Winter's Peril

Chapter 17

Three months later and they had moved to Brooklyn. By this point, Verlee had been arrested and convicted of her crimes after their testimonies. A small weight had been lifted off of his shoulder now they were back in Brooklyn. It felt like home now. The view of the bridge they had from the apartment was beautiful.

Maybe, it was right that he had come back to the place he loved the most. Apart from England of course.

Both Harry and Louis had settled into their apartment by now. He admits that Harry found it a bit hard at first. The unfamiliar area along with the city life made him feel estranged. A month into it, things became easier.

Louis sat on a ledge just by one of their windows, staring out into the street. He wore one of Harry's shirts that managed to come almost to the middle of his thighs. Louis tightly held onto his legs which he pulled close to his chest. By this time the winter began to drift away. Spring was not too far away.

Louis let out a long breath and watched as it fogged up the window. He focused on the foggy glass, observing the little droplets of water which rolled down the window.

"Lou?" a voice called.

His head turned to look at Harry who stood by the door to the bedroom. He wore a pair of denim jeans and his chest was bare. His hair pulled up into a bun and a few strands fell beside his chiselled jaw.

"You alright?"

Louis nodded with a smile then carried on looking out of the window. He heard Harry's footsteps pace through the room until he got to the window sill.

He felt a hand brush over his back and wrap around to his shoulder. A light smile appeared on his face. Louis leant back into his delicate touch. He shuffled over a bit when Harry came to sit down beside him. The cold window made him shiver when his skin touched it.

Harry pressed light kisses onto his covered shoulder and held him for a bit. As Louis focused on the things going on outside the room, Harry began to kiss up his neck until he arrived at his cheek.

"Can we go for a walk later?" Louis asked, breaking the silence.

"Of course, Lou," Harry nodded. "Where to?"

"I don't know."

"Okay," he replied. Louis shifted from his spot and moved to face Harry.

They stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds and Louis broke out into a smile. Harry raised an eyebrow at him. It was unusual to see him this happy so he gave him a quick peck on the forehead.

Louis' smile widened, his eyes slipping closed in bliss. After a minute, he got up from his space and stretched while he walked over the carpeted floor. Harry decided to come up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist. Louis giggled as he snaked his arms around his body. Harry gave him one more kiss before heading for the chest of drawers.

While waiting for Harry, Louis lay back on the bed covers and closed his eyes. He heard small rustles of clothes and openings of drawers every so often.

It went quiet after a minute. Louis noticed a shadow appear through his closed eyes and a dip in the covers beside him. When he opened his eyes, Harry lay over him. A few seconds later, Harry leant down to kiss Louis deeply on the lips.

They shared a sweet kiss just enjoying the time they had together. Louis' arms and legs wrapped around Harry's body. Slowly, Harry lay his body on him and kept him close.

"Come on, Lou. Let's get ready," he whispered over Louis' lips.

"Okay," Louis replied. He pecked his lips one more time before rolling away from him.

~~~

An hour later, the two walked hand in hand down the streets of Brooklyn. Their gloved hands tightly gripped each other, not wanting to let go. A little cold air escaped Louis' mouth when they approached Brooklyn Bridge. It took them only five minutes to arrive.

Many other people hurried past them while they walked. Even though it was Sunday, the bridge felt quite busy. They stopped at a viewpoint which overlooked part of the city. The wind lightly blew over their faces with a hint of sun.

Louis watched in slight awe of the view. It was one of his favourite places in Brooklyn.

"I love the view from here," Louis sighed.

Harry wrapped an arm around Louis' waist, pulling him a little closer to his body. He stared out at the river ahead of them. Louis always wondered whether Harry wanted to be here. However, he seemed to enjoy it even though it took some time to get used to it.

"It is beautiful," Harry muttered.

They stayed in silence and appreciated the area around them. A few tourists stopped beside them and took a couple of photos. For Louis, a picture couldn't show the beauty of the bridge.

After a few moments, Harry noticed how quiet Louis was and didn't know what to say. His eyes looked a little watery. Something must have been troubling him.

"What's the matter, Lou?" Harry asked.

Louis took in a shaky breath before speaking. "Dill and I walked along here on our first date," Harry opened his mouth to speak but Louis interrupted him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring him up. We're here now."

Harry comfortingly rubbed along Louis' back then pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I understand, Lou."

A lone tear rolled down Louis' face. "I don't know if I'll ever get over him, Harry."

Harry frowned at his expression. "That's fine. I don't expect you too. We'll do this together though."

"Thank you, Harry," Louis whispered. "Sorry for ruining the mood," he sniffed.

Harry turned Louis to face him and gently held his face in his hands. "Don't be, Lou. You can talk to me."

Louis nodded, appreciative of the fact that Harry understood him. Harry wiped away a tear which had fallen and smiled.

"I guess, we're just two grieving souls who somehow managed to find each other," he chuckled with a shrug.

"Well, I'm glad that my soul found you then, Lou."

Louis smiled at his words before leaning up to kiss him.

Even though life wasn't perfect, Louis still felt glad to have Harry in his life. He didn't know what he would do without him. It was in times like these when everything seemed to fall on his shoulder Harry remained as someone who was there for him. Louis hoped that they would continue to help each other heal as that was the most important thing.

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