10 Years Later (Larry 1d)

Chapter 17

Louis blinked confusedly as he woke up on a sofa with the room dark and the TV turned off. He shifted slightly and then froze as he realised he was still on Harry's sofa and Harry was asleep behind him, with an arm draped over him. He lay there for a moment, not quite ready to leave Harry's embrace before he gently disentangled himself from Harry and stood up. He deduced that Harry hadn't woken him up, electing instead to turn off the TV and hold Louis as he slept, eventually falling asleep with him. Louis told himself that Harry was a wanker for not waking him up and sending him home to sleep as he tried to ignore the flutter in his stomach that Harry had let him rest and looked after him, like he used to do a lifetime ago.

He looked fondly at Harry sleeping on the sofa, feelings of annoyance dissipating as he got a blanket from the cupboard and laid it over Harry so he didn't get cold. He pulled on his shoes and let himself out, walking the short distance to his house. Once home, he kicked his shoes back off, undressed and got into his own bed. He curled in the foetal position trying to get warm in the huge, cold bed, suddenly regretting his decision to go back home rather than stay in the comfort, safety and warmth of Harry's arms.

He woke up again when it was light outside, reaching for his phone to check the time and swearing when he couldn't find it on his bedside table. He checked his trouser pockets, put on some boxers and padded downstairs to look for it there. He thought back to when he'd last had it and swore again when he realised he must have left it at Harry's. He checked the time on the oven, seeing it was about 10 and went into the living room to use the landline to call the staff line to request a fry up for breakfast. He was just about to head upstairs to have a shower and put some clothes on before the chef arrived, when he heard the doorbell ringing. Louis swore again and then went to go answer it.

He opened the door to see Harry outside. Louis raised an eyebrow as Harry's expression quickly changed from looking nervous, to shocked and a little embarrassed. Louis was confused until he followed Harry's eye line down his body and saw that he was in fact, still only wearing a pair of boxers. Louis flushed bright red, stammering out "Oh right, yes, I was on my way to get dressed, but then the doorbell rang". Harry managed to compose himself pulling a bland expression onto his face before drawling cheekily, "Do you greet all your guests like that, or just me?" Louis laughed, breaking the tension between them, then pulling Harry inside saying, "Come in you idiot".

Louis gestured to Harry to make himself comfortable and went upstairs to dress, feeling or perhaps imagining Harry's eyes on his back and arse. Of course, anyone who would suggest that Louis walked a little slower and sexier, hoping Harry was watching him walk away, would be a liar. Louis discarded 2 pairs of trousers and 3 shirts before he found a combination that he liked, not really wanting to look to deeply why he didn't just pull on the first thing he came across as he usually did. He pulled the clothes on and went back downstairs to see Harry chatting with the chef and making tea. Harry brought a mug of tea over to Louis and nodding towards the chef said, "I asked if she could make me breakfast as well, as I haven't eaten yet, hope that's okay". Louis shrugged and sat down, sipping the hot tea. Harry pulled Louis' phone out of his pocket and passed it to Louis saying, "Here, you left this at mine". Louis turned it on and scrolled through his notifications seeing that he had messages from Emma, Stan and his Mum. He put his phone back down, deciding to deal with it later and chatted lightly with Harry while breakfast was being made.

Once they'd finished their fry up and washed up, they sat on the sofa in the living room. Harry looked nervous for a moment, before gaining courage and asking carefully, "Are you, okay, about last night? Just I woke up, and you were gone, and I didn't know if it was weird or you were upset..." Louis looked at him and smiled sadly, "I was okay, I just felt a little vulnerable y'know, being there asleep. I'm not used to it any more. It's going to take some practice to be around you again." Harry nodded and said "It's weird for me too, it would be so easy to slip right back into being brothers and pretending nothing had changed, but things have changed. We've both changed and although I think we still have love for each other, as brothers, we haven't healed overnight. It's going to take time."