Forever Young

Chapter 2

Harry lays the last of the empty boxes onto the stack of flattened cardboard and closes the internal door to the garage on his way out. It's only taken six weeks, but he's finally done. Unpacked. His house is now a home, filled with his art supplies and pots and pans, his knick-knacks and vinyls, artworks in progress and finished ones that he hadn't wanted to part with by selling them.

Of course, it has helped to have a reason to finish unpacking, a timeframe to work towards, or race towards, as is actually the case. The boys are due to arrive in an hour for drinks and dinner and they're the first guests Harry's had over to his new house, so naturally, he wants everything to be perfect.

Being a Monday, the bar is closed and Harry is really looking forward to spending some time with them all as a group; no customers to serve or deliveries to unload. He hasn't prepared anything lavish for their meal, figuring that finger food is a better option for their casual evening along with plenty of alcohol, which Louis had insisted they'd bring. At least he hopes it'll be enough. He's not exactly entertained a lot, his flat in the city was too small to properly host and it wasn't like he had a long list of friends that he wanted to invite over anyway.

But the guys from the bar are different in so many ways. They've welcomed him with open arms and Harry has tried his very best to fit in and not be the weird guy, the quirky one, the one who's too artsy, the one who zones out and looks at people oddly. He must be doing something right though, because it was Louis' suggestion that they should catch up outside of the bar and Harry had found himself inviting them around for an impromptu housewarming party before he could stop himself. Any worries he might've had about overstepping had dissipated when Louis had positively beamed at him and instantly accepted on behalf of them all.

Harry's been a frequent visitor to the bar, stopping by whenever he's in town, and he's always greeted with a bright smile and good conversation, particularly from Louis. Harry's not foolish enough to deny that his feelings for Louis have been steadily growing over the past few weeks, his optimistic heart getting ahead of itself and beating to a new rhythm whenever he's in Louis' presence.

He doesn't know if Louis considers him just a friend or something more than that, perhaps his flirting is just his default style, but Harry harbours a flicker of hope that the attraction is mutual.

He wanders into the kitchen and sets the kettle to boil, looking out across his open plan living area to the large windows beyond as he sorts through what he has left to prepare. His conservatory provides an uninterrupted view of the enclosed garden which is bathed in the golden light of the late afternoon, the yellow daffodils and freesias starting to bloom and compete for which can rival the brilliance of the sun's rays. He absentmindedly wonders how they would hold up in comparison to Louis, who Harry has decided is the sun personified.

He glances over at the newly finished painting standing on the easel, a cerulean blue background with flecks of silver providing the perfect palette to draw out the beauty of the white and brown wings: Louis' wings.

He's worked on it for more than two weeks, not rushing it, just letting the memories of the beautiful wings, and the even more beautiful man, filter in slowly, enveloping and inspiring him.

Canvases showcasing the other boys' wings are leaning up against the low walls of the conservatory. He's done them all now. Each one more beautiful than the last, but Louis' had been the one that he'd savoured, painting small sections before starting on a different one, and then returning, drawing it out so it wouldn't be over too soon.

The kettle clicks off and he makes his tea, letting it cool while he checks off his mental to-do list. The homemade sausage rolls are in the oven, the satay chicken skewers are resting in the warmer, and the Thai fish cakes are cooked and in the fridge, ready to be heated up. He'd made some white chocolate muffins and a batch of individual strawberry tarts earlier in the day, so all that's left to do is bake the halloumi, finish making the salad, and get himself dressed.