On The Horizon || L.S.

Epilogue

Any amount of time is too long to be off a cruise, but it's been a whole year, and Harry could have cried when he boarded. The smell was the same, the music was the same, the service was the same. The experience was already as perfect as the last time. And yet, he knew this one would live differently in his memories.

Harry stares out at the horizon. Light glitters along the waves, the sun dipping towards the surface. It has to be one of the most captivating things in the world. Well, besides one.

As if he heard Harry's thoughts, Louis enters the cabin looking absolutely stunning. He's wearing a perfectly tailored suit, dark blue. They always do manage to match, don't they? Harry runs a hand down his blue tie as he walks in from the balcony.

"What are you doing here?"

Louis smirks. "Since when have we ever done things in order?"

Harry rolls his eyes. "You use that to get around everything."

"Don't tempt me. I'll propose again."

Harry grabs Louis' hand and presses a kiss to it. "I think three was the lucky number, babe."

"Three proposals, three cruises... sounds about right. That's maths, yeah?"

"Really, though. Why are you here? It's bad luck, don't you know that?"

"Honestly? Wanted to make sure you were doing okay. Gemma stopped in to let me know you were queasy earlier."

"That's because Nick gave me shots of Fireball, even though he told me it was tequila. Gave me the salt and lime and everything. That man is an arse."

"Want me to beat him up?"

"That would be the most flamboyant thing ever, you two going at it. I'd love to watch, but could you wait until after the reception? Would hate to see your suit get all torn up."

Louis chuckles. "Just for you, cruise husband."

"Soon it'll just be husband without the cruise."

"Nope. Once a cruise husband, always a cruise husband. This is a formality."

Harry laughs and kisses him. There's no one he could ever love more.

The past couple of years by Louis' side have been a whirlwind. The TEDx presentation picked up steam over time, launching Harry into a mini-series of speeches, but he's mostly trying to stay out of the spotlight lately. He successfully transitioned to an Aeromedical Examiner position, which was exactly the change he needed. There's no more trauma lurking in his daily life, but he can still go home feeling satisfied that he's done a proper day's work, helping to ensure the safety of hundreds if not thousands of people. It feels right.

Louis is extremely successful in his Pilot Instructor position. He works a lot with students fresh out of school like he had been at that age, and Harry loves hearing all of his fiancé's stories about the talented kids he works with. His own experiences help him not just teach them flying skills but also life skills. Pilot instruction means more predictable schedules, too - Harry and Louis have had so much free time together that they mostly end up tangled together in bed since they don't know what else to do with it.

Well, Harry has an idea, but he wants to wait until they've gotten a few more years of travel in first. After all, children are a huge responsibility.

Speaking of children, Louis has been able to maintain occasional check-ins with Rashid, who seems to be doing well in his adoptive family. He ended up getting adopted by an American couple who were originally from the UAE, so while he had to deal with a lot of cultural changes, he was with people who went through the same type of transition. Every update puts Louis more at ease.

They managed to recruit Liam as a flight instructor not long after Louis started his position and began getting high praise from his manager. His referral was trusted, and Liam and Zayn moved to Manchester, a few blocks from Harry's flat. They got married two weeks after that in a tiny, low-key ceremony. Georgia Rose is thriving under Uncle Louis' spoiling.

Niall and Shawn were engaged within months of living together and eloped shortly after, much to everyone's (and yet no one's) surprise. They returned to the base of Chimborazo Mountain, where they'd both visited through the adventures of their lives and discovered so at trivia. "That's how we knew it was fate," Niall had said, "so it was only fitting that we make things official there. The mountain called to us!"

Liam and Louis have been concocting a plan to propose a business expansion to their boss, including adding Harry as an in-house AME and Niall for flight attendant training. No one is optimistic that it will get off the ground, but Harry thinks they're just desperate for Niall to be in their daily lives again.

Though life has changed, Harry's so proud of himself for listening to his heart and mind. He discovered the right path for him, and he's proud of Louis for the same reason. All it took was finding something to fight for.

"So, I heard there's Karaoke in the Promenade at 9," Louis notes with a simpering smile.

"That right?"

"Mmhmm."

"You know, I once met this very cute guy at Karaoke on a boat just like this."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yup. Got drunk, proposed to me, called me lush. I was a goner from day one. But then he took me on this whole journey where he didn't want to settle down and left me to chase after him for months."

"No. Really? What a jackass."

"Worked out in the end," Harry adds, smirking.

"I would love to hear more about this idiot of yours. Tell me about it over a drink? Oh, after the wedding, I guess."

Harry laughs, and he can't help it. He kisses his fiancé one more time. "You make me do bad things. Once upon a time, I would never have broken tradition like this."

"Once upon a time, I thought I would end up alone."

"Shut up. You're you. I'm lucky fate held out so I could meet you when I needed it most."

"We both needed it. C'mere." Harry thinks Louis will kiss him again, but instead he holds him closely, swaying gently to the simple sound of the waves crashing against the boat. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Now, what do you say we go get married or something? Believe you told me there were gardens onboard. That could be a nice location."

Harry grins, nuzzling into his pilot's neck, seeking out the comforting warm spice of his cologne, the one Harry will never let him replace. "Eh, why not? Lead the way, cruise husband."

Louis offers his arm, and Harry follows him out into the rest of their lives together. He can already tell there's so much more out there to discover.

It's all on the horizon.