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hands into his armpits and hops up and down a little to keep warm. He

can‟t really muster up the energy to be annoyed, honestly. If he thinks

about it, he‟s pretty sure this is the worst thing that‟s happened to him

all week, and that‟s pretty special.

Things are great with Liam, even if he does commit the mortal sin of

being a morning person. Zayn has way more free time now that he

doesn‟t have his editor breathing down his neck, which means more

time both for his boyfriend and for his friends. That‟s been especially

convenient ever since he, Louis, and Liam started making a habit of

going to see Niall play on the weekends. Those nights out usually keep

even Liam in bed later than usual the next day. Next time Zayn is going

to make him get up with Bo, just to watch him pretend to be cheerful

through the hangover. Evil, but nothing less than he deserves. Louis

would approve.

Ah, Louis. That‟s another part of why things have felt so nice and

settled lately. Ever since he got back from London, Zayn‟s gotten to see

him more than he has in months, and it‟s nice not just to have his best

mate back but to see him so much happier. He‟s still the same Louis,

but he‟s different, too. He‟s more like himself, even if Zayn has never

seen him this way before, and it‟s wonderful. Maybe it means having to

listen to a million stories about what Harry said on their last Skype date

or how much Harry likes the new Best Coast album or when he‟s going

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to get to see Harry again, but Zayn doesn‟t mind at all. He‟s just really

fucking happy that Louis‟ happy, and that Harry‟s happy, nobody has

to tiptoe around each other anymore. Hell, Louis is actually opening up

about things, more than Zayn has ever seen him do before. A week or

so after he got back he sat Zayn down and gave him the rundown on his

romantic history over leftover Thai, and Zayn feels closer to him than

ever. If the price of that is dealing with Louis being as obnoxiously in

love as Zayn is, he‟ll gladly pay it. All is right in his little Zayn world.

Finally, Bo has finished up her business, and Zayn scratches her behind

her ears and tells her she‟s a good girl, and she pants up at him

euphorically and follows him up the stairs.

He gives her a treat once they get inside, toes off his shoes, and pads

back into the bedroom. Liam is still dozing in the bed, face smushed

into the pillow and hair a mess, and Zayn is still sometimes amazed that

this is his life.

Quietly, Zayn slips back under the duvet, and then presses his cold

hands to Liam‟s warm back. Liam splutters awake, scrambling away

from him under the covers, but Zayn just grins and grabs him around

the waist, spooning up behind him.

“Your hands are like ice, Zayn, God,” Liam whines, covering them up

with his own but not trying to escape anymore.

“S‟what you get,” Zayn mumbles, his lips pressed against Liam‟s back.

They lie like that a while, Liam rubbing his hands against Zayn‟s to

warm them up, until Liam heaves a breath and flops back over on his

back.

“We should get up,” he says, poking at Zayn‟s face.

His eyes still closed, Zayn shakes his head. “Absolutely not. I just tried

it. Up is terrible.”

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“I‟ve got errands to run,” Liam says, all serious like “errands” doesn‟t

include spending half an hour watching cartoons and eating cereal.

“Are we going out with the boys tonight, by the way?” he asks, tugging

on Zayn‟s fringe.

Zayn just snuggles in closer, still refusing to open his eyes. “Mmm, no,

Louis‟ not in town, remember? Surprising Harry,” he says, half into

Liam‟s armpit. “We‟ve got all day, sleep.”

“Once I‟m awake I can‟t fall back asleep, you know that,” Liam says,

but his voice is soft and pleased. Bo comes back into the room, but this

time she just jumps up on the bed and curls up at Zayn‟s feet. Good

dog.

“Then just stay with me,” Zayn says.

Liam pulls one of Zayn‟s hands up to his lips and presses a warm kiss

against his knuckles. “Always.”

Louis is on another train to London.

He and Harry had really been hoping to get a chance to see each other

again before now, but they‟ve both been busy with work and it‟s taken

them this long just to find a weekend that works for both of them.

Louis is very, very thankful that Harry‟s internship only lasts for a few

more weeks, because he misses him terribly. It was one thing to miss

him when he thought he would never see him again, but this is a

different animal entirely. Knowing that he actually could and will have

Harry back makes the absence both more and less tolerable, more of an

acute itch than that old dull ache. Things between them are still great,

but Skype dates and dirty text messages and phone calls on their daily

commute only go so far, and there‟s only so many times Louis can

wank to the memories of that weekend.

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They have been making a very respectable go of the whole long

distance thing. They haven‟t gone more than a few hours since London

without talking to each other unless they‟re sleeping, and even then

there‟s the odd text in the middle of the night every so often because

one of them can‟t sleep. Even Louis‟ sex life is still active, thanks to

Harry‟s affinity for phone sex and some very creative Skype sessions.

He may not be getting laid in the flesh, but there‟s something to be said

for how much he gets off on coaching Harry to the edge and watching

him come from his own hand and the sound of Louis‟ voice over

webcam. Still, he wants to touch Harry, wants to just sit in

companionable silence with him too, wants to be with him all the time.

They both want that, and it‟s hard going without it.

So when their schedules finally lined up this weekend, Harry

immediately started looking up tickets to Manchester, but Louis called

him off. He had another idea.

Back in October, when he first got back to Manchester from his trip to

London, the first thing he did was phone his mum. Well, actually, the

first thing he did was enjoy the three-person surprise party of Zayn,

Niall, and Liam waiting in his flat with balloons and a burnt cake with

the words You have a boyfriend!!! scrawled on it in sloppy icing (Niall

had eaten a piece by the time he got there, so it actually just said You

have a boyf, but the sentiment still got across). But once they‟d all gone

home, he phoned his mum and asked her if she remembered the boy

he‟d told her about.

“I‟ve got a boyfriend, mum,” he told her, unable to keep the grin out of

his voice. She shouted down the line and demanded the full story and

started crying when he let slip an “I love him,” and again when she told

him she was proud of him and he responded that he was pretty proud of

himself too.

So of course ever since, she‟s been badgering him to bring “that man of

his” home to meet the family, and Lottie‟s been on him about it too

since he sent them a picture and she got a look at just how fit her

brother‟s new boyfriend is. Maybe the rational thing to do might be to

wait farther into their relationship to drag Harry back to Doncaster, but

he already feels like they‟ve been together forever, and the timing just

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feels right. And so when they had a weekend open, he checked with his

mum and then suggested the trip to Harry.

Harry agreed so eagerly Louis wonders if he‟s been wanting this for a

while, and feels a pang of guilt about shutting Harry out of so much of

his life for so long. He thinks that Harry would probably yell at him for

thinking that way, though, so he pushes it aside and focuses on the

present issue, which is that Harry is about to meet his family. His

whole family. His mum and all four sisters. He knows they‟ll love

him—everyone loves him, it‟s awful—but the idea of integrating these

two halves of his life is still a bit daunting.

That might be one of the reasons that he‟s pulling the ridiculous stunt

he‟s doing now; the sooner he meets up with Harry again, the calmer

he‟ll be. So, instead of going straight from Manchester to Doncaster

and meeting Harry there like he said, he saved and scrimped for a few

weeks to buy tickets from Manchester to London and from London to

Doncaster. As far as Harry knows, he‟ll be riding from London to

Doncaster alone, but Louis is going to surprise him at the platform and

ride with him all the way back. It‟s silly, absurd, and over-the-top, but

Louis wanted to do it, so he‟s doing it. It‟s something he‟s been

experimenting with, recently: doing things because they feel good.

So now he‟s here, only barely keeping from pressing his nose up

against the window as his train pulls into the station. His stomach is

fizzing, but not with nerves: just genuine excitement. He‟s going to see

his boy.

He grabs his suitcase down from the overhead compartment, arms

wobbling only a little at the weight—it never hurts to have wardrobe

options, okay?—and bounds out onto the platform. He has twenty

minutes to get to wherever Harry‟s train is leaving from, and he may or

may not throw a few elbows as he pulls his suitcase of the train and

makes his way to the escalator.

Looking up at the big board, he finds Harry‟s track number and makes

his way eagerly through the concourse. He slows down as he passes a

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flower vendor, but then changes his mind. He may be more on board

with this whole romance thing now, but he‟s not Zayn.

Finally, he turns a corner and comes to track twelve, where, according

to the voice on the intercom, the 15:23 East Coast train service to

Newcastle, calling at Stevenage, Peterborough, Doncaster... will be

leaving in ten minutes. The doors of the train are still closed, though, so

he‟s got plenty of time. He weaves his way through the crowd of

people waiting, craning his neck as he looks for Harry. He hadn‟t

considered what could happen if he didn‟t find him in time. It‟s going

to be embarrassing if he has to get on this train by himself and find

Harry once they‟re in Doncaster.

He stops worrying, though, when he spots a very familiar top of a head

peeking over the crowd. A wave of affection hits him, filling him up

with you exist and I love you all the way down to his toes. He‟d

planned to sneak up on him, to surprise him and maybe scare him a

little, but when it comes down to it he can‟t contain himself.

“Hey, Styles!” he shouts, pitching his voice over the white noise of the

trains and the people, and Harry‟s head whips around to spot him. A

moment of disbelief, and then the sun rises in his face, and Louis would

have saved up two months‟ worth of pay for this moment right here.

Harry abandons the suitcase at his feet, and Louis doesn‟t even stop to

think about what a scene he‟s making because they‟re running toward

each other across the platform and as soon as the distance between

them closes his feet are off the ground and Harry‟s spinning him

around in the air.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Harry half-shouts into Louis‟ hair.

Louis starts to answer but Harry doesn‟t seem to actually care about the

explanation, just kisses him happily, squeezing him so tight that Louis

can hardly breathe.

“I didn‟t want to wait,” Louis tells him once he‟s been set back down.

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Harry‟s mouth opens and closes a few times, still pulled wide by his

smile, and Louis hopes that this gesture is enough to show him how

much his feelings haven‟t changed since they‟ve been apart, how much

he‟s still in this for keeps. He tugs Harry down by the front of his shirt

for another kiss, because it‟s been too fucking long.