Chapter Text
Harry and Louis entered the office together, feeling strange without their other 3 bandmates. “Um, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson? We’re here for Ben Winston?” The receptionist looked up and pressed a button, a soft ring coming out. “Elevator’s over there, 15th floor, his door will have his name on it.”
“Okay, thank you!” She waved them off and looked back to her phone. Harry’s face fell, and Louis just chuckled, grabbing his arm and tugging him towards the elevator. They had been an official band for 5 months, touring for most of it, and had normal check ups with their management. But none of the boys had been called on their own, or only with one other person. “What do you think this is about?” Louis asked as the doors closed. Harry shrugged and draped an arm over his shoulders. “Maybe they’re going to tell us to stop being so touchy.”
“Maybe.” They lapsed into silence, Harry’s hand going to his mouth to chew on the skin of his knuckles while Louis started to fiddle with his fingers. Visiting management was always nerve-wracking. Louis was the only one over 18, and even he was nervous when visiting all of the important people in their stuffy offices. Ben was more manageable, always trying to make the boys comfortable, but it was still scary. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Louis laced their fingers together and led Harry forward and down the hall, where he knocked on Ben’s door. It swung open, and Ben was standing there, arms spread wide. “Boys! Hello, hello, come in, come in.” The boys shuffled in and sat down on the chairs in front of his desk. He rounded the desk and sat in front of them, sighing happily. “I’m sure you’re wondering why you’re here without the other boys.” They both nodded mutely. “Well, there’s something I need to talk to you boys about. You know how the fans call you Larry Stylinson, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you need us to stop acting so touchy?”
“No, the opposite, in fact. We think that having LGBT representation in the band would be really good. And the fans would be super happy to have a ship become real.” Harry furrowed his eyebrows and Louis straightened up, preparing to protect the younger boy. “So?”
“So, we were wondering if you could… pretend to date.” Harry’s knees knocked together and he chewed on his knuckles again. “Like how? Kissing on stage? Holding hands?”
“Basically, yeah. Just act how you do now, but maybe throw some big announcement out online, or do one on stage. We’d set up some pap walks, or dates in public spaces.” Louis sank back into his chair, glancing over at Harry, who was still aggressively chewing on his knuckles. He reached over to pull his hand away from his mouth. “What do you think?”
“I think… if it would help the band it wouldn’t be too bad. It wouldn’t be hard to fake. We already act couple-y.” Louis nodded and looked back at Ben. “If he’s okay with it, so am I.” Ben clapped his hands together, pulling out a contract. “You can put out the announcement whenever you’re ready, all we need from you right now is a signature.”
“What did they want?” Niall asked as they entered their hotel room. Zayn and Liam looked up from their game of FIFA, eyebrows furrowing in concern when Harry brushed past them all to kick his shoes off and climb into his bed, hiding away. Louis sighed, closing the door behind him and slowly taking off his shoes. “They wanted to talk about the Larry rumours.” Zayn winced. “They want you to put them down?”
“No, they think gay representation within the band would be good. They want us to pretend to date.” All three of the boys’ jaws dropped. “Did you agree? Is that even legal?”
“They wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t legal, and yeah, we agreed.” Niall got up and went to sit on the edge of Harry’s bed, patting his curls and talking to him quietly. Louis went to sit with Zayn and Liam, who turned the TV off entirely. “So, what does it mean? What are they gonna make you do?”
“Pap walks, staged dates, acting like a proper couple on stage, the whole 9 yards.”
“Like… kissing?”
“Yeah. And they want an official announcement, maybe even on stage.”
“What’s it gonna mean for the rest of us?”
“Nothing. Just pretend that this is normal.” Zayn sighed, running a hand through his hair and glancing at Harry’s bed where Niall had joined him under the covers. “Didn’t they want Harry to be some sort of womanizer?” Louis shuddered, remembering how hurt the younger boy had been when they’d told him. “I guess they decided that this is better representation.” Liam scowled and shook his head, reaching out to turn the TV back on and handing Louis a remote. “That’s bullshit,” he spat. “You shouldn’t have agreed.” Louis shrugged meekly, selecting a character and melting into the couch as the rainbow road music started up.
~~~~~
Louis stared out over the crowd as they screamed. “Alright, alright, next up we have a song we all know and love,” Liam explained to the fans, sparing Louis a glance. This was it, this was happening. “Here’s What Makes You Beautiful!” The screaming got louder and Louis looked at Harry across the stage, who shook his hair out and brushed it across his forehead. After his solo, they were going to kiss. It had been decided the night before during rehearsal, and Harry and Louis had been smart enough to not complain. The music started, and the clapping began. Louis sang in a trance, acting up what was about to happen by singing to Harry, and grabbing his hand when his solo came up. The fans were already losing it, but when Harry put his mic into its stand and grabbed Louis by his suspenders to kiss him, they screamed so loud Louis was sure he’d have permanent ear damage. They broke apart and Harry smiled weakly, reaching up to cup Louis’ cheek and peck his lips again. Louis grabbed Harry’s mic and held it up in between them, finishing the song together. “Well, I’d say that went well.”
“Oh yeah,” Harry mumbled, kissing the corner of Louis’ mouth. Louis giggled and touched their foreheads. Harry broke into his first real smile, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “That was fun. Next up, One Thing!” Liam said into his mic, mastering the ‘this is normal’ attitude. “Way to ruin the mood, Payno,” Louis said into his mic breathlessly. “Just because you want all the attention doesn’t mean you’re going to get it. Come on everyone, One Thing!” The fans just screamed louder, and Louis felt a hand slip into his. He blushed, getting his mic ready and smiling forward. Show business, right?