Love is War (L.S.)

20

"You've been sleeping with Browski?" 

Louis groans in annoyance. "No, I'm not!"

"You said you were sleeping with your boss."

"Obviously I meant the one I'm investigating here in Montpellier, Lots!"

She lets out a long, suffering sigh. "How am I supposed to know who you're referring to if you don't specify." Louis can practically see her rolling her eyes. 

He didn't know what to do after Harry had left this morning. They didn't talk about what happened the night before, as expected. Louis had said good morning after awkwardly detangling himself from the other man (they happened to wound up plastered to each other at one point during sleep) and offered to call for some breakfast for the two of them (purely out of the kindness of his heart, no other reason). 

But Harry was adamant about getting home. He practically flew to the en suite to change back into his clothes that had been soaked in the rain, and then left the hotel promptly after. 

Louis tried to ignore all the nagging thoughts that were picking at his brain but he couldn't help himself, he needed a listening ear and since he couldn't trust that most of his friends from school wouldn't pester him with a ton of questions about the specifics of what he's doing in Montpellier, he was left with no one but Lottie who always picked up her phone on the third ring. 

"Please tell me what I'm supposed to do," Louis requests, feeling a little defeated. 

"Just stop sleeping with him," she says simply. 

Louis hesitates. "Do - do you have any other ideas?"

Lottie lets out a high pitched laugh at that. "Oh my god, do you actually like this lad?"

"Of course not!" Louis replies quickly. He's currently sitting on a bench outside of Tomas' - well, now Harry's - headquarters. 

"It sounds like you do," she sounds a little too smug. 

"Well, I don't so..."

Lottie hums and Louis knows she doesn't believe a word he's saying. "If you don't want to stop sleeping with him but it's too confusing to keep sleeping with him, then might I suggest you talk to him about it? See where his head's at?"

Louis stares down at his shoes. "I can't do that," he says quietly. 

"And why - oh bullocks I dropped the nail file - sorry, why can't you do that?"

"This isn't middle school Lottie! M'not going to hand him a piece of paper that says 'do you like me? Check yes or no.'"

"Did I suggest that you do that?"

Louis closes his eyes briefly and he's already regretting seeking Lottie out for advice. 

"Lou," she continues. "What is it that you're trying to achieve here?"

He presses his lips into a firm line. "I'm just trying to do my job."

"No, you're not! What are you really doing? You don't sleep with the people you're there to take down. What's gotten into you?"

"I don't know," he says, voice smaller than normal. 

The whole situation has got his brain running on overdrive in an attempt to keep up. Louis is no stranger to friends with benefits or one night stands, but with those situations he had a clear understanding of what the arrangement was. He knew from a single glance a stranger gave him in a bar that they wouldn't see each other any time every again after their night of activities. All the same, he knew when the cute boy behind the register in a Starbucks asked for his number that he'd be seeing quite a lot of him for around a year and a half. Louis always knew what was going on in his romantic or even sexual relationships. He doesn't like not knowing. Also, the whole undercover and lying to Harry thing isn't exactly helping his conscience.