harry nuzzled his face into louis' shoulder with a silent yawn. the smaller man was knocked out cold. not even emma smacking at their feet disturbed him from his sleep.

it felt good to be in an actual bed that didn't hurt his back. it felt even better to roll over to see louis beside him. he was curled up with the comforter all the way up to his chin, soft puffs of air falling from his nose. in that moment he looked peaceful. stress-free. and quite frankly, like his fiancé. with the black gold ring sitting perfectly on his finger as if it were made for him.

he pressed his lips to the side of louis' neck and behind his ear. he leaned forward to kiss along the side of his face slowly, reminding himself to never underestimate shit anymore. ever.

louis stirred and itched the tip of his nose, returning to cuddling with his pillow. he wiggled around to get comfortable again as harry continued to kiss his face. he was still sound asleep. he had passed out hard last night after a nice bath, roughhousing with shark, and staying up late looking at shoes online. zayn had sent him a promo code to a buy one get one half off deal to a website he absolutely loved, so he and harry got matching black and red customized converses. aside from the size differences, they each got the first inital of their first name on the tongues of their high tops.

harry's so thankful that he got released. not just from the detention center, but from blackwater as well. it gives him more opportunities with louis that don't involve gang work. yes, he could have done all of those trips with just the two of them, but mitch probably would have been frustrated that he didn't have someone to do runs or keep an eye on the club so he could tend to them himself. unless all of those frustrations were because he would be out of the boss's eyesight due to the whole dominic thing. but now he can do it for sure.

when he gets off of house arrest, they can go wherever louis wants. whenever. however long. it could be a day, a week, hell, a month. if he wanted to spend a month on the beach, harry would make it happen. if he wanted to hop on a plane, stay one night here, three nights there, and four years somewhere else...fuck it. he'll do it.

harry slowly snuck out of bed to do his morning business and poked his head out of the attached bathroom with his toothbrush in his mouth to glare at emma, who was climbing on the entertainment center. he nudged her off of the furniture and pointed to the bed as a silent way to get her to move elsewhere. once the cat got on the bed, she noticed louis' sleeping frame and laid down behind his head. with her ears perked up and tail gently waving, harry knew she was alert but would calm down eventually.

he finished brushing his teeth and rinsing his mouth out before tiptoeing downstairs. it's ten and he has his court meeting at noon, but he's feeling kind of snacky. he wants to make breakfast for louis and him actually eat it.

he opened the fridge to find a container of cinnamon rolls in the door, so he snagged those up and preheated the oven while he got other items ready.

breakfast was quick and easy, just scrambled eggs, cinnamon rolls, and bacon, since he knew louis wasn't exactly the hungriest in the mornings but he at least needed to eat something before taking his meds.

shark made his way into the kitchen and found comfort on top of the fridge. harry watched him jump there and succeed, which made his eyes widen. he'll sit his back paws on the table, perch his front ones on top of a chair, then just book it. he must have watched emma do it.

he fed the cat a piece of cooked egg and told him he needs to be careful before covering the loaded plates up so that he wouldn't try to nibble at them. he made a cup of juice for louis and a cup of coffee for himself, then made his way upstairs.

he knelt on the bed and peeled the comforter off of louis, seeing him spooning emma. he smiled to himself and pressed more kisses to his sweet face. "hey. hey. hey."

he patted louis' cheek, making the sleeping man huff. "baby, wake up."

"no."

"please?"

"no." louis mumbled again.

"i made breakfast."

louis reached up to rub his eye with the back of his fingers. he stretched an arm out for harry and held said arm around the man's neck when he leaned down.

"even put cheese in your eggs just how you like them," the younger man hummed. "wanna eat in here?"

nodding, louis yawned into his hair and kissed the top of his head. "loves."

"loves you, honey," harry murmured. he kissed louis' jaw a couple times before blowing a tiny raspberry on it, which got his head pushed away with a whine.

harry retreated downstairs to grab their plates. he carried them back upstairs and found louis not in bed but the bathroom light on. when he came back from getting their drinks, the bathroom door was now open and he could see louis washing his face while emma sat on the counter in front of him.

"was she in there with you the whole time?"

"no. luckily she waited until after i peed to cry at the door," louis yawned. "she just wants to follow me everywhere now."

once his face was rinsed off and patted dry, louis shuffled his way back into the large warm bed. he took his plate from harry and thanked him with a kiss and a murmur that he was the sweetest.

harry held louis' chin between his fingers as he pressed his lips to his again. louis placed his hand on the side of harry's face and smiled lightly into the kiss.

"love you," harry murmured.

"love you," louis kissed the tip of his nose before pushing him off so that he could eat. harry fell onto the bed with a grunt.

"asshole."

"you love me though."

"no i don't."

"bullshit, you just said so."

"i lied."

"you suck at lying."

"do i?"

louis quirked an eyebrow at him. "yes. you do."

"i think i'm a good liar."

"see?"

"i told you court got pushed back but really i got released."

louis hummed around his cinnamon roll. "i'll give you that one but that's it. everything else was poor."

harry chuckled and fed emma some of his eggs so she didn't feel left out before digging in.

louis was quiet for the most part, still processing that he was awake, but he finished his breakfast at his own pace. when he was done, harry took their plates downstairs and came back up to see his fiancé cradling his cup of orange juice with wide eyes focused on the television screen.

"i can still use your laptop, right?"

"no. i dropped it last night and shattered the screen."

harry leaned his head against the doorway. "fuck. okay."

louis grinned and pulled his laptop from underneath harry's bed. "bridget already sent me everything you need. she said log on about five minutes early."

"you're so mean," harry whined. louis giggled and put his cup and computer on the night stand, making grabby hands for him. "and you said i'm a bad liar."

"i'm a good liar, thank you," louis scoffed. "and a good secret keeper. i lied to the cop when we got pulled over, i hid your surprise party from you, i'm a louis of all trades, remember?"

"mhm." harry hummed as he pinned himself above his lover. "my favorite louis. second is when he's sucking my dick."

"i think my favorite you was when you were in jail so i didn't have to listen to you talk as much."

gasping, harry pinned louis' wrists above his head. "you cried the entire time! you take that back!"

louis rolled his lips to a tight line and shook his head.

"louis. take it back."

"no."

"i'll skip my court appointment and get sent back to jail tomorrow morning," the criminal warned. "take. it. back."

louis yelped when fingers prodded at his ribs. he wiggled beneath harry's much stronger body, only to have the man's knees tighten at his hips. harry tickled his sides, his stomach, his neck, and even reached behind him to grab underneath his knees. louis was a giggling mess, trying his best to get out of harry's grasp.

louis managed to get one wrist free so he pulled at harry's hair as hard as he could. harry bit his lip as he exhaled through his nose heavily.

"let me go."

"not until you take it back."

louis turned his head and locked his jaw on his partner's forearm. harry tried to pry his mouth open but failed. louis would have just gnawed his finger off. what happened to biting ankles? why is he biting arms?

louis tightened his hold in harry's hair and yanked his head down. "'et off me." he drooled around harry's arm, but harry wasn't phased by it.

"gonna be nice from now on?"

"maybe."

harry slowly pinned his free hand beside louis' head and released his other wrist. that was when louis pushed harry onto his back and climbed on top of him, using his knees to hold harry's arms down on the mattress.

"hey!"

louis balled his hands into a fist but left his middle finger knuckles popped out and knocked on harry's chest over and over, laughing at the man's groans of misery.

the one pinned didn't even struggle or fight back. he just laid and accepted his fate. he could feel louis knuckling against his sternum repeatedly and in the same spot. it made him grab onto louis' legs. the smaller man gave him a look of warning and screamed when harry flipped them back over just by holding onto the back of his knees and pushing himself forward.

louis locked his legs around harry's hips and continued to knock at his chest until harry leaned down close enough that their lips were almost touching.

"take it back," harry murmured. he inched away when louis tried to kiss him and smirked at the man's pout. "i'll give you a good kiss if you take it back."

louis intertwined his fingers behind his neck and pulled him back down so that he could spread kisses over his face. when he would hit certain areas like below his ears, his temples, or his forehead, he would press his lips there multiple times just to make sure his favorite spots got the most affection.

"was just playing, you pussy," louis chuckled. "i take it back because you're soft. can't risk hurting the baby's feelings."

harry brushed his nose against louis' cheek with a grumble of, "not a pussy. not soft. not a baby."

"but you are," louis cooed. "my baby."

"i fibbed. i'm only soft for you."

"uh huh, i know. can i have my kiss now?"

harry hummed in thought before standing on his knees. "no."

louis' eyes widen. "fuck you mean 'no'?"

"no," harry shrugged.

louis scrambled to his own knees so he could grab harry by the jaw and hurriedly smash their lips together before the lad had the chance to run. harry settled his hands on louis' lower back as he took over the kiss. he gave louis the moment to get his affection before sitting on the bed and pulling him down with him.

"mean," louis mumbled as harry moved to kiss his neck. "you are so mean to me."

"tell that to the ring on your finger."

louis held up his left hand. "he's so mean to me!"

harry chuckled and sucked on the junction of his neck and shoulder, feeling louis squirm in his lap. "can be nice to you later if you want. really nice."

"yeah?"

"mhm."

"okay."

harry finished his small hickey before kissing louis again, palms finding comfort on his ass. louis wiggled his hips back as he squeezed.

"what are you doing tonight?"

"working, but if you don't want me to do anything then i'll stay home."

"are you closing?"

"the bar, yeah."

"hm..." harry hummed against his lips. "okay. go to work, but try to misbehave so you can get sent home."

"you are a horrible influence."

"you're just now telling me this?"

giggling, louis drew away so he could cuddle up to his partner's chest. he wrapped his arms around his torso and tucked his face in his neck.

"yeah," he mumbled. "i am. you're a bad influence."

"could've warned you about that ages ago." harry slid his hands under louis' shirt and scratched his back, making the older man sigh contently against him. "sorry for not telling you any sooner."

"no you're not."

"you're right, i'm not."

louis yawned into his shoulder and pushed them back down onto the bed. he was now laying on top of harry, but the younger man didn't mind, judging by the way he immediately began to rub his hands up and down his back and bum like he does when they cuddle.

"i'm going back to sleep after court," harry told him. "nap with me?"

"gladly."

—-

court was quicker than anticipated. he sat in the waiting queue for ten minutes, talked with the judge and his lawyer for fifteen, and he was told to send his monthly tracking paper in to bridget at the beginning of the month so they could keep everything on file. he should be getting a call from her sometime this week too. his lawyer said that these court appointments will be covering proof that he's doing his house arrest according to plan and keeping up with his probation officer. so far so good. he had to take a drug test yesterday morning but that was it for now.

since louis had to be at work at eight, they didn't wake up until four. harry slept in because he had been up earlier and was too bored out of his mind to do anything else. louis slept late because he just loves to sleep. plus their bed is comfortable and warm, and harry makes him feel safe, so of course he's going to sleep like a baby whenever he's around.

it was harry's turn to be woken up in the afternoon by louis tracing his fingertip over the dice tattoo he got in miami. it's healed quite nicely, if he's being honest. louis' own little flame on his hip is doing just fine too and the smiley face on his middle finger is still bold and proud to be in its spot.

harry tightened his arm around louis' hips and kissed his forehead. "sleep okay?"

nodding, louis murmured, "slept so good since you've been home..." he sank into his pillow when harry stroked his cheek with his thumb. "never wanna get out of bed as long as you're in it."

chuckling, harry kissed his forehead again, then down the bridge of his nose until he landed on his lips. "but someone's gotta be the breadwinner and it's not gonna be me, so..."

"are you just using me for my money?"

"i thought we agreed you were my sugar daddy? wasn't that the deal this entire time?" harry asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "what else would i need you for?"

louis laughed out as his partner kissed him. "i dunno, maybe some smarts...or sobriety."

"yeah, good luck on those. i'm a lost cause at this point."

"your ass got bigger in jail. something you need to tell me?" louis made harry lay on his stomach so he could grab a handful of his butt. harry shook his head no. the smaller man drew his hand back and slapped his right ass cheek hard, causing harry to bury his face into his pillow with a hiss.

"just so squishy," louis commented. "i wanna take a nap on it."

"no. i nap on your ass and that's it."

"are you gatekeeping ass naps?"

"yes."

"well, sucks to suck." louis laid his head on the back of his fiancé's pajama pants and wrapped his arms around the man's thighs.

harry only shook his head. he reached an arm back in attempts to play with louis' hair, but louis ended up just holding his hand and cuddling with it. with his free hand, he responded to text messages on both of their phones and scrolled through louis' social medias for a bit until he felt some pressure on his bum. he waited, turned his head back, and watched as louis bit his left butt cheek.

"are you having fun?"

"mhm."

"alright."

grinning, louis climbed up and sat on harry's back. he ducked forward and pressed a kiss to the back of his head before gently dragging his hands up and down his shoulder blades.

"you're gonna make me fall asleep, stop," harry whined.

"why?"

"i have six months to sleep. i wanna spend time with you before you go to work."

louis cooed and kissed the back of his lover's shoulder. "so sweet. what did you do?"

"set a car on fire and got sentenced to six years behind bars but i managed to talk them down because i am just that awesome."

"something like that," louis hummed. he pinned his hands on either side of harry's head.

harry's head immediately snapped back to look at him. "lou, where's your ring?"

"on the nightstand. i don't wanna ruin it by sleeping in it."

harry nodded hesitantly before lowering his head.

"do you want me to put it on?"

"please."

louis grabbed his engagement ring and slid it onto his finger. "it's on."

"i wanna see." when louis dropped his hand in front of his face, harry smirked. "look at that. fiancé's got some taste, yeah?"

"he does indeed." louis twinkled his fingers and grinned. "it's so pretty, hazza. thank you."

"i saw another one that i thought you would have absolutely adored but you would have killed me over the price."

"zayn told me this one was five grand."

"the other was ten."

"that's disgusting. i am not worth a ten thousand dollar engagement ring."

"you're worth the fifty thousand one that was in the back of the store. i only settled because i didn't want you to make me return it."

"i just wouldn't have worn it."

"see? another reason i didn't get it."

"i would have done fine with my for now ring..."

"that i paid a honey bun for in jail, absolutely not. you deserve a fucking diamond and i gave you plenty." harry leaned over to kiss the inside of his wrist. "do you wanna eat before work?"

"obviously, but i also need to shower."

"alright. let's go."

—-

"what the fuck is on your neck?" niall gasped. "are you okay? what the-"

louis' face turned blood red. he tried to cover it up! but it was too dark and no amount of makeup would hide it so he just had to let it show.

"harry."

"has gone fucking feral, holy shit. that's a huge hickey, lou. how are you keeping your neck still? that has to hurt."

louis smirked, which made his friend roll his eyes.

"you're one of those."

"he is too. and zayn."

"come here," niall scoffed. he inspected the hickey on the side of the man's neck and shook his head. "so lucky we work at a strip club."

"that my fiancé owns."

"yes, that the hickey monster owns. that's gonna take ages to heal."

"eh, it happens. hot, isn't it?"

"it really is. you look like a total slut and i'm living for it."

"what can i say? he's territorial over me." louis shrugged.

"you fucked before you came in, didn't you?"

once in the shower. once while trying to get ready for work. harry said it was his thighs in his jeans that turned him on again, so he couldn't help but bend him over the edge of the bed.

"twice."

niall grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around, then nudged him forward. "go to work, slut."

"would have been three sometime tonight if he were here!" louis called over his shoulder with a laugh as he lifted the barrier to the bar.

he signed himself in the register and checked that everything was ready to go. his task for the night was to decorate the promotion board for their new drinks. malibu sunset would be the headliner since it's been pretty popular lately, then the phoenix cocktail and a few other fruity mixtures.

he grabbed the board and tiny white plastic letters and got started on the menu. with each finished item, he added the price on the far right end. when the board was completed, he taped the small strip of fairy lights that came with the board around the border and flipped the switch so it would light up.

"look how pretty."

"isn't it?" louis grinned and showed the board to liam.

"was talking about you, but the board's nice too." the younger friend shrugged.

louis cooed and leaned across the bar to kiss the clique member's cheek. "so sweet, li. thank you."

"welcome," liam grinned. "i'm stealing a redbull by the way."

"have at it." louis motioned to the cooler at the edge of the bar. "not the blueberry one, though. niall hid that in there for me."

"you and harry and your fucking blueberry redbulls," liam grumbled as he opened the cooler and grabbed an energy drink.

"they're good!" louis defended. "if i had a second one i would let you have it but this is what's gonna get me through tonight. i don't even wanna be here."

"'cause pretty princess harry is at home canoodling in your bed without you?" liam teased, then proceeded to make kissy noises at the small bartender.

louis threw his head back with a groan. "yes."

"poor thing. it's so hard being a single parent and having to be away from your kid for so long, isn't it?"

giggling, louis said, "it is. my fiancé is a 22 year old man child."

"seriously. i don't understand how he's lived this long with the way he acts sometimes."

"he's just a kid at heart. but we love him."

"we do." liam nodded. "how's he doing?"

"good. he wants to rearrange literally everything in the house but we're also gonna look at houses so i don't understand what he's trying to do. we'll have to pack up and move shit anyways."

"ooh, a house?" liam wiggled his eyebrows. "i think this calls for a housewarming party."

"eventually, yes. we'll get it all figured out. we obviously have to wait until he's off the monitor, but-"

"bitches!"

liam turned and smiled. "hi, bug."

louis watched as niall flung his arms around liam's chest and buried his face in his neck. "hi, nialler."

"hi, booty," niall said, voice muffled. he squeezed liam tight and kissed his cheek before kissing louis' cheek as well. "just wanted to interrupt your conversation. carry on."

liam smacked his ass as he walked away, smirking when the blonde haired man glared at him. louis snickered to himself and served a customer that had stopped by before waving liam off so he could go do his job.

his first few hours at the bar were alright. easy orders, but large waves of people at one time. niall jumped in for about fifteen minutes just to make sure louis had ice and glasses ready to use, and even helped get orders out that came from the coolers since louis liked making the drinks more. that's how they rolled when they worked together — louis would do all the hard work and niall would look pretty while taking everyone's money (really, though, louis would get dizzy from turning from the bar to the cooler and back over and over and niall didn't want him to get sick.)

he could hear the conversation between two men at the corner of the bar, and it wasn't pleasant. it was about him. he had a feeling they were talking about him because they wouldn't keep their eyes off of him. either they're gay, or homophobic, which would be weird since they're in an lgbt+ nightclub with fruity strippers, fruity customers, and a very fruity club owner.

he figured out quickly that their eyes were more focused on his ass. he was fully clothed, not even working the stage and was getting eye fucked by random men.

there's a difference. when he's stripping, he's obviously having fun with his friends and doing it for the money. behind the bar is when he works by himself, utilizing the time to do some solo things and getting away from the hectic dances every once in a while. yes, he can wear whatever he wanted to behind the bar, but nobody ever really commented that they wanted to fuck him while in jeans except for harry. harry's the only person that could do that anyways, and does.

louis offered another round of shots to them and made sure his engagement ring was visible as he put two new glasses on the bartop. he even poured the vodka with his left hand.

"six each."

"but they were just four?"

"yeah, well, when you talk about wanting to fuck the bartender that clearly has a ring on his finger thinking he can't hear you, the bartender opts to charge more. you want it or no?" louis asked as he put the vodka back. "six bucks."

with a huff, the two men paid for their shots before knocking them back.

when it was time for louis to take his break, he grabbed his redbull from the fridge and grabbed his phone from under the bar. harry had sent him multiple pictures of the cats cuddling with one another. emma had her head over shark's back and their tails were curled together. it was adorable.

"babies," louis cooed to himself before showing niall the photo. "look at my babies."

"cute!" niall gasped. "they're holding tails, oh my goodness. i wish i lived as lavish as them."

"right?" louis whined. "i love them so much."

"are they fixed?"

"yes."

"damn. was gonna propose kittens."

"cat siblings having babies?"

"shark is thirteen, almost fourteen, and emma is the only lady friend he has had in quite some time. maybe he's lonely, you never know."

"i am not discussing my cat's sex life with you, you fucking weirdo."

niall cackled loudly from his spot.

—-

harry greeted him at home with plenty of kisses and a hug like he hadn't seen him in years. then tackled him onto the bed and laid on him, sobbing out that he missed him so much and thought he was never coming back home. he let out the most pitiful wails in his chest, pleading for him to never leave him again.

"you said to go!"

"but it felt like forever," harry groaned out.

louis giggled and wrapped his arms and legs around the man. "i'm off tomorrow if it helps?"

harry's mood quickly changed to happiness. he pinned himself above the smaller man and smiled wide. "you are?"

"uh huh."

"i can have you all day then, right?"

"yes, hazza, all day."

harry squealed and peppered his face in kisses. "i'm so excited!"

"really? thought you'd be tired of seeing me by now."

harry eyed him suspiciously. "are you saying you don't wanna be here?"

"no. i do."

"you're just still not used to someone being happy to see you, huh."

nodding, louis adjusted the chain to harry's necklace. "makes me so happy, but i still feel like i'm a bother."

"and what about when we get married and we have our own home? you still gonna feel that way?"

"i dunno. i don't think so," louis mumbled.

"good, because i am always happy to see you. house arrest is shit but i get to spend more time with you. i'm okay with it, really," harry confessed, eyes softening at the way louis tried to hide his bashful grin. "uh uh. don't hide it."

louis chuckled as his cheek was poked, right near the small dimple on the left side of his face. he only had one dimple. harry had two, and they were so lovely.

"atta boy, there you go," harry cooed when louis' smile broke loose. "you're so pretty."

"stop it."

"pretty, handsome, gorgeous," harry continued, leaning down to peck louis' lips. between kisses, he listed, "sexy, fiesty, hot, mine."

"harry," louis whined.

"mine." kiss. "mine." another kiss. "did i say mine already?"

louis laughed against his mouth. "i don't think so."

humming, harry leaned down to press his lips against the hickey he put on louis before he went to work.

"mine," he rumbled lowly, smirking at the trembling inhale next to his ear.

louis grazed his fingernails over his shoulderblades with a hushed, "yours," as his lover started to slowly mouth at his neck. he didn't suck or bite, just dragged his lips and tongue along his skin and left a tail of hot kisses around him. it made him squirm and whine only loud enough for them both to hear.

harry could feel the build up in louis' jeans. he pushed himself up and kissed louis' nose before rolling onto his back beside him.

"mean," louis gasped softly. "so mean."

"never," harry mocked his cute little pout. "want me to take care of it for you?"

louis nodded his head.

"this would be number three today, yeah?" harry teased, smirking when louis nodded again. "you really are a little whore."

the smaller man's flushed a dark red and he rolled onto his stomach to hide from his lover. he buried his head in his arms.

harry towered over his back and ran his hand down his side, tracing over his curves and thickness. "what do you want to do?"

"die of embarrassment."

"not an option," harry chuckled. "why are you acting so shy, bunny? is it because i said that about you without us-"

louis shook his head. "number three," he said softly.

"cause it would be number three today," harry murmured. "it's alright, lou."

"'s not too much?"

"absolutely not. i'd take you every hour of the day if i could." harry admitted as he bit down on louis' hip. the smaller man gasped and bucked into his touch. "take your shoes off. were you raised in a barn?"

giggling, louis toed his vans off and rolled onto his back. harry undone his jeans and pulled them off of him, staring down at the solid black panties he was wearing beneath the denim.

"off." harry lifted the hem of louis' work shirt. "you and i are about to have rounds three, four, and five tonight."

—-

cutesy little filler chapter hehehe

hiiiiii! it's been storming for the last few days so i have been a lazy bum. i edited this chapter when i should have been doing laundry, so someone pls bonk me in the head for not washing the umpteen million loads of clothes i need to do. adulting is garbage. that is all.

i have some filler chapters planned out because i don't really have any more drama or crazy shit going on anymore, like i mentioned before (i think? did i mention that? idk) so hopefully that saves you from having a heart attack. i'm trying to work on some stuff for this fic that will absolutely melt your heart bc it has turned mine into liquid absorjrofkfnfn i love it

((i never ask this, so please answer — is there anything i have missed in the fic? anything you think should be mentioned more?))

thank you for 43k and sorry for the long note!! ❤️‍🔥