Master Tomlinson

26-Time

I didn't dream of anything that night. Nothing pleasant, nor dreadful. My mind must have been too occupied with the events from hours beforehand that it let me enjoy it without any conflicting emotions to wake up to.
And speaking of waking up-- there was Louis, waiting beside me in bed. He had no shirt on, his hair still messy. I felt myself blush once I regained consciousness enough to think of my hands in the chestnut strands; pulling it carelessly. His fingers were playing with my curly mop as he waited for me to recuperate from my deep slumber. My eyesight was working fine, but my nose only started to work once I moved. In the air, I could smell that food had been cooked-- sausages, eggs.. even the smell of tea leaves filled the air. But it didn't smell far, it smelled close by. My sleepy eyes scanned the room, falling on the tray of prepared food beside the smiling man. There's no way he cooked that. Surely someone else was hired to do it.
"Did you.." I mumbled, my voice raspy.
"Yes," Louis interrupted, sensing my impending questions. "And yes, it took multiple attempts before I stopped burning the eggs." He leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss to my smiling lips. I raised both eyebrows in delight as I scanned the warm food. "I'm proud of you." I sit up, reaching for the fork. After taking a bite of the egg, I hum in satisfaction. Louis is beaming beside me, delighted just as much as I am that I'm enjoying what he made for me. For once, I don't feel guilty that he's doing something for me that I would normally be tasked to do. I finish the egg, and start on the sausages. "Thank you." I say gratefully after swallowing, offering a bite to him. He happily takes the bite. We sit in silence for a moment as I continue eating, his eyes watching me as he reigns in on his accomplishment. When I finish, he takes the tray before I can manage to take it myself. I don't object, and let him bring it down to the kitchen. When he's gone, I peer over at the clock to see that it's still quite early, around 8:25am. I was even more shocked that he got up before me without me noticing. I rolled out of bed and started to fix up the sheets, before I pulled on a pair of sleep pants. Louis had returned as I was finishing up, wiping his sudsy hands on his own pants. There was a peaceful aura surrounding us; like words didn't have to be spoken, contact didn't have to be made. We were equally content with each others company merely by being in proximity. It was weird to me, as I couldn't begin to explain it. All I could figure was that it felt like being in love. Just as I was about to turn to face the smiling boy who watched me against the door frame, the phone began to roar to life as our eyes met. It took him a minute to hear it, and when he did, his smile fell and he tried desperately to play it off. But I noticed.

I could hear it ring a few more times before Louis was able to reach it downstairs, and I couldn't hear anything except muffled talking. I moved closer to the staircase and overheard enough of the conversation to feel my heart drop in my chest.

"Where is he then?" Louis asked, his voice starting to become angry. I couldn't tell if he was mad that the person called at the wrong time or if the news was upsetting, but I'd put my bets on it being both. There was a 20 second pause from Louis as he listened. "Figure it out then, and call me when you do." He was tense as he slammed the phone back into the receiver. I jumped slightly, feeling my heart thud in fear at what could be wrong now. I was frozen at the staircase. My mind was wild with questions that I was too scared to ask for the answers to, but I knew that I needed to know them. It was an ongoing war with my own mind.
Suddenly, I hear Louis' steps coming towards me. When he starts to climb, he notices me at the top. His eyes turn from hard and angry, to the same vulnerable eyes as last night. The look on my face gives me away and he knows that I overheard the conversation, but he isn't mad. Instead he takes my hand without any words, and brings me back to the comfort of the bed.
We laid there for what seemed to be hours; but was really ten minutes at most. Louis caressed my hair and pressed his lips to my head as he let me think. This time the silence was unreadable, unlike it had been before.

"Louis?" I mumble against his chest. I don't look up, but I know that he's been staring at me with that same look from the staircase. He doesn't stop caressing my hair. "Yes, Harry?" His quiet tone eases my anxiety.
"What was that about?" There was no simpler way to ask, in the end, it would all lead back to what the conversation was about. Louis hesitated underneath me, and I could feel his breathing stop momentarily. It was almost like he was scared to say it. And that scared me too.

"They found out where Roy is hiding." Louis admitted. He was leaving out the second part.
"What about the other half of the conversation...?" My voice was so quiet, I wondered if he even heard me. When he let out a shaky breath, I knew that he heard.
"They're coming up with a plan," Louis spoke, and I met his gaze after a few seconds passed. "I personally would love to kill him myself." Louis' voice changed drastically. I could see a snarl forming on his lips as he thought to himself. He got lost in thought for a moment before I saw him snap out of it, his blue eyes coming down to meet mine. "That makes two of us." I mutter, and almost as a sick joke, we both let out a small laugh. After a few seconds, our smiles slowly disintegrate back into sadness. But it seems like we weren't too far off from a good plan.
"Wait," I thought aloud, beginning to sit up as my mind hatched a plan. Louis sensed what I was doing, and immediately interfered. "No. Absolutely not," Louis was shaking his head, his eyebrows furrowed. "You're not going." He said strictly, but I wasn't finished just yet. This is my decision, after all; it is my fault entirely that this is happening.
"Hear me out!" I cried out as he tried to object once again, and this time he gave in. He watched me with unhappy eyes, his jaw tightening. I grabbed his tense hand, trying to calm him down. Slowly but surely, he caved in.
"I'm the reason that this is happening. He wants something from me," I explained, swallowing hard. I had no clue where my sudden burst of confidence came from. Would I really be able to face that vile man, to face the excruciating memories that came with the sight? Or would that confidence be converted into terror, knowing that Louis could die if I curl up in fear? No, I wouldn't let him die for me.
"I don't have to fight. I have to be there for him to get what he wants so badly, and who knows? Maybe we can leave amicably without blood shed.." Louis snorted at the last part, his eyes growing angry at the thought of him and Roy leaving the situation "amicably". I pressed my hand to his hot cheek, stroking it gently. "Please." I begged. Louis stared at me for a while. I could see that he was utterly unimpressed with my plan, but something was stopping him from admitting so out loud. I could see that with more seconds passing by, he realized that it wasn't a bad idea.

"I'm sorry." Louis sighed, his eyes softening once his mind went back on track. "I hate to say it..." he was visibly pained by the fact that he was going to admit that I was right. "It's not a bad plan." I pressed a kiss to his hand, my lip being taken between my teeth. Ultimately, I knew that he would make the decision. I could only hope that my persuasion was enough.
"There's only one thing." Louis pursed his lips, his eyes returning back to that dark, solemn blue; like an angry ocean.

"There's no leaving things amicably." Louis stated, "Roy is dead, and I'm the one who's going to kill him."