Chapter 19
Louis woke up to his thighs and private bits on fire. Literally. His eyes snapped open and he let out a pained moan before starting to sob. Shaking hands failed to unzip his sleeper, but another pair of bigger, steady hands covered his own.
“What’s wrong baby?” Harry asked, quickly waking up at the wailing of his baby boy.
“Hurts,” Louis choked out, now yanking at the material of his sleeper as if he was trying to rip it off his body.
“Let daddy help you, angel, let’s see what’s wrong,” Nick soothed in a gruff voice as Harry unzipped the boy’s pajamas. The men had to stop themselves from cussing at the sight of the inflamed skin that was revealed once Harry had untaped Louis’ diaper.
“Oh, my poor little ducky. I bet that hurts, hm? Daddy and papa will make it feel all better, let’s get you in a nice warm bath, angel. Daddy’s going to call nana and ask what special tricks she has to make ouchies feel better,” Harry cooed sympathetically. Louis was still sniffling and crying and in so much pain that he didn’t want to move.
“Nana,” Louis whimpered softly. He knew she would be able to help him, she always made him feel good.
“I’ll go start the bath, loves,” Nick said, standing up and heading into the bathroom.
Harry FaceTimed Anne, praying that she would pick up.
“Hi love, what’s wrong?” Anne asked when she picked up; smile immediately turning into a look of concern at Harry’s face.
“Lou has a rash, Nick and I aren’t sure what to do,” Harry admitted.
“Is he with you? If you show me the severity of it I can see what would be best to do,” Anne said.
“Yeah, he’s right here. Baby, I’m just going to show nana your rash, then we’re going to get into the bath,” Harry promised. He put the camera over Louis’ private bits, the boy letting out a displeased noise as he did.
“Let me see my sweet baby,” Anne said a few seconds later. Harry flipped the camera so that Anne could see Louis and Louis could see her.
“Nana, it hurts,” Louis whimpered, eyes red and glassy.
“My poor baby boy, nana’s here. Daddy and papa are going to give you a nice warm bath and you’ll feel a lot better, I promise,” Anne said, attempting to soothe the crying boy on the other side of the screen.
“That’s right, little love, let’s get your teeth brushed and then we can get into the warm bath,” Nick said, walking out of the bathroom, face washed and teeth brushed.
“Love my nana,” Louis said, pressing a kiss to the screen.
“I love you so much, sweetness. Your daddies will take very good care of you,” Anne said, blowing kisses back to Louis.
Nick carefully picked Louis up, cradling him in his arms so that his skin was left untouched and not rubbing anything. Once Louis’ teeth were brushed, Nick gently put him into the tub. Louis let out a pained cry as his irritated skin touched the water, but quickly felt better as soon as his entire body was submerged in water.
Louis put his fingers in his mouth, sucking on one hand while playing with his favorite ship with the other. He barely noticed Nick washing his hair, the ship fascinating him regardless of how many times he’d already played with it.
“Papa’s going to wash your body now, love,” Nick said, soaping up the washcloth.
“No papa, no no no,” Louis said, taking his fingers out of his mouth so he could protest loudly.
Before Nick had the chance to reply, much to his relief, Harry walked into the room.
“Hi angel, guess what?” Harry asked in an excited voice.
Much like a toddler would, Louis forgot exactly what he was protesting against at the first thought of his daddy having something to share with him.
“What?” Louis asked curiously, turning to focus his attention on his daddy where he was walking towards the tub.
“Nana told me the secret to getting you feeling all better, you want to know what it is?” Harry asked. Nick took the distraction as a chance to start washing Louis’ body, moving gently and quickly.
“Daddy, just tell me! I’m a good secret keeper, promise,” Louis held out his pinky, eyes wide with excitement. Harry pressed a kiss to Louis’ wet hair, endeared by his cuteness, then locked his pinky with Louis’.
“Once you’re done with your bath and all dried off, you don’t have to put clothes on at all! We can just sit and watch guppies or doc without any clothes on, won’t that be silly and fun?”
“No clothes at all? Not even a diaper?” Louis asked, voice rising as he continued to speak. His daddies always made him wear clothes!
“Nope, not even a diaper! It’ll make your booboos feel a lot better, nana promises,” Harry said.
“Okay, silly daddy,” Louis said with a giggle. “Want to watch Cinderella, not guppies.”
“Of course, love,” Harry said with a smile. The boy had just started watching the Disney princess movies during tour, and he absolutely loved them. He had one of their guards go out to buy every single Disney movie they could find, just so Louis would be able to watch all of them. Yeah, he was definitely wrapped around his little boy’s finger.
True to their word, once Louis was out of the shower he was set up on the couch all naked. He fussed a bit as Nick put on the rash cream Alberto was more than happy to go out and buy, but once he was done the boy was pleased. They turned the heat up in the room so that he wouldn’t be cold, and placed towels under him in case he had an accident. If he did, they weren’t worried; they knew he was completely out of control of his body functions at this point, and a little mess didn’t worry them.
“Baba for breakfast, please,” Louis said as he brushed the soft fur of Dusty. He loved having his friends by his side to talk to. Lacy and Dusty weren’t wearing clothes either, and that made him feel a lot better, knowing he wouldn’t be alone in his nudity if someone walked in. He turned his attention back to the movie. He loved the princesses, they were so pretty and had such nice voices. Sometimes he wished he could sing as well as them.
“Of course, pumpkin. Papa called down for breakfast for us and we’ll all eat together,” Harry said from where he was getting ready for the day in the bathroom.
An array of breakfast items were pushed into the room by Nick, but Louis only had eyes for Harry who was holding his beloved bottle.
“Do you want to feed yourself, love?” Harry asked as he sat down on the couch, unsure of where Louis’ head was at after last night.
“You, daddy,” Louis said as he climbed into his daddy’s lap, no concern for his own nakedness.
“Of course, I love feeding my little boy,” Harry cooed, settling a pleased Louis into his lap. Louis was mostly asleep as he finished sipping his bottle, Harry quickly burping him and settling him back on his lap while he rocked him to sleep. He knew that Louis had a rough night, so they’d let him sleep. Once the boy was fully asleep, Harry picked him up. In their freaky telepathic way, Nick got the memo to lay out the towels all across the couch before Harry placed the boy down, grabbing a pillow from the bed to put under his head. They moved their breakfast into the sitting room, sitting at the large wooden table as they ate.
“When are you leaving again, love?” Harry asked as he ate a bite of yogurt.
“Right after the New York show I’m flying out, I hate being wasteful and using a private jet, but it gives me an extra day here.”
“It’ll only be four more shows after that, then we’ll all be together again. Home stretch,” Harry said, not sure if he was trying to console Nick or himself.
Nick smiled as he thought about the conversation that he needed to have with Louis once they were in Europe, already anticipating the boy’s reaction.
“I can’t wait, love. Then you and Lou are all mine; no more shows, no more appearances, just cuddles and cartoon mermaids,” Nick said with a pleased sigh.
“Nothing could be better than that,” Harry agreed with a kiss to Nick’s lips.
When Louis woke up a few hours later it was time to leave for the stadium, Nick being as careful as possible as he put Louis into his diaper. He was admittedly feeling a lot less pained after a few hours of the cream setting in, happy that medicine was so effective in this day in age.
Louis made a whimpering noise from where he was sitting on the couch as Harry brought over a pair of his favorite soft jeans to put on. Louis ended up being dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, the back flap of his diaper visible through the thin material of his shirt. It was a testament to how far in his headspace Louis had become, the way that he no longer cared who saw his diapers or pacifiers. Nothing could make Nick and Harry happier.
“All right, little cub, are you listening?” Louis nodded. “If you go potty in your diaper, you have to let daddy or I know right away, even if you’re on stage. We don’t want your booboos to get any worse, okay?”
The little gave Nick a slobbery kiss to the cheek in reply, feeling too little to speak. This was how he liked to feel. Only a few more weeks until he could live the way he wanted to; he was unspeakably excited.
“Ready to go, lads? How are you doing, Lou?” Alberto asked, leaning down to pick up the suitcases packed near the couch.
Louis waved at him shyly, pressing his head to Nick’s shoulder.
“We just woke up from our nap, we’re feeling a bit shy,” Nick said softly, rubbing Louis’ back.
“Lucky boy, I’d love to have a nap right about now,” Alberto said, chuckling.
“Ready to go, darling?” Nick asked, standing himself up. Before he could even ask if Louis wanted to walk or be carried, the little boy was holding his arms out to him, eyes wide as if to say please. Nick cooed as he gently picked him up, careful not to hurt Louis’ bum.
They headed down the elevator with Albert and Phil, Harry waiting a few minutes before coming down. The cars were parked in front of their hotel, no back entrance available for them. As they were stepping out of the elevator, Louis put his lips up to Nick’s ear.
“Juice,” Louis said, stuttering the word out in a high tone. Nick couldn’t even find it in himself to be annoyed that he waited until they were leaving to ask for a drink as Louis’ pressed a kiss to his cheek before resting his head on his shoulder.
“Of course, love. Alberto, can you grab a bottle out of the bag? We’re just going to head into the restaurant to get some juice.”
Thanking Alberto, Nick grabbed the bottle and headed into the restaurant. Thankfully it wasn’t busy, the hotel screening reservations made so that fans weren’t allowed into the restaurant. As the fans got smarter, so did the boys’ security team.
“Hi sir, what can we get for you?” The hostess asked calmly, having answered their room service orders over the two days they’d stayed there.
“Can you just put some apple juice in here, please? Thanks so much,” Nick said. She hurried away quickly, Nick looking up at the sound of a gasp. He saw Louis staring out at something and followed his gaze. He was staring at a couple that had a true child sat in a highchair. Louis’ gaze wasn’t on them, though, it was on the stroller they had sitting next to their table.
Louis wanted it. He really, really wanted it. He didn’t know why he did, but he did. He couldn’t quite vocalize what he wanted to say, but thankfully his papa understood. He didn’t know what he’d do without him and daddy.
“You want a stroller, love? Daddy and I can push you around and you’ll never have to walk again, you lazy little boy,” Nick joked, pressing kisses all over Louis’ face.
The little boy giggled loudly before nodding quickly, “Want. Please.”
“Of course, lovey, we can call YSL and we can pick it up tomorrow in New York! Does that sound good?” Nick asked, smiling as the hostess brought Louis’ filled up bottle back to the men.
“Here you are, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you?” She asked with a smile on her face.
“No thank you, have a great day,” Nick said, handing her a twenty-dollar bill he had stashed in his pocket. She thanked him profusely as he walked towards where Alberto and Phil were standing.
“The fans are behind gates, the car is pulled up with his car seat facing us,” Alberto said as he saw the pair walk up.
“All right, let’s head out,” Nick said, letting out a sympathetic noise when he felt Louis’ legs tighten around his waste, his face tucked into the dip of Nick’s shoulder. Regardless of how visibly uncomfortable Louis was, the fans still screamed loudly as Nick carried him outside, Alberto and Phil standing in front of where Nick was buckling him into his car seat so that there could be no photos taken of him.
Nick handed Louis the bottle once they were both seated in the car, Louis holding his bottle with one hand and Nick’s with the other as he waited for his daddy. The juice tasted delicious, the little letting out happy little snuffles as he drank. Nick smiled as he watched Louis drink, using his free hand to wipe the trail of juice that was making its way down his chin.
He could remember being eight years old and watching his aunt with her true child and being confused by how someone loved another person enough to not be disgusted by their body fluids and simply loving them enough to help them with anything they needed. But now he understood, he would do anything for Louis, regardless of whether or not a bystander would find it gross. It was a powerful and terrifying feeling to realize that he and Harry essentially held Louis’ life in their hands; he needed them. The little counted on him and Harry to feed him, wash him, change him, dress him, love him, and everything in between. Nothing was scarier, but nothing felt better. This was his purpose in life.
The door to the car opened, Harry sliding in besides Nick with a huge smile on his face. Louis’ eyes lit up, untangling his fingers from Nick’s to wave at his daddy, but not quite willing to stop drinking his bottle.
“Hi angel, I missed you and papa so much! Did you get some yummy juice?” Harry asked, acting as if he hadn’t seen the pair a short twenty minutes ago.
Louis nodded, kicking his little feet happily against the leather seat of the car. Nick couldn’t help but feel endeared by how tiny Louis was, barely 5’5 tall. He was the cutest thing he’d ever seen, honestly.
“Darling, do you want me to tell daddy what we’re going to go buy tomorrow?” Nick asked, chuckling as Louis rapidly nodded his head, juice sloshing around in the plastic bottle.
“What would that be?” Harry asked, curious.
“We’re going to go get a stroller for our sweet boy at YSL! I’m going to call them in a minute,” Nick said, smiling at the happiness in Louis’ eyes.
“Is that right? Are you trying to get out of walking, silly boy?” Harry asked with a laugh.
Louis stopped drinking and let out a giggle, “No walk, no walk for Lou!”
Nick and Harry laughed loudly at that, in love with how little their boy sounded.
“We’ll get your stroller, love, it’ll be the coolest stroller ever!” Harry promised, Louis letting out a hum at his words.
The drive to the Roger’s Centre was a quick one; Nick and Harry talking to each other quietly while Louis finished drinking his juice. Once in their dressing room, Louis lay down on the couch with his head on Harry’s lap, feeling calm as the man scratched his scalp. His brain felt like mush, and he couldn’t love it more. He didn’t need to think, his daddies would do it for him. He trusted them. When his papa was back, he had a burning question he needed to ask, though. It was something that he’d been thinking about for a while, and now that they were going shopping tomorrow, he figured he’d ask. He was a bit scared, but like he said… he trusted them.
“Just got off the phone with YSL, we’re all good to head over there tomorrow!” Nick said, speaking quietly once he saw how relaxed Louis was, moving to sit next to Harry on the couch.
Louis shifted out of Harry’s lap begrudgingly, sitting up and turning so he was looking at both his daddy and papa. They both gave him smiles, staring at him and waiting patiently like they knew he had something to ask.
“I have a question,” Louis began uncertainly.
“Of course, angel. You can ask papa and I anything,” Harry promised.
“Are little boys allowed to like princesses? Or are they just for little girls?” Louis asked quietly, eyes wide in innocent worry as he stared at his daddy and papa looking for an answer.
“Of course little boys can like princesses, darling! You can like whatever you want to like, princesses are for everyone. Your daddy and I really like the princesses too, and we are old!” Nick joked with a smile. Louis giggled at his papa calling himself old before thinking over what he said.
“You mean it, papa? Even though they wear pink?” Louis asked. He’d never been able to watch anything remotely girly growing up, his mom taking care to form him into the man’s man, a dom that was surly, sporty, and interested in everything a typical man would be. But as he’s come to realize during his time with Nick and Louis, there was no such thing as a “typical” dom. Everyone was different, and that’s how life should be.
“Definitely, baby. You can like princesses who wear pink, and you can even wear pink if you want! Daddy and I just want you to be happy and that’s all that matters.” Nick knew this was a pivotal moment for Louis; he was becoming set in his role as a little boy, but that wasn’t all there is to it. He needed to realize what he wanted, who he truly was. It was one thing to know you’re a little, but what about his likes, desires, interests? Nick and Harry saw those aspects of Louis finally coming out, and they would do anything they could to cultivate them.
Harry was completely comfortable with himself, and it was all thanks to Nick. He met the man when he was first starting out, and never had time to doubt himself or his fashion and life choices. It made him who he was, and he couldn’t thank Nick enough for that. His fingers were crossed that Nick and himself could provide the same confidence to Louis, regardless of what the boy wanted, they’d be there to support him. Even bringing it up provided a huge first step, and Harry couldn’t be any prouder of the little boy. It seemed like they were finally getting somewhere.
----------------------
It was right after meet and greet when they usually headed to dinner that Liam walked into their dressing room. Louis had done a great job at ignoring him, and whined uncomfortably, pressing his face into Nick’s shoulder from where he was sitting on his lap.
“No no little cub, no being grouchy. We’re going to talk to Liam before we go to dinner.” Nick said in his stern, ‘papa means business’ tone.
“Okay, papa,” Louis said in a small voice, picking his head up off of Nick’s. He knew that he had to listen to his papa, even if he didn’t want to.
“Good boy,” Harry praised from where he was washing his face in the bathroom, causing Louis to beam.
Liam took that as his cue to walk all the way into the room, dragging a chair so that it was parallel to where Louis was sat on Nick.
“Hi Lou. I just wanted to tell you that I’m very sorry for hurting your feelings. I didn’t mean to make fun of you, I just wanted to let you know that you had juice on your face,” Liam apologized, large brown eyes open wide and staring right at Louis. He had had a talk with Harry, freaking out a bit over how to make Louis talk to him again. Harry had to explain that although Louis had more worldly experience than a true toddler, that’s essentially where his mind was at, so he needed to talk to him slowly and gently. Aaaaand Harry came up with an awesome way to put the last nail in the coffin of this fight; he was probably the best daddy ever, but he’d let Liam take claim for the idea.
“But you laughed at me! That was mean,” Louis said, a pout present on his lips. Liam quickly looked behind the little to Nick who simply raised his eyebrows as if to say “You’re apologizing to him, not to me”.
“I know Lou, and I’m really sorry. I have something really cool to make it up to you with if you come give me a big hug and accept my apology.” Liam couldn’t help caving that quickly; he knew Louis wasn’t going to apologize to him, so he’d just need to pull out the big guns.
Louis perked up at that, looking to his papa instead of Liam. “Does he really have a surprise, papa?”
“He does, little cub,” Nick said, pressing a kiss to Louis’ forehead.
With only a second of thought, Louis popped off Nick’s lap to run and hug a now standing up Liam.
“I forgive you Liam. Don’t be a meanie to Sophia, though, she deserves a nice boy.”
Liam choked out a bark of laughter, “I won’t be mean to Sophia or you, promise.”
“Where’s my surprise?” Louis asked, pulling back from the hug.
“You’ll get it later, promise. Just wait a bit and you’ll see,” Liam said with a smile.
------------------
Later turned out to be during their encore when Alberto hefted a fire extinguisher on the stage. Louis’ daddy walked over to him, picking it up off the ground and placing Louis’ hand on the handle, giving him a little smile, pointing his free hand to where Liam was standing.
Louis let out a peal of giggles, eyes bright with excitement. Harry pretended to tip toe over where Liam was, all of the fans in the audience screaming the loudest they had all night. Louis was smiling ear to ear, and Harry had never seen him happier on stage. Once they were right where Liam was singing, the man pointedly not turning around (not that Louis had noticed), Harry counted down from three before Louis pressed down on the handle, squirting carbon dioxide all over his bandmate.
Liam jumped into the air as the freezing liquid shrouded him, Louis falling onto the floor as he laughed his little head off. Niall took charge of the extinguisher continuing to shoot Liam as Zayn rolled his eyes good-naturedly, shrugging his shoulders before giving up on finishing the song. The fans were having a field day, every person in the audience taking their camera out to capture the moment. Louis was still laughing as he walked off stage, eyes wet from how much he was laughing. Once Harry was off stage Louis ran up to him, standing on his tip toes as he whispered that he needed a change before they left.
Soon he was changed and they were in the car, Louis recounting everything that happened as if Nick wasn’t standing right next to the stage the whole show. The man took it in stride, though, loving to hear how excited and happy his little boy was.
“Let’s spray Liam every show, daddy!” Louis said, excited by the prospect.
“As fun as that would be, I don’t think we can do that, angel,” Harry said with a laugh.
“Maybe a few more times would be okay,” Nick said, leaning over Harry to tickle Louis’ stomach. The little boy let out a laugh and clapped his hands together.
“Best daddies ever!” Louis said to himself, Nick and Harry smiled at each other as they heard the boy’s mumble.
“Ready to get on the plane?” Harry asked softly as they pulled up to the airport. Louis let out a soft whimper as his ears filled with the screams of fans; he didn’t want to have to talk to them.
“It’s okay, baby, papa’s going to carry you right onto the plane. Daddy’s going to take some pictures, then he’ll meet us on there once you’re nice and cozy in your pajamas,” Nick said with a smile, unbuckling his seatbelt as the car came to a stop.
“Love you daddy,” Louis said, blushing happily as the man pressed a kiss to his lips, letting him know he loved him back.
Alberto opened the door to the car, undoing the buckles to Louis’ seat as he had many times now. He stepped aside for Nick to grab the boy and put him on his hip, Louis immediately tucking his head into the man’s shoulder crevice.
“I know you’re tired, darling, but will you give everyone a nice smile and wave when we walk by?” Nick asked.
“Okay, papa,” Louis said, receiving a kiss on the tip of his nose that made him laugh.
Louis waved to the screaming fans as he walked by from where he was sat on his papa’s hip. Alberto and Phil followed close behind the pair, always worried that the barricades would fail under the intense and surprising strength of the pushing fans. Soon they were on the plane, the rest of the boys taking time to talk to fans and take photos. They tried to stop at least once a week, and they couldn’t lie and say they didn’t enjoy it. It was nice being able to meet fan, to hear their stories and see the smiles that are on their faces because of them. It felt good.
“All right, let’s get you all change and ready for bed,” Nick said as he stepped onto the plane, grabbing the diaper bag from Alberto’s outstretched hand.
“Baba?” Louis asked through a yawn, running a small hand through Nick’s hair.
“Of course, lovey, let’s give one of our nice friends a bottle,” Nick said. Thankfully one of the stewardesses was close enough to hear, hurrying over and unzipping the diaper bag as Nick directed her to where a bottle was stored. Once she grabbed it, he headed into the bathroom, smiling at Louis’ soft singing. He opened up the plastic changing table that was attached to the wall, placing down the soft changing mat from the diaper bag before putting Louis down.
“What are you singing, baby?” Nick asked curiously.
“Hun song, from Mulan. Why does she wanna defeat the Huns? Lou and Caroline always call me Hun, why does she not like me?” Louis asked, confusion and curiosity lacing his tone.
Nick choked back his laughter at the adorable boy’s confusion. Louis always asked him and Harry the cutest, most innocent questions and Nick just wanted to post every single thing he said on social media. He refrained himself though, just barely.
“Oh no, love, she’s talking about the Huns who were a group of bad men who lived when she did. The Huns are the scary, mean men in the movie, not cute little boys like you.”
“Good! I love Mulan, I didn’t want her not to like me,” Louis said brightly, letting out a breath.
“Let’s get you out of these clothes and into some pajamas. Daddy just changed you, didn’t he?” Nick asked as he rifled through the diaper bag for pajamas that he knew was in there. It seemed like the contents of the bag grew more and more every day, soon enough they’d need two diaper bags to carry everything they wanted to around. Or they could learn some self-control; the first option definitely sounded more viable.
“Wet again, papa,” Louis said through yet another yawn, the boy turning onto his side to get more comfortable.
“No sleeping on here, Lou, it’s not comfy! Roll over so papa can get you changed quickly,” Nick said, pulling out changing supplies. He’d change Louis quickly; he knew the boy would be passed out in a matter of minutes.
Once Louis was dressed in solely a onesie, saying he was hot and didn’t want anything else on, Nick carried him out to their seats, sitting down with the little boy cuddled on his lap. None of the other boys were on the plane yet, so he figured they had some time. Nick knew very well that Louis hated having to feed himself his bottle, so he’d take the opportunity to hold the boy and the bottle. Something he was going to miss doing very, very much when he headed home in a day.
“Here’s your bottle, sir. Is there anything else I can get for you?” The kind faced stewardess asked, handing Nick the bottle.
“We should be good, thanks so much,” Nick said with a smile. Louis had no regard for personal space, as usual, as he made himself comfortable on Nick’s lap. It only took a few minutes for Louis to be positioned the way he wanted to be, head cradled in Nick’s elbow, staring up at his papa with sleepy eyes. Nick put the bottle up to Louis’ lips, the boy beginning to suck with his usual eagerness.
The more time that he spent with Louis, the more he realized the little things that the boy enjoyed. Louis was finally becoming confident in expressing his emotions and thoughts, and Nick made sure to make a mental note of every single thing he liked so he could do it often. One of those things that he especially enjoyed was getting a tummy rub, always making sure to point out that his papa gave better rubs than his daddy. Nick wore that honor like a crown.
Nick reached his hand that wasn’t cradling Louis’ head down to his belly, beginning to rub in the exact way he knew Louis liked. The boy let out a happy gurgle behind his bottle, milk running down his face that Nick quickly and lovingly wiped off.
“My sweet little boy, I love you so much. I love giving you tummy rubs and kisses. You like that too, hm? Sweetest little boy in the whole wide world, goodnight my little love,” Nick spoke to Louis quietly, crooning sweet words to the boy who was nearly asleep.
Harry ran up the stairs to the plane, conscientious of the fact that they took way longer than they planned to outside. It wasn’t a bother, really, he loved meeting fans. But more importantly, he loved watching his baby as he fell asleep, watching him let out cute little yawns before finally succumbing to sleep.
The first thing his eyes landed on was the sight of Louis cradled in Nick’s arms, letting out one of the yawns that made his heart melt around the nipple of his bottle. He walked over to where the pair was sat, bending down to press a kiss to a now asleep Louis’ lips.
“Love you, angel,” Harry whispered, moving to shift a seat into a bed for the boy. The flight was only an hour and a half, so thankfully they’d have their boy in a real bed soon enough. Once the seat-turned-bed was equipped with Dusty, Lacy, and a soft blanket, Nick gently picked Louis up and placed him in the bed. Harry popped a pacifier in his mouth before sitting down and placing his head on Nick’s shoulder.
“Don’t want you to leave, babe,” Harry said quietly, his stomach sinking as he thought about being without the man for a while. It never got easier, and it honestly never would. Sure, Harry was excited to start a solo career, but it could wait. He needed to have some time with Nick and Louis in London. At their house. His and Nick’s whole relationship had comprised of a week together, and months apart. Sure, they’d gotten used to it, but it grew tiring. Harry couldn’t help but worry that Nick would eventually get sick of it, but he hadn’t. Not yet, at least.
“I’d stay if I could, but I’m already taking time off for the last three shows. It’s almost over, then we’ll be home,” Nick said, pressing a kiss to Harry’s curls.
“God, nothing sounds better than having nothing to do besides be with my favorite two boys. It’s like… I know there are only a few shows left and I should be sad, but I feel quite the opposite.”
“Understandable, babe. You’ve been touring constantly for what, five years? You need a break. Speaking of breaks, did I tell you my mum and dad took off work to come to Paris? Looks like the whole family’s going to be there.” Nick was excited for his parents to come; they’d seen the boys perform when they were in London before, but that was before Louis. His mum texting him constantly, asking for updates on Louis. His dad travelled for work, and they’d just gotten back from two months in Hong Kong, so now they could finally meet the boy instead of just hearing about him.
“Sounds perfect, you know I love when Eileen and Peter are around,” Harry said with a smile. “Are they excited to meet Lou?”
“It’s all my mum bloody talks about, she bought half of Hong Kong and wrapped it for him. My dad’s just happy we’re happy, typical Peter.” Nick said with a smile.
“Gemma can’t wait either; I remember a few years ago when she told me about her neighbor’s little and how she couldn’t wait until I had my own, and here we are. It’s just insane.”
As always, the New York airport was absolutely out of control and packed with fans. Alberto carried an extremely irate and half asleep Louis to the car, Harry and Nick not wanting there to be any chance of fans mobbing them and Louis getting hurt while they carried him. The bodyguard was huge and foreboding, it was almost as if there was a flashing sign over his head that read “DO NOT MESS WITH ME”. Whatever it was, though, it worked.
Alberto talked to Louis quietly, which was actually quite loudly considering the screaming of fans, as he buckled him into the car seat, promising him his daddies would be out soon. Regardless of that, he furrowed his brows, arms crossed as he sucked angrily on his pacifier. If only the fans could see the angry image he made in the car as opposed to the blurry pictures of him being carried with his bare legs on display as he was carried to the vehicle in his onesie.
The other car door was opened, Harry sliding in before Nick hopped in and shut the door.
Harry couldn’t help but coo as he saw Louis’ irritated expression. “It’s okay, baby, you can go to sleep now. Just a few minutes and you’ll be in bed.”
Louis yanked his pacifier out of his mouth, lip wobbling, “Want to go home with papa. Want my crib.”
Harry leaned over the car seat, pressing kisses onto Louis’ cheek, tangling their fingers together to soothe the boy. He and Nick both understood that Louis needed comfort, some familiarity after so much time spent in hotel after hotel, city after city. Babies needed structure and organization; it helped them feel safe. As he’d thought a million times already, he knew that Louis was struggling, he couldn’t imagine how he was feeling.
“Would you like to sleep in a crib tonight, angel? It’s not yours, but we can get one brought up to the room,” Nick said softly. What he really wanted to say was that he’d love nothing more than bring Louis home tomorrow. Hell, why don’t they turn the car around, get on the plane, and head back to London? But that wouldn’t help anything.
“Please, papa,” Louis said, tears still falling silently.
“No worries, baby. We’ll get you all cozy and you’ll be in a comfy crib in no time,” Nick promised. The older man placed a comforting hand on Harry’s knee, knowing that his boyfriend would be internalizing everything that Louis was feeling and saying. Harry glanced back at Nick, giving him a smile. They’d get through this.
Louis fell back asleep, his grip on his daddy’s hand loosening. Harry couldn’t feel the least bit guilty about his annoyance at seeing fans in front of the hotel. The worst part of New York was that there was no way in besides the front, all of the buildings packed too tightly together for there to be a back entrance. The man was jarred from his thoughts by the door opening, Alberto giving him an understanding smile and letting him know he had Louis and he’d carry him inside.
The fans, of course, had no regard for the time or the fact that Louis was clearly asleep, still screaming as he walked by. It made no sense to Alberto, but he just focused on getting the boy inside. Nick walked quickly beside the pair, Harry waiting, wanting them to get inside before he headed out and even louder screams erupted.
Nick breathed a sigh of relief as Alberto stepped into the hotel with Louis in his arms, the manager of the hotel quickly walking up and greeting them.
“Hello! Welcome back, Mr. Alvarez, Mr. Grimshaw. We have your room keys right at the front desk; you’re the first group to arrive. Is there anything we can get you?” The woman asked with a practiced ease, making sure to keep her voice down when she eyed the sleeping boy.
“Can you have a crib sent up to my room as soon as possible? I apologize, we weren’t sure we would need one,” Nick said.
The woman was quick to dismiss his apologies, as any worker in a hotel that was paid the sum that the band’s management paid them. “Of course, Mr. Grimshaw, I’ll get to that right now. We’ll put our softest sheets onto them, no doubt. Let me alert our housekeeping crew, you can head over to the desk whenever you’re ready. As always, let me know if there’s anything we can do to make your stay more enjoyable.” She scurried off quickly, walkie-talkie already out.
By the time the keys were sorted, Harry was inside, pressing a soft kiss to Nick’s lips with a smile. The man responded by pulling Harry close, holding him in his arms as they waited for their keys to be activated. Alberto was sitting with Louis in his arms, Dale taking the job of sorting the keys while he sat with the boy, hoping that he wouldn’t wake up.
“All right, get Lou up to bed before a fan runs in screaming bloody murder,” Dale said with a small smile as he handed Harry and Nick their keys.
“God help the person who does that, I think I’d kill them with my bare hands,” Nick answered, shaking his head.
“Thanks Alberto,” Harry said quietly as they walked over to where he was sitting. The hotel staff had grabbed all of their bag, a wide eyed young man taking both the diaper bag and a hundred dollar bill after promising he’d run it up to their room.
“No worries, you know I only have one soft spot and that’s for him,” Alberto said with a smile, shifting Louis so that he was now cradled in Harry’s arms.
They quickly made it up to their room, their bags on the ground and the diaper bag placed on the bed. There was a crib set up at the foot of the bed, much to both men’s relief.
Before Harry could even tell Nick what to do, he was grabbing the travel changing mat and a diaper out of the diaper bag. Louis was changed quickly, Nick grabbing his blankets and stuffed animals and placed them in the crib, lowering the side of it so that Harry could easily put Louis in.
“Night angel, daddy loves you so much,” Harry said, pressing a kiss to the boy’s forehead, smiling as he watched the pacifier slowly bobbing between his lips.
“Love you, Loulou,” Nick said, kissing the boy’s forehead and letting his lips linger there. He’d miss this. But he could do it. It was only a little while, then he’d have both of his babies in his arms again.
Harry tucked Louis in before securing the side of the crib. He and Nick took a shower together, kissing each other softly, knowing that they only had a numbered amount of hours left together. It was always a somber affair, the last intimate interactions that they had together before they left. But it was just as good as always, the fire that Nick ignited inside of Harry all those years ago still there. He knew with all of the certainty he had that it’d never go away.
The next morning was a quiet one, Louis miraculously sleeping in past eight am. Nick and Harry were up before their little one, brushing their teeth and getting dressed for the day before ordering breakfast to the room. The breakfast would be up a little later, the men wanting to have time to wake Louis up and get him ready for the day before eating.
Louis came to when he felt a hand rubbing his tummy just the way he liked it. He let out a soft sound, shifting to roll towards the warm hand when he felt the mess in his diaper. Before he could even let out a cry he was picked up gently, Nick recognizing the scrunched up look on his face all too well.
“Papa’s here, darling. Let’s get you all clean and then we’re going to take a bubble bath!”
Louis let out a happy sound at that, head too full of excitement over his pink bubbles to grumble about his papa changing his messy diaper. He never had a bubble bath before his daddy and papa, and he loved them so much. At their house there were different color bubbles, his daddy liked being silly and putting in all of the colors so that there was a bubble rainbow.
“Let’s get your teeth brushed and then we’ll take a bath!” Nick said, picking a naked Louis up on his hip.
“Da!” Louis gurgled excitedly when they entered the bathroom, happy to see his daddy squirting bubbles into the big bathtub.
“My little pumpkin!” Harry said with a beaming smile, standing up to press kisses all over Louis’ face. Louis giggled at his daddy’s actions as he was placed on the counter. Harry and Nick quickly found out that Louis didn’t like brushing his teeth by himself, but they were more than happy to do it for him. Once his teeth were brushed, he was put into the now very bubbly bath, letting out a happy sound at the feeling of warm water.
“Feel good?” Nick asked, smiling when Louis nodded in reply. Harry bent down and put Louis’ favorite boat into the water along with washable bath crayons.
Louis had a great idea that he could put into action since he had the markers! He hoped that his daddies liked what he was going to do. It was no secret that he thought his daddies were the best people in the world; they were handsome, smart, funny, and nice. They were the best grownups that Louis had ever met, and he wanted nothing more than to make them happy and be like them.
He took a red crayon and held it to his arm, tongue sticking out as he concentrated. Art was one of Louis’ favorite things to do, and his daddies always told him how good he was at it. They still wore his bracelets that he made with nana, and tons of his drawings were hung up on the fridge and in his playroom! He was happy his daddies were proud of him. Making them proud made him happier than he’d ever been.
His drawing was finished a short while later, and he inspected it before getting his daddies’ attention from where they were talking on the floor.
“Lou draw like da and pa!” Louis said ecstatically, holding out his arm proudly.
Nick and Harry looked at his arm, the small tic-tac-toe board he drew on his arm uneven and slightly smeared by the water. It was the best tattoo they’d ever seen.
“Did you get a tattoo like daddy and I?” Nick asked in Louis’ favorite voice, a smile on his face.
Louis nodded eagerly, pointing with his free hand to his tattooed arm.
“It looks so good, baby! You’re daddy’s favorite artist. Can I post a picture of it online?” Harry asked. Again, Louis nodded, his smile bigger than ever. Harry took a picture of Louis, bubbles covering him up to his chest, arm outstretched and a giant smile on his face. Harry posted it on Instagram with the caption: world’s newest and best tattoo artist. Contact his papa or I for appointments.
“Such a talented little boy, your daddy and I are so lucky!” Nick said, him and Harry smiling at the way Louis blushed. The little boy’s heart fluttered wildly in his chest every time his daddy and papa said something nice to him. He loved knowing they were proud of him.
“Let’s get you washed up so we can have some breakfast! Do you want a baba or some pancakes?” Harry asked. It was a bit difficult to tell sometimes how far into his headspace Louis was; it was always easier to tell after they asked the little a question, whether or not he could answer being indicative of where exactly he was. When he was feeling little he wanted his daddies to pick for him and he got easily confused.
Louis’ mind went a bit fuzzier than it already was at the question, unsure of what the right answer was. He liked when his daddies picked for him. Looking up with wide eyes, Louis shrugged.
Before he could feel uncertain over not knowing, his papa told him it was okay, and they just wanted to see if he had a preference one way or another. Louis listened to his daddies talk to each other while they worked in tandem to wash his body and his hair, content to listen to the men’s conversation instead of chiming in. Their voices soothed him, it didn’t matter what they were saying, he liked just listening.
“Your icky rash looks so much better! Does it feel better?” Nick asked as he dried Louis off on the bed. The little boy had a look of surprise on his face; Louis had all but forgot he had a rash. He couldn’t even feel it! Nick laughed, the boy’s surprised face as he looked down to where the rash once was giving him the answer he was hoping he’d receive.
“Which outfit do you want to wear? Remember we’re going shopping,” Harry said, holding up two outfits for Louis. Picking out clothes for him to wear in public was still something he was a bit hesitant to do. He knew Louis would go with whatever Harry and Nick wanted, even if it made him uncomfortable.
The two outfits proffered were a long sleeve, light blue onesie with Nemo on it and gray leggings, and a pair of jeans and a plain blue t-shirt. Louis barely waited a second before pointing to the outfit with the onesie.
Harry smiled, happy to see that Louis was confident enough to pick the outfit he really wanted to wear.
“Good choice! Let’s get you all dressed- look, breakfast is here!” Harry said, stopping speaking for a second when he heard the door knocked on. Nick went to grab the food as Harry got Louis dressed in the onesie and leggings, making sure he was all powdered up in his diaper so that there would be no possibility of the rash resurfacing.
“A baba sounds good, hm?” Harry asked as he walked back into the room after washing his hands. Louis, who was now sucking on his fingers, nodded, but didn’t take his hand out of his mouth. Harry sighed; he knew that the habit was going to get the boy sick one day, but until then there was nothing he could do to stop it.
“Here we are, a bottle for my sweet boy, and waffles for my sweet love,” Nick said as he carried a tray of food in and placing it on the kitchenette table.
“Belle,” Louis said before crawling so that he was resting on pillows at the head of the bed.
“All right, bossy boy, I’ll turn Belle on,” Harry said with a chuckle. He quickly found Beauty and the Beast, placing the DVD in Nick’s computer drive and putting the computer on the bed near Louis. The crib was blocking the TV, so the smaller screen would have to work.
“Baba,” Louis said, eyes wide as he watched the screen, not taking his eyes off of it.
“Here you are, your highness,” Harry said in an exaggerated accent, bowing as he handed Louis the bottle. The little giggled wildly at his daddy’s silliness, immediately starting to suck on the bottle.
Nick and Harry were able to have a relaxing breakfast, taking their time to talk and eat while Louis watched the movie. The director of the New York YSL store had let them know they’d be open all day, and that the store’s security team knew they’d be arriving and they’d be directed further once they arrived. The store was in the middle of the city, but the parking garage was underground, making it so that paparazzi still had no chance of getting photos.
Once Nick and Harry had finished up breakfast and packed up what they’d need for the day, they got Louis ready to head out.
“Ready to go, baby?” Nick asked from where he was putting Louis’ socks and shoes on, playfully tickling the boy’s feet.
Louis nodded in reply, reaching his hand down to touch his papa’s hair.
“Messing up papa’s hair already?” Harry asked as he walked over, taking a seat next to Louis on the bed. The little curled his upper body into the man, snuggling his face into his chest.
“All set!” Nick said as he stood up, reaching down to grab the diaper bag after double-checking that everything they’d need was inside.
Louis crawled to the head of the bed where his pacifier was stranded, picking it up and putting it into his mouth before crawling back to his daddy and sitting on his lap. Harry picked Louis up, shifting him so his legs were wrapped around his waist.
“We’re ready to go now! Let’s get Alberto and Dale,” Harry said, walking out the door that Nick was holding open. Nick knocked on Alberto’s door, both Dale and Alberto walking out quickly.
“Ready to head out? The car is waiting out front already, the fans are all behind barricades so we shouldn’t have a problem,” Dale said as he lead the group to the elevator.
Speaking to Louis quietly Harry said, “You can keep your paci in, but will you give the fans a nice wave outside, baby? They’d like that very much.”
Louis nodded in reply, getting a sweet kiss on the cheek in praise from Harry. As they headed out the front door the screams from fans increased, Dale and Alberto walking on either side of them as they walked the short distance to the car. Just as Harry asked, Louis waved to the fans, pacifier in mouth and head resting on his daddy’s shoulder. Relief flooded through Louis as soon as he was buckled into his car seat. He knew he wouldn’t have to deal with fans for a little while, and he was happy about that.
“Louis, I need you to listen to papa for a minute. Can you do that?” Nick asked from where he sat next to Louis, turning so he was looking him directly in the eyes. He and Harry had learned to change their tones of voice depending on what they were talking to Louis about. The boy understood that this was his papa’s serious tone, so he listened, eyes wide.
“Good boy,” Harry praised when he saw Louis’ attentiveness.
“When we go to the store, it won’t be just us in there, so I need you to be the best boy. If daddy and I aren’t carrying you make sure you’re always holding one of our hands. And if you need anything, just tell daddy and I, okay?”
“Louis is good boy,” he answered after plucking his pacifier out of his mouth.
“That’s right! You’re such a good boy,” Nick said, slightly tickling the now giggling Louis’ stomach.
The partition slid down, Alberto peeking his head back from where he was sitting in the passenger seat. “We should be there any minute. You put Dale and I on the list of who’d be coming today, right?”
“Yeah, I did. Here are our IDs, just hand them over when we pull up to the gate,” Nick said, grabbing the small stack of IDs he’d made.
Soon enough they were heading down a lighted underground tunnel, directed by the gaggle of security guards posted outside. It made Nick feel a bit better to know that in such a busy city they would have some privacy. Like he’s said, wealth could buy you anything.
Once they were parked in the relatively empty garage, a guard came over to them vehicle. He spoke with Alberto and Dale for a minute before leaving, the two large guards hopping out of the escalade.
“Ready to shop, bud?” Alberto asked as he opened Louis’ door, beginning to unstrap the boy.
“Yeah!” Louis said from behind his pacifier.
“Ready to go, pumpkin?” Harry asked with a wide smile, trying to quell any worries the boy might have. Fortunately, his excitement outweighed every other emotion he had. Louis nodded, walking over to the man and giving him a tight hug. Harry found that nothing melted his heart more than how little Louis looked next to him, the boy coming up to the top of his ribcage. He’d always loved how small and cute Louis was, but now that he was his baby it was even more precious.
“All right, let’s head in. There’s a little coffee shop right in front of the store apparently, so that’s where Alberto and I will be. Just holler if you need us,” Dale said as he led the group inside. They were immediately greeted by the site of a store that was even bigger than the London location, and a woman sharply dressed in a suit.
“Mr. Styles, Mr. Grimshaw! It’s such a pleasure to meet you,” the woman said in a soft, pretty voice as she shook their hands. Louis liked her voice and peeked out from behind his daddy at her curiously.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Melanie,” Nick said, knowing she was the director of the store and the woman he’d spoken to on the phone.
“Hello! Who do we have here?” She said with a smile, looking at Louis who was staring at her. She had the prettiest red hair Louis had ever seen, he just wanted to touch it.
“This is Louis!” Harry supplied, even though she obviously knew who he was. It was a tactic used to make sure littles were comfortable with meeting new people, and Harry was happy she adopted it. “Can you say hi, Lou?”
Louis nodded, prompting the woman to walk closer, bending down so she was on his height level.
“Hi, Louis! My name is Melanie, it’s so nice to meet you.” She said, sticking her hand out as to mimic the handshake she just gave Harry and Nick. Instead of taking the proffered hand, Louis took his right hand and reached up to stroke the woman’s hair. Everyone chuckled, the woman that they had just met taking it in stride. She was a p-dom herself, and was very used to littles, mostly her own, touching her hair.
“Soft,” He said without thinking, his pacifier falling out of his mouth and plunking onto the ground. His eyes immediately welled up with tears at the loss of the item, immediately taking his hands out of her hair to reach on the ground for it.
“No, no angel! We can’t put that back in our mouth, it’s yucky! Daddy and papa will get you a new one when we are home,” Nick promised, cursing the fact that he knew there were no pacifiers in their diaper bag.
“Oh, Louis, it’s okay! Want me to show you something special?” Melanie asked, thinking quickly. Louis nodded, tears still pooling in his eyes. At the affirmation, she walked them over to an aisle near them.
“Pick out any paci you want! Then I have a special trick to show you,” she said. Louis looked at his daddy and papa, making sure they were okay with it before reaching for a pacifier that had Mushu from Mulan on it. The woman grabbed the pacifier, removing it from the packaging, and grabbed something that was hanging on the wall near it before gently grabbing Louis’ shirt.
“Look at that! Now your paci is hanging right on your shirt, it’ll never fall off!” She exclaimed. Louis looked down to his onesie to see his new pacifier hooked onto a red clip attached to his shirt. The string was long enough so that it would reach his mouth.
“Thank you!” Louis said excitedly, immediately reaching down and putting the new pacifier in his mouth.
“Thank you very much,” Nick said, appreciative of the way the woman stopped an impending meltdown.
“Of course! Let’s head back up front so we can get everything all sorted out,” she said with a smile, leading the group up to the front.
“You guys are good to go, we won’t be long,” Harry said to the two guards, watching as they headed to the small coffee shop.
“We only have a few customers expected to come in today, so that shouldn’t be a problem. There are staff members milling all around, so if you need any assistance just holler. Andrew, our stroller specialist, came in to assist you with anything you may need. You can simply head up here when you’re ready to look at them, and I’ll alert him that you’re ready. Our carts are over here. Is there anything else I can assist you with?”
“I think we’re all good for now, thank you very much!” Harry said with a smile, slightly squeezing Louis’ hand.
“Oh! And we have a juice bar at the far left side of the store near the clothing section. It’ll remain open all afternoon; they have bottles for the little ones, so no need to worry about that.” Melanie said with a smile.
After that, the little group was headed off into the store.
“Where do you want to start, Lou?” Nick asked. Louis pushed his pacifier out of his mouth, enthralled by the way it simply bounced on the red threaded string it was attached to, but didn’t go anywhere.
“Toys, papa?” Louis asked uncertainly.
“Of course, little cub. Let’s go look at some toys!” Nick said. Louis clapped his hands together in excitement, Harry and Nick letting out coos at the cute sight.
They headed to the figurine and doll aisle, knowing that was probably the first place Louis would want to look. He liked playing pretend with his figurines more than anything else he had.
Louis stared in wonder as he entered the aisle, looking at all of the choices in front of him. The section that held Disney princess dolls quickly stole his attention. He stopped in front of the plastic cased dolls, staring with wide eyes as he tried to take them all in. All of the princesses from his favorite movies were present; he couldn’t believe it! He wanted more than anything to be able to touch them, but their casing prohibited that. Their hair all looked silky soft, and their outfits were perfect. He needed them.
“Daddy, papa, my princesses!” Louis said as to direct their attention over to where he was standing, oblivious to the fact that they’d been watching him with rapt attention the entire time.
“I know, angel! They look so beautiful.” Harry said with a smile. He knew it was imperative to make this a positive experience for Louis; he’d been very hesitant about even watching princess movies, not sure if it was okay or not. It was obvious that Louis loved them, and him and Nick would do anything they needed to to make sure Louis knew it was all right to like them.
“Can I get them all, please papa?” Louis asked, turning around and moving to hug the man in question. Louis could feel his papa laugh from where he was pressed into his stomach.
“We can’t get them all, baby, but we can get two today. If you’re a good boy for daddy for the next few shows then we can get some more,” Nick said. It was tough being the strict (in the weakest sense of the word) parent, but he knew that Louis needed structure. Realistically, the boy could buy whatever he wanted, but Nick and Harry had talked and realized that it wasn’t fair to the boy to let him get whatever he wanted. He looked to Harry and himself for guidance and discipline, and that’s what they’d give him, just like any little boy.
Louis turned around to make the extremely difficult decision what dolls he should get when he heard two voices from the back of the long aisle.
“You can get one Barbie, just like I said! You have to listen to me better, Sel, or we will go home with nothing,” he heard a man’s voice say.
“But- but… I want five! I showed you the five I wanted! That isn’t fair,” he heard a higher pitched, annoyed sounding voice say.
Louis panicked a bit, quickly walking over to his papa and putting his arms up. He wanted to be picked up; he didn’t want to even look to see if he knew who the people heading towards them were. He’d never met another p-dom l-sub pairing, and he was terrified. Meeting new people was something that was hard for him anyways.
“It’s okay, little cub. Papa’s got you,” Nick said soothingly as he picked the little boy up. Louis pressed a quick kiss to Nick’s neck, tucking his face into his shoulder.
“Selena, I told you- wait, Harry?” the man’s voice said.
“Justin! How are you, mate? Long time no see,” Harry said brightly, walking over to give the shorter man a hug.
“I’m great, just shopping with Sel. You’ve met Selena, right?” Justin said, pointing to the girl next to him. She was dressed as any 24 year old would be, makeup perfectly applied.
“I have! It’s nice to meet you, Selena. I didn’t know you were a p-dom, Justin!” Harry said, unable to quench his curiosity as to the man’s status.
Justin and Selena both laughed, “I’m not, man! Yeah, Sel’s my sub, but she just likes the rare Barbies, and they have them here. Melanie is super cool and lets us come in to get them regardless of our classifications. Oh, Nick! How are you?”
Nick didn’t let his thoughts show on his face, making sure he put on a smile before speaking. “Justin, Selena, great to see you both! I’m doing well.” Selena was off looking at the Barbies, not even acknowledging the trio of men. Justin seemed used to it, not put off by her rudeness.
Before Justin could say something to Louis, Selena walked back with an armful of Barbie boxes. “Justin, I want all of these! I’ll pay for them. I don’t care. I will be so mad at you if I don’t get them today and they’re gone.”
Justin sighed, “Fine, Selena. I really wish you’d listen to me once in a while. Well, guys, it was great seeing you! Have a good day!” The pair walked out of the aisle. It was definitely a strange interaction, Nick thought. Meeting other pairs always reminded Nick how different every pairing was, people being into different things and taking the role of dominant and submissive differently. Justin and Selena’s relationship didn’t leave him wanting for anything, though. It just went to show him, yet again, that him and Harry had completely lucked out with Louis. The boy was so grateful for everything he was given, always listening to Nick and Harry. He knew that no meant no and yes meant yes. There was no gray area.
“You ready to pick out some dolls, love? We’re all alone now,” Harry said quietly, not wanting to broadcast the words to the entire store.
Louis nodded, wriggling in Nick’s arms so he could be put down.
During the short encounter with the pair, he made up his mind on which dolls he wanted. It was a tough decision, but he knew it was the right one.
“Want them, please,” Louis said with a smile, holding out Belle and Mulan.
“Great choice! Let’s put them in the cart so that they stay nice and safe,” Harry suggested, taking the dolls from Louis’ hand.
“What else do you want to look at while we’re here, angel?” Nick asked Louis.
“I want a Mushu shirt,” Louis said after a second of thinking.
“Let’s head over to the clothes, then!” Harry said, grabbing Louis’ hand while Nick pushed the cart.
They entered the vast clothing section, looking for the sign that read ages 0-2. The clothing sections were divided by ages, both genders of clothes being placed in the same age area. Many littles were ambiguous when it came to their clothing; it was the norm in most classifications.
“Hello! My name is Kyle, is there anything I can assist you with?” A man with light blond hair said, walking up to the group with a smile.
“Hi Kyle, we’re just looking for the 0-2 section, if you could help us with that,” Nick said.
“Of course! I know it can be a bit tricky to navigate the store. You can follow me right this way,” he said, checking to see if they were following before heading towards the back of the clothing section. “Is there anything specific you’re looking for?”
“We’re looking for Disney clothing in particular, if you guys carry that.”
“Oh, of course! What kind of store would we be without Disney?” He joked, drawing laughs out of Harry and Nick. Louis’ stomach fluttered at his affirmation of them having Disney stuff. He really hoped they had Mushu; Louis really thought he was cool and funny.
The group was led to a section that had tons of Disney clothing, from pajamas to onesies to dresses to tshirts. They had everything.
“Mushu!” Louis said with a happy squeal, pulling his hand out of his daddy’s when he saw a black onesie with the red dragon on it.
“Look at that! Even more Mushu,” Nick said pointing to a t-shirt with the character on it.
“Can I get them papa? Please?” Louis asked as he stared at the onesie, stroking the soft fabric.
“Of course, love. Let daddy grab your size and then we can put them in the cart,” Nick said grabbing Louis’ size in the shirt.
“Best daddies ever,” Louis said, smiling to himself.
“Before we go get your stroller, do you need a change, love?” Harry asked. Louis nodded, grabbing the pacifier attached to his shirt and putting it back into his mouth. Once Louis was changed they headed out of the bathroom, Nick waiting right outside with the cart.
“Want some juice? They have lots of different kinds!” Nick said, gesturing to the tiled area that was set up with tables and a juice bar.
Louis nodded, following his daddies over to the counter.
“Hi! What kind of juice could we get for you three today?” A kind older woman asked from where she was stationed behind the marble counter.
“Lou, do you know what kind of juice you want?” Harry asked, even though he knew Louis would ask for apple juice.
He let his pacifier fall from his mouth, “Apple juice, please.” Bingo.
“All right, an apple juice in a bottle, and some kiwi mango for me,” Harry said, turning to Nick to see what he’d order.
“Kiwi mango sounds great,” Nick said with a smile.
“Perfect, I’ll have that up in a jiffy!” the woman said. A free juice bar was a perk that Nick loved. He’d definitely take advantage of it next time they went to YSL in London. Soon.
Once they had the juice they headed over to the stroller section, the woman at the juice bar telling them where to head and that she’d alert Andrew that they were on their way over.
A tall, dark haired man was standing in the stroller section with a smile on his face.
“You must be Louis, Harry, and Nick! I’m Andrew, it’s nice to meet you all,” the man said as he shook hands with Harry and Nick. He bent down to Louis’ height and Louis shook his hand too, letting out a giggle. It was clear that the man had worked with a lot of shy littles, as he knew how to quickly put Louis at ease. It was much appreciated by his daddies.
“Let’s get a stroller! Before I talk your ear off about all of the different kinds, how about you tell me what you’re looking for. What kind of stuff do you want the stroller to have, Louis? What color would you like it to be?” the man directed his attention to Louis, looking at him with a patient smile as he waited for the boy’s response.
Louis thought for a second before answering, “I like pretty blue. And I want it to be comfy for naps. And a top so I don’t have to see flashes.”
“Thank you for telling me that, Louis! I have a few awesome strollers in mind for you; we can even try them out! Follow me this way.”
“I had no idea that this many kinds of strollers even existed,” Nick said as he looked around the area.
“We have around 150 models in this store, and around 500 in our catalogue. There’s definitely a lot that goes into what kind of stroller a family should buy. Louis here is on the smaller end of the spectrum, so there will be no problem with him fitting into the strollers we have in stores. All right, here we have a RideOn 2015. It’s quite the popular stroller. I’ll pull it down and you can test it out.”
The man pulled the stroller down, Louis examining it. The color was a darker blue than Louis would’ve liked, but he sat down in it anyways. His daddy let him know that he was going to start pushing it. It only took a few seconds of Louis riding in it for him to know it wasn’t the right one. Three strollers later and Louis was feeling as though he would never find one.
Andrew looked at the boy’s dejected face, hesitating before making up his mind. “Well, there is one more stroller that I think is the perfect one. We actually just got it in today, but it’s not supposed to be on sale until March. I think we could make an exception though for such a well-mannered boy. I’ll be right back.”
Louis felt his stomach flutter a bit at the man’s words. He hoped this was the one. He wasn’t sure if he was being too picky, but his daddies didn’t seem worried so he wouldn’t be.
“Even if this one isn’t right, we can go talk to Melanie about the strollers in their catalogue. No worries, baby,” Harry said with a smile, drawing Louis in to kiss his forehead.
“I hope it’s good, daddy,” Louis mumbled.
“Here we go!” Andrew exclaimed, walking back over pushing a stroller that was the prettiest blue Louis had ever seen. He clambered into the seat, feeling comfortable as he sat down.
“It has an optional reclined seat, so that if he wants to nap then you can just set the seat back like this,” Andrew demonstrated, Louis feeling even more comfortable as he was reclined backwards. “And, of course, there is a top to go over him. The material is sun resistant, so he won’t get burned in the sun and camera flashes won’t be able to get in either.”
“Lou, I’m gonna start pushing you around so we can see if you like it,” Nick said with a small smile. He knew this was the perfect stroller for Louis. Both daddies were please with how smoothly it pushed, the wheels not getting jammed when they turned directions.
“Want it, please,” Louis said when they came to a stop, not jumping out of the stroller immediately.
“I think we can definitely make that happen, baby. What do we say to Andrew?” Harry asked.
“Thank you thank you thank you!” Louis exclaimed, grabbing his papa’s hand as the man leaned down to help him out of the stroller.
“You’re very welcome! I’m so happy I could help. I’ll bring it up to the front, it’ll be ready and waiting whenever you’re ready to leave.”
“Perfect, thank you so much again. We really appreciate your help,” Harry said, shaking the man’s hand again.
“Are we done yet?” Louis asked, wondering what else they still needed to get. It felt like they’d been there for five years!
“We just need to grab some more diapers and wipes and then we are good to go. You’ve been so good for papa and I, we’re almost done.”
Once in the diaper aisle, Louis was overwhelmed with the amount of choices he had. Last time they’d been at YSL he’d been so ready to leave that he didn’t even want to look at the diapers.
“Do you want to pick some out, baby? You can help daddy and I pick out your ones for daytime.”
Louis walked over to the area that held the diapers his daddy was talking about. He perused the selection, stomach fluttering when he saw the prettiest light pink diapers with dark pink outlines of Disney princesses on them. Unable to help himself, he reached a hand out to flip the package around so he could see all of the designs the package came with. Cinderella, Jasmine, Belle, Mulan, Pocahantas, Sleeping Beauty Ariel, Elsa. Everyone he loved. He knew that his daddies would be more than happy to buy him whatever diapers he wanted, but he couldn’t help but think about what his mum would say. He quickly dispelled the thought from his head. His daddies were what mattered; he trusted them. Turning around, Louis got the attention of his daddies from where they were looking at the overnight diapers together.
“Want these, please,” he said in a small voice, scared that if he said it louder his mum would somehow be able to hear him.
“Which ones, baby?” Harry asked, putting a pack of diapers in the cart before walking over. Louis pointed to the package, unable to vocalize what the design was. Harry’s eyes widened a fraction at the choice, surprised by how confident Louis was after their short talk the other day, but took it in stride.
“Look, they have Belle! Your favorite,” Nick said as he walked over, smiling and double-checking that the package was in Louis’ size.
“Those'll look super cool, angel. Are you ready to go?” Harry asked, chuckling at the quick pace with which Louis nodded.
Harry took Louis out to the car with Alberto while Dale helped Nick check out and bring everything out to the vehicle. It was obvious that Louis was in dire need of a nap, and as soon as he was in the car the little boy fell asleep. Harry checked his email, messaging Jackie back and letting her know that they would indeed be okay with their first television appearance before their last show in Los Angeles. They’d be appearing on the James Corden show, the man a close friend of Harry’s and someone Louis felt reasonably comfortable with. It made sense that that was where Louis would be interviewed again for the first time.
------------------
The day flew by much quicker than anyone could have imagined. The show was over, and the group was at the airport. There were two private planes on the runway, one that would take One Direction to Miami and one that would take Nick home to London.
Louis was overtired and absolutely sobbing his eyes out on Nick’s lap in the backseat of the car. Alberto and Dale left the vehicle to give the three their privacy.
“D-don’t go, papa,” Louis cried miserably.
“Oh, love, don’t cry. Papa is going to miss you so much, but I’ll see you very very soon. Didn’t you have fun with me this week?” Nick asked, trying to get the boy to calm down a bit. Earlier Harry had told Alberto that if they were taking longer than twenty minutes to say goodbye then he should go get a bottle with milk and sleeping medicine from the plane and bring it back. Prolonging their goodbye would just make Louis more upset, so the quicker he was asleep the better things would be for everyone involved.
“Lots of f-fun. Can’t l-leave,” Louis sobbed, his cries not dimming regardless of how much time had passed.
“It’ll only be a little while, baby. Papa will see you in just ten days!” Nick promised. The car door was opened slightly, Alberto holding a bottle out that Nick quickly took.
“Let’s have a baba, we don’t want to upset our tummy by being sad,” Harry said.
Knowing that his boy would soon be asleep, Nick said his final goodbye to the boy. “I love you so so much, Louis. Papa will see you very soon,” Nick kissed the boy’s lips, stroking his hair. A still snuffling Louis took the bottle between his lips, sucking in the warm milk. The medicine worked like a charm, Louis being asleep before the bottle was finished, tear tracks drying on his face.
Nick opened the car door and pressed one more kiss on Louis’ forehead before transferring him to Alberto’s arm, the man gently carrying him to the plane.
“Can’t believe you’re leaving already, babe,” Harry said sadly, looking into Nick’s eyes.
“I’m glad I could make it out, love seeing you guys perform. Love you so much. I’ll see you so soon,” Nick said as they got out of the car, drawing Harry into a tight embrace.
Soon enough they were both on separate planes heading opposite ways, Harry to yet another show and Nick to rainy London. Eleven days to go; they’d been through much longer times apart. Their time together mattered more than their time apart, but it was often hard to think of it in such a way. Harry closed his eyes, stroking Louis’ soft, warm skin as the plane took off. Nine shows to go.