Cocaine for Breakfast

chapter 18

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  Harry is amazing and Louis is a tiny bit awestruck.

Throughout dinner, his boyfriend keeps the conversation light with his knock-knock jokes and animated hand gestures. He compliments Lottie on her cooking, causing her to blush prettily and remind him that it was all his doing, which he denies with a blinding smile but knowing sparkle in his eyes. Harry discusses footie with Tommy and winks at Louis when Tommy laughs the loudest at one of Harry's awfully funny imitations.

So, yes, his boyfriend is amazing and Louis is a whole lot awestruck. He's probably been making heart-eyes at him the entire time but he can't be bothered by that. He is not even a bit ashamed or embarrassed, he's in love and alive, he can fond all over Harry as much as he wants to, thank you very much.

He has no idea how Harry does it or maybe it's just his personality, so bright it lights up the whole room, lights up the sky and all of their hearts. There are no mentions of drugs, recovery, or anything that could possibly make Louis uncomfortable. Every time Lottie opens her mouth, expression turning careful and her blue eyes hardened a tad, Harry dives into a new topic, distracting everyone and squeezing Louis' thigh hidden under the table. Louis honestly couldn't ask for more.

After dinner, Harry insists on helping clean the dishes and Louis knows, if Lottie wasn't in love with Harry yet, she'd be charmed to death by his earnest offer.

When everything is clean, tidy, and back in place, they find themselves seated comfortably on the couch. It's a tight fit, but they make it work. They watch a movie Tommy chose, which is actually pretty good, a lot of shooting and blood flowing, racing cars, and distressed looking characters yelling orders at each other and escape death just so . It keeps the attention off of Louis as well, everyone enjoying the film and the chatter that floats the room is about the action thriller, too. So no one notices when Louis snuggles closer to Harry, lacing their fingers together and murmuring a soft 'Thank you' in his ear. Harry's glance flickers from the screen to Louis, smiling ever so gently and pulling him more into his side.

Time ticks on and with each minute, Louis relaxes more and more against Harry's warm embrace, fully convinced he's off the hook by now.

They've made it. They made it through the entire evening without awkward silence or stammering. They survived and not only that, but now Louis can be sure he has the approval from Lottie about his choice of a boyfriend (not that it'd matter that much, he'd never change his mind about Harry, but it's nice to know a part of his family is just as much in love with Harry as Louis himself — it's a big relief).

Later on, no one bats an eye when Louis announces Harry's going to stay the night. Tommy just pats his back and Lottie smirks, winking when Louis and Harry make their way upstairs, fingers laced and sleepy smiles sliding over their faces. Louis isn't too tired to flip her off though and he gets a funny grimace in return. He sticks out his tongue and they only stop when Harry nudges him forward with a muttered but dripping with fondness, 'children' .

Both of them are pulled onto the mattress by exhaustion. They snuggle close on the small bed, making it work in their favour when their limbs are tangled together and Louis' nose presses in the crook of Harry's neck, smelling his spicy cologne. However, it takes an hour of not talking and pretending to be asleep to see that's not going to happen any time soon, both still awake even when their bodies hum with tiredness.

Louis blinks out of the window - they left the blinds open - and watches the few stars sparkle in the distance, holding all the answers to his questions and the solutions to his problems and fears. He shuffles his feet under the covers and rubs his toes on Harry's bare ankle. In response, Harry's arm tightens around his back, a finger starting to draw circles lightly on Louis' hip bone under his shirt.