Harry runs his hands through Marcel's curls a few times, trying to calm the hair down a little bit. He waits for Niall to finish grabbing a plate of nachos.
Harry knows that Niall doesn't like crowds, and he doesn't like crowds. That's why they're such good friends. Well maybe that's not exactly why, but it helps.
Niall steps beside Harry, munching on the cheesy chips. He hands one to Marcel as they start walking toward the bleachers. Marcel licks at the cheese on his fingers as his other hand is in Harry's hand.
"You have any napkins, Niall?" Harry asks with a grimace as he watches his son.
Niall nods, handing a small stack to Harry. Harry stops walking to dab at Marcel's face with the napkins. Niall stops too, turning to watch them.
"You're glasses are sideways, Marcy." Niall tells the boy. Marcel reaches up to adjust his large-framed glasses. "You gotta look your best for Louis Tomlinson, ay? Even got his jersey on!"
Marcel jumps up and down, knocking Harry's hands away. "Louis Tominson!"
"Aw, he always says it so cute!" Niall coos, staring at the boy as Harry throws away the napkins. "Now, come on, Marcy! We gotta go get the best seats!"
Harry follows as Marcel and Niall skip off to the bleachers. Niall wears his plain Rovers jersey as Marcel wears his Tomlinson jersey.
Louis breathes in deeply as he stands on the field. The fans scream his name. He loves it, he really does. But he wishes he had someone there for him. Not for his team, not for his skill. But for him.
Liam and Zayn are on either sides of him, ready for the game to start. Louis glances at both of them, knowing that after this game, he'll get to go back home with the same feeling he gets after every game.
Despair.
How is Louis supposed to feel inspired to win a game when he has no one to celebrate with afterward?
And so the game goes on. Louis scores a goal. The crowd screams his name.
Marcel squeals as Louis Tomlinson scores a goal. Harry smiles down at the boy's excitement.
Easily, the Rovers win.
The team celebrates on the field.
Niall and Marcel celebrate in the bleachers.
Harry holds Marcel's hand as they make their way through the crowd of exiting people. Niall goes in front of them, a smile on his face at the win.
Niall turns around, staring down at his phone. "Hey," He says, "I gotta take this call. I'll be right back." Niall hurries off to find a quieter place.
Harry watches as he goes, taking his eyes off of Marcel for only a moment. The crowd pushes past him, bumping his shoulder as they all try to get out of the stadium. In a second, Harry notices that his hand is empty.
Marcel's gone.
"Marcel?" Harry calls out, looking toward where the boy was standing. "Marcel! Marcel!"
Louis stands underneath the bleachers, watching as the crowd goes by. He steps out a little, getting ready to go to the locker room to change out of his uniform. But then a voice catches his attention, a voice he picks out over the crowd.
"Daddy! Daddy!"
Louis looks around, hearing the panic in the little voice. He steps out into the crowd, lucky that nobody is paying too much attention so they don't crowd him.
"Daddy!"
Louis spots a small boy, a head of brown curls and big glasses hanging off his nose. Louis makes his way to the boy, smiling as he notices the name on the back of his jersey.
"Hey, little lad!" Louis calls out. The boy turns around quickly, as if he recognized the voice. "Are you alright, love?"
The boy's eyes are wide as he stares up at Louis. "Oh my gosh... Ouis Tomison!"
Louis smiles, crouching down. "Hey, love. Are you lost?" The boy nods. Louis holds out his hands for the boy. He scurries over, leaping into Louis' arms. "Who are you here with, lad?"
"Daddy and Ni." The boy rests his head against Louis' chest.
Louis stands up straight, holding the boy securely to his chest. He cradles the boy, patting his back as he stares off into the crowd.
"Where'd you last see them, lad?" Louis asks, admiring the boy's green eyes.
The boy points over toward the crowd of moving people. And Louis feels himself deflate. No way could he find a person that he doesn't even know what they look like in this crowd.
"Marcel!" A panicked voice shouts in the crowd. Louis notices that even in a worried tone, the voice is angelic. "Marcel!"
"Daddy!" The boy in Louis' arm calls out, a smile on his face.
A man breaks through the crowd, looking around for a moment before spotting Louis. He runs over, lifting the boy away from Louis.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" The man rumbles, "Oh baby, I thought I lost you! Never wander away from me again, please!"
Louis watches the man in awe. He's never seen such a gorgeous human being before. He's not even ashamed in his staring.
Harry holds Marcel, gripping his diapered bum and breathing in his curls. He squeezes him so tightly that Marcel starts to squirm.
"Daddy!" Marcel squeals, pushing away from Harry's shoulder. "It's Ouis Tomison!"
Harry sighs, looking at Marcel now. "It's Louis Tomlinson, love! With the L."
"No, Daddy! Look!" Marcel leans back in Harry's arms, pointing at the man Harry barely even noticed.
"Oh my god!" Harry exclaims, staring at Louis Tomlinson who stares right back at him. "Yes, love, that uh, that is Louis Tomlinson."
"Hello, love." Louis says, smiling at Harry. "This is your little one?"
Harry nods, a little starstruck. "Um, yeah, yeah. Um, Marcel."
Louis smiles at the boy. "Hello, Marcel! I love your jersey, you have great taste." He pauses, eyes moving to Harry. "Your father, however, isn't matching." Louis tsks, finding it as an excuse to look Harry up and down.
Harry looks down, noticing that Louis is talking about his white t-shirt and flannel. Harry readjusts the boy in his arms as he says back, "Well, his jersey was a gift. I couldn't really afford to get my own so..."
"Oh really? Are the merch jerseys expensive?" Louis asks, curiously.
Harry scoffs, "Uh yeah! Everything's expensive. Especially for someone who has a toddler and works at a tiny bakery."
"A bakery here in Doncaster?"
"Yeah." Harry blushes, his eyes staring down at Marcel.
"Oh really? Where at?" Louis investigates the gorgeous man, just wanting to fit so much into one conversation.
"The uh, the one by the daycare."
"Good to know, good to know..." Louis murmurs, biting his lip as he looks Harry up and down. "Well, at least you're not a fan of those wankers." He glares over his shoulder at where the other team's fans were sitting.
Harry laughs, trying to readjust Marcel again. "Yeah, it's a Rovers household I guess."
Just as he says that, Niall walks up. "Hey!" He calls, wrapping an arm around Harry's shoulders. "I didn't know where you two went!"
Louis bites his tongue to keep from saying anything. But he noticeably frowns at the new man, feeling instant jealousy at how he touches the gorgeous angel of a man.
"Sorry, I uh, I lost Marcel." Harry admits, sheepishly.
"What? Oh my god, Harry! I leave you alone for five minutes!" His eyes wander away from Harry, spotting the man right in front of them. "Holy shit!" He yells, wide eyes.
Marcel giggles, "Daddy said he wanted you to stop cursing!"
"Oh wow! That's Louis Tomlinson!"
Marcel reaches out toward Louis, making Harry struggle to keep ahold of him. Louis reaches forward, cradling Marcel's head in his hands.
"Hello." Louis says, glancing at Niall with a straight face before going back to smiling at Marcel. "And you two are..." He tries to find a good way to phrase it. "Co-parenting?"
Harry scoffs, "You mean together? What? No!"
Niall looks between the two of them a few times, mischief playing in his eyes. He speaks up finally, "Um, yeah, Harry's completely single! And definitely ready to mingle!"
"What?" Harry gapes at Niall. Louis tries to cover his blush and smile by keeping his face turned down toward Marcel. "Uh no! I mean, yeah I'm single but I can't... I'm not... Niall's being silly! We should probably get going now though!"
Harry turns, pulling Marcel up to rest his head on his shoulder. Marcel waves a little hand at Louis, the other hand being fisted against Harry's shirt.
Louis waves back as he watches the beautiful man with the adorable boy disappear into the crowd. His smile falters as he notices the pair of eyes still on him.
"Yes?" Louis asks, turning to Niall.
"You know," Niall starts with a smug smile. "Any other time, if I were to meet you, I'd be fangirling and begging for an autograph. However, something tells me I'll be seeing you again." Niall winks at Louis before turning and disappearing to find Harry.
Louis feels his cheeks turn red and his smile grow significantly. His fists clench in excitement as he tries not to act like a child and jump in excitement. He manages to only let out a quiet, "Yay!" He hurries to scurry off to the locker room, ready to tell Liam and Zayn about the whole interaction, no details left out.