Don't Wave No Goodbye

It turns out Nick’s too preoccupied to wonder what his friends are up to or to be concerned about bragging rights. He’d been giggling madly and recording Harry and Rita’s performance on his phone for future laughs when he suddenly realises he hasn’t seen Tomlinson around lately, a thought that immediately worries him.

He twists around the people collected in his flat, searching around for the feather haired boy and finally he comes across Liam and Zayn, asking them as nonchalantly as he can achieve where their friend is. Zayn shrugs apologetically, and Liam tells him he hasn’t seen him in a while, suggesting that maybe he’d gone home because he’d been pretty tired.

Nick thanks them but doesn’t consider that option, the five boys were the touchiest people he’d ever met and if he didn’t know them personally, he’d believe himself that they were in a big polygamous relationship with the way they lived in each other’s back pockets. If Louis had gone home, he would’ve told the boys or at least text them to keep them from worrying because that’s the type of friends they were. Shaking his head, Nick makes his way up to the second floor, wondering if maybe the kid had worn himself out and passed out in his guest room or the bathroom.

Only before Nick can make it to the guest bedroom to check, he passes his own to realise that the door is ajar and not how he left it. Groaning slightly, he wonders where on earth his terror of a dog could be now before he hears a soft voice coming from inside his room. Nick’s blood almost runs cold because no, no that obnoxious twat is not in his room, talking to his dog and looking at (possibly touching!) his things. That’s not something that can happen, and certainly not something Nick can handle, at all. He places a hand on the door, pushing it open to find his worst fears have come true.

Louis is sitting on the floor in the middle of the room, Lex snuggled up beside him like the traitor he is, while Louis looks through the selection of records and books Nick keeps in his room, away from the public eye. He looks up suddenly before a lazy smirk cross his features, like he knows how utterly pissed Nick must be to find him here. Neither of them talk for a moment, Nick waiting for some sort of explanation and Louis waiting to be yelled at.

In the end, Nick has to break the silence because what the hell is this kid’s deal? “Err, you want to explain to me why exactly you’re rifling through my things?”

Louis grins a little at this. “Wanted to find out a bit more about the real Nick Grimshaw, you know, uncut and what not. Got a good little collection here. A bit pompous, but what can you do?”

Nick feels his face slack into an expression of surprise. “A bit pompous?” he splutters, eyes wide. “Are you kidding me? That’s coming from you, the posh twat born with a silver spoon stuck up his ass? Incredible.”

“There’s a difference between having good taste and just being pretentious, Nicholas,” Louis tells him in a sing-song voice, returning back to the collection in front of him and picking up a worn copy of Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger. “Don’t tell me you’ve actually read this?”

Nick makes a face at him. “Of course I have. Why else would it look like that?”

“Dunno, could’ve picked it up on one of your many second hand store crawls. Wouldn’t be surprising in the slightest.”

“Yes. Well. Now that you’ve rifled through my belongings and insulted me, are you quite finished?”

Louis gives a little shrug, stretching lazily before getting to his feet. Lex looks mighty put out that his new friend is no longer in a cuddling position and sits at his feet with a sad look on his face. Upon seeing this, Louis reaches out to soothe the dog by petting his ears gently and something about this just annoys Nick. In fact, everything about this whole situation annoys Nick and he wants to know when this will just end.

“You’re looking rather peeved off there, Nicholas, might want to consider your blood pressure,” Louis smirks and that’s it, Nick can’t take this anymore.

“What the bloody hell is your problem? You are quite literally the most annoying, insufferable, bossy, and conceited asshole I’ve ever met and I don’t think I’ve ever had the urge to hit someone as much as I do now,” Nick growls, fists tightening and Lex gives a little confused whimper at the sudden change of tension in the room.

“Seems a bit rude, don’t you think? I mean, you’re a pathetic, washed out radio host who’s clinging to the fame of a teenage popstar, but I’ve never felt the need to point that out,” Louis replies, still looking calm despite Nick’s outburst.

“I just don’t get it! We’ve only met a handful of times, never once outside of Harry’s presence, and I can’t recall a single thing I’ve done to get you to be so unbelievably rude. I don’t know whether it’s because you’re just such an intolerable person in general or because you feel threatened by my friendship with Harry, but I’m over it!”

Louis’ face turns an astonishing shade of red and he’s angry now, livid in fact. “Threatened? You think I’m threatened by your little friendship with Harry? Fuck off Grimshaw, that’s a joke. You’ve been around for what, a few months? A year? That’s nothing to what Harry and I have so don’t even think that you’ve got the upper hand here. He’ll see soon enough what a terrible fucking person you are and leave you in the gutter where he found you.”

Nick laughs, he laughs and that has Louis seeing red. “God, it all makes so much sense now. I can’t believe I didn’t even see this before. You’re in love with him! No wonder you act like a vicious dog every time I’m around, you think I’m here to steal him away from you. Wow that really is something.”

“I’m not in love with him!” Louis all but screams. He’s breathing heavily and his eyes are comically wide, his tone pushing on desperate but Nick believes him regardless.

“Then what is it, Tomlinson? Why do you act like such a prissy little bitch every time I’m around then, huh? What, are you in love with me?” Nick asks, giving a huff of sarcastic laughter that has Louis balling his hands into fists.

“You fucking wish, you complete tosser. Why the fuck do you think? Have you met Harry? The kid thinks the absolute world of every single person he meets, he’s always ready to see the best in everyone and it’s dangerous. He sees the world though rose tinted glasses, like everyone’s going to look after him and keep him safe, and he doesn’t understand that the world is fucking ugly and looking for the first way to destroy him. He meets you and instantly thinks the sun shines out of your ass, acts like you’re some sort of saint, and I know guys like you, I know how you work and I will not let you ruin him Nick Grimshaw, there’s not a chance.”

Nick sort of gapes at him in stunned shock. It’s a difficult thing for him to digest. “You hate me because you think I’m going to do something to Harry?”

“That’s about the size of it, yeah. Let’s face it, you’re not exactly the best type of person. You’re obnoxious and you’re an asshole and you’re exactly the type of person I’ve been trying to protect Harry from.” Louis’ calmed down considerably now, still panting a little from his outburst, but overall looking a little more in control.

“I love Harry,” Nick states simply. “Love the shit out of that kid. He’s all the right things in this shitty world, and I can understand your instinct to protect him because I feel that too. You think I want him to be exposed to how completely fucking awful life can be? You’ve got it wrong, I may be a horrible person by nature but I wouldn’t do anything to upset Harry. But you gotta understand Louis, although he’s only eighteen, he’s incredibly intelligent and there are some things he has to do on his own.”

Louis ducks his eyes, quiet in thought. “Do you love him?” Louis asks quietly after a moment. “I mean, like, actually love him.”

Nick laughs a little, not at all meanly. “Nah, he’s too pure for me. Too nice. Plus, I don’t really do love, I do meaningless sex and one night stands. More my style.”

Above all odds, Louis lets out the smallest slip of a smile, and somehow it makes Nick smile too. The two of them are watching each other carefully now, still unsure of where they stand with each other. Before Nick can even think up a witty line for this overly awkward situation, Louis’ taken the three steps separating them and has Nick pushed up against a wall, Louis’ mouth hot against his and oh. Oh.

Louis kisses desperately like he’s waiting for Nick to shove him off and then punch his front teeth down his throat, he kisses quickly like this is the last kiss he’ll ever get to enjoy, and after a moment, Nick returns to sentiment, slowly down the tempo and letting Louis relax against his mouth with a silent promise that this is okay. Louis lets out a little broken moan in Nick’s mouth and Nick thinks that may just be the hottest thing he’s ever heard. He doesn’t think he’s ever been so turned on and so pissed off, and it’s kind of interesting.

“I still can’t fucking stand you,” Louis mumbles against his mouth, biting down on Nick’s bottom lip tenderly for extra measure and Nick can’t help but grin.

“I’m right there with you, darling,” he whispers back, before grabbing the back of Louis’ head and pulling him back in for another blinding, confusing, wonderful kiss.