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Watching the blur of woolly scarves and thick coats whizz past him down the snowy hillside only made Harry more anxious as he looked down at the flimsy blue sledge that sat at his feet. By his side, by his side, a big, blue eyed boy watched anxiously, clutching his dads hand whilst curls blew across his face slightly, eyes transfixed on where his sister and father had landed in a heap at the foot of the hill, the pile of snow extinguishing their momentum instantly. In the bleak midwinter sun, the girls brown hair glistened, feathery strands escaping from her plaits that were encrusted in icy snow. She tore back up the hill to where Harry stood, still hand in hand with Leo, and seized his other mittened hand.
“Daddy pleeaaase have a go with me!” Harry smiled, brushing her plaits over her shoulders and pulling her hat into place from where it had been knocked askew in the crash landing. Louis appeared by Harry’s side, pecking his husband’s cheek before reaching down to set the red sleigh down next to the blue, lining them up at the pretend start line.
“Yeah, come on Haz. You take Darcy down, and I’ll take Leo yeah? It could even be a race!” at the mention of competition, Darcy’s green eyes lit up, tugging on Harry’s hand even more. Harry sighed, glancing down at their smaller, well bundled up five-year-old who looked positively terrified of the ominous red sledge in front of him.
“Leo? What do you want to do?”
Louis caught sight of his son, crouching down to meet his eyes.
“C’mon little guy. I know it looks scary but it’s fun, yeah? I’ll look after you.”
Leo dithered for a few seconds more, before nodding, smiling and hugging Louis, who chuckled softly.
Setting the shiny plastic sledges next to each other, Leo settled himself in Louis lap, who hung on tightly to the strong steering wheel whilst watching Darcy jump around, waiting for Harry to fit his tangle of limbs into the tiny sledge. Eventually both teams were ready to go.
“On the count of three?” Louis queried, Harry nodding.
“One, two th- Hey!”
On two, Louis had pushed of, Leo emitting a cross between a terrified yelp and a delighted cheer as the sledge was set in motion, skipping over the coat of glossy snow that blanketed the hillside. Frowning, Harry lurched forward, following suit down the slope. Louis had got an unfair head start, and even Darcy’s yells of “faster” couldn’t make up the distance between them as Harry watched Louis and the now giggling five-year-old hit the snow drift at the bottom.
“You cheated!” Harry exclaimed, Darcy pouting at her father who sat smugly in the red sled, clutching a triumphant Leo.
“No! I made it equal! There was more weight in your sled, you’d have more momentum!”
Harry rolled his eyes getting up and watching as Darcy ran off, sledge and little brother in hand.
“You’re impossible.” He mumbled to Louis, pulling him into his side with a contented smile.
“I know” Louis grinned, bouncing up to peck Harry on the lips before seizing his hand.
“Come on, Before Darcy sends her brother down the hill alone “for fun”.”