More Than A War || l.s.

"You know that I'll always have you in my heart, right?" Louis spoke up one night, hand reaching up to run through Harry's hair as the boys head rest on his chest. Harry enjoyed listening to his heartbeat and feeling the rumble of his chest as he spoke.

"Don't say that.." Harry mumbled softly, hand reaching up and resting over Louis' stomach.

"No... I'm gonna say it because I want you to know that its true." Louis added, causing Harry to look up, chin resting against the boys chest. They both stared into each others eyes for a moment before Harry just smiled.

"I know, Lou."

~

Harry leaned against the railing of the ship, overlooking the pier where the thousands of soldiers were waiting to get on another ship to leave. Its been almost a year since he's been there, the French in their boundaries and their army at the beach to start their evacuation. They knew that the Germans had the advantage and their four hundred thousand soldiers at Dunkirk weren't able to stand or fight without getting casualties. There's submarines and aircraft and soldiers and they're all sitting out like fish in a barrel. Harry knew they're going to be picked off one by one and have no chance of survival.

Harry had applied to work with the medical when more and more casualties were being shown which allowed him to be one to go to one of the first ships with the wounded. He wanted to get these brave soldiers out and back to England and thats what he's damn well going to do.

He smiled a bit, feeling almost relief when the ship started its slow advantage to leaving. He was going home. He was going home and he was going to see his mum again, his sister, his Louis. Everything is fine.

Then there was a loud boom, the ship below his feet shaking with the impact of what could only be a torpedo that hit the bottom of the ship. His smile left his face and he swung around to look at all the soldiers running around with terrified and defeated looks on their faces. Their one shot at freedom and that was ruined once again.

"Abandon ship! Everyone abandon ship!"

Harry glanced around to where it was being shouted, one of the lieutenants were watching the ship slowly start crumbling down and sinking. There were soldiers to his left and to his right jumping over the railings of the ship and swimming their way to the shore. He couldn't go down with this ship so he turned back around and just jumped down from the ship as well, his body slamming into the frigid water which would give his body a shock if all of the adrenaline wasn't a factor.

He had pounds of weight on his body to make swimming a little harder but he still tried with all of his might. The ship was closing in on him, though, tilting towards the pier where he was trying to swim to. It was either fight for his life or get crushed and he wasn't going to die. He couldn't die. Not today.

Then he caught sight of an outstretched hand being offered towards him and he gave three more strokes with his arm before he was able to grab hold of the others hand and be pulled out of harms way and onto the wooden support of the pier. He hiked himself up onto it, leaning back against the support beams and just panting softly as he looked to the other who helped him. There were two. He only nodded in thanks, not bothering to question why the two weren't wet and why they jumped into the water to get wet as well. Everyone does drastic things to survive and he learned never to question it unless they're in life or death situations.

~

"You know.. Its so cute how you kept pestering me about going on this date with you, Louis." Harry spoke, leaning forward in the booth, sipping carefully from the strawberry milkshake that he had ordered.