Summary:
This is where he met Harry, and where Harry hadn’t yet met him. Or, Louis is a fairy and he and Harry really like each other.
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have you ever wished for an endless night?
lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight?
have you ever held your breath and asked yourself:
will it ever get better than tonight?
“glitter in the air” by pink
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It is a warm, summer’s night. The skies are clear and studded with stars, glistening above where a small boy tiptoes through the brush, feet barely touching the ground in order to stay quiet. His skin glows under the moonlight, tiny wings peaking from his green tunic, and he is innocent and lovely in a way that only creatures in fairytales can be. That is to say, this is no normal little boy - this boy is full of fairy dust, of hope and glitter that shines like gold, of a heart that beats for adventure. He is full of shimmering blood vessels and butterflies and goodness, and is a beautiful little thing, impish and mischievous and bewitching in every sense of the word.
His name is Louis and he is a mere twelve years old, his wings barely big enough for him to lift from the ground and his hair full of flowers. He is sneaking away from his home in the forest, tonight, because he’s frightened; even on clear nights, there isn’t enough light in the woods, the trees stretching tall and blocking the gleam of the moon and stars. On nights like these, when he cannot sleep, he tiptoes into the flower fields and wraps himself in the petals until he feels safe enough to drift away into a dream.
That, of course, was before he found the cottage in the valley below, lonely but radiating warmth and a sense of belonging that only a home can give. Louis had inched forward the first night he’d seen it, blue eyes wide with wonder, and had stood on his tiptoes to peer through the uncovered window, investigating the inside. The cabin was clearly lived-in, neat aside from a few misplaced books and dishes, and before Louis could think about what he was doing he had fluttered his wings, opened the window, and slipped inside without a sound.
This is where he met Harry, and where Harry hadn’t yet met him.
Louis had crept through the house as silently as he could, careful not to touch anything lest he leave a mark, and found his way into the boy’s room. Louis had been flabbergasted at first; despite sneaking into someone’s home in the dead of night, he hadn’t actually expected anyone to be there. He had panicked, scuttling out of the room and back into the hall. However, little boys were naturally curious and Louis was no different, so he had ended up poking his head back into the room, watching the boy’s chest rise up and down with his breathing. Upon scanning the room for a clue, he found a name - Harry - pasted to the wooden walls in blue lettering.
Quietly, Louis padded closer, so lightly he never made a sound, and peered over the boy’s sleeping body, blinking curiously at his curly hair, his naked torso, pale in the moonlight. His window, Louis realized, was open, leaving the room sticky and warm with summer air. Harry had shifted in his sleep and Louis remembers ducking down next to the bed, his body trembling with fear, heart pounding against his ribs. Had he seen him? What would happen if he did? Slowly, Louis stood once more, holding his breath as he slipped into the bed with Harry, aching to see if he was as soft and warm as he seemed.
Louis hadn’t intended to stay; he had just wanted to sit for a moment, get a closer look at this human, a creature he’d never seen before, but he ended up slipping into a dreamless sleep. When he had awoken, just before the sun came up, he was curled into Harry’s side, tucked under his arm. Surprised and scared, Louis slipped away and through the window before he woke up to find him there.
