Who are you?

chapter 17.

Louis woke up the next morning to a body softly snoring into his side, and it took him a second to remember where he was. How he drunkenly told Harry the truth about him, how Harry refused to talk to him, how the rest of the band ended up being understanding, resulting in Harry spending the night in his hotel room.

"Good morning baby," Harry muttered next to him, making Louis open his eyes. Harry was peeking at him through tired eyes, the morning sun shining through the window making his face glow. Louis ran a hand through his curls as he took in the moment. 

"Good morning love," Louis whispered back, pulling Harry closer to his chest. 

"I probably smell really bad," Harry giggled, and Louis returned the giggle with a soft chuckle. 

"I don't care," he said, "I missed you too much to care. 

As if a switch was flipped, Harry's demeanor went from content to slightly hurt. "Lou, I'm sorry-"

"Don't be, you needed time and I was willing to give you all the time you needed," Louis said, keeping his hands threaded through Harry's hair, "I'm just glad you gave me the chance to explain everything to you."

Harry sat up, making Louis withdraw his hand from Harry. "I think I just needed some time for it to sink in. It's not every day you find out the guy you've been falling for is actually from a different timeline, who also knows everything about you because he's technically dating another version of you," he said with a small laugh. Louis however, didn't return the laugh.

He was well aware that this Harry was technically the same Harry, but he was so different from his Harry back home. How would he tell his Harry what all happened here, given he makes it back home? What if he forgets about his Harry all together? He was comfortable enough saying he's in love with another version of his boyfriend, what if-

"Louis? You okay?" Harry asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. Louis looked up at Harry, who was staring at him with a concerned look. His head was now blocking the sun, making him look like even more of an angel. Louis leaned into Harry, embracing the feeling of Harry wrapping his arms around him. 

"Am I a bad person for falling for a different version of my Harry back home?" Louis asked, trying not to sound too upset over his mindset. 

"I don't think so," Harry said, leaning his chin into Louis' hair. "I think it means that no matter where we end up, whether it be in alternate realities, different timelines where you weren't in One Direction, where neither of us auditioned for X-Faxtor, we would always find our way back to each other."

"Like soulmates?" Louis asked, readjusting himself to look at Harry's face. 

"Exactly like soulmates," Harry smiled. Louis smiled back, and there was nothing he wanted more than to kiss Harry in that moment.

--

Louis didn't want to go back. 

Where he was originally from, his every movement, word, breath, was controlled. People were watching him everywhere he went, fans had opinions on every thought he had, and he remembered how bad it could get mentally. In this world, Louis had everything he wanted without the fame part. He had his best friends, he had Harry, there was nothing else he could really want. 

Most importantly, he was free. 

He was free to be as happy as he wanted with whomever he wanted, he was allowed to be out and proud and Simon cowell couldn't do anything about it. Modest couldn't technically fire him, since he wasn't technically working for them officially. He could love a man, and no one would bat an eye. 

Even though Harry wasn't allowed to come out quite yet, they both knew that Simon showed Harry favoritism in style and looks, so he would be more lenient with Harry dating a man. Sure, he would probably still have to to stunt relationships, but no one ever believed those anyway.

Louis tries to think back to the last night before he ended up here. The feeling of being the underdog of the band looming within him, thinking about how much better the band would be without him for the rest of the night after their show.

It was that moment that hit Louis that he got almost exactly what he wished for, seeing how much better the band would be without him, but he didn't realize how wrong he was. 

He remembered Liam being unable to talk to any of the other boys until he got here, the boy who, in the other world, would only take a little convincing before letting his guard down. It wasn't right to see him never be invited out with the rest of the boys. 

Niall and Zayn were similar to their real world selves, but they were definitely more closed off than they normally were. Niall's humor was more forced, and Zayn was somehow quieter than usual. 

Then there was Harry. 

Harry, who in his world was known for his energy and humor, was practically a shell of his other self on the stage until he met Louis. In the concert he and his sisters went to, his stage presence was completely off. Not to mention, if Harry didn't recognize Louis from the X-Factor auditions, who knows where they would all be. 

It was slightly off-putting to Louis to think that his presence in the band actually mattered, but seeing how his disappearance would have effected everyone first-hand sort of helped him accept the fact. It almost felt nice to know he was needed. 

Suddenly, a presence sat next to him, effectively shaking Louis out of his thoughts. 

"Whatcha thinking about?" Harry asked, smiling at Louis.

"Just how much different things are now than when I first got here, or even before I got here," Louis said, looking at the ground. Harry let out a soft hum, as if asking Louis to elaborate. 

"In the other world, I didn't feel needed. Simon tried to prove again and again that the band could manage without me, but seeing how different things were here, I can't help but think about how wrong he is," Louis explained, looking back up at Harry. 

"Your Simon sounds like an even bigger dick than mine," Harry laughed. 

"He is," Louis agreed, leaning into Harry. 

"You've helped us all so much," Harry suddenly said, causing Louis to lean back in confusion. Before he could ask what Harry meant, the younger boy continued, "I wasn't happy before. Sure, I had Niall and Zayn, but neither of them really got me the way you do. I thought I was completely happy with myself before, but then you came along and I realized that I wasn't fully satisfied. We had a member of our band who wasn't really with us, our management had no ideas for the next album, and I was losing hope of ever finding someone who could love me for me, not just because I'm Harry Styles," Harry said, not breaking eye contact once. 

Louis didn't know what to say, but he knew Harry got one thing right: Louis loved him, and he needed Harry to know exactly how much he did. 

So, in a quick spur-of-the-moment decision, Louis captured Harry's lips in his, feeling fireworks and stars in his vision and thought his body. 

He was right where he wanted to be.