Half a heart

Chapter 39

He's got one third of his world in his arms during the night while the other two thirds are sleeping down the hall.

-*-

The following week was Louis' thirty-first birthday. Harry had laughed as Scarlet wished Louis a happy birthday and Louis had thanked her but then proceeded to grumble about being thirty-one.

"It's just not right." Louis whined. "I'm in my thirties and you're still in your twenties."

"Lou... I'll be thirty in February." Harry chuckled.

"But still." Louis pouted as he looked over at Harry from where he was leaning against the counter.

Harry just shook his head, rolling his eyes at his husband, and then went back to making breakfast. Since it's Louis' birthday he gets to choose and it's always a fry-up, Harry doesn't even have to ask.

By the time breakfast is done, Louis' got Skylar sitting at the table and he's feeding her from a jar of banana and strawberry baby food. She's a good baby, after every bite she looks back at Louis with wide green eyes and smacks her lips for more. Scarlet used to fight with him and would only eat good for Anne. At the time, it made Harry feel like he was doing something wrong. His own daughter didn't want to eat when he tried to feed her. Anne had assured him the only thing he was doing wrong was not making noises. Even after that though, she eats better for Anne. Harry figures eventually that his mum just has more experience with babies whereas he's not used to taking care of them at all.

Scarlet doesn't seem to mind his cooking now at least.

Harry placed plates of breakfast on the table and Louis gave him a grateful smile when he saw the fry-up.

"Scarlet, time to eat!" Harry called out and a moment later she appeared with her hair in a ponytail and still in her pyjamas.

She's taken to sleeping in one of Louis' sweaters that she snitched once the weather turned colder as well as a pair of leggings. His sweater looks like an over-sized dress on her but when asked if she wanted a sweater of her own she just shook her head and answered with a firm no. Harry finds it rather adorable. The girl who pretty much hated Louis was now wearing his clothes and even standing at five foot one inches, still likes to crawl into Louis' lap for a cuddle.

"Are nana and grandpa coming over tomorrow?" Scarlet questioned between bites of food.

"Yes, around lunch time." Harry nodded his head, reaching for his tea.

"So we get to open presents before that, right?" She inquired.

"Mhmm." Louis hummed from where he sat.

"Is everyone else coming over?"

"Yes, just like last year." Harry responded and this time Scarlet goes silent and continued to eat.

After breakfast Scarlet ran up to her room to change then came running back down ready to go outside. Harry watched as she ran outside with Sugar and started playing in the snow that had fallen overnight. Not long after, Louis appears and kisses his cheek before going to join her. They set to work building a snowman and Harry can hear Scarlet belting out the lyrics to Do You Want To Build A Snowman from Frozen. She's got a great voice at just eleven years old and Harry thinks she could make a career of that, but he knows her calling his football. He's holding out hope that Skylar will be a little more girlie because he's been dying to get his hands on some poofy dresses. Scarlet had flat out refused to wear dresses when she was little, especially if they were pink. Now, she likes wearing them when she wants to but they're never poofy. Never.

While Louis and Scarlet messed around outside, Harry got Skylar out of her chair and took her to the living room. She sits on the floor and plays with Oliver who still didn't seem so sure about this whole baby thing. Harry smiled at the two then set to work framing some of the pictures from September. Johnathan had captured some incredible shots of all of them. So he frames a picture of Skylar with her smash cake, one of Scarlet and Skylar, one of himself and Louis, one of just Scarlet, and then one of all of them. The picture frame holds all five photos and it joins the one from last year up on the wall. He thinks this will be his thing, every year adding a new picture frame with pictures of them as their girls grow up.