A Royal Pain

Chapter sixteen

Harry does what he agreed with Gemma on. Give Louis some space and also take some distance for himself.

And the truth is... It's one of the hardest things Harry has ever had to do in his life.

Now, he finally realizes how much he has started to lean on Louis. How much he has started to care for him. How much time they used to spend together and how immensely he misses this now it's gone...

Gemma and Anne luckily have decided to stay longer, so this takes Harry's mind off the hard events he has to face a little bit, but he still can't help but glance at Louis whenever they cross their paths. Sometimes they meet eyes, but then Harry quickly looks away. It's awkward, to say the least.

He continues to occupy Gemma's room and has barely gone back to his own room, only sometimes going in to grab some clothes or some other things he needs, but not before checking if Louis is somewhere else.

Furthermore, he abandons his tasks as a king for a while. Harry hasn't entered the office and doesn't plan to do so for a little bit, and instead of that, he focuses on spending every minute he has with his mother and sister. He doesn't know how long they get to stay, and at least this way he makes the best out of the situation with Louis.

Harry refuses to be the one to talk to Louis first, and luckily Gemma encourages him with his decision. She agrees that Louis is the one who pushed him away and said the hateful words, so he has to be the one to apologize and take the first step.

So Harry has formed a new routine. He relaxes throughout the day, catches up with his family, and then goes to have a sleepover with Gemma. It's quite peaceful honestly. He can't help but long to see and work with Louis again though.

He misses the blue in his eyes that he can always see so clearly when they're close and Harry loves the fact that he's probably the only one who gets to admire the pair of blue orbs. He misses the way he would always wake up with Louis clinging onto him like a koala bear, something that always makes him smile. He misses his smell, his touch, his presence... He just misses him.

Even though the distance is hard, it's kind of cleansing to Harry. Because the last few months he spent every minute of the day with Louis, he has not experienced it without him for a bit. It helps him see things clearly again.

But it has been long enough. Harry desperately wants and needs Louis to talk to him again and close the distance between them. He can't take the longing and yearning anymore.

Luckily, his prayers seem to have been answered a little while later. The Royal Family and the Styles family are sitting together at the dining table, and Harry notices that every time he looks in Louis' direction - something he tends to do quite a lot and especially now they're not talking - that Louis is always staring right back at him. The times before, this was never the case, and it makes something flare up in Harry and a smile plays on his lips every time he looks away.

Throughout dinner, he comes to the conclusion that it must be good news. That Louis' stares must mean that he's ready to talk to him, to finally confront him. Harry can't wait to finally hear his voice and to sit close to his presence again.

Oh god, he's such a simp. He's so so gone for Louis.

But hey, who can blame him? It's his soulmate after all and it's written in his DNA for him to feel this way.

Harry shakes the thought out of his head and eats the last few bites of his food, waiting a little while for the rest of the family to finish.

About five minutes later, the staff has cleared the tables and they're all set to go, and Harry walks slowly toward the entrance and after that toward Gemma's room, in the hope that his suspicion is correct. That Louis really does want to talk to him and finally wants to figure all this shit out.