A Walk in the Park--Larry Stylinson

Living Together

Louis looked like a blow-up doll in his thick, cushy suit. And Harry loved that it was purple. Louis was all business, and worked Harry pretty hard. He wanted to be sure Harry would know at least some essentials should he come up against Joe or his other two ex-band members.

Harry applied himself, and he was a fast learner, Louis had to admit. He remembered everything Louis had shown him last night.

"Gotta go to work in half an hour," Louis declared as he went back into the bedroom to change again. Harry began working on some pancakes, and had them done in scarcely ten minutes.

"Microwave bacon is fast!" he said in excitement upon finding bacon in Louis' fridge. Of course, Harry's pancakes were just as good as the other stuff he'd cooked since he'd been here.

They ate, and then Louis thanked him, saying he hardly ever had time for a decent breakfast.

"You gonna watch at a distance again today?" he asked as they went out the door.

"Sure. But more of a distance than yesterday."

Louis wanted to giggle at the memory of Harry hauling ass down the street, but he schooled himself carefully. Harry must never, ever be made to feel foolish because of his fear of dogs.

So, with Harry trailing behind, Louis walked the dogs, frequently turning to be sure Joe wasn't in the vicinity with his sites on Harry. Louis really doubted he'd try anything again. At least, not for a while.

After Louis' work day was done, he and Harry sat in a park near where the dog park was, eating sandwiches they'd grabbed at a deli and sipping lemonade.

"So how much rent?" asked Harry out of the blue.

"What?"

"How much rent do I owe you?"

"Bollocks! I don't want any bloody rent!" Louis looked as if he was offended.

"I have to pay rent! I wouldn't feel right if I didn't!"

"Look, you cook, you've been helpin' me keep the place neat and tidy. And you said you'd pay for the food every other shoppin' day. What more could I want?"

"Louis, I'm sleepin' in your bedroom, with you sleepin' on the couch in your own apartment!"

"Sooooo?" Louis' tone was challengingly playful. "I told you I have sizeable savings."

"I have money saved up too. And I'm gettin' another job with a band. Even with payin' rent, I can take a few weeks or months off."

Louis hadn't realized how much money Harry really had socked away. The gigs must have paid very well for Harry to be able to pay rent all the time he was with the band, buy his food, and so forth, and still have quite a bit of money in the bank. Even though Louis had no idea how much he actually had.

Louis changed the subject. "Tonight, maybe we can go talk to your landlord and start movin' your stuff out."

"Okay. I was gonna suggest the weekend, but you probably just like restin' on the weekend, yeah?"

"No, I still work out, and with workin' so few hours a day, I have time to get things done and still have chill time pretty much all week," explained Louis. "So it really doesn't matter if it's a weekday or weekend."

"I need to start lookin' for another apartment too."

Louis tried to sound offhand when he said, "No rush for that."

"I'm crowdin' you outta your own apartment!"

"Well, look. Neither of us has any friends. It's kind of a nice change for me," Louis admitted. "But," he added quickly, "I'm sure you want a place of your own."