"Right Lou, I'm off to bed." Zayn stood up, "you coming upstairs?"

"Nah." Louis shook his head, "I think I'll sleep on this sofa instead."

"So you can spend some alone time with your lover?" Zayn wiggled his eyebrows.

"No. So he doesn't wake up alone." Louis stated.

"You do realise you'll be right upstairs?"

"I know. But I dunno, I wouldn't like it if I woke up alone when I'd fallen asleep around people."

"You're so cute." Zayn smiled, but not in a teasing tone. He could tell Louis genuinely really cared about Harry and it was nice to see him like this.

"Alright mum. You can go and sleep now." Louis flushed. "Goodnight."

"Night Lou Lou." Zayn ruffled his hair and pressed a kiss to Louis's forehead before leaving the two alone.

Louis slipped out of his trousers and t-shirt before climbing under the abundance of blankets.

He reached over to the tall lamp behind him, switching it off and shutting his eyes. "Night Haz."

//

Louis awoke to somebody climbing under the blankets with him. It was still dark, Louis guessed around 2am, so it was either Harry, Zayn, or the cats had morphed into humans.

He opened his eyes slightly as Harry's familiar scent hit him and his soft curls brushed against his face.

"You alright love?" He murmured, voice husky.

"Didn't mean to wake you, 'm sorry." Came the muffled response.

"Don't worry about it. What's wrong?"

"Had a bad dream. Just need a cuddle please." He whimpered.

Louis tightened his arms- which had already found their way around Harry- and tugged him closer. "Wanna talk about it?"

"I don't want to keep you up."

"You're far more important. Talk to me darlin'."

"It was everything. I was reliving all the bullying and my parents comments and the way they treated me after I came out. Niall and Liam left me and then you were the only thing I had left. And then you...you left me too. I needed to make sure you were still here."

Harry hadn't mentioned bullying before. He'd hinted at it, and Louis suspected it, but he'd never outright told Louis about it.

"Oh Haz, I'm not going to leave you. I wouldn't want to. When you go home I'll still talk to you everyday, even when you're sick of me. I'll come and visit you and you can come and visit me."

"Promise you'll never leave me?" Harry murmured into Louis's shoulder. "Please. I don't think I can deal with you leaving."

"I promise I won't leave you." Louis stroked over Harry's back with his thumb. "I promise."

Harry tightened his grip around Louis, breathing softly against his shoulder.

"Do you promise you'll never leave me?" Louis asked.

"I can't promise you that."

"I can't lose you."

"Don't make me promise something I can't keep." He sniffled.

"We will get through this."

Harry began to shuffle, seemingly about to climb out of Louis's arms.

"Where are you going?"

"I didn't mean to wake you up. I thought you might want to sleep on your own."

"No, course not. Stay here."

"Okay." He stopped moving and relaxed. "Again, 'm sorry for waking you."

"Stop apologising. I couldn't care less that you woke me up. But I think we need to cuddle a bit, don't you?"

Harry simply nodded, entangling his legs with Louis's.

"If you have another bad dream just wake me up."

Harry didn't want to, but he knew he probably wouldn't even have a choice. Whenever he had a bad dream he woke up hyperventilating and often sobbing. It wasn't the quietest thing in the world.

"Night Lou."

"Goodnight Bambi."

//

"H, can I talk to you?" Louis asked, Harry looking up from behind his book. He was sat in the corner of the pub, Louis sitting with him when he could.

"I suppose, yeah?" He looked a little on edge as Louis sat down.

"Of course you don't have to answer anything. I just wondered...how badly did you get bullied? Like what did they do?"

"Oh..." It was obvious Harry didn't really expect that question, seemingly expecting something worse. "Um, it was pretty bad. Up until uni actually. They beat me and stuff..." He trailed off, and Louis wasn't sure if he wanted to know what 'stuff' meant.

"What do you mean by 'and stuff'?" He asked anyway.

"They like um, they stripped me down until I was in my underwear and then they'd just make me stand there for everyone to laugh and insult me. They tied me up once...on the football pitch. They stripped me to my underwear, tied me up, hit me and just left me there." Harry was trying desperately not to cry. "I was there until the caretaker came along for the night shift. He untied me and just muttered something about boys being a nuisance. I went home and nobody even said anything. They didn't know I was gone." Harry was crying now and Louis thanked the gods that the pub was empty. His heart ached at just the thought of Harry being alone and in so much pain.

"Why did they do it?" He asked, his voice strangled.

"Because I was an easy target I think. Too trusting, got upset easily. I looked too feminine for their liking as well. My hair used to be longer, and I used to wear makeup and paint my nails."

"They're complete and utter dicks. Do you not wear makeup at all anymore?"

Harry shook his head, "brings more attention than it's worth."

"Did you like wearing it?"

"Yeah...made me feel pretty." He admitted, "I didn't wear all foundation and everything. Just a bit of blush and lip gloss. Sometimes mascara and eyeshadow."

"If you like wearing it you should keep wearing it. Fuck the bullies."

"But it was everyone." Harry muttered, trying to wipe the tears away but they kept falling. "They were the main people who said anything about it straight up, but like, everyone would look at me funny or would whisper about me. My dad told me I looked stupid and I was asking for a beating."

Louis could feel the rage building up within him. It was one thing for strangers and people you just know to say stuff, but when it was somebody close it was something else. Those people should allow others to discover who they are in a safe environment with no judgement. To try things and not like them. To try things and like them. It wasn't fair. Nobody should have to grow up in a home where they can't be themselves.

"Darling," Louis muttered, "if you feel pretty in makeup, wear makeup. If you want to paint your nails, paint your nails. It's not fair for somebody else to dictate your life. You're not a fucking puppet or a fucking Sims character. You're your own person and you should do what you want to do- for yourself and nobody else."

Harry avoided eye contact, his hands suddenly becoming very interesting. "Thank you Lou. You have no fucking idea how much it helps when you say stuff like that." He said honestly. "Thank you for being so supportive."