Archive of Our Own

Louis bites his bottom lip, staring back at the screen as he tries his damn hardest not to worry about racer number 22. Louis can’t help himself. No matter how different the man on the TV is from the child Louis once knew, he can’t help but tune in whenever he races. 

It came as a huge surprise when he first heard the name pop up two years ago among the ranks of up and coming riders of Ladon. His name was also making a giant splash in the underground and very much illegal dragon racing scene in Draco. 

Unfortunately, Louis knows all about that world and how disappointing and disgusting it can be. Louis is just happy Harry was making a name for himself, since by the looks of it, some big shot sponsors invested big time money for him to compete “legally.”

“Oof, that was a close call by Styles. Looks like Peters is giving him a run for his money. Could it be that the Styles lucky streak is over?” 

Louis glares at the unnecessary commentary the announcer is spewing through the screen, wishing the man could sense Louis’s icy glare and shut the fuck up. He thought Ladon’s announcers were supposed to be more poised and professional, but apparently they can be just as brash and obnoxious as the ones in Draco. 

“Styles almost fell off his dragon last time. Let’s see if he can keep his ass on the saddle this time around.”

Louis busies himself with boiling some water for his tea to calm his nerves. He doesn’t know why he does this to himself every time Harry races. This isn’t the first race of Harry’s that he's given all his undivided attention to, for goodness sake, as Harry is well on his way to winning his third championship, but every time Harry races, Louis’ nerves go through the roof. 

Riders and their dragons had to complete a course through the various terrains of Ladon, the enormous island home to the Dragon Racing Association. 

“The mountains were the hardest part of the course. Riders need to prove just how in tune they are with their dragons to be able to navigate through the maze of rock formations, ” the announcer bellows into the mic. 

Louis is just glad Harry is racing in Ladon and not Draco. If Louis thinks his nerves are at an all time high for this regulated race, he reckons he’d already be six feet under if it were a Draconian one. In retrospect, this isn’t so bad, but it's equally nerve wracking.

”Oof, Rider 98 Parker Chapman and Rider 31 Luna Spencer have collided, flinging Mr. Chapman off his saddle. The medical staff has been dispatched for medical attention. We hope both riders and their dragons are okay. Styles and Peters seem to be battling for the lead, with Rider 45 gaining speed right behind the pair.”

Louis is so focused on the screen in front of him that he doesn’t notice his one-winged auburn Dwarf Dragon desperately trying to climb the chair beside him. 

Huffing, Louis picks the dragon up. “Pippin, I’ve told you a million times to use the ramps I’ve built around this place to haul yourself up.” 

“Also, I’ve gotta stop feeding you so much. You’re getting quite heavy, lad,” Louis says as he gives Pippin half a treat instead of the full thing, much to Pippin’s disapproval. 

“Looks like Styles has taken the lead again.” 

Louis has to give it to him; he is rather amazing at what he does. There’s a reason why he won his rookie championship and the one following that. It really is impressive how skilled and how fast Harry rose through the ranks. Maybe that's why there’s been an increase in racing recruiters coming to Draco, all hoping they’ll find their own diamond in the rough.

That's why it came as no surprise when Louis heard that some big shots from Ladon were here to do some business with the Draco racing scene, and Louis can’t help but frown at the complete corruption of everything. They always come here and monitor the courses, races, dragons, and riders. He supposes that some, if not all, of the best riders can be found in a dump like Draco.

“Oh boy, looks like there's a problem with Rider 45 Patrick Holster and Rider 11 Sebastian Laos.” 

Louis looks at the screen as Rider 45 slams into Rider 11, leading him to ram against the rocky wall. Luckily, Laos’s dragon doesn’t look too affected and instead continues the race. The crowd cheers in excitement. 

Louis sees the two giant federation pods surround Holster and his dragon. What an idiot, he thinks.

“Foul move by Holster. It’s against code regulations,” the announcer explains. 

Louis always rolls his eyes when riders got so worked up that they allow their anger to cost them the entire race, as Holster just did.

“Holster has been disqualified his offense against Rider 11.”

The screen switches back to the race, showing Harry in the lead, closely tailed by Spencer, and Laos catching up in third. 

Louis holds his breath as all three riders are neck in neck, swiftly approaching the finish line. 

“This is anybody’s race! Let’s see who really wants this.”

Lucifer extends his neck right before the finish line and Louis jumps up in an excited scream. He did it! Third time’s a charm. 

“Styles takes home the gold with Laos coming in second and Spencer coming in third. What a race!”

Louis slumps back onto his chair, the adrenaline leaving his body in waves. Pippin turns his head in question and Louis smiles to himself. He’s so proud of Harry. 

He watches as Harry dismounts Lucifer with a wide smile on his face. People surround him and Louis’ happiness dims when he sees Harry get engulfed by a tall, black-haired man. They hug and pat each other on the back, the guy even going as far as giving Harry a kiss on the cheek. Louis tries not to let it get to him, but he’s not a big fan of Nick Grimshaw. The embrace is quickly interrupted by another man, Nick’s father and Harry’s sponsor, Robert.

Louis shuts the TV off not long after that, not wanting to ruin the happy feeling, but he’s afraid it’s too late for that. 

He hopes that Harry still thinks of him. God knows Louis thinks of him every day.

⊱ ────── ⊰

It’s been a few weeks since Harry’s race and Louis can’t stop thinking about him. Granted, this isn't anything new considering this happens every season. Out of sight and out of mind in the off-season, but when Louis sees him racing, his crush rears its ugly head with full force. The amount of time Harry spends in Louis’ mind is embarrassing, not to mention pathetic, as Harry probably doesn’t even spend one second thinking of him in return. Or maybe he's just selling Harry short. 

Life has been a bit uneventful and Louis is itching to do something he isn’t supposed to. If their friendship hadn’t soured, Louis would be calling Zayn right about now so they could get up to some mischief, but sadly, he hasn’t talked to Zayn in over two years. 

Louis swore he wasn’t going to get into any more trouble and that he was leaving that naughty streak of his behind to become a responsible adult, especially after the fiasco that was his departure from school. 

He really shouldn’t, what with this new mature streak and all, but Louis is feeling restless for some reason. He knows Liam and Niall will oppose whatever he wants to do, so he’s gotta go at it alone.

Louis’ dad accidentally let it slip that Ladon dragons are at the stables on the other side of town. So really, this is his dad’s fault. He should have known that whenever any new dragon that isn’t bred by Mark Tomlinson visits Draco, that’s an opportunity that Louis simply cannot pass up. 

Louis covers his face with a mask, trying to protect himself from being caught in one small way, and arrives at the location at around 2 am. The funniest thing is that the enclosures aren’t guarded, as no one would be stupid enough to get near a foreign dragon. Unless, of course, your name is Louis Tomlinson. 

Louis jumps the flimsy fence, walking a couple of yards before slipping through the side of the gargantuan stables where all of the top-notch dragons from the wealthy crooks that visited Draco are kept.

He stands on a boulder outside, being careful to take off his boots so he can climb better. He knows that there’s a small hatch up top by one of the giant pillars, so that’s what he’s planning to climb toward. 

Louis’ satchel starts shaking and he bites his lip. A slithery scaly head pops up from his bag. 

“Pippin, you need to go back in and sleep, boy.”

The dwarf dragon with golden eyes just stares at him and begins to gurgle.

“No, I’m not giving you any food. Now go back to sleep,” Louis says before gently patting Pippin’s head. Thankfully and much to Louis’ surprise, the dwarf dragon listens and stays inside his satchel.

Louis moves quickly but carefully to ensure that he doesn’t slip and fall. He’s come close to it plenty of times. He’s terrified of heights, so he also makes sure to keep himself focused and not look down. When he makes it to the small opening, he goes inside, noting that the giant building is warmer than usual, likely due to the dragons inside. Louis checks to make sure the coast is clear before he sneakily makes his way down the wall inside.

There are two stalls being used, so he takes a look at the first one. There’s a black and green dragon sleeping inside and Louis immediately recognizes it as a Moss Grove Thorn-Tail. He walks further into the stable until he sees the second dragon quietly resting as well. It’s a cream-colored dragon, rare to find at all, let alone breed. Louis knows that it’s Peter’s dragon Moonlight, an Icelandic Sheer Ridgeback.

“You’re so beautiful,” Louis whispers, taking in the massive size of the stunning dragon. It’s a female, larger in size than most male dragons, and harder to train, but beautiful as pearls.

Louis heard that there were three dragons that flew in, but he doesn’t see the last one. He does, however, see that the secret passage to the underground caverns is slightly open. Bingo.

Louis makes his way through the tunnels, having memorized the way well enough that the pitch darkness isn’t a concern. After a couple of minutes, he sees the opening. It’s been lit, so he hovers for a minute, trying to determine if he hears any human voices. He doesn’t.

Louis moves forward, and there it is. The third dragon. It takes a couple of seconds for Louis’ eyes to adjust, and when they do, he halts at the sight. He recognizes the dragon immediately. It’s a silvery blue dragon, a five-clawed Whitefire. The last time Louis was close to this dragon, it was still inside its scaly silver egg.

“Lucifer,” Louis whispers in awe. The dragon blinks one eye open and Louis freezes. Lucifer is huge, and while Louis is in no way scared of dragons, he isn’t an idiot either. Louis just barged into Lucifer’s space, not smelling like anyone familiar, and Louis knows Whitefires are on the less aggressive scale of dragon breeds, but a threatened animal is a threatened animal. Louis takes a cautious step back and Lucifer’s eyes him suspiciously, raising his neck.

“Lucifer, I-I mean you no harm. I-”

Pippin takes that moment to start wiggling around his bag, popping his head from the satchel and jumping out of Louis’ bag entirely. Lucifer huffs out through his nostrils and watches as Pippin flops around the floor, trying to fly.

Louis steps back in surprise and accidentally kick a pebble, causing it to ricochet against another, and the sound amplifies throughout the cave. Lucifer takes this moment to completely raise his head, redirecting his attention away from Pippin and toward Louis. Lucifer opens his mouth and holy fuck, Louis is in trouble. Big, big trouble. He’s about to become fucking toast and running isn’t going to do jack shit.

“Hey, you! This is private property. You can’t be in here.”

Shit. Just Louis’ luck. He’s either be killed or...Louis doesn’t even want to know. He’s already gotten in so much trouble in the past. 

Not knowing what else to do, Louis makes a run for it.

“Hey, stop!” The deep voice is commanding and Louis doesn’t want to stop and think about who it belongs to. He knows who it is, but he’s so embarrassed by this situation and he just needs to get the fuck out of here, preferably without half his body being charred.

“Lucifer, no!” That’s all Louis hears before the air is completely knocked out of him. 

He falls backward, hitting his head on the rocky ground, but he takes a moment to be grateful that he didn’t get hit with the spikey end of Lucifer’s tail. He can’t breathe, he realizes, as he desperately tries to take in air. Louis’ vision starts to blur, but he can still make out Pippin flapping his wing somewhere next to him.

Blindly, he grasps for the Dwarf Dragon, who lets out a loud yip as Louis gets his fingers around him and hauls him up by his tail. Dragons hate being yanked by their tail, but Louis doesn’t care if it means Pippin gets to live. Louis is completely disoriented, but he’s no quitter and he’ll escape one way or another.

“Lucifer, you listen to me. Do not- Lucifer!”

Louis is too afraid to look at what Lucifer is about to do, but he finds out soon enough as his body is slammed to the ground once again. Louis can feel the scorching fire above their heads and he just whimpers through it, keeping Pippin safe beneath him. There's heavy breathing down his neck as the person on top of him lifts some of the weight off of him. Louis scrambles forward on the ground until he is able to turn around, plopping down on his ass. He’s very lucky that Harry was here to knock him out of the way.

“Lucifer, that’s enough! Keep it up and there will be no flying in the morning.” 

Louis hears a snarl in response as the dragon turns around in defiance. Harry turns around to look at the pathetic heap on the ground that is Louis Tomlinson.

“Are you out of your goddamn mind?” Harry bellows, the sound of his angry voice echoing throughout the caverned walls. If Louis didn’t know him, he’d probably be very intimidated and scared right now. “Did you want a death sentence or are you just a complete and utter idiot?”

A tiny growl comes from beside Louis, as the small dragon doesn’t like that Louis is being yelled at. Harry stops talking as he takes it in, and Louis can’t help but smile under his mask. He slowly quickly stands before turning to his disgruntled dragon.

“Pippin, DO NOT be rude. He just saved our miserable asses,” Louis reprimands.

“Listen, kid, I know you’re probably curious, and dragons can be exciting, but they’re equally dangerous and can get you killed. You need to leave. You’re lucky I got here when I did or you would have been toast.”

Louis rolls his eyes. Kid? This little asshole. Well, not so little anymore. Louis stands up straighter and yeah—Harry is a few inches taller than him now. Fantastic. 

Louis places his hand on the mask that is covering the lower half of his face. He makes eye contact with Harry, and as soon as he sees Harry’s eyes widening in recognition, he slides the mask the rest of the way down.

“Hi Haz. Long time, no see,” Louis says sheepishly.

“L-Louis.”

“In the flesh,” Louis chuckles awkwardly.

Before Louis knows it, Harry is tackling him. They end up banging their heads together, causing them both to grimace in pain. Louis calls Harry an idiot, Harry laughs, and Pippin bites his ass. As far as reunions go, this one was a complete and utter mess. 

Louis wouldn’t have it any other way.

⊱ ────── ⊰

Not long after bidding a still very annoyed Lucifer farewell, Harry takes Louis and Pippin to his quarters in one of the fancy inns around the corner. Louis tries to bite his tongue to avoid making fun of Harry and his newly lavish lifestyle, but he breaks a couple of times. Harry just rolls his eyes, knowing he can’t say anything when the jokes are truthful. 

They talk for hours, as Harry recounts his life after he left the orphanage and Draco, and when the Grimshaws took him in. Louis watches Harry as he speaks, enjoying his usual slow drawl, which only speeds up when he’s talking about riding Lucifer. Louis takes in every little detail he can. The tiny scar above his left eyebrow. How broad he looks in his brown leather jacket. His large hands as they gesticulate when he tries to get his story across. 

He’s handsome, Louis thinks, and his eyes widen at the sudden thought. It’s as if he’s just now realizing how attracted he is to Harry. Sure, Louis has known how fucking good looking Harry is from when he watches his races, but it’s a whole new level when he’s standing a couple of feet in front of him. 

All of a sudden, he’s taking in Harry through a new light. His pink lips, and how they might feel against Louis’, his hands and how they’d feel caressing his skin. Louis can feel something stirring inside and he quietly panics, suddenly feeling desperate for a change in focus. He’s no longer paying attention to what Harry is saying because he’s too busy being bombarded with lustful and very graphic images. 

Louis needs to concentrate more on the conversation at hand rather than Harry’s actual hands and what they’d do to him. Jesus.

“For how scared you were of dragons as a child, I’m both shocked and impressed you ended up becoming a rider,” Louis says, quickly tuning back into the conversation as he sips on the tea Harry gave him.

“You gifted me Lucifer’s egg and told me it was a dud...something for me to keep so I would remember you. You knew, didn’t you?”

Louis swallows the sudden lump in his throat. “Of course I did.”

“How much trouble did you get into for losing that egg?” 

Louis frowns at the sudden topic change. He was looking for one, but not this one.

“Don’t ask questions that you don’t want the answers to,” Louis says solemnly. 

Harry’s jaw clenches, a telltale sign that his anger is about to rear its ugly head.

Louis knows there’s no use. It happened over a decade ago, and there’s no going back.

“Troy was beyond furious. He slapped mama around when she tried to tell him that it was her fault. Of course, I got in between them and told him the truth. I was upset that mama would even try to cover up for me when it came to something so big. He ended up knocking me out. When I came to, I was dangling upside down from his dragon’s talons.” 

Louis shivers as he recounts such a traumatizing memory.

“Jesus, Louis, what the fuck? You shouldn’t have. What the fuck were you thinking?” Harry asks angrily.

“I was thinking that this poor little dragon was going to live such a miserable life with Troy. It was going to be sold, and for what? For fighting or breeding. I knew that you could provide it a loving home. You were being adopted by a wealthy family, after all, and you would never have let anything bad happen to it, so I took my chances. Besides, I needed to give you something that would keep you company if you ever got lonely or sad. Or that, at the very least, made you remember your best friend,” Louis confesses.

Harry stares at him intently, and he’s saying so much in that one gaze that Louis doesn’t even want to begin to understand or decipher. Harry gets up and makes his way over to where Louis is sitting, kneeling down in between his thighs. Louis’ eyes widen, heart rate quickening at the sudden proximity. 

Harry’s gaze is unnerving as he analyzes Louis’ facial features. He cups Louis’ face with both hands and caresses both cheeks with his thumbs. 

“Haz, what are you–” Louis questions until Harry’s frowns gently, tilting his face to the side. 

“How did you get this?” Harry asks with a concerned voice, his fingers moving to the side of Louis’ neck to stroke where his scar is.

Louis clears his throat and takes a sip of his cuppa, which seems to snap Harry out of it somewhat. He blinks out of his daze and gets up from where he’s kneeling, but he doesn’t move very far, much to Louis chagrin.

Louis waits a couple of beats, just until his heart isn’t jackhammering inside his ribcage. “Got into it with some assholes who were mistreating a saber-toothed youngling. The dragon cut me pretty badly before I could give him a sedative to relax back at the clinic.”

“Clinic?”

Louis smiles, proudly declaring, “I’m a vet.”

Finally, Harry’s face lights up. “Lou, that’s amazing! I’m so proud of you.”

Louis smiles and then he sighs. “Well, sorta.”

Harry’s smile falters. “What do you mean?”

Louis brings his knees up under his chin as he looks over at Pippin, who’s quietly snoozing on Harry’s table. 

“I–I completed all the requirements, but never ended up getting my degree, so it was never official,” Louis laments. “About a week before graduation, I realized that the headmaster was breeding dragons illegally. They were being mistreated and chained, and so...I helped them escape. I don’t regret doing it. I was there to help dragons and it was all a sham. But after that, the headmaster was worried that I would expose his crooked business, so he changed my school records to make it look like I’d been failing. Five hard years of studying and good grades down the drain. And then he spread false accusations that I had let the school’s dragon escape because I was bitter that I’d flunked out of my classes. I got fined a shit-ton of money and to make matters worse, Mark took the fall for it.”

Harry moves to the empty chair on the other side of the table, taking a seat to hear Louis out. “Mark, your stepdad?”

Louis immediately frowns, “My dad, Harry. Mark is my dad.”

Harry’s face softens. “I’m sorry. Mark is the only real father figure you’ve had in your life. Of course he’s your dad,” Harry amends before asking, “What happened?” 

Louis sighs. “You know Mark, he’s as selfless as my mother was and loyal to a fault. He made some kind of deal with Simon Cowell. I–I was going to have to race and–”

Harry quickly stood up, causing the wooden chair he was in to topple backward. 

“He didn’t, you’re–”

Pippin startles awake at the loud noise, flapping his one wing in a dazed and terrified manner. Louis reaches out and calms him down, bringing him against his chest, “It’s okay, lovebug, he’s not going to hurt you or me. It was an accident,” Louis soothes as he caresses him from his head to the end of his tail. The dragon glares at Harry before turning his head and nuzzling against Louis’ neck.

Louis brings his attention to a very aggravated-looking Harry, which isn’t a good sign. It never is when Harry’s temper is involved. 

“Don’t,” Louis says, cutting Harry short. “Don’t give me that look. I didn’t have to at the end. He was just as skilled as Troy was with breeding dragons. That's where they met, after all. Once Troy was out of the picture, well, you know he took care of mom and I. He worked some type of deal with Cowell, who paid my fine, and Mark breeds him exceptional racing dragons in return.”

“Louis, fuck. I’m so sorry, I–”

“He was an idiot to throw his life away like that. He could have moved on, but mom’s death did a number on him. He said he promised her that he’d take care of me.” Louis bites his lip, barely able to keep his tears at bay. 

“Louis–” 

Louis sighs.

“Harry, it’s okay. Things aren’t so bad now. Mark is still here with me, and a local vet office allows me to work as an assistant, so I get to do what I love.” 

Louis didn’t mean to make their reunion so damn melancholy. He could never keep much from Harry, even back then, but he didn’t mean to word vomit all about his tragic life right here and now. Louis did just barely escape death though, so he just has to roll with the punches. 

“I’m going to help you, Lou. I promise. We’ll figure it out. I–I can maybe talk it out with Cowell and come to an agreement. I have money now from–”

“Harry, don’t! Don’t you even dare think about that. I’m done dealing with Cowell and any of those corrupt men. Things are okay now.”

“God, Louis you’re the last person I’ve ever expected to give up. Things are not okay.”

“Give up?” Louis exclaims, offended. “Harry, I suggest you shut your mouth before you say something you’ll regret and I walk out of here and never look back.”

“Goddamnit, Louis.” Harry growls, as he kicks the chair in frustration.

Louis sighs. “Harry, please can we just forget about this? We haven’t seen each other in so long and our emotions are pulling us both in every direction.” Louis stands up. “Maybe I should just come back when we’ve both calmed down and–”

“Louis, fuck no.” Harry interrupts. “I’m sorry. I just...you can’t expect me to be okay with this.” 

“Harry, I don’t expect anything from you. This is my life, and you have no say in it. God, Harry, I sound like a complete dick and I’m not trying to. Can we just…” Louis trails off, the tears threatening to spill.

He doesn’t want to cry. Not because he’s ashamed of crying, since to him, crying lets others see how much a person is feeling without them having to utter a single word. It's just that Harry is stirring the pot, bringing things up that Louis has tried so desperately to keep buried in the back of his mind. He’s being bombarded with every single kind of emotion and they're tugging and pulling in every direction. 

Harry is on Louis a second later. “Don’t cry, Lou. I’m sorry, okay? I just…” Harry gently cups Louis’ face and lowers his head so that their foreheads can rest on each other. “I’m angry because I care so much about you. I was never good with that emotion. I’m upset because I finally have you here with me, and yet you still feel so far away. It’s as if you don’t want me to help you with anything when that's the only thing I want to do.” He takes a deep breath as Louis closes his eyes. 

“I’ll drop it for now. For both our sakes, but don’t think that I won’t come back to this.”

Louis figures that's the best he’s going to get. He’s not blind and he can already sense how Harry feels about him right now. The way Harry’s been staring at him, his eyes filled with so much want. The way Harry’s been holding him, each time more reluctant to let go, as though Louis will disappear. 

Louis hates himself because it might just come to that.

Louis allows himself to soak Harry in for the rest of the night. He laughs at Harry’s horrendous dad jokes, teases him and mocks his clumsiness, and touches him every way he can, even if it's not the way Louis really wants to. 

They’re both laying on the furry white rug in front of the fireplace, facing each other with their faces only inches apart and staring at one another in a way that friends shouldn’t be. Their conversation has died down to nothing more than the occasional murmur now, memories from the past and the promise of the future dancing in the flames beside them. Louis feels happy. Happy like he hasn’t been in a very, very long time. 

Harry’s eyes are starting to droop, and with Louis’ caresses, he was never going to be able to stay awake for long. Louis’ fingers outline the veins of Harry’s hands and forearm. Louis notices how calloused and rough his hands are from years of holding on to the leather saddle and handling a dragon like Lucifer.

It’s five AM when Louis finally wills himself to leave. The overwhelming happiness that he was experiencing evaporates as he gathers his things. 

Louis knows this is wrong and knows he’s being a coward, but he’s afraid Harry will do something stupid if they get attached to each other again. Louis’ traitorous brain tells him that he’s always been attached. 

Louis knows that already, is the thing. He could tell when he saw Harry looking at him like a lover would, and that scares Louis. Louis is a prisoner here and he’s eons away from being what Harry needs. 

So with a gentle brush of his lips to Harry’s, Louis leaves without a word. He hopes that Harry won’t hate him too much when he thinks of him.

⊱ ────── ⊰

“Oh, thank god it’s you,” Louis hears when he enters his home, startling. “Where on Draco’s sand dunes have you been, Louis? I’ve been worried si–” Louis’ dad cuts himself off as he takes in Louis’ reddened eyes and solemn face. “What happened? Are you hurt? Louis, talk to me.”

“Dad…” Louis whispers before he throws himself into his dad’s open arms, needing all the comfort he can get right now, even if it's not from the person he most desperately wants it from. 

“What wrong, boobear?” His dad asks.

Louis cries, soaking his dad’s nightshirt as he tries not to drown in his emotions.

“Harry. Harry is here and I–, we–”

Louis’ dad holds him tighter. Louis recently confided in Mark just how depressed and lonely Louis was when he was hit with two blows, one after another. His mom’s death and his best friend's departure. Mark was in pain too, but he stepped up as a father when Louis needed him most. And Louis never outright confessed just how much Harry meant to him, but Mark isn’t stupid. He knew. He knows.

“Isn’t that a good thing, boobear?”

“No. He’s the same, yet so different. He wanted me to leave with him and I just can’t do that.” 

Louis’ dad tightens his arms around him and Louis holds on to him just as tight.

“And why not, Lou?”

“Don’t,” Louis says, shutting him down. “Not you too.”

“Louis, a boy with your wit and love for life deserves better than to be stuck here. Don't you think?"

Louis doesn’t respond. He just holds onto his father until he’s all cried out.

Louis made the right decision. He’s sure of it. No matter how shattered his heart feels at the moment, if there’s anything that Louis learned from his mother’s death and Harry’s departure, time will help heal him. Maybe not today and maybe not ever completely, but the ache will be more and more bearable as time progresses. He’ll just have to put on a brave front until that happens.

⊱ ────── ⊰

“So what do I do to stop Blaze from trying to light everything in my barn on fire?” Mr. Johnson asks with a worried expression on his face. 

“Blaze is still a youngling, and some are more prone to fire breathing than others. Make sure he gets a lot of exercise. If he's worn out, he’ll have no energy left to breathe fire. Constant fire breathing at such a young age is often a sign of restlessness.” 

“Okay, thank you for the tips, Louis. I appreciate it.”

“Anytime. Just remember to not feed him too much either. If he eats more than he can digest, you will have a very grouchy dragon on your hands.”

With a final nod, Mr. Johnson takes Blaze with him. Once he’s left, Louis goes to the back room where he finds Pippin munching on some rabbit bits. 

“Okay, he’s gone. I can let you out now.” Louis opens the small enclosure that Pippin is only willing to go in if he’s scared or being bribed with food. 

Louis picks him up and helps him onto the steel table, his talons clinking against the smooth surface. Louis shuffles through the room as he gathers his disinfecting supplies. As soon as Pippin sees the bottle of disinfectant, he yips, and growls in disdain.

“None of that, Pip,” Louis scowls as he boops him in between his nostrils. “You know I need to clean your wound.” Pippin blows smoke through his nose in anger.

Louis chuckles. “You’re in a mood today, aren't you, boy?” 

Louis’ dad had found Pippin’s egg in a dump. It was cracked, and had probably been thrown out because someone thought it would be a dud. Louis took care of the egg until Pip hatched. Louis was thrilled when he realized that he had an auburn Dwarf Dragon on his hands. They're the smallest of all the dragon breeds and only grow to be the size of a house cat. Many people like them for their size, but they quickly abandon them once they recognize their unpredictable temperament. 

Recently, Pippin got into a tiff with a patient Louis was handling and the patient tragically tore half of Pippin’s right wing off. Dwarf Dragons aren’t the best flyers, but they are winged dragons, after all, so they are meant to fly. 

Unfortunately, the dragon’s teeth had some pretty nasty venom that made it nearly impossible for the tissue to heal. It’s a painful wound and Louis is always trying to find an ointment to help the scar tissue heal, but for now, Louis cleans his wound and patches him up daily, covering him up with a leather sling. Pippin looks like proper badass now, both with his wound and an armor for a true warrior. 

It’s later in the evening when Louis finally starts putting his things away, ready to head home. It’s been a couple days since the whole Harry fiasco and Louis has been trying to keep himself occupied with his patients, not daring to let his thoughts linger on the 3rd time Ladon rider champion.

Louis locks up his clinic as the sun begins to set on the horizon. 

“Come on, Pip, let's go home.”

Louis is just turning the corner when he hears someone calling his name. 

“Hey, Tommo, wait up!”

Stopping at the sound of his name, Louis turns his neck in time to see Niall running down the street, Liam following close behind him.

“Hey, you two! Haven’t seen you around in a while.”

Niall runs into Louis with his arms open, giving him a big bear hug.

“That's because you’re too good for us nowadays and you refuse to come out for a pint or two,” Niall scolds.

“Niall, it's never just a pint or two with you, is it?” Louis smiles.

Niall chuckles lightheartedly. “You know what they say. It’s no real fun if you stop before you puke your brains out.”

“Niall, I can guarantee no one says that,” Louis says, rolling his eyes.

“Ni, keep talking like that and he’ll never come out with us again,” Liam interjects. “Hey Lou, how ya been?” He asks, giving Louis a hug and picking him up a few inches off the ground in the process. 

Louis pats his back and he hugs him back. “Yes, yes. Li, it's good to see you and I’ve missed you too, but put me down.”

“Anyways, we didn’t just come here to tackle you with hugs. Did you hear the buzz around here?” Liam asks, finally lowering Louis back down onto his feet.

“Harry Styles has been staying on the other side of town. Can you believe it?” Niall interrupts, excitement filling his voice. Louis stills at the sound of his name, hating how much even that affects him. He schools his face into a passive expression. 

“Oh yeah,” Louis says. “I wonder what he’s doing here. Can’t imagine what a guy like that would want in  a place like this.”

“Well, I think Styles was from here, so maybe he’s just wanting to reconnect or something. I Imagine that once you have it all, you start looking for things in the past.”

“Yeah,” Louis says, feeling uncomfortable. “I’m sure he’ll leave soon enough, anyway. People like him probably won’t last too long in a dodgy place like this.”

“Jeez, Lou, who pissed on your breakfast this morning? You feeling alright, mate?” Niall asks, frowning at Louis' words.

Louis feels awful lying to them and speaking so harshly about Harry. It isn’t fair to Harry and it isn’t fair to his friends, and Louis feels ashamed, but after what happened the other night, everything involving Harry has him on edge. 

“You’re right, I’m sorry. He seems like a lovely lad. I’ve just been tired, and you know how I get when I’m tired,” Louis says, hoping they’ll accept that explanation.

“Oh, come on, Lou. Now that we’re here, let's go grab a bite to eat or something. You can sleep in tomorrow,” Niall encourages. 

Louis is in no way shape or form in the right state of mind to socialize, but he’s been overworking himself just to stay busy since he saw Harry, and maybe a night like tonight is just what he needs. If anything, he could maybe find someone to have a quickie with in order to help get his mind away from Harry. He knows that he won’t feel good about it in the morning, but right now he could care less as long as it takes his mind off of his misery. Even if only for an hour or two. 

⊱ ────── ⊰

Louis doesn’t remember what happened once he said goodbye to Liam and Niall, but all he can do right now is try to keep up with the man sloppily shoving his tongue down Louis’ throat.

Louis is completely plastered and in no shape to get it up, let alone keep this going.

Louis pushes the dude away and thankfully he slumps down, clearly not in much better shape than himself.

Louis makes his way out of the crowded bar and sighs in relief when the night’s chilly air makes contact with his warm skin.

He should have just gone home when Liam and Niall did, but Louis hadn’t been with anyone in so long and seeing Harry again had stirred so many desires in him that he was buzzing for some action. This wasn’t it though, and Louis should be glad he wasn’t taken advantage of when he was so vulnerable. 

He’s so inebriated that walking down the street is close to impossible. He only makes it down a block before he stops to throw up all the contents of his dinner, along with the heavy amount of ale he consumed throughout the night. After that, Louis doesn’t have the energy to get up, so he stays there, hoping that he doesn’t get mugged or worse during the night.

⊱ ────── ⊰

Louis comes to slowly and regrets it immediately. His head is pounding and the light assaulting his face is only making things worse. It takes him a little while to get his bearings before he slowly sits up, fingers rubbing at his temples.

“‘Bout time you woke up,” a voice says.

Louis jumps at the sudden voice and screams, scooting backwards until he hits the headboard of the bed. Louis’ heart pounds as he realizes that he isn’t in his room or house. He doesn’t even remember getting here last night, but most importantly, he’s shocked to see the man in front of him.

Louis tries to calm his breathing, immediately aware that he isn’t in any danger. Physically, that is. It’s Zayn staring back at him from across the room.

“And here I thought your party days were over,” Zayn snorts as he takes a long drag from his cigarette.

“H–How did I get here?” Louis asks, his voice sounding scratchy.

“Found you slumped beside a pool of your own vomit,” Zayn explains. “Looks like life has been treating you well.”

Louis sags in shame at being found in such an unpleasant state. He’s so mad at himself for letting himself get to that point.

“Thank you for bringing me here,” Louis says. “You didn’t have to, but you did.”

Zayn snorts, rolling his eyes in annoyance. “Yes, Louis, act as if we weren’t best friends who fucked from time to time.”

“Zayn, I–“

Zayn cuts him off. “I saw he’s in Draco. I reckon everyone and their mother knows he’s here. I assume he’s the reason for this,” he says as he gestures towards Louis.

Louis lowers his gaze, not denying it.

“He’s also been asking for you. He came around the shop and asked if we knew anyone by your name. Of course, Alex being Alex turned him away before I could get any words out. Not like I would have said anything useful. I know with you, if you wanted to see him, you would have already.”

Louis hates how much Zayn truly knows him, even after all this time. It’s sad how their friendship ended. They fooled around here and there, but in the end, Louis couldn’t give Zayn what he wanted.

It ended in heartbreak for both of them.

They went from being partners in crime to...nothing. 

They don’t say anything for a while until Zayn gets up, “I left you some clothes to change into. You know where everything is.” 

He walks out without looking back.

After Louis has showered and borrowed some clothes, he finds Zayn smoking out on his balcony.

He stares at Louis and offers him a cig. Louis’ cut back a lot since he and Zayn last hung out, but he accepts one just for old time’s sake. It’s quiet and they don’t say much as they smoke, with only the noisy morning hum of the town disturbing their silence.

When Zayn finishes his cig, he stands up. Louis does as well, about to bid him farewell. It happens so fast Louis doesn’t even have time to process it as he feels Zayn’s lips press against his. Louis pushes him away immediately. 

“Zayn, no,” Louis whispers. “Please don’t make this worse.”

Zayn snorts. “Nothing, huh?”

Louis doesn’t dare look at him and Zayn sighs, dejected. “You should look at the Draconian racer list. It went up earlier today. Take care. Lou,” he says as he goes back into his apartment, slamming the door to his room behind. 

Louis feels ten times heavier than he did before.

He smashes the almost full cigarette onto the ashtray, putting it out before making his way out of Zayn's apartment.

He makes it down to the plaza square where he sees many people milling about. The Draconian race is only a month away, so it’s not surprising that riders have just been announced. Louis shuffles by people until he finds himself in front of the screen with the rider’s names and pictures. He’s never cared for this race, finding it utterly barbaric and outright disgusting, and he’s about to leave when his eyes catch on the last picture. 

If Louis thought he felt awful when he woke up this morning, he doesn’t have the words to describe just how devastated he feels now. Staring back at him from the intimidating image on the screen is Harry Styles' face.

⊱ ────── ⊰

Louis is furious. He’s so angry that he could probably kill Harry Styles right now. He makes his way toward the dragon enclosures, having already checked Harry’s apartment and not found him there. 

Louis feels as though he’s suffocating from the weight of everything. There are so many tormenting feelings and responsibilities that he can barely keep himself afloat. 

As he enters the building, he notices the dragons are no longer there, probably already gone back to their lavish lifestyle and owners. Where Harry should be too.

Louis sees the entrance to the cave glowing and immediately knows he’s there. He stops briefly to catch his bearings and to try to get a grip on his emotions, but as soon as he enters the cave and sees Harry, every rational and civilized thought goes out the window.

Harry freezes as soon as he sees Louis.

“Harry, what the fuck are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be here. You were supposed to leave. You’re a professional racer!” Louis screams, his voice echoing through the cave’s walls.

Harry frowns. “Louis, listen to me.”

“No! You know how much I hate this world, but you made it out of this life! One of us had to, and you did!” Louis yells as he shoves him in anger. Harry stumbles back, more due to being caught off guard than the shove itself. After all, how much damage would Louis do when Harry is still quite a bit taller than Louis and probably has a good 20 pounds on him.

“Just take Lucifer and fly away to where you came from, damn it. You can get away. You have to,” Louis cries, fully realizing that he’s being hysterical.

“My season with Ladon is over,” Harry says. “I won my third Ladon cup. I came here searching for you, Louis.”

“Well you found me! You saw me! So now you can leave,” Louis says, desperation coating his voice. “You need to leave.”

“Louis, please don’t be naive. We both knew that if we were to ever meet again, we weren’t going to split apart. Not if I had any say in it, at least.” 

Louis loses his breath at Harry’s words. This isn’t how it was supposed to happen. Not when Harry’s safety is concerned.

“What the fuck did you do, Harry? What the fuck did you do?” He demands.

“Louis, you need to calm down and let me explain,” Harry says, holding his arms out as though he’s dealing with a spooked animal.

“Explain what, Harry? I saw this morning. Your fucking name! Working under Cowell. Harry Styles under Simon Cowell! Why? What could have possibly made you decide to fucking race for him?” Louis hisses in anger.

“You,” Harry says with a shrug of his shoulders. He says it like the most obvious and simplest answer known to man. 

Louis blinks, a long pause interrupting their prickly encounter.

“M–Me? What are you talking about, Harry?”

“The morning after you left, I looked all over for you, but it was if I had dreamt you all up. I fucking woke up to you being gone. And there was no note or anything to track you down. I looked everywhere, asked around, but no one would give me any answers.”

“And then when I was losing hope, I saw you,” Harry says, sighing. “God, I saw you on top of an injured dragon. At first, I thought I was imagining it. I figured being in Draco had my mind subconsciously thinking of you, and that I dreamt of everything: the cave with Lucifer, you telling me about Mark and Cowell. You being here seemed too good to be true, but then you turned around and I saw your eyes. I was wearing my goggles and you didn’t look twice at me, but it was you. You looked so concerned and focused. Nothing mattered but the dragon in front of you.” Harry takes a deep breath before continuing. “Then I saw Mark helping you out, and I knew right then and there our meeting actually happened. That as soon as I dozed off, you left like a coward.”

Louis looks downcast as Harry bears his soul, unable to make eye contact with him.

“No matter what bullshit excuse you were going to give me, I knew I had to get you out of here. I even thought about knocking you out and just taking you if I had to. Anything so that you could be safe and away from here. Happy.” 

Harry takes a step forward, rubbing a hand over his face in frustration. 

“But just like Mark, you’re loyal to a fault and you would have never forgiven me if I had taken you and left Mark behind. The selfish part of me wanted to. God, I know for a fact that Mark would have encouraged me to take you away too if I had told him.”

Louis is so flabbergasted that he can’t even form the words needed to respond.

“So I turned around with a new goal in mind. I sought out the one person that could give me Mark’s freedom. He was happy to see me, and curious as to why I wanted Mark freed. I think he figured it out in the end. So when he proposed that I race for him in the upcoming Draconian race, without a sliver of doubt, I said yes. Right then and there. I agreed to participate in the race if it meant I could free Mark and you from this place.” 

Louis slaps him then, and the sound echoes around the empty cave. Harry blinks in surprise and moves his jaw left and right, as if testing how badly Louis hurt him. Their heavy breathing is the only sound in the cave.

Louis feels like a deer caught in the headlights as complete dread fills his heart at the thought of another loved one throwing their entire life away for him. Harry had it all. The fame, the freedom and glory, and now he’s thrown it all away for a stupid childhood crush? He must be out of his damn mind. 

“This is not like the fucking races in Ladon, Harry, where there are safety regulations and rules to be followed and where medical personnel are there to tend to you and your dragon,” Louis hisses. “Here, many of the riders and dragons don’t make it out alive. People lie, cheat, and kill during this tournament. The only thing that matters to participants is winning and they’ll do anything to make it happen,” Louis cautions, trying to help Harry understand just how monstrous the Draco racing scene really is. 

“You don’t need to scare me off, Louis. Damn it, you’re acting as if I don’t know any of this. I’m not going into it blindly. I knew exactly what I was signing up for the moment I did it,” Harry snaps, voice growing deeper and more determined with each word. 

They stand at a stalemate, each of them not willing to back down from their argument.

Harry sighs, breathing in and exhaling harshly. “It’s a done deal, Louis. Accept it.”

Louis yanks at his own hair in disbelief. “How could you?” He finally asks, sliding to the ground in defeat. He thought the experience of reconnecting with Harry would be filled with joy and happiness, but right now, it feels like the complete opposite. Harry’s putting his life on the line, surrounding himself with scum that won’t hesitate to get rid of him for even looking their way. Getting involved with Cowell always comes at a cost, and Harry invited him into his life all the same.

Harry takes a deep breath before sitting down on the ground in front of Louis.

“Can I touch you?” He asks. Those words echo in Louis’ mind, dousing him in memories of their childhood. Louis was always the spitfire of relentless energy who would always have nicks and bruises under his clothes. Harry was always the koala who would touch and hug Louis just a little too tight. 

Can I touch you? It became Harry’s go-to question whenever he wanted to hug or cuddle him. Louis would roll his eyes, telling him that it was a bit much and completely unnecessary. As they grew, he only asked when Louis was upset or angry. 

Louis glares at him and shakes his head in disbelief at him. “I just hit you and yelled at you. Why would you want to do that?”

“Because I know that this isn’t you and I know how upset you are and I want to hold you,” Harry says simply.

Louis scoffs at that, but his stomach churns at the honesty. “You don’t know a thing about me, Harry. Not anymore. I grew up and things change. I changed.”

“Yes, things change, but not completely. Look at you. Look how unhinged you are just because I’ve put myself in a less than desirable situation. You care, and you care deeply. You always have.”

“Of course I fucking care, Harry. If you knew how upset I’d be, then why do it?” 

“Because I fucking care about you too,” Harry growls. “Don’t come here with this bullshit. You’d do the same for me anyway, so don’t be a hypocrite. Not with me,” he spits. 

“I’m not a child anymore, Louis. I need you to stop acting like I need protection from the big bad world. I’m a full-grown man,” Harry says as he stands up straight, squaring his shoulders, looming over Louis to prove a point. Louis rolls his eyes at the cheap and testosterone-filled move. His eyes, however, betray him soon after as they take Harry in from head to toe. He has, of course, noticed just how much of a man Harry is. Fuck if he isn’t intimidating now. He has changed, not just physically, but he’s matured. So much. 

As kids, they both looked after each other. Louis lived with an abusive father and Harry was a neglected orphan. They came together like a moth to a flame. Louis was two years older, however, and just like his mother, he was very nurturing. He always felt a sort of responsibility to care for Harry, and maybe he has to accept that Harry doesn’t need that anymore. Not in the way Louis cared for him back in the day, anyway.

“I’m capable of making my own decisions. You don’t have to rein me in like a mother hen.” 

Louis snorts. Mother hen? Well, he supposed some things you don’t grow out of. If being so caring makes him a mother hen, then so be it.

“Yeah, well, your decisions are complete shit,” Louis interrupts.

Harry rolls his eyes at the childish rebuttal. “Are you done?” He asks with a lifted brow. 

Louis sighs, the fight in him leaving along with his breath. 

“I’ve made my decision. I’ll be racing for Cowell whether you support me or not.”

Louis clenches his fists in frustration, knowing full well that once Harry’s made up his mind, there's not much that can deter him from his goal.

“What will it take for you not to race?” Louis asks in a last-ditch effort to get him to miraculously change his mind.

Harry groans, jaw clenching in irritation. “You’re the only person that I’ve ever truly cared about, and you’re clearly mistaken if you think a weak slap and your angry words will scare me away.”

Louis slumps down further, feeling defeated and tired of this entire argument. They stay quiet, not knowing how to continue the conversation, and Louis can only hear their deep breaths as they both try to calm down. It’s not going to do either of them any good if they just continue to berate and scream at each other. 

“Why are you being like this?” Louis questions gently.

“Simple,” Harry responds. “You gave me freedom and I’ll be damned if I don’t give it right back to you. And to your father.”

Louis thinks about Harry’s words. Louis just made sure Harry was the best he could be so someone would take him away from that horrible orphanage. And for what? All that work just so he could end up back here. 

“You do talk some shit, don’t you, Harry Styles.”

Harry chuckles, “Learned it all from you, baby.”

And with those words, the mood instantly changes. There’s no anger buzzing around them as they finally really take each other in. When their eyes meet, it’s like the walls that Louis was trying to hold up come crumbling down. He could never keep them up when Harry was involved. It was silly for him to ever try to keep him on the other side.

“Oh god, Harry, I’m sorry,” Louis whimpers as he crawls toward Harry, shame coating his voice. Harry opens his arms right away and meets Louis halfway as they embrace. 

“I missed you, Lou. So fucking much,” Harry confesses with a soft voice, squeezing him so tightly that Louis can barely breathe.

Louis deflates as he clutches on to Harry just as tightly, his face crushed against Harry’s chest. “I’ve missed you too, Harry. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry for leaving you that night.”

“Shhh, stop apologizing. It’s okay.”

It should feel awkward, probably, considering Louis barely recognizes the man in front of him. It’s been so long and so much has changed, yet there is still so much familiarity at the same time. Louis can’t help but start tearing up. He’s a crier, sue him. He just feels completely overwhelmed with joy, sadness, fear, and everything in between. But he’d be lying if he said that Harry being physically here, and not just a distant memory, doesn’t make things easier to bear.

Harry kisses the top of his head and holds him tight. They sit there for several minutes, just breathing each other in as they begin to familiarize themselves with each other once again.

“You’re weird, Harry Styles. Do you go around hugging people that hit you? Because you really shouldn’t.”

Harry snorts. “Only the cute ones named Louis Tomlinson.”

Louis’ face turns hot and tries to shove him, but this time, Harry is anticipating it, so he doesn’t move an inch.

“Shut up.”

Harry carefully reaches out and cups Louis’ face with one hand. Louis’ eyes flutter at the warm touch. Harry smiles and brings his other hand on the other side. 

“You’re absolutely stunning, Louis Tomlinson. Even better than I remember.”

A shiver runs down Louis’ spine, his cheek immediately heating up. What is happening? Why is Harry making him feel so much?

Louis shoves him again, and this time Harry moves backwards a bit, which causes a triumphant smirk to surface on Louis’ face.

“Stop it,” Louis says with no real heat behind it. He takes a look at Harry’s face, but his smile fades when he notices Harry’s reddened cheek and the wave of shame comes back full force. 

Louis stands abruptly. “Follow me,” he says, turning and making his way out of the cave. Harry follows close behind him without a word.

⊱ ────── ⊰

“Here put this on your cheek. I don’t want your boss coming after me for bruising his all-star racer.”

“I told you that I’m fine,” Harry says, exasperated.

“Well, humor me then,” Louis insists, placing the T-bone against Harry’s cheek. 

“You do realize that I’ve gotten into fistfights before, right? Trust me when I say you hit like a 5-year-old kid. I barely felt it.” 

“Oh, fuck off.” 

“Next time go for a closed fist punch. Not a slap.” 

“I didn’t want to punch you. It’s not even like me to hit anyone,” Louis says.

“Do I get you all hot and bothered with anger? Make you do things you normally wouldn’t do?” Harry asks with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“I’m .3 seconds away from throwing you out and feeding you to my patients. They love to munch on cocky men,” Louis says, only half kidding.

There’s an awkward silence that surrounds them as Louis sets Harry’s tea in front of him. Louis hates the awkwardness. It was never like this before and Louis never thought it could ever be this tense between them. They were always in sync and always orbiting around each other. Now it’s just...different, but Louis is afraid to really delve deep into why it's so different.

They have a month till the race. He’s sure he’ll figure out why sooner or later.

⊱ ────── ⊰

Louis thought having Harry around would be awkward and tense, and at times, it is, but at times like this, Louis can’t fathom how he survived so long without having Harry around. He’d forgotten just how funny, weird, and completely unapologetic he is. It reminds Louis so much of happier times, back when his mom was still alive. It’s refreshing, and although he’s still carrying that unbearable weight of the looming Draconian race, Harry makes him smile. Harry makes him happy. 

“Come on, you slowpoke! You promised you’d help me tend to the younglings!” Louis exclaims as he walks swiftly up the hill, hauling the cart of various meats behind him.

“Easy for you to say when you don’t have a dragon nipping at your ankles.” Harry says as he struggles to keep Pippin from breaking his skin.

“Maybe you should have thought of that before stealing my breakfast,” Louis sneers.

“You don’t even like avocado on toast!”

“So? It’s the principle of the thing. Liam brought it to me, not you, and Pippin here doesn’t like when people do rude things to me.”

“I’ll show you rude,” Harry mutters under his breath.

“What did you sa–“ Louis swallows the remaining words and lets out a scream instead “Harry! Put me down right now!”

“Nope.” Harry says, as he throws Louis over his shoulder, keeping one arm tight over his waist. “You want me to be rude? I’ll make sure I’m rude,” he adds with a pat to Louis’ bum.

“Harry! I swear to god, I’ll feed you to the dragons! Put me down!” Louis wiggles his body to try to slide down Harry’s back, but he has an iron grip on Louis. It’s no use.

“Pippin! Help me! Bite him!” Louis yells through his laughter.

Pippin leans his head to the side not knowing whether to take Louis’ predicament as a threat, seeing as how he's laughing.

“Here you go, Pip.” Harry says, throwing him a piece of meat. Pippin makes a clicking noise from the back of his throat as he catches the meat mid air. Harry grins triumphantly.

That traitor. 

“Pippin, you disloyal little lizard! Over a piece of meat? Really?” Louis growls.

Much to Louis’ chagrin, Harry refuses to put him down and carries him on his shoulder with one hand as he pulls the cart with the other, all the way to the top of the hill with Pippin happily following behind.

Harry sets the cart down before gently setting Louis on his feet as well.

Harry laughs as he takes a look at Louis’ reddened face from being carried upside down.

“I always make you blush, don’t I?” He says with a wink. 

Louis immediately shoves Harry.

“You’re an idiot! Just because of that, I’m sacrificing you to the dragon gods,” Louis says before he unhooks the latch and opens the giant barn-style doors. He places two fingers in his mouth and blows hard. The whistle is loud and it doesn’t take long before tiny dragons come hurtling down the path. He takes a quick glance in Harry’s direction to see his reaction and just as he suspected, his face completely lights up at the sight. There are about ten of them in all shapes, colors, and sizes, tripping and jumping over each other to get to Louis.

“Hello, my little loves,” Louis exclaims soothingly as they surround him. He kneels down and immediately they start making clicking sounds, rubbing their little scaly heads against Louis’ legs, arms, and back.

Louis loves them all so much. It’s always sad to see them go, especially when he’s not sure where they’ll end up. He tries not to think about it because when he does, it makes him inconsolable. One day, he’ll save every dragon he can, but in the meantime, he’ll offer them the most loving and happy environment he can while they’re here.

Louis switches his attention back to Harry, wanting to see the look of adoration on his face, one that matches Louis’ at the sight of such beautiful, lovable, and often misunderstood creatures. Just like he thought, Harry’s face is filled with warmth and affection, but he isn’t looking down at the dragons. Instead, he’s looking at Louis. 

Louis’ heart rate increases, and even though he caught Harry staring, Harry doesn’t look away or train his face into a more reasonable expression. He just continues looking at Louis with so much fondness until Louis’ insides can’t take it anymore and he has to break Harry’s gaze to look down at his dragon friends.

Louis clears his throat as he stands, cradling a dragon in his arms. “Alright then, Mr. This Job Is So Easy,” Louis mocks. “Let’s see if you can feed them all without getting burned, bitten, or scratched.”

“Piece of cake,” Harry says with an easy smile, so sure of himself.

⊱ ────── ⊰

“Never again!” Harry yells as he collapses onto the grass just a short period of time later once the younglings have been fed, exercised, and put to bed.

“I’m going to need new boots and pants,” Harry says, as good as an admission of defeat.

“Told ya not to wear anything you like,” Louis chirps as they put the cart away by the storage shed at the base of the hill.

“I’d rather face 10 Lucifers than those 10 little demons you have up there.”

“Hey, watch it, those are my babies you’re calling demons,” Louis says warningly. “Besides, if I remember correctly, your giant demon tried to make me toast.” 

“That’s because someone snuck in somewhere they weren’t supposed to,” Harry replies, stepping closer to Louis. Suddenly, Louis is hyper-aware of just how close they are.

There’s a sudden surge of electricity between them that makes Louis’ stomach swoop. Harry’s eyes drop down to Louis’ lips and Louis can’t help but run his tongue across his bottom one out of habit.

Harry starts to lower his face, keeping his eyes on Louis’ lips. Louis swallows the sudden lump in his throat as he too starts to move forward. He wants this. God, Louis wants this so bad, just wants to let his desire to take over.

However, the sudden voice from the intercom bursts the little bubble they were in.

Louis jumps back at the sound, but Harry stays put, crossing his arms and glaring daggers at the buzzing intercom that offers Louis’ dad’s voice.

“Louis, make sure to lock things up before you leave. I’m going down to the market to buy more meat,” Mark says.

“Y–Yes,” Louis’ squeaky voice says. Embarrassed, he clears his throat, before repeating himself in a more dignified manner. “Yes, dad. I got it.”

There’s a pregnant pause as both Louis and Harry try to calm down. After a moment, Louis tries to avoid the elephant in the room by talking. “See, I told you it wasn’t that easy. Now you know how difficult dealing with baby dragons can really be.”

Harry bows. “I stand corrected then, Dr. Tomlinson.”

Louis rolls his eyes as he chuckles. “Always so dramatic.”

It was a day well spent.

⊱ ────── ⊰

“Louis can you please explain why the fuck you told Liam and I to come out here at the ass crack of dawn?” Niall asks in annoyance.

“Yeah, Louis, you said it was an emergency and that you’re life depended on it.”

“Sweet, sweet Liam. You heard me wrong—I said that someone’s life depended on it, but it isn’t mine,” Louis explains as he pats Liam’s cheek.

“So you’re not in danger?”

“No,” Louis chirps.

Niall gives Louis a blank look. “Louis, don’t start acting all cute. It doesn’t work on me anymore!”

Louis pouts.

“No. You have three seconds to start running before I start skinning you alive,” Niall threatens.

“Hey! I promise this will be worth it! No need to get so feisty, Niall. Besides, if you kill me, I won’t get to give you your surprise.”

Niall narrows his eyes suspiciously, but he’s intrigued by the surprise mention.

“Go on.”

“I need you and Liam to help my friend train for the Draconian Race,” Louis mumbles out all in one go.

No one says a word, but Liam blinks a good twelve times consecutively.

“Excuse me?”

Louis bites his lip nervously, giving a small laugh at the awkward exchange. “I said,” Louis starts, a bit more slowly. “I need you guys to help my friend train for the Draconian Race.”

Liam and Niall look at each other, and their expressions don’t look too promising.

“The Draconian Race,” Niall asks, disbelief in his voice.

“Yes,” Louis confirms.

Liam speaks up. “The one that’s two weeks away?”

“That’s the one.”

“Right. Louis, I'm not in the mood for jokes, so I’m going to head out.”

“Wait, no! At least wait ‘til the surprise gets here!” Louis exclaims as he flails his arms to stop them from leaving.

“If it’s not a toasty warm bed, I don’t want it,” Niall says.

“I can give you a warm bed no problem, but I don’t know how comfortable a dragon’s back is to sleep on,” Louis ponders with a pout.

“Dragon?” Liam questions. “Louis, what's this about?”

“Funny you ask that, Liam. I will gladly tell you,” Louis says as he bounces from his heels to his toes. “So....” Louis begins but trails off, suddenly feeling nervous.

Niall crosses his arms and raises an expectant eyebrow.

“Remember how I used to talk about an old friend of mine?

“Yeah. Henry?”

“Harry,” Louis corrects. “He’s new to the Draconian racing scene and I thought you two would be great to give him some tips and pointers. You know, since you both know the terrain and ride dragons from time to time.”

“Wait. Wait, so let me get this straight. He’s new and decided to race for the Draconian flag? Does this guy have a death wish?” Liam questions in horror.

“Louis, how are we supposed to help train a rider that went into this blind?”

Believe me I was asking myself the same thing, Louis can’t help but think, but he knows that isn’t what’s important right now. And Louis knows that he is not above begging. If he has to, he will. Harry owes him big time.

“Okay, cutting all the bullshit, there’s something I never told you guys and I’ve felt guilty about it ever since I found out how much of a fan you both are, especially you, Niall. It was  always just too complicated and I wasn’t really ready to talk about it, and I mean, Zayn knew and it was part of the reason we had a falling out, you know, and it was just-“

“Louis,” Liam hisses. “Louis, shut the fuck up.”

Louis sees the giant shadow blocking the sun from Liam and Niall’s faces.

“L–Lou?”

Louis feels the giant waft of warm stale air that makes his hair and clothing slide forward. He sighs. “Hey Haz,” Louis says without turning away from Niall and Liam’s frozen figures.

He hears Harry’s feet land on the grass as he walks besides Louis and swinging an arm around his shoulders. “Morning, sunshine,” Harry says, kissing Louis’ temple. Louis jabs Harry’s side with his elbow in return.

“But that’s. That’s...H–Harry Styles,” Niall gasps out, barely able to say the words.

Louis cringes at their shocked faces. He sees confusion, amazement, wonder, and even betrayal flash across their features.

“Surprise?” Louis states, but it sounds more like a question than a statement.

“You—and him and Lucifer and–“ Liam babbles on.

Niall just falls to the floor, and Liam follows him a second later, both in disbelief.

And they call him dramatic.

⊱ ────── ⊰

After the initial shock and a watered-down and less angsty version of everything leading up to this moment, Niall and Liam agree to help Harry any way they can. I mean, it didn’t take much convincing since they both idolize Harry so much. 

It’s been two weeks since that get together and things have been going great. Harry has been flying non-stop preparing himself and Lucifer for the race. Louis just hopes that it isn’t all in vain.

⊱ ────── ⊰

Harry has been training daily, so much so that sometimes he falls asleep curled up against Lucifer in this dingy cage. Harry says roughing it up and being close to his dragon will only strengthen their connection and help him during the race.

Louis doesn’t question it.

“Come on. You idiot. I have to clean up your wounds, because lord knows you never do,” Louis states as he makes his way through empty stalls of the Dragon stables, steps echoing across the entire place.

“It’s just a couple of bumps and bruises from my careless fall. It’ll be fine.”

“You know you’d out to listen to me more often. Remember what happened with the younglings? Or bothering Pippin? Didn’t end well for you did it?” Louis snickers.

“You just want to undress me. Don’t think I don’t notice how much you stare at my abs,” Harry says, smirking.

“Has anyone ever told you how full of yourself are? It’s concerning,” Louis says mockingly. They finally reach the cave and Harry punches in the code to get in. The door immediately opens with a loud click and Louis stops at the entrance.

The cave is dark and kind of chilly—it’s definitely not an adequate environment for a dragon. 

The torches along the cave have clearly gone out. That’s strange, Louis thinks to himself.

“Lucifer?” Harry asks, his voice laced with concern.

Louis notices the thin almost translucent rope around Lucifer, and just as he’s about to tell Harry that something is wrong, someone grabs them both from behind. Louis immediately starts struggling against the tight hold. 

He can vaguely hear Lucifer whimper out, clearly in distress, weak from the wire and the sight of his partner being attacked.

“Harry!” Louis screams, but a hand clamps over his mouth, stopping any other words from escaping. There’s suddenly another figure in front of him and Louis immediately kicks his legs out as the man tries to grip him.

Louis doesn’t know who it is or how many men are ambushing them, but he knows he can’t stop fighting. Louis thrashes, but the arms behind him, holding him are too strong. After a moment, Louis’ eyes adjust to the light and he can vaguely make out a body in front of him. Louis bends his legs towards him before kicking them out, hitting the person in front of him in the chest. The momentum causes the person holding him to stumble back against the cave’s wall with a grunt. 

Louis takes that opportunity to bite down on the hand on his mouth. A gritty voice cries out in pain and Louis rams his head back as hard as he possibly can. He cries out at the impact, head throbbing in white-hot pain. It works though, as the person lets him go, and for a couple of seconds, he can’t move, paralyzed from the searing pain. His body doesn’t let him rest for long, however, as his fight or flight mode is clearly signaling his body to act. He shuffles backwards on his hands and feet and digs the heel of his boot into the man’s chest. He does it twice, then three times before he finds himself being dragged backwards by his hair.

“You little cunt,” Louis hears, and suddenly there’s hand clamping on his throat, crushing his windpipe. Louis is lifted off the ground and he kicks his legs out, desperately trying to kick his attacker away, but his legs are too short. He digs his nails into the person’s meaty arm, but he’s not letting go. Louis is just starting to see white spots when a body slams into his attacker, who lets him go and lets Louis drop to the floor. 

He drops like a sack of potatoes and starts to cough, air burning in his throat as it desperately tries to reach his lungs. He feels disoriented and clumsy, but the adrenaline coursing through his body is helping turn the pain into a slow hum.

Louis can hear Harry grunting as he tries to disarm his aggressor, and Louis can barely stand, but he needs to free Lucifer.

“Grab the fucker!” Louis hears behind him as Harry yells, “Louis!”

Louis pulls out his pocket knife from his thigh and slices through the glowing wire, sending sparks flying everywhere.

“No!” Louis hears someone call, and as soon as the wire breaks, Lucifer lifts his head, swinging it left and right with a guttural roar. Louis throws himself to the ground.

Lucifer looks furious and his eyes look hazy, but they remain focused on Harry.

Lucifer throws his head back and opens his mouth, and Louis covers his head and plants himself firmly to the ground.

He feels it in the air, the scorching wave of fire.

“Harry!” He screams but nothing but a pitiful croak manages to come out. His eyes droop as he sees Harry on the floor.

“Louis, it’ll be okay, just relax, okay?” He can hear Harry yelling at him. Lucifer roars again, and the sound is deafening. He feels Lucifer’s talons wrap around his body. Louis stiffens and he hears Harry’s voice again. “Louis, he’s in survival mode, relax. Just relax. He just wants to protect us.”

Louis wants to tell him okay, but his eyes close instead.

⊱ ────── ⊰

Louis is slow coming to. He doesn’t open his eyes immediately, instead opting to wiggle his toes and fingers. He slowly moves his head and scrunches his face in pain. He whimpers and the sound is enough to startle the people in the room.

“Louis! Thank god,” someone says, and Louis realizes it’s his dad.

“D–Dad?” Louis’ voice sounds horrifying. It hurts to talk.

“Shhh, It’s okay. You’re alright, there’s no need to talk. You’re safe.”

Louis relaxes slightly before the events of the night before come crashing back full force, and then the panic is back. Louis gasps as he tries to sit up.

“‘Arry,” he manages to croak out.

“Harry and Lucifer are fine, Louis. You just missed Harry. He woke up a couple of hours ago and I convinced him to go to Lucifer for a little while.

Louis feels relief bloom inside of him. 

Harry is safe. Lucifer is safe. That’s all that really matters.

“What happened?” Louis’ voice is shot, taking him quite some effort to make noise come out. 

“We’re not sure,” Louis dad says, “the bodies were too burned to be identified. No doubt, it was someone from the race.”

Louis looks down at his hands, trying to make sense of it all. Stuff like this happens, it’s nothing unusual. Draco can be such a lawless wasteland that no one bats an eye with incidents like this. People put a lot of money into this race and if anyone catches wind of a racer doing well, they try to hinder them in some way. Usually by intimidation, coercion, or violence.

“Lou, don’t overthink things. There’s nothing you or Harry could have done differently. Get some rest okay?” He kisses Louis’ forehead and Louis realizes just how worn out he actually feels.

It doesn’t take long for Louis to fade back into unconsciousness.

He doesn’t know how long it’s been but when he comes to again, there is no one in his room, but he can make out angry voices in the room next door.

“This is all your fault. Louis was doing just fine before you showed up and mucked it all up!”

Zayn. That’s Zayn.

“Zayn, you need to leave if you’re going to cause a problem.”

“Oh, cut the shit, Liam. You’re really going to take his side? Louis could have fucking died. Do you not get that?”

“Of course I do, but Louis-“

“No buts. Louis would be safe and sound, sleeping peacefully right now, if it weren’t for Harry. He wouldn’t be bruised and battered and in pain as he sleeps in the other room!”

“You love him,” he hears Harry say, realization in his voice. Louis’ heart starts pounding.

“You’re like a virus that keeps coming back. Why couldn’t you have stayed back in Ladon with your fancy trophies and fame. You had to come in here like some fucking knight in shining armor. To save Louis from a place that he doesn’t need saving from.”

Louis needs to stop this before it ends in a fistfight. He grabs the water cup next to his bed and throws it across the room, causing it to shatter and water to cascade down the wall. It has the desired effect, as the pissing match in the living room stops. The door swings open and Harry enters, eyes hard and looking dangerous.

Zayn follows close behind him, barging in and knocking into Harry’s shoulder hard, clearly intentionally. He comes around the side of Louis’ bed and gently cups his face. “Lou,” Louis whispers “I-I’m o-okay, Z.”

Zayn looks at him and hugs him ever so gently. Louis gives himself a moment to bask in the hold for a couple of seconds, mourning the friendship with Zayn he once had, but he doesn’t allow himself to enjoy the embrace for long before his eyes open and find Harry.

Harry’s standing by the door, hands clenched into fists. His jaw is tight, and his eyes don’t waver from Louis’ face. Louis can tell by the way his shoulders are set and how upright his stance is that he’s not happy and that he’s clearly holding himself back from ripping Zayn off him.

Zayn steps back, but it’s like Harry has a hold on Louis because Louis can’t look away from him, not even knowing that Zayn is staring at him expectantly.

Harry is the one who looks away first, breaking the eye contact with a small hint of a smirk on his face. Louis furrows his eyebrows before he remembers that Zayn is next to him. When he lifts his gaze to meet Zayn’s eyes, all Louis can see is pain.

“Zayn,” Louis whispers.

“Just needed to make sure you were okay,” Zayn says with a pained but steady tone. “As a word to the wise, leave before he gets you killed.” And with that, he turns around and heads out the door, shoulder checking Harry again on his way out.

“I don’t think he realizes that it’s the other way around, “ Harry says lightheartedly, sitting himself down in a chair near the door.

“I love Zayn,” Louis says, heart heavy in his chest. “He was good to me. We were so good together. I thought I wouldn’t find something like that after you left, but Zayn and I had a common understanding and it was working. Everything was fine...until it wasn’t anymore.”

“You love him as well. I'm not blind,” Harry says, voice hard.

“Of course I love Zayn, Harry. He’s been there for me since the moment we met, the moment when we clicked and became inseparable. Partners and crime and all that,” Louis says, and Harry's jaw clenches. “But I'm not in love with him. After he confessed, I thought maybe I could get there one day. I-I had a feeling that it would end in disaster, and I told him so too, but he was ready to put everything into it just so I would give him a chance. And I–I came to the realization that I owed it to him to give it a shot. But then,“ Louis says, trailing off with tight lipped smile.

“I heard a name that I didn’t think I’d ever hear again, at least not outside of my dreams,” Louis explains, getting up and making his way across the room. “Harry Styles, the first rookie in fifty years to win the Ladon tournament. A true underdog from Draco. I told myself that it was just a coincidence. There was just no way. Harry is a common enough name, and I never knew your last name.”

Harry looks at him with fire in his eyes. Louis doesn’t know when the air became so charged, but he was done trying to put it out the sparks.

“As soon as I saw Lucifer, I knew right away it was you,” Louis recounts with a thin smile. “As hard as you try, you don’t ever forget your first love. At least, not when it’s something as pure like ours. Zayn didn’t stand a chance. Not when you were there again, far away, but still there.”

Harry growls, swiftly reaching forward to wind his arms around Louis' waist. Louis’ body is on autopilot as he brings one leg over Harry’s thighs, making quick work of straddling him. Harry wastes no time connecting their lips, and they should probably take things slow, but there’s a need simmering deep in Louis’ belly, urging him to just feel and love and be loved. To stop denying himself what he truly wants. 

So he listens. He listens as he moans into Harry’s mouth. He listens as Harry kneads his ass. He listens as he responds to Harry’s actions by rocking down onto his now very prominent dick, hard in his pants below Louis.

Harry stops their kiss to pull Louis tight against his chest before cupping Louis’ face, brushing his thumb across Louis’ bottom lip. “Every time I push, you pull. Tell me there's no more of that. I can’t bear it any longer. Please promise me.”

“I promise,” Louis whispers. 

“Let me have you,” Harry says, a demand, but one that he’s giving Louis the chance to say no to if that’s his choice.

“You’ve always had me. All you had to do was ask,” Louis confesses.

“Louis Tomlinson, can I touch you?” Harry asks, just like he always used to.

“Only if you promise not to ever stop.”

⊱ ────── ⊰

Louis hadn’t meant to fall asleep with the younglings, but work has been super hectic, Harry’s training has been strenuous, and once you add sleepless nights of worrying about the upcoming race, it’s not surprising that it all finally caught up to Louis.

“Fuck, there you are, Jesus Christ, Louis.”

Louis is startled awake by Harry’s deep and very angry voice. 

“Wassit?” Louis sleepily mumbles as he sits up.

“What is it?” Harry laughs in disbelief. “Louis, I’ve been looking all over for you. Mark has been worried sick as well. We thought something had happened. You said you were just going to check up on some Dragon on the east side of the riverbend, but you never came back.”

“‘M sorry, Haz, I didn’t mean to worry you. I’ve just been so tired and stressed and it all just hit me at once. This is my happy place and I feel comfortable here, but I should have told you, the lads, or dad.”

Harry rubs a hand over his own face before sighing. In a much quieter tone, he asks, “How could you possibly think it’s okay to fall asleep out here in the open like this? You’re completely defenseless and vulnerable. It’s just not safe, Louis.”

“H, no one comes up to the stables besides curious kids from the village. Most of the villagers are too afraid to come near, and look at all these cuties. They keep me so warm,” Louis says happily as his eyes flutter closed again.

“You’re really testing my patience right now, Louis. I’m taking you back home. Let’s go,” Harry says, his frustration back.

“Mmm, I’d rather not. Thank you,” Louis rejects that idea, letting out a big yawn. 

“You move or I make you move. Your choice.”

Louis opens his eyes to glare at Harry. “Try it and see what happens,” Louis warns, glaring.

“Louis, I’m well past my limit and I’m not going to be cool about this anymore. You’re clearly exhausted and your bed is the best place for you considering your wounds are healing. Stop being so stubborn and reckless.”

Louis scowls. “It was an accident, okay? I can take care of myself. Didn’t I prove that when I handled myself so well with those assholes? Besides, you’re being rude, and there’s no need to go alpha mode on me. It’s not cute and it’s completely unnecessary.”

“For fucks sake, Louis,” Harry hisses. “Believe me when I say that I know you can handle yourself, but that doesn’t stop me or anyone who cares about you from worrying. For a second back in that cave, I thought the two most important things to me were going to die. So forgive me if I’m acting like an asshole right now, but I don’t really give a fuck. I’m taking you home.”

Louis feels himself giving in, the desperate frustration in Harry’s voice impossible to ignore.  

“It really was an accident, you know. I’d never want to make you or dad worry. I’m sorry,” Louis says as he takes the outstretched hand Harry is offering him. Harry helps him up as Pip flaps his wing in annoyance. 

“God, you two are so alike that it's frightening,” Harry mumbles. 

“Help me put these little darlings back in their enclosures,” Louis requests. “Make sure you watch out for the Red Tailsnappers. They’re quite feisty after being woken up.”

“Louis, you say that about every one of these littl-”

“Finish that sentence and I’ll make sure you regret it,” Louis says.

“Alright, alright, no need to turn into one of them,” Harry says, rolling his eyes.

“Leave my babies alone. They're all angels who have never done anything wrong in their lives,” Louis warns, smiling as he looks around at them.

Harry rolls his eyes fondly, but he helps herd the demonic angels into their enclosures. Once they’re settled and Louis has kissed every single one somewhere on their heads, he locks the door and turns towards Harry. He smiles at the sight in front of him. Pippin is almost purring as Harry scratches under his chin, and Louis takes a moment to enjoy the sight before a loud and disgruntled huff has Louis turning around.

“Lucifer, are you serious?” Harry looks up at him incredulously. He gets to his feet, still cradling Pippin in his arms. “There is absolutely nothing to be jealous about. You’re still my number one,” Harry reassures him. 

It’s possible that Louis has hearts shooting out of his eyes at this point. It’s truly impressive just how connected Harry and Lucifer are, especially since Louis is so used to seeing riders and racers treat their dragons like a form of transportation rather than a living creature with thoughts and feelings. After seeing the level of care and love Harry shows Lucifer, it just makes Louis fall even harder for the man in front of him. 

Louis interrupts himself from his own thoughts and decides to intervene.

“Luci!” He shouts excitedly, walking toward the beautiful silvery dragon. “You’re looking better than ever, love.” 

The marks caused by the awful static wire have partially faded and he’s still missing some scales, but he’ll be back to normal in a couple of weeks. Louis cradles Lucifer’s snout, his fingers dancing along the dragon’s jaw. Lucifer huffs out again, but this time, it’s in an approving manner. He loves Louis’ caresses enough that his heads swings down and unintentionally pushes Louis a couple of steps sideways. 

Louis laughs, his eyes crinkling joyfully.

“Woah there, big boy,” he says as Lucifer lays his body flat on the ground, looking at him expectantly. 

“He wants you to get on,” Harry whispers into Louis’ ear from behind him. Louis’ shudders as his skin erupts in goosebumps. 

“W–What?”

“We both know what that posture means,” Harry says. “He trusts you.”

Louis bites his lip, trying to keep himself from screaming with excitement. 

Lucifer trusts him.

“Oh, Luci,” Louis says happily. “I’m so honored.”

“Well then, that’s settled,” Harry says, placing his hands on Louis waist as he hoists him up onto the dragon’s back. “He was our ride back home anyways.”

“What?” Louis stutters out, panicking. “Harry, no. You know how I feel about flying. Please help me off. This isn’t a joke!” Louis growls as he tries to slide down the saddle, but Harry won’t budge.

“Louis, look at me.” Harry demands.

“No, Harry I can’t do this,” Louis says frantically.

“Hey, I said to look at me,“ Harry repeats firmly, and Louis does. “Why would you think this is a joke? I’m not joking here. I just want you to give it a try.” The “with me” is left unsaid, and Louis knows deep down that he really does want to fly with Harry. There were many nights over the years that he’s fallen asleep wishing he wasn’t such a baby.

“Do you trust Lucifer?” Harry asks and Louis wants to scream.

“Trust has nothing to do with fear, Harry,” Louis snaps.

Harry ignores him and asks a second question. “Do you trust me?”

Louis sighs, not wanting to continue arguing about this, but knowing that Harry won’t drop it. “For the love of god, Harry, help me down. I love Lucifer, but I can’t do this.”

“Just answer the question, Louis.”

“Yes. Yes, of course I trust you, I trust you with my life, but what does that have to do with–“

“Let Lucifer and I show you how flying can be,” Harry says, his voice pleading. “Something that makes you feel relaxed and free.” Harry’s voice is reassuring.

“I just can’t, Harry,” Louis says, frustration lacing his voice.

Pippin mewls as he starts beating his wing. He does it so swiftly that he actually manages to take flight for a moment, hovering over Harry’s shoulder. Louis gasps in surprise as he watches the dragon collapse again into Harry’s arms.

Louis thinks back to a couple minutes ago where Harry said how similar him and Pippin were. He’s not wrong. They have many wonderful qualities, the two of them, and if you ask Louis, they only have one major flaw. They both can’t fly.

The difference is that Pippin tries every damn day to hop off the ground, always flapping his leathery wings to try to fly. Maybe Louis should learn a lesson from Pippin. Louis has never given up, not in anything else, so why should he do so here? Louis swallows the giant lump in his throat, clenches his jaw, and gives Harry a quick nod.

Harry pumps his fist in triumph. “You hear that, Pip?” Harry says, stroking Pippin in his arms. “Your daddy is going to fly, so let’s show him how fun it can really be, okay?” 

Louis would be laughing at Harry’s conversation with Pippin if he weren’t so fucking terrified. Harry helps Louis maneuver his legs properly onto the saddle, before expertly hoisting himself up in front, facing back toward Louis.

“You’re backwards,” Louis croaks out nervously, stating the obvious.

Harry chuckles and gives him a crinkly eyed smile, his dimples on full display. “That’s ‘cause these,” he says as he takes the goggles around his neck off. “...Are for you.” Harry gently pulls the goggles down over Louis’ eyes. “You’re not used to the wind up there,” he says by way of explanation.

Louis' eyes widen as he thinks about the mechanics of it all, a lot of the petrifying fear returning to his body.

Harry cradles Louis' face, warmth seeping through. “Hey, no. Listen, we’ll go slow, but I want you to be able to see around you.”

“Harry, I-I’m scared.” 

“That’s okay, baby. I would be more concerned if you weren’t,“ Harry says before discarding his leather jacket and bringing it over Louis. “Put that on,” he instructs, and Louis follows his directions, pulling both arms through. Once it’s on, Harry helps him button the jacket up and then just stares at him.

“What?” Louis questions.

“You’re so...perfect,” Harry says simply, and that has Louis blushing full force. Harry chuckles and smacks a kiss on his cheek before turning around on the saddle once more. “Alright, Pippin, you’re riding with me, bud,” Harry says, grabbing Louis’ satchel and pulling it over his head. He shortens the length so that Pip secured to his body. He undoes the buckle from his belt and connects it to the strap of the satchel for more security. Essentially it’s a sad excuse for a baby harness. It’s not the most innovative or comfortable reinforcement, but until they figure out a better solution, it’ll have to do.

“Harry, I can’t do this, Oh my god,” Louis exclaims as Lucifer rises to a standing position. In response, Harry reaches for the buckle on the saddle, something he probably hasn't used in years. It’s a safety belt that straps rider to the saddle so they don’t fall off. It’s usually used when you’re starting out in training. His dad explained it to Louis once since Louis sometimes needs to get dragons used to the saddle, so he appreciates the fact that Harry is using it right now. He ties the buckles and pulls on the strap, and now he’s tightly tied to Harry, which makes him feel a bit better.

“You’re secured, just like Pippin. Okay?” Harry’s voice is calm and reassuring.

Louis just nods, finding himself unable to actually voice his opinion at the moment. 

“Now I just want you to hold on tight and enjoy okay?”

Louis is pretty sure that by the end of this, if he survives, that is, he’ll have broken all of Harry’s ribs from how tight he’s already clutching his midsection.

“Okay, Lucifer. We’ve got our boy to impress. Slowly now,” Harry commands as he taps Lucifer’s side.

Lucifer walks to the end of the cliff with a giant roar, and Louis only has a moment to feel like throwing up before they’re off.

Louis feels the swoop of the sudden drop and then they ascend, and Louis can’t hold it in anymore. He screams.

“Oh my god! I’m going to die!” Louis stutters out as he feels the cold wind assault his body from all directions.

“Lucifer, you need to slow down, boy!” Harry yells, voice hard to hear over the wind.

Lucifer extends his wings fully and glides, and this way, the wind feels less aggressive. Louis finds himself holding on for dear life, too afraid to even open his eyes.

“Easy and steady,” Harry says as Lucifer begins to ascend higher.

Louis is going to faint any minute now. He’s sure of it. He remains glued to Harry’s back, his eyes sealed tightly as the wind blows around them, but then the wind suddenly slows to a steady breeze. Louis opens one eye, wanting to know what’s changed and why he’s no longer hearing the rush of the wind.

“Harry?” Louis whimpers, opening his other eye and taking in his surroundings.

Louis gasps at the scene in front of him. It looks like something out of a painting, the huge moon in front of them with the white fluffy clouds floating beneath.

Lucifer slowly beats his wings as he transitions into a smooth glide.

“Just wanted you to see, even if it’s just this once, how beautiful and special it is to be up here,” Harry says, and Louis can hear the smile in his voice.

Louis rests his cheek on Harry’s shoulder as he allows himself to relax for just a minute. It’s like a whole new world up here. It’s so quiet and peaceful and the moon looks so beautiful.

“She’s a great friend of mine, the moon. She knows all my secrets, my hopes, and my desires. She’s a great listener too. If you need her, she’ll be here for you,” Harry says, squeezing Louis thigh. 

Soon enough, Lucifer breaks the glide and begins losing altitude, so Harry leans forward and grasps the front of the saddle in order to guide Lucifer to exactly where he wants to land. Lucifer then shows off his full wingspan and before Louis knows it, he feels the gentle thud of Lucifer’s feet touching the ground. 

Louis doesn’t dare open his eyes just yet, both having fallen closed again during their descend, and he’s still clutching tightly to Harry’s waist like his life depends on it. It’s rather silly how terrified he is of flying and heights, but he can’t help it. Louis waits for his rabbiting heart to calm down before slowly opening his eyes.

“Good boy, Lucifer. You too, Pip,” Harry murmurs softly as Louis continues to come out of the shock of what he just experienced. Oh, god, how long have they been here? Louis realizes that he’s probably been clinging to Harry’s back for much longer than he intended. How fucking embarrassing.

Louis makes the quick and jerky movements necessary to let go of Harry’s back, offering an embarrassed and apologetic, “I’m so sorry.” As if things weren’t bad enough, his spent voice cracks in the middle of the apology.

Instead of laughing, Harry just looks over his shoulder and winks. “Trust me, I don’t mind one bit. I’ll even accept the broken ribs if it means I get to feel you hold me that tight again.”

Louis’ cheeks immediately burn. There he goes again, saying those types of things so bluntly. Louis was always the one smoothly initiating the innocent flirting back in the day. Now though? There’s absolutely nothing innocent about it. It’s criminal is what it is. He constantly finds himself left speechless because of all of the flirting Harry does and how charming he is.

“Harry, you can’t just say stuff like that,” Louis manages to reply, though his voice sounds a bit higher-pitched than usual.

Harry just laughs in response before dismounting Lucifer with a level of grace and ease that Louis is left a little starstruck. He can’t help but bite his lip. Why is he finding every little thing Harry does so fucking attractive? Why is his crush coming back full force when Louis is 27 years old, not 17 anymore.

“Are you going to join me, or are you going to sit there and fantasize about me all day?” Harry asks, smirking.

Louis is now probably the color of a tomato. “Oh, you’re so full of yourself, aren’t you?” Louis chides him before trying to copy Harry’s dismount. He ignores Harry’s laughter as he does so, lifting his right leg first, and Louis scrunches his nose at just how stiff and heavy all his limbs feel even after such a brief flight. 

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Harry asks as Louis jumps down.

“I–No, it wasn’t, but I’m still not comfortable flying.”

“I know, but this is the first step, and I just need you to know how proud I am of you,” Harry smiles at Louis sweetly.

Louis has never been good at taking a compliment, so he just rolls his eyes like it’s nothing while knowing full well that his reddening cheeks tell a different story.

“I’d better get inside,” Louis says reluctantly as he looks up at Harry under his eyelashes.

Harry moves forward until he’s pushing Louis against his door.

“Do I get a goodnight kiss before you go?” He asks.

Louis bites his lip. He still has so much adrenaline from the flight coursing through his veins, and Harry is looking at him like he wants to devour him. Quite frankly, Louis admits to himself, he wants to be devoured. He needs to be. He takes a quick glance behind Harry and sees Lucifer and Pippin cuddling. Most likely worn-out from the flight. They can keep each other company for a little while.

“Touch me, Harry Styles.” Louis whispers, and that's all the invitation Harry needs.

Louis doesn’t even know how they made it past the door, but he’s glad they did because his skin feels like it's on fire with all the need coursing through his body. Harry pushes him until his back connects with something hard behind his legs.

Louis feels Harry’s hands around his waist before he’s being lifted up onto a flat surface. Their kiss breaks and Louis can’t help but moan when Harry does shit like that, when he shows just how easily he’s able to pick up and move Louis. 

Louis’ labored breathing is the only noise in dim kitchen, and his dick throbs in his pants as Harry kisses and licks his way down Louis’ throat. Louis’ hands come up to hold Harry’s back and shoulders as the dragon rider starts sucking a bruise on his throat, and Louis immediately throws his head back to give Harry more access. 

Harry pulls Louis forward by his hips, yanking him closer to the edge of the counter, and Louis’ eyes roll to the back of his head as soon as Harry’s hard cock rubs up against his. The friction is almost enough to make himself come in his slacks like some kind of inexperienced teen, but Louis manages to hold himself back.

“Louis, if you could see yourself right now,” Harry huffs out, groaning. “So beautiful and ready to be taken.”

Louis really can’t handle this right now. Everything coming out of Harry’s mouth just keeps turning him on further. He can’t remember the last time he was this hard, but if Harry continues, Louis isn’t going to last very long at all.

Wordlessly, he moves his upper body forward, winding his arms around Harry's neck. He slowly kisses up Harry’s beautiful and chiseled jawline before stopping by his ear. Gently, he bites the lobe and pulls on it with his teeth, making Harry buck his hips sharply, sending jolts of pleasure down both of their bodies. 

“Then take me.” Louis doesn’t even recognize his own breathless voice, but it gets the job done. Harry lets out a groan as he cups Louis jaw with both hands and crashes their mouths together. Louis feels like a man possessed, slowly sliding his hands down Harry’s torso, feeling the hard-cut planes of his chest and abs. As much as he’d love to explore Harry’s body, he can't be bothered to slow anything down at the moment. 

Louis’ fingers try to make quick work of Harry’s buttons, but that proves to be a challenge on its own. His hands are shaking in anticipation and excitement and it’s making it nearly impossible to get the man’s stupid shirt off. Louis grows impatient with the last three buttons and he tugs on the shirt until it rips open, the last few buttons flying in all directions, making clinking sounds as they land all over the kitchen. Harry chuckles at that and swiftly grabs Louis’ wrist.

“That was one of my favorite shirts, you know,” Harry whispers against Louis’ ear.

If Louis were in the right state of mind, he’d feel mortified and would probably start apologizing profusely, but he isn’t. He’s miles away from common sense and all he wants is Harry. Harry touching him, Harry kissing him, Harry inside of him, fucking him hard and so well that Louis can forget all of his problems and maybe even his own name.

I’ll buy you another shirt. I’ll make it myself if I have to...just, please .”

“Please what, baby? I want you to tell me exactly what it is that you want.”

“You’re one arrogant son of a bitch, aren’t you?” Louis growls as he desperately ruts against Harry's leg.

Why isn’t Harry as affected as Louis is? Louis is fucking gagging for Harry’s cock and Harry seems unfazed and unbothered, teasing and taunting him like this some kind of game of cat and mouse.

“God, Harry, just fucking touch me, damn it!” Louis demands.

Just when Louis thinks Harry will finally take mercy on him, the asshole continues with the teasing. “Touch you where?”

“Don’t make me slap you again,” Louis threatens jokingly, but it’s not very effective when he’s kissing Harry anywhere his mouth can reach.

Harry grabs hold of Louis’ wrists again with one hand. This bastard and his freakishly large hands. Harry grabs Louis by the nape of his neck and tugs his head back, and Louis gives out a moan like he never has before. 

“Louis, l’m not going to ask you again. What do you want?”

A shiver runs through Louis’ body despite the fact that the fire in his living room and the heat of their kissing has Louis sweaty and warm.

“I–I want you inside of me. Please.”

Harry doesn’t say anything in response, instead letting go of Louis completely. Louis about to protest when he feels himself being lifted up again, and his legs automatically wind tightly around Harry’s waist so he doesn’t fall.

Harry whispers into Louis’ ear. “Since you asked so politely...”

The next second, Louis finds himself being placed gently on his bed. They’re both staring at each other, taking each other in, as if wanting to memorize everything. Harry stares at Louis with darkened eyes, and in this moment, he looks so intimidating, as though he’s planning exactly how he’s going to take Louis apart.

Louis grows harder at the mere thought.

Harry starts to unbuckle his belt, and just like that, Louis starts to frantically strip as well.

The raw, lustful heat of just minutes ago rushes back full force, trying to drag them both under. Harry’s kisses harden into something more rough, but still purposeful. All Louis can do is moan into the kiss and rock his willing body into the one above him, throwing all shame out the window. If Harry fucks like he kisses, Louis knows exactly what he’s about to experience, and the staggering, sensational truth of it washes over him like some kind of surreal fever dream. 

Ever since Louis saw him on TV three years back, he’s been fantasizing about Harry, fucking himself with his fingers and jacking off in the shower to thoughts of him. He has felt guilty about it before, but never enough to stop his fantasies. Lusting after a childhood friend was just that, nothing but a fantasy, a dream. Louis never imagined it would get to this point, but now he’ll finally know what it feels like.

“You okay?” Harry asks, the rough and deep timbre of his voice making Louis quiver. Harry doesn’t even give Louis time to respond before he’s kissing him again, fucking his tongue into Louis’ mouth with determination and want.

Louis breaks the kiss to get some air in his lungs, but he finds himself begging Harry to keep going on the exhale. “Harry, please. Please fuck me,” Louis begs. He feels so empty and he needs Harry inside of him or he’s afraid he’s going to suffocate with lust.

“Where do you keep the oil?”

Louis doesn’t dare to speak, afraid that the only sound that will come out is a horny whine, so instead, he points in the general direction of his bedside table.

Harry kisses him hard once more before scrambling to the drawer next to Louis’ bed. Quickly enough, he finds the vial of oil and brings it over the bed. He wastes no time coating his finger and Louis’ entrance with more than enough oil.

Louis moans as Harry’s finger breaches his puckered hole, and Harry gives him a puzzled look when his finger slips in more easily than he expected.

“I–I fucked myself with my fingers after seeing you and Lucifer during the training session.”

“Fuck,” Harry growls, bringing his mouth down to Louis’ in a messy and wet kiss. “You’ll be the death of me, Louis Tomlinson.”

Louis’ head falls back as Harry adds a second finger, thrusting in and out of him slowly, but steadily. His body trembles and his own cock twitches when Harry takes it in his other hand, giving him a few slow, firm strokes. “Yes...oh god, yes. Please, Harry…it feels so good. So so good.”

“What do you want, baby?” Harry asks, whispering the words against Louis’ flushed skin and accentuating the pet name with a small tug on Louis’ nipple with his teeth.

“Harry, inside. Please.” 

Harry slides one more finger in, scissoring them to open Louis’ walls for him further. Louis is glistening with sweat, body humming and ready for Harry’s cock, greedily swallowing Harry’s fingers as he pumps them in and out.

“Fuck me. Please. I can’t take it anymore, I’m begging you.”

Harry finally takes his fingers out, and Louis cries out at the sudden loss, but he has no time to complain because he suddenly feels the head of Harry’s cock rub against his entrance.

“I want to be so gentle with you and savor our first time together, but fuck,” Harry curses as he continues to rub the tip of his cock against Louis’ hole. “I also just want to completely wreck you.” 

Louis moans at Harry’s filthy words. God, Louis wants that too. Wants both, but the need to fuck is growing the more time they waste. It’s overdramatic, but Louis feels like he’s going to die if Harry doesn’t fuck him in the next second.

Louis meets Harry’s dark green eyes, rolling his hips down against his tip and whispering a needy “please,” hoping that will be enough for Harry.

And finally, without another word, Harry pushes in slowly. Louis’ world zeroes in on the sudden intrusion, his hole clenching around the massive heat inside him. It doesn’t hurt, per se, but Harry isn’t small by any means and the only thing Louis’ had inside him for a while now are his fingers.

“Relax and let me in, baby.”

Louis groans at that, his heart threatening to beat out of his rib cage. After a minute or so of Harry whispering sweet nothings, Louis relaxes and Harry begins to move inch by inch until he’s bottomed out. They’re both a mess of breathless limbs as Harry gives Louis a chance to adjust to his size.

“Okay?”

“God, yes,” Louis says.

He winds his hands around Harry’s neck, nails digging into the hot, damp skin as he whimpers out a desperate command to “move.”

Harry immediately pulls out and thrusts back into him with one solid stroke, and Louis loses the struggle to keep his eyes open. He lets them flutter shut as he moans out in complete ecstasy, feeling the force of Harry’s deep strokes in every muscle in his lower half. Louis doesn’t have words to describe what Harry is doing to him, how the hard and purposeful thrusts are making him feel. Harry carefully pins Louis’ hands above his head.

“Keep them there,” Harry grunts out as he moves his hands away again to support his weight, slightly lifting himself above Louis, just enough that they’re both able to see his cock disappear inside Louis’ body when they look down. The sight is so hot and raw that Louis can feel the tight heat starting to pull around his tummy.

“I’ve been thinking about this moment for years,” Harry says. “Back then, I was just a stupid teen with a major crush on a boy. A boy who looked out for me when no one else would. I didn’t know what became of you, but I’d be lying if I said that my thoughts didn’t turn to you whenever I thought of my past.”

Harry continues to slide in and pull nearly all of the way out before slamming in again, even as he speaks. Louis continues to moan and whimper as his climax builds, and Harry’s words are making it worse. Harry takes notice of how close he is and begins to slowly stroke Louis’ hard cock.

“Then after that night, after seeing you in those brown overalls, I’ve been picturing you beneath me just like this, as my cock brings you over the edge.” Harry’s hand on Louis’ cock and his hard thrusts pick up speed, making it clear that he has only one goal in mind. It makes Louis’ body tremble, and there’s no way his body can hold back.

“Harry, I’m going to—“

“Come,” Harry commands. “Go ahead and come for me, baby.”

Louis closes his eyes so tight he sees stars. He comes with a shout, hot jets of come shooting from his cock, running down his shaft and spreading messily over Harry’s hand. Harry moves both hands to hold Louis’ legs higher as he picks up speed, reaching an almost animalistic pace. With a groan of his own and Louis’ walls closing in around him, Harry finds his own release. Waves of bliss course through Louis, vision blurring and the world fading around him as Harry empties inside him.

Harry’s cock jerks inside of him one last time before he slowly slides out, and Louis’ face scrunches in discomfort at the sudden loss. His body doesn’t like that one bit. 

They lay there tangled around each other until they catch their breath, finally coming down from their high, and Louis lies there uselessly while Harry rearranges their bodies into something more comfortable for sleeping.

Soon enough, Louis finds himself leaning against Harry, his head resting on his chest, loving the feeling of his rhythmic heartbeat lulling him to sleep. Harry caresses Louis' back, fingers dancing along his spine.

Louis thinks they should really get up and clean up, but he couldn’t move even if he wanted to. Not when Harry is holding him like this, kissing him so sweetly, making it clear that it’s neither a duty nor an afterthought. The kisses are constant, whether they landed on his lips, cheek, or neck. 

They lay there for a while before Harry finally gives into slumber.

Louis doesn’t know what tomorrow will bring, doesn’t know if he’s ever going to have moments like this again, but in this moment, when he’s on the cusp of sleep and staring at his sleeping lover, he allows himself to bask in the afterglow of their love. 

⊱ ────── ⊰

Louis is a nervous wreck and no matter how much Harry tries to play it off like he isn't, Louis knows he’s also feeling on edge. They’re in the rider’s tented area, trying to help Harry prepare for the race. Liam is outside with Niall double checking to ensure that Harry’s saddle is strapped on properly. 

It’s been a quiet morning. They’ve both been too busy wrapped up in their heads to say much, and Louis is helping Harry get his gear on. Harry pulls the straps of his vest by his pecs and pulls on his signature brown leather jacket. Louis closes his eyes and breathes in deeply, leaning into Harry as his hands gently grasp him. Words don’t feel like enough right now.

“How are you feeling?” Louis says finally, though that’s not really what he wants to say. Harry, however, sees right through him. 

“Hey, calm down and have a little faith okay?”

Louis sighs. “I do, I really do, but I...” He really isn’t making things better. Maybe showing some positivity will go a long way, but Louis has never been able to keep his emotions off his face. He wears his heart on his sleeve always, so diluting his feelings wouldn’t be really effective.

Harry bends his knees slightly in order to accommodate Louis’s height, gently resting his forehead against Louis’.

“After this is done, promise me that you’ll let me take you out on a date. With Luci as our ride,” Harry says, smiling.

“You’re impossible, Harry Styles.” Louis says with a thick layer of annoyance, but the promise of a date still manages to bring a small smile to his mouth.

“There it is,” Harry says, touching the corners of Louis’ mouth and leaning in to give a gentle kiss to Louis’ nose. 

Just as quickly as the smile appears, it falters. 

“Harry, you’d better make it back to me in one piece,” Louis demands. 

“That’s the plan, baby,” Harry reassures him. “Besides, I’ve gotta get this over with. I’ve got a date tonight.”

“I never agreed to this date, you know,” Louis replies.

“Then I guess I’ll have to win this race to try to impress you.”

Louis rolls his eyes as Harry kisses his forehead, and Louis basks in the feeling. That gesture always has a comforting and soothing effect on him. Louis inhales, taking in Harry’s scent before slowly exhaling. He grips Harry’s jacket, pulling Harry down so they’re eye level. “Show these bastards what racing is truly about,” Louis says with a smile full of mirth.

Harry chuckles. “Oh, believe me, I plan to, baby.”

Louis lets go of Harry jacket before throwing his arms around his neck, kissing him hard. He promptly shoves Harry back and without another word turns around, making his way out of the tent to Lucifer with Pippin hot on his trail behind him. 

Niall and Liam are petting Lucifer as Louis approaches, and they grab Harry’s attention as soon as he steps out of the tent behind Louis to quickly go over the track one more time.

Louis takes the opportunity to tend to Lucifer. “Take care of him, Luci, and you watch out for these asshats,” Louis warns before planting a kiss between Lucifer’s nostrils. The dragon huffs breath out of his nose, making Louis’ hair fly in all directions. Louis hugs his muzzle and the dragon lifts his head up slightly, causing Louis to come right off the ground for a moment. He laughs as Lucifer lowers him back down.

“Okay, Harry, just think of it like any old race,” Liam says before Niall interrupts him.

“But be more aware of the snakes around trying to poison you.”

Harry laughs. “Thanks for all of the help in the past month, guys. I don’t think I’d be nearly as prepared if it weren't for your tips.”

“Look at us,” Niall says cheerfully. “Just last month you were a stranger on the TV and now you’re thanking me. Who would have thought?”

“Okay, fanboy of the year,” Liam teases.

Just then, a horn blares through the arena, signaling that all riders need to make their way to the platform. The crowd comes alive with chants and screams, eager for the commencement of this year’s Draconian Race. Louis turns to Harry as his heartbeat begins to drum at a faster pace. Louis kisses him one more time, putting his all into it and knowing that it might still not be enough. “I’ll be on the ground floor at the service station in case of an emergency. “I lo—,” Louis starts, but Harry quickly places a hand over his mouth to silence him.

“Do not,” Harry says with an angry growl. “You say that to me when I’ve won, not when you’re trembling from anxiety. The first time you tell me that as a lover is when you’re happy, not scared. Got it?”

Louis nods, tears pooling in his eyes. Harry drops his hand, cradling Louis’ face in one swift motion. He kisses Louis one more time before turning and making his way over to Lucifer. He looks back one more time and then climbs up Lucifer’s side, mounting the saddle effortlessly.

Without another word from either of them, Lucifer takes off, circling around once before landing on the long platform where all of the riders are stationed. 

Louis wants to freeze this image onto his brain, Harry among all the other riders, looking so handsome and fearless, and every bit as intimidating as the person next to him. The difference is that Harry exudes the true spirit of a dragon racer from every pore of his body. 

Louis takes one final look before heading to the service station where Robert, Harry’s sponsor, stands with a small group of important-looking people.

“Ah, so you’re the one that our young Harry is doing this for.”

“It’s not like this isn’t bringing you a lot of money,” Louis says. “You’re loving every single moment of it.”

Robert laughs with no ounce of shame. “I’d watch that pretty mouth of yours, kid. Or it’ll get you in trouble.” The old man warns. “Contrary to popular belief, I came to grow fond of Styles. I wouldn’t have let this happen if I didn’t believe he could win. After all, he is still under contract with me,” he adds with a wink before making his way to the luxurious private verandas. 

“He may be loving it, but I sure as fuck am not.”

Louis jumps at the sudden hostility coming from the man approaching him. He’s a bit older and taller, and it only takes Louis a moment to place him. Nick Grimshaw, a close friend of Harry’s that Louis has seen him with before and after the races that Louis watches on TV. “You’d better hope nothing happens to him or it’ll be you who has a hefty bounty on your head.” 

Louis should really be cordial with Harry’s friend, but he’s not about to let him walk all over him, making him feel even more guilty than he already does. “Accept the fact that Harry isn’t going to fuck you, Grimshaw.”

Nick sneers. “At least you got some bite in you. I guess when you grow up in a dump like Draco, you have to if you want to survive.”

Louis bites down a petty retort and opts to play nice. “Harry’s a great rider. He’ll be fine,” Louis reassures him.

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself, dragon boy?”

Louis scowls at the nickname but before he can argue, Nick turns, following his father to the verandas. What a fucking jerk. Louis really needs to ask Harry about his questionable choice in friends one day. 

A roar suddenly snaps Louis out of his thoughts as all the riders on the track prepare their dragons for takeoff. Some of the dragons let out deafening roars as they and their owners try to intimidate and scare the others, and the sound echos throughout the arena. 

“Welcome to this season’s Draconian Race. We have riders from many different backgrounds and regions come and compete in the most grueling and sought out race to prove who the top rider really is. Let’s see which one of these creatures deserves the title of Draconian Rider for this season."

The pudgy toad looking man directing the start of the race raises his right hand and the crowd buzzes with excitement. “May the best rider and dragon rule the skies,” he says before bringing his hand down. 

On a bridge over the track, the racers shoot forward with a high-pitched scream. Louis sees that Harry doesn’t even have to slam his heel into Lucifer’s side like many of the other riders do. Lucifer simply takes off like a shot. He and Harry can read each other so well that they understand one another in races without having to use words or signals or anything at all. It’s truly amazing for Louis to see the connection Harry has with Lucifer. Harry had assured Louis that it had taken years of patience and practice, and Louis doesn’t doubt it. One doesn’t become a skilled rider by treating their dragon like nothing more than a flying machine. 

This course is new, and to Louis’ dismay, more dangerous than the last. Apparently having a professional racer from Ladon makes everyone nervous enough to increase the danger factor. This course goes through the sandy ocean, desert canyon, and the celestial quadrant. No matter what happens out on the course, the only rule is to make it back to the finish line. People can get away with murder here, and it disgusts Louis to no end. 

The racers are currently making their way through the sandy ocean. Once they get through this, they have to make their way up the winding mountain peaks with only flimsy flag banners to point them through the correct route. One wrong turn and you could get lost in the maze of boulders or even worse, die. There are no fancy flashing signs here, not like the ones Harry is used to in Ladon. Harry already got a mild injury a couple of weeks back on a mere practice run, so Louis is a mess of nerves. 

“You look like you’re about to puke all over your dragon,” someone says from beside him, and Louis turns his head to see his father. Swallowing the lump in his throat. Louis realizes he’s holding Pippin like he would a cat. Pippin always manages to calm him down when he’s this anxious, but he isn’t helping as much as normal. Probably because the love of Louis’ life is in the middle of a death-defying race. 

“You really think that boy will win?” Louis’ father asks.

“Yes,” Louis says without missing a beat. Even with nerves consuming Louis from the inside out, he doesn’t doubt Harry’s ability in the slightest. He knows Harry can outperform any of the riders on the track right now. The only problem is that Harry has morals and a conscious, two things that Louis is sure all the other riders on the field are lacking. 

“Aaron Buller in the lead, followed by John Ackerman, Michael Stiller, and Harry Styles.” 

Louis focuses back on the giant screen showing the riders. Harry isn’t in the lead, but he slowly works his way through a dense mass of riders as they zoom over the desert ocean. The dust cloud from the beating of wings is making it difficult for even the signals around the route to see anything. 

“Oof, we have a rider down, with a dragon spiraling into the quicksand.” 

Louis bites his lip as he tries to make sense of who fell, but the image up on the screen is still unclear. 

“Looks like it was Finnigan Clearwater. What a shame.”

As awful as it is,  Louis can’t help but sigh in relief. Just as long as it isn’t Harry.

The cloud of dust finally clears up and he immediately zeroes in on Lucifer and the neon pink bandana on his tail. Louis smiles to himself and takes a moment to appreciate that Harry’s favorite color is still pink. 

The sandy ocean soon turns to rocky terrain and Louis knows that they’ve reached the peaks. There are so many turns that it’s difficult to keep up with the screen. All Louis can make out is dragons zig-zagging and tilting left and right, trying to avoid the boulders and rocky calcium spikes protruding from the mountainsides. There’s a loud crash as two dragons collides with another, one veering the other away from its path. The second rider tries to take control of his yellow Rattletail, but there’s another sharp turn and the dragon doesn’t make it in time. A sharp column impales the dragon, knocking the rider down. The rider hits the side of the mountain with a sickening crunch as he falls down the valley. Giant roars of pain are heard throughout the screen and Louis can’t look any longer, tears starting to pool down his face. The roars continue until the feed switches the focus back to the remaining riders zooming through the valley. 

Louis wipes his tears away and focuses on Harry. He’s currently whipping around another sharp turn, Lucifer’s wing just barely missing the mountain’s peak. 

“This part of the race is truly not for the kindhearted.” 

There’s another roar as the riders and their dragons try to avoid colossal bedrock toppling down and crushing them all to death.

“Oh, can some of these riders avoid the giant boulders breaking off and falling on them in a frenzy?”

Louis watches the screen as many riders get pelted with rocks of all sizes.  

Oh no! And down goes Lilieth Rocktower and her Miniature Long-Horn. 

Louis watches as a rock the same size of the long-horn slams into its skull. There’s a loud crunch as the dragon falls, followed by Rocktower’s screams. 

“What a pity indeed. She was nearly out of the rocky shower. Some of the riders suffered some minor injuries, but the rest are still going strong for now!” The announcer laughs in amusement.

Pippin crawls up Louis’ shoulder to see what has Louis’ attention so absorbed. He chirps as he nudges Louis, just as roars come through the screen.

“He’s almost out of the canyon, Pip,” Louis soothes as he brings his hand up to stroke the dragon’s back.

He knows there’s still more of the race and that any second things can take a turn, but the canyon terrain has always made him the most nervous because there are so many different elements coming into play. 

Louis takes a look at the full track and is about to celebrate that Harry’s almost made it through the mountain peaks, but his smile fades when two riders tailgate Harry. 

“Looks like Styles is in trouble.” 

The crowd cheers in anticipation, always getting the most worked up when riders play dirty. Nobody in this audience has any shame and it sickens Louis to no end.

Louis knows what they’re going to do as soon as he sees their formation, and he can’t do anything but watch in horror. One rider holds the cylinder device and the other holds a similar device on the other side. In no time at all, the electrical barbed wire connects from their two devices as both flyers speed up to try and knock Harry off his dragon, also electrocuting him in the process, as if being knocked off isn’t enough. 

It happens so quickly Louis doesn’t even have time to make sense of it, but the morons behind Harry were too focused on trying to sabotage him to notice the terrain around them. Harry ducks right before the wire makes contact and Lucifer swerves to the left, body twisting so he can slip through between the mountain’s side and the giant pillar in the middle of the course. The wire comes in contact with the pillar and both riders are jerked off their dragons. The dragons try to halt mid-flight, but it’s too late, and both crash in between the pillar and the mountain and tumble down. 

“Looks like both Vandal and Thomas met their doom. Styles’ quick thinking no match for them.” 

Monstrous roars fill their ears as the screen switches from Harry to the other riders up ahead.  

It looks like Buller and Ackerman are battling it out as their dragons collide with each other, snapping their powerful jaws as their tails whip around. Both riders are desperately trying to keep a tight hold and control their dragons as they slash and snap at each other. The battle doesn’t last long before Ackerman’s Steelbelly roars. Louis knows why right away, and it looks like Buller does too as he tries to steer his dragon away. It happens in a blink of an eye, as the dragon opens his mouth and the powerful flames ripple out. Buller screams as he’s surrounded by flames and his dragon roars as it tries to rip Akerman’s dragon apart with his talons, but it's no use. The Steelbelly’s flames are too powerful, and Buller and his dragon’s carbonized bodies tumble down. 

Harry finally catches up with Stiller and runs neck and neck with him through the rough terrain. Stiller looks furious as Harry overtakes him, taking the lead. Stiller is a stocky man riding the biggest dragon of them all, a Coal-Horn, pure black with red eyes. He stays right on Lucifer's tail, crowding him and pushing him through the turns until they finally see the giant solid wall of the mountain in front of them with no escape except to go up.

“Now it’s time to see if the remaining riders can get the Draconian flags up in the celestial quadrant.”

Harry, Stiller, Ackerman, and the other two riders tailing them pull back as the dragons ascend up the mountain wall, and Stiller takes this opportunity to ram sideways into Lucifer. Harry almost loses his balance as Lucifer knocks his wing into the wall, the roar of pain echoing around the arena. People scream and holler in excitement and suspense. 

Stiller is focused on what’s ahead of him, but out of nowhere, Harry catches up again and slams Lucifer’s side against the Coal-Horn. Stiller veers left, but quickly regains control and directs his dragon to the left. Louis bites his lip as he braces for impact as though he were on the dragon right behind Harry. However, the red flames from the Steelbelly return and envelope Stiller and his dragon from behind. 

Louis looks on in terror as the pair fall back, Ackerman swiftly maneuvering to the side as they come tumbling back down. One of the riders behind isn’t lucky or fast enough to dodge the gigantic dragon, free-falling down to earth. They collide with a thunderous roar. 

“Stiller is another casualty of the powerful flames of Ackerman’s Steelbelly.” 

The crowd roars in excitement again as they look upon the final three riders. Louis’ heart is threatening to beat out of his chest when he sees Ackerman tailing Harry. 

The three riders finally reach the end of the giant wall and pick up speed as they soar through the sky. Louis knows this is a difficult task, as the wind and gravity is a nasty opponent during this portion of the track. Harry stays low, basically glued to Lucifer’s back as the wind threatens to knock him off. Lucifer takes the lead and they can see the small emerald green Draconian flags suspended by oval pods. 

Ackerman speeds up beside Harry and slams into him, and Lucifer roars as he slams back just as hard. They maneuver their way through the sky, and Louis knows it must be difficult. The temperature must be way lower than it is down here and he imagines that breathing is also a struggle at that altitude. 

“As Ackerman and Styles battle it out, Edwards looks like he’s struggling to keep up.”

Pippin yips as he nuzzles his slithery head against Louis’ neck, distracting Louis from completely biting his lip raw.

“And down goes Edwards and his Iron-Winged Thornback. The pressure was just too much for both of them. The dragon was struggling to keep up with Ackerman and Styles. Thornbacks usually stay low on the ground, and clearly this was a feat that they couldn’t overcome. Pity.”

Louis holds his breath as he watches Harry near the flags. It’s tricky, as they’re very small and the rider must be the one who takes hold of it. 

“Styles is in the lead about to take possession of the flag. Oooh, but here comes Ackerman hot on his tail.”

Harry extends his hand to take hold of the flag, barely staying upright, and suddenly Steelbelly knocks into Lucifer and Harry topples over. Louis gasps and a huge scream leaves his mouth as he watches Harry free fall. Lucifer’s tail rounds back and hits the Steelbelly in the face. The dragon roars in pain, and most likely, the spikes at the end of Lucifer’s tail have taken out his vision.

Lucifer backflips and dives as he roars in agony. Not from injury, Louis can tell, but from the view of Harry tumbling down to the earth. Harry looks like a ragdoll as the wind beats him around, his body flipping over every which way. Lucifer roars again as he speeds up, desperately trying to reach his partner. Louis holds his breath as he mentally encourages Lucifer to get Harry, and it must work because Lucifer catches up to Harry and speeds up ahead of him.

“Looks like Style’s Whitefire is going to launch a rescue mission as he dives to reach an unconscious Styles.”

“Yes, Luci!” Louis exclaims as Lucifer expands his wings and Harry’s body collides with Lucifer’s back. The dragon beats his wings as he roars. Louis, along with the entire arena, hold their breath in anticipation. 

“Ackerman has completely lost control of his Steelbelly, but Styles has yet to show any vital sign. It’s not looking good for either rider.”

The crowd begins to murmur among themselves as both dragons hover up in the skies, buzzing in suspense to see which rider will come on top.

“Looks like Ackerman has finally gained control and gotten hold of a flag.”

Wake up, Harry, Louis pleads, as if somehow Harry will be able to hear him. Harry, you need to wake up, please.

Lucifer roars again, loud and thunderous, and that does it. Harry shoots up straight up with a startled yell. Louis sighs and collapses down onto his ass in relief. However, Lucifer roars and flips over as flames graze the spot where Harry was at moments ago. His silver belly is grazed with fire and this time he does roar in agony. 

Ackerman zips by as he descends back to finish the race. 

“Looks like Style’s dragon saved him from becoming barbecue,” the announcer laughs. “And Ackerman is in the lead, heading down to the finish line.”

Come on, Luci, don’t give up now boy. Come on, Louis thinks like a mantra. 

A giant snarl leaves Lucifer’s mouth as he dives down again with precise speed.

“And there goes Styles. He sure is a determined motherfucker.”

“Damn right he is, and he’s going to fucking win,” Louis startles as Robert Grimshaw slides up beside Louis. He doesn’t pay him any more mind, instead staying solely focused on Harry on the screen. 

Louis watches as Lucifer and Harry descend down until they reach the giant wall.

“The Steelbelly is relying on Ackerman’s guidance to navigate through the terrain because Styles’ Whitefire took out his eyesight.

Louis knows Lucifer can catch up, and he just hopes that he isn’t too badly injured to affect his speed.

“Styles has just entered the mountain pillars. Let’s see how he fairs through the maze.”

The screen splits into two with the left showing Harry, while the right shows Ackerman.

This is where you truly get to see how good of riders they are. Together, the dragons and riders soar toward a long expanse of rocky pillars. The wind whistles through the canyon as both riders zoom through, desperately trying to spur their dragons on. Lucifer’s powerful body dives through the stony maze, unerringly avoiding collision with the pillars protruding in every direction, ready to impale any rider that gets in its way. 

“Looks like Ackerman’s Steelbelly is losing focus and gassing out quickly. The use of his fire along with the lost eyesight is finally taking its toll.”

Louis focuses on the left screen as he sees Harry once again help navigate Lucifer through the tight gap between the pillars. They dart through stone arches and over, swooping around the first falling rocks of the canyon. Lucifer’s head rears back and Louis smiles in awe as blazing hot white and blue flames spewed out of his mouth, completely melting any of the cascading rocks. 

The screen suddenly joins until it becomes one image again.

”Styles has caught up to Ackerman. This is anybody’s race!”

As they head for the final stretch, Harry reaches Ackerman and slams into him from the side. Both dragons roar as they collide again and again with each other, neither willing to stop until one gives in. The red flames start up again and Louis knows the Steelbelly won’t have enough steam left in him if he continues. Breathing fire takes a tremendous amount of energy, and once you add in the constant of flying and the strain of fighting, it’s obvious that it’ll end badly. As if on cue, with a mournful growl, the dragon’s flames dwindle until they completely recede. Lucifer takes that as an opportunity to slam into him until he crushes onto the other side of the canyon. 

“Styles takes the lead as Ackerman’s Steelbelly crash-lands onto the sandy ocean.” 

Harry puts his hand in his vest as he takes out the small flag. 

“Harry Styles has a Draconian flag!”

Louis gasps, as he’d completely forgotten about the flag. Harry had managed to get one before he was knocked off Lucifer, and he clearly had time to stow it away. 

“The racers managed to unsettle the dunes, and as a result, an enormous sandstorm has formed over the sandy ocean. This is Styles’ final task if he wants to take the victory home.”

Once again, the screen becomes obscured as the oval drones that have been following the riders are pelleted with sand and desert debris. 

It feels like the entire arena is collectively holding its breath in suspense as everyone tries to catch any glimpse of Lucifer and Harry. They hear a thunderous roar, immediately followed by complete silence. Nothing can be seen or heard as multiple drones try to detect any movement.

“Both Harry and Dragon might as well be blind. Nothing can be seen inside one of the canyon’s sand storms and there’s no way to differentiate which way is up or down. Styles could have possibly been swallowed by the quicksand if his Whitefire doves straight to it. Could a little sandstorm be Style’s downfall?”

“Shut the fuck up!” Louis barks as his heart begins to pound out of his ribcage.

Harry, please. Louis prays as he continues to stare all over the screen. “Please!” Louis yells in despair as drone after drone loses signal. 

“The drones are becoming casualties of the storm. If Styles doesn’t—”

The announcer doesn’t get the chance to finish his sentence before a white blaze comes through the murky view, immediately followed by Lucifer’s monstrous roar.

The crowd cheers as both Lucifer and Harry make it out of the sandstorm. 

Louis starts to cry as he watches Lucifer pump his wings, though he’s struggling to maintain his usual rhythm. Something’s wrong with Lucifer, and so Louis doesn’t waste any second as he runs back to the shaded area.

“Get me medical supplies here ASAP. Lucifer is hurt and they might both be in bad shape. Hurry,” Louis calls out to anyone in the vicinity who can help.

Louis turns around just in time to see Harry and Lucifer with his own eyes.

Harry races over the finish line, the winner. 

⊱ ────── ⊰

Louis has gotten more comfortable flying, but he still refuses to ride by himself, though he figures that will change the more time he spends riding Luci beside Harry. Currently, Louis is holding on to Harry tightly as they ascend through the sky. 

Louis has watched Harry and Lucifer so much by now, but he’s always still in awe when he sees how truly connected these two are. Harry and Lucifer are a match made in heaven, and Louis can’t help but feel honored to have a small part in their story. 

The sun is about to break the sky, and Harry always thinks this is the best way to start the day. He proudly sits on the leather saddle, savoring the wind on his face as streaks of yellow and orange beginning to spread across the sky. 

Louis runs his hand down Lucifer’s side, feeling his beautiful scales and muscles rippling as he beats his powerful wings. A yawn escapes his mouth, and if Harry hadn’t pulled him out of bed at such an ungodly hour, he wouldn’t be this sleepy. 

“Come on Luci, let’s wake Louis up a bit. What do you say, boy?” Harry yells so he can be heard through the chilly wind. He turns his head back to throw a dazzling smile Louis’ way. 

“Harry Styles, don’t you fucking da—,” Louis’ shouts turn into curdling screams as Lucifer’s wings suddenly stop pumping and with a sudden jerk, they start descending backwards in a dive. Louis’ stomach suddenly feels like it’s in his throat as his thighs lock around the saddle and his hands lock around Harry’s middle. Harry scrunches his face through the uncomfortable feeling, but he knows he probably deserves it.

Thankfully, the feeling of falling doesn’t last long, and soon enough, they’re upright again and Lucifer’s wings start gliding easily along the sky. The only thing around them is the ocean and pink-orange sky.

“Harry, as soon as we land, I’m going to fucking kill you! I’ve told you not to do that, you complete twat!” The asshole doesn’t even have the decency to look guilty about it, instead just grinning at Louis with his stupid dimples, which make it hard to stay mad. 

“Louis, you can yell and hate me all you want, but we both know you love the adrenaline rush and you certainly like to brag about it once you’re on the ground.”

Louis scowls at him, not liking being called out so blatantly. Of course, being blunt and upfront is kind of Harry’s forte. Sure, it can get annoying sometimes, but Louis loves that about him. Louis nips Harry’s earlobe in retaliation. “It’s still not very nice, Harold,” Louis says as an afterthought. Harry chuckles and squeezes Louis’ thigh. 

“I’ll make it up to you, baby.”

Louis smiles to himself and rests his chin on Harry’s shoulder. Lucifer remains in a steady glide, and Louis quickly forgets what he was so upset about just a few minutes ago. He turns his face to the right, extending his arms to try and catch the clouds around them. He knows his fingers won’t be able to grasp anything, but this time around, he feels tiny ice crystals hitting his gloves.

There’s a sense of complete serenity that settles over him here that he’s never quite been able to feel on the ground. The only other place he ever feels like this is when he’s in Harry’s arms. Louis can’t help but scrunch his face at how disgustingly cliche that sounds, though that doesn’t mean it any less true. 

Harry squeezes his thigh again, and Louis squeezes his middle in return, kissing his cheek and nuzzling his cold nose into the nape of Harry’s neck. 

“You want to head back? I know how cold you get up here.”

“In a couple of minutes,” Louis replies. “Let me enjoy this a little longer.” 

No matter how many layers of clothing he puts on, the cold skies always chill him to the bone, but it’s worth it for the view alone, so he never complains.

The sun finally peaks thought the horizon and Louis is left speechless at the breathtaking view, just like always. Up here, Louis feels lighter than ever before, as though all of the burdens he carries have melted away and tumbled towards the earth where they can no longer touch him. 

His eyes flutter shut as the warmth of the sun’s rays caress his face, and all Louis can hear is the gentle beating Luci’s wings and the wind all around them. Louis slowly inhales, his mind meeting a state of nirvana as he allows himself to be wrapped up in the sky and his lover. 

Louis feels completely weightless, and he never wants to come back down.