You Take Me Over, You're the Magic in My Veins

chapter 4

The sun is still low in the sky when Louis is startled into wakefulness by Stan shaking his shoulder violently. He comes awake spitting curses and flailing about, trying to shove Stan off, but Stan just pokes at him until he sits up in bed, blankets pooling around his waist, and growls, "What the bloody hell, Stanley?"

"Liam is ready for you and you still need to eat breakfast, get your arse out of bed, you lazy git."

Squinting out the window to gauge the time, it takes a moment for Stan's words to sink in. Confused, he turns to look at Stan, asks, "What? Liam?"

Stan rolls his eyes, then moves about to start getting Louis ready for the day. "Do you listen to anything the Queen says?" Grumbling to himself, Louis slips out of bed and follows Stan into his bathing chamber to wash his face and teeth. Stan just rolls his eyes and selects a pair of breeches and a shirt for Louis, says, "She asked you to take the Princess riding."

Louis frowns into his washcloth, bits and pieces of the conversation coming back to him. He had been distracted at the time, too busy watching Harry lean into Zayn, their shoulders and foreheads pressed together as they laughed and talked quietly between themselves. The jealousy had been irrational, Harry had assured him they were no more than friends, and Louis had no claim over Harry regardless, but.

Sighing, Louis steps into the breeches Stan had selected without comment, but wrinkles his nose at the shirt. "Not that one, I want something lighter. It's unseasonally warm out." Thinking of Harry's eyes, he points at one of the shirts, says, "I'll take that green one."

Louis finishes dressing quietly, humming a tune under his breath as he laces up his boots and fixes his fringe in the mirror. It isn't until he's slipped through the breakfast room door to find Harry sitting at the end of the table, head bowed over a cup of tea, that he realizes it's the same tune Harry had been singing to the flowers on their castle tour.

~

The stables are teeming with people by the time Louis makes it down there with Harry and Gemma in tow. He spots a familiar figure waiting by the doors, is just about to lift a hand and call out to Liam when Harry grabs his wrist and says, voice tense, "Louis, I should tell you, I've never -"

He cuts himself off, swallowing thickly, and Louis stops in his tracks, turns to Harry and asks, "Harry, have you ever ridden a horse before?"

Teeth sunk into his bottom lip and something akin to terror in his eyes, Harry shakes his head slowly. He has his hair held back by a scarf today, but there are curls flopping over the edges of it and brushing at his temples, too long to be contained. He looks so achingly lovely, eyes wide and cheeks flushed with nerves, lips bitten red and hair a fluffy halo around his face, that Louis acts without thinking. He cups Harry's face in his hands and leans in close, foreheads nearly touching, so he can murmur, "I won't let anything happen to you, Hazza, I promise."

He can feel Harry start to relax, blowing out an unsteady breath as his hands lift to circle Louis' wrists. They stand there until Harry's breathing has returned to normal and he doesn't look quite so close to collapsing, then Louis drops his hands regretfully and they walk over to where Gemma is already chatting with Liam.

She turns to them when they stop at her side, says, "Liam is going to bring you a calmer horse, Harry. He's promised you the most sedate horse in the stables, says it won't do more than a trot no matter how hard you try."

Louis can feel Harry practically vibrating beside him again, places his palm flat against the small of his back in an attempt to comfort him once more. It seems to work, tension slowly leeching out of him the longer Louis keeps touching him. He briefly considers telling Liam to forget Harry's horse and letting Harry ride with him, but scraps the idea almost immediately. It's unnecessary and would be improper when he's meant to be courting Harry's sister. Right. Something he would do well to remember.