Lydia’s POV

            “I missed you so much Nora.” I cooed like an idiot to the giant animal before me, my hands around her face and squishing the black and white fur. “And I’ll miss you again, but I’ll be back. You remember Louis?” I couldn’t help but smile at the feeling of his name on my lips, it had become so natural to speak of him.

            Everything he did I sort of felt connected to now, and not just because he’d spoken to me nonstop every day, staying awake even in my own time zone just because he wanted to say goodnight, but because I knew that in my heart, seeing him again would mark a huge step in defining us.

            Nora licked her nose at the mention of Louis’ name, her burning blue eyes mirroring his own as she met mine once more.

            “Yeah, I know you remember Louis. You used to cuddle him more than I did.” I giggled, leaning in and placing a kiss on her forehead. “You’re trying to steal my guy.”

            I shook my head after saying that, frowning a bit when I realized for the hundredth time that he really wasn’t ‘my guy.’ I wanted him to be my guy, but he hadn’t mentioned anything of the sort. In fact, our conversations had mostly just been about our day. I’d heard a few of the boys once or twice, but it really wasn’t much, and now that my plane was leaving in less than five hours, I was nervous.

            “Do you think he’s possibly found a girl?” It came out entirely too quiet, Nora’s big eyes turning to find mine again as she closed the distance and nuzzled her big head into my neck.

            “He might have though, he’s not an ugly duckling.” I smiled and turned to rest my head on Nora’s stomach. Laying back to face the cold winter sun and remembering that I should have probably brought a heavier jacket.

            “Lydia, sweetheart. I know you probably don’t want to go, but Nora needs to go in for testing and you really should start off for SeaTac.” Cindy appeared at the edge of the fencing, smiling nostalgically at Nora and I in the position we’d both occupied for over fourteen years.

            “I know, I just don’t want to leave her.” I sighed, moving to stand up right as Nora licked her big tongue across my face.

            “What am I? Chopped liver?” Cindy joked, watching me give the cat a huge hug before promising to see her soon.

            “You’re close enough,” I teased Cindy, allowing her to pull me into a hug that summed up exactly how much I loved her.

            “Now Lydia, before you go, you tell that boy I’m watching him.” She held me at arms length now, her warm honey colored eyes showing me that she held more of a soft spot for Louis than she was willing to admit.

            “He knows you’re watching him. He’ll behave,” I grinned, shaking my head when she rolled her eyes at me.

            “You let him know that it’s not him I’m worried about. No acting up from you, ok? I don’t want to see you snorting coca-“

            “Oh my god, you’re crazy!” I cracked up, Cindy’s caramel hair blowing behind her and making her look much younger than a woman well into her thirties with several kids.

            “I’m in charge of you, so yes I’ve gone a bit nuts over the years. Now get going, that boy won’t be happy if you don’t show up for another few days.” Cindy pulled me in for one last hug before, pushing me out of the exhibit and onto the concrete.

            “Alright, I’m going! Goodbye Nora, I love you!” I called, smiling and blowing a kiss when her familiar blue eyes met mine.

            “Bye sweetheart, tell Louis the girls say hi!” Cindy was locking up the cage again, her phone in one hand and standard Zoo hat in the other.

            “I will! I love you too!” I grinned, walking much quicker than I needed to my car and speeding away as my phone went off with Louis’ namecard.

            “You have now landed in Heathrow airport. Please unbuckle your seatbelts and grab your baggage from the overhead compartments. Thank you for flying with US Airways today, and have a wonderful day.” The sickly sweet voice of one of the many hostesses woke me up from my thirty-minute slumber. The cabin now pressing with the heat of hundreds of bodies scrambling to leave as fast as possible, but none had the determination that I did.

            “Move,” I growled into a woman’s ear. Pulling my baggage out and almost giving her a concussion as I pushed past people without caring.

            For once I was thankful to be smaller than the average woman, slipping past people and shoving them without much of a second glance, and by the time they realized I had pushed, I was far ahead.

            It was with the last shove in front of a group of London goers that I finally saw the exit, the long terminal connecting to the plane as I caught sight of the giant frame that was the Heathrow airport.

            I was in London.

            It took nearly eighteen hours in flights and layovers to get here, but I was finally in London, and Louis was less than a mile away.

            After three months of missing him constantly, you would think I was a little more hostile and savage, but don’t worry, I only shoved a few children.

            “Lydia.” A voice called my name the second I stepped out into the airport, and I probably had whiplash from the force my head was making against my neck. My smile nearly cracking my face open as the big bald man with a harsh exterior, but the most sincere of hearts greeted me.

            “Markus!” I called over to him, running with my dinosaur backpack on to pull the big guy into a hug.

            “Hey sweetheart. I don’t suppose the idiot told you we would be meeting you here, but he’s down in the security room.” Markus’s deep gravelly voice was the same as it had always been, commanding and cutting to the point. His eyes constantly watching out and flitting away from my face, as he used himself as a blockade, shielding me from the public, despite the fact that no one knew who I was.

            “No, he told me you’d be here.” I nodded like a bobble head, trying to shake my nerves by bouncing on the balls of my feet like an idiot.

            “Right, well he was supposed to be up here, but he causes a riot if he even breathes so-“

            “No, no I get it. It’s fine, can we go?” My words were rushed, the force of Louis magnetizing me to him as I could literally feel him standing somewhere in the building.

            “You get it, he threw a damn fit. Probably still is. That kid is the biggest diva if I ever saw one-“ Markus started to rant about Louis, his tone still holding the same amount of tenderness towards Louis as it always had. Markus did care, he just didn’t want everyone else to know how much.

            “What time is it?” I finally interrupted the big bodyguard from his rant about how much Louis had spent on his sports car, cracking up when he just shot me a loving glare and pulled his phone out.

            “Nearly three in the morning. The kid has something going on in the morning, can’t remember what, but he’s been arguing with people about his bedtime for the past five hours.” Markus shook his head, one hand flat on my back as we walked past a group of girls who were pointing and whispering ferociously, camera phones out and pointed towards me as I struggled with not saying anything.

            “Isn’t he twenty-one?” I smirked, pushing the girls who were probably alerting the rest of the world to my arrival to the back of my head, and instead focusing on why I came here; the blue-eyed, argumentative, idiot.

            “He’s twenty-two now baby girl. His management isn’t good about letting him off the hook however, he takes care of himself just fine though. He’s shaped up quite a bit.” Markus informed me, maneuvering us through many different turns at a much quicker pace. My short legs struggling to keep up now as we nearly hit a jogging pace. “Damn girls.” He finally huffed, grabbing my arm and shoving me in front of him so we could fit into a small elevator. The doors dinging open and sealing before whatever he seemed to be moving away from could attack.

            “He’s twenty-two?” I frowned, struggling to remember his birthday with the mass of information I was still trying to swallow about him.

            Wikipedia was incredibly useful actually.

            “Christmas eve, mummy’s little miracle and all that shit. As if he needed a bigger ego?” Markus chuckled good naturedly, the elevator opening up one floor down and releasing us into the hustle and bustle of Heathrow’s busiest terminal. “Keep right next to me Lydia, those girls know you’re here so now the rest of the world knows he’s here.” He finally explained, a firm hand repositioning itself between my shoulders as Markus moved me through marked walkways and past busy cafes, his calm exterior proving nothing as we were still moving at an incredibly quick pace. Attracting the attention from a few teenagers as I flitted my gaze towards the floor and wished I had worn something a little less grungy.

            “He’s shaped up?” I picked up on another hint Markus had dropped, still much later than the actually acceptable frame of time for a conversation, but Madi had told me more than once that Rome wasn’t built in a day.

            Which really made no sense when you thought about it, because Rome wasn’t built like a care? It was originally another city, so really she should have amended it to Rome was not sieged in a day.

            I hated metaphors and similes.

            “He’s definitely shaped up, was caught in a mix up with that pretentious model girlfriend of his awhile ago, but it seemed to just be a very large misunderstanding. He’s kept his record clean, hasn’t been caught for weed or bringing women home. He’s actually spent a lot of time at home or with Harry’s family.” Markus informed me, taking a sharp turn into a hallway that was much narrower than the large skyways above us.

            “Cami-“

            “Don’t worry about her Lydia, I’m serious now. I’m not saying it as Louis’ bodyguard or his friend, I’m saying it as a man who has daughters and knows what he wants for them. You’re like my child now, regardless of the fact that I’ve only met you in a few short months, I’ve seen how he treats you-“ Markus began, stopping short of a closed door, the turn to it’s key coded entrance had completely blocked us from any prying eyes.

            “I’m-“

            “Lydia Stavens, listen to me. If I had daughters your age, I would want a man like Louis to love them. He’s completely honest and willing to admit his mistakes, although he took a few rough bumps at ninety kilometers an hour, he’s figured it out by himself. You have to remember that he’s been forced to be the father of not only his family, but those four boys at a very young age. You know so little of his story, but so much of him. Take these days to get to know him, ok sweetheart? None of those girls are anything to worry about, his heart has been stolen and despite anything that may have occurred, his feelings are with you.” Markus was giving me a look as he finished that meant I was forced to accept what he said, and it didn’t even matter, because at this point, I believed him because I knew who Louis was. I trusted him.

            “Ok, I’m nervous now.” I giggled like a maniac, holding my hands over my mouth and jumping up and down to relieve some of the excess endorphins.

            “He’s right behind that door.” Markus, pointed to the keypad, and my heartrate flew off the charts, spiking at an unhealthy level.

            “Not helping!” I squealed in a whisper, shaking my arms out like a baby penguin and praying to god I didn’t pee myself or something.

            “He’s the same idiot you knew three months ago sweetheart, and I’m sure he’s just as nervous as you are.” Markus informed me calmly, giving me a fatherly sort of smile as he pulled me in for a final hug before his burly form moved to the entrance code. “Do you need a few more minutes?” He gave me the option to wait it out a bit, a moment for my nerves to calm down and for my brain to re-organize, but Louis was nothing if not irrational and spontaneous, so I went with what he would have gone with.

            “No, no I want to see him now.” It came out much calmer than I felt, and as Markus pulled my backpack off of my arms without me noticing, lightening the load and making it easier for the hug that I was hoping would happen, I realized I was more than ready.

            It didn’t matter if I was panicking and breathing like a teenage fangirl, because he was waiting for me at the other side of that door, and he probably looked like a god.

            “Alright, have at him kiddo.” Markus’s heavy British accent was soft and light, losing the edge he usually possessed as the door clicked open virtually silently. The sounds of someone speaking cut off abruptly as Markus motioned for me to make my grand appearance.

            It took an incredibly amount of courage to step those two feet into the security room, and although it may seem like a dramatic thing to say, it really wasn’t. If taken in context it was actually something that sort of made me feel like I was going to throw up butterflies.

            “Did you actually bring her, or are you being a twat as usual?”

            It was the voice that sealed my nervous steps, his light accent floating over syllables and coming out in a unique symphony of words. It was him that would always convince me to possess the courage I struggled to define myself with. Hands shaking a bit as I took a deep breathe and stepped into the room.

            “Oh my god.” Was the first thing I could even think to say, and it was probably the stupidest greeting, but I didn’t care.

            He was so much closer to the door than I’d imagined, my entire body almost colliding with his as I’m sure he was making a beeline to strangle Markus.

            My hands again flew up to my mouth, and I was so overwhelmed by emotions that I almost felt as though I would either explode or cry, but I didn’t want to do either. All I really wanted to do was stare at him, because he had changed.

            I don’t really know if I could put my finger on it, but his hair was messier and just the slightest bit longer, fringing across his head in the usual ‘I just got fucked’ look. His biceps a decent bit larger as they made serious indentations against his black hoodie, the Belfast logo familiar as I’d worn the very same sweatshirt on several occasions. His legs were as usual spread apart, black vans not straying from the norm as I couldn’t help but let out an overwhelmed giggle. His gray sweatpants were sinful, and I’m sure he knew it, for Louis wore sweatpants better than anyone on Earth.

            I wanted so badly to say something else, to make up for my horridly girly exclamation the second I’d caught sight of him, but instead I was pulled into a hug without any warning. Strong arms wrapping tightly around me as Louis took a step closer, his cheek skimming past mine and dammit, I didn’t think I’d miss the feeling of day old stubble as much as I had.

            “Louis.” I finally managed to squeak out, the complete calm and cool I’d convinced myself to put forth had disappeared the second I’d caught even the briefest of glimpses towards his color defying eyes.

            “I fuckin’ missed you babe.” His voice was thick, emotion taking ahold of his accent and deepening his usual chirpy tone.

            “I missed you Lou,” I ran my hands up his chest. Struggling with the idea that we were still just friends, but I needed to feel him, to make sure that he was really standing in front of me with his arms around me like he was never going to let go.

            “You look too good for a damn airport.” He muttered into my ear, my hands knotting over his sweatshirt as his soft hair brushed across my chin. His entire body moving down a bit so he could rest his head in the crook of my neck, hot words making their mark and causing goosebumps to rise on my skin.

            This was real. I was clutching to Louis Tomlinson like an idiot and he was holding on just as tight in the middle of an airport security room, while three men watched us with large smiles.

            “You need a haircut.” I backed up in his arms, staying steady so he wouldn’t let go as I raised my arms up to play with the lengthening hair that had been cut to be styled the way it was, but it was still different.

            “You need to not wear those leggings.” He teased, soft lips raising into a crinkly eyed smile as I nearly lost my pulse.

            Everything about him. Everything I’d forgotten only to remember the second he stepped back into my vision, all of his stupid comments and ridiculously intuitive statements. He was Louis, and he was the same on the inside, he’d just turned a bit sexier –which seemed impossible when you thought about it.

            “Lydia,” Louis said my name for the first time since I’d walked through the door, and I swear to god my heart caught in my throat. My tongue suddenly feeling too big for my mouth as all I could do was look at him, focusing on the many facets of his stained blue eyes. “Do you want to go home?” He finally finished after roaming his eyes over my entire face, his fingers still linked around my back as I hoped he had the intention of never separating them.

            “Home?” I was dumbfounded, still unable to completely focus on his words, too caught up in the way his lips moved with them and the physical presence of him, because the last time I had seen him had been far too long ago, and under terrible circumstances.

            “Yes love, home, with me.” Louis clarified, the light of a joke dancing among his golden features.

            “Yeah, yeah let’s go home.” I nodded in agreement, and I swear his smile deepened at my words

            “Could I perhaps steal you for a minute Lydia? I believe Louis agreed to let me in on one hug.”

            “Victor!” I jumped in Louis’ arms, happy when he let me go –never though I’d say that- because I didn’t think I’d be willing to break out of them on my own.

            “Lydia, you look great.” Victor greeted me, his big-muscly-bodyguard arms wrapping around me in a fatherly hug as I attacked him.

            “She does, doesn’t she?” Louis’ interrupted the moment, and as usual, I was not surprised to catch Victor shooting him an exasperated sort of glare, while Louis just grinned devilishly, hands in his pockets.

            “Alright kids, let’s get you home. Then you can do whatever you want.” Markus rolled his eyes at his last statement, the final bodyguard in the corner remaining silent as he just fell into step behind Louis, Victor taking my side while Markus lead the group.

            Louis didn’t protest for once, his bright eyes studying Victor with approval as I realized it was probably his idea to leave his side open.

            “Oi, c’mere.” His voice sounded again, and I knew I’d never annoyed with it. The way he could curl words into many worlds of warped phrases that could put anyone into cardiac arrest, and how uniquely beautiful it was when he decided to put the world to shame, and sing.

            I didn’t answer him, I was just too overwhelmed to, but that didn’t stop him from being his usual assertive self and wrapping an arm around me, his hand wandering down to the leggings he’d scolded me for.

            “You’re so handsy.” I smirked, feeling a little less light headed, and much happier than I’d been for months

            “Damn, you’ve become more observant.” Louis joked, leaning in to press his lips to my cheek in impossibly short seconds of time. The imprint of them staining my heart the color of his eyes.

            “Will you two shut up? It’s been ten minutes and I’m already sick of you.” Markus shot at us from the front, his fast pace only picking up with Louis in tow.

            “Want to sleepover at mine Markie? You can share the bed with me, but not with Lydia. She’s a bed hog.” Louis cracked jokes like he charmed people, and I bit back a chuckle. Taking the warning look from Markus with a small grin as Louis laughed openly beside me.

            “Oh shit!” I squeaked, turning abruptly in Louis’ arms, and grunting when his hand tensed against my side. Linking into the side of my leggings and keeping me from running between the gap of Victor and Markus.

            “Alberto already had your luggage loaded into the car, it’s all taken care of. Just stay by me and k-“

            “-keep your head down. Got it.” I quoted Louis, cracking up when he rolling his eyes at me, looking less than impressed even as his eyes skimmed over amusement.

            “I missed your laugh.” He had been silent for a moment, taking turns with the rest of the group, but then he had of course came up with the most heart stopping sentence to ruin my calm streak with. His fingers still tucked into the side of my leggings as he pushed me along.

            “You’re such a softie.” I grinned, teasing him as I moved to bump into his shoulder. My stupidly curly hair probably smacking him in the face, but if he noticed, he just kept smiling like an idiot anyways.

            “I missed your smile too, you don’t do it enough.”

            Well shit.

            “You smile enough for the both of us.” I came back with, not even noticing that we had made it outside of Heathrow, the chilly air hitting me harder than a bucket of ice water.

            “I can’t admire my own smile though,” Louis smirked, pulling me closer to his side and speeding up the walking. An open SUV waiting for us as we cleared the last twenty feet, my luggage clearly visible in the backseat.

            “I’ll buy you a mirror.” I grinned, trying not to combust when he moved to set both of his hands on either side of my hips, helping me into the SUV and climbing in directly after. His chipper smile never losing sincerity, even as a few girls lined up to shout ‘I love you’s’ and snap a few flash ridden pictures.

            The door was slammed after that, and we were left in the confines of the dark car as just Markus took the drivers wheel. Pulling out of Heathrow carefully and onto what was the opposite side of the street to me.

            The silence left me to my thoughts though, and that wasn’t a place that I really wanted to be left in when I was around Louis.

            He was sitting to my left, his eyes staring straight ahead at the busy road –clearly London never sleeps- but his arms were crossed over his broad chest. His hoodie pulled up over his dark hair, and more than a seat of space between us as I’d gone for the farthest seat.

            Louis’ mind was somewhere different, but mine was on him and how I just really wanted to feel completely safe with his arms wrapped around me. Even further than that, I could still feel the fading sensation of his lips against my cheek, and although I had never been huge on kissing –it struck me as a mundane task- there was nothing I wanted more than to feel his lips against mine.

            Kissing Louis wasn’t like anything else, it wasn’t boring or repetitive because he was too fidgety to sit still. Constantly changing or moving because he got bored quicker than I did –he was a bit ADHD.

            “Are you tired?” Louis finally spoke up, and I was pleased that I recognized the neighborhood even after just a few trips there.

            “Kind of, well, yeah. I’m exhausted.” I finally finished, having to think much harder than usual to just determine whether or not I was tired or excited or in a coma.

            “We have to be up at eight for rehearsals, Morgan agreed to let you come if you’d like. Otherwise the flat is yours until we’re back, I figured you could come to dinner with the boys and I?” Louis was rattling off information that I was scrambling to pick up, the large SUV stopping in front of the giant white flat as Markus waited patiently for us to leave.

            “I’ll be up, yeah. I want to come.” I nodded opening my side of the door and scrambling out. My head still in the clouds and my heart still set on the messy haired man that was pulling my bags out and throwing them over his shoulder like they weighed nothing.

            “They’re a bit idotic, so I apologize for that. Also, you’re about to meet Harry. He’s a cuddler so beware, but you can go to sleep after that.” Louis continued to explain, and there was something slightly awkward about us being friends.

            I just couldn’t let go of the memories this apartment held, and by the looks of it, neither could he.

            “Talkin’ shit about my and I’m waiting all goddamn night for your arse to show up.” A much deeper voice sounded through the night air, the noise of Markus leaving the driveway fading to the distance as a lanky kid with a lot of hair stepped into the illuminated driveway.

            “He’s Harry?” I hissed to Louis, expecting the blonde kid but getting the hairy one.

            “Niall’s the blonde babe, I already explained that.” Louis sounded close to hysterical laughter, his voice breaking an octave higher as I just stared at him confused.

            “Hi Harry?” I frowned, a little disappointed since I’d prepared myself for someone completely different, but still charmed all the same.

            I could see his countless tattoos even in the dark, confused as to why he was wearing a tank top, but deciding to follow Louis’ lead into the familiar apartment. Basking in the warmth it presented as I cleared the doors and smirked at the tidy appearance.

            “You cleaned.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement, and a statement I very well knew the answer to because Louis was not a clean man.

            “For like two days straight, drove us all nuts.” Harry sighed, rubbing his hands over a pair of stunning green eyes, his hair curling all over the place and his crumpled shirt looking like he’d literally just crawled out of hell –or his bed?

            “Glad to see you lot get along, Harry this is Lydia, Lydia this is my best friend.” Louis introduced us, and I almost giggled at the severe difference in the pair.

            Louis was short and incredibly muscular, his darkly defined features proving that he had already become a man. Then there was Harry, tall and lanky, dwarfing Louis as he still seemed a bit awkward and dorky in his own body, lost somewhere between a child and a man, but not completely there yet.

            “Lydia, you’re hot.” Harry smirked, giving Louis a look before a different pair of long arms were encompassing me, nearly circling around my entire body as I patted his back, unsure of how to make use of myself while Louis just fought between cracking up and smacking Harry.

            “She’s mine, alright. So fuck off.” Louis sighed the second Harry pulled away, delivering a painful looking smack to his younger counterpart as Harry just chuckled and held his hands up in surrender. Their dark entryway giving way to a set of stairs that were currently drawing in my attention.

            “I’m going to bed, m’exhausted and we have to be up in three bloody hours.” Harry yawned, his words muddled and slow as his tan arms stretched over his head, his lanky figure disappearing up the dark stairs as Louis and I just stared at my luggage.

            “Can we not?” He finally suggested, the weight of several long days finally seeming to weigh upon both of us, his bright eyes slightly covered by drooping eyelids as we stared at the unmoving bags.

            “Tomorrow sounds great.” I grinned like a delusional idiot, picking my backpack up and thanking Jesus that I had known something like this would happen. A pair of pajamas already packed inside its dinosaur depths.

            “You know where the spare room is and the loo, right?” Louis questioned me, kicking his shoes off and following behind me as I was careful not to trip over a stray football or something ridiculous that he would have left out.

            “Yeah, thanks Louis. I’ll see you tomorr- well later today?” I chuckled, realizing I was in for another sleepless night as we cleared the landing and I caught sight of his room. The boxers for once picked up off of the floor as his comfy white sheets looked more than inviting.

            “I’ll see you in a bit babe, sleep well. You know where to find me.” Louis nodded, pulling me in for a quick hug, his familiar arms leaving too soon as we both started to go in separate ways.

            The door to his room closed silently, the twin room across from it already shut tightly as a ‘Harry is gay’ sign donned its door.

            I took a minute to stand over his landing, admiring the pictures of his family and Harry’s the lined the walls, but not spending too much time worrying about things I didn’t know quite yet.

            Things were a little strange coming back to him, but I really couldn’t have been happier. I hadn’t expected him to welcome me with open arms or kiss me senseless, but he’d been much more open than I ever remembered him, which lead me to hope that it could one day be the same, and even if it couldn’t, Louis was one of the best parts of my life and I’m sure he always would be.

            It took me a little under thirty seconds to change into my shorts and tank top, and even less time to fall onto the bed that matched Louis’.

            It was the same white comforter and plushy mattress, but it wasn’t Louis’ and I found it even more difficult to attempt to fall asleep in a bed so close to his own, than I had when he’d left. It was the fact that he was snuggled up, most likely in just his stupid boxers, and I was only feet away, but not sharing the space with him.

            My thoughts were lost to that as I struggled with falling asleep, rolling over far too often and nearly screaming when the clock on my phone hit four thirty and I still hadn’t even calmed my brain down enough to even think of counting sheep.

            That’s what settled my resolve, and I didn’t even care if it was a bad idea, because I just needed him. I wasn’t weak and I wasn’t girly, but I was far too attached to Louis Tomlinson, and I just couldn’t sleep until I heard his voice one more time.

            With my comforter wrapped around me like I was a giant marshmallow, and my wild hair tied with three hairbands down to my head in a sloppy bun, I slowly pushed Louis’ door open and took one quiet step in –which totally wasn’t quiet because I had twenty extra feet of white blanket behind me.

            “Louis?” I whispered, feeling a little pathetic as I caught sight of a floppy stain of brown hair against the white sheets, his eyes sealed and a slight snore igniting the room every few seconds. “Louis” I hissed again, almost about to back out of the room again when he shot away –much like my mother would when I woke her up from a nap. Yeah, I know you all know that feeling, and it’s scary as shit.

            “Hm? Yeah? Babe? Lydia? Babe?” Louis was mumbling, his sleepy voice so ridiculously sexy that I almost had to force myself to answer him.

            “Uh, nothing.” I felt stupid saying it, but I was an idiot for even coming into his room in the first place. It was obvious to me that he had put me in the guest room because he didn’t want to deal with me at night.

            “No, what’s wrong.” He had rolled over in the sheets, his bare torso exposed as he ran one of his small hands over his hair, pushing it back only so it could fall back into his face. Just the hint of blue peeking out as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

            “It’s stupid.” I frowned, starting to back up and hoping that he wouldn’t remember this in the morning.

            “It’s not stupid baby, and you look like a marshmallow.” Louis was teasing even in his half conscious state, the first time he’d ever called me baby catching me off guard as it wasn’t a name I found attractive until it was muddled by an exhausted brit. “A sexy marshmallow, now what’s wrong?” Louis finished, rolling to sit up, the lines of his inked chest making an appearance, and my god did I miss them.

            “I can’t sleep, it’s not a big deal. I’m sorry, go back to sleep.” I whispered it in a stretch of random words, my eyelids drooping as I realized I would probably pass out where I was standing in just a few seconds.

            “Get in the bed,” Louis came back with. Taking me completely by surprise as he patted the spot next to him, the spot that I already knew was mine because we had sides already –even though he didn’t want to admit it.

            “Louis I’m just going to-“

            “Get in the goddamn bed Lydia before I drag your ass kicking and screaming, I want you to sleep in my bed. How many more times do I have to say it, I just thought you wanted to space. Come here.” He was saying words that probably didn’t make much sense to the alert mind, but both of us being tired meant we spoke the same language, and although my heart was pounding fiercely against my chest, I couldn’t stop the onslaught of butterflies and sleepy smiles.

            I shuffled forward, still wrapped in the large comforter and grinning when I heard Louis laughing, his bright eyes piercing the dark air and illuminating everything in front of him as he watched me with a smile that cut through my heart.

            “C’mon, get in.” He tugged the bottom of my tank top, waiting patiently for me to crawl in with my comforter before he pushed the white blanket off of me and pulled me to him without a seconds wait. Arms circling around me like they had before, and his lips making another light impression against my shoulder as he left no space between us.

            His soft breathing slowly settling into comfortable sleep with mine as we once more found our own bit of heaven in a large amount of fluffy white sheets, his arms remaining tight around me, even as his conscious mind left.

            This was where I felt most safe, and even though it took me nearly half a year to see it, I was so in love with Louis Tomlinson that there was no more backtracking, I could never go back, and I never wanted to.

A/N

        kshjdabfkajwkdfjhbamsnfkjqmbvkas,hjcowjhgfbj si'm not ok

sdjafknma,hfw 'm notl...

ahhhhh it toook forever o write and it was so much longer than i anticipated but ugh i loved it and my heart was like racing with hers and i'm so emotionally invtested that it's sad.......

uhm i wanna get this up so short authors note

can we all loudia fangirl in the comments?

lskhdnvlkqejhdfovhabjhcapikjvhlakhfoihoqihroauhfkdnvsilkhfiehgilaenjgvlkahfwhtilekhjfnais ahrgjoaiwuhopawhrlkwaejtewht;we

AND THAT GIF OF LOUIS
HE HAS BEEN SO ON POINT THIS ENTIRE TOUR LIKE OMFG LOUIS TOMLINSON IS REACHING NEW LEVELS OF SEXY

AND MARKIUS AND VICTOR

THE REAL HEROES OF ZOO

SKLHAVLNKAJH AND SHE MET HARRY

VERY BRIEFLY

I PROMISE IT'LL BE LONGER SOON

BUT SHE MET HIM AND SHE THOUGHT HE WAS NIALL BECAUS SHE'S AND IDIOT

NYWAUDNFA;WKJLAKHF ANYWAYS

I GOTTA GO! HAVE FUN REALDING KAHFLANWVIWA :) :) :)

AND THE GIFFFFFFFFFFFFFF....... AHGHKGFDJSHGLKAE

-HANNAH