Snowed In || lirry

Part Two

It was December 23rd, and the day found Harry sitting in Louis' home as he and Niall prepared to leave for the airport. Harry tried to help pack, but really, if Louis and Niall were going to constantly interrupt the process with bouts of intense snogging and gushing over one another ("This is our first trip together, Louis, can you believe it?" "I know, right, like, fuck, this is serious.") then Harry wasn't going to finish it for them.

Finally, the two lovers wandered out of the bedroom and into the living room.

Louis leaned back against the wall between the window and the door and Niall took a seat beside Harry on the window-facing couch. Niall offered him an apologetic smile, like "sorry for almost having sex in front of you". Harry smiled back- it was very hard to be angry with Niall for anything.

"You guys done packing, then?" Harry ventured. He didn't want them to be, because if they were finished, then they would soon be leaving for the airport. Harry wasn't fond of the idea of being alone.

Louis gave a nod. "Yeah. Got everything into one case, too. Of course, Niall still has clothes at his mum's place from when he was like, sixteen- and you know, he hasn't grown any since then, so..."

Niall blew roughly at Louis. "Says the tiniest person in all the United Kingdom," he called, standing quickly to compare height with Louis. He was very pleased when he could match his boyfriend's slouched stance, and Louis was too busy smiling at Niall to stand up straight.

"You're both ridiculously small, let's leave it at that," Harry grinned.

Louis grinned back. "Whatever you say, Gigantor."

Harry shook his head. "So you're going to Niall's parent's place after the lights festival?"

"Just Mam's," Niall muttered, still eyeing the top of Louis' head. Louis rolled his eyes at him.

"We're going to his dad's as well, on Christmas evening, you see. That way we get almost the whole holiday before I'm brutally murdered by an angry Irish father-bear."

Niall stopped trying to stretch onto his toes and smiled softly at Louis. He leaned into him and laid his head on Louis' shoulder. "He'll love you, Lou, they all will... I know I do."

Harry smiled though the scene put a bitter taste in his mouth. Here was Louis, his best friend since before their first set of teeth fell out, and Niall, who Harry had fast become friends with after Louis introduced him to the group a year and a half ago. Back then, Niall was more of a stress-relief for Louis- they were just out for some fun, nothing serious, and the fling would die down eventually.

Or so everyone thought. Very soon, it became clear that Louis' newest love interest was to be sticking around for awhile. And now, wonder of all wonders, Louis was going for a full "meet-the-parents" scenario, a decision widely known to only be taken by those genuinely and irrevocably in love.

Harry wanted that. He wanted to feel strong arms wrapped around him, and a gentle voice whispering lovely things in his ear. He wanted to show up at his mother's house with a boy smiling nervously behind him. He wanted someone to show around his hometown- to take them to the bakery where he had his first job, and the park with the little stream running through where he'd realized that maybe he didn't want to be with a girl. He wanted what his two best friends stumbled upon so easily; he wanted love. But, of course, fate had a sense of humor, and the only person Harry could imagine having this relationship with didn't seem to be interested.

Through Harry's internal battle with himself (Should he sit quietly, or angrily wrench Niall and Louis apart and tell them not to flaunt what had, essentially, just fallen into their laps? Decisions, decisions.) Niall and Louis continued talking about their trip to Ireland. It was mostly Louis fretting over some obscure cousin or aunt whom he was sure would despise him; then Niall laughingly softly and shaking his head while offering up that, no, his family was perfectly pleasant, and Louis had nothing to worry about. Louis was standing straighter now, and his arms were around Niall's waist. For his part, Niall's hands rested on Louis' collar. It was clear they'd forgotten Harry was even in the same room.