✩°̥࿐
Louis hasn't heard from Harry all weekend. He had typed out and deleted over twenty messages before sending them to the man. He understands what Harry was feeling, the way he had dealt with losing someone when Beverley left and knowing how hurt Margo was for years, not understanding why her mother wasn't around. But what frustrates Louis the most is that he's not her . He had hoped he would've made that clear to Harry over the period of their relationship, and it scares him to think, has he not?
Unsure of going to work, he does anyway, considering it is his job, as Harry made that very clear. As he gets ready, it feels off, knowing he would see Harry and the fact the last thing he had said to him was telling him to leave.
When he walks into the house, Harry isn't there to greet him; no kiss, no dimpled smile, no hug that's so tight it lifts him off the ground. But what is there is a little girl looking so thrilled to see him.
"Hi, Lou!" she greets brightly, bouncing on her toes and seeming too energized for a Monday morning.
"Hey, Mar!" Louis smiles, masking the obvious hurt he feels on the inside for her. Because he would do anything for her. When Margo lifts her arms, jumping to indicate her request to be picked up, Louis playfully groans but does anyway. "Aren't you too big to be picked up now?" he asks.
"No, never." She shakes her head as Louis carries her to the kitchen and plops her down on the counter. There is still no sign of Harry, which is weird. He's usually either in the kitchen making his own coffee or waiting for Louis to make his coffee for him.
Out of habit, Louis flicks the kettle on, waiting for the water to heat up, listening as Margo rambles on about her weekend. Louis tries to listen but can't help but zone out thinking about the last time he was in this kitchen and what had happened.
"—Lou, are you listening?" Margo asks, slightly annoyed.
"Yes, sorry," he apologizes, reaching for a mug from the cupboard and quickly making Harry's coffee — two dashes of milk, no sugar. "Continue."
"Anyway, so then when the movie was over, me and mommy made sundaes and I put a whole bottle of sprinkles on mine!" She raises her arms to emphasize how much. Just when Louis is about to respond, he turns and sees Harry standing in the doorway. His hands pause as he tries to tie his tie, staring at Louis for a second before his gaze lands on Margo.
"Margo, off the counter," he scolds her, stepping into the room and helping her down.
"Sorry, daddy." She pouts, rounding over to the stool and sitting there, her eyes landing on the two men, confusion flickering over her face.
"I'm going to be staying late at work tonight. I can ask Gemma or my mom to come so you don't have to stay late," Harry starts, keeping his focus on his tie and not the boy in front of him. Louis could scream at how frustrating it is to have him so close but feel so far.
"It's fine, I can stay. It's never a problem," Louis assures him with a quiet voice, feeling small at the thought of Harry asking someone else to watch Margo so he wasn't in his space for longer than necessary.
"Okay, I'll—" He pauses, dropping his botched attempt at his tie. Louis wants to reach over and do it for him so badly, but knows he can't. "I'll be heading out now."
"Bye, daddy! Have a good day." Margo waves at him with a smile. Louis can't help but feel fond at how sweet she is no matter what. He's glad she doesn't notice the tension that's thick between them.
Once Harry is gone, Louis realizes he didn't even take his coffee. The empty feeling deepens at that because he always takes his coffee. Huffing, Louis dumps it into the sink and plops the cup into the dishwasher.
"Lou," Margo asks, suddenly she's beside him tugging on his long sleeve. "Do you want to colour with me?" He looks down and smiles at her with tired eyes.
"Sure, let's go get the markers and crayons," Louis suggests as they link hands and walk towards her bedroom.
Louis had felt relieved Margo hadn't noticed the shift in routine that morning. Or so he thought.
He and Margo are outside, swinging on her swing set, Louis of course pushing her a few times so she could get momentum until he takes his own swing. He slowly moves his feet back and forth as Margo's giggles fill the backyard. Louis tries to not show his sadness but Margo is smart, and he knows that.
"Why didn't daddy kiss you hello, or even goodbye?" she asks curiously. The creaking of the wood from the motion of her swinging fills Louis' head for a second as he thinks of a quick excuse, but she doesn't even allow him to try. "If daddy is upset with you it's okay," she assures him and he kind of believes her. "When he's upset with me I just give him a hug and say 'I love you', it works every time."
"You're too smart for your own good," Louis laughs, holding the two ropes in his hands and leaning his head on one of his hands. Margo skids to a stop and hops off her swing, walking over to Louis and tapping his hand to hold it.
"I know my daddy loves you, Lou! And he can't be mad at you for long, me maybe... but not you." She grins, a dimple pops in her cheek which makes it remind him of a certain someone.
"I hope you're right, Mar."
"I am, trust me."
And she was right.
When Harry arrives home that night, Margo had already been tucked into bed long ago and Louis had almost dozed off after finishing her book, crawling into bed beside her. The lights are all off except for one lamp in the corner of the room, the sound of the ceiling fan whirring above them like a lullaby. Louis' two breaths away from deep sleep, cramped up on the small princess bed, when he hears the thud of soft footsteps coming into the room, slowly coming towards him and bringing him out of his sleep.
A hand rests on his cheek, running down the soft skin there and tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear. The feeling is familiar and when he opens his tired eyes he sees Harry crouched beside him.
"H..." he hums sleepily, stretching the sleep away and falling back into his position.
"Hey," Harry whispers cupping his cheek, a loving gaze in his eyes. Louis doesn't even flinch when he feels Harry help him out of the bed, Louis' tired body fails to hold himself up, so when two arms cup under his bum and he's being lifted up, he can't seem to care. He's too tired to question it.
Quickly noticing the familiar, calming smell of Harry, Louis realizes he's being tucked into the mans bed. Out of habit he buries deeper into the sheets. Relaxing when he feels Harry climb in behind him a few minutes later, tucking himself under the blanket and Louis overlaps his arms that wrap around his waist with his own.
Louis swears he hears a soft whisper of 'I love you.' before he drifts off to sleep again.
Louis wakes up by the sun rising in the sky, the orange hues fill the room casting a small shadow over the bed from the blinds. He shifts slightly but freezes when the arms around him tighten. He vaguely remembers Harry coming home last night and getting him into bed. Turning slowly, Louis faces the sleeping figure behind him. Harry is sound asleep, quiet snores escaping his parted lips like always. His hair is every which way and Louis raises a hand to run through the tangled curls at the top of his head.
Minutes pass before he starts to stir awake, his breathing evens out as he turns onto his back, taking Louis with him with his bare arms still around him.
"Oof," Louis huffs out as he falls onto Harry's chest. The man cracks open one eye slightly and closes it quickly when he notices Louis staring at him. "I know you're awake."
"I'm not. I'm sleep talking."
"Stop it, open your eyes," Louis says, annoyed at Harry's ability to still be funny when he's trying to be mad at him. In his half-asleep state last night, he had forgotten about what had happened between them. But now, in the light of day, the memories of their fight come flooding back to him.
Harry does eventually open his eyes, the green color looking darker under the small amount of light in the room. Louis narrows his eyes at him, "I'm still mad at you."
"Lou." Harry seems to wake up at that, sitting up and leaning against the headboard. Louis sits up as well, wrapping the white duvet around his shoulders like a protective cocoon. He wants to avoid looking vulnerable but definitely fails. "I'm— I'm so sorry."
Louis meets his gaze and smiles sadly, his voice rough with sleep and exhaustion. "You hurt me, you know. I couldn't believe you had said that to me."
"I take it back, all of it." Harry reaches out and interlocks their fingers. Louis lets him; he's missed this feeling. "I knew it wasn't true, I just—" He pauses, shaking his head and chuckles to himself in disbelief. "I let her get in my head, the things she said to me, and she was right. It had happened before, but it was her." He squeezes Louis' hand in his, "Not you. I'm so sorry, Lou. Please forgive me."
Louis looks down at their hands, watching as Harry's thumb rubs soothing circles into his hand. Taking a breath Louis looks up, he blinks slowly before speaking. "I know you are, I knew how she had hurt you before but Harry, I would never do that. I could never hurt you or Margo like that, or at least never intentionally. I'm here, for good, if that's what you want. Or I can go back to just being Margo's nanny if that's what you prefer." He hopes it's not the second option, but he would rather have the two in some way than none. "You both mean so much to me... and yes, I'm young," Louis chuckles at that because their age difference isn't even that much. "But so what?" He continues with a reassuring voice, "That doesn't change that I want to be with you and have Margo in my life, not now, not ever. I can promise you I won't miss out on anything by being here—" Louis locks eyes with him while motioning around them, "with you."
Harry doesn't respond, he just surges forward, pulling Louis into a deep kiss. Louis allows him to kiss him, melting into the feeling quickly and letting Harry take control. "I love you," Harry whispers against his lips. "Thank you for understanding, for giving me a chance at this love thing," Harry rubs Louis' reddened cheek with the pad of his thumb. "You're everything I want and more." The man smiles when Louis wraps his arms around his neck and pulls Harry on top of him, nuzzling Louis cheek and smiling into the skin there.
"I love you—"
"Thank gosh!" The two men whip their heads up to see Margo standing in the doorway. Her orange hair is flying in every direction, one of her pant legs is half way up her leg and she's missing a sock. She also has a stuffed penguin in one hand and her blanket Louis got her for her birthday in the other. Harry jumps off of him and Louis sits up quickly as Margo runs and climbs onto the bed with them.
"Well, where's my hug?" She asks with a pout.
Harry and Louis both tackle her into hugs, kissing her face and tickling her sides as she giggles so loudly, Louis is sure the neighbours can definitely hear it.
He couldn't care one bit.