Life Inc.

“Lou, I need you to tie me up.” Louis stood up so fast he barely managed to stop himself from smacking his head on the hood of the car that was propped up above him as he tried to remove the GPS from it.

“You what?” He stuttered, stunned. Harry’s face appeared beneath the bonnet, laughing at Louis’ reaction.

“Cool it, crystals,” he chuckled, referring to Louis’ eyes, but the older boy just looked a little confused at the nickname. “I meant so that when I switch on, you don’t have to worry about trying to contain me, instead you can focus on driving so they don’t catch us. Tie me up and blindfold me so I don’t think no one’s driving and that should do it, right?”

“Err...yeah, of course. I knew that’s what you meant,” Louis smiled nervously, embarrassed. He wiped his dirty hands on his jeans and ducked out from under the bonnet, stretching. Harry found his eyes drifting to the strip of golden, tantalizing skin that appeared as Louis’ shirt rode up. “Nearly got it, it’s just a bit fiddly. Think you could check in the house, see if there’s anything we can use on the trip?” Harry’s eyes quickly flashed back to Louis’ face, looking sheepish, but Louis hadn’t appeared to notice Harry’s concentrated examination.

“Sure thing. Food and stuff, right?” Louis nodded in response, picking up his screwdriver again.

“Shout me if there is anything wrong at all, you hear me? Anything.”

“I know Louis, don’t worry. I’ll be back in a minute.” Louis sighed as the curly haired boy disappeared into the empty house they’d broken into, before diving back under the bonnet and getting his hand into the small gap that the GPS was hidden.

Harry returned with a rucksack just as Louis finished hiding the small box that would have given away their location under a bush. Louis smiled and blushed as Harry’s fingers wrapped slowly around his wrist and helped him up.

“Sorted?” He asked, a blush creeping up on his own cheeks at how close they were standing once Louis was upright. Louis nodded slightly, unable to bring himself to pull his wrist away. “I got plenty of food and stuff.”

“Awesome. Ready to go then?”

“Not just yet. Still got to tie me up, remember?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s top of the list of things I never thought I’d hear you say,” Louis chuckled, finally managing to step away from Harry and step around him to close the bonnet.

“What, not... Louis, I want you to put on a dress and flamenco dance for me whilst singing Guns n’ Roses classics?” Harry teased with a bright grin.

“Get in the back of the freaking car, you weirdo,” Louis laughed, trying to hide his continuing blush. Harry laughed too, climbing in and holding his wrists out and together with a smirk and a teasing glint in his enchanting green eyes. Louis gulped slightly as he took the rope Harry had found.

“Are you sure about this?” He asked tentatively.

“Best way to keep us both safe.”

“You know, we won’t be able to out run them forever.”

“I don’t care about forever, I only care about now,” Harry smiled affectionately, letting his fingers rest under Louis’ chin and tilt it up so their eyes met. Louis’ breath caught in his throat. “Louis, do this for me please, so that you can get us away from those monsters and tomorrow can have a now too...if that makes sense.” Louis wished that Harry would stop doing and saying these things. These things that made his blood burn and his chest feel like it was going to explode with love and adoration. He couldn’t let his love for Harry come to anything, not when death was constantly treading on their heels. He refused to love and then lose Harry Styles, not like that. But he could only avert his eyes, so as to not see the unadulterated emotion spilling from Harry’s.

“Fine. But I’m not happy about it.” Louis wanted to sound disgruntled, but with Harry looking at him like that, all he could manage was a soft whisper, almost lost to the wind.

“I know,” Harry whispered back, putting his wrists back together. Louis let his fingers skim over the soft skin as he began to wrap the rope around the strong wrists, able to feel Harry’s intense eyes on him. He began to hum quietly to himself, savouring the touches and the warmth of Harry’s skin.

“What are you humming?” Harry asked as Louis finished tying off his wrists. His eyes had drifted closed while he had been working, enthralled by Louis’ gentle touches and sensitivity, but now they opened, studying Louis’ face.

“November Rain,” Louis glanced up with a teasing smirk.

“A Guns n’ Roses classic,” Harry chuckled as Louis crouched down by his ankles. He was a little less sensitive this time, as the skin that he craved was well hidden beneath dark denim.

“Okay, ready?” Louis asked, producing the tie they were going to use as a blindfold. “You’d better do it, I don’t want to catch your hair in it.” Truthfully he didn’t think he could bear to be any closer to Harry, at least, not without having to put every ounce of his will-power into not kissing him like his life depended on it.

They drove for a few hours, Harry chatting away in the back, unable to see the smile that graced Louis’ features almost permanently. Louis was happy to simply let Harry talk, fascinated by stories of his chipped life and by his thought path – how one thing led to another in the mind of Harry Styles.

Harry was in the middle of a story about a family holiday to Greece when he suddenly stopped. Louis glanced back, instantly worried.

“Harry?”

“Lou, you might want to think about flooring it,” Harry muttered, tensing, waiting for the inevitable sharp pain in the back of his neck that he could feel building.

“You’ve started to call me Lou...” Louis realized with a small smile, trying to pretend for a second that this messed up universe didn’t exist, and they were just two ordinary teenagers who had become friends, going on an ordinary road trip.

“Yeah. See you on the flip side Lou,” Harry grinned before crying out, his back arching off the seat in pain.

It took half an hour before the operatives caught up with them.