Life Inc.

“It just doesn’t feel right,” Louis sighed, turning back to Liam and Niall who were leaning against a table watching him, both of them looking rather surprised.

“What do you mean it doesn’t feel right? The evidence suggests otherwise,” Liam reasoned.

“I know, I just can’t explain it.” Louis set the gun back down on the tray and took a swig of water, slightly disorientated by how much the training exercise hadn’t bothered him.

“Louis, you just fired a damn near-perfect round after eight years.” Louis turned back again and surveyed the thirteen human shaped targets littered across the shooting range, each with a small hole ripped through it near the heart or brain. He knew this was going to come back to haunt him tonight. There was no denying that it was so deeply ingrained in his mind that he could still do it, but it didn’t feel natural, or like him.

“Of course it doesn’t feel right,” Zayn chuckled as he entered, munching on a sandwich. “Guns were never Lou’s thing. You should know better Liam.” He set his plate down and shot a warning glance at Niall, who was already smirking at the sandwich, and ducked into a cupboard. A few minutes later he returned with a sleek black box, which he set down next to Louis.

“I’ll reset the targets,” Liam nodded when he realized Zayn’s plan, standing up and gesturing for Niall to help him.

“What are these?” Louis asked, vague recollection making him frown. Zayn lifted the lid to reveal six sliver throwing knives. “Knives?” he asked incredulously. Zayn nodded.

“You were twice as fast with knives as you were with a gun,” Zayn smiled as Louis ran his fingers down the grip of one of the knives. It felt smooth and cool. Liam and Niall returned, nodding the all clear. Zayn pretended that he didn’t see their fingers linking behind Niall’s back as they went back to leaning on the table.

“How do I do it?” Louis asked, picking up the box and moving to the shooting position.

“See if you can remember,” Liam prompted. Louis shot him a panicked look and then turned back to the targets. The knife he picked up was surprisingly light and Louis instantly felt like it belonged in his hand far more than the gun did. He positioned his hand around the grip in what felt like the right place, took a deep breath, lined up the shot and, transferring his weight, flung the blade forward, closing his eyes so he didn’t see the impact.

“Bloody hell,” he heard Niall murmur and eventually dared to ease his eyes open. There was a gleaming sliver knife buried deep in the middle of the heart target. A small shiver ran up Louis’ spine and he had the strongest urge to just be in Harry’s arms again; the only place where he felt safe, because even in himself he didn’t feel safe.

“Right...” Liam muttered, stunned. “Lunch. Then practice with Zayn. Focus on guns because clearly, knives is your strong point and we might need the efficiency of a gun. Come on.” Niall grinned and jumped on Zayn’s shoulders as Liam led the way to the lounge.

“We’ve got a surprise for you,” Liam told Louis with a smile. “I had a little chat with Harry this morning and Zayn’s done some tinkering and well...” They reached the lounge and Louis broke out into a wide grin – Harry was standing by the sofa, smiling at him. Louis launched himself at him and wrapped his arms around his neck, trying to ignore the fact that he had to stand on tiptoes. Harry laughed and circled his arms around Louis’ waist.

“I missed you,” he whispered.

“I’ve been gone a couple of hours,” Louis chuckled quietly, pressing his lips to Harry’s cheek.

“I’m not the one who launched myself on you.”

“Shut up.”

“Are you guys done yet?” Zayn laughed, pushing them into sofa. “I’m proud of you Lou. I was hoping you would listen to me. So when Harry accidently let slip what had happened last night to Liam this morning, I worked on extending the magnetic field out to the whole base.”

“Zayn, you’re the best,” Louis grinned, snuggling into Harry’s warmth and letting the younger boy press their lips together, whispering an ‘I love you’ in his ear. It made Niall happy to see Louis so happy but it also made something painful twist in his heart. He wanted what they had, and he wanted it with Liam, but Liam was looking very firmly anywhere but the loved-up pair on the sofa.

“Okay, as cute as this is, we need to set things in motion,” Liam started, sitting down. Harry’s arm instantly drew closer around Louis’ shoulders protectively, rubbing small circles into his arm with his thumb.

“Already? It’s only been a couple of weeks,” the curly-haired boy fretted until Louis patted his knee reassuringly.

“The main base is protected by doors that are air sealed with an randomly selected eleven-digit entrance code that changes every three and a half minutes. All the guards are chipped so the code is sent straight to their brains, but the code is not generated at the base. That is done about ten miles away from here in a different base. We need to break in and hack into the system, set up a bug so that when we come to the main mission, we’ll have the codes,” Zayn explained as Niall stood up to make lunch, his fingers grazing Liam’s shoulder as he passed. Harry noticed that Liam was trying to hold back a smile and frowned. He gave Louis’ thigh a small squeeze and Louis gave a very small nod; he had seen the exchange and was also beginning to ponder the dynamic of their relationship.

“Niall and I are going to go over the blueprints while you train with Zayn. We’ll go over the plan tonight, leave early tomorrow.” Harry’s brow creased as Louis’ grip on him tightened.

***

“Right, that’s the plan, Zayn says you’re ready...this is your last chance to back out Louis, we’ll all understand.”

“I...” Louis faltered and Zayn put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“Do you want to talk to Harry?”

“Yeah, I think I need to, I’ll be back in a second.” Louis excused himself, going to find Harry. His breaths were becoming increasingly short and erratic as his panic grew. When he eventually found him in a lounge, Harry instantly stood and pulled Louis into him, holding him tight and shushing him gently.

“You’re okay Lou, I’m here, you’re okay. Breath hun, everything is going to be fine.”

“I’m fine, I’m okay,” Louis reassured him. “I’ve been given a last choice. It’s all or nothing from now.”

“You have the freedom to say no, Lou, remember that.”

“I think that I forsook my freedom when I fell in love with you, Harry Styles,” Louis smiled, running his fingers through Harry’s curls and leaning up to kiss him gently. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out about your switching?” he asked gently, pulling Harry over to one of the sofas and sitting down, taking both of Harry’s hands in his.

“It’s never for more than half an hour,” Harry defended, avoiding Louis’ eyes.

“But it is happening more and more frequently. I have to do this,” Louis decided. “I have to do this for you.”

“No, I don’t want you to if it’s going to get you killed!”

“It’s worth it. I love you so much Harry and this can give us a proper life together. The only thing holding me back is your concern. I need you to trust me Harry, I need you to let me do this. You know that I’m not going to let anything, not even death, come between us.”

“You swear that you’re going to come back to me, in one piece?” Harry asked unsurely. Louis smiled and leaned forward to kiss him again, making it more intense, letting his hands explore far more than he had previously been comfortable with as Harry’s strong fingers toyed with the small hairs on the nape of his neck.

“I swear,” Louis whispered, burying his face in the crook of Harry’s neck, pressing gentle kisses.