Love is War (L.S.)

17

The next week is the epitome of confusion for Louis.

He seems to be in a constant battle of proving to himself what he knows to be right, just, and sometimes, even real. But, it's been hard...to put it simply. The thing is, they've been talking - him and Styles - as in actual conversations where they don't attempt to bite each other's heads off. It's never any type of dialogue that goes below the surface-level stuff, but it's still weird. Also, there have been smiles as greetings, which is another horror story in and of itself. Louis had been accustomed to a certain degree of interaction and when that changed he was able to keep up, but he doesn't know how to deal with Styles looking at him with something other than an irritated expression painted on his features.

It'll go something like this: Louis will show up for a meeting and he'll casually walk into the room, greeting anyone who looks his way with a polite nod. He'll sit down in his usual chair and then by the time he's settled he'll be able to feel someone's eyes boring into the side of his head. He'll just know right away by some magical instinct that he's being observed. Louis will look to his left and Styles will be seated there with a curious gaze and a small smile playing on his lips, the hints of a dimple peeking out. And Louis will try to quiet the strange tug in his stomach and simply give the other man a polite nod and a small smile in return. 

Styles will then proceed to conduct the meeting as usual and then, at least for the past few days, he'll ask Louis to meet him in his office after to "go over the job." He claims he needs to teach Louis the most about the vault job because he's "still technically new." Louis will groan and roll his eyes but follow the man into his isolated space anyway. Then, the two will go over the plans. Louis will learn the mystery code names that littered the blueprints (most of them being times the job needs to be completed by, access codes to get into certain rooms in the building, and names to call each other whilst on the job), and that normally takes about ten minutes before they'll launch into a discussion on the right way to consume a full English brekkie or the best Thanksgiving episode of Friends.

They won't spend long in the office - about 45 minutes max - but Louis will always leave with a little bit of a pep in his step. Then, he'll get back to his hotel and repeat everything Styles told him to Lorne and Browski over a much too long phone call.

This is his job, it's what he's supposed to do. He'll remind himself ten times a day but it does nothing to stop the storm of questions going off in his brain. 

Lorne and Browski had been thrilled to receive the blueprints Louis had sent. They'd been even more thrilled to learn the date of the operation and everything Louis had provided them thus far. They'd been so thrilled and grateful in fact, that they agreed that Louis should stay on the job even after Malik arrives. That has to mean he's doing the right thing. He's making progress all around. 

Why is it then that every time Styles smiles that smile of his, he wants to crawl into a hole where he can never be found again?

Like right now. Louis is seated across from the other man in his office yet again. They'd spent the morning brushing up on the fine details of potential escape routes after they grab the jewels. However, they soon veered off onto topics of much greater interest.

"I refuse to believe you've never had a proper, full-out, birthday party," Louis says incredulously. 

Styles only chuckles and shakes his head a little. "I swear. I didn't have that many friends growing up and...I don't know...I never thought about having one."

Louis leans back in his chair. "What about when you got older? What about last year? I'm sure you had the means."

He runs a hand through his hair and Louis watches as he tugs at the ends. "No, I didn't really have time to celebrate then." He shrugs as if to emphasize it isn't a big deal.