From Everything That Was (Till Everything That Will Be)

Louis (Present)

It's been a long time
And seeing the shape of your name
Still spells out pain
It wasn't right
The way it all went down
Looks like you know that now
- closure, Taylor Swift

Louis parked the car in front of Jay's house Friday evening, only to spot Zayn's car in the driveway.

"Damn, he beat us to it," said Harry.

Louis grinned and unbuckled his seatbelt. "I suppose he did."

For the first time ever, Louis felt excitement to be home. He no longer held secrets from the world.

They both left the car, Harry holding the bouquet of flowers they had purchased for Jay. It was Louis who knocked and Zayn that opened.

"About damn time," Zayn said and then engulfed Louis in a hug. "I missed you, mate."

Louis patted his back. "I missed you too." They pulled apart and Jay, too, showed up in the doorway.

"My boys." She pulled both Louis and Harry in for a hug.

"These are for you." Harry handed her the bouquet.

"Thank you," Jay cooed. "They are lovely. Thank you. Come in. Dinner is on the table."

They ate all four of them. Zayn told them stories about his clients, Jay told them about the people at work, and Harry and Louis supplied them with stories of the kids.

Halfway through dinner, Louis' phone rang.

"Two seconds." He fished it out of his pocket. He looked at the caller ID and immediately swiped right. "Liz, hi."

Everyone's eyes moved to him. Harry placed a hand on his thigh.

"Louis!" Liz said, excited. "I have wonderful news. About Patrick."

Louis sat up straighter. "What about?"

"Ever since your article, so many people have turned on Patrick. People have even begun sharing their own stories about him, about things he has done to them. He has been fired, thrown out, whatever it's called, from City Council, and police are looking into it."

Louis' jaw went slack. "Really?"

"Yes," Liz said. "He's gonna be ruined."

Once they hung up, Louis shared the news with the rest of the table. Harry kissed his cheek and Jay went to get them some wine to celebrate.

The following day was Jay's birthday. Louis woke on the couch next to Harry. Zayn had slept in one of the spare rooms. Harry was snoring slightly and Louis spent a few minutes just admiring him.

"Baby." He traced his finger along the curve of Harry's upper arm. "You gotta wake up, honey. The sun is shining for you."

Harry's eyelids fluttered and a soft smile touched his lips. "Cheesy fucker."

Louis kissed his nose. "That's me. I'm gonna go and wake Mom with a birthday song. Wanna come with me?"

"Not gonna invite me?" sounded Zayn's voice from the doorway. He looked like someone who had just gotten out of bed, his hair in a mess that somehow still managed to look dashing.

"Nah," Louis teasingly said. "You scare me in the morning. You're like a monster."

"Ouch."

"We can all three do it," Harry said and pushed the duvet away from his body. "Come on."