Louis groaned loudly from where he was sat at the kitchen island, tiredly rubbing a hand over his face, he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, tossing and turning until the early hours of the morning, thinking about everything and anything. If he was being honest, he hadn't slept much since he had left France. He was constantly on edge, worrying, just waiting for the pin to drop. He understood that he may have been overthinking everything but he knew Harry better than he knew himself and he had a gut feeling that things were wrong, that things had been wrong for a while now.
"Hey Cliff." Louis murmured, his voice deeper than usual, filled with exhaustion, as the black labradoodle shuffled his way between his legs. Louis ran a hand through his thick, curly fur, smiling softly at the way Clifford leaned into his touch, "You're a good lad." He added quietly as he ruffled the dogs ears before turning back to his phone. An article.
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Louis scratched at his week old stubble anxiously, knowing that Harry was bound to be home soon, he had been beyond confused since receiving his fiancés text on Monday night, he hadn't heard much from Harry since then. The man hadn't given him a time he was set to land or even how long he had until he was set to start filming again, Louis was sure that the only reason he had earned sparse, little updates from Harry was the fact that both he and Anne hadn't stopped texting him. Louis honestly wasn't even sure if Harry was coming back home, to the house they shared. For all he knew Harry could be headed up to Cheshire or across the city to see Niall, that thought alone broke him, he desperately wanted Harry with him so that he could hold the man in his arms and make sure he was okay. He had been in a constant cycle of worry for days on end, overthinking everything, he could never get his mind to settle. He had always been protective over Harry but since everything that had occurred with the younger lad earlier that year before tour had even started it had increased, Harry's health and wellbeing always played on his mind, he just wanted to keep the man safe and happy.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when his phone buzzed in his hand, he sighed when he saw it wasn't from the one person he wanted to hear from most, as much as he loved his mum he knew she was just going to question him about Harry.
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As he let his phone slip from his grasp and clatter onto the marble counter, he buried his head in his hands, wielding back the tears that threatened to fall. "When did everything get so shit?" He whispered out loud as he rubbed at his tired, wet eyes with the palms of his hands, wishing that things would just go back to normal.
It was then that the dogs chose to suddenly start barking like mad, giving Louis the heart attack of his life as he jumped in his seat at the sound. Bruce sprinted towards the front door, Clifford bounding just behind him, obviously having sensed some sort of movement outside before the doorbell had even sounded. Louis huffed out a large breath, standing to his feet before trying to quickly sort himself out, messing with his fringe a little and wiping away at the unshed tears that rimmed his eyes before exiting the kitchen.
Before Louis could even make it to the hallway he heard the telltale sign of the front door unlocking, his breath hitched at the realisation that the only other person that could let themselves in was Harry. Harry was home.
Louis listened carefully from where he was stood by the living room door, he leant up against the frame when he heard the soft, gravelly voice of his fiancé greeting their dogs, he couldn't even begin to explain how much he had missed it, how much he had longed to just speak to the man. Now Harry was here, he was home and Louis was at a loss for what to do, what to say, because things weren't okay anymore, nothing had been the same since Harry had left.
The light patter of paws that echoed across the wooden floor warned Louis of the approaching herd, he sniffled as he took a step back and sucked in a much needed breath, watching as the handle on the living room door turned. The door slowly opened and Louis captured his lip between his teeth as Clifford and Bruce scampered in excitedly, seemingly having missed the man that had been away for a few weeks. Louis swallowed when he looked up to find Harry stood staring back at him, a black beanie covering his head of hair, wearing a large hoodie that hung off his naturally broad shoulders and a pair of dark shorts, Louis raised a brow in his direction and all he could say was, "It's November Haz, why the fuck are you wearing shorts?" He couldn't help the light chuckle that followed, the younger man didn't seem to mind it though as he cracked a very small but genuine smile. "I missed you." Louis breathed out as he played with the silver band that sat perfectly on his ring finger, unsure on whether Harry would accept a hug or kiss from him.
Harry didn't say anything in return for a moment and Louis felt his heart stop beating, all he could hear was the rushing of blood in his ears as he watched the green eyed man slowly step forward and gently play with the tips of his fingers before heading off in the direction of their kitchen, "Me too, Lou."
Louis watched as the dogs trailed after Harry's retreating figure- was that it? Was that all he got? A simple touch of the hand after everything. Louis chewed on the inside of his cheek, squeezing his eyes tightly shut to hold back the flood of tears that pleaded with him to be released, burning behind his eyelids as he felt his throat close up. "Fuck-" Was all he could choke out before pressing his back up against the wall beside him, silencing the sobs he just couldn't hold back any longer with the sleeve of his jumper as his let his head roll back to keep his tears from cascading down his face.
He knew then that it was going to be much harder than he first thought, he honestly didn't know if he could keep this up, not being be able to be close to the man he loved, not being able to talk openly with Harry like they usually would because he was so terrified that he would say or do something wrong. In that moment as he slowly slid down the painted wall, burying his head into his knees, all he wanted was Harry. The Harry who was stood only a few feet from him in their kitchen, surrounded by their dogs, but still so far away.
