you are half of me (and I am all for you) - larry stylinson

thirteen

"It's Harry's turn to drive."

"Harry drives like a grandpa."

"Harry also dresses like a grandpa."

"I hate all of you."

Louis patted his shoulder placatingly before handing him the keys. "I can navigate today, if it makes you feel any better."

"How will we ever get anywhere when you two are so busy flirting?"

Louis spun around. "You're one to talk, Liam. Do I need to bring up breakfast yesterday morning? I can't believe we all had to witness that."

After Louis and Harry made out in the bathroom for a while two nights ago, they wandered back into the living room and sat in front of the fire, talking things through and trying to figure it out. And kissing, a lot, of course. They had to keep it down because Niall was asleep, and they managed.

By the time they were both dead on their feet, they finally went to bed. Harry lied on his stomach on the couch, one arm hanging down, clinging to Louis' hand. They had the pleasure of staring at each other's sleepy faces before they both passed out for good.

In the morning, everyone slept in. That was par for the course for Louis and Niall, and Zayn apparently, but for people like Harry and Liam who liked to get up at the crack of dawn, it was definitely out of character. Tour had really been taking a toll on all of them, as did the emotional events of last night.

Louis sat on the counter, swinging his legs, while Harry made eggs and bacon in the unfamiliar kitchen. Niall was in charge of the toaster, and ended up burning three slices of bread before he got one right. Liam and Zayn appeared together, freshly showered. Louis had never met someone so unabashed about the fact that his neck was covered in hickies, but there Zayn was, looking like he had gotten mauled by a bear and not even trying to hide it.

Louis was kind of horrified, but. He liked Zayn. Zayn was chill and funny and liked to cause trouble, which meant he was exactly the person for Louis to befriend. Besides, he and Liam were cute together. It was undeniable.

They were already back on the road, and had spent last night in the van again, in Idaho. The plan was to spend today in Yellowstone before driving south to Salt Lake City tomorrow.

Last night had been cold, too, uncharacteristic for the summertime temperatures. The four of them had huddled together in Patricia, piling up the blankets and adding on layers of sweats to their outfits.

It was still so fucking cold, though, and Louis now had a sort-of boyfriend whose body was always warm like a furnace. So Louis squeezed into his sleeping bag with him, and they held each other through the night. In the morning, Louis had woken up with his nose buried in Harry's chest, all of their limbs tangled together.

Harry held him close in his sleep, too, like he was sheltering him from the world. A strong arm wound around his back, a heavy leg thrown over his hip. Louis felt absolutely shielded and sheltered by the protective body of the man he loved, and it was magical.

"I love how you love that atlas so much," Harry said with a bit of laughter. It was a sunny day, but they were facing away from it, so he had his shades pushing his hair back instead. Louis wanted to run his fingers through his curls. The realization that he could do exactly that without it being weird was startling. He kept his hands to himself, but only because Harry was driving and needed to concentrate on the road.

The old atlas from the glove compartment rested on his lap, open to the map of Idaho. Louis had never been this far north or west before, and he was kind of amazed at how beautiful it was. Everything felt like a dream.

"It's cool to see where we are on the map," Louis defended. "Plus, if the GPS stops working again, I'll know exactly where we are."

"Christ, that feels like a long time ago. It was just, like, a week or two ago, though. New Mexico."

"Sleeping under the stars," Louis agreed.

"I was so in love with you that night. More than usual."

Louis smiled to himself, and then he remembered something. "Wait. The reason you were so- What you were talking about that night was-"

"It was you," Harry confirmed, shaking his head and biting back a grin. "Not my smartest move, but you were pestering me."

"H, I'm so sorry about everything-"

"Don't be. We were both idiots. I was too concerned with, like, what I thought was unrequited love, to even notice what was going on. It's okay. We've sorted it out now. Let's just be happy."

Let's just be happy. Louis liked that.

"That stupid conversation about taking risks and climbing a fucking cliff," he laughed, remembering the pieces and putting them together finally. "Being a day hiker versus a skilled climber. Not knowing if the cliff wanted you to climb it."

Harry slid his shades down on his face, covering his eyes. "You're the cliff, if you hadn't caught on yet."

"You're the skilled climber. Very skilled. Definitely not just a day hiker. Or what did you say? An annoying tourist?"

"Glad to hear it."

"I'm gonna puke if you two keep this up," Niall said from the back, and Liam chimed in, in agreement. "This is the weirdest flirting I've ever witnessed. The worst."

Louis turned up the music to drown him out. They listened to Neil Young all the way to Yellowstone.

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