Don't Wave No Goodbye

“I think I’m in love with Louis Tomlinson.”

The words themselves are as shocking as the delivery, as Nick happens to shout them while storming into Darcy’s flat without even having the courtesy to knock or call or do anything that would warn Darcy, as well as Harry, that their privacy was about to be breached. Ever since Harry started using her spare key to get in and putting it back in places Nick couldn’t find, he’d gone out of his way to get his own copy cut. Despite Darcy’s complaining, he’d told her it was for emergencies, really. In retrospect, this kind of is an emergency.

“Hello to you, too, Nicholas,” Darcy says breezily, and she’s sitting in a bra and underwear underneath Harry, who’s only slightly more covered with jeans unbuttoned and no shirt. “What can we do for you?”

Neither of them look all that embarrassed to be found half undressed and making out, and Nick’s not at all that surprised because Harry would walk around naked if it were allowed and Darcy thought she looked rather smashing in her undergarments and wasn’t afraid to show the world. Harry flushes only slightly when he removes his hand out from Darcy’s underwear, moving to sit beside her on the couch and look up at Nick questioningly.

“Did you just say you’re in love with Louis?” he asks slowly, as if in the heat of the moment he may have heard wrong.

“Oh. Um. Yes?” Nick answers as a question, like he’d forgotten what he’d come over for. “I mean, yeah, most likely. Your snotty little shit of a friend made me fall in love with him.”

Harry grins like he’s won the lotto. Not that he needs it, but really. “Wow, that’s wonderful! I didn’t think you’d ever bite the bullet and actually let yourself love someone!”

“Don’t you smile at me like that, you bastard!” Nick growls, throwing a pillow at his friend viciously. “There’s nothing good about this situation, at all!”

Darcy notices Harry’s confused expression and feels a bit sorry for the younger lad, so she takes it on herself to explain. “He thinks Louis doesn’t want anything more than a shag every now and then. Even though he’s never actually taken the initiative to ask Louis what he wants and instead is content to just believe what goes on in that messed up head of his.”

“Hey,” Nick whines, making a face at this. “I know what I know, okay, and I know for a fact Louis just wants to screw around with me. Which is fine, perfectly okay, because that’s all that this was meant to be. He’s not the one that stupidly decided to get feelings involved.”

Harry looks thoughtful for a moment. “Are you sure you know what you’re talking about? I mean, I know Lou, and yeah he doesn’t mind a casual shag now and then, but I know what he’s really looking for is a relationship. He’s a great boyfriend you know, very attentive and charming and he likes doing all those things that most boyfriends hate.”

Nick looks like the hopeful part of him is being pummelled by the cynical part of him, brutally. “Yes, well, maybe he is and maybe that’s what he does want, but not with me.”

“How do you know?” Darcy asks, wishing she could just shake Nick for being so stupid about all this.

There’s a moment of silence and then Nick lets out a loud sigh, like he’s just tired of everyone and everything. “Seriously, you’re really asking me this? He’s this young gorgeous thing who can have anyone he wants and there’s me, about to enter retirement. Who would choose to settle down and do boyfriend things with someone like me?”

“Nick, you’re twenty eight, not seventy! There’s been worse age gaps! And you can’t decide what Louis wants okay, that’s all up to him. Maybe if you just tell him how you feel, he might get to make that decision for himself,” Darcy says sagely, and Harry nods in agreement.

“As long as you know that this is what you really want, you know?” Harry pipes up. “Because if he puts himself out there, you have to really want this and not mess him around. I know it’s Lou, but he’s fragile. Sensitive.”

“We’ve only been fooling around for a month and a bit, maybe I’m being ridiculous about this. You can’t fall in love with someone that quickly, I’m being a moron.”

“Time isn’t what makes you fall in love, Grim. It’s the connection. If you fit together, then you fit. Can’t write that off, mate,” Harry answers honestly, keeping his eyes trained on Nick.

Nick sighs. “I hate to say it, but you might be right. I can’t chalk this feeling up to anything else. All I know is that I kind of want to try, you know? With us and see what happens.”

“Then tell him that,” Darcy urges. “In fact, tell him at the Christmas party this weekend! It’s the perfect time to do it!”

“Yeah! I mean, the worst case scenario is he lets you down gently, because it’s Christmas and no one, not even Louis, is a bastard on Christmas,” Harry says cheerfully, laughing when Nick gives him a put out look.

“Thanks,” Nick mutters dryly. “Okay, whatever, at least when he turns me down, I can go home to my family and hide my face in shame for a week or so.”

“That’s the spirit!” Darcy cheers, and Nick just rolls his eyes with a small smile as he gets to his feet.

“Yes, well, now I’m going to consult my real friends who will deal with this situation the right way,” Nick sniffs, heading for the door, “by getting me properly smashed until I can’t even remember my own name.”

“Well have fun, say hi to Pix and Henry from me!” Darcy says pleasantly, laughing when Nick makes a sort of growling noise and waves them goodbye, shutting the door forcefully behind him as Harry turns to Darcy and they both giggle.

“Aah, young love,” Harry croons softly.

“They could be the ultimate power couple. Two people you don’t think will ever get together, but then do and work perfectly? We should be professional matchmakers. Have a hit show on MTV and everything,” Darcy comments lazily, running her fingers up and down Harry’s stomach and giggling when his muscles twitch underneath her touch.

“I’m game if you are,” Harry responds, grinning as he moves to kiss Darcy and pick up where they left off when his phone starts vibrating obnoxiously.

“Better get that, popstar,” Darcy grins, shimming out from underneath him easily. “I need a cup of tea after all that, you keen?”

Harry nods distractedly as he goes through the sudden bundle of texts that got sent to his phone all at once. Darcy returns minutes later with a mug of tea for each of them, moving so she can rest her legs on Harry’s lap as she sits quietly, sipping at her tea and waiting for him to finish fiddling with his phone.

“Alright?” she asks finally and he flashes her a grin of thanks for the tea.

“Yeah, yeah, I just kind of forget that I promised the lads we’d hang out today, that’s all,” Harry explains.

“Well, if you have to go, you have to go!” Darcy chirps and Harry looks slightly apologetic.

“I, err, well maybe I can tell the lads I’ll be a bit late, we can finish what we started, and then you could come with?” Harry sounds so hopeful and the suggestion itself comes as such a surprise that Darcy nearly chokes on her tea.

“Wait, come with you to hang out with your band?” Darcy asks slowly.

Harry gives a little shrug. “Yeah, I mean, you don’t have to but they’ve been asking for ages when they’re going to see you again. It’s nothing huge, we’ll probably just watch a film and go out for lunch. You don’t have to.”

It’s the way that he acts so resigned, like she’s already said no to the idea that makes her say yes. She likes the band, they’re a bunch of goofballs and there are plenty of people in the world who would sell their own grandma to be in her position, and with that thought, she nods.

“Sure, why not?”

It’s Harry’s turn to nearly choke on his tea. “Wait, seriously? You want to?”

“Yeah, I mean, I haven’t seen them in ages and I’ve got nothing else on,” Darcy answers calmly and Harry’s smiling enough for the dimples to show.

“Awesome, I’ll let them know,” he tells her, quickly typing up a reply and absentmindedly stroking her leg with his thumb which causes a thought to suddenly appear to Darcy.

“They, uh, they know about us right? Like, this?” Darcy questions, motioning between them and Harry just laughs.

“I tell those boys almost everything, don’t worry,” Harry reassures her. “They don’t care. They like you and I like you, so I think that’s all that matters to them.”

“Good,” Darcy nods, placing her tea next to Harry’s on the coffee table before grabbing his phone off him, chucking it aside in favour of kissing down his neck teasingly. “Now where were we?”