A Night in Hollywood

Friendly Friend

A shriek of "LOUIS!" and then Louis was sent tumbling to the airport floor by four bodies.

"Argh!" Louis let out, his back hitting the ground with a thud. "Ouch."

"Louis!" Lottie. "God, I missed you."

Louis grinned and ruffled his sisters' hair as he slowly stood up. The twins clung to his legs, but both Lottie and Fizzy stepped back.

"Where the fuck is your beard?" Fizzy asked.

"They make me shave it off for The Arrangement," Louis said. "It makes Alexander appear more youthful, apparently."

"As if you look old with a beard." Jay was walking over to them, a suitcase strolling behind her.

"Mom," Louis exhaled. He beamed at her. "Hi."

Jay let go of her suitcase and pulled Louis into a hug even though both Daisy and Pheobe were still hanging onto his calves. He ruffled their hair.

"What about you two troublemakers? Missed me?"

"Yes!" Daisy said.

"Depends," Phoebe said, "have you bought us stuff?"

"I did buy you Christmas presents, yeah," Louis chuckled. "Don't worry."

"And what about the house?" Fizzy asked. "Have you decorated or is as boring and plain as it is on FaceTime?"

"Ey."

"Fizzy, be nice," Jay said. "But, Louis, in all fairness, she isn't wrong."

Louis rolled his eyes. "Yes, I decorated."

"And is it pretty?" Daisy asked.

Louis raised an eyebrow at her. "Doubting my abilities of decorating?"

"Yes," all five women said in unison.

"Damn, alright," Louis huffed. "If it helps, I got help to decorate."

"From Niall?" Jay asked and grasped hold of her suitcase handle once again.

"Eh, actually it was Harry," Louis said and scratched behind his ear.

"Styles?" Lottie said. "Your PR boyfriend, why did he help you?"

Louis shrugged. "We sort of became friends."

That was one way to put it.

* * *

"Wow," Jay said as they stepped inside Louis' home. "It's so... festive."

Louis grinned and placed their bags by the door. He had a handful of spare rooms and had made sure to purchase some beds that his siblings and mother could sleep in.

"I even have a tree!" Louis said and walked over to it. He gestured proudly to it. "Harry said he would kill me if I made it boring, so there's loads of different ornaments."

"Harry here a lot?" Fizzy asked. "Can we meet him?"

"Just, you know, lad hang-outs," Louis dismissedly said. "Come on, let me show you where you're going to sleep."

* * *

"Hush, girls, quiet, don't wake him up."

Louis smiled softly, his eyes still closed. He pulled the duvet closer to him. The bed suddenly seemed so much bigger when Harry wasn't taking space up next to him. Louis missed him, missed his breath on Louis' skin, and the way his eyes would flutter open to see the new day.