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Chapter Text

🧘🏻‍♀️🎀

Harry was walking down the straight road that led him home, a mere 3 minutes after he left the bar. He was barely a few hundred metres away, when his phone started to ring. He stopped in his tracks and opened his tote bag. It took him a few seconds of rummaging around until he found it, nestled deep down between his yoga stuff. It was just now that he noticed, he hadn’t looked once at his phone in hours, which was quite unusual for him. He looked at it and there was an unknown number on his screen. Weird, he never got called from a number he hadn't saved. Save for the weird marketing calls from other countries.

However, because he was a curious person, he raised his right hand to his ear while using the left to brush a loose strand of hair out of his face. “Hello?” He answered the phone. “Hellooo… is theeere Harrrold, the witch with the maaaagic wand?” A high pitched voice asked in a weird accent. The voice was kind of familiar though. Harry held the phone away from him, looking at the screen again. “Louis? Is that you??” He asked, slightly unsure. It sounded slightly like him, but how could he know? They hadn’t really spoken that much.

“Damnit, I thought I could trick you. Tried to be funny. Guess that was a flop.” Harry heard the amused voice of Louis coming through the speaker. He turned around, looking down the street towards the bar and saw him standing outside, waving back at him with a big smile on his face.

“Yeah, that wasn't funny at all. And a bad accent, too. What even was that?” Harry chuckled, raising a hand in a questioning motion. Deep inside, he was really excited that Louis decided to call immediately after their little get together and didn’t wait 2 days. Or didn’t call at all. He had really enjoyed himself back in the bar, and was also surprised by himself to do something this spontaneous which was normally not his cup of tea. He was more of a at-least-three-dates-before-sex-kind-of-guy.

“I don't know! Just tried to disguise my voice, Thought I could be funny. Didn't work well, obviously.” Harry could see him nervously rubbing the back of his head. “Anyway, here I am. Calling and asking you for a proper date! Only if you think that's not a bit forward of me this soon after… you know. What do you say? Am I having the pleasure of inviting you to a restaurant or the movies or whatever you prefer? Totally your choice! If you're up for it, that is.” Louis’ voice was fast and high pitched at the end of his little rambling.

Harry laughed softly. He was surprised that this gibberish mess was the same person that fucked him senseless 30 minutes ago, but he was now very curious to get to know all the other sides of him. “Louis, slow down.” He started. “It would be lovely to go out with you. How does Saturday sound to you?” 

“That would be great! My shift ends at 5. Can I come pick you up at, let’s say 7? I have to go back inside now, we have a few new guests.”

“Yep, sounds fantastic! I'm really looking forward to it”, Harry said with a big smile. “I'll send you my address later on. Have a good evening, Louis!”

“Can’t get any better. Bye Harry” 

He saw Louis put his phone in his apron and waving at him, before he went back inside the wine bar. Harry quickly waved back then turned around and continued his way home, with a spring in his step, but nobody needed to know that.

It didn't take long for him to arrive at his block of flats. He loved the area he lived in. Everything he needed was reachable within a 10minute walk. His flat was located in Richmond. He knew that it was one of the pricier districts, but thanks to a bit of luck in his life, he was able to pay the lease for his flat rather comfortably. 

Harry opened the door to his home, stepping through and letting himself fall against the wooden surface after closing it. Letting out a little sigh, he stepped out of his shoes and placed them neatly within the row of shoes on the rack to his left. The keys were thrown in the bowl that stood on the entryway table next to the door, specifically purchased for storing them. He despised the hooks on the wall, rather preferred a nice looking bowl. He found this one, formed like a rose, with the pedals delicately painted on it, at one of the flea markets he visited regularly.

Deciding that he definitely needed another shower, he sat his tote bag down to deal with the dirty laundry after he felt less sticky. Stripping bare on the way to the bathroom, he turned on the shower once he stepped through the bathroom door. While he waited for the water to turn to a pleasant temperature, he took a quick once-over in the mirror. His hair was a mess, his cheeks still a little flushed. There were a few faint marks, distributed over his whole body, mostly in the area around his hips. If he squinted his eyes, he could even make out the rough form of fingertips. He had a shine in his eyes that let him smile at his mirror-self. Reliving some memories from earlier, he stepped in the shower and made quick work of cleaning himself up and washing his hair, ignoring his half hard dick that was very interested in said memories. 

After towelling himself dry, he stepped into comfy clothes and made himself a cuppa before throwing the dirty laundry in the washing machine. He sat down at his desk to take care of a few things for work that he wasn't able to do earlier that day before he had to leave for his yoga class.

A little while later, after fixing himself a light dinner, he snuggled down on his couch, covered with a blanket and another cup of tea in his hands, a random series running on his tv. Barely paying attention to the voices on the screen, it didn't take long for sleep to overcome him, it had been a long and eventful day. He dragged himself up and to his comfortable queen-size bed in his room down the hallway. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, with piercing blue eyes dancing in front of his inner eye.

+++

“Harry, stop pacing around, you're driving me insane!” Niall sat on the edge of Harry’s bed, watching him run back and forth between his bathroom and wardrobe. Clothes were scattered all over the floor, hanging over the doors of the wardrobe. Harry was only in a pair of black lace panties, stripping out of a top, he then threw to the other 20 that already piled on the floor. They had been on a mission to pick an outfit for nearly an hour now and Harry was getting more and more frustrated. Picking underwear was easy, he didn't own a pair of panties or g-strings that he didn't like, so he just picked a simple black one. It was still beautiful, with lace around the edges and a tiny little bow in the front. He didn't know what to expect from the evening, if Louis wanted to come to his after or not. Not that he would mind if he did, but Harry wanted to get to know Louis better than just as a fuck-buddy and he had a feeling that it was mutual. Not that there was anything wrong with dating casually and just fucking around. But he had had enough of that in his life.

“I can't! I have nothing to wear and look at my hair. It's a mess! Where are all my good clothes? Seems like I don’t have any! Should I wear make-up? No, maybe not. Or maybe a little. Yeah, just a little blush and a bit of mascara.” He once again made his way back to the bathroom, hastily putting some rouge on his cheeks, which was a difficult task considering how much his hands were shaking. He heard Niall enter the room, leaning sideways against the doorframe and watching him through the mirror. 

“Mate, you need to calm down. Why are you so nervous? That man has already seen everything of you. Don’t stress yourself over clothes or how your hair looks. I’m sure he likes you anyway. And it’s not like you are ugly right now” Niall chuckled, pushing himself away from the door to spin him around, putting both his hands on Harry’s shoulders, rubbing them in circular motions. “Come on, breathe with me. Iiinn aand out. That's it. Again.” 

He did what Niall told him and felt himself relax, the calming movement of Niall’s hands on his shoulders was helpful too. He knew that he was overreacting. He wasn’t an anxious person, never has been, he just wanted to be the best version of himself tonight. There had been too many frustrating first dates over the past few years, he wanted to get this one right.

“I'm not particularly nervous, Nialler”, he said, escaping the soft grip of his best friend and stepping into his bedroom to rummage through the countless hangers in his wardrobe. “I'm just excited and want to look nice, even if he has already seen my best parts.” He turned around to look at Niall with a smirk on his face. He held up a sheer shiny blue blouse with a flower pattern on it that was barely visible. “What do you think about this one? I could pair it with my good pair of black skinny jeans” 

“That could work!” Niall clapped his hands together and once again laid a reassuring hand on Harry's shoulder. “It's going to be great. Just be yourself. And text me as soon as your date is over! I fear I have to go now. Because I” he dragged out the word. “already have a boyfriend and he needs my attention tonight. A LOT of attention. Have fun!” With a wink towards Harry, Niall vanished out of the room. 

“Tell Shawn, I said hi!” Harry yelled after him.

“Will do! Bye, love ya.” He heard Niall shouting back.

As Harry heard the front door fall shut, he took one last deep breath and dressed himself before he went back to the bathroom mirror to fix the mess he made with the blush earlier and to highlight his lashes with a light layer of mascara. He was still contemplating what to do with his hair when his phone signalled him with a ping that he had a new message. Harry rushed to his bed, where he discarded his phone hours ago and saw a notification for a message from Louis. The bartender just wanted to let him know that he was on his way to pick him up and that he would arrive in ten minutes. Harry scrolled back up to the earlier messages, to check if he really gave Louis the right address. They didn’t text much the last few days, both busy with work, so it was just a hi and how are you, the excitement about the date and of course, the address. 

He quickly tamed his locks until he was satisfied with his look. He snatched his little black purse from the hook on the wall and after a glance in it to see if everything he needed was there, he stepped into the hallway and pulled on his black leather boots and a dark brown coat. He then leaned against the wall next to the front door and waited patiently for the doorbell to ring.

It only took a couple more minutes until Louis was in front of the main entrance. 

“I'm coming down.” Harry told him through the speaker and made his way out of his flat and down the few flights of stairs to exit the building. His heart thrummed in his chest as he stepped through the front door. There he was. Leaning against the wall with one foot crossed over the other, leg slightly bent at the knee. He had his hands in the front pockets of his jacket. Louis wore ripped dark blue skinny jeans and what seemed like a red t-shirt with a low neckline under his black jacket. Harry could even see the edges of his chest tattoo. His hazelnut-brown hair was swept up in a Quiff. He looked absolutely gorgeous.

“Hey beautiful.” Louis pushed himself off from the wall and gave Harry a small hug and a kiss on the cheek. He took a calming breath, hoping that his knees wouldn't give in. Damnit, that man didn't only look gorgeous, he smelled also fantastic, too. There was a hint of sandalwood and orange blossoms, Harry already hatched a plan, when and where he would steal an item of clothing from Louis, just to be able to smell him all day. No, he wasn’t creepy.

“Hey Louis, how are you?” Harry smiled at him.

“I'm doing great! You? I have booked a table for us at that cute little Italian restaurant, Nonna's Garden, a bit further down from the bar. Is that alright?” Louis looked at him questioningly.

“That's perfect, I like that one. I’ve already been there a few times. They make a great risotto! Do you want to walk there or should we take the car?”

“I don't mind walking. It's nice out.” Louis smiled, letting his head fall back and took a deep inhale.

Harry couldn't help but watch him in awe, his mouth hanging slightly agape. The stretch of his neck, the vein at the side of it, very visibly standing out and his sharp facial features, that he already admired earlier this week. Get a grip, Styles. The date hasn't even started yet.

When Louis looked at him again, he had to sense Harry’s mental state, judging by the smirk on his face. “Well, come on. Let's go. Our table is waiting.”

+++

As they arrived at the small restaurant, Louis rushed to hold the door open for him and Harry blushed a little at the nice gesture, steppin in. They were greeted by the waiter as Louis gave the name on the reservation. They were led to their table, in a quiet corner right at the front window. They sat down opposite each other and thanked the waiter as they were handed the menus.

“The chicken sounds great, what do you think, love? Have you picked something?” Louis looked at him over the menu after a while of skimming through the options. 

Harry took another look at the menu before answering, not that he hadn't already picked something, he just needed a moment to calm his heartbeat that got a bit out of rhythm after hearing Louis call him ‘love.’

“Hmm… I don't eat meat and I don't think that I’m in the mood for fish today. I think I’ll go with my earlier mention and pick the risotto. It is really good.” Harry closed the menu and laid it on the table. “Would you mind picking out the wine? You are the expert after all.” Harry winked at Louis and immediately wanted to slap himself. That was a cheap move, Styles. Very cheap.

“Oh so you are a vegetarian? Or what is it called, when you still eat fish? I don’t want to sound rude, I just don’t know any people who don’t eat meat. Is there a specific reason for it? Okay, I'll stop rambling now, please say something.” Louis ducked down in his seat, holding the napkin in front of his face to hide the blush that crept up on his cheeks. Harry melted a bit at the sight, he was so cute.

“You are so cute.” Shit, did he say that out loud? But Louis’ blush deepend and he decided that it was not that embarrassing after all. “It’s called pescetarian. And no, there is no specific reason for it. I just don’t like the taste of meat and if I can do something good for the animals and nature, then that's a good reason, too.” Harry smiled over the table at Louis, who gave up his hiding and listened intently instead. 

Harry had just finished his explanation, as the waiter came over again. They ordered their food and Louis picked a bottle of white wine for them to share. “Goes great with the chicken and the risotto,” he explained.

After the waiter brought and poured the wine, Louis lifted his glass and held it towards Harry for a toast. Their glasses clinked together and they shared a soft smile. “To a wonderful evening.” Louis said and Harry nodded his head and repeated the sentence, brightly smiling.

“Now Harry, you know what I do for a living. What about you? Tell me something about yourself.” Louis propped his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands, his ocean-eyes held a curious look. Harry wanted to eat him.

“Well, I had a bit of luck in my life. It sounds more arrogant than it is, but my parents are quite wealthy and in the circle they socialise in, it is normal for every child to have a trust fund. But I, for myself, never liked everything that came with the money, so I tried to keep my distance from it at a certain age.” Harry paused, to take a sip from his wine. Louis had made a good choice. “I went to university to study business and it took me years to figure out the best way to use the money I was given as soon as I successfully finished my degree. I then had the idea to support the health and food industries. Now I’m an investor for start-ups that produce healthy food and similar companies in this sector. I want to help small businesses that actually try to make a change in the industry. It's because of these investments that I have a lot of partial ownerships for several different companies.” He felt a bit proud at the thought of his achievements and Louis seemingly was, too. He could see it in his eyes. Harry cleared his throat and took another sip.

“That sounds really great, Harry!” Louis was still smiling at him. “I would love to hear more about it. Do these companies all produce food or are there some that have other products in their assortment, like non-food items?”

Harry excitedly continued to explain everything about the job he loved so much and Louis pestered him with questions. The minutes flew by while they chatted animatedly.

When the food arrived, their conversation died down, both happily munching on their food, not eager to talk with their mouths stuffed full. The meal was fantastic, as expected. Even if they didn't talk, Harry had no choice but to take a glance at Louis in between bites, just watching him exist. Of course, Louis caught him looking more than once but didn't comment on it. He just smiled back at him, seemingly stealing one or two glances himself. 

The silence between them was a comfortable one, accompanied with the chatter from the people at the tables around them.

“Do you want to share a dessert with me?” Louis asked after the waiter cleared the table of their empty plates. The bottle of wine was nearly empty by now, their bellies full of good food and the happy feeling of their get together.

Harry contemplated for a moment, taking a quick glance at the dessert menu. “The chocolate cake looks fantastic, but there's no way I can eat a whole piece after the risotto. So yeah, I would love to share. If you are up for the cake, of course.”

“Sure, I'll never say no to a sweet dessert” Louis snickered and threw a long look at Harry, that could only be described as dirty and that left him squirming on his chair. To distract himself from Louis and his own thoughts, Harry looked around to find their waiter and waved him over to order the cake.  

The cake was as delicious as it looked and despite their full bellies from the main course, they devoured the slice rather quickly. When the time came around to ask for the bill, Louis was the one winning the short fight about who would pay. Louis insisted on it though. After all, he was the one who invited Harry. 

After paying, he put his card back into his wallet, Louis stood and held out his hand. “Let’s go then.” He smiled at Harry, who let himself easily be pulled up from his seat. He felt a bit warm from his wine and a little giddy. The evening until now was perfect, Louis a real gentleman. He didn’t even question where Louis led him as they exited the restaurant and made their way to a small park around the corner. Harry was glad to see that the way through it was illuminated. 

“Are you up for a little walk around the park before I get you home again, Harry?” Louis asked. Of course, Harry wouldn’t say no to spending more time with Louis. 

“It would be a pleasure, thanks for asking.” Harry smiled softly, and they continued walking.

Their shoulders bumped against each other every few metres and their hands brushed every now and then. Harry couldn't say if it was intentional or coincidence, but he wouldn't dare to complain. And it made his stomach all fluttery.

They chatted a bit about this and that. The conversation flowed easily. The weather was still nice, not too cold and the moon was shining brightly down from the night sky. Only a few clouds blocked the light every once in a while. 

“What part of England do you come from, Louis? Your accent tells me that it has to be Yorkshire? Or am I wrong there?” Harry turned to face the older one. They had stopped at a bench under a big old tree halfway through the park to sit down for a while.

“Yes, exactly. I'm born and raised in Doncaster. My mom still lives there with my step dad and my three younger sisters. The oldest of them is 21, she is very secretive with what she wants to do. She has a job at a shop in Donny at the moment but I don't think that that's what she wants to do the rest of her life. And the other two are identical twins, 15 now. Still in school and little menaces” Louis had a fond expression on his face, only partially illuminated by a lamp near the bench. “I don't get to visit them often, but I try to call them every few days. I'm really close to them, love them all to bits. What about you? Do you have a big family, too? A bunch of siblings running around?”

“Not exactly. I'm from Holmes Chapel. I don't have much contact with my dad anymore since he left my mum. But that's okay. I don't dwell on it. My mum has a new partner for a few years now. He’s nice and good for her. And I have an older sister that actually lives in London, too. She moved here last year to live with her boyfriend. I see her from time to time when we are both free. But I always wanted a big family, never got it though. Maybe in the future I will have my own big one” Harry smiled shyly, glancing through his eyelashes over to Louis, with a little blush on his face.

“That sounds lovely, darling. I'm a big family man myself, of course I want the same for me too. When the time is right and I have the right partner by my side.” He let the meaning of his sentence hang in the air.

Harry took a deep breath, the conversation suddenly a lot heavier. More meaningful. He didn't know how to respond to that, so he just sent a smile towards Louis, then closed his eyes and enjoyed the fresh breeze on his face.

Louis was the one that thankfully broke the silence. “Do you want to head back? It's starting to get a bit chilly. I don't want you to catch a cold.”

“Yes, please.” Harry smiled at him and flustered a bit as Louis stood and reached out a hand to help him stand up, too. If neither of them let go for the rest of the way through the park, no one needed to know.

+++

“Where did you park your car? Or did you arrive on the tube?” Harry asked. They were already on their way back to Harry's place. It took him until now to note that he didn't know how Louis got to him in the first place.

“I parked behind the bar. But don't worry about me. I'll walk you home first. It’s not that far” Louis glanced over to him, a shy look on his face. “If you don't mind, of course.”

“Only if it isn't too much trouble. I mean, we just walked past your bar. You don't have to…”

“I insist,” Louis interrupted. “Please.”

“Okay then. This way” Harry laughed and led them back to his block of flats.

As they arrived at the front door to the building, they stood opposite of each other, both looking a little unsure of what to do next.

“I would ask you to come up, but I have a feeling you would politely decline my offer.” Harry rocked on his feet back and forth. “I just want to say that I had a lovely evening and I really would like to get to know you. If you want that, too…”

“Yes, you are right. I would've declined the offer but just because I really want to get to know you, too. And I want to do this right. Don't get me wrong, what we had back there at the bar was fantastic but I want us to slow down on the funny business a bit. For now.” He winked at Harry.

He felt warmth spreading over his cheeks, again. “Okay, let's do that.” Harry nodded but couldn't hold back to say. “For now.” 

“Cheeky,” Louis laughed before he stepped forward and embraced Harry in a comforting hug. Harry melted into his arms but quickly gained his composure and hugged him back.

After a few seconds, that felt like minutes, Harry felt warm lips ghosting over the corner of his mouth. “Good Night Harry, sleep well. I'll text you tomorrow.” Louis loosened the hug and stepped back. 

“Good night, get home safe Louis.” Harry used all of his willpower to turn around and walk through the front door. Before he entered the building, he turned around one last time to wave at Louis, who still stood at the same place, looking back at him, hands in his front pockets again.

🍷🚬

Louis took a last look back at the building, then spun on his heels. He smiled to himself, walking down back to the wine bar. He felt like it was the right decision to not take the date any further this evening. He really liked this boy and couldn’t wait to see what the future would bring for them. He slung his jacket a little tighter around his upper body. It was late and it was even colder now than earlier in the park. He sped up his steps and after a few minutes he reached his car in the small car park behind the bar. 

After the short drive home, luckily the traffic was non-existent at this time of day, he pulled into his parking space in front of the building he and Zayn had their flat in.

He tiptoed through the front door of their shared home, not wanting to wake Zayn, in case he already went to bed. He rounded the corner of the living room only to find Zayn lying on the couch, some papers in his hands, that he was studying carefully.

“Why are you still awake?” Louis asked, startling Zayn, papers falling from his hands to the floor.

“Jesus, Louis. I nearly had a heart attack. Why did you sneak up on me like that? What are you doing here? I thought you would stay the night at Harry’s?” He wiggled with his eyebrows, while he ducked down to pick up the papers. Suddenly he straightened, his face turning into a faux shocked expression, a hand flying to his heart. “Or was the date that bad? Did he turn you down? Was he the problem? Was he boring or did he eat too noisily? Did he have other bad table manners? I know that that's a thing you hate”

“Are you quite done?” Louis rolled his eyes playfully and shoved Zayn's legs from the couch to sit down on the now free space. “It was really good, Z. I like him.” A coy smile wandered over his face. “He is really nice and really good to talk to. And my god, he is really beautiful. And really, really sweet. You should see his dimples when he finds something so funny that he smiles wide enough for them to appear. Really cute”

“That's a lot of really's, mate. When's the wedding? Can I be your best man?” 

“You are an idiot, Zayn. Anyway, he said he wanted to invite me in, but he already had the feeling that I would've turned him down. And he was right, I really want to do it right this time. And go slow. Okay, slower. “He grinned at his best friend. “I want to get to know him. And thankfully, he is on the same page.” Louis smiled happily and let his eyes fall closed for a moment, thinking about those green eyes that had already consumed him back then at the wine bar. When he opened his eyes again, his gaze fell on the stacks of paper around Zayn. “Now why are you still awake, what is all this?”

“These are the contracts and stuff for the exhibit I'm hosting. I totally forgot about them. You know how I get when I'm lost in my paintings. Always forget about that damn paperwork. And they are due on Monday, so I need to work through them and sign them. And I don't have time tomorrow, because I have the studio booked all day to get the last paintings done. That's why I'm still awake.” Zayn let out a sigh. “But I'm on the last few pages now. Will go to bed soon. What about you?”

“I think I'm turning in, unless you need help with this. I need to be at the Ark early tomorrow. We are crafting some things for the market next week. Trying to get a bit of extra money in. You know how tight it is at the moment,” Louis yawned, padded Zayn on the thigh and stood. “Good night, Z. Don't stay up too long.”

“No it’s okay. Go to sleep and tell the kids I said hi and that I will come around soon. I already have a project in mind for them. Good night, Louis.”

“Will do, they will be very happy to hear that.” With a kiss on Zayn's head, Louis made his way to the bathroom to get ready for bed. After brushing his teeth and a quick wash of his face, he wandered to his bedroom and stripped off his clothes. He climbed under the sheets with a content sigh and snuggled into his pillow. He let his mind drift to the memories of the past few hours. It really has been a good evening. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep with a smile on his face.

Chapter Text

Louis woke up early, as he often did on Sundays. Normally he would sleep as long as he could, especially when he worked the evening shifts at the wine bar but Sunday was his favourite day of the week. He sat upright in his bed, the sheets pooling around his naked waist, it was his preferred way of sleeping, completely naked. When he visited family or friends overnight, he had the decency to at least put a pair of boxers on.

After stretching out his limbs, he rubbed his hands over his face and got up, stepped into a pair of grey joggers and made his way over to the bathroom. He quickly peed, showered and dressed in the clothes that he put there the evening before, a pair of blue jeans and a soft green Nike sweater, styling his hair in his signature Quiff. He contemplated shaving but decided that the stubbles didn’t look too scruffy yet.

Trying to stay as quiet as possible, he tiptoed past Zayn's room and to the kitchen. Zayn would be asleep for a few more hours, Louis guessed. It was still fairly early and he stayed up way longer than him last night.

Louis wasn't himself without his morning cuppa, so he made sure that there was always time for one before he had to leave the house for work or other appointments.

He sat down on one of the kitchen stools at the island with his tea and a bowl of his favourite cereal, Lucky Charms (He knew it was kind of childish, but he couldn't care less). He scrolled through his work emails, reading a few but decided to answer them the next day. It was Sunday, after all.

After he finished his breakfast, he put the dishes in the sink, deciding to take care of them when he got home later.

He stepped in a pair of Nike trainers and grabbed his keys, heading outside to his car.

His destination was, as on every (or was it each?) Sunday, the Youth House and Orphanage from the LGBTQ+ Youth Protection Society London. They gave it the name ‘The Ark.’ It was fitting, Louis thought, for a place where children, abandoned from home, mainly because of homo- and transphobia, could find a place to live and feel safe. Not every child had a full time place there. Some of them came there after school to find a few hours of peace or just a place where there were people who understood and accepted them. The Ark also functioned as a normal orphanage that took in children at every age. The house was mostly financed by donations and reliant on volunteers who came outside their normal work to help with the kids a few times a week.

Louis had always been there at least 3 or 4 times a week for a few hours, but since he opened the wine bar, his shifts made it impossible to visit more than once a week, mostly on Sundays. He was determined to make big donations as soon as the bar was more successful to compensate for the loss of time and help he was able to offer them currently.

It was a pleasant drive and after half an hour, the big house came into sight after the next bend and Louis parked his car at the rear of the property, right behind the back garden. The house was built in the last century, but kept up to date with renovations over the years. The building showcased intricate Victorian detailing, with ornate gables, bay windows, and decorative ironwork. The exterior boasted a time-worn reddish-brown brick facade, adorned with delicate climbing vines that brought bursts of colour. It was breathtakingly beautiful and fitting for the case.

Louis exited the car, did a quick stretch to ease the stiffness from the drive and headed over to the fence. He didn't bother to use the front door as he had a key for the padlock at the garden door. He wasn't even fully through it, when he could already hear kids screaming excitedly and he happily watched them running towards him.

Louis lost his balance as three or four little kids jumped on him at the same time. He toppled over and landed on his back. He sat back up and held his head as if he was in pain, but after a few seconds and the growing shocked expressions on the children's faces, Louis dropped his facade and the small crowd erupted in laughter.

“I’ve missed you too, you little gremlins. Now, get off of me.” Louis was still laughing as he stood up and dusted off the back of his jeans. He was now crowded by a whole group of children at every age from 3 to 18. The younger kids were all talking over each other, everyone had something important to tell Louis or a new toy to show off.

The older ones stood a bit further away, watching them with smiles on their faces. He would talk to them later.

Louis tried to listen to everyone equally but it simply wasn't possible. After a few minutes he excused himself and went to find the home director. He didn't have to search long, because she was already standing on the terrace, watching him and the kids. She was a middle-aged woman, always dressed smartly, in some sort of dress or skirt with a blouse. Today it was an ankle-length floral summer dress with a dark grey cardigan that ended mid-thigh. She had her shoulder length hair up in a ponytail crested with a beautiful golden barrette. She always had a kind look on her face, today however, her eyes appeared sad and her lips didn't carry the usual smile.

“Hey Eloise, how are you? You look a bit worried.” Louis observed. 

“It's one of those days, you know. I'm glad you’re here. Let's go inside and have a talk.” She turned to the kids “Louis will come back out in a bit and play some games with you.” With that, Eloise beckoned Louis to follow her through the glass double doors and into her office a bit further down the hallway. On one wall there was a beautiful original fireplace surrounded with a decorative mantel. Along with a desk and stools, the room only hosted a Two-Seater on the opposite wall with a coffee table in front of it. On it was a tablet with cups and glasses along with a teapot and bottles of water.

She motioned for him to sit down at one of the upholstered stools in front of her desk.

“Do you want tea or something else to drink?” She asked while she made her way over to the small table to fix some beverages.

“Thank you, darling. I'm alright. Just had a cuppa at home before I came here. Now tell me, what's got your beautiful face all wrinkled up this morning?”

“Always so charming”, at least she let out a small laugh at that. She fixed herself a cup of tea and took her place behind the desk. “We have some financial problems. Nothing new with that but it's hard to make ends meet at the moment. It was already hard last month but it's even worse this time. We are desperately trying to find new sponsors and donors but you know how it is in the business world.” She sighed and let her head fall back against the headrest of her desk chair.

“Is there anything I can do to help? I wish I could make a donation myself, but the bar doesn’t make enough in profit at the moment. But tell me what you need and I will see if I can help in any way.” 

Louis was concerned, this community was really important to him. He himself was lucky enough to have a great family that accepted him without batting an eye after he came out. Sadly though he had a childhood friend who hadn’t been that lucky and ended up on the streets and in very bad circles. After he passed away from injuries during a street fight, Louis was destined to help kids like him before it was too late to save them.

Eloise sent him a grateful smile. “I don’t think that there is much that you could do in this situation, Louis. But I appreciate your offer.” She took a sip from her tea, before she spoke again. “On the other hand… maybe we could create a few flyers and you could hang one up somewhere in the bar? I don’t know if it would make a big difference though.”

“Well, we can at least give it a try. I would love to do that for you, darling.” Louis said. “Is there anything else we should talk about? Otherwise I'll go and see if some of the kids are up for a game of footie.” He grinned and stood up.

“No, please go and have some fun with the kids. They are so happy every time you visit us.” Now she showed the first real smile, since Louis arrived. “I’ll let you know as soon as the flyers are ready. Or I’ll send one of the older children out to deliver a few to the bar.” 

“That sounds great. I’ll see you later.” Louis went back the same way they came in and headed towards a group of older kids. 

“Hey Ben, Joshua.” He nodded at two of the boys, sitting on the grass. “Are you up for a round of footie?”

“Always, Mr. Tomlinson” They jumped up immediately, and Ben, a tall slim boy around 15 grabbed a football that lay discarded a few feet away.

“How often do I have to tell you all to call me Louis.” He scolded jokingly, snatching the ball out of the boy's hands and darting off to the more open space on the other end of the garden.

They played for a while until some of the younger kids demanded Louis’ attention. He went with them to help with some of the art they were currently making. That reminded him that Zayn had left greetings for them. Louis promised them that Zayn would visit them as soon as possible to finish the art pieces with them. When it was time for lunch, Louis made his way to the kitchen to help serve the food to the kids in the dining room. Eloise had found two older ladies, who had already retired and were more than willing to cook for the kids several times a week for free.

Louis was always welcome to eat with them, and he was grateful for it. One less meal to worry about. He really wasn’t a fan of cooking. Not even if he was actually able to cook. 

Time always flew by when he was with the kids and as Louis looked at his phone to check the time, it was already early afternoon and he needed to head back soon to check in with Jasmine at the wine bar. He didn’t need to work today, they were only open for the evening shifts on Sunday and Jasmine had it covered. He still needed to take a look at the inventory though, to complete the order they placed every Monday morning with their supplier. With the look on his phone, his mind drifted once more to Harry and he felt a little guilty that he hadn't already messaged him. He decided that he would do exactly that, as soon as he was in his office.

With a last wave and a shouted goodbye towards the children and an even more enthusiastic response, he made his way back to his car, carefully locking the padlock on his way out again.

🧘🏻‍♀️🎀

Harry let himself fall back on the couch with a long sigh, draping his long legs over Niall’s lap. It was Sunday afternoon and Harry crashed into Niall's flat a little after noon bearing two large pizzas and demanded a friendship afternoon. They did things like that from time to time without giving the other one a heads up. That's why Harry had found Niall still lying in his bed, naked and wrapped around his, evenly naked, boyfriend, Shawn. 

The two of them were together long enough that Shawn knew what was going on. He had kissed Niall longer than it would be necessary with Harry watching them and got up for a quick shower, then got dressed and was on his way out within 20 minutes. There was no need to feel guilty, he said, he had a family gathering that afternoon anyway. Shawn really was the best.

They ate the pizzas and watched trash-tv without speaking much. Now though with Harry sated and sleepy, draped over him, Niall spoke up. “So, tell me. What's up with wine-boy? You didn't give much away with your message last night.” 

That was true, but only because it was really late and he didn't want to disturb Niall and Shawn with whatever the two were up to. So he just told him that it went well and that he got home safe.

“It was fantastic, but I really didn't expect anything else. He is respectful and a great listener. We never had any awkward silence, he's easy to talk to and god he is so beautiful, those eyes…” Harry knew he had a fond expression on his face and by the look that Niall gave him, he could tell that he noticed it, too.

“That sounds wonderful, mate. I'm happy for you! It was about time that you found someone you're truly interested in.” Niall patted his legs friendly. “When are you seeing each other again?” 

“We haven't talked about a second date yet. I'm still waiting for a message from him. I hope he didn't lose interest...”

“Maybe he is busy, I'm sure he will text you. Why don't you make the first move? I mean there are no rules for who has to text whom first. Just go for it.” Niall encouraged him.

“Yeah, you're probably right. I'll text him.” Harry reached over to the coffee table, where he put his phone earlier, and opened the chat with Louis.

Harry: Hey Louis, just wanted to thank you again for the wonderful evening yesterday, I really enjoyed our date 🙂 hope you have a nice sunday! 

After mentalling hyping himself up, he pressed the send-button with a slight tremor in his thumb. Exhaling, he put his phone on the table again.

“See, wasn’t that hard.” Niall grinned and patted Harry’s legs again to motion him that he wanted to stand up. “I need to piss. Do you want another beer?” He picked up the empty bottles on the table to discard them on the way to the bathroom.

“Yeah, sure. But only one more. I want to be able to drive home tonight.” Harry stretched his body across the couch while he waited for Niall to return. 

He heard Niall enter the kitchen and open the fridge, as the ringtone from his phone startled him. His heartbeat sped up, he reached for his phone and looked at the screen. Louis responded! “Niaall!”

Louis: Hey darling, I’m sorry, I didn’t text earlier, I was busy all morning and then had to go to the bar to check a few things. I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂 I did too 😌 How was your day?

Harry: Had a quiet day today, slept in, did some yoga at home and now I’m with my best friend Niall. Ate some pizza, had a few beers and watched movies 🙂 

Soo… you asked last time, now it’s my turn. I’m being honest, I am a bit nervous… but do you want to do something with me again, maybe this week? 🫣

Louis: That sounds like a nice day! Of course, that would be great. I’m really looking forward to seeing you again 🙂 What do you have in mind? Just… it has to be next weekend, because I’m working the evening shift this week ☹️ maybe something during the day? 

Harry: Oh sure, no problem! I’m just glad you said yes 🙂 I’ll think of something and text you the details? 

Louis: Sounds great!!

Harry laid his phone back on the table and took a sip from the new bottle that Niall gave him in the meantime. He could see from the corner of his eye that his best friend was watching him intently.

“What?” He asked, turning around to face Niall. 

“Oh nothing, just… you have something on your face there, mate.” Niall grinned. “It’s called daydreaming, mixed with maximum fonding. He really gets to you, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah, whatever.” Harry ducked his head down, trying to hide the blush in his face. His mind already rattled down dozens of ideas for the next weekend, taking mental notes to check the weather and what else he would need to make the date perfect. No, he wasn’t a control freak, just organised, okay?

“Anyway,” He looked at Niall again, with the mission to distract him. “How’s work? Are you ready to take over the world?”

“It’s only a company, Harold. Not the whole world. That would be the next step after overtaking the company from my parents.” Niall smirked. “But it’s going quite well. I mean, it’s a lot to take in. And I’ve only been there for what? 3 months now? It will get easier with time but it will still be a while until my father deems me ready to take over his position.”

They talked for a little while longer until Harry needed to head home. It was going to be another long exhausting work week and he needed his sleep. Maybe he could text Louis again, just to say goodnight.

+++

It was Thursday now and Harry settled down at his desk, it was still dark outside, the sun was just about to rise. He couldn't stop yawning, it got a bit late last night. Not that anything held him up from going to bed, except for, you know, waiting for a response from Louis on his last text. He could've easily waited for the morning to read it but he seemingly was already whipped and turned into a giggling mess as he saw the little x at the end of Louis’ goodnight message that he sent him after closing up the wine bar for the night. 

He started his workday by writing down a to-do list for the day. He did this every day, it helped him stay organised. Thankfully, there wasn't much on it today, he had an early zoom meeting with potential new clients and an appointment in the afternoon in a factory right outside of London. A little paperwork in between, and that would be it.

The rest of the week had practically looked the same, one meeting after the other. Everyone wanted his attention, or more, his money. He had to make a few decisions on where his next investment would go, soon. Until then, more people would try to kiss his ass. It wasn’t the first time that he thought about his career choice and if it was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He still had a big chunk of his trust fund but that was his ‘in case of emergency money.’

At least he had the date with Louis in two days that he could look forward to and he had another yoga class tonight. Maybe he could say hi to Louis on his way there.

His phone signalled an incoming request for a video-chat from his mum, which he immediately accepted. The face of a kind looking woman with green eyes and brown fluffy hair appeared on the screen. “Hi mum. It’s nice to hear from you! How are you?” He leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the desk.

“Oh I’m fine, darling. How about you? Did I interrupt you during work?” Anne asked.

“Yes, but it’s not a problem, I was just finishing something up. And iI have an appointment in an hour.” Harry assured her. “Is there a reason for your call, or -”

“Why do I have to have a reason to hear what my youngest is up to?” She wondered, shaking her head in false anger. “No, I just wanted to see you for a second. I miss your pretty face. And I wanted to tell you that Robin and I are going on holiday next week. We will be away for ten days.”

“Oh, really?” Harry asked, genuinely excited for her. And for her partner, who was almost constantly working. He was glad for them to finally have some time for themselves. “Where are you travelling to?”

“We have a roundtrip planned with the car, starting in …”

Just in this second, he had a notification popping up that Louis sent him a photo. He knew he should concentrate on his mum, but couldn’t help himself. He clicked on the notification and a picture of Louis appeared. It was a selfie shot in the wine bar from behind the counter. It was angled from above, Louis grinning brightly in the camera, his eyes crinkling on the sides. His hair was in a quiff but a loose strand found its way onto his forehead. He looked stunning in his black button up and the wine red apron. 

“Earth to Harry!” The voice of his mother brought him out of his staring, he blinked a few times and switched the screen back to the video call. “You spaced out for a second there, darling. Looked all dreamy. Did you hear anything I said?” 

“I’m so sorry, mum. I just got a message and was distracted for a second. Can you repeat it, please?” He felt guilty for a second but the face of his mother suddenly turned mischievous and he knew he had lost.

“A message? Is there anything you want to tell me, darling? Who could possibly send you a message that got you all dopey?” She asked, teasingly.

“Mum, please, don’t be nosey. I will tell you everything as soon as there is something to tell.” He pleaded. Anne sighed, looking a bit disappointed. He knew how much she liked gossip and she, too, wanted Harry to finally find someone whom he could truly be happy with. But for now it was enough that Niall already knew everything. 

“Okay, then darling. I’m happy as long as you are happy.” She smiled at him.

“I am, mum. Really.” He responded. “Now, please tell me about your trip again. I swear, I will listen this time.”

This time, there was no distraction and Harry listened intently as his mum told him about their travel plans. They talked for another ten minutes before Harry had to excuse himself to get the rest of his work done and arrive at the yoga studio in time.

+++

On Saturday, Harry arrived first at the car park where they agreed to meet-up at 9am. The car park was right at the start of the hiking-trail they wanted to explore today. It was a short trail, easy to manage, since Louis was not the biggest sports fan on earth, besides football, obviously. 

After their chat from last Sunday, they hadn't found much time to text. Louis was on his evening shift at the wine bar, so he was busy when Harry had time to text and when Louis had his freetime in the morning, he slept late and Harry needed to work. It was a bit of a hassle but they managed to exchange a few words every day, even if there were several hours between their responses. Harry caught himself more than once, smiling at his phone like an idiot while reading a new message from Louis.

Despite the small amount of texting, the excitement over their second date was still high, Harry even got up an hour earlier than he had to, to prepare a few sandwiches and some other snacks for them. After he packed everything in his backpack, he still had enough time to make a fruit smoothie for them to share. He was much less nervous than before their first date, which he was thankful for because Louis was already late and Harry would've turned into a restless bouncy ball otherwise.

10 minutes after 9, a car pulled up next to his own in the carpark. Louis exited the vehicle, a guilty look on his beautiful face. He babbled a string of apologies, but Harry just stood there, trying to keep himself from fainting. Louis looked like a walking snack with his tight black jeans (which he surely would regret wearing for a hike) paired with a dark blue zip-hoodie. His eyes looked tired, which made them appear even bluer than they usually were. His hair was not in a quiff today, it looked freshly washed and a soft fringe framed his face. He opened the trunk and pulled out a small backpack then finally made his way over to Harry.

“I'm really sorry, I had to work really late yesterday and I seemingly turned off my alarm… well all my alarms, this morning. I hope you didn't have to wait too long?” Louis babbled, while he slung the backpack over his shoulders. 

“I understand that, Louis. Really. Don't worry about it. And I didn't wait long.” He reassured him. He then pulled the smaller man in for a quick hug and smiled excitedly at him. “Should we?” He motioned to the path that led away from the cars to the hiking trail. Louis led out a small huff at the sight of the trail, which made Harry giggle, but followed along without further complaining. 

Harry felt a bit guilty for dragging Louis out on a hike, when he obviously didn’t get enough sleep, but Louis assured him that it was fine and that he was actually looking forward to the view from the top of the hill.

The first section of the path wound itself through a forest, the floor covered in pine needles. It was a peaceful atmosphere and the two of them walked side by side, chatting quietly with each other. Not that they actually needed to keep their voices down, it just suited the general atmosphere of their surroundings. Louis opened up about his charity work at The Ark, which sparked Harry's interest. He loved the concept of it and was as grateful as Louis that a place like this existed. 

Every now and then one of them would stop to point out a beautiful landmark or a bizarre constellation of fallen trees along the way. One time a deer jumped over the path in front of them, which startled Harry, who immediately clung to Louis’ side only to let go with a stammered out apology and a cute flush of his cheeks.

After another hour of walking, they reached a plateau on one side surrounded by trees, on the other, open to the valley beneath it.

Harry took a look around “I think we should stop here for a bit. I brought something to eat.” He thumbed over his shoulder towards his backpack. 

They found a bench between two tall trees that provided a stunning view over the nature surrounding them. Harry opened his backpack and laid out the snacks he brought between them on the bench. He also brought disposable cups with him which he filled with the smoothie. With a smile he held one towards Louis who took it and immediately sipped on it and took a bite from one of the sandwiches.

“Wow that's amazing Harry. Did you make this yourself?”

Harry ducked his head, smiling to himself. “It's not a big deal. I learn a lot from the companies I invest in. I'm regularly invited to different workshops based around food and I always loved to cook and bake anyway. I think that helps, too.”

“That's incredible, I'm really shit at cooking. Not that I hate it or something, I just never create anything edible.” Louis laughed. It was a beautiful sound, a sound that made Harry all bubbly. 

They enjoyed the homemade lunch and the view. Harry had always wanted to come here and was glad he was finally able to. It was a peaceful, quiet place and even better with the right company.

“I fear we need to head back soon, love. My shift starts in a few hours…” Louis looked over to him with sad eyes, half smiling.

Harry sighed, already standing up to put his belongings back into his backpack, “I know. Come on then, let's go. I think we already completed two thirds of the trail, so it shouldn't take too long to get back to the car park.” 

🍷🚬

It really didn’t take them long to make it the rest of the way back to their cars. They seemingly never had a problem keeping a conversation going, one of them always had something to say. Louis hoped it would stay that way for a long time. It was nice. The whole hike hadn’t been as bad as Louis first feared. The company made up for his lack of enthusiasm for a sports activity he didn’t necessarily enjoy. Even his tiredness was washed away after being in Harry’s presence for a short amount of time.

Their conversation died down when they arrived at Harry’s car, a new model VW Tiguan. Harry unlocked the car and placed his backpack on the passenger seat before stepping around the vehicle again and in front of Louis. 

Louis on the other hand eyed a small group of trees on the edge of the car park. He looked between Harry and the trees back and forth, fighting a little inner battle with himself. He knew what he wanted right now, but he also didn't want to fuck this thing with Harry up. 

Harry looked a little lost, as he stood there next to his car, feet pigeon-toed, hands clasped in front of him. He looked as nervous as Louis himself was. 

“Wow, a bit of tension here,” Louis laughed, trying to ease Harry's mood. He took a step forward, grabbing Harry’s hands in his. “Is it a good tension or a ‘I want to get away as fast as I can’ tension?” He looked questioningly at the taller man but had a smirk on his lips. 

Harry inhaled sharply at the close proximity between them. He seemed to always get a bit shy when it even remotely came to sexual innuendos. “It… it’s a good one, I think. I’m just not used to this kind of attention. Haven't had much luck with this in the past. Dating and stuff” Harry’s face got a little flushed at his revelation.

“Well, I guess we are in the same boat, then. Why don’t we make better experiences together then?” Louis took another step forward, their feet nearly touching. He looked up through his eyelashes (Yes, he knew how he looked like that, it was one of his secret weapons, but shhh) and raised a hand to drag his thumb over Harry’s lower lip. “Your lips are so beautiful, you know that? God, I really… I know, we agreed to go slow but… can I kiss you?”

“Please, yes, please,” Harry’s voice was barely audible, eyes dropping to Louis’ mouth, while he licked his own perfectly shaped light pink lips. 

That's all Louis wanted to hear, so he leaned in and connected their lips. The kiss was different to the one they shared nearly 2 weeks ago. It was a sweet one, almost innocent. Or that's what Louis thought it was, but Harry seemed to have a different plan. He dragged his tongue over Louis’ lower lip, demanding entrance. Which Louis willingly gave him. They let their tongues dance together, licking every corner, exploring the other's mouth. Harry tasted like the fruity smoothie he brought with him, and Louis couldn't get enough. 

He sneaked a hand around Harry's waist and brought the other up to bury it in those sinful locks. Using the hand on his back, he brought himself even closer to Harry, nearly pressing every inch of his body against the younger one’s. 

He felt Harry whimpering against his mouth and pulled away to see if he was okay. One look at his growing pupils told Louis that he was more than okay, and the hardening line that pressed against Louis’ hip confirmed his observation. He wasn't in much of a better state. His growing erection pressed against the zipper of his jeans. Why did he even decide to wear jeans for a hike? 

He took another look around, seeing that there were no people around them at the moment, and there were only two other cars parked next to theirs. After eyeing the group of trees again, he looked back to Harry, who was looking in the direction of the trees, too.

“Are you up for a little adventure in the woods?” Louis took a step back and held out his hand for Harry to take.

Harry nodded excitedly and reached forward to take a hold of him. God, his hands were so big, Louis’ mind already drifted to the image of Harry's big hand and long fingers around his cock. He didn't have the pleasure of seeing it the last time. Maybe he'd have more luck this time. Before he could spin around to walk towards the trees, Harry took the initiative and nearly dragged him along until they were partially hidden behind a broad tree.

Louis took over again and pressed Harry lightly against the bark of the tree. He wasted no time, and immediately pressed his body against Harry's. This time he tested the water, and began to roll his hips. The motion pulled a low moan out of Harry, who let his head fall back against the wood, mouth hanging open.

It was a nice view but Louis had other plans for Harry's mouth. He used his thumb and index finger and closed them around the others chin, pulling him down and in for another kiss. It was all teeth and spit and tongue, but it was perfect. 

He sneaked his free hand down between them to squeeze Harry's cock over his trekking trousers, which immediately twitched at the touch. Louis sighed in the kiss, the younger one was always so responsive. An observation he already made at their last encounter. He rubbed a little more until he decided that there were too many clothes between him and the treasure that waited in Harry's trousers.

Impatient as he was, he opened the trousers and let his hand slide in to feel Harry’s hard length again, now with only the thin barrier of a pair of boxer briefs. While he worked over his cock, Louis let up from Harry’s lips and let his mouth wander over the sharp jaw down to the neck, leaving behind a trail of kisses. He heard soft moaning from above which spurred him on to suck a little more at the soft skin, careful to not leave marks that were too visible. 

He fell down on his knees, pulling trousers and boxers down with him in one motion. Louis groaned at the sight of Harry's cock, standing hard and proud nearly touching his nose. He dove forward and nuzzled in the crook between Harry's thigh and his crotch. Taking him in one hand, he licked from the base to the tip before he closed his lips around Harry's erection. Both moaning in unison. 

He worked up and down the impressive length, lapping over the slit on top and pressing his tongue over and over at the sensitive spot on the underside. Grabbing Harry's hips with both hands to keep him still, Louis opened his throat to swallow him down all at once. He found a comfortable rhythm and let himself bask in the feeling of Harry’s dick inside his mouth. 

“Ahh, Louis, s… so good, I'm gonna… I’m close. Please. Can I?” Harry stammered, breathing harshly, his hands buried in Louis’ soft hair.

Louis moaned happily around his cock, humming and nodding. He bobbed his head faster, letting the tip hit the back of his throat over and over again. It took only a minute more before warm cum filled Louis' mouth. He hurried to swallow everything. He then stood and licked his lips before he surged forward to connect their lips to give Harry a taste of himself.

His own erection was still painfully pressing against his zipper, but Harry's hands were already working on opening his jeans and he exhaled with a sigh as his cock sprung free, his legwear pushed down to mid-thigh. He felt big warm hands working up and down his length and he broke the kiss to look down  but he quickly had to look away or he would've come on the spot at the sight. It was even better than he'd imagined.

To their left side, they were thankfully (or not) hidden by a few bushes, because a group of people could be heard walking on the path nearby, happily chatting with each other.

A surge of adrenaline shot through Louis’ body, right to his cock. After a glance at Harry's face, he could see that the younger man heard them too, and based on the twitch of his spent dick, he shared the spark of excitement. Very interesting.

They were still too far away to actually catch sight of them or hear their quiet moaning, but the possibility alone made Louis’ heart race. Since he started to explore his sexuality after coming out as gay, he felt a thrill at the possibility of getting caught or even REALLY being watched while having sex or just masturbating on his own. 

Sadly, he never had a boyfriend or sex-partner who was willing to explore this further, quite the opposite. One of his exes looked at him like he had lost his marbles as he finally found the courage to suggest getting a bit adventurous in their sex-life. After that, he was always too afraid to ask anyone again. But after the previous experiences with Harry, he had a feeling that that would change. He needed to talk to him about it in the near future. Honesty and communication was the key, after all. 

Harry was now nibbling at his neck, for sure leaving some of his own marks. One hand was cradling his balls, softly massaging them while his other hand worked relentlessly over his hard length. He thrusted his hips forward, meeting the motion of Harry's hand. He came with a silent scream, biting down lightly in the soft flesh near Harry's collarbone.

They kissed lazily for a few minutes, while they caught their breath. The people from before couldn't be heard anymore. After pulling up their trousers, they stepped out of the woods and walked up to their cars, fingers still intertwined.

It was hard to say goodbye, so Louis opted instead for a nice long hug and a few more kisses. “I hope I'll see you again soon Harry. You know what? My best friend has an art exhibit next Wednesday. Would you like to come with me?” 

“Yes, I would love to! I'm an admirer of art! Thank you for asking me.” Harry smiled at him, honestly excited, which caused a lot of fluttery feelings in his belly. 

“Well then, I'm gonna pick you up at 6 o'clock. Goodbye Darling”

He squeezed Harry’s bottom a last time, pressing another kiss on his lips before he parted from him and made his way to his own car. When he got in, Louis waved at Harry, who still stood behind his dark-blue Tiguan, waving back at him, his smile wide enough to show off his gorgeous dimples. Louis sighed happily, backed out of the parking space and drove off home, where he took a quick shower before heading to the bar for the last shift of the week.

Chapter Text

Zayn was storming through their apartment like a whirlwind. He had been doing this for 30 minutes now, collecting things, changing clothes at least 4 times. Louis tried to support him as best as he could but nothing seemed to help with his nervousness. It was understandable. Tonight was his first exhibit alone and he had worked for months for it. He often came home long after midnight, working his ass off but he never complained about it. That was something Louis really admired about his best friend.

Louis really hoped that it would be a successful night for him and that people would buy at least a few paintings. He hadn't seen all of them, but the ones he had seen were incredible. They did a bit of advertising in the neighbourhood of the venue and in a few local newspapers but most of the guests tonight would be the ones with an invitation. Lots of other artists and art critics, a few reporters and Zayn’s friends.

“Zayn, babes. Would you come here for a sec and breathe with me? You are working yourself up too much. It's going to be a great evening! And I will be there to look out for you.”

He slung his arms around Zayn as soon as he plopped on the bed beside him and pulled him in for a tight hug. Feeling some of the tension in his best friend melt away, he smiled into his shoulder. “There you go, that's better. When do you need to leave?”

“Ten minutes ago.” Zayn sighed. “I'm going now. Please be punctual, I need you there.” He stayed in Louis’ embrace for another minute then pulled away reluctantly.

“I will be there in time, I'm picking up Harry on the way but I have a feeling he is the type of person who is rather twenty minutes too early than one too late.”

“Okay, see you there, babes. Can’t wait to meet your boy.” Zayn gave Louis a kiss on the head and off he went. “Not my boy!” Louis shouted after him, let himself fall back on the bed and took a deep breath. “Not yet,” he whispered to himself. After a minute, he decided to get up and start getting ready because one more minute on this bed and he would've fallen asleep. 

+++

An hour later, he parked his car in front of Harry's building. Just as he arrived at the front door, a person exited the building, so Louis decided to go in and up to knock directly at Harry's apartment door.

After the first two knocks, he heard Harry running around on the other side of the door. “Just a sec.” He shouted and shortly after, the door opened and Harry stood at the door, topless and in just a pair of black skinny jeans with rips over the knees. His long hair fell in soft locks onto his shoulders and he had a tint of golden shimmer on his sharp cheekbones. 

“Oh hi!” His face melted into a dimpled smile. “Didn’t we agree to meet at your car? How did you even get up here?”

“I’m sorry, there was a man leaving the building, so I just slipped in. Should I go downstairs again?” Louis backed away from the door, truly thinking he had done the wrong thing by coming up to his flat.

“No, god no, please come in! I was just surprised to see you up here. Come in!” Harry grabbed Louis’ arm with one of his big hands and pulled him in. “Just a minute! I’m nearly finished!” He said while rushing down a short hallway and disappeared in a room on the right. His bedroom, Louis assumed.

He stepped into the living room. It was very cosy, a big couch was positioned as a divider in the middle of the room facing the wall near the windows. Multiple shelves hung on the wall around a TV, filled with lots of books and other knickknacks, mostly souvenirs he assumed. Behind the couch there was a dining table, just big enough to host 4 people, soft leather stools were pushed underneath, 2 on each side. Picture Frames were cluttered on the wall on the right side of the room. Louis stepped closer to have a better look at them. 

Most of them were of Harry with friends, one of a black and white cat and a few with an older brunette woman with a similar smile like Harry's. That had to be his mother. On another one there was also a younger woman with similar features. His sister? It seemed like Harry had a lot of fun in his life, just based on all the pictures in different places of the world, always surrounded by people. Louis was happy for him, his heart only growing bigger for the tall, soft man a few feet away.

Speaking of, Harry stepped into the room, now wearing a light golden button up matching with the shimmer on his cheeks. But he hadn't taken ‘button up’ too literally, because it was only halfway done. Not that Louis would mind. He even got a glimpse of the butterfly tattoo on his stomach.

“You look beautiful, darling.” Louis complimented, excited about the way Harry’s cheeks managed to pinken despite the golden blush.

“Thank you, you are not bad to look at yourself.” He winked, seemingly gaining his cockyness back, but it was gone as quick as it came, his movements stilling and he just looked in Louis' eyes with a sudden seriousness. Louis couldn’t do much but stare back at him, getting a bit relentless under Harry’s gaze. They took a minute to drink each other in, no words necessary. After a while, Louis shook himself out of whatever that was.

“Well, we should go. I promised Zayn to not be late. He’s extremely nervous tonight. Which is understandable since it is his first exhibit on his own.” Louis smiled and reached a hand out for Harry to grab, which he gladly did.

They took the stairs because it was just one floor to go down and left the building to go towards Louis’ car that he parked right at the kerb. He hurried to open the door on the passenger side for Harry, who smiled gratefully at him before getting in. He rounded the car and after getting in himself and belting up, he started the engine and drove off.

The drive to the exhibit was comfortable, they didn’t talk much, but Louis felt the other’s gaze on him more than once and he smiled to himself every time he caught him. After 20 minutes, they arrived at the venue but had to park a few streets away due to the lack of parking spaces in the area.

They were holding hands again while walking the short way over to where the exhibit was hosted. The venue was in a beautiful old building with exposed brick walls, metal railings in front of each window in the upper floors and an antique double door through which the two now walked in.

The room was not very spacious but big enough to host up to 200 guests and for Zayn to exhibit at least two dozen paintings. Those were hanging on all four walls of the venue as well as on partition walls that were situated throughout the room. Soft jazz music was playing over multiple boxes. Only a handful of people were there already, but the event had only just started. There was a gallery above them on the other side of the room with a glass bannister but there were no paintings on those walls and no people up there.

A few friends of Zayn had volunteered to be waiters for the evening, they were now walking around with trays of champagne glasses that they offered to the guests. One of them stood off to the side just inside the entrance, offering the champagne to the newly arrived.

“Here” Harry took two glasses, holding one of them towards Louis, who took it with a quiet ‘thank you.’ On their left was a small cloakroom where they gave their jackets to a nice woman in her mid-forties.

They clinked the glasses together with a fond look in each other's eyes and took a sip. It was good champagne. Louis knew it, he'd picked all the beverages for the evening himself. They didn't have a wine bar for nothing.

“Let's have a look around and then see if we can find Zayn. I want to introduce you properly this time.” Louis smiled devilishly at Harry, who, as expected, turned a little red, surely thinking about their first encounter.

They wandered off to the paintings on the left side of the room. In front of a very colourful piece, they stopped and admired it. Zayn’s style was a mix between spray and acrylic paint and the styles mixed together worked better than Louis had anticipated. This one was a scenery from a skate park, with graffiti on the walls and lots and lots of people skateboarding, chatting and of course spray painting. They tried to make out all the little details, which were insane before strolling to the next piece.

After a few more paintings, Louis saw Zayn standing with an older couple. They talked animatedly about the artwork that hung in front of them. His best friend looked great in his brown tailored trousers, the sky blue button up and the light brown jacket. He even went out of his comfort zone and got blonde streaks in his hair the day before. After a minute, he and the couple shook hands and Zayn gave them the best smile he owned. They left and Louis tugged Harry along towards the dark haired man.

“Looks like you got yourself a deal there.” Louis smiled brightly at his best friend. He was really happy for him, it was one step further to becoming the independent artist he wanted to be. 

“Yeah, and they offered me an excellent price for it.” Zayn grinned mischievously while he stuck a little ‘sold’ sticker on the silver plaque under the painting. 

“I'm really happy for you, mate!” Louis said. “Ah, now let me introduce you properly to my date. Harry, this is my best friend and partner in crime, Zayn Malik. Zayn, this is Harry Styles.” And with a nudge against Zayn's shoulder, he said. “Be nice.”

“I'm nothing if not nice, Lou.” Zayn had a sparkle in his eyes that left Louis suspicious of his intentions. “Hi Harry, it's really nice to meet you. Little Lou here won't shut up about you.” He winked at Harry and Louis tried to mentally stab him or cause him at least a big headache. 

“Give me a break, I'm big!” Louis pouted and took a sip from his glass.

“Oh yeah, he is. I've seen it.” 

Louis spat a bit of his drink out and turned to look at Harry with a shocked expression. Harry shrugged and took a sip himself, seemingly unbothered from the reactions to his statement. Zayn cackled out loud and held his stomach. 

“Ohh I like him, Louis. You should keep him.”

Louis shook his head and searched around for a napkin. Harry took a hold of his wrist and said “I need to use the loo. I will look for a napkin on my way back.” He pressed a kiss to Louis’ cheek and wandered off. Louis touched the kissed skin with his fingertips, a stupid smile on his face. After a few seconds, he remembered that Zayn was still standing there and he looked over to him to see him eyeing him suspiciously. 

“Cut it, Malik.” He sent a warning glare towards his friend, but he wasn't really mad. 

They talked until Harry came back, a few napkins in his hand, like promised. Harry then started to ask Zayn questions about life as an artist, and Louis began to zone out. He knew all of it already. He opted for people watching over Zayn's shoulder instead.

“I'm sorry to bother you, are you the artist of the exhibit tonight? Zayn Malik?” Said a dark and low voice from behind Harry and Louis. 

They both turned around to face a handsome man, slightly taller than Louis but not reaching the height of Harry. His brown hair was short and styled back, he had a trimmed beard and warm, brown eyes.

It was awfully quiet where Zayn was standing, so Louis turned around again to see his best friend standing there like a deer in the headlights, staring at the stranger. Louis chuckled and with an outstretched hand, he took a step towards the man. “Hi, I'm Louis Tomlinson, best friend and business partner of Zayn. I'm sure he will be able to introduce himself in a second.” He smirked.

The man grinned knowingly, a spark in his eyes as he took Louis’ hand but kept his gaze on Zayn. “Liam Payne. I'm a personal assistant and here on behalf of my boss to buy a painting as a gift for his parent's wedding anniversary. I actually already have a piece in mind…” He trailed off, waiting for a reaction from Zayn.

The latter seemed to have found his senses again, because he shook himself and stepped forward to greet the man properly.

Louis motioned for Harry to follow him and he left the two of them to their conversation. They took their time to look at more of the artwork, Harry in particular, was very fascinated by a painting of a cottage with a beautiful flowery garden. It was one of Zayn’s more “mature” works, if you could say so. It was an all acrylic painting but if you took a closer look it still had a few hidden trademarks of his usual work in it. Louis noticed that Harry could barely keep his eyes off it and made a mental note for a possible gift in the future.

“He really is a great artist. I hope that this evening pays off for him and that he will make a name in the art-world.” Harry whispered, still in awe about the painting in front of them.

Louis burst with pride at the kind words that Harry had for Zayn, when he was still a stranger to him. He watched Harry looking at the painting and something inside him stirred, a fluttering feeling right under his chest.

“He really is,” he said, clearing his throat. “His Ex-Girlfriend Perrie as well as me, always told him that his art is good enough to make a living off of it but he never believed either of us. I’m glad he finally sees his value.”

“Wait, his Ex-GIRLfriend?” Harry looked over to where Zayn was still obviously flirting with the handsome stranger. “I thought Zayn is gay?” He nodded towards them.

“No, Zayn doesn't really label himself, the most fitting would be pansexual. That's what he mentioned once. He doesn't really care about what's in other people's pants, it's the people he cares about.” Louis smiled fondly, looking over, too.

“Oh yeah, that actually makes a lot of sense.” Harry smiled, still looking towards the other side of the room. Louis watched him empty his champagne glass and put it down on one of the nearby standing tables. He turned around to face Louis, and he could see something flash over the face of the taller one. “You look really good tonight, Louis.” He complimented. “Very… hot actually.” He whispered the last words, looking around to see if anyone listened to their conversation. Suddenly his eyes went dark, his gaze drilling into Louis’ eyes. Louis had to blink a couple of times before he saw Harry taking a few steps forward until he was right beside him. Shoulders touching and felt him leaning closer. Harry's mouth was now only inches away from Louis’ ear. “Would you rather wait until you can take me home or will you let me blow you up there?” He whispered seductively.

Louis gulped, his heart rate picking up. “Where is ‘up there’?” He asked, taking a discreet look around the room.

“Just trust me and follow me in a minute.” Harry's flowery scent still lingered in the air, a ghost of his breath still at the nape of Louis’ neck, as he swirled around and slowly pranced his way through the groups of people standing around. He made his way towards the far corner of the room where a small staircase was tucked away. There seemed to be some sort of sign dangling from a chain, it was fastened to poles on either side of the staircase. As soon as Harry reached the chain, he took a look around to see if anybody besides Louis watched him, then sent a wink towards him and hopped over the chain. He was out of sight a second later.

Louis emptied his glass in one big gulp, took a deep breath and strolled off in the same direction. He watched the people around him but they were all in deep conversation or admiring one of the paintings, quietly discussing it. Zayn was nowhere to be seen, neither was the handsome assistant who stood with him earlier. Louis grinned at the thought of what the two could be up to. Zaun was always a bit too obvious with his intentions.

As he came closer, he read the sign on the chain. ‘No unauthorised access’ he sighed and without a second thought he stepped over the chain and hurried up the stairs.

As soon as he reached the upper level, he turned the corner and saw Harry leaning against the wall in front of him. It was some sort of alcove right before an opening that led to the gallery on Louis' right hand side.

Harry must have produced a hair tie from somewhere, because his hair was already up in a messy bun, a smirk tugging on the corner of his lips. Fucking menace. Louis took a deep breath and with 3 steps forward, his mouth found his way onto Harry’s.

They kissed lazily for a few minutes, while Louis let his hands wander under Harry’s shirt. He had easy access thanks to Harry’s aversion to actually buttoning them all the way. He dragged his fingertips over the delightful curves to the front and over all of the four nipples, perking up at the touch. Louis pinched the two main ones at the same time, which caused Harry to moan into the kiss. He felt Harry’s tongue sliding over his bottom lip, demanding entrance which he gratefully granted. After a little more kissing, Louis used one of his hands to gently bend Harry’s head to the side and started to leave a trail of kisses down the neck and over the collarbone. While he worked at a mark right on the front of Harry’s neck, he felt a hand searching his way down to palm Louis’ cock over his trousers.

Suddenly he was spun around at his waist and pressed against the wall and Harry was the one marking up his neck. Louis continued his exploration of the other’s body by letting his hands come around and grab that small perky ass of his. He pulled him in to finally get some needed friction for both of them. He let his waist move in circles, grinding against Harry’s crotch, producing the sweetest sounds out of the younger man.

Harry then backed up a little, which caused Louis to whine and pout but that was immediately washed away when he saw Harry falling down on his knees in front of him. Oh what a sight. He would never be tired of it.

He helped him to open his trousers and Harry pulled both them and his pants down to his ankles and suddenly he was in the same position as Harry a few days before in the woods. Louis chuckled at the thought, which caused a curious look from Harry. “Later,” Louis mouthed and motioned to his crotch, where his cock stood proud and ready, with a grin on his face. “You can continue.”

Harry nodded eagerly and took Louis’ cock in his hands, giving him a few tugs before he licked along the underside from the base to the tip, only to swirl it around before pushing the head into his mouth. He hollowed his cheeks and started bopping his head up and down. The loose curls framing his face bounced in the rhythm. Like Louis said, a sight to behold. 

“How did you know that this place was here?” Louis whispered while holding back moans.

“I found it while I was searching for the bathroom earlier.” Harry grinned up at him before he put his mouth back around the tip of his leaking cock. 

Louis threw his head back, biting on his fist in an attempt to keep quiet. He only partially succeeded. At least his moans were quiet enough to not be heard over the chatter of the 100 people and the music in the room beneath them. He could just pray that Zayn wasn't in one of the rooms on the other side of the gallery. Poor boy wouldn't survive a second encounter of this sort.

He buried both hands in Harry’s bun. Just to keep them there, but Harry stilled and looked up at him expectantly. “Why did you stop? Wait… what, really?” Louis moaned. Harry simply nodded as best as he could and put his own hand on Louis’ to encourage him. Oh god, Louis was about to faint. How was he meant to survive this man?

He took a sharp inhale and started to move his hips, only slightly thrusting into the warm wet heat of Harry’s mouth, just testing the waters. But Harry groaned and impatiently looked up again. He pulled off of him. “I’m not going to break, Louis, just fuck my mouth already.” 

And with that he opened his mouth again in front of Louis’ cock and waited. With this encouragement, Louis didn’t hesitate anymore and took hold of Harry’s head again before thrusting in nearly all the way, hitting the back of his throat. The kneeling man let out a long guttural moan, pleasure shooting over his features. Damn, he really liked that. Louis let his hips rock back and forth, speeding up his thrusts, while tugging at Harry’s hair every time he pulled back. A sheen of sweat started to build on his forehead, the familiar heat started to coil in his abdomen.

He knew that he couldn't hold back much longer, so he picked up his tempo again and with a few more thrusts he came down Harry’s throat, who did his best to swallow all of it. Louis leaned back on the wall, giving himself a few seconds to catch his breath and to pull his pants and trousers back over his spent cock before he drew his attention back to Harry.

“Now stand up, babe. Let me take care of you” Louis grabbed Harry's hands and helped him to stand upright. His green eyes were glassy, pupils blown and his face slightly red. He met Louis’ eyes for just a second before he preferred to stare down at the floor.

Louis didn't think anything of it and wanted to reach for the other's pants, as Harry held him back and whispered. “It's okay, I've already… you know.” He motioned down with both hands and bit his lower lip, looking up at him again. His cheeks were now more flushed than 5 seconds ago.

“Oh my god, really? Oh my… where did you come from and why did it take me so long to find you?” Louis was stunned in the best way and pulled Harry in for a deep kiss. He could taste himself on Harry’s tongue which made it ten times hotter. It was hard for him to believe that he actually got the chance to meet this wonderful man and couldn’t wait for what the future would bring for the both of them.

“Thank god, you have black jeans on, darling. The stain is barely visible, and the shirt should hide it perfectly.” Louis smiled. He pulled on Harry’s shirt, making sure that it fell right.

“Now let’s head downstairs and look at the rest of the art. Then we can find Zayn and see if he will let us sneak away early.” Louis leaned in to whisper in Harry’s ear. “Maybe I could come up with you this time, because I’m not quite done with you yet.”

He could see the shiver that ran down Harry’s spine. He earned a flustered smile from him and a chaste kiss on the cheek. “I would like that.” he heard right next to his ear before Harry was gone, already at the stairs.

“Wait a bit and then come back down, I’ll wait around the corner in front of the paintings for you.” He whisper-shouted at Louis and hurried down the stairs.

Louis lingered around for a while before he made his way downstairs, too. Harry was waiting in front of the first painting that hung around the corner on the brickwall, just like he had said. He had another round of champagne in his hands for them and greeted him with one of his dimpled smiles. His eyes were still a bit glassy but at least his pupils were back to normal. They didn’t earn weird looks from the people around them, so he assumed nobody had heard them. It was a pity, really.

They didn't linger around for much longer, before they decided to track Zayn down, who magically appeared in the middle of the floor again, this time without the stranger, to say their goodbyes and head outside to make their way to Louis’ car.

+++

Louis parked once again directly in front of Harry’s building, they both held onto each other and giggled all the way inside and up to his flat. Harry fumbled with his keys for a second before he managed to open the door. They weren’t drunk but slightly tipsy and in a state where nearly everything was funny.

They left their shoes and coats at the door and went into the living room.

“Please, have a seat. Do you want to have a cup of tea, Louis?” Harry asked, still standing in the doorway.

“Yeah, that would be great, thanks.” He smiled warmly at Harry who spun on his heels and made his way to the kitchen. Louis walked over to the couch and let himself sink into the plush cushions. He sighed, letting his eyes fall shut. It was a very comfortable couch. 

He startled awake as a gentle hand grazed his shoulder. He looked up and saw Harry standing over him, smiling down. Two cups stood on the coffee table in front of him. 

He rubbed his eyes and sent an apologetic look towards Harry, who settled on the couch beside him. “I'm sorry, didn't mean to fall asleep. I'm awake now!” He cheered, reaching for his cup.

Louis took a sip from his tea, then cleared his throat, and turned to look at Harry. “Soo, can we talk a bit about this whole ‘I like the risk of someone seeing me while I do something sexual?’ thing? I can start if you want to.”

“Yeah please. You start. If I'm honest, these thoughts are kinda new to me and I would love to hear another perspective.” Harry responded and crossed his legs on the couch, facing Louis. He cradled his teacup in both hands and watched him intently.

“Hmm… okay… where do I start? You know how it is, when you masturbate but it's kinda taking forever to cum? One day I was in my room jerking off and I thought I was alone in the house, but my roommate came home early from visiting his parents and all of a sudden I heard him talking to someone right outside our door. The thrill of potentially getting caught made me finish within seconds. It was very intense and from that day on, even if I wasn't in the same situation, I always imagined that someone could walk in at any moment and the thought of it worked every time.” Louis finished, giving Harry time to think about what he said. He saw the wheels spinning in his head and sipped on his tea while he waited.

“That actually makes a lot of sense. I think I do that, too, but never really thought about it. It just happened.” Harry looked up at him with a half-smile. “But… I read a bit about it last week and all I saw were those creeps that flash their goodies at strangers. That's their kick. You are not one of them, are you?” Harry looked uncertain all of a sudden and started picking at his cuticles.

Louis smiled to himself, but he could understand where Harry’s worries were coming from.

“No, I'm not.” He lifted Harry's chin up. “There is a difference between a tendency to exhibitionism and exhibitionism disorder. The disorder is a mental health illness. Someone who likes to flash themselves at strangers in the street to shock and scare them against their will is disgusting. Compare that to people like us, who just like the idea of getting caught in inappropriate positions, the difference is we would never want to make other people uncomfortable or expose them to situations they didn’t consent to. I know Zayn caught us the first time we had sex but I know him and I knew he wouldn’t have been offended by what he saw otherwise I would have done everything in my power to stop him from walking in. There is nothing shameful about our desires and kinks as long as we are safe and respectful of others . I've heard of people that make pornographic films or become adult entertainers as a way of handling their kink.

So yes. I get a thrill from the thought that some random person could catch us, but in reality I don't actually want them to catch us. Like earlier at the venue, I wouldn't have minded if they heard us but I didn't want them to actually see us. I’ve never had a partner who was willing to explore my kinks more, especially regarding the possibility of having a consenting audience in a safe space watching us having sex. But honestly, I would really like to give it a try.” Louis’ cheeks pinkened lightly and he looked down at his cup. He wasn't afraid that Harry would think he's a freak but he also wasn't sure if he would desire something like that too. Having been rejected in the past due to his kinks, the disappointment would be too much to bear if Harry didn't feel the same.

Suddenly he had a lap full of Harry and felt his hands coming up to both sides of his head. He then got his face covered with little kisses.

“You don't need to be ashamed of what you like, Louis.” Harry said with a soft voice. “And I think… I think I want to try it, too.”

Louis’ eyes shot up to meet Harry's, finding nothing but sincerity in them. He had to blink a few times to keep the tears at bay.

“What? Really? You're not just saying that just to make me happy?” He asked cautiously.

“Yes, really! I always feared I was one of these freaks and I was scared to look into it further. But after your explanation, you’re right, I'm the complete opposite of them and I want to explore with you. But… let's start small. I don't want a whole ass audience to watch me yet.” He chuckled.

“Absolutely, darling. And we have to talk as soon as one of us is uncomfortable with what we're doing, okay?”

Harry nodded and gave him another kiss.

“And for now, I want to take you to bed and have good old vanilla sex. Just the two of us. Is that okay?” Louis deepened his grip on Harry's hips and searched for the answer in those endless green eyes.

“More than.” Harry leaned in to nuzzle against his neck, his loose locks tickling on Louis’ skin. “Please, take me to bed.”

That didn't need to be said twice and Louis managed to stand up with Harry still in his embrace. He let his arms slide under Harry’s thighs and he walked them down the hallway to Harry's bedroom, while Harry had his arms slung around him, holding on tightly.

As they reached the bed, he carefully put Harry down and immediately crawled over him, gently pushing him down to lay on his back. Louis took his time, unbuttoned the few buttons on Harry's shirt and let it fall open. He'd seen a lot of artwork this evening, but this was by far his favourite. After a minute of admiring, he bent down to claim Harry's mouth. He let his tongue glide over Harry's lips to demand entrance which was immediately granted. They kissed slowly while his hands explored the bare skin under him.

Louis kissed over Harry's chin down to his throat and all the way down to his belly. He licked around the belly button and mouthed on the little happy trail that led into Harry's trousers. With quick hands, he opened them and stood from the bed to chuck everything down at once and threw them in a random corner. Harry sat back up, freeing himself from his open shirt and watched Louis with a pout. “You have too many clothes on your body.” He complained. 

Louis chuckled but got rid of his clothes within seconds and was back on top of Harry to continue his worshipping. He placed his forearms on both sides of Harry and started to slide their bodies together. The man underneath him was squirming delightfully when their cocks lined up and created the perfect amount of fraction. Louis nudged on the crook of Harry's neck who turned his head to give him more space so he could continue marking him up.

“Louis, please. I need you in me. Now.” Harry pleaded and groaned as Louis bit him playfully in the neck. “Ts ts, so impatient.” Louis tutted. “Where do you keep your stuff?” he asked, turning Harry's head by his chin, searching for his eyes.

“Nightstand, bottom drawer.” Harry continued squirming and Louis felt a hand sneak between them and a fist close around their cocks. He found what he was looking for and batted Harry’s sneaky hand away, backing up to kneel between long silky legs.

He coated his fingers and eased two of them gently into Harry. Louis watched Harry's face, scrunched in pleasure, his back arching away from the bed. After a few minutes, he pulled a condom on and laid down on top of Harry, one hand on his cock to guide himself into the now wet and warm heat that welcomed him willingly.

His thrusts were long and slow, while he whispered sweet nothings into Harry's ear. The hands of the man under him felt up and down his back in search of something to hold on to until they settled on his backside, pulling him further in with every thrust. Louis never felt so content during sex that wasn't kinky or quick or rough. It was everything.

They came together after what felt like a wonderful eternity of sparks and contentment. Louis let himself plop down on the bed beside Harry. Both took their time to catch their breath but their hands were still connected. Harry stood and left the room, but came back a minute later with warm washcloths.

After they wiped themselves down, they settled back into bed. Louis on his back and Harry tucked under his arm, head on his chest. They talked and cuddled and shared kisses for a little while.

But it didn't take long for Harry to fall asleep and Louis couldn't help himself. He took the opportunity to look at Harry's peaceful sleeping face for a bit. Only a little bit longer, then he would sneak out from under him to make his way home. Only 5 more minutes.

+++

Louis woke up from a ray of sunshine that fell through the slightly open curtains and shining bright in his eyes. He was disoriented for a second until he felt the weight of another body on him.

Harry's upper leg was bent at the knee and rested on Louis’ thighs, while his arm laid across his chest, hand draped over the left corner of his chest tattoo.

Did he really fall asleep? That wasn't planned, but he had to admit that it was the best sleep he had had in a very long time. He always slept better if he could share the bed with someone, so this wasn't really a surprise.

He looked down at the sleeping figure on his chest, he could feel the puffs of air brushing over his bare chest with every exhale of Harry. His bladder alarmed him to get up and he carefully shimmied his way out from under Harry. The younger man didn't wake up, just pressed the side of his face further into the pillow on Louis’ side.

He tiptoed quietly through the hallway in search of the bathroom. After he found it, he quickly washed himself with one of the guest towels that were rolled and neatly tucked in a container next to the sink. Since he didn't know if Harry had a spare toothbrush, he decided to skip brushing his teeth and wait until he was home. His hair was a mess, there was not much he could do about it at the moment.

Back in the bedroom, Harry had his head still buried in the pillow. Louis searched for his clothes and put them on as quietly as he could. He felt bad for sneaking out, but they never agreed that Louis would spend the night. And if he's able to slip out without Harry waking up, it wouldn't be weird between them.

His shoes were still laying near the entry, so he took a last look at Harry, fonding for a second. Then he turned around and walked towards the bedroom door again. Just as he went to pull it open…

“Where do you think you're going?’ A low raspy voice said from behind him. Fuck. What the… That was his morning voice? Ohhhh Louis was so fucked. 

He turned to face Harry, who was now propped on one elbow, his hand under his head. He had sleepy eyes and a frown on his face. “I'm sorry, I accidentally fell asleep and I didn't want it to be weird this morning so I just…” He didn't finish the sentence while he thumbed over his shoulder toward the door.

“It's not weird, and I didn't mind that you fell asleep. Otherwise I would have woken you up three hours ago when I got up to use the bathroom. Now come back to bed, you are warm and I want cuddles.” God, this voice. Louis had his shirt off before Harry had finished the sentence. He got rid of his trousers but kept his pants on and crawled back under the covers that Harry held up for him.

As soon as he had laid down, Harry turned around and pulled Louis flush behind him by his arm. Louis didn't mind. He liked to be the big spoon. Not that he had to compensate for his size or something. It just felt nice to wrap himself around another body. Something like that.

“You really don't mind that I stayed the night? When do you have to start work? I'll be out of your hair by then.” Louis babbled.

“Lou, relax. I don't mind a bit. I quite like waking up next to you. If you would've been in bed.” A quiet laugh made Harry's body vibrate. “And I can work whenever I want. I'm my own boss, remember? As long as I don't have any meetings scheduled, I can do whatever I want to do with my time.” He turned his head around and made a kissy face.

Louis grinned, he lost the plot somewhere after Harry called him by his nickname. It sounded good with his sleep-driven voice. Something he could get used to…

“No kissy, darling. Morning breath. I didn't know if you had spare toothbrushes and I didn't want to search your personal stuff for one.” Louis gently squeezed Harry's hip.

Harry pouted, but only for a second, then let his head fall back on the pillow and just snuggled even closer to Louis. “Okay 5 more minutes and then we will go and brush our teeth, and take a shower. I’m still a bit sticky.” Louis couldn’t see it, but he could sense the cheeky smile on his face.

They managed to get out of bed a bit later than the 5 minutes, okay more like 20 but nobody was counting. Harry rummaged in the cupboard under the sink and retrieved a second toothbrush that he handed over to Louis. He was still naked as the day he was born, he seemingly wasn’t one to be comfortable in clothes for too long.

When they were finished rinsing their mouths, Harry started the shower and simply bent down to push Louis’ pants down and off him and dragged him in the shower with him. The water had a pleasant temperature and the shower was big enough that they could easily switch to stand under the shower head. They shared lazy kisses and used Harry’s body wash that smelled like beach and coconuts, to wash each other's bodies. This led into hotter kisses and touching in private places, which led to a full making out session and quick handjobs. Louis enjoyed Harry’s hand that was wrapped around both of their cocks, creating a blissful friction and it didn’t take long for both of them to spill their come over Harry’s hand.

After another rinse to get rid of their body fluids, Louis grabbed the shampoo that stood next to the bottle with the body wash and motioned Harry to turn around. He started to gently massage the shampoo in the other’s scalp, who melted under the touch. Harry hummed contently and after Louis rinsed the shampoo out, he returned the favour.

After they towelled themselves dry, Harry vanished out of the bathroom and returned a minute later wearing black boxer briefs and handed Louis a pair of similar black boxer shorts to wear.

He pressed a sweet kiss on Louis’ mouth. “Can I make you breakfast?”

“Sure, but only if you let me help.” Just because he couldn't cook, didn't mean he was totally useless in the kitchen. “I make an excellent cuppa!” He beamed.

“That's settled then, you make the tea, I'll make the food.”

After they shared breakfast, Louis helped clean up and they settled on the couch to watch a series and cuddle for a bit, before Louis had to go to work. It all felt very domestic, something Louis could really get used to.

When it was time for Louis to go, he hesitated. It was hard to leave the comfort that Harry provided him. However he knew that this wasn't the last time and therefore they shared a few more kisses on the doorstep before Louis headed out to his car. 

+++

Louis didn’t have the time to go home before he needed to be at the bar, but thankfully he always had a spare set of clothes stored away in his office. So the first thing he saw when he got home after his shift was Zayn, standing in the doorway to the living room with both hands propped against his hips.

“Where were you this morning? Did you stay at Harry’s? Why didn’t you text me? You could've been hurt or something.” Zayn huffed, his forehead crinkled.

“Mom, what are you doing here?” Louis mocked, pinching Zayn’s cheek while he squeezed past him to let himself fall backwards on the couch over the armrest.

He let out a long content sigh. “Yes, I stayed at Harry’s. Well, it was not planned, I fell asleep while we cuddled after… you know…”

Louis propped himself up on his elbows, smirking at Zayn. “And I wanted to sneak out in the morning to not make it weird that I accidentally stayed the night, but he woke up and told me to stay. We had a nice morning and I forgot the time. It was too late to stop by here, so I went straight to the bar for my shift.”

“Sounds great, man! You really like him, eh?” Zayn had a warmth in his voice and in his eyes that Louis was thankful for.

“Yeah… I really like him. Is it too early to say that? It possibly is. But I don't care. He is such a gentle and caring soul. And his skills in cock-sucking are great, too.”

Zaun nearly toppled over from laughing, he seemingly hadn't expected the 180 that Louis took with his description.

Louis smirked, waiting for Zayn to catch his breath. “But jokes aside, I really think he could be it, Zayn. He even has the same… preferences. I never thought I would find someone who likes to be exposed to others as much as I do. But we had a really long conversation about it and we definitely want to explore it more.”

“Glad to hear that, mate. I'm really looking forward to hearing more about it!” Zayn stood up to grab some pamphlets from the coffee table. “Now, should we order Pizza or Chinese?"

They ended up ordering chinese and after they ate and emptied a few bottles of beer, they settled on the couch to play FIFA. After his third round of winning, Louis suddenly remembered something. He put his controller down and turned to face his friend.

“So tell me Zayn, did you get the number of that sexy assistant you talked to yesterday? What was his name again?”

“His name is Liam. And yes I got his number. And also a number .” Zayn ducked his head, his cheeks suspiciously pink. He smiled like a madman, too.

“Zain Javadd Malik! Did you get laid last night by a stranger you met 5 minutes before?” Louis' eyes widened with a faux expression, his hands pressed to his chest.

“As if you never did that.” Zayn gave him a pointed look. Well played. There was a time in his life where he would go home with a stranger more often than not, but to his defence, that was ages ago. He had changed a lot since then. Well, at least since Harry walked into his bar.

“Okay, okay. Was it worth it? Was he good?” Louis wiggled with his eyebrows, a grin splitting his face. “Are you going to see each other again or was it a one off?”

“Not that it's any of your business, but yes. It was one of the best lays I've had in a very long time. And yes we'll see each other at the weekend. We texted a bit today but before you get too excited, it is only casual. We both don't have the time to invest in a proper relationship so we decided that we should leave it at that.”

“Well, you are both adults. If you think that's the best way then enjoy it while it lasts.” Louis smiled, hugging his best friend sideways. He gave him a kiss on the temple before he got shoved away with a ‘off me you sap.’

They played another few rounds before they decided to settle under a blanket and watch a movie. Halfway through it, they both fell asleep on the couch, legs tangled together. These were Louis’ favourite evenings.

Chapter Text

🧘🏻‍♀️🎀

It's been 48 hours give or take since he said goodbye to Louis. And he missed him. Even if they texted a lot since then, he still missed him, his presence and his warmth. And since their talk about kink exploration, Harry knew that he was already in deep. Nobody had ever given him a safe space to explore what he would like in bed. He had more than once used his time before falling asleep fantasising about things he wanted to try, which often led to a self-love session, cause the fantasies always made him horny. This, with Louis, was a good thing. He trusted him and he wanted to try all the things with him. It should scare him really, but he felt nothing but excitement for what's to come and a lot of stupid butterflies that made themselves a permanent home in his stomach

He tried to ignore them by putting music on as loud as he could without disturbing the neighbours and danced his way through the kitchen while he prepared vegetables and a bit of chicken (only for Louis) for dinner this evening. He had invited Louis over so he could cook something proper for him, knowing that the man mostly lived off of takeaway and frozen meals.

After he put the diced carrots and bell peppers in containers and the pre-cut chicken on a plate, he placed them in the fridge and went to the bathroom for a quick shower.

He was supposed to meet Niall in an hour and his impromptu concert slowed down his process of getting ready immensely.

Harry met his best friend in front of the shopping centre where Niall said he wanted to go, he needed a new outfit for his first meeting with Shawn's parents. Despite dating for over 7 months now, Niall never got the chance to meet them in person other than a few Videochats. They still lived in Canada and with Niall's job, he wasn't able to join the trip with Shawn in spring to visit them.

They recently made their way over to London to stay for a few days before visiting other places in Europe and he was beyond nervous. Harry did everything he could to keep his best friend somewhat calm.

After 5 different shops, Harry declared that they needed a break and went over to a small food stand to buy sandwiches and cold drinks for both of them. They sat down on a bench under a tree and did some people watching.

It had become rare these days that the two of them had some quality time together, Niall was very occupied with learning all about the family business from his father and of course, there was his boyfriend, too. Harry would never complain about that, he supported his best friend as best as he could and was happy every time they could meet up.

Harry nudged his best friend. “You look a bit tired, babe. Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Niall sent him an exhausted smile. “It’s all a bit much these days. My job within the company is hard. I’m really trying to learn everything I need, but I have the feeling that, for my father, I’m not doing it well enough or fast enough or whatever. Then the visit of Shawn’s parents. Don’t get me wrong, I love him to bits, but he drives me crazy with this. Everything needs to be perfect and neat and I just want a week somewhere alone where no one bothers me.” He put the sandwich aside and buried his face in his hands with a groan. “I sound like a horrible person right now, don't I?”

Harry sighed, putting an arm around over Niall's shoulders. “You are not a horrible person, Ni. You just have a lot on your plate right now and I totally get that it all can get a bit too much at times. Have you tried talking to your dad about the pressure? I’m sure it’s not as bad as it seems. You always tell me what a great father he is and that he always supported you. Maybe it would help if you tell him how you're feeling. And in regards to Shawn, seems like he is extremely nervous about the visit too? Has he never brought boys home before?”

Niall straightened up and took a sip from his can. “I don’t know. It seems like my father has been under a lot of pressure himself the last few months, he never talks to me about it. I barely see him when I’m in the office. He’s always in meetings or out for appointments. Everything I know, I learn mostly from one of his assistants. And no, Shawn has brought other boys home before, but with the move to London and his own flat and everything, I guess it’s just different and he always tells me how serious he is with me and talks a lot about the future.” Niall’s gaze went a bit dreamy and Harry had to bite back a laugh.

Niall was always dreaming about his future and his dream wedding with his prince on a white horse. It seemed like he might actually get that in the near future.

After a few more shops, countless outfit changes and honest opinions from Harry, Niall found something he was satisfied with. They left the shop after Niall paid for the clothes and were heading out of the shopping centre, towards the car park when they passed a shop that made Harry stop in his tracks. “Oh, wait, Niall, I want to go in here,” and he pulled Niall into a cute boutique that sold lingerie.

Niall groaned but agreed, he himself had forced Harry in enough boutiques today so he shouldn't be the one to complain.

Harry had long ago given up being embarrassed about buying women's underwear and lingerie in public for himself. He was used to the weird looks he got from the salespeople and other customers. Some days he wouldn't even bother to correct them when somebody asked him if he would buy it for his girlfriend.

He wanted to buy something special to surprise Louis with and it would also be the perfect opportunity to talk to him about his feminine side. Louis had already noticed a few things on him that weren’t typically masculine but he hadn't seen him in a skirt or dress yet. He was nervous to talk to him about his fluid gender identity but on the other hand, he was sure that Louis would take it well.

This was actually one of his favourite shops, they had a great selection and the shop assistants were actually all really nice to him. He looked through the clothes rail of different bralettes and further down where the sets were hanging. Niall was off to the mens section to buy a new set of boxers for himself.

Harry found a few things that he liked and wandered off to the changing rooms. He gestured to Niall where he was headed and closed the curtain of the small cubicle behind him.

After trying on a few things, he decided on a baby blue bralette made of silk with beautiful lace in the form of a butterfly on the back. The cups were shaped in a way that gave the illusion of him having a bit of cleavage. There was a pair of matching silk panties too. A thin lace framed them, cutting high enough on the backside to show off his dainty buttcheeks.

He couldn’t wait to show it to Louis, maybe this evening… for sure this evening. It would be a great starter for the conversation he had planned.

When they arrived at their cars, Harry pulled Niall in for a long hug. “You know you can call me anytime when it gets too much, okay? Now go and have fun with your parents in law.” He pinched him on the butt and waved him goodbye before he got in the car and drove off.

+++

Louis arrived on time and Harry skipped to the front door to push the buzzer for the main entrance. Rocking on his feet, he waited patiently behind the door until he heard the knock on the wood. He ripped the door open and fell into Louis’ arms who huffed in surprise before looping his arms around Harry’s waist.

“Hey babe, did you miss me?” He chuckled and Harry let him go but pulled him in by the hand before closing the door. “Very much” Harry confirmed between the kisses he left on Louis’ face.

“Come on in, food is ready in five minutes. Do you want wine?” Harry called, he was already on his way back to the kitchen, leaving Louis in the hallway.

He stirred the sauce one last time and was tasting it with a small spoon, when Louis embraced him from behind and pressed a kiss on his neck. “Hmmm… smells good, love. Can I help with something?”

“Yes actually, can you open the wine bottle and pour it into the decanter? Corkscrew is in the top drawer to your right. Thank you.”

Harry finished serving up the food and carefully brought the plates over to the living room and placed them on the dining table. He had already lit a few candles, on and around the table which created a lovely atmosphere but it was still bright enough to eat without switching another light on.

Paolo Nutini was singing softly over the speakers near the TV and the conversation between them flowed easily while they enjoyed the food.

After they washed up and cleaned the kitchen, they settled on the couch with another glass of wine.

“Darling, you know how I told you about the volunteer work I attend every Sunday?” Harry nodded. “Do you want to come with me to see the kids tomorrow morning?”

Harry jumped excitedly up and down. “Of course I want to come with you! I can't wait to see what it's like. And maybe I can help? Playing games with the kids or reading to the littlest!” His mind was already spinning with ideas.

Louis grinned at him. “I'm sure the kids will love you. And we will find something for you to do, if you want to help. Now come sit down and cuddle with me. I've missed you so much.”

He didn't need to be told twice before he threw himself at Louis and attacked his mouth. After sharing a few lazy kisses, Harry put on a random series that they both already knew, so that they wouldn't miss anything if they weren't looking at the TV all the time…

After a while, Harry knew it was time. He had thought this conversation through and well, here it went. He took a deep breath.

“I wanted to talk to you about something. After our talk last time, I realised that it's easy to talk to you about stuff that makes me uncomfortable, so I think I should be honest with you…” He could see fear blooming in Louis’ eyes, so he added. “Before you freak out, it has nothing to do with you, you did nothing wrong, relax.” He grinned.

“This is about me, and who I am. I want to show you a big part of me and I am actually a bit scared of how you will take it.”

He could see Louis start to relax his shoulders, nerves still visible at what Harry might say next.

“I mean, as long as you are not a criminal or doing any other illegal stuff, it's hard to believe that anything could scare me off, darling.” Louis put a hand on Harry's thigh, which instantly relaxed him, too.

“Okay, so. I don't actually know how to start this, therefore I want to show you something first and then talk again, alright?”

Louis nodded, and Harry took both of their glasses and put them on the coffee table before he moved to straddle Louis’ lap.

“Hi,” he breathed and started to unbutton his shirt, which atypical for him, he had buttoned with only one to spare. He could see the realisation about what he was wearing in Louis’ eyes with every button he opened until he let the shirt fall down his back.

Louis gulped and let his fingers hover over the silky material. His eyes raked over every inch of his chest. Harry felt like he was standing under a spotlight but he loved the attention. And based on Louis' gaze, he knew that his reaction was what he hoped for.

“Oh darling, you look breathtaking. Can I touch?” Louis asked, finally looking up to meet Harry's eyes.

“Of course, you can always touch me, Lou.” He felt his cheeks pinken up and he grabbed one of Louis’ hands to distract himself. He brought his hand to his back to let him feel the lace of the butterfly. Louis’ eyes widened and he looked around him to catch a glimpse of his back.

“Absolutely gorgeous. Was that what you were worried about showing me, babe? Because I absolutely love it!” Louis was still exploring the bralette.

Harry giggled before he cleared his throat and let his gaze fall down. “Well yes, but that's not all. I… I actually like to wear feminine clothes, like skirts and dresses and stuff.” He nervously tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. “I see myself as some sort of genderqueer. I don't feel the need to change anything about my body or my pronouns. I like how my body looks. I just want to feel pretty on some days, more feminine, and that's when I wear these types of clothes.” He took a deep breath and looked up to see nothing but adoration in Louis’ eyes and his own eyes immediately teared up in relief.

Louis brought one of his hands up to wipe away an unshed tear. “Whatever makes you happy, makes me happy too, darling. I see nothing wrong in wanting to wear feminine clothes. I bet you look stunning in a dress and I can't wait to see that.”

Harry barely let him finish speaking before he urged forward to kiss him. “Thank you so much. You don't know what that means to me.”

Harry settled back down on the couch but he stayed pressed up on Louis’ side, one arm of his lover over his shoulders. He covered them in a blanket since it was a bit cold with nothing but the bralette on his upper half. They settled on watching a rom-com and emptied the bottle of wine. After that, Harry took Louis to his bedroom where he showed him the rest of the outfit.

+++

Harry was woken up by raindrops drumming against his bedroom window. He groaned and glanced at his phone. He still had 2 hours before the alarm would go off. He turned back around and tightened his hold on Louis, trying to snuggle deeper into his chest. The other was still sleeping calmly. His chest heaving under Harry’s head with every inhale.

He listened to the rain pouring down. Normally that would calm him and he would instantly fall asleep but he was a bit nervous about their visit this morning. After half an hour of trying to fall asleep again, he decided to get up and at least be a bit productive. Careful not to wake Louis, he dressed in one of his silky robes and tiptoed out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.

After restless minutes of pacing around the kitchen, an idea formed in his head and he was determined to make it happen. He quickly collected all the stuff he needed and put it in various bags. After that he decided that there was enough time to make a full English breakfast, too. Just as he finished loading the food on the plates, a sleep ruffled Louis walked into the kitchen, just in his boxers.

Still with the pan and the spatula in his hands, Harry just stood there and admired his b… Louis. He admired Louis. Harry shook his head and quickly turned around to put the pan into the sink, trying to hide his thoughts and his pink cheeks.

“Good morning, darling. Why are you already up? And what are those bags out in the hallway that I nearly broke my neck, while stumbling over?” He rubbed his eyes with both hands while simultaneously rubbing the underside of his left foot on the top of his right one and wasn't that the cutest sight ever.

“The rain woke me up and I couldn't fall asleep again. So I decided to pack a few things to keep the kids entertained and make breakfast for us.” Harry loaded up the plates and placed one on the breakfast bar in front of Louis.

He rounded the bar and placed a kiss on Louis’ cheek. “Why don't you go and put something on that unfairly hot body, before I lose all my decency and let you fuck me right here in the kitchen.”

Louis’ eyes widened and he saw his throat bob, mouth falling open. Harry couldn't hold his amusement and burst out in a loud laugh. He pinched the still shocked Louis in the butt and gave him a little slap on top of it. “Now go while I make us some tea.”

After breakfast, they took turns in the bathroom and dressed themselves in comfy but decent clothes. Then they hurried through the rain to Louis’ car. After loading all of Harry's bags in, they drove off towards the Youth House.

They arrived shortly after 10 am and Harry hoped that Louis couldn’t sense how nervous he actually was. This was a very important part of Louis’ life and Harry wanted to be the best version of himself. He was usually great with kids, but you never know. Some of them had had a hard time in their short lives and not all of them trusted strangers easily. Which was understandable.

They crowded together under one umbrella as they hurried from Louis' usual parking spot to the garden door, which he opened with his key. They made their way over to the double glass terrace door and Louis knocked loudly on the frame. Chatter could be heard from inside which intensified as a woman opened a door to the hallway and smiled as she saw Louis standing outside. 

“Hello Louis. That's really bad weather you bring with you today, but I see you also bring a ray of sunshine.” At these words she looked at Harry with a huge smile and friendly eyes. He liked her immediately.

Louis also looked at him before he cleared his throat and introduced them. “ Harry, this is Eloise, she is the home director. Eloise, this is my b… friend Harry. He is here to help me a bit today.” Oh would you look at that, it happened to Louis too and Harry wasn't a ray anymore but the whole goddamn sun.

Harry turned Elise's offer for a handshake down and pulled her in for a hug instead.

“It's nice to meet you, Eloise! Louis’ told me lots of wonderful things about this place.” He smiled at her and took a look around. “How can I help?”

Elise laughed. “I like enthusiastic people.” She winked at Louis. “Can you cook? One of our kitchen fairies couldn't make it, she's sick.”

Harry clapped his hands together happily. “Yes I can! Where is the kitchen?”

Elise showed him to the kitchen and introduced him to the other “fairies.” He helped them prepare the food for lunch while Louis was god knows where.

He did come visit right before food was ready though to steal bits here and there and to steal kisses when the women weren’t watching.

There were more kids than Harry imagined and it made him sad to see that so many weren't welcome at home because of who they identified as, but the more he watched them, the more he saw how happy they were here. Everyone had a smile on their face and the older kids helped the younger ones with the chores they were assigned to.

After lunch, he, Louis and Eloise stood together once again to plan the activities for the afternoon. Harry then remembered that he still had the bags in the car and hurried off to grab them.

When he returned he whispered in Eloise's ear so the kids wouldn't hear him and asked for permission to use the kitchen. She nodded and patted Harry's cheek. “That's really nice of you. The children will be very happy.”

Harry turned and wandered off to a group of kids. “Who wants to bake some cookies?” He asked loudly. There was an instant screaming of excitement and soon he was surrounded, questions and statements flying towards him from every direction. He turned around to see Louis and Eloise standing there, watching them with big smiles on their faces. He winked at Louis and let himself be led to the kitchen by a little girl named Lily, the rest of the crowd following them on their heels.

He showed the older ones how to make the dough and helped the younger ones with theirs. Lily was plastered to his side, never leaving him for one second. He didn't mind. She was a sweet girl. She told him that she was four and that her favourite animal was a frog. Louis walked by at this moment and seemed to have overheard them because he muttered under his breath “Oh that's why she won't leave your side.”

Harry looked after him, confused. But Louis just sprinted off, gambling before Harry realised what he just said. He shook his head and turned to Lily, and crouched down in front of her. “Lily, darling. Do you think I look like a frog?” He asked her with a serious expression.

Her eyes widened and she responded. “No Harry, I think you look like a beautiful princess…. A frog princess.” She giggled into her fists and darted off just like Louis did. However she had short legs and Harry reached her after a few metres, starting to tickle her until they both fell to the ground, holding their bellies because they were laughing so hard.

Harry wiped away some tears and saw Louis standing over them, hands on his hips, shaking his head.

Harry stood up, moved over towards the flour, grabbed some and returned to dump it over Louis’ head. “You sir, are a bad influence for these kids.”

The laughter intensified again and the rest of the afternoon went by in a finger snap. After they finished baking multiple trays of cookies (and burned only some of them), the whole group wandered over to the big living room where Harry beckoned the kids to sit in a half circle in front of him on the floor. He situated himself on the couch and started reading books to them while they all happily munched on their cookies. The older children sat a bit further in the back but were still listening to what Harry read, meanwhile Louis was outside with some of the teenagers, playing footie.

There were a few tears when they said their goodbyes to the children but Harry promised them that he would visit again and soon all eyes were dry again and the pair got in the car and drove home.

Later that evening, Harry and Louis were cuddled up in Harry's bed again and reliving the day.

“Thank you for taking me with you, Lou,” Harry linked his arm with Louis’ and put his head on the other’s shoulder for a second. “What you’re doing for the kids there… it's so important and I really want to help out a bit in the future, if that’s okay with you?”

He lifted his head and saw Louis smiling at him. “Of course, babe. The kids loved you and we need all the help we can get. Thank you.” Louis chased his lips for a short peck. “Good night, darling.”

“Good night, Lou.”

+++

Harry was excited for his Thursday night yoga lesson. He felt like he needed it a little extra today. The only sad thing was that he couldn't go his usual way and pass the wine bar because he went straight to the studio after an out of house appointment with a possible new client. He would go past there on his way home though, so that was good.

The session was, as expected, perfect and Harry was just the right amount of exhausted.

After the shower (thankfully with no other people around again) he dressed and made his way home, quietly whistling to himself.

The butterflies in Harry’s stomach intensified the closer he was to the bar. It was silly, he wasn't even going in, but the anticipation of just seeing Louis was enough to spark his nerves. As he arrived at the first big window, he took a glance inside. It was busy tonight, which made Harry smile. He was happy for Zayn and Louis, that the bar was doing so well.

When he walked past the second window, his eyes caught Louis’, who instantly stood straight upright and waved enthusiastically at him. Harry bit back a grin and waved back, no less enthusiastically.

Later that evening, Harry had just settled with a book and tea on the couch, when his phone rang. It was still in his tote bag that he had mindlessly thrown in the corner when he came home from his yoga session. He got up and went over, bending down to grab it from his bag and just as he pressed the green button to answer his foot got stuck in one of the handles and he stumbled a few feet forward, his phone falling out of his hands and onto the floor.

“Darling?” Harry heard from the speakers. He rushed down to pick his phone up and held it to his ear.

“Yes, hey hi, sorry. I somehow lost control over my legs and my phone fell to the floor,” he giggled. “Hey Lou, how are you? How was work?”

“Babe, you need to be more careful with those Bambi legs,” Louis chuckled through the speaker. “I'm alright. Work was good. Had a lot of customers again! It's really going great at the moment.”

Harry could sense his excitement and it melted his heart. It was not the first time that he started to put Louis’ happiness before his own. That man deserved the whole world.

“There is another reason why I'm calling besides hearing your beautiful voice,” Louis pulled him out of his thoughts. “Zayn was here earlier and we thought we could all go out on Saturday. Including Niall and Shawn if they want to. What do you think?”

“That's a great idea. It has been too long since I was on the dance floor.” Harry was mentally already planning his outfit. “I'll ask Niall tomorrow, but I'm sure they're in!”

He hesitated for a moment. 

“Lou? Would it be okay if I wear a dress? I always wanted to wear one in a Club but I always feared it would be a bit too much, given I was alone most of the time I went to one. Not totally alone, Niall was with me, but… you know… without a partner.” He was glad that Louis couldn’t see his face right now, burning from mentioning the word partner out loud.

“Of course you can wear a dress, darling. If that's what makes you happy then I strongly encourage it.” Harry could hear the smile in Louis’ voice and that was the moment he fell, deep. But not physically.

Chapter Text

🍷🚬

Louis and Zayn arrived at the Club ten minutes early and waited in front of it for the others to arrive. Liam had already called ahead and informed them that he would arrive a bit later because he had to finish something up at work.

It was a fresh evening but not too cold. Louis was dressed in black jeans with rips over the knees and a simple black T-Shirt. He wore a thick denim jacket with a white fluffy lining over his shirt. His feet tucked in a pair of worn out vans. Without socks, of course. Zayn was dressed similarly but had a leather jacket on instead of a jeans one.

They share a cigarette, blowing smoke into the cold night air. Zayn just handed him back the fag as he looked over Louis’ shoulder, his eyes growing wide, mouth going slack. He nudged Louis and put a hand on his shoulder to spin him around and bring his attention to whatever was behind them.

“You lucky bastard,” Zayn muttered and Louis felt thunderstruck. It took all his willpower not to faint the moment he laid eyes on Harry.

He radiated confidence, strutting beside Niall in heeled boots, his long legs covered in patterned tights, a dark blue dress peeking out under his black tailored coat that he left open. The dress ended mid-thighs and seemed to sparkle under the street lights. His hair looked extra soft, the long locks bouncing with every step, framing his beautiful face.

Oh god, his face. He had a hint of pink blush on his cheeks, combined with dark blue eyeshadow, not too much though, and maroon lipstick. A small black purse hung from his right forearm, swaying softly with every move. Louis’ mouth went dry and he needed to clear his throat more than once to be able to speak again.

He suddenly felt very underdressed in the presence of the goddess that now stood in front of him.

“Darling you look breathtaking,” he complimented, taking a closer look at Harry who was now standing right in front of him.

“And he means it literally. Didn't breathe for a good minute there.” Zayn chuckled amused from behind him.

Louis shot daggers at his best friend but took it with humour. “Mate, I remember that you saw him first and your jaw was nearly on the ground.”

“Can you blame me? He looks fantastic.” Zayn shrugged and turned to focus his attention on introducing himself to Niall.

Harry looked very amused at the conversation between them and leaned forward to press a chaste kiss on Louis’ cheek. A hint of the same flowery perfume that he already detected at the exhibit wavered in the air again.

“You look great, too.” Harry took Louis’ hand in his and pulled him towards the entrance. “Let’s go in, boys. I’m freezing my balls off in this dress.” He chuckled, opening the front door of the Club.

The Club was a decent size, not too big. There were lots of booths lined on the left and right sides framing a spacious dancefloor and on the far end was a long bar that stretched over nearly the whole wall. There were already a few people dancing to the rhythmic beats of the music.

The four of them made their way over to an empty booth on the left hand side. Harry and Niall immediately went over to the bar to get some drinks for them while Louis and Zayn watched the people on the dancefloor.

“Niall, where is your better half? I looked forward to meeting him tonight, too.” Louis asked as the two men returned with their beverages. The absence of the blonde’s boyfriend didn't go unnoticed.

“Yeah he would've loved to come, too. But his parents are leaving on Monday again and they wanted to have a last family evening with everyone.” Niall shrugged. “He will join us next time.”

The conversation flowed between them as if they had all been friends for a long time already. Zayn and Harry had bonded over the more artistic topics, which Harry seemed to be very interested in. Niall was an easy going person, always a joke on his lips and Louis thought that there was nothing in the world that could ruin the good mood the blonde boy was constantly in.

“Ahh there he is, the man of the hour.” Zayn announced kindly, sliding out of the booth to welcome the man that had just approached them.

“Harry, Niall. This is Liam…”

“No way!” Niall screamed from where he was sitting, scrambling out of the booth and throwing an arm over Liam's shoulder. “What are you doing here, mate?”

Zayn, feeling confused, looked from one man to the other and then over to Louis and Harry who were in the same state. “Erm … what's going on?”

Liam chuckled. “Zayn, Niall is my boss. I'm his PA. He is the one I bought the painting for. And Niall, this is the man I told you about.”

“The world is a shoebox and I'm wondering why we didn't puzzle the pieces together earlier.” Louis laughed, handing Liam a beer that they had already ordered for him. “Let's toast to all the little coincidences.” He announced, raising his glass and waiting for the other's to join in.

It didn't take long for them to shake off the confusion and clink their glasses together, falling into an animated conversation again.

When the opening notes to “Girls just wanna have fun” started, Harry clapped his hands together excitedly and pulled one after the other onto the dancefloor. Some easily, some needed more convincing. Louis was the latter. He wasn’t very good at it nor did he like dancing in particular. But it was Harry, so he said yes. And it was fascinating to watch him.

Harry looked utterly beautiful, swaying his hips to the music, the hem of his dress flowing around his body like it was made out of water. Louis reached out a hand, waiting for Harry to grab it so he could spin him towards himself. Close enough for their hips to touch, they continued moving to the rhythm, one of Harry’s sinfully long legs wrapped in dark stockings positioned itself between Louis’ legs, and if he didn't know better, he would think that this leg was purposefully rubbing over his crotch in slow motion.

He let his hands wander over both sides of Harry’s waist to come to rest on his hip bones. They stayed like this for a while until Louis noticed that Harry got squirmier with every second passing. He looked up to find the younger’s lips between his teeth, his eyes shining and pupils blown. Louis had felt his erection through the dress for a while but only now realised how far gone his boy already was.

He brought his hand up to cup Harry’s neck and pulled him down so that he could comfortably speak in his ear. Or scream, because it was really loud around them.

“What do you need?” He looked at him again, waiting for an answer. Harry rested his head on Louis’ neck and he immediately felt soft lips exploring his skin, leaving trails of kisses up to his ear. “Need you, please.”

Louis tried to make Harry look at him, but the man just continued his work over his throat and to the other side of his neck. Considering it was easier to just let him have his way and it felt good, he just asked: “Would you want me to take you home or to the toilets? It’s your decision, darling.”

As if Harry had waited for these words to hear, he immediately pulled away from Louis' neck, grabbed his hand and dragged him off the dancefloor towards the toilets. Guess that was his answer, then.

They barely made it into one of the stalls, when Harry was already all over him. Nothing to complain here, though. “I have a surprise for you,” Harry whispered in his ear, letting the fine hairs at the back of his neck stand up.

“What is it, darling?” Louis moaned out, while Harry was attacking his neck. He craned his head to the side to give Harry more room to work with.

“You … will … have … to … find … it … out … for … yourself.” Harry said between kisses. “But before you do that, I have a request. Could you call me H tonight? Feels more fitting for my current mood, gender wise.”

“Of course, darling.” Louis smiled softly at him, pulling him in for a passionate kiss. “Are you still okay with he/him or would you prefer something else?”

“He/him is fine, Lou, Thank you for asking. But I wouldn’t mind you using words like girl or princess during sex.” Harry smiled bashfully.

“Everything for you, darling. And thank you for telling me. Now where is my surprise?”

“I said, you have to find it out yourself,” H protested cheekily. “But I’ll give you a hint.” He grabbed Louis’ hand that was currently buried in H's curls and brought it to the small of his back. “Now, search.” He whispered.

Louis explored H’s back up and down but couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. Suddenly he had an idea, but… H wouldn’t… would he? Louis reached down to pull up the hem of the beautiful dress and found a pair of silk panties under his tights. He moved his hand inside both layers until he could feel a piece of round shaped metal. His breath hitched and he let out a whiny noise.

“H, babe. You are incredible.” He brought the hand that was currently not occupied in H’s panties up and cupped his chin. “Now kiss me and then turn around and let me have a proper look.” Then he connected their lips together.

They sadly didn’t have much time for intense kissing, not the way Louis liked it but he was eager to see what H had hidden from him. He let go of Harry’s lips with a sigh and spun the man around, so that he was now facing the wall in front of him. “Arms up, Hands on the wall.”

H did what he was told, and voluntarily spread his legs a bit. He is being a good for him. Louis let his hands roam over Harry’s back down to the hem of the dress and lifted it up to expose his plush backside. Louis’ mouth watered and he crouched down, pulling the panties together with the tights down with him. He was now eye-level with a sparkly matching hot pink diamond that was attached to a silver metal buttplug currently buried in Harry’s hole.

Louis gave the plug a flick, and another, pulling some nice sounds out of Harry but he wanted to have a taste.

“You are being such a good girl for me, H. Now keep still.”

He pulled the plug out in a quick motion, wrapped it in toilet paper and let it vanish in H’s purse before he dove right in, licking a broad stroke over his puckering hole. H must’ve used flavoured lube to insert the plug, Louis guessed from what he was tasting. He twirled his tongue in every direction, licking inside, feeling the hot walls all around him, making H squirm under his hands, which rested on the little love handles H had on his hips.

He inserted a finger next to his tongue, searching for H’s prostate. With the other free hand, he reached around to find Harry’s already rock hard cock hanging between his legs, precome dribbling from the tip. As he found what he was looking for, H cried out, slapping a hand over his mouth to keep more noises inside. “Please Louis.” He muffled through his fingers. “I… I won't last, so close. Want you inside, I’m ready.”

Louis had mercy with him, but it was in his own favour. His cock was throbbing in his jeans, more than ready to get some attention.

“Did you bring some condoms in that purse, too?” He asked, already hurrying to open his trousers.

“I have, but I got tested 2 weeks ago and if you're clean, too…” H let the rest of the sentence hang in the air. “I really want to feel you inside of me - afterwards.” His cheeks flushed beautifully after this confession.

“I last got tested a month before we met, but I haven't been with anyone in the meantime. I guess I can fulfil your wish tonight.” He bent forward to whisper the last sentence in Harry's ear, enjoying the shiver that ran through the younger one's body before he stood up again and shoved his trousers down together with his pants. Without wasting any more time, he lined himself up behind H and pushed in until he bottomed out. He found a steady rhythm and started pounding into a whimpering H, who still had his hand in front of his mouth. 

Not long after, Louis felt the familiar pull inside him and reached around once more to grab H’s cock, stroking him with quick motions. H came with a silent scream, biting his fist to keep quiet and Louis toppled over the edge shortly after, spilling into H’s tight heat. 

They gave themselves a few seconds to regulate their breathing before Louis bent down to grab the butt plug out of the purse and pulled out just to replace the emptiness with the plug again, keeping his come inside of H. He nearly got hard again at the thought that H would walk out like this.

They shared a few lazy kisses and made themselves presentable again before stepping out of the stall, one after the other. After washing their hands, they made their way to the main room again.

H immediately went for the dancefloor, pulling Louis with him. The other 3 boys weren’t in sight, probably at their booth from earlier again.

“I'm gonna grab some drinks for us, okay? You wait here.” Louis screamed in H's ear. The younger one nodded and Louis walked backwards towards the bar and watched H closing his eyes and swaying to the music, letting the beats pump through his body until he was swallowed by the mass of people around him. They were both slightly tipsy but far from being drunk. When he reached the bar, he waved the bartender towards him and ordered two more of the cocktails they had before.

When he got the new glasses, he made his way back to the dance floor. He smiled when H got in his line of sight but the smile immediately fell when a tall bulky man neared H from behind. The young man seemed to not realise at first, that there were hands on his hips that didn’t belong to Louis, and as his alcohol-induced brain registered what happened, he tried to scramble away from the hold the man had on him. His eyes were wide and panicked looking around for someone familiar, but the man didn’t seem to get it and tried once more to lay his hands on H’s body.

Louis was hurrying through the mass of bodies, all unaware of what was happening a few feet away from them. The cocktail glasses laid shattered on the floor, liquid flowing around the shards. Louis had dropped them when he saw what the man’s intentions were.

Just as he arrived next to H, the man reached out for his boy again. Louis was seeing red and dragged Harry behind him, the younger one instantly clinged to his back, searching for help without needing to say a word.

“Lay your hands on my boyfriend one more time and you’ll never be able to use them properly again.” he spat out, shooting daggers at the bulky man. He wasn’t by any means intimidated by the height difference between them.

The man just laughed at him. “Maybe your ‘boyfriend’ shouldn’t dress up like a whore and dance around on the dancefloor alone if he didn't want anyone to lay hands on him. He’s too pretty for you anyway, that little doll. Let me have my way with him and I’ll show him what a good time is.” He made another step forward, grinning devilishly.

“Clothes are not an invitation you fucktwat, and neither is dancing alone. Also, he clearly said no. Now step away.” Louis’ blood was boiling but he tried to stay calm for H, who was still clinging to him.

The man just kept on laughing, letting out a string of more insults. When he tried to step around Louis to get near H again, that’s when Louis snapped and he rushed forward to connect his fist with anything he could reach on this man’s body. Before his fist found its target though, his arms were held back by someone behind him, looking around he saw Zayn with a bitter expression on his face and angry eyes focused on the stranger. He tried to fight against his best friend, but Zayn had a tight hold on him and suddenly Liam was between the opponents, making himself tall and staring at the bulky man with dark eyes. “Fuck off and leave my friends alone. Security is on the way.”

Liam wasn’t much taller than Louis but his muscular body surely made an impression and the other man turned around with a huff after spitting more disgusting words towards H and vanished into the circle of people standing around them who had now focused their attention to the scene happening amongst them.

Zayn let Louis out of his hold and he rushed to H, pulling him into a tight hug. “It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you. Are you alright, did he hurt you?”
H still looked shocked, but the scared expression was gone from his face. He shook his head reluctantly, still looking in the direction where the man disappeared. Louis could feel his body tremble under his hands.

H mumbled something but the music was too loud to understand him. “Do you want to go home, darling?” Louis asked gently. H’s pleading eyes and his nodding was enough to make Louis move. He thanked the boys profoundly for their help, grabbed their coats and escorted Harry out of the club, calling an uber on the way. H stayed tucked into Louis’ side until they were in the safety of the car.

They arrived at H’s flat shortly after. They were both exhausted but Louis wanted to talk to H about what had happened and wanted to make sure that he really was okay.

“Babe, are you sure you’re okay? That was a dangerous situation. I’m glad I could step in before he went any further.”
H smiled at him with tired eyes. “It’s okay Lou. I’m used to these situations when I’m out and dressed like this. It won’t stop me from going out again in a dress. I made my peace that there are assholes like him out there. Still shocked me a little, though.”

“Yeah but you shouldn’t be used to it. It makes me angry to think that stuff like this happens all the time, just because some stupid prick can’t deal with his genderphobia.” Louis paced around the living room. He couldn’t help it. The whole situation made him furious.

H stopped him and slung his arms around Louis. “Calm down, Lou. I’m glad you were with me and I hope you will be there in the future for these kinds of situations, too, but I'm fine.” He kissed him softly on the lips, which finally helped Louis to calm down.

“Now come on, let’s go to bed, I’m exhausted. And I want to get out of these tights and bra. They may look sexy but they are not really comfortable” H stated, already fumbling with his dress on the way.

Louis chuckled and followed him into the bedroom.

“But you looked really beautiful out there on the dancefloor tonight, babe,” Louis said as he watched Harry unzip his dress in front of the mirror.

“Thank you, Lou. It means a lot to me that I can express myself with you. Whether it’s H at the club or Harry at home with you, I really appreciate that.”

“Of course, darling,” Louis said sweetly. “But can you please hurry now? I want to cuddle with you and fall asleep with you pressed against my chest, and you undressing is simply taking too long for my liking. Want you close.” Louis pulled out his lower lip, showing his cutest pout.

Harry laughed softly and hurried undressing.

+++

The morning was quiet, and slow. They both had a bit of a hangover and the events from the night before still occupied Harry’s mind. Louis did everything he could to keep him as comfortable as possible and they talked about everything except the previous evening. The talk from last night about it had been exhausting enough, especially mentally.

They finished tidying up the kitchen from their extensive breakfast and Louis just put the last plates on the drying rack while Harry went over to fold the blankets from the couch.

“Wait,” Harry stopped in his tracks, looking over to him. “Did you call me your boyfriend yesterday?”

Louis’ heartbeat picked up, his face flushing red. He had hoped Harry wouldn’t remember his little slip from last night. It was too early for this kind of conversation. Or was it not? He looked carefully at Harry, trying to assess his reaction when he slowly nodded.

“Yes, yes I might have. Is that alright? I know everythings still new between us and maybe it’s all going a bit too fast but it kind of feels right for me. What do you think? Please say something.”

Harry stood still in the same spot, looking at him curiously. Then he quickly moved forward to hug Louis, who had to take a step to balance himself by the force that pushed him backwards.

“Yes Louis, I really want to be your boyfriend.” He murmured in the crook of Louis’ neck. ”I don’t care if it might be too early for some people. I've thought about it for a few days now actually. I’m really glad for your slip up.” Harry pulled his head back and grinned at him, both dimples popping.
Louis’ heart was doing somersaults and he brought both hands up to cup Harry’s face and finally kiss his boyfriend properly for the first time today. “Come on, let’s cuddle up on the couch, boyfriend.” If Louis hadn’t thought that Harry's dimples could get any deeper, he was now proven otherwise.

Later that Sunday, Harry asked a question Louis wasn’t prepared for.

“Lou, after our talk about the kink exploration, I thought a lot about it and I came up with an idea. You obviously can say no, but I think it would be a good way for us to start.” 

Louis nodded slowly, curious what this idea might look like. “Go on then, love.”

“You told me about your talk with Zayn and I thought, what about you and me shooting a little ‘private’ film and then giving the tape to Zayn to watch, if he is up for it?” Harry twisted a bit to look up from Louis’ chest on which he was currently lying, his cheeks pinkened up a bit, clearly a bit embarrassed about his suggestion.

Louis actually thought about it though and not that he would tell anyone, but he had a similar idea a few days prior, too.

“I’m sure he will watch it, and I love the idea! Always wanted to do something like this, if it’s pictures or a video. But, you know, never had the right company for it. So if you really want to do this, then I’m game.” He smiled and pressed a kiss on Harry’s head.

Harry fumbled with one of the two rings he was constantly wearing. “Can… can we do it today?”
Louis chuckled. “Someone’s eager. Yeah sure, let’s shower and then you can look for the camera and see if the battery is charged.” He nudged Harry to make him stand up before he got up himself.

+++

“Before we start, I just want to make sure that you are really okay with this?” Louis looked over to Harry, who had just draped himself over the bed, waiting for his final decision.

“Yes, Lou. I’m sure.” Harry smiled up at him, letting his free hand seductively roam over the lacy fabric of his Neglige.

“Okay, then. Let’s get the party started.” Louis smirked and pressed the little red button on the side of the camera then went over to join Harry on the bed.

(author’s note: to be continued ;-))

+++

It was Monday and Louis had just got home from his shift at the wine bar, surprised to find Zayn home. He hadn't expected him until at least late in the evening. Zayn had a lot of work to do since the exhibit. He had a few commissions and some interviews for art magazines.

“Hey mate, you're home already? Did something happen?” Louis asked, a hint of concern in his voice. He feared Zayn could overwork himself, it was easy for him to get lost in his paintings. Forgetting to eat and drink properly while working on a new project.

“Nah, all good. I just decided that I needed a break, that's all.” Zayn smiled at him from where he was sitting at the dining table, flicking through a magazine that lay in front of him.

Louis got changed into something more comfy before he settled on the couch, wiggling around because he couldn’t find a comfy position to sit in and he was a bit nervous, too.

“Zayn, can we talk for a minute?” Louis asked hesitantly. Zayn nodded, joining him on the couch. “What's up, mate?” He asked.

“You remember the talk we had about the situation in the wine bar with Harry?”

“How could I forget that?” Zayn chuckled, his face heating up again just like it did during the mentioned conversation.

Louis entered their apartment late this evening. He purposefully had prolonged his workday to give Zayn space to stomach everything he saw earlier. Louis wasn't even sure if he was home already or still in his studio, but with a glance at the shoe rack in the hallway, he saw that the shoes Zayn wore earlier were neatly lined up next to the other's. He took a deep breath and entered the living room.

Zayn was sprawled out on the couch, watching trash tv and fiddling on some persistent stain spots on his fingers. It was a nervous habit of his. 

“Hey mate.” Louis could see his friend jump a little at his words. He turned around to face Louis, his cheeks red.

“Oh he.. hey Louis” He trembled out, clearly nervous. Louis would spare him the embarrassment about starting this topic.

“Listen Zayn, about earlier… I'm really sorry that you saw us … like that. If I would've known that you would actually come through the door… but the thought of you being in the other room… yeah, I’m sorry”

“It's okay, Lou. Really. Nothing to be sorry for.” Zayn got up from the couch, his face now burning red. He walked over to the shelf in the corner that was filled with books and picture frames, suddenly very interested in the items as if he was seeing them for the first time.

“Still, I’m sorry. You were clearly shocked and uncomfortable, which is more than understandable. I just want to assure you that something like that won’t happen again and I would be very grateful if we could pretend that it never happened, and you can stop looking at me like you did when I entered the room a minute ago.” 

He observed Zayn carefully, who seemed to relax a little. He was still facing the shelf in front of him. After another long minute of silence, Zayn finally turned around but directed his gaze on his feet, then cleared his throat. 

“It’s … it’s not that I was uncomfortable,” He whispered. “I … I kind of liked what I saw. I couldn’t get the image out of my head and I went to the studio, and I… Oh god, this is so embarrassing”

“It’s okay, you don’t need to tell me anything, Zayn. If you are not ready to, we can continue this conversation some other time, or never if that’s what you prefer.”

“No, I want to talk about it.” Zayn responded, his voice more sure now. “Please don’t laugh at me, or think I’m weird, okay? I'm telling you this because you are my best friend and I really need someone to talk about this. Okay, so I went to the studio and as I said, I couldn’t get the image of you two out of my head, and I got off on it. I even wished I had seen more before I stumbled out of there like an idiot. I think I like to watch. Not like a creep, spying in other people’s bedrooms. Just watch. I know there are clubs and parties for that. Maybe I should give it a try.”

Louis let his friend speak as long as he needed to, relieved that the situation was solved and he could now focus on making his friend comfortable again.

“You don’t need to be embarrassed for what you like, Zayn. I, myself, need to sort something out, too. Because I kinda liked you seeing us.” He grinned at his best friend, making Zayn smile for the first time since he came home. “I’m sure there is a safe space for exploring kink and I’m happy to help with research and stuff if you want me to. Now come here and give me a hug, you idiot.”

Zayn stumbled into his arms, staying there for a good amount of time.

“Harry and I talked a lot about this and what we like and so on. We found out that we both like to be watched, on a consented level, by others while being intimate. Now, we both don't have much or any experience, therefore we decided to take it slow. One small step after the other. The first step was to film ourselves while… doing stuff…” Louis paused for a second, encouraging himself for the next part. “And the next step is to give the video to someone to watch it… now here is my question. You told me that you, maybe, are into watching? And we both trust you so… would you take the tape and watch it some time? No pressure, really. And we wouldn't take it personally if you don't want to do it.”

Louis was glad that Zayn interrupted his little rambling by putting a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it. “I can do that. It’s a good way to figure things out for myself, too. And I need to find a way to explain it to Liam. That video would be a good way to strike up a conversation with him about it. Because even if our current arrangement is great, I actually really like him and I would love to bring a part of myself and my kinks in it, too. And even if he is not interested, I want to watch it”

“Okay then, I have the USB in my room, I'll bring it over to yours and put it on your desk. You don't even have to tell me when, or even if, you watched it. If I'm honest, just the thrill that you COULD have seen it is exciting enough. God, why is this so embarrassing.” Louis laughed, burying his face in his hands for a second and then busying himself by doing what he just said and hurried over to his room to grab the stick.

He carefully laid it on Zayn’s desk before he went back to the living room to give his best friend a tight hug. Then they settled down to watch a movie and it didn't take long for Louis to get sleepy. While the TV was the only light and noise source in the room, Louis whispered: “Please tell me, when you watched it.”

Then he fell asleep and didn't see the fond expression Zayn gave him.

Chapter Text

🧘🏻‍♀️🎀

It was Sunday afternoon and Harry was exhausted. A long weekend was about to come to an end and Harry has been on his way home for an hour now. He was glad that he decided to take the train instead of the car. The possibility of falling asleep behind the wheel would have been too high. Now though, he had his head leaned against the window and was looking out at the scenery flying by. The landscape around London was beautiful and he enjoyed the rare sight he was getting since he didn't leave London very often these days.

The music flowing out of his headphones muffled the noise from the passengers around him and his eyes kept falling shut every few minutes. He was glad that the seat beside him was still vacant despite the train being quite full. At least nobody tried to make small talk with him. The workshop was very interesting and he had a lot to think about and even a few ideas for some of his clients to improve their productivity. He really needed to write some of those ideas down or his tired brain would’ve forgotten them by the time he was home.

That's how he spent the rest of the train ride and later after he changed into the tube, tapping away in his notes app.

He exited the tube station, tiredly taking the last metres to his apartment complex. His eyes fell on a hunched figure that was seated near the entrance. He rolled his eyes, not in the mood to deal with a beggar. He took a deep breath and neared the man. But as the man looked up at him, his mood did a 180.

“Louis! What are you doing here? Stand up, the floor is cold!” He offered a hand to Louis to help him stand up. Harry immediately pulled him into a tight hug, sighing as he caught a hint of his familiar scent. He felt the smaller man chuckle against him.

“I'm happy to see you, too. Now off me you big oaf. You are crumbling your dinner.” Louis backed up a bit, a huge smile on his face, his eyes glistening happily. Harry's gaze fell on the brown take away bag Louis held in his hand and his stomach growled with anticipation. He was so tired that he hadn't realised how hungry he was.

“Thought I'd surprise you. And I guessed that you could be hungry after the trip.” Louis explained and Harry couldn't stop smiling.

“This is the best surprise I've ever gotten. I'm really hungry, thank you very much. Let's go up then.”

They spent a quiet evening on the couch, devouring the take away food and Harry happily chatted about the weekend and described every single idea in all details to Louis who sincerely showed interest in Harry’s work.

“Sounds like you had a great time there, babe. I’m really happy for you! I think I should look into some workshops like this but only for beverages myself” Louis smiled, pulling Harry closer to him, so he could rest his head on Louis’ chest.

“I am, really! You can learn so much new stuff, sometimes I can’t believe how they come up with all these new inventions and revelations. Oh!” A memory shot through Harry's brain, causing him to sit upright and look at Louis. “You know what? There is another workshop in around ten days. I think on the 7th and 8th of June. I have the pamphlet for it somewhere in my bag. One second.” He scrambled off the couch and in the hallway to rummage through his backpack until he pulled out a folded paper with a triumphant “Aha” and made his way back to Louis.

“Look, there is a timeslot for wines and sparkling wines on there!” He pointed to an image on the backside of the pamphlet practically shoving it into Louis’ face. “I need to attend this one because it has additional courses to the one from this weekend. Why don’t you join me? I can put a belated registration in for you! It will only be two days and I already have a hotel room. But it’s weekdays and I don’t know if you are free to go, you know with the shifts in the bar… ” He knew he sounded a bit too eager, but what could he do? He was just very passionate when it came to his work.

Louis chuckled, pulling the pamphlet from his hands. He read the passage about the course for wine attentively, while Harry bounced his feet nervously.

“That sounds very interesting, darling. I’ll have a look at the shift plan tomorrow and see if I can switch a few shifts with Jasmine around. Maybe Zayn would be willing to cover for me, too. I mean, the bar would benefit from this workshop, too.”

Harry was beaming at Louis by now. “That would be great! The hotel is really nice, and I found this chinese restaurant not far away and…” Harry continued his rambling about the weekend until they both were too tired to keep their eyes open any longer.

+++

Louis was able to make it to the workshop by finding a replacement for him in one of Zayn’s friends who had already helped out at the exhibition. He was very grateful for that and told Harry that he needed to find a way to thank him profoundly after they were back in London again.

The day of their departure had come and while Harry took a last look around in his flat if everything was turned off, Louis was loading their bags in the trunk of the car. He grabbed his tote and left the flat, locking the door behind him.

He joined Louis in the car, who leaned over the armrest to give him a quick kiss on the lips. He ducked his head, smiling to himself. After he secured the seatbelt, Louis started the motor and steered the car out on the road.

The ride was rather uneventful, they had music playing softly over the radio, Louis humming some of the melodies under his breath. Harry enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere, looking out of the window at the scenery flying by.

After merely two hours they arrived at their accommodation for the next two nights. A cute little hotel with a lot of charme. They both grabbed their duffle bags out of the trunk after they found a free parking spot and made their way to the reception desk. Harry had them checked in quickly. He even got the same hotel room he stayed for the first workshop a few weeks ago.

The room was spacious with a four-poster King Size bed made out of dark wood and a seating area with two cosy armchairs and a small table between them. The bathroom included a big bathtub which Harry took extensive advantage of the last time he was here. And he already had plans on doing the same this time, but with Louis.

They put their clothes away in the built-in wardrobe on the right side of the bed, and freshened up before leaving the hotel again to find something to eat for dinner.

Harry led them to the cute little Chinese restaurant he told Louis’ about. It was a family business, open for nearly 40 years now. That’s what the server, a small chinese woman with a kind face, told them. She seemed really proud and didn’t hold back sharing more information about her family and the restaurant. Not that Harry would have minded. He loved to learn new things about people, no matter if he knew them or not. And Louis didn’t seem to mind either, he just looked at him with an amused face every now and then.

The food was fantastic, too and they enjoyed their meal in silence. When Harry asked for the bill to pay, the nice lady brought both of them Sake to try. On the House. Of course, she told them that her husband produced the Sake on his own. They toasted one another and downed the beverage as if it was a shot. It tasted great, even better than a few ones, that Harry tried on his trip to China years ago. Louis insisted on paying the bill (“Harry, you already pay for the hotel, let me get this one, please”) and they thanked the lady for the hospitality and made their way out and walked in the direction of the cinema. The idea to watch a movie there came from Louis, who had a mischievous smile on his face. 

+++

The room where their chosen movie was showing, was on the smaller side. And as the movie had started, only 5 other people were with them. Louis led them to seats in the last row, multiple free rows between them and the next guests, an older couple.

The movie was not what Harry had expected, and it was hard to concentrate on what was happening on the screen. Not only because of the lack of interest on Harry’s side but also because there was a sneaky hand wandering up and down his thigh and it was rather distracting. Not that he would’ve minded, the movie was boring anyway.

It got interesting when Louis picked up his jacket from the seat beside him and draped it over Harry’s lap before sneaking his hand under it to fumble with the button of Harry’s jeans.

Harry drew in a sharp breath as Louis pulled his cock out of his underwear which was semi-interested by now. A thrill of excitement shot through him, making the fine hair of his neck stand up. Louis pumped him to full hardness while leaning close to his ear. A breath ghosted over his neck.

“I bet you like that, probably wish that everyone could see what I'm doing right now.”

An embarrassed sound escaped his throat and Harry looked around if anyone had heard his whimper, but no one turned towards them so he exhaled, turned his head and whispered bach in a hushed tone. “Lou, what are you doing? There are people! I thought we would go slow! What if they actually see what we are doing?” His voice sounded more panicked as he intended to. And his dick clearly had a different opinion in this current situation, already leaking precum from the tip, what a traitor.

Louis stilled his hand for a moment, looking Harry in the eyes as best as possible in the low light. “Babe, this is not us exploring our kink in public. This is me giving you a sneaky handjob under your jacket in an almost empty cinema with a bit of dirty talk. Relax and enjoy it.” He added with a warm smile in his tone. “Are you okay with it? I’ll stop if it makes you too uncomfortable. But i promise you that no one will catch us”

“Don’t” Harry whispered, taking a shaky breath and lay a hand on Louis’ over the jacket, nudging him to continue. “Was just a bit unexpected. Please continue.” He added, with a bit more confidence in his voice.

Louis started to move his hand again, and Harry had to admit that it did feel very good and tried to relax into his seat, biting his lip to prevent more loud sounds from escaping his mouth.

With every expertised twist and every stroke over the tip of his cock, Harry got more and more squirmier in his seat. Louis continued to rile him up with words alternating with nibbling on his earlobe and after a few more minutes and an especially deep press into his slit, he came with a shout which he managed to muffle by lightly biting into Louis’ sweater covered shoulder.

While he tried to steady his breath, he actually had to watch Louis bringing up his come-covered hand to his mouth, who then proceeded to lick every finger clean while calmly watching the movie. Well, that certainly didn't help bringing his heartbeat to a normal rhythm.

He tucked himself back into his trousers just as the house lights went on again and they left the cinema with a flushed looking Harry and a very obvious bulge in Louis’ jeans.

They took an uber back to their hotel, Harry constantly giggling in his post-orgasm haze. Clinging to Louis the whole way back and up to their room, Harry couldn’t wait to get his hands on Louis properly, returning the pleasure he experienced earlier.

As soon as the door to their room was closed, Harry spun around to pin Louis to the door and hurried to kneel in front of him, eager to get Louis’ trousers open and his still half-hard cock out of his pants. There was a soft thump when Louis’ head fell back against the door before he felt a hand sneak at the back of his head.

“Babe, you really don’t need to do that. This was about you, not m … argh.” Louis moaned as Harry started pumping his cock to full hardness, nibbling and licking at the trimmed hair around his base.

He loved that Louis was this considerate but THIS was for Harry’s pleasure, too. Had Louis forgotten how Harry came in his pants like a teenager just from giving him head? The memory of what happened at the exhibit spurred him on and he took him all in now, bobbing his head at a punishing pace, not stopping when the tip constantly hit the back of his throat. He couldn’t help but moan at the feeling, sure that Louis could feel the vibrations in his whole crotch.

Louis kept one hand in Harry’s locks, while the other came down to feel where his cock disappeared in Harry’s warm mouth and oh my god, that alone could get Harry hard again. He looked up as best as he could, seeing Louis already stare down at him, the blue in his eyes nearly gone, mouth hanging open in pleasure.

“You’re doing so well, babe. Feels so good, I don’t think I can hold out much longer.” He groaned, and Harry hummed happily. “Can I… hmmm… can I come on your face?”

Oh yes, please. Harry instantly pulled away, mouth wide open, tongue out looking up at him like he hung the moon and the stars. Louis took hold of himself and after a few quick strokes, he shot his load all over Harry’s face in long white streaks.

Harry closed his eyes, trying to lick some of the come up from around his mouth, as he was pulled up from where he knelt. 

“You are amazing, darling. Can’t believe you’re real. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” Louis smiled warmly at him, pushing a stray strand of locks away behind Harry’s ear. 

+++

Louis hurried a few steps forward, to open the front door before Harry reached it. What a gentleman, Harry smiled and threw an air kiss towards Louis. They stepped into one of the seminar rooms of the catering company, where rows of stools were lined up. On the far end of the room was a whiteboard situated, a desk with a chair tucked under next to it. They arrived with 10 minutes to spare and the room was already swarmed with people, all animatedly chatting in small groups scattered throughout the room. Harry recognised a few faces from the previous workshop and nodded towards a man and two women with a friendly smile.

He picked two free seats for them in the middle section and sat down, looking through the flyers that were distributed on each of the stools. Most of it was advertisements and some coupons for different Online Shops.

They were just in time, nearly a bit too late after they spent the early morning getting lost in each other and the feeling of spending a night together, all tangled up under the sheets. Eventually, Louis was the one that hurried them up to get ready and down to the centre.

The morning was filled with speeches from various people from every section of the food and health industry as well as a podium discussion between nutritionists, doctors and scientists about the quality of convenience food and how to make it healthier but also keep it affordable for everyone.

Harry listened very intently but his eyes wandered over to Louis from time to time who was obviously not as much interested in the discussion that currently took place on the stage as himself. Harry didn't mind, he knew that all of this could be a tad boring for people whose passion lay somewhere else.

The end of the podium discussion was the end of the morning program and they were led to a big dining room where a buffet was already settled. It was some sort of all-you-can-eat buffet with dishes from some of the speak-holders and companies that sponsored this event.

The food was delicious and Louis and Harry made their way back to the hotel with full bellies and a groaned “I don't want to see food ever again in my life. I ate way too much” from Louis. 

+++

After they took a short nap to let the food settle a bit, Louis was on his way to his lecture for “Wine and the modern culture around it” and Harry decided to use the few hours of break in between the courses they attended together to treat himself to a mini impromptu spa treatment. He always brought face masks and small bathroom bombs with him when he was out of town for more than a day. And there he was now, in a bathtub full of bubbles, a mask on his face that smelled like a tropical fruit mix and a glass of champagne on the border of the tub that he ordered from room service.

After he climbed out of the tub, he wrapped himself in the fluffy towels that were provided from the hotel and dug out nail polish in a beautiful shade of rose to paint his toe nails. He waited a few minutes while sitting rather uncomfortably on the edge of the tub before he decided that the paint was dry enough it was safe to pad over to the bedroom and get dressed.

Well dressed was a bit over exaggerated. He covered the private parts of his body in delicate lace lingerie that he brought with him for “special occasions”. It had nearly the same colour as his toenails. He actually intended to wear this outfit tonight for the dinner to surprise Louis afterwards, he just wanted to try it on one last time.

He connected his phone with the portable speaker he brought with him, selected his favourite playlist and started to sway his hips to the beat in front of the big mirror on the wall facing the bed. He let his hair fall out of the towel, moving his head slightly from side to side to shake out his wet curls. Harry wasn't a man with overflowing self love but he liked to watch himself in the mirror from time to time, moving his body in sensual motions. Especially when he wore beautiful lingerie like he did right now. These were the moments where he felt the most connected to his feminine side and one day he would build up the courage to do it in front of Louis.

Harry moved his hands up and down his body, feeling out the fine material with his fingertips, sighing with how good it felt. He was completely engulfed in his dancing and the music that he didn't hear the door open and close until he heard a surprised gasp from behind him.

He swirled around, heart beating out of his chest but calmed down instantly when he realised that it was Louis standing there, with big eyes and his mouth hanging open.

“Oh hi” he said, blushing furiously. “Erm.. yeah you shouldn’t have seen this until tonight. Well, surprise.” He laughed, spreading his arms and doing a little twirl. Louis still hadn’t moved. “Do you like it?” Harry asked sheepishly.

Louis finally managed to break free from his state of shock and literally rushed over to Harry, roaming his eyes up and down his body.

“You look like an angel. Absolutely stunning! Please turn around once more. Slowly.”

Harry did what he was told, and turned around excruciatingly slowly, making sure to push his ass a bit out when he turned his backside to Louis. “It’s one of my favourite outfits,” he commented.

“Oh it’s definitely one of my favourites now, too.” Louis said, his breathing was a bit heavier than normal. “It’s a pity that I don’t have the time right now to properly worship it but we have to be at the centre in 20 minutes for the next course.” he pouted, making puppy eyes.

“But…” Louis’ eyes glistened and his gaze turned mischievous. Harry shivered from excitement. Louis always had great ideas when he had that look on his face. The older one wandered over to one of the armchairs, sat down and brought his hands together, rubbing them slightly before he spoke up again.

“Why don’t we try something? But first… I need you to tell me if you feel more like H or Harry, today babe.”

“Harry is fine, thanks Lou.” Harry’s heart made a jump at how considerate Louis was with Harry’s gender identity. It made him feel very appreciated. “What do you have in mind?”

“Well, why don't you go and find a plug in the left pocket of my duffle bag as well as a bottle of lube. Be a darling, and grab those. Then I want you to kneel on the back, ass facing me while you work yourself open nice and slow and then stuff yourself with the plug. Then you get yourself dressed and we will go through our program and when we are back here, I will fuck you into oblivion.”

Harry couldn’t move. He just stood there, blinking at Louis. His dick was already very interested in Louis' words but his brain needed some time to catch up with the rest of his body. He then nodded eagerly. “Yes please, yes. I’m just… going to do that now.”

Nearly stumbling over his own feet, he made his way to Louis’ bag where he found the items and took them with him to the bed. He made quick work of coating his fingers in lube and shoving the string of his pantie to the side. Sinking in, two fingers at once, he moaned at the intrusion. It didn’t take long for him to pump his fingers fully in and out at a quick pace.

As he heard a disapproving tsk tsk from behind him, he stilled his fingers and turned his head to look behind him, seeing Louis shake his head. “I said slow, didn't I, darling?”

Harry’s cheeks flushed, he nodded and mumbled an apology, continuing to move his fingers, now at a much slower pace. He tried to put on a great show, moaning and groaning every now and then until he felt loose enough to put the plug in. He took it from its place beside him and coated it in lube too before he reached behind him again, slowly pushing the plug in. As it was nestled nicely between his cheeks, he pulled his panties back and stood up. He turned around with wobbly knees to see that Louis was already standing right next to him, a gentle smile on his lips.

“You did so well, babe. Looked very nice from where I sat. Can’t wait for tonight.” He pulled him in for a deep long kiss, the effect from Harry’s show palpable against Harry’s thigh.

+++

Harry was a little squirmish on the way back to the centre. The plug inside him shifted with each step and grazed his prostate every now and then. This would be a long afternoon. And he would need to make it through the evening cooking session, too. But he wanted to be good for Louis and also wanted to prove to himself that he would be able to do this.

They entered the large kitchen area with the last few people and found an open spot near the back on the left side. In this course, held by some famous baker, they were shown how to make their own fitness bars. They were divided in four groups, every group had a different recipe and at the end, everyone could have a sample from the other groups. 

Harry was very excited for this course, with his passion for all baked goods and stuff. It was a fun course, even Louis did as best as he could. Most of the time, he let Harry do his thing but he was very helpful with handing over ingredients or wiping down the surfaces. Harry even forgot the plug in his ass, which then instantly reminded him that it was still there by lightly pushing against his prostate.

The bars all tasted fantastic and Harry took pictures of all the recipes to write them down neatly for his recipe-folder as soon as he was home again.

After the course they could decide if they wanted to participate in a cooking course with dinner or if they went out to take their dinner in a restaurant. Harry’s original plan was to take the course and enjoy a self made meal, but the events of the afternoon and the constant pressure he experienced from the plug inside him, made him change his mind.

He wasn’t even sure if he had enough appetite for dinner anymore. Louis seemed to sense the distress he was in and thankfully just took his hand and led him out of the room.

“I know we wanted to do the cooking course, but I think you’ve changed your mind, haven’t you?” Louis looked at him, understanding pouring out of him. Harry let out a deep sigh.

“Yes, please.” He smiled at Louis and tucked himself against his side while they made their way out of the centre, Louis’ arm slung around his waist.

+++

Back at their room, Louis laid him carefully down on the bed and crawled on top of him. He could see the desire in Louis’ eyes and he used both hands to make him fall on him, Lips connecting, He immediately deppend the kiss, demanding entry with his tongue. He couldn’t wait a second longer to start, being tortured by a plug for hours now.

He let himself get undressed piece by piece, while Louis peppered him with kisses on every part of his skin that got exposed. When he was completely naked, feet planted on the sheets, legs spread slightly open, Louis just stood in front of the bed, eyeing him up and down.

But Harry didn’t have the nerves to take it slow right now, so he pushed himself into a sitting position and pulled Louis close again, already fumbling with the zipper of Louis’ jeans.

“Lou, I like how you look at me, really. But right now, I want you to fuck me. I can’t take any more of this. Please, fuck me.” Harry pleaded, finally managing to push Louis’ legwear down.

“Okay babe, I’ve got you.” Louis chuckled, while stripping out of his sweater, kicking the trousers and pants to the side. After a trip to his bag to grab lube and a condom (just to spare the sheets some stains, Louis said), he returned to Harry, who was now laying down again, hands crossed behind his head, observing Louis.

His boyfriend pulled the condom on after giving himself a couple of strokes and climbed back on the bed, between Harry’s legs, pushing them apart. He saw him looking down at the plug before bringing a hand down to push it slightly in. Harry took in a sharp breath at the feeling but it was gone again as Louis pulled the plug out in one swift motion.

He then lined himself up with Harry’s hole and slowly pushed himself in. After bottoming out, he settled on a steady rhythm, hard and fast just like Harry wanted.

Harry threw his head back in pleasure, he closed his eyes and felt Louis’ hands roaming around his body, tweaking his nipples, grabbing his hips to pound in him even harder. He knew that this would be more of a quickie but he couldn’t care less.

Suddenly, Louis pulled out and Harry whined at the loss. He watched him get off the bed. “Lou, what -”

“I got the impression this afternoon that you liked that mirror over there very much.” Harry looked in the direction that Louis motioned with his hand and his eyes fell on the big mirror in front of which he had danced just a few hours earlier. He gulped. 

“Please be a darling and position yourself in front of it.”

Harry got up at the speed of light, his legs a bit wobbly. He stood in front of the mirror and put his hands on both sides before he watched Louis get behind him and enter him again. He let his head fall down at the Intrusion but suddenly got yanked back at his hair, forced to look in the mirror again.

“I want you to watch yourself the whole time, okay?” Louis whispered next to him. 

“Yeah, okay.”

It was kind of mesmerising, watching himself instead of catching glimpses of his boyfriend behind him. He couldn't keep his eyes from his flushed face, his glassy eyes and his hair that bounced slightly with every thrust.

“I'm close, babe. Come whenever you're ready.” Louis groaned and Harry could see Louis’ hand coming to the front and taking a hold on Harry's cock.

He watched in awe as Louis’ hand worked over him, the tip of his cock disappearing over and over again in his fist and after a few minutes, Louis bent over to kiss him between his shoulder blades. “Come for me babe, I know you’re ready.” He panted in his ear and that’s all it took for Harry to let go and let his orgasm hit him, white streaks of come painting the mirror. Louis followed him quickly and crushed down on his back, just for a second before he steadied himself with his hands on the wall, too.

After they caught their breaths again, Louis pulled out gently. Harry turned around and Louis immediately embraced him in a hug. “I’m going to run us a bath, darling.” He quickly pecked Harry’s lips and then he was gone. Harry could hear him rummage around in the en-suite followed by the splashing of water. He let himself fall back onto the bed again, just laying there for a second , drifting in a light sleep until Louis shook him awake. “Up, up babe, water is ready.”

Harry looked at him with sleepy eyes, pouted and stretched his arms out to make grabby hands. He was too tired to get up by himself. Louis laughed softly and just hoisted him up in his arms, carrying him the short way over to the bathroom. After he helped him into the warm water, Louis settled himself behind Harry in the big bathtub, covering Harry’s upper back in kisses.

Harry sighed at the gentle kisses, letting his head fall back against Louis’ shoulder.

“I liked your idea with the mirror.” he said, turning his head to kiss the side of Louis’ neck.

“Yeah? I liked it, too. Felt like being a little spontaneous.” Louis smiled, and laid a warm hand on Harry's stomach, just resting it there.

“I like spontaneity.” Harry giggled and closed his eyes just enjoying the closeness to the man and the warmth of the water. They would call room service later to order something for the missed dinner.

+++

The second day started slowly. The trip to a nearby fruit plantage was set to start at 10 am. They would take a bus from the centre and stay there for a few hours. After their return, the convention would be concluded with a last group discussion.

Harry and Louis took advantage of the free time, slept a little longer than normal and ordered a big breakfast up to their room because neither of them could be bothered to go down to the breakfast room. They both preferred to stay half naked and enjoy the food in bed, Harry couldn’t resist doing some overly cheesy feeding of Louis with some of the food.

They reached the plantation an hour after departure. It was a big plantation, rows of trees as far as one could look. A long sandy driveway led to a beautiful farm with a main house, two smaller buildings and a big barn. Multiple tables and benches were situated in front of the open barn doors. That’s where they exited the bus with the instruction to gather around and wait for their instructions.

The Owners of the farm, a couple in their fifties, stepped out of the main house to greet the group. After a short introduction of themselves and the history of the farm, they got the instructions for their assigned activity for the day.

They split up in groups of six people and after picking up buckets, they were shown to the part of the plantation where they found the right trees. Harry and Louis were in the group for the apples and made their way over to their assigned part together with 4 other people, a woman and three men.

After only 10 minutes both of their buckets were nearly half full despite the fact that Harry took his time to choose apples who were in nearly perfect condition. Louis on the other hand just tossed every apple in the bucket that didn’t look too mushy at first glance.

Harry was just in the process of observing an especially beautiful fruit as he felt hands sneaking around his waist and a smaller body pressing against him. He smiled and turned his head to the side, so that he could look at Louis. “Hi there, you done already?”

Louis shook his head and smirked. “No, not really. Just missed you.”

Harry honked a laugh, “Babe, I was literally just 5 feet away from you.” He tipped Louis on the nose with his free hand.

“I know.” Louis shrugged, then motioned for Harry to turn around in his arms, which he happily obliged to. “But I missed your lips, too.” He said, connecting their lips for a split second.

Harry sighed, going in for a few more kisses, as he was suddenly backed up against the tree trunk he was previously harvesting the fruits from. He took a quick look around if any of the four other people were in their close proximity but he could only see the backside of one of the men a few rows away.

Louis was already working on putting marks on Harry’s neck, pressing himself against him, one leg between Harry’s thighs. He connected their lips again and the kisses became faster and sloppier, Harry sighed, putting a hand around the backside of Louis’ neck, pulling him in a bit more. He got lost in the feeling of Louis’ lips on him and hands all over him.

But as Louis tried to rut up against one of his thighs, Harry came to his senses again and tried to back away a bit. “Lou… Louis, wait. I… I’m sorry, I’m not really comfortable with doing this here. It’s a bit too… much. Too many people, too close by.”

He blushed, his gaze falling to the ground. He was a bit ashamed, and feared Louis’ reaction to his rejection. He felt Louis take a step away and he nervously started to pick his cuticles.

It took only a second before Louis was back with him, stopping Harry from fidgeting and tilted his chin upwards with his other hand so he had to look at him. Louis didn’t look angry or disappointed and Harry already felt a bit better.

“Hey babe, no please don’t be sorry. If anyone has to apologise, it’s me! I should’ve checked in with you beforehand. I got a bit carried away. I’m really sorry. And I’m really proud of you for speaking up and telling me that you are uncomfortable.” He took another step forward and pulled Harry in for a hug.

Harry immediately melted at the touch and buried his face in the other man’s neck. “It’s okay. It was just a bit overwhelming for a second there. And it’s very risky out here,” he muttered.

He then came out of his hiding place and kissed Louis, a bit slower this time. “Come on, let’s get the buckets full and back to the farm. I’m hungry.” He smiled broadly at Louis and they both went back to their original task.

Back at the farm, they could pick their own fruit variations to create different sorts of smoothies, testing out and discussing the flavours. Harry got lost in his ideas, there were already 10 different glasses in front of him with samples he put together, his mind constantly rattling down new combinations. And he made Louis try them all. He knew that Louis wasn’t a big fan of fruits in general, but he didn’t seem to mind, taste testing all the different samples. He gave Harry detailed feedback and Harry wrote it all down.

It was a nice afternoon, the weather was pleasant and so were the people around them. They made a lot of small talk, some of them especially interested in Louis’ wine bar. Harry watched him tell them every single detail about the process of opening the bar all while having the proudest of all smiles on his face. Harry had to turn around and busy himself with something else, his tummy made all this funny fluttering stuff.

“Oh I just remember, I don’t know if I already told you.” Louis was suddenly beside him again, tapping him on the shoulder. The people he previously talked to, had wandered off to their own table again. “You know that empty store right next to the bar?” He started, Harry nodded in agreement.” They put up a sign that it’s free to rent! I think it's been there since the start of the week? I’m not sure. Anyway, after this whole trip here, there’s this idea in my head, that it would be a great location for something like, I don’t know, a smoothie/breakfast bar? I’m sure it would get great traffic in this area!”

“Louis! That is a great idea! But wouldn't it be too much with you already managing the wine bar? I mean not that you weren’t capable of it but two businesses is a lot!”

“Oh I didn't think of me when I had that idea, darling. I thought maybe you could… you know.”

Harry was at loss for words. He never really thought about having such a business of his own. The thought of it was exciting, he couldn't deny that.

“I… I mean, I could think about it?” He said hesitantly.

Louis immediately hurried to explain. “Not that you should do it! I don't want to put any kind of pressure on you! That really wasn't my intention.” He looked apologetic, a hand on Harry's forearm. Harry melted a bit at that, Louis was always so thoughtful. He pressed a kiss on his boyfriend's lips. Just because he could.

“Don’t feel bad, Lou. It just came a bit suddenly, But I will definitely give it some thought.” Harry smiled sweetly.

The rest of their time at the plantation flew by and suddenly they were back at the hotel, packed and ready to drive back to London again. Harry went to check them out, while Louis took their bags to the car. Louis was the one driving again and Harry played DJ with his phone connected to the car.

“Thank you for taking me with you, Harry. I had a lot of fun these last two days. And I definitely needed the change of scenery after all these months of working so hard to get the bar rolling.” Louis squeezed his thigh gently, letting it settle there.

Harry smiled, looking out of the window, like he did on the train the other day. But this time, he wasn't tired. Not a bit. He was happy and excited for what's to come and the big plans they had. Together.