next to you ❀ l.s.

thirty six - the new year

They were up just past dawn and on the road before eight. Louis had a hard time waking up, but the weather forecast gave predictions of heavy snow, so after a quick cup of coffee, he decided that he would drive. Harry was definitely much more of a nervous driver than he was.

"Now, you better drive safe, Lou," his mother had playfully reprimanded him as they said their goodbyes. "If anything happens to my favorite boy, I'm holding you personally responsible."

Harry had only blushed furiously, muffling his giggle in Louis's shoulder.

"A week. A week is all it takes for you to replace your own son?" Louis had laughed, shoving his mother's arm. "I've been the favorite boy for twenty one years, and a week is all it takes."

"Have you met Harry? It doesn't take more than a second to fall in love with him."

And, yeah. Louis had met Harry.

The snow didn't start until the early afternoon, about five hours into their drive. They were hoping to go the entire way in one day this time -- it was New Year's Eve, and Harry wanted to be back home to celebrate with the boys. Even as the snow floated down in thick flakes, Louis drove through the storm for a while, gradually hunching forward over the steering wheel to squint through the blinding whiteness.

Harry was fast asleep in the passenger seat. He was curled up facing the window, his head rested on the cold glass, but he had one arm stretched out behind him, his fingers tangled up in the hem of Louis's sweatshirt. Whenever Harry twitched in his sleep, tugging unconsciously at the thick fabric, Louis practically glowed with fondness.

Eventually, he gave up, pulling off on the next exit and praying there would be a cheap hotel. To his luck, the little town seemed to exist for the sole purpose of serving weary travellers, and it only took him a few seconds of squinting through the storm to spot a snow-battered motel sign.

When he stopped at a red light, an abrupt change from the cruising speed of the interstate, Harry startled awake. He rubbed his eyes as he looked out the window, squinting through the frosted glass in a useless attempt to make out his surroundings. "We're stopping already?" he rasped, turning his tired eyes toward Louis.

"The storm's getting bad. Can barely see twenty feet in front of me," Louis said, his eyes trained on the snowy road ahead. "Gonna get a motel room, at least for a few hours until it clears up."

"Okay," Harry agreed easily, yawning and stretching widely.

"My sleepy baby," he teased, watching Harry out of the corner of his eye. He reached over to capture the younger boy's hand in his own, bringing Harry's knuckles to his lips.

"Lou," the younger boy giggled, trying to wrench his hand away. "Stop."

Louis shook his head, biting playfully at the back of Harry's hand before kissing the smooth skin again. His tone grew serious as he pulled into a nearly-vacant parking lot, saying, "You are so, so precious to me. I don't think you even realize."

Harry opened his mouth to reply, and three words nearly slipped out. He barely stopped them before they did, and then, a part of him wished that he had just let them slip.

"I'll run in and check for a room. Stay here."

"No, it's okay. I can come --" Harry said quickly, fumbling to unbuckle his seatbelt.

"Oi! Sit down," Louis instructed firmly. He pinched Harry's cheek once before reaching into the backseat to retrieve his coat, nearly whacking Harry in the head as he struggled to slip it on in the small space. "It's literally a blizzard out there. Only one of us needs to freeze, so I'm going."