A/N: I finally finished this story!

This part is dedicated to @bravery55 who read my story last week and voted and commented on all my chapters. Thank you!

A couple things about the epilogue:

It's all told from Harry's POV.

It takes place a year and a half after the last chapter, after Darby published her article about H&L, and at the start of their new tour.

There's a flashback to when H&L were crashing at Niall's place in L.A. It's marked with ***

HARRY

I sat at the vanity, my skin illuminated by the frosted bulbs that framed the mirror. Debbie, our hair and makeup artist sponged on my foundation and left to fetch loose powder from her case. I'd sweat it all off onstage but at least the fans with floor seats would get to see me done up for the first few songs.

Before Debbie got back her assistant dropped off some coffee and a stack of magazines. People Magazine was sitting at the top of the pile and I noticed a tiny picture of me and Lou in the corner of the cover. It was taken in Cheshire outside a pub. I was talking to him, smiling, gesturing with my hands; he was wearing sunnies, a cigarette dangling from his lip, looking directly into the pap's lens and giving him the finger. I flipped it open to the article and nearly fell out of my chair. It was the magazine's Valentine's issue and they had a list of the World's Hottest Couples. Louis and I were number two! "No. Fucking. Way." I ripped off the makeup bib that was tucked into my shirt collar and ran to find Louis.

He was playing a raucous game of Ping-Pong in the common area: him and Eleanor vs. Niall and Liam.

I held the magazine above my head triumphantly. "We're the second hottest couple in the world!"

Louis dropped his paddle. "What do you mean 'second'?"

Liam, Niall and Eleanor crowded 'round. "Brilliant," said Liam.

"Well done, boys," added Eleanor, smacking Louis' bum with the paddle.

Louis snatched the magazine from my hands. "Who the hell is first?"

"Kate Middleton and Prince William."

"Do those two even fuck anymore?"

"We're second only to royalty." I beamed.

"We are royalty," Louis snapped. "Music royalty."

"Louis, this is the first list we've made as a couple." I threw an arm around his neck and pumped my fist in the air. "We've arrived!"

"We've been robbed. I'm calling the editor."

"I'm framing it!" I took the magazine back and smoothed out the page.

This was the first show of the new tour and my stomach was filled with butterflies. The People list made me forget how nervous I was for a second and allowed me to just enjoy the moment. Ever since Darby's article about us was published I'd been waiting for the other shoe to drop. I thought album and ticket sales would dry up, that we'd be playing to half-empty arenas. But everything that our old team warned us about never happened. The vast majority of fans were happy for us! And even though we lost some fans, we gained new ones.

Zayn was the first visitor backstage that night. I was at craft service spooning pasta salad onto my plate when I felt someone sneak up behind me and cover my eyes. "Guess who?" I felt his cold leather jacket and the scratch of his beard against my neck.

I put down my plate to greet him, "Zayn," I said, "You came, and you're early!"

"Yeah, wanted to hang out with you lot before the show. Give you a pep talk. I reckon you're a bit rusty."

Zayn had just finished the first leg of his solo tour. His first tour, first album and first single were a massive success...

***

Months before Zayn's tour and his album release, when Louis and I were still living with Niall in L.A., we got a mysterious package from Zayn's record label. Niall was at the gym so Louis, still in his pajama bottoms, went to the door and signed for it. I was outside by the pool tanning in my yellow swim shorts. Louis plopped down next to me on the lounge chair with the package in his lap. He opened it up and inside was a card from Zayn.

Dear Lou & Harry,

I wanted you to be the first ones to hear my debut single. The official story is that this song is about Gigi Hadid. It's not. I wrote it about you. I love you both and your love for each other inspires me always.

Yours,

Z

"How sweet of him," I said, lifting my sunnies. "I'm so flattered, aren't you?"

Louis picked up the CD case and looked at the title of the track.

"What's it called?" I asked.

His eyes widened. "Pillow Talk."

We hurried inside. Louis turned on the stereo and put in the CD. We nestled down on the couch together. Louis and Niall liked to blast the AC so I was freezing in my swimsuit. Louis draped a blanket over me and rubbed my shoulders.

The down tempo synth ballad began simply enough. I liked the beat. And when I heard Zayn's voice my heart skipped. He sounded unbelievable. I'd missed his voice so much. It was strange hearing him sing without us but thrilling too, like I was hearing him for the first time. His voice moved between a raspy baritone to the high notes with a power and ease that was euphoric.

And the lyrics...

I'm seeing the pain, seeing the pleasure
Nobody but you, 'body but me, 'body but us
Bodies together

Louis leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees, concentrating. "Damn."

A place that is so pure, so dirty and raw
Be in the bed all day, bed all day, bed all day
Fucking you, and fighting on

"Oh my God." I thought I might burst into flames.

Pillow talk
My enemy, my ally
Prisoners
Then we're free, it's a thriller

It was one thing to write songs about your lover or have songs written about you by your lover, it was quite another to have a friend write about your relationship--someone on the outside, an observer who can see you the way you can't see yourselves. Zayn was our dearest friend and closest confidant. He'd heard our pillow talk! He'd heard us have sex, and walked in on us more times than I could count. It was surreal seeing our love through his eyes.

It's our paradise and it's our war zone
It's our paradise and it's our war zone

We had the song on repeat and by the third play we forgot our embarrassment over the lyrics and sang along at the top of our lungs, harmonizing with Zayn like he was right there with us.

So we'll piss off the neighbours!
In the place that feels the tears!
The place to lose your fears!

Yeah, reckless behavior!

I jumped up on the coffee table and danced like a stripper, tossing my hair and singing into the remote. I was fangirling over Zayn!

Eventually we collapsed on the couch and just enjoyed the song in amazement.

"I could listen to this all day," I said panting. "I will listen to this all day."

We were both under the blanket now, our heads lolling against the back of the couch, soaking in Zayn's voice.

Louis shut his eyes. "It's so good."

I sighed and ran a hand through his sandy waves, letting my fingertips dance along his jawline, which he now kept clean-shaven. Louis' breathing deepened. He bit his bottom lip suggestively. Curious, I lifted the blanket. He was palming himself.

"Are you...?"

He turned to me, his eyes heavy and wanting. "Is that weird?"

Was it weird that hearing Zayn sing about us having sex was giving him a hard-on? I honestly had no idea but I was a little jealous and more than a little turned on.

A place that is so pure, so dirty and raw

Louis dipped his hand into his pants and stroked himself unabashedly. "Harry." He gave me a pleading look.

But I was enjoying this too much.

I leaned back and watched him. The movement of his hand beneath the soft fabric was tantalizing. His strokes were slow and tight and he was getting himself more and more worked up. He was so flustered and cute. I kissed his neck and rested my chin on his shoulder to get a better view. His naked chest rose and fell rapidly. I loved watching him touch himself and I think he liked being watched.

Annoyingly he was still wearing his pajama bottoms.

"Take them off," I whispered.

He moaned.

"Louis, let me see you."

His arm flexed as he squeezed himself more tightly. He threw his head back, his mouth open, eyes closed. He was too far gone.

I reached down to his waistband and pulled it back trying not to disturb his movements. Louis' head snapped forward. He grabbed my wrist, held it there, and I was stuck, like a fly caught in a spider's web.

He pressed my hand against himself and curled my fingers around his length. He was smooth and achingly hard, and his grip warm and firm. He moved my hand up and down and only let go once my own need for him took over.

With my other hand I reached for the remote to turn off the music but he stopped me. "No," he ordered. "Leave it on."

We'll go slow and high-tempo
Light and dark
Hold me hard and mellow...

This was even stranger than having Zayn watch us or listen to us have sex. His voice was liquid. It was like he had seeped into our skin and was inside us.

Louis was so into it. I was trying not to let my petty jealousy take over but every time Zayn hit a high note Louis thrust into my hand.

"Hey!" I said hotly. "Is it me or Zayn you want?"

"Zayn."

I slapped him playfully.

"Oh, come off it. He's my best mate. I love him and I love the way he sees us." He mouthed my ear. "Doesn't it excite you?"

He snuck a hand up my shorts. Judging by my own hard-on it did excite me. A lot.

Louis tugged at my swim shorts and brushed a thumb across my pronounced tan line. Niall wouldn't let us sunbath naked. There was a strict no nudity policy at casa Horan. He was such a prude. Louis didn't mind my tan lines, though. He said my creamy center looked like dessert!

"Turn around, honey."

I swiveled around so damn fast I nearly fell off the couch. Louis caught me and positioned me how he wanted—on my knees, my weight resting on my forearms. He slid down my shorts and licked me.

Another one of Niall's rules was no sex on the furniture. Woops.

We'd been leisurely having sex all morning but this was different. This was the kind of sex Louis demanded when we were younger, when he had to have me no matter who might be listening or watching. Maybe everyone chases the high of their early sexual experiences, and for us those experiences included the boys, their presence, their voices and their love for us.

"I fucking love this song," Louis breathed, moving into me.

I moaned in agreement, pushing back against him.

It was more than just the lyrics; it was the way Zayn sang them, like he understood us, like he understood what Louis and I meant to each other in the most intimate way imaginable.

I'd love to hold you close, tonight and always
I'd love to wake up next to you...

***

Louis spirited Zayn away to show him the rest of our setup backstage. I tagged along like a puppy. Some things never change.

I ran a hand along the cool cement walls and together we skipped down the echoey corridors of the arena's underbelly.

"Oh, by the way, Pillow Talk has gone platinum," Zayn boasted slapping Louis' chest.

"That's great!" I said, hugging Zayn's narrow shoulders from behind. "Louis and I listen to it every night while we... read."

"Fantastic reading music, mate. The best." Louis winked.

Zayn shook his head. "The sexiest song I've ever written, and it's not even about me!" He started singing the chorus to himself.

It sounded even hotter live.

Louis eyed me hungrily. "Let us know if you need more inspiration."

"Yeah, we have loads of material."

We pressed Zayn between us and gave him a sloppy sandwich kiss. He wriggled free, his hair mussed.

It was bittersweet being backstage with Zayn knowing he wouldn't be performing with us. Louis was my partner in life but Zayn had always been my partner onstage. It would feel a little lonelier up there without him. He left behind a space in the band and in our hearts that could never be filled.

Friends and family kept pouring in from the arena's back doors. Liam took Sophia and the girls into his dressing room. They got light-up wand sticks and headbands from the merch stand. Sophia was wearing a faded 2011 One Direction t-shirt that looked older than I was.

Niall opened his dressing room to his brother's family, and some friends from high school.

With Zayn between us, Louis and I headed over to our dressing room. Gone were the days when Louis and I each had our own dressing rooms and would sneak into one or the other. Now we had one room with both of our names on the door.

Darby was sitting inside on the couch, examining her backstage pass. "Hello boys."

She'd cut her hair. It was still blonde but sat razor sharp at her shoulders. She wore a crisp white collared shirt and slacks with imposing dark plumb lipstick that dared you to kiss her. I dared. But not on the lips. I kissed her cheek.

It had been months since her piece about me and Louis was published but we were all still feeling the aftershock. An excerpt from the piece ran on Rolling Stone online. It received more hits than any other article in the website's history. Darby was offered a promotion at the magazine and had her pick of working at any other publication she wanted. However, not one to take the easy road, Darby decided to start her own online magazine with Sarah. It was her baby. It was small but growing and she'd already landed some big interviews. She wrote a heart-wrenching profile on Kitty Drift that managed to expose all of Kitty's deepest darkest insecurities while humanizing her and making her a figure that everyone could relate to.

Louis was pleased with the overall outcome of the article she wrote on us, but he didn't like the way she portrayed him. "Possessive," "bitter," "vindictive," "bitchy," and "mean," were some choice words.

"Hello, Darby," said Louis. "I would hug you but I'm too bitter and vindictive for such pleasantries."

She smirked and they shook hands.

I noticed that I had left my copy of People out on the couch and scrambled to hide it in the cushions.

"It's okay," said Darby. "I've already seen it. Second hottest couple in the world. Congrats."

I hated the idea of her feeling bad about something so silly. Still, I couldn't hide how pleased I was. "Thank you," I said.

Louis was less humble. "I'm not surprised," he said, stretching out with his hands behind his head. "I mean, look at us. Nobody can compete with this kind of chemistry."

"Except Kate and Wills," Darby quipped, examining the magazine in her lap. "They look regal, don't they, gazing into each other's eyes on their Norfolk estate... but Louis you're radiating your own sort of ex-convict charm in this photo."

Louis frowned.

I cracked open a bottle of champagne from the mini-fridge and poured everyone a drink in tiny plastic flutes. We discussed Darby's magazine and when she might do a piece about 1D's comeback tour. I could tell Louis was dreading it already.

"You know, Darby," Zayn crooned, "If you're looking for someone to write about, my single, Pillow Talk, just went platinum. Maybe you've heard of it?"

"I do live on this planet, Zayn." She pursed her lips. "And I will definitely take you up on that offer. I'm looking to do a big profile in March."

When Louis and Zayn went out for a smoke. I took my chance to have a more serious conversation with Darby. We became friends again shortly after the article was published, and in many ways we were closer than ever. She knew everything there was to know about me. I didn't hold anything back. I visited her whenever I was in New York and we texted regularly. I couldn't stand the idea of her being lonely and was always badgering her with questions about her love life.

"Seeing anyone?"

She rolled her eyes. "You ask me this every time I see you. No, I'm still single."

"How is that possible?"

"I date, isn't that enough?"

"No! You deserve true love!"

"Harry, nobody deserves true love. It's not, like, health care."

"You do," I said with certainty. "You deserve an epic love story."

She laughed and patted my knee. "You're such a hopeless romantic! Not everyone gets an epic love story and that's okay. There are other kinds of stories."

I couldn't quite wrap my mind around that.

"What you have with Louis is special," she said sincerely. "It's rare. I didn't realize it until I wrote the piece about you two. I would never say this in front of Louis but... you should cherish him."

Just then Liam and Niall came crashing through the door with armfuls of merch, Zayn and Louis not far behind them. Eleanor too.

They were talking about the setlist. We were doing a bunch of songs off the new album, like Hey Angel, Made in the A.M. and End of the Day.

Zayn looked up at me. "What about If I Could Fly? Isn't it your favorite, Harry?"

Niall and Liam exchanged knowing glances.

"We thought about it," I said. "But in the end we decided it wouldn't play well to arenas."

"Bollocks," said Zayn, turning to Liam, drawing out the truth with a penetrating stare.

"The truth is," Liam began, smiling. "Louis couldn't get through it in rehearsal without crying."

"For the last time," Louis barked, "I HAD SOMETHING IN MY EYE."

I hooked an arm around his waist. "It's okay. It's on the album. That's what counts."

Liam began handing out large 1D t-shirts to Darby and Eleanor and anyone who didn't have one. They pulled them on over their clothes. The new merch wasn't colorful and it didn't have our faces all over it. It was black and white. The text was in Louis' handwriting.

Eleanor moved her braid aside to look down at what it said. "What's the name of this tour? I don't think I'm reading it right."

Darby examined her shirt. "On the Road Again Again?"

"Who came up with that?" said Eleanor.

Niall threw a tote bag at me. "Who do you think?"

I held up the tote. Okay, I understood why they thought it was stupid but I defended my position. Slowly I described my thinking behind the name: "So, like, the name of the last tour was On the Road Again, right?"

Liam motioned with his hand for me to move this speech along.

"And, um, we didn't finish that tour. So it's, like, we're going on the On the Road Again tour again, like we're, um, doing it over and—"

Liam dragged his hands over his face. "Why, oh why, do we ever put Harry in charge of these things."

"Watch your tone, Liam." Louis placed a hand on top of my head. "Go on, baby. It's a great tour name."

Buoyed by Louis' faith in me, I continued. "Plus, the fans will remember it, and I think we can all agree that it's kind of funny."

Nobody laughed but Louis.

The stage manager came into the room and said our call time was in ten minutes. We hugged everyone goodbye so they could get to their seats before the show started. Liam and Niall went back to their dressing rooms to freshen up.

I lingered in Darby's arms. Louis cleared his throat.

"Bye, Harry," she said, slinging her purse over her shoulder. "I'll see you after the show!"

She left the dressing room and I clasped my hands behind my back. "It was nice of her to come," I said to Louis. "I wasn't sure she'd make the trip."

Louis was fixing his hair in the mirror. "Yes, it was nice of her, I suppose."

"She looks beautiful, don't you think?"

He hopped up on the vanity. "Whoa, let's not get carried away!"

"Come on, even you can admit she's beautiful." I stood between his legs and he adjusted my shirt collar.

"Eleanor is beautiful."

"Well, Darby is my Eleanor and she's beautiful to me."

He gave me a quick peck on the lips and we put on our jackets. Louis was wearing a shark grey suit jacket with the sleeves rolled up. I put on my floral suit jacket, which matched my floral pants. I flipped my hair back and adjusted and re-adjusted my belt.

"Nervous?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Me too."

I did a few breathing exercises. I grabbed Louis' hands to steady myself but they were even clammier than mine. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe we couldn't handle performing again. Too much had changed. I'd changed. What if I wasn't any good? What if I disappointed everyone?

I could tell that the exact same thoughts were running through Louis' mind. He was white as a ghost. He guided me out the door by the small of my back. I didn't want to go. I was struck with dread at the sound of the stage manager's voice over the speakers telling us again to take our places.

Then I saw Niall and Liam's bright faces pop out of their dressing rooms and every doubt I had was lifted.

"Oi," Liam called. "We're late."

"As usual," Niall said, swinging from the doorframe.

"Harry, this tour should have been called Late as Usual." Liam pointed to his phone. "Look, fans are already complainin' on Twitter."

"Bloody hell," Louis said. "They can wait four years but they can't wait an extra twenty minutes!"

Niall jumped on Louis back and they charged down the corridor, while Liam gallantly extended his arm to me and we strolled calmly, arm-in-arm.

We got into position in the wings. I could hear the crowd screaming and feel the reverberations of their screams through the stage floor and into my bones.

I could never fathom the number of people that came to our shows. I only understood it in the abstract. There was no way to connect with a person in a crowd of thousands. Each person was just a dot of light from where we stood. They were there to love us, and they loved us so much. How could we ever repay them?

We huddled together. "Okay," Liam said, "Everyone put your hands in."

"You don't know where my hands have been." Louis grinned, placing his hand on top of Liam's.

"Yes we do." Niall placed his hand on top of Louis' and looked at me.

I kissed Niall's hand for good luck before placing my hand on top of his.

We did a quiet cheer.

The lights went down and my nerves were quickly replaced by excitement. Oddly, I wasn't excited about performing. I was excited about singing with my best friends. As we stepped into that sacred space together the rest of the world fell away and I realized that this was never about the fans showing us how much they loved us, it was about us showing them how much we loved each other.

A/N: And that's a wrap!

I decided to focus more on friendship in the epilogue. I hope you liked it, and I hope you liked the fic overall!

I'd love to know who your favorite character was or what scene/chapter you liked best.

Thank you to everyone who read, voted and commented on this story!