Itstilliswhatitis

Past lives

"Wanna read another one?" Louis asked later that evening.

They had made dinner together and tried to talk about neutral things as they ate. It was...tough. They had said too many hurtful words in the past, both spinning out of control in the end. They didn't break up because they fell out of love. They broke up because they couldn't do it anymore. The hiding. The stunts. Everything.
"Uhm, yeah." Harry replied.

"We don't have to if you don't want to." Louis smiled.

"No, I want to. Can we read one of those AUs?" Harry asked.

"Sure. There's a list here. I'm, let's see. Smut-free and AU, oh, this one looks interesting. It's still One D in present time but AU in the past." Louis said.

"Huh?"

"I get to experience my past lives. Can be fun. Wanna give it a try?"

"Sure."

"So, I guess it's from my point of view. Do you want me to read it?" Louis questioned.

"Yes."

He fucking hated him. Everything about him was just blergh. He thought that he was superior. He hadn't actually said that but Louis could tell from the way he acted. He flashed everyone that fucking dimpled smile and they all fell in love with him. Well, Louis could see behind the facade. There was nothing special about Harry.

"Blergh? Wow. You really hate me." Harry snorted, but he looked amused.

"I'm sure I won't in the end. All her stories have happy endings according to her profile." Louis said and continues to read out loud.

Harry listened quietly until Louis reached the next part of the story.

Then everything happened at once. Harry took a step back and slipped. He fell and Louis was about to burst into laughter but he hadn't counted on Harry's long legs. Harry tripped him and he lost balance and fell forward. He let out a yelp when he fell off the edge of the stage and then everything went black.

"I kicked you off stage? I really am awful!"

"You sure are." Louis cackled and Harry put his tongue out.

Louis continues to read. A mysterious woman showed up and told fictional Louis that she would take him on a journey to experience his past lives.
"Cool." Louis grinned.

He read the rest of the first chapter before he continued to the next one.

Everything went white again and then he was looking at a theater stage. His eyes grew wide. Harry entered the stage. He had long, curly hair and he was dressed like a medieval prince or something. He had never really paid attention in history class so he had no idea from what century his clothes came from. All of a sudden Harry started to speak. 

"Can I go forward when my heart is here?
Turn back, dull earth, and find thy center out."

"Look, Shakespeare!" Harry commented.

"Of course you know that! Which play? Louis asked with a smirk.

Harry had to think about it.
" I have to say Romeo and Juliet, but I'm not sure."

Louis continued to read and they soon established that Harry had been right. They both giggled at the mental image of Louis as Juliet.
"I can totally see it. You would be adorable." Harry teased.

Then Niall entered the stage as the nurse and they both burst out laughing.
"Of course!" Louis half-shouted.

They had a friendly banter going on between them. Harry teased Louis for crying in the fic at the death scene. Louis just laughed and continued reading.

He went inside the room and his jaw fell to the floor. His eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. He walked in on himself having a heated make-out session with Harry. What? They were gay? 

"Surpriiiise!" Harry shouted and giggled.

Louis giggled and continued to read. Soon they were at the end of chapter two.

"Carl Edward Davies, you have broken the law passed by our Parlament, the Buggery Act. You are therefore sentenced to death by hanging. James William Taylor, you have broken the same law and you are also sentenced to death by hanging."

"They die? This is sad, Lou." Harry pouted.

"What makes it sad is that this actually happened back then. Horrible." Louis sighed.

They read the last of it and continued to chapter Three.

When he opened his eyes again he was at a new location. He looked around and it seemed like he was on a small farm of some sort. Oh, a pig farm! And there was he himself in all his glory. So he was a pig farmer in an earlier life? He wondered what year this could be? He looked around again and there, over the door to the small house the year 1700 was carved in. That didn't mean much. This could be an old farm.

"So she's doing a chapter from each century? Cool. Pig farmer Louis." Harry chuckled.

Louis flipped him the finger playfully and continued to read. Their names were revealed.
"Archibald? Horatius?" Louis giggled.

Harry laughed along and they continued the story. Harry put a hand on his heart and gasped dramatically.
"Oh, my God! They're gay!"

They came to the end of the chapter.
"What? They die again? Not fair!" Harry shouted, sounding upset.

"It seems to be the theme." Louis winked before he continued to read the next chapter out loud.

They both cackled loudly at Lord Wellington. So they were married to women in this lifetime. Disturbing, but it made sense.

"I would like to show you the stable after dinner if you would be so kind to accompany me?" Louis-Alexander asked Harry.

"Oh God, I'm so gonna use that pick-up line." Harry joked.

Louis didn't say anything he just smiled and continued to read. At the end of the chapter, they were caught and sentenced to death.
"Now I'm sad again. This story better have a happy ending." Harry huffed.

Louis just shrugged his shoulders and continued with the next chapter. They had lost track of time. This time they were soldiers and of course they died. They always died. That was the end of the past lives scenery and they were back as themselves. Louis woke up in the hospital and kissed Harry who pushed him away.
"Nooo, this is so embarrassing." Harry grunted.

Louis just continued to read and soon the story was finished.
"Aaaw, it did have a happy ending. Cute!" Harry cooed.

"Yeah, it was good. It's horrible to think about how the lgbtq+ community was treated in the past. How much we had to fight. I'm glad it's better now." Louis said.

"Unless you are two boys in a boyband." Harry muttered and locked eyes with Louis.

"Yeah." Louis sighed. He scratched his chin and got up. "Dinner?"

"Sure." Harry said and tried to smile. That fic had left a sour aftertaste, reminding him of the situation he was still in, the situation they were still in.