inferno // l.s.

thirty five

harry puts the car in park and leans back in his seat, sighing slowly.

"shit," he mumbles to himself when he realizes he left his gun with mitch. he texts the boss to notify him, and immediately recieved a message back saying mitch put it in his safe when he got home. he can pick it up later.

he gets out of the vehicle and locks it before heading inside of his house. the door was locked, as usual, with louis inside safe as could be. with or without that deadbolt, he was protected by a very strong alarm system and weapons of all kinds.

as he walks in he sees louis sliding around the living room, sockfooted, as their cat chases after his feet. he has one of her toys tied around his ankle and it jingled every time it bounced on the hardwood flooring. the boy's giggles and the sounds of paws thumping around filled the empty house, almost echoing into the kitchen. at least he's keeping himself entertained.

louis' face lights up when he sees harry walk in. he slides over to him, crashing into his chest, and hugs him tight. "missed you," he murmurs against his shirt.

"i missed you, too," harry tilts louis' head back to kiss him for the first time that morning. he had an early meet with mitch and a friend so he snuck out before louis was fully awake. left a sticky note on his forehead and all. "looks like you're having fun, though. glad to see you moving around more."

louis grins and wiggles his foot when emma smacks it with her paw. "been playing with the baby for about an hour," he hums and unties the small purple yarn ball from around his ankle, rolling it across the living room for emma to manhandle. cathandle. whatever.

he nuzzles back into harry's warmth and squeaks when his partner picks him up, holding him by the back of his thighs. he tightens his limbs around the man as he's carried up to the bedroom.

"how's your noggin today?" harry asks as he lays the boy down. he turns louis' head to the side gently so he can inspect his now staple-free scalp. "you clean it?"

"i did," louis nods. "'s a little sore but so much better than it was."

harry kisses next to the injury. he grabs the bottle of ibuprofen he had placed on the nightstand, which is now a permanent resident of the table since louis is very, very accident prone. he hands the boy two white pills and the water bottle that was on the nightstand on louis' side of the bed. louis swallows the pills quickly and pulls the comforter over himself, lifting it up so harry could join him.

"you're always taking care of me," he mumbles, a little bit of guilt lacing his tone. "i'm sorry..."

harry pulls him close so they're chest to chest, one arm under his pillow and the other draped over louis' hip. "nothing to apologize for, baby. taking care of you means i get cuddles, so i'm okay with it. please get in more fights so we never have to leave this bed."

louis laughs softly and kisses between harry's collarbones. "might be able to promise that one, love."

he shivers as harry's fingers slide under his shirt, exposing the small amount of skin revealed to the cool air of the bedroom. fingertips graze along the small of his back and up his spine, eventually just scratching a spot between his shoulderblades. louis almost purrs at the feeling, but instead he just tucks his head beneath harry's chin and allows himself to be rubbed on.

the bruises on his body are fading and his breathing has been easier on him. no harsh coughing like he was before. it hurts to bend or twist very sharply, but he's able to walk without support and he can do everything on his own now. if he bends, it has to be done slowly. no heavy lifting, no crazy movements, and if he attempted to do either one of those then he would be scolded by everyone. everyone.