petal [book 1] ❊ l.s.

ten - tom & sons

"You look nervous," Louis noted, secretly a bit proud to whip out his own observation skills.

The wind was harsh, nipping at their fingers and their ankles as they walked side by side down busy Chicago streets. Tall buildings reached for the clouds on either side of them, keeping them fenced in. Louis was a city boy, born and bred, but streets like this still made Harry feel a little claustrophobic.

"I am nervous," he confessed, pulling his coat tighter around his shoulders. They were headed to Louis's company building for the first time -- well, the first time for Harry, obviously.

"Here we are," Louis said, quiet enough to be talking to himself. He reached for the door handle, holding it open so that Harry could go through first.

"Wow," was all that Harry could think to say.

The ceilings were at least two stories high, maybe even more. The entire front of the building was made of glass, windows on windows on windows, sunlight flooding the huge lobby with glowing brightness. The giant staircase in the center of the lobby spiralled its way up to the higher floors, seeming to go on forever.

Louis took a few steps into the lobby, his footsteps echoing. He did a cute little spin, holding his arms out in a playfully-dramatic presentation. "Well. This is it!" he announced, grinning widely at where Harry still stood in the large doorway. "Welcome to Tom & Sons Enterprises."

"You don't have any sons," Harry mused. He didn't look at Louis when he spoke, still too busy admiring the lofted ceilings of the impressive lobby. "None that I know of, anyway."

Louis's grin only grew. "I didn't want my name associated with the business. I always wanted to be really successful, but I didn't want my successes and failures to follow my family around. I'm sort of a planner."

"No, really?" Harry smiled absentmindedly, his tone still a bit breathy with awe and overwhelm as he teased, "You could've fooled me." Satisfied that he had seen everything there was to see in the lobby, he brought his attention back at Louis. "Can I see your office now?"

"Of course. Let's go."

Harry took a few steps toward the stairs, but Louis grabbed his arm, tugging him in the opposite direction.

"We're taking the elevator. My office is on the top floor, love, and I'm not walking up that many stairs this early in the morning."

Harry couldn't suppress his pout. "But the stairs are so cool! They're princess stairs," he argued. His eyes grew wide and hopeful when he asked, "Can we take the stairs on the way down?"

Louis hesitated, but Harry was way too good at pouting. "Fine," he agreed, grumpy. The more time that he and Harry spent together, the harder it was to say no to him. "Going down will be better than climbing it. Seriously, H, I'm not a kid anymore. I don't have that kind of stamina."

"I'm not a kid, either."

"You're closer to it."

They shuffled into the elevator, and Harry leaned back against the railing as Louis hit the highest numbered button. The metal was cold against his back, but he barely paid any attention, too busy admiring Louis's crisp suit and his tightly-styled hair. The elevator grinded to a slow start, lifting them up into the sky with no effort besides a soft background hum. After a minute, Harry finally mustered the courage to ask:

"You said 'family' earlier, when you were talking about the company name. Were you talking about your siblings, or did you mean, like, um . . ." His curiosity fell flat, his question sinking into shyness. "Did you mean kids? A husband -- or a wife! You know, whatever --"