Seven Minutes » stylinson

eighteen // assist

story: seven minutes
part: eighteen // assist
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It turns out, it takes 3 months for a broken rib to heal.

And with the gang's resources, Harry's physical therapy works like a charm. Though Louis is not very happy about it, Harry is back behind a gun. Albeit, it's in a firing range, they haven't had any cause for him to go into the front lines yet.

Calum nods, and Louis crosses his arms over his chest, watching as Harry spreads his legs to shoulder length, getting into position. He does feel better for the fact that Harry is back up, that he's capable of protecting himself, with or without his earthier or fireier abilities, but he still doesn't feel the upmost comfortable with him going back into the leader duties that he insists that he needs to uphold.

In the last three months, both men have bonded incredibly. More than either could've hoped. Everything has gone, surprisingly, well. Louis flinches in surprise, coming out of his thoughts as Harry fires the gun. "Whoo!," Harry whoops, he hit the target near perfectly in the center, he did hit the red part. He smiles widely in victory and puts the gun down on the table, turning to Louis for approval.

Smiling at him, Louis jumps off the table and jogs to him - on his newly deemed healed ankle. He wraps his arms around Harry's neck, and the taller man melts into him, ringing his arms around his waist. "Good job," Louis whispers and Harry smiles wider, pressing a bunch of swift kisses to his hair, making him squeal and laugh.

As they pull apart, Louis catches Calum's eye and fond smirk and blushes, not used to the reaction from PDA. "You two are so cute together," he chuckles and Harry straightens up leisurely, keeping his arm wrapped around Louis' waist, his stomach settling on his stomach. Calum's eyes widen and Louis tilts his head in confusion. "Dude!," he laughs, and Harry startles. "Why didn't you tell me your soulie is pregnant?," he huffs and Harry sputters, and Louis sucks in a surprised breath.

Looking down at Louis in confusion, Harry asks, "Are you...?" And Louis shakes his head quickly.

"No... No," he says, and Harry furrows his eyebrows and nods, but keeps his hands on his stomach nonetheless. "So, um, what's going to be happening now that he's more able bodied?," Louis asks, trying to advert the attention away from himself. He isn't pregnant.

Calum, looking slightly embarrassed, is the one to answer. "We're going to continue to get more people out of the Den, and we're going to try to get a hold on it once more, Poe and William's groups aren't as strong as we considered them to be. They are, obviously, excellent shots, but we do believe they are running low on ammunition, the raids have stopped and our people aren't getting shot on the street anymore," Calum says, leading them out of the prompt Den that has been set up, although it's three inches on a five foot square board in terms of size comparison. "If you, Harry, are up to it, Thelma wanted you to come down to the secured portion of the Den?," Calum suggests, and Louis perks up.

Grabbing Harry's hand, he bats his eyelashes. "Please, Harry, it's safe, I want to see the Den, I've only heard about it," he insists, and Harry groans, scowling at Calum for saying anything about it in front of Louis, who is increasingly notorious for his curiosity and impressionable.

Sighing heavily, Harry nods, running a hand through his hair even though the tendons in his chest still tense a bit when he moves. He looks at Louis, who knows that he's won, and pulls him closer. "We've got to set some ground rules first," he says sternly. He's lost Louis once before, and he can't lose him again, especially since they've gotten so close.

Louis nods quickly. "Okay, yeah," he smiles, he's extremely excited about exploring an area that is talked about so often.

Harry tugs on the back of Louis' hair to get his attention. "Hey," he says, and Louis focuses back to him, his eyes show that he is eager to listen. "Okay, first off, you'll have to be vigilant one hundred percent of the time. I'm not kidding, it could still get dangerous, even if it is deemed secure," he says sternly, and Louis nods obediently. "And you are to be touching me at all times. Fingers through my belt loops or holding my hand or arm. I don't care how, but I want to feel your touch, make sure that you are still there," he adds, and Louis grabs his other hand for testament, long ago are the days when he flinched from his hands, from his touch.