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Harry’s eye twitch is back. She hadn’t even noticed until right now, standing outside the door to her flat, psyching herself up to go in, that it hasn’t twitched at all in the days she’s been at Louis’ place. Louis’ place that Louis has already insisted is their place now. Louis’ place that has always felt like home to Harry anyway – in a way this place she actually lived with Danny for nearly three years never really did, if she forces herself to be honest. This place, that’s wracked her body with tension before she’s even opened the door. “You ready, baby?”The softness of Louis’ familiar rasp quiets Harry’s racing thoughts and calms her frayed nerves like aloe spray on sunburned skin. “You got this, H, we’re right here.” Harry smiles and leans her cheek into Niall’s hand, comfortingly squeezing her shoulder to punctuate Zayn’s reassurance. “That’s right,” Liam echoes, “we got you, Hare Bear.”“Yeah,” Harry exhales, nodding her head, “yeah, ok,” she repeats, but doesn’t reach for the door knob. “Love,” Louis encourages, “remember, he’s not here. You checked, yeah? Nothing to worry about.”Harry nods again. She had checked. Before they’d called Niall and Zayn and Liam to ask them to help. And again before they’d left Louis’ to drive over. And once more before they’d gotten out of the car to come up. She never thought she’d be grateful for Danny’s insistence that she be able to track his phone. He’d done it so she could see when he was close to home after work and get a drink ready for him (the absolute tosser), but she has to admit it’s come in handy today. She’d wanted to get the rest of her things as soon as possible. And she needed to do it while he wasn’t home. And there’s no way he would have agreed to leave so she could come over and take care of things uninterrupted. Especially when Harry has refused to so much as answer a text since she’d left without telling him the other night. And since he has no idea where Louis or any of their friends live – another bizarre thing to be grateful for, that he’d never expressed any interest in the people who are most important to her – she’s been able to luxuriate in a peaceful little bubble for the past few days. Physically and emotionally safe from him. Out of his reach completely. So to be back now – even knowing he’s not here – it’s just going to take her another second. She’s not even sure whose hand is rubbing soothing patterns in her back or whose is squeezing her arm, but the reminders she’s not alone steel her resolve. “Ok,” she says, louder than before. “Let’s get me moved the fuck out of here.” It’s almost startling how little she feels as she takes in her surroundings after stepping inside. Harry’s always had a bit of a hard time saying goodbye – to people especially, but places too. The first home she remembers as a child when her mum had gotten remarried. The tiny flat above the pub when that marriage had ended. Her mum’s house when Harry had moved away for uni. Even the awful, crammed flat she’d shared with five other students when she’d finally started making enough to move into her own place. She’d been sad to leave each one, and even now she feels nostalgia for them all. She gets attached to places, to the life she builds in each. Even when she’s excited for her next move, it’s always at least bittersweet to go. But here, standing in the space between the kitchen and living area, two rooms she’d spent countless hours in, that she’d thought she’d made her own, that she’d been calling her home until deciding to walk out the other night, there’s not even a glimmer of nostalgia. No connection at all. Just a vague sensation of an itch beneath her skin. She’d already been resolved, but this seals it. She can taste the freedom that awaits her back on the other side of that door. Can feel the pull in her gut towards her actual home across town. Probably because a piece of it is standing a few feet away, gazing fondly at her. “Not having second thoughts, Curly?”Harry laughs and tugs Louis into her space, smacking a kiss to her cheek. “Not on your life.”“Good,” Louis replies with a decisive nod. “Then let’s get you packed up and back home, yeah?”They all get to work. Harry walks decisively around the living area, plucking her books and trinkets and framed photos off shelves and placing them on the coffee table where Louis diligently and carefully wraps them and packs them into the boxes and bags they’d brought along.Niall collects all the pots and pans and countertop appliances from the kitchen while Liam uses his brand new dick to piss in all the open bottles and cartons in the fridge. Zayn meanders around the flat, humming in disapproval, moving things around (“psychological warfare,” she’d shrugged), taking the few nice art pieces off the walls, trashing things at random, and, as she announces after returning from the loo with a bag of Harry’s skincare and shampoo, dipping Danny’s toothbrush and other assorted items in the toilet. Louis stays near Harry, whispering encouragements in between loudly complimenting their friends on their creative fuckery.Harry is obsessed with them all. When she’s done in the living area, Harry asks Louis to come with her to the bedroom. She’s fairly certain she’d thoroughly cleared it out when she packed the other night, but she wants to double check she hadn’t left anything important in her rush. The bedroom window is open, a breeze wafting in and rustling the striped linen curtains Harry had picked out when she’d first moved in, excited to start her new life with Danny. Before he’d turned into someone she hardly recognized. The light is soft, spotlighting a flurry of particles dancing in mid-air. The loveliness of it startles Harry and a sob threatens to crawl up her throat. She does her best to choke it down, but it doesn’t escape Louis’ attention. “Baby,” she coos, coming close. “Oh, love, it’s alright. You don’t have to hold it in, not for me, Harry. Go on and have a cry if you need to. It’s alright, lovely. We’ve got time.”Harry doesn’t move, but tears cascade down her cheeks, and Louis tucks herself into her side, holding her close and leading her to sit at the end of the bed. She doesn’t join her, but crouches in front of her, warm hands on Harry’s knees. Harry can tell Louis is trying to make eye contact, but Harry’s too ashamed to face her. She shouldn’t be crying. Shouldn’t even be sad over leaving this absolute twat. Especially not in front of Louis, who’s already made her life immeasurably better in just a few days. Harry hiccups and wipes her nose with her hand, sniffling with her eyes squeezed shut.“That’s it, love, let it out. I’ve got you, baby. It’s alright. You’re alright.”“’s stupid,” Harry mumbles. She’s never been embarrassed to cry in front of Louis, but she feels so pathetic to be doing so now. “Hey, no. Absolutely not, Harriett. It’s not stupid. I know you, and I know how proud and stubborn you can be. I know you’re overthinking this. Chastising yourself for feeling sad about leaving this prat, that he’s not worth your tears.”“He’s not,” Harry insists, her tears ebbing. “He doesn’t deserve this from me.”“This isn’t for him, love,” Louis replies easily. “It’s for you. For the years you spent that you wish you hadn’t. For the life you’ve done your best to make with him, despite his not deserving it, and that you’re having to let go of. It’s ok to be sad about it, Harry love. To grieve it. It doesn’t mean a thing about him. And it doesn’t mean anything about us, either, baby.” Harry can’t not look at Louis anymore. She pulls her eyes from her lap, getting lost in Louis’ soft gaze immediately. Or not lost at all, really, but cradled. Found, even.“Hi love.”“How’d you–”“I’m your best mate, aren’t I? Knew what you were worried about me thinking. But there’s no need, ok, love? I know what we have, and I know you do too. And you feeling the weight of this big life change here in your lovely room is perfectly natural. And I know it’s not about that prat Danny and it’s not about me either. So you just take your time, yeah?”“I love you, Lou,” Harry sighs. “I can’t believe it took me so long to see what we could have. And I know that’s part of why I’m sad, because every day I was here with him was a day I could have been making our life together.”“I know, baby, but we have all the time in the world now, don’t we?”Harry nods and sniffles and Louis offers up the end of her long sleeve to wipe her nose. And Harry laughs but also doesn’t hesitate to use it. “You know what,” Louis says, “actually, ’ve changed my mind. Disgusting, that.”Harry barks a laugh and then leans forward to kiss Louis and Louis doesn’t say a thing about Harry rubbing her tear soaked cheeks all over her.Just then, the front door creaks open and Harry’s muscles all seize at once. “What the fuck is this then?” booms from the other side of the flat and she and Louis’ eyes both snap towards the open bedroom door. Louis gets up without a word and crosses to the door, closing it quietly. It muffles the sound of Danny shouting, but they can still clearly hear him demanding to know what the fuck they’re doing in his house and where Harry is.“I know that bitch is in here somewhere. Harry? Get out here!”Harry starts to stand but Louis stops her. “Don’t you even think about it, Harry. Not until he’s calmer. Niall can handle him all on her own, you know that. And she’s got Li and Zayn for backup.”“Louis, I can’t just–”“Harry, I’m telling you. We all talked about it earlier, about what we’d do if he came back while we were here. I promise, they’ve got it.”“What?”“Honestly,” Louis says, returning to kneel in front of Harry, her hands back on her thighs, eyes locked back on Harry’s, “you know he’s never been around this kind of assorted queer variety pack before. He’ll probably be so confused he’ll just shut down, won’t even remember what a shithead he is.”“Louis–”“Harry!” Danny calls from the living room, his voice deceptively calmer. “Why are you hiding, baby? Come on, let’s just talk. I’ve missed you.”Louis rolls her eyes and Harry sighs wearily. When Niall insists firmly that Harry will not be coming out, that she has nothing to say to him, Danny flips back from pleading to yelling in an instant. “You know you’ll be back in a week, you cow! You can’t be happy without me! You belong with me!”“Louis, I can’t just let him– What if he–”“Shh, baby, they’re fine. He’s not gonna do anything but yell, alright? And you hear that? You hear Niall and Zayn giving it back to him? I almost feel bad for the poor sod. Anyway, Liam’s probably got 999 dialed on his phone, ready to press send; sure he’s flashed it in Danny’s face so he knows it, too. Probably boring him to death reading off legal precedent for why Danny had better not get in the way of you taking your property and leaving.”Harry giggles despite herself. “There you go, love. Just let him wear himself out, yeah. We’re alright in here. We’ve got the A Team out there running interference.”“The Gay Team,” Harry mumbles, and laughs at herself when Louis drops her jaw and shakes her head. “You’re unbelievable, Harold. Can’t believe I’m in love with such an absolute dork.”Harry’s giggles are cut short when Louis adds, “God, just imagine how angry he’d be if he knew we’d gotten together. That piece of shit hates me.”“He’d fucking lose it,” Harry agrees. “Might drop dead on the spot.”“Well,” Louis smiles, “reason enough for me.”“Louis!” Harry shoves at her shoulder and Louis grips her thighs to keep herself from falling backwards“Actually…” Louis says when she’s stabilized herself. She winks at Harry and presses down on her thighs to help herself up. She turns and walks towards the door and Harry gasps instinctively.“Louis!” Harry shout-whispers. “Don’t! What are you–”The question dies on her tongue when Louis locks the door and turns back towards Harry, an unmistakable smirk filling her face. “Louis, no, you can’t be serious.” But Louis only has to arch one eyebrow and dart her tongue out to lick at the corner of her lips for Harry to know there’s no talking her down. And the realization sparks a flicker of heat between her legs. When Louis sinks back down to the floor in front of Harry, placing her hands gingerly on her knees and tilting her head as though she’s asking for permission, Harry grants it by giving into the barely-there pressure of Louis’ palms, letting her knees fall open. “That’s my girl,” Louis purs, “gonna make you feel so good. Make sure he sees the flush on your cheeks when we walk out of here.”“Fuck,” Harry whimpers as Louis runs her hands up Harry’s thighs, her thumbs digging into the sensitive flesh of her inner thighs. She curls her fingers so her short nails leave soft pink trails in their wake along the tops. Harry had felt silly putting on a dress this morning, even one as comfortable as her favorite jersey knit, but she’s never been more grateful for her own wardrobe choices. Because Louis’ hands reach their destination quickly to find Harry’s panties already clinging to her. Louis leaves her left hand on Harry’s upper thigh, gripping firmly where it meets her groin. With her right, she deftly holds the wet fabric of Harry’s panties to the side with one finger while another tentatively explores her folds.“Fuck, baby, you’re so wet already.”Harry can still hear Danny arguing with her friends in the living room, but it’s muffled by the rush of blood in her ears as Louis begins toying with her clit. She gasps and Louis hums in response. “That’s it, baby, you’re so good for me. Letting me make you feel good with a roomful of people just on the other side of the door.”Oh God, Harry’s heart jumps at that, and her cunt is practically throbbing already. She bites down on her bottom lip just as Louis pushes two fingers into her, curving them right away to pet at her walls as her thumb finds Harry's desperate clit.“Fuck, Lou, you’re gonna make me come already, oh my god.”“Do it, baby, come on my fingers and I’ll give you my mouth as a reward.” Harry contracts around Louis’ fingers as pleasure shoots through her core. She’s desperate to cry out, but doesn’t dare, whimpering through her orgasm as Louis slows the movement of her fingers and squeezes her thigh in a gentle pulses. “That was so fucking hot, Harry. You’re so beautiful like this.”Harry sighs, exhausted from the emotion of the day – from the nerves of just being here, from crying and then coming, with the panic of Danny showing up in between. “Fucking Danny,” she spits. “Mind not saying that prick’s name while my fingers are inside you?”Harry lifts her head to find Louis’ face and laughs when she's met with a cheeky grin. “Unless, that is,” Louis continues, “you want to call out for him to come press his ear to door and hear what I’m about to do to you next.”And fuck, Harry does very nearly cry out – for help at least – because Louis speeds up her fingers once again, adding a third as she ducks her head under Harry’s dress and replaces her thumb with her tongue, flicking like a fucking hummingbird, her left hand holding Harry down firmly when Harry bucks her hips in response. “Fuck, Louis, oh my god,” Harry gasps, her voice strained from trying to control her volume. Louis stops tonguing Harry long enough to say, “Fuck him, let him hear you. I wanna hear you, baby,” before latching onto Harry’s clit with her perfect lips and suctioning them mercilessly as her fingers continue to pump in and out of Harry, rubbing exactly where she needs to send her over the edge again. She’s never come twice so close together, and she physically can’t stop the moans that tumble from her. She’s definitely not as loud as she wants to be, but there’s no way they haven’t heard her in the living room. “Fuck yeah, baby,” Louis says, licking her lips as she straightens herself back into a kneeling position. She’s still fingering Harry, though she’s eased up, and Harry is squirming on the bed, heavy breathing interspersed with whimpers. “God you sounded as gorgeous as you look right now, writhing around on my fingers. You’re perfect, baby.”Only when Harry’s breathing has evened out does she realize it’s dead silent on the other side of the door. “Shit, Lou,” she says as she forces herself up from the bed to straighten her dress. “They definitely heard us.”“I should hope so,” Louis says, kissing Harry breathless before pulling back to ask, “Ready?” Harry and Louis are each carrying a bag on one shoulder as they exit the bedroom hand in hand. Harry seeks out her friends first, her racing heart calmed by the knowing but supportive expressions on both Liam’s and Niall’s faces. She giggles at Zayn’s discreet golf clap and exaggerated wink and barely remembers anyone else is in the room until Danny’s ugly snort of sarcastic laughter shatters the quiet. “Well well well, look who finally showed her face.”“Danny…”“I don’t know what you thought you were playing at in there, but we all know you were faking whatever the fuck that was supposed to be just to piss me off.”“Is that so?” Louis asks, lifting their joined hands to her face and sucking her own finger into her mouth. “Tastes awfully real to me.”Danny’s face goes beet red and his jaw drops for a moment before he remembers himself. He rolls his eyes dramatically and scoffs, “Oh please. I know what Harry sounds like when she’s being fucked, and it’s nothing like all that racket you two were acting out.”Harry winces but Louis just laughs. “I fully believe that’s not what she sounds like fucking you, Danny Boy,” she says, and Danny looks absolutely fuming, but he doesn’t move, and he doesn't say anything else. “Right, well,” Niall says, “that’s us done here, yeah?”“Yep, I’ve got everything in the car,” Liam agrees. “Lovely to see you as always, Daniel,” Zayn purs, blowing him a kiss. “Ta,” Louis says, leading Harry towards the door.“Wait a minute,” Danny barks, and Harry flinches. “You’re not walking out that door, Harry, not again.” He softens his voice to add, ‘Come on, babe. We need to talk.”Louis squeezes Harry’s hand and Harry squeezes back before she lets go so she can turn fully to face Danny. He looks so fucking smug, as though he’s convinced her. As though Harry is actually about to relent and stay. “Actually, Danny,” she says, pride swelling in her chest, “I don’t have a thing to say to you, and I don’t give a shit about anything you might want to say to me anymore.”He huffs and Harry reaches behind her to grab Louis’ hand again.“And,” she adds, “the only thing I need to do is get this one home and into bed so I can return the favor.”