10 Years Later (Larry 1d)

Chapter 15

They sat hugging, just revelling in being next to one another after ten years of being apart. Louis laughed, saying out loud when Harry looked at him confusedly, "It's weird that this isn't weird or awkward" and then beaming as Harry laughed and agreed, giving Louis a kiss on the forehead. They were interrupted by a knock on the door and Niall, Zayn and Liam came in, not pausing before the three of them threw themselves at Louis and Harry, climbing over the coffee table and jumping on top of them. The sofa tipped back at the force of three fully grown men flying at it and the five of them were capsized onto the floor in a mass of limbs, laughter and tears. They laid on the floor, bodies sprawled over one another and hugged, sounds of tears and laughter coming from the pile of men before Louis spluttered "Get off me Niall you fatty, you're crushing me" and they all rolled off one another howling with laughter.

They eventually sat up, pushing the sofa upright and back into position, before the five lads hugged each other individually, and then had one large group hug, each sniffing back tears. They settled on the sofas, Liam and Niall taking up one, with Harry, Louis and Zayn on the other. Louis leant his head on Zayn's shoulder and threw his legs over Harry's as he slumped tiredly over the two boys. Zayn ran his fingers gently through Louis' hair as Niall and Liam began to gabble excitedly over one another, interrupting each other so none of the others really knew what either were saying "So glad... "See you"... "Happy" ... "Back again" ... "Missed you" ... "Can't wait" ... "Too long"...

Harry held up a hand to silence them, saying solemnly, "Louis and I have some stuff to tell you, we've had a long talk and there are some things that you guys should know as well". He looked at Louis, seeking confirmation that it was okay to tell them everything and started to talk after receiving a nod from Louis. Zayn drawled, "Oh god Harry, do we really have to listen to this all again... blah blah blah blah, you were in love with Louis, blah blah blah blah...". Louis and Harry stared at him open mouthed while Niall stuffed his fist in his mouth trying to stop himself from giggling too much and Liam tried to look stern but failed, his mouth quirking upwards. Harry stuttered, "You... you... you knew?" Zayn smirked, "No of course not, you prat, we were just watching you guys on camera".

Louis sat bolt upright in horror while Niall, Liam and Zayn burst into raucous laughter, staring wide eyed at Harry. Somehow he'd forgotten all about the cameras, that this was being filmed. He managed to gasp out, "The cameras, no, Harry, gay, career, management, we'll have to re-film", before Harry shushed him, and cupped his face in his impossibly large hand and said, "It's okay love, I'm ready for it, I've already said it in the individual interviews anyway. We can re-film this all if you're not comfortable, but I'm happy for the truth to be known." Louis slumped weakly against Zayn, still staring at Harry before asking, "But what about management? They won't let this come out!" Harry replied, "Well unless you lot aren't happy with it, they won't have a choice," continuing with a groan when he saw Louis' confused face "Honestly Louis, didn't you read your contract?"

Louis looked at Harry even more confused, until Liam stepped in and explained, "When we negotiated our contracts, I insisted on an 11% controlling stake each. Meaning, that if we all agree on something – we can outvote the management team. As a band, we have a majority stake, meaning we have control over our image, our music, the editing of this TV show, everything. They weren't happy about it of course, but it was the only way we would agree to the reunion. There's no way I would've done this if it meant going back to the old days, like with Modest! Management. We all hated being told what to say and how to act and we're all adults now so we chose a management team that would support us and advise us rather than control us." Louis gaped at Liam, not quite believing what he was hearing, eyes shifting to Niall as he piped up to say proudly, "I negotiated the on-call personal chefs!"

Thinking about it, it started to made sense to Louis why everyone was always so nice to him and no one had forced him into anything he wasn't comfortable with. Although that hadn't been the case with Emma. He narrowed his eyes and said, "In that case, I'd like to sack the PR team", going on to explain the way they'd treated Emma, implying she was fat and berating her for having a personality and not being a media trained robot. Niall echoed that his wife had been treated similarly, and although she'd laughed it off – Niall was quite angry on her behalf and he would be up for sacking them too. The other three guys agreed, and decided they'd let management know that they wanted new PR representation.

The five men chatted and caught up, reminiscing about their time together in the band and slipping into easy banter with each other. Louis told the other lads what he'd been up to in their time apart, and eagerly listened to their own stories about their lives. They shared how each other's families were; each boy softly telling Louis how sad they were to hear of Jay's stroke, and asking eagerly about his siblings. Louis blinked back tears as he heard about the families that had once been as close to them as his own, bitterly regretting the last ten years that he had missed out. They remembered stories of their exploits together and laughed with each other at the memories of their teen years.

Harry took Louis' hand in his and said softly, "Are you sure you're okay, about this stuff between you and me being aired? If you aren't, we can re-record it, it doesn't have to be made public." Louis thought for a second before grinning at him wickedly and saying, "Are you kidding, I can't wait for people to find out that the heart-throb Harry Styles was pining after little old me" and batting his lashes. Harry gave a snort and shoved Louis playfully, pushing him into Zayn who exclaimed, "Ouch" and shoved him back into Harry. A minute later the five of them were wrestling and it was almost like they'd never been apart.

There were laughing and shoving each other gently as they separated again, before Louis gathered them all into a tight hug and whispered, "I really am sorry", Harry adding straight after, "Me too". Niall shushed them and told them it was okay, all was forgiven – they were just pleased to have them back again, with Zayn and Liam murmuring agreements. Niall broke away slightly to say, "I'm starving, can we get some food?" The boys laughed and agreed, but Louis stopped them before they filed out, pulling his phone out of his pocket and turning it to take a selfie of the five men, arms winding around each other with wide grins in the first picture of them all together for ten years.