Chapter 28
As his mum often told him while he grew up, time can heal all wounds. And it did. Niall continued to send gifts for Louis to the house on an unpredictable schedule, the only certainty about the deliveries is that Louis loved absolutely everything he received. From rattles that sang Disney songs when Louis shook them to a three story motor train set, the gifts were thoughtful and expensive. Sure, money wasn't a problem for any of them- understatement of the century- but the fact that he took the time to search for gifts he knew Louis would love meant a lot.
"What are you doing, silly boy?" Harry cooed as he looked down to see Louis laying on his tummy on his play mat, shaking his rattle at Kia. It was a wonder to both Nick and Harry as to how the dog was so good with Louis, following him around everywhere and never getting annoyed with his treatment of her. Regardless of how much he touched her or got into her personal space she'd be patient and loving. She was all they could've asked for in both a dog and friend for Louis.
As for Louis? The treacherous hospital visit was almost a month ago, and he was slowly getting back to his normal self. February was but a day away, meaning his birthday was a day away as well. Harry pleaded for Nick to not do anything too crazy, all he needed was a quiet night with his boys. And maybe a night alone with Nick, that would be the best present he could get. Of course he loved his baby, but time alone with his fiancé was always treasured.
Speaking of his fiancé... a month of being house-bound meant they had time to plan their wedding. The wedding was set for July 19th on the beautiful island of Saint Kitts. They'd found a private resort that they could rent out for the week, so that's what they did. Sure, the wedding was close, but they couldn't wait any longer.
And that brought them to today. Louis was starting swimming lessons at a private swim school, Goldfish Swim School, that specialized in both true children and littles. While showing him the resort and all of the fun waterslides for him to play on, Louis devolved into a state of panic. An anxiety attack later, they found out that Louis liked swimming with dolphins, yes, but he wasn't the best swimmer. His fears of his daddies being disappointed with him were obviously unfounded, and Nick signed him up for swimming lessons as soon as they put Louis down for his nap.
And here they were on his first day of swimming lessons. The woman on the phone promised that they'd be met with confidentiality and an instructor who specialized in water anxiety and littles. Nick and Harry were both attending, obviously.
"Let's get some yummy milk in our tummy before we go swim, angel," Harry said as he bent down to pick up Louis, the boy dropping his rattle as he left the ground. Louis couldn't start nursing quick enough, whining at the time his daddy took to get situated on the couch. He nurses from his daddy for breakfast and dinner now, but as of a week ago, he started to eat solid food for lunch.
"All right, darling, let's go have some lunch!" Nick said as he plucked Louis up out of his bouncer where he was playing with some blocks. The little let out a happy noise as he looked to the kitchen where his daddy was, excited to have his special time with him.
At first, he was scared his daddy wouldn't like him drinking from him, but the man explained it was a special bond between them and he loved spending time with him. So everything was okay.
Louis was confused when his papa strapped him into his high hair.
"Daba?" He asked. Dada baba was seemingly too hard to say, so he'd coined the term daba for nursing.
"Nope! We're going to have some yummy rice pudding!" his daddy said with a happy smile.
Louis didn't return his smile. He repeated his question, his voice a bit less optimistic.
"We're going to have some yummy food, baby," Harry said as he walked over, bringing a light blue Bubble Guppies bowl filled with cinnamon rice pudding with him. Doctor Alminas said to start with the blandest of foods to make sure Louis could stomach solids.
Louis looked down at the food that was placed on his highchair tray before looking up at his daddies with squinted eyes. Nick and Harry shared a quick look, both unfortunately unsurprised by the turn this was taking. Louis was a creature of habit, as most babies were, and he loved his routine. He loved the time spent nursing from his daddy, or drinking a bottle in his papa's arms the few times his daddy had to leave during his meal times.
"Daba?" Louis asked for a third time, his voice wobbly in a way that Nick and Harry knew was dangerous.
Nick took a stab at quelling Louis' pending temper tantrum, "Lou, love, the Doctor said your tummy can have solid foods! Don't you want some yummy rice pudding?" The man scooped up a small bit of rice pudding and brought it to Louis' lips. Before he could even tell Louis to open his mouth, the little started to scream and bang his feet on the footholds of his highchair. The cherry on the temper tantrum cake was the rice pudding that was thrown onto the floor.
Nick and Harry only floundered for a moment, Nick quickly going to pick Louis up out of the highchair and bringing him to the living room where Harry was already sat. Telekinesis? Maybe, but whatever their mind connection was, they were grateful for it.
"Louis, you need to stop moving or you're going to hurt yourself," Nick commanded, the boy continuing to thrash in his arms as he screamed. Nick continued to stand solid until Louis fell limp in his arms, the tears continued to fall. Once he was sure that Louis was subdued, he took a seat on the couch and turned Louis in his lap so that he was facing him and Harry.
Nick knew that he'd have to lead this conversation- Louis saw him as the rule maker and upholder, so that's what he'd do.
"Are you listening, Louis?" Nick asked the little boy. He nodded with a sniff, tears drying on his face. It was an awful site, one that made him want to forget about all serious conversations that needed to be had. What kind of father would he be if he let Louis get away with this? He took a deep breath, channeled Danny Tanner, and started to speak.
"Will you tell daddy and papa why you're so upset?"
Louis' eyes went wide as he began to talk, "N-no daba! Bad food."
"Did daddy make you lunch?" Nick asked. Louis nodded. "Was it nice to throw daddy's food? Do you think it made him feel good?"
Louis' eyes welled up with tears again at his papa's questions. He didn't realize he could've hurt his daddy's feelings, he just didn't want rice pudding! He crawled over to his daddy's lap and snuggled close.
"Did I hurted daddy?" he asked quietly as if his question would push Harry over the edge.
"You didn't hurt daddy's feeling, love, but it wasn't very nice for you to throw the food. You've got to eat lunch so that you have lots of energy to play with Kia and your toys!"
"Daba give energy!" Louis retorted, not understanding why they'd try and change his eating schedule.
"Your doctor said that you should have solid foods for lunch, darling. You need to trust your daddies and eat what they give you. Daddy is going to make you some more rice pudding for lunch, if you don't eat it you're going to have some quiet thinking time. Do you understand?" Nick felt bad, but knew his sternness was necessary to help Louis understand.
"Yeah, papa," Louis said with a sad nod.
"You're our good boy," Nick said as he scooped Louis into his arms and pressed kisses all over his face, getting the peal of giggles he was searching for.
Harry quickly made more rice pudding, adding cinnamon into it once more. Nick and Harry alternated feeding Louis bites, the only complaint coming before he tasted it.
Harry smiled as he remembered how grumpy Louis had been; ironically, Louis' favorite food out of those he'd tried over the past week was rice pudding. But, he thought smugly, Louis loved nursing from his daddy more than anything. Harry melted every time he heard his favorite little voice say the word daba. It was just so damn cute.
He was scared to tell his and Nick's mums that he'd started nursing Louis, afraid of judgment. Of course, they'd immediately demanded photos, ones that Harry and Nick did have but were not showing anyone. They'd have to imagine how cute Louis was all curled up on his lap, eyes shutting in relaxation and happiness regardless of the time of day he was nursing.
"Daba?" Louis asked impatiently, waking Harray from his thoughts.
"Yeah, sweetheart! Papa is going to get you into a nice, new swim diaper upstairs and then daba."
"Papa!" Louis repeated excitedly, squirming in his curly haired daddy's arms as he was carried up the stairs.
"Did I hear someone say papa?" Nick said as he walked out of his and Harry's room.
Louis let out a happy gurgle at the sight of the man, acting as though he hadn't seen him in a month instead of just thirty minutes. Despite that, Nick was more than happy to grab his little boy from Harry's arms and be on the receiving end of his excited affection. They'd worked out a schedule that benefited both of them, Harry watching Louis while Nick was at work and Nick having time with Louis in the afternoon while Harry did what he needed to.
"Time to get all changed into your swimsuit, lovey," Nick said as he unsnapped Louis' legless onesie and pulled it over his head.
"Swim with Mr. Nathan?" Louis asked, voice muffled as a soft t-shirt that proclaimed Louis as "Daddies' Sweet Boy," which Anne bought so that "neither daddy would be left out."
"That's right! We get to meet Mr. Nathan and go swimming with him," Nick said. During Harry's first conversation with the swim school he'd gone through a laundry list of qualifications he was looking for in a swim instructor while Nick watched on in amusement. By the grace of the Gods above, the woman assured him that Nathan was the perfect instructor for Louis (according to Harry's list of qualification that meant he was well equipped to deal with anxiety, wouldn't get overwhelmed with who he was dealing with, was confidential, had dealt with little little ones, and had a good sense of humor and enthusiasm).
Louis smiled up at him, and Nick smiled back. He was surprisingly overjoyed to go swimming, so Nick and Harry were making sure they kept that attitude up. They knew hisbanxiety would probably creep in once they arrived, but they would deal with that when it came. Louis was placed in sweats after he got his swim diaper on, he'd be changed into his bathing suit once they arrived at the swim center.
Nick picked Louis up and carried him into his and Harry's room. Harry was lounging on the bed with his iPad, looking up and smiling when he saw his favorite boys come into the room.
"Do you know whose birthday it is tomorrow, Loulou?" Nick asked.
"Dada's!" Louis said with a giggle, "Papa said dada's old."
Harry let out a bark of laughter, "Papa is so silly, isn't he!"
"Daddy's going to look like Santa soon, isn't he!" Nick exclaimed, drawing another string of giggles from Louis.
"Hopefully I've got a few years left before that. Now, give me my little boy so he can fill his tummy up before swimming!" Harry said, sitting up and unbuttoning his shirt in preparation for Louis being placed on his lap. Nick joked that Harry only wearing button ups was finally coming in handy when it came to feeding Louis.
Nick gently placed Louis on the bed before climbing on himself, figuring he'd make himself comfortable for the time being. There were a few things he needed to finish up for Harry's birthday, but he was mostly ready for tomorrow. They'd be having their special night together on Saturday, but Wednesday's festivities were family friendly. Louis was excited to help give his daddy the best day ever, and Nick knew that Harry would consider tomorrow his best birthday ever simply due to the fact that they now had the most perfect son on earth.
"No no, sweet boy, you'll fall asleep if I sing you a song!" Harry said with a small smile as Louis looked up at him with wide, pleading eyes. When Louis was sick Harry started to sing to him while he nursed and he absolutely loved it. It was a sure fire way to calm Louis down, and Harry enjoyed having the chance to sing again.
Louis let out a sad whine, but ultimately let his hunger win over as he started to nurse. Once he was full, Nick picked Louis up and carried him downstairs. Once he was bundled up in his coat and hat Nick put him into his car seat, the vehicle warm and toasty due to the auto start. Bless technology.
"Ready to go?" Harry asked as he got in, placing the diaper bag on the floor of the car. Nick nodded and Louis sucked on his pacifier; they were off. The "Louis' Super Cool Jams" playlist started to play on Harry's phone- Nick and Harry called it "Louis' Anti-Anxiety Playlist" in private.
Their destination was a short drive away, and the parking lot was mostly empty as promised. They'd never have taken Louis for lessons so late on their own watch, but it was the only time there were no other lessons going on, so... here they were.
"Ready to go, darling?" Nick asked as he picked Louis up from the car. Louis nodded with a smile, holding his pacifier in his mouth with his teeth. His arms hooked tightly around his papa, worry starting to creep in as they approached the building. The letters on the building were bright and fish were swimming in between them, the designed definitely appealing to little ones.
As soon as the family entered the bright atrium a woman who sat behind the large front counter stood up and walked out into the main area to greet them.
"Hi gentleman! Welcome to Goldfish Swim School, I'm Kathleen," she said with a bright smile.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Nick," the oldest man said, shifting Louis in his arms so he could shake her hand.
"I'm Harry and this right here is Louis," Harry said with a smile, rubbing Louis' arm.
"It sure is nice to meet you all! Nathan will be right out, he's just finishing up some paperwork. If Louis needs to change, you can head into our Nemo room back and to your right!"
"Perfect, we'll head in there," Nick said with a smile towards the woman.
After making sure Louis' swim diaper was still dry, Nick changed the little into the swimsuit that Harry had just pulled out for him. Once Louis was dressed in his very favorite Surf's Gup! Bubble Guppies bathing suit he was picked up and carried out of the locker room to the pool area.
There was a large pool dominating the large gymnasium, several small pools surrounding it. Some of them had diving boards, swim lanes, and water slides, but others were simply empty.
"Hey guys! Give me a mo'," a male voice echoed through the large area, tile floors carrying his voice.
"No worries," Harry replied to the man as he retreated into a room located off of the pool area. True to his word, the man returned a moment later. He was built like a house, tall and very muscular. Before Louis could worry about how much bigger the man was than him, he greeted them with a large smile.
"Hey guys! I'm Nathan, it's so nice to finally meet you," he shook hands (quite firmly, Harry may add) with the daddies as they returned the sentiment before giving a very curious Louis a wave.
"Hey bud! I'm Nathan. You ready to go sit and talk for a minute?" His American accent was funny to Louis, and made him quite curious about how the man ended up in London.
The group sat down at a table, Louis continuing to bury his face in his papa's shoulder, far too shy to make eye contact with the stranger.
"Loulou, can you say hi to Mr. Nathan?" Nick asked quietly.
The adults waited patiently while Louis slowly uncovered his face and gave Nathan a small smile, face blushing beet red at the attention being on him.
"Good to see you, Louis! Let's get started with what we are going to do today. I made a series of lesson plans with the information that you provided me, so we'll see how everything goes. Nick and Harry, you can take a seat by the pool and just shout out if you need anything. Let's get a lifejacket on the little man and have some fun!" Nathan exclaimed before standing up and grabbing the life jacket that was next on the floor next to him. Louis averted his eyes as he was helped into his lifejacket.
"Love you, angel! You're going to have so much fun with Mr. Nathan. Papa and I will be right here the whole time, okay?" Harry explained to Louis, bending down so that he was on his level.
"You watch?" Louis asked him as he fiddled with the straps on his vest.
"Of course! Papa and I will be right here watching!" Harry promised him.
"Ready to go?" Nathan asked with a smile, grabbing Louis' hand after the little boy nodded. "We're going to pop a squat on the side of the pull and put our feet in the water."
Nathan helped Louis sit down on the edge of the pool before sitting down himself.
"We're going to dip our legs in the water, okay?" Nathan said, slowly settling his legs into the water. Louis tested the temperature by putting his big toe in and carefully put both of his legs in when he realized it was warm. He let out a surprised giggle when Nathan rubbed his foot with his own.
"So Louis, do you like to go swimming?" Nathan asked, wanting to probe the boy. He'd learned through years of this gig that parents often thought their child one way, but the reality of their minds was a lot different.
Louis nodded, pursing his lips for a moment before speaking. "I like dolphins 'nd splashing."
Nathan let out an exaggerated gasp, "You like to splash? Me too!" He held up his hand for a high five that Louis returned with a giggle.
"I splash my daddies in the bath," Louis admitted with a mischievous smiles.
"I like to splash in the pool... maybe we can have a splash fight later! We're going to hop in now, I'll help you get in. Your life jacket will help you stay on top of the water, and I'll be here to carry you or hold your hand. You ready to go?" Nathan asked, making sure to look Louis right in the eyes while he spoke. He hopped in the 4 foot water and turned to face Louis. The little boy hesitantly grabbed the man's hands after looking back at his daddies and receiving smiles and thumbs up from them.
Nathan pulled him into the warm water, placing pressure on his own hands so that Louis was standing up straight in the water.
"You all good, bud?" Nathan asked, receiving a nod from Louis. "Now we're just gonna move around the water a bit."
Nathan moved around the shallow bit of water, carrying Louis with him.
"All good, bud? It's not so bad in here, is it?" Nathan asked.
"Can't swim," Louis said quietly, his shoulders slouching down.
"Want to know a secret?" Nathan asked Louis quietly, looking around dramatically as if someone would magically appear and eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Papa says I'm a good secret keeper," Louis answered.
"I'll tell you a big secret then- I didn't know how to swim until I was 15! Then I practiced a lot with my swim teacher and learned how to be a great swimmer."
Louis gasped, "Really, Mr. Nathan?"
"Really! You'll be the best swimmer if you practice very hard with me, just like I know you will. Sound good?"
"I wanna be a good swimmer just like you."
"Then let's practice! We're going to try and put our heads under the water, okay? Just like this." Nathan demonstrated placing his head under his water while still keeping his hold on Louis. The little boy vowed to work as hard as he could at swim lessons until he was the best swimmer in the world.
Louis' first swim lesson flew by, and by the time he was done he'd practiced putting his head under water and floated on his back. He was half asleep in the bath, his daddies not even giving him toys to play with because they knew how sleepy he was.
"Baba," Louis murmured sleepily as his papa washed his hair.
"All right, pumpkin. Daddy will go grab your baba," Harry said with a small smile before getting up.
"Love daddies," Louis said, a yawn puncturing his words.
"We love you too," his daddies repeated at the same time, chuckling at their thoughts being in unison.
Once Harry was out of the room Nick quietly asked Louis if he was ready for tomorrow.
"Daddy gets lots of presents and kisses," Louis answered. He was excited to have the chance to give his daddy the best day ever, just like he always did for him.