Of the Earth

9

The day was pleasantly warm as they traipsed through the woods, back down the side of the hilltop. They made three miles by noon, and the other three and a half four hours later, due to a long stop for lunch.

Louis was doing really well despite the immobility of his ankle and the pain that came with it. They walked methodically, with Harry's arm around his shoulders to stabilize him. Louis, meanwhile, clung to Harry's waist with a death grip.

It felt nice to have someone rely on him like this, in a way that made him feel needed and even wanted. Louis' hand, despite clutching him so tightly, was soft on his skin when his shirt slipped up. His touch was gentle. And Harry was nearly melting under it, as unintentional as it was.

They were both sweaty with exertion by the time they made it to their campsite around 4:00 PM.

The campsite was located at the exact point where the fields of thick shrubs morphed into a soft-floored pine forest, with tall, thin trees like toothpicks and lots of sharp branches sticking out perpendicular to the ground. Compared to the fields, there was little underbrush in the forest, making it easy to walk around. About fifty feet to the side, a river glinted in the sunlight and flowed steadily, the trickle of its water through the rocks sounding in the air.

Harry let the pack slide off his shoulders, falling to the ground with a thud. Meanwhile, Louis peeled off his sock and took a look at his ankle.

"How is it?"

"Okay," Louis answered nonchalantly. The tone of his voice sounded suspicious so Harry inched closer to get a look.

"Shit, Louis. That's really bad."

"It's fine," he waved off. "We'll be at your car tomorrow and it'll be okay."

"Do you think you broke something?"

"Not sure. I mean, I can put weight on it without dying, so. I think it's just a bad sprain."

" Really bad," Harry corrected, kneeling down beside him to inspect his ankle, the deep, dark bruises that blossomed all over the side of his foot and leg, from toes to heel to mid-shin. "Maybe we should try to ice it? Like, with the river I mean."

"Maybe. I'm in the mood for a swim. Feel disgusting."

"Same," Harry agreed, standing up and helping Louis up as well. They hobbled over to the riverside and dipped their toes in.

"You don't mind if I get naked, do you?"

"Um," Harry mumbled, caught off-guard, his face heating up. "No?"

"Good." Louis peeled his shirt off and then shimmied out of his shorts, kicking them to the side as effectively as he could while only on one leg.

Harry looked away, embarrassed, and focused on taking his own shirt off until he was sure he heard the splash of Louis' body in the water. He looked up again and saw him dipping below the surface, but the water was crystal clear and his body was only obscured by the blur of the current.

And... Okay. Harry could do this. Easy peasy. Just skinny dip in a river with a really attractive man, completely alone in the wilderness with him. No problem.

Throwing caution-and decency-to the wind, Harry kicked off his shorts just as Louis had and waded into the water since it was too shallow to jump. The cold water felt icy and refreshing on every part of his body as he shivered in response. He dipped beneath the surface just as Louis had to wet his hair, popping up again and screeching because it was so cold.

Louis was laughing at him, from where he was standing at the deepest part of the river, the waterline up to the bottom of his ribcage.

"Holy hell, how are you not freaking out?" Harry cussed, bringing his hands up to protect his nipples from the cold.

Louis just snickered and swam backwards, the river lapping at his shoulders. He watched Harry struggle through the water, which reached his belly button at this height, and the rest of his skin was goose-bumped in the wind.

They had to pay attention to the current to not be carried downstream. It moved a lot quicker than it appeared on the surface, and Harry was aware of the tiny pebbles and rocks rolling along the riverbed, bumping into his feet every so often.

Louis swam closer to him and wrapped his hands around his wrist to anchor himself in the current without having to put his feet down. Harry carefully kept his gaze trained on the sky, feeling the summer sun warming his skin, and didn't look down at Louis' nakedness.

"You have a thigh tatt?"

Harry's gaze flickered back to Louis' questioning face, surprised he had been looking there.

"Um, yeah..." he answered absently, fingers twitching by his side. "It's a tiger."

"Interesting," Louis mused, but he was smirking.