Fourty Two Roses

"Forty two roses?" Louis questions, rolling his eyes. "Do tell me Styles, where you pulled that number from."
Harry is quiet for a moment, he lets the silence speak for itself.
"Harry?" Louis frowns, his eyebrows furrowing together.
"Six weeks Louis." Harry says quietly, pulling his beanie further over his ears.
Louis' heart rate speeds up.
"Harry, what do you mean?" he whispers.
Harry doesn't answer for the longest time, fiddling with the string on his hoodie and trying to figure out the best way to say what he's been keeping from Louis all day. He thinks the direct route would be best. Thinks Louis would appreciate that.
"Six weeks, Lou. Six weeks to live." his breath catches in his throat at the end of the sentence, barely making it out. At that moment, it feels like the world has stopped.
Or maybe Louis is imagining that.
He doesn't know what to say, other than 'i'm sorry, i'm sorry, Harry, I love you so much and i'm sorry.' because this boy in front of him, the boy with cancer, has been with him through everything. He wants to cry. But he doesn't for Harry's sake.
"Oh." is all he says, the word barely a whisper rolling off of his tongue. It's so, so Harry to do a thing like this, and it's ridiculous how much Louis loves him, will keep loving him, he knows, even after he's gone.
Louis clutches the rose tighter in his fist, wants to disappear and melt into Harry at the same time. The thorns dig into him, but it's nothing compared to the emotional pain.
Harry. Harry, who is the gentlest, kindest person he's ever met. Harry, who's never hurt anything intentionally, is dying.
It's so, so fucking unfair, is what it is. And Harry hasn't ever harmed a thing in his life, really.
Louis thinks that maybe, probably, if it were him, he would want to hurt something. Want to spread the pain around. But Harry. He has a heart of gold. Instead of spreading the pain, he wants to take some away. Make life better for the people he'll be leaving behind.
Forty two roses. One for each day.

Notes

Actual chapters will be longer! :) this is a very sad story that includes major character death, so. Read with that in mind.