Once in a Lifetime

When Harry woke up on the dreadful day in October, he wasn't surprised to see Louis already sitting at the edge of the bed, the darkness of the room surrounding him. Harry sat up, crawling to the end of the bed to sit next to his boyfriend.

"Can't sleep?" he asked, letting Louis rest his head on his shoulder.

"No, I had a nightmare and now I'm awake," he mumbled, his voice scratchy and tired.

"I'm sorry, love, what can I do to help?" Louis thought about it for a moment, fiddling with his fingers before he spoke.

"Can you hold me?" Harry nodded quickly, engulfing his boyfriend in a cuddle as they moved back under the duvet. They wrapped their bodies together, Harry cradling Louis until they both fell asleep once again.

"Lou, babe, the boys are here," Harry announced, walking into the bedroom that Louis was currently laying in. He had wanted to spend some time alone before Niall and Liam turned up, and Harry understood that this was something that he needed. It was a difficult day, and Harry had tried to do everything he could to support Louis as much as possible, but it never seemed to be enough.

"Tell them to leave," Louis grumbled, pulling the duvet further over his head.

"You know I won't do that, they need us, and we need them," Harry reasoned, sitting on the bed and pulling the duvet away from Louis' cocooned body.

"I don't want them."

"That's not true, you just don't want to get out of bed right now. Li brought pizza, Ni brought alcohol and neither brought their girlfriends, so let's go out there and celebrate Zayn's life with the people who knew him best, okay?" With a deep sigh, Louis rolled out of bed, stomping towards the bedroom door without looking at Harry.

"Beer?" Niall asked as soon as Louis stepped into the room, Harry following closely behind. Louis quickly swiped it from his hand with a small 'thanks', gulping it down like he hadn't tasted alcohol before.

"Take it easy, maybe?" Harry suggested, earning an eye-roll from Louis as he spitefully took another swig. "Right, well, thanks for bringing this stuff," Harry said to Liam and Niall, who replied that it was nothing and they were happy to do it. Liam then asked Niall how everything was going, which resulted in a long conversation about the highs and lows of the music industry.

"The fans already want a second album, so my manager wants me to start writing right away. I love the live shows though, and I'm really enjoying meeting some of the fans and signing their albums, it still feels weird to see my face in their hands but I'm just so lucky to be able to do this." Harry noticed Louis begin to smile as he listened to Niall's ramble, the pride for his friend overpowering his grief for just a few minutes. The conversation then moved on to Liam's restaurant, the chef telling everyone about the new menu and their plans for the winter months. Louis listened intently and asked questions at the right times, and gradually Harry could see him relax and enjoy his friends' company.

"How's it going for you guys?" Liam asked, looking between Harry and Louis.

"It's good," Harry began, "work's going well, and I love dealing with some of the bigger clients so hopefully Chelsea FC liked my work and could use me for some of their academy players in the future."

"He comes home smiling most evenings, so I always know when he's had a good day," Louis commented, handing Harry a napkin for the cheese that had fallen onto his jeans.

"Tell them about what your boss said, Lou, you were so happy when you told me about it last week," Harry prompted, watching as Louis nodded.

"Yeah, so you know I did some work with that tennis player a while ago, well apparently, he put in a good word with my boss and has already booked me for the Australian Open in January, so I get to go to Melbourne in a few months and work with him for the duration of his stay." Harry could see Louis smiling with pride as he spoke, the words tumbling from his mouth with so much excitement it was hard to keep up. Niall and Liam jumped up to congratulate him, telling him that Zayn would be so proud of everything he's achieving. This made him cry a little, but to his credit he held it together and saw out the rest of the night with a smile on his face.