With A Touch Of Magic (Larry Version)

13. Falling Spices

Pulling up at Louis' house with his car, Harry rang the bell and then waited for Louis to come out, drumming his fingers nervously on the steering wheel. Coming up with a date plan in less than a day hasn't been easy but it was his own fault for being too bloody impatient to wait much longer to take Louis out officially and right things between them for good. Because even though Louis had accepted his apology and had told him more about his past, he still had the nagging feeling to have to prove himself. To prove that he was actually serious about this. To prove he wasn't lying. That feeling made him nervous but not in an entirely bad way. He was excited to see Louis again and that made him nervous in a good way, his entire body longing to kiss him again, which ... yeah.

Distantly, he heard some keys dangling and the next second, Louis stepped out of his gate and in that perfectly fitting winter coat of his, making him look so adorably cuddly. His fringe was peaking out from underneath a dark blue beanie and Harry's heart jumped oddly in his chest just at the sight alone. Maybe his friends have been right. He has been smitten for quite some time.

"Hey," Harry greeted him when Louis climbed into his car.

"Hi" Louis greeted him back, his cheeks tinted pink from the cold. A part of him hoped selfishly that it was because of him, too.

"I hope you dressed warm enough for this" Harry let his eyes wander over Louis' form for a moment, mainly in concern that he might freeze. "It's gonna be cold for a while".

"So you've said" Louis reminded him that he had warned him of the cold nature of their date. "I'm prepared, Haz".

"Are you also prepared to probably catch me every few seconds? My sense of balance is non-existent" Harry grinned sheepishly.

"We could've done something different, you know" Louis raised an eyebrow at him amusedly, so Harry only shrugged. "But I think I can manage to not let you hurt yourself too much, Haz. My sense of balance exists. Or at least, it should".

"Very comforting" Harry replied dryly, a stifled laugh wanting to bubble out of his throat desperately.

"Again, you chose this" Louis told him again cheekily.

Rolling his eyes at him, Harry started the car and backed out of the driveway. "I thought it was a nice idea, not so cliché".

"And it is, don't worry" Louis sent him a warm smile, taking his unnecessary worries away. "I'm also very curious to find out what you meant with there is more afterwards".

"Patience, Lou" Harry grinned to himself but then he thought about something. "What about Alexa though? Is she alright a ...?".

"You're cute" Louis chuckled sweetly, his cheeks definitely not red from the cold. "Aria comes over later to take her out for a walk. The wedding she was supposed to cover got cancelled. Someone cheated or something".

"Ouch" Harry couldn't help but think back to his own wedding. He hadn't even thought about that possibility, too in love. "That's tough but at least Alexa gets something out of this".

"Life seems to be on her side" Louis looked out of the window but then his phone vibrated and he took it out, glancing at a new text. "My sister".

"Which one?" Harry tried to ask cheekily but got no reaction. Louis only kept staring at his phone. "Everything alright?".

"Yeah, she's just been at the doctor's and sent me a new picture" Louis answered a bit absent-mindedly, confusing Harry but apparently realising just that, judging by his face. "She's pregnant and it freaks me out. I don't want anything to go wrong".

"But that's amazing, Lou" Harry felt genuine joy wash over him at the prospect of a baby. "How far along is she?".

"Not far. Around two months? She wasn't even supposed to tell me yet but she couldn't wait. It's her first child" Louis locked his phone and faced him while he parked the car at their destination. "Sophia is the first of us to have a baby and it's nerve-wracking".