Chapter 16
Harry and Louis walked into dinner to a loud round of applause and screaming from their crew, the boys running up to them and pulling them into a tight hug.
“Proud of ya,” Niall said, smile on his face.
“Love you boys,” Liam said.
“Ditto,” Zayn mumbled into the huddle, always a man of many words.
“We love you so much,” Harry stated honestly, pressing a kiss to Louis’ hair.
“All right, let’s eat, we were waitin’ for ya. It’s taco night!” Niall exclaimed.
Louis made a small noise of disgust, Harry laughing quietly beside him.
“A bottle for my sweet boy, no yucky tacos for you.” Louis smiled at the words, happy his daddy remembered that he didn’t like tacos. He liked his baba more than food these days, anyways.
Harry had noticed it since they took off for tour, the way that Louis wouldn’t leave his side. It was like the boy couldn’t be more than a foot from him without panicking; it was understandable. Harry had watched the way that his mum’s friends’ children would follow them around, always hanging off of them. Louis was obviously insecure, always looking to Harry for reassurance on what he was doing. It made Harry feel important, if he was being honest. Knowing that a human being cared that much about what he thought was an honor that he didn’t want to mess up.
Louis hopped up on his daddy’s lap once Harry had sat down, wrapping the dom’s arms around his waist. One of Sarah’s kitchen assistants brought out Louis’ bottle a few minutes later, Louis giving her a sweet smile before starting to suck. Harry maneuvered the boy so that he could reach the plate that Zayn had placed in front of him, smiling gratefully.
“You boys ready to get to the US?” Sophia asked from where she was sitting. They’d be flying out of Perth tonight and into Chicago for the first of the seven US tour dates. Harry was excited to get back to the US; he had grown to hate being away from home (read: Nick), but he felt more at home in the US. He couldn’t really explain it, but it just felt more like the UK then anywhere else they visited.
“Can’t wait, honestly. For all that people say about their food, I’m always dreaming about it,” Zayn said.
“Hear hear,” Niall said, raising up his glass of water.
Harry’s phone buzzed from where it was sat on the table, the man picking it up to see a text from Nick. He picked it up, typing in his password and holding it away from a distracted Louis’ view.
I can’t do this anymore.
Harry’s stomach sank, the vagueness of Nick’s words making him want to throw up. They’d just been on the phone less than an hour ago; what changed?
What did I do??? What’s wrong baby???????
He couldn’t feel embarrassment over the patheticness of his texts; this was the love of his life he was worrying about.
You didn’t do anything, baby. All I think about is being with you and Louis. I’m going crazy over here. I called the head at BBC and explained everything, and they said they’ll grant me 5 days off this week. Do you think I can fly out?
Please come, baby, we would love to see you. We could surprise Lou? He would be so happy to see his papa, he always asks about you.
I can get a flight into Chicago that’ll land about an hour after yours if you’re still landing at noon.
Harry honestly couldn’t text back quick enough.
Yes x8939823984 yes that’s perfect. I can’t wait to see you, my love.
Make sure you keep it a secret from Lou. Love you so much.
Harry couldn’t help the way that he pressed kisses all over Louis’ adorable face, over the moon to have the knowledge that he’d be seeing Nick in just a day. It seemed like it shouldn’t be happening, and he knew it really shouldn’t be happening. God bless Nick’s lack of self-control.
“Daddy, tickles,” Louis giggled around the nipple of his bottle.
“Love you, angel,” Harry said, receiving a pat to his cheek in reply, Louis unwilling to stop drinking to reply to the man. Harry ate dinner quickly, wanting to have some quiet time alone with Louis before their show. The boy had had an exhausting afternoon, and a bit of cuddling before the show would do him good.
Once in their dressing room, Louis had Harry take off his jeans. He loved nothing more than running around in just his diaper, the feeling of jeans, regardless of how soft they were, something he disliked.
“Can we call nana?” Louis asked from where he was laying in the v of Harry’s legs.
“Of course we can,” Harry said with a smile on his face. He FaceTimed his mum, having taught her just this summer how to use the service. The woman picked up after a few rings, a huge smile on her face that only grew once she saw Louis grinning.
“Hi nana!” Louis squealed, waving at the camera.
“Hi loves, how is my favorite little boy doing?” The woman asked, Louis blushing a bit at the way she called him her favorite.
“I’m good! So good! Did you see daddy and papa’s pictures?”
“I did, dear! I’m so happy for all of you. How are you feeling, Harry?” She asked him, a look in her eyes that Louis missed. She was reasonably concerned about her only son; she wanted to make sure he was all right. Jumping straight into fatherhood while being on a world tour was a lot to handle, and she couldn’t help but worry.
“I’m over the moon, mum. Can’t wait to see you in a few weeks,” Harry said.
Lou knocking on the door at the perfect time, stepping into the room.
“You boys ready to go?” She asked.
“Loulou, go ahead and I’ll be there in a second. Be a good boy for Lou,” Harry said, wanting a second alone with his mum.
“Okay, daddy! Love you nana,” Louis said, pressing a kiss to the screen. Lou and Anne both laughed loudly at the boy’s action.
“He still doesn’t quite understand the concept of FaceTime,” Harry said, wiping the screen.
Once the door shut, Harry took a deep breath.
“So, Nick’s coming out to Chicago. It’s been… difficult being apart. Even harder now that we have Louis.”
Anne made a sympathetic noise, “I can imagine, love. How’s he getting off work?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I was with Lou and Nick wants to surprise him, so all we could do was text. I’m sure they were understanding, as with the events of tonight.”
“I’m so proud of you, Harry,” Anne said, getting a little choked up. “I’ve always been proud of you, but seeing you with a little boy of your own is the proudest I’ve ever been of you. You’re an amazing person and a wonderful father. I love you.”
“Love you too mum,” Harry said, a bit choked up himself. “Thank you for showing me how to be the best parent one can be.”
Alberto entered the room after a swift knock, holding his hand up in apology. “Sorry H, wouldn’t bother you if it wasn’t necessary. Louis’ refusing to put jeans on without you there, he’s gettin’ upset and wondering where you are.”
“Duty calls, love you so much mum. I’ll see you soon.”
“Love you even more, I’ll talk to you soon,” Anne said, smiling with a wave.
As soon as Harry entered Lou and Caroline’s dressing room, he was hugged tightly by Louis.
“Daddy, I missed you so much,” Louis mumbled into his chest.
Harry chuckled, “You’re my little duckling, hm? Always wanting to be right behind daddy.”
Louis nodded into his chest, speaking in all seriousness, “Love my daddy so much.”
“I love you too, let’s get your jeans on and say sorry to Caroline and Lou for causing trouble.”
Looking as bashful as possible, Louis walked over to Caroline and Lou, hugging both of them before saying how sorry he was. Zayn had asked if Harry had had to punish the boy yet, and was surprised when he said he hadn’t. But how could he? The boy had nothing but good intentions; he was as sweet as sugar.
The intro video was almost over, and Louis was feeling more excited than ever to go on stage. He gave his daddy a blinding smile; he was going on stage free of any secrets. Their fans could see him for all he was now, and nothing could feel better than that. No more hiding, just being Louis.
“Let’s do it, boys!” Niall shouted into their huddle, the energy in the circle absolutely electric.
Liam had a segment during the show where he’d read particularly cute or funny signs, and he took out the time to read one that said: “Nick and Harry= Luckiest Daddies EVER”, the flustered fan who created it screaming and jumping up and down. The fact that there were already signs regarding the Instagram posts from four hours ago was astonishing, the fans really did work fast. The fans went wild as Harry pulled Louis into a hug, the little kissing his daddy on the cheek.
“We are the luckiest daddies in the world, I can agree with that!” Harry said, the fans awing at the way Louis blushed and looked down.
During Girl Almighty, a fan threw a hat that looked like a shark was eating your head and oversized pair of sunglasses on stage. The boys were all surprised that a fan would throw something, Niall having ranted for weeks after a phone was thrown into his knee last tour. But Louis skipped right over to the items, putting on the pair of glasses. He danced over to Liam, creeping up behind him putting the hat on his head. He giggled wildly as the man jumped, so caught up in singing his part that he didn’t feel the hat going on his head. He turned around and saw Louis’ smile, keeping the hat on so that the boy wouldn’t be upset.
Louis turned to look at Harry, pointing to his glasses as if the man couldn’t see what was taking up over half of his face. Harry gave him a thumbs up, Louis’ smile getting even bigger, if possible. The fans were in love with how Louis lit up at Harry’s approval, those who were sitting at home waiting for fans to tweet pictures and videos so that they could see every little interaction that the two had. The fans definitely weren’t disappointed, either; there was a core group of fans who’d waited since the beginning of the group to see Harry and Louis get together, even if they didn’t have matching classifications… or so they thought. They knew that Harry was strong, loud, and bright and thought that Louis needed a bit of protection and bringing out of his shell, and who better to do that than Harry?
When it was time to give his speech, Louis had a hard time putting his thoughts into words. “Hi guys! I hope you’re having as much fun as we are! I just wanted to say I love you and thank you for always supporting me as a person and us as a band. We love you forever, have a good night!” As they had the past two nights, the fans went wild when Louis spoke, the boy smiling so big that his eyes were crinkled into the tiniest of crescent moons.
As soon as the show ended, the boys had to spring out to their waiting cars. Alberto scooped Louis up as he headed off stage, the boy giggling as the man ran with him. He was excited to be going back to the United States; he’d always really liked it there. The hotels were a bit nicer, the food was a bit yummier, and the crowds were a bit louder. Fans were screaming through gates as the boys were herded into the car, Alberto shielding Louis’ eyes from the flash of cameras as he buckled the boy into his car seat. Harry slid in a moment later, just as Louis was readying himself to ask Alberto where his daddy was.
“Daddy! I missed you,” Louis said in all seriousness, reaching a hand out to the man from where he was shutting the car door.
“My little duckling, I missed you too!” Harry said, pressing a kiss on the boy’s cheek. Alberto shut the door to the car, hopping in the driver’s seat and heading off.
“We should be at the airport in 30 minutes or so, then the flight is around 25 hours with two stops,” Dale said without looking up from his phone.
Louis let out a groan. “That’s more than a day, daddy! I don’t want to be on a plane that long.”
“I know, angel, but we have to. I have some medicine that I’m going to put in your baba so you can sleep for a while. Then when we wake up we can play with some new toys daddy got for you!”
“Toys? Let me see!” Louis said, looking at the man like he expected toys to pop up out of nowhere.
“They’re a surprise, baby, you’ll get them as long as you’re a good boy for daddy.”
“I’ll be your best little boy, I promise, daddy!” Louis answered, a very serious look on his face.
“I know you will be,” Harry said, leaning down to grab a pacifier from the diaper bag and pop it into Louis’ lips. “Now, let’s have some quiet time until we get to the airport.” Louis nodded vigorously at that, leaning his head back. Quiet time was definitely important for Louis, he needed to unwind after a show without being spoken to. And it was necessary for Harry as well, the man needing to check the massive amount of emails that had amassed over the past five hours. He opened one that he’d received from Jackie that affirmed she now knew that Nick was coming to visit them. She insisted that they go out for a day with Louis and let her know when they were doing it so she could tip paparazzi off. She wanted the public to see the family together so that they would stop asking questions, her office being completely hounded, even more than usual. It would be good publicity for the band, to have everything cleared up for once.
Once they were pulling up to the airport, Louis sat up. “Is quiet time over, daddy?” Louis whispered to the man, eyes wide.
“Yeah, baby, you did so well. Wait for daddy to come around to your side of the car before you get out.”
Harry and Louis held hands on the way to the plane, the little barely peeking his head out from his daddy’s side, the lights from the cameras flashing hurting his sensitive eyes.
“Almost there bud,” Albert said from where he was behind Louis.
As always, Louis let out a sigh of relief once he was on the plane. Harry walked him to the bathroom located at the front of the plane, digging through the diaper bag for the boy’s change of clothes.
“How long until papa comes?” Louis asked, lifting his arms up to the sky as Harry took his shirt off.
“Just 15 days, baby,” Harry said, his heart fluttering at how excited he knew Louis would be when he saw Nick in just a day.
“That’s forever!” Louis complained, Harry picking him up to put him on the pull out changing table.
“I know, angel, but it’ll fly by! Promise.”
“Okay,” the little said uncertainly, not sure if the days until he saw his papa again really would fly by. 15 days seemed like a very long time.
Harry changed Louis into an overnight diaper and fleece pair of footie pajamas decorated with Batman’s symbol. The little boy blushed in Harry’s arm when Liam and Zayn told him how cool his pajamas were, happy that they liked them.
Louis’ seat was already made into a bed by the time he got there, Lacy lying near the pillow.
“Daddy will be right back, baby.” Harry went to get a flight attendant to make Louis’ bottle, the dom putting sleeping medicine in it before handing it over. He groaned as the stewardess informed him that Louis would have to sit in a normal chair as the plane took off, that he couldn’t lie in the bed.
Louis whined as Harry picked him and put him in a seat, exhausted and ready to sleep. Thankfully, the plane took off moments later. The little fell asleep just minutes after he started drinking his bottle, Harry pleased to know that they’d have a bit of peace and quiet. Harry woke up 8 hours later to see that Louis himself was still asleep. The boy had been sleeping 10-12 hours, so Harry knew it’d be a while before he woke up. He was the first person in the section to be awake, so he pulled out his journal and started to read back over some of the lyrics he’d been working on.
Four headlining tours and four albums later, the boys were exhausted. They had begged Zayn to stay with the group for one more tour, and were extremely surprised when he obliged. Regardless of how much they loved each other, they wanted to do their own thing and follow their own paths. It was completely understandable. Once the tour was finished, Harry knew they’d have a meeting with their management to discuss their next steps. What did he want to happen? He wanted to have a break. He wanted to have time with his little boy and Nick at home. He wanted to be able to have his mum and Robin come visit; he wanted to see Gemma for the first time in months. He wanted to be able to record his own solo music, just like he knew Zayn, Liam, and Niall wanted to do. Louis, though? He wasn’t sure what Louis wanted to do completely, but he knew that the boy would rather be at home then tour. It was just how littles operated; of course, many had to work jobs to be able to provide a sustainable living wage, but Louis didn’t have to. And Harry didn’t think he wanted to. Him and Nick would be more than happy to provide everything that Louis wanted and more for the rest of their baby’s life. They’d get to that when the time came, though. 12 tour dates to go before they had to think about what came next.
Louis woke up while Harry was eating breakfast about five and a half hours later. They’d already made a pit stop, and had 10 hours left to go. The boy started crying immediately, eyes glazed over like they were when he regressed a lot. Great, Harry thought. He hoped no one threw them off the plane in annoyance.
“It’s okay, baby, it’s okay. Daddy’s right here,” Harry cooed, picking the little boy up to take him to the bathroom to calm him down and change him.
The little sucked on the neck of Harry’s sweater, his hands curling into his hair as he cried.
Harry laid the boy down on the changing table, unzipping his sleeper and pulling it off so he could change him. It was immediately clear that the boy had messed his diaper, his tears now making sense.
“My poor baby, daddy will get you all cleaned up. My sweet little boy, love you so much,” Harry said as he quickly changed his boy’s diaper.
“Dada,” Louis said, looking up with pitiful, tear filled eyes.
“Oh, angel, it’s okay. Dada’s getting you in a nice, new diaper, don’t cry.” Louis looked up at Harry with wide eyes, not understanding what the man was saying in his state of mind. All he knew was that his dada had a happy sounding voice, and he loved listening to it.
Once Louis was changed, Harry put him back into his sleeper before carrying him out. Just as asked, the stewardess had flipping his chair back into chair form instead of a bed.
“How about we color for a bit?” Harry said more than told Louis, knowing the boy would do whatever Harry got out for him. He didn’t want him watching TV right now; he’d use it as a last resort.
Zayn walked over while Harry was getting the coloring supplies out, taking the empty seat next to Louis.
“What’s up, boys?” Zayn asked, smiling at Louis.
“We’re just about to color, want to join?” Harry questioned.
“I’d love to!” Zayn exclaimed, tickling Louis belly and drawing a giggle out of him.
Sophia rotated her seat that was in the row in front of them so she was facing the boys. “Did someone say coloring?”
“The more the merrier,” Harry said, elated that people wanted to play with Louis.
He pulled out a huge box full of crayons, colored pencils and markers along with a pack of construction paper.
“All right my fellow artists, Zayn’s gonna hand out the paper,” Harry instructed, handing Zayn the paper.
“What color do you want, Lou?” Zayn asked the boy, flipping through the colors. Louis pointed a finger to a piece of light blue paper, Zayn ripping it out and putting it on his tray. Everyone soon had their paper and began to draw. A stewardess came over once she saw the group awake, asking if anyone wanted a drink. Harry had her fill up a bottle with apple juice for Louis, wanting the boy to remain hydrated.
Louis focused on drawing as best as he could, wanting to have it turn out perfectly. He got frustrated easily, not being able to draw his papa’s hair as well as he wanted. He was drawing his daddy, papa, and himself holding hands with a lot of dolphins in the background.
“What’s wrong, bud?” Zayn asked from where he was seated next to him.
“Papa hair,” He said, pointing to the top of the man’s head.
“Ah, do you want some help?” Zayn said. Louis nodded eagerly, knowing how good of an artist Zayn was. The man fit his fingers over Louis’, making it so the boy felt like he was helping even though it was all Zayn.
“Thank you!” Louis said, pressing a wet kiss to Zayn’s cheek.
“Of course, Lou,” Zayn said, waiting until the boy looked away before wiping the saliva off of his face. Harry gave him a grateful look for waiting.
Everyone was finished drawing long before Louis was, the boy adding lots of detail so it would be perfect. He was finally done about an hour later, tapping his daddy so he’d look.
“For papa!” Louis said, a bright smile on his face. Harry took in the drawing, three stick figures, one with crazy spirals coming off its head, one with big blue circles for eyes, and one with perfect hair that he clearly had making. It was perfect.
“Oh, angel! It looks so good! Papa is going to love it so much. Do you want me to keep it safe for him?” Harry exclaimed, peppering kisses all over his little artist’s face. Louis nodded eagerly, handing his drawing to his daddy.
Louis’ stomach made a perfectly timed grumbling noise, Harry getting ready to feed his boy. Thankfully, the rest of the flight went off without a hitch, Louis taking up the rest of the time playing with his plastic Bubble Guppies toys and watching Disney movies with Liam.
Harry’s excitement continued to build until they landed in Chicago, over the moon about the fact that he’d be seeing Nick so soon. As soon as they landed they were ushered out a back exit and put into cars. They headed to the Langham, entering through the hotel’s parking garage that had a steel door so no fans could get through. There was virtually no way for fans to get inside the hotel, and that’s why Chicago was one of Harry’s favorite cities.
“All right, let’s get you upstairs,” Alberto said, unstrapping Louis from his car seat. Bellboys were gathering up their bags for them, Harry having both arms free so he could pick up Louis. He figured he had time to put the boy down for a short nap, wanting to get him back on a schedule. It was noon in Chicago, and he wanted the boy to get acclimated to the time zone as they’d be in the US for 15 more days. Dale handed Harry their key as he walked onto the elevator with Alberto and Phil.
“Any plans for the day?” Alberto asked, wanting to know what was going on. He knew that Nick was coming and was sure they’d want to go out.
“Think we’re going out to get some pizza and do some shopping!” Harry said, bouncing Louis on his hip. He knew the boy was tired since it was the middle of the night in Australia. Harry hated the time changes more than anything. Once they got to their hotel floor Harry tipped the bellboys for bringing all of their bags up so quickly before entering the room.
He placed Louis on the floor before entering the room, much to the boy’s annoyance.
“What’s that noise for, little cub? Aren’t you happy to see your papa?” Nick said teasingly from where he was perched on the edge of the bed.
Louis and Harry both stood there shocked for a moment, Harry wondering how Nick had gotten there when he said his flight landed in another hour, and Louis unsure of why his papa was there. The little boy burst into tears, running and jumping into his papa’s lap.
“Papa,” Louis sobbed, squeezing the man tightly.
“Hi baby, I missed you so much,” Nick said, patting the little boy’s bum.
“I want to get on this cuddle,” Harry said, climbing onto the bed and pressing a kiss to Nick’s lips and sitting by the man’s side.
“Are you happy to see your papa?” Nick asked Louis, both daddies chuckling at the boy’s answering nods. Louis’ body betrayed himself, the boy letting out a loud yawn.
“It’s time for our favorite little boy to nap, then we can go out and get some pizza,” Harry promised.
Louis let out a whine, not letting go of his tight grip on his papa.
“Baby, the quicker you go night night, the quicker we can go out. I promise I’ll be right here when you wake up,” Nick said. The boy was laid down under the covers, Nick unable to stop smiling at the way that he looked with his pacifier bobbing between his lips.
As soon as he was asleep, the men went to Alberto’s room.
“Surprise!” The guard said, shaking his hands in the air.
“Were you in on this?” Harry asked, shaking his head slightly.
“I was indeed. Now, I have the monitor in here and you two have your own room down the hall. Go enjoy your time alone while the tyke’s asleep,” Alberto said, throwing them another keycard.
Nick and Harry didn’t need to be told twice.
Harry couldn’t help but think about how stupid it was that they stayed in the same hotel every time they went to a city. All it took was for their fans to know that their planes landed for them to show up anywhere. And as time went on, they got more and more savvy. Now they’d wait for their cars to pull out and follow after them as if it was a high-speed chase in some movie. And Harry was annoyed. All he wanted was an afternoon with the love of his life and his baby, but he wasn’t sure that would happen with the way that people were following their cars.
“Please drive safely, we’ll just tell them to stop following once we’re there,” Harry told Alberto from where he was seated up front driving. He didn’t want Louis to get hurt, and driving dangerously would definitely increase those odds.
“All right, sounds good,” Dale said from the passenger seat.
They arrived to Gino’s East, Louis’ favorite Chicago Pizza place, letting the valet take his car. Alberto opened Louis door, giving the boy a hand out of the car after Nick unstrapped him from the car seat.
“Louis, please! We just want a few pictures,” The fans said. About 15 of them rushed out of the three cars that had followed them, a definite signs that they’d smushed into the cars. Nick jumped out of Louis’ side of the car, going to where his baby was making himself small behind Alberto.
“It’s okay, love,” Nick consoled the boy, grabbing his hand and walking him up to the pavement. The fans gasped when they saw the man, beginning to take pictures and videos. No one had ever seen him with Louis before, they knew they’d be getting tons of retweets if they posted this.
“Come on, we just want pictures! It’s not that hard,” One girl yelled rather rudely.
“I’m sorry, girls, we just want to have a quiet evening, please,” Harry said with a smile.
“That’s such bullshit, we pay so much money to see you and this is how you fucking treat us?” The same girl said, her friends backing away from her as if they didn’t want to be grouped in with her.
“Could you please not use those bad words in front of Louis? Have a good night, girls, drive safely,” Harry said, his voice tight. Dale opened the door to the restaurant for them, Alberto staying at the back of the group to make sure they weren’t followed in. Harry hated that one person would ruin it for an entire group of most likely perfectly kind people. He’d seen the rude girl all over America on past tours, he knew exactly who she was. If he was being honest, he wished she would just stop being a fan of the band, so he’d stop getting annoyed every time he stepped out in a city and saw her face.
“You good, H?” Nick asked quietly, still holding Louis’ hand.
“All good, love,” Harry said with a smile, pressing a kiss to the man’s cheek. He’d felt so relaxed after his… quiet time with Nick, and was trying to get back into that mood.
“Hi, sorry for the wait! Two booths for Styles, right?” An older hostess said, grabbing menus. She’d been assigned to bring the men to their tables because she was the one who cared the least about the band. Harry appreciated how calm she was.
“That’d be us, thanks,” Harry said with a warm smile.
“You can follow me this way, we’re going to head up the stairs,” The woman said.
“You first, Lou,” Nick said, waiting for the boy to head up the stairs after Dale.
“Okay, papa,” Louis said, stepping carefully onto the stairs, holding on tightly to the man’s hand. The hostess looked at him with a smile.
“Aren’t you cute? What’s your name?” The woman asked him in a kind voice.
Louis blushed, looking up shyly and answering her. “I’m Louis, thank you Miss.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Louis. Who taught you those wonderful manners?”
“My daddy and papa!” Louis said happily.
“Well they sure are doing a good job! I hope you’re excited for some yummy pizza.” The hostess walked them up to their booth, placing down their menus.
“We’ll be sitting at the booth right next to ya,” Alberto said, sliding into their booth. Everyone besides Louis noticed the way that the room went a bit quieter when the group walked in, clearly recognizing who the three younger men were.
“Your waiter will be right with you, enjoy your food! It was nice meeting you, Louis,” The woman said, giving the group a bright smile. Like everyone who met him, she was completely smitten with Louis; who could blame her?
Louis slid around the side of the round booth until he was in the middle of his daddies.
A waiter walked up a minute later, placing down three napkin rolls of silverware. “Hello, how are you guys doing today? I’m Ryan, I’ll be your waiter today. Can I start you off with some drinks?”
“I’ll take an iced tea, please,” Nick said.
“An iced tea for me as well. Some lemonade in here for him, thanks,” Harry said, handing over a bottle. Nick had asked whether or not the boy wanted a sippy cup, but Louis insisted on a bottle. He liked them a lot more, and who were they to not do what the boy wanted?
“Of course, I’ll have those out in a minute. Let me know if you have any questions about the menu after you look it over.”
“Mr. Ryan? Could I please have crayons?” Louis asked the man politely. Nick and Harry both leaned in to press kisses to the boy’s cheek at the same time, pleased with the boy’s manners.
“Of course you can, sir,” The waiter said with a smile, Louis giggling as the man gave him an exaggerated bow.
“I’m so lucky to have a little boy with the best manners in the world!” Nick said in Louis’ favorite happy voice.
“Can you please read the app’tizers please?”
“Let’s see… we have nachos, potato chips, pretzels, oooh, this is a winner, brussel sprouts! That’s what you want, right Lou?” Nick joked, tickling the boys tummy.
“Yuck! No sprouts,” Louis said, scrunching his nose up, Nick laughing loudly.
“Heeeey, brussel sprouts are delicious!” Harry said with a pout.
“Yucky, daddy. No one likes green veggies!” Louis exclaimed in all seriousness.
“I like them very much! Hm, I see something I think you might like a little… mozzarella sticks?”
Louis clapped his hands together with a huge smile on his face. As much as Harry tried to sway him to the vegetable side, Louis was smitten with fried cheese and chocolate.
Ryan walked back up to the table, placing crayons and a piece of paper in front of Louis besides handing out the drinks. Louis immediately began sucking on his bottle.
“We’d like to order some appetizers,” Nick said, looking back down at the menu.
“Of course, whenever you’re ready!” Ryan said, pulling out his notepad.
“We’ll take mozzarella sticks and brussel sprouts, please,” Nick said with a smile.
“And for dinner we’ll have a large thin crust half cheese, half artichoke hearts and spinach,” Harry finished, shutting his menu.
“Ew!” Louis said, shaking his head quickly.
“The cheese side is for you, you picky little thing,” Harry said teasingly.
“Perfect! The appetizers will be coming right up, let me know if you need anything else!” Ryan said with a laugh.
Louis started to color, humming a happy little tune to himself. Harry and Nick talked about how work had been going back at home and how he was having the Downton Abbey cast come in the next month. Nick had always been a bit hesitant when it came to patting himself on the back, always listening to the critical comments that he received about his show. Harry did his best to squash his negative thoughts and let him know how good of a job he was doing.
Only a few minutes later, the appetizers were placed down in front of them.
“Be very careful, the sticks are piping hot!” Ryan warned.
Nick cut up the mozzarella sticks into small pieces for Louis, dipping one into marinara before popping it in the boy’s mouth.
Louis hummed happily, “Yum, papa, so yummy.”
“I’m glad you like it, make sure you chew!” Nick said.
“Want to try a brussel sprout, baby?” Harry asked after swallowing one himself.
Louis shook his head very quickly, patting Harry on the cheek. “No, daddy, don’t want to take them away from you! You can eat all of them.”
Nick and Harry laughed at the boy’s antics.
“How generous of you, thanks love,” Harry said, stroking the boy’s face.
As Nick was putting the last bit of a mozzarella stick into Louis’ mouth, a nervous looking girl walked up to their table.
“H-hi, I- um… I was just wondering if I could take a picture with you three? I-I um, I’m really sorry for asking, this is j-just the only time I’ll be able to see you guys. I can’t afford tickets to see you guys play,” She said, looking down to the floor.
Before Harry or Nick could even answer, Louis smiled at her. “Come sit for a picture! Albs, can you take the picture?” The boy asked the guard who had stood up, ready to tell the girl to go away.
“Of course, Lou,” The guard answered, taking the girl’s phone.
Harry patted the spot next to him in the booth, the girl blushing bright red as she scooched in.
“What’s your name?” Louis asked her, leaning over Harry and still smiling brightly.
“I-I’m Bridget, everyone calls me Bri,” She said, completely flustered.
“It’s nice to meet you, Bri,” Harry said, Nick agreeing.
“Smile on three,” Alberto said, counting down with his fingers.
Nick engaged her in conversation for a second, while Louis whispered in Harry’s ear.
“Daddy, can we give her tickets to the show? She seems sad, I want her to be happy!” Louis said.
It broke Harry’s heart how simple it was for the boy, thinking that simply giving the girl concert tickets would make her more confident and happy.
“Of course we can, love. We’ll have Alberto take care of it,” Harry whispered back.
“Want to come see us sing tomorrow? It’ll be really fun, I promise” Louis said with all the excitement of a newborn puppy playing outside for the first time.
“What? Are you serious?” Bri asked, wide eyed.
Louis nodded eagerly, “Yes! I really want you to, it’ll make you happy!”
The girl smiled at Louis’ enthusiasm, enamored by the little. “I’d love that, thank you so much. That means a lot.”
“Of course, it’d be our pleasure. Just give Alberto over there your twitter and we’ll be in touch,” Harry said sincerely.
“Thank you so much, really,” The girl said, sliding herself out of the booth.
“Have fun tomorrow!” Nick said, giving the girl a wave goodbye.
Once they were alone, Harry turned to Louis with a huge smile on his face.
“That was very sweet of you, angel,” Harry said.
“I just wanted her to be happy,” Louis said with a shrug, like it was no big deal.
Their pizza came out a few minutes later, each of them relieved to see the delicious pie. Nick cut Louis’ pizza up into bite sized pieces, taking joy in feeding the boy. He’d missed it so much while they were gone, he loved doing things for Louis.
“Open up!” Nick said happily, twirling his fork into Louis’ mouth. As they had been the whole night, the group was oblivious to the pictures that were being sneaked by people. Well, that wasn’t completely true. Louis was oblivious, too caught up in the affection his daddies were giving him. But Nick and Harry simply didn’t care; the pictures would squash nasty, baseless rumors that Nick didn’t want Louis. The world would see the photos and hopefully be quiet for at least a moment or two.
They were done with their food a while later, paying their bill and tipping Ryan generously before standing up. Alberto and Dale had finished a bit earlier, standing up as soon as they saw the others doing the same.
“Ready to go?” Dale asked with a smile. Nick was putting Louis’ jacket on, making sure the boy was all bundled up before heading out into the cold Chicago night. It was a stark change from the summer weather in Australia; Louis wished he was back in the sunny warmth of the other continent.
“Yep, let’s still head to you know where,” Harry said quietly with a wink. Dale nodded, guiding them downstairs to the front entry way of the restaurant. Alberto had headed down already, giving the valet their ticket for their car.
Harry held Louis’ hand tightly as they walked down the stairs, wanting the boy to be careful as he walked. The hostess from earlier greeted them at the bottom of the stairs with a frown on her face.
“A crowd just seems to be continuously growing outside, we’ll have some of our tougher waiters keep them at bay. I’m so sorry about this,” The woman said, clearly distressed.
Harry was quick to quell her worries, placing a hand on her arm. “Don’t worry about it, people seem to just show up in drove wherever we are. It’s not your fault.”
“All right, here’s our group of warriors,” She said, a group of six bigger men walking up.
“If you could just keep the fans back while they head into the car that’d be great, we really appreciate it,” Dale said with a smile. “Alberto, the other bodyguard, is waiting in the car, so we’ll head out as soon as we’re in the car.
The men all nodded, looking rather comfortable for people who were about to deal with an unidentified number of screaming girls.
“Papa,” Louis said softly, holding his arms up. The man instantly picked him up, bouncing the boy soothingly on his hip.
“Ready to go?” Dale asked, Harry and Nick nodding while Louis pushed his face into his papa’s shoulder.
“Love you, little cub,” Nick said before following Dale outside. As far as crowds went, it could’ve been worse. The waiters did a surprisingly good job at keeping the fans at bay, Harry and Nick wouldn’t have even known they’re there if it weren’t for their screams of Harry and Louis’ name.
Soon enough, Louis was bucked into his car seat and they were off again.
“Where are we going?” Louis asked curiously.
“It’s a surprise!” Harry said with a smile. Louis let out a gasp before smiling, excited to see what his daddies had planned.
“A very good surprise,” Nick sang, pressing a kiss to Harry’s lips.
The car pulled up to a parking garage, Alberto quietly talking to the man inside before being allowed in the almost empty structure.
“Where are we?” Louis asked anxiously, knowing this wasn’t the hotel parking garage.
“A fun place you’ll love, we’ll be there in just a few minutes, duckling.”
Nick looked at Harry, waiting for an explanation.
Harry explained quietly, Louis not even listening as he looked out of the car. “Louis’ been following me around like he’s my baby duck, hasn’t let me leave his sight. It’s adorable, mostly.”
“The sweetest little duckling whoever lived, I’m sure,” Nick said, smiling.
The car pulled into a parking spot, Louis letting out an excited noise at the prospect of figuring out what the surprise was.
“Let’s go!” Louis said, fingers fumbling as he unsuccessfully attempted to unclasp his car seat.
“Woah there tiger, let me get that for you,” Alberto laughed, easily getting Louis out of the car. The boy was relieved to see that the garage was nearly void of all cars. Louis reached for both of his daddy’s hands, holding them and walking in the middle of them.
A man in a security guard uniform met the group at a door leading into the building the parking garage was connected to.
“Dale, I assume?”
“That would be me, thanks for meeting us,” Dale said, shaking the man’s hand.
“No problem, the mall’s been closed for an hour or so, I’ll take you right where you need to go.”
Louis could tell that they were in a mall the second they stepped inside, but he wasn’t sure what store that his daddies would take him to. Most of them had their lights off as it was past closing time, and when he finally saw one with the lights on he started squeezing both of his daddies’ hands in excitement.
“Here we are,” The security officer said, stopping in front of the store Louis was hoping he’d stop in front of.
The little started crying as the security guard walked off, overwhelmed with the love his daddy and papa constantly showed him.
“N-no one’s ever taken me to Build-A-Bear before,” Louis cried, looking at the magnificent store before him.
“We know that, angel, that’s why we wanted to take you!” Harry said softly, thumbing the tears off of Louis’ face. Every time Louis told Nick or Harry that he hasn’t done something, they put it onto a list. They wanted to give their boy the chance to do everything he wanted to do. If he wanted the moon, they’d find a way to get him it.
“Now let’s get a smile on that face, and go make a new toy!” Nick said in Louis’ most favorite voice. Louis took a deep breath before smiling up at both of his daddy’s. Alberto and Dale had gone to sit on a bench in front of another store, waiting for the men to finish up.
Entering the store, a woman with bright red hair greeted them, her apron bright blue and emblazoned with a teddy bear.
“Hi friends! Welcome to Build-A-Bear Workshop! I’m Rae, I’ll be helping you today! Have you been here before?”
Louis shook his head, looking around in awe of all of the stuffed animals and clothes that the store had for them.
“Perfect! Let’s start over here, where you can pick out which friend you want to take home!”
Louis was entranced by all of the stuffed animals he could create, unsure of which one to make. It was such a tough choice. He walked down the row, eyes lighting up when he saw the perfect choice.
“That one, please!” Louis said, pointing to a stuffed duckling.
Harry laughed a bit, smiling at Louis’ choice.
“I’ll have a little cub for papa and a duckling for daddy! Just like me,” Louis said, the men grinning wildly at how thoughtful Louis was.
“That’s right, darling,” Nick said, pressing a kiss to the boy’s head.
“All right! There are lots of ducks in that bin, so you can pick which one you want and then we’ll stuff him!” Rae said, pointing to the yellow bin that was directly in front of the platform that held the example duck up. Louis took his time finding the perfect one, Harry and Nick not having the heart to tell him they were all the same.
“This one is perfect!” Louis stated.
“Perfect! Now we can head over here and pick out what we want to go inside of him or her. We have lots of different kinds of hearts that you can put inside of their heart, and if you want to record a message you can put that in there too!”
Louis was deep in thought, thinking about all of his choices before grabbing a simple red heart. “This one please, and I want papa and daddy to say something. If you want,” Louis finished shyly, looking up at the men hopefully.
“Of course, duckling, we’ll go do that right now while you start stuffing your new friend!”
“Come here, Louis! We have a special machine we use to fill our friends up here at Build-A-Bear,” Rae said excitedly, waving Louis over to a big machine that had cotton flying around it in.
“Will it hurt him?” Louis asked, a little frightened about what the machine would do.
The woman’s smile grew at the boy’s cuteness, assuring him that it wouldn’t hurt the duck, but it’d bring him to life.
Once the duck was attached to the machine, Louis started stepping on the pedal that added fluff to his bear.
“Look at you go! Turn around and smile, love,” Nick said, taking a video for his Snapchat story. He knew that the screenshots would be rolling in as soon as it was up.
“All right, just one more big step and we’re all done!” Rae said, grabbing the animal once it was stuffed just right. “Okay! Let’s put the voice recorder in. Then when you press your duck just right, you’ll hear the noise. Perfect! Now let’s put the heart in, kiss it first and then put it wherever you want to! Now I’m going to sew his back up for you and we can pick out some clothes for them.”
Louis went over to look at the clothes, finding the perfect outfit for his new friend. He picked up a sailor hat and a pair of matching shoes, but that was it.
“I don’t want him to have clothes because Lacy doesn’t, and that would make her sad,” Louis said as if it was a big concern of his.
“That’s very sweet of you, Lou. Why don’t you pick out some outfits for both of them? I know that clothes from here fit Lacy too, I checked!” Harry said.
“Okay!” Louis said, excited to be able to get some clothes for both of his friends. He picked up a few pairs of pajamas, t-shirts, jeans, and a dress for Lacy. It was a very successful shopping trip, he’d have the best dressed friends in town, without a doubt.
“All right! Looks like you’ve got a good wardrobe going! Now let’s get his birth certificate made! Do you know what his name is going to be?” Rae asked, sitting at a computer and having Louis sit next to her.
“His name is Dusty! Dusty the ducky,” Louis said, rubbing the soft hair against his face.
“What a good name,” Harry and Nick said at the same time, both of them laughing at their similar thought pattern.
Louis couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have a new friend. More than that, he couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have such an amazing daddy and papa. He loved them so much.
Shortly after that, the group headed back to the hotel, Louis yawning multiple times.
He felt like he was flying once he was tucked into bed between his daddies, his head resting on his papa’s chest.
“I love you, thank you for being the best daddies ever,” Louis mumbled, unable to open his tired eyes.
“I love you so much, angel,” Harry said, pressing a kiss on the boy’s lips.
“I love you, too, little one,” Nick said, patting the boy’s butt, unable to kiss him without disrupting him from where he was falling asleep on his chest.
Louis was sound asleep a few minutes later, Nick and Harry both taking the time to check their social media.
A quick logon to Twitter showed them that every aspect of their day had been documented, from fan photos of Nick getting off of the plane to Build-A-Bear posting a photo of Rae and Louis that Nick took on the woman’s phone. Bri from Gino’s had posted how kind Louis was, the fans positively freaking out about how the boy had treated her.
Harry laughed internally as he thought about how happy Jackie would be with the chatter about them running rampant. More than that, Harry thought about how happy HE was with both of his favorite boys by his side. He knew it was pretty cliché, but he was sure life couldn’t get much better than this.