Let Me Show You How to Love Yourself (Larry Stylinson) ✅

Leaving

"All ready?" Liam asked. He was looking at Harry, who was sitting at the dining room table all bundled up in his winter coat and thick sweatpants, wearing a pair of laceless boots and a blue beanie, which complemented his green eyes. He was holding the handle of a small blue suitcase with wheels --it was the same one that he used to bring with him on the trips that the two boys families used to take together when they were kids. Now it served a different purpose.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Harry said, dipping his chin to look down at the floor. "Cheer up," Zayn said, jogging into the room and grabbing his keys. "You'll be home before you know it, Haz." Harry tried to smile, but his lips wouldn't let him -- they were tugged down in a permanent frown.

"Louis said he would be here by now," Harry said, making pouty lips as he checked his phone. It was 7:50, which meant they had to leave in 10 minutes. Louis said he would be over at 7:30 to see him off, but was still nowhere to be seen. So much for that, Harry thought.

Liam looked nervously over at Zayn, who shrugged back at him with wide eyes. "Well, he must have slept through his alarm. You can call him any time, you know that," Liam said, running quickly to the loo before they left. Zayn followed after him.

Suddenly, Harry heard a frantic knock on the door and his eyes opened wide in surprise. Zayn opened the door, and stared in shock as a half naked Louis darted past him and into the flat. "Oh my god, I overslept," Louis muttered. His voice was groggy, raspy. "Where's Harry?" he asked. Zayn giggled to himself, but couldn't help but sneak a peak at Louis' bum, which was straining against his red checkered boxer shorts.

"I'm in here," Harry called from the living room, walking quickly towards the foyer, where he met eyes with Louis. Harry's bright eyes were bigger than usual as he stared at Louis, whose eyes were half closed as he stumbled towards Harry, every part of him exposed aside from where his tiny boxers covered him.

Harry looked whimsically at Louis' broad chest and muscular arms, which he had always noticed and felt but had never seen before. Louis' thick thighs and tiny tummy made Harry squirm, as he desperately wanted to reach out and touch them, but he knew he shouldn't with his roommates still in the house. 

As Louis moved towards him, Harry held out his arms and trapped him in a tiny hug. As always, only their arms connected, but Harry slowly crept his hands down further, allowing himself to brush against Louis' torso. Louis hugged him back, not noticing the slight touch. 

"I'm so sorry I overslept. I usually wake up at ten and work late.... so sorry, Hazza," he said, his voice still thick with sleepiness. Harry stroked Louis' soft brown hair, which was currently sticking up in several different directions, and kissed him gingerly on the cheek.

Louis, who finally seemed to be coming to his senses, grabbed Harry lightly by the jaw and looked into his eyes. His gaunt, pale face made Louis quiver a bit, and he thought about how badly he hoped that the next time he saw Harry, his face would be round and full of life. "You're gonna do great, love," Louis whispered, causing both of them to tear up. "I'm so proud of you. And I'll be right here when you get back, okay?"

Harry nodded and looked up at Louis, not sure what to say in response. He settled on "thank you," but feeling like that wasn't enough, he leaned closely to Louis' ear and whispered something into it. "I'm going to do it for you. I'm going to recover for you. And then we can go on a real date. And I can bake a real giant layer cake and we can both enjoy it," he said softly, gasping a little at the end as he thought of the two of them in a bakery somewhere digging into a layer cake that he had made from scratch. 

Louis nodded, heavy lidded, and smiled at Harry, reaching towards his tiny face and wiping a tear away. "I would love that, Harry," he replied, giving him one last kiss--this time a passionate one on the lips, with a little bit of tongue, but not too much.

Suddenly, Zayn burst into the room, sending Harry and Louis quickly jumping apart in a panic. "Alright, love birds, break it up," Zayn said with a giggle, even though it was clear they already had. He tossed Louis a Tshirt. "Dude you might need this," he said with a smirk.

Louis looked down in horror to realize he was nearly naked -- he remembered jumping up out of bed without changing, but he usually wore a tank top to bed too... he must have gotten hot and taken it off in his sleep. "Or don't," Harry whispered, as he followed Zayn to the door. Liam was now in the hallway, pacing and checking his watch.

Louis half-smiled at Harry before putting the T-shirt on and then jogged out to the hall. "Bye guys. See you soon, Harry. You'll be great. Niall and I are rooting for you," Louis called over his shoulder, opening his flat door and disappearing inside.

Harry, Zayn and Liam stood alone in the hallway, the older two boys looking at Harry. "Alright, Hazza," Liam said quietly, grabbing his suitcase. "Let's do this."