on pointe | l.s au | collab with chiseledstyles

6. harry and hannah

harry watched silently in the doorway. earlier he had tried to interact with her, but she complained that he didn't know how to act at a tea party.

he was stressed, for sure. and he was struggling. he didn't know what she liked or what to do to please her.

if hannah was a boy, (harry thought about this a lot), (he'd name her dean), he would know what to do.

throw around a baseball or put on pokémon or get him a collectors item of toy cars.

but harry didn't have a boy. he had a girl. and this meant trouble.

he also refused to call his mum. he didn't want to listen to her hour long lectures.

but another idea came to mind. he spared one more glance over at hannah, who now was coloring in a coloring book on her small white desk.

he stepped out of the room for privacy. he pulled out his phone and punched in the correct numbers. it rang twice before he picked up.

"lou, i need your help."

•••

when harry opened the door after he heard the doorbell had rung, he wasn't expecting louis to be standing there in joggers, sneakers, and a community college sweatshirt.

a large navy blue duffle bag hung from his shoulder and a little girl, around hannah's age, was balanced on his hip.

"hi,"

"hey. uh, come in." harry says, stepping aside.

louis does and he looks around. examining. he smiles.

"hannah is upstairs. second door on the left." harry says.

louis puts his daughter, poppy, down onto her feet. "can i go play now, daddy?" she asks.

"sure. don't break anything though, pops." louis warns, but she has already run up the stairs.

louis, still smiling, turns to harry.

"uh, how about some coffee?" Harry suggests.

"that would be lovely."

harry takes them into the kitchen and prepares two cups of coffee. as the water gets hot, harry takes out two white mugs.

"how do you like it?"

"do you have cream?"

"yes"

"just with cream then."

"ok." harry says, going over to a small rack where he keeps all his creamers.

"so i noticed some things already."

harry looks at him curiously. his eyes brows raised up in question. "you noticed things?" he repeats.

"yeah. like for example, your house is spotless."

"..."

"kids are supposed to make messes." louis says.

the water is done now and harry begins to make the coffee. he puts one creamer in one of the mugs, stirs, then sets it on the kitchen island for louis to take.

louis sits on one of the stools, says a small thank you, and sips on his tea as he waits for a response.

"not all kids make messes," harry says now, "hannah is shy. and quiet. like a mouse. i wouldn't expect her to be hyper active and make messes. she knows how to clean, too."

"yes, that's true." louis agrees. he taps his fingers against the marble counter top. "but there has to be a toy left behind here, or a spill of orange juice there or-"

"she hates orange juice."

"well that's something you don't see everyday."

"exactly."

harry sighs, frustrated. he was hoping for help, and was wishing louis would give it to him soon.

"okay." louis says after a moment and a long gulp of his coffee. "step one to good parenting: always be there."

harry eyes him carefully, almost defensively, too."of course. she's my daughter." he says.

"no, harry. like physically. i'm not saying 24/7, but most of the time. and ask questions."

"questions? what kind of questions?" harry is really confused now.

"like when she plays with her dolls-does she have dolls?-ask her if the dolls have names or if she has a favorite or if she dresses them everyday." louis suggests, and they're good. really good. harry never really thought of any of this.

harry stares at louis with a dumb blank look on his face. "that's it?"

louis nods. "that's it. except, that's only step one. there's a lot to learn."

just then, there's a scream loud enough to break glass that comes from hannah's room.

"poppy!"

"well you started it!"

the two lads look at each other, mugs in their hands. "is there good parenting on this?" harry asks.

"oh yeah."

···

a/n: mariah wrote this lovely chapter a while ago, and finally here it is. IM SO SORRY U PROBABLY ALL HATE MY GUTS FOR BEING SO INACTIVE ILY -h.x