(A/N) Please read!
We will have two epilogues. One will be a video and the other a written chapter.
I've thought long and hard about making a sequel and I got to the conclusion that I won't do it. I'm happy with the ending and I want to move on with new stuff.
And at last, I hope you like the ending too! Whether you were here since chapter one, or you just read the whole thing in the last week... thank you so much for sticking around and leaving amazing feedback!! I couldn't have done it without your support. I love you forever!
Feedback is very welcomed.
***********
Louis' birthday parties were usually held on his exact birthday, but not this year. He didn't want his friends to have to fly back to their families on Christmas, so his party was scheduled for the twenty-second of December.
He had been fidgety all day because it was a day before his birthday party, also when Harry and everyone else was arriving.
Liam had arrived to Berkshire a few days before, and his current technique to keep Louis' mind occupied, and to prevent him from driving him insane, was playing Mario Cart.
Three hours before expected, a butler announced that the guests from America had arrived.
After letting Louis freak out, Liam went with him to welcome their friends.
Just when they were about to enter to the reception hall, Louis stopped walking, "Wait," he held Liam back.
Liam didn't question him, and waited.
Louis put a finger on his mouth, gesturing to be silent.
They tried to listen to what their friends were doing on the other side of the door, but they couldn't hear anything but quiet, unintelligible mumbles.
"Niall, no!" They heard Zayn raised his voice, followed by a thump noise.
Louis then opened the door, and found Niall picking up a vase that was laying on the floor, while everyone else was sitting on the hall's sofas.
"We didn't break anything!" Niall quickly said.
Louis laughed, " 's alright, Nialler," he said already reaching them and hugging Gemma.
"Hello, bug!" Gemma hugged back.
"I'm so glad you came," Louis said, now hugging Anne.
"Thank you for having us, sweetie," she smiled.
When Louis let go of Anne, Niall crushed him with a hug, which Louis returned.
"Happy Birthday!!!" Niall yelled in his ear.
Louis laughed again, "Thanks, mate, thanks,"
Then he moved on to Zayn, "I missed you, bro,"
"Yeah, me too," Zayn replied with a fond smile.
Louis saw Liam had also greeted everyone, but Louis was missing the most important person.
"Where's Harry?" He asked.
"He went to the loo. Got lost, probably," Gemma replied with a smirk.
"Oh, should I go look for h.." Louis started to say, but was interrupted by the door being opened and Harry's deep voice speaking.
"Thank you, and sorry about that..." Harry said with a blush on his cheeks.
"Don't worry, sir," the butler who opened the door replied.
Seeing Harry and hearing his voice was overwhelming for Louis. Video calls did not do justice to Harry's features and certainly did not radiate his familiar warmth and sweet smell.
When Harry noticed Louis was in the room as well, Louis was already walking the short distance between them.
Harry welcomed him with open arms and the fondest smile.
"Lou," Harry simply said.
"Hi, Haz," Louis replied, his own voice being muffled since he was nuzzled in Harry's neck.
After the short, but emotional, embrace Louis let go, searching Harry's hand and intertwined it with his, "How are you?"
"Good," Harry grinned.
And they would have shared a lot of more words and touches, but they weren't alone and needed to maintain composure. Beside, their eyes spoke louder than anything, and it was enough for them to let each other know everything they felt.
After finishing their greetings, Louis commanded the staff to lead each of them to their accommodations.
*
"I have to admit meeting your parents this time was scarier than the first one," Harry chuckled.
They were walking around the house. The rest of the lads were in the play room, enjoying Louis' facilities, but Louis and Harry had chosen to have a nice, quiet moment together, wandering aimlessly along the place.
"It wasn't that bad. I mean you did stutter a lot, but you did alright," Louis shrugged.
"I didn't stutter that much," Harry bit his lip, "Do you actually consider I did just alright?"
Louis laughed and gave Harry's cheek a kiss, "You did more than alright. You did amazing, babe. I was just kidding."
Harry sighed, relieved, "Don't joke around, Lou, this is really important,"
Louis laughed one more time, "I know it is. It's just fun to see you all worked up. My parents like you. See," he said pointing to a large window near them, "they even get along very well,"
Harry looked outside the window and saw both of their mothers, plus Gemma and Louis' two older sisters, having tea.
Jay and Anne looked so into their conversation, it was easy to see they both clicked. Promising a strong and long friendship.
"I truly am the only one who's nervous and freaking out, right?" Harry let out a nervous laugh.
"Yes," Louis gave Harry a quick, but reassuring, kiss, "Yes you are,"
Harry shoved him playfully.
"By the way, Haz, I'm not sneaking into your room tonight,"
The pout formed on Harry's lips made Louis laugh.
"My mom told me she needs my neck to be hickey-free for tomorrow. Yours as well." he shrugged smiling.
Harry blushed, again, "Ugh, please tell me you're joking,"
"Oh, I wish, dear Harold, I wish,"
*
The next day, before the party, Harry had taken a long shower. He washed his hair twice and was extra careful while shaving, he didn't want to cut himself or miss a section that would make people stare at his bad-shaved cheeks.
After being satisfied with his cleanliness, he styled his hair backwards, because a bandana wasn't an option to keep his hair off of his face tonight.
He had his shoes, slacks and white button-up shirt on, when he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," Harry allowed.
He was sure it wasn't Louis, for he wouldn't have knocked, so he made his way to open the door.
Before he could get to it, a butler opened it announcing that Jay was there to see him.
"Hi, dear, how are you?" Jay greeted him when the butler left them alone.
Harry smiled, "Good, thanks. Almost ready,"
A moment of worry assaulted his mind, because Jay was already dressed in a beautiful, yet simple, red, floor-length dress, with perfect hair and makeup, and Harry didn't even have his tie on. But no, the party started at eight, so he still had plenty of time.
"You look very handsome," Jay complimented.
"Thank you," Harry said with a rose tint on his cheeks, "you too,"
Jay smiled in return.
"I mean, not handsome- I meant pretty. I mean, elegant, or..." And, wow, Louis wasn't kidding when he said Harry stutters.
But Jay just chuckled fondly, "Thank you, dear," she appreciated the effort.
Harry smiled nervously. He saw how Jay made herself comfortable, taking a seat on a near chair.
"I came to have a quick chat with you," Jay finally spoke, making goose-bumps appear over Harry's skin.
Harry nodded, "Sure,"
"Now, I won't give you a cold, boring talk like they gave me when I started dating Louis' father," Jay began, with a soft smile that agreed with what she just said.
Harry corresponded the gesture.
"But I do want to make sure we're both in the same page." Jay continued, "I'm sure you already know that this is a first. Maybe is not the first time in which a member of the royalty has a relationship with someone of the same gender. But it is the first time that it's going to be accepted and official."
Harry nodded, "Yes. I know this is a big thing we're dealing with. So, as long as Louis wants it, we will go through everything."
Jay looked intrigued with Harry's answer, "What do you mean by saying as long as Louis wants it?
"Honestly, I want to be with him, whatever it takes." Harry didn't hesitate, "Being in a secret relationship isn't what I dream of. But Louis has everything to lose, and I wouldn't want him to be affected because of me. If he found himself compromised, then I'd prefer to be more discrete about us so he can carry on with his plans,"
Jay smiled, "That's very mature of you. And that actually gets me to the point I wanted to cover,"
Harry didn't have anything to say. He just waited for Jay to go on.
"We will support Louis and be by his side at all times. And he will make it. He's a strong man,"
Harry nodded in agreement.
"But you are a different story. You will be the prince's boyfriend." Jay tilted her head, "Leave aside the matter we just talked about. Pretend everything works out perfectly."
Harry swallowed and croaked a small "Okay,"
"Your life will not be the same. This isn't just glamour, there are downsides and rough paths. You will have a public life with new responsibilities,"
"Do you think I won't be able to fulfil them?" Harry asked. A neutral tone in his voice.
"I don't believe that. I just want you to know every side of this before we go down and present you as Louis' partner. You will have to attend events, go to important dinners, even travel to very boring ceremonies, and socialize with new people. Are you sure you want this, dear?" Jay asked with concerned eyes.
And, instead of answering, Harry asked back, "Do you ever regret marrying Mark?" He felt inappropriate to call Louis' parents by their first names, but he was told many times to do so.
Jay knew where he was getting, so she answered truthfully, "Yes. There are days when I don't want to be a duchess. When I want to let my phone ring and not care about anyone. But then I look at my husband, at my kids. And I'm so thankful for them. They make getting ready in the morning worth."
"I would dare to say I feel the same way about Louis. I love him and I want him more than anything, come what may. I won't be the perfect partner, but I can try. With some time and patience I may get the hang of everything," Harry answered smiling back.
Jay smiled, "Louis is very lucky he found you,"
Harry grinned, "Believe me, I was the lucky one,"
Jay sighed, content, and stood up "Well, Harry, I am so glad we could talk. I leave you now, so you can finish,"
Harry nodded and accompanied her to the door, opening it for her, "Thanks, Jay. See you in a bit,"
And Harry finished getting ready happier than ever, because he felt like he had just gotten all the approval someone could ever get.
*
"Looking sharp, bro," Gemma grinned when she saw Harry.
Harry smiled and smoothed his outfit, "Yeah?"
"Absolutely," Gemma reassured, fixing Harry's tie which wasn't actually misplaced, but it was an old habit of her to be tidying her little brother.
Harry, Gemma, Anne, Zayn and Niall, as well as Louis' parents, were already in the ballroom waiting for Louis so they could start receiving guests.
And Harry didn't know what he expected. Maybe a big entrance like the one Mia Thermopolis did in the movie "The Princess' Diaries 2", but it didn't happen that way.
After a good ten minutes of waiting, Jay told Paul to look for Louis. Then he came back with a very sexy Louis' in a blue tux with his hair slicked back. Harry couldn't help grinning like mad at the sight.
Ignoring whatever Niall was saying, Harry made his way towards his boyfriend when he saw Louis gesturing him to join him and his parents.
Louis started explaining, "Okay, Haz, so you, my parents and I are going to be standing over there," he pointed near the entrance, where his parents were already heading, "And will be saying hi to the people that arrive."
"Me too?" Harry asked, because doing that sounded more like being a host, rather than a guest.
"Well, yeah," Louis shifted his weight to the other leg, "so I can introduce you to everyone,"
Harry bit his lips and nodded.
"It'll be okay, love. The whole family already knows, and those are the important people, they just need to meet you,"
Harry nodded again, sharing a small smile, and was extremely grateful for the small kiss Louis gifted him.
Not long after that, the queen arrived.
"Hello, granny," Louis showed his big smile, where his eyes would crinkle.
The queen greeted back and then noticed Harry.
"This is Harry Styles, my boyfriend," Louis introduced.
And there is no denying, she did eye him well, but she didn't act cold, "Nice to meet you, Harry"
Harry took her hand gently and bowed his head delicately, "The pleasure is mine," Harry shared a big and more confident smile.
She returned the smile.
Then Harry was introduced to Liam's parents who were just as kind as Liam. They were followed by Louis' aunt Helen, countess of Wessex, and her husband, along with Georgie. Georgie was very sweet too, and she didn't leave until they promised to tell her how they "met and fell in love" later in the night.
Louis' parents and the couple didn't stay receiving guest all night. At one point they left the entrance to join their guests, letting the new ones arrive and greet by themselves.
People soon started flooding into the room. Lords, ladies, barons, viscounts, some ambassadors, and also very wealthy people who had connections with the nobility.
Harry's favourite reaction was Lady's Calder. She nearly choked, but Eleanor did a nice save by distracting them and politely asked how Harry had been since last year when they met.
And reaction like that one, they had many; but there was nothing the guests could do. They were in Louis' house and there was no way they could insult them in any form. So, even if it was just to not be rude, they all exchanged a few words with Harry.
Harry could easily tell apart the nice people from the ones who weren't sure of Louis' choice of partner. So he stuck to the nice ones.
Niall, Zayn, Gemma and Harry, could finally meet Ed, Elena and Claire. The last three, being more excited because of everything they had heard about Louis' new friends. Niall was his friendly self, Zayn was interested in Ed's tattoos, and Gemma and the girls got along really well since the beginning.
When it was time to sit down to have dinner, Harry and his family sat with Louis and his. The queen was sitting with Liam and Georgie, and their family, while the rest of Louis' friends were sitting together.
Mark, as every year, did a toast for Louis and they all drank champagne to him. The dinner was delicious and the cake even more.
Then, again, everyone could leave their tables, if they wanted to, to socialize some more.
The music started and Jay and Mark opened the dance. Because this wasn't a wedding so Louis didn't necessarily had to be the first one to dance.
"How am I supposed to dance to this, mate?" Niall complained.
Of course he was going to complain. This wasn't electronic or pop music. There were actual musicians playing ballroom songs.
Louis rolled his eyes, "You find someone to dance with, and dance together,"
"That means no dancing for me tonight," Zayn chuckled.
"How come?" Liam almost pouted.
"No, Liam, don't. You are not allowed to have Zayn that near you," Louis scolded.
"You can get so jealous sometimes," Harry laughed.
"Chill, mate, I know." Zayn laughed as well, "I wouldn't put Liam in a situation like this with so many important people,"
Liam chuckled, and sent him an "Oh, well" smile, together with a shrug.
"Okay, you have to tell me about this too," Georgie whined, feeling left out of the inside-joke.
"Alright, come dance with me and I'll tell you," Niall offered her, and Georgie gladly took his hand, "Come to dance, Zaynie, tell Elena to teach you," Niall added.
Elena nodded smiling and took Zayn's hand, taking him to the dance floor,
"Okay, but I'm a terrible dancer," Zayn warned her.
"Just try not to step on my feet," Elena winked.
Ed danced with Claire, and Liam with Gemma.
"Do you want to dance too?" Harry asked Louis, watching all of their friends doing their version of ballroom dance.
"Yeah, but this way," Louis took Harry's hand, guiding him outside.
This year, there were no fairy-lights hanging, but the illumination of the garden was beautiful enough to be a really pretty scenario.
There were just the two of them, the sound of the music coming from inside, and the cold December weather. They surely wouldn't last long outside.
Harry put his hands around Louis' waist while Louis secured his behind Harry's neck.
They started to rock their bodies around and twirling slowly. Not quite dancing but it was nice.
"How are you doing, babe?" Louis asked his boyfriend.
"I'm alright," Harry smiled, "I mean, this is quite scary. But I think I was nervous for nothing."
"I told you. Everyone loves you," Louis felt proud of Harry. The party was like something he had never seen before, yet Harry acted so confident and elegant, like he always belonged there.
"No, not everyone," Harry added, "but it's okay as long as I'm with you,"
Louis kissed Harry's lips, which were already cold from being outside.
"And it does help that your family is so kind." Harry said. He felt like, if they were dancing, he should spin Louis around, but he was too comfortable having him pressed against him.
"Yeah, my granny told me you talked for a bit before dinner," Louis smiled.
"She's a sweetheart," Harry spoke the truth, because latter in the night they had chat in a certain informal way.
Harry was happy the queen didn't hate him. Who knows? If she did, she might have gotten Harry's head off.
"She told me I chose well. Because there was no way you could be a mean person if you had such dimples,"
Harry laughed, showing the said dimples.
Louis kissed the left one. "She did like you," he reassured.
Harry sighed happily in response, still swaying their bodies to the faint music.
"So I, uh..." Harry paused, "I don't know if you remember that I told you that... uh,"
"Yeah?" Louis asked softly, pressing his cheek to Harrys shoulder and leaving small, fluttery kisses in his neck, which made him lose the little focus he had.
"That I always liked the option of being a lawyer? And I'm graduationg soon, so..."
Louis was the hesitant one, now "Okay..." he let him talk.
And then Harry blurted out, "So I applied for a law degree in the University of London and got accepted,"
"What?" Louis was surprised, he even left the comfortable crook of Harry's neck to look him in the eye.
"I, uh... I don't know why I didn't tell you sooner," Harry bit his lip, but he was feeling confident as he watched his boyfriend expression change from confused to a beaming one.
"Is this true?" Louis asked with a massive grin.
"I start classes next fall," Harry shared the same big smile.
"I can believe it! I'm so happy for you! Are you happy? You want this?"
"A hundred percent sure,"
"I'm going to have you next to me," Louis smiled, crinkles forming in his eyes.
"Forever, Lou. You'll have me forever,"
Harry placed his lips over his boyfriend's. They were cold, but that only intensified the tingling sensation it left on Harry's lips.
Louis deepened the kiss, tracing Harry's bottom lip with his tongue.
Harry granted entrance, but not for too long, "I love being here with you, but my bum is freezing," Harry said after a couple of minutes.
Louis laughed and squeezed it, "I can help you warm it up later," he winked.
Harry laughed with his boyfriend and gave him one last kiss, "C'mon, babe,"
Louis rolled his eyes, "Okay," he answered with a fond smile and guided him inside.
They reached their friends, who were gathering again.
Elena was leaning on Claire and rubbing her right foot.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Zayn said mortified.
"It's alright, Zayn, it really is. Stop apologizing," Elena sent him a genuine smile.
"I'm the best dancer ever," Niall bragged, "Tell them, Georgie, tell them,"
She laughed and agreed, "He's the best dancer ever," maybe just to please him.
"Who's that?" Harry asked pointing towards her mother who was chatting with a man which rose cheeks and kind smile.
"Hmm..." Louis squinted his eyes to see better, "That's The Baron Teynham. His name's Robin, his last name I believe is Twist,"
Harry stretched his neck, wanting to take a better look.
"He's a nice man. I think I've crossed some words with him before," Liam added.
Harry grunted some words, displeased.
Louis laughed, "And I am the jealous one,"
"I'm not jealous." Harry said, still trying to hold a better view of that man, Robin, and making everyone laugh, "Gems, go talk to him or something,"
"No, I'm busy," Gemma furrowed her brows at her brother interruption, way too caught up in the girl's conversation.
Harry rolled his eyes and dropped the subject.
"Sir," Paul caught Louis attention, "Your mother needs you, she's at your table. The photographer is here,"
"Oh," the photos were normally taken before dinner, Louis didn't notice how this time it hadn't happened, "Okay, thank you,"
Once Paul left, the group of friends waited for Louis to talk.
"Uh, so I'll be right back," Louis said.
Everyone nodded or mumbled understanding words.
Louis gave a quick kiss to Harry's cheek.
"Liam, you coming, mate?" Louis asked, because Liam was going to be called at some point anyway.
Liam nodded and followed his cousin.
And, well, it was always the same set of photos with slight variations each time. A picture with his parents, then his sisters joined them, and then the princesses left to leave place to queen and Jay's parents. Then Liam came in, as well as his parents.
In the last one –before the photographer started to walk around the party photographing guests– the three families: the York, the Wales, and the Wessex, along with the queen, participated.
Then Louis was free again to return to Harry.
On his way there, he was stopped by some guest who wanted to exchange some words with the prince. Louis granted them some of his time, he couldn't spend the entire night with his friends, as much as he would've liked.
Louis sighed when he got to his friends, "Was I away for too long?"
"Yes," Harry pouted, joking.
Louis chuckled and was about to kiss him when the photographer interrupted them, wanting to take a picture of all of them.
Everyone posed formally, but with a smile on their faces.
And Louis knew he couldn't hold a pose more than friendly with Harry, so he didn't. He knew it was just for now, because they had to take baby-steps. So he was alright with that.
Then Louis took Harry to talk to other influential people. And, yeah, Harry might have forgotten everyone's name as soon as they were introduced, but he could hold a stimulating conversation with most of them, which was more than fine. Important members from the org were also there, so Louis made sure to spend a fair amount of time with them.
The atmosphere of the party started to tone down, since it was late. And Louis was glad, because he was growing impatient with the need of holding Harry as close as he wanted to.
So when the party ended, Louis didn't sneak out to Harry's room. He had taken Harry straight to his own.
**
Louis' and Liam's graduation was the first event Harry attended after Louis' birthday party. And it was also the first one in which paparazzi could find a way inside.
And, again, his nervousness was in vain. Everything was fairly easy. He flew to London, which did require a bit of effort since he was about to begin finals, and once in London he was told everything he had to know or do. In which car to get on, where to sit, who to greet and who to wait for them to say hi.
It was an odd graduation for Harry -nothing he had ever seen. The graduates did some marching, they stood still, there was a speech, and then they were given the range of lieutenant, along with an emblem pin.
Harry didn't actually pay much attention, because he was more concentrated picturing old women naked. He was sure if he hadn't done that, he would have ended up with a visible boner; Louis wearing a uniform was enough to give him one.
When the ceremony was done, Harry was very proud of Louis. And he let him know by giving him a tight, long hug.
That hug was captured by the cameras, and even though no statement had been given, many speculations were born from that moment.
Soon, Harry started to be recognized due to his recurrent appearances next to Louis in socials and official events.
***
And a month after that, in the queen's birthday parade, the speculations were proven to be true.
Everyone was looking at The Red Arrows displaying acrobatics in the air, leaving traces of colour in the sky.
Harry was enjoying it so much, remembering the few times that he attended the parade when he was a kid, when his parents were still together. The big difference was that they would stand in the crowd, wearing sneakers and some Disney-graphic tee, far away from the world Harry was part of now; unaware that Louis was watching the same parade.
Now he was dressed in dark slacks and a light blue button-up, standing right next to Louis who owned his heart. He wondered of the times he and Louis had crossed paths before they even knew each other. Certainly there weren't many, but it still made Harry's heart swell. The thought of destiny waiting for the right time and place to bring them together, made his eyes shimmer and smile grow wide.
Louis, who, unlike everyone else, was staring at Harry instead of the show, couldn't resist Harry's shiny eyes and reached to place a soft kiss on his lips.
Harry was taken by surprise, but leaned to Louis' kiss and touch anyway. They felt like they were on their personal bubble. Only they weren't.
Someone with a rather good camera caught them.
Pictures of the kiss, and moments after the kiss where they exchanged loving looks and enamoured smiles, were soon circulating everywhere.
So the statement wasn't needed at all.
There were broken hearts, from teenage girls who aspired to marry the elder prince. There was disagreement, from people who thought they knew better. But there were also people who found the situation beneficial, and took it as one more step towards a better society; one with tolerance and equality.
Most of all, there was lots of attention.
The articles that covered gossips about the royals, started to show interest in Harry. They knew he was from Brown, that he was currently studying law at the University of London, and they also knew he lived in a fancy flat complex near campus.
They also covered the story that updated Louis' residence, which was the Clarence House at St James's Place. Since he wasn't a student anymore and he had duties in London, he needed to pick a location, but he didn't want Buckingham to be his permanent residence. He wanted something more private so Clarence House, which was more like a mansion than a house, was the best choice.
No one was surprised when they noticed that Harry had been photographed only once outside his building. On the other hand, there was a big bunch of candid-photos, from different days, that revealed him leaving Clarence House in hours that would suggest he was heading to a morning class.
But Harry and Louis didn't concentrate on the gossip. They thanked the people supporting them and tried to ignore the negativity.
"What if what they say is true? Maybe your life would be easier without me," Harry would whisper his fears while lying in bed, curled into Louis. Because sometimes that was the only place where he felt safe.
"Haz, we don't see things as they are, we see them as we are. So if people think this is wrong, then they are the ones that are wrong." Louis would kiss the top of Harry's head to comfort him, "If you love me as I love you, and I know you do, then there's no bad in this. There's nothing wrong about love,"
They needed to focus on what was important to them at the moment. Harry was doing a very good job in law school, and Louis kept working in organizations.
So with encouraging words and their strong love, they made their way into their new lives.
*****
Louis was over the clouds.
It had been a hell of a month. Lots of talking, meetings, and arrangements.
But now every single, little, tiny, minor detail was perfectly planned.
And Louis couldn't stop grinning.
After telling the driver to head to St James's, he dialled Harry's number.
"Hello, love, where are you?" Louis said when Harry picked up the phone.
"Still in the office but I'm finishing up. Meet you at the house in an hour?" Harry said kind of rushed, trying to leave as much work done before leaving.
Since Harry already had a previous degree from Brown, he finished his law degree in three years. When Harry had gotten his diploma, he was already offered a place in an important law firm in London, job which Harry took.
With only twenty-four years he was the youngest in the firm, and he could be a bit inexperienced, but he did bring fresher ideas every day, which made him very valuable.
And he was as committed to his job as he was to the duties he had to fulfil next to Louis –which weren't a whole lot, but still.
That's why he was tidying things up in the office. Louis and he needed to be in the airport in two hours because they were flying to Italy.
The president, who hold a stance in favour of Louis and Harry's relationship, had invited them to the Italian Republic Day.
"Okay, see you there." Louis agreed.
"Love you," Harry replied.
"Love you, too," Louis said before hanging up.
Louis called Liam right away.
"Louis? Hi! How's everything?" Liam picked up the phone, excitement could be sensed in his voice.
"Everything's ready. We're leaving in two hours," Louis informed.
"You got the ring?"
"Yes," Louis beamed.
Liam let out an unmanly squeal, "You have to call me as soon as he says yes," he demanded.
Louis chuckled, "Alright, Liam. I'll text you before anything happens, okay? I'll probably freak out and need a lot of reassurance,"
"Absolutely! Text me as much as you want," he said eagerly.
"Okay," Louis accepted.
"Okay, Sophia is here. I have to go, Lou. Bye!" Liam answered, and Louis could tell Liam was smiling as wide as he was.
"Bye, Liam,"
When he hung up, Louis took out the small, black box from his jacket.
He opened it and contemplated the ring. It was a wide, silver band; with alternating small, round and squared, embed diamonds all around the band.
He sighed in content and placed it again in his jacket. There was no way he was getting the small box out of his sight. He could not lose it, so was going to carry it everywhere.
And he couldn't contain his excitement when he saw Harry, smacking a loud kiss on his lips as his greeting.
Harry smiled, "Good day today?"
"Amazing day," Louis smiled and interlaced their fingers together.
"Good," they started walking to Harry's office room in the mansion, "'cause these last weeks you've been a little stressed,"
Louis sighed, happily "Yeah, I know. But everything's solved out now,"
Harry sat down on his desk chair, "You were at the org? You know I'm happy to help you with that stuff,"
Louis' new project was to open a new organization, together with New Hopes for Life. But this new org was going to be for adults who had been victimized by fire.
Louis was very excited, but it was a long process that required a lot of work. And Harry, wanting to help Louis as much as he could, managed a lot of the legal stuff.
But that wasn't the cause of Louis' lately stress.
He had been dealing with a much more personal issue, like getting permission to marry Harry.
Because yes, everyone had already come to terms with their relationship, but Louis still had to go through a protocol in order to be able to marry him. And he wanted to have everything ready even before he asked him the question.
"No, I was with my dad. Just checking some issues out and arranging stuff," Louis replied, sitting down on Harry's lap and burying his face in his neck.
"He's in London?" Harry asked turning on his laptop.
"Yeah," Louis replied.
Harry hummed while moving some things in his lap, "Okay just let me send some last minute emails and we're good to go,"
Louis stood up from Harry's lap to let him work, "Alright I'll get everything done,"
And then they flew to Italy and stayed in a suite of a very luxurious hotel in Rome.
The next morning they got ready to go to the parade being held that day.
The president welcomed them and thanked them for coming, speaking a very fluent English. And they attended to the parade, then they had dinner with a few important Italian members, some of them speaking in a not so fluent English, but it was alright.
The day full of events left them exhausted, so they were straight to bed.
The following day, after breakfast in bed, Harry asked what their plans were for that day, since they didn't have any events planned for that day and they weren't coming back until the next one.
"We are going to go on a road trip today," Louis proudly explained.
"You planned it?" Harry asked pleasantly surprised.
"Yeah, my pocket's full of surprises for you today Haz," Louis smiled. 'Actually there's just one in my pocket, which is round and goes in your ring finger, but we'll get to that later' He smugly thought.
And, yes, he had planned to go on a small trip going over the beautiful Italy because it'd be fun, but he also needed Harry to be busy and away from the hotel so everything could be set up.
For the big question Louis had planned a romantic dinner.
He had rented the hotel's penthouse, which was even more luxurious that their suite.
The penthouse had, obviously, the master bedroom and the rest of the equally fancy rooms, but it was the terrace what Louis was most interested in.
It was a big deck with the view of all Rome beneath their feet, it had a small fountain next to a pool that also had a hot-tub.
So he hired the staff of the hotel to set "the most incredible and romantic dinner Rome has ever seen," as Louis described it.
There decoration would be very minimalistic. A table for two in the middle of the deck, and all kinds of candles placed in every surface possible: contouring the edge of the construction, over handrails, surrounding the pool, on top of the small tables beside the pool, and even some over the edges of the bigger jardinières.
Louis figured that, at night, the lights of Rome next to the four-hundred candles would make an amazing scenario for them.
The best chef of the hotel would make their meals: a light salad as an appetizer, followed by filet mignon with sauce of mushrooms, and the best Italian gelato for desert.
The wine was something that Louis was going to choose along the way, in a classical Italian winery.
So they drove along Italy. As transportation, Louis had rented a black smart car. And it was a clever decision to rent one with GPS, since driving on the other rail was already had enough for Louis, imagine having to figure out a map in Italian.
And with every picturesque scenery they witnessed, or small village they visited, they felt like they were discovering Italy; like they were owning it.
There was no one who recognized them, no one to pose for. They were free to do whatever they wanted. That feeling of freedom brought them back memories of their first months together, when they had no one to care about but themselves.
Soon, the mountains that surrounded the highway started to fade, leaving place to open land used to grow vines.
"We're like in an ocean of vineyards," Harry said where there was nothing else in sight but the grey road that contrasted with the small, bright bushes loaded with grapes. Grapes which were going to turn into delicious wine.
Louis pulled over after Harry's words.
"Why did you stop?" Harry asked.
"You want to go for a walk?" Louis smiled already opening the door.
Harry didn't answer and got out of the car.
Holding hands, they walked into the furrows of the plantation.
"You sure it's okay to just walk around?" Harry spoke.
"Well, there aren't any No trespassing signs," Louis shrugged.
And after a few minutes of walking around, Harry spoke again, "Do you imagine all the work this requires?"
"But it's easy for them, because they are experts. Certainly not a couple of students trying to figure out how deep to bury a seed," Louis laughed.
Harry laughed at the memory, "Hey, don't underestimate our abilities of harvesting. Our vegetable patch was one of the bests,"
"No, not as best as these grapes," Louis said, kneeling down and plucking a single grape and eating it with a mischievous smile.
"Lou! You can't do that!"
"Why not?" Louis dared, plucking another one, but taking it to Harry's lips instead.
"Because it's wrong?" Harry chuckled, giving in anyway and opening his lips, letting Louis place the grape in his mouth.
Louis couldn't help staring at Harry's lips while he chewed the grape.
"It is really good," Harry smiled.
"Yeah? Let me taste it," Louis said before leaning to kiss Harry's lips.
Harry instantly wrapped his arms around Louis, pulling him closer. They pressed open mouth kisses to each other lips, and twirled their tongues together while Louis tugged Harry's curls and Harry's hands roamed Louis' hips and back. They could taste the remaining sweet of the grape in their mouths, and even when they couldn't anymore, they kept kissing.
Because, to Louis, kissing Harry was something as good as holding his hand or making love to him. There was nothing that could ever replace Harry's kisses, and he wanted them forever.
And then they pulled back.
Maybe it was the plumpness of Harry's pink, slightly swollen lips.
Or the shine and fondness on his incomparable green eyes, which stood out even more being surrounded by so much green.
Or the feeling of his strong arms wrapped around his waist, that promised security and comfort.
And maybe even the atmosphere helped.
The bright sun made Harry's skin glow.
The soft wind tousled Harry's soft, longer hair. Louis loved running his fingers through it.
The smell too. The smell of the soil, of the plants, of the sun. They reminded him so much of the time they spent together, taking care of a small patch of their own. The tiny piece of land that brought them together so much.
Maybe it was all of that combined that made Louis kneel in front of Harry, taking out of his pocket the box he had been carrying all along.
"Harry," Louis softly spoke. And without taking his eyes off him, he opened the box.
And Harry was frozen. He was staring at Louis kneeling, among vine bushes, with a ring on his hands and his heart on his eyes.
"Lou," Harry managed to whisper. Eye flickering between the silver band and his lover's eyes.
"I love you, Harry. I love you more than anything in the world, more than I love myself. And this is not the way I planned to ask you, but I couldn't wait longer; not when I look you in the eye and know you're all I need." Louis' voice was steady, full of tenderness. Meaning every single word.
Harry, he had lost his voice.
"Five years ago, I met you. And I can say that I love you more every day. We've been through so much together, and I want to stay that way. I never want to be parted from you. So, Harry Edward Styles," Louis smiled at Harry, whose mouth was hanging open. "Would you do me the absolute honour of becoming my husband, and spend the rest of our lives together?"
Harry let out a shaky breath, and Louis' heart pounded waiting for his answer.
Soon enough, Harry slowly started nodding, "Lou, I... This is– Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Harry chanted as Louis stood up and hugged him with all his might.
"I can't believe it, Lou, yes! I'll be your husband and you'll be mine and..." Harry said as Louis pulled back, taking Harry's left hand.
He put the ring on Harry's ring finger, with the biggest smile on his face. Louis planted a kiss to Harry's knuckle when the ring was perfectly placed.
"How did you plan this? God, Lou, it's gorgeous," Harry said taking a better look at it.
Louis caressed Harry's cheek, putting special attention to the dimple, "You are gorgeous," he told his beaming boyfriend.
Harry kissed Louis' lips delicately.
"How about we find a winery and celebrate?" Louis suggested.
Harry nodded, agreeing, "And then can I take you to dinner?"
Louis chuckled, "I think I already have that sorted out,"
Harry sighed happily, "I love you,"
Louis smiled, "I love you more," he said before giving Harry another kiss.
They drove again, with their hands intertwined, finding a very traditional winery where they had their own private engagement party.
Then, the amazing dinner Louis had planned was waiting for them, and that was another scene in which Harry was left speechless.
And when they came back, their small bubble of love burst. Not their love itself, but they were back to their jobs where they had other responsibilities. And, although things sometimes got rough, they were sure they made the right decision, because there was no other place where they wanted to be but beside each other.
They showed their love every day. Whether it was just a cuddle at night; or a lot more than cuddle. A fancy dinner because Louis absolutely loved to spoil Harry; or going to Harry's flat because Harry was feeling domestic and wanted to cook for Louis. Louis' help with Harry's work, giving him a new perspective to the problems of cases he was in charge of; or Harry's patience when Louis had had a bad day at the org, because health didn't always make progress.
They made each other strong and relied on one-another. Just simply waking up next to each other every morning was like living in their own fairytale.
The End.