larry ao3 oneshots

Swap me for your shadow

Summary:
"...I'm just ... so in love with him."
Louis blinked.
What???
This hushed revelation from Harry came like a gunshot- loud - and made his heart plummet. He could hardly process it, as he stood there freezing in the wind, hidden behind the balcony door.
Harry was ... Harry was in love?? Since when??
The shock and confusion that had fallen over him like a bucket of ice was slowly washed over by a feeling that ran hot and acidic. Somehow, it gripped around his lungs tighter, more cruelly.
Harry was in love with someone....and it wasn't him.

If Louis thought being in love with his best friend was a knife that continually twisted into his heart before, it was nothing compared to when Harry started to go around talking about having fallen for someone else. A 5+1 fic; 5 times Louis has to listen to Harry's vague confessions of love for his 'omega friend' and the 1 time Louis snaps and confesses his love for Harry.

Words: 16,829

Author: lunarheslwt on Ao3

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Louis would not call himself an eavesdropper.

Or at least the first time it happened, he certainly didn't mean to eavesdrop, so technically, he could not be blamed.

When he had begun to feel a little cooped up, Louis had quietly slipped out of the living room, away from the animated conversation Liam and Harry were having, and onto the adjoining balcony. He hadn't even bothered to excuse himself with a little 'gonna have a smoke', knowing that they both would already know and wouldn't mind. The slight chill to the night was welcoming, and he shut the door behind him. It was quiet, and the night sky was already relieving him a bit of his restlessness.

Sighing softly, Louis patted his jeans pockets for his lighter and pulled out a fag when he found it. His mind drifted aimlessly as he lit it, taking a slow, deep drag and letting the smoke curl around his lungs before letting it feather away into the calm of the dark. He welcomed the familiar feeling as he leaned against the railing, looking down, lips quirking up slightly at the loud and brash group of young boys that staggered down the street under the dull street light.

Something so familiar. Just as familiar as the little knot that had remained in the centre of his chest, twisting and winding itself tighter for quite a while now.

For the rest of his smoke, Louis pointedly tried not to think about what was quite persistently nagging him to give attention to. It didn't matter. None of it really mattered. And when the cool breeze finally started getting to him, making him shiver and wrap his arms around himself, he put out the cigarette, preparing to go back in. He was feeling less jittery now anyway, so mission accomplished.

He had pushed the door open slightly when a somewhat hushed conversation reached his ears from the room, and naturally, he strained to hear what was being said.

"...and I don't know what to do, Liam."

Louis paused, still behind the glass sliding door, which was cracked open just a smidge. That had been Harry, voice low, and neither of those things would've made him stop in his tracks at all, except. Except Harry sounded distressed in a way that was unlike him; the alpha was normally the picture of calm and collected. This time though, despite the low tone, Louis could sense the despair and accumulated emotion.

He wasn't sure if Liam had said something, and he'd missed it or what, because the next thing he heard was Harry, slightly louder like he tended to be when he was passionate about something-