Love is War (L.S.)

12

A/N: I haven't been able to get the transition noises from Hannah Montana out of my head for the past two days. Thought y'all should be aware of my present misery.

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"Idiot, idiot, idiot," Louis mutters to himself as he paces the sidewalk outside Harry's headquarters in Montpellier. 

He'd been having a hard time accepting the fact that he got off with him in a random conference room in London a little over 24 hours ago. What was he thinking? He wasn't thinking, that was the problem. Louis doesn't do this. He doesn't engage in sexual or romantic relationships of any kind with the people he's supposed to be investigating, infiltrating, and eventually turning over to the authorities. He can't even make sense of his thought process in the moments before he was harshly pinned to the rough wall. 

All he knows for sure is he's certainly not attracted to Harry Styles. It was a pure moment of weakness between two individuals that were irritated and frustrated. It could've happened to him and anyone, really.

Another thing he knows for sure is that his behavior could create another potential setback if he doesn't handle it well. What's to stop the other man from making him leave and never come back again? What's to stop him from shutting Louis out of even more information? 

He's failing. And Louis doesn't fail. Ever.

Things had been incredibly quiet and awkward on the little plane when the three flew back to Montpellier - Timmy staying behind in London, naturally. Harry and Louis barely said anything to each other apart from, "could you leave a little space in the overhead for me to put my bag?" and a soft, "sure" in reply. Swift was out like a light the minute the plane started to ascend, and just as before, Louis envied her for it. 

The drive to their separate places of residence after they touched down in Montpellier was not much better. Swift had gotten her own car and left the premises right away, going to who knows where. While Harry and Louis slid into the back seat of a sleek black vehicle with a driver who maintained his silence for the whole ride. Staying true to their characters, Harry stared at his phone and Louis stared out the window for the 45 minutes it took to get to his hotel.

Louis had received a text from Sam Lorne when he finally made his way back to his hotel room. It was the flight times for Malik who would be arriving in three weeks. Louis had cursed under his breath when he saw it because he knew Malik was stealthy and would take the whole case over from Louis if he found out that he hadn't learned anything of substance. 

After he had a hot bath and consumed a very appetizing Coq au vin while he caught up on his missed episodes of the Great British Baking Show, his phone had pinged that familiar sound telling him he needed to meet the others in half an hour. 

It was the first time he'd ever been instructed to come in for a meeting with the whole team at night. 

It was presently almost 8:00 p.m. and Louis couldn't stop pacing outside the building for fear of what might be waiting for him when he entered it.

He's sure the other man will act as if anything happened between them, but he doesn't know if that's what he wants to happen or not. With a deep and calming breath, he relinquishes all worries about the next few hours into the hands of the universe and enters the tall building. He takes the somewhat lengthy elevator ride to the top floor and soon enough, he's standing outside of the familiar oval-shaped door. 

Louis enters the room and while the entire conference table is filled, with the exception of Harry, very few people pay him any mind. Only one or two send glances his way. Louis tries to fight the smirk that attempts to take over his whole face. They've all grown accustomed to his presence.