R O O M 1 9 7 // Harry Styles & Louis Tomlinson Edition

Thirteen

~Sunday 1st January 2017~

11:09am

"And, this is where we receive all the designs for all the new models." Louis continues his tour of the Chicago branch of The Tomlinson Vehicle Manufacturers, pulling Harry around the massive warehouse, and showing him everything, introducing him to everyone. Harry doesn't particularly understand all the car jargon that Louis spits out, but he takes it all in nonetheless, enjoying watching Louis talk about his passion for hours upon hours.
Louis takes Harry by the wrist and leads him through the brightly lit factory, all the design rooms and the board rooms - and even his office. And, when the tour is all over, Louis has to wait and catch his breath from all the talking. Harry chuckles at his counterpart, leaning forward and kissing him on the forehead, when he is sure that no-one is looking.

After leaving the warehouse, Louis hands Harrison $600 in notes to spend on himself, giving him the day off. Both Harry and Harrison give Louis a confused look, both shocked, but he seems to be in his own world, taking Harry's hand again and leading him to the warehouse parking lot.
"Pick one for today!" He announces, gesturing to the line of brand-spanking-new company cars parked in the lot. Harry laughs, but upon realising that Louis isn't joking, picks the charcoal grey Audi Q5 and Louis hands him the keys. Louis isn't joking this time either and Harry chuckles in disbelief, as Louis climbs in the passenger seat. Harry's never driven something this large, but he learns quickly, navigating himself through the roads easily.

"We should go to a hotel tonight." Louis chimes, after they pick up lunch and Harry just shrugs, stopping at a red light. "I want to go somewhere else, where no-one knows who we are, where we won't be interrupted." He adds. Harry knows better by now than to disagree with Louis, nodding along and an hour later, they're checking into The Parrish Hotel, a luxury establishment a few miles north of The Magnolia.

When Harry sees the suite that Louis has bought them for the night, he gasps, looking around the large room, bewildered. Louis sets down the bags that they packed half an hour ago and makes a bee-line for the large windows, opening the dark curtains, taking in the magnificent view below him.
"I don't get why you don't just stay in a place like this." Harry declares, meeting Louis at the window and looking across at all the buildings, large and small, old and new, spreading across the horizon. "The Magnolia is mediocre at best, and this place is so much nicer!" Louis turns to him, but Harry doesn't meet his gaze, transfixed on the beautiful view.

"Well, The Magnolia is the closest hotel to the warehouse." Louis explains, observing Harry's expression of pure wonder, with a smile on his face. "Plus, I'm not the kinda guy to flash my money around. I'm not picky. And, I kinda like The Magnolia." he adds, and Harry scoffs, finally turning to face Louis.
"At least, this place isn't red!" Harry jokes, earning a laugh from Louis, who nods his head, agreeing that this colour scheme is far better than Peckham's obsession with red and black. Louis, still in the throws of laughter, grasps the back of Harry's neck, and pulls him closer, melting their souls into the kiss, feeling each other's bodies under their fingertips, until there's nothing but the dark moon outside, a pile of mis-matched clothes on the floor, and two men - slowly but surely, morphing into one being...

*****

~Tuesday 3rd January 2017~

13:18pm

"Are you sure, though?" Harry asks, leaning against the bathroom wall of Room 197, as Louis stands adjacent from him, shaving along the line of his chin in front of the mirror above the sink. "I don't want you to get in trouble for cancelling all your meetings." he adds, and Louis chuckles, stopping in his tracks and looking up at Harry.
"Harry, I already missed out on spending time with you yesterday, because of that bloody presentation." Harry nods at his words, remembering the frustration of sitting at home alone all day yesterday, after spending every waking minute with Louis on the prior days. "And, anyway, I'm the owner of the company. I can't get in trouble for cancelling meetings. Plus, I've been busting my arse the last few weeks, so I think I deserve a day off, no?" Louis states, raising his eyebrows at Harry, challenging him to disagree.

He doesn't, of course, waiting by the bathroom door for Louis to finish shaving, all the while poking fun at his technique. Harry shaved the day before, finally getting rid of the scraggly stubble that was calling Harry's jawline home. After Louis is done, he orders a large plate of macaroni cheese from room service for the two of them to share as an early dinner, and it arrives minutes later.
Louis orders dessert next, but can't make his mind up, so ends up ordering four different things. He only likes one of the dishes when they finally arrive, so Harry is given the task of eating the remaining three, which he refuses to do. Louis shakes his head playfully at the young boy, as they both laugh gently.
Harry adores this version of Louis - more than he adores all the other versions - the funny, playful, childish Louis, who wears his dress shirts untucked and undone, who doesn't care about his unruly hair, who cracks jokes 24/7, who teases Harry, flirting with him non-stop. And, there's a part of Louis - no matter how small - that prefers who he is when he's with Harry too.

They spend the whole day in Room 197, never once leaving, listening to music and discussing random topics, watching the small TV beside each other in bed, and sitting against the windows, in nothing but bed sheets, admiring each other as the night falls upon them.
Hours later, tangled up amongst the sheets, laying beside each other on the large bed, both regaining their lost breath, Louis points his focus to the framed photograph in the corner of the room, turning over onto his stomach to inspect it clearer. It's a large black and white print of London traffic, complete with a red double-decker bus in the centre, drawing all the attention from it's monochrome surroundings.

"That picture makes me miss home." Louis admits, as Harry turns over too, laying on his front, placing a single palm on the small of Louis' back.
"I know." Harry responds, thinking about his mother back home and how she must be coping. Pushing her image aside, Harry spreads his fingers out, stretching his hand to cover as much space of Louis' pale skin as possible. "I tell you, if I was in charge here, a lot of things would be completely different. The colours are insane. Room layouts don't make sense. I'd give this place a massive makeover." Harry announces, clear in his tone that he's thought about this before.

"You want to manage a hotel?" Louis inquires, turning on his side to face Harry, reaching up, twisting Harry's cross necklace between his fingers.
"Maybe in the future." Harry admits, smiling to himself, at the thought of all his dreams, and whether they can ever come true. He'll have to ditch the booze before any of that could happen, though. And, the fact that he hasn't touched a drop in days makes him momentarily proud. "I have a lot of ideas." Harry adds, trailing off, looking back to Louis and smiling again, smoothing his hand up to Louis' head, brushing his fingers through the hair by his ear.
"Then you should go for it! Why not?!" Louis declares, grinning from ear-to-ear, cupping Harry's jaw in his hands, reaching forward to kiss him on the cheek. "I have every faith in you and your ideas." He adds, kissing the space just below Harry's ear, on his jawline.

No-one - apart from Gemma - has ever shown faith in the extraordinary dreams he has for his life. Until now. Louis kisses Harry's neck, biting gently, and Harry cannot help but throw his arms around Louis' body, bringing him close to his own, earning a low laugh from Louis, as he hovers above him.
In the last few days, they have bared everything to each other, and spoke about difficult topics. Louis feels as if he knows Harry better than his own wife, understanding him and connecting with him on a level that he has never experienced with another human being before.
They kiss, and in that moment, Harry has never felt more certain about his future, and Louis has never felt more comfortable and safe.
Harry clings onto Louis' body, filling the room's air with nothing but intense passion and an undying affection for each other's souls...

Chapter Image by @teletubbielouis on Instagram