"Not Mr. Bear," Louis tried.

"Lewis, I am a grown man I don't need Mr. Bear anymore."

Louis picked up the stuffed giraffe he'd won Harry at the carnival. "You're keeping Mr. Giraffe," he said with a raised brow.

Harry huffed and snatched the toy from Louis' hands. "I'd never get rid of Mr. Giraffe. You won him for me. And now I'm starting to feel like I'm not that great at naming my stuff."

Louis just chuckled and went through more of the stuff they'd gathered. Old clothes. Books. "Oh no, Harry, no. Come on."

Harry looked up from separating Gemma's old dolls to see Louis holding Harry's guitar. He sighed in remembrance. "I haven't played in a while, Lou. At least a year. I really don't need it."

"Your granddad gave you this. You love to play. There's no way you're selling it."

Harry smiled kindly at his boyfriend and went over to wrap his fingers around Louis' on the neck of the guitar. "Louis, I don't have much that's worth anything. But that is worth some money. If it can help us, then I'll do it."

Louis sat Harry gently down on the bed then set the guitar in his lap. Harry hands curled instinctively around the wood, tips caressing the strings. Louis took his place next to Harry and watched as he plucked gently, notes floating into the air.

"Sing for me?"

"K, Lou." Harry hummed and leaned over to place a kiss on Louis' cheek before flicking his thumb down the six strings. A quiet, melodic hum filtered through Harry's lips.

"Your world keeps spinning and you can't jump off.

But I will catch you if you fall I can't tell you enough."

Louis' lids fell at the familiar diddy, a smile playing on his lips.

"I hate to hear that you're feeling low.

I hate to hear that you won't come home."

Louis settled on the bed, legs crossed Indian-style with his hands in his lap.

"Why should we care for what they're selling us anyway?

We're so younger than you know, whoa.

You don't have to be there, babe.

You don't have to be scared, babe.

You don't need a plan of what you wanna do.

Won't you listen to the man that's loving you."

Louis was teary and biting his lip to keep his smile under control. Harry set the guitar down behind him and turned so he was facing the blue-eyed boy. He picked Louis' hands up in his and kissed the tan knuckles. "I'd do anything for you. I can buy a guitar some other time. I only get a few summers left with you."

Louis nearly pulled them both off the bed when he tackled him in frantic kisses. "I love you. Iloveyouiloveyou."

Harry kissed him back best as he could with Louis' hands in his hair and his voice in his ear. "Babe, babe," Harry giggled, "I love you, too."

Louis just wrapped his arms around Harry tight and laid right on his chest on Harry's big bed. "I'm never leaving you. I don't care. I'll hide in your closet."

Harry barked a laugh. "No way, Lou. We're never going back there." Louis slapped his chest playfully, but just let Harry laugh at his own joke.

They spent the afternoon collecting the things they planned to sell. When they had a couple boxes they went to Jay with their plan. "Hey, mom?" Louis called when they walked in. Jay was sitting on the carpet in the living room with Daisy and Phoebe, art supplies everywhere.

"In here, love."

They walked over, Louis falling between his sisters and giving them each a kiss before turning to his mom. "Harry and I want to talk to you."

Jay sat up from where she was on her stomach, elbow deep in glitter, to focus on Louis and Harry. "What's up, LouBear?"

"LouBear," Daisy snickered.

"I know right?" Harry agreed, making Daisy smile up at him from the floor.

"Ok, children." He glared at Harry. "Mom," he turned back to Jay, "Harry and I want to save the house."

Jay didn't laugh like Louis thought she might. Instead she gave him a sad, understanding look. "Baby, you know I love this house just as much as you do, but it would take thousands to keep the house. And it's only two years. I assume that's what you want. For you and Harry to have the two more years before you leave?" Louis opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say so he closed it again. "I figured you two would try something. With a boy like you, Harry, I learned to expect it. But you're just kids. This is way over your head."

"Ms. Tomlinson, all due respect, but no. You said you figured I'd try something, and you're right. So why try and stop us? If I want to fight to keep Louis just a little longer then why can't I?"

Again. Another moment that left Louis in awe of his boyfriend.

Jay seemed to think it over while she stroked Phoebe's hair idly. "I suppose you're right. I can't stop you, but," she gave them a strong look, "this is harder than you think. It will take a miracle to collect the money I need to make up the mortgage."

"Good thing that's what I've been wishing for on every shooting star since the first night of summer," Harry beamed.

Jay looked at him kindly. "You'll need at least five thousand."

"Woah, that's a lot of money," Phoebe noted.

Louis took that in. It was a lot. Unobtainable basically. But then Louis looked over at Harry, the boy's face held determination and love without a hint of doubt, so Louis nodded. "Okay. Five grand. Got it."

"I'll help however I can, but don't get your hopes up boys."

"My hopes couldn't get any higher, Ms. Tomlinson."

Louis laughed kindly at Harry before giving his mom a kiss on the cheek and then the girls. He turned to grab Harry's hand to find his lips puckered and his eyes waiting. "What?"

Harry pouted. "They all got one. I want one."

Louis rolled his eyes, but pulled Harry up and kissed him gently. It was quick, but Daisy and Phoebe still eeeeewwww'd at it. Louis just rolled his eyes again and pulled Harry out of the house.

"Your mom's still taking us to the pawn shop, right?

"Gemma is actually. And she said we better be ready to do it before dinner so we have to go."

They ran across the sand back to Harry's house and grabbed their boxes of stuff. Gemma was in her room, laying on her bed, talking to someone on the phone. "No, hold on." She tilted the phone away from her. "Ready?" The boys nodded. "Hey, I gotta go. See you tonight, right? Yeah, okay. Bye."

She scooted off the bed and asked, "Need me to grab anything?"

"Yeah there's two light boxes left, if you want," Louis answered.

"Why are you being so nice?" Harry inquired with narrowed eyes.

Gemma just laughed. "I want the Tomlinson's to stay just as much as you do, young Hazza. I'd hate to see them go." She grabbed the boxes. "Which is why I'm giving all my wages from my job this summer to the cause."

Harry's eyes went wide. "Really?" He dropped his box of stuffed toys and old books and wrapped his arms around Gemma's neck. "You're the best big sister ever. I swear I'll never put your hand in water while you sleep ever again.

Gemma shook him off. "You better not. And you're doing my laundry for a month."

"Done. Thank you!"

The three carried the boxes to Anne's car and then headed into town for the pawn shop. Harry begged, Louis laughed, and Gemma haggled them into a total of two hundred dollars for everything. Then Harry sighed and pulled the guitar case off his shoulder.

"We don't have to," Louis reminded him.

Harry just shook his head and placed the fabric covered instrument on the counter. He unzipped it slowly and ran a soft hand from the first fret to the bridge. "How much?" He asked quietly.

The owner held his hands out and said, "Do you mind?" Harry retracted his hand and nodded. The man picked it up carefully and looked over the shiny wood. The custom pickguard. The hourglass-shaped sound hole. "Its beautiful."

"Thank you." Gemma put a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder blade. "How much?"

"Trying to save up for a car or something?"

"Or something," Harry allowed.

The man just hummed in understanding and said, "Two."

"Two-fifty," Gemma started in immediately.

"Two-ten."

"We're going to end up in the middle, ya know? So, Two-twenty-five, eh?"

The man smirked at the currently blue-haired girl. "Alright, sweetheart. Two-twenty-five it is."

Harry just sighed and nodded. Louis put an arm around his waist and turned them away so Gemma could make the deal. He walked them out the front door, grip firm around him. "Thank you, Harry." He pulled Harry into a hug. "Thank you for this."

Harry just nodded into Louis' shoulder. "For you, Lou."

***

That was probably the hardest sacrifice Harry had to make for this. A hard one for sure, but at least it'd be easier from there on. They spent months working, working, working. Louis begged for hours everyday. Except Tuesday's and Friday's. Those were his Harry days.

Harry washed cars, cleaned neighbor's homes, babysat. Anything to help. But he could tell it wasn't going to be enough.

It was three weeks to the end of summer and Harry was sat down with Jay while Louis was at work. "How much?" Harry felt like he'd been asking that question at least a dozen times a day since summer started. After this he never wanted to touch money ever again.

"Thirty-five hundred," Jay told him as she looked over the book. "Three weeks from the end and we're still almost two grand down. If I can't secure the past-due amount then I'll have to put it up for sale."

"I'm sorry," Harry mumbled.

Jay reached out and curled Harry into her side. "Oh no, love. You did so well. We knew this was a long shot from the beginning."

"I'll miss you guys." Harry let quiet tears roll off his eyelids.

"We'll miss you, too, dear."

Louis walked in the front door smelling like grease and sunshine. "Mom, I'm home!" He rounded the corner with a wide grin, but it fell a soon as he saw his boyfriend crying into his mom's shirt. "Hazza, what's wrong?" He knelt by him, hands on his legs, thumbs circling gently into his shorts.

"We didn't do it."

"Do what, babe?"

"We didn't raise enough. Even with Gemma's wages. Yours. All the girls helping with cleaning decks. It wasn't enough."

Louis straightened up and pulled Harry to his chest, kissing the top of his head and looking to Jay for confirmation. When she nodded, Louis sighed heavily and pulled Harry back so they could look at each other. "You did everything you could."

"It wasn't enough."

"You," he placed his hands on Harry's cheeks, "are more than enough."