A.N. Though the people are real, the story is completely made up, and I don't own One Direction, or anyone else, sadly.

"You don't know you're beautiful..Oh oh..

That's what makes you beautiful!

Thank you everybody!We are One Direction..

Good night!"

*Fans screaming*

It was like this after every concert. Racing heart, ragged breaths. Harry was so tired, but the adrenaline rush just blurred it to a slight pounding in his veins. But as soon as the hormone wears off, the stress hits like a tidal wave, and he was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow of his hotel room.

In the other room, Louis was pacing the around. He was tired too, but his stress about the other thing got to him more and kept him awake.

The baby.

"Oh god.." He clutched his head with both hands and plopped down on the bed, knocking down a small lamp in the process. He straightened it up, and went back to thinking.

He was 23, with a steady income and enough experience with kids. But was he ready for it? Was he ready to skip a concert, if it means staying with the child when no one else is there? Was he ready to really forget about his friends and...Harry?

He could feel tears pooling in his eyes. Of course, he had told his best friend yesterday, and he had been ever the good friend, hugging him and assuring that he has his back. But even then, Louis felt as if his heart was being squeezed by the hand of cruel fate. This was his fault, he knew.

It all changed within one day, with too much alcohol and an ex-girlfriend.

Now, he was miserable. He wanted the kid. But he didn't want it to be his and Brianna's.

He wanted it to be theirs.

Lou lied down on the sheets. He and Harry had been together for a while, about 5 years ago, and they knew each other better than they knew themselves. But their work had cost them their relationship. The rumours were treated like a scandal by management. They resorted to being just friends, but lately they had been drifting apart still. Packed schedules left them no time to just hang out or chill together. It was main reason Zayn had left, and now, he fully understood his situation.

Lou sighed and sat back up. There was nothing to do now. It was too late for an abortion, and besides, he couldn't do it, knowing he would be potentially killing a kid. Harry would hate him for it.

There was a knock on the door. Louis checked his phone. It was 2.17 am. Who the hell would be up at this time? Beside him, of course.

He got up and went to the door. Through the peephole all he could see was a pyjama-clad shoulder of someone very tall. But he recognized the shoulder, so he opened the door.

"Hey. What are you doing up at this time?"

Harry looked bed-draggled, his long hair messed up in every possible way.

"You woke me when you...kicked something?"

"Oh. No, my lamp fell. Was it that loud? Sorry. Come in."

Harry shut the door behind him and sat on the bed.

"What are you doing up at this time?", he asked, rubbbing the sleep out of his eyes. He could see that his friend was worrying about something.

"Oh you know..stuff..I just had a bad head ache and couldn't sleep"

Harry knew something was off immediately. His friend never got bad head aches. He was the role model for perfect health. He quickly got up and walked toward Lou, who was now sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed.

"Hey.." he called softly. "Is it the baby?"

Lou changed his position, resting an elbow on his knee and holding his head. Harry knew then for sure it was the baby.

Harry rushed to his side and sat down beside him. His friend wouldn't even lift his head up. Slowly, he wrapped an arm around Lou's body and cradled his head onto his shoulder with the other.

Harry was like a warm blanket, and Lou was grateful for his own smallness. He fit snugly in Harry's arms, and already he could feel the stress melting away, bit by bit. He felt his fingers in his hair, softly massaging his scalp. They stayed like that for a while, like old times. Neither of them could pinpoint the last day they spent together, alone.

Harry kept stroking Lou's head, and with each passing moment,he could feel his friend..his love, slipping away from him. Concerts, recording, rumours, management... Harry hated it. Being 'famous'. Being liked by many people world wide was one thing. But having his whole life turned upside down because of people he didn't even know? Honestly, sometimes he was jealous of Zayn's life now. Louis stirred beside him and sat up. When Harry retracted his arms, he reached out and stopped the one that was in his hair.

Louis keept his eyes closed. In a small voice he asked, "What happened to us, Harry?" Harry's hand froze in his hair for a couple of seconds. Then he sighed and said, "I don't know, love. Management kept telling us to stop...and I guess the pressure was too much..." Louis turned to face him. "Harry, listen. I want this baby. I know I do. I just need to know that...that..you will be there with me..to get me through this..."

"Hey, you know I'll be there, boo bear".

Louis smiled. "Yes, Hazza, I know, but...I want to...you know how we were asked if we want to be married and have children, as young as we are?"

"Yeah..?"

"It's just...I always thought it would be us, having children. Not me and some summer fling. I'm so sorry, Harry...I'm just...so....sorry.." Louis broke down in sobs, shaking and holding his own head.

Harry was stunned. He knew that Lou had thought of that before, but..after all this years, after all the things that they had been put through, the press, the humiliating threats from management..how could he still be thinking of this? He thought that Lou would be actually happy to have a chance to truthfully deny the rumours about them.

"Lou? Baby, look at me. Do you still want that to happen?"

"Yes, Harry, I do. I'm sick of being told what to do, and whom to love.."

"Lou its been almost 5 years since we were together Lou, how can you be sure you still want this?"

"Because I still love you Harry!" Louis was almost angry that he didn't know that. Of course, avoiding close contact for the last 5 years didn't help, but still. He got up from the sofa and stormed out of the room.

Harry was following closely behind. Lou was heading for the elevator. Knowing him, it was probably to take a walk. They were in a private area, but Harry was not going to let him out at this hour, in his mood.

Louis was almost at the elevator.

"Louis! Louis, wait!"

Harry was jogging now. Just as the elevator was about to close he stopped it and went inside. He let the doors close, and noticed that Lou hadn't even bothered to press a floor number. He was just sitting in the corner of the small space, knees drawn up to his chest, face hidden inside folded arms.

It pained Harry so much to see his best friend like this. And what he had said before...

"Louis?" He sat next to him and put an arm across his shoulders.

"Louis, remember that time you tweeted me and then the fans broke the whole website?"

"That happened loads of times, Harry", Louis mumbled.

"No. No, that one tweet, after you were told to date Eleanor?"

"What? 'Always in my heart, @Harry_Styles. Yours sincerely, Louis?' "

"Yes, Lou, that one. You know what's special about it?"

"What?"

Harry pulled out his phone and unlocked it. "Look at this, Lou"

Louis slowly raised his head and peered at the screen held in front of him. There was his tweet, in a perfect screen shot, as Harry's wallpaper.

"This has been there for the last 5 years, Louis. Whenever I feel sick of the pressure, of not being able to truly spend time with my best friends...with you...I look at my phone. It's not really suspicious, since I'm on it 24/7 anyway, and it gave me strength. Knowing that I'll always be a part of you, no matter what, that we'll be a part of each other...It made everything easy...all those girlfriends and fake dates...this was what got me through, Louis...So...yeah, I never stopped loving you either...You will get joint custody with Brianna for the baby, so whenever it's with you, I will be there. It'll be like our own family, even for a little while. And then, someday, if we get our freedom, we'll get our own child, so it can have a sibling."

Louis was speechless. He was facing Harry now, just staring at his beautiful face as he made his little speech.

"I...I just love you so much, Hazza.."

"And I love you, boo bear. Always have, always will."

He reached out and touched Lou's tear-stained cheek, and wiped them with his thumb. He leaned forward, and Louis closed the distance.

Harry could taste his tears, and felt his own dripping down his cheeks.

They were kissing, after all those years, beards, pressure & broken hearts, with the same passion, and the same love.