DAY SEVENTEEN
Baker, California
It's just after lunch when Louis pulls the car off in Oro Grande and the street lined with antique shops Harry has picked out for them to visit. It's the last thing on Harry's written itinerary he made months ago; back before either of them knew what fate had in store. The next stop is straight through to Los Angeles but they've already decided to stay in the San Gabriel mountains for tonight, not ready to finish their road trip quite yet.
"Ready?" Louis asks once he turns off the car.
"I'm feeling a little sentimental right now," Harry says as he puts his itinerary back in the glove box for the last time. He takes a deep breath. "The Harry who planned this road trip, and decided his grand finale would be antique shopping, had no idea what was in store for him."
Louis smiles, laughter huffing quietly. "He didn't anticipate a partner in crime like me, did he?"
"Definitely not," Harry says. His lips twitch, "But sometimes you don't know what's good for you until it happens."
"Until Niall Horan happens," Louis corrects as he turns the handle on his door to open it.
"God bless Niall," Harry says. "Will he be in Chicago at Christmas? I can't wait to see him."
Louis pauses as he gets out of the car but only for a moment. He and Harry will both be home in Chicago for Christmas this year, they'll probably meet each other's families and give each other Christmas gifts on a cold, snowy night with rainbow lights reflecting off of the houses around them. They'll hang out with Niall in River North and go to the Christmas tree lighting on the river. If all goes the way it should, Harry will be his New Year's kiss. He can hardly wait.
"Yeah," he says as he lets his feet drop to the pavement. "He'll be home."
*
They wander through a few antique shops but their mutual favorite is Weathered and Treasured on the furthest corner. There's an old record player with dusty vinyls stacked all around it, vintage clothes in perfect condition, retro furniture and stacks of old books with other people's notes in them.
Harry finds an arm full of records he wants, a few worn copies of classic novels and a jean jacket with a rainbow patch over the heart and his birth year embroidered on the sleeve. He puts it on and looks like a rock star, because of course he does. Louis even takes a picture of him pretending to model and laughs loudly when all of the older ladies in the store coo over Harry like he's Mick Jagger.
Louis doesn't find anything he can't live without except when they're leaving and he sees a necklace hanging from the knob of an old dresser. He barely catches a full glance at it but he knows it's perfect.
"Baby," he catches Harry around the hips, "I forgot my phone in the dressing room. Meet you at the car?"
Harry nods and adjusts a ridiculous pair of white sunglasses he found at the last minute when he was paying. They look like Willy Wonka but he still looks hot. It's all sorts of stupid.
Louis waits until Harry is far enough away and then he swipes the necklace up, the little vintage key worn and weathered on a thin chain. It's exactly what he didn't know he was looking for. He pays and quickly puts it in his pocket, jogging out to meet Harry at the car and waving around his phone for good measure. He's an excellent actor, if he does say so himself.
*
They take the long way to the San Gabriel mountains now that they're close enough to the coast they can practically taste it. Everything past Oro Grande and closer to San Gabriel is lush and green, rivers breaking through forested areas and streaming next to the highways. When they see signs for a historic waterfall the take the exit shrouded by trees with hardly a second glance at each other.
"You have to hike to the waterfall," Harry announces once they've parked and he's looked up where they are on his phone. "It's a mile in and a mile out. How long will that take?"
Louis smiles and unhooks his seatbelt. "Does it matter? I'm not in a hurry, are you?" Harry's smile fills the entire car with warmth, Louis isn't even exaggerating a little bit.
They change into more hiking appropriate clothes and then set off for the waterfall with Harry's camera, two water bottles and packs of trail mix all in tow. Louis screams when he sees a garter snake which makes Harry fold in half laughing and they both get a little preemptively itchy when they see there are signs warning of poison ivy just off the edges of the path.
The waterfall is breathtaking when they get to it, pouring off of a cliff and into a basin below with wildflowers and trees all reaching out to touch the water with gentle vines. Harry shows Louis the pictures he takes, the way he uses a setting on his camera to blur the water so it looks like smoke.
When a group of girls stop just across from them to admire the waterfall, too, Harry asks if one of them will take a picture of him and Louis. They press close together with their arms around each other and wide smiles on their faces as one girl uses Harry's camera for the shot. It's the first picture they've taken together on the trip and Louis figures it's fitting that it will be one of the last. Who knew the grandest finale would be them getting together on Route 66? Certainly not them.
Harry must be thinking the same thing as he takes the camera back with a gracious smile. He tips Louis's chin up with two fingers to kiss him before they head off back toward the car.
*
"Is that rain?"
"Unless god is spitting on us, I think it is," Louis says, rolling up his window. He'd noticed the temperature dropping as they got closer to the mountains, a full seventy degrees cooler than the desert which is utterly ridiculous but not unwelcome.
"I love when it rains," Harry says excitedly, pulling the car into a visitor spot at the lodge they found for the night. He's so excited by the rain he volunteers to go into the front desk to see if they have a cabin available for the night. He's wearing the bright pink crewneck sweatshirt he's so fond of which makes it even funnier when he comes back out holding the key to a cabin and does a little dance in front of the car, the rain getting steadier.
"That's kind of a lot of rain," he says as he ducks back in the car, his hair already damp. He shivers and shimmies his shoulders to warm up. "Yikes."
"Don't catch pneumonia on me," Louis says as he grabs for Harry's hands. He warms them up between his own and kisses Harry's fingertips.
They get a bit lost when they drive to the cabin they've rented and end up bickering back and forth before they realize they've stopped right in front of it in the process of a light hearted name calling competition.
As they unload the car, it gets steadily colder and they rush into the small cabin in a hurry, rain licking at them in the process. They lock the door once they're inside and flip on all of the lights as they drop their bags. The cabin is more of a studio than a house with a bed, small kitchen and living room all joined in one space. It's completely cozy and the rain doesn't seem so bad after all.
The kitchen is fully stocked so Louis takes a chance on making some pasta for dinner while Harry messes around with the fireplace in the center of the room. "Twenty four hours ago, a fireplace would have killed us," he muses happily as he plays with all of the buttons to get it lit.
Louis's pasta is simple with ground turkey marinara over penne noodles but he doesn't feel too inclined to figure out anything else. Harry has the fire going by the time he's nearly done cooking, the warmth filling the cabin quickly and comfortably.
Harry finds a bottle of red wine he says he hopes is complimentary and pours them two glasses with a smile. Louis puts their dinner on plates and pauses when he glances at the fireplace. Harry has dismantled the bed and reassembled it in front of the fire like a nest with pillows and cushions from the couch making up the parameter. Louis leans over to kiss his cheek just because he can and then they make their way to the blanket nest with their pasta and wine.
"Should we toast?" Harry asks once they're settled across from each other, their plates between them on the blankets.
"Of course," Louis says, picking up his glass of wine. "You have an idea?"
"Cheer to taking chances," Harry starts, "and cheers to the weather god for the rain."
Louis snorts over his laughter and rolls his eyes. "Cheers to Route 66."
"And every other highway we had to take to get here," Harry adds on.
"Both literally and metaphorically," Louis says as they clink their glasses together in the dancing light from the fire.
*
"I like that you wear my ring," Harry says once they've mostly finished eating. He takes his last bite and smiles with his lips pressed together.
Louis is used to it now, the ring on his middle finger. "Why's that?" He asks with a smirk, always wanting Harry to say what he actually means.
Harry shrugs and takes a sip of wine. "I don't know, really. Just makes me happy."
Louis smiles, "Yeah?"
"At first, it made it feel like you were mine," Harry says without hesitation. "And when I didn't think that was actually going to happen, I liked to pretend."
Louis laughs and tilts forward to kiss Harry, long and slow with the fire dancing next to them. "I have something for you," he says as he pulls back.
He hands Harry his glass and then pushes up out of their nest to get to his bag. He finds the jeans he'd worn earlier and the necklace he bought at the vintage store. It's all tangled and knotted because he'd shoved it in his pocket of all places so he takes a moment to try and get it all righted again.
"The anticipation might actually kill me," Harry calls from across the room.
Louis snorts as his fingers twist through the chain. "You'll be fine. Just give me a second."
Harry hums a song that sounds suspiciously like it came from a game show and Louis just rolls his eyes over his smile.
He crosses back to Harry slowly, the necklace twisted in his hand. He's never done something like this before and he feels a little dumb about it. He would prefer for Harry to grab it out of his hand and accept it without explanation but considering he's not a five year old kid at a birthday party, Louis doesn't think that's what will be happening.
Harry has moved their plates over to one side but still has the wine glasses in his hand. He smiles sweetly as Louis sits down, his face open with anticipation.
"I got you this," Louis says lamely, opening his palm. "I know you always wear your cross and I thought they might go together nicely."
Harry glances at Louis's face and then takes the key from Louis's hand carefully, swallowing. "I love this," he says, holding it up closer to look at it. "It's vintage, yeah? It feels like something that has a story. A secret history."
Louis hadn't really thought about it like that and now he feels a bit foolish. Of course Harry would love it for the story it has tied to it, the way it exists in someone else's memory as something special. Now the past is tied to their future, the story they'll tell about a key necklace Louis found in an antique store.
Louis swallows as Harry puts it on, arranging the chain to hang over his sweatshirt which looks silly but Louis kind of likes it. He gets what Harry was saying about the ring now – the way it feels to see the person he's falling in love with wearing something he's given him. The butterflies lift off from his stomach and head straight for his lungs.
"Why did you pick out a key?" Harry asks curiously, fingering the curves of the necklace.
"I liked it because it was vintage, honestly," Louis says. "But now that you're wearing it?"
Harry raises his eyebrows in anticipation.
"You're going to cringe," Louis warns. "I'm cringing just thinking about saying it."
Harry laughs and his dimple curves in. He finishes the rest of his wine in a sip. "Tell me."
Louis sighs and feels like an eighth grader admitting his crush. "You're the one with the key to my heart. The only one." He immediately blushes when he says it. He's not the guy who says shit like that but Harry has him doing it anyway, meaning it, too.
Harry's eyes actually tear up at Louis's words and then he's launching his body across their makeshift nest and Louis is falling back against the soft cushions and blankets while trying not to spill his wine.
"That was such a nice thing to say," Harry says, blinking quickly.
"You are so easy," Louis teases as he sets his glass to the side. "One necklace and you're tackling me?"
"You said I have the key to your heart," Harry says incredulously. "That at least gets you a blow job."
Louis cackles with his eyes squeezed shut as Harry kisses along his jaw. "I've never said that to anyone else before, for the record."
Harry pauses in his kisses and looks up at Louis again. He blinks slowly, a smile slipping over his pink mouth. "Is it crazy to feel like this? I've only known you for two weeks."
"Seventeen days," Louis says with a crazy smile. "And the brief time I stole your pencil in Marine Biology."
Harry grins, "Yes. Seventeen days plus two minutes."
Louis laughs and runs his hands up Harry's back. He loves Harry's weight on him like this, the way he presses down against him and wraps him up with long legs. "It is crazy," Louis finally answers Harry's question. "But it feels right, doesn't it?"
Harry smiles slowly, "Feels as natural as breathing."
This time Louis kisses him first, smiling right up against his mouth. There's nowhere else he wants to be. No one else he wants to be with.
*
Harry takes Louis's clothes off slowly, each inch of skin pressed with a kiss until he's down to just his boxers and one sock that got overlooked in the process. Louis repays him in the same manner, licking over his skin and tattoos once he pulls his sweatshirt off, biting along the inside of his thigh as he removes his shorts, kissing the bone of his ankle as he throws his dinosaur socks somewhere over his shoulder.
He pauses as he sets Harry's feet back on the blanket, gazing back up his body. Harry is smirking like he knows what he looks like in the light of fire, propped up on a cushion with the necklace Louis gave him pressed to his bare skin. He wiggles his eyebrows when Louis meets his eyes and Louis shakes his head at him.
They go slow from there as Louis crawls over Harry and settles low on his hips, hands roaming up over Harry's shoulders and down the sides of his arms. He twists their fingers together when the kiss, holding on tight to Harry's hands as he opens his mouth to his tongue. Harry's back arches as Louis lifts their joined hands up by Harry's shoulders, a soft moan slipping from his lips. Louis pulls back to watch between their bodies as he rolls his hips down against Harry's and smiles at the sound he makes – much like the first but lower.
Harry takes control from Louis and rolls him onto his back without disconnecting their lips. He drags his hips low and tight so Louis can feel how hard he already is against his thigh. Louis drops his head back and exposes his neck to Harry's mouth as he feels champagne bubbles in his blood, coursing under his heart and through all of his bones. Harry looks like sin, the way he kisses a trail down Louis's stomach and licks the thin hair disappearing into the waistband of his boxers. Louis tries to be helpful as Harry pulls his boxers off but they both end up laughing when Louis's hip thrust meets Harry's face as he leans down.
"You just slapped me with your dick," Harry says, playing offended. He takes Louis's cock in his hand the next moment and licks the tip with his wide tongue. If it's payback, Louis doesn't mind.
Harry has a ridiculous mouth and Louis loves when Harry uses it like this, tightening his lips and lathing his tongue, his fingers gripping onto Louis's hips. He goes slow but he's more than thorough and Louis swears he's losing feelings in his extremities as Harry works him over. He pops off when Louis thrusts into his mouth and smiles.
"Let me ride you."
"Is that a question?" Louis asks as he pulls himself up to his elbows and looks at Harry through sex hazy eyes.
"No," Harry says. "It really wasn't."
Louis watches from the floor as Harry goes in search of a condom and a bottle of lube and then he starts laughing as Harry dumps his entire bag out in the process. It's not the most organized method of searching but it does the trick as he finds what he's looking for with a happy shriek a moment later.
Harry starts to open himself up but he can't quite get the angle right so Louis takes over happily. He knows how to twist his fingers now, what makes Harry shiver and what makes him roll his hips languidly in Louis's lap. He kisses Harry's chin and then his neck at the angle, curving down to kiss his new necklace when he catches it out of the corner of his gaze. He loves how he's the only one who gets to see Harry like this, the only one who can make him feel like this, the only one who gets him every possible way.
"Ready, baby?" Louis asks when Harry is all but falling apart on top of him, each moan connected to a quieter whine.
"Need you," Harry says in the middle of kissing Louis. It's so simple and easy but it makes Louis's heart beat a little faster in his chest. Hearing Harry say stuff like that is so much sweeter than before because this time Louis can smile against his mouth and say, "Need you, too, darling," without worrying that he's said to much.
Harry goes slow as he puts the condom on Louis and then sinks down, his abs clenching and his eyebrows pulled together until he finally settles. It's different than the way they've done it before so it takes longer to get the rhythm, a few misplaced limbs and teeth knocking together until they find it. When they do, it's like fire, both of them sweating and roaming each other's bodies with greedy hands, swallowing moans and whispers like they are secrets just for them.
Harry gets close fast, his cock rubbing against Louis's stomach together where they're pressed together, his fingers digging into Louis's shoulders. "Close," he whispers as Louis starts to hold his hips and thrust up into him, knowing exactly how to move to make Harry cry out.
"Know you are," Louis says softly, his breath coming out in a staccato rhythm. "Want you to come like this," he says. "Don't touch."
Harry groans lowly but starts to move his hips again, arms twisting tighter around Louis to hold himself together. Louis let's his hands roam over Harry's back, digging his nails in gentle lines and then squeezing the curve of Harry's ass and slapping lightly to make Harry groan against his neck.
"Come on, darling," Louis whispers right into his sweaty hair. "Let go."
Harry orgasms with his entire body, their skin sliding together as he shakes apart in Louis's arms, his mouth opened against Louis's neck, and his back rigid. He relaxes all at once, like jelly poured out of a jar and Louis holds him through it, pressing sweet kisses along the tops of his shoulders.
Ever one to please, Harry regains his composure enough to roll over and take Louis with him. He spreads his legs out to the side and manages to smile slyly as Louis slowly understands what he wants. Louis kisses him as he starts to drive inside Harry all over again. The kisses dissolve to nothing more than breathless panting as the champagne bubbles in Louis's blood collect all at once and he comes with a soft groan, Harry kissing him all the way through it.
"Can't wait to do that every day," Harry whispers, later, when they're naked with no lights except for the fire, their skin soft and clean from the shower they shared.
"Every day?" Louis raises his eyebrows though Harry can't see him with his head pressed to Louis's chest. "Won't you get sore?"
"Figured we can take turns," Harry says. He looks up, "Right? You're into that?"
Louis kisses his eyebrow and smiles. "If you're asking me if I'll let you fuck me the answer is yes."
"Yes," Harry hisses as he lies back down. Louis can feel his smile over his heart.
"You're so weird."
"So are you," Harry whispers like it's a compliment.
"Thanks," Louis says, smiling.
"I keep thinking," Harry says after a quiet moment, "About what it's going to be like when we do boring stuff. Like go grocery shopping or study together. Or do laundry."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," Harry says. He draws a heart on Louis's stomach. "I'm really excited about it. Isn't that bizarre?"
Louis laughs lightly, "I don't know. We've known each other two weeks –"
"Seventeen days," Harry interrupts.
"Seventeen days," Louis amends. "But we've already gone on the vacation people take when they get like, engaged or something."
Harry smiles. "Technically we were celebrating our five year anniversary in New Mexico."
"And our honeymoon in Arizona," Louis laughs, pressing the ring on his middle finger against Harry's shoulder.
Harry laughs and it shakes his whole body as he kisses Louis's rib cage. "We've done a lot."
"What I mean is that I'm looking forward to the boring stuff, too," Louis says. "I have a feeling it's not going to be that boring anyway."
"Not with our track record," Harry says but he sounds like he's still smiling.
Louis holds his breath and nearly says, I love you, but swallows the words. It's only been seventeen days – he can at least wait until they get to twenty. Maybe.
*
DAY EIGHTEEN
San Gabriel Mountains, California
They take the morning slowly, coffee and scones on a walk along the river as they hold hands. Louis finds it hard to stop smiling and, by the look on his face, Harry can't either. They pack their bags just before check out and get sidetracked by making out on the couch for awhile before they manage to get back in the car and head for home.
Los Angeles is gorgeous as they arrive on the edge of the city limits. The sky is clear and blue and the ground is already scattered with leaves of all different colors. Harry is driving but he has one hand on Louis's knee, fingers tapping to the song playing on the radio.
"Real life," Louis says, glancing over at Harry. "Can't believe it."
Harry smiles, "Are you in a hurry?"
"To get back?"
Harry nods, "Yeah, do you have anything to do?"
"Was probably going to do laundry and order Thai food. Was hoping you'd join me."
Harry smiles, "Can you do it tomorrow?"
Louis looks over, narrowing his eyes. "What are you planning Harry Styles?"
Harry steers off of the 405 toward the exit with Santa Monica in crisp white lettering over the top. "How about one more adventure before we go back?"
Louis bites his bottom lip over a smile. "I'll go anywhere with you," he says and he already knows it's the absolute truth.