Sea and Sky

Chapter Seventeen

Only later does louis realize what the ring meant.

He pulls the ring off the chain around his neck, where he kept it so he could return it to harry afterwards. He sits up, perched on a branch above the water, leaning back against the three trunk, fern playing with a your satyr below him, laughing and shrieking as they romped around. He turns the ring over and over in his fingers, a habit he picked up that helped quiet his nerves.

Louis jumped as something broke the surface a few yards away, Fern and the Centaur stopping.

"Harry!" Fern calls running into the water

"Careful" harry weakly warns, his escort, Nadia helping him forwards before ducking back under the water, set to come back in a few hours to help harry back home. She carefully wraps her arms around harry just seconds before louis reached them, tugging harry into a fierce hug . He fights back his tears, clutching harry tightly breathing heavily as the tears begin to stream down his cheeks, a weak chuckle of pure joy emitting from his mouth.

"I-Im so sorry" He mutters, fern wiggling out from between them running back to resume playing with the centaur. "I-i didn't mean to ditch you, some satyr needed my help finding her kid, then i had to go pick up fern from mums, and they made made me stay for dinner and-"

Harry laughs weakly, cutting louis off "Its okay, Louis, honestly its my fault i fell asleep" His voice was raspy and weak, barely a whisper.

"I shouldn't have made you wait so long" Louis whispers into his shoulder, pulling him towards the shore, settling down in the shallows, holding harry in his arms.

"Here love" Louis says handing the ring back to Harry "I found this on the beach, i sort of sat on it" Louis says, chuckling lightly.

Harry takes the ring back into his fingers turning it over and over, just like louis had been minutes before. He turns to look back at louis

"To quote you, marry me?" he asks with a weak chuckle, a broad grin on his face. Louis chuckles pulling harry's face to his own with both hands kissing him hard, taking harry's breath away. Harry's pulls back breathing heavily and presses his forehead to louis

"So whatda say?" he asks and louis chuckles and rolls his eye

"well if i said no id probably make you upset, and i don't like seeing the love of my life anything but happy" Louis says

"So yes?" Harry asks and Louis chuckles

"Yes you big buffoon, of course ill marry you" Louis laughs kissing harry gently and letting louis slide the ring onto his finger. Harry sighed contentedly and curled his tail over louis lap. It was still pale and the ruffles on the back and his tail fin were broken, pieces gone, cracked and ripped. Harry was shaking slightly in Louis arms, his fingers barley strong enough to grip louis, louis having to do most of the work, pressing the back of harry's hand to his lips with a soft smile.

Fern played behind them with her new friend, giggling and having a good time. Then harrys face scrunched up and he tensed slightly in louis arms whimpering.

"Whats wrong love?" Louis asks him and he shakes his head, biting his lip.

"Braxton hicks, i think" he mutters relaxing as the pain releases him. A few minutes later, harry tenses again and Louis sits him up, his fingers moving to massage harry's lower belly and thighs. Harry sighs at the feeling and leans back against the bank, unable to keep himself up for an extended period of time. The third time a pain comes its a little worse, harry cries out in pain, scrunching his body in half to hold his stomach, groaning as the sharp pain moved from the top of his belly to his groin.