in his car and didn't run the whole way because it was faster. Niall's phone remained unanswered as well.
The drive is agony. Harry can feel the pain, feel the anguish that he's ready to use when calling his Louis. He's torn and angry and his eyes are stinging for the first time in his entire life. He's not ready to say goodbye.
Their home looked just like how he'd left it and it was a small relief when he still hadn't heard Louis' voice. He flung the car door open with so much force that it made a protesting noise against him. He left it gaping as he sprinted up the steps against the tiredness of his body and stepped indoors.
"Louis?!" He called out when not even their dogs came to greet him like they sometimes would.
There was a bark and Thomas came jogging down the stairs to bump Harry's legs. The man searched the bottom floor like a sweeper, calling out in a desperation that made the vein in his neck pulsate evidently under his skin.
The night was silent and the house was empty. He tore through every room before going upstairs.
"Lou?!" He called again, hoping with dread and fear in his chest like a bomb. "Baby, please!"
It was like he was talking to the boy while Louis stood there ignoring him. He refused to believe it. He refused to take in the fact that Bean's nursery was empty and every item he bought Louis - from clothing to gadgets - lay on their bed with only one half made.
He's desperate and alone. He doesn't know left from right anymore, utterly lost after being with Louis for so long. He only knew Louis. Louis and his baby.
"Please, you have to answer me!"
He screamed at the top of his lungs but it did nothing. He split his knuckles on the wall while he held one of Louis' favourite sweaters from a clothing line that was too expensive. He remembers the day they they bought it and it hurts. He feels pain for the first time while searching their bathroom and Louis' almost barren study.
With the sky cloudy and dull outside this afternoon, Harry sinks to the ground in Louis' study with a pained howl. He felt his wet cheeks and didn't care. He pushed Louis away completely this time.
That's why Louis hugged him this morning and drew out the moment he told Harry he loved him. Let him hold his baby one last time, hold him one last time.
There was his minute salvation stuck on Harry's office door. A yellow page folded in half with writing from edge to edge on it. He sat down on the floor before reading it.
My Harry
You know why I did this, why I had to. I love you and you'll always be the one with my heart. Unfortunately, my heart's not that important anymore now that Olivia is here. It's not to cause you pain that I left. It hurts me more than you can imagine because my life with you is a complete one.
Don't look for me. I know you will try but I assure you, it won't do you any good. My daughter is top priority, Harry. I do everything for her and I wish you would do the same but you're not ready to. That's okay. She's safe with me. I left everything you bought me behind because one day you'll discover that I'm not brave enough to have you again.
Olivia loves you and she will know who her Daddy is, I give you my word. I have the ring you gave me. I will never take it off.
Your Louis.