Tangled - l.s

Chapter 23

A glint on the water caught harry's eye, and he looked away from him up at the castle. His eyes widened. "They're sending off the first one..." he whispered.

Harry gasped and whipped around. The first lantern was indeed rising into the sky, releasing a pale golden light into the dark blue sky, stealing the brilliance of the stars. He jumped up and scrambled to the edge of the boat, rocking it so much the water splashed and Louis fell over, possibly into the water, but Harry wasn't paying attention.

The lantern reached its peak and suddenly the rest of them followed after, stealing the air from Harry's lungs. Each lantern was unique in its size, shape, and color, but every one held the kingdom's emblem on its broad side. They floated in a bright mass up to the sky and hovered for a moment before lowering into the fjord which held their boat.

The light inspired such emotion, Harry was unprepared. He reached out to touch one of the nearest lanterns that drifted by but pulled his hand back before contact was made, breaking down in sobbing laughter.

Louis hadn't fallen into the water, and he was looking concernedly at Harry. "Blondie...?"

"It's so much... more than I thought it would be..." he wheezed, supporting himself on the edge of the boat. He reached up for another lantern but pulled away once again.

Louis smiled softly at him, reaching up and taking a lantern. "Hey. Blondie."

Harry wiped his face and tried to breathe normally again. He came back and sat across from Louis, staring hesitantly at the lantern.

He gently held it out to him, smiling supportively. "Here."

Still a little hesitant but very excited, Harry gingerly hooked his fingers under the rim of the lantern, feeling the heat of the flame behind the canvas. He held the lantern for a moment before lifting it above his head, pushing it up and letting it fly off on its own again. He laughed.

Louis smiled fondly at him, the pure joy on his face the most perfect thing in the world...

Something next to the boat caught Harry's eye and he looked over. A lantern was failing, drifting dangerously close to the water. He reached out over the edge of the boat and caught the lantern on his fingertips before it hit the water, pushing it back up into the sky with a newfound buoyancy.

      
        
              
"I think that was the king and queen's lantern..." Louis murmured.

Harry almost fell out of the boat in shock.

"Woah, ok, careful." He grabbed his arm, gently pulling him closer to him so he wouldn't topple.

"I have something for you," Harry said after a while, reluctantly pushing away from Louis and grabbing... a satchel from the bottom of the boat. He handed it back to Louis and looked down, telling him, "I asked Maximus to carry this around all day to convince him not to arrest you. I don't know why you stole it but I know you, and I have to assume you stole it for a reason, so I think you should have it back. I should've given it back a long time ago, you've done so much for me, but I was... scared. But the thing is, I'm not scared anymore. Well... not that scared."

Louis silently took the satchel. He opened the flap for a moment, taking the time to realize that he had the crown back before putting it down on the bottom of the boat. "I'm glad you trust me," he murmured.

Harry squinted at the satchel. "But... isn't that what you wanted? Why you brought me out here?"

"I guess... at first, anyway..." He smiled at him and reached over, gently tucking a loose bit of hair behind his ear.

Harry smiled wider and leaned into Louis, leading his hand out to push another light up with him.

He smiled fondly, lifting the light up into the sky. "Hey, Blondie?"

"What?"

"Happy birthday."

Harry giggled and reached up to lazily drag his fingers across Louis's chin, feeling his stubble.

The other man chuckled softly, tilting his head so Harry could better access it.

"You know what, Louis? This has been my favorite birthday. Ever."

He smiled fondly. "I'm glad."

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