Larry Dr. Fics

Apple-picking-Louis

I just love the fall, so I had to write a fall-related oneshot! Hope you enjoy it.

Words: 2,002

"You know what I wanna do sometime?" Harry said to Louis, who was nuzzled up against Harry under the crook of his arm with a blanket around their laps.

"What?" Louis said, turning the volume down on the telly during the commercial break.

"Make an apple pie. It's getting chilly out and fall is here. I think it'd be fun."

"Ooh, sounds good. I haven't had an apple pie in years."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, kissing the top of Louis's head. "And I love baking with you."

Louis smiled. "Me, too." Louis was crap at baking, but he enjoyed being in the kitchen with Harry. Harry was an excellent baker. When they baked together, Harry would tell Louis exactly what to do and Louis would do it. It may not be pretty or get a little messy, but it was still a lot of fun.

That weekend, they decided to go apple picking in the orchard right out of town. There were rows and rows of trees, some with red apples and others with green and yellow. The air was crisp and the boys were wearing their lightweight jackets. Harry carried the ladder while they walked through the crunchy leaves towards the trees.

They stopped in front of a tree with green apples and Harry set up the ladder. Louis gave Harry one of the baskets and they got to work. Harry climbed the ladder and picked a couple from the branches while Louis searched the grass surrounding the tree for good fallen apples. There weren't too many. Most of the apples on the ground were bruised and browning.

After picking several, Harry began climbing down. "Your turn, Lou! I got five so far." They didn't need many for the pie, but they might as well keep picking as many as they could while they were there. Besides, Harry was always saying "an apple a day will keep me away," since Harry was a doctor. Louis laughed at the memory and Harry asked what was so funny.

"Nothing," he replied. "Now let me at 'em." Louis climbed the rungs and made his way to the top of the ladder. Harry turned his attention to the grass like Louis had been doing before, the apples in Harry's basket shifting as he walked.

Louis found a particularly big apple that was slightly out of reach. He stretched his hand out and grabbed for it. Once it was in his hand, he pulled on it, but it wouldn't budge. It stayed attached to the limb. After several tries, he gave up and began picking the smaller apples closer to him.

Within minutes, he filled his basket with nice looking green apples that would make for a lovely pie, but before climbing down, he wanted to try for that bigger apple just one more time. He stuck his hand out and grabbed it, and this time, was successful. He was so proud of his success that the was going to try for one more.

There was another perfect, shiny green apple a little farther out from the last one, and he was going to have it. Harry's pie was going to be the best. He reached out, but he was too far away. He leaned his body farther out and then inched forward, one hand on the ladder and the other just centimeters away from touching the apple.

He almost had it. Keeping his eye on the prize, he leaned closer in and then felt the ladder tipping over to the right. A squeal betrayed his lips as he felt his body falling along with the ladder. There was nothing he could do to stop it. He braced himself for impact and put out his hands. He dropped several feet to the ground and fell on his side.

Harry saw the ladder topple down from the corner of his eye as he was sorting through all the bad apples in the grass with his feet. He darted towards Louis but was too late. "Louis, are you okay!?"