Chapter Text
The moment Harry began to pack his camera bag with the lenses he'd need that day, Louis stepped outside their flat and rang his best mate and accomplice, a small Irishman named Niall. He generally didn't call Niall while Harry was still home, but today was the day.
“Hey, mate. Haz is gonna be gone soon, start heading over.” Louis whispered into the phone. He could feel the shit-eating grin blooming on his friends face through the speaker.
“Got it. Be there in ten.” Niall said and promptly hung up. Louis smiled, a little nervous, stepping back into his shared flat. Harry was sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking between two lenses, trying to decide which one he wanted to take with a small pout on his face.
“Lou, which one should I take?” Harry asked, tugging his sleeves down over his hands. Louis glanced at the lenses, noting the one on the right was probably worth more. He never understood why Harry asked him about the lenses; Louis knew nothing about photography. Louis took another moment before he replied, pretending to deliberate.
“The one on the left, babe.”
“Right! I don't know why I couldn't pick.” Harry smiled, picking up the lens on the left and carefully placing it into his camera bag. Louis smiled down at Harry, feeling a small twinge in his heart, as he zipped up the bag and stood up. Harry leaned down and gave Louis a quick peck on the lips, smiling back at the slightly older boy.
“I'll be back late tonight, Boo. See you then?”
“Of course, Haz.”
- - -
The moment Niall saw Harry pull out of the parking lot of the flat, he stepped out from his hiding spot behind the open door to the laundry and took the stairs up to Louis' flat two at a time. He didn't bother knocking, just letting himself in.
“Lou? You in here?” He called out, not seeing Louis when he walked in.
“Yeah, I'm in here. We gotta move quick. Haz won't be back til late tonight but I want to make sure we get everything.” Lou called out, as he dragged a suitcase stuffed full of his clothes out of the bedroom and down the hallway with a few huffs. “Your van down stairs?”
“Yeah, its parked next t' a blue truck. You sure you want t' do this?” Niall replied as he grabbed Louis' arm, turning him so he would have to meet his eyes. A look of panic flashed over Louis' face before he could stop it.
“Yes, Niall. I'm sure. I know what I'm doing. I've been doing this for years.” Louis replied, looking away. “You know that.” Niall sighed, and released Louis' arm, letting him drag his things to the door.
“Alright, mate.” The blonde replied, heading over to unhook the telly. He knew Louis' had been doing this for years, leaving guys (and sometimes girls) high and dry after a few months of dating. He'd been careful not to choose anyone he'd have problems with later, usually smaller guys with an even temper, but Harry was different for some reason. Louis had given the guy his real name, for starters, and strung him along a lot further than necessary, and Niall had gotten the impression that his best friend had fallen for the lad. Of course, Louis would never admit to that.
As Niall finished unhooking the telly, Louis had come back up with several boxes from Niall's van and had begun packing up whatever he deemed valuable: a cookie jar that rattled like it was filled with coins, the kettle, a bunch of camera lenses, tea, some other miscellaneous food. He grabbed a bunch of other stuff as Niall grabbed the telly and headed out the front door with it.
Once Louis saw Niall head out the door, he rushed over to the microwave and moved it over a bit, grabbing an envelope he'd seen Harry stash under it a few weeks ago, thinking Louis hadn't seen it happen. Louis tucked it under some of the camera lenses in one of the boxes, hiding it for later. He had no idea what was in the envelope, but he hoped it was valuable and worth taking with him. There was only so much he could fit in the boxes.
After filling up the rest of the boxes, Niall helped Louis take a few other larger items they planned on taking later down to the landing of the stairs to wait temporarily. They took the couch and the bed down; the bed was for when Louis stayed with Niall after running, the couch was because Louis couldn't stand looking at Niall's after sleeping on it so many times. Niall had wanted to take the safe they'd found under the bed to crack open later, but Louis insisted he knew where the combination was hidden and shooed Niall out of the bedroom.
Louis crossed his legs as he sunk down to the floor where Harry's bed used to be. He reached for the small safe, pulling it towards him. Louis stared at the safe, asking himself if this was really what he wanted to do. Deciding it was, he turned the dial towards the right, until he reached the number twelve. Pausing for half a second, he turned it back to the left to the number twenty four, then right again to the ninety one. The door to the safe clicked open and Louis reached in and grabbed all the paperwork that Harry kept stashed, before running out of the apartment, locking the door behind him out of habit.
- - -
11 months ago
Louis knocks on the door of flat number 215, waiting for a response. Zayn had tipped him off that this guy would be a really easy target, telling him he thought it'd only take Lou a month or two before he could leave. Just as he's about to leave to try again later, a tall, lanky guy around his age opens the door.
“Can I help you?” He asks. Louis looks him up and down. He won't be so bad to work over, he thinks. The guy was at least cute, with bright green eyes and thick, curly hair springing out of his head at every angle.
“Um, yeah, actually. I was wondering if you could help me out? I'm sort of lost.” Louis says with a smile, looking down at his feet for effect. The other guy raises his eyebrows and they disappear under his hair, a smirk forming on his face.
“You came to the second floor to ask for directions?” Shit, Louis hadn't thought of that. At all. He blushes, feeling stupid.
“Err... Alright, I lied. I've seen you coming up here a few times before. Thought you were cute and I wanted to talk to you, so I waited until I saw you come home before knocking.” Louis was only half lying, that time. He'd definitely waited downstairs until he saw the guy come up and he definitely thought he was cute. Louis watched the other man's face closely for a reaction, satisfied when he started blushing.
“O-oh. Um, do you want to come in, then? I'm Harry.” Harry replies, offering his hand for a shake. Louis grins, his eyes crinkling as he takes Harry's hand and shakes it.
“It's nice to meet you, Harry. I'm Louis.” Louis says as he steps into Harry's flat, not quite sure he told the other lad his real name. Harry smiles back, welcoming Louis in.
- - -
“How'd it go, mate?” Niall asks, as Louis walks into the flat he sometimes shared with Niall. Niall was a short, blonde Irishman that Louis had met in a pub on a night he'd been looking for a new informant when he lived in Liverpool. They'd hit it off immediately and it wasn't long before Louis had roped him into his business.
“It was alright. The guy's name is Harry, tall guy with curly hair. Not too bad looking.” Louis responds, knowing Niall will ask for more information. He always seemed really interested in the people Louis would be screwing over.
“What's he like? You see his place, yet?” Niall quizzes. He'd always loved learning about the people Louis stole from. He liked knowing what kind of people would fall for Louis' tricks; it was like learning how someone's brain worked.
“He's alright. He does freelance photography. He's pretty fit as well. I think I could make a decent amount off of him. He seems a bit gullible and easy to work over.” Louis replies. Niall nods, a serious look on his face.
“What name did you give this time?” He asks, curious. Louis grimaces a little and looks away.
“I sort of told him my real name.” Louis admits. Niall's blue eyes double in size at that.
“You what?” He asks, shocked. Louis just sighs.
“Yeah, I know. It was dumb. I'm not really sure why I did it, but its not like I can't use an alias later.” Niall just looks at him.
“Alright, I guess. It's your job.” Niall says eventually, shrugging. He'd always been sure to remind Louis that he wouldn't be joining him on jobs anymore after what happened in Liverpool.
“You're right. It is my job. You wanna watch a movie?” Louis offers.
“Nah, I can't, mate. Got a job tonight.” Niall says. He'd rather be staying home with Louis, watching some dumb movie. The gigs he got DJing at clubs didn't pay too well, but the bills didn't pay themselves.
“Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then, yeah?” Louis says with a sigh. Niall nods, exiting the flat. Another night in alone, Louis thinks.
- - -
About halfway through the night, Louis remembers he'd gotten Harry's number that day and that he should probably work on shooting him a text instead of seeing how many of Niall's empty food containers he can stack up before they topple over. He pulls his phone out, types out a quick hello, presses send and sets his phone down. He doesn't have to wait long before his phone is dinging with a reply.
Hey :) what are you up to? x
Louis smiles at the response. He didn't think Harry would reply that quickly. He takes a moment to think before tapping out a response.
Not much. You wanna go out sometime?
Sure. When? x
Louis smiles again, thinking this would be even easier than he thought it would be. He texts Harry a date a couple of days from now, frowning when Harry claims to be busy. He goes through a few more dates, getting more and more annoyed when Harry keeps claiming to be busy. Finally, though, he finds one that seems alright for Harry, telling him he'd have to pick the place since he was so difficult about the day.
- - -
Louis knocks on the door of Harry's flat, glad that he's finally getting the opportunity to start this job. He'd met Harry over a week ago; normally he'd be able to get a first date in later the same week he met his “clients”, but Harry was being difficult for some reason about going out with him. The door swings open, startling Louis, and Harry grins.
“I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up!” Harry says, relieved that Louis actually showed up.
“What are you on about? I'm only five minutes late.” Louis frowns playfully as he steps back to let Harry out of his flat.
“Only five minutes!” Harry mocks, stepping out of his apartment and turning to lock the door. “More like ten.” He teases.
“I'm hurt, Harold.” Louis whines, placing his hand on his heart for effect. Harry just grins and starts walking, enjoying the way Louis has to work a bit to keep up with him.
“C'mon, then, we're gonna be late for our reservation.” Harry says, turning to look at Louis, subtly taking smaller steps once he notices the annoyed look on the shorter man's face.
“Where are we eating?” Louis asks, relieved slightly when Harry starts walking a bit slower. It's not that he didn't mind jogging to keep up with Harry; he just didn't like being reminded of his height. It was a sensitive subject for him. They'd barely walked a block when Harry stopped suddenly and turned abruptly to face Louis.
“Here.” Harry replies, gesturing to a small Italian restaurant that he'd just stopped in front of. He leads Louis in, holding the door. Louis smiles to himself; it was always easier for him when the men he screwed over were gentlemen. If he ran into them later, they were less likely to pick a fight.
Once inside and seated, Louis notices the intimate setting. They were seated away from everyone else and in a corner, with a couple of candles placed on the table between them. He smiles at this, realizing Harry had to have called ahead and requested a more private space when he made the reservation.
“This is a nice place, Harry.” Louis says, eyeing the prices listed on the menu. They weren't cheap, but not overly expensive, Louis thinks. Harry would pull probably pull a decent amount for him. “Do you come here often?” Harry blushes a bit.
“Uh, not too often. Usually when I'm with friends or summat.” Harry replies, a bit chuffed that Louis seemed to like the place. A tall, leggy waitress approaches their table.
“Hi, my name is Cara and I'll be your server tonight. Is there anything I can get you to drink?” She asks, speaking mainly to Harry. Louis notices, and narrows his eyes at her. He didn't like it when other people made his job more difficult.
“I'll have a water, thanks.” Harry says, looking over to Louis. The waitress turns to him, looking bored.
“I'll have the same.” Louis answers, too busy glaring at the waitress that he's not quite sure what he just ordered. Unfortunately, the waitress didn't seem put off by his icy glare, turning back to Harry and telling him the drinks would be out soon. He needed to find a way to get the waitress to back off a bit so his plan for tonight would go smoothly.
Harry notices Louis is a little aggressive towards the waitress, so when she returns with the drinks a few minutes later, he's sure to pay more attention to Louis than he does to her, hoping he'd calm down a bit. It seems to work; Louis smirks at the waitress when he thinks Harry isn't looking.
The rest of the meal goes smoothly; Louis learns a lot about Harry and gives out little about himself in return. He felt a little bad about not sharing more about himself. Harry had seemed genuinely interested in learning more about Louis, but it was part of his plan that he didn't give too much away.
Instead, Louis ends up paying the bill, surprising himself. Another part of screwing guys over was making as much money as possible; paying the bill didn't earn you anything.
As they leave the restaurant, Harry grabs Louis hand. Louis looks up at Harry, only to find him pointedly looking away with a blush creeping up on his cheeks. Louis looks at the ground and smiles, suddenly shy for some reason. The walk back to Harry's flat is almost too short, filled with a slightly uncomfortable silence.
Harry stops them both outside of his flat, turning to face Louis. He still hand his hand wrapped around Louis'. Louis smiles back at him, taking a small step closer, keeping his eyes on Harry's. Harry brings a hand up to Louis' face, cupping his cheek.
“I had fun tonight, Lou.” Harry says, leaning down to press his lips against Louis'. Louis kisses Harry back, an unfamiliar feeling of butterflies filling his insides, as he brings his own hand up to rest on the back of Harry's neck. Just as he's about to try and deepen the kiss, Harry pulls back, sensing Louis wants to take it further.
“Lou, I want to see you again.” Harry starts. “I feel like this could be something special and I don't want to screw it up by moving too fast.” Louis nods at him.
“Alright. You'll call me then, right?” Louis says as he backs away a few steps. He sees Harry nod, and he turns around. “See you, then!” He calls out over his shoulder, turning his head back to grin at Harry. Harry's grinning back at him, looking slightly relieved.
He's really not sure why he agreed to take things slowly, Louis thinks as he heads back to Niall's apartment. There was a part of him that was alright with Harry taking it slow, another part of him that wanted in Harry's pants, and another part that was annoyed that he'd be sleeping on Niall's highly uncomfortable couch again tonight.
- - -
Louis was grabbing some fresh blankets from Niall's closet when he heard his phone ding from the other room, letting him know he had a new message. Walking back into the living area, he spread the blankets out on the couch before picking his phone up off of the side table next to the couch. Unlocking it, he was surprised to see he had gotten a text from Harry. He decided he'd wait a few minutes before reading it, setting his phone down back down.
Louis headed into the bathroom to take his contacts out when he heard his phone ding again. He rolled his eyes. Either Harry was desperate to get in touch with him or Niall had gotten drunk on the gig he was working tonight and was sending him pointless crap. Louis poked his contacts out and slid his glasses on before heading back out into the living room.
As he lifted the covers and settled in on Niall's couch, Louis grabbed his phone from the side table and opened his messages. He smiled, seeing that both of them were from Harry. Normally he didn't like unwarranted texts from the guys he wouldn't be seeing again, but the texts he got from Harry made him grin before he even got the chance to open them. Louis unlocked his phone and opened the messages.
Sorry for wanting to take it slow. I hope you forgive me xx
good night, lou xx
Louis grinned at the messages and tapped out a quick message in reply.
you're forgiven. Night, curly. x
- - -
Harry stretched, his limbs reaching past the edge of his bed as he yawned. A soft glow was coming in through his curtains, warming his bare stomach. He reached over to his bedside table for his phone, remembering that he'd fallen asleep before finding out if Louis had forgiven him or not.
Thumbing the screen of his phone to unlock it, he grins, reading Louis' message. He shoots off a quick “good morning” text and rolls out of bed, feeling inspired. It had been a while since he'd gone out and done a shoot for himself, he thinks as he pulls on a pair of skinny jeans, and today is as good a day as any. He doesn't have any jobs lined up for a few days, so he might as well. He throws on an old band shirt before heading to the front room.
Grabbing his camera bag and a few lenses, Harry steps out of his flat, figuring he'll get breakfast out this morning. As he's locking the door to his flat, his phone dings with a new text message. Making his way down the stairs, he pulls his phone out and reads a message from Louis.
Morning, curly. :) how are you today?
I'm well, thx. what are u up to? xx
nothing. you?
im going out to shoot. feeling inspired. xx
can i come with? :) promise i'll be good.
Harry rolls his eyes at the last text, trying not to grin. He doesn't think he'll be able to get much done with Louis around. He may not have known him for long, but he was sure that Louis would distract him. As he approaches a small cafe, he figures that he wants to see Louis again and there are going to be other days he can go out for shoots. He texts Louis the address of the cafe, promising to wait there for him.
- - -
About half an hour later, the bell above the door of the cafe chimes and Harry sees Louis stroll in wearing a dark red t-shirt, khaki shorts, and a pair of old converse. He looks good, Harry thinks. Louis grins when he sees Harry sitting at his table in the corner, making his way over.
“Hey, Curly.”
“Hi, Lou. Have you eaten yet?” Harry asks with a grin.
“Yeah. You wanna go? I'll just watch.” Louis responds, sticking his hands in his pockets.
“You mean you're not going to help?” Harry pouts playfully, making Louis smile.
“What did you want me to do? Carry your bag?” Louis shoots back, still smiling. Suddenly, Harry gets an idea.
“You could model for me?” Harry replies seriously, standing. Louis looks a bit surprised at that, his eyes widening slightly.
“What?”
“I mean, only if you want to. You look good and I need more shots of people being people.” Harry blushes and looks down at the floor. Louis just looks at Harry, a little surprised. He didn't expect him to ask that, let alone share that he thought he'd looked good. Harry looks up at him finally, expecting an answer.
“I, uh, sure. I guess. What do I need to do?” Louis responds, feeling like he couldn't turn Harry down. Harry grins, his dimples showing.
“Just be yourself.” Harry says, happy that Louis agreed.
- - -
Louis feels very out of his element, not used to having a camera trained on him. He steps up onto a bench, walking across it instead of going along the sidewalk like a normal person. He hears the shutter of the camera snapping, and he turns to face Harry who immediately takes the camera down from his face and straightens up a little.
“You sure you want me to be a model? I don't see how you're getting any good shots if I'm just walking around.” Louis says, wondering why he agreed to do this.
“They're good. I promise.” Harry responds, waving for Louis to continue. Louis doesn't continue and just stands there, staring at Harry. Eventually Harry pulls his camera up to his face and snaps a picture of Louis staring into the lens. Louis blushes a little at that, looking down, hearing the shutter close again.
Eventually they continue on, stopping in a small park with a playground where Louis immediately climbs onto a bouncy turtle, giggling as he rocks back and forth. Harry snaps a picture of him giggling madly, grinning. Louis was just like a kid, he thinks, snapping another picture as Louis perches himself on the seat of the turtle, his arms out to balance him.
Louis moves on from the turtle over to the swing set, plopping himself down in the middle. Harry sits on a swing next to him, leaving his camera on the ground next to him, a little tired of taking pictures now. The both sit in silence for a little while, moving back and forth on the swings without actually swinging.
“Lou?” Harry starts. Louis hums in response, twisting in his swing to look at Harry. “Can we hang out like this more?” He asks, twisting to face Louis.
“You mean with me running around doing stupid things and you taking my picture? Sure.” Louis says, twisting his swing around tighter.
“I meant with just you and me doing random shit. But if you want me to take your picture I could do that as well.” Harry watches Louis turn several times in his swing before he lets himself get spun around. He manages to grab his camera and snap a picture of Louis mid-spin.
“Yeah, I suppose we could.” Louis responds, swing still twisting slightly as it slows down from the momentum. “'M dizzy.” Louis adds. Harry just smiles and pulls Louis swing closer to his, pecking him on the lips before letting him go, making Louis grin.
- - -
A few days later, Harry is handing Lou a bowl of fresh popcorn as he stretches out opposite him on the couch. Louis pops a few kernels into his mouth before picking out a few and tossing them at Harry, stifling a giggle as one gets stuck in a curl. Still trying not to giggle, he puts the bowl of popcorn on the floor and crawls over to Harry, who was engrossed in the movie and still didn't seem to notice the popcorn stuck in his hair.
Harry turns his head sees Louis crawling towards him, a smile threatening to break out onto his face. He's not sure what Louis is up to when he starts crawling over him, his shirt riding up a bit as he plops down on Harry's stomach and stretches his torso up to Harry's head. Harry is even more confused when he feels a short tug on his hair and Louis slumps back down, chewing.
“Did you just eat my hair?!” Harry asks, his eyes wide. Louis swallows and shakes his head.
“You had popcorn in your hair.” Louis says like its the most normal thing he could have done. Louis scoots back a bit so he sits a little lower on Harry's abdomen and snuggles in, tucking his head into Harry's neck. It's a sweet gesture, even for Louis. He's not much for cuddles, but with Harry it feels right.
“You could've just picked it out of my hair, you know, instead of just eating it. You also didn't have to throw it in the first place.” Harry pretends to pout, placing his hands on Louis' sides, holding him there. It's a few minutes before Louis responds, enjoying the warmth of Harry.
“'s too easy, though. And no fun.” Louis protests weakly, beginning to feel sleepy. Harry's hands feel nice on his waist, he thinks, feeling secure. Harry hums in response, yawning a bit.
“You're making me sleepy.” Harry mumbles a little, feeling Louis' breathing slow against his neck. A moment later, he feels Louis' succumb to sleep, his body unconsciously squeezing Harry's a little tighter. Harry pulls Louis closer, falling asleep holding him in his arms.
- - -
All Louis has been able to think about lately is Harry and its beginning to get frustrating. He can't focus on playing Mario Kart, sleeping, eating or breathing without having curly hair or dimples pop into his mind. This is nothing like his other jobs, where the person he worked on was just a face and unimportant to him. There was something about Harry that seemed to have a hold on Louis, and he couldn't seem to shake the feeling that what he was doing was quite right.
That in itself was a mystery. Why was it wrong with Harry, but alright with other men? What about Harry was different? He definitely, definitely did not have any sort of feelings for Harry. He was only there to get the job done so Niall, Zayn, and himself could make a few pounds. So, he decided, that instead of thinking about Harry, he would work on a list of things he wanted to be sure to grab when he left.
“Niall!” Louis calls out, hoping his friend is still awake.
“What?” Niall calls back, sounding only slightly annoyed. A moment later he walks into the living area where Louis is seated on his couch.
“What do you want?” Louis asks, opening a new note on his phone and listing a bed as the first thing.
"What d'you mean?”
“Like a new telly or computer or what. I'm making a list of stuff I want to be sure to grab later.” Louis elaborates. Niall's eyebrows inch up at that. Louis never plans anything, ever. Especially not when it comes to running. He's more of a grab and go type of person.
“Uh, I s'pose I could go for a new telly.” Niall says, watching Louis type it into his phone, adding “kettle” under it. “Why are you making a list?” Niall adds innocently. Louis looks at him and narrows his eyes.
“I always make a list.”
“No you don't.”
“Just because you don't see it doesn't mean I don't make it.” Louis lies. Niall snorts.
“Whatever.” Niall rolls his eyes and walks off, leaving Louis to plan out what he wants to take. “Oi, since you're making a list, could you grab me some new headphones?” He calls out. Louis grins and adds them to the list.
“Of course, darling.” Louis calls back.
“Prick.” Niall responds, voice muffled by a door. That's me, Louis thinks, a bad feeling settling in his stomach.