Work Text:
♡♡♡
unrest the hive in my head
then tell me are your legs weary, yeah
we’re just slow dancing under the moon (like wolves)
I found my corner of the world in your bedroom
I gotta say, but I know that I can’t
I left my heart in Melbourne
The Fantastical Nightlives of Neon Bulbs - For Our Hero
♡♡♡
♡ HARRY ♡
♡♡♡
Harry scans his myki card and steps through the ticket barrier, trying to ignore Niall’s voice as he does the same thing just to his right.
It’s not very effective. Niall’s using his teacher voice, as if he’s explaining the Pythagorean theorem to his Year Nines, except in this case he’s explaining to Harry exactly how much of a failure he is at his own love life.
He pauses to examine the timetable board. “Train’s in three minutes,” he says, hoping Niall will get distracted, but of course it doesn't work. Niall is relentlessly persistent. Harry had admired that quality when they’d first met, but now it’s just annoying.
“I’m just saying, mate,” Niall says, for probably the fifth time that day. “It would be really good for you.”
“No, thanks,” Harry says, not that Niall seems to be listening to him at all.
“Seriously,” he says. “What have you got to lose?”
“Ouch.”
“You know I don’t mean it like that.”
“What do you mean it like, then?”
“Just…” Niall turns to look at him. “I’m worried about you.”
Harry scoffs, and Niall continues. “I just don’t want you to be lonely.”
“I’m not lonely, Nialler, don’t worry about me.” He’s not. Most of the time, anyway. But even so, he’s definitely not desperate enough to sign up for -
“Heart In Melbourne would be perfect for you! One little dating app and all your problems will be solved.”
Harry sighs deeply. “Look, I know you found your dream girl on there - ”
“Love of my life, she is,” Niall says. “Tash is the best thing I've ever found on the internet.”
“…right,” Harry says. “But just because everything worked out great for you doesn’t mean that it’s going to work out that way for me too. Or that I even want it to, for that matter.”
The train pulls into the platform, and they walk on, finding an empty group of seats. Thankfully, Niall finally drops the subject, and they chat quietly about their weekend plans. Niall and Tash are going to check out the new Alice in Wonderland exhibition at ACMII with two of their other housemates, Bec and Josh, and Niall invites Harry to come along. He accepts, even though he hates feeling like a fifth wheel when he goes to things with the two couples, because he’s been wanting to see the exhibit anyway and it’s not like he has a boyfriend of his own to go with him.
When they get off the train, the sun has already set and the sky is inky blue, a few stars starting to shine through. It makes Harry frown, squinting up at them as he scans his myki at the station exit. He hates the way it just gets darker earlier and earlier every day as they get further into June, the Melbourne winter gloom well and truly settled in.
He follows Niall over to his car, climbing in and turning up the heater for the short drive back to their house. They live quite close by, and most of the time Harry enjoys walking to and from the station every day, but this time of year it’s just too dark and too cold to be able to do it.
When they get home, Harry heads straight to his bedroom to get changed out of his work clothes. He pauses to greet Ben and Andy, who are watching a movie in the lounge room, cuddled up together on one of the couches. Bec and Josh must be out, or upstairs in their room, because he doesn’t see them as he walks through the house.
Harry’s bedroom is the only one on the ground floor, right at the back of the house. He thinks it must have originally been an office, or something, because it’s quite small, but Harry loves it. He’s got his double bed pressed up against one wall, his small desk slash bedside table next to it, and then his overflowing bookshelves lined up against the back wall. Harry loves working at a book shop, but it’s definitely to blame for his book collection growing at a more rapid rate than usual.
He pulls off his black pants and matching black work polo, choosing a soft hoodie from his wardrobe and pairing it with his oldest pair of trackies, the ones with the really stretchy waistband. Harry doesn’t have anybody he’s trying to impress, and besides, Fridays are always a takeaway night in their household. It’s Niall’s week to choose, which means they’ll be having pizza, which is just fine by Harry. A medium Hawaiian with extra cheese sounds like just the thing to cheer Harry up, get him out of the weird mood he’s been in since the conversation with Niall.
He hadn’t been taking Niall’s suggestion seriously, at first. He knows that this is just the latest in a string of attempts that Niall had been making to get Harry to start dating, now that Niall was going out with Tash and Harry was effectively living in a four bedroom house with three other couples. He hadn’t been too worried about it, he didn’t mind living with a bunch of loved up people - so long as they kept the actual loving in their own rooms, with the doors shut, thank you very much, Niall - but if he’s actually honest with himself, maybe it’s not such a bad idea. Well, the dating app is probably a bad idea, but making a conscious decision to put himself out there, to start being open to other people, maybe that’s just what Harry needs right now.
He puts on a pair of fluffy socks to combat the chill of the floorboards, and pads out into the hallway just in time to see Niall opening the door to the Deliveroo delivery guy. He helps Niall carry the giant stack of pizza boxes into the kitchen, breathing in the delicious smell of the garlic bread they always get.
They eat in the lounge room, all six housemates plus Tash spread across the couches and the squishy armchair in the corner. They stuff themselves with food, and watch whatever movie happens to be playing on TV that week (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, this time) and it’s the best. Harry loves their Friday night tradition.
By the time the credits are rolling on the screen, the coffee table is full of empty pizza boxes, and Andy and Ben have already fallen asleep wrapped around each other on the armchair, even though it’s only 9pm. Harry smiles at them, and makes sure the blanket is tucked over them to keep them warm until they wake up and go upstairs to their bedroom. He can't help but wonder what it might be like to have a boyfriend of his own to join him for Friday night takeaway. It’s a nice thought.
When Harry crawls into bed, burrowing down under the doona, it’s still on his mind. He can't help but think about what Niall had suggested. Heart In Melbourne. He still thinks it’s a dumb name for a dating app, but maybe he should at least try it out. Just see how it works, even, just to satisfy his own curiosity. How hard could internet dating actually be?
He unlocks his phone and pulls up the app store.
Here goes nothing.
♡♡♡
♡ LOUIS ♡
♡♡♡
Louis spins around on his desk chair, tucking his legs up so that he spins faster. After a few seconds, the chair slows down again, bringing him to a stop back facing his computer screen. He huffs out a breath, and puts his feet back on the ground again.
Louis might be twenty five years old with a grown up job and everything, but he's bored, and there’s nobody else around to judge him. And honestly, why would they give him a spinny chair if not to imply that he should use it to spin?
Working at a help desk isn’t exactly a glamorous job, or particularly challenging either. Louis had worked hard for years to get his IT degree, dreaming about the incredible things he’d be able to do after graduating. Instead, he spends thirty-eight hours a week sitting at a desk in a tiny office, answering poorly written instant messages from people who can't figure out how to upload pictures to their profile. At least he doesn’t have to wear a tie.
He shouldn’t complain, really. He does enjoy his work most of the time, it pays well, and his bosses are nice. He knows he’s lucky to even have a job, considering how brutal the job market can be in Melbourne these days for university graduates. He’s grateful to be putting his degree into practice, even if it is just troubleshooting at the Heart In Melbourne HQ.
It’s been a quiet shift so far, the people of Melbourne obviously having better things to do with their time than trying to find the love of their life on a dating app - or at least better things to do than contact the help desk for said app, anyway.
Louis grabs the edge of his desk, ready to go for another spin when he’s startled by a loud ringing. He stares at the phone on the corner of his desk, red light flashing at him. He’d kind of forgotten that was there, actually. It’s not like he ever uses it. He wheels himself back to his desk properly, and picks up the handset cautiously.
“Hello?” he says, like an idiot, before remembering to add his company-mandated spiel. “Thank you for contacting Heart In Melbourne, my name is Louis, how can I help you today?”
“Um,” says the voice. “Hiiii. My name is Harry”
“Hi, Harry,” Louis says. “What can I do for you?”
“I was just having a problem with the app,” Harry explains. “Is this the right place to call for tech support?”
“Um, yeah, it is,” Louis says. “Sorry, it’s just that people don’t usually call… like ever. I’m used to doing this through the instant messaging service.”
“Oh,” says Harry. “Sorry, do you want me to hang up and do that then? I’ll just - ”
“No,” says Louis quickly. “It’s fine. Just a new experience for me, that’s all! Very happy to help you, Harry.”
Louis hopes this call isn’t getting recorded for “quality assurance purposes.” His bosses definitely don’t need to listen to this hot mess of a conversation.
“So what’s up, then? Are you having trouble uploading your profile pictures?”
“No,” Harry says, entirely seriously. “I got that all done fine, it’s just that the app’s not letting me send any messages?”
“Hmmm,” says Louis. He’s pretty sure he knows what the problem is, but he’ll have to pull up Harry’s profile to check. “Let me take a look, then. What’s the email address you signed up for the app with?”
Harry rattles off his email, which is disappointingly normal ([email protected]). One of Louis’ favourite parts of his job is keeping a list of all the ridiculous emails that people use, so he can show them to Liam, his roommate. (The highlights of this week’s list include HotBoiiiii6969 and noGIRAFFESinhereplease).
Louis brings up Harry’s profile on his screen, and shit. He’s gorgeous. Harry is exactly the kind of guy who doesn’t need an app to get dates, he probably has people falling all over him at the supermarket.
He scrolls down, so he can see the rest of Harry’s profile.
Harry S., 24
Gender: Male
Looking For: Male
Bio: Hi, I’m Harry! I like books, bread, and bananas.Treat people with kindness xx
Harry has three pictures on his profile. In the first one, he’s grinning at the camera, holding a pumpkin of all things, cradling it against his body like it’s a baby. Louis would really like to ask him for some context, actually, but he holds his tongue. Professionalism. The next photo shows Harry dressed in a graduation cap and gown, arms around who Louis guesses are his mum and his sister, based on the obvious resemblance. Flicking through to the last picture, Louis’ throat goes dry. In this one, Harry’s shirtless, wearing the most ridiculous yellow shorts, standing next to another shirtless blond boy, who looks like he’s five minutes away from a very bad sunburn.
Well. Louis has to hand it to him, Harry’s managed to curate an eclectic yet strangely endearing set of photos for his profile. Louis has seen a lot of dating profiles by now, and he knows how hard it is to make yourself seem attractive while also not looking like a dickhead. If Louis was using the app, and Harry’s profile came up, he would definitely match with him, and shit, he really needs to stop any thoughts like that.
He can see that Harry’s already got quite a few matches, and a handful have sent him messages. “Hey,” writes Adam F. Succinct. “I bet you have a nice dick,” says Jaxxon R. If Louis deletes that one, then he’ll blame it on an accident. Really, he’s saving Harry from the horror of having to talk to someone named Jaxxon, especially one who sends crude messages to strangers.
Harry hasn’t responded to any of the messages, and Louis is pretty sure he knows what’s stopping him. He pulls up the screen, and sure enough, there are three unchecked boxes which should all be checked.
“Okey dokey,” he says, cringing as he says it. “I can see the problem, so I’ll just fix that for you and it should all be working.”
He clicks the screen, ticking box one, box two, and hovering over box three. He leaves it blank. “Okay,” he says down the line. “That’s all done for you, Harry.”
“Thank you,” Harry says. “You’ve been very helpful.”
“No problem,” Louis replies. The blank box is staring at him. “If there’s anything else I can do for you, let me know.”
“I will,” Harry says. “Have a good day, Louis.”
“You too,” he replies, and the line goes dead.
He hangs up the phone and puts his head in his hands. “Pathetic, Tomlinson, honestly.”
♡♡♡
Harry calls back the next day.
Louis is prepared this time, and answers the phone like a functional, professional human being.
“Hi, Louis!” Harry says.
“Harry!” Louis says. “My favourite phone customer! Well, this is a surprise.” Well, the professionalism was good while it lasted.
“Yeah,” Harry replies. “Um, it’s just… Well, it’s still not working. Sorry.”
“Oh dear,” Louis says, trying to hide his smile. “That’s a shame. Let me have a look and see if I can figure out what’s going on, then.”
He chats with Harry for a bit, all the while staring at the screen where he can see the box that he purposefully left unticked yesterday. He’s a terrible person.
He feels worse the longer they talk, because Harry is so nice, and sweet, and funny. He can't help but wish that he’d met Harry under different circumstances - had met him at all, actually, not just talked to him on the phone and perved at the photos on his online profile. But there’s no point wishing for something that’s not going to happen, and besides, Harry seems pretty invested in his online dating. He obviously is keen to send messages to these people, enough that he’s called Louis two days in a row trying to get it fixed. It’s not Louis’ place to get in his way, especially considering it is quite literally his job to make sure that Harry can message as many internet strangers as he wants.
He clicks his mouse, finally ticking the box. It’s stupid, but he feels a bit sad about it. “Alright, Harry,” he says. “Think I’ve fixed everything here on my end. It all should be working for you just fine, now.”
“That’s great, thanks Louis.”
“You’re welcome. I hope it works out for you. The dating thing, I mean.”
“Thanks,” Harry says. “It’s been really nice talking to you.”
“You too,” Louis says. “If you ever need help again, you know where to find me.”
They say goodbye, and after Louis hangs up the phone, he puts his head down on his desk, right on top of his keyboard. He sits there for a few minutes, letting himself be ridiculous. Once he finally sits up, he has to delete several pages of “ggggggggggg” that his forehead had inadvertently typed.
He’s still moping half an hour later, halfway through a cup of tea and working his way through the packet of double coat Tim Tams he’d nicked from the office kitchen, when his phone rings again.
“Hello?” he answers cautiously. “Thanks for contacting - ”
“Hey, Lou,” Harry says.
“Harry!” Louis says. “Wasn’t expecting to hear from you again so soon!” He’d actually fixed everything this time, the app should be working fine for Harry. Had he missed something?
“Well,” Harry says, slowly, “you said that I should call you if I needed help again, right?”
“Right,” agrees Louis. “Is the app giving you trouble again?”
“Oh no,” Harry says. “Nothing like that.”
And okay, now Louis is officially confused.
“I’m at the supermarket,” Harry says. “The Woolies on Swanston Street?”
“Sure,” Louis says, because he’s not sure what else to say. He knows the one, it’s just a few blocks from his office, actually.
“Right,” Harry says. “And I’m not sure if I should buy the crispy M&Ms or the mini M&Ms. They’re on special this week, did you know? Half price.”
“A true 21st century dilemma, that one,” Louis says.
“I’m glad you understand my struggles,” Harry says, sounding pleased.
“So let me get this straight. You called the Heart In Melbourne Customer Support line so you could ask me which chocolate you should buy?”
“Yep.”
“Right.” Louis really hopes that nobody listens to these calls.
“Hey, you told me to call if you could ever help me again, didn’t you?”
“I did,” Louis agrees.
“Exactly,” Harry says. “And now I need your help, so. What do you reckon?”
“Well,” Louis says, taking a moment to think. “There are pros and cons for each option, obviously, but I think you should just do the sensible thing and buy one of each.”
“A man after my own heart,” Harry says, and Louis thinks he has actual butterflies in his stomach after hearing that, what the fuck.
“Thanks, Lou,” Harry continues. “You have truly saved the day.”
“Happy to be of service,” Louis says. “But, um - No, never mind.”
“No, what is it?” Harry asks. “Tell me.”
“I was going to say that maybe if you ever needed help for a similar problem, and maybe it was out of office hours or something, that it might be a good idea if you had my normal phone number. Just in case.”
“That sounds only logical,” Harry says, and Louis can hear his grin through the phone.
Louis rattles off his mobile number, Harry repeating it back to him to make sure he’s got it right.
“Okay, I’ll let you get back to work,” Harry says, once he’s made Louis promise to text him.
“Alright,” Louis agrees, even though there is really nothing that he would rather do less right now. “Enjoy your M&Ms.”
Harry laughs, loud and bright. “I will. Bye, Lou.”
The rest of his shift floats by. He helps four people upload their profile pictures, and explains to one particularly confused person exactly why Louis can’t help him order a cheeseburger, and he does it all with a smile, because he’s got a cute boy’s phone number and he’s got permission to use it. It’s a good day in the office.
♡♡♡
♡ HARRY ♡
♡♡♡
“Who are you talking to?”
Harry jumps, holding one hand to his chest in fright, the other clinging to his phone. Niall’s grinning at him, leaning over the back of their old couch.
“Nobody,” Harry says, locking his screen so the text conversation with Louis goes black.
“Did you finally sign up for Heart In Melbourne, then?”
“Um…”
“You did, didn’t you!”
Harry shrugs, and tucks his phone under his thigh, carefully out of Niall’s reach.
“Did you match with a nice guy then?”
“Well, not exactly,” Harry says. “I met someone from the app, but I didn’t match with them, per se.”
“What does that mean?”
Harry shrugs again.
“His name is Louis.”
“Louis,” Niall says, like he's testing it out. “Does he seem alright?”
“Yeah, he’s nice.”
“Right. Can I see a pic, then?”
“I don’t have one.”
“What?” Niall yelps. “Does he not have any on his profile or anything? Geez, H, he’s probably a creepy forty year old creepy man - ”
“No, he doesn’t have a profile,” Harry says.
“Okay, I’m officially confused. How did you meet on Heart In Melbourne if he doesn’t have a profile?”
“He’s the IT guy.”
“He’s the IT guy,” Niall echoes. “What the actual fuck, H.”
Harry shrugs. “He’s really nice. The app was glitching, so I called customer support to get it fixed, and we just got talking. He helped me pick M&Ms.”
“He helped you pick M&Ms,” Niall says.
“Yes,” Harry says. “Are you just going to keep repeating everything I say?”
“I wouldn’t have to if you weren’t being ridiculous,” Niall says. “Honestly, Harry, you are the worst person at internet dating that I’ve ever known.”
“And yet I have a date.” He does, and he’s pretty excited about it actually. They’d arranged to go out for dinner on Saturday, and he can’t wait. They’d been discussing where to go to eat when Niall had interrupted.
“Oh my god, H,” Niall says, running his hand through his hair.
“Hey,” says Harry. “You were the one who wanted me to do this in the first place.”
“Yeah,” Niall says, “match with a nice bloke, not get chatted up by the creepy IT guy.”
“Louis isn’t a creep.”
“But how do you know?”
“Because I’ve already met him.”
“What the fuck,” Niall says. “When? Where? Thank god you weren’t murdered.”
Harry laughs, but honestly, he can kind of see in hindsight how it might not have been his smartest decision to go and meet a guy he’d only spoken to on the phone. He hadn’t even been able to find a company photo of Louis on the app’s website (that Google search had been a low point), so he’d gone into it totally blind.
But Harry had finished work today to find a text on his phone from Louis, whining about how cold it was in the city, and so it had seemed like a natural move when he’d sent him a message inviting him for a hot chocolate at the Lindt cafe across the road from the bookshop where he worked. He’d had a moment of panic immediately after sending the text, but Louis had agreed enthusiastically, and sure enough, fifteen minutes later, Harry had seen an angel waving at him as he strolled down Collins Street, and all of Harry’s hesitations had flown out the window.
Well, all of them except for one - he just wished that he hadn’t been in his work clothes. They weren’t ugly or anything, the black uniform was just fine, but once he’d seen Louis in person for the first time, he’d just really wished he had been in his best skinny jeans, the ones that made his legs look really nice. He’d wanted to be able to make a really good first impression, because Louis was stunning - soft looking hair, and soft looking clothes, all contrasting with the sharp cheekbones and the dusting of scruff that Harry could just imagine brushing up against his -
“Well?” says Niall.
Harry clears his throat. “We had hot chocolate, today, after work,” he explains. “It was nice.”
“With the little marshmallows?”
“Of course.”
Niall hums. “And you’re going out again?”
“Yeah,” Harry says, blushing as he remembers how shy Louis had been, asking Harry if he would maybe like to have dinner some time. This dating app thing was working out better than he could ever have imagined. He would have to make sure to give the company a five star review. “On Saturday night.”
“Okay. Well, if you’re happy, then I’m happy,” Niall says, squinting at him.
“I’m happy,” Harry says. “Very happy.”
♡♡♡
For all that Harry had agonised over his outfit the other day, now that he actually has the chance to pick out his best look, he’s pretty sure that he has nothing to wear. He’s dragged out three-quarters of the contents of his wardrobe at this point, all strewn over his bed, and he can’t find anything that looks good enough. Even his old faithful, the black button up, somehow looks inadequate when he puts it on. He sighs, and switches it out for a pink silky number that he’d found at Vinnies for $2 a few months ago, but had never actually found the right occasion to wear it. He frowns at himself in the mirror. He likes it, but is it first-date material?
Harry checks his watch, realises that he has to leave within the next five minutes if he doesn’t want to be late, swears under his breath and puts the black shirt back on again. He gives himself a spritz of cologne, tugs on his favourite winter coat, and is out of the door in record time.
Once he’s on the train into the city, he’s got nothing to keep him distracted from his nerves. He hasn’t been on a proper date in ages, not since he’s finished uni, and he just really wants this one to go well.
He gets off at Flinders Street Station, crossing the road to get to Federation Square, where he’d agreed to meet Louis. He spots him right away, wrapped up in a knitted scarf and looking adorable. He waves at Harry as he approaches, and then reaches his arm out to bring him in for a hug.
“Hi,” Louis says, and Harry notices Louis has to look up at him just a tiny bit. “How are you?”
“Good,” Harry says. “Great.”
Louis laughs. “Glad we’ve got that settled. Should we go?” He gestures with his hand in the direction of the restaurant, and Harry nods, letting Louis put his hand in the small of Harry’s back to guide him. They’d decided to go for dumplings, so they walk slowly in the direction of Chinatown, weaving their way around busy streams of tourists and locals who are all enjoying an evening in the city.
The conversation comes easily over dinner, much to Harry’s relief. Louis is so easy to be around, and Harry’s having a lot of fun. He’s got a tummy full of pork dumplings, a cute boy grinning at him from the other side of their tiny table, and the night is young.
“So how’s work going?” he asks Louis, laughing as he rolls his eyes.
“It’s alright,” Louis says. “Not enough gorgeous guys calling me up to fix their tech problems, though, I must say.”
“Heeeey,” Harry says.
Louis just grins in response, and eats another dumpling.
“Oh,” Harry says. “Can I ask you a question? About your work?”
“Sure.”
“Have you ever considered the fact that it really sounds like ‘Hard In Melbourne?’”
Louis laughs. “Every single day of my life, Curly.”
“That would be a very different app.”
“I dunno,” Louis says. “I’ve seen far more than I’d care to say while working at that help desk. The amount of people who send dick pics before even saying hello to people…”
Harry shudders. “Tell me about it.”
“Not your cup of tea, either?”
Harry shakes his head.
“Why did you sign up for Heart In Melbourne in the first place? If you don’t mind me asking.”
Harry sighs. “It’s a long story. Basically, my best friend Niall met his girlfriend Tash on there a few months ago, and now I live in a house full of couples, and he kept nagging me to sign up for it too. Eventually I gave in, and decided to give it a try.”
“And how did that work out for you?”
“Well, I got you, didn’t I?” Harry pokes his tongue out at Louis, making him giggle.
“Lucky bloke,” Louis says. “But really, how’s it going?”
“How’s what going?”
“The app? Have you gotten any good matches?”
“Oh, I deleted it,” Harry says.
“You deleted it?”
“Yeah, ages ago,” Harry says, putting his chopsticks down. “Like, after the first time that we met.”
“Really?” Louis sounds surprised, and Harry’s not sure why.
“Yeah,” he says. “What did you think, that I’d be dating you and still looking for matches on Heart In Melbourne under the table?”
Louis shrugs. “That just seems to be the way people act these days, seeing different people and keeping one eye open in case someone interesting comes along.”
“I’m not,” Harry says. “Interested in anyone else, that is. I’m in this, properly, if you’ll have me.”
“Yeah,” Louis says, reaching for Harry’s hand over the table. He looks amazed. “I would be honoured.”
♡♡♡
They stop at Ben & Jerry’s for dessert afterwards, huddling together for warmth and grinning at each other over their cups of cookie dough ice cream. People walking past probably think they’re crazy, eating ice cream when it’s so cold out that they can see their own breath in front of them, but Harry’s always had a theory that winter is the best time of year to eat ice cream - “because it doesn’t melt before you can eat it, Lou,” - and Louis has to agree with that.
They part ways at the train station, Harry going one way and Louis the other, but not before Louis pulls Harry in close, ignoring all the people walking around them, to press a lingering kiss to Harry’s cheek.
“Next time,” Louis says, “you’ll get a proper kiss.”
“Tomorrow,” Harry says, quickly. “Are you doing anything tomorrow? I’m not sure I can wait very long before I get to take you on another date.”
Louis smiles, biting his lip gently. “That sounds good,” he says.
“Great,” Harry says. “I know exactly what we should do.”
“Oh?”
“It’s a surprise. Meet me back here again tomorrow morning at 10?”
“It’s a date,” Louis says, pleased when he sees the flush on Harry’s cheeks that’s not just from the cold. “See you tomorrow.” He leans up and presses one more kiss to Harry’s cheek, and then dashes off in the direction of his platform, flashing Harry a cheeky grin.
♡♡♡
♡ LOUIS ♡
♡♡♡
Harry’s waiting for him when he gets into Flinders Street the next morning. He looks really cute, wearing skinny jeans and boots and a chunky knit jumper, and it makes Louis want to give him a cuddle, so he does.
“Hi,” Harry says, leaning down to give Louis a kiss on the cheek. “Is that okay?”
“Very,” Louis says, giving Harry a kiss of his own. “Such a gentleman, Mr. Styles.”
Harry offers Louis his elbow. “But of course.”
Louis takes it, linking his arm through Harry’s. “So what are we doing?” He goes to walk out of the station, but Harry turns him around.
“You’ll see,” Harry promises. “We’ve got to catch another train, first.”
They take the Upfield line, but it’s not until they get off at Royal Park Station that Louis realises where Harry has taken him.
“Melbourne Zoo?” he says excitedly. “I haven’t been here in years!”
“Yep,” Harry confirms, looking pleased that Louis is happy about the plan. “Shall we go in? I’ve already organised our tickets.”
“Oh, you didn't have to do that,” Louis protests, but Harry shushes him. “I wanted to.”
“Okay,” Louis says. “Thanks. I’m buying lunch though!”
Harry laughs. “If you insist!”
They walk through the entrance gates to the zoo, showing their tickets and picking up guide maps.
They head to see the meerkats first, Harry giggling as Louis does his best impression of the small animals, holding his hands in front of him like paws and standing up on his tiptoes, whipping his head around as he pretends to scan his surroundings for predators.
“They’re so cute,” Harry says, crouching down to smile at one of the meerkats who is dozing in the sunshine. Louis clears his throat. “Not as cute as you, of course,” Harry continues, poking his tongue out at him. “But really, I think they might be my favourite animals at the zoo.”
“Hey,” Louis says, a thought occurring to him. “Did you know that at the Werribee Zoo, in their cafe one of the walls is made out of glass and looks out onto a meerkat enclosure, so you can watch them while you eat lunch?”
“Wow, that sounds really cool,” Harry says. “I’ve never been. Maybe we should take a road trip there, one weekend.”
Louis nods, and files that idea away. “What’s next?” he asks.
They visit the Galapagos tortoise next, which delights Harry, watching the huge animal eat a tiny piece of lettuce, and then the penguins and the lemurs and the frogs. Harry proclaims each new animal to be his “favourite” at the zoo, and Louis is starting to realise that he’s very generous with his affection.
They take a break for lunch, having a sandwich each with a bowl of chips to share, and Louis insists on buying Harry a rainbow Paddle Pop for dessert before they leave. “I know how you feel about winter ice cream,” he says, and Harry beams. He tucks his hand into Harry’s as they walk towards the elephant enclosure, and that makes him beam wider.
They go past the giraffes on the way, and stop to watch as they munch on leaves from one of the trees.
“They remind me of you,” Louis says, and Harry huffs. “I’m taking that as a compliment.”
“Of course, darling.”
When they finally make it to the huge elephant enclosure, they notice that there’s a baby elephant, sticking close to her mum. Harry can’t stop cooing at her, much to Louis’ amusement.
“She’s so cute, Lou!”
“I know,” he says, chuckling at Harry, who’s got his hands smooshed up against his cheeks in delight.
“Aww, look, Louis, she’s running, can you see?”
Louis wraps his arm around Harry’s waist, and stands there with him, watching the baby elephant frolic. Eventually, they move on to a different viewing area, Harry leading Louis to stand against the railing.
“Stay there,” Harry says, digging in his pocket for his phone. “I want to take a picture.”
Louis crosses his eyes as Harry holds up his phone to take a photo, laughing when Harry frowns at him over the top, and eventually posing for a proper picture.
“You two are adorable,” Louis hears, and looks over to see a woman standing next to him with two small kids in a pram.
“Uh, thanks,” he says, smiling at her.
“You remind me of my partner and myself when we were newlyweds,” she says. “You’re very lucky.”
“I am,” he says, and then Harry looks up from where he's been frowning at his phone, examining the photos.
“Ohh,” Harry says, “babies!” He hurries over, and after checking that it’s okay, leans over the pram to make faces at the kids. One of them giggles at him, and the other looks thoroughly unimpressed.
“Are they twins?” Harry asks the woman, who nods. “Gracie and Mabel,” she says. “They turn one next week.”
“Well, happy birthday to you, then, Gracie and Mabel,” Louis says.
“They’re beautiful,” Harry tells the mother. “Congratulations.”
“I think they’ve had enough of the zoo for the day,” she says, “Time to take them home for their nap. But I was wondering if you’d like me to take a photo of the two of you together?”
“That would be lovely,” Harry says, offering his phone, and cuddling up against Louis’ side.
They both grin, and when the woman hands Harry his phone back, it’s a really good photo. They both look really happy. Louis thanks the woman, and Harry waves goodbye to the babies as they leave.
“I’m definitely going to post this one on Instagram,” Harry says. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah,” Louis says. “Of course.”
They sit down on a nearby bench, and Harry fiddles with his phone. “How’s this?” he asks, handing Louis his phone so he can see. Zoo Day. he’s written, followed by several lines of animal emojis, and one sparkly pink heart.
“Perfect,” Louis says, handing Harry his phone back.
“What’s your username?” Harry asks. “I’ll tag you in it.”
Louis tells him, and seconds later he feels his own phone vibrate with a notification.
harrystyles has tagged you in a photo
harrystyles is now following you
Louis likes the photo, and quickly follows Harry back. It looks like Harry posts a lot of abstract photography, unlike Louis’ own Instagram, which is littered with grainy selfies and photos with his friends and his dog. The most recent photo of the two of them stands out, sitting proudly at the top of his feed.
By the time they leave the zoo, Louis empathises with those baby twins. He wouldn’t mind a nap, either.
“I had such a nice time today,” he tells Harry on the train back. “Thanks for organising the date.”
“You’re welcome,” Harry says. “I had a good time with you, too.” The corner of his mouth twitches upwards, and he twists to face Louis. “So,” he says. “I believe I was promised a ‘proper’ kiss on our next date. And it’s our next date, so…”
Louis laughs. “That is true, but we’re on a metro train right now. It’s not exactly the height of romance. I was going to wait - ”
“No,” Harry says. “I don’t want to wait. You’re here, that’s all the romance I need.”
Louis quickly looks around, and their carriage is empty, so there’s no old ladies to loudly complain about any public displays of affection. If it’s good enough for Harry, then it’s good enough for him.
He cups Harry’s jaw in his hand, rubbing his thumb over his cheek and then he leans in, pressing their lips together for the first time. Harry kisses him back, and Louis melts into it, trying very hard to keep it chaste, considering they are still in public. It’s difficult though, when Harry puts one hand on Louis’ thigh, warmth seeping through the denim of his jeans. He breaks the kiss, just to lean back in and peck Harry’s lips one, two, three more times, before pulling away properly.
“That was a good first kiss,” Harry says, and they grin at each other until the announcement over the speaker system bursts their little bubble. “The next stop is Flinders Street,” the voice says, and they stand up to go wait by the doors to disembark.
They walk down the platform hand in hand, both reluctant to have to end the date. They get a coffee each, sipping at their drinks slowly and giggling over the photos that Louis had taken of Harry in the butterfly enclosure at the zoo, where one of the butterflies had landed on his face and sat there quite contentedly for a few minutes, while Harry tried his best to stay still and not startle it. Louis had found the whole thing hilarious, snapping photos and video of Harry frowning at him, while the blue butterfly fluttered its wings, perched on his nose.
Eventually, they have to separate, both of them needing to get back home. Harry kisses Louis goodbye at the top of the escalators down to the platforms, and Louis has a spring in his step for the rest of his journey.
He’s already planning ideas for their next date, and he realises with a jolt that he can't remember the last time he was so into someone, the last time he was so excited to spend time with someone, and to text them dumb jokes, and get to know them even better. It’s a good realisation, and it makes him pull out his phone. He sends Harry a simple message, just three of the blushing emojis, and he hopes he knows what Louis is trying to say.
♡♡♡
♡ HARRY ♡
♡♡♡
They text constantly, and they meet up often in the city after they both finish work, or on weekends. After their third proper date, where they’d gone out for dinner at one of Louis’ favourite places in his suburb, Louis invites Harry to come home with him. He introduces Harry to Liam, and then quickly drags Harry away once Liam promises to show Harry all of the embarrassing photos of Louis that he has.
Louis whisks Harry into his bedroom, promising that he’ll give him the proper tour of the house later, and locks the door. “Ahh, privacy,” he says. “And no embarrassing photos in sight.”
“I dunno,” Harry says. “What about that one?” He points to a framed photo sitting on Louis’ shelf. Louis looks like he’s probably thirteen, and he’s surrounded by a gaggle of little girls, who must be the sisters that Harry has heard so much about. Louis lets out a yelp, and flips the frame around.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Curly,” he says. “I don’t see any embarrassing photos in here at all. Definitely not one from my Year 7 Disco, where my sisters wanted to put glitter hairspray in my hair, and then cried when I wouldn’t let them, so I ended up showing up that night being the sparkliest pre-teen that the school hall had ever seen.”
Harry can’t help it. He’s so endeared by that story, of the image of Louis being so sweet and kind to his little sisters, that he just pounces on him.
“Whoa,” Louis says. “That’s what turns you on? Hearing embarrassing stories from my childhood?”
Harry whines into Louis’ shirt.
“Huh,” says Louis. “Maybe I should have let Liam talk to you after all.”
“Please don't talk about Liam right now,” Harry says, and then he pulls his t-shirt off, which is a pretty effective distraction.
♡♡♡
After that, they spend the night together a few nights a week. Harry always insists on them staying at Louis’ place, saying that it’s a bit closer to both of their workplaces, and it’s a bit less crazy, seeing as Louis just has one housemate instead of six, like Harry does. Those are both valid reasons, but there’s also a small part of him that doesn’t want to introduce him to his friends yet - Niall, especially.
He remembers that night that he’d decided to sign up for the app, weeks ago now, when he’d dreamed about having a partner to invite over for Friday night takeaway. He can definitely picture Louis being there, and he’d like to invite him, soon. He’s just waiting for it to feel right, some sign from the universe to confirm to Harry that it’s the right time.
♡♡♡
It happens sooner rather than later.
It’s a Tuesday, and Harry’s had a rough day at work. First, he’d forgotten to bring his lunch, and so he'd had to go to a nearby 7/11 and make do with a packet of Twisties and a lukewarm sausage roll. Then, he’d had a customer berate him because they didn't have a certain book in stock, even though Harry had tried to explain that the book had in fact been out of print in Australia for over twenty years.
The second that his shift is over, he grabs his bag from the break room, and he’s out of there. He’s walking so fast when he leaves the shop that he completely misses Louis, who was waiting outside for Harry, and has to chase after him, calling his name.
Louis must notice his mood right away, because he just wraps Harry up in a hug, letting him breathe out all his frustrations. They stand there at the intersection, watching the crossing lights go green twice without moving before Harry finally lets him go.
“Alright?” Louis asks.
Harry nods. “Better now that you’re here,” he says. It’s very cheesy, but he actually means it. Seeing Louis has made the knot in his stomach unravel a bit, and his shoulders feel lighter.
“Come on,” Louis says. “Let’s go back to mine and just have a lazy night in front of the telly.”
Two hours later, they’re cuddled up on the couch, watching an episode of Masterchef on TV and sharing a plate of dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets.
“I could do that,” Harry says, pointing to the screen with his fork. One of the contestants has just put a plate of food in front of the judges, and Gary and George are frowning at it dramatically.
“Maybe,” Louis agrees, “but why would you want to? Nobody actually wants to eat kangaroo and bloody pumpkin bark.”
Harry hums. “You’re right. I would much rather have chicken nuggets.”
Louis grins, and pretends to hold up a score card. “I give this dish…. ten out of ten! Harry Styles, you are the winner of this challenge!”
Harry covers his mouth with his hands, and pretends to cry with delight. “Oh my goodness, thank you so much! This means so much to me, and it will really help me take the next step in my food dream.”
“I’m so proud of you,” Louis says, pretending to dramatically wipe away a tear. “My boyfriend is truly a Masterchef.”
Harry puts down the dinosaur chicken nugget he was waving around triumphantly.
“Boyfriend?” he asks, softly.
“Yeah,” Louis says, nudging his side gently. “That okay?”
Harry grins. “Very okay.” He leans in and gives Louis a kiss, which is more pressing their teeth together than anything, because neither of them can stop smiling.
“Hey,” he says. “How would you feel about coming over to my place this Friday for takeaway night, boyfriend?”
“Well, boyfriend,” Louis returns, “that sounds amazing.”
♡♡♡
“So tell me about Niall,” Louis prompts. He’s been fidgety all afternoon. Harry is very endeared.
“Well, we’ve been friends for probably five, six years now? We met at uni, in our first year. Since Niall was studying teaching, and I was doing Literature, we happened to have a class together in our first semester, and we bonded over our frustration with our lecturer’s inability to use PowerPoint. We stayed friends after that subject was over, and then the next year we ended up being housemates.”
“And he’s teaching in a school in the city now?”
“Yep,” Harry confirms. “He teaches maths and music. He’s in his second year, now, and he’s enjoying it. The kids really like him.”
“He seems like he’s protective of you,” Louis comments.
“I think he reckons he’s like my big brother,” Harry says, “even though he’s actually younger than me, so if anything, I should be the one looking after him.”
“That reminds me of Liam,” Louis says, and Harry hums. “I think we’ve both got good friends.”
“Are you nervous?” Harry asks, finally.
Louis is quiet for a moment. “A bit,” he says. “I just know that this is really important to you. I want it to go well.”
Harry’s heart swells. “It’s going to go great,” he says, squeezing Louis’ hand. “Come on, this is our stop. Friday night takeaway waits for no man.”
“Alright,” Louis says. “Let’s do this.”
Harry watches him stride ahead, turning round to grin at Harry from over his shoulder, and for the millionth time, he thanks the universe for dodgy dating apps and cute IT guys.
“Wait for me,” he yells, and chases after Louis, heart full to bursting.
♡♡♡