Chapter Text
Their spare room these days is perpetually inhabited by Liam. Louis is the man to go to after heartbreak – he pats your back while you cry and listens to your sorrows, then makes you laugh and gets you drunk. So Liam went straight over after he and Danielle ended things and just never left, it seems. His toothbrush makes its appearance two days into his stay, his overnight bag takes a week, and by the end of the second week, Eleanor finds herself taking the extra winter blankets and jackets out of the guest room closet to make room for Liam’s plaid shirts because he refuses to fold them and put them in the chest of drawers with his jeans and T-shirts.
Louis doesn’t seem to mind and Eleanor knows Liam has been sleeping in the guest room even in his own house because he can’t bear to sleep in the bed Danielle had occupied just weeks previously, so she makes Liam breakfast in the mornings and leaves something for lunch in the fridge so he doesn’t have to survive on crisps while she and Louis go shopping or while she’s at the cinema with Danielle.
Louis goes out with Stan one night, so she and Liam spend the evening watching an old episode of the Great British Bake Off and fall asleep on the shag rug, propped up by some sofa cushions and curled up under a blanket. Louis comes home around two in the morning, slightly drunk, finds them in that state and decides he needs the warmth too. When they wake up in the morning, they find themselves tangled in each other – Louis flat on his back, Eleanor on top of him, and Liam using both of them as a body pillow, one of his legs curled around both of Eleanor’s. She hates cooking, but makes them waffles and eggs all the same because Louis can’t cook for shit even when he’s not hung over and Liam isn’t sure which way to turn the waffle iron.
She’s not sure how it happens, but it becomes a regular occurrence after that. Most nights, they watch a taped episode of the Great British Bake Off and fall asleep on the living room rug. A week in, Louis proposes they move to the bedroom he shares with Eleanor because the telly in there is as big as the one in the living room and a bed is much more comfortable than a hardwood floor, even if it is covered by a shag rug. They marathon How I Met Your Mother one night and suddenly it’s 3 AM and Liam is asleep, taking up over half the bed. Louis and Eleanor squeeze together on one side; in the morning she finds herself with her head on Liam’s shoulder, Louis spooning her from behind. Breakfast isn’t awkward at all and they all take a nap on the sofa after, which is how Harry finds them.
He laughs and laughs and doesn’t stop ribbing them about their “threesome” until Liam goes red in the face and shuts himself in his room. Eleanor wonders out loud why they ever gave Harry a spare key. Harry has a wicked look on his face and demands to be spooned by Louis like Liam had been, so they settle on the rug to continue their How I Met Your Mother marathon from the night before. Harry’s eyelids start drooping halfway through the second episode and he curls up to Louis, yawning into his shoulder. From Louis’s other side, Eleanor strokes Harry’s hair until he falls asleep and he turns into her touch like a kitten.
It’s times like these that she realizes just how young they all really are.
-//-
It’s common knowledge that British winters are horrible and it's common knowledge that Louis Tomlinson absolutely detests the cold; in the past, he’s found that the warmth Eleanor brings to his bed is enough to help him sleep, but he feels there’s something missing now – Liam hasn’t been sleeping with them ever since Harry walked in on them. One night, when Eleanor says she too feels cold even when she’s wrapped in the duvet and pressed tight to Louis, they sneak into the guest – Liam’s – room. He’s sprawled in the middle of the bed, so Eleanor and Louis snuggle up to him from both sides. They wake the next morning to a cheery Liam putting the kettle on and pouring them milk.
His acceptance of this new arrangement is hidden somewhere in their cereal bowls.
Their bed seems too big and too cold after that and one night, a week later, Louis and Eleanor follow Liam into his room after brushing their teeth and he doesn’t protest when Eleanor shimmies out of her robe and slips under the cover. Louis slides in next to her and after a lot of lip-biting and fidgeting and furtive glances at Louis' arm wrapped around Eleanor's waist, Liam gets under the covers next to her, taking Louis' exasperated grin as tacit permission.
-//-
It's hard to tell what time it is; Louis is on his side, certain that he's been sleeping for at least seven hours, maybe more, and he's not sure what's woken him up. It might be the slight scraping of the branches against the window or the sound of Liam's soft rumbling snore, but Louis is pretty sure it's the feel of Eleanor's warm little arse pressed ever so nicely against his morning erection.
This is a dilemma; a delicious, sweetly torturous dilemma, and while he debates what to do, Louis fights against the urge to rub himself against her. It’s not that he’s never woken up El like this before – when they first started dating, every morning began like this since they rarely saw each other. But with only a thin layer of pyjamas between them, it's dangerous territory, he knows. And yet, having thought about it, it's nearly impossible to stop his hips from pushing forward ever so slightly.
It feels incredible and Louis chokes down a little groan because his body is now fully awake and letting him know it with a vengeance, insisting that more rubbing needs to happen now. He's not strong enough to fight the impulse. Cautiously, Louis tightens his stomach muscles and presses against her. Eleanor’s not much of an exhibitionist, so he is fully ready to feign sleep should she make any sort of protest.
She does not. In fact, Eleanor pushes back. This unexpected development startles Louis as much as it thrills him and for a moment, he doesn't move, but the slow grind against his already overly-interested shaft is nearly making him whimper with need. His arm, which has been sedately draped over the cover and along her waist, curls tightly around her frame.
She rubs against him again, more firmly, which thickens Louis’s erection even more in return. He gives a strangled sigh, shifting forward to tug on Eleanor’s ear with his teeth and whisper into it, "If you don't actually say 'no' out loud, this is all right, yeah?"
The only answer he gets is a soft hint of a giggle, but it is more than enough encouragement, and although Louis isn't sure how far matters will go with Liam right there, the here and now feels damned good. He happily slithers against El's lovely cheeks, feeling more and more like a randy teenager.
He moves too much though; the bedsprings creak, nearly giving away the game, and Louis freezes, caught between pushing his luck and waking Liam.
Eleanor has no such qualms; she laughs. The sound is so sweet and utterly relaxed that Louis smiles against the back of her head, lightly kissing her hair. "You are a dangerous woman, you know," he murmurs.
"But you're the one brandishing a weapon," she replies in a dry whisper. “I feel like I'm pressing against a tree trunk!"
This outrageous compliment makes Louis groan and throb at the same time. "Careful, El, it's been a while since I’ve had your ass.” Liam has been home every night and they haven’t had the chance to sneak off and fuck against the front door like they usually prefer to do.
"Let me give you a hand with that…" The offer comes and Louis damned near does too as Eleanor rolls over to face him, her expression perfectly impish. He shoots a glance at Liam and in answer to the question in his eyes, Eleanor's smile softens. "I'll be very good to him too, don't worry."
She looks suddenly worried, as if she’s let too much slip, but Louis only nods, dry-mouthed at her implication, and relief washes over her foxlike features. She presses closer, slipping one small hand into his briefs, fingers curling around his painfully hard cock. It's exciting, this fumbling in the dim light with another person right next to them.
Eleanor’s familiar grip doesn't quite fit around him, but she can’t use her other hand, stuck as it is between her side and the mattress. She strokes him as best as she can in the cramped space and it's all he can do to bite his lips because within a few minutes, her sweet caresses are bringing matters to critical. Louis kisses her entire face, realizing all at once how much he’d missed this – her – and savoring the taste and feel of Eleanor's skin under his mouth.
"El –" he warns, his breathing ragged against her temple as his hips rock forward, driving his cock through her teasing grip, “I –”
Eleanor smothers Louis's moan with an open-mouthed kiss, her fingers deft and strong, squeezing on the upward stroke as his cock swells and spurts, long hot sprays soaking his underwear.
He doesn't care, not while the rich, wild, intimate pleasure sears his frame and leaves him utterly satiated. He gives a last little thrust and sighs against his girlfriend’s mouth, his own lips turning up into a smile.
"Fuck, El. Brilliant. Come here," he whispers gratefully. He tries to pull her in, but Eleanor wiggles her waist out of his grasp, grinning up at him.
"You’re sticky now," she points out, rubbing her hand over his stubble. "You can use a corner of the sheet to clean up…"
"In a moment," Louis sighs, feeling marvelous. "I'm more concerned about you. Come. Here."
Eleanor kisses his chin. "Oh, I've got a plan," she tells him in a whisper. She looks over her shoulder at Liam, then back at Louis as if asking permission. Louis knows her well enough to know what’s going through her mind. He nods his head, suddenly excited to see where this will lead – if it will lead anywhere. He watches with amused curiosity as Eleanor rolls over and presses up against Liam's back. Louis props his head up on his pillow, all the better to see.