keep this love in a photograph by suspendrs (coming soon for the @onedirectionbigbang)
“Ah, Harry, there you are,” Louis grins, skipping over to where Harry is still peeking around the candy aisle. “I thought I heard your little feet come in.”
“Nonsense,” Harry says, looking down at his feet. “You can’t tell size just by hearing, can you? How’d you know my feet weren’t big feet?”
“They are big feet,” Louis says, “for your age, anyway. You’re growing up, Harry, aren’t you?”
“Yes!” Harry beams. “Soon I’ll be just as big as you and Gems, you’ll see.”
“Come to the back with me, I’ve got something to show you,” Louis says, grinning at Harry with all of his crooked little teeth. “My dad just gave it to me this morning, says it’s an early birthday present.”
Harry follows him behind the checkout counter and through the door, into the small storage room where they keep all the extra stock for the store. He takes his seat on the stairs that lead up to the apartment and Louis sits down one step below him, so Harry can see over his shoulder.
“Look,” he says, pulling a small silver thing out of his pocket, turning it over in his hand. “Do you know what it is?”
“No,” Harry frowns, leaning closer to get a better look. “What is it?”
“It’s a pocket knife,” Louis says, and presses his thumb into a small groove along the edge of the handle. The blade snaps open and Harry jumps, but smiles immediately.
“Neat!” he cheers, clapping once. “Show me again!”
Louis snaps the blade back into the handle and positions his thumb over the groove again, pressing down belatedly, when Harry gets huffy, making him jump again.
Harry squeals with delight, reaching over Louis’s shoulder to take the knife from him carefully. Louis snaps it back shut and then hands it over, and gently moves Harry’s thumb with his own fingers to help him find the groove.
There’s a quiet click from the doorway, and when Harry looks up he finds Gemma watching them, her brand new camera in her hands. She eyes the knife in Harry’s hand and shuffles over, frowning down at it. “What’s going on here, boys?” she asks, plopping down on the floor in front of the stairs, her long wool skirt stretched over her knees.
“Louis’s showing me his new pocket knife!” Harry says, pushes the blade closed and then holds it out, being careful to keep it away from anyone’s face, and pops it open again.
“It was my dad’s,” Louis says. “He got a new one, so he let me have his old one. It’s pretty good, but the one he’s got now is better, sharper. What have you got there, Gem?”
“My birthday present,” Gemma grins, holding up her new camera for Louis to see. “My parents gave it to me yesterday, after we had supper. It’s a folding pocket Kodak. It’s not the newest kind, but it’s the kind my parents could afford to get me. They want me to take lots of photographs so I’ll always remember important things, like you guys,” she says, placing the camera in her lap and reaching out to ruffle Harry and Louis’s hair with both of her hands.
Harry feels a swell of warmth inside his chest at being considered an important thing, but he still smacks Gemma’s hand away, just to keep up appearances. Louis just smiles dotingly at both of them, and then jumps off the stairs to run back out to the store. Gemma follows him in a flash, her ten year old legs long and quick, and Harry stumbles along behind them like the stubby little kid he still is.
“Our father gave us a whole dollar to spend today,” Gemma beams, “since I just had such an important birthday.”
“What are you going to buy?” Louis asks, hoisting himself up to sit on the checkout counter, feet hanging a couple inches off the floor.
Gemma turns to where Harry’s pouting behind her, feeling left out. As much as he loves his sister, he hates her birthday. She gets all the attention for a whole week until everyone remembers that Harry’s around, too. Gemma’s a good sister, though, and she drapes her arm over Harry’s shoulders as she looks back up at Louis.
“I think I’ll get whatever Harry wants,” she says, pinching his cheek just lightly enough to not be annoying. “He’s been rather neglected lately.”
Harry’s mood turns instantly, a grin lighting up his face. “You mean it, Gem?” he breathes, pulling at her skirt excitedly. “Whatever I want?”
“Sure,” Gemma says, releasing him to roam the store. Harry heads straight for the candy aisle, picking up where he left off perusing his options. Gemma keeps chatting with Louis at the checkout until Harry comes back with a few carefully selected treats in his hands, dropping them onto the counter beside Louis’s lap.
Louis hops down to punch everything into the register and count it all up, and Gemma hands Harry the dollar so he can pay Louis himself. He was careful not to spend the whole dollar so Gemma can get something, as well, so when Louis hands him back a dime he drops it into Gemma’s hand proudly.
“You’re sweet, Harry,” Gemma hums, and picks up a treat for herself to spend the last dime. Louis packs everything up into a brown paper bag and accompanies them outside when they leave, helping Gemma untie the horses from the post.
“Have a safe ride,” Louis says, helping Gemma up into the carriage and then Harry behind her, tucking his hands into his armpits immediately after.
“Get inside, Louis, you’ll freeze!” Gemma says, already tucking her chin into her coat to prepare for the ride back to the farm.
“Goodbye, Gemma, bye Harry!” Louis calls, waving quickly before darting back inside the store.
“Bye, Louis!” Harry yells, catches Louis’s answering smile through the glass door. Gemma tugs the reins to get the horses going and Harry tucks himself back into Gemma’s side, hugging the bag of sweets close to his chest as they head home.
Saturdays are truly the best day of the week. For one day out of every seven, Harry gets to go into town with his sister and act like a big kid, gets to see Louis and play with him for just a couple of minutes. He’s often jealous that Gemma’s the one Louis’ age, that she gets to see him at school and be his friend. Harry just hopes that when they get older it won’t matter as much that Louis is almost three whole years older than him, and they can be good friends forever. He remembers the photograph Gemma took of them, how she said they were important, and tugs on her skirt a little to get her attention.
“Gem,” he says, taking his face out of his coat just long enough to speak. “What are you going to do with that photograph of Louis and me?”
“Gonna get it developed when Pa can take me,” she says. “And then I’m gonna keep it in a box until we get old, and then we’ll be able to look at it and remember what it was like when we were kids.”
“We’ll all still be together then, right?” Harry asks. “Me, you, and Lou?”
“Of course,” Gemma says. “You’re my brother, and Louis is my best friend. We’re always gonna know each other,” she says.
“Okay,” Harry hums, tucking his smile back into his coat.
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