Love is War (L.S.)

13

(A/N: the character 'Doherty' is in reference to the actor, Thomas Doherty. I've included his image above for reference of how he appears in this story).

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Louis decided that he needed to reward himself for the less than average work he was doing in Montpellier. While he's well aware he's gotten not a sliver of useful information out of Styles or anyone else, he figured it was time he see at least a little of the beautiful city he was temporarily housed in.

As such, after his morning meeting with the whole team in which Styles glared at everyone and muttered about numbers and job assignments (none of which was directed at Louis and none of which was relevant to him either), he went out on the town. 

Louis ditched his regular business clothing for a pair of tight skinny jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black denim jacket, and set out on foot to take in the neighborhood. 

He had stumbled across a small café and wandered in just to check it out. However, he ended up staying and having a coffee and a soup with a side salad for lunch. He kept on down the same street and found some fancy-looking department stores, none of which interested him enough to walk in though. He eventually spotted a park near a lake and decided to sit for a bit. It was quiet and peaceful, things Louis wasn't aware he desperately needed. It felt as though his brain was always working on overtime lately and sitting in that park and simply observing the water calmed him immensely. He stopped at a fabulous marché afterward and grabbed some fruits to snack on and called it dinner. It was when he was walking back to his hotel though, that he happened upon an entry at the bottom of some stairs with a simple sign hanging over it that read, 'Enchantment Bar.' Louis moaned in excitement and practically ran inside, eager to get his hands on the first drink he'll have had since taking on this case. 

That's why he's here at the moment - sitting on a barstool in a cramped, dark room, nursing a bottle of something he was told is beer but tastes strangely like vanilla ice cream. There's a loud and enthusiastic techno beat filling the space and Louis vaguely wonders if he asked the bartender to change the song, she'd go for it. Given how the woman seems to be bopping her head, he figures not. 

With a sigh, he sips on his beer again and glances at the television in the far corner. It's muted but playing some rugby match. He tries to care about it for all of two seconds before going back to nursing on his beer. 

"Well, well, well, if isn't Tomlinson looking sad and lonely," a thick Scottish accent delivers just behind him. 

He feels a hand on his shoulder and he doesn't even need to turn around to know who it is. 

With a tight smile, Louis grunts out, "Doherty, good to see you mate."

The man seemingly forces out a smile and drops his hand as he takes a seat on the stool adjacent to Louis. 'Is it though?" he asks skeptically but with his smile still in place. 

"It is indeed. Although, almost didn't recognize you without your three-piece suit and your desire to ask incessant questions at 9 in the morning,"

Doherty laughs and gestures for another beer. The bartender nods and moves to grab one. "Speaking of which, what's the deal with you and our beloved team captain?"

Louis almost chokes on his beer. 

"What are you going on about?" he asks once he's able to swallow again. 

The bartender appears and hands over a bottle similar to the one in Louis' hand. "Don't play dumb, we all see the...I don't know...continuous power struggle and competing personalities you both have."