Chapter Text
Warmth woke Louis before sunlight did.
For several long seconds, he stayed completely still underneath the blankets, eyes still closed while his brain slowly caught up to reality.
Warm skin. Soft sheets. Harry.
And—
Oh.
Oh fuck.
A slow breath left Louis’ lungs when he felt Harry’s cock pressed lazily against him from behind, already half hard and resting directly between his thighs while Harry slept like this was the most natural thing in the world.
Which honestly?
It probably was for him.
Louis swallowed slowly while Harry shifted behind him in his sleep, one arm tightening automatically around Louis’ waist before his hips rolled forward slightly.
A quiet sound escaped Louis immediately.
Harry made one too. Lower. Sleep rough.
And somehow that sound alone nearly ruined Louis all over again.
Jesus Christ.
The sex last night had completely rearranged his nervous system.
Because now every tiny touch felt hypersensitive somehow. Harry’s chest warm against his back, his breath against the side of Louis’ neck, the slow drag of Harry’s cock against his thighs every time either of them moved—
It was too much.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Harry exhaled quietly against the back of Louis’ shoulder before mumbling something completely incoherent into his skin.
Louis laughed softly underneath his breath.
“You’re clingy,” he whispered.
Harry only tightened his arm further around his waist.
“Mm.”
“That’s not a defense.”
Another sleepy sound followed before Harry slowly pressed one lazy kiss against Louis’ shoulder blade and finally opened his eyes properly.
And there it was again.
That softness.
That terrifying, devastating softness Harry only ever seemed to have around him now.
“You’re awake,” Harry murmured.
Louis glanced sideways slightly.
“Unfortunately.”
Harry smiled faintly before kissing his shoulder again, slower this time.
“You complained less this morning.”
“That’s because your dick is currently trying to emotionally manipulate me.”
Harry laughed quietly against his skin.
God.
Louis loved that sound.
Which honestly felt like a massive personal failure.
Harry shifted slightly higher against the pillows afterward, one hand sliding slowly across Louis’ stomach underneath the blankets while Louis melted back against him automatically.
His fingers eventually reached Louis’ clit and began rubbing softly. A quiet moan slipped from Louis immediately.
Everything about this had become frighteningly natural now.
Sleeping together. Waking up together. Harry touching him constantly like he physically couldn’t help himself anymore.
It should’ve scared Louis more than it did.
Instead, it mostly made him want to stay in bed forever.
He wanted to feel Harry inside him again, so he reached back slowly and guided Harry’s now fully hard cock inside himself.
Both of them moaned at the same time.
Harry immediately began fucking him with slow, deep, steady thrusts while his talented fingers kept rubbing circles against Louis’ clit.
“Please,” Louis moaned softly while throwing his head back.
Harry instantly started licking against his throat, leaving hickeys that definitely wouldn’t be covered by concealer later.
Louis could already feel his orgasm building quickly before he finally came hard with a loud moan, soaking the sheets beneath them.
That completely destroyed the last remaining pieces of Harry’s control.
Two more deep thrusts later, Harry came hard inside him before immediately kissing him slowly afterward.
They stayed tangled together for several long minutes afterward.
“You’re thinking again,” Harry murmured quietly.
“You keep saying emotionally observant things before coffee. It’s weird.”
“That wasn’t an answer.”
Louis sighed dramatically before turning slowly underneath Harry’s arm until they faced each other properly.
Big mistake.
Because Harry looked unfairly good in the morning.
Messy curls. Sleep-heavy eyes. Bruises scattered across his neck and chest from the night before.
Louis immediately felt heat crawl back up his throat.
Harry noticed instantly.
That dangerous smile appeared almost immediately afterward.
“You’re staring again.”
“You look ridiculous.”
Harry’s hand slid slowly lower against Louis’ waist.
“You liked it a few minutes ago.”
Louis grabbed the nearest pillow and shoved it directly into Harry’s face.
“I’m revoking your speaking privileges.”
Harry only laughed harder.
And honestly?
That might’ve been even worse than the sex.
Because Louis had never seen Harry like this before.
Relaxed. Happy. Human.
Not the terrifying billionaire everyone at Twist Corporate seemed afraid of.
Just Harry.
Eventually they dragged themselves out of bed sometime around late morning, mostly because Harry physically had meetings he couldn’t ignore forever.
Unfortunately.
Louis stayed wrapped in one of Harry’s shirts while making coffee in the penthouse kitchen, glaring aggressively at Harry the entire time.
“You ruined my emotional stability.”
Harry looked up calmly while fixing his cuffs.
“You never had emotional stability.”
“That’s deeply rude.”
“It’s also true.”
Louis hated that too.
The domesticity somehow felt even worse after sex.
Because now there was no pretending anymore.
Not really.
Harry kissed him openly while passing through the kitchen, pulled him closer automatically while checking emails, touched him absentmindedly like Louis had already become part of his routine permanently.
And honestly?
Louis was dangerously close to falling completely in love with him.
That realization followed him all the way to work.
Unfortunately, reality returned almost immediately the second he stepped onto the executive floor at Twist Corporate later that afternoon.
The atmosphere felt wrong.
Subtle. Still obvious enough.
Conversations quieted too quickly. Several assistants looked away immediately. Even Amelia barely acknowledged him while walking past carrying several folders against her chest.
Niall appeared beside his desk less than thirty seconds later holding iced coffee and the expression of a man spiritually prepared for gossip.
“Well?” he whispered aggressively.
Louis sat down slowly.
“Well what?”
Niall stared at him blankly.
“You disappeared for two days.”
“That sounds dramatic.”
“You look sexually humbled.”
Louis immediately choked on his coffee.
“Niall.”
“Oh my god,” Niall gasped loudly. “YOU SLEPT WITH HIM.”
Several nearby assistants instantly looked over.
Louis wanted death immediately.
“Keep your voice down.”
Niall physically grabbed the edge of the desk.
“Was it good?”
Louis looked deeply offended.
“That’s an insane question.”
“That’s not a no.”
Unfortunately, the heat aggressively crawling up Louis’ neck answered for him.
Niall went completely silent for one full second.
Then:
“Oh my god.”
“Niall.”
“The billionaire blew your back out.”
“I’m reporting you to HR.”
“No actually,” Niall continued dramatically while clutching his coffee, “I need details immediately.”
Louis dropped his forehead against the desk.
“I hate my life.”
“Did he at least have the decency to be obsessed with you afterward?”
Louis stayed silent.
Niall gasped so loudly someone across the office physically turned around.
“Oh my GOD he’s in love with you.”
“He is not.”
“Louis,” Niall whispered emotionally, “that man looks at you like you personally invented happiness.”
That— Well.
That did something deeply unfortunate to Louis’ chest.
Before he could answer, movement near the conference rooms caught his attention.
Nick.
And instantly the mood shifted.
Nick looked exhausted. Irritated too.
His gaze landed briefly on Louis and immediately narrowed.
Then—
Nick stopped walking completely.
His eyes moved slowly across Louis’ throat.
Oh. Oh no.
Louis had forgotten the bruises.
Fuck.
Nick’s expression darkened almost instantly.
Not heartbreak.
Worse.
Something bitter. Something angry.
“Well,” Nick said flatly while stepping closer toward the desk, “that was fast.”
The warmth from earlier vanished immediately.
Louis straightened slightly in his chair.
“Good afternoon to you too.”
Nick ignored that completely.
Instead his eyes dragged once more across the marks Harry had left across Louis’ neck.
And suddenly Louis realized exactly what Nick was thinking.
Harry. Sex. The bruises. The sleepovers.
Proof. Real proof.
Nick laughed quietly underneath his breath, though there was absolutely nothing amused about the sound.
“Unbelievable.”
Niall immediately looked between them like someone watching live television drama unfold.
Louis already felt irritation building.
“You got something to say?”
Nick’s jaw tightened visibly.
“Just interesting how quickly you moved on.”
Excuse me?
Louis blinked once in disbelief before letting out a short laugh.
“You cheated on me for months.”
Nick looked away briefly before answering colder this time:
“That doesn’t mean watching this is pleasant.”
Something about that sentence irritated Louis instantly.
Because Nick sounded possessive.
Like he still had some kind of claim here.
Meanwhile he’d been sleeping with Amelia behind Louis’ back during the entire relationship.
“You’ll survive,” Louis answered flatly.
That only made Nick angrier.
Unfortunately, Louis realized several seconds too late that Nick wasn’t finished.
Because over the next few hours, Nick suddenly became impossible to work with.
Every minor mistake got criticized. Every email got returned. Every meeting became unnecessarily difficult.
By six in the evening, Louis was genuinely considering homicide.
Niall noticed too.
“Oh,” he whispered dramatically while watching Nick tear apart a completely normal presentation for the third time that afternoon. “He’s jealous jealous.”
“He’s annoying.”
“No,” Niall corrected carefully. “He’s watching his ex become happier with somebody else.”
That hit harder than Louis expected.
Because the worst part?
Niall was right.
And somehow that made Louis feel guilty despite everything Nick had done.
God.
This entire company genuinely needed therapy.
By six-thirty, Louis was genuinely considering murder.
Not dramatic murder.
Just something small and reasonable.
Like pushing Nick down one of the decorative staircases inside Twist Corporate and pretending it had been an unfortunate workplace accident.
Because this had become ridiculous.
Every single thing Louis touched that afternoon had apparently been wrong.
Slides formatted incorrectly.
Emails “too informal.”
Meeting notes “unclear.”
At one point Nick had corrected a typo that literally did not exist.
Louis was going to lose his mind.
“You’re glaring at your laptop like it personally insulted your family,” Niall observed while dropping into the chair beside his desk with another iced coffee.
“It’s taking everything in me not to commit crimes.”
“That bad?”
Louis looked up slowly.
“Niall. He sent back a presentation because I used the wrong shade of blue.”
Niall blinked once.
“…okay yeah that’s clinically bitter.”
“Thank you.”
Across the executive floor, Nick was currently speaking with Amelia near one of the conference rooms, expression tight while Amelia listened with her usual calm composure.
Interestingly enough, she didn’t seem particularly sympathetic.
If anything, she looked mildly exhausted by him.
That was new.
Louis narrowed his eyes slightly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
“You know what I think?” Niall whispered dramatically while leaning closer.
“I think you should mind your business.”
“I think Nick thought you’d come crawling back eventually.”
That immediately shut Louis up.
Because— Maybe.
Maybe Niall wasn’t entirely wrong.
Nick and Louis had spent years together. Comfortable years. Predictable years.
And now suddenly Louis was sleeping in a billionaire’s bed every night while looking visible happier than he had in months.
That probably stung.
Still not Louis’ problem.
“Anyway,” Niall continued while sipping his coffee, “you’re handling this suspiciously well.”
“I’m not.”
“No, but you’re less miserable now.” He paused dramatically before narrowing his eyes. “Which means the sex must’ve been life changing.”
Louis nearly launched a stapler directly at his head.
“Niall.”
“Oh my god it WAS.”
Before Louis could threaten violence properly, movement near the elevators caught his attention.
And instantly—
The entire floor shifted.
Subtle.
Automatic.
Immediate.
Conversations lowered.
Assistants straightened.
Several executives stepped aside without even seeming aware they were doing it.
Harry.
Louis felt his stomach twist immediately.
God. That was embarrassing.
Because Harry hadn’t texted much all afternoon. A few short messages. One meeting running late. Another board issue.
Nothing unusual.
Still enough for Louis to spend half the day irrationally aware of his absence.
Pathetic honestly.
Harry stepped out of the elevator wearing a dark coat over rolled sleeves, expression cool and unreadable in the way only the rest of the world ever got to see.
Business Harry.
Controlled. Untouchable. Sharp enough to make entire rooms nervous.
And somehow Louis still immediately noticed the second Harry saw him.
The shift was tiny.
Still there.
Softened eyes.
Looser shoulders.
Attention narrowing instantly.
Like Louis became the only thing in focus.
Niall saw it too.
“Oh my god,” he whispered emotionally. “That man is DOWN BAD.”
“Please shut up.”
Harry crossed the executive floor calmly while several people attempted speaking to him along the way.
None of them held his attention longer than a few seconds.
By the time he finally stopped beside Louis’ desk, the entire marketing department had once again stopped pretending not to watch them.
“You look tired,” Harry said quietly.
Not hello.
Not good evening.
Just that.
Louis felt something warm twist painfully inside his chest.
“Nick’s attempting psychological warfare.”
“That obvious?”
“Yes.”
Harry’s gaze flicked briefly across the office floor toward Nick, who immediately straightened slightly near the conference room.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop approximately five degrees.
Harry looked back toward Louis afterward, expression unreadable again.
“You done for the day?”
Louis blinked once.
“…technically?”
“Good.”
That was all the warning he got.
Harry reached down, grabbed Louis’ coat from the back of the chair, and held it out toward him like leaving with him was the most obvious thing in the world.
Louis stared.
“You can’t just kidnap employees.”
Harry looked entirely calm.
“Watch me.”
Niall physically grabbed Louis’ arm.
“Oh my god,” he whispered aggressively. “This is the hottest thing I’ve ever witnessed.”
“I hate both of you.”
Harry’s mouth twitched faintly before his attention shifted briefly past Louis again.
Nick.
Their eyes met across the office floor for one long second.
And suddenly Louis understood something deeply unfortunate:
Harry knew exactly what he was doing.
Not cruelly.
Not possessively.
Just deliberately.
Like he’d taken one look at Louis’ miserable day and decided he was removing him from it immediately.
God.
That was so dangerously attractive.
Louis stood slowly from his desk while trying very hard not to look as affected as he suddenly felt.
“Fine,” he muttered while taking his coat. “But if you murder me, I’m haunting your penthouse.”
Harry stepped closer automatically while helping Louis into the coat, fingers briefly brushing the back of his neck in a way that immediately melted approximately half of Louis’ internal organs.
“You’re already there constantly anyway.”
Niall made a sound so dramatic it almost echoed.
“YOU’RE SICKENING.”
Neither of them acknowledged him.
Mostly because Harry’s hand was still resting lightly against Louis’ back while guiding him toward the elevators.
And honestly?
Louis didn’t even pretend to resist anymore.
Behind them, Nick looked furious.
Louis noticed.
Harry definitely noticed too.
Still, neither of them said a word about it.
The elevator doors closed quietly around them several seconds later, finally cutting off the noise of the executive floor completely.
Silence settled instantly afterward.
Then Harry turned toward him fully.
And the entire billionaire facade disappeared almost immediately.
“There he is,” Harry murmured softly while brushing his thumb once beneath Louis’ eye. “I was wondering where you went.”
Oh.
Oh that nearly fucking killed him.
Because Harry said it like Louis disappearing for one bad workday had genuinely bothered him.
Louis looked down briefly before laughing weakly underneath his breath.
“You’re being weirdly nice to me.”
“You had a bad day.”
“That’s not usually how people react to me being irritable.”
Harry frowned slightly like the idea itself annoyed him.
“Well,” he answered calmly, “that sounds like everyone else’s problem.”
Louis genuinely didn’t know what to do with someone treating him this gently yet.
And honestly?
He liked it.