Life With Boys

chicken and broccoli

He then did his best to wipe off Louis' dirty face with one hand, the baby obviously not liking the act and jerking his head away from the wipe. "Harry, can I put you down for a little bit so I can get your brother cleaned up?" he asked the boy gently. 

Harry shook his head and gripped onto Zayn tighter, obviously not a fan of the proposal. Zayn sighed and shifted the boy to his hip so he could pick the baby up in his other arm. Hitting the gym really comes in handy when taking on the role of being a single dad each weekend, he thought to himself. 

"Ni, will you follow us to the bathtub buddy?" Zayn asked the toddler. Niall nodded in response, running ahead of the bunch to the bathroom - the only one in the two bedroom house Zayn had been renting. 

When the group arrived to the bathroom, Zayn managed to close the door behind them with his foot, balancing Harry on his hip as he sat the baby down in the designated bathroom bouncer that he had to use when he needed a quick shower. 

He then turned on the faucet to the bathtub, making sure the water was at an adequate temperature and squeezing some soap into the stream so bubbles began to form. "Alright haz, I need to put you down so I can help you all get undressed," Zayn said gently to the boy. 

Harry shook his head in defiance and whined, "Noooo papa." 

Zayn sighed and began to pull the boy away from the death grip he currently had on his body, resulting in Harry beginning to cry out once again. 

Zayn gave up, not wanting to rile the boy up and sat on the cold bathroom tiles with Harry on his lap. "Come here Niall, let me help you," he said to the blond boy as he struggled to pull his shirt over his head. 

He quickly undressed the toddler, setting him in the tub and handing him some bath toys to keep him entertained while he then quickly undressed the baby, stripping him of his nappy and throwing it in the bathroom bin. 

He looked around the bathroom inquisitively with the naked baby and a very clothed Harry in lap, trying to figure out his next move. "Harry, if papa gets in the bath with you can you be a big boy for me and let go just for a tiny second?"

Harry peered up at Zayn through his wet eyelashes, seeming to perk up at the idea of Zayn joining them in the bath. He nodded slowly and released his grip, scooting farther away, but making sure not to leave Zayn's lap. 

Zayn chuckled at the boy and reached over to set the baby back into the bouncer before turning back to Harry to undress him and set him next to Niall in the tub. 

The boy let out a soft whimper at the loss of contact, and Zayn quickly shushed him, making quick work of undressing himself before grabbing Louis and squeezing next to the two toddlers in the tub. It was uncomfortable and unsanitary to say the least, but Zayn was so desperate to keep everyone happy at the moment he didn't even care.

Harry quickly pressed back up against Zayn after he submerged himself in the water, snuggling underneath one of his arms and plopping his thumb in his mouth. 

Zayn didn't even try to correct the boy and make him remove it, he just needed to survive the rest of their bedtime routine and get the boys to sleep. 

Niall kept himself entertained with his toys, while Zayn held Louis in his lap, blowing butterflies on the naked baby's stomach and making him giggle while he did his best simultaneously to wash the boy. 

After the baby was cleaned off, Zayn turned to a groggy Harry next to him, gently scooping up the bath water and tilting the boy's head back to wet his hair with one hand. After he lathered the boy's curls in soap, he repeated the process, feeling Harry go practically limp next to him.