Chapter Text
“Harry?” Liam pounds on the door to Harry's room, worried about what he'd just witnessed going on in their doorway. No response. “Who was that?” Liam knocks again and tries the knob; it's locked. Liam sighs, and sits against the wall opposite the door. “I'm not leaving, Harry. I'll text my boss and let him know I can't come in. I'm not leaving you here like this.”
Liam sighs again, bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs. He was so confused. One minute he hears someone at the door, the next he comes out to see Harry snogging a guy. He was pretty sure the bloke at the door was Louis, based on how Harry described him. He wasn't one hundred percent sure, though, because Harry refused to show him pictures, saying he'd lost them somewhere.
Liam hears a shuffling sound on the other side of Harry's door and scoots himself closer to the door. He can tell Harry is crying on the other side, but is at a loss as to what he can do.
“Harry?” Liam whispers, his heart sinking when he hears a particularly big sniffle. Liam scoots closer to the door and stretches out on the floor. In the inch of space between the carpeting and the door, he can see Harry's boxers where he's leaning against the door. Of course Harry undressed, he thinks. He can see the tips of Harry's fingers are half resting in the space and decides to stick his own fingers under the door, lacing them with Harry's as best he can.
“It'll be alright, yeah?” Liam whispers. Harry squeezes his fingers a little and lets out another big sniffle.
- - -
“Li?” Harry croaks, his voice a little worn from his crying. He pulls his hand from Liam's and turns to open the door, wondering why there isn't a response. He slowly opens the door a crack, peeking through and seeing Liam asleep on the floor. After watching him for a moment, Harry gets up and grabs the comforter off of his bed and curls up next to Liam on the floor, making sure to cover both of them.
- - -
When Harry wakes up, he's trapped between the wall and Liam, who had pulled him into a death cuddle sometime during the night. Wiggling around a bit, he manages to free himself from Liam's grasp and stands up, stretching his limbs. He makes his way to the kitchen, his joints popping along the way, and pulls out some eggs and bread.
Harry hasn't been in the kitchen long when he hears Liam come up behind him. He turns and offers a feeble smile, still feeling a little sore over last nights events.
“Morning, Harry.” Liam smiles.
“Morning, Li.” Harry responds. An awkward silence falls over the two, making Harry uncomfortable with the question he knows Liam is going to ask.
“You alright?” Liam coughs and figures there's really no good place to start.
“I'm okay, I guess.” Harry focuses his attention on the eggs frying in the skillet.
“Could you,” Liam begins, trailing off. “Do you want to talk about what happened last night?” He tries.
“Not really.”
“C'mon, Harry.”
“There's nothing to it, really. Louis came by thinking I was a guy he could screw over and then kissed me.” Harry takes the eggs out of the skillet and slides them onto a plate.
“He kissed you?” Liam pushes the bread down into the toaster. “And did you kiss him back?” Liam adds.
“I don't know.” Harry squirms at the obvious lie. “Why would I kiss him back?”
“Dunno, maybe you still have feelings for him.” Liam suggests, staring at the toaster instead of making eye contact with Harry.
“I don't have feelings for anybody.” Harry insists.
“Alright.” Liam sighs. “I have a date tonight.” He blurts, figuring now is a good a time as any to change the subject. Harry's eyes widen and he looks up at Liam.
“A date.” Harry states. “Okay.”
“Would you mind, uh, meeting him?” Liam blushes. “I just, um, want him to meet you. Considering you're my best mate and all.” Liam jumps as the toast pops up.
“'Course I'll meet him.” Harry smirks at Liam, already beginning to forget about Louis again.
- - -
“Harry, this is Zayn. Zayn, Harry.” Liam introduces the two lads, hoping they'll get along.
“What's your last name, Harry?” Zayn asks as he shakes the other lads hand, thinking what a small world it would be if it were Louis' Harry.
“Styles. You?” Harry replies casually. Liam sees Zayn stiffen slightly as he pulls his hand back
“M-malik.” Zayn says, keeping a straight face while he freaks out internally. How the fuck did he manage to pull a guy who was best friends with a guy he'd tipped Louis off to? “You, uh, ready to go, Li?” Zayn turns to Liam, hoping to get them out of there as fast as he can.
“Uh, yeah.” Liam frowns. He'd been hoping Zayn would've shown more interest in his best friend but he'd ask about that later. “I'll see you later, yeah?” Liam says, turning to Harry who only nods in response.
“It was nice meeting you, Zayn.” Harry says cheerfully with a wave as the two men exit the apartment and head down the stairs.
- - -
A few hours into their date, Liam remembers how disinterested Zayn had seemed in Harry. He had thought for sure that his boyfriend and best mate would get along swimmingly, both having a lot of the same interests and sense of humor. Liam looks across at Zayn, whose digging into his pasta like he hadn't eaten in a while.
“Zayn?” Liam asks. Zayn only hums in response. “Why did you want to know Harry's last name?” He asks, surprised when Zayn stiffens again.
“No reason in particular.” Zayn lies, hoping Liam doesn't catch on. It fails.
"Zayn.” Liam says sternly, like he's talking to a small kid. Zayn sighs, defeated.
“Have you ever met Louis?” Liam freezes.
“What do you know about him?” He asks, ready to defend Harry. Zayn cringes a little.
“He and I had a... business deal of sorts when he lived back in Manchester. I'd point him in the right direction and he'd bring back what he could. I'd sell the stuff and we'd split the profits.” Zayn says, looking away. Liam's hands clench into fists.
“You sent Louis after him?” Liam hisses, angry. How could Zayn do this to people? Just sic Louis after them to turn a profit? “How the fuck do you justify doing that, Zayn?” Zayn was at a loss for words; he looked at Liam pleadingly. Liam only glared at him, hurt.
“I think it might be best if I just leave.” Liam says, pulling his wallet out as he gets up. He drops a few bills onto the table to cover his portion of the meal and leaves, ignoring the way Zayn calls his name on his way out.
- - -
“Liam?” Harry calls, surprised to hear his flatmate slamming the door and kicking his shoes off. A beat later, Liam stomps into the room with a sour look on his face. Harry puts his magazine down. “Liam? What's wrong?” Harry presses.
“He knows Louis.” Liam hisses. “He set you up.”
“Who?” Harry asks, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion.
“Zayn.” Liam whispers. “I found out tonight.”
“What?” Harry nearly chokes on his own spit.
“He told me that he and Louis had a business deal. He would tip off Louis, who would then bring him things to sell and they would split the profit.” Liam takes a deep breath, steadying himself.
“Fuck.” Harry grits out, grabbing a pillow and throwing it across the room. He storms out of the room and locks himself in his room for the night.
- - -
The next afternoon, Liam is about to take another step out of their flat when he trips and falls, landing on something soft. Confused, he sits up and finds himself laying in a fairly large bed that someone had pushed right up to their door. The bed looked nice, and had a set of pretty floral sheets stacked in a clean pile at the headboard.
“Um... Harry?” Liam calls back into the flat, feeling completely lost as to why there might be a bed outside their flat.
“Um... Liam?” Harry mocks, coming around the corner dressed in only his boxers and carrying a bowl of cereal. He stops dead in his tracks when he sees the bed. Liam looks at him and at the bed, silently asking if Harry knows why it might be there. “That's my bed?” Harry says, beginning to feel the same confusion that Liam does.
“What? This is your bed?” Liam responds, one eyebrow going up.
“And my sheets.” Harry adds.
“One, when did you get this bed? And two, why is it here?” Liam asks, still lost.
“I got it when I moved into my old flat in Manchester. It's the one that Louis stole. Dunno what it's doing here, though.” Harry sets his cereal down. “Those,” he points, “are the sheets I had on it when he ran off with it.”
“Oh.” Liam says, feeling the pieces click together. Someone, either Zayn or Louis, had come by during the night and returned Harry's bed.
“Help me move it inside, would you?” Harry asks, climbing over the bed to the opposite edge and positioning himself to move it.
- - -
The next day, Liam opens the door to the flat to find a couch. He sighs. This was going to get old fast if they kept getting things back at their doorstep every day like this.
“Harry, is this your couch?” Liam calls, turning and plopping down on the couch. He hears something under the cushion crinkle, sticking his hand underneath and pulling out a large envelope. Curious, he opens the envelope and pulls out its contents, surprised to find several pictures of Harry and a guy that he assumed was Louis. After looking through a few, he's certain that they're photos that Harry himself had taken.
“Yeah, that's my couch.” Harry shows up in the entryway to their flat, his blood running cold when he sees what Liam is holding. “Where did you get those?” He asks, not realizing he's whispering.
“They were under the cushion.” Liam says, offering the stack to Harry. Harry snatches them out of Liam's hand and disappears into their flat for a moment, sticking the photos somewhere he knows Liam won't find them again later. When he comes back out, he sees Liam has stretched out on the couch.
“Let's get the couch inside, yeah?” Harry suggests as he pulls Liam off the couch and onto his feet. “S'posed to rain today.” He adds, hoping Liam wouldn't ask him about the photos any time soon.
- - -
Louis isn't sure why he decided to give the bed or the couch back, but it felt right. He no longer had anything to sleep on, of course, but he felt like it was worth it. He felt like maybe he could move on if he no longer had the things he stole from Harry that Zayn couldn't or wouldn't sell.
Stepping into the department store he'd made Niall drop him off in front of, Louis adjusts his backpack carefully and heads for the camping goods section. He passes some bouquets on the way and grabs one, deciding they would look nice with the next set of stuff he'd be dropping off at Harry's flat later tonight.
Once he reaches the camping department, Louis scans the aisles quickly, looking for sleeping bags. He picks out the cheapest one and heads back up to the front of the store and stands in the queue to pay. As soon as he's paid, he jogs over to the nearest underground station and hops on the first train he sees that will take him closer to Harry's neighborhood.
- - -
Louis stashes his sleeping bag in a bush in the park across from Harry's flat, hoping it won't be too dark for him to find later when he's done dropping stuff off. He's making the drop a little earlier tonight because he wanted to ring the buzzer to make sure someone else doesn't stumble across the things first and take them.
Pulling out a glass he'd found on the train, he heads to a water fountain and rinses it out before filling it about halfway with water. He places the flowers in the glass, turning it into a makeshift vase. Carefully, Louis makes his way across the street and up the stairs to Harry's door and sets the vase down and shrugs his backpack off.
Unzipping his bag, Louis finds a slip of paper and a pen and scribbles a quick note and tucks it between the flowers. Next he pulls out a few camera lenses he wasn't able to give up to Zayn to sell and arranges them around the bouquet. He arranges the tallest ones in the back and the smaller ones up front, hoping it doesn't look too weird. He pulls a few more trinkets that he'd taken out of his bag and places them around the lenses and the bouquet before standing up.
Louis looks at the door and takes a deep breath as he shoulders his bag again. He moves as far away from the door as he can while still being able to reach the buzzer. Louis takes another deep breath and pushes the buzzer twice before taking off in a sprint, making it halfway down a flight of stairs before he hears the door open.
- - -
“Zayn.” Liam says, surprised to see Zayn standing at his door.
“Hi, Liam.” Zayn snubs out his cigarette on the brick wall outside of Liam's flat, tucking the last half into a pocket. “Can I come in?” Zayn looks down, expecting to get rejected.
“Yeah.” Liam steps aside, gesturing for Zayn to come in. “We kind of need to talk about things, don't we?”
“Yeah, we do.” Zayn steps inside, thinking this would probably be his last chance to see Liam. He follows Liam into the kitchen and sits across from him. They both stare at each other for quite a while before Zayn starts.
“I'm sorry.” Liam looks down at the table and takes a deep breath.
“It's alright.” Liam takes another deep breath. “If you want things to work out between us, I need you to promise to find a job. A job where you aren't conning people, a job where you're making honest money.” Liam's fingers begin drumming on the tabletop. Zayn breathes out air he didn't know he had been holding, feeling so relieved. He didn't think he'd still have a shot with Liam after what had happened.
“Li, I know we haven't been seeing each other for very long, but I would do anything to have you with me.” Zayn reaches across the table and grabs Liam's hand. “I didn't tell you this before, but the reason I came to London was to try and build up some actual work experience. When I lost Louis, I realized that if Louis couldn't do it forever, then I couldn't do this forever. It's the same reason you haven't come over to mine; I've been living with my parents and sisters.”
“You have sisters?” Liam grins, his brain skipping over the fact that Zayn had somehow “lost” Louis.
“Yep. Got three younger ones.” Zayn smiles, happy that Liam is happy. “Are we okay, then?” He ventures.
“We're good. As long as you can find a real job, yeah?” Liam's smile softens a bit, genuinely happy that Zayn is willing to work for their relationship.
- - -
Harry opens the door to the flat, expecting to see someone on the other side. No one is there, so he pokes his head out and looks around, still not seeing anybody. He sighs and looks down, slightly annoyed that some kid decided to play ding dong ditch while he was busy editing photos for work. That's when he sees the flowers and a bunch of camera lenses on the ground in front of his door. Smiling a little, he bends over and grabs the note out of the flowers, figuring he'd better read it first.
I'm sorry. I don't have your telly or money. This is the last of your things. I won't be around again. I really am sorry. - L
Surprised, Harry bends over and picks up the lenses, carefully examining each one. They were all the ones that Louis had taken in the first place, leaving him with only a couple to use. He moves them all to the table Liam decided to put next to the door, moving the plant they never watered. He picks up the rest of the trinkets that Louis had left: his watch for fancy events, his grandmothers wedding ring, and an antique swallow figurine among other things.
As Harry puts the things Louis returned away, he realizes he's not mad anymore. Just heartbroken.
- - -
Louis is walking home from Harry's flat back to his and Niall's. He ran out of money after paying for his ride on the underground; he'd used the money he needed to get back on the bouquet. He'd found his sleeping bag easily in the bushes, taking it out and squashing it into his now empty backpack. Louis is going down a steep hill when he hears a honk.
“Oi! How much for a night?” A male voice calls out. Louis shoots them a dirty look and keeps moving, hoping they'll get the message. They honk again. “I asked you how much for a night.” They're yelling now, starting to sound a bit angry.
“You couldn't afford me.” Louis spits back, flipping them off and walking a bit faster. He notices whoever is driving has a fairly nice Mercedes.
“Try me.” The voice calls out, speeding up a bit to keep up with Louis increased pace. Louis thinks for a minute, trying to come up with some ridiculous number to make them get away.
“Thousand pounds.” He responds, trying not to smirk. He knows he looks good, but he's pretty sure that no one in their right mind would pay that much.
“Get in.” Louis stops walking and turns to face the car, not expecting them to accept. He stares at the car, wondering if this is an opportunity he should take. It would be quick money, he reasons, and there would be more chances to steal valuable things for Stan or Zayn to sell. He'd be able to get a quicker turnover on cash, as well, he reasons. Louis steps closer to the car and pulls the door open. At least it would be easier to keep Harry out of his mind for a few hours than have to do it for days on end on a bigger job.
- - -
“What are you doing here?” Harry hisses, eying Zayn. Zayn's eyes widen.
“Whoa, mate. Calm down. I'm here for Liam.” Zayn takes a few steps back, hoping Liam will show up soon. As if on cue, Liam shows up behind Harry looking a little flustered.
“Harry! What are you doing!” Liam scolds. Harry whips his head around to look at Liam.
“I think the better question is what are you doing, Liam?” Harry snaps, his knuckles turning white as his grip on the door tightens. “Why are you still with this arse?”
“'This arse' is right here.” Zayn says, trying to remind them all he hasn't left.
“I don't have to explain this to you right now, Harry. We will talk later after you've calmed down.” Liam responds, ignoring Zayn.
“Good luck with that.” Harry spits, slamming the door in Zayn's face. Zayn stares at the door, not sure if he should leave or not. Liam comes out a moment later.
“C'mon Zayn. Let's go.” Liam sighs, grabbing Zayn's hand and heading towards the stairs.
- - -
Sometimes, Niall wonders why Louis doesn't get an actual job. The job he has now, if you could call it that, seemed to get him into quite a bit of trouble sometimes. There was the time he'd gotten involved with a gang leader, having to skip town with Niall to get out of it. That was when Niall had stopped getting involved with the guys themselves.
The only reason Niall had decided to get involved this time was because Louis was hurt and Niall didn't like seeing his best mate so upset. He was sick of Louis and Harry just kind of circling each other without trying to talk about things. Which explains why Niall finds himself at this particular apartment complex, jogging up the stairs and staring at a door, wondering if he's doing the right thing, as he lifts his knuckles to the door.
Niall knocks on the door to flat number 215 and tucks his hands into his pockets, nervous as he waits. After a moment, a guy with green eyes and dark, curly hair answers the door and eyes Niall suspiciously.
“Can I help you?” He asks. Niall takes a deep breath.
“Uh, Harry, right? I'm Niall. Can we talk?” Niall asks, pulling his hands out of his pockets and running them through his hair. Harry is still looking at Niall with a look of distrust.
“Look, if you're going to try and screw me over in a few months, don't bother. I'm not interested.” Harry moves to close the door.
“Wait! I'm not here for that.” Harry pauses, opening the door a bit wider.
“Then why are you here?” Harry demands.
“I – I wanted to talk to you about Louis.” Niall admits, looking down. Harry was definitely not expecting that. “Can I come in, please?” Not quite sure what the guy at his door is on about, Harry lets Niall in, still guarded, and leads him to the kitchen.
“Tea?” He offers, shrugging and sitting down when Niall shakes his head. He gestures for Niall to sit as well, waiting for him to say something. When he doesn't, Harry sighs, realizing he'd have to start this conversation.
“You wanted to talk to me about Louis?” He prompts.
“I – yeah. You probably don't know who I am.” Niall laughs a little, nervous. “I've been Louis' best mate for a while now.” Harry's eyebrows shoot up at that. Louis had always told him that he didn't know anyone because he'd just moved to Manchester. Thinking back on it, Harry realizes it makes sense; Louis refused to go out with Harry and his friends, preferring to stay in. Probably to avoid running into someone he'd screwed over.
“You knew he was screwing me over.” Harry states, not even a question. Niall nods.
“I didn't say anything because he's done it before without any problems.” Niall says, watching Harry roll his eyes.
“Of course he's done it before. Why would I be any different?” Harry hisses, balling his hands up into fists. Harry wasn't quite sure why he was getting angry.
“He stayed with you longer than the others.” Niall said, watching Harry's face for a reaction. He was surprised there was none.
“And? Was I just tougher to crack?” Harry asked, careful to keep his face straight. His voice gave him away, though, going higher in pitch. Why the fuck would he care if Louis spent more time on him? Why would Niall think he cared?
“I – look. Louis has never been good at relationships. He spent his childhood watching his mom fuck over men and its literally all he knows about having relationships with people. For the longest time he wasn't sure why he stayed with you, either. He could've left you after three or four months, but he didn't. It wasn't until about a week before he left that he even bothered to call me about leaving.” Niall said, hoping that him talking to Harry didn't end up pissing Louis off.
“What does this have to do with me, Niall? Why would he have stayed an extra four months? It's not like he actually cared about me; he was only focused on how much he could make off of me.” Harry spat. Niall was getting frustrated at this point. Why didn't Harry understand?
“He's fucking in love with you, Harry! He hasn't pulled off another successful job since he left you. He's spent the last couple of weeks selling himself and taking any extra money he can from their wallets and grabbing a few valuables before they wake up. He then comes home and gets drunk and ends up in bed with me, crying 'is eyes out over you.” Niall practically yells, finally getting a reaction when Harry's mouth drops open.
“Get out.” Harry hisses, standing up. That's not what Niall was expecting, but he gets up and heads to the door anyways. Just as he's about to walk out the door, he turns back around to face Harry.
“He left because he was scared. Not because he wanted to screw you over.” Niall says, barely a whisper, walking the rest of the way out of Harry's flat. He's really screwed this up, he thinks.
- - -
“You can't just do that, Harry.” Liam finally says over dinner one night.
“Do what?” Harry plays dumb, looking up at Liam.
“You know what.” Liam glares at Harry.
“Why can't I? Your boyfriend is the one that ultimately broke my heart.” Harry pauses. “I don't see why it's so wrong that I don't trust him. I also don't get why you're still with him.”
“My boyfriend did not break your heart, Harry. Louis did. All Zayn is responsible for is selling stolen items and telling Louis who to go after.” Liam responds.
“That still doesn't explain why you're still with him.” Harry mumbles, picking at his food with his fork. Liam sighs.
“Sometimes people deserve a second chance, Harry. Besides, Zayn isn't working on the black market any more. He's got a job at a book store. That's why I agreed to give him a second chance.” Liam reasons. Harry doesn't respond, his mind stuck on second chances.
- - -
“'Lo?” Zayn answers his phone, still half asleep.
“It's Harry.” The voice on the other end responds. Zayn sits up at that, feeling more awake. Liam probably gave Harry his number, he realizes.
“Harry.”
“Look, I still don't trust you. But I need something from you.” Harry sounds upset, Zayn thinks.
“Yeah, mate. Whatever you need, I'll get it.” Zayn furrows his brow, his suspicions confirmed when he hears Harry try to disguise a small sob with a cough and a wet sniffle.
“I need Lou's number. His new one.” Zayn's eyebrows shoot up. He gives Harry the new number he has for Louis, hearing him hang up almost immediately after. Here's to hoping he's going to use it to get Lou back, Zayn thinks as he snuggles himself back into bed.
- - -
“Li?” Harry turns off the television Liam had brought to London and turns to face his best mate.
“Yeah?” Liam responds, sensing Harry wants to discuss something important.
“Lou's friend came by.”
“Zayn?” Liam's eyebrows raise slightly at that. Harry shakes his head.
“An Irish bloke named Niall.” Liam nods at that.
“What did he want?”
“He said...” Harry stops and takes a deep breath, trying to steady himself. “He said Louis is still in love with me.” Liam's phone dings with a message from Zayn. “You can check it if you want.” Harry says, knowing that Liam has difficulties ignoring Zayn's messages, even if temporarily. Liam pulls his phone out and opens the message.
tell ur twat of a best mate to go for lou. those 2 r gone for each other xx
“Go ahead.” Liam says, grinning as he puts his phone down. He's getting a feeling he knows what Harry is going to ask him.
“Don't you need to reply?” Harry is a little confused; he hasn't seen Liam not reply to Zayn.
“No, it's not important. Go on. You said that Niall said Louis still loves you?” Liam prompts.
“Yeah. I don't know if it's true or not. I mean, we know how I feel. But I don't want to make a fool of myself if I go looking for him, you know?” Harry rambles.
“I think you should give it a shot.” Liam encourages, trying not to let on that he knows anything more.
“You sure?” Harry asks, uncertain.
“I'm sure, Harry. What have you got to lose?”
- - -
A week later, Louis' phone buzzes with a text from a number that looks vaguely familiar. Unlocking his phone, Louis reads the message, assuming its one of his clients. He'd figured out that having repeat customers earned him more.
Meet me at the park? xx
The park is an awfully weird place to meet a client, Louis thinks. He agrees to meet them later anyways, since he doesn't feel like working the streets tonight.
- - -
Harry is laying on a bench, his feet dangling off the edge over arm rest, waiting for him to come. It had been almost half an hour since they were supposed to meet and although he was notoriously late for everything, half an hour was pushing it, Harry thought. Even for Louis. Harry stares up at the clouds, smirking as he sees one float by that looks like a penis.
Louis, for once, isn't late. As the bench he was supposed to meet his client by came into view, he had to stop. Harry was there. He hasn't seen Harry stretched out like that in what feels like ages and its almost as if the image captivates him.
That's when it hits him. The person who contacted him wasn't a client; it was Harry. Harry wanted to see him. He doesn't know how long he's been staring when he sees Harry start to get up to leave.
Harry sits up, sighing. Maybe Niall was wrong; maybe Louis wasn't ever in love with him. Standing, he turns around to head back to his flat, given up on waiting for Louis. He takes a few steps before he stops dead, seeing Louis standing across the park, staring at him with his mouth open. Harry stares back, as a grin spreads across his face slowly. Louis came for him.
Louis feels himself walking towards Harry. He's not sure what's propelling his movement, but all he can think is that Harry was there for him. He feels his feet move faster and faster the closer he gets to Harry, practically running him to the other man.
Harry takes a few steps forward, meeting Louis, wrapping his arms around the smaller man. Louis wraps his arms around Harry, tears forming in his eyes.
“I'm so, so sorry, Hazza.” Louis chokes out.
“I know, Boo. I forgive you.” Harry breathes out.
“I love you, Harry. So, so much.” Louis sobs out, feeling tears fall down his face.
“I know. I love you, too.” Harry whispers in response, pulling Louis as close as he can, hiding his grin in the crook of Louis' neck.