Larry One-Shots and Sickfics

Protective Harry--One-Shot

This is a request for for_youreyes_only .  I hope you like it!

Word Count: 2,292

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Louis curled up on the sofa and leaned closer into Harry's body, resting his head on Harry's shoulder. Harry instinctively wrapped his arm tightly around the small boy, holding him securely to his side.

Harry didn't say anything, figuring that it was best to let them sit in silence and enjoy the peaceful quiet. He knew that Louis had been on edge lately and he had tried to hide his stress from Harry and the others, but he and Harry couldn't truly hide anything from one another. They could read each other like a book, and Harry knew that something was bothering him, even if the other boys were clueless. But that's how Louis was, always putting his problems aside for the sake of the others and ignoring his own needs, making sure to be the mature one and look after the others, even at his own expense.

Harry rubbed Louis's arm as he held him closely, getting lost in his thoughts as to what could be bothering his little lad. The more he thought about it, however, the more Harry realized that Louis had far too much on his plate at the moment, and it was a wonder that he was coping with it all as well as he was.

As always, the two of them were forced to keep their relationship in the closet, keeping the two boys apart more than they were together. They truly treasured little moments like these.

There was also the problem with the beards. Louis had to spend more time with his fake girlfriend than with Harry, and it was slowly wearing on him. It became harder and harder for Louis to fake his smiles and hold someone who wasn't Harry, but it was a choice that wasn't his to make.

There was also the late night partying, going out to pubs and getting wasted, just so that he could be seen and photographed out and about with various women. He especially hated when he was forced to share a cab with some girl, knowing that the media would draw their own conclusions and none of them would be correct.

The icing on the cake, though, and Harry knew this all too well, was the whole baby fiasco. Although Louis wouldn't show it, Harry knew that this affected Louis the most. He didn't like that people were under the impression that he slept around and had a baby by mistake, when in reality, he was happily married and loyal to his loving husband. Louis didn't like how tarnished his reputation had become and he hated having to keep up with the charade and going out in public to be seen with Freddie. Don't get him wrong; he thought the baby was adorable, but it was, in no way, his own flesh and blood.

Harry placed a kiss to Louis's forehead, trying to show him a little love and affection while they had a moment together. He knew that Louis knew that he loved him, but he hoped he understood just how deeply that love went. They'd make it through this just as they had gotten through everything else.

Their little moment was interrupted when Niall leaned his head in the doorway to their dressing room. The smile dropped from his face as he watched the two boys cuddled on the couch, knowing that he was about to put an end to the only bit of alone time they'd been allowed in the last month and they wouldn't get one again for a while.

Niall cleared his throat to make his presence known, and the two boys looked over at him in unison, mirroring each other perfectly.

"Um, yeah...The bus is ready. We need to go get on the road," he said, giving a small, sheepish smile before heading off to go fetch Liam.

Louis sighed, squeezing his eyes shut for a bit, trying to burn this moment into his memory. He breathed in deeply, inhaling the distinctive, beautiful scent of Harry. Beautiful may be a strange adjective to describe a man, but Louis loved Harry, so he thought everything about him was beautiful. There really wasn't any better way to describe it, and he was okay with that.