relief next to me (by dolce_piccante on ao3)

4

Liam unlocked the door to his flat and stepped inside, yawning into his shoulder. He toed his trainers off and shut the door as quietly as he could. He turned the lock, yawning again. He picked up his shoes and tiptoed towards his bedroom. He had a client in an hour, but could at least shower and snooze for a power nap.

"Huh."

He paused at the kitchen. Two take-out containers were ripped open in the center of the table, napkins and utensils strewn about throughout the kitchen. It looked like a mosaic of half chewed chips, smears of ketchup, and blobs of something creamy and tan. A bottle of ketchup was turned over on its side the floor, along with six empty beer bottles under the table in the shape of a smiley face (two bottles as the eyes, four curved into the smile). There was a thick strip in the middle of the table that looked semi-clean, but still had a film of something on it, smears surrounding it.

He hummed, turning in a half circle. The rest of the flat looked normal. Louis' bedroom door was still shut. He checked his watch, panicked, then exhaled and relaxed. Right. Delayed opening. Fancy pants cool company. He remembered teasing a very drunk Zayn about it when he crawled into bed last night, stinking of scotch and begging for a cuddle.

Louis' door creaked open. His body stumbled down the hall with his eyes still nearly shut. Liam smirked at him and put his hands on his hips.

"Young man, did you leave a mess in the kitchen?"

Louis cracked one eye and lurched forward, his arm around his stomach, thin black sweats hanging low on his hips. He held onto the wall as he walked.

"I'll clean it up."

His voice sounded as rough as it felt coming out of his throat. He went towards the fridge, a bottle of water calling his name. He ripped the plastic top off and let it fall to the ground, his mouth attached to the end as he sucked half in one gulp. He nudged his glasses off his nose while drinking. He gasped and shut the fridge with his hip, leaning into it, his square glasses still off center.

"Fuck," Louis pinched the bridge of his nose, "I drank a lot last night."

"And ate too, apparently."

Liam picked up a cold chip and lifted it to his lips.

"No, no," Louis blurted out, surging forward and slapping it out of his hand.

Liam's mouth remained open, his eyebrows raised, his fingers still poised at his lips. The chip landed with a near silent plop on the floor.

"Um..."

"Just..." Louis cleared his throat, folding his hands in front of him around the sweating bottle. "I had a guest over for a bit last night."

"Oh," Liam said, confused. "Alright. So?"

"No, like," Louis gestured to the messy table, "we were both eating." His hand made a large circle over the mess covered wood. "All over here. Like we..." His eyes widened. "All over..."

Liam's relaxed smile went wonky, his lips flaring outwards.

"Fuck, gross!" He wiped his hand on his track pants. "I eat there!"

Louis' eyebrows shot up.

"You and Zayn have sex on the couch all the time!"

"But—But still!"

"I said I'd clean it up!"

Liam's horror faded, a chuckle nearly escaping, Louis' stomach trembling with unsung giggles. They were terrible at pretend fights.

"What did you even do?"

"We just had snacks."

"Just snacks?"