Chapter 8
Nick and Harry’s excitement level was just about out of this universe when they woke up the next morning. It was as though it was Christmas morning or their life had just began. You understand, don’t you? Everything that their life had been leading up to had finally come together; their purpose in life was now defined, it was Louis. They finally had someone to love and protect and fawn over, and they couldn’t wait to do it.
But not now. Now was not the time to jump straight into things, even if they wanted to. As good daddies, they realized that that was not what he needed, even if it was what they wanted. They needed to get him comfortable within his classification. They needed to make him believe that he was a good boy, the beset boy in the world, even. It would take time, and they had all of the time in the world, thankfully. They had 4 weeks until the boys left on tour again, and they hoped it would be enough.
After brushing their teeth and dressing for the day, the men grabbed a pair of sweats and sweater from their drawers for Louis to wear. It was funny, the way that domesticity had changed the way that they thought of property. It was no longer Harry’s clothes or Nick’s blanket; everything was theirs to share. The men were ridiculously excited to take Louis shopping, already planning out exactly what clothes they wanted to get him and how full to the brim his playroom would be. They could already picture themselves bragging to their friends about how they had the most spoiled little boy in the universe.
The sight that met them as they entered the guest room was almost too much for them to handle; Louis looking tiny in the center of the bed with his thumb tucked into his mouth. There was no doubt in their minds that he was the cutest little boy on the face of the earth. The daddies quietly made their way over to the bed, sitting on the edge of it, Nick putting his hand under the duvet so he could softly rub the boy’s back.
“Good morning, Lou, are you ready to wake up?” Harry asked. They were surprised at how quickly Louis woke up, a soft blush on his face as he realized he had his thumb in his mouth, but he made no move to remove it. A small step forward, Nick thought, but it was a good start.
“Let’s get you up and get some breakfast into your tummy!” Nick exclaimed. Louis had a hard time not loving the happy and enthusiastic voices that the daddies seemed to have started talking to him in. The way that they talked made him feel special, like they were happy to talk to him and wanted to make him feel as joyful as possible.
Louis sat up, wincing as he felt his sodden diaper. He couldn’t help but fear that the men would look down at it as he got out of the bed, deciding that they couldn’t take it anymore. He wouldn’t blame them; having to change his diapers was not what they signed up for, was it?
Ever the perceptive men, Nick and Harry could almost hear what Louis was thinking. They decided to stop the negative thoughts before they could overtake his mind.
“Do you need a change?” Nick asked.
Louis nodded minutely before answering, “If you just give me the stuff to change it I can do it in here.”
Harry let out a soft sigh; he was beginning to realize that they had their work cut out for them, but he knew that they would be able to succeed eventually.
“Louis, love, when we agreed to be your daddies that means that we want to help you. Helping you means changing you and doing whatever else you need.”
“Why would you want to do that? It doesn’t make sense,” Louis asked, confusion etched on his face.
“Because, as your daddies, we are here to love you and make sure you’re comfortable and healthy all hours of the day, everyday of the week. We pinky promise.” Louis let out a giggle as Harry held out his pinky to him. The little felt a bit better now, knowing that Harry pinky promised him. Pinky promises were a sacred bond of truth, and everyone knew it.
After being changed and put into comfy clothes, the men took Louis downstairs to start breakfast. Harry was originally going to just get some toast and fruit together, but completely switched his game plan up after seeing Louis in only a diaper. He wanted to hit himself, wondering how he’d never noticed how frail the boy was. Louis had always been a thin little thing, but he looked like he’d fly away with the slightest gust of wind. Harry took it as his duty to get a little fat on Louis’ body, getting the boy back to a healthy state. He made a mental note to get some formula when they went shopping, knowing that it would help the boy gain some weight.
Louis’ eyebrows were sky high when he saw the pancakes that Harry had made, his stack being decorated to look like a smiley face with a whipped cream smile, chocolate chip eyes, and a strawberry smile. Harry grinned at the boy proudly while Nick rolled his eyes at his endearing boyfriend.
The little exclaimed his thanks before tapping on Nick who was seated next to him, asking shyly if he’d cut his pancakes. Louis was terrified to come anywhere close to a knife after he’d cut his palm and figured if the men really wanted to help him out, then he’d better start getting used to it.
Nick cut the boy’s pancakes carefully into small pieces while asking Louis some questions.
Louis wasn’t sure how the men would handle everything regarding Louis’ past, but it seemed as though they were going to be as honest and forward as their normally were. He thought that it would make him uncomfortable, but he felt calm as he answered their questions, only the slightest bit anxious. He knew deep down inside of him that the men only wanted what was best for him, but knowing it and actually being okay with it were two completely different things.
“I know you talked about it a bit last night, love, but just so Harry and I know, can you tell us what kind of things you’ve been seeing happen to your body over time? I don’t mean to sound like a doctor, we just want to know how we can be there and how regressed your body already is. You don’t have to deal with anything alone anymore, we’re here to help.”
The little watched as Nick cut his stack of pancakes, excited to have a real breakfast after years of forgetting to eat the most important meal of the day.
“I guess everything kinda goes wrong once in a while, if that makes sense? It’s ‘mbarrassing, I looked online at a chart once of indicators of how you can tell how little you’re gonna regress to, and they put me in the lowest age category. My hands have been pretty tough to use lately, it’s like I’ll be at a signing and my name just won’t come out. Or I’ll use a knife and cut myself. Can’t hold a fork. I don’t know when I’m going to the bathroom, like, ever. I think that’s the worst part of it. Cuz I just keep thinking, it’s gonna happen when someone else is around and they’ll be able to tell or see it. And a lot of other stuff too, but those two are the big things I think I’ve noticed.”
“Thank you for being so honest, Loulou,” Harry said sincerely, “Would you like me to feed you, would that make things a bit easier? I’d love to.”
Louis couldn’t help but look to Harry’s face, wanting to make sure there was no malicious intent behind his words before accepting his offer. All he saw was the same lovely Harry that was always there and waiting to help him in any way possible. He nodded shyly, unable to stop smiling at the way Harry clapped his hands together, seemingly overjoyed at the prospect of helping Louis eat. He dragged the plate over from where Nick had it, getting a bite ready on the prongs of a fork.
“You can eat first, Hazza, I don’t mind,” Louis said, unsure of why the man would feed him before eating the breakfast that he had cooked.
“Oh, Lou, you’re too sweet, aren’t you? Nick and I will tell you over and over and over; you come first and we love putting you first. That’s how things will always be, okay?”
Louis nodded, opening his mouth as Harry brought the first bite to his lips. He made a happy noise, always thrilled at the prospect of eating Harry’s food. He found himself enjoying being fed, the feeling of someone taking care of him allowing him to relax and just enjoy the food that was entering his body. As his plate was clearing, he started to panic a bit, wondering what he was supposed to do afterwards. Did they want him to leave? When would he see them again?
His questions were answered when Nick stood up to grab something from one of their drawers, coming back to sit down with a pen and notepad in hand.
“All righty, while Harry eats we can get to the fun stuff. Unless you had plans today?” Nick asked, looking at Louis who shook his head in answering.
“Perfect! Are you ready to do some shopping? You can stay over as much or as little as you want, of course, but we want your room and playroom to be exactly how you want them to be. Sound good? Before we get to the shopping fun, we just want to make up some rules so that we’re all on the same page.”
The little couldn’t help the sheer panic that overtook him, mind flashing scenes of fans taking pictures of the three men inside of Baby, Baby and his secret getting out. He was torn between telling Nick and Harry he didn’t need anything and realizing how completely ungrateful that sounded. He should’ve counted on Nick and Harry to read him better than that, though.
“What’s wrong? We don’t have to go shopping if you think it’s too soon, don’t worry, love.” Nick said, feeling like shit at moving too quickly. He thought that taking the boy shopping was the right move, helping Nick and Harry’s home become their home in his mind.
“No,” Louis said, unable to stop the tears from pouring down, “I want to go shopping. Want to so badly. I-I just don’t want anyone to see me. Baby, Baby is always crowded.”
Nick felt stupid for not realizing that the boy would be worried about being seen in public and expanded on his earlier statement. “Oh no no no, Lou, we aren’t going to that store. I’m sure it’s nice and all, but we’ve some celebrity perks. Ever heard of YSL? Not Harry’s favorite clothing brand, of course, but the classification store.”
Louis nodded vigorously, feeling silly for not realizing that they wouldn’t go to the store that the rest of the population went to. YSL, or Your Sweet Little, was a celebrity only store for littles and their parents. The store was housed in a warehouse, cars being parked inside of an adjacent warehouse so that paparazzi couldn’t get photos. Due to the exclusivity of the store, Louis had never seen any pictures of it, but had heard of their high end products, and how they had anything that a little could ever dream of. It paid to be famous, sometimes, Louis thought.
“Okay, okay. That makes me feel better. I just- I didn’t want anyone to see.”
Harry nodded in understanding, finishing his bite of food before answering, “We foresaw that, since it’s Saturday and the store is closed, we called a bit of a favor in to get them to open up for us. It’ll just be us in there along with a few employees, nothing to worry about, okay?”
Louis was finding himself very grateful to have such thoughtful d-doms, he wish he knew what he did in a past life to deserve them in his life.
“We’ll get to shopping in a bit, but for now I thought we could all discuss some rules that we thought would be prudent to have. Sound good to everyone?” Harry and Louis nodded at Nick’s words, waiting for him to start throwing some rules out.
“First and most importantly is safety. Whenever you are feeling unsafe or uncomfortable in a situation, let Harry or I know immediately. This can be when you’re over here, when we’re in public, when you’re alone, even when you’re on stage. Any time you’re scared, sad, mad, anything at all, just let us know and we’ll do what we can to help. We understand that you’ve spent the last few years doing this alone, but you don’t have to be alone any longer. It sounds sappy, I know, but your pain is our pain. We want to be there for you, but in order to do that, we need to know what’s going on in your head. Sound fair?”
Louis nodded.
“Second is honesty. We know that this is going to be hard for you because it’s so new to you and you’ve never really had to talk to anyone about how you feel or what you want before. But we need you to be honest with us so that we can make sure you’re healthy and happy. That includes telling us when you go in your diaper, even when you’re embarrassed, just know that we are so proud of you for being so brave.”
Harry cut in, sensing that Nick was done with his explanation of the rule, “And part of this that I think we’ll have to deal with as we go is being in the band. We only have 15 more shows, ever, if what I’m hearing is true. Regardless, we have a few more weeks of rehearsals and then the shows. I know that you’ve been going through this alone for the past few years and have done a fair job of getting by, but things are going to be different now. Your body can tell when you’re getting affection and being cared for in the way a little needs and it allows itself to regress more. This means that your emotions, food tastes, speech patterns, and a lot of other parts of you are going to change. I know that this is very scary, but Nick and I will be there for you through everything. You just need to let us know what you need, okay? Especially when it comes to One Direction stuff, because we both know how intense it is.”
“I’m scared,” Louis said quietly, giving the men the honesty that they had requested.
The daddies cooed, Harry picking Louis up out of his chair and putting him on his lap. Louis curled up onto the man’s legs, trying to block out the embarrassment he felt of getting the comfort he needed.
“We know how scary it is, honey, but we are going to be there to do whatever we can to make it less scary,” Nick moved into the chair that Louis had vacated, now close enough to rub his fingers across the little’s soft cheek.
Louis gave him a smile that didn’t show that he quite believed him, indicating to Nick that he could go on. There would be time for them to gain Louis’ trust, and he knew that they’d do it.
“Those are the two big rules, but there are other little ones. You need to respect Harry and I as your daddies; everything we do and say will be in your best interest and we need you to trust us. Whether or not you’re staying over, you will have a nap every day and a bedtime. These times will depend on whether or not you have a show, but they are nonnegotiable. They’re for you to stay safe and healthy, not to be mean and strict. If you break one of your rules then you’ll be punished. Harry and I both know how good you are, and don’t want to have to punish you, but we are laying this out just in case. Let me write the rules out and you can read them over, let me know if you want anything added or changed, okay?”
The table sat in silence except for the sound of Nick writing out the rules, Louis trying his best to remain patient. He’d always had a hard time waiting for people; it was probably the worst part of his job, if he was honest. He was always waiting for another interviewer, the encore to start, the meet and greet to finish, there was always two more minutes, five more minutes, too many more minutes.
Nick slid the rules over, Harry peeking around Louis’ shoulder to look at them:
House Rules:
- Louis will be safe at all times
- All members of the household will always be honest with each other
- Louis will let his daddies know if he needs anything at any time (even over text)
- Louis will tell his daddies when he needs to be changed
- Louis will nap one time a day
- Louis will go to bed when he is told
- Louis will respect his daddies and listen to what they have to say
- If Louis is being punished, there will be a conversation before it happens
- First punishment/small offense: 15 minutes of corner time
- Second punishment/big offense: spanking (number of spanks decided while talking before punishment)
Nick and Harry finished up reading the rules before Louis did, patiently waiting as he scanned the page. He cleared his throat when he was done reading, starting to talk.
“I want to be honest with you, but I can’t tell you everything. Not yet. It’s hard for me to talk about some of it, yeah? When I was 16 and just about to leave for the show, I started wetting m’bed. I couldn’t help it. And my mom would get so angry with me; she’d just hit me over and over again. She told me she always knew I was a baby and that I wasn’t the man that she wanted as a son. It hurt, you know? I tried so hard to make her love me like I wanted her to. I still do. I pay almost all of her bills, I bought her a new house, but she still doesn’t even want to look at me. Every time I mess up I think of her and how she’d hurt me if I was still home.”
There was a strong desire to kill Louis’ mother that was shared between both of the daddies, but that could wait.
“I hope you know that hitting someone, especially someone you love, is never all right. Spanking is very different than hitting, especially the kind of spanking that we as daddies do. You’ll see, if you ever do something naughty, that it makes you feel a lot better. But we don’t have to worry about that now. We can get back to it if the time ever comes, but if you really don’t want a spanking, we can talk about an alternative. Thank you for being honest with us, sweetheart, you’re already following the rules like such a good boy,” Nick said, smiling at their perfect boy. He couldn’t understand how anyone had ever mistreated him, made him think that being who he was was something so shameful. He was proud of Louis for starting to share some of his backstory, what made him the way he was.
“Thank you. I’m not scared of you, I know you won’t hurt me,” Louis said, voice steady.
“I know we keep saying it over and over again, but thank you for trusting us. Next comes the part where we will need your honesty. Nothing you say will be judged; we aren’t going to laugh at you or think what you want or need is funny, okay?”
Not really sure what Nick was talking about, Louis nodded. Harry shifted from under him before suggesting that they move into the living room. They leave the dishes there, content to clean them up later. Once settled into the couch, Louis snuggled up between the two men under a soft blanket, Nick picked up the previous conversation.
“So now that we have our rules picked out, I want to get back to what I was talking about earlier. I have YSL rented out for the afternoon, and thought that we could head over there. I want to make a list up of everything that you’re thinking of so that we don’t forget anything, okay? Would you rather you tell me what you want, or would you like me to write a list of a lot of items and you can circle what you want and add what I don’t have on there?”
“Can I circle? Don’t wanna say anything out loud, it’s embarrassing,” Louis said. Harry cooed at the boy’s voice, loving how high and sweet it was.
Nick quickly finished up writing a long list on the notepad, handing it over to Louis along with a pen.
“Like I said, no embarrassment here. We’re going to go tidy up the kitchen, just give us a shout if you have any questions or need anything.”
Louis looked down at the list quickly before shutting his eyes. This really was it, he thought. He could lie to them and tell Nick and Harry that he didn’t want what he really wanted. He could continue lying to himself, and the men. He couldn’t lie though, could he? He promised them that he’d be honest; it was one of his rules, wasn’t it? It was. He couldn’t lie. He was finally through with lying, he could be happy. Nick and Harry wanted him to be himself and finally be happy. He’d be honest.
Looking at the list, he began to circle items. His cheeks burned the whole time, unable to not be ashamed both at what he wanted and what he knew he needed. He finished up; double-checking the list before calling out that he was finished. He let out a small yawn, feeling more and more sleepy as the minutes passed. It’d been a draining morning, finally talking about the one part of him that he tried to never bring up.
Harry walked into the room as the boy was yawning, “Someone’s sleepy! How about a little nap on the way the YSL? It takes about an hour to get there, does that sound good?” Louis nodded, starting to stand up.
“Do you need a change?” Harry asked, causing Louis to shake his head. He was wet, very wet, actually, but didn’t want the man to know. He was embarrassed, it had been only four hours since he was changed, and he was already going? He knew that they said they didn’t care if he went to the bathroom, but he couldn’t quite believe it just yet. Harry knew he needed to make a point so that Louis would tell them when he went. He walked over to the small boy, pulling his sweatpants down enough so he could stick his finger in the side of the little’s diaper.
“Stop!” Louis squeaked, face turning red in mortification.
Harry was pretty sure that Louis would never lie to them again about going. He swung one arm under Louis’ knees, using the other to brace his back. He swooped the boy up into a cradle and started walking him up the stairs, placing kisses all over his face.
“I thought you weren’t wet, hmmmm?” Harry said in between kisses, voice light. Louis giggling tiredly at Harry’s voice and kisses.
The second that Louis was bucked into the car, blanket over his lap and pillow wedged between his head and the door, he fell asleep.
Once they were sure he was asleep, Harry began to peruse the list that Nick had given the boy, both men anxious to see what he had circled. They were both pleased and surprised with his answers, pleased that he had been so honest, and shocked at the confirmation that he felt as though he was regressing as young as he was. Harry thought back to their conversation just a week prior, how he had fawned over the thought of having a little, little boy. Now, as he looked at what items Louis had circled, he realized that his dream was becoming reality.
After a bit of direction trouble, the men finally made it to the warehouse. Once outside they pressed an intercom button, announcing to the woman on the other side that they had arrived. The large door of the warehouse started to raise open; just enough to let the car through to the well lit parking structure inside. They had fairly few friends with littles in the UK, but the ones that they did have had nothing but amazing things to say about the store and its confidentiality policy. Harry woke Louis up gently, the boy letting out the sweetest yawn as he came to. Once parked as close as the car could get to the front door of the store, the men got out of the car. Nick opened Louis’ door, quickly grabbing the pillow before it could fall to the ground. He undid Louis’ seatbelt, offering the boy a hand as he hopped out of the car.
“Nervous,” Louis said, pushing his head into Nick’s side.
“It’s okay to be nervous, but I promise that everything will be okay. There are only a few workers here and no people shopping. They know that you’re scared and won’t do anything to embarrass you or scare you, and if they do just let Harry and I know, okay?”
Louis nodded into his chest, pleased with the man’s explanation. Harry joined them on the other side of the car, smile on his face and a black bag hefted onto his shoulder. They headed to the front door of the store, opening it. The little couldn’t help but peek his head out of where it was still tucked into Nick’s side and let out a gasp at what he saw. It was the biggest space he’d ever seen, the walls of the warehouse painted a light green and there must have been hundreds of rows of merchandise. Louis had never seen so much stuff in his entire life.
“Hello! Welcome to Your Sweet Little, my name is Roseanne, I’m the United Kingdom YSL store director” a cheery, middle-aged woman said as she walked up to them. She was dressed in black jeans and a purple sweater, looking sophisticated. She had a warm smile on her face; having been in charge of the store for 15 years now, she was used to dealing with cases of shy littles. She gauged the situation, understanding that the boy wasn’t used to new people, and did her best not to make him uncomfortable. Her professional side was the one that she showed, a product of the years of experience under her belt, but she couldn’t help but be a bit surprised when she heard who was coming in today. She had been telling her girlfriends that she thought the boy was a little since she first saw him on the Xfactor, always receiving laughs in reply. She couldn’t help but feel a bit smug knowing she was right, but would never tell anyone. She knew how delicate such a situation was. She gave him a small smile when she saw him peeking out at her, but made no move to acknowledge him. The daddies were grateful.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Harry said, offering his hand to her in greeting before Nick did the same.
“You as well, we’re quite happy to have you with us today. I’m in the store as well as one of our longtime managers, Suzanne. We’ll let you explore, feel free to check out anything that is of interest to you. There are phones placed at the end of every aisle, so if you are in need of assistance just dial away. I’ll give you a notepad to place in your cart, and on there you can write the call numbers of any big items you may want, such as a crib or a highchair. We will have those packed and delivered to you within three days, and once delivered our team will set them up for your convenience. We also do offer a painting service, if you’re in need of a painter that will work under discretion. That’s enough of me talking for now, I think, enjoy! Let Suzanne or I know if you need anything.”
The daddies thanked her, smiling before walking away. Louis stood up straight when he felt as though he was safe from strange eyes, finally being able to take in the store for all it was worth. He couldn’t believe that it was so big; he wondered how anyone could ever go there and not get lost. The men had grabbed big shopping carts, Harry throwing the bag that he had brought in in the front of his.
“You want to hop in, or do you want to walk?” Nick asked, Louis noticing the foldable plastic flap that was in the cart that could be used as a seat.
“Want to walk,” Louis said, moving close to Harry’s side. His mind was feeling a bit fuzzy, his mind repeating Nick, Harry, Nick, Harry over and over again. He couldn’t be embarrassed by the clinginess he felt if he didn’t let himself be, right? He was trying to just not think about it, to do what he wanted to do without letting his mind talk him out of it.
“All righty then, let’s get some goodies for our sweet boy!” Harry exclaimed. Louis felt an excited flutter in his stomach at Harry’s use of our, the first time that the men had openly exclaimed that Louis was theirs. He loved it.
Louis usually hated shopping, but he couldn’t find it in himself to hate this place. He wasn’t sure what would be down each of the many aisles, but he was excited to see. They moved to the first aisle, finding rows and rows of crib sheets, bed sheets, blankets, and curtains. They were placed into sets, the store having placed each item together based on the design. There were tons of designs, everything from My Little Pony to dogs to Elmo. The little looked in wonder, slowly walking up and down the aisle as he tried to figure out which design he wanted.
The daddies walked over to where the Avengers set was placed, figuring that was what the boy would want. They looked at Louis to see that he was staring in reverence at a set covered in cute cartoon animals on a dark blue background. They were surprised to see that he would want a set that would be considered infantile by most, but happy that he felt as though he could be honest with what he wanted.
“Do you like these ones, love?”
Louis nodded, trying to hide his excitement under a veil of nonchalance (failing miserably), “yeah, they’re okay… Can I get them?”
“Anything you want Loulou,” Harry said, “You’re still okay with what you put on the list? No changing your mind?”
Louis shook his head, blushing slightly as Harry picked up the crib sheet. He also grabbed the matching blanket, and a set of white curtains.
“Next aisle!” Nick sang. Walking down the next aisle, Louis felt overwhelmed. There were hundreds of pacifiers, bottles, and sippy cups lining the walls on both sides of him. His breathing picked up slightly, feeling like he was going to cry for what he thought was dumbest reason in the world. He couldn’t help but tear up as he looked at the myriad pacifiers, thinking of all of the times where he was so close to ordering one, but clicked out of the web page at the last second, scared. Or the times where he would stick his thumb in his mouth for comfort, having nothing else to soothe his restless mind. A hand gently touched his shoulder, Louis looking up to Harry who was now next to him, tears shining in his eyes.
“We can leave this aisle, love, we don’t want anything to upset you.”
“No,” Louis sobbed, “I really want it.”
Harry and Nick both cooed, wanting to soothe their overwhelmed boy.
“You can have whatever you want, we’ll buy you the whole store if it’ll make you happy,” Nick said honestly.
At that point Louis wasn’t even listening, mesmerized by the display of pacifiers. His fingers traced over the plastic cases of the items, leaving them slowly swinging side by side in the wake of his touch. He grabbed a case that held two, one decorated to look like Captain America’s shield, the other like Iron Man’s mask; then he grabbed one that looked like a dog, then one that was plain blue. He grabbed until his hands were full, looking back at Nick whose arms were just as full with sippy cups, and Harry’s full to the brim with bottles. They all laughed, tossing the items into the two carts.
They continued through the aisles, buying bibs, onesies, footie pajamas, clothes, and toys. Louis was feeling completely overwhelmed, carts getting more and more full. At one point they had to take their carts up to the front of the store, exchanging them for empty carts. He knew that Harry’s Range Rover would be full to the brim when they left the store.
His feet were dragging by the time they had a few aisles left, still denying the daddies askance of whether or not he wanted to sit in the cart. It was too soon for him to do something like that, he thought. Baby steps, no pun intended. By this point, Louis shouldn’t have been surprised by the ridiculousness of the pull-up and diaper selection that the store had. The men entered the aisle, seeing a woman that must have been Suzanne standing there waiting to greet them. Louis moved quickly to stand behind Nick, wary of a new person.
“Hello! My name is Suzanne. I know that diaper and pull-up shopping can be a bit tricky, so I just wanted to offer my help in case you needed it.”
Harry, of course, answered that they’d love her help much to Louis’ irritation. He was already playing the role of the embarrassing dad quite well, Louis mused.
“All right! So, I guess we’ll start with the easy questions- what are you looking for, diapers or pull-ups?”
“Diapers,” Nick answered. Louis gripped the back of his shirt, digging his face into Nick’s back as if he could burrow himself into the man’s body.
“Perfect, we can just step this way then and I can tell you a bit about what we have. There are a ton of different types of diapers depending on the time of day and the level of protection he needs.”
Louis was growing more and more annoyed and tired with every second that they were standing there, letting out little frustrated noises every few moments. He didn’t understand what took so long to talk about stupid diapers and how Nick and Harry were interested in something that was so boring. He wasn’t getting a reaction out of Nick as he pulled tighter and tighter on his shirt, so he moved over to Harry.
The man acted as though he didn’t feel Louis standing behind him, resting his head on his lower back. Louis felt irrationally upset at that, letting out a frustrated, “Hazza!”
Harry shushed him gently, absentmindedly reaching an arm back to pet his hair. Louis couldn’t help his reaction, stomping his foot and exclaiming, “Hazza! I’m tired and bored, can we please leave?”
Recognizing the signs of an impending tantrum, Harry apologized to Suzanne, who easily waved him off, seeing this every day she came into work. The man picked Louis up, easily putting him on his hip.
“There we go love, daddy will take you to the car now. I’m sure you’re sleepy, it’s been a long day, hasn’t it?” Harry gently bounced the boy on his hip, moving him to the front of the store. Louis had stopped listening to what Harry was saying after he said the word daddy, the little mulling it over in his mind. He truthfully hadn’t thought that much of what he would call Nick and Harry, but now that Harry brought it up, daddy did fit him quite well. Lost in thought, he was confused when they entered a room that had light yellow walls. It was lined with stalls like a bathroom would be, but instead of toilets there were changing tables inside of the private areas.
“Let’s get you changed before we go home, then we can get you all cozy in your new car seat and wait for Nicky to finish up. Sound good?” Louis nodded, blushing as he was laid down on the changing table. Harry took a diaper out of the black bag that he’d brought from home, Louis shocked at how prepared he was. He would never really get over how prepared the men were and how thoughtful they were regarding every aspect of taking care of him.
Louis’ thoughts caught up with him as Harry was cleaning him off, trying to keep his mind off what the man was doing, “we didn’t pick out a car seat, though?”
“It was supposed to be a surprise- they have some talented designers here, and when Nicky called yesterday to make our appointment we asked if they could fix something up for us. I think you’ll really like it.”
Louis was excited at the prospect of a surprise; he liked surprises, and he never got them growing up. It was nice to be cared for, he thought idly. Harry finished changing him, pulling his sweats back up before picking up the boy and placing him back on his hip. Walking to the front of the store where Roseanne was standing behind the register with a smile.
“Someone sleepy?” she asked sympathetically, letting out a small laugh as Louis hid his face in Harry’s neck. Harry patted the boy’s diapered bum lightly, always endeared by his shyness.
“Yeah, we’re ready to head out to sit in the car while Nick finishes up. I was wondering if you had the car seat ready?”
“Oh, yes! I do have to say it looks fantastic, what a great idea!”
Louis removed his head from Harry’s neck as he heard the woman rustling around behind the register, bending down to pick something up.
She placed a Louis-sized car seat down in front of them. Although it didn’t look like a car seat, the color of the material Spiderman red with his face stitched onto the back of the seat. The straps of the seat were made to look like webs. It was the coolest thing that Louis had ever seen, if he were being honest.
“Do you like it, Lou?” Harry asked. Louis nodded, still staring at the item. “Can you say thank you?”
Louis took in a deep breath, unable to look at the woman as he whispered a quick, “thank you”.
She smiled, charmed by the sweet boybander and his extreme shyness. “No problem, sweetheart, I’ll let the people who made it know how much you like it! Would you like me to help set it up in the car? I know it can be a bit tricky”
Harry nodded, the woman heading out to the car before them. Louis couldn’t feel embarrassed as he was placed inside of the car seat, feeling more excited than anything. He could admit that a car seat was something that he always fantasized about having, being strapped in tight and unable to wobble around the car as he napped. And a car seat that was disguised to look like Spiderman? It couldn’t get any better than that.
Louis was out like a light within minutes, Harry unable to stop smiling at the sight that their boy made, thumb tucked into his mouth, snuggled up into his car seat.
He made sure to text Nick a reminder as to the dark wood furniture that he wanted, scared that the man would forget. Of course, being the wonderful person that Nick was, he replied telling Harry that he could never forget, and that he’d be out soon. Seeing Nick and the two women who worked at the store struggling to push out the four shopping carts, Harry quietly opened his door to help them. Somehow they fit everything into their trunk, and they were off to their house. Between obvious stares at Louis sleeping in his car seat, Nick let Harry know that the boy’s furniture would arrive in two days, and that he had set up a painter to come the next afternoon.
Harry couldn’t help but think that things were too perfect. He was content living in his little bubble, happy to keep Louis inside of their house, all to him and Nick’s selves. He knew that it couldn’t last forever, but at least it could for a little bit longer.