Chapter Text
“Five minutes H” Niall announces as he pokes his head into Harry’s dressing room.
“Thanks Ni” Harry’s dimple popping grin spreads across his face as he looks at his best mate and tour manager in the reflection of the mirror in front him. Niall nods before scurrying back down the hallway.
Harry takes a deep breath as his gaze falls back to his own reflection. It’s hard not to get in his head even though he’s as ready as he’ll ever be. It’s just been a while, a long while. But they’ve been practicing for weeks. His voice is warmed up. There’s nothing left to do except walk out on stage and start his first show after three long years.
He can hear the crowd getting louder and louder. It’s time.
…
“Hi, I’m Harry” Harry says cheekily into the microphone as the final notes of the opening song fades out. The crowd laughs because all 80,000 of them who have packed out Wembley stadium for his much anticipated return to the stage know exactly who he is. “How are you London? It’s been a while” he chuckles again.
He feels relaxed, the nerves have faded away faster than he expected. It’s almost like no time has passed. The crowd is full of love and so much excitement. Harry is feeding off of their energy as he moves around the huge stage like he never left it. His band is all back together again, with a few new additions this time. Harry smiles at Mitch, his friend and guitarist since Harry first started touring. Mitch rips through his guitar solo. Harry is so proud. Everything is perfect.
…
The night is flying by. Harry missed the adrenaline rush of it all. “Bet you didn’t expect that one” he chuckles into the microphone after singing From The Dining Table, a song he hasn’t sung since his first world tour eight years ago.
“Right, it’s that time in the show where you get to annoy the person behind you and hold up your signs” Harry winks down at a girl who has been clutching onto a sign all night.
Harry scans the crowd looking for something original. His gaze falls on a huge sign held high concealing the owner’s face. He narrows his eyes, intrigued. It’s not the first time people from his past have tried to get his attention since becoming famous. This could be very awkward but he hasn’t got time to second guess himself so he reads out the sign “This one says: Do you remember me from school?”
“Well, that’s hard to say since I can’t see you” the crowd laughs as Harry stares down at the concealed sign holder bemused. Suddenly, another sign emerges from behind the first. Harry reads it out, the shock in his voice rising on each word “I put gum in your hair.” “LOUIS?” Harry all but screams the name of the boy he once knew. Louis slowly lowers the sign revealing himself with a sassy smirk on his face.
“I hate you!” Harry declares. “I had to cut my curls off because of you” Harry pouts down at him from the stage while the crowd boos loudly. Harry’s curls are beloved by his fans.
“I knew you were in town and I had to come by and say sorry after all these years” Louis yells in the thick Doncaster accent Harry will never forget. Louis then pulls a bouquet of flowers from behind his back. Harry, all too aware only a small percentage of the 80,000 strong audience could hear what Louis said, pulls the microphone back up to his lips “he said he knew I was in town and he had to come say sorry after all these years. And it appears he brought flowers.” The crowd breaks out into a collective “awwww” but Harry is skeptical.
“You know I’ve been doing this for a while, why didn’t you try this sooner?” Harry pops his hip to the side and raises a challenging eyebrow high.
“Sorry love, I think I must’ve been living under a rock. I didn’t know you were you, not until I saw you on Saturday Night Live a couple of months back” Louis screams up to him from the pit.
“The fans audibly gasp when Harry relays what Louis admitted.” They can’t fathom anyone not knowing who Harry Styles is but Harry knows, despite being one of the most famous people in the world, not everybody actually knows who he is, that’s clear enough every time he manages to walk down the street and not be recognised. He loves his fans but it’s a beautiful relief whenever that happens.
“So ummm sorry?” Louis yells again sheepishly holding the bouquet up high.
Harry ponders what to do but doesn’t have a chance to decide before the crowd starts chanting “Louis, Louis, Louis.” Harry looks around at them and laughs “heyyyyyy, you’re here for me not him.”
The crowd only gets louder as a fan intercepts the bouquet and uses every ounce of strength to propel it up onto the stage. Harry gasps as it drops at his feet. He looks down at the pit, his gaze like a magnet to Louis’. Louis grins, bites his lip and shrugs his shoulders as if to say “your move Harry.” Harry bends down and picks up the flowers. Sunflowers. How on earth did Louis know they were his favourite? Harry wonders. There’s a lot the world knows about him but that small detail he’s managed to keep private, at least he thought he had. He does have a song called Sunflowers Vol 6 so it’s probably because of that.
Harry quickly realises how flustered he’s become. If it wasn’t for the stage make up his blush wouldn’t go unnoticed under the stage lighting.
“Well what do you think?” Harry addresses the crowd “since my curls did manage to grow back should I forgive him?” The vast majority of the crowd screams a resounding “YES!” Harry points down at one girl “you, why did you say no?” “Sixteen years is a long time to wait for an apology!” She screams back from pit. “That is a good point” Harry muses into the microphone. “Bit of a predicament you’ve put me in with that.” The crowd screams and hollers in response shouting all sorts of opinions on the matter “he’s had years! He should have come to the first tour”; “he’s too cute not to forgive”; “can I have Louis’ number?”
”Hmmm” Harry considers momentarily just to edge the crowd. The crowd starts singing a song from his last album, Treat People with Kindness. Harry’s eyes move back down to the pit. “It’s your lucky day Louis. The fans have spoken. I forgive you for gumgate circa 2010.” The crowd squeals and applauds as Louis smiles so bright crinkles frame his eyes. The camera zooms in on his face projecting it onto the huge screens behind Harry. He looks as beautiful as ever. Harry can’t help but count the freckles on his cheeks the way he used to. He turns back to the crowd before he completely loses himself to the memories trying to take over his mind. As he tries to quickly figure out his next move the crowd gets louder. They start chanting “Larry” while a sea of random flags emerge. There’s always pride flags at Harry’s shows that’s not a surprise but why are they flying them now? They’re usually flown for the fans, the ones who are brave enough to use the safe space Harry creates to help them come out. Harry always felt that just because he couldn’t officially come out doesn’t mean he couldn’t help others do it.
Harry spins on his heal to look where the crowd is clearly focussed, the screens. Harry bites his lip as he takes in the sight of the split screen, a still of his face with his dimple popping smile taken only moments earlier clearly looking down into the pit where Louis is. Next to it is a still of Louis’ face with what can only be described as heart eyes. Sprawled across the top is the word “Larry”. Liam is going to get in trouble for that. Harry too. Jeff, his manager, will no doubt be lighting up his phone right now as Twitter blows up with more gay rumours.
The thing is is Harry is gay but he’s not out. Not officially. But only those who choose to be blind can’t see through Harry’s glass closet.
Harry spins back around and stares down at Louis. Louis stares back at him, their eye contact lasting a beat too long to go unnoticed by the thousands of fans watching their every move, cameras poised to capture and spread it all.
Harry knows exactly what to do to shift their attention. He quickly relays through the crew only microphone that he wants to switch up the set list and sing ‘Medicine’ now instead of later. He also takes the opportunity to ask Niall to make sure security escort Louis backstage after the show before adding “Liam, I’m gonna have to do another bloody pap walk for that.” Liam cackles proudly into his in ears. Harry rolls his eyes. The show must go on.
Sarah, Harry’s drummer since the beginning and as of a few years ago Mitch’s wife, crashes her drumsticks together with the familiar beat of the unreleased song that has always made the fans go wild. The stadium erupts. Louis, and more importantly Larry, is all but forgotten, for now.
…
The rest of the show goes exactly as rehearsed. While he put on a great show and no one would be none the wiser he isn’t going to pretend that he wasn’t affected by Louis’ presence. He had to actively avoid staring down at him on multiple occasions. The thing is is Louis hasn’t changed a bit in the 16 years since Harry’s seen him. Well, that’s obviously not explicitly true. He’s definitely not a boy anymore. He looks older but just as mischievous as ever. He still looks like someone Harry could just sit and admire.
When he says goodnight to the crowd he feels a wave of relief not just because his first show back was a raving success but because Louis will hopefully be waiting for him in his dressing room and he simply cannot wait to see him up close.