Pretty Boy || larry

twelve

{all credit goes to the original author}

twelve

Everything has changed.

Harry’s mum is going through one of the best and most intensive rehab programs in the U.K., and calls Harry every chance she gets. Things get clearer. She learns he isn’t a lawyer and weeps. He learns she remembers how to love him more than a needle, and dances. It’s an uphill battle and they fight it together.

Now that Harry and Jane are both out of harm’s way, Louis brings down the full force of the law on Kieffer and the rest of his operation with a particular fiendish delight. Everything comes to light and Kieffer, as the leader, winds up with charges so extensive that he’s guaranteed to spend at least the rest of his natural life in jail. He gets a visit from a dark-haired man with a Bradford accent on his first day in prison. The camera footage for that day mysteriously is ruined by a software glitch in the prison’s security system so no one knows precisely what was said, but his cellmates would tell you Kieffer returns to his bunk looking a little angry and a lot scared, and he stops ranting about the priceless blackmail he’ll use to topple the nation. He’s suddenly more concerned with making sure his back is never to anyone.

Louis donates some of his dozens of suits to make room in the closet for Harry’s growing collection of skinny jeans and flannel shirts and ridiculously oversized hats. He only rolls his eyes a little at the eccentric sense of fashion, because as it turns out, those sparkly boots with the little heels make Harry’s bum look very, very cute.

He takes Harry out for his debut as the official, actual boyfriend of the prince a few weeks later, to a little cafe on a busy street that has excellent quiche and outdoor seating. Harry blushes a little at the constant stream of attention they get from passersby, but Louis eats it up. His personal philosophy is that the more people who get to be witness to the fact that he’s nauseatingly, hopelessly lost for this boy, the better. He makes sure there are cameras snapping every time he leans in to kiss Harry softly.

Things aren’t perfect. Homophobic backlash increases now that the idea of a gay prince isn’t just an idea anymore, but a reality walking down the street hand in hand with another man. Dirty glances in official meetings get more and more prevalent as some of the particularly scummy members of the government stew over the fact that they know things they can never reveal. Louis gets a reputation for saying ‘fuck you’ a lot, which makes Niall’s life miserable.

But things don’t have to be perfect, because even in their strange little way, that makes Louis and Harry happy. They find themselves taking a lot of late-night drives in the fancy cars Harry insists Louis learn to handle, even after they fall back into the normal rhythm of sleeping at night and staying awake during the day. Sleep be damned, there’s just nothing like laying out on the hood of a Bugatti and looking up at the stars that you can only see when you’re miles and miles and miles from London.

Harry reaches over and tangles his hand with Louis’. “Never thought life would turn out like this,” he murmurs. “Didn’t think it was possible. Real life isn’t like Pretty Woman. Never thought that would be my story.”

“Of course it isn’t your story,” Louis says lightly. “You’re a man. Trust me, I’m very gay. I probably wouldn’t sleep with you if you weren’t a man.”

It makes Harry giggle. “Okay. But you have to admit you’re at least a little bit the Richard Gere to my Julia Roberts. The parallels are kind of ridiculous.”

“Alright, I’ll give.” Louis turns his head to the side to look at Harry and finds that the younger man is already looking over at him, too. “You’re not my pretty woman, but you can be my pretty boy.”

He doesn’t expect his lame joke to bring tears to Harry’s eyes, but at least they’re accompanied with a smile as Harry blinks back up at the stars and brings their clasped hands to his mouth to kiss at Louis’ knuckle. “I’m okay with that,” he says quietly. “Just for you.”

THE END

thanks for reading!

-alexa