Of conspiracies and pancakes
Louis woke up with a migraine. That wasn't a surprise but an uncomfortable byproduct of streamlining caffeine for a week during his mini promo tour.
He sighed deeply as he turned in bed, plopping on his back like he weighted a ton.
He felt tired, he felt heavy. He felt like he hadn't slept in a century even if a quick look to his alarm clock told him that he had crashed for 12 hours.
Well, that was an achievement. He hadn't been able to sleep a full night since he was 16, and his lifestyle since becoming famous hadn't helped.
He closed his eyes again, trying to forget the throbbing in his temples, the light streaming from the partially drawn curtains and the coldness of the empty space beside him.
Seconds ticked by, but sleep didn't come. He turned and he tossed and he swore up a storm cause every little movement felt like a hundred tiny swords were stabbing his brain.
He let out a painful whine. Where was Harry? He needed a cuddle and some tea. And painkillers. But mostly cuddles. His head on Harry's firm and yet soft chest.
There was something mystical about his husband's tits, Louis was sure. They could cure all his ails.
A sudden crash yanked him from fantasies of perky nipples and had him sitting upright on the bed.
Bad move yelled his head as a splitting pain went from his neck all the way up to his eyeballs.
He heard another crash and loud voices coming from downstairs. Confused but curious he silently got out of bed and made his way out the bedroom and down the stairs.
Why did they think buying a two story house was smart?
He tiptoed his way down and listened carefully, trying to ascertain who was in his house at three in the afternoon.
"Oli I swear to god, I don't have time for this shit, we're on a mission remember?" Niall's said pissed.
"Well, you're the one with the popular account, you can't let people say that shit about them"
"People are always saying shit, but we rise above, remember? We rise above Oliver"
"If you two don't stop bickering like a married couple, I'm gonna get you both drunk in Vegas and then what happens, happens" Harry's deep voice broke the argument and Louis relaxed for the first time since he had woken up.
Harry was here. Harry made everything better.
He entered the big open space kitchen that spilled into the living room and came face to face with the 5 people in it.
Harry immediately smiled and walked up to him, pulling him into the warm embrace of his arms. He sighed, content.
"Good morning sleepyhead" Harry murmured in his ear.
"Morning Haz. What's going on?" Pain almost forgotten, Louis was curious as to why Oli, Liam, Niall and Zayn were in their house, surrounded by laptops and phones.
"We're mounting 'Operation Let’s keep it in the GC 2: They are, in fact, still in the closet'. Sequels are never as good as the first one, but we're hoping for better results. That is if Oliver here, can stop getting involved in, if not actively starting, Twitter fights" Niall said cheerfully. Too cheerfully if anyone asked Louis.
"Haz, love, explain. With as little words as possible, while you get me some painkillers, my head is throbbing" he said softly. He was probably gonna need them to sort through what was going on at his kitchen table.
Harry took his hand and guided him to the island stool, kissing his temple delicately before busing himself with food preparation.
“Well, if you remember, your latest non-denial denial was going up today” Louis groaned. He had in fact forgotten about that. Harry chuckled. “Yeah, you’ve been pretty out of it, thought you might forget. And I know we had agreed that it was necessary. The fans on Twitter are getting bolder on all sides. And while it is nice to see all the support, it is getting a little out of hand. We are still closeted and they’re talking about us like we’re already out in a place where everyone can read. It’s bad for us and it’s bad for them. And all the hate that gets spread around by all factions? I can’t stand it.” Harry sighed.
“Yeah, TPWK on the bio and then they call people stupid cunts in the comments” barbed Oli. He really hated Twitter.
Louis knew all that. They had ended up talking about it extensively before agreeing to the plan. How that might go, the best way to do it that would benefit them in some kind of way while also not piss off their lovely larries too much. It was a tightrope. One that was difficult to navigate under the best of conditions. He wanted to be as honest as possible with his fans but he also wanted to protect his privacy and his relationship. It’s not like Harry and him wanted to be closeted. They would love nothing less than to not have to care about that. But they’d also come to a point where they didn’t want their relationship plastered on every magazine and they didn’t feel the need to be as communicative with their fans as they had been in the band.
They loved seeing all the support, but they also needed things to be a little more quiet, especially on certain more delicate topics. They needed whispers where all people did was shout.
Louis knew all that, so why was Harry re-hashing all of it?
“Haz, headache, hungry. Get to the point, love”
"Painkiller coming right up and then i'll make us something sweet to eat." Harry said softly " as for what's going on here, well, our friends decided to take matters into their own hands and try to shift our lovely larrie's focus away from both of us and how we're trying to deal with our closet. They all have secret accounts and are pretending to be fans concerned about how loud they've all been about me and you being together. And about how things on your end are looking right now" Harry said.
"And i'm gathering it's not going well?" not that louis had really truly believed they could rein them in again. It was his fault, he knew. He had trained them to be inquisitive and to see the signs he and Harry had put out through the years, but back then it had been necessary. Back then they never though there would be a day they would want to fly under the radar. Back then they never thought they would still be here, in this situation, 10 years later.
But now? Now he and Harry needed their loyal fans, the ones that knew and supported them the most to not make too much noise. They needed people to forget there was a large portion of their fanbase who knew the truth. Or their tentative plan would never work.
"Here you go love" said Harry while handing him the magic pain pill and a glass of water. He drank, realizing how parched he was.
"It could go better" Liam spoke up, eyes still glued to the screen.
Louis felt himself space out while he waited for the throb in his head to ease, entranced by Harry's movement in the kitchen, practiced, precise cause he'd cooked them meals hundreds of times in this space. It was like a dance, hopping from the sink to the counter and whisking something in his favorite bawl.
"Oli, you gotta chill man" Niall said briskly.
"I'm not, in fact, going to chill. They don't get a say in how my boy lives his life or handles situations" His ginger best friend responded irritated.
"Aww, man" he heard himself say. He felt all floaty and fuzzy. Damn, what kind of painkiller had Hazza gave him? But Oli wasn't finished.
"... They're not the ones that had to suffer through bathrooms hookups and erotic selfies sent by mistake or having them get it on on the seats of the van. All they got was some dubiously poetic songs about gay sex, they don't get to whine about it" He heard Harry giggle from the stove and Niall sighed.
"Preach" Zayn and Liam said together.
He gave all of them a finger, pouting.
"Behave Oli or no bearshaped pancakes for you" Harry said while bringing the aforementioned goodies to the table.
All the boys put their devices away, the ill conceived operation forgotten the moment food entered the conversation.
"Damn, Louis, is this how your husband treats you whenever you're sick? I might have to get me a Hazza too" said Zayn, like he didn't know exactly how good of a cook H was and how much he loved spoiling Louis and all their friends.
He waited for his love to sit beside him before drowning the cutest pancaked he'd ever seen in maple syrup, letting the laughs and the jabs and the heavenly sugar comfort him.
He looked at Harry and was rewarded with the smile he felled in love with. Yeah, he might be tired and he might have to get back on the road again soon but this, right here, was the reason everything else was worth the hassle. Their lives were made of friends, love, of conspiracies and pancakes.
That wasn't bad at all, was it?
