Rather Be ✅

Eight

When they got back to the facility, Harry and Louis head right up to the floor where Louis had been staying. Except they walked right past his door, and went down to god knows where, as Louis saw it.

There was a sudden change in things though. Louis stopped abruptly, grabbing his head. When Harry looked at him quizzically he just shook his head and continued on.

Harry lead him into a room similar to the one that he was in when he woke up there. "I had let Cap know that your memory has been better and that you regained your mind reading. Monique is going to do some tests." He told Louis.

The older man could only nod, and sit down when instructed. A woman came into the room not a minute later, and shot him a smile. "Hello," she said.

"Hi." Louis mumbled. His hands gripped the arms of the chair, and his eyes widened when the woman pressed a button on the chair, which strapped him into it from the feet to the shoulders. "Hey-Hey!" He exclaimed, pulling his hands and trying to get them out. His eyes blurred with tears. "I- can-can you, please um, I don't, I can't." He could feel his hands shaking, for reasons he didn't know. Nerves possibly. But he didn't like the idea of being strapped up. Never. He knew why, too. Because of when his father used to push him into corners where he couldn't move and beat him. And those couple of times when it got real bad and he tied his hands to the cabinet handle and stepped on his feet while shit went down. So being restrained was always a horrifying thing for him. Which is why he had managed to never get into a position like that or this ever since becoming his highly skilled self. Being tied up when he arrived was different since he didn't remember anything.

"Harry." He breathed. "Harry Harry, take it off... take-take, please." His voice wavered, and he could feel the tears just spilling over his eyes and the dry feeling in the back of his throat. "He used to- can you take this off?!" He cried, tilting his head back.

Harry took a step forward. He noticed Louis' knees bouncing feverishly against the restrictions, and his fingers curling in and stretching out continuously. "Louis." He spoke low.

Louis gasps. "No just take it off, please!" He tried taking breaths. "He used to- I-I can't, oh god, please." He squeezed his eyes shut. And that's when Harry's eyes widened, realizing what Louis meant with all his nonsense. He quickly reached behind the chair and pressed the button to release Louis' body. He looked to Monique and jerked his head towards the door, signaling for her to leave.

Louis instantly stood from the chair, but his knees buckled and he dropped to the floor anyway. He wasn't crying anymore, but he was far from okay. His breathing was uneven and his eyes screwed shut.

When Harry took a step forward Louis shot his arms out in defense. "No don't!" He pushed himself back against the wall.

Harry sat next to him anyway, wrapping an arm around him. Louis tried fighting it, pushing him away, but with the soothing feelings Harry sent to his mind he eventually let him in. After a bit, Louis' hands reached up and gripped at Harry's shirt. Harry denied it, but it seemed like he was pulling him down to him. So he wrapped his other arm around the man as well.

Meanwhile Louis had a million of thoughts running through his head. One, he told himself he wouldn't like Harry at all, and that was going down quickly. Two, he remembered everything about himself. So why he was suddenly breaking down and freaking out when he should have been wanting to book another high paying job to kill someone, he didn't know. But at the moment he had no desire to. Because for some reason Harry's large embrace and quiet "shh" kept calming him down to the point where he was simply just sitting there breathing and leaning his head on Harry's chest.

Harry went to move, but Louis grabbed ahold of his one arm. "Stay." He murmured, keeping his hold.

Harry nodded. "Okay." He whispered. He played with the hair at the bottom of Louis' neck. His hair had gotten longer, he'd noticed. And it could just be from how it was messily whiffed up for two days straight, or he could just be making things up. He likes it though. It was shaggy and cute.

His head was against Louis', his cheek squished to the top of his head. "We have to run some tests to see how far your memory has improved and if another one of your abilities has returned. You only have two and they're implanted by a chip in your head."

Louis just shook his head. "Don't have to. I remember it all. I-I remember everything." Harry could feel him panicking and held him tighter.

Harry didn't move his head as he talked. It took him a moment. "It's okay... We're just gonna have to keep you under closer watch. Like how you are now except everything in your room that you could use to do damage would be taken away. You'll have to go everywhere with me... It'll be very close cornered. If you tried getting away and failed you'd probably be put in a cell." He told him, his hand nonchalantly rubbing the mans arm. "Please don't run off."

Louis pouted involuntarily. Harry cared about him. He knew he did. And the bad part was that he cared for Harry just as much. "I won't." He murmured, and gulped. "I didn't want to go back to what I did... Who I was."

Harry's cheek squished against Louis' shoulder, he squeezed Louis' arm. "You don't have to."

-

"Panic attack, I think." Louis shrugged. "Never had one before. Not even when I woke up here." He placed his cards down on the pile in between them on the carpet. "Two Queens."

"Bullshit."

Louis groaned. "Fucker!" He grabbed the pile of cards between them. "This game sucks total arse."

Harry smiled. "Or maybe you just suck at it." Louis stuck his tongue out and mocked him. "You could be reading my mind and winning!" Harry laughed.

Louis rolled his eyes, sorting his cards. "That's cheating. I don't fuck with cheaters." He had his eyes on his cards, but a scowl on his face.

"One King." Harry put his card down. "Were you ever cheated on before?" He shook his head. "I'm-I'm sorry, that's so invasive."

"No no, it's okay. Amongst my highly illegal adventures, I had been dating this guy for a good... five months? -Four Aces- And one day I went over his place and walked in on him fucking some girl." Harry had pitied eyes when he looked up at the boy. "Oh stop, I'm fine now."

"Still, that sucks." Harry sighed. His cards seemed displaced in his lap. "I got stood up by a guy once, if it helps."

Louis snapped his head up. "Harry no." He cooed. "That's worse- I mean, I'm a horrible person to begin with, you're the sweetest person I've met." Harry's eyes softened at him. "You never deserve to be stood up."

"You're not a horrible person, Lou." Harry nudged Louis' foot with his own. "I don't think you are."

Louis smiled at that, and pursed his lips to try and conceal it. He expected Harry defending him, or anyone no matter what. What he didn't expect, was for Harry to huff and lean over a foot to kiss him.

Louis hummed against his lips, but kissed back. He put his hand on Harry's cheek, then in his curls, then on his chest. It was Harry, he didn't know what to do. Louis pulled back a bit. "You're gay?"

Harry, panting, shrugged. "I'm a free spirit."

Louis smiled, pulling him back in. "That's hot."