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August kicks off with Margos' sixth birthday, which Louis was aware of due to the countdown on the fridge and the constant reminders, 'I turn six in four days, gonna be a big girl right, Lou?'
The little girl is adamant on making Louis help her plan the big day. Of course they had to go decoration shopping, picking up pink streamers, balloons of every color, and a rainbow piñata. Margo had tried to be nonchalant with her pointing out what she wanted for her birthday as they went through the aisles, and just Louis smiled knowing he had already picked out her birthday gift a while ago. He made sure to show Harry, who reassured him she would love it.
It's a beautiful Saturday morning when Louis arrives at the Styles' residence for Margo's birthday party. Of course he couldn't miss such an important event, seeing as the birthday girl is sort of a big deal to him. He made sure to get there early before anyone else shows up to help Harry set up. When he swings the door open he barely gets one of his shoes off before something hard is crashing into his legs.
"Lou!" Margo screams excitedly, tightening her hold on him. Louis grins, bending down and picking up the small girl in a spin.
"Happy birthday, bug!" He drops his bags and crouches down to hug her. "Oh my goddess, look at you!" Louis says nuzzling into her cheek and admiring her frilly dress, standing up and setting Margo on his hip. The dress is pastel pink with sparkles littering the top while the skirt overflows over Louis' hip in layers. He bends down to grab his bag and the pink gift bag to then continue into the kitchen.
"Do you like it? Daddy got it for me!"
"Of course I do!" Louis answers. Margo giggles and starts babbling about how she's excited for cake and presents. Louis nods along and walks into the kitchen only to see that it's empty; he was expecting Harry to be there. Setting Margo on the counter, he puts his bags on the day bed in the corner and continues listening to the small girl.
"—And Nanny, Oh Auntie Gemma, Uncle Sam and cousin Carly are going to be here, too!" Louis pauses as it sinks in.
He's going to meet Harry's family.
He's about to meet his boyfriend's whole family and it's just sunk in now. How had he forgotten about this? Quickly he grabs a cold water bottle, shutting the fridge and turns towards Margo with a nervous smile. Of course she doesn't notice, too excited about all of the people she loves coming to hang out for the day and celebrate her birthday.
"Right! It's going to be a blast!" he adds in taking a long sip of the cold liquid.
Her smile doesn't falter and then she gasps in thought. "You brought a swim suit this time right? You better not of forgotten, Lou!"
"I did not forget, don't worry." He pinches her nose and grips her hips to lift her back down onto her feet. "Where's your dad?" he asks, letting curiosity get the best of him.
"Oh, he's cleaning the pool. I was supposed to come get him when you got here." She shrugs and puts on an innocent smile. "I guess I got too excited. Oops! "
Louis laughs at how sweet she is before he's being dragged out towards the back door that leads to the pool deck. Margo skips happily with Louis in one hand as she struggles to push the sliding door open. When the two emerge, Louis can't help but let his eyes land on the man on the other side of the backyard standing opposite of him.
He's standing on the other side of the pool wearing only black swim trunks that cut off about two inches above his knees, shirtless, and looking absolutely delicious. His arm muscles move when he uses the pool net, scooping up debris from the night before, probably having forgotten to put the pool cover on. A blue hat sits on his head, his hair tucked behind his ears and out of his face. His skin almost shines from the thin layer of sweat on his shoulders and pecs from the beating sun.
Louis wants to lick him.
"Hey you two." Louis is brought out of his thoughts when Harry's gravely voice fills his ears. The older man taps the pool net on the cement to get the leaves out.
"Daddy! Louis is here!" Margo announces, dropping Louis' hand and running off the deck towards her father.
"Don't run, babes," Harry says watching closely as his rambunctious daughter gets close to the edge of the pool. The man looks up and smiles at Louis who's still standing on the wooden deck, eyes trailing down his body and back up.
Louis waves, twiddling his fingers at the older man. He was thankful Zayn convinced him to wear his jean shorts with a pastel pink tee, a pair of pink heart shaped sunglasses fitted in his hair, holding the runaway fluffy strands off his forehead.
Margo then speaks, bringing the two men out of their gaze, asking when everyones going to arrive because she's getting impatient. A trait from her father, definitely.
"Soon, Mar." He runs his fingers through her orange hair. The two walk towards Louis and he feels his cheeks heat up from the way Harry's looking at him. He'll blame it on the weather. "Why don't you go get the streamers off the table? I know you were waiting for Lou to do them," Harry suggests. Margo nods excitedly and bolts into the house.
The second she's out of sight, Louis feels two big hands on his hips pulling him flush against the other man's body. He quickly reaches his hands up to tangle in the hair at the base of Harry's neck and is pulled into a kiss. Harry licks into his mouth, the tips of his fingers pressing hard into his skin to breach the band of his shorts. Louis hums, sucking Harrys bottom lip into his mouth. His hands move from his neck, slowly down his front to rest on the man's chest.
"Missed you, baby," Harry mumbles against the younger man's lips, leaving two more pecks on his mouth, moving the kisses to his cheek, down his neck. Louis giggles pushing Harry away from his neck, not wanting marks all over him when meeting his family.
"It's been less than twenty four hours, you fool," he teases and accepts another quick kiss. Harry wraps one arm around his waist squeezing there.
"And? Am I not allowed to miss you?" Harry says, leaning in and biting playfully on Louis' cheek.
"Yes, you're allowed to miss me, but you're not allowed to maul me." Louis pushes his chest this time lightly, pressing his fingers into the heated skin for a second just to feel . Harry leans up, a grin plastered on his face.
"That's bullshit, you love when I maul you." He sways them slowly, eyeing Louis carefully. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Louis answers too quickly, fixing his face to show no sign of something being wrong.
"You're lying. Is it because Beverley's coming?" Harry asks, trailing his fingers down Louis' arm and linking their fingers together. Louis honestly didn't think twice about Margo's mom coming. They've met, she obviously doesn't like him even though Louis gave her no reason to and he's planning on avoiding her at all costs today considering she doesn't know about them.
"No, not at all," he assures him. "It's just..." Louis bites his lip nervously looking at his feet. "I'm meeting your family... like your whole family, H." He feels the press of a finger lift his chin up and their eyes meet.
"You know they'll love you, right?" He rubs his thumb on the soft skin of his chin. Louis smiles hopefully. Harry pulls him in by the light grip on his chin and connects their lips in a kiss. " Trust me. "
"Okay," Louis agrees with a small smile. He does trust Harry, with everything and anything, even though they've only been together for almost a month. It's crazy to him how comfortable and easy it is with the older man. Of course, he was worried — worried about how his relationship would affect his job but honestly, nothing's changed. Margo knows that the two are together, which she is over the moon about. They keep the PDA to a minimum around her, but still hug and kiss goodbye which makes her jealous because her dad gets attention from him too now. It's so endearing.
"Let's go see if she got lost finding the streamers or is peaking at her presents." Harry squeezes his hand one more time and they enter the house.
They do end up finding Margo with the streamers, but said streamers are tangled around her whole body. Harry mentions how much she looks like a rainbow mummy and Louis can't help but snap a picture as the poor girl pouts with her arms crossed. Not knowing how it happened, she held out her arms, defeated, asking for help. The two men help unravel her from the decoration, making a huge mess in the process.. Louis offers to clean it while Harry starts preparing the food for the party that starts in an hour.
Louis and Margo start decorating for real after the mess is cleaned up, but Louis does most of the work, considering Margo can't reach high enough. She does, however, puts the table cloth on and sets up her party cups with childlike determination.
"I can't wait for Kaylee to come!" Margo says excitedly thinking about her friend from ballet coming over.
Louis hums, letting her know he's still listening as he finishes off the streamer on the deck railing. He steps back and nods at his hard work; the pink and white balloons floating in each corner of the yard, streamers covering the fence, deck rails and part of her swing set (Margo's idea) and Louis is pretty proud of it. He's suddenly brought out of his daze when they hear the doorbell ring.
"Someone's here!" Margo announces jumping off the chair she was sitting on and running into the house. Louis tries to quickly calm his nerves before finding something to do to keep himself distracted. It could be Kaylee and her mom, or one of Harry's close friends from work, but with Louis luck, it isn't.
Margo comes barreling out back onto the deck where Louis is, pulling someone with her. "Lou! Lou! This is my cousin!" she says, a huge smile on her face.
"Hello! Are you Carly?" Louis smiles at the girl. He remembers Harry telling him about his sister, Gemma, his brother in law, Sam, and their daughter, Carly, who is now eyeing him carefully and popping the gum in her mouth.
"Yes. Are you Margo's babysitter?" She flicks her long brown hair over her shoulder and crosses her arms. Louis hopes her mom isn't as intimidating.
"Well, technically I'm her nanny but yes," he explains with a soft smile. It starts to falter quickly when she lifts her nose.
"Aren't you too young to be a nanny?"
Louis nervously laughs, praying Harry comes out soon; he's not good with teens — they're not really his forte.
"He is amazing!" Margo jumps, butting in before Louis embarrasses himself in front of a fucking teenager . Louis could kiss her little head for that. Thankfully, Harry then walks out with an arm full of food and drinks.
"Oh, do you need a hand?" Louis walks over quickly taking a few things off the load.
"Thanks, babe," Harry says. He knows he was the only one who heard but his stomach still fills with butterflies at the fact that Harry's so comfortable saying things like that around his family.
When Louis sets down the fruit tray he sees three more figures emerge from the patio door onto the deck.
"Louis, this is my mom, Anne. Mom, this is Louis — I told you about him." He motions towards the older women on the right. He can tell right away it's Harry's mother; the resemblance is uncanny.
Louis steps forward and reaches out a hand. "Hi, it's so lovely to finally meet you!" he says and, before his hand shakes, he's being tugged into a tight hug.
"Sorry dear, I'm a hugger," Anne says, pulling away from the hug. "It's so nice to meet the person who makes my boy so happy."
Louis can feel his cheeks heat up, smiling when he sees Harry flushed as well.
"This here is my older sister, Gemma, and her husband, Sam." He points to each person Louis makes sure to nod accordingly and smiles. "And you've met my niece, Carly," Harry says, resting a warm hand on Louis' lower back, directing him towards the group. "Everyone, this is Louis..." he murmurs, squeezing Louis' hip for comfort, letting him know it's okay.
Louis makes sure to breathe and smile widely, about to say that he's excited to meet them all when an excited voice cuts in.
"Louis is my bestest friend, especially when he has sleepovers with daddy because he lets me stay up late and watch Happy Feet, even though daddy says no," Margo giggles, running over and hugging Louis legs. He instantly runs a hand through her hair out of habit and then blushes a deep red.
The smiles that cover the faces of Harry's family members make Louis' heart slow down from beating out of his chest. Suddenly, the doorbell rings again, Margo grabbing Carly's hand and dragging her to go greet whoever has arrived. He remembers when Harry had told him that he broke the news to his family about them — Louis got nervous, wondering how they would take Harry and his daughter's nanny together. Harry reassured him his whole family was so excited to meet him and that was proven by today's events and the recent encounter. He's heard so much about Harry's family and they're definitely just like how Harry described them.
Why was he nervous? Louis asks himself by the time the party is in full swing, the clock rolling around two. The sun is now high in the sky and beating down on them, warming Louis' skin and making the pool feel like bath water. He's sitting on the edge of the pool talking to Gemma, their feet wading in the water as the party goes on around them. He's relieved that he and Harry's sister are getting along so well.
"It's a beautiful day for a party. I guess my brother knows what he's doing," Gemma teases, eyes scanning the backyard, seeing the people in Margo's life gather for her special day. He's already met Harry's co-worker and good friend, Garret, when he went to the staff party a few weeks ago, so it was comforting knowing someone else there.
"Right? Margo was so worried it was going to rain. Thank god it didn't for her sake — she's been talking about the party for weeks."
Gemma nods, her eyes falling onto something over Louis' head, and she scoffs. It makes Louis turn curiously only to see Beverley, who's talking to Anne, with her own mother standing beside her, clearly butting into the conversation the two are having.
"I hate that mom tries to keep the peace with her." The brunette shifts her body towards Louis again, laughing under her breath, "I don't even talk to her, not that she even tries to talk to me anymore, which is completely fine."
Louis lets out a nervous laugh, swinging his legs in the water slowly. "Yeah... not sure she likes me so much," he starts and then drops his voice in a whisper. "Even though she doesn't know about me and Harry."
"She doesn't? " Gemma asks, eyes wide in confusion. Louis notices she looks a lot like Harry while making that face.
"No... It's not that we hide each other. It's just..." Louis trails off.
"I get it, don't worry." Gemma gives him a reassuring smile and a pointed eye roll. "I know that if she did know, it would be a shit show. She's got a flare for the dramatics, that's for sure."
Louis will find out that yes, Beverley is in fact an over reactor just twenty minutes after his conversation with Gemma. He's sitting on one of the deck chairs having a conversation with Anne, with Kaylee's mom, who is sitting to his left, listening in as well. Harry and Garrett are talking by the BBQ to the right as Harry cooks up the food for later, wearing a ridiculous apron that says 'I like big buns and I cannot lie' with a hamburger printed on the front. The fond eye roll Louis gave him caused a pout from the older man and a confession of 'Especially yours...'
Louis is now picking at the flaking nail polish Margo did for him a few days prior, zoning out of the conversation only for a second when Margo and Kaylee come barreling over towards them, jumping onto the deck. Louis grins at how happy and excited she looks.
"Lou! Lou!" she yells crashing into his legs, giggling loudly as her friend laughs at her silliness. He doesn't notice the hard glare he gets from across the patio.
"What's up, birthday girl!" Louis squeezes her in a hug, nuzzling her warm cheek.
"Me and Kaylee are going to swim!" she announces motioning towards her and her friend already in their bathing suits. Margo is wearing a yellow one piece with sunflowers and frilly seams. Louis remembers when they picked it out together on one of their shopping trips.
"But, I wanted to know if you could put my hair in a pretty braid like last time we went swimming." She claps her hands together bouncing on her toes. " Please! " she begs, holding the last syllable.
"Of course!" Louis says, making Margo grins widely, plopping herself down onto the floor between Louis' legs as she always does to get her hair braided. "Can you do two braids?" she asks kindly, turning to look at him.
Louis smiles and nods, he quickly starts gathering half of the tangled mess of orange hair into his fingers to start the french braid. He listens as Kaylee rambles on to her mom about the unicorn pool floaty Margo has. Then, as he's halfway done with one braid is when things get a bit ugly.
"You know you're not her mother, right? I am." Louis hears the shrill voice of Beverley coming up beside him, her footsteps stop two feet away from his chair. Louis stiffens, the motion of his fingers freeze, dropping Margo's hair instantly from his hands.
Taking a quick breath, he leans down towards Margo's head and whispers quietly, "Hey Mar, why don't you let mommy do your other braid?" He tries not to let the tightness in his throat distort the way he talks, masking his feelings for the little girl.
"But, but I want—" Louis squeezes her shoulder, turning her towards him and her familiar green eyes meet his, a strong pout on her lips.
"For me? Please." He curls his lip up in a half smile when she sighs, letting Louis go without arguing, slumping back into her spot.
"Does mommy do a better job, Margo?" Beverley coos, sitting in Louis' now vacant seat as he quickly rushes inside before he can hear Margos response.
Stopping at the counter to steady himself, he lets out the breath he was holding in, trying not to cry but failing miserably as tears prickle his eyes. The embarrassing feeling of Beverley saying that in front of Kaylee's mom and Anne makes his eyes burn with frustration. He can't believe that Margo and Harry have to deal with a person like this.
Hearing the patio door slide open, he quickly wipes away the wet tears that have fallen onto his cheeks, straightening up and letting out a quiet sniffle. A soft hand rests onto his shoulder, causing Louis to turn around and face Anne. A hurt expression clouds her features, and Louis relaxes into her touch before wiping his eyes again and smiling sadly.
"Darling." She rests a comforting palm on his cheek. "Do not let her words hurt you like this," she says genuinely, and he struggles to respond, feeling his throat tighten again. "I'm so happy Harry found you. You're so amazing with Margo, and we can all see that." She sets two reassuring hands on his shoulders, shaking him a little. "Margo adores you and obviously so does my son."
A smile breaks out on Louis' face which Anne mirrors. Louis can't help but duck his head with a wet laugh at her words.
"Thank you, Anne," Louis says sincerely. "I don't want to cause any trouble, I just want Margo to have a good day but Bever—" He feels his throat get tight again and he shakes his head. He's so incredibly happy Harry's family can see how much he actually adores the two just from the short time they've been here. He's also glad that Anne had noticed Beverley's behaviour and he wasn't over reacting.
"Of course you wouldn't, and she knows that." Anne squeezes his shoulder. "She's a smart girl. I'm sure you know that," she teases with a smile.
He nods and looks up when suddenly he hears the patio door slide open again, noticing Harry walking inside and looking distraught.
"Lou— Mom, what happened?" Harry asks quickly, his eyes shift to his mom and back to Louis who was clearly crying, tears drying on his cheeks. Harry grabs his hand and squeezes it. "Are you okay, Lou?"
"Yes, I'm okay." He gives Harry a reassuring smile when he sees Anne has stepped back outside. Harry is too concerned about him to notice her absence.
"Clearly you're upset, baby, what happened?" he asks again, reaching a comforting hand up to rub Louis cheek softly.
"Uhm," Louis hesitates for a second, leaning into Harry's touch. He feels himself calm down from the smell of Harry's cologne and sunscreen mixed together, just being in his space makes him feel content. "Beverley had said something—"
"What? What the hell did she say?"
Louis rests a hand on Harry's arm, squeezing there for a second, "She said that—" He takes a small breath and another pause before explaining, "I'm not Margo's mother just because I was braiding her hair."
Harry's eyebrows furrow into confusion for a second and wraps his arms around Louis who falls into his hold. "What is she on about? Margo loves when you braid her hair. And it's just hair , I don't see an issue?" Harry says honestly.
Louis shrugs, resting his head on Harry's shoulder, not really knowing how to reply. The older man rubs a thumb down his back, and ends it in circles at the base of his spine. "I'll talk to her, okay? Don't worry about it, Lou. You're amazing at everything you do for Margo and I. We appreciate you so much. Truly, we'd be lost without you."
"Thank you, H." Louis leans up and presses a soft kiss to his stubbled cheek. "I didn't want to cause trouble, that's why I walked away and let her be the one to do Margo's hair," he explains with a simple shrug.
"Don't worry about it, baby? I'll talk to her." Harry tightens his hold, kissing the top of Louis' hair. "Ready to go back out there? Margo is hungry and impatient." Harry chuckles which causes Louis to grin at the sound. They quickly give each other a kiss and head out back to the party.
When Louis joins back with Gemma and Anne, who gives him a knowing smile, he feels calmer and better now that he's talked to Harry about what happened.
As the party continues and everyone has eaten, candles have been blown out and bellies full of Harry's delicious BBQ, Margo is now begging her dad to open her presents. Harry, unable to say no to her, complies and asks Sam and Garrett to help him get all the gifts from inside.
Margo had asked Louis to sit beside her while she opened her presents. Overwhelmed with the previous hours of fun, all the toys, clothes, and, by the look of contempt on Harry's face, more stuffed animals, the action strangely eased him. By the time Margo had reached for the yellow gift bag with a huge pink bow on it, Louis felt his heart pick up knowing it was his. Thankfully, Margo had learned to always open her cards before pulling out the gift so, when she announces the present is from 'Her Louis', he feels a warm feeling in his chest. When she reaches in and pulls out the book and a fluffy blanket with small penguins printed on it, he bites his lip nervously.
"Is this..." she says slowly, flipping the book onto the front and her eyes fly open. "Lou! Penguins!? " She holds the book in two hands and smiles wide at it, nuzzling the blanket onto her cheek as her eyes scan the words quickly. She uses her finger to slowly sound out each word as she reads the title, "And Tango Makes Three ... Oh, I can't wait to read this for bedtime! Thank you, Lou!"
She jumps up and throws her arms around his neck. Louis smiles wide, glancing quickly over at Harry, who has a knowing look on his face — considering they've discussed such things — he's heard about the book about two gay penguins. Louis makes sure to embrace her back tightly but can't help but feel the burning gaze from Beverley from across the deck.
Through the gifts and chatting, the rest of the party flies by, and the group quickly dies out, people leave with hugs and kisses for Margo. Anne, Gemma and their crew stay a little later helping the two men clean up. Margo fails to do her part by asking Carly to play with her new toys.
Before Louis plans to leave, Margo begs him to stay for her night time routine which he helps Harry with. Together, they're tucking a very tired Margo into bed and, before her eyes can close, she reaches out for Louis' arm, "Can you read the penguin book?"
Louis glances at Harry, their matched tired expressions deepen but, because they can't say no, Louis grabs the new book and sits on the chair diagonal to Margo's bed. Harry sits on the floor between his legs, back pressed against the chair. Getting comfortable, Louis cracks open the book and starts off, "In the penguin house, in the zoo..."
As Louis sleepily reads the words, he mindlessly cards his fingers through Harry's hair. Continuing to read, Margo interrupts in with, "Daddy and Louis are like the penguins in the book!"
Louis almost combusts with tears and love for her, pausing to choke down the waterworks, and Harry squeezes his knee deliberately. Knowing the man as well as his daughter, who is already dozing off, he can feel how tired Harry is. By the time Louis is halfway through, he can hear how his breathing levels out: Harry's sleeping.
After realizing both the Styles' are sleeping, he only reads a sentence before he decides that it's time for him to go. Before he stands, he nudges the man's cheek trying to wake him up. Leaning down to whisper in his ear, "H, wake up, Mar's sleeping."
Sleepily, Harry shifts his body to look up at Louis, eyes barely open. "Hm?" he hums.
"I'm gonna head home now, you should go to bed, babe," Louis giggles at his tired boyfriend who can barely keep his head up. Grabbing Harry's hand, he has a hard time pulling the man up. Now, the tired man has got his arms wrapped tightly around Louis' waist, chest pressed to his back as they maneuver out of Margos room. Louis shuts the door quietly, so as not to wake her, and Harry sways back and forth with Louis still in his arms.
"Stay," Harry mumbles, barely above a whisper.
"H..." Louis warns, turning his head to kiss the man's cheek softly, slinging his arms over Harry's.
"Please? We can watch Jurassic World?" he bargains and starts leaving wet kisses down his neck. How could Louis say no?
And of course, the two fall asleep on the couch, Harry squished behind him and his arms tightly around his waist so he doesn't fall off the edge.
His sore neck and Margo jumping on them the next morning is entirely worth it.