blue eyes like blue skies<3 ~l.s

chapter 7

By the time Niall and Josh called it a night, Harry realized he should be heading back as well. Louis jumped up when Harry announced he was ready to head out.

"I'll walk you home, Harry," he offered, but swayed heavily where he stood. Harry reached out and steadied him with a hand on his hip.

"Maybe I should walk you home, Lou," Harry smirked, not nearly as drunk as Louis was.

Louis chuckled and leaned into Harry's touch. "Yeah, maybe," he mumbled.

Louis said goodbye to his friends followed by Harry, who thanked them for the food and good company.

"Sure thing, Harry. Come back soon, this was nice," Liam told him kindly.

"Right, thanks again!" Harry said, leading Louis out the door. "I'll, uh, get him home safe, then."

Liam and Zayn laughed at their friend's state, sleepy and leaning heavily against Harry. "Thanks, mate, we owe you one," Zayn told him while Liam disappeared into the kitchen. He returned moments later with Louis' address written on a scrap of paper for Harry.

"Have a good night, Harry," Liam told him and turned to Louis, flicking his ear. "Goodnight, princess, see ya later."

Louis unenthusiastically slapped away Liam's hand, "Fuck off, Li. See ya," he replied.

He and Harry walked out the door and down the hall, Harry's arm around his waist.

"'M sorry, Harry. Didn't mean to get this drunk on you, that's shitty of me," Louis told him tiredly.

"It's fine, Lou, I don't mind. I had a nice night, your friends are great," Harry responded.

Louis hummed quietly. "Yeah, they're nice. They like you a lot, too," Louis said.

"You think so?" Harry asked him. He had been so eager to make a good impression on them since Louis had first invited him out.

"Yeah, for sure. Such a charmer, Hazza, so polite," Louis smiled up at him.

"Thanks, Lou," Harry grinned back.

The two walked to Louis' apartment in silence, Harry with his arm still wrapped around Louis. It became apparent Louis was sober enough to walk on his own, but neither boy made a move to pull away from each other.

They finally arrived at Louis' flat, Harry walking him right to his door.

"Thanks for coming with me tonight, Harry. I'm glad we could hang out some more," Louis told him as he dug through his pockets.

"Of course, Lou, I had a lot of fun," Harry promised.

Louis retrieved his key and glanced up at Harry. "We should hang out again sometime, maybe just the two of us if you'd like?" Louis asked him.

Harry's heart pounded at the words; he knew Louis wasn't completely in a proper state of mind, may not even remember this conversation tomorrow, but it made him flush with happiness.

"Yeah, Louis. I'd love that," he replied honestly.

Louis grinned at him, pleased with his answer.

"Yeah? I'll text you, Harry," he said. "See ya soon, then, I s'pose."

Harry smiled at him as well. "See ya, Lou. Have a good night."

"'S already been a good night," Louis replied, and before Harry knew it, Louis was reaching up on his tiptoes to give Harry a sweet kiss on his cheek.

Harry stood there in surprise as Louis turned around to fumble with his lock. He tried telling himself Louis' just friendly, it's nothing more than Louis being enthusiastic about hanging out with Harry. Deep down, he couldn't help but think there must be just a little bit more; he knows Louis was still relatively drunk and may be acting a bit out of character, but seeing Louis unlocking his door and wishing Harry a final goodbye made his heart soar.

"Goodnight, Hazza," he told Harry, blushing and biting back a grin before closing the door behind himself. Harry returned home in a pleasant daze.