"Can we watch Power Rangers," Louis asks around a yawn. He's holding Zayn's hand as the daddies take them downstairs.
"You may, but only if you promise not to be fussy when breakfast is ready," the man bargains.
"Promise," Louis agrees.
They let the brothers lay down together on the couch. Harry is still half asleep and he rests his head in Louis' lap like always. Whenever he and Louis lay like this, Harry looks and acts more like a kitten than a boy. He moves his head against his brother's hands to get more movement in his curls. Liam turns on Netflix and clicks resume playing on the current episode the boys are on.
The daddies leave the littles alone in the room and enter the kitchen. Sitting at the table by himself is Niall. He's shoveling cereal into his mouth and reading the back of the box.
"Hey, Baby. Where's Nick," Liam asks.
"Still asleep," he shrugs.
"Did you come down here by yourself to get your breakfast?"
"Yeah...."
"Ni, one of us would've happily helped you," Liam says.
"I...don't know if I want help," he says.
"What do you mean," Zayn asks.
"I just feel a little crowded right now. I appreciate your help, but I've spent the last few years like this and I just...don't know how much longer I can do it," he explains.
"So you want to be a big boy," Liam asks.
The blond cringes. "No, I want to be 20."
"Buddy, it's a pretty big transition to do that over night," the brunette says.
"I know. I just haven't exactly had the best experience," he whispers.
"But you should really do this little by little," warns the older husband.
"But I spent 18 years being normal. It shouldn't be too hard...."
"Niall, listen to us. We know how to help you."
The blond lets out a sigh and and sets his spoon down in the bowl. "I'm just so tired of always having to listen. Just once I'd like to make my own decisions. Choose my own future."
"Is there anything we can do for you," Zayn asks.
"I'm not sure," Niall says. He stands from the table and puts his bowl in the sink. "Is there any way I could borrow some clothes from Harry and Louis' closet?"
"Yeah, go ahead," Zayn says.
The boy leaves the two stunned men behind and walks out of the kitchen. He goes through the small hallway into the living room where Louis and Harry are.
"Niall," Louis says.
At the call of his friend's name, Harry sits up. "NiNi! Whatcha doing here? Where's Uncle J?"
Niall just looks at them and stays quiet. Louis immediately knows something is wrong, so he decides to let make the younger boy feel more comfortable. "Wanna watch Power Ranger with us?"
"Uh," Niall says, not really knowing what to do.
"Pwease," Harry begs. The boy sticks out his bottom lip and puppy pouts.
"I guess," he sighs.
Harry practically sits in Louis' lap to make room for his Irish friend on the sofa. There would have been plenty of extra room if he just sat normally in the middle, but this is Harry, and Harry likes to constantly be touching someone. And Louis doesn't mind.
The brothers turn their attention back to the television. The Power Rangers are teaming up to take down a giant robot by leading him down to the sea. Niall doesn't pay attention to the episode. His eyes dart back and forth between his lap and Harry and Louis, wishing the youngest would pay more attention to him than Louis.
Louis plays with Harry's curls and the youngest preens at the touch. Harry's probably not even aware that Louis is touching him at all, but his body reacts anyway, constantly trying to get more. His cheeks blush every time the blue eyed boy laughs and makes "pew pew" noises when the Power Rangers hit a target.
"Loulou?"
"Yeah," Louis responds.
"I think you're the red Power Ranger!"
"Why do you say that?"
"Yeah," Niall chimes in. "I don't think he's the red ranger."
"Red, 'cause Louis' the leader!"
Louis' cheeks burn pink. He turns to look at Niall. "He's certainly charming."
Niall grimaces and looks away. Of course Harry is charming! Anyone who uses their dimples and big eyes to get their way is charming!
Why couldn't he have lived with Zayn and Liam? Instead of Josh. Here. Where being adorable is encouraged.
His eyes fill with tears as he remembers the events of last night. He wishes he could just repress every bad memory he has and go on with life thinking things are okay. Last night wouldn't have bothered him so much if Josh hadn't promised to do better yesterday morning. It's not like it's the first time he's continued in bed even when Niall protested. Maybe he's just being too hard on Josh. 'Maybe I'm being a bad boy for leaving Daddy,' he thinks.
Zayn walks into the room and leans against the doorway. "Boys, breakfast is ready."
"Awww, but Papa," Louis whines.
"No buts, Lou. You promised. If you're a good boy I'll let you watch more when you're done, " Zayn says.
"Come on, Hazza," he wills the boy off of his lap and they go to Zayn.
"Ni, did you get enough to eat earlier? We have more than enough to go around," he offers.
"Uh, no. Thanks. I'm just gonna go upstairs," the blond says.
"Are you sure?" The boy nods and Zayn bites his lip. "Do you need any help on the stairs?"
Niall shakes his head. "I'm fine. Thanks."
"Okay," Zayn says with hesitation. What else can he do when he has two little boys who are antsy and hungry. Niall is used to going up and down stairs on his own, so he should be fine. But Zayn doesn't like how sad he is, but the man understands Niall needs a bit of independence.
Niall waits for the three to leave the room before he goes upstairs. His nappy is soaked and it's painful to walk up the stairs when his bottom is still bruised and sore. He stops a few times to prevent himself from screaming at the frustrating pain.
He walks into the nursery, a room he's only usually allowed to enter when Daddy needs to change him. He goes to the closet and turns the light on and is almost overwhelmed with the amount of clothing in such a small space. He walks over to the hanging shirts and searches for something that could keep him warm if he were to go outside. All he can find to meet that criteria are cotton long sleeve shirts. But where are the sweaters they always wear? He looks around and sees no sweaters and frowns. 'Maybe it's warm enough to just wear one of these,' the says to himself and grabs a maroon long sleeve.
The jeans are kept on a rack in the corner. One shelf is for Harry and the other for Louis. He knows for a fact that Harry's jeans would be way to big on him. He grabs a small pair from Louis' shelf which will hopefully not be too big around his thin legs. They are light colored and feel expensive.
He walks back into the nursery and looks over the possibilities who could have had if he was a good boy. If he hadn't been so annoying maybe he would've had a beautiful crib. If he wasn't so disobedient maybe he would've had a playroom and toys everywhere. If he hadn't hurt Josh so much maybe he would've had a high chair in the kitchen that he would sit in and be hand fed everything. Maybe the special milk would've been actual milk from a bottle that he was fed while his Daddy massaged his tummy and whispered words of praise into his ears.
But no. There is no chance he'll ever experience that, at least as far as he believes. Nobody would ever treat him as well as Louis and Harry, so he might as well just find his way back home and apologize to Josh before the man hates him more than he already does.
The boy reaches behind him and tries to grasp the tiny zipper of his onesie, but it's hard to locate.
"Come on," he grumbles.
The stupid little piece of metal is between his shoulder blades, not exactly an easy place to reach. He finally gets a hold of it but as soon as he tries zipping it down, it slips from his fingertips.
"No," he screams and stomps his feet.
Frustrated tears fill his eyes and he tries again to no avail.
"Niall," Nick says, standing in the doorway. "What are you doing up, Honey?"
"Need to get out of this," he says. He struggles more and more and Nick watches him with pity.
"Baby, why didn't you wake me up? I'll change you," he says and approaches the boy.
"I can do it myself!"
Nick raises his hands. "Woah, easy there. I didn't mean to offend you, Baby."
"Don't call me that," he cries. "I can do this myself!"
"How about I just unzip it and let you take it off yourself?"
"Fine," he cries in defeat.
Nick goes behind him and snags the zipper down until the onesie is split open till right above his bum.
Niall wastes no time in pulling the hot fleece off, grimacing as the cool air hits his sweat covered body.
He reaches for the jeans but Nick stops him with a hand on his wrist. "Nuh-uh, Bud. I'm not gonna let you put pants on over an almost soaked through nappy."
"Not a baby," Niall says.
"Never said you were. But you can't wear that nappy any more."
"Don't know how to change myself," Niall frowns.
"Which is why I'll do it for you," Nick says.
He places a hand on the small of the boy's back and ushers him to the changing table. He helps the boy on and Niall hesitantly lays back. It's uncomfortable to be in this situation with anybody but Daddy, even when the workers at the daycare do it.
Nick untapes the nappy and brings it down. "Can you bring your legs up for me?"
Niall lifts his legs so his knees nearly touch his chest. The man cleans him off thoroughly before replacing the nappy and powering him. When the task is finished, Niall quickly hops off the table and back over to the clothing.
The man tosses the dirty items away and cleans the table with a disinfectant wipe. He turns around to find the boy fully dressed. "You sure you want to wear that? Plenty of warm and cozy things in the closet."
Niall shakes his head. "Could you do me a favor?"
"Sure, Honey."
"Can you give me a ride home? Daddy is probably looking for me."
Nick's eyes open wide. Liam had texted him everything that had happened last night since he couldn't say in person. There's no way Nick was going to let that bastard ever touch a hair on that poor boy ever again.
"Niall, I think it's best you stay here for the time being. Or you could come stay at my house," he offers.
"Don't need to stay anywhere else. I got everything I need at home. Just gotta apologize to Daddy," Niall says, playing nervously with his fingers.
"Ni, I'm not letting you go back there."
"But-but the longer I wait, the more upset Daddy will be," he cries.
"He's a very bad man, Niall. Very bad. What he did to you wasn't good. You aren't going to go back into a house like that ever again," Nick says firmly.
"No! You can't do that! He still loves me!"
Nick is about to say something but the boy runs past him and out of the room. Nick rushes after him. By the time the man reaches the stairs Niall is already at the bottom, running despite the pain in his rear.
"Niall, stop running," he calls and goes down the stairs as quickly as possible.
He follows the boy to the front of the house, away from where he knew the daddies would be. Niall reaches the entryway and throws open the front door. The security system alarm goes off but he ignores it. If he stops now they'll catch him and then they'll punish him. And if he ever does see Daddy again he'll punish him for causing so much trouble to someone else.
With a final look back, Niall sees Nick's desperate eyes coming closer to him before he steps onto the cold porch barefooted. He jumps down the three stairs and onto the icy grass. The wind is chilly and he practically feels his tears freezing to his cheeks. Despite basically everything trying to stop him, he keeps running. He's made it halfway down the block. The sound of two men running and calling his name behind him make his heart hurt.
"Niall," Nick calls desperately.
The further he goes, the more his energy is draining. His lungs and muscles aren't conditioned to run long distance. They can barely keep up during Red Rover.
The footsteps get closer and he's not sure where he's going anymore. Streets are so much more different when you're in a panic instead of calmly sitting in a car. Daddy should be here with him. 'Shouldn't have called Uncle Li and Z.'
His pace slows to a jog as his energy levels are low. He looks around at the cookie cutter houses and he's not sure how far he's gone. Street signs don't help as he never paid enough attention to actually read them.
Suddenly, arms wrap around his waist and pull him back. If the vice hadn't been so tight, he would've fallen for sure. He's not sure what to do, feeling like a woodland creature getting trapped in a hunter's net.
The person holding him turns his body forcefully so that Niall's face is buried in his chest. Niall cries as he knows he's lost this battle. His knee aches. His toes feel like they're going to fall of. His lungs won't return to normal breathing.
He lifts his chin up to look at Nick's face. The man's face is a mix of sadness and fear, with a tiny dash of relief. He's crying as well.
"I'm sorry," the boy apologizes.
"Shhhhh, Love. You're okay. I understand that almost nothing is going right for you lately. But you can't just run away like that. I need you to trust me. Trust me to know what is best for you."
"I-I j-just wanted to see muh-my Daddy," he sobs, wetting Nick's shirt even more.
"I know you did," Nick coos, rubbing the shaky back. "But Niall, we really need you to understand that what he did wasn't a good thing. You calling Uncle Li last night was the best decision you could've made. I know you're probably feeling like a bad boy who betrayed him, but you're mind was thinking clearly at the moment and you got the help you needed."
'I don't know what to do," he says.
"It'll be hard, but you just need to move on," Nick breaks the news gently.
"Where will I go? Can't go home. Ma and Pa never want to see my again," Niall sobs.
"Hey, hey. Shhhhh. Like I told you, you can always live with me."
"Really?"
"Of course. I'll let you set your own rules and boundaries. You tell me everything you want and need and I'll make it happen. I promise I'll never hurt you. I'll protect you, Honey."
"I guess that sounds okay," Niall agrees.
Nick smiles softly and picks the boy up and sets him on his hip. They turn around and see Zayn standing about half a block away, watching and ready to start running again if need be. Nick shoots him a thumbs up and the man nods and begins walking back to his house as well.
Zayn walks at a much faster pace than them and soon he is out of sight. Niall had ended up running five blocks before he was stopped. Nick carries him the entire way back to the Malik household with no problems. Josh would've made him walk if it were that long of a distance.
They finally reach the house and ring the doorbell. Liam answers with a red eyed Harry on his hip. Both boys had started screaming and crying when the loud alarm disrupted their breakfast. With Zayn running after Nick and Niall, it was a challenge for Liam to calm both littles.
"Mind if we come in," Nick asks.
"Of course," Liam says, stepping aside to let the pair in.
Nick carries Niall through the few rooms into the living room. Zayn is cuddling a clingy Louis to his chest.
"Everything alright," Zayn asks.
"Yeah. We've came to the decision that Little Ni here is gonna be staying with me. Hope that's fine with you guys," Nick tells him.
"Of course. We just want what's best for him," Zayn says.
"Right, well I think I'm gonna take him to mine now. Do you know where my clothes from last night are?"
"In the dryer upstairs. Should be done. Li did laundry early this morning,."
"Great, thanks," he shoots the daddy a smile. "Ni, I need to go get dressed. Can you stay here with Uncle Z?"
The boy nods and is put down. Nick waits a second to make sure the boy doesn't need him before going upstairs to change.
"Come here, Ni," Zayn says.
The boy slowly walks over to them and sits on the couch.
"My Papa," Louis mutters and wraps his body even tighter around Zayn.
The man shoots Niall a sympathetic look. "Dove, be nice."
Liam finally brings in a calmed down Harry. "Niall, do you need anything, Sweetie?"
"Can I have something to drink?"
"Sure, Sweetie. What would you like."
"Something cold?"
Liam nods and sets Harry on the ground. "But, Daddy," Harry whines, wrapping his arms around the man's torso.
"Baby, stay here. I'll be right back," Liam says softly, kissing the boy.
Harry frowns when his Daddy leaves. He goes over to the couch and because it's mostly being taken up by Zayn and Louis he decides to squeeze in close to Niall.
The boy throws his body over Niall's legs and rests his head on the couch arm. "Hi," Harry smiles.
Niall presses his lips tight and give him a small wave. Harry reaches his hands up and presses the corners of Niall's thin lips up.
"Smile, NiNi!"
Niall's face drops the second Harry let's go.
Harry reaches his hands up again and pulls on the blond's cheeks. "Smile NiNi," he says in a goofy voice. That does work a little and the boy's lips do twitch into a small smile.
Liam returns holding two sippy cups of juice, which he hands to Harry and Niall, and a bottle of warm milk with a splash of vanilla for Louis.
"Baba," Louis squeals.
Zayn holds the bottle to the boy's lips and Louis latches on. His hands grip Zayn's shirt tightly and his toes curl in the warmth of his fuzzy pink socks. He feels dizzy...or maybe just light headed.
The man pulls the bottle away to.let Louis digest the milk. He groans and opens his mouth for more. "Dove, you need to slow down when you drink your milk."
"Baba," Louis whines.
Zayn puts the rubber nipple back in Louis' mouth and he suckles happily. The bottle is kept at a lower angle so the flow isn't too fast.
Nick comes down the stairs and everyone but Louis watches him. "Ni, are you ready to go?"
"Go where," Harry asks.
"Ducky, NiNi will be living with me from now on," Nick tells Harry.
"What 'bout Uncle J," he asks so innocently all three adults heart drop.
"Bugaboo, Uncle J had to go away for a while," Liam lies.
Niall looks up at the man in confusion. If Harry wasn't laying on him, chances are he would've tried running again.
"But he didn't take you with," the green eyed boy asks.
Even though Niall is a little like Harry, he's not as "young" as the boy. So even though Niall's heart is breaking and he feels like crying himself to sleep, he knows he needs to be braver for the sake of Harry. That boy never knows if somebody is lying to him.
Niall shakes his head. "I didn't want to go with. So instead I'm gonna stay with Nick and we'll get to play lots more!"
Harry smiles so big a small country could fit in his dimples. "Papa! Daddy! NiNi gets tuh play wiff us more!"
Liam plasters a grin on his face. "That's right, Baby! But right now they need to get going so you need to get off Niall."
"Sorry, NiNi," Harry says and lifts himself off of his friend. The curly haired boy gets off the couch and totters over to Liam. The man hugs Harry close to his body.
"Well, aren't you just a cuddly bug today?"
Niall stands up from the couch and moves to stand by Nick. "Bye," Niall says, sadly.
"Bye bye," Harry smiles. Normally he would hug his friend, but the boy is currently gripping his hands to Liam and using his body to rock his own body around.
"Bye, Bud," Zayn says. "You two stop by soon!"
Nick holds Niall's hand and takes them out through the back door. His car is parked by the garage. Zayn and Liam share a nervous look, having a silent conversation about Niall.
"Ehmmmm," Louis groans around the rubber in his mouth.
Zayn pulls the nearly finished bottle away. "What's wrong, Dove?"
"Papa! Tum tum huwts," the boy slurs. He holds his stomach and curls in on himself.
Zayn makes Louis sit up so their chests touch. With one hand, he pushes Louis' head down onto his shoulder. The other hand rubs his back. Louis sucks in a deep breath and cries out at the shooting pain in his tummy. Zayn starts patting his back.
"Papa," he whines.
"Shhhhh, I know, Love."
One particularly hard pat to his back forces out a large burp. Immediately, Louis is feeling better and giggles at the noise he made.
Zayn lays him back down over his legs. He rubs circles over the boy's abdomen. "Louis, I told you, you can't guzzle your milk. It makes your tummy hurt."
The boy just smiles up at Zayn like he heard nothing he said. He reaches up and grabs one of Zayn's earlobes and tries tugging it.
"No, no, Dove," the man says takes that hand holds it with his own.
"Paaapaaa," Louis sings.
To Zayn's surprise, Louis takes Zayn's hand and brings it up to his mouth and shoves the daddy's thumb between his lips. It's endearing and adorable, but definitely not the best thing to be doing.
"Daddy, look! Louwee is sucking Papa's thumb," Harry points out.
Zayn looks up at Liam with so much fondness in his eyes he could be the mascot for Valentine's Day. While it's not very sanitary for Louis' mouth to be sucking on Zayn's fingers, it's still very much what an actual baby does and he's so proud of Louis for regressing more. For trusting him. "Babe, could you get me a dummy?"
"Sure thing," Liam says. He tries walking away but Harry anchors him in place. The boy looks up at him with pleading eyes that scream 'Don't leave me' and the man is never able to resist that look. He's a sucker for Harry's looks and gives in to him more than he's proud to admit. Liam picks the boy up. "Do you want a paci, too?"
Harry nods and brings his hands up to run them through his Daddy's hair. Louis falling into smaller headspace rubbed off on the youngest. Seeing Louis calm and happy allows Harry's mind to rest as well. His head feels fuzzy and Daddy just smells so good and his hair is so soft.
Liam takes Harry into the kitchen and slides open a drawer and reveals a plastic container filled with pacifiers. One of the many places in the house they store them. "Which one do you want, Baby?"
"'punzel!"
The man uses his free hand to dig around the drawer. There's a mix of plain, Disney, and kitten dummies. "I'm not seeing it, Sweetie."
Harry's bottom lip quivers. He hates not getting his way. "'punzel, Daddy!"
"H, it's not in here. It's probably all the way upstairs," Liam says calmly.
But the boy is having none of that. He lets out a wail. "Daddy!"
"How about you use this one," he says holding up a red pacifier with Minnie Mouse on the front. "You love Minnie."
Harry rapidly shakes his head and buries his face deep in Liam's collarbone. Liam feels tears collecting and making the shirt's material cling to his skin. Harry mutters about his favorite princess and how he only wants her. "Wan' 'punzel! Pwetty 'punzel!"
"Harry, if you don't stop throwing this tantrum you will go in the corner," Liam warns.
Liam searches the drawer one last time. He finds many Disney Princesses, but none of them are Rapunzel. Harry is still crying and his nose is leaking and he rubs his dripping nose on Liam's shirt as well. The daddies are used to it. Harry isn't a dirty little boy. He bathes at least every other day and he washes his hands a lot, but he still gets sick easily and it seems like he has a cold more often than he doesn't.
"Okay, Bugaboo. You can either have Jasmine, Belle, or Aurora. Those are the only princesses I can find."
He sets the boy on the counter so he is sitting and facing Liam. Liam holds the pacifiers in his hand and shows them to Harry. The boy whimpers because now the only thing on his mind is the long haired princess. He eyes the pacifiers. The boy reaches his hand out and Liam feels a glimmer of hope. That feeling goes away when Harry scoops up all three dummies and throws them across the kitchen, hitting the wall and landing on the floor.
"Wan-ded 'punzel," he says loudly, just below a scream.
"Harry," Liam says sternly. "You know that's not what good little boys do. You're going in the corner, Mister."
"No," Harry says, trying to push Liam away when he grabs his waist.
"Yes," Liam says. "You know the rules. No throwing things. You're throwing a fit and that's not acceptable."
Giving up on trying to pick the fidgeting boy up, he slowly slides Harry down until he's standing on his feet. Liam grabs his hand and pulls Harry towards the living room. Harry unwillingly goes, trying hard to get away but the bottoms of his feet slide on the kitchen tile. The boy pulls his very hardest, wanting his hand free, but Daddy is much stronger than he is.
"Bugaboo, stop fighting this," Liam says softly.
There's something about the way Liam said that. Maybe it was the use of his nickname. Or the tone of his voice. Perhaps Harry was just tiring out. Whatever it was, Harry instantly stopped struggling and lowered his head and tucked his chin into his neck. "Sowwy, Daddy."
"You're forgiven. But you still need to face your punishment," Liam says.
They walk past Zayn and Louis. Harry's Papa gives Liam a confused look and Liam sends back a face saying he'll explain later. Louis doesn't even notice them walking by. The blue eyed boy is too consumed playing with Zayn's fingers in one hand while using Zayn's other hand as a chew toy. He doesn't bite hard, just tiny nibbles. The man would stop him, but not until he has a dummy to replace his fingers with, which his husband didn't bring.
"Okay, Baby. Twenty minutes. No moving or talking. Can you do that for me?"
Harry sits down criss cross and looks up at Liam with hurt in his big, innocent eyes. He hates being punished. It always makes him feel like he was naughty. "Yes, Daddy," he whispers.
Liam leaves him alone in the corner. Harry looks up at the ceiling and forward to the blank wall and suddenly feels tiny. Everything is tall and huge and he's just a little boy. And now Papa and Daddy aren't next to him to protect him.
Liam gestures for Zayn to get up and follow him into the kitchen. With much hesitation, he removes his hand from Louis' mouth and shifts the boy so he is sitting up on the sofa. Zayn stands and Louis frowns, his arms out for the man to lift him.
"Papa! Up! Up!"
Zayn shakes his head. "I'll be right back, Dove. Here, I'll turn on some cartoons for you," Zayn says, pressing a kiss to Louis' fringe covered forehead.
The man turns the tv back on. Power Rangers is still paused on Netflix, but considering the headspace Louis is currently in, he decides there is too much violence in that show to be appropriate. He exits out of Power Rangers and scrolls through the children's category until he stumbles upon Dragon Tales.
Louis' eyes are instantly drawn to the colorful characters. Too busy clapping and giggling at the little boy and girl riding the dragons, he doesn't even notice Zayn slowly leaving the room to join his spouse.
The boy watches the cartoon for a few minutes before he hears sobbing. Even though his little headspace is deep, he can tell it's Harry who is in distress. He looks over to see the boy sobbing in the corner of the adjoined room.
He tries standing, but his legs don't seem to be working correctly. Instead, the boy rolls off the couch and lands with an "oof". He crawls over to his curly haired brother.
"Hazzy," Louis says, wrapping his arms around Harry's shrugged shoulders. "Hazzy, no sad."
Harry turns so his whole torso can be covered by the older boy. "Loulou," Harry cries into his chest.
"Why cwying," Louis asks.
"Bad boy. I a bad boy," Harry says.
Louis kisses Harry's temple and holds him tight. "No! Hazzy a good boy! Pwetty, good boy!"
Harry realizes with Louis next to him, he isn't so small. Someone else is his size and it's just the ceilings that are tall. He doesn't feel as irrelevant and alone.
The older boy rocks Harry is his arms. It's comforting to Harry to be rocked, even if it isn't in his Daddy's strong arms or against Papa's chest, taking in his warm scent. "Pwetty, Hazzy. The pwettiest pwincess," Louis sings repeatedly.
"Louwee?"
"Hmmmmm," the other boy hums.
"Am I weally pwetty," he asks nervously.
Louis nods. "Uh-huh! The mostest beau-ti-ful boy in duh world!"
Harry blushes and kisses Louis on the cheek, only an inch away from his lips. He cuddles into Louis' embrace and he feels so calm. Calmer than he's ever been. It's like Louis' arms were made for holding him. Louis is his home.
Both of the boys are blissfully unaware of their daddies watching them from behind. Zayn holds Liam in his arms and both of them could cry at the amazing sight in front of them.
"Loulou? Do you love me?"
"Yes," Louis responds like it's the easiest question to be asked.
"Good! 'cause I love you, too," Harry smiles up at him.