Night Changes // l.s.

▰ 04 ▰

"Will that be all, sir?"

Louis nodded up to the cashier and she swiped his card, reciting his total off the screen.

"I think I saw you at the airport on Monday," said the cashier. "Yeah, with your boyfriend."

He smiled with a nod and she sent a sympathetic one back, "hard, isn't it? Letting them go for so long."

"Mhmm," Louis hummed as she bagged his food.

"Saw my husband off that day," she said. Louis eyebrows arched in surprise. She's married? She's, like, eighteen. "I know what you're thinking, but I mean, we're happy, you know. It works."

"You can love at any age, Harry would say," Louis said signing the credit card receipt.

"Harry? The boyfriend?"

"Mhmm," he smiled.

"You've got a great guy, Mr," she glanced at his card, "Tomlinson. Have a great day."

Louis smiled a little and walked out of the market. What if himself and Harry were married? Louis blushed at the thought. Then he thought of Harry and himself married with kids, Jesus. Little girl with curly hair and big blue eyes.

Louis placed his bags in the back seat of the car, eggs and bread in the front before getting in the drivers side. The radio was off and all you could hear was the low purr of the car and whooshes of air from the vents.

It was getting colder and Louis was grateful for that. Sweater weather was always his favourite.

Louis rushed home after realising it was 1126 and that Harry will be calling soon. God, he love his Friday schedule; classes from eight to ten, a free hour, then talk to Harry for about thirty minutes - because calls are timed - and the work from 1300 to 2200. It's was a lot less hectic than his other days.

When Louis got home, he grabbed all the bags in one go and ran up to his flat. He placed his bags on the table just as the flat phone rang. He scurried over to it, almost tripping over the rug, and answered it.

"Hel-"

"You are receiving a call from," the prim automated voice cuts out, replaced with another, "Royal Army Base Camp Bastion." The first voice chimes back in. "To reject this call, please hang up now. To accept, press-"

"Christ," Louis hisses to himself, pressing 1 before it tells him to. He's done this what feels like a few thousand times, he knows the drill.

The phone rings twice, then connects. It's a crackly line, satellite phones inevitably have that affect, but he really doesn't fucking care, because it's Harry.

"Lou?" His voice comes down the line, Louis can hear the smile in it and practically see the dimples and he has to rest his head on his knee for a moment, steady himself. He takes a deep breath, like if he takes in enough air he'll be able to smell the green tea extract in Harry's shampoo.

He can't.

"Lou, you there?"

"Yeah," he croaks, a little louder than probably necessary, but yes, he's here, "hi, darling. How..." he takes another breath, and he hears Harry laugh down the line, a little strung out and all nervous energy and Louis wants to die, because it's his boy and he's not spoken to him for what feels like a small lifetime and he's here, now.

"How are you?"

He hears a rustling, expects that's Harry falling down on his bed or something. He's so far away. Louis feels it right in his chest, that distance.