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“Oh my God! Louis!”
Louis jolted up in bed upon hearing one of his sisters screaming his name. Hoping it wasn’t anything serious, but not wanting to leave it to chance, Louis flew out of bed, throwing on a pair of trackies before rushing towards the hysterics and crying. He came to a stop by the bathroom where he found one of his sisters, Phoebe, crying and Daisy, her twin, trying to calm her. She was only 11, but not prone to this kind of behavior without something to set her off, so when Louis didn’t see any overtly broken bones or blood, he attempted to calm his racing heart. No one was dying. Good.
“Louis, I can’t go to school like this! Help me!”
Louis looked his sister up and down and found that her uniform looked pretty par for the course and her golden brown hair actually looked nicer than usual. Unsure what the issue was, he just rubbed his eyes in an attempt to wake up the rest of the way.
“Okay, erm...so how exactly can I help you?” he slowly asked. Maybe if he tried to have her tell him what she expected of him he could figure out how to help her.
“I need something to cover this spot on my forehead! It’s massive!”
Phoebe went back to prodding at the spot that Louis could now see was somewhat significant as Daisy smacked her hand away.
“Stop! Fizz said that’ll only make it worse!”
Louis’ mind was reeling. How exactly was he supposed to help? He had zero knowledge on this subject. He just had to deal with the spots and hope everyone else had worse ones than he did when he was her age.
A flash of blonde that was his 17 year old sister, Lottie, suddenly emerged from her room. “I’m afraid my foundation isn’t going to be a good match for you,” she said. “I do have some concealer that can help though, and Fizzy’s foundation might work better.”
“I’m confused. Doesn’t Phoebe have her own makeup? Why would she need yours?” Louis knew for a fact that Phoebe had her own makeup. She had a basket that could rival Lottie’s in her room and he had helped stock it for the past two Christmases and birthdays. It was expensive shit too, so why it’s not good enough now he had no idea.
Fizzy came out with her dark hair and makeup already looking perfect despite her still being in her pajamas and joined the fray. “I’m afraid mine will be too pale for Phoebes.”
“Why can’t she use her own?” Louis tried asking again, a bit louder this time, as his sisters began all talking over each other.
“She only has mineral powder, which isn’t full coverage. She needs full coverage for this spot.”
“Full coverage? Mineral powder? I’m glad I don’t need to worry about this.”
Right then Doris came out of her bedroom. Because Louis needed more to worry about right then.
“Achoo? I’m hungry.”
“Okay, Dory. Go on downstairs, I’ll be right there.” Turning back to the mess in the bathroom, Louis asked warily, “Is there anything I can actually do to help right now?”
“No,” Fizzy and Lottie answered in unison.
“That’s what I thought,” Louis muttered under his breath. He went back to his mum’s room where he was sleeping while she and her husband, Dan, were on holiday and threw a t-shirt on. He wished he could have taken a nice winter trip to someplace warm, but he supposed he didn’t mind staying with his siblings either. He just was having a hard time adjusting to being up at 6 every morning when usually he didn’t have to be up until 8. The joys of working from home.
He went downstairs to find that Ernest had already set up camp on the kitchen floor with his toys and had also gotten into the cheese before Louis had woken up.
“Oi! What did I say about asking before getting food?” Louis gathered the multiple wrappers from the floor as he tried to figure out how much trouble he was going to be in later thanks to this. Fuck. Louis really hoped he wouldn’t have a stomachache after eating all of that at once.
“Sorry,” Ernest said through a mouthful of cheese. Charming.
“Mmhmm,” Louis hummed. “Dory, Ernie, you want some cereal?”
They both cheered and Louis herded them to the kitchen table and began to get all of the bowls and utensils needed for breakfast with six kids. Louis could figure out breakfast for himself once they were all off to school. Luckily, he only had to worry about getting Lottie and Fizzy to school himself because his mum had arranged for friends to take care of both sets of twins. It looked like everyone was running behind, though, because it was already past 6:30 and rides began to arrive at 7.
“Ladies! Emergency or no, you don’t want to be late for school! Come down and eat before you miss your chance!” Squeals carrying loudly down to the kitchen were the only acknowledgement Louis received, but he figured it was the best he was going to get.
He mopped up some of the milk that inevitably spilled around Doris and Ernest’s bowls before the others came down and made the kitchen far noisier — and messier — than it had been before. As soon as Doris and Ernest were done eating, Louis rushed them upstairs to get dressed in their school clothes and gather their rucksacks. He had no idea what they actually contained, they were only three years old after all, but his mum did say they needed to bring them daily so he made sure they were armed with the bags every morning.
They got down just in time for their next door neighbor to gather the little ones and take them to her house. Perfect . Two down, four to go.
“Lou! We need you to go get foundation for us!” Lottie yelled as he returned to find the other girls finishing up their own meals before rushing around to complete their morning routine. Grabbing Phoebe’s arm as she was trying to get past him to gather her homework, he made her freeze in front of him so he could inspect whatever they had done to her upstairs.
“She looks lovely, why does she need something else?”
Phoebe rolled her eyes. “We had to mix what we had, which didn’t go very well as the brands didn’t want to work together, and then we had to get it just right so it wasn’t too dark or too light and don’t you agree it would be easier to just use one?” She took a deep breath after her quick speaking and arched her brow at him in pure Tomlinson attitude.
“Erm, yes. Yes, I do. So what do I get?”
Lottie began rattling off brand names and what he assumed was colors but she was talking about creams and liquids and powders and Louis was positive he would not remember anything she was saying.
“Are you going to list it for me like you usually do?”
“I already texted it to you,” Fizzy said, patting him on the shoulder as she made her way past him so she could grab her jacket.
Louis nodded and waved at Phoebe and Daisy as they ran out the door, their ride honking in the driveway.
“You two ready?”
Lottie and Fizzy both shouted affirmations as they ran out the door. The house was finally silent so he allowed himself a second to bask in the calm before he grabbed his keys and followed them to the car. What a start to his day.
*~~***~~*
God, Louis really hated having so many sisters sometimes.
He didn’t, really. He loved them loads and would never trade any of them for anything, but he just really felt completely over his head when he had to forge his way through the makeup shop. Fizzy had given him the name of the best place for him to try by his mum’s as well as the list of foundation samples for him to gather, which was great because he usually did his shopping in Manchester so he was at a loss for where to shop locally — especially for women’s cosmetics.
Louis had made his way to the center of all the different stands and was staring at the frankly ridiculously huge list Fizzy had messaged him. It looked like it was in code. How the hell was he supposed to know where one ended and the next one started? Or was it just one item with all those specifications? Louis needed help and he wasn’t sure he was going to find any at 10 on a Thursday. It looked quite empty in the shop.
Louis flicked his still somewhat damp fringe out of his face and puffed out his cheeks as he tried to figure out where to start. He had just spun in a slow circle twice when he heard a throat clear behind him. Louis jumped a bit and twirled faster than he meant to, causing him to fall forward with his feet tangled up beneath him. Unable to catch himself, his arms outstretched and phone still clutched tightly, he careened forward, luckily caught by the man that wasn’t standing very far away from him.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” Louis said as he finally got his feet beneath him. He drew back, hands still on the man’s firm biceps, and looked up to find a kind smile and glowing green eyes.
“It’s completely fine. To be honest, I’m not used to being the one catching. Generally speaking, I’m the one who trips around here.”
Glancing down at the man’s fantastically long legs and slightly pigeon toed feet, Louis could believe that. He was absolutely stunning in every way, and Louis should probably remove his hands from his arms now. But seriously, Louis had never seen a man make a simple soft blue oxford shirt and gray dress trousers look so good.
Laughing nervously, Louis finally removed himself from the man’s personal space and apologized again, but not without sneaking a peek at his nametag. Harry . “Well, I’m still sorry, but thank you for being there to save my phone from certain destruction.”
The man - Harry - let out a deep laugh, and fuck, his laugh was even fit. How was that possible? The only physical thing about him that wasn’t perfect was the puff of hair that was curling out from his head, but even that was endearing and Louis had only just met him.
“You wouldn’t have needed my help if I hadn’t startled you, so I’m sorry for that as well. But, water under the bridge. I was actually coming over here to see if I could help you find anything?”
“Well, I’m not sure you can help, but I have a list? A very specific list of makeup samples my sisters were needing me to gather for them? It’s an emergency .” Louis widened his eyes to give even more emphasis to the word emergency despite the air quotes he just used and Harry nodded seriously.
“I can definitely help you with that. May I see the list?” Louis unlocked his phone and handed it over.
“You’re right, they were very detailed with this.” Looking up to Louis, Harry had a smirk on his face. “Someone isn’t sure what color and brand best matches their skin type, do they?”
“Something like that,” Louis agreed. “One of my sisters got her first massive spot and apparently what she’s got isn’t good enough, so I’m here to help remedy that.”
A gentle look took over Harry’s face and he softly said, “What a nice brother.”
Louis blushed and pursed his lips in an attempt to mask his smile. What was wrong with him? His entire body seemed to be rebelling all thanks to this fit guy helping him find makeup for his sisters. He never trips and yet he did simply turning around and now he’s blushing and all the man did was say he’s a nice brother? Louis needed to regain control and fast.
Luckily, it was then that Harry took Louis to a locked cabinet at one of the larger counters where it looked like they usually did tutorials or something. He opened it and immediately began pulling out samples and putting them into a bag. He looked at the list again and added a few more before turning to Louis.
Harry was holding three more foil wrappers in his hands and he said, “I’m adding these three as well. They weren’t on the list, but considering the others I’m thinking one of these might work as well, so have them give it a try and hopefully one of these will work.”
Harry then dropped the last few samples into the bag and handed it over to Louis. Looking inside he saw something like 12 samples.
“Does she really need seventy different options?”
Harry laughed at that and locked the cabinet back up. “Matching your color is actually quite difficult, as is finding a foundation that you like. It’s not only about how it looks but how it feels and how it works for your skin. There are a lot of variables and it can be harder than you think.” He was obviously quite passionate about makeup, because as he finished he ran his hands through his hair making it puff up a bit larger than it already was. It was cute, almost like it had a life of it’s own.
“And here I thought you wouldn’t be able to help me,” Louis teased.
Harry shrugged. “A lot of people don’t think I’d know what I’m talking about. Makeup is fun, it’s like finding the missing piece to a puzzle. Or helping people display their personality with those choices without covering up their natural beauty. Just because I’m a man people assume I don’t understand or appreciate that, but I do. And I love it.”
“Well, I’m sorry I was one of those who assumed.” Louis took in a deep breath, because he felt like he needed it. Harry’s gaze on his was so intense he couldn’t bring himself to break it, but it made his heart race and his lungs felt like they couldn’t quite get enough oxygen. Louis couldn’t tell exactly, but it seemed Harry might be experiencing something similar.
“I…” Harry started, but closed his mouth as he searched Louis’ face. Louis raised an eyebrow in curiosity, which seemed to be all Harry needed to continue. “I’m Harry. Might I have your name?”
Biting on his lip to try to hold back a smile (and completely failing), Louis held out his hand as he said, “Louis. Very nice to meet you.”
Harry’s warm hand enveloped Louis’ and he smiled broadly, a massive dimple popping out in his cheek. Damn, Louis had no hope of coming out of this unscathed.
“The pleasure is all mine,” Harry replied.
Chuckling a bit, Louis said, “Ah, look at you trying to charm me by being all suave.”
Still holding onto Louis’ hand, Harry squeezed it just that much more and whispered conspiratorially , “Is it working?” He tilted his head as if to say Louis’ response was important. Maybe it was.
“It might be, yeah,” Louis admitted, quietly, as if he were letting Harry in on a private secret, meant for only the two of them to share. Harry looked pleased. Louis felt like his insides were slowly melting under his attention.
“I hope I’ll see you again once the right foundation is found, Louis.”
Louis licked his lips and Harry followed the motion with his eyes. Damn, Louis could feel the fire of his gaze burning across his skin. If just his eyes roaming Louis felt that good, how would his hands feel? Louis hoped to find out.
“Me too, Harry. Thanks for your help.” Harry nodded at him, almost in a little bow, and Louis could feel Harry watching him as he walked out of the shop. He really hoped Harry would be here when he returned.
*~~~***~~~*
Louis was exhausted. He was going to be so relieved when his mum and Dan got back on Saturday, because he has never been so bone deep tired as he was now. He’d already known his mum was a saint and superhuman and a hero and all that, but if he survived this he really needed to make sure everyone knew that Johanna Deakin was the best woman to ever live.
Louis finished draining the pasta and tossed it in some pesto and added some cheese on top. He mixed the plain buttered pasta in the plastic bowls for Ernest and Doris since they still were at the age where they refused to eat anything green. Even if they were told it was not a vegetable, they still yelled loud enough for all of his siblings to hear across the house.
“Tea’s ready! Come eat!” As he got the pot of pasta to the table, he heard the little steps of the youngest twins come to the dinner table, but no sign of the other four girls. “Where are your sisters?” Louis asked them as the littles pulled themselves up onto their chairs.
“I don’t know!” Ernest said with an over-exaggerated shrug and wide eyes. He even had a bit of a pout to his lips. God, Louis loved these kids so much. It’s lucky too, or he may have killed them earlier when these two had gotten into the cocoa powder and caused the biggest mess Louis had seen in the kitchen, possibly ever.
Louis still hadn’t finished cleaning it up, but had deemed dinner a bigger priority once he’d gotten the biggest portion of it swept up. Louis made sure Ernest and Doris were set with their pasta and forks before he climbed the stairs to see what was keeping his sisters quiet. He sure as hell knew it wasn’t homework.
“God, that’s perfect. Do you see?” he heard Fizzy say, her voice coming from Lottie and Fizzy’s room.
“Yeah, and not too thick either, which is perfect. What do you think, Phoebes?”
Louis stuck his head into the bedroom and saw all four of them surrounding Lottie’s massive mirror with bright “natural lights” (to most accurately see colors by, or so he was told by an impatient Daisy not too long ago). Louis leaned against the doorway. It wasn’t often all four of them could work together without a fight breaking out. He knew this was special.
“It’s like the spot’s not even there! And it doesn’t feel like I’ve got a ton of foundation caked on either! This is definitely the one.”
The girls all cheered and Louis joined in, causing them to turn to him and laugh.
“Lou, how’d you know to get this one? It wasn’t on my list,” Lottie asked.
“Oh,” Louis shrugged. “The lad at the shop recommended a few others and tossed them in. Is that the winner then? One he added to the bag?”
“It’s perfect!” Phoebe cried out before rushing over to give him a hug. “Thank you so much, Lou. Can you please go back and get an entire bottle tomorrow?”
Louis rolled his eyes. “I suppose. It better not be another 20 quid, like that lip shit you wanted for your last birthday.”
“It’s worth it if it is!” she trilled before heading out the door.
“Yeah, yeah. Go down and get some dinner! It’s going cold,” he called after her before turning to the others who were cleaning up the mess of samples on Lottie’s desk. “You lot, too.”
“Was it Harry?” Fizzy asked once they were all going down the stairs.
“Was what Harry?” Louis asked, unsure if she was talking about the same Harry he’d met earlier that day.
Fizzy turned once she got to the landing, a smirk on her face. “The lad at the shop. Was it Harry?”
“God, I love Harry,” Lottie breathed, dramatically holding her hand to her forehead as if she might faint. “He’s so fit.”
“He’s so gay,” Daisy laughed as she shoved Lottie to the side with her hip. “Lou’s the only one of us who has a shot.”
“So? Doesn’t mean I can’t dream he likes girls too. And Louis would do well to snag a man like him,” Lottie pouted as she flounced down into her seat.
“I swear Harry has superpowers with makeup,” Fizzy said as she dished herself some pasta. “He always knows what I need, even if I’ve not tried it before.”
“So, was it? Harry?” Lottie asked. All of them turned to him, four pairs of blue and brown eyes watching him in the silence that had suddenly descended, all while he was sat trying to process everything they’d just said.
His sisters all knew and were enamoured by Harry, which was...nice. Very nice , actually. It made Louis hope even more that Harry would be there when he ran to the shops in the morning.
“Erm, yeah. It was.”
They all started talking at once.
“He’s got the greatest eyes, doesn’t he?” Lottie sighed before shoving a forkful of food into her mouth.
“And gorgeous legs,” Phoebe agreed.
“What about his shoulders?” Daisy chimed in.
“Shut it, you’re eleven!” Louis protested, but he could feel himself growing red just listening to his sisters talk about the man he openly flirted with that morning. And he couldn’t say he disagreed.
All of the girls seemed to roll their eyes at him in unison before going quiet and focusing on their food.
“Lou! More pasta!” Doris cried, fork in hand and empty bowl in front of her. Ernest apparently felt the same, seeing as he was licking the remains of the melted butter from the bottom of his bowl too. Louis was never going to get to eat at this rate. He heaved himself up from the table to get more buttered pasta and tried to rid his mind of thoughts of fluffy brown hair and deep dimples.
*~~~***~~~*
Louis walked up to the door of the shop he had visited the day before clutching the trial size package of the foundation Phoebe liked best. He closed his eyes and sent up a quick plea that Harry was working today. If not, Louis wasn’t sure he could find the excuses needed to keep coming back until he ran into him again.
Taking a deep breath, Louis opened his eyes and made sure his fringe wasn’t going crazy, and walked in. Just like yesterday, the shop was pretty empty. Louis tried walking until he found the right counter for the brand the foundation was for, but he wasn’t finding any signs for it anywhere. How was he supposed to find it if there weren’t signs? Yesterday Harry had found him in this same spot though, so it couldn’t be far.
He ran a hand through his hair in frustration before realizing he probably just made it look like shit and he needed to fix it again, then finally gave up and leaned against the counter he was closest to. Maybe if he just stood here and sent out I need help vibes, Harry (or whatever sales assistant that’s in today, he supposed, but he really wanted it to be Harry) would magically appear and... assist . Louis had just started trying to get his phone out of the pocket of his possibly too tight jeans (his arse looks fantastic though, so definitely worth the slight frustration of difficult pockets) when a throat cleared behind him.
Louis jumped in surprise which caused his phone to fumble from the relative safety of his pocket and tumble to the ground before he twirled. Luckily, he kept his balance this time as he came face to face with Harry, just as he’d hoped.
“Oops,” Harry said, as he bent down to pick up Louis’ phone before handing it back to him. He ran his fingers through his hair to get it pulled back from his face again and Louis was once again struck by the clarity of Harry’s eyes. How could they be that green? How could it look like Harry saw into his very soul when they only met yesterday? How could his eyes make Louis feel like he’s exactly where he needs to be and everything else would just fall into place as long as he stayed as connected as possible to this man with the bambi legs and illegally disarming dimples? It just didn’t make any sense really.
Louis eventually realized he should probably respond verbally and otherwise to Harry’s kind of greeting and actually take his phone back.
“Hi,” Louis stupidly replied. His brain definitely shortwired there. He could have come up with something better, but those eyes . He was now of the opinion they made his brain turn to mush. Luckily, Harry just giggled in response, so that was good. Fuck. Louis needed to get his act together or he would never leave with Harry’s phone number like he wanted.
“So, did your sister find something that worked in those samples?” Harry asked, cheeks still dimpled and eyes shining. It wasn’t fair to unleash this man on the world without a warning, really. It must go against some kind of health code.
“Oh, uh, yeah!” Louis held out the sample package for the one they wanted and Harry smiled broadly. “Lottie was actually really happy you threw in your suggestions. They all agreed this was best.”
Harry’s brows furrowed in what Louis took as surprise when he heard Lottie’s name. “Lottie is your sister? And Felicite and Daisy and Phoebe?”
Louis couldn’t help but feel surprised. He knew his sisters all knew Harry by name, but he wasn’t expecting Harry to know all of them as well. “Yeah, that brood is mine.” He couldn’t help the massive smile that was spreading across his face at the thought of his sisters. “There’s two other little ones, but they aren’t ready for makeup yet.”
Harry smiled even wider when he heard this. “Your sisters are lovely, and very witty. It makes sense that you’re their brother.” Biting his lip a bit, almost as if to hold back what he was going to say, Harry then licked his lips and took a deep breath. “Well, let’s find the full size for...which sister was it with the emergency?”
“Phoebe.”
“Ah,” Harry nodded seriously before turning and leading Louis to the right aisle. “Poor Phoebe. She’s starting to get to the age where she will need more coverage. I’m glad we found something that worked for her.” Harry’s nimble fingers plucked the bottle he was looking for from the shelves and held it up in triumph to Louis.
“Perfect,” Louis cheered. They made their way over to the till and Harry kept peeking up at Louis with a small smile as he signed into the systems and rang him up.
Finally Louis worked up the courage to just ask. Clearing his throat, he asked, “So, erm, I was wondering if you might be interested in hanging out sometime soon? It would have to be after my mum gets back from holiday, but yeah. Might you? Be interested?” He immediately had to clear his throat because his voice came out all squeaky as if he hadn’t just been using it.
Fuck. Smooth, Louis. He usually was so much better than this, but once again. Harry’s magic has made Louis completely useless.
A shy smile appears on Harry’s face regardless. “Hang out? Or like, a date?”
Louis flushed. “I...uh...well, I would love a date, but I’d be okay if you’d prefer it not be.”
“A date would be great.” Harry’s grin had taken over his entire face and Louis had thought his eyes were commanding before, but it was nothing compared to the way they almost appeared to glow with happiness now.
“Excellent,” Louis breathed out. “Could I get your number? We can work out details next week?”
Harry nodded. “I can program it in while you pay?”
Louis blushed even deeper. He’d been so focused on working up to asking Harry out that he’d completely forgotten for the reason he was here in the first place.
“Yeah! Course. Sorry.” He almost threw his phone at Harry, because his limbs never cooperated with him in close proximity to this man apparently, and he jerked his wallet out of his pocket to pay. Louis finished around the same time that Harry had programmed his number.
“I sent a text to myself as well so I’d have yours too. Hope that’s okay?”
Louis grabbed the phone and returned it to his pocket. “Yeah! Absolutely.” Harry handed over the small bag holding Phoebe’s foundation and they just stood there, smiling at each other until Louis’ phone buzzed in his pocket, bringing him back to himself.
“Thank you again, Harry. And we’ll talk soon?”
Harry smiled and nodded. “Course. Say hi to your sisters, and definitely better talk soon or I’ll be very disappointed.”
Louis smiled so wide his cheeks hurt. “Can’t have that, then.”
He finally turned around and walked out the door of the shop, feeling lighter and happier than he had in ages.
*~~~***~~~*
Lotts: I hope Harry’s there today when Lou goes. Think he’s there already or waiting until later?
Fizz: My guess is Lou went home and showered, primped a bit, then went right over unable to wait any longer.
Fifi: I’m with Fizzy, he’s impatient and waiting would just make him more nervous.
Flower: Why are you assuming he’s nervous?
Fizz: Dais, he’s shitting bricks. Did you see his face this morning when we reminded him to get the foundation?
Lotts: It’s true. Do you think he’ll ask him out?
Fifi: He better at least come home with a number.
Fizz: I bet he comes home with better than that.
Flower: Defo. But do you think Harry will ask or Louis?
Lotts: Lou
Fizz: Louis
Fifi: Harry
Lotts: Harry? Really, Phoebe?
Flower: I bet they have a first date and then move in together within a month.
Fizz: God yeah, can you imagine them together? They’ll be impossible
Lotts: I hope I’m not around much to witness it because it’ll be the sappiest shit ever.
Louis: The best sappiest shit ever, you got that right. The date’s next week, I asked by the way, and it will be closely followed by happily ever after. Now put your phones away and pay attention to class or else!
Lotts: Oh shit. This was the wrong chat.
Louis: If you switch over to the girls only chat, I will find out! See all of you later, love you!
Fizz: Love you!
Fifi: *mwaa!*
Flower: :-*
Lotts: Wanker. Love you.