night shift // l.s.

twenty six

two weeks later the gang members were discharged from the hospital. zayn had to use crutches now but his cast was blue, and louis and niall doodled all over it. harry's lungs were pretty clear and he had a small scar from where the drain tube was. louis had to keep a splint over his left wrist and it prevented him from doing certain things at bounty so he had to have either niall or someone else help him.

louis was also pretty bummed that he lost the car because now harry had to drive him to work and he felt like a burden for it. harry kept reassuring him that it was okay and he would help his boyfriend as much as he could. louis still tried to say no but ended up going anyways because he needed the money. if he and niall worked the same shift, he would ride with the lad and hide a five in his console for gas.

but the car didn't matter anymore. what mattered was that everyone was safe and recovering well from the horrendous incident. louis was still shook up from knowing that someone is after him and it left him paranoid, especially when he was high. niall caught onto his worrying and ended up being worried because louis was, and zayn tried getting niall to chill out. which resulted in harry begging zayn to chill out and it ended up just not working.

"how the fuck can you tell me to calm down?" louis crossed his arms. "i'm being stalked. someone's trying to hurt me. i've never dealt with any of this- what the fuck have you gotten me into?!" louis tugged at his hair as he walked around the kitchen.

harry leaned back against the counter, gripping the edges as he frowned and stared at his feet. the only sound between the two of them was their breathing and louis' shoes squeaking against the hardwood floor. he didn't know what to say. what did he get louis into?

"i'm sorry," harry whispered and looked up. "i'm so sorry..."

"they're gonna hurt me," louis whimpered. "and you, and possibly zayn and-" he put his head in his hands and groaned. "god damn it, we're fucking screwed. i'm such an idiot!"

harry's frowned deepened as louis started to cry. he went to walk to the small man and louis put his hands on his chest to stop him.

"don't touch me," he shook his head. "this is your fault."

"i know," harry mumbled. louis whimpered and threw light punches on harry's chest.

"fuck this gang, fuck everyone in it, fuck everything," he sobbed. "i'm gonna die!"

"no you're not!" harry exclaimed.

louis looked up at him. "how do you know?"

"because if evan really cared about his family as much as he says he does, he will do everything in his power to make sure you don't get hurt. even if that involves a safehouse, a bodyguard, anything that could protect you and your safety, he wouldn't bat an eye against it," harry began to tear up as well. "i can't lose you."

louis flung his arms around the man and cried in his chest, hiccuping when harry wrapped his arms around him as a shield. harry wanted to keep him away from the world, away from the guns and the violence. he wanted louis in a happy place with rainbows and sunshine and beauty, not in a place where there's constant bloodshed and junkies. not a place where it's always gloomy and angry.

"fuck you for being so charming and making me fall in love with you," louis said against harry's shirt. "fuck you for being one of my absolute best friends that i couldn't trade for anything. fuck you, lion. i love you so much but fuck you."

harry wetly chuckled and kissed his head. "i love you."

"i love you," louis said again, finally peeking up. harry wiped his tears away and kissed his forehead.

"we're gonna get through this and we can kick some ass if we need to," he said.

louis laid his head on harry's chest. "don't let them hurt you..."

"i'm putting you in front of me. i don't care if i get hurt. i'd do anything to keep you alive," the other man murmured and rubbed louis' back. "let's go take a bath and cuddle, okay?"

"'kay," louis whispered. "carry me?"

harry hummed and picked him up, holding him by his thighs as louis wrapped his legs around his tummy. louis clung to him, not wanting to let go because he was fearing the last time he would be held by him.

---

harry bounced his knee as evan sat at the table. the two men were currently seated in evan's office, where the boss had a book with some information in it calling harry's name. the only thing racing through harry's mind was how can he keep louis safe? how can he make sure his boy survives?

well, surviving is kind of exaggerated. how can he be sure louis stays sane?

"you're killing me, here," harry groaned. "who the fuck is it?"

"take a chill pill," evan snapped. "it's monarch. you guys were right. the lad you killed that shot up louis' club was apart of a gang that we don't affiliate with. they try to take our money, our profits, our people. and you killing one of them off set the fuse on fire. the accident was by them. they've been following you boys around and know everything about you."

harry scratched at the ends of the table. "like what?"

"how louis is a bartender, how the boy is in school, how you two are together, all that shit, harry. they're smart people."

harry pursed his lips and avoided the man's gaze. "i'll kill them all if they touch him."

"that's the thing, you're lacking backup," evan muttered. "my son is on crutches for fuck's sake, how is he gonna have the shot he has while crippled? and the bloke he's with, he seems like he wouldn't hurt a fly."

"you do remember that we have more people in our gang, right? not just zayn and i?" harry chuckled.

evan shrugged and passed harry a folder. harry opened it and flipped through the pictures. there were images of zayn and niall walking around, niall and louis entering the club, pictures of he and zayn in the car, pictures of everyone.

"they've got it out bad for you," evan frowned. "i'm sorry, harry."

"i'll fight them until the day i die. nobody is taking him from me," harry growled as he closed the folder. evan watched as some sort of...other person came out of harry. this never really happened, except for when someone shot up evan's home and harry wound up killing them.

it was his protective side, the bodyguard, the real harry. the harry that cared about his family so much that he didn't care what happened as long as they were okay. the harry that would risk his life for yours, the harry that would die for someone. evan noticed a small glint in his eye and he leaned against the table.

"you really love this boy, don't you?"

harry looked up and nodded. "i do, ev."

evan glanced back at the folder. "there's a party going on in a few days. some of monarch's people will be there. i say you and i go there, with a few other lads, and we turn the place into a bloody massacre so that they can stay the fuck away. how does that sound?"

"sounds fun to me," harry smirked.

---

bang bang bang the next few chaps will be gory as fuckkkkkk. (:

is evan a good boss for helping harry out? is louis overreacting or is he being normal? and harry, how do you think he's taking it?