Louis: 6
Liam: 5
Niall: 2
Anna and Harry: 28
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There was something that Liam had always wanted. Something he asked for everyday, every five minutes, whenever he found it was a good time to ask again. It was like an obsession for him.
Liam wanted a dog. And even though he was only five, he had pretty clear ideas, and he was sure a dog was his only wish. He always petted all the dogs he found in the park, even the ones that looked dangerous, giving Anna and Harry little heart attacks every time.
The couple knew that it was impossible for them to get a dog while the boys were still young, since they both had time-consuming jobs and they didn't have the ability to take care of yet another being to feed and educate.
Jake and Laura Parkers were the boy's cousins, Gemma and Derek's kids. Recently, for Jake's ninth birthday, they had gotten him a dog, a really cute golden retriever named Molly. Jake was older than the Styles boys, and ready for the responsibility of having a dog. That made Liam really jealous, and he had been asking to go to their house to meet her for weeks.
One lucky day for Liam, Gemma and Derek had to attend a wedding, and they had no one to watch Molly, who was still too little to be left alone. Harry volunteered to keep her in their house for the day, to surprise Liam.
That morning, Harry woke up Liam extra early. The boy was really confused at first. Harry got him dressed and gave him his breakfast while the rest of the family slept in, and then got him buckled in the car.
"Daddy, where are we going?" Liam asked for the tenth time. Harry had been successfully avoiding the question, but it was time to tell him.
"We are going to your cousins' house, buddy" He looked in the mirror to see Liam's face lit up.
"We're finally going to see Molly!?"
"Even better" Harry said. "We're going to take her home with us for the day"
"Really??!!" Liam yelled, excited. "Really daddy??!!"
"Yes buddy, the whole day"
"YES, THANK YOU!" He screamed. Harry laughed at his excitement and cuteness.
They picked up the small puppy, and all the stuff she needed like a leash, food, a small bed... And Liam spent the whole trip back blabbering about all the fun things they were going to do with her. The dog was running around in the back of the car, and Harry was seriously worried about Liam straining his neck, because the whole trip back he spent looking at her over his shoulder.
When they got home, Harry let Liam hold the leash and guide the dog home, because it was a short walk through the path. He still didn't trust him fully with the animal. Liam looked really cute, talking to the dog with a baby voice.
When they arrived home, Anna was helping Louis and Niall with their breakfast. Niall had food all over his face and was laughing loudly, and Louis was trying to explain something in French to his mother.
When the dog ran through the door, following the smell from the kitchen, wiggling her tail. Niall started giggling when he saw her enter the kitchen, and asked Anna to put him down waving his arms.
"Doggy!" He screamed while he tried to hug her. Liam was also following her around and laughing, until it turned into game of the dog following the boys and vice versa. Louis was looking at the dog, but he was still sitting in his chair.
"Don't you wanna say hi?" Anna asked Louis. Louis shook his head, looking serious, and kept eating. Anna found it odd, but didn't say anything, since she knew that he wasn't a morning person.
"Alright boys, how about you get dressed and we'll take Molly to the park for a while?" Harry asked. Niall jumped happily and toddled his way upstairs, being extra careful in the stairs like he'd been taught. There wasn't a better combination of words for him than 'dog' and 'park'. Louis was done with breakfast, but he looked unsure. He was still sitting on his chair.
"Can you carry me daddy?" He asked, looking at Harry.
"Aren't you a bit old for that bud?" He asked back.
"Please" Louis said. Harry couldn't resist good manners. He picked up the child and took him upstairs. The boy got dressed in his room, with the door closed, and then helped his dad dressing his brother, like he always did. When they were done, Anna took Niall downstairs while they all got ready for the trip, getting their jackets and Molly's leash.
Louis was taking forever to walk down the stairs. And it was on propose. His parents knew something was wrong, but wanted to wait until he told them. They figured he was mad about something small, and it would go away soon, like it always did.
Finally Louis went downstairs, but he stopped in the last step of the stairs, looking at Molly. The dog tried to approach him to play, and got closer to him, wiggling her tail and looking up the stairs.
Louis whimpered when he saw the small animal, and ran up again, getting away from the dog. Harry looked at Anna briefly, and headed upstairs, following the obviously scared boy. He heard the noise of little whimpers coming from the boy's room.
"Louis, wanna tell me what's wrong?" He said, when he found him standing on his bed with his shoes on. That was one of the main rules the boys had, and he had to be very upset to forget it.
"I don't like dogs daddy" Louis admitted, on the verge of tears. What? Since when? Harry didn't know this!
"But why?" Harry asked.
"I... I'm scared!" The little boy blurted out, with a panicked expression.
"Buddy, there's nothing to worry about" Harry said, hugging the boy. With him standing on the bed, they were the same height. He picked him up and put him on his lap, sitting both of them on the bed.
"Why are you scared?" He asked. Louis shrugged. "I don't know. I've never liked them daddy, they look scary"
"Really? There's nothing more?" Harry asked, already knowing there was a reason.
"Stan told me they bite and kill people sometimes" Louis said, with his head low.
Harry really wasn't a fan of Louis' friend. This wasn't the fist time Stan told his boys something that worried them, and left them a bit traumatized. And his father was a prick.
"Louis, that's a lie. Molly is a very well behaved dog. And she's so little, her teeth don't hurt at all if she bit you. And she won't. How about you and me go together and meet her?"
Louis sniffled. "Okay" he said, and Harry kissed his cheek. "You are very brave bud"
Harry carried Louis downstairs. Anna was holding the leash of the dog, next to the door, where Liam and Niall were waiting. Harry put Louis standing on the floor, and kneeled behind him, putting his arms around the boy's.
"Can you bring her closer slowly?" Harry asked Anna. Anna had already guessed what was wrong with Louis, and did as Harry asked.
As the dog was approaching the boy, Louis whimpered and pressed his back closer to Harry. Then he just turned around and hid his face in Harry's neck. A few tears ran down his cheeks, as Harry rubbed his back.
"No" he whispered.
"Shh, it's okay. She's a good puppy" Harry said, soothingly. Niall and Liam were watching closely the situation, feeling slightly bad. Louis was their role model, and they hated seeing him upset like that. If they had known about Louis' fear, they would have been more careful.
Louis turned back around slowly. Molly wasn't moving as much now. That calmed Louis down a bit.
Louis extended his hand and touched her, petting her slowly next to her head.
"Yay Louis! I'm so proud of you!" Harry praised, smiling to the boy.
"Good job, Lou!" Anna also said, happily. Even Niall and Liam clapped. Louis smiled a bit.
"Okay" Louis said. "But I don't wanna hold the leash please. And I don't really want to be close to her"
"We'll make sure you're not scared" Anna assured him with a proud smile. Louis smiled more.
When they were leaving, Liam tugged on his mom's sleeve. She kneeled to be face to face with him.
"Maman, if Louis' scared, I don't want a dog anymore." he said. Anna hugged him tight.
"You're such a good boy Liam" she said. Liam smiled.
"But I'll get to see Molly, right?"
"Whenever you want" Anna said.
Thank you for reading!!! :)
Please remember that I take requests and ideas!
Emma
xx