Louis x Reader - TWDG

Chapter 18: Carved Initials.

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"So..." You sighed as you walked into the piano room. "Are you gonna play anything special?"

"Hah, not yet. Gotta.. Tune the piano first." Louis smiles widely at you.

"Right, and how do you do that?" 

"Let me show you. Sit down on the bench."

You follow his directions and sit down on the bench as he steps behind the piano. 

"Now, press the A key when I give you the signal." Louis orders, fiddling with the back of the piano. 

You were so glad you memorized every key from all the times you two had hung out. You pressed down on the A key after Louis signals you.

"Good. That definitely helped." Louis praised with a smile. "Now press the pedals while I make some more adjustments."

So, you did just that. You began fiddling with the pedals that laid at the bottom of the wooden instrument.

"Great, that part's golden." Louis nods. "Quick, now blow on the strings."

"What? Blow on the strings?" You repeated.

"I know it sounds weird. Just blow on them! Cooling the temperature helps set them in harmony."

You obliged, standing up from your seat and blowing down on the strings. After you do so, Louis leans in to listen to the tuning.

"Okay, great. That did nothing. Because that's not at all part of how you tune a piano." Louis shot his shit-eating grin at you, hands on his coat as he waited for you to laugh. You put a hand on your forehead. "But it was funny!" He takes a seat down next to you, and you let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, yeah. You're cute. Just stop smiling at me like that." You shook your head at him with a smile, not even processing what you had called him.

"I, uh, cute? Me?" Louis looked at you, raising his eyebrow and smirking. You felt your heart leap into your throat. 
You sat there, staring at him, dumbfounded. He simply shrugged it off and continued to play the piano.

"What, uh.. song are you playing?" You hummed, looking at how his hands were perfectly in line with every key, hitting each note at the perfect timing. God, he was just perfect.

"...A song that I wrote." His expression turned more soft and solemn as he spoke.

You smiled at him, intrigued. "Oh, nice. What's it called?"

"I don't know yet." He shrugged. He continued playing before the song came to an end. "There. First time ever played."
You did a short little clap in response, shooting him a warm smile as you did so.

"We should mark the occasion." Louis suggests, pulling out his knife and quickly marking his initial onto the piano, handing you the knife once he finished.
You carefully grabbed the knife from his hands and carved your initial next to his.

"You done tattooing that piano?"

Were you? This moment felt like it was going by so fast, yet so slow. The anxiety rushing through your head as you thought of all the different outcomes of this moment with him.
You shook your head with a sigh, carving a heart around your guys name. Sure, it was cheesy, but maybe he'll get the hint?

"Oh, that's, uh, that's... that's a potato?" Louis playfully asks, almost sounding genuine. You quickly hand him back the knife, slight embarrassment rushing through you. "It's a heart, yep. I see it's a heart. That's... super cool. Really cool."

Well, now you just put yourself in an awkward situation, huh?

"So, hey, I'm gonna dig myself into a deep hole from which I'll never emerge. Cool? Cool." Louis suddenly blurts out. He sighs. "Time to get serious."

"Serious? About what? Is everything okay?" You frantically ask, your mind instantly going to if you did something wrong.

"Not really, nope, mm-mm." He shook his head. "Thanks.. For always being there for me. Through everything. Even before this apocalypse, you were there. Through my personal growth, my dumb jokes, dumb games, everything... And you're still here, even after I tricked you into this 'tuning piano' facade." He sighs, turning to face you. "Everyone hears the jokes, the piano... and after that, they stop listening. You didn't."

You stand there looking at him wide-eyed. You didn't even know how to respond to that. Hell, never before has anyone said something that sweet to you. 
After coming back to your senses, you realized this is a better time than any to admit how you feel.
 
 You look down at your hands, fumbling with your fingers as you speak. "I like you, Louis. Like, really like you. You've always been there for me, too. Ever since I got to Ericson's, and you saw me running away and hiding from the teacher. You came up to me and joked around, trying to make me feel better and stop crying. And it worked. Throughout everything, all my injuries, my growth, you've been there. Willingly. I-I guess I want that to be something I have forever, y'know?"

He stayed silent, staring at you the same way you did before. Wide-eyed, blush spread across his face.

"No jokes? Nothing?"

After he finished processing everything you had just told him, he smiled. "When you said you actually did like someone during Truth or Dare, I was hoping it was me." He laughs. "And it is. Holy shit, it's me!"

Your eyes begin to turn glossy, and your smile as wide as ever.

"I figured out what to call the song." Louis looks down at the piano, then back at you.

"Hm?" You hummed.

"Y/N. Obviously." Louis smiles at you.

You chuckle, flustered. You look at him, your heart fluttering. 
And before you knew it, you were pulling him in for a kiss, to which he willingly and instantly returned.
The two of you pulled away, shocked. But, Louis started laughing. And before you knew it, you were too.

"S-Sorry." You avert your eyes back to the piano, your smile uncontainable.

"Don't be." Louis cups your face in one of his hands, turning you to look at him. He smiles at you brightly. "I... Thank you."

"For what?"

"Everything."

"Oh.. Well, I guess we should be thanking each other, then." You ease into his touch, looking at him brightly. 
This is probably the happiest, and safest you've felt in forever.

"Y/N! Louis!" The two of you jumped at the sound of Ruby's urgent sounding call from the hallway. You two leave each others touch and look towards the sound of her voice, eyes locking with a frightened Ruby.

"Ruby? What's up? Is everything okay?" You ask, starting to get worried.

"They're here."

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!!!
A/N

WOOO! I'm so excited about this return haha it's the PERFECT TIMING FOR THE STORY! Sorry for the short chapter... This scene was kind of difficult to write. I'm bad at cute scenes like this T_T
Next chapter coming this Friday! (hopefully :p) I hope you guys enjoy it! <33