Master Tomlinson

34- Leeds

    I knew that we made the right decision when we decided that we wouldn't have a wedding. There wasn't much to explain, other than the fact that I wasn't comfortable with having strangers present during such an important milestone in our life. Louis didn't mind, so I didn't think twice about it after he reassured me three more times. But when this is all said and done; there were so many other things that needed to be sorted before we even thought of leaving. For one, I was too worried about getting every last slave out of that vile place. Louis was taking care of the paperwork and the prices of everything, considering that he knows what he's doing and I don't. There had to be some work done to the warehouse before we could sell it, and we had no other place to house then but there. The numbers were too great to fit them in the house with us. This took about three weeks to finish. Now, it was time to see what potential buyers would give us. Louis reassured me that he would take care of it as best as he could. I trusted him enough that I wasn't worried anymore. That didn't stop me from worrying about something else though.

"So, no wedding," Luke confirmed out loud, his face holding some relief. He tried to hide it but it wasn't working very well. "and you're going to take off to New York for how long?" he questioned calmly. I squirmed in my seat nervously, suddenly feeling like I was talking to a parent instead of a friend. "A week at least."
"At least?" His eyes met mine now, eyebrows cocked in disappointment. When I sighed at his words, his expression turned neutral. "Sorry," he muttered, leaning back against the sofa. It was still kind of weird to be talking about this with him after all that's happened in this love triangle. "Don't be sorry." I patted his leg gently before folding my hands on my lap.
There was one more thing that I hadn't told him that I was working on yet. Mainly because it wasn't fully ready yet. I could see that the talk of me and Louis eloping in New York was bothering him, so it seemed like the right time.
"Have you ever wondered what life would be like not living in here?" I questioned him nervously, fiddling with my own fingers. He didn't really react but answered nonetheless.
"Sometimes." Luke shrugged. His eyes met mine once again, and when he saw my pale face, he knew something was up. "Why have you gotten so pale?"
I swallowed thickly at his realization. "No reason." I defended myself weakly, obviously failing to make him believe me. Luke turned towards me now, his eyebrows raised. "Harry, what is going on?" He asked in concern. I couldn't lie to him even if I tried. I was too bad at it.

"How would you feel about living in your own flat?" There was really no other way to say it without beating around the bush, and I knew that he would get frustrated at my hesitance. When I met his confused gaze, I felt myself swallow hard. Maybe he didn't like that idea as much as I thought. The silence seemed to grow loud and thick as I waited for him to show some sort of disappointment. Would he think that I was trying to kick him, out since Louis and I are almost married?

"Why are you asking me this?" His voice cut through my worries like a machete. Instead of his previous confusion, he was now curious.
"Because I want to know what you think of it." I stated simply, giving a nonchalant shrug even though I was screaming on the inside. Luke saw right through my seemingly collected attitude and grinned instantly. He leaned back into his seat and crossed his arms over his chest to shield himself from a breeze flowing through the window. "You're trying to get rid of me."
I broke my composure and instantly began to deny his allegations. It took me a second to realize that he was joking, and by then I had already made a fool of myself. I sunk back into the sofa. "You still haven't answered my question." I huffed in annoyance, growing tired of the conversation.
"I'd love that, but there's no way. And no way that I could afford that. You know that." Luke's grin suddenly disappeared back into his usual frown. "So why did you even bring it up?" He's definitely gotten more temperamental.
"Actually," I chimed in matter-of-factly, "it is possible, and it will be possible. Just name a place and you've got a flat there." My words were meant to make him annoyed, but instead, he just stared at me with that blank, squinty-eyed skepticism. I knew that he was brewing up more questions.

"Offer expires in three seconds. No more questions asked." I urged in annoyance, giving a small huff to signify that I was getting impatient. Without breaking his facial expression, the word slipped right from his lips. "Leeds."
I never did ask him where he came from, but my guess would be somewhere around there. I nodded at his answer and let out a sigh of relief. "There's a flyer in your room."
"Harry, why are you doing this for me?" Luke demanded as I was about to get up, his arm grabbing onto mine. I peered down at his soft eyes and felt my stomach tighten at the unfamiliar look. I don't see that look often. It took me a moment to respond.

"You're not a slave, only a guest," I whispered to him, biting down on my lip as confusion spread like wildfire across his face. The boy with a million questions. "Besides... it's my money and I'll do what I please with it." I made a fake snooty expression, turning my nose up at him. We laughed at the same time, but I could see that my comedic efforts weren't enough to stop his curiosity.
"What if I don't want to go?" Luke challenged. I could see that this was probably more of a question for him than for me.
"You want to go... the speed of your answer spoke for itself. Stop trying to convince yourself otherwise." I groaned at him, shaking my arm off.

I can't deny that a weird shift has happened within this relationship. It's not that we're unfriendly towards one another, but that we're comfortable enough to get visibly annoyed and talk a load of shit about one another to one's face. I think that the marriage between Louis and me has made us act like this, but I wouldn't have it any other way. But that means that I can't lie about why I'm doing this for Luke either. It's not only for him and Louis but for me too of course. At some point in your life, you're meant to stray away from relationships. Time away can really make you value them more and all that.. but the real reason is that I want him to be happy, and I know he'll be miserable here for the rest of his life. I want what's best for him because that's what he wants for me. Always.
So, it took more convincing and arguing before he eventually got annoyed with my annoyance and let out a huff. As he marched up the stairs, he made sure to make a point about choosing the most expensive flat in the flyer. It was a joke, but I was fine with that. It was sort of my money, but not really. All of my money is into releasing the slaves. Louis' money is buying Luke a flat. Obviously I couldn't tell him that because he would object. Why? I have no idea. Some sort of pride that he holds.