inferno // l.s.

forty two

for future reference — shark is on the left, emma is on the right! you have now been granted sight of larry's children. aren't they purr-ty? (i'm a slut for puns if you didn't know)

—-

louis is certain his hips are locked in place.

he managed to read a book all the way through and color some sheets in one of zayn's coloring books to pass the time until he ultimately decided he should take a nap, because his mother is going to keep him up for god knows how long. there is a 5 hour time difference between los angeles and doncaster. his flight was at 3am, 8am his mum's time, so when he landed at the airport it was almost 8pm in england.

there's a big difference between los angeles and in doncaster, that's for sure. first, it's cold as fuck. he's glad he wore his pajamas.

they're not even his. the pink golden girls pants belong to zayn and the hoodie is harry's. the beanie sitting on his head belongs to niall or liam one. the only things that he owns on his body are his jewelry, the tee shirt under the hoodie, his undergarments and shoes. he's a walking lost and found wardrobe.

once he gets his bag he finds his father standing with a sign that says "welcome home, boo!"

he shakes his head to himself. his mother made that sign.

"look at you!" his father gasps when he makes it to him and pulls him in for a tight hug. "you've grown a few inches."

"almost as tall as you now, pops," louis chuckles.

"maybe when i'm in my eighties, son." mark takes his suitcase and rolls it through the airport while they walk to the car.

"where's mum?"

"she's on her way home from work. i took the night off so one of us could come pick you up. we got your room set up and i got a pack of cigarettes waiting for you in the car."

"you're the man."

his mother greets him at home with a teary eyed, bone crushing hug as she peppers kisses to the side of his face for the first time in years.

"there's someone else waiting inside for you," she says and grabs her son's hand, ushering him inside his childhood home.

everything is almost the same. keyword almost. furniture is still what it was but there's new flooring in the living area with a white cat laid in the middle of the room. all of the photos and homey decor on the walls remain intact. he can see into the kitchen that their refrigerator is now black and not white like it was all those years ago, and the hallway suddenly plays memories of louis chasing zayn around the house when they were kids.

"cleo, you gotta move out of lou's way," louis' dad chuckles as he picks the cat up and lays her on his recliner. "sorry 'bout her. she's a sleeper."

"she and i will get along just great then," louis grins as jay opens his bedroom door for him. he gasps when he sees his beloved cat curled up on his bed snoozing away. "shark boy!"

the cat's head instantly lifts up. louis kneels in front of his old bed and grabs the feline, cuddling him close as shark warms right back up to him. shark moves around and roots his head under louis' chin, endless meows flooding from him as he rubs all over his owner.

"hi, buddy," louis croons. "you're just as cute as ever, aren't ya? and a chunker. has mum been feeding you extras lately?"

"he takes over cleo's bowl, thank you," jay scoffs as she sets louis' suitcase by his closet. "he has the appetite of a horse. i don't know why you named him shark."

"'cause he wouldn't stop biting me when he was a baby." louis chuckles as he rubs his nose against his cat's. "you're so handsome. and so fluffy. i missed you so big, sharky." he picks shark up and holds him up above his head. "we're gonna have the best week ever."