The Forgotten [Larry Stylinson]

21

Louis stayed awake much longer than Harry, consumed with thoughts on what he was supposed to do now. He held him as he slept, and when he finally did drift off, it felt like he barely slept a wink before he woke up again.

Harry was still wrapped up in his arms, but he was awake, tired eyes staring blankly at the wall. Louis shifted and started running his fingers through his hair to offer some form of comfort, and Harry let out a soft, content sigh.

"Feels good," he mumbled.

Louis hummed and gently kissed him on the forehead. "How did you sleep?"

Harry shrugged. "Not well. I feel drained."

"Yeah, I didn't sleep to good either," Louis said.

"I'm sorry," Harry murmured.

"Don't be." Louis shook his head. "Don't ever be sorry, it isn't your fault."

Harry looked like he was about to cry. He shuddered and cuddled closer, and Louis stroked a hand down his spine.

"Why don't we have breakfast, I'll make you some hot chocolate, and then you can talk to my mum about Ms. Graham. Is that okay?" Louis suggested.

"You'll hold me, right?" Harry asked, almost frantically. "I can't do it without you."

"You're not alone," Louis said. "I'm going to be right there the whole time."

"I'm scared," Harry admitted. "I don't want to have to go through the questioning again. CPS, the police, getting examined by doctors. I hated it. I don't want to do it again."

"You have to. Please. It's scary, and I know it's painful, but would you rather go through some discomfort or have her continue to touch you?" Louis asked.

"If she goes to prison, it's not going to fix anything," Harry replied. "Yeah, sure, she'll be gone. But she's hurt me. Locking her up isn't going to change that."

"Which is why you need to talk to your counsellor about this," Louis responded. "I want you to be happy."

"Me too," Harry murmured.

Louis intertwined their fingers, running his thumb over the backs of Harry's knuckles.

"You wanna get some food?" Louis asked.

"Sure."

They rolled out of bed and Louis grabbed Harry's waist, pulling him to his chest. He wrapped his arms around him in a hug, and Harry made a noise of relief.

"Hey, we're going to get you okay again," Louis said.

Harry tilted his chin up for a kiss, and Louis planted three quick pecks on his lips.

"I love you," Harry whispered.

"I love you, too," Louis whispered back. "Now come on, let's go get some breakfast."

Harry cracked a small smile. "Okay."

Louis gave him one last tight hug, and the he pulled back so he could grab Harry's hand. He led him down the stairs and into the kitchen, where he forced him to sit at the table.

"What do you want to eat?" Louis asked.

Harry shrugged. "Chocolate croissants, muffins. That would be nice."

"You are so lucky my mum went to the store."

Louis flicked the kettle on and then reached for two plates from the cabinet. He took two chocolate croissants out of the box, and then he took two muffins for himself and two for Harry. He left the plates on the counter as he dumped hot chocolate mix into two mugs, and then he filled them up with boiling water.

"Here we go." Louis set the food down on the table, and he settled in beside Harry to eat his breakfast.

"Thank you," Harry said. Louis could tell by the tone of his voice that it meant something more than just for the breakfast.

"Anytime." Louis kissed him on the side of his head. He stared at him for a few seconds, and then he reached over to tuck a few curls behind Harry's ear.

A smile played at the corners of Harry's lips. "What was that for?"

"Am I not allowed to do that?" Louis inquired.

"I'm not used to it," Harry said quietly. "No one's ever touched me like that before."

"Like what?" Louis asked.

Harry shrugged. "Affectionately, gently."

Louis' eyes widened in surprise. "No one's ever touched you like that?"

"No," Harry whispered. "Just you. Everyone else has been mean."

Louis shoved the last of his muffin into his mouth and pushed back from the table. He wrapped his arms around Harry from behind and kissed the side of his neck. Harry leaned back into him and picked at his muffin.

"Well, I'll have you know that I'm very affectionate," Louis said. "Especially when I love someone, and I love you more than you'll ever know. I'm never going to hurt you."

"I know." Harry turned his head for a kiss.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Louis tucked his face into his neck and held him a bit tighter.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" Louis said.

"I know," Harry replied. "It's hard, you know. To trust people. I used to feel so alone but now I have you and your mum and it feels so weird. It's not bad, it's just different."

"You're not alone. You've got a real family, and you've got your sister back, and you've got me," Louis said. "You can rely on people and break down and be not okay sometimes. When that happens, I'll be right here, okay? Anytime you need me."

"Okay." Harry nodded.

"Come on, let's go find my mum."

A/N: Short chapter, I'm sorry. The next update will be longer, I assure you. I hope you enjoyed this pure fluff show.