Three: December 3rd

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"Hey, Lou. Don't worry! The right girl will come along, you just have to be patient."

Here's the thing, he hasn't come out to Harry yet. He doesn't know why. And his drunk brain is too drunk to stop from doing it now. "What... What if I'm not waiting for a girl?"

Harry blinks. "Then you wait for the right guy." Then he hugs Louis.

Louis doesn't have the heart to tell him that the only guy he wants just got married.

Just then, their friend Niall stumbles over. "Harold! Go back to your wife! I'll entertain this eejit."

 Harry hugs him once more, then goes back to Louise.

 "You never told him." Niall says flatly.

 "Never got a chance, Niall." 

 "He's married now, Louis! You lost it." Niall exclaims. See, Niall figured it out about a year ago, and has been attempting to bully Louis into telling Harry ever since. 

 "I never had a chance, Niall. Look at him. He loves that girl, not me." Louis sighs, taking another swig of his drink.

 "A girl that looks exactly like you." Niall says, plopping down beside him. "Come on, bro. It's not a bit weird that your best friend married your dopplegänger?"

"It's a coincidence, Niall. Albeit a strange one." Louis sighs. "I just have to move on, man."

"Don't say that, Louis! You could still have a chance." 

"No. I don't. I stopped having a chance when he met her. Alright?" Louis says. "I was dumb enough to think I would ever have one, nevermind let you think it. I'll never have Harry, and I'll just have to be content with him as my best friend."

Niall sighs. "Guess so..."

***

Harry goes on his honeymoon, and isn't due to return until December first, leaving Louis depressed and lonely. 

His coworker Zayn has noticed a shift in his mood, and is constantly pestering him about it. Saying that he'll go clubbing with Louis, take Zayn's husband with him.

Which in turn makes him even more depressed, because he's the only one alone on the holidays.

Zayn has Liam. Niall has his girlfriend Amelia. Harry has Louise. Hell, even his dog Clifford is less alone than him.

He's still looking forward to Christmas, he loves this time of year, it's just seemed to have lost the magic.

Every time he gets excited about something he's reminded of the missed opportunity that he's going to live with for the rest of his life.

He's still talking to Harry, of course he is. But it's all about Louise and married life and how happy Harry is with her and how much he loves her and the honeymoon and about how glad he is he decided to get married.

It's taking all of Louis to not phone Harry and start yelling down the phone about the mistake Harry's made, about how it should be Louis with him, not Louise. 

He doesn't want to, though. He doesn't want to put a damper on Harry's happiness. 

He's just going to have to move on, give up on Harry.

His best friend is happy. He just has to accept that it's not with him.

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