Chapter 22
You know the saying “when it rains, it pours”? Yeah… Harry did too. It was his life right now. The day of the last show started off as well as it could have; they didn’t have time to go home, having to go straight to Wembley. But it was okay; they’d be in their own bed, and crib, that night. It was the final countdown. Unfortunately for everyone, the paparazzi were out in full force as they pulled up, screaming questions that no one needed to hear. Especially Louis. The boy was currently sobbing, surrounded by all of his bandmates. One extremely bold pap yelled out to ask if the boys were never going to talk again after tonight, and Louis’ stressed, sick of tour brain just burst.
“Lou, of course we’re going to hangout! Perrie and I love doing art with you,” Zayn attempted to soothe. Louis’ eyes were bloodshot and puffy, tears still streaming down his face. He was sat on both Nick and Harry’s laps, the daddies pressing kisses into his hair as his three other bandmates promised they’d never stop talking to him. Which was true. Sure, the public perception of the band being inseparable wasn’t fully true. On tour, yes, they did live out of each other’s pockets, but just like any other group of friends… they needed space. They were growing up and carving their own life path out, it was perfectly understandable. But the notion that they would never talk again was idiotic and clearly just a way to get them riled up. The pap succeeded.
“See, angel? Niall, Liam, and Zayn love you very very much. They’ll be your friends forever and ever! It’s been a long day, daddy would love to nap with his little boy,” Harry said, smiling knowingly as Louis let out a perfectly placed yawn.
“Love my boys,” Louis said, waving to the trio as they left the room. The thought that they’d never talk to him again scared him. He loved those boys with his whole heart; living without them in his life was a scary thought.
Once the door shut, Harry stood up and moved over to Louis’ diaper bag. “Let’s get you all changed into a nice, new diaper and then we can take a little nap.”
“We sleep at home?” Louis asked.
“Yes, we do! Papa washed your sheets and put soft blankies in your crib, it’ll be so nice and comfy!” Nick said happily. Harry and Louis hadn’t slept at home in a month. More than that… Nick and Harry had slept without Louis in their bed for two nights. Like any loving set of parents, they adored sleeping with their boy, but… they needed their private time. And it goes without saying that Louis needed his. Sure, he loved being around his daddy and papa, but there were always ten or fifteen other people surrounding him. For a shy, anxious little boy, that wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences.
Once Louis was changed and dressed into a onesie and soft shorts, he laid down on top of Harry and fell asleep quickly. He couldn’t have been more excited to finally go home! Fortunately, the end of tour sped by for him. Louis fell asleep to his daddy humming softly underneath him; like couldn’t get much better than this.
Life could get worse, though. Louis woke up to loud voices right outside of their dressing room. He sat up and shook his still sleeping daddy awake.
“Daddy, what is that?” Louis asked in a scared voice. Harry was immediately alert at the sound of his mum’s voice. She was speaking so loudly that it was impossible not to hear her, even through the thick door.
“I don’t know what you’ve ever done to think that you deserve the right to see him. You’ve done enough damage to him,” Anne yelled.
“I raised him! You have no right to tell me what to do. He’s got no doms, that means that he’s still mine and his money is mine,” a shrill voice said.
Louis let an involuntary whimper out at the sound of the voice, one that he grew up terrified of. The little huddled into his daddy, shaking like a leaf as he realized who was standing right outside of those doors.
“Scared,” Louis choked out from where he was bundled into Harry’s chest. And he was scared; he was absolutely terrified. What was his mum doing there?
Louis’ scared thoughts cleared a bit as he heard a familiar and comforting voice speak.
“He does have doms, ones that have treated him better in the few months they’ve been with him than you did in 21 years spent with him. You should be ashamed of yourself for treating such a loving boy so terribly,” Nick said. He’d been grabbing some food to bring back to the room when he heard Anne’s voice and hurried back. He had absolutely no idea why Louis’ mum was there or who the hell let her backstage.
“You’re going to realize soon that he’s worthless, just a pathetic baby. God, the amount of wash I had to do while he was growing up and wetting his pants and his bed like an infant. I had a chronic headache from the way he’d cry constantly. You can’t tell me that he isn’t useless, I wouldn’t believe you,” Jay said, a look of pure disgust on her face.
Before Nick could even say a word, a loud slap resounded through the hallway.
“Shut your bloody mouth, you evil witch. How dare you think you were ever suited to raise a child? Let alone three of them?” Anne raged, fists clenched. To see a woman so heinous that she should exist on a TV show character was absolutely maddening. To know that she was the biological mother of her sweet, little grandson made her furious. The woman deserved to rot in jail.
The sound of pounding feet made its way through the hallway before Alberto and Phil were in front of the trio.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Alberto asked, face incredulous.
“I’m here to get my money and my son back, none of you have any right over him or his money,” Jay said, puffing her chest up as she stared up at the tall, buff guard. A bright red handprint was visible on her cheek, much to Alberto’s amusement.
In the dressing room, Louis willed himself not to cry. He found himself in the most adult headspace he’d been in since before tour began. He needed to end this.
“I need to talk to her,” Louis said quietly, sitting up and getting off of Harry’s lap.
Harry nodded, “Papa and I will be right beside you. We love you so very much.”
Louis smiled up at him, lips tight, but eyes shining with sincerity. “I know.”
The fighting in the hallway stopped once the door opened, everyone looking to where Louis and Harry stood. Nick immediately moved over to the pair, both him and Harry standing behind Louis.
“Look who it is, my selfish son. Do you realize how much you owe me? How much effort it took to raise not one, but three babies?” Jay started mockingly. It was like she was a broken record; everything she said was always the same. It was always about her, everything was.
Louis took a deep breath before looking at her. “I don’t owe you anything. If I’ve learned anything over the past few months, it’s that I deserved more, not you.”
Jay let out an incredulous laugh, “That’s absolutely rich. It’s clear that you’ve been fed lies; you littles are just pathetic. I’ve been telling you this for years. Why would anyone want to have to take care of a helpless baby for more than the few years that they’re actually a baby? They wouldn’t. No one deserves to have a burden like you.“
Louis recoiled at the words that he’d heard for years. That he was pathetic, useless, unwanted. It hurt. He didn’t allow himself to think about her words, a sense of comfort and bravery slipping over him as he felt his papa slightly rubbing his back.
“They aren’t lying. You are. My daddy and papa love me. Forever. They pinky promised, and I believe them. They’re my family, not you. You’ve been mean to me and always hurt my feelings. But not anymore. I don’t need you. Goodbye forever.”
Louis took one last look at the woman before turning back into the dressing room. He knew his daddies would follow him, because that’s what daddies do. Once he heard the door close he exhaled deeply. He was finally free. He said what he had to say, and she’d never bug him anymore. She was gone. Forever.
Outside of the room, the entire security squad had shown up along with the police. Louis would never be hurt by the woman again if it was the last thing Alberto did. The boy deserved to close that chapter in his life. She didn’t deserve him.
Nick and Harry stood cautiously near the door, waiting to see Louis’ reaction. The boy was shaking slightly, and it took everything they had not to run over to him.
Bright blue eyes looked back at the men, Louis’ brow furrowed. “Want cuddles,” Louis said in a small voice.
The doms couldn’t move fast enough. Nick scooped the boy up in his arms before moving to the couch.
“Our sweet little boy,” Harry cooed, pressing kisses to Louis’ forehead. The little boy clasped his fingers together with his bandmate, Harry reaching a thumb up to stroke his hand.
“Daddy and papa love Louis forever. They promise,” Louis murmured, trying to work through the fears that have been brought to the surface by his mum. The woman brought out the worst of Louis’ self-consciousness and anxiety; he hadn’t felt like this in months.
“That’s right! Daddy and papa will always love their Louis. You’re our favorite little boy, we love you so very much,” Nick answered, slightly rocking Louis in his arms.
“They love Louis even though he’s not a big boy. He’s little, not useless,” Louis said. They could tell how deep he was regressing by the way he spoke about himself, but it was understood. His mum showing up was a mystery; how the hell did she get backstage? Why did she think she had any right to show there?
Harry quickly replied, “Daddy and papa love having you as our little boy. You make us whole, you complete our family. We love every thing about you, from your head to your sweet little toes.”
Louis giggled as Harry tickled his bare toes, a smile appearing on his face for the first time since his mum showed up.
“Daddy and papa are Louis’ family. They love Louis forever. Nana and grandma are Louis’ family too and they love Louis,” Louis looked up uncertainly as he asked this. Family was a big thing for him. It was a word that he’d always heard, but something he never felt. The boys were the closest family he’d ever had until now. Sure, it was nice to have brothers, but as a little he craved parental guidance, someone to look up to. And he never had that until now. Tonight was the first time he’d ever said that they were his family out loud… and it felt good.
“Nana and grandma love spoiling their sweet Louis. Daddy and papa love being your daddies, and you’re part of our family. You make our family whole. You’re so special to us, sweetheart.” Harry felt tears soaking his shirt as he spoke, Louis having crawled into his lap the moment he started replying to the boy’s verbalization of his fears.
“Tummy hurts,” Louis said, words muffled.
“My poor angel, let’s get you some yummy food to help you feel better,” Harry cooed. A knock sounded on the door before Anne peeked her head in.
“Can I come in, loves?” Anne asked quietly. Louis nodded his head from where it was resting on Harry’s chest, and Harry gave her a thumbs up. The woman moved over to the couch, taking a seat on the other side of Harry. “How are we doing, dear?”
Louis let out a soft whimper as he lifted his face to look at her. Anne immediately reached a hand out to wipe the mixture of snot and tears off of Louis’ face with her sweater sleeve, heart aching at the sight of such a happy boy looking so forlorn.
“My tummy feels funny,” Louis said, repeating his earlier sentiment. He didn’t know why his stomach was in so much pain, but he really didn’t like it.
“Why doesn’t nana go get you some food to help make you feel better? I know just the trick, love,” Anne said, pressing a soft kiss on Louis’ cheek before standing up.
“That’d be great, Anne. Could you grab a bottle from his diaper bag?” Nick asked, cautiously rubbing a hand on Louis’ stomach. Both he and Harry knew that the anxiety that had assaulted the boy that day was too much for him and causing him to feel sick. Harry was just hoping they could make it through the show. He’d never forgive Jay for ruining Louis’ last show; it just showed how heartless the woman was.
Anne was soon back with a bottle of ice water and a bowl of chicken noodle soup with crackers that Sarah quickly cooked up for the boy.
“Let’s drink slowly, love. We don’t want to hurt our tummy anymore, hm?” Nick directed as Harry brought the nipple to the little’s mouth. Louis nodded, taking slow sips as he listened to his daddies talk to nana about where they wanted to have their wedding. It brought his mind to a different place, something he was extremely happy about.
Louis finished his bottle, sitting up at Harry’s urging so he could eat the no longer steaming hot soup.
“Where do you want to go for daddy and papa’s wedding, angel?” Harry asked as Louis crawled into Nick’s lap.
“Beach and dolphins,” Louis said, pressing a kiss to Nick’s cheek.
Anne clapped her hands together, “Oh! A beach wedding. That would be so wonderful. We can rent out an entire resort, it would be perfect!”
Nick and Harry shared thoughtful looks. That could be perfect; private, sunny, and it would have enough room for everyone they loved. They’d have to start looking into islands and resorts.
“I think we can make that happen, darling. Papa would love to see you swim with dolphins! Now, let’s have a little soup and make our tummy feel better,” Nick said, kissing the boy’s cheek.
Anne couldn’t help but take pictures of the little family, Louis cuddled up on Nick’s lap while Harry fed their little boy soup. It was everything a mum could ever hope for; for her baby to have a baby of their own. She’d never seen Harry so happy, she knew this was his purpose in life… to have a little one of his own.
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Louis let out a grumble at the light that was visible behind his eyelids. He was so tired; all he wanted to do was sleep uninterrupted. He opened his eyes in disoriented anger when he felt someone touching him.
“No tears, love, it’s just papa. We’re finally home,” Nick said soothingly as he picked Louis up from his car seat.
“Wan’ crib,” Louis said drowsily, falling back asleep within seconds on the man’s shoulder.
Once Nick had Louis changed and put into pajamas, he slowly lowered him into the boy’s beloved crib. He and Harry shared smiles before pressing a kiss on the boy’s forehead, turning on the nightlight, and exiting the room.
Alone at last. Harry felt shivers roll down his spine as he felt Nick’s body against him in the shower; they were finally home. Nick would be home from work by the time they’d eaten breakfast most mornings, they had all of the time in the world to spend together. Nothing could feel better than that. Their little boy was asleep down the hall, and they had time to be together in the way that they only had been in unfamiliar hotel beds over the past month.
Dorothy was right; there’s no place like home.
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“Hey John, it’s Harry- Harry Styles. Do you have a minute to talk?” Harry asked. Louis was napping upstairs. They’d be home for five days, and the boy was relaxed and regressed. Harry had never seen him as happy as he was now.
“Hey Harry, of course. How are things going? Just get home?” John asked. John and Joey had a prior engagement on the night of the London show, declining Harry’s invitation when he asked. The dom was happy he didn’t tell Louis he invited them, as he knew the boy would be extremely upset if he got his hopes up.
“Things are going well, thanks. We got home almost a week ago. Lou has been so relaxed and happy; I’ve never seen him like this. It’s just… seeing him play alone every day breaks my heart. Do you have any play groups coming up?” Harry asked. Louis was definitely content, but only having his daddies to play with was probably something that’d get boring for him. Harry relayed to Nick how much fun Louis had with Joey, and they both agreed that the boy should have friends his own age.
“I completely understand; daddies can only be so fun. He’d definitely benefit from being around other littles. We actually have a group tomorrow afternoon at my place; there will be four little ones there including Joey, one of the little boys should be around Louis’ age, but they’re all great regardless. Is that something you’d be interested in?”
“I’m scared shitless, but I think he needs it. It’ll be good for him. It will.” Harry was trying to convince himself that this was what was good for the boy. Is this how parents felt when they sent their kid off to school for the first time?
John let out a sympathetic laugh, “Harry, man, it’ll be fine. You can leave at any time, and you’ll be right there. It’ll be really good for him, I promise.”
“Thanks mate, I don’t know what I would’ve done if we didn’t meet. Nick and I will bring him over tomorrow, just text me what I need to know, and send me any documents we need to fill out. I know you were mentioning NDAs.”
“Will do, have a good night and we’ll see you tomorrow,” John said warmly before hanging up.
Harry answered a few emails before hearing Louis let out a disoriented whimper from his crib as he woke up. He immediately stood up to head upstairs, not wanting the boy to be left alone for too long. Nick was out at a lunch with a colleague and would be home soon, and Harry was anxious to share the news that they’d be meeting some new potential friends for Louis tomorrow.
“Hi angel, did you have a nice nap?” Harry asked in an enthusiastic voice, smile plastered on his face as he walked over to unlock the crib.
Louis looked up at him with bright eyes, pacifier falling out of his mouth in his haste to reply. “Dada dada,” the little boy said happily, reaching a hand up for the man.
Harry cooed, reaching down to pick Louis up. “That’s right, dada’s here. Let’s get you all changed and comfy, then we can go play with some toys!”
Harry smiled at the sound of the garage opening and shutting, knowing how excited Louis would be to see his papa.
Louis was laying on his changing table in only a wet diaper when Nick walked in, the man smiling widely at the site of his two favorite people.
“Is that my sweet little boy?” Nick asked as he walked over, making sure he was close enough to catch the boy in case he rolled off in excitement as Harry was bent down grabbing a diaper.
“Pa!” Louis exclaimed, working hard to roll himself over to look at the man.
“Hi little love, did we just wake up from a nap?” Nick asked, stroking Louis soft belly with one of his large hands.
“He did, now we’re going to go play with some toys in the playroom!” Harry exclaimed as he stood up, pressing a kiss to Nick’s lips. The past five days had made Harry feel so… domestic, and it was something he loved. The feeling of staying home and watching his baby with his husband, cooking meals and having two happy boys.
Once Louis was changed and they headed into the playroom, Nick and Harry watched fondly as Louis played with his Guppies dolls. Harry’s phone buzzed with an incoming text that had John’s address and told him that they could come over around 3 the next afternoon.
Nick looked over curiously, “Who’s that?”
“It’s John. I called him, they have a group tomorrow afternoon if we want to bring Lou. I really think it’ll be good for him. He’s so shy, I think meeting other littles would be good for him.
Nick nodded. “Babe, you know I agree with you. You just can’t look that uncertain when we’re telling Louis. He’ll be fine. He knows Joey, we’ll be right there. We’ve got to trust that John knows what he’s doing.”
Harry let out a sigh, “I know, I know. It’s just hard. He’s so little and shy, I don’t want him to be scared or have his feelings hurt. This is overwhelming for me, I can’t imagine how it’s going to be for him.”
Nick reached out and grabbed Harry’s hand, pressing a sweet kiss on his lips. “You’ve always worried too much, baby. It’s why you make such a good dad, but you need to trust me. Everything will be fine. I promise.”
It was true; Harry had always worried too much. He’d said it a million times before; Nick was his calmer, more rational half. It was terrifying to even think of where he’d be without Nick, the man was always there to calm him down, provide him with tranquil energy. They were two halves of a puzzle, unable to function without the other.
“Pa?” Louis asked in his sweet, high voice from where he was sitting on the ground playing with his dolls.
“Yes, darling?” Nick asked with a blinding smile. After grabbing his attention, Louis crawled over to the plastic drawers that had all of his art supplies in them. The boy had started to alternate between crawling and walking yesterday, something that Nick and Harry found absolutely adorable.
“C-crayon?” He asked again, looking between Nick and the drawers.
“Of course, love, papa and daddy would love to draw with you!” Nick said enthusiastically getting up from the leather couch in the corner of the room to get the boy’s drawing supplies out. Nick lifted out a few coloring books for Louis to choose from, the boy ultimately choosing the Disney book that Sophia had bought him on tour. Nick and Harry took out the coloring books that they’d bought for themselves, not wanting to use up Louis’ precious coloring pages.
The trio sat at the plastic table that Louis did his arts and crafts at, Louis flipping to a picture of Cinderella and Prince Charming before starting to color. His motor skills were not where they once were, Louis’ hand shaking as he concentrated on staying in the lines… an impossible task for the little one.
“Guess what, Lou?” Harry asked, breaching the conversation as he colored in a landscape. Louis looked up for a second, a show that he was listening, before going back to coloring.
“We’re going to go over to Joey’s tomorrow to play with her and some new friends!” Nick interjected, both men intensely staring at Louis, eager to see what his reaction was.
Louis didn’t know how to feel. He’d been home for a few days now, and he’d never felt littler or more relaxed. He couldn’t even remember the days that he didn’t fully trust them, even though it was only a short while ago. But making friends? Could he trust his daddies with making him do something so scary? He never really had friends outside of the boys. It was hard for him to connect with people when he was so shy and had such a big secret to keep. Would they like him? Was he fun? He couldn’t help but be absolutely terrified.
The little look up to his daddies with wide, uncertain eyes. “Play with Louis?”
“Yes, sweetheart, they want to play with you! John said Joey’s friends are very nice. Maybe you can bring some toys over, would you like that?”
Louis wasn’t completely sold. “They be nice? They like Louis?”
Harry wanted to cry at the insecurity that showed in Louis’ eyes. He walked around the table and picked the little boy up before sitting back down with him in his lap next to Nick.
“They’ll like you very very much, Louis. You’re nice and fun and sweet, everything a friend should be!” Harry said, pressing a kiss to Louis’ forehead. The boy let out a huff of air, still uncertain.
“Scared,” Louis admitted quietly.
“We’ll be there with you, darling, and we can leave whenever you want, okay? Papa promises.”
Louis felt the tightness in his chest loosen up ever so slightly at the man’s words. His papa protected him, he always kept him safe. If his papa promised he’d be okay, then he knew he’d be okay… even if he was scared.
“Papa promise,” Louis repeated, curling closer to Harry’s chest.
“That’s right, papa will always protect his little boy,” Nick said with a smile.
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“Harry, it’s great to see you again! And you’re Nick, it’s nice to meet you, mate. I’m not sure you’ve heard this before, but you do a great job on the radio. I listen to you every morning,” John said with a smile as he opened the door to his and Joey’s modestly sized home.
“That means a lot, thanks John. I’ve heard great things about you from Harry, thanks for helping us out so much,” Nick said sincerely, lightly patting Louis’ bum and holding him close in his arms.
“Of course, anything to help some decent folks out. Before we can start the fun, the doms need to sign some NDAs.” John received a small smile from Harry in appreciate for not mentioning Louis yet. The boy was anxious beyond belief, holding onto his papa with every ounce of strength in him.
Once in the man’s kitchen, the couple sat down so they could sign the forms that needed to be signed. They were curious as to who would be in attendance, and why they needed to sign these agreements. It did make them feel a bit relieved that nothing that happened this afternoon would be splashed on headlines. They needed privacy.
After all of the forms were signed, Nick and Harry gently encouraged Louis to look at them.
“Can papa see your pretty eyes, darling?” Nick asked gently. Louis shook his head before burrowing tighter into him.
John cut in, “Joey really wants to play with you, Louis. She has three friends who can’t wait to meet you either! She has some Disney princess dolls, princes too. Would you like to play with those?”
Louis peeked one eye up at that. “Aladdin?” He asked quietly.
John smiled brightly, nodding. “She does have Aladdin! She would love to let you play with him. Do you want me to go get her?”
Louis nodded, breathing deeply before reaching out for his daddy’s hand. He was terrified; what if Joey didn’t like him anymore? What if the other kids were mean? Too many things could go wrong, and they were making his tummy hurt.
“Louis, Louis, Louis! I missed you so much!” Joey exclaimed in an excited, yet quiet voice when she skipped into the room. She hugged around Louis’ back tightly, paying no mind to Nick as if he was simply a chair.
“Hi,” Louis whispered, turning in Nick’s lap so he could look at the girl.
“Let’s go play! My friends are in there, I promise they’re really nice! They can’t wait to play with you, Louis! Let’s go! Let’s go!” Joey smiled. Louis looked back at his daddy and papa uncertainly.
“We’re coming in there with you, angel, daddy and papa will be with you the whole time.” Harry promised, starting to stand up.
At his reassurance, Louis stood up off of Nick’s lap. Joey gently grabbed his hand before walking him to the next room over, which was a huge, modern living room. There was a large L-shaped leather couch that a few adults were sat on, and three people on the ground surrounded by tons of toys.
“Guys! This is my friend Louis! He’s so fun, he wants to play!” Joey exclaimed before plopping down on the floor, her flowy shirt flying into the air momentarily at her quick movement.
Louis gulped before sitting down.
“Hi, I’m Dom! That’s my daddy! Mummy couldn’t come today,” A bleach blond man said. He was dressed in jeans and a polo, like a gad would be. It was clear he wasn’t wearing a diaper or pull up, just like Joey. Louis looked back to the couch when the little pointed, seeing John, his daddies, two men, and a woman. Louis didn’t recognize any of them, but Harry and Nick couldn’t help but be a bit starstruck as they walked in. Wayne Rooney and David Beckham were sitting next to each other, and to David’s right was Keira Knightly. It wasn’t a crowd that either Nick or Harry were expecting, but they were relieved to know through media coverage that the three were great p-doms.
“I’m Victoria, that’s my dad over there. It’s just me and him,” Victoria Beckham said in her posh accent. Louis could tell she was a big kid, dressed in a skirt and having her hair braided intricately.
“This is Mason, his mummy is Miss. Keira. He’s little like you, Lou!” Joey said with a smile.
Louis knew that she wasn’t trying to be mean by saying Louis was little. It made him feel good to know that she cared about him and was being nice even though she was a big girl.
“Hi,” Louis said quietly, looking at Mason. The boy had curly, dark brown hair and pretty porcelain skin. He was dressed much like Louis, in a long-sleeved onesie and a pair of leggings, diaper visible.
Mason gave Louis a smile before crawling over and hugging him tightly. Louis was shocked momentarily, but giggled as the other little boy tickled his tummy out of nowhere.
“Sorry, my boy’s a bit of a stinker,” Keira said with a laugh as she looked over at Nick and Harry.
“He’s getting Lou to smile, that’s all that matters. We just want him to have fun,” Nick said honestly.
“He’ll be absolutely fine. Vic was a bit shy at first, but she came around easily. This is a great group of kids,” David said with a slight smile.
“Let’s play Disney! Daddy got my castle all set up for us to play with!” Joey said.
Nick and Harry took note of the way that Louis stared at the custom made castle in awe. It was pink and ginormous, big enough to fit the Barbie-sized Disney dolls inside.
“I’m Cinderella!” Victoria exclaimed, grabbing the doll.
“Prince Charming!” Dom said next.
“Belle, like always,” Joey said, reaching over to grab her doll.
“Aladdin, please,” Louis asked, looking up at Joey with wide eyes. The girl grabbed the doll for him, handing it over. She grabbed the Gaston doll next, knowing he was Mason’s favorite. Her daddy told her it wasn’t nice to be mean to someone when they had an evil character as their favorite, so she didn’t say anything.
Louis was surprised at how much fun he was having. The three that were older than him were nice, but he liked Mason the most. The other little liked the Guppies he said, so they were pretending their Disney characters could swim. Victoria got mad at them when they did that, but quickly calmed down with a few whispered words from her dad. She left them alone after that incident.
When he went potty he simply went over to his daddy, who took him to a room that John must’ve shown him to clean him up in. He thought he would be embarrassed, but it was super easy.
The two youngest were off in their own world when Louis was shaken from their made up world by a gasp.
“Harry Styles! You sing in One Direction! I like… love your music!” Victoria said, rushing over to where the adults were sitting on the couch.
Harry smiled at her, “Thank you! That means a lot to me, you’re very sweet. Thanks for playing with my Lou, he’s having lots of fun.”
The older little brushed his words off. “Dad and I have seen you in concert! We saw you last week. It was like, so much fun! Can I have a hug?”
“I hope you enjoyed the show, and of course, come here, love,” Harry said, smile still plastered on his face. David simply shook his head and rolled his eyes, used to the girl hamming it up in front of celebrities she liked. Much like Joey, Victoria was in an adult headspace half of the time. Now that she didn’t have the stress of tour, she didn’t randomly go into her headspace, something that served to provide David a bit of relief.
“I had so much fun! You are amazing!” Victoria exclaimed, jumping into Harry’s arms.
Nick was fully aware of the way that Louis was staring at the interaction, eyes wide and starting to water. As any good parent did in a potential meltdown situation, he knew it was time to go.
He started to stand up, “Well, I’ll be that guy. We’ve got to head out if we want to keep with our schedule. It’s almost time for dinner.”
The parents, minus Harry, nodded in understanding.
“It was good having you mate, you’ll have to come again next time,” John said sincerely.
Nick went over to pick Louis up, bending down so he was at the boy’s height. “Say goodbye to your friends, lovely. You’ll see them soon, okay?”
Louis gave a hug to Joey and Mason, high fiving Dom. Nick smiled at the way the boy was in a “too cool to hug phase”.
“You’re my favorite member of One Direction, Harry! You’re so amazing,” Victoria continued. The girl couldn’t be blamed for her adolescent-esque tendencies when she was in her headspace. But… David realized when enough was enough, even if Harry didn’t want to be rude.
“All right, V, let’s let them leave. Say goodbye to Harry,” David directed.
“Bye Harry! It was so cool meeting you!” Victoria hugged the man tightly as he stood up, her tall fram reaching up to his chin.
“You too! We’ll see you all later, thank you for welcoming us so openly. We appreciate it,” Harry said with another easy smile, following an already retreating Nick out the door.
Nick opened the car door, placing Louis into his car seat.
“Did my little angel have fun?” Harry asked, moving to strap Louis in.
Louis surprised both men when he let out a scream at the action, slamming his legs against the passenger seat.
“Just let me do it, love,” Nick said quietly. Harry was confused at the way that Louis didn’t protest when Nick strapped him in, allowing the man to kiss his lips.
Louis’ tummy hurt with something he didn’t understand. Seeing his daddy hug another little girl made him sad and mad at the same time. He remembered back a really long time ago to when his daddy told him he wanted an older little girl. He said he didn’t mean it, but… what if he changed his mind? Papa seemed like he still loved Louis, but he knew daddy was more important to him than Louis.
The little was lost in his increasingly upsetting thoughts until they pulled into the garage. Harry went immediately inside, freaking out over not knowing what he did wrong.
“C’mere, darling. Papa and daddy love you so much,” Nick said as he unstrapped and picked Louis up.
Louis shook his head vigorously as the man mentioned his daddy. Why was papa lying? He knew that his daddy liked Victoria. She was older and pretty and potty trained. All of his fears were coming back to him. He wanted to throw a toy at her, how dare she touch his daddy? It wasn’t fair.
“It’s true, love. Papa promises,” Nick said resolutely. He knew that they needed to talk, because the more Louis got stuck in his head, the worse his thoughts would become.
Nick carried him into the living room where Harry was already sat on the couch.
Louis let out an angry noise when he saw his daddy in the room, Harry’s face crumpling even though Louis couldn’t see it. Nick held up a hand to his fiancé, pleading with him to stay calm.
“Lou, can you tell papa how you’re feeling?” Nick asked, wanting to start small.
“Tummy hurts,” Louis whimpered into Nick’s clavicle.
“Why does it hurt? When did it start hurting?” Nick prodded.
Louis let out a frustrated noise before continuing. “Mad ‘n sad. Daddy hurted me.”
Harry had to bite back a noise of confusion. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he assumed it had to do with Victoria hugging him at the end of the playdate. That’s when everything started going downhill, because Louis was still talking to him before that.
Nick cooed sympathetically, “What made you made and sad, little cub? Will you tell papa?”
“He-he… dada hug her. Louis’ dada. Dada promise he want little boy, not big girl.”
The lump in Harry’s throat grew 10192 times the size it already was.
“Oh, angel. Daddy’s so sorry. Victoria wanted a hug, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love Louis. Louis is daddy’s favorite little boy ever ever ever. You’re my sweet angel, I love you more than anything in the entire world!”
“Louis’ not big. Vic is big,” Louis tried to explain, his fears being vocalized quickly.
Nick continued to rub the boy’s belly, but didn’t speak. He knew when to interject and when to let Harry handle things, and it was clear that this was a Harry/Louis problem.
“Baby, daddy doesn’t want a big girl. He just wants his little boy, forever and ever. Papa and I love you so so so much, you’re our perfect angel. I pinky promise.”
“I pinky promise too,” Nick said quietly.
Louis smiled at them softly, understanding that his daddies loved him, even though it was hard to believe sometimes. He had a hard time understanding how he went from such a mean mum to the best daddies in the world. But he felt lucky. They made him so very happy, and were so sweet to him. He loved his daddies.
Harry let out a quiet gasp, as if he’d just remembered something. “Guess whose birthday is coming up?”
Louis looked at him uncertainly.
Nick answered once it was clear Louis wasn’t going to, “It’s Louis’ birthday soon! What do you usually do to celebrate, love?”
Nick and Harry wanted to broach the topic rather gently. After a quick conversation with Liam, Niall, and Zayn, it was clear that all four of them had never celebrated Louis’ birthday with him. Nor had they heard an inkling about the way that he celebrated.
“Never cel’brated, just another day,” Louis said, repeating the words he’d heard so many times. Growing up, he was always confused on why his birthday was just another day, but his mum always had an extravagant week of affairs, going out with friends every night of the week. And when his twin sisters were born, they got to celebrate too! Louis was never allowed to go to their parties, but it made him sad to know he was the only one who didn’t have a special birthday.
Nick and Harry shared a look. Yet another reason that Johannah was the worst person on earth. At the knowledge of how pitiful Louis’ birthdays up until this point had been… they didn’t even ask about Christmas. That could come another day.
“Would you like to do something fun for your birthday, love?” Nick asked.
Louis looked up, eyebrows scrunched together. “Like what?”
“Anything you want, love. Cake, presents, games, the boys and your grandmas and grandpas can come!” Harry said excitedly. He already had exactly what he wanted to do for Louis’ birthday planned out, he just needed the okay from the little boy.
“Is okay?” Louis asked uncertainly. He had always wanted to celebrate his birthday. He’d always watched his sisters blow out their candles, and he always wished of making a birthday wish.
“It’s definitely okay, Loulou. Papa and daddy want to give you the best birthday ever!” Nick enthused, lightly tickling the boy’s tummy.
Louis nodded, a growing smile on his face. “Blow out candles, please.”
“Of course, my sweet boy. You’re going to have the best birthday ever,” Harry promised.
Louis believed him.