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The plane touched down at Heathrow, and the boys were quickly whisked off in a people carrier towards the centre of London.“Why exactly are we staying in a hotel again?” Niall asked over a yawn, dropping his head back against the seat.“Because we’ve got like… seven gigs in four days at the O2 or some such shit,” Zayn grumbled, tugging his blanket up around his head. “Immodest decided it was a better plan. I’m going home tomorrow.”“Me too,” Louis muttered into the neck of his hoody. “Want my bed.”“Who’s waiting in it?” Harry asked, blinking sleepily across the car. “Thought Grim said something about stopping by yours at some point this week.” He paused as Louis kicked out blindly at him. “Ow.”“No one’s waiting in my bed,” Louis insisted, rubbing at his face. “I’m just…”Liam raised an eyebrow as he waited for a sentence that never finished, then pulled Louis into his side.“Already told you, Lou,” he said softly. “We’re not judging you. We all love you.” He pressed a kiss to Louis’ temple. “Just accept it already.”Louis huffed quietly and burrowed into Liam’s side, hiding away from the rest of the car..:.LT.:.The next morning, before the call could come from management to get to the venue, Louis slipped out of the hotel and into a waiting Uber, bag slung over his shoulder. He kept a pair of sunnies on his face, curling up on the back seat, his body language screaming at the driver that the last thing he wanted was interaction. Thankfully, the message was received loud and clear, and the driver instead hummed quietly along to the Breakfast Show on Radio 1, Nick Grimshaw’s voice carrying loudly into the back of the cab between the songs.“Have y’heard? One Direction are back in town,” Nick suddenly declared, making Louis lift his head slightly.“Of course, you’ve heard about it,” Ian said sarcastically.“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nick asked, immediately on the defensive. “Excuse you, Ian, but I’m just giving the listeners the celebrity gossip they want. And it’s on my twitter feed this morning that they arrived into Heathrow in the early hours of this morning.”“Twitter feed? Y’mean, the fan update accounts you follow en masse?” Aimee asked with a cackle.“Okay, now you’re ganging up on me, and that’s not allowed,” the pout was audible in Nick’s voice. “But the point I was trying to make, if I may be permitted to continue… One Direction are about to start a marathon of sold-out tour dates throughout the UJ, beginning at the O2 tomorrow evening.” He paused. “I was going to let you both have my extra celeb pals’ tickets, but I think I’m gonna give them away to our lovely listeners instead.” He sniffed loudly. “They’re not horrible like you lot are.”“Wait, wait, wait,” Aimee immediately protested. “Let’s not be hasty. I’m not judging your professionalism at all.” There was a beat. “It’s all Ian. He’s awful.”“Just throw me under the bus, why don’t you?” Ian exclaimed.Louis smiled softly as he curled up a little more and pulled his phone from his pocket, scrolling through to find Nick’s contact.
You can’t give your celeb pal tickets to listeners. They’re not allowed AAA passes. And there won’t be snuggles. Might be able to get you some normal tickets though. If you like.
“Hold up, stop your arguing,” Nick interrupted. “I’ve just been informed that I can’t actually give the celeb pal tickets away anyway. But I still have tickets available to give away to our lovely listeners, courtesy of a friend.”“Bet that friend is tall and curly,” Aimee muttered.
Tell Aims to shh. She wishes she was my friend.
A snort was heard over the radio, covered up with a cough.“Okay, I think you need to put down your phone, Grim, and pay attention to your work,” Ian insisted. “Else you’re gonna run out of time and miss the link to the news. And you don’t wanna get on Tina’s bad side.”There was a pause.“You are absolutely correct,” Nick relented. “Okay, my lovely, wonderful, amazing listeners… if you would like to win a pair of tickets to see One Direction at the O2 – I’m not sure what night yet, or how many pairs I’ve got, so we’re freestyling right now – then contact me either by text, or on my twitter and I’ll get a celebrity friend to pick some winners.”“This is so badly organised,” Aimee lamented. “We’re gonna get into so much trouble for this, you know that, don’t you?”“How are we?” Nick demanded. “I have excellent authority on the validity of these tickets –”“We’re here, mate,” the driver interjected.“Oh, shit,” Louis mumbled, before raising his voice and leaning forward to talk to the cabbie. “Thanks, mate. Appreciate it.”He pushed the door open and left the vehicle, grabbing his carryon bag with him and pulling his keys from one of the inside pockets as he walked up to the gate. Louis waited for the taxi to pull away before he tapped the access code into the keypad and the gate slid silently open, allowing him to slip inside and jog up the steps to the front door, where he paused.The lights in the hallway were dimly glowing, a sign that someone was in his home. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he smiled, knowing that the list of people who had access to his sanctuary was short and incredibly privileged. He slid his key into the lock and pushed the door open, the remaining tension easing from his shoulders as the familiar melodies of Live Forever filtered from the living room.Louis dropped his bag to the floor and pushed the door shut behind him, slowly making his way towards the source of the music, unable to stop his smile as he leaned against the doorframe and took in the sight of the person currently occupying his cosy oversized sofa.“Hey, you,” he rasped, as the last strains faded out.“Hey, yourself,” came the immediate reply. “Good travels?”“Let’s not get carried away.” Louis pushed himself upright and walked slowly across the room, dropping down on the edge of the sofa with a low hum. “It’s fucking good to be home, though.”Greg sat up, pressing a kiss to Louis’ shoulder.“S’good to have you home,” he murmured. “Missed you a bit, actually.”“Is that right?” Louis leaned back a little so he could see Greg’s face. “Only saw you a bit ago.”“It was five weeks, Lou,” Greg insisted, chuckling at Louis’ confused expression. “We’re well into October now, love.”“Fuck, touring’s a wild mess of a ride,” Louis sighed heavily, slumping against the other man’s chest. “It seriously felt like less than a fortnight.” He turned his head, pressing his forehead against Greg’s cheekbone, as Greg ran his hands slowly up and down Louis’ back.“Was talking to Grim about you day before yesterday,” Greg admitted. “He said you sounded tired when he spoke to you, and that Haz reckoned you were starting to flag a bit.”“You’ve all been talking about me then?” Louis raised an eyebrow, his tone defensive.“Claws in, kitten,” Greg gently chastised. “We talk cos we care, and we all know that each of us are good for you in different ways.”Louis grumbled quietly and turned properly, hiding his face in Greg’s throat, mumbling something.“Hmm?” Greg pressed a kiss to the top of Louis’ head. “What was that, love?”Louis huffed and pulled back a little.“I said, I still can’t believe you’re all good with this,” he said quietly. “I feel selfish, you know?” His fingers played carefully with the toggles of Greg’s hoody. “Like, you’re all just waiting around for me or something.”“I can absolutely guarantee that you’re completely worth it,” Greg told him firmly. “And I don’t think any of us really want anything – and definitely not anyone – else.”Louis huffed again and curled a little closer.“Well, I appreciate it,” he murmured.“Guessing you didn’t sleep all that good last night?” Greg asked, watching him quietly.“Not particularly,” Louis sighed heavily.Greg continued to watch him for a few more minutes, before he gently nudged him.“C’mon, up,” Greg said firmly. “We’re going to bed.”“James, it’s like… 8am,” Louis protested quietly. “You’ve gotta be in work soon.”“Not til this afternoon – I did all the prep work for tonight’s show yesterday,” Greg replied. “So I just need to rock up at five to five to start the show.” He gave Louis a pointed look. “Thought you’d need the company today.”Louis gave him a tender smile.“Definitely don’t deserve any of you,” he sighed, pushing himself to his feet.“Probably not, no,” Greg conceded. “But you’ve got us, so…” He ushered Louis towards the stairs. “I guess it’s a good job we all feel incredibly appreciated.”Within minutes, Greg had both of them stripped down to their underwear and tucked into bed, Louis wrapped firmly around him and snoring gently into Greg’s shoulder. Greg hummed softly and tangled their legs together, stroking a hand down Louis’ back before he grabbed his phone off the bedside table and opened up his message thread with Nick.
Got him to get some sleep. Hope the show went well. See you when you get here.
.:LT:.A few hours later, the front door opened again, and Nick made his way inside, a large bag of food tucked under one arm. After making sure the door was shut securely behind him, he jogged quietly upstairs and let himself into the bedroom, smiling softly at the sight before him. He set the bag down on the end table and crossed to perch on the edge of the bed, reaching out to run gentle fingers through Louis’ hair, chuckling under his breath as Louis arched into the touch.“You’re like a cat,” he murmured.“I told him that earlier,” Greg remarked, covering his mouth with a hand as he yawned.“Well, you were dead right,” Nick chuckled softly. “Got you some food to eat before you go to work.”“Thanks, mate,” Greg smiled. “Wanna switch out?”“Absolutely,” Nick immediately agreed.Within minutes, Greg was out of bed, dressed, and tucking into the oversized turkey sub that Nick had brought along, while Nick had stripped and slipped into bed, tucking himself up behind Louis, who barely shifted in response, except to snuggle back closer to Nick with a soft sigh.“Anything I need to know about the office?” Greg asked quietly, taking a sip of water.“Nah,” Nick replied. “Same old.” He pressed a kiss to Louis’ shoulder. “What about this one?”“Still on a bit of a guilt trip about everyone,” Greg rolled his eyes. “Tried to reassure him, but you know how much he catastrophises at times.”“I can hear you fuckers talking about me, y’know,” Louis mumbled sleepily. “You’re both shit at being discreet.”“Well, maybe we weren’t trying to be, Louis Tomlinson,” Nick told him, squeezing his waist gently.“Hmm,” Louis yawned and turned slowly over, pressing a kiss to Nick’s chest, just over his heart. “Hi you.”“Hello, you,” Nick murmured, nuzzling his head. “Missed you a lot.”“That’s been going around,” Louis sighed, squinting up at him, before he peered over Nick’s shoulder towards Greg. “You going?”“Mmhmm,” Greg agreed. “Got less than an hour to get there now. Let’s hope the tubes are cooperating.”“Get a cab,” Louis suggested. “Use my phone. Stick it on my tab. S’cos of me you’re here. Please.”Greg eyed him for a moment, before rolling his eyes as he relented.“Fine, fine,” he sighed. “But only cos else I’ll get into trouble.” He crossed the room and leaned over, pressing a kiss to Louis’ forehead. “See you later, love.”Louis smiled softly and curled closer to Nick.“Have a good show,” he murmured.“Don’t sleep too much longer,” Greg warned. “Else you’ll be up all night.”Louis peeped up a little, raising a challenging eyebrow.“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”“It is,” Nick interjected. “Some of us have got to be up at some ridiculous hour in the morning, and I don’t have the BRITs as an excuse for being up all night.”Louis huffed softly.“Fine, fine,” he muttered. “We’ll get up in a bit.” He dropped a kiss on Nick’s eyebrow. “After some more snuggles, please.”“Absolutely,” Nick agreed.“Okay, cab’s here, I’ll see you both later,” Greg told them, waving a hand over his head as he left the room.There was quiet for a few moments, before Nick stroked his fingers through Louis’ fringe.“So,” he said softly. “I hear you’ve been feeling guilty or some such bollocks.”“It’s not bollocks,” Louis protested quietly. “I just feel a bit weird about being… like… intimate… with you all. Feels like I’m getting everything out of it, and you’re all getting the shittiest little bit of me. Doesn’t feel fair.”“Oh, Louis Tomlinson, whatever am I gonna do with you?” Nick asked fondly. “Okay, seeing as no one else seems to be telling you, or at least they’re not being as blunt as I can be, I’m going to tell you the truth: we all fucking adore you.” He paused for a moment, gazing into deep blue eyes. “And we’d pretty much to just about anything for you.” He kissed Louis’ cheek gently. “We haven’t been talking behind your back as such, but there’s been casual chat here and there about how much you mean to each of us, and how we just want you to be happy. And we’re all happy when you’re happy. And if that means you have all of us, well…” he shrugged. “You have all of us.”“Don’t deserve any of you, but I’m incredibly grateful for you all,” Louis murmured, leaning in closer and pressing a kiss to Nick’s jaw.“As you should be,” Nick hummed. “Love you, Lou.”“Love you too, Nicholas,” Louis sighed.