Larry Stylinson One Shots II

OCD

Summary: A romantic evening with Louis and Harry, but Harry has OCD.

Request from ShesInMyDaydreams

DISCLAIMER: This is not to romanticize mental illness or make it cute, it is to show how hard it can be to live with OCD. It's so much more than just being neat or liking things a certain way, which is what some people think.

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A busy day naturally calls for a relaxing night, but for Harry, "relaxing" is a very loose term. For Harry, a relaxing night consists of candle lighting, red wine, chocolate covered strawberries, movies, Louis, and his least favorite date, intrusive thoughts.

"Can you move the trash bins while I get the strawberries?" Louis asks.

"Sure." First, Harry takes two wine glasses down from the top shelf and puts them on the counter. Then, he puts his shoes on and without tying them, goes outside. A single porch light illuminates Harry's path to the end of the driveway. He starts wheeling the trash bin down the long driveway, keeping his head down and watching his feet move him forward.

There's someone outside

"No there's not," Harry says, countering his thoughts.

What if there's someone watching you right now

They can kill you

Harry speeds up his pace, now looking up into the darkness. He can slightly make out trees, cars, and houses, as well as other figures that his mind makes out to be monsters. He sets the trash bin at the end of the driveway, then looks out into the street. He squirms in his own skin, because he is not very fond of the dark.

Run

Harry takes one last look around the street before sprinting up the driveway, having convinced himself that someone is after him. He flings the door open and takes a deep breath, then leans against the door after he closes it.

"What happened?" Louis wonders, rushing to Harry.

"I don't like the dark," Harry simply sighs, knowing that Louis doesn't need more of an explanation than that.

"Alright," Louis says, knowing that there is more to the story than Harry is letting on. He lifts Harry's chin with his thumb and bent first finger and gently presses a kiss to his lips. "I set everything up in the living room," he gently says. He takes Harry's hand and leads him to the living room, revealing a few lit candles scattered around the room on the coffee table, shelves, and the windowsill.

Harry sits down on the soft brown couch and admires the two glasses of wine in front of him, as well as the chilled chocolate covered strawberries on a small plate for the couple to share. A content smile rests on Harry's face, until he sees that there are six strawberries on the plate.

"Lou?" He quietly speaks.

"Yes darling?"

"There's six strawberries. Can't have six," Harry explains. Louis looks over at the table and sees that there are, in fact, six strawberries on the plate.

"How can I help?" Louis wonders; he knows from experience that the number six can make Harry uncomfortable due to its connection with the Devil.

"Can you either add some or take some away?" He nervously asks. Harry never likes asking Louis to go out of his way to do things to make him more comfortable, especially in terms of his mental illness. He almost feels ashamed, because six chocolate covered strawberries or six of anything should not bother him. He just thinks something bad will happen, like the strawberries are poisoned, if there are six.