Chapter Text
It was the kind of day where birds were chirping, the sun was shining and people were tossing up between sun-bathing in their backyards or sitting in an air-conditioned room eating ice cream. For Liam Payne, though, it was the day before his second year exam for his degree, which meant he was hardly aware of a world existing outside that of his flat.
"I'm going to fail!" Liam groaned and everyone, except Zayn, ignored him as usual.
"No you're not, Li", Zayn, the ever dutiful boyfriend, said, running a soothing hand over Liam's back. “Remember when you thought that last year? And you got the highest marks in the class! You're the smartest person in Law”.
Liam blushed but he murmured, “Stop it with the flattery”.
“It’s not flattery when it’s fact. Just as it’s a fact that you look incredibly hot when studying”, Zayn replied smoothly and even Louis, who was well accustomed to having a charming boyfriend that planned impromptu trips to Paris, was impressed.
All of them were still only in their second year of university. At this rate, Louis dreaded to think of Liam’s pre-exam nerves when he reached his final year.
Liam sniffed. "You have to say that. You're my boyfriend!"
“Thank God for that!” Louis huffed because it had taken him, Harry and Niall’s combined effort (and a lot of getting inexplicably locked together in closets and bedrooms when no one was around to free them) for Zayn to finally pluck up the courage to ask Liam out. Now though, one and a half years after they’d started dating, their PDA gave Harry and Louis a run for their money. And that was really saying something!
"I'd say that even if I wasn't", Zayn replied and Niall made retching noises.
"Too much love in one room. You lot are the worst!” he moaned, throwing a hand over his face as he continued eating his cheeseburger, watching re-runs of Friends on TV. Liam scowled and Zayn grinned.
"How exactly are you planning on passing your exams, Nialler?" Liam asked, pointedly. "This isn't high school anymore! You can't just pay your way through passing university because your friend’s dad owns the school-”
"Actually…", Zayn began and Louis, who was sitting on the opposite couch held up his hands, shouting, "Nope. I do not want to hear it! Don't you fucking dare say it, Zayn Malik!"
"Say what?" Liam asked, confused. He looked over at Harry as the boy got off the phone with Smith, who had been assigned to bring them “more pizza than even Niall can eat!” In other words, a typical evening at their flat.
Harry grinned and slid his arms around Louis, falling onto the couch next to him. The flower crown shaped silver bracelet that Louis had bought him on their first Christmas together, glinted in the light as it lay around his wrist. Harry had never taken it off since the moment his boyfriend had put it on him saying, “So you can be reminded of your sister wherever you go”.
It had helped make graduation a hell of a lot easier, knowing that despite moving away from Stanford and the town of his childhood, he would still have something with him that reminded him of Gemma. Having Louis here also helped!
"He doesn't want to hear that Dad owns the university", Harry chuckled, earning a punch on the arm from Louis. The scowl on his face was belayed by the fond look in his eyes.
"But Dad doesn't own it”, Zayn commented and Louis was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he added, "Harry does".
"What the hell, Harry!?” Louis glared at his boyfriend who held up his hands in a gesture of helplessness.
"Hey! It's not my fault if my parents think buying establishments under my name is an appropriate idea for a birthday present!"
"Actually", Zayn smirked, "I think you got this place for Christmas".
Louis groaned before another thought struck him.
"That's not why I got into this university, right?" Louis asked. He had been surprised when he had gotten an invitation to attend one of the top universities for his degree. "Like, you didn't pull strings or anything, did you?"
"Of course not!" Harry said immediately, eyes wide with sincerity. And Harry wasn't that good of an actor! "You got in based on your marks and your talent at Drama. You deserved it! Niall on the other hand…"
He glanced over at the blonde with a grin.
"Owe you one, mate", Niall said from his place on the couch, blowing Harry a kiss. He was absolutely brilliant at music but that was quite literally the only subject he bothered to do any work in. Luckily for Niall, he had great friends, a heap of talent and plenty of money. He'd do well in life.
"I rue the day that I met you all”, Louis muttered but he couldn’t stop his smile when he felt his boyfriend's arms slide down to his hips, pulling him back against a solid, warm chest.
"Now, Louis”, he whispered into his ear, "We both know that's not entirely true".
“Oh please. Don't flatter yourself, Harold", Louis replied but he didn't resist when Harry's lips pressed down on his own, pulling him into another world; one filled with love and desire and comfort. A world filled with Harry Styles.
"Why did I agree to flat with two couples again?" Niall asked sullenly, turning away from Louis and Harry only to see Liam and Zayn mirroring their actions on the other side of the room. "Worst decision of my life!"
Neither couple paid him any attention, well accustomed to his grumbling by this point. Their friendship had only gotten stronger once they’d started university and one month into the “piss poor excuse for student accommodation”, as Zayn put it, they had unanimously decided to move into a flat together.
Harry and Zayn had both petitioned to just “buy the place” but Louis and Liam were adamant that they would live like proper uni students who didn’t have hundreds of pounds to spare! Still, their flat was much better than what most uni students could afford and whilst the hot tub wasn’t a necessary feature, when Harry had given Louis a very hands-on demonstration about just how fun it could be, he hadn’t had much heart to disagree.
"I love you", Louis whispered now as he pulled back, looking into those green eyes that he was lucky enough to wake up to everyday.
Harry hadn’t changed much on the outside compared to his days at Stanford but he dropped his guard around the five of them. Only Louis got to see his vulnerable side though and that showed just how much Harry trusted him.
One day they'd get married, Louis knew. Harry had hinted at it enough times and it certainly wasn’t coincidence that he kept lingering outside jewellery shops whenever they went out shopping until Louis had to physically drag him away. One day, they would have a family of their own but right now, they were perfectly happy as they were.
"I love you too, Lou", Harry whispered back, "Only you. Forever".
The thought of forever didn’t scare him anymore the way it once had. Louis grinned as he pulled Harry in for another kiss, both of them ignoring Niall's loud complaints in the background. Their love, Louis often thought, would make quite a story.
They had started off hating each other, then learnt to like each other, then grown to love each other. They were like mismatched puzzle pieces whose edges had been reshaped until they fit together perfectly. As time passed, their bond only seemed to grow stronger.
Liam would call it fate but Louis didn't like to label things. If anyone had asked him, he'd have said that sometimes, things just had a funny way of working out.
And, as Harry's lips moved against his, their bodies pressing against each other’s with quiet desperation; as Harry grabbed his waist and lifted him up, letting Louis wrap his legs around the larger boy; as they made their way to the bedroom hearing Niall's loud shout of, "You two better put on music if you're getting it on! Fuck, we need to invest in better sound-proofing!”, Louis decided that he loved the way things had worked out.
He was living in a comfortable flat, he had a brilliant group of friends, he was two thirds of the way through his degree and, most importantly, he was happy. Louis loved his life and although he sometimes said he hated Harry Styles, he loved him really.