Sodalite and Aventurine (Larry Stylinson au)

CHAPTER V

To the witches I have known and the covens they have taught me,

Here is to the love you said I may have.

To the poets I have stolen for and the fair names they have given me,

Here is to the story I write my own ending to.

To the oceans I have sailed and the worlds I have not seen,

Here is to the unknown.

To my lover, my cutter, my mercy, my darling,

Take this pyrite love and turn it into bars of gold.

I beg you to pave my road to exile with them.

SODALITE

Days had passed and Louis was sitting at his desk, feet hooked together atop it so he could lean back into his chair and ogle the way Harry was sitting in the window. He'd been reading but his book quickly fell to his lap because Harry cleared his throat and it pulled Louis' eyes up to him. And then Louis' eyes stayed because he realised he'd never taken the opportunity to watch Harry and how he held himself without his hands bound. Harry was tucked up in the corner of the window, knees in front of him. He was completely oblivious to Louis' eyes as he rested his own book on his knee, fingers occasionally flipping pages as he read on and on and on.

When Harry wasn't aware he was being watched, he had a manner of tersing his brows and pressing his lips together. He looked entirely focused, thumb spinning the ring he had around his index finger. Louis watched him intently as he spun his ring around and around, every so often bringing it to his lip to bite on. Sometimes he'd do it too with one of his necklaces, hooking his finger around the chain and unconsciously bringing it to his lips.

Harry flicked to the next page of his book, necklace still indenting his cheeks as he chewed at the chain, and momentarily let his eyes glance up to Louis.

He smiled as he realised Louis was looking at him and then went right back to his reading.

Louis blew out a small chuckle at him because Harry was so Harry, and that simply made Harry look back up at him.

"What?" Harry asked innocently around the chain between his teeth.

"You're so delightful."

Harry finally took the necklace from his mouth. "Why?"

Louis shook his head through his smile. "You simply are."

Harry narrowed his eyes suspiciously and lowered his book. "You are."

Louis raised an eyebrow. He was not to be outdone with compliments, and merely an echo of one at that. "Have you heard of sodalite?"

Harry said nothing and looked on expectantly.

"It's a gemstone," began Louis as he shifted to open one of his desk drawers. From his bottom one, next to the onyx box with Swan's maps, he produced a small blue skull. It had cracks of white and black throughout it and to Louis' eye, it looked like a stormy sea at night, the moon reflecting on seafoam and the blackened depths looming just below the surface. He tossed it to Harry for him to inspect.

"What do you think of it?" Louis asked as Harry turned it in his fingers.

"It reminds me of you."