The Ring {L.S}

Epilogue

Louis seemed to have a constant assigned seat in the living room at his work desk that Harry built for him. There weren't many places where he felt totally comfortable to write at, but this was definitely one of them. He was so close to finishing school, and he was going to finish this final senior thesis even if the world was crashing down around him, which it felt like it was most days.

Harry left the apartment for hours on end and didn't come back until the end of the night. He claimed that he had a big project car for a special client, but it didn't bother Louis anyway. He had so much work to do, and while of course, he loved Harry's little kiss attack distractions, it was the last thing that he needed right now. The only thing on his mind was graduation, and he was going to get there.

Louis was going to graduate college with a 3.4 GPA, a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts, and seven publications under his belt in the last three years. He had job offers lined up from newspapers, spoken word publishers, and editors alike. People were going to know his name whether they wanted to or not.

But first, this thesis.

He had been working on it for weeks, and he was just a few paragraphs away from it being done. Graduation was two weeks away, and he couldn't wait to walk across that stage and show the whole school that he was ready to take the world by storm.

Harry came home about ten minutes after he finished his paper and submitted it online. Once the doorknob began to twist open, Louis popped out of his seat and began yelling.

"I FINISHED MY FUCKING THESIS, I'M DONE WITH SCHOOL." He jumped into Harry's arms making him drop the food that he had bought for the two of them on the floor. Nothing spilled out of the bags, so it was definitely still edible.

"That's great, baby! I'm so proud of you, I can't wait to see you walk across that stage!" Harry smelled like gasoline and oil and his hands were dirtier than ever. These long nights at the shop were exhausting, but he was sure to never miss dinner with Louis.

About a year ago, Louis made it a point to remind Harry that at the end of the day, while working is great and all, there is more to life than just that. Harry agreed with him, and has been making it work ever since. Every single night, they make it a point to eat together. Most nights one of them will cook, but tonight Harry brought home sandwiches from the sub shop down the street from their apartment.

Louis unwrapped the paper around his steak and cheese and dove into it with full force. Harry stood by the sink scrubbing his hands the best he could to get the grease and grime from underneath his finger nails and turned around to see what Louis was doing that was warranting so many noises, but it turned out he was just eating like an animal.

"You okay, babe?" Harry let out a chuckle and sat down at the kitchen table next to him.

"I haven't eaten all day, I worked on that paper since 11am." Harry's eyes widened. Louis did this, he'd sit at that desk and write, or do homework until he forgot what time it was, or until Harry comes home and has to remind him that it's his turn to cook dinner.

"But i'm finally done! It's been a long time coming, I just can't believe I'm finally done, babe!" Harry was smiling from ear to ear. There was nothing more exciting than graduating college. Harry understood that. It was a massive accomplishment, and he was going to let Louis bask in it for as long as he wanted to.

"You have work at the bar this weekend, your pictures next week, work over the weekend, and then graduation. Then right after graduation you do have your managers meeting, you know that right? I wrote it all down for you on the fridge." Louis nodded his head to his boyfriend. This wasn't anything new. Harry has been buying massive calendars to hang on the fridge ever since Louis started becoming overwhelmed with his new found adulthood. Some days he'd sit in the tub for hours and fall asleep until minutes before class, and other days he'd forget about his responsibilities all together because he'd be too caught up in trying to write the next big thing. His writing took off after the first published poem, and he hasn't been able to sit still since, constantly chasing the high of the next "accepted" email. The main reason that these calendars were so important to Harry was because he knew Louis could do everything he set his mind to, if only he'd remember.