flannel shirts [l.s mpreg]

sixteen.

"it's a boy," louis says, flicking harry's thigh from where he sits in the passenger seat.

the corner of harry's mouth turns up and his green eyes flick towards louis before focusing on the road. "no," he argues playfully.

"i'm right, you're wrong," louis informs him, turning his attention to his phone. he'd been texting zayn all morning, and he promised the dark haired boy he would be the first to know the news they would receive at the doctor's office. though, harry was sure to clarify that he would know before zayn (since he was still a bit bitter that zayn knew of louis' pregnancy before he did).

zayn and niall were in new york together for a weekend. louis had questioned the status of their relationship one night as he and zayn shared a carton of ice cream, but zayn insisted there was nothing romantic going on between them. louis never brought up the fact that everyone knew the two slept together and anyone could tell they were smitten with each other.

niall also denied any romantic feelings for zayn, even though louis knew the reason he had avoided pizza night last week was because zayn had been spending a lot more time with liam.

liam spent the next day watching movies at niall's place in an attempt to comfort the blonde boy, all the while not knowing he was part of the reason for niall's distress.

zayn offered to take niall on a trip since, as he had recounted to louis, he felt the two had drifted apart.

the whole situation is - and always was - a mess.

"we should talk about names," harry suggests, his ring-clad fingers laying on the steering wheel. louis admires the casual way harry drives, one hand on the wheel while the fingers on his other hand tug at his lips and occasionally find their way to louis' thigh.

his hair was tucked in louis' grey beanie and he wore tight black jeans with black boots. his new favorite pink and red flannel was buttoned up only halfway and he wore a black jacket over it.

louis blushes when harry glances over and catches louis staring. "yeah," he clears his throat. "did you have any in mind?"

harry nods, grinning. "if somehow, you're right, i was thinking, erm, oliver? for a boy? because when we went to leeds festival for the first time together in 2011, that band-"

"young knives," louis breaths.

"yeah, one of the members is named oliver and i remember how much we loved them," harry finishes, glancing over louis, who has his lips parted in awe.

"i can't believe you remember that," he says, shaking his head.

"well yeah, i remember thinking about it that night," he glances over at louis. "thinking that if we ended up having kids together, we would name a son after one of the members. a tribute to the first weekend we spent together."

louis nods, wetting his lips and trying to hide his eye roll. of course harry had thought about their kids names when the two had been dating for little more than a month.

"and, uh," harry continues. "for a girl, i was thinking kelsey because it means, uh, bravery."

the two glance at each other and harry looks away first, turning back to the road.

"you put a lot of thought into this, haz," louis whispers. "the names, they're lovely. you're lovely."

harry nods, a smile ghosting across his lips. "i just wanted to show you how much this really means to me since i feel i haven't been as committed to having this baby with you as i should."

they're pulling up to the hospital now, and louis can't find any words except for, "well i think both of the names are perfect, haz."

harry can't sit still while they're waiting for the doctor and louis finds himself squeezing harry's knee constantly to keep the taller lad from bouncing so much.

"i'm just excited is all," harry mutters sheepishly.

"i'm glad," louis whispers back.

and then they're being ushered into a room and a nurse is rushing around to get louis set up but harry feels as if everything is moving in slow motion.

his heart rate picks up when the nurse spreads the gel over louis' stomach and he smiles at the hiss louis lets out.

his own heartbeat is sounding in his ears and is then accompanied by louis' and a third, a soft thump that brings tears to both of their eyes.

they gaze at each other and listen to the sound for a brief moment, neither of them moving a muscle. harry swears time stands still when he makes eye contact with louis and they listen to the sound of life, a life they created.

their moment is interrupted by the nurse, "would you two like to know the gender?"

harry turns away from louis and focuses on the image on the screen. "just like a little peanut," he whispers, mostly to himself.

louis is pulling his shirt down and harry is handed about a dozen printouts of the ultrasound - one for both harry and louis, one for all of the boys, for their mums and sisters, and another to put in a frame (when harry mentions this to louis, louis scoffs and calls him a cheeseball).

harry is gazing at the picture as they leave the building, his arm tight around louis' frame and his thumb tracing patterns on louis' sleeve. he feels his cheeks could break apart due to how big he's smiling.

"i've got to make a call, love, just a second," harry calls as louis breaks away to slide into the car.

his body is filled with warmth, despite the freezing temperature and harsh wind outside. he can feel his fingers practically freezing to his cell phone but he still holds it to his ear and listens to the phone ring once.

"h? is that you, love?"

"mum?" harry whispers, his grin reappearing. "i'm having a son."