"Lou!"
"Yes, pet?"
Harry glided over to him, almost crashing into him but somehow managing to stop his momentum before then. His cheeks were rosy from the cold and the exertion. He clung to Louis' shoulder for stability as they both wobbled on their ice skates. It wouldn't be the first time tonight they fell down in a heap.
Harry was busy squeezing Louis in a bone-crushing hug even though he clearly had something to say, otherwise he wouldn't crossed the entire skating rink just to see him. Unless all he wanted was a hug, in which case, Louis wrapped his arms around him too, patting his back.
"What is it, H?"
For the most part, Louis was sober, since he was the one in charge of tonight and he had to make sure they got home safely. But he had offered Harry enough wine throughout the night to get him pleasantly tipsy, to the point where he was loose and relaxed, and, apparently, cuddly.
It was funny because instead of making him clumsy, the slight inebriation actually made him a better ice skater. He had zipped around the rink almost immediately upon arrival, leaving Louis to stare after him in shock. He had been expecting Bambi's first steps but what he got was a professional figure skater, complete with spins and everything. Kind of. It was more of the bravado of intoxication that gave him the confidence he needed to skate normally.
"'M just really lucky to have you," Harry mumbled after a while of them just standing there, off to the side of the rink, as the rest of the world kept on moving and doing whatever else it did when they weren't paying it any attention. There was a lot of couples skating tonight, given that it was Valentine's Day. The general mood was cheerful and excited. Warm, despite the cold.
"Why's that?" Maybe he was phishing for compliments, but whatever.
"You're so much fun. I had so much fun with you today. Even though all my plans were shit, yours made up for it."
Louis huffed a laugh because it was easier to make a joke of Harry's words than to take them seriously. They were still holding each other because if they let go, they would lose their balance.
"Seriously, Lou. Like... If I was with him, we would've sat through that entire play, and I just- I dunno. You're so much more fun. I've never had a day like this before."
Every day could be like this, Louis thought but didn't say. If we were together, every day could be like this.
"Hey, it's not over yet, we still have things to do."
"Really?" Harry perked up, looking hopeful.
It was almost 9:30 PM and they had already done a handful of childish but fun activities. They started at the arcade, buying a bunch of tokens and playing any game they found interesting. Harry was so bad at most of them and it was hilarious.
After that, they went to a board game cafe and ate a second meal while playing Cards Against Humanity with two couples on a double date who invited them into their group without a second thought.
It wasn't until one of them bid them a "fun evening" with a suggestive wink when they were leaving that Louis realized they thought he and Harry were together. Which was the obvious conclusion, since it was just the two of them out on Valentine's Day. And to be even more fair, Louis knew he sometimes looked over at Harry with the most obvious heart eyes. He couldn't really blame them for assuming, but it made him blush regardless.
The second meal was because the first, at the fancy restaurant, was not enough to satisfy either of them. Harry had been sheepish when he asked if they could get more food but Louis just grabbed his hand and pulled him to the board game cafe like it had been his plan all along.
So after laughing their asses off during a game of Cards Against Humanity with strangers turned friends, Harry said he wanted hot chocolate. Louis didn't know of any place that served hot chocolate except for the ice skating rink, so they went ice skating.
Which brought them here. With Harry clinging to him while wobbling on the blades of his skates and telling him how much fun he was having.
"Hot chocolate?" Louis reminded, pulling away.
"Oh! Yeah. Let's go!" He took off, gliding down the rink to the opening that led to the concession stand. Louis shuffled behind him, still shocked Harry was so good at this.
They drank hot chocolate while overlooking the rink when Harry rested his head on Louis' shoulder. His carefully arranged curls, which he tamed especially for today, tickled Louis' neck. He couldn't help but notice that Harry smelled really good, like perfume and shampoo and flowers.
"Are you drunk, Harry?" Louis laughed, tentatively sliding his arm over his shoulder because that's the movement this position called for. He felt the softness of his hoodie and the warmth he radiated despite the cold temperatures of the indoor rink.
"A little," he admitted, turning his head to the side to meet Louis' eyes and giggling at Louis' expression. "Not very."
"We should get you home, then."
"I don't want this day to be over."
"It isn't yet. We can hang out at home, you know. We live together, for god's sake."
His grin was so wide it seemed to split his face in half. "Alright." He leant into Louis' side before leaning away. "Should we return our skates?"
Louis nodded, trying his hardest not to be transfixed. It's just that Harry was so sweet and so beautiful. He was radiant.
He leant forward and began tying his laces, babbling on about how he wished he had been a figure skater growing up, because then he would be really good right now and he would be able to train for the Olympics. Louis indulged his rambling but caught up when he saw something interesting.
For a second, it didn't sink in. He saw where Harry was leaning over, bent in half on the bench to take off his skates. Since he was leaning forward, the hem of his hoodie slipped up his spine, exposing the soft skin of his lower back.
"What's this?" Louis wondered, running his fingers over the slip of pink fabric that peaked out over the waistband of his joggers. He hadn't meant to touch, but apparently he had no self control and his hands did what they wanted. The fabric was soft and lacey, a pretty rosy color.
"Lou," Harry breathed, sitting up abruptly. His cheeks turned pink and his eyes were wide.
And- "Oh." Louis pulled his traitorous hand away. He couldn't believe he just did that. What the fuck was wrong with him? That was a really weird thing to do.
The worst part was, he wanted to touch again. He wanted to see more.
"They were a surprise for David," Harry explained, letting a curl fall in front of his face instead of tucking it behind his ear again. He always did that when he was embarrassed, like he was trying to hide behind his hair.
Louis was baffled by the simple idea of Harry in lingerie. It made him dizzy. "Why're you still wearing them?"
Harry sounded slightly defensive when he said, "I like them. They make me feel good."
Louis held up his hands in surrender, "No judgement. You do you, man."
He wasn't about to debate underwear, of all things. Especially when the persons involved included Harry. Louis was so embarrassed for even pointing them out, jealous that they were meant for David, and confused as to why Harry was still wearing them. Like, he understood, but also... Yeah.
Harry grimaced at him but went back to removing his skates as Louis did the same. They returned them to the worker behind the counter and slipped on their own shoes before leaving.
The walk back home was weird because Harry was still slightly tipsy, which made him especially... clingy. He clung to Louis' arm, leaning into him and burying his nose into the sleeve of his coat. It was a lot to deal with.
Louis had always loved how physically affectionate Harry was, because it matched his own style of living and it meant that there usually wasn't any weirdness between them, wasn't any misunderstanding. Until recently, at least, when Louis couldn't seem to control his thoughts every time Harry would even just brush against him accidentally. It was stupid. Louis was trying not to let his hopeless, helpless, hapless crush get in the way of their friendship. But lately his attempts at self control had wavered.
"So what d'you wanna do?" Louis asked once they got back to their apartment. He shrugged off his coat and tossed it over the back of the nearest chair, while Harry hung his up neatly and glared at Louis' haphazard regard for his belongings. Harry was always cleaning up after him but it was never a point of contention between them. Louis kind of felt bad about it.
"Dunno," Harry shrugged, rearranging their shoes so they were lined up neatly by the door. He stood up again and stared helplessly at Louis, at a loss for whatever their night might have in store. "I'm a bit tired."
"You wanna go to bed?" It was an honest offer and Louis tried not to let it seep through his voice how much he didn't want Harry to do that.
"What? No," he answered quickly, a bit too quickly. Enough to make Louis look at him weirdly. This was all so confusing. "I just mean... Let's just chill on the couch. Is that okay?"
Louis shrugged, moving into the living room. They never made explicit plans to hang out on the couch together, but apparently tonight was different. Louis felt weird; something was off. He sat down and turned the TV on, flipping through channels as Harry disappeared and then returned with a book in his hands.
It wasn't uncommon for them to just hang out in the same room doing their own things. They lived together, for fuck's sake, Louis reasoned. That was a normal thing to do. There was no reason for him to feel so jittery, or nervous .
Harry sat down next to him and opened to the page he was on last time. He kept fidgeting, so much so that Louis looked over at him to see if something was wrong.
"What is it?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing." He closed his book. "Can I lay on your lap?"
Louis was bewildered. Usually Harry did it without asking, and somehow asking made it seem much more important. "Yeah, sure."
"Thanks." He scooched closer and then reclined back so his head was on Louis' lap, and he held his book above his face to keep reading. Louis went back to watching TV, trying not to think about how close Harry was, and how good it felt to be near him.
Louis wanted to ask how Harry was feeling, after everything that happened yesterday. The emotional turnaround was surprisingly quick and he seemed okay. Which wasn't a good sign, because who knew what he was feeling on the inside? He couldn't imagine finding out someone he had been seeing for months was actually married. He couldn't imagine breaking up with them and then feeling normal only twenty-four hours afterwards.
Harry wasn't crying anymore, obviously, but he had cried all day yesterday when Louis was away at work. He thought about the flash of panic when he saw Harry and didn't yet know what was wrong.
He looked down and saw the plastic ring on Harry's finger.
"Will you play with my hair?"
"Sure," Louis muttered. Harry was never shy about asking for things like this. He was always sitting on people's laps, demanding to be cuddled. Louis admired him for it, the way he didn't find it weird. He was always more than happy to oblige, so he slipped his fingers into Harry's hair and started playing with it mindlessly. His hair was getting longer again, enough so that Louis could make tiny braids out of the strands.
"Thanks. Feels good."
"I bet."
They were quiet for a while as Harry went back to reading and Louis pet his hair. The motion was soothing to both of them, and so was the physical proximity. Before Louis met Harry, he was always a little touch-starved, never having that sort of closeness between friends. It was different now, with him. A definite improvement, even though Louis' stomach kept flipping nervously at the prospect of being so close to his crush.
After a while, Harry closed the book and hugged it to his chest, closing his eyes.
"What're you thinking about?" Louis wondered.
All the guesses in the world and sometimes he just couldn't figure him out. It was a curiosity to hear even a fraction of his thoughts at any given moment.
"Nothing," he said softly, in a way that meant the opposite. "Just how good your fingers feel. How lucky I am that you put up with me."
Louis blinked, having not expected that answer. "Put up with you," he echoed. "As if you're a burden."
"I can be."
"Shut up. You're not a burden."
"David thought so."
"Well David's a fucking idiot. I can't believe you were with him for so long. I mean, you're way out of his league. Like, insanely out of his league. And he was cheating on his wife, for fuck's sake." Louis scratched his nails just to see what would happen and Harry visibly shivered.
"I should've listened to you."
"Yeah, probably," he agreed, biting his lip and thinking about all the times in the beginning of their relationship when Louis told him that David was no good. He had known from the start. Usually Louis tried to stay out of Harry's business but sometimes he couldn't help it, his opinions bubbling out of him before he could stop them. He had always disliked David, never understood why Harry was so enamored with him. "Why'd you stay with him for so long, anyway? I know things were kind of falling apart the past few months."
"Good sex," Harry muttered, flipping over on his side and curled up, like he was going to fall asleep. "Kind of."
"Kind of?"
"I mean, it was exciting at first 'cause he's older, you know. Guess the novelty wore off a bit. He was pretty selfish which was fine at first but there's only so much I like feeling used. You know?"
Louis didn't exactly know, but he nodded anyway. Their experiences with fucking were vastly different. Someone selfish, that just sounded awful, like the opposite of what Harry deserved. Louis wanted to tell him this but he didn't know how.
Harry was so selfless in every aspect of his life, always putting others first, and it was easy for people to take advantage of that. David was one of those people who took advantage of that. But Louis had the idea in his mind that Harry deserved to be spoiled in bed, at the very least. It seemed wrong for him to give and give and give without ever getting anything back.
These were dangerous thoughts to have. Louis suppressed them and continued petting Harry's hair because that was all he could do for now. He sort of spoiled Harry today, with the flowers and the teddy bear and all the random activities of the evening, but even then, it was only the tip of the iceberg. Harry deserved so much more and just because they weren't together romantically didn't mean Louis couldn't show him a bit of generosity. Why had he been holding back? It seemed obvious now that being his best friend gave him the perfect opportunity to indulge him in any way possible.
"What're you thinking?" Harry asked.
Louis could lie. Easily. Any answer would be fine. Something boring, something stupid, something normal.
He didn't lie. "I'm a little pissed off, to be honest."
"Why's that?"
"No one treats you right."
"Oh?"
When Louis looked down, he saw the sleepy, smirky smile on Harry's face. Curious and teasingly smug, just for show. Louis could see right through the bravado. He curled his fingers in his hair. To anyone else, saying things like this would be a stroke to the ego, but Harry was so humble, Louis didn't feel hesitant about saying it.
"Yeah. All your old boyfriends were shit at it." It was a bold thing to say but it was true. "I don't know why you sell yourself short and always end up with bad people, but."
"Lou..."
"Just saying you deserve better. That's all."
"You really think so?"
"Yeah, I do. Of course I do."
Harry sat up and Louis' hand fell from his hair. He turned so he could look at Louis, his eyes worryingly bright, his gaze intense. There was something there, a glint of indiscernible emotion, but even then Louis could tell something wasn't right.
"Everything okay?" Louis asked, not sure what to do with the way Harry staring at him.
"Yeah, I'm just..." He bit his lip, tracing his eyes over Louis' face as if assessing something. The scrutiny would've made Louis squirm but he was so caught up in the moment, and then the suddenness of Harry's movement.
It was the kind of thing that Louis didn't see coming, not in a longshot. There was no way he could prepare himself for any of it.
Before he could even blink, Harry had already pressed their lips together in a bruising, enthusiastic kiss.
A handful of things happened at once. For one, Louis was stunned enough to let his mouth fall open. This was the wrong move to make because it allowed Harry to press his tongue inside. Meanwhile a constant stream of what the fuck? swirled around Louis' mind. In addition, Harry hooked his hands onto Louis' shoulders and clambered onto his lap, never detaching their lips. Apparently Louis' acquiescence was enough to give Harry the permission to do this.
If Louis was a better man he might've considered pushing Harry away and asking him what the fuck he was doing. As it was, he stayed rigid and still for a minute, which was as long as it took for his self-control to remain in tact. Then his body relaxed and he sunk into the kiss, giving in to Harry's demands.
It was a good kiss. Unfairly so. It was everything Louis had imagined during the eons of thirsting after Harry, and even better in a lot of ways. Like how Harry's long fingers were curled around his shoulders, holding him tightly. Or how he smelled like perfume and the flowers from earlier. Or how he licked into Louis' mouth with intent and even nibbled at his lip after a bit of time had passed.
Meanwhile Louis' insides were a mess of butterflies, his stomach doing somersaults of pleasure and confusion and a whole other mix of feelings that he didn't care to sort through. It was so easy to get lost in it, in the moment of being together. Letting Harry kiss him was easier than anything else. It felt right. He had no idea why it was happening but like hell he was going to let a moment like this slip away.
Harry was kissing him. Harry was sitting on his lap. Harry was holding onto his shoulders like he was afraid to let go.
Louis relaxed a little more, setting his hands on Harry's upper back to hold him too, and then letting them trail down his sides before resting on his waist. It was more a habit than anything, his years of kissing experience accumulating to one moment. He let himself react like he would to any kiss this good, giving as good as he was getting. It was sloppy and wet with spit but Harry didn't seem to care.
It wasn't until Louis' hand slipped down to squeeze his bottom that what was happening finally sunk in. Harry was kissing him. His best friend, the one who broke up with his boyfriend yesterday. Harry .
"Fuck," Louis groaned, yanking his head back enough to detach their lips, though a line of spit held the connection. He squeezed his eyes shut tight to regroup, and when he reopened them he saw Harry covering his face in his hands. "Harry..."
"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have done that."
Louis wanted to wrap his fingers around his wrists to pull his hands away from his face, to see his expression, to understand what he was thinking. What was going on inside that crazy head of his?
"It's okay," he ended up saying softly, setting his hand on his thigh as a form of physical reassurance. He was bewildered by all that just happened but it was clear Harry wasn't in the right mindset to be making rational decisions. He had acted on impulse, that was all it was. "It's okay, H, really. I don't mind. Just- I'm so confused."
Harry pulled his hands away and his eyes were shining in the dim lighting, on the verge of tears. "I should- Fuck. I should go."
"What?" Go where? Louis grabbed the front of his hoodie to stop him from leaving. It was an act of desperation but he wasn't about to let Harry disappear and pretend like that hadn't just happened.
"Fuck, I'm really really sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I really shouldn't have done that." He started hyperventilating, gasping for air though it seemed to not be enough.
"Hey, it's okay,," Louis worried, nudging him over so he was sitting beside him, curling in on himself. "Seriously, everything's okay, just calm down."
He coached him through it, keeping a supportive hand on his shoulder and talking him through each breath. Tears slipped down Harry's face even though he kept the heel of his palms pressed to his eyes the entire time. The bewilderment of seeing his best friend freak out was almost equal to the bewilderment from the kiss itself.
"Harry..." Louis began, once Harry had calmed down enough to breathe normally again. He kept his tone gentle because he was afraid of making the situation worse. "Will you tell me what's going on?"
Harry made a noncommittal noise, grabbing one of the decorative pillows on the couch and smashing his face in it to muffle a scream.
Louis gave him a moment and then asked him again, even gentler this time. "What's wrong, H?"
"I'm sorry," Harry moaned, face still pressed to the pillow. "That was really impulsive of me... I shouldn't have done that."
"Why're you crying, then?"
"I'm so embarrassed..."
"Don't be. It's okay. I know you're going through a lot right now. Just..." Why did you kiss me? He wanted to ask but he wasn't sure if he was allowed. He was probably just overcome with emotion and confused as to what to do about it, seeking comfort in physical touch or something stupid like that.
"I'm just really confused," Harry admitted quietly. With his knees pulled to his chest and his face in the pillow he looked small. "I think there's something I should tell you."
"What is it?"
"I... I don't know if I can say it. I'm scared."
Louis was helplessly lost. "Scared of what?"
"I don't want you to hate me..."
"I could never hate you," Louis refuted, completely out of reflex. It was true, nonetheless. Harry had to have know that. "Why would I hate you?"
"Because this might ruin our friendship."
"What?"
Harry groaned and flopped backwards on the couch, still covering his face. He screamed into the pillow again and kicked his legs half-heartedly before going lax. "I have a crush on you, and I know that's not like- I know you don't feel the same way so I don't want to make it weird but I just couldn't keep it from you anymore. Sorry. Sorry for kissing you and making it weird."
Louis' brain short-circuited. There was a heavy pause full of silence. "Wait, what?"
Harry sat up and pulled the pillow from his face finally, but still wouldn't look at him. "I'm so embarrassed. I'm gonna go die in a hole now." He started to stand up but Louis grabbed his hoodie again.
"Wait, Harry- You have a crush on me ? What the fuck?"
"I know, okay? I know you're way out of my league and it's laughable that we would ever be together. You don't have to tell me. I just wanted you to know because kissing you was a really stupid thing to do and I owed you an explanation. Please let me go and let's never talk about this ever again."
Louis tightened his grip because it was the only thing he could think to do. He opened his mouth but no words would come out.
"Lou, please let me go."
"No, Harry, I... I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything. Let's just forget it."
"I don't understand."
"Lou..."
Wait a second, Louis thought to himself. Things weren't adding up. He held on even tighter, the gears turning. "No, really, Harry. What do you mean I'm out of your league? What do you mean you have a crush on me?"
"I mean exactly what I said," Harry whined, pulling away. "Please don't make me explain it. It's humiliating."
"How could you, I mean, how is it possible that you have a crush on me? When you were dating David?" I'm the one who has a crush on you,Louis thought futilely. Me, not you.
"I liked you before then, obviously."
Louis' brows furrowed. "But before then you were dating Tom."
Harry shifted, looking uncomfortable. "I liked you then too."
"Then why were you dating Tom? And then David?"
"To, uh, get over my crush. On you. Which obviously didn't work."
What the fuck? Louis thought. He said it out loud too. "What the fuck? In what world does that make sense?"
"I don't know! I have to do something, alright? I can't just obsess over you all the time when there's no chance of you ever reciprocating. The obvious choice is just to date other people and hopefully find someone I like. I'd really rather not spend my life forever alone just because I have a huge crush one someone who will never like me back."
"Uhh..." Louis wasn't sure how to break the news to him. "Uh, Harry?"
"What?" he snapped, obviously fed up with the way Louis kept pressing the topic.
"I don't know why you think I wouldn't ever reciprocate it, because I'm, like, in love with you."
"Huh?"
Louis nodded.
"You don't have to lie to me," Harry said slowly. "That's kind of really shitty of you, to say that just to make me feel better. To just throw that word around so willy nilly."
"Harry, what the fuck? I'm not- I wouldn't lie to you about something like this just to make you feel better. I'm being honest with you. I like you. A lot. And I'm so confused right now. What in the world made you think I could never like you?"
He folded his arms over his chest, defensive and insecure. "You always talk about how we're such good friends, which, I got the first few times you said it. You didn't have to keep saying it."
"What? That's not true. You're the one who's always talking about how we're such good friends!"
Harry huffed. "Yeah, only to remind myself that you don't like me like I like you and we'll never be anything more! And besides, you're always hooking up with all these amazing guys. It doesn't take a genius to tell you'd never be interested in me."
"That literally makes no sense," Louis argued, standing up and waving his hands in frustration. "I only hook up with people because you're constantly in a relationship with someone so I never even had a chance! One boyfriend to the other, never any time in between. You're literally never single for more than two weeks—that's hardly enough time to make a move!"
Harry fish-mouthed at him and then pressed his lips together, forming a tight line.
"I can't believe you," Louis muttered. "Saying you have a crush on me. There's no way."
"I'm telling the truth..."
Louis rubbed at his eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted. "I just don't get how you could like me but also be in a long-term, committed relationship."
Harry glared at him, seeming very annoyed. "I was trying to get over my feelings for you. Which obviously didn't work."
Louis snapped his mouth shut, and then said a very quiet, "Oh." Harry's reasoning wasn't the most logical, but he supposed it was sort of in the same vein of what he was doing with all his mindless hookups to distract himself from how much he liked Harry. They just had two different ways of going about getting over each other, that weren't actually that dissimilar when compared.
Harry had never been one for mindless hookups, anyways. That was part of the reason why he almost always had a boyfriend; he got too attached to people too soon. Or so Louis thought.
"Harry..?"
"What?"
"Do you understand what's happening, then?"
"What do you mean?"
"We both just confessed our feelings for one another."
"Oh."
A warm feeling settled in Louis' chest as he met Harry's gaze and there was something heavy between them, a good kind of heavy, full of desire. Mutual desire.
Since everything was already out in the open, it didn't hurt for him to be honest. Louis decided to go for it, and say what he was thinking. Harry deserved to know. "Yeah. So... Just to be clear I want you to know I've liked you for a long time, and as confused as I am about what you just told me, it also makes me very happy, so."
"Same. About all of that. I mean, like, liking you for a while. Ever since we first met. It's been rough." The corners of his lips quirked and then he was smiling, that big gooey smile that showcased his dimples. The smile that made Louis melt.
"Yeah, it has," Louis agreed, laughing a little at how ridiculous the past twenty-four hours had been. God, he and Harry were so stupid. They had been best friends for years, crushing on each other but completely oblivious to each other's pining.
"Sorry for sort of yelling at you. And arguing with you. And ruining today."
"Harry. You just told me we could possibly have a chance together. How would that ever ruin my day?"
"Honestly?"
Louis rolled his eyes, exasperated. "C'mere, you big idiot."
"Heeey," Harry frowned, on the verge of pouting. Louis pulled him into a hug anyways, squeezing him tightly. The physical contact sent shivers down his spine even though it was just an innocent hug. He snuggled closer to the warmth of Harry's body, pressing his face into the crook of his neck and breathing in the scent of his skin, perfumed and sweet.
"We're both idiots," Louis corrected, his voice muffled by the way his mouth was pressed directly against Harry's neck. Each word brushed his lips against his skin. "We should probably go to sleep before things get even weirder. We both have some things to think about."
Harry sighed. "You're right."
Neither of them made any move to detach themselves from each other. Harry hunched forward and set his chin on Louis' shoulder, squeezing him tighter. Louis responded to the movement by rubbing his back and smiling into his neck. Warmth was seeping from Harry's body to Louis' and it felt amazing and comforting. It was more than he could ever ask for, just to be close like this.
"I hope you had a good day?"
"Very," Harry agreed, going with the movement as Louis rocked them back and forth. "Probably the best Valentine's Day I've ever had. Even though I didn't fuck anyone."
"There's still time to fix that," Louis laughed. His mind immediately went to the image of bright pink lace peeking out above the waistband of his joggers earlier.
"Shut up. Don't even joke about that."
"Hey, you brought it up." But in his mind he was thinking, I would do anything you asked of me, no matter what. The thought wasn't as scary as it should've been.
"Whatever. But seriously Lou, thank you."
"No need to thank me. I had fun too."
"But I mean, for everything. For all of it. Like, yesterday when you came home... and bringing me to the diner with Niall, and everything today with the teddy bear and the roses and all the things that were actually fun unlike my own plans... It means a lot. You always take such good care of me and maybe that's one of the reasons why I like you so much, I guess."
"You deserve it," Louis said fiercely, and Harry held him a little tighter. "You always deserve someone to treat you right." With that, he finally disentangled himself, even though he didn't exactly want to. It was getting really late and the previous conversation had happened so quickly, it hadn't even fully sunk in yet. He wasn't sure where they were supposed to go from here and he was still feeling kind of insecure and doubting the fact that Harry reciprocated at least some of his feelings.
"I guess I should go to bed. We'll talk about this tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Of course." Then, because Louis had no self-control, he grabbed Harry's hand before he could think better of it and brought it to his lips, kissing his knuckles. He let go quickly, shocked by his own boldness, but didn't miss the way Harry's cheeks pinkened and he stuttered a reply that wasn't a sentence comprised of real words so much as a conglomeration of sounds. Clearly, he was just as overwhelmed as Louis was. It was adorable.
"Um, alright," Harry squeaked, taking a step towards the hall and stumbling over his own feet. "See you tomorrow, then."
"Good night," Louis bid, vaguely wondering when the two of them had become so awkward, as he watched Harry shoot him a jittery smile and practically run down the hall to his bedroom.
He stood there for a second, completely dazed. When he snapped out of it and realized he had been staring at the empty hallway for way too long to be normal, he shook his head at himself and went to get ready for bed.
Louis had never dealt with nervous butterflies in his stomach like this before. He was usually the confident, composed one, wooing the other guy. But surprise, surprise, with Harry he melted into a useless puddle of goo, all sense of bravado gone.
The entire day had been hectic and he was still processing it all, but there was something fluttering in his chest—a warm feeling that originated in his heart and spread throughout his entire body, tingling pleasantly. He had no idea what tomorrow would be like, but he was hopeful.
♡