***

TW: Abuse, homophobia, passing out, alcohol.

The picture above should give you some ideas about what else to expect...

Hope you like it xx

***

Hiding the dress in Lottie's cupboard was the cleverest thing Louis had done in ages. He, Lottie, Jay and Fizzy were the only ones who knew about the dress and its purpose.

This day of 23rd December was going to be Louis' last day of preparing himself for opening up to Harry. Not that Louis was afraid, but that he hadn't spoken about him to anyone for a long time.

He woke up tangled with another human being: Harry. Harry's hands were in Louis' hair and his legs were enclosing Louis' own legs. His mouth was slightly open and his hair was a perfect mess.

Louis sighed. This morning would probably be the last morning he cuddled with his love. If Harry didn't reciprocate his feelings, he definitely wouldn't let Louis cuddle him ever again. But Louis decided not to be depressed, but happy that he could cuddle Harry to his heart's content.

He held Harry tighter and Harry, sleeping, cuddled in closer to Louis. Louis felt his heart swell but he quickly closed his eyes, not wanting to think about his and Harry's cocks brushing together all the time.

He'd probably just have to wait for time to pass and 24th to come.

***

24th December, 2021.

12:00 am.

Louis William Tomlinson's (and Harry Edward Styles's) bedroom.

"LOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!" Harry screamed.

"HAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!" Louis shouted back, grinning.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOUIIIIIIISSSSSSS!!! YOU'RE THE MOST AMAZING PERSON I'VE EVER MET!" Harry shouted.

"Aww Harry that's really sweet, thanks babes." Louis said, fondly. He heard some knocks on his bedroom door. He got up and went to open the door.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOOBEAR!!!" Four girls shouted and hugged Louis together.

"THANK YOU, MY DEAREST LOVELIEST SISTERS!!!" Louis said, giggling, but hugging them back.

"Happy Birthday Louis, my first baby! I love you so much!" Jay said, from behind the girls.

"Thank you so much mum! I love you so much too!" Louis said and hugged her.

"Do you want the present now or in the morning?" Jay asked, but 5 shouts answered her, "WE'RE GIVING THEM RIGHT NOW!!!"

Louis and Jay both looked inside Louis' room to see Harry and Louis' sisters sitting on the bed, with bags and boxes in their hands.

"Mum asked me." Louis said.

"But we answered!" All of them said together.

Louis rolled his eyes fondly while Jay laughed, "Fine, now give him his gifts yeah?"

Louis sat down on the bed and Lottie handed him a bag, "Happy birthday bro, you'd love this." Louis thanked her and opened the bag. The were a set of green and blue cleats. "Oh my God Lots! I haven't had a new pair in ages! Thank you so much!" "It's nothing Louis, we love you." "I love you too."

Next was Fizzy, she gave Louis a small-but-big box. "Happy birthday Louis...I really hope you'll like this." Louis opened the box slowly and saw a photo frame of Louis and Fizzy. The picture was of 15 years ago, with a 5-year-old Louis holding a new-born Fizzy. Louis smiled fondly, "This is so cute Fiz, I love it. Thank you so much! I love you so much." "Love you more brother." Fizzy said, with a smile.

Next, Phoebe and Daisy. Both gave Louis one big bag. "Happy birthday Louisssss!! We love you!" "I love you too!!" Louis said and quickly opened the bag. There was a new backpack, a teddy bear and two hoodies. "Woah girls, this is fabulous, thank you. How did you buy all this?" Louis asked.

Phoebe looked at Daisy, Daisy looked at Fizzy, Fizzy looked at Lottie and Lottie looked at Jay. Jay looked at Harry. Harry looked at the ceiling. Louis saw them all looking at each other and said, "I'm waiting?" Jay sighed and said, "I bought it along with the girls." Immediately, all the girls began nodding.

"I'm no fool. I see the way you're all exchanging glances. Who. Bought. These?" Louis said, crossing arms on his chest. "I bought it Louis, obviously." Jay said and rest everyone nodded. Only Harry continued looking at the ceiling. "I'll believe y'all only if Harry agrees to what you are saying." Louis said, with a smirk.

Harry looked down, but not at Louis, and said, "Yes Lou, your mum, Phoebe and Daisy bought these." "Really? Wow! Could you maybe look me in the eye and tell me the same?" Harry looked at Louis. They locked their eyes and Harry said, "Why do I have to do this Lou? Did you not like the gifts? Do you not believe your mum and sisters?"

"Because, they smell like you." Louis said.

Harry froze. I shouldn't have held them so close to me while purchasing them. Harry thought.

"Yeah, I bought them. Just the backpack and hoodies. The teddy bear was bought by Phoebe and Daisy." Harry blurted out. "Why didn't you tell me Haz?" Louis asked. "I thought you wouldn't like them." Harry said.

"Harry, I love them! Your choices are really unique...I like it, honestly. Thank you so much for these." Louis said, giving Harry's hand a squeeze. Harry immediately smiled wide, with dimples.

Before they could continue with their conversation, Jay said, "Girls, c'mon, let's sleep now. Louis, Harry, see you in the morning. Good night." Louis and Harry both nodded and wished good night to all the girls. Before leaving, Jay said, "Now, don't stay up too late boys, alright?" With that and a smile, she left, closing the door.

Now Harry and Louis were alone. So, Louis spoke up, "Harry, can I ask you why you bought me hoodies and a backpack? Not that I didn't like them, I really love hoodies and haven't got a backpack in ages." Harry smiled, "I noticed, back in your dorm, how your Uni backpack is all worn-out. So, I decided to buy you one. Also, for the hoodies. Remember when you told me about your never-ending love for them when we were packing for Donny? I mentally decided to buy you one for your birthday. I found these two and couldn't decide which to buy. So, I bought both."

Louis was awestruck. Harry noticed and remembered such tiniest of things about him? Inside Louis, a warm feeling of trust and comfort erupted. He'd tell Harry everything now.

Right now.

"Haz?"

"Lou."

"Do you wanna sleep? Like...are you sleepy?"

"To be honest, I'm wide awake and don't think I'll be able to sleep."

"I'm gonna tell you everything. Now."

Harry stared at Louis. "Are you sure Lou?"

"More than ever."

"Fine. Let's keep all these gifts inside first?"

"Yeah, but let's go outside and sit on the grass. It's pretty cold but nice and probably the best place to tell you everything, midst nature."

"Okay, whatever you say."

They packed the gifts and kept them inside Louis' cupboard. Both tiptoed out of the room, downstairs, and out the door. Harry was all red because of the cold, even though he was wearing a sweater and socks. Louis, on the other hand, was chewing on his bottom lip and fidgeting with his fingers. Harry reached out and squeezed his hand, while Louis smiled at him.

They both sat down on the grass. Louis took a deep breath and said, "Would you walk away from me after I tell you all this?" Harry hugged Louis and said, "No Lou, never. You're a great person. Anyone who leaves you is either a crackhead or not worth being your friend." Louis nodded, "Alright. I'll tell you and you just listen, please? After I'm done, you can do or say whatever you want." Harry nodded.

Louis took a deep breath and began.

"I've had a fabulous childhood. Not only with my family, but also with my friends. Ex-friends, I mean. I have known Liam for 16 years now. We've always been best friends. But it wasn't just the two of us. We knew another boy, since second grade. He, me and Liam were best friends. I had many other friends too, but those two were my best friends. They knew everything about me, my happiest times, my lowest times, everything. We would play together, study together, eat together, have fun together, get punished by teachers together and get appreciated together. This was constant till we hit our teens."

Pause. Louis took another deep breath. He felt tears pool in the corner of his eyes. But he wouldn't cry, not yet. Harry could see the tears in Louis' eyes as he spoke but didn't say anything. He continued squeezing Louis' hand. Louis squeezed it back and continued.

"Sexuality questions. Till I was 13, I was sure I was straight. But soon after I hit 14, I started doubting myself. Slowly, I started liking my friend. Not Liam, the other one. It didn't happen overnight, it happened eventually. Before I knew it, I had a massive crush on him. Nobody knew about this, not Liam, not my family, nobody. Just me. I thought I was bisexual. As I turned 15, I realized I never happened to like girls, in a romantic way. So, I thought I was gay. I wasn't sure yet, so I decided to wait and be sure of my own sexuality before telling others. I began liking my friend more and more as days passed. I would notice the tiniest things about him and admire him. I'd always want to impress him. This went on for God knows how long. Before I knew it, I was 17. I realized I would have to leave school and join Uni soon. Both of our career options were different, because I wanted to become a footballer but he wanted to become a doctor. I knew we'd have to go to separate Universities. I didn't want to stay away from him. I had gotten so used to being with him, I was scared of separation from him. Then, after a long time I realized it. I was in love with him. It took me 3 long years to understand that and I would laugh at myself for taking so long. I didn't tell anyone though. Then, I decided to come out of the closet, after a lot of thought."

Deep breath in, deep breath out. Harry remained quiet. Louis was hoping the tears wouldn't spill out of his eyes. Harry spoke up, "I will never judge you Lou. You're strong, I'll stay with you. Always." Louis smiled and nodded, but didn't look at Harry. Another deep breath and he continued.

"I decided I would tell him first. Not only because I was so gone for him, but also because he was my best friend. I thought he would accept me, the way I was. I would've told Liam first, but I had so much love for him that I decided to tell him first. So, I did, on my birthday. I took him to the football ground we both first met in. All alone. Nobody was in the ground, except us. He was curious as fuck to know why I had practically pulled him all the way. We both walked in the ground."

Deep breath in, breath out. He continued, this time with a slightly shaky voice.

"I told him that I had a massive crush on him since I was 14 and eventually fell for him, all in one breath. But he..." Louis' voice trailed off. His first tear fell on his cheek. He closed his eyes. Harry moved closer, thumbed away his tears and squeezed his shoulder. Louis just nodded and continued.

"But he was shocked. He took several steps back, away from me. I looked at him, confused. He said one thing, "Give me 2 minutes Louis." He turned away and called someone on his phone. I just waited, not sure what was happening. Then, he came back to me and said, "I'm so glad you told me. I have a surprise for you, now that you told me you're gay and you love me." I immediately thought it was something good and everything was gonna be alright. I immediately texted Liam to come to the football ground. He said he'd be there in 15 minutes. And, we both just stood there. Then, I saw a group of hooded and masked men walking into the ground towards me and him. I asked him who they were. He said one thing, "Ah, there comes your surprise." Before I could ask anything more, I felt one massive kick on my abdomen.

I fell on the ground. Some hands pulled me up and held me tight. He, on the other hand, had a stick in his hand. He winked at me and began hitting me with the stick, brutally. I don't know and don't really want to know how long I was beaten up by him and his men. Before I passed out, I heard one thing that he said, "Faggots like you don't deserve to live. And how dare you fall in love with me? See your fucking standards Lewis. Enjoy your time in hell, bye." And I passed out."

Deep breath in, deep breath out. Repeat thrice. Louis continued; voice thick with tears.

"Next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital bed, with my mum sitting near me. I tried to get up and move, but both my legs were in plasters, one hand in a sling, other one scarred. A big band like thing holding me back to the bed. There was a big plaster around my forehead too. I then remembered what had happened. I swallowed thickly and spoke, "Mum?" and she came towards me and caressed my cheek which was the only part of me not hurt. She spoke, "Boobear, don't say anything. Let me call the doctors first. You're alive and that's what matters." I just nodded. She left the room and came back with a doctor and two nurses. The doctor examined me for a while, and said, "Mr. Tomlinson. You had been in coma for 4 days. You have an almost completely broken ribcage, a swollen back, two fractured legs, one broken hand and a few deep cuts on your forehead. What had happened?" I wished I could die then and there. I didn't want anyone to know about anything that happened to me, except my family. So, I told the doctor that I had been beaten up by a boy. When he asked me to complain in the police, I straight away disagreed. After all, I loved him and didn't want anything bad for him. Yeah, he hated me, but I didn't. I told my mum and family everything and basically, came out to them. Thank heavens, they accepted me the way I was. I asked them how I was in the hospital. My stepdad said that Liam found me half-dead on the football ground. He called an ambulance and had admitted me. My heart swelled at that. The boy I loved didn't support me, but the boy who I have known for ages supported me. It was overwhelming."

Louis paused for a while. His voice was barely a whisper. He cleared his throat. Besides that, only sobs were heard. Louis wasn't sure if they were his own. He turned to see Harry sit with his head on his knees and his knees pulled up to his chest. Louis smiled weakly and said, "Harry you okay?" Harry didn't lift his head, but said, "Carry on Lou."

Louis took a deep breath and continued.

"It took me a month. I had 6 surgeries for my ribcage. My right leg, hand and forehead were healed but I was still on complete bed rest. The doctor told me even though my ribcage surgeries were done, I would still continue to have pains for an indefinite time. I used to take pain killers, thrice everyday till October this year. I was finally able to leave the hospital bed after another month. While in the hospital, I had told Liam everything and he just kept crying all the time. He kept promising me that he would never do anything of that sort to me and I was grateful. Almost every day, Liam would want to go and rip his head apart. Liam told me that in school he had spread the news that I was gay and more than half the people in my school turned out to be homophobic. When I finally went to school, everyone would mutter things about me under their breath, give me disgusted looks, etc. Eventually, me and Liam lost all our friends and just had each other. So, I quickly finished school and got admission in this Bransfield University."

Deep breath in, deep breath out. Harry began following Louis' method of breathing to reduce his crying. Louis continued.

"In the Uni, nobody knows anything about my sexuality, except you, Liam and Zayn. During my freshman and sophomore year, alcohol was my best friend apart from Liam. I knew it was illegal before I turned 18 but I didn't care. The pain was too much for me. Mental, physical, all types of pains. It was too much for me. I would go for therapy but I didn't have the money. I was already dependent on Liam for my Uni stuff. So, I got myself a job. I was a waiter for 2 years. But my boss ended up being homophobic and kicked me out. So, as a 19-year-old, I quit drinking and working. I had enough money for therapy but I realized I didn't want to go for it. My life was almost back to normal, except my chest pains. So, I didn't go for therapy. I had football, Uni, Liam and a family. I decided I just wanted that much. I told myself never to fall in love ever again, because I knew it would ruin me. And I didn't want any emotional pain. It actually, really hurts."

Louis paused. He looked over at Harry who was now looking at Louis with pale and watery but eager eyes.

"Haz?"

"Lou."

"I know you're wondering how I fell I love if I didn't want to."

Harry gave him a small watery smile and nodded. He had butterflies in his stomach all of a sudden. What if Louis didn't like him?

Louis took a deep breath and began again.

"So, then...I saw a boy. He is in his freshman year right now, and I met him just few months ago. Everything about him is amazing. I can't think of anything I don't like in him, honestly. His personality, his thoughts, his wishes, whatnot. I keep thinking about him all the time. He's had such a control over me unknowingly, nobody has had such a control over me in ages. I have made many changes in me and my lifestyle for him, for his happiness, for him to be impressed by me. As I think about it, I think I've liked him ever since I've seen him, I just kept ignoring my feelings for him. But now, I love him more than anything. More than myself too. If I don't have him, I think I'm gonna break, this time forever. And Harry, do you know who it is?"

Harry was again close to tears that it was not him but he just shook his head.

"It's you." Louis said.

Harry opened his mouth, closed it again. His eyes were wide. Louis was looking down at his own lap. He couldn't see Harry move closer to him. Harry tapped Louis' shoulder to make Louis look at him. Louis' face was etched with tension, but looked at Harry expectantly.

Harry sighed, "Oh Lou."

And before Louis knew what was happening, Harry crashed his lips onto Louis'. Louis visibly melted at that but kissed Harry back. The kiss was slow, both of them enjoying every bit of it. But they had both of their hands on the ground. It was everything like Louis had imagined. Harry's plump, full lips on his thin ones. It was perfect.

They kissed for what seemed like ages, till Harry pulled back, gasping for breath.

"Lou?" Harry said, finally breathing normally.

"Haz." Louis said, beaming.

"I love you." Harry blurted out.

"I love you more honey." Louis said, with a wink.

"Now kiss me you fool."

Louis slowly moved forward to Harry's lips, but not kissing him, just looking at his lips. Harry was looking at Louis expectantly. Louis moved his hand to Harry's curls, pulling him closer and closer and closer. Harry was practically sitting on Louis' lap. Louis slowly pressed his lips onto Harry's lips and kissed him. Harry wrapped his hands around Louis' neck loosely while enjoying the kiss.

Louis kept moving his lips on Harry's while Harry was close to tears. Louis was everything he wanted and he got him! He could finally call Louis his.

His Louis. Harry's Louis. Perfect.

While kissing, Harry didn't know he was crying. Louis pulled back, "Harry are you alright?" he thumbed away Harry's tears. Harry smiled through his tears and said, "Lou."

"Haz."

"You're mine. I can't believe it. I can call you mine!" Harry almost shouted.

Louis smiled, "I can't believe you like me too Hazza, I was terrified you didn't."

"How can't I? I love you to the moon and back Lou." Harry said.

Louis smiled. He plucked one of Harry's stray curls and pushed it behind his ear and said, "I love you H."

"I love you too Lou, now let's go in, yeah?" Harry said. Louis nodded.

They both got up, intertwined their hands, and walked into the house. Louis marveled at the fact that he left his house as a single man but came back inside as a taken man.

He loved Harry.

Harry loved him.

Louis was finally content.

*** 

3637 words- HUGE CHAPTER MAN.

Tell me you didn't hate this chapter...?

LOUIS OPENED UP!! SO PROUD OF YOU BABY!!

To him, FUCK YOU BITCH, YOU NEVER DESERVED LOU!

And...THEY KISSED!!

I know the kissing part sucked, anygays....

But y'all still don't know who he is haha. Any more guesses?

Thoughts?

Fank you for 2k reads! I'm officially dead.

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P.S. Lots on the wayyyy xx