Work Text:
“Hey Lou, you get my email about that new assignment?”
Louis raises a brow, glancing up at Liam over the top of his laptop. “I assumed that was a joke.”
His editor, who also happens to be one of Louis’ oldest and closest friends, looks like he’s suppressing an eye roll. Barely.
Liam seems to settle on a disappointed sigh to communicate his displeasure. “Louis, there are dozens of photographers in this office that would kill for that assignment.” He admonishes, albeit gently.
Louis snorts. “Give it to one of them then, you have my blessing.”
“Louis.” Liam drones in a monotone voice, it’s clearly meant as a warning. “I’m not giving it to anyone else. This is a high-profile cover, it’s sure to drive a lot of eyeballs, which means I need my best photographer on it. And that’s you.”
Louis leans back in his computer chair, crossing his arms defiantly over his chest. “If you think a little flattery is going to get me to cave, then you’re sorely mistaken.”
Liam sighs again, but it sounds a lot more resigned this time as he drops heavily into one of the leather wing-backed chairs that face Louis’ desk.
At first, Louis had been reluctant to accept his own office here in the building. After all, he’d only meant to do a few shoots for the magazine as a free-lance contributor.
This isn’t at all where Louis had meant to end up long term, but the first couple of projects had gone extraordinarily well. And as the assignments had continued to roll-in, it had just sort of made the most logical sense to stay, rather than go hunting for work elsewhere.
And the next thing Louis knows, it’s almost a decade later and he’s still in this office, with framed photos of his siblings and friends hanging on the walls.
“I’m not just trying to kiss your arse.” Liam says sincerely. “And you know that.”
Now Louis is the one sighing. He’s not trying to make Liam’s life more difficult, he’s really not.
He sees first hand how hard Liam works to keep this crazy train going on a daily basis. And it’s obvious by the way the sleeves of his wrinkled white dress shirt are rolled up to his elbows, and the dark circles under his eyes, that he’s exhausted. Not an uncommon look for him.
But Louis knows it’s truly a labor of love. Liam has a passion for this magazine and for the art of publication as a whole, that is unlike anything Louis has ever seen before. It’s inspiring.
If not, also occasionally, irritating. Like right now.
“I’m not trying to be a dick Li. It’s just that I don’t think this particular assignment is exactly my cup of tea.” He bites his lip for a moment, trying to come up with a more diplomatic way to say the next bit.
“No offense Li, but I photograph athletes. Not entitled pop stars that think they can buy their way into every room.”
He’d been trying to keep the disdain out of his voice, but he’s pretty sure he failed, if the look on Liam’s face is anything to go by.
Liam raises a challenging brow. “Well that’s perfect, because Harry Styles just ran a sub-three marathon last spring in Berlin.”
Louis knows the surprise is probably clear on his face. “Really?”
“Yep.” Liam’s smirk says he knows he’s already won. “Doesn’t get more athletic than that. So it looks like the assignment is yours.”
Shit.
***
Admittedly, being a full-time in-house photographer for Runner’s World magazine had not exactly been Louis’ dream job.
As a young lad, he’d had aspirations of being a professional footballer. And although he still loves football with his entire being, a knee injury while he was still in school had pretty much sealed his fate on that being a viable career choice.
However, when he’d realized that he could combine his passion for photography with football, it had been a no-brainer. So he’d gone to Uni to study Fine Arts with an emphasis on photography, in the hopes of starting a lucrative career as a sports photographer.
Naturally, he’d hoped he’d end up doing something football related. Like a glamour spread with Beckham, or action shots of Messi that would eventually be printed on the posters hanging in young lads’ bedrooms all over the world. He’d even had dreams of being a dedicated team photographer for England at the World Cup or something like that.
Alas, as it turns out, the professional footie world is not an easy one to break into, for players or otherwise.
So Louis had decided to lower his standards a bit. He’s always been an athletic guy after all, surely there were plenty of other enjoyable sports out there that he could photograph. Right?
Louis’ pretty sure he’d tried them all: rugby, lacrosse, tennis, basketball, and even rowing.
But no matter what he did, he just couldn’t seem to breakthrough.
And eventually he’d found himself taking up any odd-job he could find, photographing people’s family portraits or baby announcements, just to scrape enough together for rent each month.
Not that Louis doesn’t consider that kind of photography honest work. It certainly is.
It’s just that it wasn’t feeding his passion. It isn’t the kind of thing that made him fall in love with photography in the first place.
But he’d sort of resigned himself to the fact that it was either that, or give up on his dream entirely. No way was he going to surrender to working a boring office job or summat.
So he’d continued trudging forward, doing the best he could.
That is until his old pal Liam Payne had given him a call one day out of the blue.
They’d met back in Uni; Liam had been studying journalism. They’d ended up in the same communications class and had been paired together for a speaking presentation.
To say they didn’t exactly hit it off at first, would be an understatement.
They’re very different people. Liam being a hard-working rule follower, and Louis being a bit of a fun-loving prankster who’s allergic to authority.
Eventually though, they’d been able to find some common ground. And not only had they ended up smashing the presentation, but by the end of the semester Louis considered Liam to be one of his closest friends. They’d even ended up renting a flat together for a few years until they finished up their degrees.
After that they’d sort of lost touch. Both of them getting busy trying to launch their perspective careers.
But it turned out that Liam had gotten a job as an editor’s assistant at Runner’s World magazine and he was calling to inquire if Louis would be interested in doing a few free-lance shoots for them.
Louis had been thrilled at the chance to work on anything sports related, and so he’d agreed.
In all honesty though, as far as sports go, running was never at the top of Louis’ list. Not that he didn’t consider runners as real athletes or anything. It’s just that personally, he’s not a big fan of running. He’d always dreaded when they’d had to run laps or go through speed drills during footie practice.
So he’d sort of just sub-consciously written the whole sport off, he supposes.
But with each assignment he ended up taking on for Runner’s World, he’d found himself being more and more pulled in to the sport.
Obviously, running takes a lot of athleticism. But Louis soon found himself mesmerized by how graceful yet powerfully the runners are. Every motion feeling deliberate and sure.
Over the years, he’s photographed a lot of races and he’s witnessed so many of them push themselves physically and mentally beyond what seems possible, in order to win or even break records.
And he found that he truly loves capturing that special brand of magic, through his camera lens.
He’d soon been transformed from a casual outside observer, to a true running fan.
Now, fast forward several years, and Liam is the Editor in Chief of the magazine. And Louis has become one of their most popular and successful photographers on staff.
Or so people tell him.
He’s gotten the opportunity to shoot some real running legends over the years. Just last month he got to do a stunning portrait of Eliud Kipchoge, who is arguably one of the best marathoners of all time.
Louis’ pretty sure he’s still riding that high.
Except he isn’t working with a running legend today, instead he’s got Harry Styles.
Unsurprisingly, Louis doesn’t listen to Harry’s music. Mainstream pop isn’t really his thing.
But even Louis has heard of Harry Styles. Kind of hard not to. It feels like every time Louis turns around his songs are playing somewhere, and his face is plastered all over a bus advert or summat.
Not that Louis’ paid much mind, but Harry does happen to have a pretty nice looking face.
That’s besides the point though.
The point is, he’s clearly an attention seeking pop star, who probably doesn’t deserve to grace the cover of their very professional and widely respected running publication.
Or at least that’s how Louis feels about it, but clearly those decisions are way above his pay grade.
He had at least Googled Harry Styles, after his conversation with Liam. And it turns out his friend was right, Harry did in fact run a sub-three marathon in Berlin. Not only that, but it was his second full marathon in only six months.
So at least he’s not entirely unqualified to be in Runner’s World. Louis just feels putting him on the cover of the Spring issue (one of their most popular) is a bit of a stretch.
Louis knows he probably shouldn’t be so critical. God knows he himself would never be caught dead running a marathon, probably not even a half.
But still. He’s grown to really love this magazine, and he takes pride in it. He just doesn’t want it to be made into some sort of publicity stunt, that’s all.
Despite his misgivings though, Liam is really excited for this cover. And Louis has seen firsthand just how hard Liam has fought to earn his place as Editor in Chief.
Which means that misgivings or not, Louis is going to do everything in his power to make this the best cover shoot this magazine has ever had.
Louis finishes pulling his camera equipment out of the boot of his car. He was a little surprised to find that the location for this shoot is just on an abandoned road in the countryside. He’d expected a glamorous pop star to want to be in a studio with controlled lighting and full glam-squad at the ready.
But apparently, the only things that Styles’ team had requested was for him to be able to wear his own wardrobe picked by his personal stylist who will also be present for the shoot.
Fine by Louis, they should be able to move faster with fewer people bustling around. And the sooner they can get this over with, the better.
He sets up his tripod in the middle of the dusty dirt road. Luckily, the sun is shining brightly in the sky today so the level of natural lighting is perfect.
He’s just finished taking a few test shots when he hears an airy voice off to his left. “You must be Louis Tomlinson?”
Louis looks over towards the source of the voice, and finds a formidable sized man with short bleached blonde hair wearing dark Gucci sunglasses, a blue silk shirt, and wide legged tweed trousers. It’s an outfit much more suited for a trendy beach party than this dusty old road, but Louis doesn’t comment on it.
Louis just nods. “I am Louis, and I’m guessing you’re Harry’s stylist?”
Considering he already knows what Harry looks like, he figures that’s the most logical guess.
The man nods back with a grin. “In the flesh.” He holds out a dainty hand. “Harry Lambert, pleasure to meet you.”
Louis shakes his hand, but he can’t keep the confusion off his face. “Your name is Harry too?” He realizes a little too late that probably wasn’t the most polite thing to ask, but the other man doesn’t seem bothered. Instead, he just laughs easily.
“That it is. When we met nearly a decade ago now, I made some dumb joke about Harry being Harry Styles’ stylist. For some god forsaken reason he loved it, and hired me on the spot.”
He pushes the sunnies off his eyes long enough to throw Louis a wink. “Luckily for me his taste in fashion is better than his taste in jokes.”
Louis chuckles before looking around, but only finding more empty road. “He here yet?”
Lambert nods before hooking a thumb in the direction he’d just came. “Yep, he’s just getting into his first look, he’ll be out soon.”
Louis glances where he’d pointed and sees a black Range Rover parked on the service road behind Louis’ car.
Louis nods, turning back to his camera. “Sounds good. And if there’s any specific way you want me to shoot any of the outfits, just let me know. I’m used to that sort of thing.”
Lambert snorts. “Not necessary.”
The confusion must be clear on Louis’ face, because the stylist just grins. “If Harry had it his way, he wouldn’t be wearing any outfits at all. Not entirely sure why I’m even here, to be honest.”
Louis can feel his frown deepen as he gets even more confused, but Lambert just smirks.
“You’ll see.” Is all he says, cryptically.
Louis’ about to probe him further, but just then, they’re interrupted by a shockingly deep voice.
“Ready!”
Although he’d already known what he looks like, seeing Harry Styles in the flesh is still a jolt to the system.
He’s somehow even more devastatingly handsome in person.
His perfectly chiseled face is framed by dark chestnut hair cut short in a sporty sort of style. It had been longer in some of the older pictures Louis’ seen of him, much curlier too. Now there’s just a few longer locks on the top that look like they’re just barely trying to break into curls at the ends.
Somehow though, this look seems to suit him just as well as the long hair had.
Louis has a feeling that Harry Styles might be able to pull off just about anything.
Currently he’s wearing a white t-shirt that shows off a smattering on tattoos on his arms. Written down it in thick blocky black letters it reads: Run The World. The shirt is paired with a pair of laughably short red shorts. And the entire look is polished off with white trainers and long white tube socks.
It would probably look absolutely ridiculous on anyone else, but once again, Harry Styles appears to be the exception to the rule.
He looks stupidly fit.
And gorgeous.
Louis tries to chase that thought out of his head.
He offers Harry a small wave. “My name is Louis, I’ll be your photographer today.”
Harry beams back at him, showing off a pair of dimples that are far cuter than they have any right to be.
“Nice to meet you Louis! My name’s Harry. I’ve seen some of your work, and I’m really excited to be doing this with you today. Thanks for making time for us, I’m sure your schedule is very busy.”
Louis can’t help but be shocked. He certainly wasn’t expecting Harry to be so polite. And even more than that, the man actually sounds genuine.
Louis nods a little jerkily, thrown off guard. “Of course, it’s my pleasure.”
That’s only a bit of a white lie.
He gestures at the road in front of them. “Shall we get started then?”
Harry nods while Lambert claps him jovially on the shoulder as he starts moving toward the Range Rover. “Just shout when you’re ready for the next outfit.”
Louis frowns. “You’re not going to stay with us during the photos?”
Admittedly this is his first time doing something like this with such a renowned pop star, but in his experience usually the subject wants at least someone from their own team present during the actual shoot.
Lambert just grins, shaking his head. “Nah, I think it will be better with just the two of you.” He smirks. “More authentic that way.”
Louis is still confused, but he sees Harry nod. “Agreed.”
He turns to Louis then though, looking a little nervous. “Only if that’s alright with you though.”
Louis nods, once again feeling completely out of his element. “Yeah, of course. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
Harry beams, and when they’re alone they both move over to where Louis had set up his camera earlier.
“Any poses or shots in particular you wanted to try to get in today?” Louis asks, as he adjusts the focus on his camera.
Harry shakes his head, almost before the words have even finished leaving Louis’ lips. “Nope.” He says definitively. “You’re the expert, I’m happy to defer to you.”
Louis snorts out a laugh. “Careful what you ask for.”
Harry laughs too.
Louis grins. “Alright, to start out maybe you could do some stretches? Like hands over your head, a few lunge squats.” He gestures with his hand. “That sort of thing.”
Harry nods. “Sure!” Before dutifully stretching his right hand into the air and tilting his whole body to the left, his left hand naturally moving to lightly grip his right hip.
Immediately, Louis starts clicking his camera.
Truth be told, he’d only asked Harry to do the stretches to loosen up a bit. Break the ice, so to speak.
But surprisingly, he’s already gotten a few good shots.
“Why’d you want to do this cover?” Louis finds himself blurting out. “I just mean, I’m sure you had a lot of options.” He quickly adds, hoping he didn’t offend.
Luckily though, Harry looks unbothered as he shrugs. “It was sort of a no-brainer for me actually. I’ve spent the last few years trying to figure out how to be myself again, and running played a big part in helping me do that.”
Harry lets out a little laugh then. “I know that sounds painfully cliche, but it’s the truth.”
He pauses for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts. “As a songwriter and an artist, I pride myself on being an observer. But I dunno, over the years I felt like I had become the observed. It made me start wanting to isolate myself.”
He rubs the back of his neck a little awkwardly. “But for some reason, when I went out for a run, everything just seemed to feel a lot more simple again. It didn’t really matter if people recognized me, because by the time they did I could have already turned a corner and been gone. It felt good to just exist again.”
He tilts his head at Louis. “Does that make any sense at all?”
“Yeah.” Louis breathes out, feeling a little stunned. “It makes a lot of sense.”
Harry grins, pointing at Louis’ camera. “Big fan of the aperture.”
Louis blinks, suddenly confused again. “Wh…what?”
Harry laughs. “The aperture. That’s the part of the camera that lets the light in, right?”
Louis nods slowly. “Yeah. It’s just that isn’t really a common term. Most people don’t know it.”
Harry’s grin somehow gets impossibly wider. “I’m a bit of a photography nerd myself. And Aperture is the name of the first single on my new album. That’s the tone I want to set for the whole project, letting the light in.”
Louis finds himself grinning back. “Aperture. I like it.”
Harry smirks. “High praise coming from an expert like yourself.”
Louis just shakes his head, laughing. “Flattery will get you everywhere, you know?”
Harry grins before throwing him a cheeky wink. “That’s what I’m hoping for.”
Louis feels his cheeks heat as he sets up for the next shot.
What did he get himself into now?
***
The rest of the shoot goes shockingly fast after that.
Turns out, not only is Harry a total natural behind the camera, but he’s also good company.
Louis finds himself laughing and chatting throughout the shoot.
And before he knows it, he’s waiting for Harry to change into his final outfit of the day so that they can get the last shot.
Louis looks overhead. The sun has just started to sink down in the sky, giving the entire landscape a sort of natural golden shine.
It will make for a killer shot, that is, if they can get it done quickly before they lose their natural lighting.
He’s just about to shout to encourage Harry to hurry up, when he hears footsteps approaching.
And when he looks over towards the direction of the noise, his breath hitches at the sight that greets him.
Arguably, of all the outfits Harry’s worn today, this one is by far the simplest.
And yet, it still somehow manages to render Louis completely speechless.
If he’d thought the red shorts Harry had on earlier were short, they have absolutely nothing on the pair he’s got on now.
Not only do they just barely cover his perfectly shaped arse, but they’re printed in a design that looks like a bunch of cheetah heads have been photoshopped together.
Again, they would look absolutely ridiculous on literally anyone else. But somehow, defying all odds, Harry makes them look sexy.
Besides the shorts, he’s only got on his trusty pair of white tube socks, and all black trainers this time.
“Do you like them?” Harry asks, gesturing at the shorts. “They’re vintage!” He proclaims proudly.
“Oh um, yeah.” Louis stammers. “They’re erm… unique.”
And your arse looks so good in them, I want you to sit on my face.
Thankfully, Louis manages to keep that thought to himself.
Harry still grins as if he knows exactly what he’s thinking.
Louis is starting to think he does. He’s pretty sure he’s begun to chub up in his joggers.
Which is embarrassing.
Louis prides himself on being the absolute picture of professionalism when he’s on set.
But, he’s also never been this attracted to one of his clients before.
And it’s not just Harry’s looks. Although, he is objectively the most beautiful person Louis has ever met.
There’s more to it than that. As it turns out, Harry’s just a very kind and genuine person. Not to mention, extremely smart and wickedly funny.
Louis finds himself just wanting to spend as much time as possible soaking up everything that is Harry Styles.
Harry tilts his head to the side. “How do you want me?”
With your arse up.
Louis bites his lip. “Oh um, your choice.” He gestures at the empty road in front of them. “Whatever feels right.”
Harry grins, and Louis doesn’t miss what looks distinctly like mischief sparkling in his impossibly green eyes.
“Got it.”
He walks confidently into the middle of the road, making sure he’s positioned square in front of Louis’ camera, before turning his back fully to the lens.
He glances over his shoulder then, smiling coyly. “It felt good earlier when you told me to stretch. Think I might do a bit more of that.”
Before Louis can even begin to formulate a response, Harry turns his back to Louis again.
And then he just fully bends over, wrapping his hands around his ankles as if it’s the easiest thing in the world. His perfectly toned arse in those obscenely tight shorts, fully on display for both Louis and the camera.
Louis isn’t taking any pictures though, he’s pretty sure he’s lost all motor function at this point.
Apparently, he’s been rendered completely useless by a pretty boy going arse up for him.
Harry grins at him upside down through his legs. “This angle look ok?”
“Jesus Christ.” Louis mutters. Scrubbing a hand down his face in an attempt to pull himself together again.
“What was that? Couldn’t quite catch it.” Harry asks innocently, but Louis can hear the laughter in his voice.
He knows exactly what he’s doing.
He’s being a brat.
Luckily for him, Louis just so happens to love those.
He’s just itching for someone to put him in his place, Louis can tell.
Of course, there is always the possibility that Louis is reading this entire situation wrong.
But something in his gut is telling him he isn’t.
Only one way to find out.
“That’s not very polite, is it?” He asks, letting his tone go sharp and authoritative.
He makes a disappointed tsk noise with his tongue.
“And after I’ve spent all my time today making you look good too.”
Harry’s response is immediate, his back going rigid in his still bent over position, but he stays completely silent.
And just when Louis is about to apologize profusely for the misunderstanding, Harry finally speaks.
“I’m sorry.” He rushes out, his voice gone breathy.
Louis raises a brow.
He’s pretty sure Harry is into this, but he needs to be sure.
“Sorry for what?” He asks, his voice gone a touch gentler.
“Sorry for teasing you.” Harry responds without hesitation as he gracefully moves back to standing, and turns to face Louis again.
Harry’s face looks distraught, but his shorts leave very little to the imagination, and it’s obvious he’s already half-hard.
Harry is into this.
Louis smirks, he can certainly work with that.
He taps a finger on his bottom lip, feigning contemplation.
“Suppose there might be a way you could make it up to me.”
Harry perks up immediately. “I’ll do it! Whatever you want, just tell me.”
“On your knees.”
The words are out of Louis’ mouth before he can even think about it, fully operating on instinct.
But before he can correct himself, he watches in awe as Harry obediently sinks to his bare knees, right on the gravelly pavement. Louis knows it must hurt, at least a little. But Harry doesn’t even wince, just links his hands together behind his back.
The perfect picture of submission.
And a gorgeous picture it is.
Louis has to fight the urge to reach for his camera.
As much as he would like to preserve this moment forever, this isn’t about the shoot anymore. This is just for them.
And Louis wants to keep it that way.
But first, he needs to make sure he isn’t taking advantage of the situation. Admittedly, Harry seems to know what he’s doing. And he definitely seems willing. But still, explicit consent is important with this sort of thing.
“Color?” Louis asks softly, hoping that Harry knows the stoplight system. If not, he’ll need to explain it, which could potentially kill the mood. But he’ll happily do it, if he needs to.
Luckily though, it doesn’t seem necessary.
Harry gives him a soft smile. “Green.”
Louis can’t help but let out a sigh of relief. But still, a frown takes over his face.
“You sure?” He asks, gesturing with his head to where Harry’s knees are resting on the uneven earth. “Not too uncomfortable?”
Harry shakes his head immediately, before smirking. “Not unless I’m here too long.”
Louis smirks back, his voice sliding into an authoritative lilt once again. “You won’t be.”
“Now, where were we?” He asks, but it’s all for show. “Ah yes, I think you were just about to prove to me that you can be a good boy and follow instructions yeah?”
The change in Harry’s expression is almost immediate. Gone now is that cocky smirk, and instead it’s been replaced with sheer eagerness to please as Harry nods his head enthusiastically.
“I can. I promise!”
Louis hums. “Alright then, want you to put on a show for me. Think you can do that?”
Once again, Harry nods. “Yes, yeah. I can do that.” He rushes out.
Louis grins. “Touch yourself for me.”
Harry is moving right away, both hands on the waistband of his shorts. He’s about to pull them down, but Louis stops him with a sharp shake of his head.
“Leave them on.” He commands.
Harry obeys, his fingers immediately stilling as he waits for further instruction.
“Just slide your hand in.” Louis clarifies, his voice dropping an octave lower. “Want you to make a mess of your pretty shorts because you can’t manage to control yourself.”
Louis doesn’t miss the shudder that moves through Harry’s body. But he also doesn’t miss the way his cock twitches excitedly in his shorts.
Not that Louis himself is any better. He’s pretty sure he’s been tenting his joggers practically since Harry bent over.
But this isn’t about him, not right now.
This is about Harry trusting Louis with his own pleasure.
And Louis is determined not to disappoint.
He watches raptly as Harry follows his direction, sliding his right hand under his shorts. Even through the fabric, Louis can see him take his impressive length in hand.
“That’s it baby.” Louis murmurs encouragingly. “That feel good?”
“Yeah.” Harry breathes out, his voice somehow gone even deeper. “Feels so good.”
His hazy eyes lock on Louis then. “Wish it was you though.”
Louis can’t ignore the surge of heat that floods his belly at Harry’s words.
“Maybe next time.” Louis placates gently. He’s really not even sure if there will be a next time.
But he hopes there is.
“Right now, I want to watch you make yourself come for me. Think you can do that?”
Harry nods again as his eyes fall closed. He leans back, his free hand resting on the dirt behind him so that he can give Louis a better view of his toned abs flexing with every movement.
Under the fabric of the shorts, Louis can see he’s started to move his hand up and down his straining length. It’s probably a bit of a dry drag, but Harry doesn’t seem to mind. He’s started to let out a little symphony of staccato needy moans.
And Louis thinks it might be the most beautiful sound he’s ever heard.
“So good for me baby.” Louis encourages.
Harry’s eyes snap open immediately, but he doesn’t stop his movements.
“I’m good?” He asks softly. And in that moment, he looks so vulnerable.
Louis almost wants to hug him.
“So good baby.” He assures. “The best.”
A pleased little smile takes over Harry’s face again, mixing with the bliss.
“Are you close?” Louis asks, but he’s pretty sure it’s a rhetorical question. Based on the way that Harry has started to sort of hump up desperately into his own hand.
But Harry nods anyway. “Yeah.” He practically moans out. “So close.”
“Come for me baby.”
As if almost on cue, Harry’s entire body nearly convulses as his hand stills.
Louis watches mesmerized as Harry’s face twists in pure pleasure. And only a few moments later, a decently sized wet spot starts to form on the front of his shorts.
Harry lets out a little contented sigh pulling his wet hand out of his shorts, before he lets himself fall all the way backwards, his bare back making contact with the dirt. He’s going to be an absolute mess later, but he doesn’t look like he cares.
He looks like he’s out of it.
Louis is moving instantly, dropping to his own knees in the dirt by Harry’s side.
“Harry!” He says a little frantically. “Are you alright?”
Maybe he pushed too hard.
But his fears are soon eased as a soft, pleased smile takes over Harry’s face. He opens his eyes just enough to look up at Louis through slits.
“M’ fine.” He murmurs. “Great even. Think you might have broke me.”
It’s clear he’s teasing, and Louis can’t help but let out a relived laugh as he moves to sit more comfortably on his bum.
“Jesus, you scared the shit out of me.”
Harry just grins before giving Louis an appreciate once over. “You still look pretty good to me.”
Louis grins back, but then suddenly a terrifying thought floods into his head as he looks wildly around.
“Oh shit, Lambert could have heard us.”
Harry just shakes his head easily. “It’s fine. Texted him about an hour ago and told him he could leave. His boyfriend came and picked him up.”
Louis snorts out a laugh. “Guess you just thought of everything. Huh?”
Harry smirks. “I was hoping you’d make a move.” He gestures with his hand at his own still limp body. “But I really wasn’t expecting all this.”
Louis feels his cheeks heat. “Sorry.”
Harry shakes his head again. “Don’t be. That’s the most fun I’ve had in a really long time.”
His face goes a little softer then. “Reckon I wouldn’t mind maybe doing it again sometime. That is, if you might want to?”
Suddenly, Louis feels butterflies dancing wildly in his stomach.
He grins. “Well, I think we may be able to work something out.”
Harry’s responding smile is blinding.
“I was so hoping you’d say that.”