Friends with Benefits

2

They found the rest of the guys in the kitchen. Harrys face lit up when he saw the room.
"Gosh, look at this kitchen. Amazing!"

Louis came up by his side and threw an arm around his shoulders.
"Keep it in your pants, will you? It's just a kitchen." he said, sounding amused.

"It's an over-the-top kitchen, thank you very much." Harry pouted and turned to look at Louis, getting lost in his eyes.

"You're cute Hazza but right now it's just a bloody kitchen. We have no food." Louis answered with sparkling eyes.

Cute? Harry almost choked on air. What was going on? Louis hadn't complimented him like that in years. They locked eyes but turned their heads when Niall let out a whine.
"No food?"

They rolled their eyes at the Irishman simultaneously.
"Let's fix that. Come on, guys. Brie gave me the keys to her car as well." Zayn said.

They all hummed in agreement, except Niall who squeaked in excitement. Zayn went to get the keys and Liam immediately took out his phone to Google where the nearest grocery shop was. Five minutes later they were all seated in a car and Zayn drove them to a supermarket after Liam's directions.

Harry just tried to breathe properly. Louis sat next to him in the backseat with Niall on his other side and their thighs were pressed together and he could smell his cologne and fucking hell! He was so tired of himself for always reacting the way he did whenever he was around him. Ten years! He would be single and alone for the rest of his life if he kept this up but he couldn't help it.

They found the supermarket and went inside. They made sure to buy food for a week but they were planning on going out to eat as well. With Niall in the house, you needed a lot of things. He could really eat but never gained a pound. Harry found that unfair.

They bought liquor as well, when Zayn suggested that they should have a house party tonight to celebrate that they made it to Milan together. Harry offered to cook dinner, eager to try out the kitchen. So he liked to cook, nothing wrong with that.

They headed back and put the groceries away together before Harry started with dinner. Considering they were in Italy he decided to make pasta. The guys left him to hang out in the living room but he didn't mind. He hummed a song while he chopped the onions, wiping away some stray tears that broke loose.

Louis came strolling into the kitchen.
"Do you need any help?"

"Are you actually gonna cook something? Harry smirked.

"Hey! I have learned how to cook, sort of." Louis pouted.

Harry chuckled in response.
"Why don't you go back to the living room and hang out with the boys?"

"Because I wanna hang out with you." Louis answered softly.

Harry's heart skipped a beat.
"You can chop some herbs."

Louis smiled sweetly and went to get a cutting board and a knife. He put it down opposite Harry on the kitchen island and reached for the basil.
"Tell me about your new job." Harry suggested and Louis immediately lit up.

"I'm really excited about it! I'm gonna be an executive manager for a sports company." Louis answered.

"Yeah? Sounds great Lou." Harry answered with a smile.

They continued to small talk while Harry made a tomato sauce. Soon the kitchen was filled with an aromatic smell from the food and Niall came running inside.
"It smells great guys!"

"You can set the table, Niall. The food's ready in a while." Harry replied.

Niall immediately ran to the cabinet to get some plates and disappeared into the dining room. Harry watched him leave with a fond smile.
"I missed our Nialler. We see each other too seldom." Harry sighed.

"I know. You guys are the best friends I've ever had." Louis replied softly. He had jumped to sit on the kitchen island and was dangling his legs, looking all cute and innocent.

Harry just wanted to kiss him. He started to daydream about him and Louis as a couple. Would this be a thing if they were? He would cook them dinner and Louis would hang out in the kitchen to keep him company and Harry would go up to him and kiss him whenever he could? Oh, don't go there! Harry shook his head to clear his mind and ruffled his curls in frustration. He had to stop torturing himself like this.
"Where did you go?" Louis's voice sounded.

Harry looked up to see Louis eyeing him curiously. He let out a small laugh.
"I got lost in thoughts."

"I saw that. Wanna share?" Louis replied.

God no!
"Nothing important. Let's take this out to the dining room. Can you get some coasters?"

Louis jumped down from the island and had to search the drawers before he found what he was looking for. Harry grabbed some cutlery in the meantime and they took the pans to carry them to the dining room. The boys were already sitting down at the dining table. They had opened a bottle of red wine and found some wineglasses.

Liam poured them some wine and Niall helped himself to the food as soon as they put the pans down. When they all had food on their plates Liam raised his glass.
"A toast for the best friends I've ever had. I wish we all could see each other more often but I'm grateful that we have been able to do this every year since we graduated. Cheers!"

They clinked their glasses together and shouted "cheers" before they dug in on the food. Everybody complimented Harry for making it and Louis immediately protested.
"I helped!"

They had a great dinner together, catching up on the latest. Louis told them about his break-up with Eleanor and they were all aghast to hear about it (except Harry, but that just made him feel bad). Louis had met Eleanor during their last year at Uni.

After dinner, they decided to take the party out to the living room and Harry was up for a big surprise.