Once in a Lifetime ➳ Larry

chapter twenty-nine

chapter twenty-nine

"Look!" Harry says with excitement, grabbing a pair of binoculars from the car console. He puts them up to his eyes and focuses on a brown blur in the distance. The rounded hills sculpt the landscape with mounds of vibrant green. Beneath a cluster of pine trees, a mother grizzly bear and her cub rest in the shade. Harry lights up with excitement.

Louis gently presses the brake and stops the car in the middle of the road. The pavement is deteriorated with loose stones, cracks, and faded yellow stripes. The car windows are rolled down all the way, letting in fresh air and sunlight.

"It's a mama bear!" Harry beams, practically throwing the binoculars at Louis's face.

Louis chuckles and squints through the eyepieces. The mother and cub are lounging and eating pine nuts, completely undisturbed. The cub looks around aimlessly as its mother leans down to nuzzle against him, nose twitching.

"They're beautiful," Louis muses, smiling widely. He sets the binoculars aside.

Harry nods in agreement and pulls out his phone. He opens up the camera app and snaps a few blurry photos. He wishes he had a nice, expensive camera with amazing zoom and crisp quality, but until he earns enough money to buy one himself, his iPhone will have to suffice.

"I wish I could show these to someone," Harry sighs, flipping through the fuzzy pictures.

Louis raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean, love?"

Harry shrugs and continues staring at his screen to avoid eye contact. "I dunno. It's just— I miss my old friends. I know it sounds silly, but I— I wish I could post things online without feeling like my life was at risk," he murmurs. "It's all Liam's fault."

Louis frowns and places his hand on Harry's knee, squeezing lightly. "It's my fault, too."

Harry scoffs and rolls his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. You weren't the one who tried to cut my throat with a broken beer bottle."

"No, but I did change you."

"For the better," Harry assures, finally meeting Louis's gaze. A beat of conversational silence passes between them. Harry sighs. "I'm sorry for complaining, Lou. I just— I'm still trying to adjust to the whole new life thing."

Louis gives a weak half-smile and takes Harry's hand in his own. He brings it up to his lips and presses a light kiss to his knuckles. Harry blushes and flutters his lashes.

"Let's keep driving," Louis says softly, shifting the car into drive.

They start cruising through the national park, admiring the beautiful scenery and wild animals. They encounter a small herd of caribou, a few bighorn sheep, and more bison than there are stars in the sky. Around noon, they pause at a picnic area to rest and stretch.

Afterwards, they stop near Old Faithful and watch the geyser erupt three times. They go to the sulfur cauldron and mud volcano, and Harry has to plug his nose to block out the horrid scent. Downsides of having a superhuman sense of smell.

They finish up their trip at the grand prismatic springs. Thanks to Harry's clumsiness, they nearly fall off the narrow boardwalk into a pool of steaming hot water.

But thankfully, Louis is there to catch him when he falls.

-

They leave Yellowstone National Park around seven o'clock in the evening and start driving back to Whitehall. The near-three hour drive leaves both Louis and Harry feeling completely exhausted after a long day of adventure. When they finally reach their home, they stumble inside tiredly and make their way to the bedroom.