𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝙼𝚎 (𝙽𝚘𝚝) - 𝚉𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚢

chapter xv.

"Daddy, you're home!" Sadie screams and Harry doesn't hesitate to pick her up as soon as he's dropped his bag. "I missed you so much! We're gonna paint our nails and bake and we'll take pictures of Paul!"

"Of course we will, strawberry," Harry says and kisses the side of Sadie's head. "I've missed you, Sadie. How are you, baby?"

"I'm good," Sadie smiles. "Can you put me down? I have to go get Paul."

Harry chuckles. "Of course." He places Sadie down again and it's just in time for Noah to come in shouting 'Daddy, daddy!' again and again. So he has a different kid in his arms now, this one much less chatty. And he finally notices Zayn, who's leaning against the wall near the doorway, watching them with a slight smile.

"Hi," Harry tries to grin.

"Hey," Zayn smiles. "The kids saw your mum's car through the window. Barely kept them in."

"It's okay," Harry says and jostles Noah in his grasp so he doesn't fall. "What's the plan for today?"

Zayn shrugs. "Whatever you want. I do believe Sadie will keep you more than busy."

"As she should, I've been gone a while," Harry huffs and tries to laugh. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, yeah, of course," Zayn shakes his head, peeling off the wall. "I've no idea why we're standing around in the doorway for all our noisy ass neighbours to see. Sorry, Noah, you didn't hear the a-word. Don't repeat it. Come in, Haz, I'll grab your bag."

"Thank you," Harry smiles a little and walks in. Just as he starts walking down the hallway with Noah still in his arms, Sadie saunters in, holding a black cat. So that's Paul. He's the one character that has been mostly absent from Harry's memory. There's probably one too many cats in his life to remember them all.

"Daddy, Paul wants to say hi!" Sadie announces. She doesn't stop in front of Harry though and walks right into the living room. Harry follows her and Sadie drops Paul in the middle of the room. The cat meows as he lands and then turns around, walking to Harry and rubbing his head against Harry's shins. Okay, that's quite nice.

"Hi, kitty," Harry crouches down and pets Paul. "You're a cute one, aren't ya?" Paul meows again, purring and then he quickly retires to a cat tree in the corner.

"We need to take pictures of Paul with your phone, daddy," Sadie says. She has plopped down on the black carpet in the middle of the room. There are some toys around.

"Okay, we will, baby," Harry promises. "Noah, do you wanna play with Sadie?" As Harry tries to put Noah down on the carpet, Noah starts to sob. "Okay, that's a no then," Harry says quickly and cuddles Noah against his chest. He sits down in an armchair and watches as Sadie starts playing with some dolls while singing a song.

"Paul has an Instagram," Zayn's voice comes from the doorway and soon enough, he joins them all in the living room. He ruffles Noah's hair before he sits down on the couch. "That's why Sadie wants to take pictures."

"Really?" Harry frowns. "Our cat has an Instagram?" Now that's one thing Harry didn't think he'd ever do. Pet Instagrams can be fun, but most of the time they're just cringy.

"Yep," Zayn nods, a small smirk on his lips. "And he has like 12,000 followers. He's a proper influencer."

Harry scoffs loudly. "You're messing with me. Our cat's an influencer?"

"I promise I'm not joking," Zayn laughs. "We've got like, sponsored stuff for him and what not. This company sent us a litter robot for him a year ago. He's regularly gifted stuff."

Harry can't believe this. He shakes his head. "No, that can't be. Really?" Zayn nods, a grin on his lips. "Who made the account?"

"It's linked to your personal account," Zayn says. "But we both kinda did. You manage it now but back when he was a kitten, we shared it."