Only The Brave

t h i r t y s i x

Louis and Harry went to Louis' place first to get a change of clothes and to pack some other things he might need the next few days. He also called the landlord again but the man was setting his foot down so Louis had to got to the bank as soon as possible after Christmas to sort that matter out. 

Finally on their way to the zoo, they were all exciting and asking Lucas which animals he really wanted to see. 

"Fwoggies!" 

"I don't think we'll see froggies, baby," Louis chuckles. 

"My mother's house is like in a secluded suburb and there's a lake close by it full of frogs, we could go there sometimes," Harry hums. 

"Really?" Louis asks, smiling at Harry's proposal. 

"Yeah, she'll be a goner for Lukey, no doubt." 

Louis smiles even wider, "Can't wait to meet her." 

Harry looks at him for a second to smile back and put his hand on Louis' thigh. 

"Hazzy?" 

"Yes, love?" Harry glances in the rearview mirror to look at him.

"When zoo?" 

"We're almost there, Lukey," Harry smiles and looks at the gps, only 5 minutes. They should be able to entertain him for that long. 

~

"Monkey!" Lucas squeals and leans over in his stroller to take a better look. 

Louis is just as excited and goes to stand closer to the window, admiring the creatures. 

Harry chuckles and takes a few pictures of their backsides, sending some to Niall per request or rather per threat. He had gotten used to the intrusive friendship Niall brings with him by now. He kinda likes it. 

 He walks around the stroller and gets Lucas out to give him a closer view. 

"Look at that small one," Harry gasps, pointing at a baby monkey with it's mom. 

"Baby," Lucas whispers and stares at it with a smile. 

"Just like you, baby monkey," Harry kisses his cheek. 

Lucas giggles fiercely and puts his little arm around Harry's neck, it's hard since he's wearing a coat and a scarf but Lucas finds a way to feel the warmth of Harry's nape. 

After they saw every kind of monkey they walked further through the zoo, exploring a lot of animals and trying to teach the toddler some new names. He got scared and was clinging onto Harry for dear life when they passed the giraffes but other than that he had a great time. 

Lucas stayed on Harry's arm, Louis asked multiple times if he should take over but Harry didn't mind. He grabs Louis' hand somewhere along the way, first time he shows affection in public and Louis accepts it gladly. 

They didn't care about anything at the moment and it was freeing, really. The chances of someone from work seeing them in the zoo right before Christmas eve are rather small anyways. 

The zoo is beautifully decorated, Christmas lights hang everywhere while it's covered in a thin layer of snow. It's cold but they manage to enjoy it nevertheless. 

Lucas gets tired around noon, they decide to go sit in the aquarium to feed him some packed lunch before his nap. 

Harry and Louis talk all the way through his nap, it's endless, their conversation. That's what they like so much about each other, the ability to talk about everything and anything.