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Something Like This

Chapter 14: Chapter 13 - No Control

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Chapter 13 - No Control

 

It seemed, that while Louis hadn’t seen Cowell around much the last month or so, schedules got changed and now Louis saw him around all the fucking time. It was awful.

 

“Louis, you’re with Cowell on the patient coming in,” Marcia shouted over to him before coming closer and whispering, “Sorry, everyone else is busy.”

 

“It’s fine Marcia, I can be professional.” Louis assured her.

 

“It’s not you I’m worried about,” she added pointedly.

 

Cowell didn’t acknowledge Louis’ presence as they met Liam in the ambulance bay. Hurriedly, Liam pulled out a young woman restrained to the gurney, covered in blood and long scratches. She was thrashing around screaming and begging for them to “get them off her.”

 

“Patient is Paige Young, twenty-nine. Started experiencing visual and tactile hallucinations that she is covered in ants and being eaten alive,” Liam repeated quickly.

 

“Lovely, another head-case,” Louis heard Cowell grumble. Of course, once again Cowell would be unhappy with a case that didn’t immediately involve cutting someone open. 

 

Once they were in the trauma room, the woman’s roommate caught up to them.

 

“How long has this been going on?” Cowell sighed as Louis set up machines for vitals. It was a bit of a challenge because the woman had yet to stop moving.

 

“She woke up like this, it escalated really quickly. At first she was just like ‘did you see that?’ and then next thing I know she’s covered in blood scratching at herself. I didn’t know what to do so I called an ambulance,” the friend said worriedly.

 

“You did exactly what you should have done,” Louis reassured her.

 

Cowell asked a few more basic intake questions that the friend either didn’t know the answer to, or the answer didn’t help with diagnosis.

 

“Well, Nurse Louis, administer diazepam to calm her down and page psych to come down and get Ms. Young here. This seems to be a case for them.”

 

Louis took a deep, calming breath. Trying not to snap at the man in front of the patient’s friend. “Dr. Cowell, shouldn’t we do a few tests first just to be sure it’s a psych case and there isn’t something else going on?”

 

Cowell, unsurprisingly, did like Louis giving an opinion. “Off my service, Tomlinson. Get out.” He snapped. “I’ll page psych myself.”

 

Louis went straight to Marcia. “Cowell is sending that woman to psych without a proper eval. As usual, he’s made up his mind without proof. That woman needs an MRI at least to rule out a brain tumor or bleed. Hallucinations just don’t appear out of nowhere.”

 

Marcia nodded in staunch agreement. “I’ll take care of it Louis, that man is on my last nerve.”

 

A while later, after earning death glares from Cowell, Louis and Dr. Song were with Paige Young going over her MRI results.

 

“Ms. Young, you have a small tumor in your temporal lobe, that is what is causing your hallucinations. Your friend mentioned you bumped your head yesterday and we believe that small bump jostled things just enough to cause the tumor to press on the part of your brain that can cause hallucinations. We are going to take you up for surgery as soon as an OR opens…”

 

At least this encounter with Cowell didn’t result in him getting punched. This time he was right and he got to help correctly diagnose a patient.

 

“Good save, Louis,” Song said as Paige was taken for surgery to remove the tumor.

 

“Thanks, doc.”

 

“You!” An angry voice shouted from the other side of the ED. Louis and Song looked over to see Cowell storming furiously over to Louis, getting right in his face, poking a sharp finger into the center of his chest. “What did you tell them? I’ve been temporarily suspended!”

 

Louis was fuming. Was he fucking serious? “Only temporarily? That woman could have died from a brain tumor if we did things your way.”

 

SLAM

 

Cowell gripped the front of Louis’ scrubs with both fists and slammed Louis into the wall behind him. Hard. Causing his head to bounce. He felt a sting, but he was a little too focused on Cowell practically being nose to nose with him. He could hear Song shouting for security and for Cowell to let him go, but all Louis could see was the utter hatred and rage in Cowell’s eyes.

 

“You better watch yourself, Tomlinson. If I lose my job, I’ll be coming for you.” The man spat venomously before slamming Louis back again, harder, and letting him fall to the floor. Cowell brushed past the security guards running towards him and left the building.

 

“Oh my god, Louis, are you okay?” Perrie said, rushing to him. “He came out of nowhere!”

 

“I think I’m okay…” The moment he said it he knew it was a lie, he felt dizzy. He brought his hand up to the back of his head and winced as he touched something wet. Blood?

 

He looked up behind him. Oh, Cowell had made his head hit right on the corner of the small metal room number plaque that had sharp pointy corners hard enough to break the skin. Holy fuck.

 

“Oh my god,” Perrie repeated as she saw what Louis had realized.

 

“Room 2,” Marcia said as she ran over with Song. Perrie and Ed helped Louis to the exam room so that Dr. Song could examine him.

 

“You should press charges,” Song said sternly. “He assaulted you. He made a mistake and he’s had it out for you from the moment you came to work here, none of this is your fault. You saved that patient today because you didn’t bow to his incompetence.”

 

“How do you even press charges?” Louis groaned as Perrie raised the back of his scrubs to check for injuries on his back. “It’s like a thing people say, but no one ever actually explains how to do it.”

 

“Don’t worry,” Marcia said, coming back in. Louis didn’t even notice her leave. “I’ve just told the hospital administrator what happened. They have the security footage and are already starting the process with the hospital lawyers. This is one too many strikes against Cowell, he may be a good surgeon, but they’ve decided he’s more trouble than he’s worth.”

 

Louis tried nodding, but forgot that people were poking around at his head and winced.

 

“The cut on your head isn’t too deep, just a few stitches should be enough. You definitely have a concussion though. Also bruising starting to form on your back, but no signs of internal damage or broken ribs,” Song assessed. When did he get into a hospital gown? “Is there someone you can call to help you get home safely and stay and watch you?”

 

His first thought, of course, was Harry, but Harry was at work, and so were Niall and Liam. He didn’t want them to have to leave work for him... But, thanks to Niall’s mom-schedule on the whiteboard, he knew one person who was off today. And he had a car. “Yeah, get me my phone?”

 

Dr. Song numbed Louis’ head and stitched and bandaged him up, ordering him to rest, and going over all the usual concussion protocol dos and don’ts that Louis knew by heart. When he told her this she just said “Tough, I’m going over them again when your friend gets here.”

 

A couple minutes later, Zayn rushed into the ED. “Fucking hell, Lou, what happened?”

 

Louis could see that Perrie, who had never met Zayn, had her jaw practically on the floor. “Why are all your friends so hot?” She muttered. He ignored her.

 

“I was attacked by an enraged doctor,” Louis summed up. “I have a concussion.”

 

“He also has stitches for a laceration on the back of his head, right now it’s numbed with a local anesthetic, but it’ll hurt when it wears off. I’m prescribing a few pain pills to help with that and the bruising on his back,” Song handed Zayn the prescription. “Ice in both areas will help too. Here’s some pamphlets on concussions and what to watch for…”

 

Louis zoned out at that point and looked at his phone to text Harry, the light kind of hurt his eyes though. Stupid concussion. He started to feel dizzy again. 

 

Suddenly his head swam, the room shifted, and he clasped a hand to his mouth. He managed to get out “bucket,” before he threw up all over himself. So at least that was lucky. 

 

Concussion symptoms: Headache? Check. Slight memory… issues? Check. Sensitivity to light? Check. Nausea and vomiting? Double check.

 

“Are you sure he’s okay to go home?” He heard Zayn ask worriedly.

 

“Let's get a scan just to be overly cautious, but vomiting is definitely a normal symptom.”

 

Before they took Louis for a CT-scan, Louis turned to Zayn. “Would you text Harry, tell him not to freak out? I know he’s busy with work…”

 

“Yeah, of course. I don’t think me telling him ‘don’t freak out’ is going to work though.”

 

“Yeah probably not,” Louis sighed.

 

***

 

Back from CT, Louis was all cleared. Zayn confirmed that Harry definitely freaked out, but Zayn convinced him to pick up some stuff at the store and meet them at home. “I told him to try not to stress you out when we get there, he kind of took offense to that.”

 

Louis gave him a weak smile. “I’m sure he did. Thanks for coming to get me though,” Louis mumbled. 

 

Zayn patted him lightly on the shoulder, “Anytime, mate.”

 

The ride home was a blur for Louis, and when they pulled into Zayn’s parking spot, Harry was there already waiting. He was biting his lip, running his fingers through his hair, and pacing. The moment the car stopped Harry opened the door for Louis and squated so they were somewhat eye level.

 

“Oh my god, Lou,” he said softly, taking Louis’ hand. “There’s a fucking bandage around your head. I’m going to fucking kill that man.”

 

“I’d like to too, but it’s a bad idea. Neither of us would do well in prison, remember? Rules and food. Even if you are my prison wife.” Louis groaned as Harry helped him get out of the car. They both ignored Zayn’s snort of laughter.

 

“That’s a good point. Let’s get you inside to rest though, I’ve been researching concussions while I’ve been waiting.”

 

***

 

When Louis woke up, the first thing he noticed was that even though he was on his side, his legs had been forced apart just enough to fit two sleeping cats based on the bit of fur he could see out of the corner of his eye without moving his head. He wanted to move his legs but the cats wouldn’t budge. Why’d it have to be between his legs? Why couldn’t they curl up next to him so he could pet them and cuddle them?

 

It took a few moments for his memories to catch up to him after pondering sleeping-cat-logic. Most of his memories, the time between leaving the CT-scan and waking up were pretty fuzzy. Louis had actually had one other concussion before in his life: when he was a kid playing footie. This one definitely seemed to be worse though. Ugh, he was going to have to call his mum…

 

As Louis started to wake up more clearly, he mentally assessed how he was feeling. Definitely had a headache, though not to a concerning degree of pain, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of the concussion, or the stitches. No dizziness or nausea, though that could change if he tried moving. No ringing in his ears was good... The lights were out and curtains closed so he couldn’t be sure about light sensitivity. There was also a heaviness around his middle that took Louis another moment to identify as an arm.

 

Louis immediately knew it was Harry before he even glanced down to see the nails with happy faces on long beautiful fingers. Harry was spooning him. In his bed. He might like this more than the sofa if it wasn’t for the head injury. He smiled at how sweet it was of Harry to be the big spoon when he typically preferred being the little spoon. The feeling of Harry’s arm around him was nice. Comforting. 

 

He tried gently rolling over so that he could face the sleeping Harry, but in doing so he forgot that it was the back of his head that was injured and he couldn’t help letting out a hiss as the spot hit the pillow despite it being covered in bandage that went around his head cushioned by gauze. The cats, at least, were finally annoyed enough to jump away.

 

Unfortunately, his movement and hiss of pain woke Harry up, so Louis wasn’t going to get to kiss him awake. Disappointing.

 

“Lou? Are you okay?” Harry said quietly but quickly, leaning up on the arm underneath him so that he could get a better view of Louis’ face.

 

“Yeah Haz, forgot for a moment that there was a hole in the back of my head. I just wanted to roll over and see you,” Louis pouted.

 

“You certainly sound more coherent than the last time I woke you up to check on you,” Harry ran his fingers lightly up and down Louis’ arm and then gently brushed his hair off his forehead. “How are you feeling? Do you want a tylenol? Tea? I read that omega-3s are good for helping to recover from head injuries and I’ve told Niall to pick up some fish oil pills, salmon, and nuts on his way home if you want something to eat. Hey– what are you doing? Stop that–”

 

“But I want to see you, not the wall,” Louis grumbled, trying to roll over again to face Harry. “No, I didn’t want you to get up,” he whined further when Harry got out of the bed to come over to kneel on the floor on the side Louis was facing. “Now my back is cold.”

 

Harry ignored his whining and just looked at him with sweet eyes, “Hi.”

 

“Hi,” Louis melted. “What time is it?”

 

“Around 5, you’ve been asleep for a few hours.” Harry propped his chin up with his hand, resting on the edge of the bed. “You gonna tell me how you’re feeling now?”

 

Louis shifted forward carefully to give Harry a kiss, his hand cupping Harry’s jaw, thumb brushing the light stubble. “Like I want to kiss you and cuddle with you in bed some more.”

 

Harry rolled his eyes, trying to look serious even though Louis could clearly see he was fighting a smile.  “No more kisses or cuddles until you actually tell me how you’re feeling. I guess it’s true what they say about people in the medical profession being horrible patients?”

 

“It is,” Louis confirmed, voice sounding less sleepy already. “I feel pretty okay I think, not that I’ve really moved much. Tylenol and tea would be lovely though, thank you.” And then Louis added with a bit of a cheeky smirk, “Followed by kisses and cuddles of course.”

 

“Of course,” Harry said with mock seriousness. Then he leaned forward and pecked a kiss to Louis’ forehead before standing. “You stay here, I’ll get tea and tylenol. While I’m gone, think about how you’d like your salmon for dinner later.”

 

Louis didn’t really have a preference for how he wanted his salmon, the only opinion he had about salmon was that Harry looked lovely in the salmon colored shirt he wore on occasion. He was sure letting Harry come up with whatever he wanted would be more delicious than anything he’d ever think of anyway. So instead, he carefully moved to sit up in bed, going slowly to make sure he didn’t trigger any nausea. He propped a pillow behind him so that the back of his head didn’t hit anything and it seemed like he had moved past feeling like he was going to puke. So that was good. He didn’t really want Harry to see him puking again. That wasn’t exactly an activity that inspired kisses.

 

Ginger and Pepper jumped back up on the bed. Ginger sat down by his feet immediately while Pepper walked all over his legs in circles before finally settling on curling into a purring ball on his stomach. “Who’s the cutest, sweetest baby?” Louis asked in the tone he saved just for the baby cats and would never use in public. “You are. Yes, yes, yes.” She stretched so he could rub her belly. Then he made sure to clarify: “You are too, of course, Ginger. I just can’t reach you way down there.”

 

Waiting for Harry to return while petting the kittens, Louis’s mind wandered to the day's events. Everything with Simon had happened so fast that Louis hadn’t even been to fight back. In a way he guessed that was better for him, when the hospital security footage was reviewed it would be very clear that the altercation was all Simon’s doing, but Louis didn’t like feeling weak or caught off guard like that. Not at all. 

 

“What has you frowning like that?” Harry said softly as he handed Louis tea made just the way he liked it. He carefully got into the bed sitting close to Louis and reached to the bedside table for his own cup. Ginger got up and moved to curl next to Harry’s hip. Rude.

 

Louis took a sip, letting the hot tea scald his tongue. “Simon.”

 

Harry nodded slowly, “Do you want to talk about it?”

 

Louis looked down at his cup, watching the steam rise. “I just… I can’t believe he caught me off guard like that. I didn’t even fight back…” He looked at Harry and decided to be fully vulnerable with him. If he was going to be vulnerable around anyone, it would be Harry. It wasn’t like it’d be the first time either. “Makes me feel a little weak, I guess, getting a concussion this bad from just being slammed into a wall. Growing up people would always talk about how ‘little’ I was.”

 

“You’re definitely not little now,” Harry gave him a suggestive wink towards his dick, which made Louis snort into his tea. Then more seriously, Harry added, “And getting caught off guard doesn’t make you weak either. From what I hear, you stood up for your patient and saved their life, that sounds pretty damn heroic to me.”

 

Louis rolled his eyes with a small smile gracing his lips, “That might be laying it on a little thick, but thank you Hazza. I did kind of provoke him at the end there though,” Louis mused.

 

“No.” The sharpness in Harry’s voice made Louis look at him quickly. “It doesn’t matter what you said to him, the way he reacted was wrong. He hurt you,” Harry’s voice caught. “Ed said he threatened you too. None of that is on you.”

 

The look in Harry’s eyes made Louis nod slowly, wordless saying that he’d accept Harry’s view on the matter, knowing he was right. “Okay.”

 

“Good, and I’m also proud of you for not completely brushing off me saying you were heroic.” Harry kissed his shoulder. Louis blushed. “Now, you can’t have your phone because of the light, but is there anything you’d like me to text your mum or sisters? Or I could call them for you and leave to let you talk to them.”

 

“Ugh, that’s going to be a fun conversation. Do I have to tell them?”

 

“Zayn texted earlier that there was mention on Twitter of a doctor at JMH going crazy on a male nurse, so yeah, you probably should.” He winced.

 

“Ugh, probably one of the many patients in the ED that saw everything, Cowell did it right in front of everyone,” Louis ran a hand over his face. “Okay, would you call my mum for me?”

 

Harry opened up the phone with the passcode Louis had shared with him ages ago and hit “mum” under contacts. “Just shout when you’re done,” he said, making to leave after handing Louis the phone.

 

“Don’t be silly, stay,” Louis said, grabbing Harry’s hand and pulling him back. They may not be dating, but he liked the idea of Harry meeting his mum, even if it was via phone call. 

 

His mum picked up on the first ring, “Louis, oh my god I was just about to call you, I just saw something on Facebook about a doctor going crazy at your hospital and attacking people? Are you okay?”

 

Louis moved the phone away from his ear and put it on speaker because the loud noise so close to his ear made him cringe. “Yeah mum, I’m fine. Ummm, the doctor didn’t really attack people, just, uh, me–”

 

“What!” Jay shouted. “What happened!”

 

“Mum, please don’t shout. I’m okay, just stay calm when I tell you.” He said tiredly. Harry took that moment to scoot closer to him on the bed so that his side was pressed to Louis’ and he wrapped his arm around his shoulders in a comforting gesture that made Louis swoon a bit.

 

“Okay sweetie, but you’re really worrying me,” she said more calmly.

 

“I’m fine, really. I just have a concussion. So the loud noise kind of hurts.”

 

He could hear her suck in a breath. “But you’re okay? Is it worse than that one you got as a kid?”

 

“Yeah, I guess it is,” He trailed off. “I had to get some stitches on the back of my head too–”

 

“Do you need me to come to Lamsted? Who’s taking care of you?”

 

“No mum, I’m okay, Harry is taking care of me,” he felt Harry press a soft kiss to his temple. God, he had to stop acting so sweet while he was on speaker with his mum and Louis couldn’t kiss him back properly.

 

“Oh, the cute flatmate?”

 

Louis blushed, “Yeah, and he’s here now on speaker so please don’t say anything embarrassing. Say hi Haz.”

 

“Hi Mrs.--”

 

“Just call me Jay dear,” she interrupted him warmly. “You’ll take care of my boy?”

 

“Of course,” Harry responded softly. “Don’t worry about a thing, I’ve got everything covered.”

 

“He did some research apparently. Is going to fill me up with salmon and spinach or something–”

 

“Omega-3s are good for your brain, Lou, you’re the medical professional, you should know this” Harry pinched his side lightly. “Now finish your tea.”

 

“I’m still going to worry Harry dear, but it sounds like you’ll do a fine job,” Jay laughed. Louis grinned, he knew it wasn’t an actual first meeting between Harry and his mum… but he could tell she liked Harry already and he liked that. He liked that a lot . “So, tell me everything so that I don’t see crazy internet rumors and freak out again.”

 

Louis leaned the side of his head on Harry’s shoulder and began telling his mum everything that had been going on that day and since the last time they spoke. Leaving out certain details of his and Harry’s activities, of course. Harry had her absolutely cackling with laughter as he animatedly told her about what happened to their washing machine.

 

He met Harry’s eyes as he was talking and Harry gave him a wide dimpled smile before answering his mum’s next question. He shouldn’t be surprised at how easily Harry and his mum got along over the phone. He really wasn’t even a little surprised. It was impossible for anyone to not like Harry the instant they met him.

 

“So,” Harry said slyly after they hung up the phone. “The identifier your mum used for me was ‘your cute flatmate’?”

 

“I’m injured, you can’t tease me,” Louis pressed his face into Harry’s shoulder.

 

Harry laughed lightly, “Fine, I’ll save all my teasing for later then.” He held Louis to him a bit closer, wrapping both his arms around him into a side hug. After a couple moments he said, “I was really worried when I got Zayn’s call, you know?”

 

Louis didn’t know how to respond, so he just nodded against Harry’s neck.

 

“Can I ask you something though?” 

 

“Yeah, of course,” Louis mumbled.

 

“What did you call Zayn first instead of me?” Harry’s voice was quiet, but Louis detected a bit of sadness there and pulled away a bit so that he could see Harry’s face.

 

“You were my first thought, but I knew he wasn’t working today and I didn’t want to make you worry over something if you couldn’t get away from the bakery. I didn’t think it was that serious at first, just a headache and a few stitches. I didn’t mean for it to hurt you.” He said softly.

 

“Okay,” Harry nodded. “I’m not mad or anything, but for the future, I’d leave the bakery unstaffed if I got a call that you were injured enough to need stitches and a CT-scan and I wouldn’t think twice about it. You’re… more important than work.”

 

Louis leaned forward to give Harry a soft, slow kiss, trying to pour all his emotions, even the ones he couldn’t name, into it. “Okay. You are too, you know? More important than work.”

 

“How’s the patient!” Niall’s voice rang out as they heard him come through the front door, making both of them jump.

 

Moment ruined. Louis sighed.

 

“I’ll go help him with the groceries and make you that salmon I’ve been talking up. I’ll send Niall in to entertain you if you want?” Harry said, making a move to get out of the bed.

 

Louis agreed, but before Harry was out of the bed completely, he grabbed Harry’s hand. “Thanks for taking care of me Hazza.”

 

Harry gave him a goofy smile, and leaned over the bed to press a kiss to Louis’ cheek. “Always.”

 

Oh boy did Louis’ heart stutter and swoon at that. Fucking hell.

 

Louis wasn’t sure how long he dwelled in his feelings before Niall came strolling into his room. “Hey mate,” his tone was a bit more sober and less exuberant than usual. “How’re you feeling?”

 

Louis patted the space on the bed next to him. “I’m fine. Light and loud noises are still a bit of a bother, but with the tylenol my head only hurts if I press on the stitches, so that’s good.”

 

Niall climbed into the bed sitting as close to Louis as Harry had, and put an arm around his shoulders. It was nearly identical to how he’d sat with Harry minutes ago, but it felt completely different. “I’m glad you’re okay, I was worried about you when I heard from Harry and Zayn. Don’t scare us like this again, okay?”

 

“I’ll try Ni, this wasn’t exactly planned though, you know?”

 

“I don’t care, you’re not allowed anymore injuries.”

 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Louis nodded solemnly. “Now tell me about the crazy things your students said today.”

 

***

 

Somehow, the footage from the hospital’s security cameras of Cowell attacking Louis had gotten out. 

 

“I don’t understand why people would care about that? This can’t be the first time a doctor has lost it in recent years.” Louis said after Niall showed him and Harry the Tweets while they were sitting on the sofa together watching Bake Off.

 

“You’re like, mildly well known in certain circles of the internet now, Louis.” Niall said sagely. “I know Ed has shown you some of the posts. People like Zayn and Harry, so now some of them are interested in us as well by association and good looks.”

 

“Right,” Louis said. He was still skeptical about that whole thing. But whatever.

 

“What posts?” Harry asked, confused. 

 

Niall looked at him absolutely gleefully. “You haven’t seen them?”

 

“No?” Harry glanced at Louis.

 

“Oh I’m so glad I get to see your reaction in real time.” Niall held up a finger as a pause while he started scrolling through his phone with the other hand. “These,” he handed Harry the phone and Louis made sure to look absolutely anywhere but his face.

 

“Oh,” Harry blinked owlishly. “This is a lot.”

 

Louis looked up, “What do you mean a lot? Ed only showed me one post, from those girls at the restaurant.”

 

“This is definitely more than one Lou, but thank you for getting me called a ‘thirst trap’ all over the internet, that’s lovely,” Harry rolled his eyes, but Louis was positive there was a bit of a blush there too.

 

“Basically, all the fans of Harry, and Zayn, and mine even, think you and Harry are dating and super cute together. However when the hospital footage got out, there wasn’t any context to it, so now they’re all wildly speculating over what happened.” Niall explained.

 

Harry continued scrolling, “Looks like most think it had something to do with the doctor being homophobic.”

 

“I guess that’s not completely off the mark,” Louis sighed. “Sorry they all think we’re dating though, you can set that… straight, if you want, for lack of a better word.”

 

Harry bit the inside of his cheek and glanced quickly to Niall and back to Louis. “I don’t mind. Definitely better than being thought of as single. Or straight. I bet I’d be getting a lot of DMs with pictures of boobs or something if that was the case. Unless you mind and want me to stop it?”

 

Louis gulped, “No, I don’t mind. Let them think what they want.”

 

Neither of them noticed Niall’s little smirk.

 

***

 

A week and a half later, Louis was frustrated. Sexually. He was sexually frustrated and it was Harry’s fault. 

 

Well, really it wasn’t Harry’s fault at all. It was Simon Cowell’s and his concussion’s fault for having to “avoid strenuous physical activity.”

 

But Harry was the one that wasn’t letting Louis break the rules and he was feeling grumpy about it, okay?

 

In particular, he was grumpy because Dr. Song had cleared him to resume all regular physical activity a few days ago, but Harry was still being overly cautious.

 

Case and point: as it was an unseasonably warm November Saturday, their friends had planned a footie game at the park together and Harry was trying to get him not to go. 

 

“Are you sure you should be playing, Lou?” Harry asked for the millionth time. “I’ve read that footie can be a big cause of concussions, and you only just recovered.”

 

He was never letting Harry research ever again.

 

“I’ll be fine Harry, Dr. Song okayed it.” Louis responded, also for the millionth time. Harry made a noise that sounded like a cross between a whimper and a gasp. Louis looked up from tying his shoe, confused. “What?”

 

“You called me Harry...” A crease formed between Harry’s eyebrows. “You never call me Harry. Are you mad at me because I’m concerned for your wellbeing?” He pointed a finger at Louis accusingly. 

 

Louis continued to stare at him, processing what he said. He did usually only call Harry nicknames, huh, he hadn’t realized. He sighed. “I’m not mad at you Haz, I promise. I’m just… a little frustrated.”

 

Harry looked at him incredulously, “Frustrated?”

 

“Yes. You’ve been amazing taking care of me and helping me out. I can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve appreciated it and you. But I’m okay now. I’m not lying when I say I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”

 

“I really don’t think I’m going to stop worrying about you any time soon; I like you too much, and your hospital is insane with the plague lockdowns and the guy sawing off his foot and the crazy doctors. I’m clingy, I’m a worrier, and you’re kind of stuck with me for the foreseeable future.” Harry blushed a little as if he wasn’t expecting to say what he did.

 

“I don’t mind being stuck with you, or you being a clingy worrier. I like you too.” Louis took a step closer, glancing towards the bathroom where Niall still was and lowered his voice. “I’m still feeling frustrated though because it’s been ages and I want you to fuck me until I can’t remember my own name.” 

 

Harry gaped at him, eyes going dark. “Oh.”

 

“Yeah, oh.”

 

“Then we should definitely tell the others you can’t play and I need to stay home with you,” Harry said quickly. 

 

Louis gave Harry’s ass a good squeeze, and, because he was apparently a masochist, said: “No can do darling. I’m not passing up a footie game. You’re just going to have to suffer through watching my bum run by you all day in sweats.”

 

Harry looked at him with eyes that were a delicious mix of murderous and turned on. He knew that would rile him up. “You’re on, Tomlinson.”

 

***

 

Louis was on a team with Niall, Zayn, Joe, Shawn, Camila, Cheryl, and Kasey. Harry’s team consisted of Liam, Mitch (Harry’s other bakery assistant and Sarah’s husband), Sophie, Ed, Nick, Toni, and a guy named Ben that Louis didn’t know but was giving Harry a look that Louis really didn’t like. The rest of their friends, including Perrie, Selena, and Nick’s wife Priyanka, were sitting around drinking instead. There were a few other people around as well that Louis didn’t know.

 

“This might be a bad idea,” Niall said looking at the teams. “Maybe we should reshuffle.”

 

“What? Why?” Zayn asked.

 

“You and Liam and Harry and Louis on opposite teams? No one is going to pay attention to the game, you’re just going to fawn over each other and flirt.”

 

Louis practically choked on air, “Excuse me? Harry and I don’t flirt,” he sputtered.

 

Zayn scoffed and Niall just rolled his eyes, ignoring Louis completely. “Though at least Joe, Sophie, Cheryl, and Toni all have ridiculous competitive streaks with each other. Them being on separate teams works in everyone’s favor.”

 

“I assure you, I have no intention of going easy on Harry,” Louis defended himself. 

 

Niall gave him an assessing look before rubbing his hands over his face and groaning, “Oh my god, you two are going to be a nightmare. You’re going to get off on this.”

 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Louis thought he came off as totally smooth and cool, not at all like he knew exactly what Niall was talking about. Harry looked fucking hot in his little athletic shorts and sleeveless shirt. Hair up in a bun.

 

On their walk over a couple girls rolled down the window of their car and one shouted, “Hey, are you that baker?”

 

“Yes?” Harry had said, surprised.

 

Then, the other girl shouted as their light turned green, “You’re hot as fuck!”

 

Harry’s eyes had completely bugged out in shock while Louis suddenly felt ready to kill anyone that so much as thought about looking at Harry. Niall, Zayn, and Liam of course just cracked up laughing.

 

They sucked. He really should have used the post-concussion excuse and kept Harry to himself.

 

“Hey!” Sophie shouted. “Are we going to play or what?”

 

Because the universe wanted to torture Louis, Harry’s team ended up being ‘skins.’ The girls in sports bras, obviously, and with Ed complaining about needing sunscreen to help make sure his fair ginger skin didn’t get burned. 

 

So there was Harry. Shirtless. Tattoos on full display. Skin glistening with sweat already even though while the sun was out, the air was getting quite cool. Wearing tiny black running shorts.

 

Fuck. 

 

“Louis. I swear to god if you don’t get your head in this game I’m going to smother you with a pillow in your sleep. You’re supposed to be my secret weapon here.” Niall said, bringing Louis out of his thoughts and back to the team huddle he was standing in.

 

“I didn’t know you cared about footie so much, Niall.” Louis commented with a raised eyebrow.

 

“I care about winning Tommo, don’t mess this up. I want to beat Nick, his team always wins and this is my time.” Niall pointed a finger at Louis as if to emphasize his commitment to the game. “So stop looking at Harry’s abs and focus.”

 

“I still have no idea what you’re talking about. I have no interest in Harry’s abs,” Louis said much too quickly.

 

Camila snickered. “This is going to be so great.”

 

About thirty minutes later, Louis wasn’t sure if that was exactly how he’d put it.

 

Harry clearly was getting occasionally distracted by watching Louis from behind. Louis had worn these sweats for a specific reason, they made his bum look good .

 

But, as Harry practically pranced around the field, Louis couldn’t help but watch him, too. Harry was not feeling competitive about the game, but he was definitely feeling competitive with teasing Louis. Going so far as to wiggle his ass in Louis’ direction when he bent down to tie his shoe.

 

His shoe wasn’t even untied. The menace.

 

In retaliation, when Louis kicked the ball away from him, he made sure to graze by Harry a bit too closely and, daringly, skimmed his fingers along the skin at the edge of his shorts. He was pretty sure none of their friends noticed, but Harry’s squirm was delightful

 

When Louis scored, the huge smile on his face was partially because of the thrill of the points, and partially because of the look on Harry’s face when he and Niall did a little dance together on the spot that involved a lot of hip thrusting and ass shaking. 

 

Harry did score once and did the most adorable running twirl in the air like a ballerina when it happened. Zayn took that moment to make a comment about Louis having a goofy grin on his face. It was uncalled for and Zayn knew it.

 

That was when Louis caught sight of that Ben guy. Louis still didn’t exactly know why he was there, he thought maybe someone mentioned him being a friend of Shawn’s or Toni’s or something. Didn’t matter, Louis hated him.

 

After Harry did his adorable twirl with a goofy smile, Ben went over to pat him on the back and definitely let his hand linger too long on Harry’s muscled back, letting it trail down a bit before finally stepping away.

 

Oh hell no. Absolutely not. Ben was a dead man walking.

 

He could probably figure out how to get rid of a dead body, right? He’d learned a lot from Harry and Niall’s true crime shows, might as well use the knowledge for good.

 

Louis knew that Harry didn’t want to see other people, but he’d forgotten that other people might want to see Harry and since he and Harry were… whatever they were, they might think Harry was available.

 

Louis needed to make sure that Ben knew Harry was not, in fact, available. At all. 

 

So, for the rest of the game, Louis spent all his time focusing on staying near Harry instead of focusing on beating Harry’s team or scoring points. It didn’t matter if Harry had the ball or not, Louis was there to block him. Any way Harry moved, Louis was there in some kind of weird jealousy fueled courtship dance. Based on the looks Harry was giving him, he didn’t mind at all. 

 

Captain Niall, however, was frustrated to no end. 

 

“Louis, stop trying to physically attach yourself to Harry and get that fucking ball into the goal!” Niall hissed during a time out.

 

“He’s trying to mark his territory around Ben,” Camila added casually.

 

“Oh,” Kasey said, smirking. “You don’t have to worry about Ben. He tries flirting with Harry at work all the time, Harry never gives him an inch. He’s not interested.”

 

“Work?” Louis practically shouted, not even trying to deny their observations.

 

“Yeah, he’s our delivery guy. Sometimes he works the front counter too.”

 

Louis frowned. He knew his reaction was anything but subtle, but he couldn’t hide his obvious dislike for the guy.

 

“For Christ’s sake,” Niall smacked a hand to his face. “Get it together Tommo.”

 

“Or, instead of attaching yourself to H, how about you use that as inspiration to get the ball away from Ben?” Zayn gestured to where the other team was. Ben was talking to Harry, standing way closer than was normal. Louis should know, as he stood closer to Harry than was normal all the time. 

 

“Okay, I can do that.” Louis glowered. 

 

The next time Ben had the ball, Louis might have run straight to him at top speed and tripped him, causing him to fall on his face. No one seemed to care though because Louis went on to score a goal. Perrie and Selena really weren’t the best referees, they’d stopped paying attention ages ago and had just been sitting in lounge chairs drinking beer and giggling with the others since. 

 

A little later, Louis saw Ben say something to Harry that caused Harry to whip around like lightning. The look on his face was possibly more livid than Louis had ever seen. He shoved a finger in the center of Ben’s chest and Louis heard him say “Don’t even think about it!” sharply.

 

Ben was a bit put out after that, and since Harry had clearly made his disinterest known, Louis went back to teasing and smirking at Harry to try making him happy again. Whatever Ben had said, Louis didn’t want that wanker ruining Harry’s good mood.

 

In the end, the game stopped when players started wandering over to the wooden picnic tables where the others had put out food and drinks and it was decided Louis’ team won, a feat that Niall was absolutely ecstatic about.

 

Louis pulled up the bottom of his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face a bit and when he looked up, shirt still in his hands, he noticed Harry staring at him from the picnic table, eyes focused in on the exposed skin just above where his low-slung pants hit on his hips. He nearly swore when he saw Harry’s tongue dart out to lick his lips.

 

Smirking, he dropped the shirt and walked over to where Harry was and discreetly let his fingers glide down Harry’s arm before giving his waist a little squeeze. Louis couldn’t help the smug look on his face when he saw the goosebumps appear all over Harry’s exposed skin.

 

Harry glanced around and then leaned in so that his lips brushed against Louis’ ear, “How about we figure out a way to get out of here without anyone following us?”

 

“And how do you propose we do that? They definitely already suspect something with us.”

 

“Honestly, right now I don’t care if they know, I just said I don’t want them to follow us.” Harry’s voice was low and dark and it sent shivers straight down Louis’ spine. “Let them think what they want,” he said, echoing his sentiments about the people on Twitter thinking they were together.

 

“You sure?” Louis’ voice caught in his throat. He felt breathless and he couldn’t take his eyes off Harry.

 

Harry stepped closer and took Louis’ hand, “Definitely.”

 

Without saying another word, to each other or to their friends, Harry and Louis walked away from the football field, hands clasped, steps determined. They didn’t even grab Harry’s discarded shirt. 

 

It wasn’t like they were going to need it.

 

***

 

The moment they got through the door, Harry was peeling Louis’ shirt off. He let out a gasp as Harry pushed him into the door and attached his lips to the soft spot behind Louis’ ear, sucking hard. “Fuck,” Louis hissed, trying to push his hips forward into Harrys’.

 

Harry pulled Louis in for a bruising kiss, hands in each other’s hair, bodies pressed together. One of Harry’s hands left his hair and gripped Louis’ thigh roughly so that it was hiked up around Harry’s hip. Louis moaned at the feeling of their half-hard cocks pressing together.

 

Harry pulled away for a moment and let his gaze rake over Louis. They were both panting, Louis was sure his lips looked just as puffy as Harry’s did. 

 

“God, you’re beautiful. I can’t keep my hands off of you,” Harry ground out. 

 

“Then don’t,” Louis leaned forward and started pressing kisses along Harry’s jaw. Then he grabbed Harry through the fabric of his shorts, making him groan and grind himself into Louis’ palm. Louis didn’t think he’d ever wanted anyone more than he wanted Harry. And it wasn’t just at that moment. He always wanted Harry. He wanted everything about Harry. He wanted to feel Harry everywhere. On him, in him, in his soul. Forever. 

 

He wasn’t going to say that out loud, of course, but he could show him.

 

He spun Harry around and pinned his wrists above his head on the bed, making Harry moan and wiggle into the kiss. Louis’ body was on fire with want.

 

“Meow?”

 

They both froze for a moment before looking down at the floor next to their feet. Ginger and Pepper were there looking up at them.

 

“Uhhh,” Louis had no idea what to say. 

 

“I’m fine babies,” Harry cooed at the cats. “He’s not actually going to eat me.”

 

Louis considered. “I mean, I kind of wanted to do that actually.”

 

“Not the point Louis.”

 

Louis laughed and took a step back, keeping both his hands on Harry’s wrists. “Let’s take this to your room and lock the cats out so they aren’t concerned for your wellbeing.”

 

Harry didn’t need telling twice. They practically sprinted to his room and shut the door before the cats could follow. 

 

After a very heated shower, they stumbled back into the room, not bothering to dry off. “Get on the bed baby,” Harry pointed and Louis did as he was told.

 

He crawled up Louis’ body. Licking up Louis’ torso. Sucking on Louis’ nipples until he was crying out. Until he finally made it back up to Louis’ lips. Every touch of Harry’s lips, tongue, fingers, sent shockwaves straight to Louis’ cock. He was an absolute mess with want.

 

“You’re going too slow,” Louis whined as Harry’s hand once again skirted around touching his cock.

 

Harry pulled away slowly, taking Louis’ bottom lip delicately between his teeth and tugging it with him before letting go. “We’ve done fast,” Harry let the tips of his fingers graze over Louis’ nipples and down his side. “This time,” Harry kissed across his face, back down to his neck. “I’m going to take you apart inch by inch. No rushing.” He attached hip lips to that delicious spot where Louis’ neck met his shoulder and began sucking and licking another bruise. Louis moaned wantonly, trying to grind his hips up into Harry’s.

 

Harry moved back down to nipples and gave one a pinch, making Louis gasp. “Besides,” he said, pressing a smiling kiss to Louis’ skin. “I have a couple weeks to make up for, don’t I?”

 

Louis couldn’t really form coherent thoughts, let alone words, so instead he dove his hand into Harry’s shorts and started stroking him. Harry’s forehead fell to the center of Louis’ chest for a moment, before he shifted away. “Okay, Jesus , okay I’ll go a little faster.”

 

Louis’ responding giggle turned into another moan as Harry finally removed the rest of their clothes and pressed a few kisses to the tip of Louis’ dick. Thank fuck. Then without warning, Harry swallowed him down whole. “Ohmygod,” Louis gasped.

 

Harry’s mouth was utter perfection and Louis’ whole body twitched when Harry gave him a particularly hard suck, cheeks hollowed out. 

 

Then, Harry pulled off of him and started softly kissing Louis’ balls, lifting his leg at the knee for easier access to the inside of Louis’ thigh. He brought a dry finger to poke lightly at Louis’ hole. “Do you still want me to fuck you, baby?” Harry asked, voice a little hoarse.

 

“Yes,” Louis panted.

 

“Can I eat you out first?” Harry kissed the inside of Louis’ thigh.

 

Louis' eyes flew open, he didn’t even realize he’d closed them, and his senses returned a bit. Harry pressed his tongue to that sensitive skin under his balls and Louis moaned and nodded quickly. “Yes, please.”

 

“Roll over, baby,” Harry said with a smirk. “I want to watch you fall apart on my tongue.”

 

Harry moaned as Louis arched his back and displayed his ass for him. He did have a great ass.

 

“Oh, babe, you’re so fucking gorgeous,” Harry said, running his hands over Louis’ bum, giving it an ample squeeze. Louis inhaled sharply as Harry spread him open and gave him a long lick from the base of his balls all the way up. “So fucking pretty.”

 

Then Harry started with little teasing kitten licks around Louis’ hole, before dragging his tongue around it, just barely letting the tip in. Louis’ head fell forward into the bed as he let out another moan. “Hazza, please,” Louis said, desperately trying to press his hips back to chase Harry’s tongue.

 

Harry obliged, earning another series of moans and gasps from Louis as he began to lick him thoroughly. Then, finally, finally , Harry swirled his tongue around the rim of his hole and drove his tongue inside. He quickly created a rhythm that drove Louis wild. Licking around, dipping in, circles, flicks, repeat. “Yes, baby, fuck, just like that,” Louis blabbered. Harry just continued to fuck him with tongue.

 

Louis whined when Harry pulled away, “No come back.” 

 

He looked back at Harry and saw him reach for the lube and coat his fingers with it. “Not ready just yet, Lou. I got you wet, but now I need to open you up a bit more.”

 

“Please, oh, ohhh,” Louis cried out as Harry began to press a finger in and out of Louis where his mouth had just been. Louis’ hips began rocking as Harry would hook the finger inside him each time. “More, please more.”

 

Harry added a second finger and began to scissor them back and forth. Louis knew he had perfect fingers for this. So long.

 

“Thank you baby,” Harry chuckled. Louis must have said that outloud. Oh well. He didn’t care, he just wanted to feel more. More Harry.

 

After Harry added a third finger, Louis was about ready to lose his mind. “Fuck, inside me, now, please,” Louis cried. “I’m ready, I’m so ready.”

 

He heard Harry fumbling to put on the condom and then helped Louis roll onto his back with Harry on his knees between Louis’ bent up legs. He leaned forward to capture Louis' lips in a kiss. Then, as Harry pressed his cock past Louis’ rim, Louis saw stars.

 

He stretched Louis slowly until he was all the way in, both of them releasing sighs into each other’s mouths at the same time. Louis felt so full, so perfectly stretched. Harry had prepared him well. 

 

“You feel so fucking good,” Harry choked out, eyes screwed tight like his was trying to concentrate.

 

“Haz, I swear to god if you don’t fucking start to moooove, ohhh,” Louis moaned as Harry took the hint and pulled out before pushing back in with a long, slow thrust of his hips. Louis was gone. All he could focus on was the feel of Harry’s cock dragging out of him and pushing back in. The strokes were deep, and sure, and absolutely mind bending. Harry was propped up on his elbow near Louis’ head with one arm, and the other wrapped itself around Louis’ thigh to angle him in just the right way that caused Harry’s cock to drag on that bundle of nerves inside him with each thrust. 

 

Every time Harry rocked into him, Louis let out a gasp with dizzying pleasure. Louis never wanted it to stop. Had sex ever been this good before Harry? He didn’t think so. He tangled his fingers into Harry’s hair, pulling him deeper into the kiss. Never wanting to let go.

 

Harry started moving faster then, and he was whispering and grunting and groaning into Louis’ ear. “You’re so tight, so perfect. Fit me so well.”

 

He angled his thrusts to hit Louis’ prostate more directly and felt like he might cry from how amazing it felt, “Right there, yes, fuck, don’t stop.” 

 

Harry reached down and started stroking Louis’ cock, “Yes, baby, come around my cock.”

 

All it took was a couple more thrusts and strokes and Louis was falling apart completely. He came all over Harry’s hand and their chests, arching his back as Harry continued to fuck into him vigorously until his hips stuttered out of rhythm and his face screwed up into a cry as his orgasm overcame him, too.

 

“Fuck,” Louis said after a few moments of them panting in silence. 

 

“Yeah,” Harry said, lifting his head slightly to look at Louis with wide eyes. “I don’t think I can move.”

 

“I don’t think I can either,” Louis winced as he tried to shift. 

 

“Did I hurt you?” Harry asked worriedly. He lifted himself onto his side and pulled out of Louis to fall onto the bed next to him, bringing a hand up to stroke the hair off Louis’ forehead.

 

Louis shook his head, “No, just been awhile since I bottomed, and you’re not small,” he smirked. “I did say I wanted you to fuck me until I couldn’t walk.”

 

“Actually it was until you couldn’t remember your own name,” Harry tapped Louis’ nose.

 

“Mission accomplished either way.”

 

Harry got up and came back with a damp cloth to clean Louis with. “Do you want to cuddle?” He asked softly.

 

“Yeah, Haz. Get back over here,” Louis smiled and opened his arms up making grabby hands. At that moment, when he was totally blissed out and relaxed, he could admit to himself that maybe what he felt for Harry was a little more than just a crush.