Love is War (L.S.)

21

(A/N: a short filler chapter, don't be mad :/)

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The next week flies by with a series of pre-planned events between two people just helping each other out. Louis had expected their conversation about what exactly it is they were doing to bring clarity and some sense of understanding to both him and the other man, but he didn't expect it to allow for Harry to be so honest about his frequent need to spill down Louis' throat. 

It was a bit surprising that first day a week ago when Harry had asked Louis to come over to his place, but it quickly became as familiar as waking up in the morning. Whenever Harry held a meeting, he would pull Louis aside and either invite him over to his place or invite himself over to Louis' hotel. They would then exchange a series of blow jobs and/or hand jobs like two teenagers who've just discovered the magic of an orgasm. It's a little wild how much Louis has started to long for those moments where Harry will pull him aside and request his company. 

What's slightly different in their arrangement this past week though is they no longer spend the night together, as in sleep over. Louis doesn't really understand why that changed. He supposes it wasn't something set in stone in the first place because technically he and Harry had only slept in the same bed twice before. Now, however, they'll get together to hook up, maybe watch a movie or eat a snack together afterward and then part ways regardless of how late it is. Yesterday Harry was at Louis' hotel until 2:00 a.m. because after he'd gotten Louis off, he insisted on them watching The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and then they wound up chatting about nonsense until Louis glanced at the clock. That's another thing they do after hooking up: chat. Something about the cover of darkness and the lack of expectations that come with their special circumstance that  makes it easier for them to say everything and nothing just the same.   

On the bright side, there's no confusion eating away at Louis' limbs anymore. He knows exactly what it is they're carrying on with. On the down side, whenever Harry happens to share anything crucial with him about his job, the team, or the upcoming operation extraction, Louis starts to hesitate before he reaches for his phone to tell Lorne and Browski.

Like the other night when they were lying in bed together, clothes on the floor and a wet flannel Harry had brought to clean them up placed nearby. He had started to talk about his sister, Gemma, and that somehow led into his time here in Montpellier. 

"Gemma was always the one who wanted to travel," Harry had mumbled. His eyes were on the ceiling as he spoke. "She would talk for hours when we were younger about how she couldn't wait to visit Finland, Bali, New Zealand, Costa Rica - she didn't care where she was going, she just wanted to go."

"She sounds like a free spirit," Louis replied. His voice a little above a whisper so as not to break the hazy bubble they had created. 

"Yeah. There were so many things she wanted to see and I always admired her for that. She just...she was the type of person who was dissatisfied with staying put. The world is big Harry, why would I not want to see as much of it as I can?" he mocked with a high pitched voice. 

Louis chucked quietly. "Did she ever go to those places?" he wondered aloud. 

The other man was silent before he muttered, a little distastefully, "No, she got a corporate job right out of college. Never had time to travel because of it and then she got married and had a kid. She doesn't even talk about going anywhere anymore other than work or the grocery store or her son's play at school."

Louis hummed and glanced over at him. He couldn't really read Harry's expression but he did note his frown. "Happens to the best of us."

"What do you mean?"