Louis and Harry walked around Tesco doing some light grocery shopping with Isabella seated inside of the shopping cart. Staring eyes burned flirtatiously in Louis' direction, unabashedly checking him out despite Harry walking alongside him. Men and women alike cast longing looks at Louis, some even going as far as licking their lips like they wanted to devour him. Louis suppressed his wicked grin by scrunching his lips to the side, obviously enjoying every minute of it.
Harry openly gaped at Louis. "Oh my god."
"What?" Louis asked obliviously.
"This is why you were always so happy to run to the grocery shop. Because this is where you pick up women. You use Isabella to get laid."
"She had to pay back somehow. Isn't that right?"
Isabella merely smiled up at Louis with spit drooling on her chin. Louis wiped Isabella's chin clean and cooed at her, stopping at the hot buffet of food to grab some lunch. Harry shook his head and grabbed a plate, stacking noodles and steamed vegetables onto the porcelain dish.
"I want to see it."
"See what?"
"I want to see you work your Tommo magic."
Louis raised both of his eyebrows, glancing around the crowded grocery shop and noticing some women were still looking his way.
"What? You want me to pick you up? Here?"
"Yes, I want you to loop back around and pretend I'm one of those tweedy little gym girls."
Harry fluttered his fingers in the air as if to further emphasize his point.
"Okay, that's just ridiculous. I'm not gonna pretend to pick you up," Louis chided in a ridiculing tone.
"Ugh. You're such a killjoy."
Harry grabbed another plate and stacked it with macaroni and cheese, Louis' and Isabella's favorite. Sometimes it seemed like he was taking care of two babies and not just one.
While women lingered their eyes on Louis' thighs and arse, Louis was distracted by Harry who was dressed in an orange floral flowing shirt and tight black jeans with his usual pair of scratched Chelsea boots. Louis' throat bobbed as his eyes roamed the length of Harry's body, drinking him in.
Louis noticed a rack of spices standing next to the buffet, inspecting it closer before grabbing a random packet. He licked his lips and gnawed on the thin cushion of his lower lip. He approached Harry, raising the packet of black acai berries beside his face.
"Hey, you know, I read about these. It's supposed to be really good for kids, but I can't—How do you pronounce it? Is it akai?"
"Ah-sah-ee," Harry enunciated.
"Ah-sah-ee?" Louis repeated.
"Mm-hmm."
"Oh. You must really have an ear for languages, huh?"
"Mmh. Not really. I mean, I took Spanish all throughout secondary school. Did pretty well. Got good grades," Harry babbled then promptly stopped mid-sentence, catching onto Louis' game. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, his mouth slightly parting open in awe. His eyes twinkled in mirth. "Oh, you're good. You're very good. I see how this works for you."
Louis felt another smug smile slip onto his cheeks but for an entirely different reason this time. He flushed in pride from Harry's praise and trophy smile. It was one of his favorite things to do besides make Harry laugh so hard he chortled.
"Harry?" a kind voice called out.
Louis turned around to see a red-haired man walking towards them. The man was clean cut shaved and dressed professionally. Louis scratched his growing scruff, feeling self-conscious in his comfortable Adidas gear. Compared to Mr. Ginger, Louis was dirty and scruffy in appearance.
Harry flushed happily from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, stuttering out an informal introduction.
"Oh, it's Ed, Bella's doctor. Ed—Dr. Ed...Dr. Sheeran."
"Ed? You call him Ed?" Louis teased with lifted eyebrows.
Harry never got nervous around other men. He was confident and shameless, and if anything, other men would stumble on their own feet trying to get to him. At this point, Louis knew Harry was beautiful. Harry was kind and sweet and he usually never lost his smooth demeanor over someone like Ed who dulled in comparison.
Something bright and red akin to jealousy curled inside his lower stomach, Louis feeling hot all over. Louis bit the inside of his lower lip, mentally cursing himself to get under control.
"Ed."
Ed introduced himself, reaching out a hand. Louis looked at Ed's outstretched hand for a moment.
"Hey, I'm Tommo. S'nice to meet you."
Louis offered his own hand for Ed to shake. He was nothing but a polite gentleman, thank you very much.
"Is this your, uh—?"
Ed pointed between them, his eyes flicking from Harry's to Louis' then back to Harry's again.
"No! No, no, no, no. We're not...um. We just—Um..." Harry struggled to explain.
"Sounds complicated," Ed laughed.
"We raise Bella together," Louis explained, coming to Harry's rescue. He patted Harry's cheek fondly. "You know, Harry has always mentioned how much he really likes Bella's doctor. A few times actually. I just thought you were really good with kids, but now I know—"
"Tommo? Can you just walk away?" Harry interrupted, his lips pressed in a tight smile.
Louis shoved his hands deep into his pockets, shrugging mindlessly.
"I'm alright here."
"Can you give me a minute? Can you just give me a minute?"
Louis raised his hands defensively, walking backwards and pulling away the shopping cart with Isabella still inside. He looked over his shoulder and blinked wide baby blue eyes at Harry.
"Thank you." Harry shot Louis a tiny smile and turned to Ed, his smile morphing into a shy one. "Sometimes Bella's more of a grown-up."
"So how does this work between you two? You split up most of the work?"
"Yes, we have a chart. A very big chart," Harry said with an easy grin.
"Chart? That chart give you any time off?" Ed asked, his eyes warm and his smile kind.
Harry had forgotten how gorgeous Ed was.
"Yes. Monday, Wednesday and every other Friday."
"Friday? Do you have Bella this Friday?"
"No." Harry relished in the answer happily like Christmas had come early.
"Eight o'clock Friday? I think my office has your information."
"They sure do."
"I'll call you out."
"Thank you."
Louis had one foot tapping restlessly on the shopping cart, looking over his shoulder to glance at Harry's and Ed's exchange. Harry was giggling and smiling brightly, lurching his body forward in earnest. They were close enough that they could intertwine their fingers together if they wanted to.
Louis fixed the Adidas cap on top of his head and grunted bitterly to himself. What does this Ed bloke have that he doesn't? Sure, Ed looked nicer, dressed nicer and probably spoke nicer. But Louis was one of a kind. He made people laugh so hard they would snort milk from their noses and he was so attractive to get laid on a daily basis. Who wouldn't want that?
Harry waved at Ed good bye and walked over to Louis, a skip in his step. He seemed overly happy and enthused. Anyone with half a brain could tell Harry's body language was different from before.
"You were so right. This is such a great place to meet people," Harry revealed like he was telling a special secret.
Louis scoffed under his breath and followed Harry, his shoulders slumping. While Harry bounced with every light step, Louis felt the weight of the world drag him down. Louis didn't know how or when it happened, but he was jealous. Infinitely. Louis felt it in the tight grip of his fists and in the way he curled his toes inside his shoes. He didn't know when he started being jealous over somebody else having Harry's attention solely on them. It was then that he realized it was an utmost privilege to have Harry's full blown attention, especially when Harry would sport shining eyes and pink lips parted in awe, waiting to hear whatever words were going to fall out of Louis' mouth next.
Louis trudged along and ignored the crushing feeling in his chest.
*
At eight o'clock sharp, Harry walked down the staircase with Louis following closely behind, Louis teasing him all the way to the bottom of the stairs. Louis absolutely loved how flustered Harry got, how his cheeks would tinge pink and his hands would get all clammy. Harry became a blubbering, stuttering, awkward, hot mess and it wouldn't be until Louis let up the flirting that Harry stopped being so nervous.
"So what time does Dr. Love get here?"
"Any minute now. And stop calling him that," Harry said with a frown.
"I can't believe he asked you out. Doesn't that defy some doctor-patient thing?"
"Well, he's a pediatrician so if he's dating a patient, yeah, that would be a problem."
"So if you guys have sex is he gonna tell you what percentile you have?"
Harry laughed, all bright and unabashed, and it made Louis flush all the way down to the tips of his toes. Louis felt victorious at making Harry laugh like that, Harry's smile rueful and his face flushing in pleasure. He didn't recall he would be the one getting flustered around Harry, but as it was, everything was always new with Harry.
The doorbell chimed announcing Ed's arrival. Harry rushed over to open the front door in an excited hurry.
"Hi," Harry greeted warmly, allowing Ed to walk inside.
"Hey. Wow. You look..." Ed trailed off, openly checking Harry out up and down.
Louis rolled his eyes in annoyance. Ed was getting everything Louis would never have. He was getting a date with Harry which meant he was spending time with him without having to come up with a lame excuse to do so. Harry had dressed up all nice for Ed and Louis couldn't remember the last time Harry dressed nice for him. All Louis saw him wear around the house was old flannels and ripped jeans.
The jeans Harry often wears around him aren't even tight, for Christ's sake.
"Better not say anything and best keep a couple cards off the table. Hey, Tommo."
"Hey." Louis shook hands with Ed, tightening his grip in Ed's a little. "How are you doing, Doc?"
"Thanks for giving him the night off," Ed said with a slight grimace, flexing his hand behind his back surreptitiously.
Louis smirked, his voice complacent to say, "You know, he tried on everything in his closet. Yeah, pretty much impossible to blow this one off."
"Okay," Harry drawled, his voice closer to a snort and an eye roll. "We're going now."
Harry took Ed's arm and opened the door, walking outside into the cool breeze before Louis called out, "You know, he hasn't had any for a while!"
"Oh, God, stop it!" Harry whispered in a harsh rasp, glaring at Louis over his shoulder.
"Call me if you need me!"
After they crossed the next town over, Harry and Ed walked alongside each other through a dark alleyway, trash cans collected on either side of them. Goosebumps prickled over Harry's skin, the cool wind shifting the leaves on the ground in a songless night. Harry took a deep breath and tried to recollect his sanity before he lost it. He didn't like unpredictable circumstances.
"You know, if you wanted to kill me, there were dumpsters on my side of town a lot closer," Harry joked (except not really).
"You don't like to be surprised, do you?" Ed chuckled.
"Well, I'm a bit of a control freak."
"Here we are."
Ed motioned to the back of a dark and tall building. It was larger than most of the other buildings, but it still looked eerily haunting. Harry inspected the backside of the property as best as he could with his eyes adjusting to the dark before he decided it looked the same as the other buildings.
"Okay," Harry drawled nervously. "Backstage at a concert?"
"I am not that cool," Ed laughed again.
It seemed like Ed was always doing that around Harry. In all honesty, Harry liked a bit of a challenge and a chase. Harry especially liked earning somebody's attention when it was first hard to capture. He thought of blue eyes and a sharp mouth. He thought of delicate wrists and smooth skin. He thought of scruff that would give him burns on his sensitive thighs and hurtful words that he would never forget. He lingered on the thought of rewarding touches the most.
Instead, Harry found himself staring into pale blue eyes than the chartreuse eyes he had grown accustomed to. He didn't see flower-shaped lips or tempting golden skin or ruffled bed head hair.
Harry licked his wind-chapped lips, filling the gaps of their silent conversation with words that held no meaning.
"No? Not Kings Of Leon? Fleetwood Mac?"
They walked inside passing by chefs dressed in white coats and top hats. The smell of sizzling meats and cooked vegetables made Harry's stomach growl in hunger. They rounded the corner and found a small table dressed in a white embroidered tablecloth with fancy cutlery adorned on top. Red roses in a vase filled with water were placed in the middle of the table as a centerpiece. Realization hit Harry, his jaw going slack and his eyes growing like two large saucers.
"This is..."
Ed rubbed his hands together, smiling proudly. "Restaurant Ramsay. The owner and executive chef has three daughters and one son."
"You treat Chef Gordon Ramsay's kids?" Harry asked incredulously.
"I do," Ed remarked.
"Dr. Sheeran," a pleasant voice reached out towards them.
They turned around to see Gordon Ramsay himself, dressed elegantly in a black crewneck shirt underneath a gray watercraft suit by Zara and topped off with a white pocket square. Gordon looked absolutely lovely. Harry's throb of his pulse bobbed with the motion of his hard swallowing. He smiled shakily and palmed his sweaty hands on his trousers.
"Gordon."
"Hey." Gordon shook Ed's hand first, then Harry's with a strong and firm grip. "Gordon Ramsey."
"Such a pleasure," Harry whispered weakly.
"No, no. The pleasure's all mine. Special setup right here. C'mon."
Gordon gestured for them to follow him and guided Harry by a hand on his lower back. Harry almost fainted with the slight pressure from Gordon's warm touch.
"So how are the beautiful girls?"
"They're very healthy. They have a good doctor," Gordon replied in a charming voice, winking afterwards.
Ed and Harry chimed in pleasant laughter.
Back home, Louis was sitting on the sofa in the living room. He clasped his hands together, smiling at the person in front of him in the way that made his eyes crinkle at the edges.
"You know, I don't do a lot of dinner dates, really. What about you?"
Isabella pouted adorably, her top teeth snagging on the cushion of her bottom lip. She hummed, her chin sticky-sweet from watermelon.
"How about we just relax and get to know each other? What do you say?" Louis smashed the watermelon into smaller chunks inside the plastic bowl. "You live around here? Upstairs? Well, I just live right around the corner in the telly room. I knew I'd seen you somewhere around here. Excellent choice in the crushed watermelon by the way."
Louis fed her a spoonful of watermelon, Isabella humming her content and succeeding in getting more watermelon juice smeared on her cheek.
"I'm sorry if I'm a little nervous. It's just that I don't meet babies like you. To be honest, I like older men and women."
Isabella looked up at Louis, her big brown eyes questioning. She raised her eyebrow at him as if to disagree, Louis squinting at the oddly familiar gesture.
"Well, not that much older," Louis pacified.
Louis reached out and placed a hand over Isabella's forehead, testing her temperature. Isabella fussed in her spot in the high chair and started sniffling, beads of sweat forming on her temples.
"Oh, you are getting warmer, kiddo," Louis mused worriedly.
Back at the restaurant, the lights were dim to cast a cozy glow, the heat from the ovens making Harry's cheeks warm. Harry pulled the tie away from his neck, feeling hot all over. Prongs from forks scraped the dishes, glasses clinking against each other.
"I can't believe you've never come here to eat," Harry said accusingly.
"I never used to eat out much. My ex-wife would cook so we would stay home a lot."
Harry stopped cutting his appetizing scallops. The smile on his face dimmed. He set his fork and knife down, pursuing his lips and raising one inquisitive brow.
"You were married?" Harry asked dully.
"You like how I snuck that in there?" Ed smirked, continuing to slice his scallop.
Harry nodded, his lips pressing shut. He tried for a smile, but it came out all wrong, didn't reach his eyes. Thankfully, his phone rang in his trousers pocket, Harry offering an apology to Ed and fishing his buzzing phone out. He looked at the caller ID, noticing it was Louis who was calling and quickly picked up the call.
"Tommo, I get one night off," Harry sighed exasperatedly.
"I'm not calling for you, I'm calling for Dr. Love."
The joke fell flat, Louis' voice straining to be heard over Isabella's wails carrying through the line. Harry could tell Louis was stressed by the sound of his tightly drawn voice.
"Okay, alright. Hold on. I'm sorry," Harry apologized to Ed again, handing the phone across the table. "Tommo wants to talk to you. It must be a Bella question."
"Hey." A dramatic pause. Harry leaned over the table with wide eyes and attentive ears. "It could be a couple things. Take her down to the ER in St. Augustus. It's a Friday, so Dr. Moe is on call. I'll give him a call so you won't have to wait. We'll see you there in about an hour."
Ed ended the call with a click. He handed back the phone, explaining matter-of-factly, "Bella's temperature spiked. They're gonna need at least an hour to evaluate her so—"
"We gotta go," Harry interrupted, standing up abruptly and leaving the warm space without another word.
"Or we could go," Ed exhaled disappointedly.
When Harry and Ed arrived at the hospital, they found Louis with Isabella inside one of the emergency rooms. Louis was biting on a hangnail, his fingernails dull from nervous biting. Harry reached for Louis immediately and pulled him into a tight hug even with Ed watching them awkwardly from behind. Ed excused himself and left them embracing each other. By the time he returned, Louis and Harry were sitting in the waiting chairs by Isabella's bed. Isabella was crying profusely, her eyes puffy and her cheeks red. Harry stood up as Ed approached them, Ed holding a manila folder containing Isabella's tests.
"Bella has a urinary tract infection. So we're gonna put her on an antibiotic drip that just gets the medication in her system but faster. I'll stop by first thing in the morning and check up on her," Ed explained gently.
"Thank you so much."
Louis nodded, some of the tension leaving his body in a limp state. He sat down and watched as Ed pulled Harry into a private area where they were too far away to eavesdrop on.
"I was kinda looking forward to dropping you home," Ed admitted shyly, rubbing the back of his neck in a sort of bashful way. "I haven't rehearsed this whole thing in my mind."
Harry cupped Ed's face and leaned in, kissing him softly. Ed sighed into Harry's mouth, his shoulders relaxing from how Harry was touching him like fine china. Harry nipped on Ed's bottom lip, swiping his tongue inside for a quick taste. The kiss was soft and quick before Ed could deepen it, Harry pulling away and licking his own lips. It made Ed want to chase after him, the taste of Harry's mouth sitting so sweetly on his tongue.
Louis watched them from afar, his bottom teeth bared and curling over his top lip. He looked away quickly, the sight of Harry kissing another man burning his vision. He couldn't spend another second looking at them because he knew he was about to break down. His heart was racing. The wind was knocked out of him. He didn't know what to think. He didn't know how to sit. He didn't know if he should keep his hands inside or outside of his pockets. All he knew was that he felt betrayed although he had no reason to be.
"That was even better than I rehearsed it," Ed murmured, smiling pleasantly. Harry wanted to kiss him again. "I'll call you later."
"Okay. Thank you, um, again."
Harry waved good bye, walking away sheepishly with a blush high on his cheeks.
Louis didn't talk much on the ride home. He ignored Harry's concerned glances and claimed he was just tired. Harry had made his choice.
That night, Louis slept on the sofa downstairs for the first time in months. He disregarded the disappointment drawing across Harry's face and reminded himself that Harry was going to have a new body keep him warm in bed. Louis experienced the worst sleepless night, falling into an uncomfortable sleep by the crack of dawn.
*
"Her temp's coming down!" Louis exclaimed after checking Isabella's temperature with a thermometer.
"Clothes. Daycare. Monthly food bill. And now a twelve-hundred-dollar bill from the emergency room. At this rate, one of us is going to have to sell a kidney," Harry painfully groaned.
Harry rifled through the letters one last time and discarded them on the table. He stood up and walked over to the kitchen island, picking at a Chrysanthemum's leaf with his forefinger and thumb.
"Having a kid is expensive, we talked about that," Louis replied calmly, standing next to Harry.
"Having kids and an expansion shop is a bit much."
"Where'd you get the flowers?" Louis propped his hands on his hips, his eyebrows pinching together.
"Ed sent them today. I haven't even called him back yet. I mean, how can I? I'm a disaster. I can't be this person on the second date. This is what you save for marriage, like, ten years in."
Harry carried the vase of white Chrysanthemums into the living room and set them down on top of the mahogany coffee table.
"Look, don't stress about the money. We'll be fine."
"I'll just call James and we'll patch up the wall." Harry fell backwards on the sofa, grunting when his joints popped. "Maybe in a few years we can revisit it or something."
"Wait, you're gonna pull the plug on the remodel?"
Louis sat down across from Harry, his forearms hanging off his knees. He looked rugged and handsome with a concerned look etched on his face. Harry wanted to reach over and smooth out the crinkles by Louis' eyes with his thumbs.
Harry refrained from doing so and instead clarified, "I can't increase the construction loan. I'll just have a shop and not a restaurant. It's fine. It will be okay."
"You know, I can give you the money. I have savings."
"No, no, I can't let you do that," Harry rushed out. "I'm not taking your savings."
"Well, I want to, okay? We're raising a kid together. We're living in this house together. This is just part of it." Louis leaned forward, his face composed into the most serious expression Harry had ever seen him wear. "Having somebody help you doesn't mean you failed. It just means you're not in it alone."
"Okay, but it can't be a gift," Harry reasoned. He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, matching Louis' composure. "I won't take it unless it's an investment."
"Fine. I'm an investor in Fraish."
Harry giggled in the way only a man could giggle and pulled on his lower lip using his thumb and index finger. Louis tracked Harry's motions, his smile widening and dragging his tongue across his lips to wet them. Harry lost himself staring into Louis' eyes, searching for an answer he didn't know the question to. Harry slowly shook himself out of it, his cheek dimpling where his smile remained. He seemed to be doing a lot of that as of late.
"You're an investor in Fraiche," Harry corrected politely.
"Fraiche. Sorry."
Louis rolled his eyes, still smiling to prove he was merely joking.
"And as an investor, that entitles you to two percent of the profits."
"Three percent."
"Two percent and hey! A discount on food and wine." Harry raised his eyebrows, his eyes lighting up with excitement.
"What's the discount?"
"Ten percent."
"Fifteen percent," Louis challenged Harry.
Harry loved a good challenge. "Ten percent." His voice lowered down to a whisper as if he was divulging a precious secret. "It's a great discount."
"Alright, can you throw in dinner?" Louis surrendered, scrunching his lips to the side in a tight-lipped smirk.
"Oh, deal. Awesome!"
Harry stood up and took him into his arms when Louis stood up at the same time, hugging him so tightly there was no room left to breathe. Louis curled into Harry instantly as if he knew every body part by memory; where Harry's soft spots were and where he liked to be tickled best. He nuzzled his face into Harry's neck in a caress, pressing his smiling lips on Harry's burning skin. Harry smelled good. He always smelled good even when he was sweaty and dirty after a good work-out.
Harry had one arm wounded tight around Louis' shoulder and the other wrapped around his waist, anchoring him. Louis hid his smile on Harry's shoulder, digging his thumbs onto Harry's back. His breathing stilled, suddenly aware of their bodies pressing closely together and the searing burn of Harry's touch where his fingers grasped skin. He could feel Harry's heart beating against his.
Harry was oblivious to it all, only gushing out, "Oh my God. Thank you so much! It's huge! Okay, dinner tonight. On me. You and me."
Harry let go of Louis and gave him another huge smile, walking away and missing the quirk of Louis' lips and the fond expression playing out in his eyes. Louis shivered and wrapped his arms around himself, the press of Harry's warm body still so present.
Louis lived to make Harry smile, to make him happy. No more were the days where he would pull childish pranks on Harry or tease him mercilessly in front of the others as an attempt to embarrass him. Now all Louis wanted to do was brag about Harry so everybody could be proud of him like he was too.
Louis looked after Harry. And Harry had begun to feel like home.