when it all began | l.s.

Boobear

Louis' POV

I hopped into the car and shut the door. Suddenly there were hands on my waist and I was pulled into a rough kiss.

"Well hello to you too," I smiled, wiping my lips as Harry pulled away. "How was shopping? Buy anything good?" I asked curiously.

"I don't know. Guess you'll find out tomorrow," he teased.

I nudged his shoulder. "Oh come on. My birthday is less than twenty-four hours away. Can't you just show me now?" We turned a corner sharply and Harry leaned into me slightly.

"Whatever happened to 'You don't have to get me anything, Harry,' hmm?"

"I changed my mind. I want all the presents in the world." I crossed my arms and stuck my nose in the air. It was pretty chilly outside, and I very much appreciated the extra warmth of Harry's body heat.

"Oh shut up, Lou. And don't you dare mention something you want. I've already finished my shopping, and if you bring up something that I haven't gotten I'll be embarrassed and I'll have to find time to go out again."

I rolled my eyes and looked out the window at the falling snow. I knew we were headed to Harry's. I'd stopped at my own house to get some more clothes, and he'd swung by on his way home from wherever the hell he went shopping. He wouldn't tell me.

"Hey," I began. "Remember that time we were in an interview and I said I wanted a dressing gown and you just looked so worried because that wasn't what you'd gotten me?"

He chuckled to himself. "Yeah, I hid that really well, didn't I?" he said sarcastically. "Everyone who saw that knew exactly what was going through my mind. It was truly traumatizing."

I paused, wondering if what I was about to say was a bad idea. Nevertheless, I spoke, though hesitantly.

"Wasn't that . . . hadn't we already fallen out at that point?" He looked at his lap, sorrow washing over his face. "I just mean . . . why did you care so much that you hadn't gotten me what I really wanted? We were barely talking back then."

He fidgeted with his hands before placing one on my thigh and squeezing it gently. His gaze remained on the floor until I put my hand on top of his and stroked it softly. He then looked up and smiled faintly.

"Just because we weren't talking doesn't mean I didn't care. I still wanted-no, needed to get you the best gift," he explained. I frowned. "What?" he asked.

"Well, didn't you not get me anything that year?" The memory stung. I still recalled the morning when I looked through all my gifts and not a single one was from the only person I was really hoping for. That was the moment I'd started to assume Harry had really moved on. That Harry didn't care for me anymore.

"I do believe you received a dressing gown that year, did you not?" he asked, eyebrows raising. I nodded, confused. "But there was no indication of who it was from, correct?" This time I just stared at him, still completely out of the loop.

How did he know that?

"It was wrapped in silver wrapping paper and there was a note taped to the top of it."

The car pulled up to Harry's house and stopped but neither of us made a move to get out.

"And the note said, 'Dear Louis, I heard you were in need of one of these. Hope you have a merry Christmas. I still love you.'"

My jaw dropped. At the time, I'd assumed the gift was from a fan and they'd just forgot to leave their name. Thinking back to it, I guess it didn't make much sense, but I couldn't think of any other option.

"I-I always thought . . . that was you?" He nodded, further intertwining our fingers on top of my leg. "I just figured you hadn't gotten me anything."

He shook his head slowly. "Absolutely not. There was no way I was going to bypass you on your birthday and Christmas all at once. You meant so much to me, Lou. Even then, when we were broken up, I-"

"You still loved me," I said, smiling. I brought my free hand up to his cheek, brushing his skin with my thumb. "I hope you know I still loved you, too."

"Of course I did. Always in my heart, remember?"

"Always," I beamed.

————

I stumbled down the hallway in the dark until I reached the kitchen, wincing as I knocked something off the counter that fell with a clang. I scrambled to pick up what turned out to be a plastic Starbucks cup and place it back down gently. It was nearly pitch black, and I waved my arms out in front of me until I found the handle of the fridge. When I pulled it open the light nearly blinded me. I quickly grabbed a half-empty iced coffee and shut the door as slowly as possible.

As I left the kitchen I banged my hip into the corner of the counter and tripped, spilling the iced coffee everywhere.

"Ah, fuck," I shouted, grabbing my hip and doubling over in pain. "Shit shit shit," I yelled. After a few minutes, I heard the click of the light switch and Harry's tired voice.

"Lou, what is going on?" I looked up to see him rubbing his eyes, both of us squinting at the sudden brightness.

"All I wanted was my damn iced coffee, and I broke my hip for Christ's sake." Harry yawned, his eyelids heavy, and I stood up straight, my hand still clutching my hip. My voice then softened. "I was trying so hard not to wake you, babe. I'm sorry. I'll clean this up," I apologized, gesturing to the puddle on the floor.

"S'okay. D'ya know what time it is?" Harry mumbled.

"It was like, two a.m. when I got up."

His eyes widened and, as if he'd gotten a huge burst of energy all at once, he jumped on the spot. "Louis! It's your birthday!" He was smiling from ear to ear.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah I guess it is," I said. Harry ran over to me and tackled me, hugging me tight to his bare chest. I finally let go of my hip and wrapped my arms around his lower back, shutting my eyes and smiling as I rested my chin on his shoulder.

"Happy birthday, Boobear," he whispered in my ear.

"Thanks, Haz." The nickname made my heart flutter, as I was reminded of the time he got an entire crowd to call me Boobear while singing me Happy Birthday. It was memories like that one that I'd hold close to my heart forever.

We stood there in the kitchen, simply holding each other for a long time. After a while, I pulled away, my hands remaining on Harry's back. He held my face and looked me in the eyes, his bright green ones shining with tears.

"Love, what's wrong?" I asked, tightening my grip on him.

"It's just, I'm really sorry I've missed your last few birthdays. I shouldn't have let that happen. I should've been there." The tears welled in his eyes, but had yet to fall.

"That doesn't matter now," I said. "That's in the past. What matters is that you're here with me now, and this, right here," I gestured between us, "makes up for everything."

He sniffled. "I love you so much, Louis."

I ran my hand through his hair, twirling a curl around my finger.

"I love you too. More than ever."

***

A/N: so i haven't written in forever aGAIN and i'm sorryyy although not a lot of people are reading this idk. school and work have been kicking my ass and i've had zero free time to write.

comment if you've read this and you're liking the story so far ??? please ???

i SWEAR more than just larry fluff will be happening like right away, i just needed a few filler chapters instead of just doing a huge time skip.

thanks for reading. love you as always

~bee. xo.