TIRED TIRED SEA (Larry Stylinson)- MediaWhore on AO3

CHAPTER 6

Harry kisses him for the first time on his birthday.

February brings the uncomfortable knowledge that Harry"s time on the island is almost over; a painful and constant thought in the back of Louis" mind that he"s tried hard to suppress so far, but can no longer ignore. It hurts sharply to be reminded that Harry is someone Louis is destined to lose, but he does is best to ignore the bittersweetness of it, choosing instead to focus on making the day as special as possible for the birthday boy. Harry is only going to turn twenty-five once and despite his insistence that he doesn"t want anything, no fuss for Mr Popstar please, Louis isn"t going to leave such a milestone pass unnoticed. He might know that it"s a meaningless one, but that doesn"t mean he"ll let his boy not be celebrated properly.

In the morning, Louis forgoes cooking breakfast - and his jog - dragging Harry to Mrs Clark"s bakery for coffee instead, both of them gorging themselves on her breakfast rolls and fancy pastries, taking their time chatting and eating with Clifford sitting between their feet under the table. Louis smiles, fond as he watches Harry animatedly tell a funny story from one of his tours, something about a technical mishap that left him awkwardly standing on stage in front of 20 000 people while his tech people buzzed around him like flies. Louis forgets sometimes, in the quiet way Harry behaves, that he"s a big fucking deal.

Louis laughs in all the right places, teasing Harry the way he knows he loves to be teased, loving when his cheeks redden under the attention, cheeks dimpling and eyes sparkling. Despite it all, despite the jokes and the laughter, there"s a hint of sadness underneath Harry"s storytelling that Louis thinks might always be there, a dark undercurrent associated with fame that Harry will probably never fully shake off, a melancholia Louis can easily sense in the way the corner of Harry"s mouth moves, the way his head tilts. Still, the morning passes pleasantly, Louis feeding Harry more and more pastries while he, in turn, shares stories about his adolescent antics. Finally, a little past what would be considered an acceptable lunchtime, Harry declares himself way too full to eat anything else and Louis pays their bill, taking the opportunity to grab the birthday cake he ordered especially the week before when Harry exits the bakery first with Clifford, letting him stretch his legs happily in front of the store. It"s chocolate, decadent, way too big for only two people who have been stuffing their face off all day, but what the hell, it"s a special occasion. There are fancy gold letters spelling Happy Birthday Harry on the icing, the rest of the cake simple and void of decoration. It"s perfect.

When Louis finally joins Harry outside, he smirks at his eyes widening at the size of the box.

"If that"s cake, I truly cannot," Harry declares dramatically, Clifford leash wrapped around one of his hands, the other rubbing against his belly.

"It"s your birthday," Louis says firmly, leading them out of town towards the road that goes back the Lighthouse, Clifford running ahead, happy to be outside and without a restraining leash. "You"re eating cake."

They walk back in comfortable silence, their arms grazing against each other through their clothing. Every time their fingers accidentally brush together, they break apart, putting some distance between their bodies only to end up back at the start, Louis with his heart in his throat and his fingers itching to grab Harry"s hand.

When they get in sight of the lighthouse, Louis leads them down the cliffs towards the beach. The sun is shining through the clouds, a surprisingly clear and crisp winter day he would hate to waste inside. Quickly enough, they"re both sprawled on the sand together, the day beautiful despite the cold and Louis gets Harry to eat at least a small part of his birthday cake, humming happy birthday to him under his breath while Harry laughs and brushes crumbs off his face.