Pride

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/5851450.

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Fandom: One Direction (Band)
Character: Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne
Additional Tags: One Shot, Fluff, Coming Out, Bisexual Harry, pansexual louis
Stats: Published: 2016-01-30 Words: 1689

Pride
by cold_cereal

Summary

Harry thought it was time to come out to his bandmates. Here's how it went.

Notes

Just a short ficlet. Hope you all like it. :)

And, as always, thanks to my beta, Julia.

Harry has never been one to hide from those he loves. He always told his mum everything, even
when he lost his virginity. His sister always knew everything as it happened and she was Harry’s
go-to for advice. His friends could always trust him and he was never afraid to tell them anything,
either. Harry enjoyed living a life of no secrets, but he soon had to get used to keeping secrets when
his management found out about his sexuality.

It hadn’t been a problem in school. He was openly bisexual and was hardly ever teased for it. He
had friends who accepted him and a family that loved him. His management, however, thought that
if his sexuality was public, the band would lose revenue. That seemed silly to Harry. Why would
someone not listen to music just because one of the singers wasn’t straight? Management told him
to keep his mouth shut or leave the band.

Five years later and they had left Modest! and the band had never been happier. Despite how close
the boys were, Harry had never told his best friends about his sexuality. He didn’t think they
would mind, he was just too scared to even say it out loud. It became a dark secret he had to hold
tight. It gnawed away at him. Once the band left Modest!, it was only a matter of time before Harry
decided to come out to his bandmates.

He decided to tell Louis first, as he was closest to him. They were just hanging out before a show
with some extra time before hair and makeup. He found Louis stealing candy from Niall’s stash.
“Don’t worry; I won’t tell,” he said when Louis looked up at him with wide eyes.

Louis grinned, Sour Patch Kids sticking to his teeth. “Thanks, mate.” He made to leave when
Harry grabbed his elbow, stopping him. Louis frowned. “What’s up?”

Harry shoved his hands in his pocket (a feat in and of itself because of his skin-tight jeans) and
stared at the floor. “I- um- need to tell you something?”

A crew member shuffled past, eyes focused on her phone screen. Louis waited until she turned the
corner to ask, “What is it?”

He rubbed the back of his neck and avoided eye contact at all costs. “I- uh- don’t- don’t know how
you’re, uh, gonna react…”

Louis placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Relax. You can tell me anything, you know?”

Harry smiled softly. “Yeah. I know. Maybe it would help if I just blurted it out?”

Louis nodded. “Go ahead and try that.” He shoved more Sour Patch Kids in his mouth before
returning Niall’s stash to its hiding place. “On my count? One… Two… Three!”

“I’mbisexual,” Harry said, words flowing together.

“What? Sorry, I didn’t understand you.”

Taking a deep breath, he repeated, “I’m bisexual.”

Louis laughed. “Jesus, Haz! I thought you were gonna tell me you were dying or something!”

“You’re not- You’re not mad?”

“Why the hell would I be mad? Fuck, Harry. I’m pansexual. I don’t give a shit.”

Harry blushed. “Sorry. I just- I didn’t know-”

Louis punched his shoulder. “Stop apologizing! I don’t care! I’m just glad you’re not dying or
something.” He smiled broadly. “Come on. Let’s get back before they realize how long we’ve
been gone.

With the first one over and done with, Harry decided to move on to Niall. Niall was easygoing and
carefree and probably wouldn’t bat an eye at Harry’s sexuality. Still, Niall could be unpredictable.
If you stole a french fry from him, that was fine. But steal a nugget and you might as well just chop
your own hands off. Niall was also straight as a goddamn ruler and Harry didn’t know his stance
on the whole gay rights thing. He was raised in Ireland as a Catholic, but his crude language proved
he probably wasn’t a strict follower of the Church.

“Hey, Ni?” Harry began, flopping next to Niall on the tour bus once everyone else had fallen
asleep. He and Niall had always been the night owls of the group and Liam’s snoring prevented
anyone awake from hearing anything above a whisper.

“Sup?” Niall whispered, scrolling through his Twitter feed.

“I gotta tell you something.”

He raised an eyebrow and locked his phone, giving Harry his full attention. “You’re not, like,
dying, are you?”

Harry huffed out a laugh. “Um, no. Far from it, actually.”

Appeased that his best friend wasn’t about to kick the can, Niall unlocked his phone and returned
to his feed. “So what’s up?”

Harry played with the hem of his shirt, twisting a loose thread around his finger until his skin
turned purple and then relaxing the string. “So, um, you know how some people, um, like the
same… gender?”

Niall stared at him like he was crazy. “I’m Irish, Harry, not ignorant.”

Harry’s cheeks flushed red. “Yeah. Sorry. Well, um-”

“Are you gay?”

Affronted by Niall’s bluntness, Harry answered, “Yes. I mean- No. No, I’m not gay. I’m- um. I’m
bisexual?”

Niall didn’t even hesitate. “You like guys and girls?”

“Um, yeah. Yeah, I do.”

“Okay.”

“That’s it?”

Niall laughed. “What do you want me to do? Grab some holy water and splash you with it? You’re
bisexual, Harry, not the fucking devil.” He shook his head. “Fucking Christ, I thought you were
dying or leaving the band or something.” He laughed again. “Cunt.”

Harry left Liam for last. Liam was the most responsible of the group and arguably the smartest.
Though Harry didn't think Liam was a homophobe, he still wasn't ready to tell him. Liam would be
practical. He might convince Harry not to come out publicly, that Modest! was right. Not wanting
to lose his strength of will before telling the rest of his friends, Harry avoided Liam for the time
being. And that meant Zayn was next.

“Those will kill you,” Harry said, stepping out onto their hotel balcony.

Zayn shrugged, taking another drag of his cigarette. “So I've heard. I'm not dead yet.”

Harry leaned on the bannister, looking out over the city lights of Milan. “Beautiful, isn't it?”

He hummed, flicking ash into an ashtray the hotel provided. “Makes me miss home a little less, if
that makes sense.”

Harry chuckled. “Back home, I was just Harry. Now I'm Harry Styles, world renowned
womanizer.”

Zayn cast a sidelong glance at Harry. “You're not a womanizer.”

Steeling himself, Harry said, “I guess that's true. I prefer men as well.”

“Yeah?”
Harry nodded, chewing his lower lip.

“I had a friend who was bisexual.” Zayn took another drag from his cigarette. “Didn't bother me in
the least.”

“Thanks, Zayn,” Harry whispered, scooting closer to him as a cool breeze blew through.

It had been a month since Harry had come out to Louis, and it was time he tell his secret to Liam.
He was nervous. Liam was, well, he was Liam. He was responsible, surefooted, and levelheaded.
Harry loved him lots, of course, but couldn’t help the heavy feeling of dread settling in his
stomach. He felt like there was a steel ball rolling around in his gut. He told himself it was the
excitement of being out to all his closest friends, but deep down he knew it was fear of Liam’s
reaction.

They were on a plane, flying from Europe to America, and Harry knew it would be a long flight.
He couldn’t decide which was best: telling Liam right away or waiting until the last minute. If
Harry waited and Liam were to be mad , he could easily escape the plane and Liam’s judgemental
stare. But, if he did it right away and Liam was okay with it, Harry could relax and enjoy the flight
without feeling like throwing up. He opted to shortly after the plane took off.

It had been about fifteen minutes since the plane had taken to the air and it was now or never.
Harry unbuckled and stood up, holding on to chairs to keep his balance as he headed over to Liam.
He sat down heavily next to him and grinned, albeit a bit nervously, but a grin all the same.

“Hey, Haz,” Liam said, removing one ear bud.

“Hi,” Harry replied, staring down at his lap.

Liam furrowed his brow. “You okay? You look a bit sick.”

“Oh, um. It might just be the turbulence.”

“There hasn’t been much yet.”

Harry clenched his fists, willing himself not to chicken out. “Yeah. I guess it’s something else.”

Liam wrapped his headphones around his phone and gave Harry his full attention. “What’s
wrong?”

“I’ve, uh, been meaning to tell you something.”

Liam’s eyes widened. “Is it bad?”

“No! Well, um. It depends on the person, I guess. I don’t know how you’ll take it.” Harry curled
his shoulders in, trying to make himself smaller.

“It’s okay, Harry. Just tell me what’s up.”

Harry nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah. Okay. Um, I- sorry. I don’t know how to
say it.” Liam remained quiet, giving Harry time to collect his thoughts. “Right, um. I’m- I’m
bisexual?”

Liam blinked.

“L-Liam?”
“That’s it?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah. That’s, um. That’s it. I guess.”

Liam laughed. “Christ, Harry! You had me worried!”

“You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad?”

Harry shrugged. “I dunno.”

Liam shook his head, but grinned widely. “Are you gonna come out publicly?”

Harry looked up, surprised. “Should I?”

“If you want to. I don’t think it would be a bad idea.”

“You don’t think we’d lose fans?”

“If people stop supporting us because you’re bisexual, then they weren’t really fans,” he said.

Harry smiled. “Yeah. I guess that’s true.”

“I actually think it would be a good thing,” Liam continued, unraveling his headphones. “Some
LGBT fans might find comfort knowing their idol is part of their community as well.” He shoved
one earbud in his ear. “I’m gonna sleep, if that’s all you had to talk about.”

“Yeah. That was all.”

Harry couldn’t keep the grin off his face when he returned to his seat. He had never been happier.
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