Love is War (L.S.)

25

(A/N: haha didn't mean to take a whole month to update but I went home for Thanksgiving and then immediately started studying for finals. My apologies, but, here's a picture I took of Harry at my HSLOT show to make up for both my absence and this super short chapter).

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"I'm telling you it was him!"

"I'm telling you that you're wrong!"

"I know what I saw, Louis. Why can't you just tell me?"

"I told you a million times Harry, I don't know every single person who was in attendance at your party. People brought people that I'd never seen before."

Harry sighs and starts picking the tomatoes off his sandwich. 

They'd been going back and forth all morning because Harry keeps insisting that the strange man that had been following him a week earlier when he had to camp out at Louis' hotel room, was in fact at the surprise party. Louis insists however, that it's highly doubtful and Harry was probably too tipsy to recognize anyone. 

They're currently sitting in Harry's Range Rover, parked a few blocks down from the location. Harry wanted to show up early to suss out what exactly was happening in terms of security and the surrounding pedestrians. So far, the street has been fairly quiet and there are only two security guards posted outside, considering it's before 9:00 a.m. on a Monday. Louis glances out the window from his spot in the passenger seat. Lines of droplets fall down the glass in a comforting coordination. It had been raining all morning and he was worried Harry would postpone their plans today, but the other man wasn't the type to let weather affect business. 

"You really didn't have a guest list of some sort?" Harry questions from the driver's seat. 

Louis rolls his eyes and looks over at him. Harry takes a bite of his sandwich that he made them stop for on the way over because "it's good to have your strength up before tasks like this one," he had said. 

"There was no guest list Harry," Louis huffs. "There was no guest list, no sign in sheet, no formal RSVP invitations, nothing of the sort. I called everyone and gave them a verbal invite plus the option to bring someone. Some people brought more, can we move on now?"

"You really didn't see him?" Harry asks, mouth full and eyes wide.

"I don't even know who you're talking about!" Louis exclaims. He balls up the foil paper that had been wrapped around his own sandwich, and stuffs it into the cupholder that's sitting in between them. 

Harry narrows his eyes as he stares ahead of them. "I'm sure it was the same person," he murmurs quietly. 

Louis hums and rests the side of his head against the window. He closes his eyes and listens to the sounds of the big fat drops of rain hitting the hood and roof of the car. He's really tired, if he's being completely honest since he couldn't really sleep last night, too nervous about the events of today. 

Harry had left Louis' hotel after he had given him his gift and went back to his place. Louis wanted to offer for him to stay but he was still shaken up about how intimate the whole evening had been. Everything from him getting riled up at seeing Harry dancing with the walking men's cologne commercial, to the kisses placed right next to his lips as Harry got him off was all too much. It felt like their closeness advanced and Louis wasn't a fan of how intense it made him feel. 

He couldn't take the risk of waking up to Harry plastered to his body. That might've sent him overboard. So, Harry left and Louis slept alone like always. He didn't do anything yesterday, simply lazed around the hotel and prepared the little camera and wires for the mic he needed for today. Lorne had shipped everything overnight and explained that they needed clear footage of Harry actually taking the diamonds in order to have probable cause. At the moment, Harry's record is clean because no one has ever actually caught him in the act of doing anything. Any evidence that he's any kind of person who engages in illegal activity is nonexistent. This will be the first time the authorities will see as clear as day Harry in the act. 

It's not that he didn't feel bad when he was packing up the devices last night in a little bag. He did feel bad. But, what else is he to do? This is his job. This is the whole reason he's here. He'll be damned if a few weeks around Harry has made him question his belief system. After all, they aren't anything proper to each other. Swift made that clear after his phone call with her. Louis shouldn't feel bad, and he definitely shouldn't feel guilty. 

Louis sighs suddenly. "Can we move on now?"

"Fine," Harry responds, a bit petulantly. 

"Do you think you'll go visit your mum soon?" Harry poses instead. 

That's another thing that had come up this morning as they took the little detour for sandwiches - Louis' awful feelings of missing his family. He'd been trying to suppress it but it hit him a little too much this morning and he couldn't help but share his pain with the other man. 

He looks back out the window. "I don't know, we'll see."

"I think you should."

"Thanks for your input," he deadpans. 

Harry pokes him in the side with his finger. "Don't be rude."

Louis doesn't react, only keeps looking out the window. "M'not," he mumbles. "When do you reckon we head on inside?"

Harry retracts his hand and sits up straighter in his seat. "Patience, we'll get started soon enough."

Louis rolls his eyes and unbuckles his seat belt. "I'm gonna use the loo in that shop over there." He points toward a little grocery store on the opposite end. Harry nods his head and starts fiddling with his phone as Louis exits the vehicle. 

He quickly makes his way into the store and maneuvers through the aisles until he finds the toilets. He pulls open the door with haste and shuts it behind him. 

Wanting to waste no time, he quickly pulls the tiny camera and listening device, along with its accompanying wires out of his pocket. 

Lorne had overnighted the items to him in the mail and Louis swallowed the lump in his throat as he stared at the small pieces as they lay on his bedroom comforter, a stark contrast to the events that had happened the previous night. 

He hurriedly unbuttons his shirt and starts connecting the listening device to his chest, allowing it to stick with some tape he had in his other pocket. He momentarily stills as he contemplates where exactly to hide the camera in plain sight. It's a small little thing - no one would notice even if he pointed it out. He decides on the button of his jacket and begins putting his clothes back on. 

Ignoring the weird flurry in his chest and the sudden heavy feeling in his stomach, he makes his way back out the door and out of the store. 

Harry smiles at him once he's in the car again and Louis refuses to let his worries show.