Slowly stirring awake, Louis felt an unexpected wave of heat andarousal washing over him. This was not just the occasional morningwood situation. No, something was moving against his throbbingcrotch, making him see stars behind his still closed eyes. When thepressure intensified Louis couldn't help but open his eyes with astrangled moan. When he was able to take the whole situation in, herealised Harry was wiggling his bum against Louis' dick, making sexylittle grunting sounds.

"Haz" Louis tightened his grip on Harry's waist where hishands have been the whole night.

"Lou" Harry whined brokenly, arching his back a little andpushing his bum harder down on Louis.

Completely out of his realm, Louis could only match Harry'srocking movements and thrust his hips against his bum. Louis hadnever had a moment like this where he was woken up by his boyfriendlike that while still spooning and barely awake but he wasn'tcomplaining. He just would have never dared to even dream about ascenario like this with Harry but sometimes life was unexpected andtook you by surprise.

"Lou, please. Take me. I'm so close already" Harry begged himdesperately, practically jumping on Louis' dick under the duvet.

"Okay" Louis pressed a gentle kiss between Harry's shoulderblades before rolling a bit away to get the lube and a condom.

Quickly, he adjusted himself back into the previous position withhis prepared crotch. Softly, he traced with his finger over Harry'sbum and slightly touched his entrance, feeling him shudder under thetouch. "I'm gonna ...".

"No need to. I'm prepped, Lou. And still pretty open from yesterday" Harry revealed to him shamelessly.

Biting back a moan at the mere implication of his words, Louisgripped Harry's hips and nudged his dick against Harry's rim.Carefully, he entered him inch by inch because he didn't want to hurthim. Louis had never had sex like this and wasn't sure how to makeHarry feel good from this position.

"Fuck me now, Lou" Harry wiggled his ass prompting.

Slowly, Louis started to rock his hips back and forth.Immediately, Harry threw his one leg over Louis' waist, giving himbetter access. With firmer and stronger thrusts he was able to pushin deeper and lure hot moans out of Harry. Pretty fast, Louis couldfeel the familiar heat in the pit of his stomach and knew he wasclose and he could feel Harry barely keeping it together but Louisstill hadn't found his prostate from this angle and he was determinedto hit it at least once to make Harry feel good.

"I'm so close, Lou. Please, need to ... c-come" Harry chokedout, sounding oh-so wrecked.

It was at that moment that Louis realised Harry was waiting forhis permission to come and if that wasn't the hottest thing on thisearth he didn't know what it was. Wanting nothing else than to makehis baby come, Louis sped up his pace and snapped his hips harder,pushing his dick even deeper in and finally hitting Harry's prostate.To push him over the edge, Louis wrapped his dainty hand aroundHarry's dick and stroked him firmly.

"Let go, Baby. Come for me, Haz" Louis whispered into his ear.

That was all it took for Harry to come all over Louis' hand.Feeling Harry's walls clench around him made Louis release into thecondom too. They rode out their highs together before Louis pulledout, earning a displeased whine from Harry. Louis threw the condomaway and cleaned them both up before snuggling back into Harry'sneck, wrapping his arms tightly around Harry's middle. This just feltso right.

"When you said you prepped yourself ..." Louis trailed offnosily.

"I fingered myself when I woke up with a boner, wanting to comebut it didn't work. So, I thought ..." Harry told him bluntly butLouis could see the blush forming on his cheeks all the way down tohis neck. "I'm sorry if I crossed a line".

"You didn't, Baby. You just surprise and shock me over and overagain but it isn't anything bad. I promise. I'm your boyfriend andyou can definitely wake me up like this more often" Louis assuredhim that everything was fine.

Abruptly, Harry turned his head around up to him to look him inthe eyes. For a moment he looked absolutely blank and Louis wonderedwhat he had said to get such a reaction but then Harry smirked athim. "I'd like that too, Daddy".

Louis groaned affected upon hearing that word. "Fuck, you're gonna bethe death of me, Haz".

"Hopefully not" Harry wiggled his eyebrows at him. "We stillneed to buy Liam a birthday present".

"Good to know where your priorities lie".

Liam's POV

The house was really packedfor a private birthday party and Liam wasn't sure if he liked it. Toomany people in one place always made him a bit anxious but being afamous singer had kinda forced him to get used to it. He never did.

Even though so many peoplewere there that he couldn't remember inviting in the first place Liamrecognised every single face and just knew his friends had invitedthem, which was kinda cute and Liam appreciated the thought and thewhole gesture. He could spot his bandmates; Sean; Àmber and Aria;Maribel and Kayla; Luke and Cody; Louis' old co-workers Sam andChristopher just like his ex-something Dylan, who was talking to Louiswhile Harry was clinging to his side like a koala; the girls fromDolphin's Curve were here together with their friends from the bandKnights of Love. Trying to wrap his head around all of these peoplehis gaze ended on the one person he was happiest to see. Bailey withher best friend Maya.

"Are you finally gonnamake a move on her today, Lima?" Niall asked him cockily while Zaynonly rolled his eyes at him.

"Maybe if you tell Seanyou don't wanna be just his friend" Liam shot back with way moreskill than he knew he even possessed. "Whenever that actuallyhappened".

"I ... He is great. Ofcourse, I like him but I'm not sure if I want us to be anything morethan friends. What if that ruins everything or my feelings aren'tenough? I don't even know where my life is gonna take place in acouple of weeks. I don't wanna drag him into that inevitable mess"Niall sighed out heavily, surprising Liam with so much suddenseriousness.

"Niall, you deserve to behappy, no matter what happens next. Sean knows everything and staysby your ...".

"I'm not sure he reallyknows everything" Niall nibbled on his bottom lip anxiously. "Thepress is really harsh at the moment and we didn't even tell Jacksonour decision yet. I don't want him to be dragged into this warbecause there will be one".

"Shouldn't you ask himwhat he wants as well? Maybe he wants to be right next to you duringthat war" Liam made him reconsider.

"Maybe but maybe we'reonly close friends and these feelings will go away. I only want himto be happy" Niall glanced over at Sean dancing with Àmber andAria. "I'm gonna go join them".

"Have fun" Liam calledafter him before facing Zayn, who looked thoughtful. "Are youalright?".

"Yeah, I'm good. I justfeel for Niall. I can kinda relate to his situation even though Ireally can't. Does that even make sense?" Zayn babbled confusingstuff, staring off into the distance.

Liam followed his eyes andwas met with the sight of Louis and Harry being all cute and touchyin a corner away from people. Puzzled, Liam looked back at Zayn andstudied the look on his face. Suddenly he seemed to understand.

"You love him" Liamstated observingly.

"Of course, I do. We grewup together. We're best friends. Brothers. It would be weird not tolove him" Zayn replied without really looking at him, still focusedon Harry and Louis.

"That's really not what Imeant, Z" Liam tried to gently get his attention and seemingly itworked because Zayn turned around to face him with a discombobulatedlook on his face. "Let's go outside for a minute, Zayn".

Stepping outside into thebackyard, Liam and Zayn were met with mostly silence. No one was outhere and the music barely reached this place, which Liam couldn'tunderstand. Zayn seemed to know what was going through his headbecause he chuckled to himself before explaining the situation. "Wetold everyone to stay inside and avoid the backyard because we don'twanna disturb our neighbours more than necessary".

"That's quite considerateof you two," Liam said dumbly.

"We have our moments"Zayn only smiled at him.

"And this is our moment.You can tell me everything. I have the feeling you need to let thisout for once. Just tell me how you really feel, Zayn. I will alwayshave your back and won't judge you for anything" Liam assured himsoftly.

"There isn't really muchto say. You're right. I love him, obviously. But it isn't a verypresent feeling. It's not like I'm crushing on him or in love really.Maybe a bit but it is an underlying feeling at the back of my head,the bottom of my heart. Nothing that keeps me awake at night or makesme jealous or uneasy or unhappy. I'm not. It's just there and itisn't important because I would never act on this. I don't wanna acton it even if Harry wasn't in the picture. Or another guy for thatmatter. I don't wanna date Louis. We're more than that. Do you knowwhat I mean? I still loved you, in a completely different way. AndI'm open to other people and only want Louis to be happy. WithHarry. They are so good together right now but yeah, I'm scared hemight fuck up again and hurt my brother. This doesn't mean that I'mjealous or trying to meddle with their relationship thing. It's ... afeeling that is always there somewhere but not overpowering feelingsfor other people. I don't know ..." Zayn tried to put his feelingsand emotions into words but struggled a lot to find the right way toexpress them. Liam still understood what he meant and it wasbeautiful.

"I get it, Z. You love himbut you're not really in love. Considering how close you are and howyou grew up and everything it makes sense. Sometimes this happens toreally close best friends but it really isn't a big deal, right?"Liam took both of his hands to calm Zayn's nerves.

"Right. It isn't. That'swhat I was trying to say" Zayn chuckled lightly, relaxing in Liam'spresence.

"Do you ever plan onletting him know?" Liam tilted his head aside in question.

"Not really because itdoesn't matter. I know he wouldn't treat me differently but I don'twant to ... It's not necessary. We're good the way we are" Zaynpondered on that thought for a second. "I also don't really wantHarry to know that right now. He wouldn't understand. He alreadythought we were more than friends and wasn't liking it. He isn'tthere yet. Maybe never".

"Good point" Liam had toadmit. Harry really wouldn't understand because he loved Louis in adeeply romantic way even though he might not even know that himselfyet. "Is there anyone else though?".

"Not at the moment. I'mhappy alone" Zayn answered simply.

"And that's a good thing"Liam smiled comfortingly at him.

"What about you andBailey? You should tell her how you feel. You deserve to be happy,Li" Zayn advised him gently.

"Same goes for you" Liamreturned the sentiment.

"Let's go back inside.It's your party, not theirs".

Back inside, Liam decidedthat his friends were right. He needed to man up and get his woman,hopefully. Squeezing through the crowd, he made his way towards thegirls, who were all dancing together with Sean. Seeing him, Baileybeamed at him and hugged him tightly. Maybe this would actually gothe way he hoped for.

For quite some time heactually dance with them, mostly Bailey, and was enjoying himself. Atone point Dolphin's Curve performed a few songs especially for him,followed by Knights of Love dedicating a song to him that was stillunpublished. He felt so loved and seen and understood and just ...like he was flying.

This gave him the strengthto take Bailey to the side for a moment. "I haven't danced thismuch in forever".

"Being carefree and loosesuits you, Liam. You look happy" Bailey let him know smilingly.

"I am. I really am and Ihad forgotten what this feels like. I'm really glad you're heretonight, Bay. Means a lot to me" Liam got lost in her perfectsmile.

"Always" Bailey lockedeyes with him. "Have you opened any presents so far?".

"Not really. I didn't havetime for it. Why? Do you have one for me? I told you I don't needanything" Liam couldn't help but stare into her sparkling eyes.

"I still have one and Iwanna give it to you right now but you have to close your eyes"Bailey looked nervous out of a sudden.

"Okay" Liam closed hiseyes without question.

A few seconds passed bybefore Liam felt her hand on his cheek and her breath right in frontof his lips. He had hoped for this but didn't dare to hint at it. Nowthat this was happening, now with her lips on his own, he felt like hewas dreaming but it was real. This was actually happening and it wasbetter than he could have pictured it. Wrapping his arms around herwaist, Liam pulled her closer to deepen the kiss a little bit but nottoo much.

"Best birthday presentever" Liam whispered against her lips when they parted after whatfelt like forever.

"Yeah?" Bailey blinkedher eyes open.

"Yeah. My only birthdaywish just came true" Liam admitted nervously, not caring how cheesyhe sounded.

The growing smile onBailey's face was rewarding enough. "I'm glad I could help with that".

"Me too" Liam leaned inagain.

They shared a few moregentle kisses until his idiotic friend Niall called him over, notwithout embarrassing the shit out of him. Together with Bailey, hemade his way back over to his friends in the middle of thedancefloor. Freely, they jumped around and shouted along to the musicwithout a care in the world. This was by far his best birthday partyever.

But everything good had tobe ruined at one point. Tonight it was his ringing smartphone thatwas about to ruin his mood for a split second. As soon as he saw thecaller ID his face fell and his mood dropped. Luckily, only Niallseemed to notice that and directly pulled him out of the dancingcrowd and towards the empty kitchen.

"Is that him?" he askedknowingly.

"Yes," Liam could onlynod.

"Accept the call" Niallbraced himself already pissed off.

Liam touched the screen anda second later Jackson's voice filled the room over the speaker."Good evening. Happy birthday, Liam".

"Cut the crap. What do youwant?" Niall hissed at him.

"You're all there?"Jackson asked interested.

"No, only Niall and I butHarry is close by. What do you want?" Liam informed him coldly.

"What's with the attitude,boys? Have you forgotten who you're talking to?" Jackson got louderon the other end of the line.

"No, we're pretty muchaware of who you really are and we know there is something you wantright now" Niall answered him in a steady voice.

"I don't know what thispiece of shit told you but he is lying. He betrayed you before andabandoned you, remember?" Jackson went right back into his mindgames, referring to Zayn.

"You can't fool usanymore. Your game is over" Liam wasn't buying his lies.

"You really think so?Nothing is over. You belong to me, if you recall that. Your break isalmost over and if you don't do what I tell you I will end it rightnow" Jackson threatened them.

"In a few weeks, ourcontract is over. Then you have no power over us anymore becausewe're not gonna sign with you ever again" Liam let him knowdetermined.

"Is that so?" Jacksonsounded terrifyingly unimpressed.

"Yes," Niall and Liamanswered at the same time.

"And Harry?" Jacksonhooked weirdly.

"He won't sign with youeither. He knows everything" Liam told him strongly.

"We know everything youever did to Louis and Zayn and you're gonna pay for this. You'reabout to go down" Niall marked tense.

"You're both so naïve.This isn't over, guys. You better show up at the signing in two weeksor you're gonna regret this" Jackson set them an ultimatum.

"We won't because we'redone with you. Keep our music, keep our name, our public images. Dowhatever you want with that because we don't care. We're not yourpuppets anymore" Liam didn't let Jackson intimidate him.

"You're gonna regret this.Mark my words" and with that, the line went dead and both boys letout a heavy sigh.

"Fuck, this was intense.What do you think he's gonna do now?" Niall bit the inside of hischeek.

"I'm not sure but does itmatter? In a few weeks, we won't ever see him again and can do what wewant. He can't mess up our images more than he already did and wenever wrote our music, so we don't need it. I knew he would bringthat up at one point" Liam filled himself a glass of water.

"Good thing you're sosmart. You had full control over the situation. I was very impressed"Niall confessed honestly.

"Thanks" Liam blushedunder the compliment.

"Here you are. We've beenlooking all over for you" Harry came walking into the kitchen rightwhen Liam's phone was ringing again. It was their manager, so Liamonly declined the call. "Who was that? You look stressed".

"No one. Wrong number.Wasn't the first time tonight" Liam lied quickly but he saw a deepfrown forming on Harry's face.

"I hate when that happensbut now they hopefully get the message and leave you alone" Nialljumped right onto the lie.

"Sure you're okay?"Harry eyed them suspiciously.

Niall and Liam shared a lookbefore answering. "Yes".

"If you say so" Harrycocked an eyebrow at them. "Anyway, Zayn was looking for you. Seemslike it's time to open your presents and everyone wants to watch youdoing so".

"Sounds like fun. Come on"Niall sprinted out of the kitchen.

Liam only rolled his eyesand let out a groan at the thought of being watched by everyone."Yeah, a lot of fun".  

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What do you think Jackson will do?