Louis loved his fans, the loyal Directioners. Though they could be quite obnoxious and rude in their obsessions, they were the ones who made his dream possible and supported his career. They were the ones he could depend on to cheer him up on an off day, and they were the ones whose faces he saw when he glanced out from the stage each night.

More than his fans, Louis missed his family. Tour was strenuous and left him little time to call and check in on his sisters and parents. He missed being woken each morning by high-pitched squeals from Daisy and Phoebe, and the occasional annoyance of either of the other two. He missed being able to share every special day and its happiness with his beloved mum.

But most of all, the reason Louis wanted so badly to go back home was Riane. The cute little blonde had been his loving girlfriend for a good while now. He always enjoyed being in her company and just having down time, which the two of them could use to their advantage. Unfortunately for him, being a member of a world famous boy band doesn’t leave much time to go home, or even just to have a break between shows, interviews, meetings, and studio visits.

That was why Louis was so excited when Simon called to congratulate One Direction on a successful tour and to break the news that they would be allowed to return to London for a week. He could feel a massive grin stretching across his face at the thought of seeing Riane again. Being the wonderful boyfriend that he was, Louis wanted his return to be a pleasant surprise; he had everything the two would be doing planned with room left to enjoy the time they had.

As his plane took off, Louis was lost in thought. He ended up falling asleep during the flight and had to be shaken awake by Liam as they announced that landing would be soon.

“Liam,” he whispered frantically, “you told Danielle to convince Riane that the two of them needed to pick you up but not mention that I would be coming too, right? What will I do if she’s not there or the surprise was ruined?”

The calmer boy chuckled quietly and laid a hand on the older one’s shoulder. “Of course I did, mate. You’ll be fine; stop overthinking it! Someone would think you’re turning into me.”

Louis’ mouth dropped open. “Is Mr. Mature making jokes about himself? What is this, swap personalities day?” That comment kept the both of them laughing until they were well on their way out of the plane and moving to the baggage terminal.

A gasp was heard from somewhere ahead. “Louis?!” a feminine voice cried out joyfully as said boy felt a hard pressure ram into the side of his body. “I thought Liam was coming alone,” she muttered, squeezing him tightly.

“I just wanted to see how you reacted,” he smiled, pressing a feather-light kiss to her nose.

“You can’t even imagine how great it is to see you,” Riane breathed happily.

“Oh believe me, love, I most certainly can. You can ask Liam how miserable I’ve been the longer we were apart. I miss you, babe. Just because I’m a pop star touring the world doesn’t mean I’d ever forget the beauty I left at home.”

Louis turned to watch his band mate hug his own girl tightly before giving him a slight wave and leading her out. “Let’s go; we’ve got a fun week ahead of us.”

Fingers tangled, Riane and Louis made their way to the transportation services stand, since Riane had arrived with Danielle and therefore didn’t have a car. “Taxi for two, please,” she politely requested.

Upon reaching their apartment, Louis’ bags were tossed aside and the reunited couple snuggled into the couch. “I’ve missed this,” Riane sighed. “I’ve missed the way we fit perfectly and how you never let my hair hide my eyes. You’re the only one who calls me beautiful every day, you know.”

He chuckled, “I would hope there’s no other guy telling you that like I do, to be honest. But I do know what you mean.” Louis paused, then turned so he was facing more directly toward her. “Let’s make a pact, yeah? We won’t think about the week ending; we’ll just have fun while we can and use the time we have together.”

Of course, Riane agreed. What else was there to do when her boyfriend was asking to have fun? The rest of the day was spent cuddling, laughing, attempting to cook, and admiring each other.

The next morning, Riane woke with a smile as she felt her boyfriend’s warmth behind her and an arm was wrapped around her waist.  It had been a while since she’d last woken up to him, and she knew it was a feeling she could get used to. Louis woke as she was stretching and reached up to grab at her shoulders, pulling her back down to his chest.

“I’m so tired,” he whined, nudging his face into the dip of her shoulder.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have stayed up so late, then,” Riane joked, poking his nose and giggling at his sour expression. “Come on, I’ve been up longer than you and I’m hungry. Let’s try to make breakfast and hopefully not fail as badly as we did last night.”

Louis groaned, rolling over and shoving his face into his pillow when Riane pushed him off and stood. She continued to prod at him and press kisses to his shoulder blades until he sat up quickly, almost hitting her in the face. “Fine, I’m up,” he grumbled, pushing a hand through his bed hair and fixing his shorts as he followed her to their kitchen.

The ingredients were located and placed on the counter and the recipe for pancakes was written down so as to not miss a step. Louis began tearing open the packages of different items while Riane did most of the actual cooking, since both knew that Louis was the one more likely to set their place on fire and embarrass the both of them.

While she was flipping the pancakes, Riane felt a presence behind her back. “Lou, what are you-“ she didn’t get to finish her sentence before the sensation of dripping yolk and a splintered eggshell was in the middle of her back. She was about to yell not to interrupt her at the stove when a cloud of flour being shaken out over her head interrupted her vision. “LOUIS WILLIAM TOMLINSON!”

He quickly dropped what he’d been working with and dashed from the room, hiding around the corner while Riane regained her full sight. She whipped back and forth in search of Louis, stomping closer to the doorway. “Lou? Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

“Are you going to do something, or are you a wonderfully sweet and loving girlfriend who will forgive me?” He attempted to sweet talk, forgetting that his voice gave away his location.

“Wait and see,” Riane chuckled as she swung around the corner and flung a handful of pancake batter in his face, getting it to splatter across his neck and chest as well.

“Oh, it’s on.” Louis ran past her and reached for the bowl of fruits they’d been planning on having as a side, beginning to chuck them at her. She ducked and giggled as she scooped up something unknown that was close to her on the counter, something that appeared to be a sugar shaker when it created a nice layer of sweet-smelling white over Louis’ head. The two continued to find more foods and toppings to throw until they were exhausted and collapsed on the floor beside the stove just as it began to smoke.

“The pancakes!” Riane exclaimed, jumping back up and switching the stovetop off while she flipped the remainder of the pan onto a plate and observed them with a fork.

“I think they’re still edible,” Louis grinned.

The couple looked around their kitchen with a groan, realizing that the mess they’d made would have to be cleaned up and they were the only ones there to do the cleaning. Being the messy person he tended to be, Louis suggested that they leave it for the next day.

“Why, so it can get even more gross and neither of us will be willing to go near it? Man up and grab the mop, babe,” she smirked as she began to wipe of the counters.

When the kitchen was clean at last, Louis pulled Riane outside and they washed each other down with the hose. A quick clothing change later left the two in a freshly cleaned house with grumbling stomachs since the breakfast had been a disaster zone.

Louis exaggeratedly dropped down on one knee, grabbing Riane’s hand so she would look down at him. He smiled goofily. “Lovely and beautiful Riane, would you do me the greatest honor and…” he paused and the girl held her breath, wondering what could possible be coming next. “Take me out for lunch?”

She doubled over laughing. “That was certainly not the usual way to ask a girl out, babe, but of course I will. Let’s go before my stomach eats itself.”

They had a week of great fun which continued on much like the first days. Louis would begin to do something he’d had planned and it would turn into a joke, mess, or wouldn’t be possible for one reason or another.

The next morning he had booked a flight for the two of them to visit Paris for a day and fly back the next morning, but when they arrived at the airport he was told that his ticket purchase had never gone through and they consequently didn’t have seats on either flight. Riane poked fun at him the entire way home, but couldn’t complain when the day ended with the two curled up in bed and attempting to explain how much they loved each other.

Other ruined events included a picnic in the park on a day with thick clouds and heavy rain, a shopping trip around London in which Louis managed to park crookedly enough to have his car towed and they had to take a taxi to the lot and retrieve it. Riane was trying to get his attention on the way back to the mall by kissing his neck, which of course only succeeded in distracting him enough for the car to swerve back and forth. They were pulled over by the police and Louis proved unable to talk his way out of a ticket, but a note for the man’s teenage daughter was just the cure.

When it came time for Louis to leave, he and Riane were sad but refused to let their week of paradise be forgotten. As they drove to the airport once more, he turned to face the girl he adored.

“Riane, can you promise me something?” he asked with a serious expression.

“Anything.”

“When I go, can you promise that you won’t let that smile hide form everyone? Can you promise to act just like you do when I’m here, and only remember the fun memories instead of dwelling on this moment?”

Riane thought for a second. “I don’t know if that’s possible, Louis. I love you so much that it’s hard every time you go, but I know you have to. It’s your job as a pop star and I would never want to take that from you.” Tears welled up in her eyes.

“I know, love. It always feels like a piece of my heart is missing when I’m on tour, even with the boys and fans surrounding me. If I promise you that I’ll come back every time I can and make good memories, will you promise to remember the good times instead of the sad?” He proposed.

“Sure. I would do anything if it would make you happy.” They smiled at each other as Riane tried desperately to push the tears back.

She let the tears out as she watched the back of his retreating form turn the corner of his gate. Though Riane had promised him that she wouldn’t be sad, she thought it was justified to give herself just a few hours of grief over her boyfriend leaving before she pushed it to the back of her mind and forgot it all. And so she did.

But when the sun rose the next day, Riane stood from the bed that was now only warm on her side without the weight of an arm caressing her skin and smiled. She smiled because she knew that Louis would want her to, even if she hadn’t talked to him since the day before to give him time to rest up and lose the jetlag.

And when Louis opened a webcam with her that afternoon, Riane was still smiling because she knew that Louis would always come home to her.