larry smut

with a bow on top

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1527146?view_adult=true

~✰~

"You finally got it done, then?" Zayn asked as Harry walked into his apartment. Zayn was laying on the couch with a beer in his hand, flicking through the channels on the TV, unable to find something he wanted to watch. There was never anything good on TV during the day anyway, he decided.

Harry dropped his leather bag on the coffee table that still had stains of red wine from the last get-together Zayn hosted. Harry should know, he was the one who had spilled it in the first place. "Yeah, I had it done yesterday. Wanted the swelling to go down a bit before I laced it up," he explained.

"And Louis doesn't know?"

Harry shook his head and started unbuttoning his shirt. There wasn't much to unbutton in the first place since the top five buttons of his shirt was constantly open, exposing the swallows on his chest he was so proud of.

"Had to wear a shirt to bed last night for him not to notice. It was a pain to lay on my back, lemme tell you," he muttered, the plaid shirt slipping off his shoulders. Harry folded the shirt neatly and put it on top of his bag before turning around to show Zayn the newest addition to his body art.

There were two rows of rings down Harry's tanned back, neatly spaced with artistic precision. They ran down the muscular plane, framing his spine with silver. The rings in and of themselves were not anything remarkable. Harry had chosen one of the simplest designs. There were many to choose between, more than he had anticipated. For a while there he wanted to get silver rings that were designed as tiny ships, but that would be drawing the nautical line a little too far.

Instead he settled for curved rings that reminded him of the wings of a butterfly. They were simple, but there was beauty in the simplicity.

A low whistle came from Zayn and Harry smirked to himself. "It's pretty cool, yeah?"

"Mate, Louis' gonna lose his shit over this," Zayn muttered under his breath and though Harry couldn't see him, he assumed from the sound of creaking leather that Zayn had gotten on his feet. "That's the plan," Harry said smugly.

"Too bad they are temporary," Zayn said, his hand running down Harry's back, fingers gentle over the rings that were now pierced into the skin. Harry let out a sigh. It had been the hardest part, lying on the bed in the piercing parlour, knowing that the rings were going to come off after a little while. "Some of the best things in life are temporary," he whispered instead, shivering from the touch.

"Now, are you going to help me lace it up or not?" Harry asked. When deciding who should help him thread the ribbon through the piercings and help him lace it up, the choice was simple. Louis was out of the question and Niall had a faint heart when it came to things like needles. Even though there wouldn't be any actual needles involved in the process of lacing up a corset piercing, he knew Niall wouldn't be comfortable. Liam was most likely to call him weird and laugh at him.

But Zayn had a beautiful curiosity for tattoos and piercings, having gotten a few himself. He wasn't squeamish and he appreciated the art of it.

So Harry stood as still as possible as Zayn threaded the silk ribbon through the pierced rings that still felt a little tender to the skin. Zayn worked with steady fingers and a quick touch that had Harry leaning into it subconsciously, his mind clouded with thoughts of how Louis was going to react to seeing him like this.

"Is this tight enough?" Zayn asked, tugging on the ribbon to pinch the piercings together. Harry let out a soft whimper and nodded. His skin was drawn together with the silk ribbon and he could feel the places were the piercings were pulling his skin tight. The pain was subtle and steady, but still there like an anchor grounding him. "Yeah yeah, that's perfect," he whispered.