Untangle Me - L.S (boyxboy)

Chapter 24.

Louis watches as Harry ducks back under the surface, swimming steadily to the shallower depths where he can stand up. He follows suit, opting for a less stealthy swim above the water, not sure if he's willing to expose his face to the freezing depths again.

Harry reaches the shallows first and when Louis gets there, he feels Harry's fingers lace around his hips, holding him steady in front of him. The rain splatters around them and Louis giggles as a fat drop lands itself directly on the tip of Harry's nose.

Louis reaches down and holds Harry's arm, bringing it above the water. "Now I know the reasoning behind the mermaid tattoo." He grins, examining it carefully. "You swim just like one."

Louis lets go of Harry's arm and Harry automatically wraps it around Louis' lower back, tugging him in close. "I'll take that as a compliment." He grins, closing the gap between them and connecting their cold lips, kissing softly until Louis can feel the heat in them again.

When they break apart, Louis tucks himself into Harry, face buried in Harry's neck and arms wrapped tight around his back. He can feel Harry shivering underneath him, bare skin prickled with goosebumps. He runs his arms up Harry's back and over his arms, rubbing them gently to warm him back up. He can barely feel the cold himself, maybe he's become accustomed to it, or maybe Harry kissed it all out of him.

"Do you want to see a real mermaid trick?" Harry all but whispers, leaning back so he can look at Louis. Louis is half expecting his hair to grow seven inches down to his waist and a tail to appear from his bottom end before he splashes off into the sunset, there's not much about Harry that would surprise him.

"Go for it." He replies, letting go of Harry's torso and stepping back, bending his knees and submerging his upper body back in the water, it acts like a insulation against the chill of the breeze and the raindrops above.

Harry dives back down, leaving a ripple in his wake. Louis watches his form under the water, can just make it out beneath the blue. He loses Harry from his eyesight momentarily, the lake swallowing up the shadows of his body.

The next thing Louis sees is a pair of feet breaking through the surface, Harry's long legs extending upwards into the perfect handstand. Louis raises his eyebrows, eyes wide, as more of Harry's body pops up above the water. To his disappointment, Harry remains submerged up until the middle of his thighs, leaving what's left of his modesty intact.

He sustains the pose for a fair few seconds before his legs start to wobble and he folds in on himself, flopping back down into the water. When he submerges, Louis gives him a thumbs up. "Very impressive!" He shouts over, laughing when Harry gives him a twirl, hands above his head like a ballerina.

Before he knows it, Harry's swum his way back over, closing in on his space again, linking his hands behind Louis' neck. "Your nose is all red." He chuckles, bumping it against his own. "Are you cold?"

Louis nods, putting his hands on Harry's hips and rubbing their noses together again. "Extremely." Louis gives him a once over, raking his eyes up Harry's bare chest, not bothering to be subtle. "You lied." Louis states.

Harry furrows his eyebrows, bewildered expression. "What?"

"When you stayed round mine you told me your hair reaches just about here," He squints, pointing to a place on Harry's chest, "When it's wet. You were at least a few centimetres off."

Harry rolls his eyes, "I'm very sorry to let you down, Louis."

"You should be." Louis smirks, "I'm deeply offended."

"I'm glad you got to see the evidence for yourself though."

Louis raises his eyebrows, tightening his grips on Harry's hips. "Mm, I'm glad too."