Larry Stylinson One Shots

Homeless Harry au - Part 1

Hello everyone! So sorry about the irregular updates! I usually only write when I have free time or inspiration (which is honestly quite rare). Anyways this will be the first part of a story that I semi-planned out in my head at 3 AM one night and decided to write. It will be posted in parts as I continue writing it (expect somewhere between 5-10 parts. Sorry it's so long😭). Also sorry for any typos or grammatical errors!

Part one

Word Count: 1771

Summary: Louis (20 years old) volunteers at a homeless shelter that a homeless Harry (18 years old), frequents quite often. I can't say more without spoiling it, sorry!

Louis had just finished sweeping the floor of the kitchen area and was nearing the end of his shift when he heard what sounded like an argument happening from the entry area, where people can check in for the night. He recognized one of the voices as Barbara, the old lady who runs shelter, yet the other voice puzzled him. It was deep, and sounded like it belonged to a boy around Louis age. Whoever it was though, was crying? It was hard to tell however, as whoever it was, they were clearly whispering, trying not to cause a scene.

Upon sensing something was wrong, Louis placed down the broom he was holding and headed straight towards the noise, which wafted easily over the otherwise empty shelter (it was late, and nearly everyone was asleep). As Louis approached, he was able to make out what the two were saying.

"Please, it's freezing out there. I know I'm late but I don't have anywhere else to go. Please." The voice cried desperately, yet still extremely low and softly.

Louis' heart broke for the lad, whoever it was. Working in the shelter for about a year now, Louis was lucky to have only witnessed an encounter like this once or twice. It was truly heartbreaking to witness. You see, the shelter had a max capacity of occupants that they could take for the night, and once that cap was reached, they couldn't accept anymore people. If it was up to Louis, he would say screw it and let whoever it is in, but Barbara was much stricter than he. It sucked, but if a surprise inspection were to occur and the shelter were found to have exceeded the max capacity deemed safe for one building, then the whole shelter could close. So, they had to be strict.

As Louis turned the corner to face the pair, his breath caught in his throat. The boy that Barbara was refusing entry to was Harry. Although Louis and Harry have only ever spoken a handful of times in passing, Louis knows that Harry was very kind. He doesn't know much about Harry's situation or why he's homeless at such a young age (18, bless him), but he's seen enough to know that it sucks and he doesn't deserve any of it (not that anyone really does, in Louis' opinion).

Louis thinks back to the time where he was serving dinner one night. Harry had been second to last in line to be served food, right before a mother and daughter duo. Unfortunately, they had run out of food, only about one and a half servings left to feed three people. Donations were few and far between (people only seem to be generous enough to donate around the holidays) and they didn't have enough to feed the abnormally large number of people in there for a late summer night. Regardless, the remainder of the food was scooped onto Harry's tray, who immediately turned around and handed it to the family with a small smile and a "You need it more than I do." Louis had about bursted into tears at the kind act and gave Harry his own food which he had brought to eat on his dinner break. The poor boy nearly cried when Louis gave it to him, rubbing his sunken-in tummy and thanking him profusely.

Louis shook his head to bring himself back to the present, where Barbara was explaining to a silently sobbing Harry that he couldn't stay here tonight.

Louis surged forward, making himself known to the pair before saying, "Barbara can't you make an exception, just this once? He'll freeze out there."

Barbara frowned, "Louis I know you only want to help, but you know the rules. We can't risk this place getting shut down for everyone because we made an exception for one person." She sighed, "Plus, if we make an exception for one person, then we'll have to make an exception for everyone."