Summary: "Louis," Anne said sternly. "You know I have no problem with you working overtime if you need to, but I can't have you running yourself ragged. At this rate you won't have the energy or stamina to make it to the party yourself!"

"I'll be fine, Anne. I swear."

Her bright eyes sparkled as her smile turned a bit more coy and Louis knew immediately what was coming next.

"I hope so, because you know, my son will be in town and coming to the party."

Louis froze. In all the months of her talking about her son and saying they should meet, she never once mentioned that he would be coming to the Christmas party. Well, fuck.

or...the one where Anne is determined to set Louis up with her son, but he's perfectly happy with the random sexting "relationship" he has running with the random he met at a bar several months back.

Author: lululawrence

--

Louis dropped his bag right by the front door and kicked off his shoes. He figured it wasn't really worth bringing them in further when in eight-ish hours he would just be leaving again.

It was almost time for the Christmas party at work and he was the one organizing it. Of course, last minute the caterer backed out and the DJ changed his rates, so Louis had been busting his ass to get replacements at prices the charity could afford only days before the party on top of the other last minute duties that always came with organizing these things. And that's not mentioning the New Year's event Believe In Magic - Manchester was hosting. It was the biggest event they hold every year, so the fact that Louis was now the new Event Coordinator and it was his first year in charge of this and he really didn't want to disappoint his boss much less all the kids and others who were kind of relying on them and therefore him, and ...well...he was putting in much more than the usual 8 hours a day and was exhausted.

He walked a bit further into his flat and collapsed on the couch. He wasn't sure what it said about his day that he was considering just sleeping there without dinner. He could survive without food a little longer. He'd actually eaten lunch today, since Anne had forced some on him while he waited on hold with yet another catering company. And the couch really was quite comfortable, Stan proved that regularly by crashing with him when he got too drunk to make it back to his own place.

Louis groaned and rolled himself onto his back so he could stare at the ceiling while contemplating the pros and cons of showering now therefore allowing himself to sleep in another 20 minutes tomorrow versus getting his ass out of bed at his usual time in the morning. He had just decided it was worth dealing with the funky way his hair would definitely dry after sleeping on it when his phone buzzed.

Louis arched his back so he could see the clock in his kitchen over the armrest. If he was reading it correctly, even in his upside down and exhausted state, it was almost midnight. Fuck, when did it get that late? He was so sure it was only just past ten...

Louis was woken from a doze when his phone vibrated again, and shit. Maybe that's how it got so late. He'd fallen asleep without even realizing it. Again .

Louis shifted onto his left side enough so he could wrangle his mobile out of his back pocket just as it vibrated again.

"Hold the fuck on," Louis muttered as he finally got it free and held it up in front of his face. He immediately felt more awake, and so did his dick, upon seeing the messages that had come in quick succession.

H: Hey, whatcha wearing?
H: I got some new lacy panties as an early Christmas gift for myself and thought I'd try them on for size.
H: Wanna see?

Holy shit did Louis want to see. Louis scrambled off of his couch, turned off the lights, and ran to his room to find where he'd left the lube last time he'd used it a few days ago. Or was it longer than that? Louis couldn't remember and he didn't care. H had messaged him again, therefore it was going to be a great night.

Back over the summer Louis had just learned he had gotten the position he had been hoping for with Believe In Magic - Manchester and could finally quit his two serving jobs. He had allowed himself to splurge and go out for a night of fun on Canal Street. Louis wasn't the type to usually go for one night stands, but that was before H.

Louis was dancing and having a good time with a group of guys who were out for a stag night when this tall, tanned, tattooed man with Bambi legs had appeared at the club. As soon as their eyes met, Louis knew he wanted to go home with him. His hair was short and fluffy, like he'd recently cut it and it wasn't sure what to do with itself yet. He had dimples that were so deep Louis thought he could probably do body shots from them, and his eyes . They were so bright when the lights hit them, it was like they were glowing.

That was before Louis even got to thinking about his sheer shirt and everything it revealed. Fuck, the man was fit. Luckily the feeling seemed to be mutual, because he set down his drink and walked right up to Louis. When he leaned over a bit to ask Louis if he'd like to dance — right in his ear — Louis couldn't repress the shudder his deep voice caused.

Thanks to the drinks in his system, Louis couldn't remember much of the rest of the night in detail, but what he without a doubt could say is it was the best sex he'd ever had in his life. He woke up feeling like a new man...until he realized the other side of the bed was cold and empty. It was slightly made up for with the fact that there was an apology note sitting on the pillow saying he hadn't wanted to wake him when he looked so peaceful, but he had to get to work if he didn't want to be fired.

Louis honestly thought that would be the end of it all, this note simply signed H and a blurry memory of some amazing sex, but a few days later he'd gotten a text from a contact he didn't even know he had in his phone, an H. Louis eventually pieced together who he was as the texts continued, but a few things were certain: he was apparently very drunk, very horny, and on his way home from an unsuccessful night of trying to pull, and he could only think of Louis' blue eyes and pretty dick, which. Sue him, he likes being told his dick is pretty, okay?

That night had set a sort of precedent. Whenever one of them was in that kind of a mood, all they had to do was reach out and ask for a dick pick or see if the other was up for some sexting and the night was good to go from there. They never talked about anything else, and they just left it at that. Louis still didn't even know H's full first name since the contact was only put in as H, but damn if he didn't know what he looked like when he came or how gorgeous his dick was.

H in panties was a brand new idea, though. And Louis was definitely not missing out on this opportunity.

He let out a soft grunt in celebration once he found the lube between his bed and nightstand before getting out of his work clothes as fast as possible, tossing them to the corner with his other dirty laundry, and throwing himself onto his bed with only his pants still on. He grabbed his phone and sent back a text once he was ready.

L: Hell yes, baby. I'm ready to see your sexy self in those panties.

Just the idea of H in lacy little panties had Louis half hard, he could only imagine what kind of an effect actually seeing him in them will have. Fuck. Louis thought about the light dusting of cropped hair that only seemed to accent H's abs and the gorgeous fern tattoos on his hipbones that all seemed to act as an arrow pointing to what Louis knew was likely his large, hard, flushed cock. Trapped in lace.

Louis gave himself a second to relieve himself of his pants, tossing them in the same direction as the rest of his clothes, and then he slowly began to stroke himself as he imagined what color the panties would be. Would he stick with black? Or would he go a bit more festive and try for red for the holidays? What if...Louis' breath hitched at the very thought of H in bright pink lacy panties. He'd sent Louis a photo once of how hard he was just from seeing the dick pic Louis had sent while he was out with friends, and he'd been wearing a pair of bright pink and black boxers at the time. Ever since then, Louis had a thing for H in pink.

His phone finally buzzed and Louis sighed with relief. He knew H was patient and wouldn't mind if he didn't respond immediately, but Louis was afraid that it took him too long to find his lube and get situated. Louis was afraid he may have missed the show. He'd never forgive himself if he'd done that.

Louis reached for his phone with his right hand and continued stroking softly, barely there and just enough to tease himself, with his left.

H: Wasn't sure if you were into it or not, glad you are

Louis huffed out a laugh. Of course it was just a response and not a photo. H was a tease just like Louis was, it's one of the reasons they got along so well.

L: How could I not be into you in panties? Fucking hot. So is this a show me yours and I'll show you mine deal tonight or what?

Luckily H didn't make Louis wait long for a response this time.

H: Yeah, that's definitely what this is tonight. You've gotta earn these panty pics. I don't send them to just anyone.

Louis snorted.

L: My guess is you don't send them to anyone at all except me.
L: Or do you? You have multiple men hanging on your every word and dick pic?

Louis honestly didn't like the idea that he was just one of many, but it would make sense if he was. They obviously were obviously nowhere near exclusive if they don't even know each other's names. But still, he was starting to get a bit nervous that maybe he was just one of many, and that wasn't a nice idea.

H: Nah, you're right. You're the only one who gets to see me being naughty like this

The worry that had begun to coil in Louis' gut immediately dissipated. It should maybe concern him a that he was so hung up on the idea of not being the only one H did this with, but fuck . The confirmation that he really was the only one H did this with was hot. More hot than anything — maybe even more hot than H. In panties. Louis pushed that to the side so he could focus on taking a good photo for H. He stilled his left hand and left it around the base of his cock while he propped the phone on his belly so it wouldn't be so blurry and took the best photo he could in the lighting he had available. He sent it immediately with no commentary.

He allowed his eyes to close and he opened the lube to drizzle some on his cock, easing the way. It didn't take long before his phone buzzed a few times in quick succession.

H: Fuck. You're so gorgeous.
H: Look how hot you are for me, and you haven't even seen me yet.
H: You've definitely earned this.

While Louis was reading the messages, a photo came through. It was obviously taken in a similar style to Louis' based on the angle, but holy shit, Louis thought he was gonna die. H was wearing red lacy panties that were in a pretty little floral pattern, (were those actually poinsettias?) and it had a satin bow at the top accented with little frills of white around the edging. Festive and damn sexy.

L: You're so hot, babe. I'm so worked up just from seeing you in that lace. Are you touching yourself or were you waiting for me?

He left the window open and immediately there were dots along the bottom, indicating H was responding already. While Louis waited, he looked at the photo some more. He could just see the shadows indicating where H's hard dick was just barely contained by the lace. Fucking shit, Louis wanted to put his mouth on him so bad.

H: I was waiting for you, but I'm touching myself now.

Louis gave up all pretense and began to type just what he was thinking like he usually did right before he was losing his control.

L: I wish I was there so I could get my mouth on you
L: Would you like that, baby? Like my hot mouth on you making the lace all wet?

He could barely keep his eyes open now, just thinking about being able to lap at that gorgeous cock through the lace until finally he would peel it off of H with his teeth. Because he would. If he were there, he would suckle him through the lace until it made him too sensitive and then he would just tease him further by pulling it down his long, long legs with his teeth before finally coming back up and showing him exactly what he can do with his mouth.

Fuck, he wasn't going to last much longer, this was hotter than he even thought it would be.

H: I would love that, fuck
H: Would you mark me up, leave bruises all down my legs and torso?
H: I love having little reminders of the night before

Louis flushed just reading that. He had left so many love bites all over H that night; he felt like he couldn't get enough of his skin. He tasted so salty, so warm, so perfect. And seeing the rosy bloom of those burst vessels across his pale thighs and golden torso, all thanks to Louis, while H writhed on the bed whining and groaning. Fuck, Louis remembered that in perfect clarity and damn if he wouldn't do it all over again. At least H had been as into it as Louis had been.

L: You know I would. I love how you taste, everywhere
L: I'm so close, baby. Are you close?

H responded immediately.

H: Almost there, babe. Tease your nipples for me? I love your perky nipples, I would lick and tease them all day long if I could.

Louis involuntarily let out a whine as he pinched his nipples and imagined H's tongue lathing them, making them harden and become even more sensitive.

L: Fuck, babe, that's perfect
L: You pull your hair just a little for me?
L: Imagine it's my hands weaving through the strands and causing that perfect amount of pain

Louis imagined H's grunts and with another pinch of his left nipple this time, Louis couldn't hold back any longer. With images of a lace covered bum, a gorgeous cock, and H's throaty whines, Louis came all over his hand and belly. He was still catching his breath when his phone vibrated again. He unlocked it and found a photo of H's short coarse hair on his lower belly covered in come.

H: Thanks babe, that was amazing.

L: Same, love.

Louis cleaned himself up, tossed the lube back in his drawer, and after plugging his phone into his charger decided the shower could wait until morning before falling fast asleep.

XXX

It was absolutely, 100% a bad choice for Louis to put off showering until the morning. He slept through his alarm and woke up just in time to throw a beanie on with his work clothes before running out the door and missing the bus to the train he needed if he was going to have any semblance of being to work on time.

Thanks to strikes still going on with the public transport, Louis ended up having to wait for another 45 minutes before a bus came through that wasn't already packed. He was so frustrated he even tweeted the company and got one of their shit pre-packaged apologies back for his trouble. Then again, he's not sure why he expected anything else really. They're on strike for a reason.

The time waiting left him ample opportunity to regret not taking that shower, resulting in his wearing the beanie the entire day . He'd have to claim he was cold, and not an over-sleeping lazy arse. Thinking back to the night before, though, made it so he definitely felt it was worth it.

He was finally only about 15 minutes away from work when he got a text from his boss.

Anne: Planning on gracing us with your presence this lovely morning?

"Fuck," Louis whispered beneath his breath. He should have known she'd notice he wasn't there by over an hour past his start time.

Louis: So sorry! Slept through my alarm, strikes caused issues with getting the bus. Almost there! I'll work late to make up for it!

He was already planning on having to work late, so really that's not a lie. He just would be even later than he expected. Maybe he should just bring a pillow and blanket into the office. Sleep there the next few days. That actually wasn't a half bad idea, he'd probably get more sleep that way.

Anne: You will do no such thing! It's the week of Christmas! Just be sure to stop by my office once you get in to give me an update on the party and NYE bash.

Louis shook his head with a rueful smile. She claimed she wanted updates on the parties, but she already knew what there was to know about them. What she really wanted to do was once again talk to Louis about her sont. Ever since she learned for sure Louis was gay, she has been talking to him about her son and how well they would get along.

It's not that he doesn't feel honored that she likes him enough to consider him worthy of her son, but honestly. What kind of loser was her son that she felt like she had to constantly talk him up to Louis?

Louis' stop came up and he made his way through the lingering rush crowd to the exit where he disembarked and quickly walked to his building a block away. He waved at Kaleigh, the building receptionist, at the front desk and rushed up to the floor that housed their Charity offices. He quickly dropped his bag and jacket at his desk, powered up his computer and logged in to start his time card, and then rushed off to see Anne.

Louis knocked on the doorframe of her office where she waved him in as soon as she saw him.

"Ah! So you finally made it!" she joked, wide smile in place as she watched him roll his eyes.

"Yeah, finally here. Sorry about that," Louis apologized. "But as for the rundown on the parties and such, I don't really have much to add other than what I told you last night before you left. I do have the catering narrowed down to two options and it sounds like I might have found a DJ, but I'm going to have to do a bit more emailing and working around the budget with finances before I know for sure."

"What would we do without you?" Anne asked.

Louis scoffed. "Don't get me wrong, I do want to make myself indispensable to you so you let me keep my job and all, but I'm fairly sure you could have kept going without me like you did before."

"No, I doubt that. I'm not sure anyone else would have stayed at the office until past nine like you did last night to keep working on their projects." Anne arched a finely shaped eyebrow at Louis whose jaw dropped.

"You...left at half four, how do you even know?" Without checking the timecards, which she wouldn't have had reason to do for yesterday already, Louis has no idea how she could have known that.

With a smirk, Anne simply said, "Oh, Louis. Don't you know by now? I know all." She wagged her eyebrows as she took a sip of her tea. "That, and Bert was worried you were overworking yourself since you apparently stayed late three nights last week as well?"

"Snitch," Louis muttered beneath his breath. Bert was the night cleaner who had taken a liking to Louis when he came in for his shift one night in September and had found Louis mopping up some spilled tea in the break room. Since then they'd become friends of sorts, though Bert seemed to think he was more Louis' father than friend. Louis shuffled his feet a bit nervously before looking back at Anne. "I may have been pulling some extra hours to finish the advert for the New Year's Eve bash last week without realizing the same would have to be done again this week to account for the caterer and DJ..."

"Louis," Anne said sternly. "You know I have no problem with you working overtime if you need to, but I can't have you running yourself ragged. At this rate you won't have the energy or stamina to make it to the party yourself!"

"I'll be fine, Anne. I swear."

Her bright eyes sparkled as her smile turned a bit more coy and Louis knew immediately what was coming next.

"I hope so, because you know, my son will be in town and coming to the party."

Louis froze. In all the months of her talking about her son and saying they should meet, she never once mentioned that he would be coming to the Christmas party.

"I...erm...really?" Louis' mind began to fly with possible excuses he might be able to use to get out of meeting her very likely socially awkward son, but nothing seemed feasible. Shit, now he's not going to be able to enjoy the party at all because he'll have to worry about offending Anne if he doesn't pay enough attention to her son but also possibly leading her son on if he pays too much attention. He was screwed.

"Yeah, thought he couldn't get in until Friday, but turns out his boss gave them a bonus day off since they're ahead of deadlines, so he'll be able to be back in time for the party. Isn't that great? I just know you two will get along so well."

Louis pasted on a fake smile and nodded. "I'm sure we will, but I really should check my emails and see if I can get the caterer and DJ booked since the party is only two days away..."

"Of course! So sorry to keep you so long. Just wanted to make sure you weren't neglecting yourself."

Thinking about the good time he had just last night with H, it was all Louis could do to avoid snorting. "I'm just fine, but thank you for your concern."

And with that, he walked back to his desk so he could finally get some work done.

XXX

"Okay, the caterers should be getting here any moment. Jenny, can you please lead them to the kitchens if they get here while I'm out? Let them know I'll be able to show them around the space as soon as I'm back." Louis waited for her affirmation before turning to Martin. "And Marty my love, the DJ should be here in an hour. By then I'm hoping that I'll have extricated myself from your lovely grip so I can finally get myself ready for this party that will be kicking off far too soon for my liking, so if you would please guide him to where we decided his stand would be, I would greatly appreciate it."

Martin smirked, his gray eyebrows showing he obviously was in on the joke Louis had made about his old, arthritic hands. Martin was a bit of a soft spot for Louis. He was quite certain Anne only kept him on because he refused to leave, but his dry wit and the fact he found absolutely no task too menial made him remain an asset to Believe in Magic.

Having given his assignments to the two who were helping him get the hall they had rented ready for the party, Louis rushed off to grab a few items from the market that they inevitably forgot. Things like tablecloths and cups. So maybe Louis had been extra distracted, he was just pleased he found a DJ and caterer to fill in last minute and for a price they could afford.

He ran into the nearest Tesco, grabbed what they needed, and rushed back to the hall. Upon entering, he heard boisterous Irish voices echoing throughout the space, as well as the sound of techno beats in the background. Louis hadn't been gone for very long, had everyone shown up at once?

He turned the corner that led to the main room and found an entire group laughing as they carried in what looked to be boxes of food and equipment.

"Oh, Louis!" Jenny cried after she finished messing with something the DJ had dropped in the corner. Which...the DJ was here already? Louis was impressed, he'd not heard of a punctual DJ before.

"Here, love. Can you start spreading the tablecloths for me while I get everyone settled?"

Jenny grabbed the bundle of cheap tablecloths Louis had snatched up and immediately set to work covering the tables they had set up only an hour or so ago. Martin was currently stringing fairy lights all along the walls so the room was finally starting to look rather festive. Louis was happy he was able to find tablecloths with holly on them, he thought those would look quite lovely and a bit less stark than the plain white.

He headed over to the kitchen where the Irish voices were still carrying from and stopped in the doorway. To Louis, the kitchen looked to be complete chaos punctuated by two brunet Irishmen who were yelling and laughing as they seemed to move about in a bit of a dance as they organized things.

"Hullo, I'm Louis Tomlinson. I believe I spoke with Niall on the phone?" he introduced, forcing a pause in their conversation.

Both men froze, and the taller one said, "Which Niall? We're called Niall catering because we're both Niall. My guess is you spoke to that one though, since I usually go by Bressie. Cuts down on the confusion, see." They both flashed large smiles Louis' way before continuing to move about their boxes, unpacking and moving things with no pattern Louis could distinguish.

"Right. Well, very nice to meet you. Anything I can help with?"

The shorter one spoke up this time and said, "Nah, we're good for now. I'll come out and ask where you'd like us to set up the food once we're ready!" He finally put down a tray of what looked to be mini cheese balls and brushed his hands together before walking around the boxes remaining on the floor and held his hand out to Louis. "Pleased to meet ya, by the way. Thanks for hiring us!"

"Would have been better a bit not so last minute though," Bressie murmured under his breath.

Niall rolled his eyes. "Can you believe this moody bitch? I explained the reason it was last minute and the amount you're paying, and he still complains." He shakes his head fondly. "Anyway, thank you so much!"

With that, Louis could tell he was dismissed. Both brunettes went back to yelling at one another while they did...whatever they were doing, and Louis walked out to the main hall where the DJ was setting up all of his equipment.

"DJ Payno?" Louis asked as he approached the rather well muscled man in front of him. He flashed a wide smile, eyes twinkling almost as bright as his rather ridiculously massive chain around his neck.

"Yes, that's me. My name is Liam Payne, though, so you can call me Liam." He also held out a hand to shake over his control panel and Louis couldn't even help his comeback.

"Liam Payne or Liam Chain?" His eyes widened as he realized he could have very possibly offended their last hope at having this party be a success, but luckily Liam burst out laughing. Louis sighed in relief. Good. He didn't want to be the reason their DJ walked out.

"To be honest, this was a gag gift from my boyfriend. He dared me to wear it tonight. I couldn't turn down the opportunity for having first dibs on movie nights for the next month now, could I?"

"Oh, very nice!" Louis laughed. "That's an important prize, do you need documentation that you wore that during the party?"

"That's a great idea! Won't need to have him just take my word for it then. I'll take a selfie once things get going."

They continued to chat a bit while Liam finished setting everything up before he needed to test his lights and the volume settings. Niall appeared then, asking to be directed to where the food was to be set up.

Once Louis had gotten everyone squared away, he checked his watch and found he had just enough time to run home and get changed out of his trackies and into something a bit more fitting of a Christmas party.

"Jenny! Martin! I'm gonna go change! Let me know if any fires start!" Louis called.

"There will be no fires in my kitchen!" Niall yelled back at him. Laughing, Louis headed out and drove the quick five minutes to his flat.

Over the next hour Louis shaved, showered, and did what he could with his new haircut. It was shorter than he had worn it in years, and he still wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Lottie insisted that he looked great and had given him tips on it, but he felt like he still ended up looking like his awkward sixth form self. Maybe that would scare off Anne's son.

Rolling his eyes at himself in the mirror, Louis gave up on his hair for the time being and went out to get dressed in the outfit he had chosen for himself last week. His classic black skinnies that best showed off his bum were pulled on first followed by a somewhat sheer burgundy button up that hugged his torso in just the right way. He looped a long skinny scarf around his neck a few times, threw on his black velvet blazer and brogues, and took one last look at his hair.

Louis eventually just stuck his tongue out at himself, decided there was nothing more that could be done with it, and left to get to the party.

XXX

Louis held his second, and last if he wanted to remain fit to drive home, glass of definitely spiked punch as he glanced around the party. It definitely seemed like a success based on the way all of his fellow employees and their significant others were laughing and dancing around the hall. The food was delicious, the music was the perfect mix of everything so, no matter their age, the entire crowd was happy, and Louis was ecstatic. He knew that having this first big party under his belt was the perfect warm-up for when it really mattered — next week for their first charity event.

Louis had just popped another cheese ball in his mouth, because apparently what he had seen earlier was exactly that, but now they had been fried and were magically delicious. Turning to his right, and seeing the newest arrival standing there like an apparition, made him almost choke on the tasty treat.

There, just inside the front door, was H. There was absolutely no mistaking his tall frame, frankly luscious legs, and his hair that had grown out significantly since Louis last saw him.

What the hell was he doing here? This was just for employees and unless Louis had been incredibly mistaken, H was neither an employee nor a significant other of an employee. Fuck...what if he was? What if Louis had been the other woman?!

Louis began to shake a little, but he wasn't sure if it was from fear, shame, anger, or confusion. He felt like there were around twenty different emotions all pulsing through him and fighting for control, and he didn't have a clue which to address first.

First, he really needed to finish chewing the fried cheese so he didn't have his mouth hanging wide open with it halfway eaten and being shown to the world. That thought just made him chuckle a bit, because suddenly his head replayed the scene where Michael Caine in Miss Congeniality said, "I'm sorry, I was distracted by the half masticated cow rolling around in your wide open trap!"

Luckily, that train of thought pulled Louis from his stupor enough to get him chewing and swallowing the cheese and moving further to the shadows so he could observe and think. Okay, but this really was the first time they had seen each other in person since summer. They'd had sex together kind of almost weekly, sometimes even more often, since then though, so it makes this unexpected meeting even more potentially awkward. Louis couldn't just go up to him and be like, Hey, H! Great seeing all of you again. Have you tried the lace panties again since Monday?

Shit, H was smiling and Louis could tell even from where he was standing that his memory had definitely not done justice to how deep his dimples were. That's not even fair. How was Louis supposed to function much less get to the bottom of this mystery when H was just so...perfect?

Louis continued to watch as H made his way further into the room, veering to the other side of the hall from where Louis was stood, walking directly towards...Anne?

What. The. Fuck.

Suddenly, the wheels in Louis' head began whirling as if they were making up for the pause in functionality caused by H's unexpected arrival.

H and Anne have matching dimples.

Anne has a son only a couple years younger than Louis.

Anne said her son would be here for the Christmas party.

Anne continually insisted Louis and her son would get along perfectly.

Anne's son's name is Harvey or Henry or something and H...well. Louis never did learn his first name.

Holy fucking shit. Had Louis unsuspectingly slept with his brand new boss' son and continued to sext him and all the while she was trying to hook them up?! Was this really his life?

Yes. It seemed to truly be his life, and that was of course the moment that Anne made eye contact with Louis and waved excitedly, flapping her hands to get him to join them.

Louis gave a weak smile and an embarrassed wave and slowly walked towards them, just to see H turn and realize it was Louis walking towards them. At least H seemed to have a similar reaction to Louis, if the way his eyes went wide and his mouth also dropped open a bit upon seeing him was anything to judge by. Louis just giggled a bit and gave a shrug, trying to communicate, "I really had no idea either,".

Right as Louis got within hearing range, Anne immediately yelled introductions. "Harry, this is Louis. He is so amazing and such a help to me. He's the one've been telling you about for months now. And Louis, this is Harry, my son."

Harry's eyes twinkled as he held his hand out to Louis. "Louis, was it?" Louis watched intently as his lips broke out into an uneven and thoroughly charming smile.

"Yes, that's it," Louis agreed, putting his hand into Harry's. Yep, that is one feature his memory did perfect justice to, they still completely dwarfed Louis' own. He could also remember a few other things those gorgeous hands could do. "And you're Harry."

They continued shaking each other's hands for probably longer than necessary, but Louis felt like they were having an entire conversation with their eyes, so he was a bit distracted. He felt like they were laughing and catching up, and both putting together the missing pieces all in seconds of time and right in front of Louis' boss and Harry's mother.

"Well, I'll leave you two to get to know one another a bit better and I'll go get some more of those delicious appetizers!" Anne squeezed both of them on the shoulder, offered Harry a quick kiss to his cheek, and walked off to the food table Louis had just vacated moments before.

As soon as Louis knew for sure Anne was out of hearing range he broke down into laughter. Harry joined in with his rich baritone voice and Louis couldn't help but squint up at him in surprise. H, Harry, was right here — in front of him. He covered his giggles with the back of his hand before reaching out with his left hand to touch Harry's adorably fluffy hair.

"It's gotten long," Louis commented, probably filled with more fond than it should have been. Oh shit, he completely broached Harry's personal bubble and he didn't even ask first. With their shared history, Louis figured he wouldn't mind, but best to ask first. "Sorry, should have asked before I just went and touched you."

Harry smiled back at him warmly. "No, it's okay. Love it when people play with my hair. And this is nothing, my hair is revolting because even after all this time it isn't sure what to do with itself when it's short. It needs to get long again and fast."

Louis cocked his head at Harry. By some standards, Harry's hair already was long, it'd just got a mind of it's own it seemed and didn't want to stay in place very much, making it look shorter than it was.

"So, how long are you talking?"

Harry shrugged and smirked. "As long as I want. Last time it was past my shoulders before I cut it for charity."

Louis' eyebrows rose. "I thought you said you'd cut it on a dare? Did you lie to me, Mr Twist?"

At that, Harry guffawed. "Styles, actually. Robin is my step dad. My last name is Styles."

"Harry Styles," Louis tested out. "Very nice, but that still doesn't answer my question."

"Right, I did cut it on a dare, but they never said what I had to do with the cut hair, so I donated it to charity. Seemed right as it was long enough to do so. Hopefully it made a nice wig for someone who needed it."

Louis was fairly sure he had heart eyes pouring from him right now, and he wasn't very sure he cared. Right as he was about to say something else, Liam began to play Mariah Carey and the entire hall went up in screams and yells of excitement as everyone ran onto the dance floor.

Everyone except Louis and Harry, it seemed. Louis may have even seen Niall and Bressie run out and join the rest for this one.

Turning to Louis, Harry said, "Hey, how attached are you to this party?"

Louis laughed before saying, "Don't wound me, Harold. I planned this event!"

Before Harry could respond, Louis continued, babbling, "Wanna go get dinner elsewhere? My official duties for the night are over -- Jenny and Martin are in charge of clean-up. I'm getting off easy since the real show is next week."

Harry bit his lip in a poor attempt to hide his smile before he nodded his head. "Yeah, love to."

Louis turned towards the door and placed his hand on the small of Harry's back. "Let's go."

"So what are you in the mood for?" Harry asked as he allowed Louis to lead him over to where he had parked.

Louis' face twisted up in concentration until they were standing by the boot of his car.

"You know what I could really go for because I haven't had it in ages?" Harry quirked an eyebrow as his eyes seemed to bore into Louis'. "Curry. I'm craving it like crazy right now. Mind if we just order in and eat at my place?"

Harry's smile just grew wider. "Curry sounds perfect."

Louis nodded to the door and they both climbed in. They were back at Louis' flat in minutes and Harry squinted up at the building once he'd climbed out of the car.

"I feel like I should probably be embarrassed by how little of this place I remember, to be honest," he chuckled.

"Nah," Louis appeased. "We were quite drunk. It's okay."

Louis let them into the building and ushered Harry up to his flat. As soon as they were in, Louis took a quick look around and was relieved to see that, while not pristine, the living space had definitely seen worse days.

"I can take your coat for you," Louis offered as he started unbuttoning his own. He shrugged it off and hung it over his arm before reaching out for Harry's. It was then he realized Harry hadn't started to remove his coat yet. As if he had to force himself to move, Harry reached out and gently grabbed Louis' wrist to turn him so he was fully facing Harry.

"Were you..." Harry paused to swallow as his eyes seemed to burn Louis with how heated his gaze had become upon realizing that Louis was wearing a sheer top. "Were you wearing that the entire time?"

Louis slowly nodded, unable to say anything else.

"You... fuck ," Harry whispered the last word under his breath as if he were trying to recompose himself. "I'm glad I'm sober this time. Even if nothing happens, you're worth remembering in entirety."

Louis felt himself flush and he still couldn't take his eyes off of Harry's. "Thanks, you too, by the way."

Harry gave a small smile, squeezed Louis' wrist, and let him go. He finally took off his coat and handed it to Louis. Once the coats were disposed of on Louis' desk chair in his room, he walked back out to the living area and found Harry had begun to explore the photos and artwork decorating Louis' walls and shelves.

"So," Louis said since he could hear Harry's stomach grumbling. "Shall we order?" Harry continued to inspect everything around the flat as Louis called in the order from his couch. When Louis hung up, Harry sat down beside him and tucked his legs up so he was sitting criss cross, facing Louis.

"Do you mind if I ask some questions that I've been wondering about for awhile now?" Harry asked, face serious.

Louis turned to face Harry and mimicked his position. "Of course not, ask away."

Harry looked as if he were thinking through what he was about to do before straightening his spine and saying, "Exactly how many siblings do you have? Because it looks like it's an entire football team, if I'm honest."

Expecting something else entirely, Louis burst into laughter. When he finally calmed, he saw Harry sitting there, with a proud smile on his face.

"Uh, there's seven of us total. I've got five younger sisters and one brother. So, not quite a football team. I'll tell my mum to keep going though, see if she can reach my newfound goal."

Harry continued to ask Louis questions about anything and everything, even once their dinner had arrived. They changed position to eat at Louis' table, but the questions continued to come. Everything from what he did for uni, where he grew up, how he decided that party planning for a charity was what he wanted to do, what his favorite cartoon was as a kid, and what the last thing was he watched on Netflix. Harry apparently wanted to know everything, and Louis was more than happy to oblige.

"One last question," Harry finally said once they had returned to the couch, both spread out so their legs were tangled together in the middle.

Louis snorted in disbelief. "Sure, only one more. This has been more thorough than the bloody inquisition, you know that right?"

Harry ignored Louis' sass and just said, "How come we never talked outside of the sexting?"

Louis opened his mouth to speak, before closing it again in confusion. He was sure his face showed his thoughts, because he was honestly tired enough to not be able to try to cover it up.

"I thought that's all you wanted. I woke up to an apology note after that one night and then the sex continued, but you never pushed it further. I just thought...I dunno," Louis shrugged and threw his arms in the air, letting them land heavily on his stomach. "I figured you just wanted the sex."

"Louis," Harry said as he sat up so he could see Louis better. "How many one night stands leave you apology letters when they have to leave before you wake up?"

Louis was quiet for a minute before he decided whether to admit the truth or not. Ultimately, he decided Harry pretty much knew the rest of his history, why not this bit too.

"All of them, apparently, since you were my only one."

Harry's face showed surprise, but at least his mouth didn't fall open. "I...uhm...I'm sorry. I was your only one night stand?"

Louis nodded. "Was never much into the idea of just a night of sex. Always just stuck with sex when in relationships, or if we were headed in that direction. But now that you mention it, it does seem a bit odd for a one nighter to leave an apology note."

Harry started giggling. "Yeah, that's not really normal."

"Excuse me, please pause for a minute. Did you just call yourself weird?"

"I prefer the term quirky," Harry replied, still full of laughter, "but sure. Weird works too."

Louis shook his head. This man child was going to be the death of him.

"Hey, Lou?' Harry asked softly once he'd laid back down to be comfortable again. Apparently after all of the questions, he had deemed them to be intimate enough for nicknames. Louis could play that game as well.

"Hey, Haz?" He actually really liked the way it felt, calling Harry a nickname. Or, well, a nickname other than a simple H.

"Wanna go on a date with me tomorrow and then you can ask me all the questions you can think of as payback?"

"Tomorrow's Christmas Eve Eve," Louis said softly.

"Christmas Eve Eve? That's not a thing," Harry laughed.

"Sure it is, when your birthday is on Christmas Eve."

Harry was silent after that pronouncement. "Well, fuck. All those questions and I never thought to ask when your birthday was."

Louis, for some reason, found that hysterical and began to laugh so hard he had to curl up into a ball and hide his face in his knees before he could catch his breath. Somewhere along the line, Harry also began to laugh and they became just a giggling, laughing mess that had them wiping their eyes and gripping their stomachs in pain.

"So does that mean," Harry paused again so he could take a breath and try to calm the giggles that were trying to erupt again before continuing, "that you've got plans tomorrow?"

"Nope," Louis said. "It just means you've got to proper woo me since it'll count for my birthday as well."

"Hm, no pressure or anything," Harry teased.

"Well," Louis laughed. "I have it on good authority that you're incredible in bed, so I can promise you that between that and tonight as my basis, I think you'll be just fine tomorrow."

Harry hummed in acknowledgement before shifting so he was on his hands and knees. He then carefully crawled over Louis, ensuring he didn't place a knee, foot, or hand somewhere that would hurt Louis in the process, until he was hovering over his face, only inches from his mouth.

"So, does that mean you're kind of a sure thing?" Harry asked.

Louis had to force himself to clear his throat so his voice would be more than a croak. If the electricity that began to zip down his spine when Harry began his trek up Louis' body was any indication, Louis was going to be fighting a losing battle with his voice.

"Babe, for you I'm definitely a sure thing."

With that, Harry dipped down and gently kissed him before lowering his body onto Louis'. Feeling his warm weight on him, he knew this was exactly where he wanted to be. They slotted together perfectly, their bodies already seeming to know exactly how to move to best accommodate the other.

It didn't take long for the kiss to turn filthy and Louis to feel like he was slowly turning to molten lava. The memories of all their previous sexual encounters were compounding to make his head just about burst if he had to wait any longer for them to start removing clothes.

Harry had just started slow grinds of his hips against Louis' when Louis pushed him away with a whine from the back of his throat.

"Bedroom," he panted, catching his breath from their incredible kiss. "And I need you out of those clothes."

Harry smirked, but stood up and helped Louis off the couch. Louis couldn't help but wrap his arms around Harry's torso and help him unbutton his shirt so he could slide his hands beneath the cloth and feel the ridges he'd only seen in shadowy photos for months now.

"Fuck, I love your body," he murmured, licking down Harry's neck. The progress was slow, but neither seemed to mind. The pace didn't matter, so long as they were enjoying each other.

Louis dipped the tips of his fingers inside the waistband of Harry's pants so he could dust the trail of cropped hair he had admired just a few days prior.

"Louis," Harry whined. Louis only bit his neck right at the juncture with his shoulder in response, causing Harry to groan in such a way that Louis was quite certain his dick was now completely hard.

"Go, go, go," Louis murmured, nudging Harry forward with his knees and feet so they could shuffle a bit faster to his room.

They finally made it, and as soon as they did, Harry pulled Louis in front of him. "What do you want, love?" Louis took in the fact that Harry was already most of the way undressed. He had apparently undone his trousers while Louis had been distracted.

"Your fingers inside of me. Now."

Harry nodded and they both got rid of the remainder of their clothes as fast as possible. Harry walked right to where Louis kept his lube and condoms, before crying out in success. "I do remember something!" he said.

"You're just lucky I put the lube away after Monday so we didn't have to search for it," Louis commented as he laid down on his stomach. Louis could feel Harry position himself between his legs and nudge them just a bit further apart before the snap of the lube bottle sounded in the room.

Just as a cool, wet finger began to rub over Louis' hole with no more precursor than Harry's left hand on Louis' thigh, Harry said, "Is that why it took you so long to respond? You had to find your lube?"

Louis huffed out a laugh that morphed into a groan when Harry's finger breached him. Fuck, it had been so long since he'd had anyone inside of him and it felt incredible.

"Yeah. Not always the best at putting it back once done," Louis said as he tried to relax into the feelings Harry was causing to pulse through him. "Oh my God, your hands have magic powers," Louis mumbled into his shoulder.

Harry chuckled softly as he continued to work the one finger before he was satisfied that Louis was ready for a second. Luckily, Harry deemed it the end of the conversation, because Louis truly didn't think he could create words even if he tried.

The fizzle of electricity that had begun when they were on the couch were taking over his entire body now. He had thought he was lava before, but he had no idea what to compare himself to now. It's like his entire body was alight with sensation and like Harry was the cause of it all. Harry and his magical fingers.

Louis was shaking by the time Harry thought he was ready and patted his hip to have him turn over. Harry draped himself over Louis as soon as he was turned and kissed him while he slowly worked his hips so their hard cocks rubbed against each other.

Louis pulled away after a minute or two of that and concentrated on not coming. "I'm not gonna be able to wait until you get inside me if you keep doing that."

Harry rolled on the condom, lubed himself up well, and then got in position to push in. He leaned over for a quick kiss before asking, "Ready?"

"Yeah." Louis nodded with his eyes closed because honestly, if he watched Harry with his perfect body while he pushed in, Louis wasn't sure he could keep his control. Louis felt the stretch as Harry slowly pushed in and waited for himself to feel mostly adjusted to him before he said, "Go, please?" almost like a question. Normally that kind of thing drove him nuts, but at this point in time, he couldn't care less as long as Harry started moving, and he did.

"Oh shit," Louis said. Harry's fingers might have been magic, but he the energy coursing his body as Harry thrust in and out was unlike anything Louis had ever experienced. He felt like he needed to be closer, continually closer, to Harry. No matter how close they were, they could do more. He wrapped his legs around Harry's hips, and that angle proved to be Louis' undoing. It was so perfectly delicious, the way it made his entire body come alive that he couldn't help but arch his back and let out a high pitched whine he would be embarrassed about later, but not now.

Harry swiped his hand across Louis' forehead and kissed him on the mouth before saying, "Louis. Lou, look at me."

It took a minute for his words to sink in past the haze that his mind was engulfed in thanks to the constant light and sparks running through his entire body, but eventually his eyes obeyed the order and were able to focus on Harry. Gorgeous Harry, beautiful Harry.

"Shit, you're beautiful," Harry grunted. Louis couldn't say anything in return, because right then, Harry shifted his left knee just right so he hit Louis' prostate and if he was electricity before, he was a full blown fire now.

Louis couldn't hold back his cry as his body once again began to shake and shiver as he came and Harry continued to work him through it. He was still gasping for breath when he felt Harry pull out, rip off the condom, and work himself so he too came on Louis' belly before dropping down beside him.

"Holy fuck," Louis eventually whispered.

"I thought my drunk self had over-exaggerated how good the sex was," Harry laughed, his breathing finally normalizing.

"Right? I don't mind being proven wrong when it's about that."

Harry eventually rolled onto his side and looked at Louis. "Hey, Lou?"

"Hm?"

"One more question."

"I fucking knew you weren't done yet,"Louis laughed, his eyes closed, and the drying come starting to itch.

"Can I stay tonight?" Harry asked, sounding nervous.

Louis opened his eyes and rolled his head towards Harry. "Only if you promise to still be here in the morning and not leave some lame ass note in your stead."

Harry chuckled a bit and said, "Promise."

"Oh, and Harry?" Louis asked, one last demand ready to be made before finally giving Harry the go ahead.

"Yeah?"

"I've got a disgusting amount of come drying on my belly. How about a wet flannel? Hmm?"

As Louis watched Harry walk absolutely naked to the bathroom to help clean him up, he knew this time he wouldn't wake up to a cold bed, but warm cuddles and the potential for so much more.