DO YOU LOOK AT US AND LAUGH?

(Warning ⚠️ homophobic slurs, mention/ depiction of bullying and self-harm)

[3:30 pm, 3rd August]

"...and that's how I reached London. Then I started college here and took a course in animation. That's where I met Liam and Emma. Liam is an animator too but Emma isn't, apparently, she took the course only for fun. Emma, Liam, and I had gone to this restaurant downtown to celebrate my birthday, and that's where we met Niall because he was working as a waiter there. We already knew him from college but never really talked. So when we saw him serving us, we were like 'Don't you go to our college?' and then he said 'Yes' and we made plans to hang out. Niall was a friend of Zayn who is a YouTuber and we met the boy when Niall brought him to tag along with us. Liam and I found Zayn super cool but Emma apparently didn't, not that we cared. And now after five years, we are a group of best friends." Louis finishes telling Harry about himself and smiles seeing how intently the boy had been listening.

After their chat in the morning, Harry had insisted on helping Louis to make lunch so that he could get to learn how to use the kitchen appliances... or the 'meal preparing apparatuses' in Harry's words. Reluctantly much, Louis had agreed and showed the Angel how everything in the kitchen works. Surprisingly for the blue-eyed boy, Harry was a fast learner and had picked up everything Louis taught him quite quickly. In fact, he was regulating the gadgets in a way smoother manner than Louis at some point. However, the blue-eyed boy later sighs wondering why on earth did it even came off as a surprise to him since Harry was a literal Angel who had learnt all the human languages and had already begun adapting Louis' way of speaking.

They had eaten lunch together on the couch, which consisted of Harry moaning and admiring the 'human meal' and Louis trying to think of anything but the sinful sounds, before he decided to put in a movie to distract himself. Halfway through the movie, Louis had plucked his phone out to check his texts and Harry had questioned him about the device and inquired on how to use it. Louis, of course, showed him how a mobile phone works and promised Harry that he'll get one for him when they go shopping. His words had made Harry question him if he had enough money to do so because he didn't want Louis to face any trouble for him. Louis had waved him off saying that his job paid him well, which led the boy to ask Louis about this job and friends and about him in general and that's how they found themselves in the current situation.

They are both still on the couch and there's a movie playing on the TV on mute as Louis talks about his life while Harry listens. Very closely.

"So when did you and Emma start... you know, became lovers?" Harry asks, his eyebrows furrowed as he couldn't find the specific word for the term.

"We started dating.." Louis says, in a manner to let Harry know the word he was searching for. "two years ago. We had become best friends by then. We were at a party and I had drunkenly kissed her because Niall had dared me to. Turns out, she was sober and she remembered the next day and told me that she liked it.. and I think that was it. We went on dates and kissed again and blah blah blah blah! But now that I think about it, that was the most lame way to start a relationship." Louis chuckles.

"Do you love her?" Harry asks and Louis ponders, squinting his eyes up at the ceiling.

"I love her, but I don't think I'm in love with her. I can't really see myself proposing to her someday or marrying her or having kids with or growing old with her. Does that even make sense?" He raises his eyebrows at Harry, his eyes wide, questioning and hopeful that the Heaven-fallen creature would understand. He does of course.

"You do not see a future with her. You do not see a forever." Harry nods thoughtfully.

"Exactly! And to be honest, I don't want to introduce her to my mum tomorrow." He sighs.

"Why not? What is wrong if she meets your mother?" Harry furrows his eyebrows and tilts his head.

"Well, you see, it's a big deal for us Humans when we introduce our lovers to our parents, it's like a big step and a little commitment." Louis explains and Harry nods.

"Oh." He drags out the word, taking in the new knowledge about humans.

"Yeah." Louis murmurs in acknowledgment. "That reminds me!" He abruptly claps his hands together in realization and excitement. "You need a humanly briefing, my Angel." He says, but then blushes. My angel.

"Humanly briefing?" Harry asks confused.

"Yeah. Now tell me, what's your name?" Louis raises his eyebrows and crosses his arms.

"Um... Harah-"

"Wrong! Harry. Your name is Harry and you're twenty years old." Louis interrupts and Harry finally understands what Louis meant by 'Humanly briefing'. Louis is preparing him to meet other Humans. That excites him as he loves meeting new people and making new friends.

"Grasped. I am a twenty years old Harry." The Angel grins like a child and Louis scrunches his nose at the sentence but nods anyway.

"Okay.. that'll do I guess. So here's your back story, you were born in London and met me in a cafe which is two blocks away from here, I'll take you there in the evening." Louis proceeds and Harry continues nodding. "If you get asked about your family, just say you were an orphan and grew up in an orphanage. If someone questions about you staying at my place, say that your flatmate kicked you out, and being the amazing friend that I am, I took you in." He says, making up fibs and cock and bull stories.

"What about my job?" Harry raises a question and Louis muses for a moment before responding.

"Say you're a college dropout and used to work in a grocery store but got fired because your boss was a dick." Louis comes up with it in seconds and watches as Harry nods but then furrows his eyebrows.

"Last one, what is dick." He questions, which makes Louis burst out cackling while the Angel's lips form a confused pout.

"Well, as a slang, it means a rude person, and literally, it means penis." He explains, still cracking up between his words.

"Oh." Harry whispers under his breath, his cheeks blossoming into a light shade of pink. And Louis is in love. With the way the angel blushes, obviously. Not with the boy himself.

Not yet.

"Why the blush, Angel? Thought you guys go around naked in Heaven?" Louis teasingly raises an eyebrow and Harry rolls his eyes.

"We do wear robes, Louis. They are not as covering as the clothes that you all wear, but we still do not talk about our bodies like that." He softly clarifies and Louis could sense that the topic adorably increases the rush of the angel's blood, raising it to his neck, cheeks, nose and the tip of his ears.

"I see." Louis nods, his lips tightening as he suppresses a smirk and they drop into a comfortable silence as he unmutes the TV and both the boys detract their eyes to the screen. A few times Louis turns to glance at Harry to see him watching the TV quite intently, even when it's just broadcasting a series of advertisements. He can't help but smile at the Angel who is literally like a newborn baby at some point, being fascinated by the simplest things just because they are new to him.

It's nearly two and a half-hour later that Louis feels the need to get out of the house. He asks Harry if he'd like a coffee, which even though the Angel has no clue about, he nods quite enthusiastically. Another piece of detail anent the Angel that Louis had noticed was that just like a baby, Harry is curious about his surroundings and wants to know and learn everything about the human world. Louis tells him that they're going to a cafe and offers him clothes to change in. When the angel walks downstairs with a change of clothes, Louis sighs upon seeing his jeans don't even reach Harry's ankles since the boy has legs way too longer than Louis'. Luckily, the oversized sweatshirt suits him well and he lends Harry a spare pair of Liam's shoes, hoping they'd fit. They do.

Harry latches onto Louis' arm the entire way to the cafe, scared that he might get lost or one of the machine carts, which Louis had told him are called cars, would hit him. It's not that he'd die, but he'll have to endure the pain since he's forbidden to use his healing abilities for his own advantage. It was selfish and unfair.

As they both stroll into the tiny cafe, Harry takes a deep breath, drawing the scent of coffee in the air. He shuts his eyes, filling his lungs with the fresh aroma, the slight fragrance of tea and sweet snacks sneaking into his whiffs as well.

"It smells utterly delightful in here." He comments and Louis smiles, agreeing with the angel. It was quite a famous cafe, regardless of it being a little too congested with only the upper half of the walls being glass while the lower half staying wood, or maybe concrete, Louis wasn't sure. In the name of a sign board for the shop, they had almost a two-decades-old wooden board with the name 'Cherry Creek Cafe' shabbily thrown across it. However, it was the delicious coffee that lured the people. Louis appreciated their tea as well.

"I know right? That's actually the smell of coffee, by the way, and maybe some other stuff too." He informs the taller boy as he leads him to a grey table in the corner of the cafe. Louis always chose that particular table since it was isolated to the back corner but that also meant that you get the complete view of the cafe so it was a great place to people watch. Louis loved that. "Stay here, Angel. I'll bring us our drinks." He instructs and leaves Harry at the table to buy their coffee.

While Louis is gone, Harry looks around, deciding that people reading is all he can do in the small yet neat cafe. He didn't mind that it was small, neither did he mind the halfway glasswork or the shabby sign board or the lack of interior decor. The place is clean, peaceful and smells like coffee, it's perfect as it is. He sees a little girl blue-eyed girl with her dirty blonde curls tied up in pigtails, playing with the straw in her cup, chattering away with the couple who seem to be her parents. The angel decides to peek into her future but ends up biting his lip as all he sees is pain and sorrow. The tiny smile that had been plastered to his face now drops seeing all the misery the girl will have to go through in her future. It saddens him. The girl is adorable and looks extremely happy right now, but that's how the world works, he supposes.

His eyes wander off to a group of friends and settle on a certain face. The Asian girl with short, black-purple hair and multiple ear piercings had the biggest smile on her face, a contagious one because it immediately made Harry's lips curl into a smile as well. She has kind of a baby face, quite a goofy one that can't ever be Imagined without a smile spread over it. The girl looked the happiest among all her friends. That was until the angel peeks into her, only for his smile to turn upside down again. All he sees is agony. The agony of losing family members, losing lovers and best friends, being betrayed by the most trusted people, and the agony of drowning in self-hate. Harry's heart stings realizing that the huge smile on her face is a fake one. He watches as the girl clumsily knocks down the pair of glasses sitting on the table in front of her. She laughs at herself, causing the entire group at the table to burst into a fit of laughter as she bends down to pick the glasses up. That's when her eyes meet Harry's. The angel offers her a small smile and it hurts him when she grins right back like she wasn't already planning on crying for hours and hurting her own body once she gets home. Humans are good at putting up facades in front of their true emotions, he concludes.

A sigh escaped from between his lips, his eyes diverted to a pregnant woman, her empty grey eyes staring out of the glass window. Regardless of the pain in her longing gaze, she gently and lovingly caresses her belly. Harry could tell that she was having a silent conversation with what she thought to be a single baby. That makes the angel smile because she doesn't know it yet, but she is actually carrying a set of twins. He could see how both the boys were going to bring her a lot of happiness to make up for all the sadness she's been through by losing her family and husband. She'll be alright. She's strong, yet kind. And she'll raise her boys to be the same.

With a satisfied smile playing on his lips, his eyes then catch sight of a teenage boy in another far corner of the cafe, he has bruises littered all over his golden-ish brown face. Harry grimaces and probes the boy's memory to find the moment he got all those bruises. He sees nearly five other boys punching and kicking the crying boy on the floor until he's bruised and bloody, calling him names like 'faggot', 'disgusting', 'queer' and 'sinner'. He doesn't exactly understand why the boy should be receiving such cruel treatment, but he doesn't like it. No matter what the boy must've done, no one of his own kind had the right to punish him.

With sadness, sympathy, and a little bit of confusion, the angel draws his away eyes to an old couple, a man and a woman in their eighties, who are both sharing a laugh about something as they sip on their tea. He tilts his head, his eyebrows knitting together when he sees their past which is full of struggle, sadness, fights, and tears. Yet, surprisingly there was love and affection between them and somehow they are still together, going strong. Harry parts his lips and raises the left corner of his upper lip in confusion. How is that supposed to work? He wonders.

"Why the constipated face, angel?" Louis teases as he settles down on the chair across from him. Harry points at the old couple and Louis looks over at them before a massive smile is plastered on his face. "Cute, aren't they? Aw, man! I want a love like that or just none at all." He an ounce in awe as he turns back to Harry.

"Yeah..." He whispers nonchalantly and Louis furrows his eyebrows.

"But?" He asks and Harry bites his lip, his fingers fumbling as he replies.

"Well... I was peeking in their past.. and they used to fight a lot, made each other cry a lot, even made each other very sad." He says and Louis' eyes widen in surprise.

"You can see people's past? Wow... Wait- why am I even surprised?! Anyway, what's wrong with all that? Everyone goes through all of that." Louis shrugs and Harry's frown deepens.

"Yes, but they were in love...? Fighting with someone or making them sad or cry is a sign that you do not like the person, hate them even. You do not do that to someone you love." He says, his tone sad and confused while his face is frozen into a frown.

"Well, Angel, we are Humans, we make mistakes. We sometimes mistreat our loved ones. It can be intentional sometimes, but the majority of the time it's when we give priority to our own emotions and only care about how we feel. We become selfish, that's human nature. But that doesn't have to mean we don't love that person anymore. Just like selfishness is human nature, so is regret." Louis explains softly. "Especially, when you are in love, there might be many things that would make you angry, frustrated, or annoyed by your partner. That might lead to a fight, but then it passes after a while and you talk it out and move past it and try your best to never make the same mistake again. That's how love works and I think it just makes a couple stronger when they realise that they'd rather fight with their partner than get rid of them." He smiles, but Harry doesn't.

"I do not understand. If you love your partner, why would you get angry at them in the first place?" He asks, eyes wide and innocent.

"Hmm.. well let me put you in that situation." Louis smiles mischievously and takes a sip from his coffee. "Imagine, you fall in love with this person, okay?" He asks and Harry, sipping his coffee, nods. "You are deeply in love with them, but then you come home to see them kissing.. or let's say making love with someone else. What would be your first instinct?" He asks, smirking as he spins the straw in his coffee.

"But why would my partner make love to someone else?!" Harry asks frantically.

"Exactly! Why the hell would they do that?! Let me tell you since you're finding love, Humans do this and it's called 'cheating'. So, tell me what you think you'd do if you find your partner cheating on you?" Louis tilts his head, waiting for his answer.

"I think I would cry..." Harry says softly and Louis snorts.

"How about your reaction towards your partner? What will you say to them? Or to the other person your partner was with?" He asks.

"I do not know... maybe, I will request my partner to stop and tell the other person not to be with my partner..." Says Harry and Louis lets out a chuckle. "Do not laugh at me. I have never been in that situation." Harry pouts.

"I'll tell you what! When you see your partner fucking someone else, you'll lose your shit and you'll yell at your partner, asking why the fuck they did that to you. You'll beat the other dude's ass and if it's a girl, you might even end up snatching her hair because no one touches what is yours." Louis finishes and sips his coffee again.

"I-.. I do not think I would be that violent." Harry defends and Louis rolls his eyes.

"How do you know that? You've never been in that situation." Louis smirks, striking the angel with the same arrow he had shot at Louis... "Alright, maybe you won't be that violent, but obviously you'd be angry. Anyone would." He smiles. "What I'm trying to say is that it's very much possible to be angry at and hurt by your partner. And I'm telling you, count it as an advice. If the situation I just gave for a mere example actually happens, you're packing your bags, kissing that person Sayonara, and getting your ass the fuck out of there. Cheating is unforgivable, never move past that shit." He warns with a wide-eyed, alarmed gaze. "On a healthy tier though, it's natural to have disagreements, arguments, and even big fights once in a while when you get into a relationship. What matters is how much effort you're putting into proving to your partner that you love them. And if you prove it, and they feel the same about you, then that's how you both will end up like." He says, pointing at the elderly couple.

"Humans are complicated." Harry concludes and sips at his coffee as Louis laughs out, his head falling back.

"Welcome to Life, my Angel."

__________

WC: 3,432 words

DOP: 24/12/21

FOTC: Since we needed some side casting for the people-watching scene, I (the Asian girl) volunteered :)

WOTC 📗: I wish to die off before Louis does... I won't be able to handle that news.

Author's note: Pretty ironic for Louis to be getting mad over cheating and saying it's unforgivable lmao

---
Louis: You're 20.

The 2000 years old bitch:

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Harry: I'm a twenty years old Harry!

Louis:

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Harry: What is dick?

Louis:

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Louis explaining Harry how humans cheat on their partners

Harry:

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Last edited: 09/16/2023