Equilibrium (Vexxieverse Series - Part 5)

Venice (Li)

Liam
April

Liam was the most well traveled out of the five of them with Niall in second. Louis and Zayn had their fair share of adventures through the years, but Harry? He'd only been to his hometown in Holmes Chapel and to LA before they met him. Any other place Harry traveled had been with Louis or OT5. Well, aside from Canada for that horrid audition, but they'd all ended up there with him before he left. That was hardly a trip for pleasure. Good thing Haz didn't take that job anyway, since the show tanked after one season.

Louis and Zayn soaked up the sights of Venice with a great appreciation for its beauty, but Harry could barely contain himself. Since he'd been so excited ever since they left the airport, the boys decided to travel around the city by boat all day so he could absorb it all and relax. There were at least two hours of him bouncing around and pointing at every landmark he'd seen in books and film before he calmed down enough to sit down. They all loved watching him like that because it made them remember to not take things for granted.

Before they left, they planted some articles in the media about Harry and Louis being spotted in Australia and Liam with "his mysterious lover, Zayn" in Cabo. This way, they wouldn't have to be as strict with disguises and could enjoy their vacation as normal people. They had plenty of old pictures to use for the fake stories and everyone seemed to buy it.

Louis stretched out on the boat and put his hands behind his head. "Ok, we have dinner reservations in an hour, so I want to get this stuff out of the way so we can move on and enjoy our time here. Tiny family meeting."

Niall groaned. "Lou, it's vacation!"

Louis put a palm up to quiet the complaining. "Just two quick things. It's our wedding anniversary, which means there will be kinky fun for everyone, per our tradition. Therefore, we have to talk about this before we do anything else. Harry, go ahead."

Harry's shoulders dropped, and he looked to Liam. Uh oh.

"Li, you can't use BDSM for some weird punishment in your head, like you did when you got the first letter from Nikki. That was incredibly fucked up. You know that. Right?" Harry's eyes were both sad and dangerous at the same time. Liam liked it better when Harry was bouncing around and pointing at buildings.

"I'm sorry." Liam sighed. "I don't have a good excuse. I'm sorry I put you in that situation, Harry."

Harry shook his head. "No, I mean you can't do that to YOU anymore. You forced them to physically punish you without being in a safe place in your own mind. We don't do that."

Zayn's eyebrows tensed and he stared right through Liam's soul. He looked like he was putting together the pieces of their entire relationship together. "How often do you do that, Liam? You absolutely do not have our consent to use us to abuse yourself."

"That's putting it a bit harsh, Z. I won't do it again. My mind was a mess and I needed it." Liam closed his eyes in both frustration and avoidance. "That was an old habit that resurfaced, but I don't do it with you guys. It was just that once. Like I said, I'm sorry. Won't happen again. Can we move on?"

Niall looked at Zayn, worried. His part of that scene was sweet but Zayn played bad cop. Liam hadn't considered he'd get caught for his own fucking thoughts. No one was supposed to be able to hear them! But since Harry figured it out, it was him and Zayn who had to feel like crap about the scene.

"You try that with me one time, and you won't sub for me again. Clear?" Niall said coldly. Not like a Dom either. More like a pissed off boyfriend.

Shit.

"As a bell." Liam frowned.

Louis squeezed Liam's thigh. "Alright, no ganging up on him. He'd been through enough and he's learned his lessons. He's in therapy. We don't need to ruin our day, just had to clear the air. But on the topic of Nikki..."