EPILOGUE
“Calm down, dear. Your wedding was perfect, so why all the fuss now?” Anne asked as she smoothed down Harry’s wayward curls.
Harry let out an exasperated sigh, “Because this is what I’ve been waiting for since I was classified. I just don’t want anything to go wrong.”
Anne smiled softly at her kind, silly son. “Honey, Louis and Nick couldn’t love you more. You are the most perfect daddy that boy could ever want, and today won’t change a thing. It just solidifies what you know to be true- Louis is yours in the same way that you’re his.”
“I know, I know. Binding just makes it all the more real. I’m ready now.”
Anne placed a kiss on Harry’s temple, “Well then, what are we waiting for?”
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8 years later
“I think I might throw up,” Nick moaned, squeezing Harry’s hand where it was entangled with his own.
“You act like this every time we see Lou perform,” Harry replied, amused.
“I know, but I get so nervous. It’s live, anything can go wrong.”
Harry patted his husband’s shoulder with his free hand. Nick was right- Louis was performing live, but nothing had gone wrong in the many performances he’d done.
About a year into One Direction’s hiatus- or their dissolution, to be frank- an NBC executive had reached out to Harry to discuss the network’s plans to bring live musicals to TV screens in America. Harry was ready to say no, until the woman mentioned that the network was looking for Louis to join their cast. Harry and Nick decided to put the offer in front of their son and that was how Louis ended up playing Andy in the the gender-bending, viewer-record shattering live version of Annie- now Andy.
Luckily they rehearsed and filmed in London, but the roles continued to pour in for the little boy. Between Harry’s inevitable solo career and Nick’s career and Louis’ acting prospects, they made it work. They purchased a house in LA for Louis’ future roles and a tour bus that was the a house for Harry’s American tour. It wasn’t easy, but it was their life. Their beautiful, crazy life. Harry wouldn’t trade it for anything.
The stage manager walked out onto the massive set, beginning the countdown until the musical begins. The audience’s raucous applause began, an energetic lead-in to the performance. And away they went.
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“Oh, sweetheart! You were so good,” Nick said, scooping up Louis as he ran towards him and spinning him around.
“Papa,” Louis squealed, holding onto the man as if they’d been apart for months, not hours.
“So proud of you, little cub,” Nick said as he pressed kisses all over the boy’s face. Harry was content to watch the loves of his life as they reunited, holding Dusty and Lacy in one hand, a diaper bag hooked around his shoulder and a bouquet of flowers in the other. The life of a stage daddy was a tough one.
“Dada!” Louis called when he saw his other dad, reaching one hand towards the man.
“Hi baby,” Harry said with a smile, pressing a kiss onto the little boy’s lips. “You did so well- you make daddy so proud!”
Louis started to giggle, but the noise was punctured with a yawn. Years later, it was still like clockwork. The boy’s schedule was sacred, and the daddies did everything they could to stick to it. Which was why it was now bedtime.
“Let’s get you home and ready for bed,” Nick said as he started to walk towards where Alberto was standing. The older man had retired in Los Angeles and was all too happy to get back on the job for a night spent with his favorite little boy. Some things never changed.
“Have you waved goodbye to all your friends?” Harry asked as the quartet walked towards the secure parking lot in the back of the warehouse. Louis nodded slowly, resting his head on his papa’s familiar shoulder.
“What a sleepy baby,” Nick murmured, placing a kiss on Louis’ forehead as he strapped the little into his carseat.
“Goodnight, baby. We love you so much,” Harry said as he climbed into the Escalade next to his son, placing the boy’s stuffed animals into his arms as he drifted to sleep.
“Love you f’rever,” Louis said, a small smile on his face as he felt the car start move. He couldn’t wait to see Kia when he got home and give her pets as his daddies rocked him to sleep.
Years ago, he wouldn’t have been able to believe that this was his life- that he could have the best of both worlds. Performing and being authentically himself. But that was just silly- with his daddies by his side, loving and protecting him, he knew anything was possible. He was safe and he was adored. So he drifted off to sleep, knowing everything was well.