The quiet that followed after everysingle student had left the auditorium was deafening but relaxing atthe same time. All the lights were shut off apart from the dimmedlights on stage. After taking off his shoes, Louis stepped into themiddle of the stage. Now he was surrounded by lights but he had hiseyes closed. He had arms down in front of his torso, his fingertipsbrushing against each other shakily. Nervously, he exhaled deeplybefore he took the first step forward.

Arms slowly raising above his head,Louis pulled one leg up before diving right into the first turn,which ended in his arms stretched to both sides. Automatically, hefelt a slight pull at the bottom of his spine but he simply pushedthrough it and went right into a turn to the left, skipping the spinhe felt the need to do on the floor to get better into the nextposition. Even though he hadn't danced in years his body seemed toremember every step by heart and he was able to went smoothly from aLateral into a simple Spiral, but not without feeling the pain in hispelvis from his injury.

Ignoring the pain, he tested out somebasic movements with his arms and legs, spinning every now and then.No matter how emotionally overwhelming this was to him Louis alsofelt so freaking good to do this again after all these years. Allthis time he had been so afraid to move but now he was just doing itbecause he had felt the urge to do it out of nowhere duringrehearsals. He felt young again and free but he really wasn't. That'ssomething he forgot about for a second.

He got so lost in the moment that hejust went from a Primitive Squat into another Spiral followed by aPlie. But then he made the mistake to literally jump right into arash and thoughtless Stag Turn, that he should have avoided if he hadbeen smart. Because as soon as his foot touched the ground again hefelt a sharp pain in his spine and stumbled over his own feet,crashing to the floor with a loud bang. Luckily, he knew how to fallin the right way.

"Louis!".

Looking up at the sudden yell, Louissaw Harry running over to him. Right, he wanted to pick him up fromwork.

"Are you hurt?" Harry squatteddown right in front of him, touching Louis' face carefully.

"Not more than before. Don't worryso much about me, Haz" Louis smiled toughly.

"I'm your boyfriend. That's my job.Come on. Take my hand" Harry stood up and offered his hand toLouis, who took it gratefully but not without hissing in pain alittle when he put too much pressure on his right foot. "No pain,mh?".

"I said not more than before. Myspine is a little strained now, I guess. No big deal" Louis wavedthe matter off.

"But other than that you're okay?"Harry checked unconvinced, inspecting Louis closely inch by inch.

"My pride and my ego are a bit hurtbut other than that" Louis shrugged tensely.

"You don't need to feel ashamed orsomething like that. That was amazing, especially considering youhaven't danced in years and you're still injured and not lightly"Harry stated surely, making Louis feel all warm inside.

"So, you've seen everything?"Louis bit the inside of his cheek insecurely.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was abit early and waited until all students were gone but then I saw youup here and just stayed back to let you have your moment. I neverexpected you to dance but damn, you made me tear up. You looked so ...free and happy" Harry admitted meekly.

"Well, that's how I felt andstrangely enough Barry didn't cross my mind once. Not even when Ifell and that's definitely a first" Louis realised dumbfounded.

"But that's good, right? He'slosing his grip on you" a small smile dared to break out ontoHarry's face.

"I guess so. The only one who has agrip on me now is you" Louis wrapped his arms around Harry's torso.

"That sounds not that nicein this context" Harry pointed out pouty like a kitten.

"But it was meant in a good way.How about, you have a hold on my heart and no one will ever changethat?" Louis reworded what he actually meant.

"You sound a lot more free in thatsentence, so yes. I like that" Harry beamed cutely.

"And I like you" Louis kissed himsoftly. He loved those slow and soft kisses between them a lot. Theywere full of love and affection without needing to say it out loudyet.

Leaving the incident behind, theywent home together and decided on Louis' flat for the day. As soon asthe door was opened Harry marched into the kitchen, determined tocook them something to eat. In the meantime, Louis went into theliving room, wanting to turn on the TV but his gaze fell onto thekeyboard standing by the window. It was Zayn's but he had given it tohim after that one moment in Zayn's studio. Maybe he could use ittoday if he was brave enough.

Keeping that thought in mind, hewalked into his bedroom to change his pants into sweatpants and puton a new t-shirt. After dancing and hurting himself in those clothesthey probably didn't smell that nice anymore. In his new clothes, hesat down by the window, letting his hands travel over the silentkeyboard. In the distance he heard footsteps approaching him but hejust stayed where he was.

"Since when do you have akeyboard?" Harry asked perplexed.

"Zayn gave it to me after I kindawrote a whole new song on it while he was working at his studio. Thatwas a few days before we first kissed. Guess he thought it'd be goodfor me to have it. Not sure" Louis recalled absent-mindedly.

"I've never heard you play beforeand you write songs?" Harry sat down next to him on the littlebench.

"Every now and then. I startedafter my accident. I needed an outlet for my emotions. Guess it stuckwith me but I only write when my feelings are too much for me. Allbottled up and dying to be set free" Louis confessed to him.

"What caused you to write a songagain?" Harry wondered curiously.

"You, Haz" Louis admitted withouta problem. "I was afraid of being into you and refused toacknowledge the truth but on that day it just burst out of me andZayn knew I needed to just let it all out. So, that's what I did. Ium ... would you like to hear the song?".

"Of course but only if you'rereally comfortable with showing me. I've also never heard you singbefore" Harry made sure Louis didn't feel forced into this.

"Because I sound horrible but foryou I will do it anyway. So, bear with me. I'm not a professional andit just came out of my heart and maybe doesn't even make sense"Louis grew very anxious now.

"I know I'm gonna love it" Harrysmiled encouragingly.

With trembling hands, Louis turnedthe keyboard on. He traced with his fingers over the keys and closedhis eyes before he started to play timidly. Playing in front of Harrywasn't as terrifying as actually singing for the first time. The onlyperson who had ever heard him sing was Zayn. Louis normally didn't doany of this but he wanted to share this with Harry. As the songprogressed Louis grew more and more confident in his doings becauseHarry was simply watching him with fond eyes. That's all Louis neededand maybe what he had asked for in his song Only One For Youmight actually become his reality.

"I lovey - it, Lou. Wow. This was amazing" Harry marvelled, moved totears. "Pretty ironic that I wrote a song for you, too".

"Youdid?" Louis stared at him in shock.

"Actually,I wrote two but one of them is more a confusing collection ofthoughts I had over the past couple of weeks and it doesn't reallymake sense as one song" Harry scratched his neck awkwardly.

"Can Ihear both of them anyway after dinner? I'm sure they're amazing"Louis asked stunned.

"You canhear them now. I made rice pudding and prepared everything I could.Now we have to wait for a while anyway" Harry proffered to himshyly.

"Whateverworks for you, Love" Louis got lost in Harry's deep green eyes.

"Okay,um ... I have the guitar parts on my phone because obviously, I don'thave one here. And um ... yeah, I guess I start with the mixed upone, yeah?" Harry stumbled over his words anxiously, taking out hisphone.

"Ifthat's what you want" Louis touched Harry's face gently, feelinghim relax into the touch immediately.

"I wantyou if that wasn't obvious yet. After these songs there is no turningback" Harry nibbled on his bottom lip.

"Good"Louis smiled happily at him.

Harrypressed play and started to sing to the beautiful melody of a guitarstring. "Broken and bruised. Meeting you left me confused. Gettingto know me you refused. Scared of getting used. Again. The first timelooking in your eyes left me frozen and I was overcome with too manyemotions".

Harry'svoice sounded like honey but also raspy and raw and oh-so-lovely.Hearing those words, Louis could picture their first meeting. It feltlike forever ago.

"We'd bedancing around the bush but we do not dance. It feels like I'm in arush and I hope one day you can give me a chance. Cause baby it's notjust a crush. I wanna ask you to stay" Harry continued and yeah,maybe it really didn't quite go with the beginning but who was Louisto care?!

"Baby,why don't you come over and rest your head on my shoulder. All thistime I've been a loner but now you're my heart's owner. We've beentrying to discover our secrets this summer, no longer wanting to loveunderneath a cover. Every day we're moving closer, taking baby stepstowards each other" Harry sang quietly with so many emotionsfloating in his voice that Louis wanted to cry. Baby steps were theirthing and it meant a lot to him.

"Wemanaged to open up and by now, I feel like I'm falling for you,Buttercup. It's a secret left unspoken because I'm scared of beingheartbroken but baby, you have my devotion" Harry confessed throughhis lyrics and Louis' heart skipped a beat. "You're the one myheart has chosen to trust ... and make my cheeks always go allflushed".

"Youdon't need to be afraid, Haz. I'm falling for you too and fast.Probably way too hard to be counted as healthy but I don't care"Louis cupped Harry's face into his hands, making their eyes meet.

"Well, Idon't care either" Harry blushed crimson.

"Aw,you're blushing again. Just like you said in your stunning song"Louis cooed over him. "My Baby".

"Youwanna hear the other one?" Harry made big eyes.

"Always"Louis' heart melted away.

Excitedly,Harry pressed play on the other song and started to sing. This onewas way sadder than the other one but it was also filled with hopeand encouragement and love. Harry had written about him and his pastand the way he felt. This time Louis couldn't stop himself fromcrying. He had the most amazing boyfriend in the universe.

Pushed away one too many times

A piece of your soul shatteredinside

You have always been denied,

which caused your inner self tohide

But they never admitted theircrimes

Called out for attention but wentalways unheard

Tried desperately to get noticedbut was always unseen

So many words on tip of yourtongue but they stay forever unspoken

Mistreated to pieces left you feelforever unloved

Chorus:

Broken Angel, you always keep upyour brave façade

Broken Angel, perfect pretty face

Broken Angel, there's nothingwrong with being flawed

Broken Angel, You're not adisgrace

Broken Angel, you were put throughso much pain

Broken Angel, you're not the oneto blame

Broken Angel, you're not in vain

Broken Angel, you're not a shame

You have always been held down low

Pretty dark times along your way

Now without a home and no place togo

Left alone and feeling lonely

With their lack of words they madeyou feel insignificant

Made you feel bad about yourselffor being different

Oh poor soul, you have been soinnocent

Darling, please believe me when Itell you you're magnificent

Chorus:

Broken Angel, you always keep upyour brave façade

Broken Angel, perfect pretty face

Broken Angel, there's nothingwrong with being flawed

Broken Angel, You're not adisgrace

Broken Angel, you were put throughso much pain

Broken Angel, you're not the oneto blame

Broken Angel, you're not in vain

Broken Angel, you're not a shame

The song faded out and Louis couldn'thold his cries in any longer. He let out an emotional sob and wasimmediately engulfed by Harry, drawing soothing circles onto hisback.

"I'm sorry if I went too far with t...".

"I love you" Louis blurted outbefore he could stop himself, earning a shocked look from Harry. "Forwriting this song for me, about me. For making me feel so seen andheard and understood and simply accepted for who I am. You'reliterally the best, Haz".

"I was only telling the truth.You're worth so much, Lou" Harry smiled lovingly at him butsomething rushed through his eyes and Louis was sure he knew whatthat was. His heart has been a bit too fast here.

"Thanks. Anyway, how about we lookhow for your rice pudding is, mh?" Louis stood up from the bench toget away from this embarrassing situation.

"Lou, wait" Harry took a hold ofhis wrist, making him turn back around to face him. Harry lookedguilty. Great.

"No, Haz. Don't. You really don'thave to say anything or feel like you are feeling right now. I'msorry. I know I shouldn't have said that. It was in the heat of themoment and dumb and thoughtless and I'm not even sure if I m ...".

His nervous rambling was cut off byHarry's lips on his own. He let out a surprised sound but kissed himback immediately. After a few more seconds Harry broke away andrested their foreheads against each other. "Maybe I was overwhelmedbut not for the reason you might think. It was just unexpected andmaybe really only in the moment but I wanna let you know that we'reon the same page, Lou".

"Guess our baby steps are gettingbigger, mh?" Louis tried to joke because he still felt weird aboutthis incident.

"They're exactly how they aresupposed to be. Not too big" Harry assured him softly,understanding the meaning behind Louis' words.

"Okay" Louis whispered relieved.

All loved-up, they walked into thekitchen and could finally eat Harry's rice pudding. It tasteddelicious and Louis just knew he could never live without him again.Or his food. They talked about the extra rehearsal Louis had plannedfor tomorrow and about Harry's day at work. Surprisingly, Harry toldhim that he had planned on quitting this job pretty soon and gettinganother job. Something more interesting and safer than his job as asecurity guard. Also something that wasn't at night. He wanted tospent more time with Louis. Even more than they did already.

After finishing their meal theywashed the dishes together, what might have ended in a bit of a waterfight because they were apparently little kids and not maturegrown-ups. Louis was dripping wet from top to bottom and Harry wasn'tdoing any better. Both of them burst into laughter.

"We should probably shower" Louisgiggled joyfully. "Wanna shower together to save some water?".

"Um sure" Harry was obviouslycaught off guard by that specific unexpected request.

Louis couldn't blame him. He himselfwasn't quite sure what he was even thinking. This was really goingtoo far for taking baby steps but maybe that was okay now. Showeringdidn't have to lead to anything sexual. They had agreed on takingthings slow but not holding back if they wanted to do anything. So,this right here might be a good way for them.

Unsure of how to handle this moment,both of them walked into Louis' bathroom. They stripped out of theirclothes with their backs towards each other, which was stupid becausethey have already seen each other naked before one time when they hadhad sex. So, why were they being like this?

Stepping into the shower, Louisturned it on and made room for Harry to join him. At first, Louisdidn't look at him and stared focusedly at the shower wall but thenhe decided to just turn around and face the situation. And Harry, whohad his back turned towards him like the cute baby he was.Considerate and thoughtful.

"Haz" Louis touched Harry'sshoulder carefully. "Look at me, Baby".

Hesitantly, Harry turned around andlocked eyes with him. A smile spread over both of their faces whilethe water was streaming down their naked bodies. Timidly, Louisplaced his hand on Harry's neck and connected their lips in a shortkiss as a sign that they were good and on the same page.

After that kiss they started to rubthe shower gel all over their bodies and helped each other out ifthey couldn't reach a spot. Especially after straining his backearlier this was very welcomed. When they were done they shampooedtheir hair and washed it out one after the other. Just as Louis hadsaid. It didn't need to be weird or sexual.

They shared another kiss underneaththe water before they stepped out of the shower and right into a warmtowel, wrapped closely around their bodies. They dried themselves offand kissed each other again and again because it was addicting.

Warm and content, they climbed intoLouis' bed and cuddled up to each other, which only ended in themmaking out pretty soon. Harry's lips were like a drug to Louis and hecouldn't help himself. He needed him all the time. But Harry didn'tseem to be any better, so that was a bonus.

Their make-out session turnedsteamier and hotter by the second and Louis climbed on top of Harryto kiss him even deeper. Their tongues danced together andsurprisingly, Louis had total control over it this time. He felthimself starting to react to the touches and pressed down with hislower body on Harry's clothed dick, luring out a moan from Harry.

Fully turned on now, Louis broketheir kiss and attached his lips to Harry's neck, sucking a purplebruise onto the skin underneath his ear. Harry let out moan aftermoan and rutted his hips against Louis', causing their dicks to rubagainst each other. Both of them stopped what they were doing,searching each other's eyes. Lust was written on both of their facesbut also hesitation and caution. Neither of them wanted to overdothis.

"Is it okay if I ... um help youout?" Louis asked awkwardly.

"If you're comfortable with thatbut we shouldn't ..." Harry breathed out heavily, obviously turnedon.

"Yeah, we shouldn't and we won't,right? Slow. Step by step" Louis understood what he was trying tosay.

"Exactly" Harry looked a lot morerelaxed now.

Shortly, Louis kissed him againbefore he started to leave a trail of soft kisses behind all the waydown to Harry's tight boxers over his naked chest. Teasingly, heplayed with the waistband of Harry's boxers before he pulled themdown, letting Harry's hard dick spring free. His own dick hardened atthe sight of the leaking tip but he tried to contain himself. Thiswas about Harry now.

Evilly, Louis licked lightly overHarry's tip to torture him a bit, turning Harry into a moaning mess.He cupped Harry's balls with his one hand and then went down on hisdick. At first, he only took the tip into his mouth but then he tookhim in inch by inch until the tip hit his throat.

Teasingly slow, Louis started to bophis head up and down in a steady rhythm, wanting to see Harry fallapart. Somehow he was loving the fact that he could do this to Harryand make him feel that way.

"Shit! Fuck, this feels so good,Lou" Harry moaned out.

"You look stunning right now, Haz.Absolutely breathtaking, my beautiful baby" Louis complimented himadoringly.

"Damn it. Don't say th ... I'm soclose already" Harry grunted aroused. Louis took mental notes.Maybe Harry had a praise kink and didn't know it yet.

"Then come for me, Haz" Louiswhispered sexily before he went down on him again, picking up hispace.

After just a few more seconds Harrycame hard down Louis' throat with a cry of his name. Louis swallowedhis load and then released him with a pop, crawling over him to kissHarry again. Harry moaned into the kiss and placed his hands onLouis' bum, massaging it gently.

"Let me help you out now, Lou"Harry murmured against Louis' lips raspy.

"Don't feel like you have to dothis, Haz. I mean, you can but you don't have to, obviously" Louisblushed at the mere thought of Harry's lips around his dick.

"Stop being so cute all the timeand let me make you feel good as well, Lou" Harry kissed himsoftly.

"Okay".

Carefully and exhausted, Harry turnedthem around and hovered over Louis, kissing him passionately. Withhis hands he caressed Louis' whole chest tenderly, which gave him goosebumps. Apparently nervous, Harry got rid of Louis' boxers andwrapped his hand around Louis' hard dick. He gave it a few strokes,earning him some strangled moans from Louis, before he took him intohis mouth bit by bit until Louis could feel his tip hitting Harry'sthroat but he didn't gag at all. That alone made Louis moan again.Shit, this guy was heaven walking on sexy legs.

Steadily, Harry bopped his head upand down while caressing Louis' inner thighs gently. Louis' wholebody was on fire and everything was tingling. Before he could helphimself he came hard and fast down Harry's throat, moaning out hisname desperately. Harry sucked him through his high before leaningover Louis again. They kissed sloppily and Louis could taste himselfon Harry's tongue, which was weirdly sexy.

"You wanna know a sad secret, Haz?"Louis found himself asking when Harry had curled into his arms withhis nose tucked into Louis' neck. Turned out Harry loved to becuddled and wanted to be the little spoon. Louis could live withthat. He loved it.

"I wanna know everything" Harrygazed up at him.

"This right here was the first realblowjob I ever received" Louis confessed to him unbothered. "Imean, we kinda did something like this already but not fully and...".

"I know what you mean, Lou" Harrycut him off, looking thoughtful. "I'm glad I was your first,Sunshine".

"Me too, Haz" Louis yawned,hugging Harry to his chest. He pushed every upcoming thought away andfocused only on Harry's steady heartbeat. "Me too".