some chapters may alternate between character pov's, like from louis to harry, harry to louis, etc.

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"are you okay today?"

harry nodded his head slowly, wild curls from his bed head flinging across his face. liam brushed his hair for him, pulling it up in a bun and he patted harry's head before harry grabbed his shoes. liam was a great friend. he knew harry like the back of his hand -- plus you could read the boy just by looking at him. his emotions were right on his face and his body language told alot, too. plus, harry's eyes would change different shades of green if he was happy or sad.

kate waved goodbye to her brother and watched from her window to make sure they left safely. their uni wasn't that far from harry's home, so he just stayed home and would walk to campus. since it was getting colder, liam offered (more so insisted) to give his best friend a ride back in forth because one, being cold sucks balls and two, liam didn't want harry to get hurt and then nothing happen out of it because he already knows someone would say, "he's deaf, he needs to be more aware," and then that results in liam getting in a fight and yeah, just not good at all.

harry curled up in the passenger seat of liam's camry, tucking himself in his hoodie and laid his head against the window. his nose ring was cold from the outside breeze blowing against it but he wiggled it a few times and let the heater warm up to get comfy. he was debating on getting a new piercing but with it being in the middle of winter, it would just get cold and chapped. but liam could easily do it so fuck it, right?

liam turned the heat up a little bit to warm his friend up and drove to the nearest mcdonald's to get them some coffee. over the years liam learned that harry is literally in love with their mocha frappe's, plus fresh fries but it was breakfast time so he couldn't get them.

liam tried to ignore the way harry's eyes lit up like christmas lights when he pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant but he couldn't. harry was too cute and child-like, even though he was littered in tattoos and piercings. liam ordered their drinks and harry made grabby hands for his, making liam teasingly eye the drink and take a sip of it before handing it over.

"thank you," harry signed with a small smile. liam gave him a nod and began to drive to their school.

their university was huge. the students were walking around campus with headphones in their ears and hands stuffed in their pockets. their shoes scraped the sidewalks and they looked so exhausted. but uni was worth it, it was actually fun at times and harry was glad he could expand his art with taking majors.

liam parked in his parking spot and the two got out, walking to the front doors. luckily they were both taking art classes so they were in the same area in case harry needed liam's help.

harry's ragged (and painted) shoes tapped against the tile flooring, echoing through the halls. the kids were quiet, just wanting to get to their class. although it was silent for harry, he sensed the noises. the noise of their spirits. he could hear their laughter -- or imagine it -- when they would toss their head back and slap their knees. he could hear the heartbreak when someone cried in their friend's arms and he could hear the excitement when students would present their art assignments because they were so proud.

he followed his friend to the hallway of their classes, parting ways when harry got to his first. liam gave him a clap on the shoulder and went to his own classroom.

"louis, louis, stop stressing," zayn said on the phone as he walked in the classroom. "i promise it's not as bad as it seems. take a chill pill, i promise he's cool. he did my microphone tattoo and only charged me a hundred, that's a deal."

"you're right," louis sighed. "see if we have to make an appointment so i can freak out a little more."

"alright."

"oh, and zee?"

"yeah?"

"is he cute?" louis bit his lip.

zayn snorted and sat in his seat. "he is definitely not your type."

"didn't answer my question," the other lad pondered.

"yes, he is," zayn rolled his eyes. "but he's just doing your tattoo, it's not like you're gonna bang him or something."

"you never know," louis teased. "just give me the deets, okay? thanks, love you bye."

zayn chuckled as louis hung up and he put his phone in his pocket. he pulled his sketchbook out of his backpack and flipped through the pages until he found the drawing he was currently working on. the lad sitting next to him peered over at his art and tapped his shoulder, grabbing zayn's attention.

the curly headed boy gave him a thumbs up, pointing to his picture and zayn smiled, signing "thank you."

harry nodded and showed him his own drawing. he had just started shading it. it was just a deer, but zayn was in love with it.

zayn grabbed a piece of paper and began scribbling down something on it, passing it to the boy when he finished.

z: how much would you charge for a tattoo of that?

harry bit his lip nervously. nobody ever wanted his own drawing tattooed on them, they just wanted the pictures hung up in the cases and on the walls, just traced by him. so seeing his own artwork on someone would be a big deal.

h: 100-200 (:

z: my mate wants a tattoo and i think he would like that one!

h: i have an open appointment tonight if he can come by!

zayn retrieved the address to the shop and sent the information to louis after snapping a picture of the drawing to him because holy shit, he could feel louis' excitement coursing through his own body.

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harry flipped the lights on, stepping aside so liam could get in. the brown eyed lad unlocked the safe and counted the money, making sure it was the same total from last night and harry skimmed through his book of appointments.

zayn said his friend was okay with coming over around six, so harry made sure that the shop was cleaned up and his materials were prepared before his customer came in. liam checked his own book as well and smiled when he heard the doorbell ring as it opened. it was one of his friends from his art history class.

"what'ya doing?" niall hopped on the counter and sat down, dangling his legs above the floor.

"you see it, we just got here," liam shrugged and wiped down one of the counters beside him. "haz has a tattoo here in a bit and i'm probably gonna have to stay up here for the night."

"mind having some company?" the boy asked. liam smiled softly, unable to deny his big blue eyes and cute smile with braces. the boy was irresistible. and liam may or may not have a really big crush on him.

"i don't mind at all, blondie," liam plugged his phone up to his speakers and began to play some music to get the mood going. niall grinned and vibed with a few songs before the bell to the shop rang again and liam waved at the two boys who came in.

"payno!" louis yelled. "i didn't know you were here!"

"munchkin!" niall shrieked and hopped down, tackling the tiny boy into a hug. "well hell's bells, it's a fucking reunion innit?"

louis giggled and patted niall's back. "hi nialler."

harry stepped out of his work space to grab some extra supplies and his breath hitched when he saw the angel before him. he was super short, almost up to his shoulders and his eyes were as blue as the ocean. he was swallowed in a hoodie two sizes too big (so it had to be either zayn or niall's) and he looked so tiny. it was a cute kind of tiny, almost like a toddler.

louis stared back at the lad and looked him over, blushing when he noticed harry was still looking at him. "okay, so," he cleared his throat. "let's get this tat, huh?"

liam chuckled and said something to harry, who replied with flipping him off.

"sign language," zayn said softly to louis. "harry's deaf."

"oh," louis bit his lip and slipped his hands in his pocket. "he's a cute one, zee."

he followed harry back to the station with zayn in tow. louis was pretty nervous to get his first tattoo, because he wasn't sure if it would hurt or look bad, but zayn kept telling him it would all be okay. so maybe it would.

once harry flipped to the desired page in his sketchbook, he turned it around to show louis the design. the blue eyed boy gasped and observed it all the way through, nodding frantically when he gave it back to harry. zayn smiled and clapped him on the shoulder, watching as harry did a small re-sketch on a different sheet of paper.

"excited?" zayn teased when louis began to wiggle in his seat.

"yes," louis smiled. "i hope i get alot of tattoos like you. yours are so awesome."

zayn pointed at the green eyed lad across from him. "he did them."

louis' jaw dropped. "all?"

"well, you knew about the mic. but he did quite a few of them for me and he always gives me discounts because i'm just awesome," zayn shrugged. "he works with whatever you want, he can try anything you'd like."

louis nods. "that's wicked."

zayn grinned and slouched back in his chair. louis took his shirt off and hung it around his neck, crossing one arm over his stomach. harry finished his sketch and placed a sticky piece of paper to louis' arm, peeling it off to reveal the design stamped onto his skin.

"that's cool," louis whispered more to himself. he gave harry a thumbs up, smiling when the lad gave him an excited grin.

the buzz of the tattoo gun and the music playing on liam's stereo filled the shop with its sound. occasionally they could hear niall laughing at something, followed by liam laughing as well because he showed him what was so funny. half the time zayn just laughed because louis would make a weird noise when the needles grazed over his arm and louis really wished he could hit him but he didn't want to mess his ink up. plus there was a cute boy concentrated on him so that was better than punching zayn.

"everything okay?" liam popped his head in, surprising zayn.

"uh, yeah. fucking wanker, you scared me," zayn laughed nervously. "we're good."

harry wiped some ink off of louis' arm and waved to liam. he told him he was okay before returning to his work. louis watched how his eyebrows knitted together when he was concentrated, how his eyes stayed glued to his masterpiece. harry was so devoted to his work.

zayn watched in amusement -- louis' eyes were trained on harry and harry only. the way louis relaxed anytime the lad touched him and when harry would give louis a tiny smile, he would blush everytime. it was adorable, almost like love at first sight. no words had to be spoken.

liam popped his head in a few more times and both the artist and canvas had to use the loo. liam showed louis where the restrooms were and harry let the smaller lad go first because his bladder was probably just as little as he was.

"he's such a sweetheart," harry signed to his mate. "this is a big piece and he doesn't mind how long it's taking."

liam smiled and leaned against niall's side. "louis is a good guy. you two should definitely hang out."

harry tried to defend himself and say he would probably scare louis but when the boy himself returned to the front of the shop, he gave harry a high five and showed off what he had done so far with so much excitement in not only his eyes but his voice as well. he gave harry the biggest smile, cheesing all the way down to his wisdom teeth and harry didn't feel so bad.

zayn was looking at the pictures of tattoos harry had done when the two lads came back to the room to finish up. they had been sitting for about two hours and harry had just a little bit more to do before louis' first tattoo was finally finished. louis relaxed in his seat and let the sound of twenty øne piløts fill his ears. it had to be their new album that was just released because he recognized tyler joseph's voice but didn't know the songs.

about an hour later, harry wiped off louis' tattoo and sat back, admiring the work he did. louis grinned when the deaf lad broke into a wide smile, giving louis two thumbs up. he cleaned the fresh ink with some sort of special soap and louis stared at his arm in awe when he got to the mirror. the deer was absolutely beautiful. and to think it was just one of harry's doodles, not a real piece that he was working on. it was definitely worth the money louis was going to pay.

the three boys made their way to the lobby, where harry signed a few cards with money off every purchase for the next few times louis wants to come around and gave them to him. louis stuffed them in his pocket and showed off his finished piece.

"erm, how can i say thank you to him?" he asked shyly, his cheeks turning red. he only knew how to sign the alphabet, but didn't know anything aside from that. he always wanted to learn sign language and now that he knows people that know it fluently, maybe he can finally learn.

"take your hand and put it to your chin," liam said, showing him for an example, "then just kinda push your hand out towards him but not really far and mouth thank you," he finished the motion and louis looked at harry, signing with his petite hand, "thank you, harry."

harry grinned and signed back, "you're welcome."

"he said you're welcome," liam turned to face lou.

louis gave harry the money for the tattoo plus a generous tip. harry smiled and ruffled his hair, causing the short boy to swat his hands while laughing.

"i'm really happy with how this turned out," louis said softly.

liam repeated what louis said to his deaf friend and harry nodded, signing something back to him. louis also mentioned that he has early classes tomorrow so it may be best if he heads back to his dorm.

they all said their goodbyes but suddenly liam called out, "hey, louis!" as louis was headed towards the door.

the small boy turned around, "yeah?"

"harry said you have a nice butt."

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and viola, here's chapter 2!

almost 2600 words, i think it was kinda lengthy but then again i write short chapters. how do you think harry & louis will interact? what other ship(s) would you like to see? i know i have a side ship for sure planned out. thank you guys for almost 300 reads 💕