To Lou

chapter nineteen

A/N: shoutouts to the only two people reading this, lmao. hope I'm doing alright :)

Zayn looked up from where he sat with Niall and Liam on the sofa, seeing Harry padding into the kitchen.

He eased himself tiredly off the couch and followed the curly headed boy to the stove.

"How was your date?" he asked softly, placing a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder.

Harry smiled—a real, genuine smile—and answered his friend in a hushed tone, "It was great, Zayn. Had to deal with a lot of paps, but that didn't matter. Lou got jealous of a flirty waitress."

Zayn smiled fondly as a blush crept up Harry's cheeks with the last line.

"M' not surprised, Haz," he spoke quietly, "Lou would do anything for you. It's a bit scary."

Harry looked up from where he was placing a kettle of water on the stove, a soft smile complimenting his features.

"Really, Z?"

"Yeah, Harry. He'd go to the ends of the Earth for you. You know how much he regrets leaving, right?"

Harry nodded simply. "Yeah I know he does."

"He's the one that found you, you know. When you...yeah. Ni called him, he was out the door and on his way here in seconds."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows, peering up through his long eyelashes, "Really? How come he didn't tell me that?"

"Because, H," Zayn sighed, "he didn't want that to make you feel like you had to forgive him. I don't think he wanted you to let him off the hook, honestly. Didn't think he deserved to be."

Harry shook his head, his expression looking troubled, "I could never stay mad at him. I never was. Just missed him s'all."

Zayn smiled. "I know, mate."

And with a gentle pat on the shoulder, Zayn left the young boy in the kitchen to make his tea, curling up on the love seat with a blanket. He didn't feel like trudging up the stairs to his bed.

And he tried to contain his fond smile when he saw Harry going upstairs with two cups of tea in hand.

He really did.

***

"Lou," Harry whined sleepily, "wake up."

Louis groaned as he felt Harry shake him awake. He spared a glance at the clock on their bedside table.

9:56 a.m.

"Haz, why the fuck are we up so early?"

The shaking stopped and he felt Harry settle down next to him.

"Sorry, Lou."

Louis shook his head and pulled the younger boy to lay on his chest, pressing a long kiss to his head of messy curls.

"What do you want up for, Haz?" he mumbled into the boy's hair.

"Was bored." Harry answered simply, "It was too hot so you weren't cuddling, I had nothing to do."

"I'm sorry love," Louis muttered tiredly, pulling the boy closer. "Would you like to watch TV?

He felt Harry nod against his chest, and he pulled himself out of bed.

You're lucky I love you, Styles, Louis thought to himself, 10 a.m. on a Saturday. Ridiculous.

But he couldn't bring himself to really care as he reached back and grabbed the younger boy's thighs, picking him up to carry him on his back.