Archive of Our Own

The morning of Christmas Eve comes accompanied with a light snow, drifting lackadaisically past the bedroom window. It’s bright outside, the sun trying desperately to break through the clouds, illuminating the overcast sky in a way that hurts if you look right at it.

The first thing Harry does when he wakes up is stretch his arm out across the bed, fingertips searching for warm skin beneath the blankets to his right. All he finds is cold bedsheets, though, until his fingers brush against something foreign.

He finally peeks his eyes open to investigate and finds a sticky note, Louis’s scrawling handwriting registering in his brain before anything else. Great, a note.

Louis only ever leaves notes if he’s upset or Harry’s done something wrong; otherwise, Louis will wake him up by any means necessary just tell him he’s going to take his morning wee. Notes are almost never a good thing. Harry’s learned that by now, in almost ten years of dating Louis.

The thing is, though, today is Louis’s birthday, and Harry can’t think of a single thing he’s done recently to make Louis upset with him. Maybe it’s because he didn’t wake up early to make Louis breakfast. Or maybe Louis found the gift Harry had hidden in the back of the closet and it wasn’t good enough. Louis’s not that shallow, though, and Harry’s pretty sure he set an alarm before he went to sleep.

He snuffles into his pillow sleepily and then sits up, grabbing the note off of Louis’s pillow and pulling it close to his face to read it. It’s late morning and it’s quite bright in the bedroom but Harry’s eyes are still bleary from sleep, so the words are a little foggy for a minute.

Good morning, and happy birthday to ME! You’ll be happy to know that I went ahead and planned out your present to me, so you can return that awful watch (sorry I peeked, I couldn’t help it) at your liesure leisure (?) and do this instead! I’ve planned a scavenger hunt for you, and I’ll see you at the finish line. Your first clue is hidden inside my favorite box of cereal. Love you! -L

The note takes up both sides of the sticky note and Harry has to read it over at least three times before he understands what’s happening, sighing to himself and climbing out of bed. Leave it Louis to make Christmas Eve a hundred times busier and more chaotic than it already is. He supposes this is pretty cute, though, and he can’t wait to see how pleased Louis will be at the end of the scavenger hunt when he finds that Harry got through the whole thing for him.

He leaves the note on the dresser and jumps into the shower before he starts the hunt, because knowing Louis, this is going to be a long day. He wants to be ready for it. When he gets out of the shower he gets dressed in his favorite skinny jeans and, seeing as how his favorite purple sweater is (not so) suspiciously missing, his second favorite gray sweater. A pair of wool socks and a quick application of deodorant later he picks up Louis’s note again and makes his way downstairs, digging through the pantry until he finds the open box of CoCo Pops.

He pours himself a bowl just for the hell of it, smiling to himself when another sticky note with a few pieces of cereal stuck to it falls right into his bowl. He plucks it out and pours in some milk, leaning back against the counter and munching on his breakfast while he reads the second note.

Have yourself a bowl of pops, if you’re not already! When you’re done (don’t rush, you’ll get a tummy ache), go to the place we first saw each other. Your next clue will be found where we spoke our first words. -L

Harry rolls his eyes fondly and sets the note down on the counter, picking off the pieces of cereal from the sticky part and distractedly sticking the newer note on top of the first one. He kind of plans on keeping these forever, so he wants them in good shape.

When he’s done with his cereal he rinses out his bowl and puts it into the dishwasher, dropping the spoon into the designated compartment and bumping it shut with his hip. He shuffles along the floor to the front door and slips on his winter boots, because it’s quite snowy outside, and it’s still lightly snowing at the moment.

He grabs his keys off the little hook by the door and sees that Louis’s keys are gone, as well, and he can’t help but wonder how much work Louis put into this little scavenger hunt while he locks the door behind himself and trudges down the walkway to his car.

It’s a short drive to their old primary school a few towns over. He blasts the heat on the way there and cranks up the holiday tunes, singing along softly while he drives. There’s parking out back, as close to the playground as he can get, and he’s thrilled to find that it’s plowed. He parks the car in the spot closest to the slide, and pulls his coat tight around himself when he finally gets out.

The snow is about ankle deep where he needs to go and he sighs, knowing that by the time he gets to Louis at the end of this he’s most likely going to be soggy and wet and suffering from a touch of frostbite. He wanders around and around the slide for a few moments, wondering if he and Louis have different memories of their first meeting, and then suddenly he sees a little piece of paper flapping in the wind, stuck to the underside of the plastic slide.

Harry didn’t have a lot of friends in primary school, not even obligatory ones that he invited to his birthday parties. He preferred to be alone most of the time, anyway, and recess was no different. His favorite thing to do was sit under the slide and watch the other kids play, delighting in the way they all laughed and played and went on around him like he wasn’t even there. It was like he was watching them on tv or reading about them in a book, like he was on the outside looking in, and he never felt particularly lonely until someone pointed it out.

“Hey, you,” said a voice from above him, and Harry jumped so hard he nearly hit his head on the bottom of the slide. His eyes filled with tears immediately at the prospect of being caught, but he couldn’t even see the person who was talking, which made it even worse.

“Oh, hey, don’t cry,” the voice said, and then a tiny body fell from the sky. Harry supposed he didn’t actually fall from the sky, but he at least jumped down from the top of the slide over the side of it, landing on his feet in a crouched position like he was Spiderman, or something. “Don’t cry, I’m not gonna be mean to you. Just wanna know why you’re sitting all alone.”

Harry looked up at the boy and shrugged, wrapping his arms around his legs and pulling his knees up to his chest. “Dunno. Like it better to just watch,” he explained, looking away from the boy’s face as soon as he could and looking back toward the kids playing on the swings a few feet over.

“Can I sit with you?” The boy asked, and Harry just shrugged again, glancing up at him quickly and then focusing on a little girl with blond curly pigtails on the middle swing.

He felt more than he saw the boy sit down next to him, the warmth of his body like a heater in the almost-November air. Harry wondered where he came from and why, out of all the kids on the playground, he chose Harry to sit with.

“I’m Louis,” the boy said after a few minutes Harry just turned to look at him, rested his chin on top of his kneecap, and just stared, taking in all of Louis’s features. Louis didn’t even seem uncomfortable, he just smiled and reached out to tweak one of the curls on top of Harry’s head, but in a gentle way instead of the rough way the other boys usually did it.

“Harry,” he finally responded, and Louis grinned at him. They sat in silence for a while, until recess was almost over, and then Louis finally spoke up again.

“I’m new to this school. I just moved here a week ago. Do you wanna be friends?”

Harry just looked over at him again for a long minute, eyebrows pulled together. “I don’t have any friends,” he said quietly, but he didn’t look away, and Louis only lit up a little.

“Me either! We can be each other’s friend. I’ll be your bro, and you can be my pal,” he decided. Harry had never smiled so hard so quickly in his life, nodding his head so fast he swore he could feel his brain rattle around in his head.

“Okay,” he smiled. “Bro,” he added after a moment, and Louis laughed.

“Except, don’t say that. Just call me Louis, or Lou,” he said, and Harry nodded. He could do that. His first friend.

The bell to end recess rang then and both boys stood up slowly, walking to the door together. “I’m glad you’re my friend,” Harry told Louis right before they parted ways to go back to their classrooms.

“Yeah,” Louis said, grinning at Harry over his shoulder. “Yeah, I’m glad you’re my friend too.”

Harry smiles at the memory and reaches for the note, carefully pulling it off the slide and trudging back through the snow to his car. He climbs in and turns the heat back on before he starts to read the next note, sticking it to the top of his little pile.

Glad you remember! You were such a weirdo, but for some reason I just knew I had to be your friend, and I’m so glad I did. Now go to the place we had our first kiss. Your next clue will be found in the place you finally got the courage to make a move on me. -L

Harry chuckles and rolls his eyes, placing the little pile of sticky notes down gingerly on the dashboard of his car and backing out of his parking spot. It’s only a short drive to his next destination, but by the time he gets there the snow has picked up just a bit. He parks on the curb out in front of the high school, leaving the car running this time so he’ll be able to jump right back in when he’s ready.

The driveway of the school has been plowed recently, as well, and Harry has to climb up and over a small snowbank to get to the bench just outside the front door. He finds the note taped to the back of the wooden bench and sits down on the edge of it, smiling to himself at the memories.

It hadn’t snowed at all during the school day, at least not that Harry had noticed. Now that he was sitting outside alone waiting for his mother to come pick him up on her way home from work, however, fat flakes were falling down slowly around him, soaking through his jacket and making his curly hair droop into his face.

Louis was supposed to wait with him after school but Harry hadn’t been able to find him after last period, so he’d decided to just go outside and wait by himself. It was probably better that way, anyway, because lately Harry had started feeling kind of weird whenever Louis was around, and honestly, it made Harry nervous.

He’d never been particularly interested in girls, and his mum told him that that was okay, but Harry hadn’t ever really considered that he might be gay until Louis actually came out to him. Harry had started looking at Louis differently, then, but not in a bad way. More of a, well, a curious way. He wondered what it would be like to taste Louis’s lips, to hold his body against his own, to wake up tangled up with him. The thoughts didn’t turn him off as much as they should’ve, quite the opposite, really, and Harry had been extra cautious around Louis ever since.

He was still lost in his own head by the time a weight plopped down beside him on the bench, and Harry startled before he looked up and realized it was only Louis.

“You ditched me,” Louis pointed out, and Harry frowned, shaking his head.

“You ditched me! I thought we were meeting at my locker,” he defended, and now Louis shook his head.

“I thought we were meeting at my locker,” he argued. They both stared at the other for a moment before dissolving into giggles, Louis reaching over to tweak one of Harry’s wet curls. “Come to think of it, you’re right. We did agree to meet at your locker. But, I’m here now, so no harm done,” he decided.

Harry had been frozen to the spot since Louis touched his hair, but Louis didn’t seem to pick up on that.

“It’s bloody freezing,” Louis hissed after a few minutes, moving closer to Harry on the bench to hopefully share some of his body heat. Harry stretched his arm across the back of the bench to welcome Louis in, which Louis took advantage of immediately.

“It is. And you’re not even wearing a jacket,” Harry commented, shaking his head at Louis like a disapproving parent.

“Oh, shut up. I’m wearing a scarf, aren’t I? Budge up, I’m coming in,” Louis said, reaching up to unzip Harry’s coat. Harry froze up again as Louis tucked himself right inside, his front pressed tightly against Harry’s. “Don’t be weird, Hazza, give me a cuddle. I’m freezing me balls off here,” he mumbled, face pressed against Harry’s chest.

Harry slowly let himself relax, tucking the other side of his puffy coat around Louis’s body and hugging him tight. Louis made a quiet sound of approval and cuddled closer, causing Harry to get a little brave.

He rubbed Louis’s back gently through the coat, leaning in to drop a kiss to the top of his head without thinking. Now it was Louis’s turn to tense up, his breathing going a bit shallow as he pulled away from Harry’s warmth.

“Did you just kiss my head?” He asked, eyes shining in a way that Harry couldn’t decipher as good nor bad.

“Um,” he stuttered, face going red hot despite the freezing temperature. “Yes? I’m sorry,” he said immediately, hoping things wouldn’t be weird now.

“It’s okay,” Louis said slowly, obviously more weirded out now by Harry’s behavior than the friendly kiss. “Or, is it? Are you okay?”

Harry felt himself blush even harder, if that was possible, shaking his head and nodding at the same time.

“Yeah, no, I’m fine. I’m okay. I think I might just walk home, actually,” he muttered, shrinking away from Louis and making to stand up.

“Harry,” Louis argued, reaching up and grabbing him by the back of the coat. Harry tried to get away but Louis pulled him right back down onto the bench, quickly climbing on top of him and holding him down.

“Nope, you’re not getting away that easy. Come on, then, talk to me. What is it?”

Harry groaned, trying to push Louis off his lap. Louis wouldn’t budge though, holding tight to Harry’s shoulders and squeezing his thighs tight around Harry’s.

“Nothing,” Harry lied, but he felt himself blushing again when Louis shifted forward in his lap, aligning their bodies perfectly.

Confusion clouded Louis’s features for just a moment before he seemed to finally understand, releasing the tight grip of his thighs on Harry’s lap and relaxing a bit.

“Is it me?” When Harry didn’t say anything, Louis took a breath and kept on. “Are you- do you have a crush on me?” He asked, his voice barely audible over the blood rushing in Harry’s ears. Harry felt like the entire world paused for a long moment, and finally his brain forced his mouth to move.

“Please don’t make fun of me,” he begged in a tiny voice, shrinking in on himself. Louis was still the only friend he had, ever since they first met, and if Louis started being mean to him now because he didn’t like him back like that, Harry wasn’t sure he could handle it.

“What? I’m not going to- hey,” Louis said, coaxing Harry’s eyes open. Harry didn’t remember closing them. “I’m not gonna make fun of you. Truth be told, I’ve always found you pretty cute, as well,” he admitted. Harry stared up at him for a moment, as if gauging his sincerity, before he finally let himself relax.

“You like me,” Louis grinned a moment later, and Harry’s eyes snapped back up to his face. “You liiike me, you have a crush on me,” he sang. Harry groaned and reached up to try and cover Louis’s mouth, but Louis just laughed and evaded him.

“You said you wouldn’t make fun of me!” Harry protested, but he was laughing too, both of them squirming around on the bench while Harry tried to cover Louis’s mouth to get him to stop talking and Louis kept wriggling around to avoid him.

“But you liiike me! You wanna cuddle me, and kiss me, and-”

He was cut off abruptly but Harry’s lips on his own, Harry’s hands holding either side of his face and keeping him firmly in place. Louis didn’t react for a minute but then he melted, hands resting against Harry’s chest while he kissed back.

Harry knew that Louis had kissed other people before; he had had his fair share of girlfriends in primary school. Harry also knew that Louis had never actually kissed a boy before, and while this was Louis’s first kiss with a boy, it was Harry’s first kiss altogether. He already couldn’t imagine ever kissing anyone else, ever.

When they finally broke apart Louis just sat back on Harry’s knees, both of them breathless and much warmer than they were before.

“That was way nicer than telling me to shut up,” Louis commented dreamily, and once they both started laughing, they didn’t stop until they heard a car start rumbling down the driveway.

Louis scurried off of Harry lap and back onto the bench beside him and Harry straightened his coat, standing up when his mother finally pulled up to the curb. She rolled down the window and smiled at them, waving her hand to beckon them closer.

“Come on, boys, it must be freezing out there. Louis, I can give you a ride home as well, so you don’t have to wait for your mum. Come on.”

Harry looked at Louis and caught Louis already looking, both of them sharing somewhat of a secret grin before they got up and made their way to the car. Harry climbed into the front seat and Louis sat in the back, and they were quiet, but it wasn’t awkward. It was comfortable and cozy and Harry didn’t think the butterflies in his stomach would ever go away, but he wasn’t sure he wanted them to, either.

Harry looks down beside him at the side of the bench Louis had sat on all those years ago, smiling to himself. That kiss was the first of many, and to this day, Louis is still the only person Harry has ever kissed. He holds the note tight in his fingers and trudges back through the snow to his car, reading Louis’s next clue over while he climbs back in.

I still can’t believe that shy little Harry made out with me on this bench just to get me to stop talking. Before the first date, even! Go to the place where we had our first date. Your next clue will be at the table we sat at. -L (PS, feel free to order some chips for lunch while you’re there. They really are quite good.)

He chuckles to himself and sticks the note on top of his growing pile, placing them back down on his dashboard and setting off to the little diner down the street from the school. It’s about a ten minute walk, but driving, it takes him about two minutes before he pulls into the parking lot.

It’s nearly deserted this time of day, seeing as it’s not even noon and it only opened about a half hour ago. There’s only one couple seated at a booth near the back of the restaurant when Harry walks in, and they look up for a second before they look back down.

The diner is a seat-yourself kind of place, so Harry walks right over to the table next to the window and slides himself into the booth, the exact same place he sat almost ten full years ago on his first real date with Louis. He does order some chips when the waitress comes around and he takes his time eating them, reminiscing about the time he once spent in this booth.

It was the Friday after the big first kiss. Harry and Louis had gone straight home after school to get ready, having had this date planned since about ten minutes before first period the very same day.

Typically, they would both go to one of their houses after school on a Friday, so when Harry got into his mother’s car alone that Friday, she was quite skeptical.

“Did you and Louis have a fight, or something? Where is he?” She asked, still parked on the curb outside of the school. Louis was already gone; his mother had come about ten minutes ago and asked him the same question.

“No, he just had something to do at home after school, so we can’t hang out. I was wondering, though, could you drive us to Ben’s tonight?” He asked, nerves twisting in his stomach even though it was no big deal, he knew she’d say yes. He’d been nervous all day though. The idea of going on his very first date with his very best friend was somewhat daunting.

“Ben’s, as in, the diner?” Anne asked, finally putting the car back into drive and pulling away from the curb. “Sure. What, are you two going on a date night or something?” She joked, and Harry felt himself falter. She couldn’t know, she couldn’t possibly.

“What? No! Why would you- no, no, we’re meeting up with some friends there. I think. Very platonic,” he stuttered out, staring out the windshield and hoping she bought it.

“O...kay,” Anne frowned, glancing over at Harry while she drove. “Yeah, I can give you boys a ride. Is 6:00 alright?” She asked, and Harry nodded quickly, relaxing in his seat.

“Yeah, that’s perfect. Thanks mum.”

He went right inside when they got home and showered, because if they were leaving at 6:00, he only had about two hours to get ready, and he wanted to look absolutely perfect. Sure, Louis had seen him at his absolute worst, like when he had the stomach flu in year six, or when he fell off his bike on his face and spent half the summer between years eight and nine with scabs all over his left cheek. But this was different, this was a date, and Harry would be damned if he didn’t look his absolute best, even at Ben’s Diner.

6:00 rolled around and Harry climbed into his mother’s car feeling quite proud of himself; his best jeans and a nice, clean long sleeve on his body, with his hair at its softest and a little spritz of cologne on his neck. He made sure to go easy with the scent, though, because he heard girls complain about it often, and he didn’t want Louis to think he was trying too hard. He didn’t know what he’d do if he lost Louis now.

When they pulled up to Louis’s house a few minutes later the boy was obviously waiting by the door, because he was bouncing down the walkway before Anne had even put the car in park. He was wearing a skintight white t-shirt and dark red jeans with suspenders over his shoulders, his hair swept very neatly over his forehead. Harry had to look down at his lap so he wouldn’t stare, biting hard at the inside of his cheek.

“Hi Harry, hi Anne,” Louis chirped as he got in the car, buckling himself into the backseat.

“Hi, Louis. You look very nice this evening,” Anne commented, glancing at Louis over her shoulder while she pulled out of his driveway. “But aren’t you cold?”

“Oh, thank you. And yeah, a bit, but I don’t think we’ll be spending much time outside tonight. Plus, Hazza usually lets me share his jacket,” he grinned, and Harry could feel himself blush under the stare he just knew Louis was directing at the back of his head rest. It was true, though; Louis hadn’t worn a jacket one day that week, and every day after school Harry would let him tuck himself into the extra space until one of their moms came to get them.

“That’s quite nice of you, Harry,” Anne hummed, reaching over to ruffle Harry’s hair. The same hair that Harry spent nearly twenty minutes fussing over.

“Quite,” Harry grumbled, reaching up to fix it, while Louis just giggled quietly in the backseat.

Nobody said much for the next few minutes, the radio playing quietly until they arrived to the diner. Harry was out of the car in seconds, thanking his mother quickly before shutting the door and waiting eagerly for Louis to do the same. They walked into the diner side by side, somewhat awkwardly, hands bumping between them but neither of them finding the courage to latch on.

They sat down at the first available booth right next to the window, both of them looking at their menus for a few minutes even though there was only one thing anyone ever got here. Louis was the one to break the silence, like usual, kicking his foot out and hitting Harry’s ankle much too hard for it to have been an accident.

“Ouch,” Harry complained, reaching down to rub at his ankle and pouting at Louis. Louis just grinned, his eyes sparkling.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to. You look really cute,” he said, a bit rushed like it was coming with a wave of courage. Harry blinked at him and then smiled, pain forgotten.

“Thank you. You look- you do too. This is so weird,” he giggled, but Louis’s smile fell a little at that.

“Why is it weird? You’re not like, rethinking this, are you? Because it doesn’t have to be a date if you don’t want it to be, we can just-”

Harry reached out to cover his mouth with his hand, but only because he was too far away to kiss. “Not what I meant. It’s just, you’ve been my best friend for so long, and I’ve been thinking these things pretty much the whole time, I guess, and never really thought anything of it, it just feels weird to say them out loud,” Harry explained, and Louis relaxed a little.

“Say what out loud?” He asked, clearly baiting, and Harry rolled his eyes.

“That you look c-cute. You look really cute. I wanna- can we kiss, later? Maybe?” He asked hopefully, growing more and more confident as he spoke. It was terrifying, for some reason, calling Louis cute out loud to his face like that. But it was worth it for the way Louis smiled at him after, like he’d never felt better.

“Yeah, definitely. Maybe when my mom comes to get us we can go back to my house and kiss in my room for a little?” Louis suggested, gnawing on his lip, like Harry for some reason might not like that idea.

“Yeah! We could have a sleepover, maybe? And just- like…” He realized what it sounded like as he was saying it, and he knew that Louis had done some stuff like that before with girls, but Harry really didn’t know if he was ready for it.

“I don’t put out on the first date, Harry, what kind of girl do you take me for?” Louis teased, smiling big enough to wipe away any of Harry’s insecurities.

Harry just laughed quietly and Louis nudged his foot again under the table, much more gentle this time, and Harry nudged back ever so carefully. The rest of their night went pretty much like that, flirting under the table for hours and then kissing and giggling until the break of dawn.

Harry accidentally makes eye contact with the girl behind the counter and she grins at him like she can’t help herself, nodding her head subtly at the napkin dispenser.

Harry smiles back confusedly, wondering how big of a deal Louis made out of this scavenger hunt. He inspects the napkin dispenser and laughs when he finds a sticky note crammed into the small slit, pulling it out and smoothing out the edges.

Aww, I still get butterflies when I think about the night we spent at this table, back before we were anything more than friends. Who knew that only a few short months later I’d be telling you I loved you? Go to the place where I told you I loved you for the first time. Your next clue is hidden in the place you dragged me right after I told you. -L

He can’t help but smile at the note, hanging his head and grinning down at his lap until he can control himself. He finishes up his food and leaves enough money on the table to cover the bill and the tip, and then sets off for his next location.

This drive takes him a little bit longer, because there’s a bit of traffic out now and the museum is a few towns over. Within the hour he’s there, though, and as he gets out of his car yet again, he’s quite pleased to see that the art museum is actually open, even though it’s Christmas Eve. There’s hardly anybody there when he walks in but tickets are reduced in price by more than half, so Harry doesn’t really mind that he feels a bit strange.

He makes his way up the stairs in the center of the museum and then wanders for a little bit, until he finds the right exhibit. Once he gets into the abstract exhibit he knows pretty much where he’s going, and he smiles when he sees the exact painting they were stood in front of when Louis told him he loved him.

It was a school trip in their second to last year in school, a good few months into their relationship. Neither of them were into art, but the trip was an excuse to miss school for an entire day and spend time together outside of their houses and the diner. They still weren’t out as a couple, but it was still fun to be together, even if they couldn’t hold hands or anything.

Harry still wasn’t even really sure what his sexuality was, maybe gay, maybe bi, but Louis told him endlessly that it was okay if he didn’t know, and that he could take all the time he needed to figure it out. Harry felt a bit inadequate about it, though, because Louis was out to absolutely everyone, and Harry still didn’t even know how he wanted to identify.

None of that mattered that day, though, because Harry had had Louis laughing since the minute they walked into the museum, and the sound was enough to bring world peace, probably.

“This one looks like, hm… Oh, you know when you have juice in your room and you leave the cup there for a while, and by the time you get around to cleaning it up, it looks like it’s alive? Yeah, I think that’s what this painting is saying to me.”

Louis was laughing so hard he wasn’t even making sound, doubled over in the middle of the abstract exhibit. Nothing Harry was saying was even that funny, really, Harry had about the lamest sense of humor in the world, but Louis had been flirting extra hard recently, and Harry figured this was a continuation of that. It still felt nice to make Louis laugh like this, though, so he didn’t plan on stopping any time soon.

“I’m like, 98% sure that’s not what that is,” Louis finally wheezed, straightening up and looking up at the painting. “It’s more like, I don’t know, probably something you’d find in a smoker’s lung.”

Harry laughed and went to grab for Louis’s hand to pull him along to the next painting, going for his wrist instead when he remembered they weren’t supposed to hold hands in public yet.

“I think this one is a self portrait by a yeti. Look, you can see its ears and it’s hand down there,” he pointed out, grinning when Louis started to laugh again. “And this red bit here is something it just killed, and it decided to do a self portrait because it couldn’t take a picture, you know?”

Harry knew he wasn’t that funny, but the way Louis was laughing made him feel like the funniest guy in the world. Louis was leaning heavily into his side, body shaking with laughter.

“You do talk some shit,” Louis hummed, taking a little bit of his weight off of Harry but keeping their arms touching.

“I do not! Look at it, it’s clearly a yeti,” Harry argued, grinning to himself as he discreetly pushed back against Louis.

“God, you’re so weird. I love you,” Louis sighed.

Harry froze and felt Louis do the same, both of them standing very, very still for a moment. Neither of them had ever said that before, and when Harry finally turned to look at Louis, he looked about as shocked at Harry was.

“Sorry?” He asked dumbly, because he wanted to hear it again. He wanted to hear Louis say it again.

“Oh, um. I said I- I love you,” Louis stuttered, staring straight ahead at the probably-not-yeti painting. Harry felt his heart pick up in his chest and it felt so huge, that little confession.

“Come on,” he muttered, taking Louis by the arm and dragging him off. Louis still looked a bit panicked, probably because Harry hadn’t given him any kind of response. Harry pulled him right to the men’s restroom sign and then through the door, straight into a stall.

“What are you doing?” Louis asked, eyes still full of worry at being turned down now. Harry just grinned at him and leaned in, pressing Louis back against the stall door as he kissed him hard.

“Me too. I love you too,” he mumbled against his lips, hands finding their way to Louis’s hips and then around his back to pull their bodies flush. Louis made a quiet sound into his mouth and Harry was only spurred on, kissing him a little harder.

“So, what, are we gonna get off together in a museum bathroom, then?” Louis asked breathlessly once Harry finally pulled away. Harry just smiled at him and stuck his hand right down Louis’s pants, making the other boy yelp quietly in surprise. Louis managed to worm his own hand down Harry’s pants in return, though, both of them struggling to stay quiet in the little stall.

It wasn’t the first time they had done something like this; they still had their fair share of sleepovers and had done more than a little experimenting, though they hadn’t gone all the way yet. They were still gearing up for that, neither of them really fully ready and still unprepared. It was okay, though, because they knew they were young, and they liked taking their time with things like that.

It wasn’t long before they were both spilling into the other’s fist, letting out the quietest of noises and gradually calming down together.

“You love me,” Harry breathed after a few moments of silence, and Louis rolled his eyes.

“You love me back, goober. Now hand me some tissue, my hand’s all sticky,” he complained. Harry giggled softly and turned around to rip off some of the toilet roll, giving part of it to Louis and keeping the other part to wipe his own hand clean.

They walked out of the restroom together cautiously, but no one even batted an eye in their direction. Harry gave Louis a sly grin and Louis just rolled his eyes again, trying to control his smile as he led Harry off to reconvene with their group.

Harry grins at the yeti painting, walking over to look at it for a moment. It really looks nothing like a yeti, and he knew that Louis had only ever been laughing so hard because he was a lovesick teenager at the time. It still makes him smile to think about, though.

He makes his way to the men’s room around the corner and finds it empty. He looks around a bit for the next note, checking inside the stall they were in that day, and then the other stalls when he comes up empty handed. He gets a bit nervous when he still can’t find it, thinking that one of the janitors must have found and it and thrown it away, and now the scavenger hunt will be ruined and Louis will be so disappointed. He sighs and goes to the sinks, looking in the mirror and ruffling his hair a little. When he looks down he catches sight of something yellow sticking out from the curved underside of the sink, and he grins as he reaches down to pluck it off. It happens to be Louis’s next note, and Harry sighs in relief as he reads it over.

Haha, remember what we got up to in this toilet? ;) We hadn’t even gone all the way yet, and you already couldn’t keep your hands off of me. Now go to the place we lost our virginities together. Your next clue will be given to you there. -L

Harry feels himself blush just at the thought of it, sticking the note carefully in his back pocket to keep it from wrinkling while he walks out of the bathroom. This next stop will bring him back to his childhood home, back in the direction he just came. He spends a few more minutes wandering around the museum, just because he can, and then finally makes his way back out to his car.

He takes the sticky note out of his pocket before he sits down, adding it to his collection and smiling to himself. This is the sixth note he’s found, and he has no idea how many there are in total, but he thinks he has to be almost done. Louis has the attention span of a walnut, really; Harry can’t imagine how much careful planning and time management must have gone into this whole thing.

The drive back to his mum’s house is relatively short. He has to stop for gas about halfway there but all in all it takes him about forty-five minutes before he pulls into the driveway.

He knocks on the door a few times but there’s no answer, so with a confused frown and cold, shaky fingers, he lets himself in.

“Mum?” He calls out, walking around the first floor and then making his way upstairs. “Mum?” He calls again, walking into his childhood bedroom.

He finds his mother sitting on the bed with an envelope in her hands, a giant smile on her face. Harry can already feel himself starting to blush. All of Louis’s notes have mentioned something about the place they’ve been hidden, and this one surely says something about him losing his virginity in this very room, without his mother ever knowing. She doesn’t look like she’ thinking about that, though, standing up and walking over to give him a hug.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t read it,” she hums, pulling back and grinning up at him. “That boyfriend of yours really is something, you know that?” She asks, and all Harry can really do is grin and nod.

“Yeah, he really is. Well, seeing as all this is for him, anyway, I’d hope it’d be up to his standard,” he chuckles. Anne looks like she’s going to argue but thinks better of it, just shaking her head and hugging Harry again, even tighter this time.

“You’re very lucky, and you should be very thankful to have him,” she says. Harry hums in agreement and she pulls away to smile at him again, before slipping out of the room and into the hallway. “I’m off then, don’t come looking for me when you’re done here. I do have places to be,” she advises, looking Harry over once more like a proud mother before leaving him alone.

Harry chuckles to himself and sits down on the bed, hearing it squeak under his weight. The sound reminds him of the reason he’s here in the first place: he lost his virginity to Louis and took Louis’s from him all in the same night. It feels like a million years ago, but sitting here, he can almost hear Louis’s voice whispering in his ear.

It was just a typical Saturday night, or the wee hours of Sunday morning, but time seemed to blend together when Harry was alone with Louis.

They’d been up for hours, laying in bed and talking. That was how they would fall asleep most times, just talking about nothing like this, but that night was different. It was like they were both dancing around something but neither of them could figure out what it was, until finally Louis touched him and it hit Harry like a brick.

“I want you,” he whispered in the dark, staring at what he could see of Louis’s face. Louis just grinned at him and pulled him closer, tangling their legs and sliding his hand into his boxers.

“You have me,” he answered, like he always did when Harry said that, but that night Harry meant something else.

“No, like. I want you. I want you, like, all of you,” he tried. Louis seemed to get it right away, though, because he stilled and stared right back into Harry’s eyes.

“Are you sure?” He asked, moving his cold, dainty fingers away from Harry’s dick and draping his arm over his middle instead, moving down to ghost over Harry’s bum.

“Yeah, yeah,” Harry nodded eagerly, surging forward to kiss Louis hard. It was like something had snapped inside of him and he needed Louis now, right now, and nothing else would do until he got him.

“Yeah, okay,” Louis finally agreed, pulling away from the kiss and drawing his hand away from where Harry was pushing his arse back into it.

They’d gotten lube a few weeks before when they snuck out of Louis’s house and went on a midnight trip to the convenience store, because Harry had wanted to know what it felt like to be fingered and Louis wanted to make it good, instead of using his own spit like he did for himself. Gemma had left a box of condoms in the back of her sock drawer when she went back to uni a few months ago and Harry had found it while snooping in her room, so Harry got up to go retrieve one while Louis dug through his overnight bag to find the lube.

They reconvened on the bed and just kissed for a minute, warming each other’s skin with their own until they both were too worked up to keep on.

“I’m gonna put you on your stomach, love,” Louis said gently, helping Harry to turn over and propping his hips up on a pillow. “It’ll be easier this way, I think, more comfortable,” he explained, but Harry didn’t really care. As long as it ended in him being completely connected with Louis, at least for a little while, he could be standing on his head and he wouldn’t really care.

He kept quiet while Louis pulled down his pajama pants and threw them off the bed, exposing Harry’s bare bum to the dark room. Harry felt goosebumps prickle on his skin just from the knowledge that Louis was looking at him like this, seeing him in this position for the first of what would hopefully be many, many times.

“I’m gonna start just like we did last time, yeah? With my fingers first, to get you nice and open. And then when you feel ready I’ll use my dick, and we’ll go however slow or fast you want, okay? You just have to tell me,” Louis said, rubbing his hand up and down Harry’s back while he spoke.

“Okay,” Harry breathed, closing his eyes and letting himself relax on the bed. He heard Louis taking off his shirt behind him and suddenly he felt too hot, squirming in his own shirt. “Wanna take this off,” he whispered, pushing himself up slightly and allowing Louis to help him slide it off.

“Better?” Louis hummed. Harry nodded and turned his head to the side, tucking his chin down so he could see Louis behind him. Louis still had on his pajama pants but he looked so nice without his shirt on, Harry wanted to look at him like this all day. Louis smiled at him and leaned in to kiss him softly, before pulling away and picking up the bottle of lube.

“Ready?” He asked, waiting for Harry’s nod of approval before drizzling the lube over his fingers and spreading Harry’s legs a bit wider. Harry bent his knees and opened his thighs as far as he could, waiting for the cool touch of Louis’s finger against him.

He shivered when it finally came, letting his eyes close and breathing deeply while Louis slid the first finger in. It was always a little strange at first, the intrusion, but once Louis was knuckle deep and started to move his finger around a bit, Harry found himself getting used to it. When it started to feel nice he pushed back and earned a second finger, squeezing in beside the first and stretching him out just a bit.

“Good, Hazza?” Louis asked gently, missing the sound of Harry’s voice, probably. Harry was usually pretty vocal during these things but right now he was so concentrated on what was still to come, he didn’t even realize how quiet he was being.

“Good, yeah, really good,” he mumbled, opening his eyes again to look up at Louis. Louis was just gazing down at him like he was the most beautiful thing, and Harry felt like asking him to look in a mirror because, really, Louis was something else, even back then. He was just subtly toned and so tan and his hair was all messy and it looked so cute, Harry couldn’t believe how much he love he felt for the boy.

“I love you,” he let slip, staring up at Louis. Louis looked up from his body and met his eyes, leaning in for a soft, lingering kiss while he added a third finger. Harry whimpered into his mouth and Louis curled his fingers, searching for his spot.

He hadn’t been able to find it last time and he’d been so frustrated, but Harry had still come on his fingers anyway and it was the best feeling he’d felt in his life. Louis seems determined to find it this time, pressing his fingers all along Harry’s walls and searching for the one little spot that would make Harry lose it.

Harry couldn’t imagine that it’d be as good as Louis told him it would be, but when Louis finally found it and pressed down hard, Harry couldn’t help the cry he let out. Pleasure shot through his veins like nothing he’d ever experienced, but then the pressure was gone and Louis was in his ear.

“Shh, baby, you’ll wake your mum,” he whispered, waiting for Harry to nod before he moved back to get back at it. He drew a few more whimpers from Harry’s mouth with his fingers before he finally pulled them out, and Harry’s heart sped up because he knew what was coming next.

“Remember, you can tell me to stop at any point and I will, okay? I need you to tell me if you don’t like it, I don’t want to hurt you,” Louis murmured, kissing down Harry’s spine gently while he opened the condom and rolled it on himself.

“I will, promise,” Harry whispered, pressing his face into the pillow. He was so nervous but he wanted it so bad, shaking in both anticipation and anxiety.

“Okay. I’ve got you,” Louis hummed, petting Harry’s hair a few times gently to calm him down before he sat up on his knees and lined himself up with Harry’s hole.

Harry took a deep breath and forced himself to relax while Louis slid in, going as slow as possible and stilling completely when he bottomed out. Louis wasn’t huge but he was still much bigger than his fingers, the stretch burning just the slightest bit.

“How do you feel, love?” Louis asked, leaning forward gingerly and pressing soft kisses to the top of Harry’s spine.

“Hurts, a bit,” Harry whimpered, but the pain was slowly fading as he got more and more used to it. He just needed a little bit more time to adjust, and then he would be fine.

“Do you need me to stop?” Louis asked, already bracing himself to pull out. Harry loved him so much right then, reaching behind himself to grab Louis’s hand and lace their fingers together.

“No, just need a minute,” he breathed, letting Louis move their conjoined hands to rest on the mattress beside Harry’s head.

“Okay, baby, let me know,” Louis hummed. He continued kissing and biting softly at the back of Harry’s neck, working on a little mark that would be covered by the little curly bits at the bottom of Harry’s hair, but that would last for a few days.

“I think- I think I’m good,” Harry finally whined, Louis’s little kisses and bites distracting him from the discomfort in his lower region long enough for it to pass completely. “Fuck, move, Louis,” he whimpered, pushing his hips back just a little bit.

“Thank god, I was gonna die if you made me wait another second,” Louis admitted, pulling out just a little bit and pushing back in slowly. Harry buried his face in his pillow and tried to stay quiet, but the drag of Louis’s cock inside of him and the feeling of Louis hovering over him and the scent of Louis’s hair when he leaned in to nuzzle against Harry’s cheek was all too much and he couldn’t keep it in, couldn’t be silent if he tried.

Louis gradually picked up the pace, fucking into Harry with slow, careful thrusts that made head spin. He wanted more, though, he wanted everything, and he knew they had time but he wanted it now.

“Harder, faster, Louis please,” he begged, squeezing Louis’s hand where he was still holding it beside his head and fisting the duvet in his other hand. Louis obeyed quickly, snapping his hips experimentally. Harry cried out into the pillow when Louis hit his prostate dead on, squeezing his hand harder as Louis kept hitting that one spot, keeping his thrusts hard and deliberate.

With each thrust of Louis’s hips Harry’s rocked forward too, cock caught rubbing between the pillow under him and his own stomach. It wasn’t long before he felt a familiar heat coiling in his stomach, and Louis must have felt it too, because his thrusts were getting sloppy and he was grunting these beautiful little sounds into the back of Harry’s neck.

Harry came before he could even warn Louis, clenching tight around him while he made a mess of the pillow under him. Louis groaned into the back of his neck and then shuddered to a stop, releasing hot inside the condom.

They stayed like that for a long time after, until Louis found the strength to pull out and pull the condom off. They wrapped it in tissues in buried it at the bottom of Harry’s trash bin so his mother would never find it, before climbing back into bed still completely naked and very tired out.

“I love you,” Louis whispered into Harry’s hair, playing the big spoon in Harry’s twin bed.

“I love you too,” Harry whispered back, warm and sated and more than ready for their next sleepover already.

Harry chews on his lip as he remembers everything, the stolen condom and the secret lube, the pillow case they had had to throw away the next morning because it was ruined beyond repair. He laughs softly and looks down at the envelope in his hands, carefully unfolding it and pulling out the note inside. It’s a little stuck to the inside of the paper but Harry manages to get it out without ripping it, tossing the envelope in the trash and looking down at the note.

Bet that made you blush, didn’t it? Dont worry, I asked her not to read it, and she obviously knew it was private. Well, she knows now, but she didn’t back then! Go to the place we both came out to our families. Your next clue is under the chair I was sitting in while we did it. -L

Harry smiles at the note for a moment and then stands up from the bed with a sigh. He takes another look around his old room, at all of his posters and decorations, before he finally sets off.

His mum’s car is gone from the driveway when he leaves, and he wonders where she needed to be so urgently that she wouldn’t even stay to see him out. He doesn’t think much of it, though, climbing into his own car and setting off for Louis’s childhood home.

The house is only about halfway across town, and when he pulls into the driveway, he sees that Jay is home. He walks quickly up to the front door but it swings open before he can even knock, and Jay draws him into a hug.

“Oh, you’re making good time, Harry. I’ve got to head out, but take your time in here, if you need. He wouldn’t let me read the note he left for you, or even know where he was putting it, but I think you should know where to find it?” She says, her voice as energetic and happy as Louis’s usually is when he’s excited about something.

“Yeah, I know where it is, I think. And, uh, you wouldn’t happen to be rushing off to the same place my mother just rushed off to, would you?” He asks suspiciously. Jay just presses her lips together to hide her smile and shrugs evasively, slipping around Harry and out the door.

Harry sighs and shakes his head, laughing to himself as he walks into the house. Louis must have made a big fuss about this whole thing, then, if he’s got both of their mothers rushing around to secret places and helping out.

He crosses the entryway and cuts through the living room to the dining room, circling the table slowly and remembering where he had been sitting that night, and then where Louis had been sitting next to him. It’s weird to be in Louis’s old house by himself, because usually there are so many people rushing around and doing whatever it is they all do, but now it’s just him, nobody else is home, and the house has surely never been so quiet.

He gets to the chair he wants, three in on the left side of the table, and puts a hand on the backrest to tip the chair to the side. Sure enough, there is a yellow sticky note on the underside, and Harry grins as he pulls it off.

Take a seat in the chair next to this one. Remember how nervous we both were? I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life. Except for that one time, the day I got my license. Go to the place I had my first car accident. Your next clue will be found on the tree I crashed into.

Harry lets out an uneasy breath at that one, doing as the note says and taking a seat in the chair he sat in all those years ago. He rests his elbow on the table and then his chin in the palm of his hand, staring off into space. He isn’t exactly eager about going and reliving Louis’s first car accident, and Jay said he could take his time here, so he stares at the big fat candle in the center of the table and lets himself remember the day he and Louis finally came out to their parents.

Harry hadn’t been the one to ring the doorbell. His mother did it, reaching out with hands significantly less shaky than Harry’s and pushing the little round button. Harry listened to the sweet tone through the door and then someone came to open it, Jay revealing herself behind it.

“Oh, good, you’re here. Dinner’s just about done. Come in, come in, make yourselves at home,” she welcomed, allowing the three of them inside. It was just Harry, Gemma and Anne and Robin, whereas Louis’s huge family was buzzing all around, his sisters all greeting them and then latching onto Gemma, complimenting her outfit and hair.

Harry went straight to the kitchen to find Louis, who was up on his tiptoes taking the plates down from one of the cupboards. Even from across the room Harry could see that his hands were shaking too, and walked over quickly to wrap him in a hug. They were the only ones in the kitchen, so it was alright that Louis melted into him and wrapped his arms around Harry’s neck like Harry was the only thing that could keep him up.

“Are you nervous?” He mumbled into Harry’s shoulder.

“Yes,” Harry breathed, tugging Louis a little closer and squeezing him tight. “Are you?”

Louis made a strained little sound and Harry released his grip, pulling away to look at Louis’s face for the first time today. He had bags under his eyes like maybe he didn’t sleep too well the night before. He still looked beautiful, though, as always. Louis was never anything less than stunning in Harry’s eyes.

“Yeah,” he admitted, wringing his hands together before turning around to grab the plates off the counter. “Here, will you just put one at every chair? I’ll be in in a minute with silverware, just gonna go say hi to your parents,” he said quietly, handing over the plates to Harry and squeezing his hip before he walked away.

They had asked to have this joint family dinner a few weeks ago, with plans to come out to both of their families at the same time. It had felt so far away when they first asked, though, it felt like it would never come. But now it was upon them, and they were both a little anxious to see how everyone would react. Neither of them thought they would get disowned, or anything, but there was still the chance that their parents could be angry with them for keeping it a secret. Harry had planted this idea in his own head that their parents were going to be furious and he wouldn’t be allowed to see Louis anymore at all, but that was ridiculous, and Louis had assured him of that many times. They’d been best friends since they were children, nothing could break them up now.

Harry busied himself with setting all the plates around the dining room table, and a few moments later Louis walked in with the silverware, as promised. They worked in silence, setting each place, and Louis caught Harry by the wrist to keep him from ducking out of the room once they were finished.

“It’s gonna be fine,” he assured, like he had been doing for weeks now. Harry knew it was assurance for him just as much as it was for Louis, though, so he nodded.

“It’s gonna be fine,” he echoed, checking over his shoulder to make sure no one was looking before pecking Louis quickly on the lips. “I love you.”

Jay walked in then with a whole casserole dish full of lasagna, preventing Louis from repeating the sentiment. He gave Harry a look that said everything, though, releasing his wrist so they could both go take their seats at the table while the rest of their family filtered in. Louis sat down three chairs in on the left side of the table and Harry took the seat directly next to him, hooking their ankles between their chairs and waiting for everyone to get settled in.

Dan sat at the head of the table on one side and Robin sat opposite him, Jay and Anne taking the two chairs immediately opposite Harry and Louis. Gemma sat on Anne’s other side and Louis’s sisters scattered all around, chaos ensuing for a few moments while everyone filled their plate and got settled in again.

There was smalltalk made around the table for a few minutes, until Harry felt like his heart was beating so loud he didn’t know how anyone could talk over the deafening noise. Louis was already out to his family, everyone already knew he was gay, so this maybe wouldn’t be quite as much of a shock to them. But Harry was coming out as gay as well as being in a relationship with his best friend; he could only imagine the way his mother was going to react.

He had hardly eaten any of his lasagna, had made the smallest of dents in his side salad when suddenly Louis grabbed his hand under the table, and when he looked up into Louis’s eyes, he knew it was time.

“Um,” Louis said loudly, getting everyone’s attention fairly quickly. Louis was always the one to instigate things, to say what was on his mind, but now he looked back at Harry with panic in his eyes, courage gone.

“We have, like, kind of an announcement, I guess,” Harry continued, staring straight at Louis and nowhere else. He wasn’t sure he could handle looking at anyone else right now, couldn’t handle seeing the way they looked back at him. “Or a confession, maybe, I’m not sure.”

“Both, really,” Louis chuckled, digging his nails into the back of Harry’s hand. Harry returned the tight grip, the same way Louis was returning his intense, unwavering stare. He seemed to have found his words, though, and opened his mouth slowly.

“We’re um- well… Harry and I are, like, dating. Yeah. And have been, for a while,” he said carefully, voice loud enough to be heard but not loud enough that anyone but Harry could detect the way it was shaking just slightly.

“And I’m gay. Also. As well,” Harry said, voice starting out strong but fading almost a whisper. He was still just staring at Louis, terrified of looking anywhere else. Louis’s grip got increasingly tight on Harry’s hand until finally he glanced away from Harry’s face, his own face softening when he looked at their mothers.

“Well, that explains why you’re always so quiet at sleepovers,” Harry’s mum said, voice quiet in the silent room. Louis looked back at Harry, and they both went bright red. No one said anything for a moment and Harry felt like he was going to implode, the pressure of the situation about to squish him.

“Ew mum,” Gemma finally groaned, and it was maybe only a few seconds later, but it felt like a lifetime. Everyone started to laugh at once, the tension breaking and everyone relaxing. Jay and Anne both came around the table to hug their sons and their sons’ boyfriend, telling them that it was okay, and confessing that they had kind of figured it would happen eventually.

The rest of dinner went smoothly, with a lot of talk about how long this had been going on and how many dates they’d been on while their parents just thought they were hanging out all along. Dinner ended with an ice cream sundae buffet and a lot of hugs and smiles, and when Harry asked cheekily if he could have a sleepover at the Tomlinsons’ that night, Anne swatted him jokingly upside the head and dragged him out to the car by his ear.

He stayed up all night on the phone to Louis anyway, just listening to each other breathe mostly, because they were young and in love and now they could let the whole world know, but they were still just Harry and Louis and the quiet dark of night would always be their saving grace.

When Harry looks up again, it’s nearing three in the afternoon and he figures he should keep going. He doesn’t know how much of the scavenger hunt he’s completed or how much is left, but it seems like a good idea to get a move on and hopefully get to see Louis at the end of this a little faster.

He hasn’t seen his Louis all day and he misses him, a bit, and as nice as it is to be going around and remembering all these little things, he’d much rather Louis was here with him.

It’s snowing lightly when he lets himself out of the Tomlinson house, jogging to his car and hopping in. He’s not exactly excited about the next stop but he figures Louis is bringing him there for a reason, so he takes a right out of Louis’s driveway and starts heading away from town. It’s one of the long, windy roads taking him north that he needs to be on, and while he drive’s he glances out the window and lets himself remember that day, too.

Harry was still in his pajamas when his phone started ringing, curled up on the couch eating his breakfast. It was the middle of July and it was only about mid morning, so he couldn’t be expected to do much more than he was doing right now. He didn’t even bother to swallow the mouthful of food he was chewing when he saw it was Louis calling, accepting the call and sticking the phone between his shoulder and cheek so he could talk and keep eating.

“‘Ello?”

“Harry!” Louis shouted down the line, and Harry jumped a bit at the volume of his voice. “You’ll never believe what just happened.”

“What?” Harry asked excitedly, swallowing his food and sitting up a little. Knowing Louis, he could have been this excited about a picture he saw on the internet, but something told him this was a little bigger than that.

“I got my driver’s license!” Louis yelled, practically screamed. Harry gasped and then cheered, putting his plate of toast down on the coffee table in front of him.

“Louis! That’s great!”

“I’m on my way to get you now, we’re going for a drive. Be ready in five minutes,” he said, and then the line went dead. Harry sprung up off the couch and ran up to his room to get dressed.

Louis hadn’t told a soul when his driver’s test was, so that if he failed, no one but his mother would know. Harry knew he was going to pass, though, because even though Louis wasn’t exactly the best driver, he could probably charm his way right out of prison, he could definitely charm himself into a license.

Harry pulled on a clean pair of jeans a t-shirt, fixing his hair quickly and then running back downstairs. He peeked into the kitchen to tell his mother where he was going and then went to wait outside, wanting to watch Louis pull into the driveway.

Louis came barrelling in not two minutes later, parking the car and rolling down the window. “What’s up, cutie? You need a ride somewhere?” He asked playfully, pulling his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose.

Harry giggled and ran to the car, jumping into the passenger’s seat. “God, I can’t believe you got your license. You look so hot driving,” he mumbled, leaning over to kiss Louis a bit. Louis hummed and kissed him back happily, before pulling away and gripping the steering wheel.

“Alright, I have the car for three hours, and my mom bought my first tank of gas for me. Let’s ride, shall we?”

Harry grinned and nodded, doing up his seatbelt and settling in. Louis backed out of the driveway carefully and then started heading down the road, keeping both hands on the wheel and checking his mirrors every few minutes.

He was obviously being a lot more careful with Harry in the car. Louis had confessed to him one late night that he didn’t really trust himself, and that he would always be super careful with Harry in the car because if anything ever happened, Louis would never forgive himself.

Harry thought it was pretty cute how Louis was being so careful, turning on his directional before the turn he needed to take was even in sight. About a half hour into the drive, though, Louis started to get cocky, leaning back in his seat and reaching over with one hand to hold Harry’s, his other hand still on the steering wheel. Harry couldn’t help but think how cool he looked when he drove, staring over at him the whole time and chewing on the inside of his lip.

Louis could obviously tell that Harry was staring, and thus got even more cocky. There was the tiniest of smiles on his lips, and Harry felt himself smile too as he finally looked away and glanced out the windshield.

Louis was obviously too pleased with himself to see a little rabbit hop into the road, the gray of its fur blending in with asphalt. Harry saw it, though, and gasped, tugging on Louis’s hand.

“Louis!” He shrieked, and Louis flinched, swerving across the road and narrowly missing the rabbit.

“Fuck,” Louis hissed, letting go of Harry’s hand to grab the steering wheel and try to regain control of the car. The road was narrow, though, and Louis had been going pretty fast, and Harry was pretty sure he screamed before there was a deafening crunch and everything went fuzzy.

When he opened his eyes, all he could register was a throbbing pain right about at his hairline on the left side of his head. There was a warm trickling feeling around it that he supposed was blood, but other than that, he was mostly okay. He had a lapful of broken glass, which, upon further inspection, was the remains of the passenger side window. When he turned his head the other way he saw Louis slumped over the steering wheel, holding his shoulder, whimpering in pain.

Harry was suddenly dizzy, letting his head flop back against the headrest and groaning.

“Lou,” he muttered, reaching for him while simultaneously bringing his hand up to his head to try and stop the bleeding.

Louis turned to look at him, his eyes widening in worry. Harry looked over Louis’s body as well, seeing that his right shoulder was hanging a little bit lower than it should.

“Oh my god, Harry,” Louis breathed, tears welling up in his eyes. “Shit, shit, where’s my phone.”

He called for an ambulance first because there was blood literally everywhere and he didn’t know what was going on. He called his mother next, opening with an apology, and then telling her exactly where they were.

He managed to kick open his door after he hung up the phone and got out, coming around to Harry’s side and getting his door open as well with his good arm. He helped Harry out of the car and then they sat down in the empty road together, Harry with his head on Louis’s shoulder while Louis pressed his hand over the wound to slow the bleeding.

Harry reached for Louis’s free hand with his own and held on, keeping their fingers locked until the ambulance got there, until they were both loaded up into it, until they were at the hospital and Louis’s dislocated shoulder had been snapped back into place and Harry had ten stitches in his head and a little bottle of painkillers to take home.

It wasn’t until Louis’s mother arrived to the hospital with Harry’s mother in tow that the fear set in. Jay didn’t even take Louis into private to rip him a new asshole, screaming at him right in front of Harry and Anne until Louis started to cry for real. Then she held him and told him she was just glad he was okay, and that they could get a new car and it was alright. When Jay was done with him Louis apologized first to Anne, and then to Harry, still sniffling a bit and rubbing at his eye.

Harry got to hold him the whole way home from the hospital in the backseat of Anne’s car, since Louis had quite literally wrapped his own mother’s car around a tree, and it was totalled beyond repair.

Louis ended up getting grounded for two whole weeks with no phone or internet, so Harry had to make due with sneaking through his bedroom window almost every night. He was almost positive that Jay could hear him climbing the trellis to Louis’s window but she never said anything to him, even after Louis’s punishment was over, so Harry counted it a win.

His head healed and so did Louis’s shoulder, and Jay got a new van that was even better than the old one and everything was fine. Louis had also gotten his license revoked, which kinda sucked, but Harry got his three months later and quickly became a much better driver, even if Louis always made him drive with one hand just so he could hold the other.

Harry pulls over on the side of the road and leaves the car running while he gets out, walking alongside the edge of the snowbank until he finds the tree with the note on it. There’s a big dent in it too, from the bumper of Louis’s mother’s car, but the tree has grown by now, so the dent is a bit higher up now than when it was originally made.

Harry looks at it for a while before he trudges back and gets into his car, closing the door and turning the heat up a notch. He waits to attach the new note to the pile because it’s a little wet, and he doesn’t want it to ruin the others. He can still read it, though, when he looks closely.

I still can’t believe you didn’t leave me over this. I thought I had killed you, there was so much blood. And our parents were so, so angry with us. Well, mostly me. Now, go to the place we had our first fight. Your next clue will be found in the place I came to find you after kicking you out. -L

Harry chuckles and drops his head against the steering wheel, shaking it slowly. Their first fight was just about the stupidest thing ever, and the fact that Louis would include it in this scavenger hunt just makes it a little easier to laugh about. He rolls his eyes as he sits up and puts the car in drive, pulling out onto the road he’s on and driving the way he already was, heading out of town to where their first apartment was.

This drive is a little lengthier than the others so far, because the building is as far as they could get from Doncaster without leaving the county. They bought it with the intention of getting away from home, but still being close enough to come back if they felt like it. It was nice, for the most part, and they had stayed there for a good few years before investing in a real house back in Doncaster.

Harry drives the familiar route and smiles to himself when he pulls into the parking garage for their old building, turning the car off this time and walking the short distance to the door to the lobby.

There’s hardly anybody in the lobby, which is good, because Harry feels a bit strange just going in and digging around for a post it note before leaving again. There’s someone waiting for the lift and then they’re gone, and Harry is alone.

He walks over to the armchair next to the stairwell and sits down, looking around for the post it note. It takes a few minutes and a peek under the cushion before he finds it, slightly crumpled where it’s stuck to the upholstery of the chair between the arm and the cushion. He curls up in the chair like he had all those nights ago and leaves the note crinkled in his palm for a moment, remembering the night Louis brought him here to remember.

“Liam!” Louis cheered into the phone, plopping down on the couch beside Harry. Harry was stretched out lengthwise with his legs out straight in front of him, Louis mirroring him against the opposite arm of the couch with his legs stretched on top of Harry’s. He dug his toes into Harry’s thighs while Liam talked on the other end of the line, brow crinkling after a moment.

“Yeah, he’s right here, why? No, he can’t hear you,” he said suspiciously a moment later. Harry blushed at the realization that they were talking about him, sitting up a little bit and watching Louis’s face.

“Something important to tell me?” Louis echoed, looking up at Harry’s face with confusion etched into his features. “Well, out with it, Lime, you’re making me nervous.”

Liam talked for a minute, voice audible but incomprehensible to Harry. He watched the emotion drain from Louis’s face as he listened, though, so he knew what Liam was saying was nothing good.

“You can’t be serious,” Louis said, voice dangerously quiet, dropping his eyes to Harry’s chest while he slowly pulled his legs back, breaking all contact with Harry’s body.

Harry frowned and sat up a little more, making to reach out for Louis. Louis stood up and walked away without even looking at him, though, turning his back on him and walking over to the window.

He mumbled something into the phone that Harry didn’t catch, but before Harry could get up to follow him and see if he was okay, he was hanging up the phone and dropping it onto the wide windowsill. He stared out the window for a long minute and Harry finally eased himself up off the couch, walking over to where Louis looked like a spring ready to snap.

“Lou-”

“Don’t touch me!” Louis shrieked suddenly, slapping Harry’s hand off of his shoulder where he had placed it comfortingly. “Fuck you!” He yelled, pushing at Harry’s chest and starting to storm off.

“Hey,” Harry grunted, frowning in confusion and catching Louis’s wrist to turn him back around. “What the hell? What did I do?” He asked, holding tight to Louis’s wrist even as Louis tried to yank it away.

“You know what you fucking did,” Louis spat, trying again to rip his arm free from Harry’s hold, settling for slapping at his chest with his free hand when he couldn’t. There were tears in his eyes now and Harry tried to pull him in for a hug, but Louis just screamed in his ear and flailed his limbs.

“Who is she, anyway? Liam fucking saw you, you dick. Here I was thinking you actually had to stay late at the fucking bakery during lads night,” he growled, finally prying Harry’s fingers from around his wrist and shoving him away.

“What are you talking about?” Harry cried, confusion filling his tone. “I did have to stay late at the bakery during lads night, Barbara burnt an entire loaf of bread and was too upset about it to make another, so I sent her home and did it myself, like I told you. What are you on about?” He asked calmly, standing his ground while Louis paced angrily around the flat.

“You’re such a terrible bloody liar, Harry,” Louis bit out, voice strained with tears he was trying to hold back. Finally he just let them go, slumping his shoulders and letting out a little sob while he stopped his incessant pacing.

“Louis,” Harry whispered, making to step toward him. Louis flinched and Harry stopped, cautiously raising his hands as if to reach out for him.

“Is it because we’ve been together so long? Are you bored of me?”

“What? No, Louis, what-”

“You never even kissed a girl, I was your first, you never got to try anything else,” Louis concluded quietly, staring down at his feet. His phone was ringing again somewhere in the distance, but neither of them even registered it. “God, you could have at least left me before you went experimenting.”

“Left you? Why the fuck would I leave you, Louis-”

“Stop playing dumb, Harry!” Louis shrieked again, voice at it’s top volume. Harry quieted instantly, shocked at the sudden loudness. “You cheated on me! Liam saw you leave the bakery with some girl!” He was pacing again, and Harry shook his head, mouth hanging open in shock. He would never, he would literally never want anyone but Louis, and he had no idea why Liam would tell him such a thing.

Louis’s phone stopped ringing and then immediately started again. “Louis,” Harry tried over the noise, but Louis wouldn’t even look at him.

“Get out. Just, get out of here.”

“Louis-”

“Get out!”

Louis picked up a pillow and sent it flying for Harry’s head, missing him by an inch and making his hair fluff all around with the wind. Louis went for the lamp next and Harry ran, making it to the door and slipping out before Louis could throw that too. He didn’t hear anything shatter as he leaned back against the door, but he did hear the lock click, and he did hear Louis let out another little sob.

Harry felt a bit like crying himself; it was almost midnight and he had nowhere to go now. They had been having a quiet movie night, just the two of them, with popcorn and warm cider and enough cheesy movies to make them sick. Harry felt his lip wobble and pushed himself away from the door, heading for the lift and then down to the lobby.

It was too cold to go for a walk and there was no one in the lobby, so Harry sank down into the plush armchair near the stairwell and pulled his knees up to his chest. He would never be able to sleep like this, and he knew he would wake up with a horrible back if he did, but being awake hurt because he knew Louis was up in their flat hurting too about something that Harry never even did. Harry could’ve murdered Liam for telling Louis such a terrible lie.

He dug his face between his knees and let himself cry quietly, wanting to be in bed with Louis’s arms around him. They’d never fought before, not about anything, and if they broke up over his, Harry wasn’t sure what he’d do with himself. The only friends he had were Louis’s friends first and moving back in with his mum would be the worst thing in the whole world, because as much as he loved her that would make him a failure, and that was the last thing he wanted to be.

He didn’t do anything wrong in the first place, he had truly had to stay late at the bakery on the night they had planned to have the boys over for beers and video games. He sobbed quietly and curled up tighter into himself, digging his nails into his calf hard enough to leave marks that would last at least a day while he sniffled and cried.

Two hours later and Harry was half asleep in the armchair, curled up as small as he could be on his side with his feet hanging over the side of the arm. He was still sniffling softly, eyes mostly closed and his cheeks still wet. He snapped awake when he felt a hand on his shoulder, though, sitting up when he saw Louis kneeling in front of him with gentle, red rimmed eyes and mussed up hair.

“Hey,” Louis breathed, and Harry wiped at his face, waiting for an explanation. “Um, Liam called back. Turns out it uh, it was a prank call, the cheating thing. Niall dared him,” he whispered, looking apologetic and slightly ashamed. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you. I feel absolutely awful.”

Harry paused for a moment and then just whimpered and melted to the floor beside him, digging his face into his neck and wrapping his arms around his waist. Louis held him close and buried his face in Harry’s hair, squeezing him tight.

“It’s okay. Please just never yell at me like that again,” he whispered, and Louis nodded into his hair. They sat like that for a while until finally Louis stood up, pulling Harry up with him. They made their way back upstairs and into bed, and the next morning Harry sent Liam a very strongly worded text about how immature and hurtful prank calls can be, also informing him that neither he nor Louis would be speaking to him for at least a week, probably more.

Louis made him an apology breakfast for kicking him out and they ate in a peaceful silence in the middle of their bed, toes bumping gently between them and secret smiles being shared whenever one of them caught the other staring.

Harry chuckles and rolls his eyes at the memory, sitting up in the chair and looking down at the note in his hands thoughtfully. That fight had felt like the absolute end of the world while it was happening, but it wasn’t even a week before they were both laughing about it and remembering it like a corny scene from a movie. They still bring it up sometimes to rib Liam about it, and Liam still feels horrible about it, but they’ve all learned to laugh it off, especially by now, years later.

He smooths out the sticky note in his hands and then holds it up, reading Louis’ messy handwriting with a bit of difficulty to do all the wrinkles in the paper.

I still feel like a dick about how I reacted to this one. This was the first and only big fight we’ve ever had. But anyway, enough with all the bad memories. Let’s get back to some good ones, yeah? Let’s go back in time a bit. Go to the place we first acted like a couple in front of our friends. Your next clue will be given to you there. -L

Harry laughs softly to himself and puts the note down in his lap, rubbing at his face. This memory is one that never fails to make him blush, but it is quite happy, so with that he pushes himself up and out of the chair and makes his way back outside to where his car is parked and waiting in the garage.

It’s late afternoon now, just after 4:30, and Harry has to drive all the way back to town to get to Niall’s childhood home. He turns up the Christmas tunes and sings along softly the whole drive, windshield wipers turned on slowly to wipe away the snow that is still falling slowly, but steadily.

When he gets to Niall’s mother’s house he sees that there is one car parked in the driveway, and it’s Niall’s car. He rolls his eyes as he parks next to it in the wide driveway, because he knows that the boys are probably going to rush out as soon as he gets inside, just like Louis’s mother did earlier and his own mother did before that. He walks up the few steps leading to the front door and knocks, hearing Niall’s voice yell from inside, “it’s open!”

He walks in to see the boys all lined up by the fireplace, an envelope in Liam’s hands. Harry laughs at the scene and then all three boys run at him, crushing him in a big group hug.

“Here, Louis said to give this to you with no preamble or anything and then be on our way, so,” Liam shrugs, handing Harry the envelope he’s holding.

“He also said to tell you to sit here and reflect for as long as you want, so do that. Just lock the door behind you on your way out, me mum doesn’t want anyone breakin’ in,” Niall adds, clapping a hand on Harry’s back.

Each of the boys gives Harry one more hug just for the hell of it, and then usher him toward the living room before filing out the door. Zayn throws a wink his way just before he shuts the door behind them, and then Harry is all alone in Niall’s old house.

He toes off his snowy boots by the door and then pads over to the living room, sitting down on the couch like he’d done with Louis all those years ago. He smiles down at his hands as he plays with the bent edge of the envelope in his hands, letting himself start to remember.

Louis showed up at his house right at 5:00, just like he’d promised he would. He was in the most beautiful suit, even if it was a little too long in the trousers, hair styled impeccably and his eyes the brightest shade of blue Harry had ever seen them.

Harry himself was in a matching suit, with a pale green tie to match Louis’s pale blue. Louis gave him his corsage before he even came in the house, fingers trembling slightly and his face split into the widest grin he could manage.

“Happy prom day,” he hummed happily, stepping over the threshold when Harry stepped aside to let him in. They took pictures by the staircase and then outside on the front porch, Harry’s arms around Louis’s waist from behind because he was younger but he was already just a little bit taller, and it looked less awkward that way.

When they were done with pictures and both of their mothers were done crying about sending their babies off to their prom, they both climbed into Louis’s car and headed off to Niall’s. Louis had redeemed himself since the accident, and they both knew that, but his driving was shaky as ever today.

“Are you sure you’re ready to do this?” Louis asked, parking the car at the bottom of Niall’s driveway. They had never acted like a couple around their three other friends, never told them that they were one, and now they were each other’s prom dates. None of them had been particularly excited about prom, except for Harry, but he kept it on the down low. They all knew that the rest of them had dates but they hadn’t really discussed who the dates were; Harry was pretty sure Liam was taking his cousin because the girl he fancied kept telling him no, and Niall couldn’t find a single girl in school that wasn’t taller than him to ask.

“Yeah, I am. Are you?” Harry breathed, undoing his seatbelt and resting one hand over the handle to open the door. Louis matched his position and grinned, nodding once.

“Yeah.”

They opened their doors at the same time and stepped out of the car, walking up to the front door with matching strides. Their hands bumped together but they didn’t grab on, not yet, because the door swung open before they even knocked and Niall’s mother was pulling them both inside.

“Everyone’s already in the living room taking pictures, c’mon, c’mon! Oh, this is so exciting,” she hummed, throwing Louis and Harry right into the mix without questioning anything. All three boys looked up then, eyeing the two of them curiously.

“Where are your dates, then?” Niall asked. Harry glanced over at Louis and Louis just looked down, reaching over to link his hand with Harry’s. Neither boy looked up for a moment and everyone was silent, the moment dragging on.

“Sick,” Zayn finally said. Louis’s and Harry’s heads both snapped up, looking at the black haired boy hopefully.

“You two are such a cute couple,” Zayn’s date said. Harry wasn’t sure of her name, Patty or Perrie or something, but in that moment he could’ve kissed her. Platonically, of course.

“Thank you,” he said in reply. Niall just nodded and Liam beamed at them, and then the two boys joined in on the pose happening in front of the fireplace and the camera flashes started up again.

“I love you,” Harry breathed into Louis’s ear, holding his hips again from behind and smiling widely for the cameras still, happier than ever.

“I love you more,” Louis hummed back, turning his head over his shoulder to look up at him.

Harry hesitated, and then hesitated again, and then Louis closed the distance between their lips and kissed him softly. There was a quiet ‘aw’ from around the room and Harry felt himself blush, pulling away to smile down at Louis.

They took pictures for a few more minutes and then they were all on their way out, headed off to the hotel the prom was being held in. Harry and Louis took a few extra minutes in Louis’s car at the bottom of Niall’s driveway, making out in the front seat until they were actually going to end up being late.

They were finally, finally completely out and nothing could feel better, Harry was sure, nothing in the world.

Harry has to hide his face in his hands to control his smile, even though he’s literally the only one in the house and he’s smiling and blushing about his own memory. He lets out a long breath to gain control of himself and then finally tears open the envelope, carefully extracting the sticky note inside and crumpling the envelope in one hand while he holds the note in the other.

Okay, this has been fun, but it is my birthday and I’m quite starting to miss you. The last stop on your scavenger hunt is home, so hurry up and get there. This is your last clue, and when you get home, you’ll be giving me my present!! -L

Harry sighs with relief, quite proud of himself that he’s managed to complete the entire scavenger hunt without messing up or missing a note or forgetting one of the memories Louis wanted to highlight. He tosses the crumpled envelope into the trash bin under the sink in Niall’s mother’s kitchen and then lets himself out the front door, making sure to lock it after himself as was asked of him.

He nearly slips on ice in his haste to get to his car, catching himself on the side mirror and regaining his balance before opening the door and climbing in. It’s about a ten minute drive home, and then he’ll get to see Louis. He can’t wait to hug him and wish him a happy birthday, as he would’ve done when they first woke up this morning, if Louis hadn’t disappeared on him.

It’s almost 6:00 now, about the time they usually have dinner. Usually on Louis’s birthday they decorate their tree and wrap presents and then order the greasiest Chinese food they can get their hands on, but Harry doesn’t know what is going to happen this year. They probably don’t have enough time left in the day to go and get a tree by the time they get this whole thing wrapped up, and the Chinese restaurant in town closes early on Christmas Eve.

When he finally gets back home, there are cars lined up along the side of their street, but there’s only one in their driveway. He immediately recognizes the one in the driveway to be Louis’s and along the street are Anne, Jay, and Niall’s cars. He chuckles when he realizes that this game is most likely still far from over, parking his car right up alongside Louis’s in the driveway and getting out. He brings his little pile of sticky notes as he makes his way up the front walk, counting to make sure he has every note while being careful not to slip over on ice.

When he opens the door, the first thing he sees is Louis. The boy is just standing there grinning at him, hands clasped behind his back like he’s been waiting in this position a while. Harry doesn’t even bother to take his coat off before he’s rushing to him, wrapping him in a giant hug and digging his face into his neck.

“Happy birthday!” He cheers quietly, breathing in the scent of his boy. It seems silly to say, since they’ve been apart less than a day, but Harry really and truly missed him.

“Thanks, Hazza. Now get off, you’re all wet. Take your boots and coat off, I’ve got something to show you.”

Harry nods, toeing off his snowy boots and unzipping his coat. He hangs it up on the hook near the door and pushes his shoes off to the side and then goes to follow after Louis, but he stops and snaps his fingers when he remembers he’s meant to be giving him his gift now.

“I have your present upstairs, I’ll go grab it. Hang on just a second,” he says, pressing a chaste kiss to Louis’s cheek before turning to dash up the stairs. Louis grabs him by the back of his jumper and stops him, though, pulling him back and shaking his head with a grin.

“I have a better present, I promise,” he says, looking up at Harry with sparkling eyes as he leads him into the living room. There’s a candle burning somewhere, Harry can smell it. It makes the living room smell exactly like Christmas, warm and sweet and cozy. Their friends and family are all gathered around the beautifully decorated tree that wasn’t there this morning, and Harry feels himself smile before he even really knows what’s going on.

“Oh, you did the tree! It looks so beautiful,” he grins. He’s trying not to be upset about the fact that the tree got done without him or that apparently everyone was able to have a hand in it except for him, but Louis squeezes his hand and Harry turns to look at him so his stomach won’t sink.

“You like it?” He asks, looking hopeful and happy and as cute as ever.

“I love it, it looks great,” Harry says honestly, squeezing Louis’s hand back.

“And what about the scavenger hunt, did you have fun?” Louis asks, taking a tiny step toward Harry. He seems to be gaining confidence the more Harry smiles, which Harry finds endearing, so he grins even wider and nods.

“Yeah, it was amazing, I can’t believe you planned that all out. And I won, too!” He cheers, feeling his heart melt at the way Louis lights up like the tree they’re standing in front of.

“Well, almost. It’s not quite over yet,” Louis says, voice quiet enough that Harry can still hear it well, but everyone else in the room seems to hold their breath and lean in a little to listen.

“It’s not?” Harry asks, frowning in confusion now. He’d been so proud of himself for getting the whole thing done, and now it wasn’t even over yet.

“Nope. You still have to give me my present, remember?” Louis hums, hooking his fingers into Harry’s belt loops and tugging him closer. Harry goes easily, but keeps frowning.

“I told you, it’s just upstairs. I’ll go get-”

“Harry, no,” Louis laughs, shaking his head and reaching up to cup his cheeks gently. “I told you, I’ve got a much better one.”

Harry just keeps frowning, because he really doesn’t know what Louis is talking about, or why he won’t let Harry give him the present he got him. Louis just steps impossibly closer and looks down at their feet briefly, before looking up into Harry’s eyes and giving him the tiniest quirk of a smile.

“I hope the scavenger hunt today made you think a lot about us, and our relationship,” Louis says, a certain tone to his voice like he’s beginning a speech. Maybe he is, Harry doesn’t know, he’s still very confused. “Did it?” Louis asks after a moment of Harry just staring at him blankly, only continuing once Harry nods. “Good. That was the whole point,” he says, eyes sparkling again in that way that they do when he’s getting ready to say something that will make Harry buckle at the knees out of adoration.

“We’ve been together forever, and we’ve been friends for even longer than that. I can’t imagine my life without you. I am so, stupidly, completely in love with you. I’ve been following you around all day watching you remember everything and you make me so, so happy, Harry, even when you’re just sitting in a diner remembering our first date, or outside the school, remembering our first kiss.”

Harry feels himself grinning, blushing and looking down at his toes when he realizes Louis had been spying on him while he was following the clues. Louis reaches up to tilt his chin back up, forcing him to make eye contact again.

“For my birthday this year, I want nothing more than to spend every birthday I’ve got left with you. Today you lived in the past, and now I wanna make you think about the future a little bit. I know we’ve talked about it before and we’ve always said it would happen someday, and today is the day.”

He removes his hands from Harry’s face and sinks down onto his knee, staring up at Harry with the sparkliest blue eyes Harry has ever seen. Briefly, Harry thinks about diving into them, wondering if they’d be as deep as they look. He’s brought back to reality when Louis reaches into his pocket, though, and comes back with a ring.

“So, Harry, will you please make my birthday wish come true and spend the rest of your life with me? Will you marry me?”

Harry just stares down at him for a long minute, a wave of numbness sweeping through his entire body. Louis doesn’t looked panicked by his lack of response, though, he just grins and whispers, “this is the part where you say ‘yes.’”

“Yes,” Harry echoes, voice too sudden and loud in the silent room. “Yes, yeah, I’ll marry you. I wanna marry you,” he finally explodes, laughing brightly when Louis takes his left hand and slides on the ring.

Louis surges up and kisses him, then, while their friends and family all cheer for them. “This is way better than that dumb watch,” Louis mumbles against his lips, and Harry pulls away with a gasp.

“You little shit! You didn’t like my present so you went and got yourself a better one! Or a worse one, I’m not sure, because now you’ll never get rid of me,” Harry grins, his tone light and joking. Louis just laughs and pulls him in, kissing him again while Harry slips his hands up the back of his shirt and presses the cool metal of the ring against the bare skin of Louis’s back.

“I feel bad that I didn’t give you anything for your birthday, though,” Harry sighs, carding his fingers through Louis’s hair where he’s resting his head on Harry’s naked chest.

They’re wrapped up in the blankets in their bed, a Christmas movie marathon playing on the television while they waste the time away tangled together, looking at each other more than the screen and listening more intently to the noises the other makes every now and again than whatever Charlie Brown is saying. It’s been Christmas now for just over half an hour and they’re both exhausted, more than ready to drift off to sleep, but they can’t go more than a few minutes before they start kissing and touching again.

“You did, though. You gave me you for the rest of your life, and that’s all I’ve wanted since the day I met you. You can give me that ugly watch when we wake up, if it makes you feel better, but just know that all I really want is you,” Louis whispers, shifting his head so he can look up at Harry.

Harry grins his most mischievous grin and Louis looks panic stricken for a moment, shaking his head quickly.

“No, no, don’t you da-”

“I don’t want a lot for Christmas,” Harry belts out, tipping his head back against the pillow while he wails his best Mariah impression. “There is just one thing I need-”

“Harry-”

“And I don’t care about the presents, underneath the Christmas tree-”

“I swear to Go-”

Harry sits up abruptly, dislodging Louis from his comfy resting place, and clenches his fist while he belts out the next lyric.

“I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know-”

“Jesus fucking-”

“Make my wish come true!” Harry is surprised the windows don’t shatter at his truly deafening falsetto, grinning to himself when Louis sits up beside him. He waits, staring expectantly at Louis, until finally his fiance rolls his eyes and sighs.

“All I want for Christmas is you.”