Dancing and Dissension

Shadowbox and Secrets

Harry watched the man's expressions as he spoke and couldn't help but bite back a smile at the offer. He thought maybe a part of him was hoping for those words, but he decided he'd think about the reason why another time. He did his best to shrug casually and respond. "Guess it works for now," he stepped inside after the man and kicked off his shoes. He took a moment to glance at the room around him and everything was just so Louis. A shadow box of old ballet shoes that looked to be child's size, displayed against the wall with dried flowers and a note. He figured it must have been from his first recital or rehearsal. The rest of the room was delicately decorated and the light was dimmed once Louis flipped the switch. "Much prettier than my own place," he commented, before heading further inside and sitting down on the couch. Compared to his home, the overflowing ashtray on the small coffee table and the blinds always closed without curtains, accompanied by the fridge full of only protein shakes and booze, paled in comparison. He was starting to realize just how compassionate of a person Louis is; saving objects from so long ago and having them framed up on his wall probably to look at each day for motivation as to why he continued to chase his dreams into adulthood. He wondered what kind of hardships he had to face as a male when he was just budding into the industry, and if his family was supportive or not. He wondered if he was tormented in school, or denied memberships at studios until he found the one he was at now. He was caught up in his thoughts, even as he pulled his shirt off and laid back on the sofa, getting comfortable now, it was all he could think of.

Louis let out a soft laugh at Harry's words, shaking his head to himself. "You're welcome to lay on the doorstep if you prefer." He teased, stepping out of the doorway to let Harry inside. He was happy that the man agreed without putting up a fight. He shut and locked the door behind Harry, setting his bag down and kicking his shoes off while Harry took the opportunity to look around. He smiled shyly at the compliment, shrugging it off. "I'm sure your place is lovely." He murmured, quickly getting his bag ready for the morning since he figured he wouldn't have much time to do it tomorrow. Once he was finished he turned back to face Harry, raising an eyebrow curiously as he saw him laying back on the sofa already. "C'mon, up you get. You're the guest, there's no way you're taking the couch." He told him stubbornly, a wide smile on his face. It wasn't too often Louis ever had overnight visitors, but he certainly wouldn't subject any of them to sleep on his sofa. He offered a hand to help Harry up, showing him that it wasn't going to be up for debate. He led Harry to his bedroom as soon as he was back on his feet, briefly wondering what he was getting himself into. "Should be plenty of room for us to share, yeah? If you prefer though, I'll crash on the floor or the sofa, it's no big deal." He murmured with a soft smile, walking over to his closet and pulling out some pyjamas for him to wear. "Are you alright in what you've got on? I can try and find something for you to put on." He offered, pulling his shirt off and changing into an oversized tee from the closet. "Just make yourself comfortable, if there's anything you need to be afraid to let me know." He added with a soft hum, running a hand through his hair.

Harry scrunched his eyebrows together at the command, and rolled his eyes as he was offered his hand. After a moment of thinking about whether he wanted to argue or not, he smiled small and took the hand. They headed off to the room and laughed a bit when Louis offered to take the floor or couch. "You're crazy if you think you'd have to sleep on the bloody floor in your own room," he fell back on the back. "I don't bite- at least when I'm not conscious," he added on. Harry took a quick glance at Louis' wardrobe, and doubted anything would fit him properly. He pointed out a light pink leotard. "Yeah, lemme have that one," he joked with a small laugh, before sitting up to take his shirt off. He then stood for a moment, slipping out of his jeans to leave him in boxer briefs and got under the sheets. He figured there wasn't much of a difference to this compared to Louis' seeing him change before, or fight shirtless in his basketball shorts. Once Louis joined, the room was silent for a few minutes, each of them laying awkwardly at each side of the bed, space between them. Harry started glancing around at the room, and saw a music box adorned with a vintage painting of a ballerina. He turned suddenly, looking over at Louis. "So why ballet?" He scooted over closer. "You're strong Louis- much stronger than you realize. Why dancing?" He realized after his spoke maybe the physical strength came from years of dancing; and he'd be lying if the sport didn't suit him in every way possible in the first place.