No Strings Attached

Chapter Two

“Donuts it is, then,” he mumbled, pulling his phone from his pocket as Rosie clambered on top of him so that she was sitting on his chest, tugging at his shirt impatiently for sweets.

He pressed the ‘send’ button twice to dial the most recent number in his call log. Several rings later, Zayn’s unmistakably sleepy voice drifted from the other end.

“Fuck off,” he growled.

“Good morning to you, too, sunshine,” Louis replied brightly. “Listen, I’ve got a problem.”

“What is it?” Zayn’s voice reflected his increased attention.

“I’ve got a hungry bug here on my belly,” he said slowly, poking Rosie’s nose as he said it. “I’m afraid she’s going to eat me herself if she doesn’t get real, non-human food quickly. I think she said something about donuts. Yeah donuts, and she was wondering if her Uncle Zayn could bring her some.”

Zayn groaned for what seemed like an eternity before a rustling noise on the other end told Louis that he must have been getting out of bed.

“Yeah alright,” he responded grumpily. “But I’m doing this for Rosie. And I’m bringing you a plain donut, nothing else.”

“So long as it’s frosted with sprinkles, that’s perfect,” Louis said before hanging up.

Moments later, he felt his phone buzz.

plain donut thats it, the text read.

Louis smirked, disregarding Rosie’s persistent pokes; he would retaliate once he put the phone down.

bring some coffee too thanks honey x

***

When Zayn finally arrived at the flat – frosted and sprinkled donuts and coffee in hand – Louis and Rosie were so hungry, they practically tackled the sleepy but handsome visitor to the ground. They gathered at the kitchen table, where Louis put Rosie into her high chair.

“You look miserable,” Louis observed. “What’d you do last night? Did you go on a date, after all?”

“Nah, I wish,” Zayn replied after taking a sip of his coffee. “I just went straight to bed. Last night took a lot out of me.”

“Same here,” Louis said as he helped Rosie pick her donut apart into more manageable pieces. “It got ridiculously busy, didn’t it?”

“Night out of hell,” Zayn said absently.

“Out of hell!” Rosie worked out slowly before arriving at the last word with startling conviction. She even dropped the piece of donut in her fist. “Hell! Hell!” Louis’ face flushed, but Zayn’s lit up with a guilty grin.

“Thanks for that one, mate,” Louis said wearily, futilely hushing the toddler.

“Sorry, can’t help it,” he replied, shrugging. He turned his attention to his goddaughter, whose fascination with the word hadn’t ceased. “Very good, lovely.” He gave her an affectionate pat on the back.

“Don’t encourage it,” Louis chided. “Uncle Zayn is a terrible role model, don’t you forget that, bug.”

“Zayney,” she repeated with a mouthful of sprinkled donut. For the longest time, she had struggled with Zayn’s name. But now, she refused to say it any other way.

“Rosie bug,” Zayn responded goofily with a funny face. The little girl let out a peal of laughter.

Louis watched as Zayn’s eyes twinkled with amusement and fondness. If there was anything Louis could say for Zayn, it was that he loved Rosie very much. He had been there through it all: from the day Eleanor told him she was pregnant, to the day she gave birth and Louis asked him to be godfather, to the day Louis spent almost 24 hours wallowing in bed after Eleanor left. Zayn’s personal life – love life, in particular – might have been in shambles, but Louis could always count on his best mate to be there for Rosie for moments both big and small. There were many days he wondered how he could have managed without Zayn at his side.