i sleep naked ➸ larry stylinson

sixty two

harry never knew how painful broken ribs were until he had them. it was like a knife pushing in between your sides and twisting every time you took a breath. luckily, whenever the pain got too severe, hannah would come in and inject some more pain killers into his iv. it was nice to have her there, even though he had just met her. she was one of those people that talked a lot, and harry was thankful for that, because he didn't talk much.

louis stayed at the hospital for the whole day, watching television with harry, telling him tons of childhood stories that were quite pointless, but harry loved to hear louis tell them nonetheless. he loved the way louis told stories. he would always put a dramatic tone in his voice on the sad or scary parts, and whenever he got excited he would put wrap his fingers around harry's arm and squeeze tightly, unable to stop moving in his seat. he would run out of breath and laugh through a large smile and harry would just watch him, wide eyed, not smiling but not frowning, just watching. he would nod his head along with what louis was saying, his gaze steady on his face.

you would think that being in a hospital wouldn't be fun, but it was perhaps one of harry's favourite things in the world, being able to lay in bed and listen to louis talk without any distractions beside a slight ache in his sides and a few coughing fits. his collapsed lung was already healing, as he didn't need the oxygen mask anymore and he could breathe on his own without coughing for a long time.  

but of course, louis had to leave sometime. he needed to shower, to sleep somewhere other than an arm chair. harry would have loved for him to sleep in his little twin sized bed, but there were too many things hooked up to him for that to be comfortable. so at about six thirty, hannah came in to give harry his nightly meds. she suggested that louis go home and get some rest, maybe take a break from the hospital. louis looked quite reluctant to leave, but harry nodded at him and let out a small cough before giving him a smile.

"yeah, lou," he murmured, clearing his throat and blinking quickly. hannah reached over and touched harry's shoulder.

"i've got this. he's an easy patient, if anything happens i promise i'll call you, okay?"

louis furrowed brows. "if anything happens? is something going to happen?" he stepped back, meeting eyes with harry before looking back at hannah.

harry went into another coughing fit just as hannah shook her head. hannah gently helped him put his oxygen mask on his face before looking back at lou. "no, louis. go home. i'm not trying to be mean but you're going to get sick of this hospital if you stay here all day."

harry glanced at him, slowly taking the mask off of his face as he felt his throat clear up, and then he looked outside. it was snowing, not so much that he couldn't see but it was. seeing the white snow caused his chest to tighten. the thought of louis driving in a car made him feel nervous, although louis had never gotten in an accident before. "be careful," he said softly, blinking over and over as if it would make the snow go away. his lips parted as he got distracted, distracted by the way the setting sun shone on the ground and pushed through the trees, causing a sparkle to reflect off the window. he loved the orange, pink glow to the sky, shining bright and pure through the falling white snowflakes. perhaps snow was one those things that could cause harry to feel a flutter in his heart, a beauty he could never quite understand, something that always made him stare in wonder.

he felt louis bury his nose in his neck, breathing deeply and whispering, "beautiful, isn't it?"

harry nodded, wide eyed.

"reminds me of you. i love you." louis kissed his jaw softly, hugging him around the waist while being careful not to tangle himself with his iv drip.

"i love you too," harry murmured gently, unable to tear his eyes out the window.

"bye, angel. just keep watching."