Illusion

Chapter 23 : Fluffy Rugs, Emotional Exchanges and Early Morning Thoughts

“Just relax baby,” Harry said, leaning down over Louis to whisper the words directly into his ear.

They were home alone, nothing but them and the rambling emptiness, but Harry continued to whisper words to Louis as though he wanted no one else on Earth but him to hear them. Louis nodded his head from his position on the Chesterfield. Louis sat and patiently waited as Harry flitted about the studio, a whirl of long limbs and chocolate curls. He hadn’t felt frustrated by it, or annoyed that it was getting later and later and Harry was swindling away precious time. Nope. He simply used the time to admire everything he loved about Harry. Every quirk that most people didn’t see or took for granted that made Harry who he was. All the little things that Louis loved above everything else.

Louis loved the way Harry’s brows knitted together when he was concentrating, small lines forming between them that Louis wanted to kiss. Or the way that his pinky and ring fingers seemed to operate separately to the rest of his hand. It was also in the way that he would run a hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face only for it to fall back the way it had been moments before. Louis also loved things like how he knew Harry hated buttons on shirts, but loved how they looked so he wore them anyway, buttoned only a quarter of the way up so as not to appear indecent. Or how he never wore matching socks. Or that he liked to wear his boots at least one size too big. They were Harry’s ‘little things’ and Louis vowed he’d never take any of them for granted ever again.

Harry darted up the spiral staircase then, taking the stairs two at a time. Louis would never have been able to do that, his thick thighs and short legs not being able to reach the distance. He brought back an armful of supplies a few moments later, that Louis knew for a fact would have taken him at least two trips to collect, Harry’s large hands aiding his quest. He laid them all out on the coffee table in front of Louis, everything from his favourite vanilla scented candles, to lube and a few towels amongst other things. Louis was intrigued by Harry’s assortment of items and wondered what he was going to do with them all. He hadn’t been cleared of his concussion, and he knew that sex was out of the question, however it appeared as though Harry had figured out a way around that small detail.

“What’s all this for then?” Louis asked, keen to know what Harry was up to.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” is all Harry said in response, flashing Louis a mischievous grin before continuing with his task.  

Harry made quick work of lighting a fire in the fireplace for them, the studio not as cold as the rest of the house thanks to the countless layers of soundproofing, but still cold enough to warrant a fire. Louis then watched as Harry positioned all of the candles in the exact spot he wanted them to be, lighting them carefully, his tongue peeking out from between his lips as he did so. Lastly Harry placed the bottle of lube, some other bottles Louis couldn’t quite make out and the towel down on the fluffy rug in front of the fire. It could be considered cliche, to lie naked together by the fire, or whatever it was that Harry was planning, but to Louis it was beyond perfect. He would never admit it to anyone if they’d asked, but he was a sucker for romance. Flower petals, cuddling by the fire and all that other sappy shit. So to know that Harry had gone to all of this effort for him, after he had been on a plane all day and was probably dog tired, made tears prick at the backs of Louis’ eyes.

Harry switched the main lights off as he passed by the switches, casting the room into darkness. Louis could make out most of his tall figure, bathed in a hazy, orange glow from the fire crackling away in the hearth behind him. Harry looked ethereal, like something dreamt up from a novel, and Louis swallowed hard as he made his way over to him. Harry hadn’t said anything for what felt like forever, had been too busy concentrating on setting everything up, so when he spoke, his voice sounded deeper than normal, gravelly even, and it was as if the words had a direct line to Louis’ cock. He could feel it twitching in interest beneath his tracksuit pants, and he wondered briefly how he was going to get out of the “no rigorous activities” rule with a raging hard on he wouldn’t be able to hide for much longer.