almost // l.s

twenty six

"louis! harold!" niall shrieked from downstairs. harry bolted upright, squinting his eyes, trying to adjust to the darkness. darkness. why was niall waking them when it was still dark?

"what?" louis yelled back, startling the younger boy who had just risen from a place on his chest.

"time to come down here," the grin in his voice was apparent, "we have something to discuss."

louis turned to his boyfriend and shrugged, clearly curious as to what was going on. harry nodded and scrambled out of bed. he found a pair of boxers and slipped them on, watching as louis pulled a tank top over his head. 

the living room looked alarmingly bright for, as harry had seen when he checked his phone,  6 o'clock in the morning. niall, liam and zayn were all sat in a small semi-circle in front of the couch- for some reason, harry guessed he would be half of the pair sitting on the aforementioned couch. 

"boys," zayn said darkly. after about three seconds of awkward silence, where louis and harry stared at zayn and zayn stared back, the coffee skinned boy's face split in a toothy grin, "just kidding! we have something to discuss."

"yes," niall chipped in, "welcome to marriage counselling."

harry spat out a laugh, "as if we'd take any advice from you."

the irish one adopted a look of mock offence before continuing, "sit down, lads, si'down."

louis raised an eyebrow but sat nonetheless.  

"so," liam said forcefully. harry was glad liam was explaining as he was the least likely to run off on a tangent or mix information up, "we want to go away for a weekend."

louis visibly rolled his eyes, "we go away all the time, li, road trips are kinda our thing."

"but," liam spluttered, glancing at zayn for any sign of help, "somewhere different- not camping."

"guys," harry said, "we are university students living on a budget. how are we supposed to afford a trip away?"

grinning, niall answered, "we don't have to spend a thing."

"how?" the two clueless boys said in unison.

"i know people," zayn smirked, "in all honesty! my sister doniya just set up this resort thingy with our aunt down in oxford. i've been keeping a surprise because i knew we'd be invited to the opening- wanted to do something special for my favourite boys!"

he smiled cheesily at the end, receiving a solid slap on the back from niall.

"w- wh- huh?" louis was confused, "free?"

"hell yeah," zayn exclaimed, "apparently it's a really nice spot, too, they've been working on plans for ages."

harry gaped at him, "that's so amazing, zaynie, i can't believe it!"

"what can i say?"

-

harry praised whatever lord convinced liam to get his drivers license. the journey from their home to oxford was two and a half hours long, meaning harry was bound to get extremely bored at some point. he was extremely pleased that he had louis' shoulder to lean on through the drive. if he'd been in his usual spot, the passenger seat, this could possibly have been one of the most painful trips of his life.

about forty minutes in, harry realised that his boyfriend had fallen asleep, music still playing softly through the earbuds they were sharing. the younger boy cooed, streaking a hand through his hair and reaching up to kiss louis' jaw. the latter smiled in his sleep. that sent a spark of love straight to harry's chest.

after some time, a snore erupted from niall's throat causing zayn, liam and harry to burst out laughing. louis woke up, to his boyfriend's dismay, and joined in the giggling despite not knowing what was so funny. 

"you boys are insane," was all he said before dropping a hand to harry's thigh and pulling the curly boy into the crook of his neck.

-

"we have arrived!" zayn announced happily as each boy moved from the car. liam stood behind him and hugged the boy tightly.

"this is stunning, z."

"yeah!" niall exclaimed, "a bit different from ireland- which is what i would usually call beautiful- but yeah!"

louis laughed, "doniya's done well here, lad."

"she has," zayn agreed, "well then, shall we go inside?"

"we shall," harry smiled, playing along with the gentlemanly tone his friend was using.

if the outside, white walls, a sky-blue pool with cute trees dotted around, was anything to praise, no one would have ever seen anything as beautiful as the interior. every piece of furniture, decor and lighting was perfectly in place and coordinated with the room. the reception was a very grand area and, it was obvious that, each and every boy was overwhelmed.   

"this is incredible!" liam squealed in the least manly voice he could muster.

"why thank you," out of nowhere, doniya appeared with a bright smile on her made-up features.

zayn quickly embraced his sister, profusely congratulating her on the brilliant building she'd created. then the girl hugged each and every one of the friends.

"the brother-in-law," she joked when liam came into view. it was one hundred percent just for a laugh, but harry saw both liam and zayn blush furiously.

"they took that seriously," he whispered into louis' ear.

he chuckled, "honestly, what are those two hiding?"

-

harry decided he didn't like champagne. he chose to drink alcohol for the first time ever that night- but only a little bit. his intention was certainly not to get drunk. fortunately, louis' wasn't either.

that's how the pair ended up slowly kissing in front of the sunset on a bed opposite a floor to ceiling window. it was so purely romantic and loving that both of the couple were practically melting in happiness.

"i missed this."

"me too, lou," harry gasped, "me too."

♡♡♡

thanks for reading. treat people with kindness.

alyssa xx