Over Again | larry stylinson

three | time flies when it's a social construct

It took about forty minutes of chain-smoking out of the window and a stiff drink of whiskey for Louis to be able to look at Niall without half-collapsing, which Harry personally deemed a success.

"Drink it up, bud," said Niall uncertainly, hovering in the doorway and trying to alarm him as little as possible. "Harry did this too, the shakes stop eventually."

Louis smiled weakly as he sipped his whiskey and then took another deep drag of his cig. His mind was still reeling, but somehow he no longer felt the need to question whether this was a prank - this was eighteen-year-old Niall, unmistakeably, and twenty-five-year-old Harry.

"What the fuck is going on?" he asked dazedly, not to anyone in particular.

Niall shrugged. "We really don't know," he responded. Louis was struck by the shyness in his voice as he spoke. "We just know that last Thursday, the Harry we knew disappeared and Zayn found this one loitering outside the gates looking lost-"

Louis bit back a reaction to Zayn's name; Harry's eyes were immediately hot on him to gauge his response, like he was willing him to stay silent.

Niall, oblivious, carried on. "And then a couple of days later you went missing, Louis -well, the old version of you- and we knew it would just be a matter of time before this version of you showed up here too."

"Good job Zayn didn't find you," Harry muttered with a pointed sideways glance at Louis, though he quickly muffled his words with a cough.

Louis nodded grimly, but sensed that he should bite his tongue. He didn't know how much Harry had told Niall about their future, but suddenly realised that he ought to quickly find out.

"Niall, any chance you'd grab us an instant coffee, mate? I need the caffeine," he said, and then turned to Harry the second the blonde was out of the room.

"We need to talk, H," he said urgently, keeping his voice low but serious. "If this is real, we don't want to traumatise him. I need to know what he knows."

"Yeah, I know," said Harry quietly, and suddenly he seemed a little awkward. "I haven't told him anything important so far, but I'll catch you up soon."

"So he doesn't know about Zayn?" Louis whispered. He knew there wasn't long before Niall would return, and the kitchen was only a stone's throw away. "Or the band, or... or me and you?"

"No," Harry shook his head quickly; Niall's footsteps were audible again now so he knew they had to wrap the conversation up. "As far as he knows, the band's still together, Zayn's still our mate, and me and you... are also still together."

"Fuck."

"I know."

***

Niall stayed a while longer into the night before heading back to his own flat, having decided not to tell Liam and Zayn till the morning so as to overwhelm Louis as little as possible.

Louis checked the time as the boy left: the clock read 2 in the morning, to his surprise.

"Hadn't realised it got that late," he admitted, and Harry chuckled.

"Time flies," he said, though he didn't offer the end of the phrase.

Time flies when you've somehow been transported back almost a decade to live with your ex who you haven't seen in months, Louis completed it in his head. Time flies when it isn't fucking real.

"Are you tired?" Harry asked.

Louis shook his head. "Not really," he said wryly. "I'm kind of wired, actually. And starving."

"Shock'll do that to you," Harry replied. "Want me to whip something up?"

At that, Louis' stomach rumbled loud enough to embarrass him. He hadn't had Harry's cooking in ages, but remembered that it was good.

"Only you want something as well...?" he started, but knew he wasn't fooling anyone with this fake nonchalance. He was surprised he wasn't literally drooling already.

"I could smash a stir fry right now," Harry mused, and began rooting through the fridge for ingredients. "You make yourself comfortable, watch TV or something. I'll let you know when it's ready?"

"Nah, I'll stay with you," said Louis thoughtfully. "Reckon we've got a lot to talk about."

"Do you think we could maybe do that tomorrow?" Harry asked as he began chopping veg and tossing it into a sizzling pan. "When it isn't two in the morning? I've got a lot of stuff I want to sort out in my head first."

"Er, yeah, that's fine," said Louis, wondering what stuff specifically he was referring to, apart from the obvious.

Smells of sesame and soy and garlic rose from the pan as Harry tossed it, and by the time the noodles were added and it was in front of Louis in a steaming bowl, his mouth was watering.

"This is fantastic, Haz," he said, diving in with a fork. "Forgot how insane you are at cooking!"

"It's literally just a stir fry," Harry chuckled, though Louis could tell he was flattered by the compliment all the same. "This is like the staple student food, you know that? Even you could make this!"

"Agree to disagree," said Louis through a mouthful of noodles. For the time being, a contented silence fell over the two of them, the first hint of calm Louis had had since he arrived. He appreciated that more than anything.

***

When they'd finished and washed up their bowls, it was time to get ready to sleep, a situation which presented its own set of issues immediately.

"I'll have the sofa," Louis muttered, more of a statement than an offer, though he couldn't meet Harry's eyes as he said it. "You got here first, I won't turf you out."

It felt forced not to share a bed, like he was making a statement, and he really wasn't. He hoped Harry knew that. He just didn't know how to sleep next to him after... after everything.

"I wouldn't mind, you know," said Harry awkwardly.

Louis did look at him then, and saw that his expression was open, honest, trusting, and something else he couldn't quite name.

"After all this time?" he asked.

Harry broke the gaze first. "Er, yeah," he mumbled.

Louis' heart ached for him. He reached an arm out then, as if he was going to hug him goodnight, then dropped it awkwardly, turned it into a weird slap on his own thigh. It didn't feel natural any more.

"I'll take the sofa," he said, as kindly as he could possibly manage. "And maybe I'll see you in the morning. If this is real."

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a/n: i'm really enjoying planning this fic, i hope you guys enjoy reading it too !! feel free to pm me and recommend your works / friends works btw, i love discovering new stuff and supporting underrated authors💚💙

~ paradisestylinson