“I don’t know, Niall. I’d love to go to Pride next Saturday but I may be working that day. It’s just over a week away. My boss could make plans,” Harry says into the phone.
“Oh come on, Harry. You can’t just take the day off?” Niall asks.
“I don’t like taking sick days unless I need to. My job is important and it’s easiest on Mr. Tomlinson if I’m available,” Harry replies.
“Can’t he call one of the other guys? That’s what they’re there for,” Niall says.
“Technically, yes. But I’m his number one and I’d like to keep it that way. That’s why my job pays so well, Niall,” Harry responds, chuckling.
“Oh come on, we both know you just took that job because Louis is hot,” Niall teases.
“Yes, but I work hard at it because he’s fair and he pays well. I’m not just there for his looks anymore. It’s a good job. Plus, don’t you like our bar crawls that I usually foot the bill for?” Harry teases back.
“Okay, fine. But if you have the day off, we’re going to Pride,” Niall replies.
“Sounds great to me! See you soon, mate,” Harry says, smiling.
“See ya!” Niall says, before hanging up the phone.
Harry rolls his eyes and laughs. He really does hope he can go with Niall, but he’s not just going to take the day off for it. He’s the head of security for wealthy businessman Louis Tomlinson, who is the CEO and owner of a successful luxury car brand. He goes with Mr. Tomlinson whenever he attends any sort of event, conference, holiday, you name it. Currently, his schedule shows that he’s free next Saturday, but it’s always a possibility that something will pop up. He sets his alarm and starts getting ready for bed.
—
Harry’s alarm goes off at 6:30 the next morning. He gets out of bed and stretches before heading to the toilet. He brushes his teeth and his hair, and gets into his running clothes before going for a run. Once he’s back at his place and showered he goes to the kitchen to make breakfast. As he’s getting the carton of eggs out of the fridge, his phone dings. Harry picks his phone up and sees that he has an email from his boss. He taps to open it.
Mr. Styles,
I apologise for the short notice, but I need to schedule a meeting with you. Come back to my office with me after the event this afternoon.
Louis Tomlinson
Harry’s a bit worried by this. A meeting? He hopes he’s not in trouble. There was that one breach of security at the conference last weekend, but Harry thought he and the other security detail handled the situation efficiently. Mr. Tomlinson seemed pleased with how they handled it, but Harry can’t be sure. Especially not now with this cryptic email out of nowhere that he got directly from his boss instead of from his secretary, Oli. Usually Mr. Tomlinson doesn’t handle things like this on his own. It must be important.
Around noon Harry gets ready to accompany Mr. Tomlinson to a social event hosted by the owner of some other car brand. He puts a suit on, applies some of his favourite cologne, and gathers his belongings before heading to work. He meets his boss at his house, like always, and rides with him in the car. Neither of them make any mention of the email or their upcoming meeting. Harry doesn’t notice anything off about Mr. Tomlinson so he pushes it to the back of his mind.
The event goes without incident. It’s boring, as Harry expected it to be, but in his line of work boring is always better than eventful. When the car arrives back at Mr. Tomlinson’s home, Harry’s nerves over the meeting return. He exits the car and walks around it to stand with his boss.
“Let’s go to my office,” Mr. Tomlinson says.
“Yes, sir,” Harry says with a nod.
The two men enter the house and go down the hallway to Mr. Tomlinson’s large home office. Harry’s boss gestures for him to sit before going around and standing behind his desk. Harry notices that Mr. Tomlinson’s entire demeanour has changed. He won’t sit down and he’s fidgeting with the end of his suit jacket. He seems nervous.
“Sir, is everything alright?” Harry asks.
Mr. Tomlinson nods, but he won’t meet Harry’s eyes.
“What’s going on?” Harry asks.
“Mr. Styles. Harry. You know you’re my most trusted employee, correct?” Mr. Tomlinson asks.
“Yes, sir,” Harry responds.
“Which is why I wanted to confide in you. I need your advice on something. And I may need your services,” Mr. Tomlinson continues.
“Anything you say to me will remain confidential,” Harry assures him.
“I might as well get this over with,” Mr. Tomlinson says. He takes a deep breath before looking Harry in the eyes and saying, “Mr. Styles, I’m gay. And I want to know if you think it would be a good idea for me to attend Pride next Saturday. I don’t want to come out publicly, I just want to go have fun. And if you think it is a good idea, I’d like you to be my security at that event.”
Harry’s a bit surprised, but at the same time it makes sense to him. He takes a moment to take in everything his boss just confided in him.
“I’m honoured that you trusted me with this information. I think it would be a wonderful idea for you to attend Pride. I’d keep you safe,” Harry says after contemplating for a moment.
Mr. Tomlinson sighs deeply and loosens his tie before sitting down hard in his desk chair.
“Do you think people would speculate? Would they know? Would this hurt my company?” Mr. Tomlinson questions, sounding stressed.
“Mr. Tomlinson, let me ask you something. Is this something you’re ready for the world to know? Because, yes, people will speculate,” Harry says, calmly.
“I don’t want to hide anymore. I don’t want to keep locking this part of me away. But I don’t want to risk the company’s success. There are so many people who have worked so hard and dedicated so much of themselves to helping me build this company. This company and my employees are my everything,” Mr. Tomlinson says, burying his face in his hands.
“There are a lot of very accepting people that would still wholeheartedly support your brand. Pardon my language, but fuck the homophobes. I think your business would do just fine. It doesn’t matter what some small-minded people might think of you,” Harry says, smiling warmly.
Mr. Tomlinson thinks about this for a moment. “I think you’re right,” he says, nodding, “Besides, it’s not like I’m publicly coming out or anything. I’m just attending Pride. Allies attend Pride, don’t they? There’d be nothing more than rumours for now. And, if this goes well, it could be the first step towards an actual coming out.”
“That’s the spirit!” Harry says with a grin.
“You don’t think of me any differently now, do you?” Mr. Tomlinson asks nervously.
“Of course not! That’d be pretty hypocritical of me if I did, considering I’m gay, too,” Harry replies, laughing.
A look of relief washes over Mr. Tomlinson’s face.
“I’m glad I chose to confide in you,” he says.
Harry smiles and says, “I’m glad I was able to help.”
“Okay. Great. So I’ll see you next Saturday, then?” Mr. Tomlinson asks.
“Yes, sir,” Harry replies with a smile, standing up. “I’ll see you next Saturday.”
Harry turns to leave, but Mr. Tomlinson stops him.
“Oh, and Harry?” The nerves are back in his voice, Harry can tell. Louis hesitates just for a minute, and then says, “Would you mind blocking this on your personal calendar so I don’t have to, you know, run this through Oli? I’m not sure I’m ready for him to know about this.”
Harry smiles his warmest smile, “Yes, of course, Mr. Tomlinson. Totally off the record. I’m as good as booked that day with a personal matter that they don’t need to know about. I’ll see you then.”
Harry says goodbye to Mr. Tomlinson and heads outside to his car. Once he’s seated behind the wheel he pulls out his phone and dials Niall, putting the call on speaker. As Harry is pulling out of the drive, Niall picks up.
“Hey H, what’s up?” Niall says, cheerfully.
“Hey, mate. Sorry, but I’m not gonna be able to go with you to Pride next Saturday,” Harry says, wincing.
A deep sigh comes from the other end of the line. “Why not?” Niall asks, putting the most dramatic pout into his voice.
“Something super important came up with my boss. I’ve gotta be his security that day.” Harry answers.
“And you’re positive you don’t want to call in sick?” Niall asks.
“I can’t, Ni. I’m the only one Mr. Tomlinson trusts with this job,” replies Harry.
“Okay, fine. I’ll go on my own. We can always hang out some other time,” Niall says.
“Thanks for understanding, mate,” Harry responds with a smile.
“You owe me a drink, Styles. I expect you to pick up the tab on our next crawl,” Niall says, trying to sound upset but Harry knows better.
“I always do. Love you, Ni.”
—
Harry awakens to the sound of his phone alarm and the warm feeling of the first rays of sun coming in through his window. He gets out of bed and checks his schedule. Today he’s accompanying Mr. Tomlinson to Pride. He goes through his typical morning routine while thinking about the day ahead. He knows how big this is for his boss. Once he’s had breakfast he lounges in his living room. He’s rewatching a couple episodes of Chucky, smiling at the cute moments between his favourite ship, when his phone dings with a message.
Hello Harry, it’s Mr. Tomlinson. Actually, just call me Louis today. I don’t want today to seem all formal when today is supposed to be fun. That’s actually what I was messaging you about. Don’t worry about wearing a suit today. Just wear whatever you’d normally wear at Pride. I’ll see you soon.
Will do, Mr. Tomlinson. Harry replies, wondering if he shouldn’t have been so formal in his response when his boss literally just told him not to be. Before he can even think about what he’s going to wear, his boss replies.
I’m serious, Harry. Call me Louis, and I wasn’t joking when I said to wear whatever you’d normally wear at Pride. Be as proud as you want to be, especially for those of us who aren’t ready to be.
Harry smiles to himself.
okay, Louis. I will
Harry wonders to himself if his boss is telling the whole truth. Part of him thinks Louis may be doing this so they’re less likely to be noticed. Whatever the reason, Harry’s glad he can dress comfortably. He checks the time and realises he should probably get ready. He goes to his room and pulls on a sheer rainbow shirt and his favourite black skirt. He pulls on a pair of black ankle boots and looks himself over in the mirror. He nods in approval before getting his wallet, phone, and keys and putting them in a canvas tote bag. He puts the bag over his shoulder and heads outside to his car.
Louis is coming out of his front door when Harry pulls into the drive. He’s wearing a red tank top and black skinny jeans and he’s got a cap on his head and sunglasses perched on his nose. Harry has only seen him in casual clothing a few times before when he’s accompanied him on holidays. He’s a gorgeous man and Harry always has to remind himself not to stare. He looks Louis up and down from behind the safety of his tinted windows before getting out of the car and greeting his boss.
“How are you feeling?” Harry asks.
“Nervous,” Louis says with a chuckle.
“Today is going to be great. I’m gonna make sure of that,” Harry assures him.
Seeing Louis so timid is a new experience for Harry. Normally, he’s full of confidence. He carries himself with an air of authority. But right now he’s jittery with nervous excitement. Harry thinks it makes him cuter. Harry can tell that Louis’ mix of cute and hot is going to drive him crazy all day.
“Shall we?” Louis asks while gesturing to the car, a lopsided smile appearing on his face.
“We shall,” Harry says with a chuckle.
This makes Louis laugh and the two of them head towards the car. Harry wonders why he’s never noticed how nice Louis’ laugh is. As they get in the car Harry notices that Louis is getting into the driver’s seat instead of one of his drivers. He realises he really must be the only employee to know anything about this.
Louis parks the car in the nearest car park he can find that isn’t already full and he and Harry walk to the event, following the sound of the loud music. After a moment they’re close enough to Pride to see it. They look around and see people dressed in rainbows, many carrying flags. Louis glances around nervously.
“Everything is gonna be fine, I promise,” Harry tells Louis.
Louis nods and swallows hard. They stand still for a moment, watching the crowd. Louis’ hand brushes against Harry’s. Harry knows it was an accident but his heart still flutters at the feeling. Seeing Louis like this, acting so human instead of all emotionless and businesslike, is making Harry look at him a bit differently. His job comes first, however, so he brushes aside anything that he feels for Louis.
After a long moment Louis looks at Harry and says, “I- I think I’m ready.”
Together, they make their way into the crowd. Harry notices that Louis seems to have fallen in step behind him and is hiding behind his cap and sunglasses. He decides that he’s gonna try to get Louis out of his shell a bit. Harry looks around and spots a bunch of vendors.
“Do you want to go see what’s for sale?” Harry asks, gesturing to the vendors.
“Okay, yeah. That’s a good idea,” Louis says.
The two of them walk over to the vendors’ tables. The first one that catches Louis’ eye is a table filled with handmade jewellery. Harry notices and walks with him over to the table. He watches as Louis lowers his sunglasses and looks over the inventory.
As Harry looks over the table, his gaze lands on a bracelet made from round beads. Most of the beads are black lava rock except for six beads that are made from crystals, one in each colour of the rainbow. Harry can’t identify all of the gemstones but he knows they’re all supposed to have their own properties. He reaches out and picks up the bracelet.
“That’s beautiful. I wish I was brave enough to buy something like that to remember my first Pride,” Louis says quietly. He reaches up and gently squeezes Harry’s bicep before letting go and moving on to the next booth.
It’s then that an idea dawns on Harry. He’s going to buy the bracelet and give it to Louis at the end of the day to keep as a memento. He smiles to himself and looks up at the vendor.
“Excuse me, how much is this?” Harry asks.
“That one is £25,” the vendor replies.
Harry gets out his wallet and hands the money to the vendor.
“Thank you!” says the vendor, smiling.
Harry nods and tells them to have a good day before slipping the bracelet onto his wrist. He and Louis walk along the rest of the tables. Harry stops a couple of times to buy a few things. As time goes on, Louis seems to relax more and more.
After a while of walking, Harry sees something up ahead. He looks closer and sees that it’s a group of protestors.
“Let’s go the other way,” Harry says.
“What, why?” Louis asks.
“Protestors. We can’t risk anything,” Harry answers.
“Okay, good call,” Louis replies.
They turn to go the other way but Harry notices that a group of police officers has gathered back the way they came from. Harry grabs Louis’ hand and leads him towards one of the several regular businesses that line the street. He pulls him inside and they find themselves standing in a little bookshop. Harry guides Louis between a couple of shelves.
“We should just wait it out here. As your security, I don’t want to risk anything,” Harry says.
“Okay, we can do that,” Louis says, nodding. He started playing with his fingers with a slight tremble.
“How have you been liking this so far?” Harry asks, trying to distract Louis’ attention from what’s happening outside.
“It’s great! I’m glad we came,” Louis answers.
“It feels weird not being all formal around you,” Harry says, chuckling.
“Yeah same here,” Louis says before adding, “I kinda like it though.”
“You do?” Harry asks.
“Yeah. Being casual with you is nice. Something about it just feels right, you know?” Louis responds, taking a step closer to Harry.
Harry’s breath catches and his heartbeat quickens. “Mhm,” he answers, nodding.
Louis steps even closer to Harry and glances around to make sure no one can see.
“Would it be okay if I kiss you?” Louis asks, his voice quiet.
Harry’s eyes grow wide and he nods, perhaps a touch too enthusiastically. Louis closes the rest of the gap between them and presses his lips to Harry’s, backing him up against a bookshelf. Louis puts his hands in Harry’s hair and Harry holds Louis’ waist. Their lips are moving together and their eyes are closed. It’s a moment of pure bliss for both of them until someone comes around the corner and bumps into Louis. They jump apart and Harry snaps his head up, opening his eyes to see what happened.
“Niall! Uh, hi!” Harry stammers.
“Harry? What are you doing here? I thought you had to work,” Niall says, realisation dawning on him as he looks between his best friend and the Louis Tomlinson, aka his boss.
“I, uh, well…” Harry mumbles.
“He is working,” Louis says.
“NO SHIT. Are you for real?!” Niall exclaims sarcastically.
“Lower your voice!” Harry quickly says, shushing Niall.
“Is everything alright?” calls the voice of a store employee.
“Yes, we’re fine, thank you!” Harry calls out before turning to Niall and saying, “Please Niall, just…later, okay? We’re just in here to avoid the protestors”
Niall pauses and Louis looks terrified waiting for his response.
“Of course, H. Yeah, we’ll talk later…when you BUY ME A DRINK!” Niall finally says, slowly backing away from the pair. “Enjoy the rest of your day, Mr. Tomlinson.”
Harry chuckles, rolling his eyes and smiling. Louis breathes a deep sigh of relief and Harry squeezes his hand reassuringly. Niall waves goodbye and leaves the shop.
“I’m so sorry, Louis. He won’t tell anyone what he saw. I know he won’t,” Harry tells Louis.
“That’s good,” Louis says. He notices that his hand is still in Harry’s and he pulls away. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have kissed you,” he adds.
“What? Why?” Harry asks, surprised.
“You’re my employee. There’s just so much wrong with this,” Louis replies, looking down at his feet.
“I guess so. It didn’t feel wrong though,” Harry answers.
“No, it didn’t,” Louis says, looking back up at Harry.
Harry offers his hand and Louis takes it. Louis reaches up with his other hand and brushes a stray curl of hair off of Harry’s forehead.
Harry smiles and takes the bracelet off of his wrist, sliding it over Louis’ hand. Louis’ eyes widen in surprise and he smiles warmly at the gift. Harry lifts Louis’ hand up to his mouth and kisses his knuckles.
“No one has to know. It can be our little secret,” Harry says, smiling.
“Yeah, I like that,” Louis replies.
Harry’s phone dings and he checks the message.
“Niall just texted. He says the protestors are gone. Ready to head back out?” Harry asks.
Louis leans in and kisses Harry deeply one more time.
“Okay, now I’m ready,” Louis says, smiling.
Louis takes a deep breath and Harry squeezes his hand reassuringly before smiling at him and letting go. Louis smiles back and they walk out of the bookshop, facing the crowd together.
