The next morning when Zayn woke up not in Harry's arms, he knew something was off.
That, and the mattress beneath him wasn't as soft.
Still, he threw his arms back over his head and stretched, sucking on his black dummy a few times and blinking his eyes open.
However, he paused when he felt extra cushion around his bum.
Had Harry already put him in a nappy?
He sat up, frowning when he realized he was seeing everything through blue bars.
Harry had put him in the crib while he was sleeping.
Last night Zayn agreed to letting Harry put him in a onesie after they got cleaned up, but he didn't remember being put in the crib, or into a nappy.
Zayn tried to get up, having to struggle to get out of the blankets Harry had wrapped him in.
He was also surrounded by stuffed animals that were in the way and made it hard for him to get up.
He tried once, pathetically tumbling back down onto his bum.
Now he was irritated.
He started throwing the stuffed animals out of the crib, not stopping until they were all out.
Zayn then grabbed onto the bars and stood up, jerking the dummy out of his mouth and throwing it on the floor too.
"Harry!" He called, glaring towards the door, his messy hair sticking up all over the place.
This wasn't acceptable.
He hadn't agreed to this.
Well, at least he hadn't agreed to having it done while he was asleep.
That was just weird.
"Hey!" He snapped.
Zayn huffed, trying to climb over the side of the crib.
"How the hell..." He muttered angrily, frustrated because he couldn't just climb over and jump down.
It was too high.
"Come let me out of here!" He demanded, rattling the side of the crib with his hands wrapped around two of the bars.
Before Zayn knew it there were tears running down his cheeks.
He'd never cried so easily before.
Why wouldn't Harry come get him?
"Harry!" He yelled, still rattling the crib.
Then he realized Harry probably wasn't responding because Zayn wasn't addressing him correctly.
Damn it.
Zayn gave up and plopped back down on his bum, some of his hair falling into his eyes.
"D-Daddy!" He cried out, feeling like his world was falling apart.
Moments later, Harry came rushing into the room.
"What's wrong baby? Daddy's here, it's okay." He said, stepping over the stuffed animals.
He picked the dummy up, cleaning it off.
Zayn stood up again. "I want out." He cried.
"Okay, okay, come here." Harry said, putting the dummy back in Zayn's mouth before he took him out of the crib.
Harry wanted to hold him, but Zayn squirmed until Harry put him down.
However, Zayn did lean into Harry's embrace, letting Harry hug him.
"Are you ready for breakfast?" Harry asked after Zayn calmed down.
Zayn couldn't speak.
He just hugged Harry, sucking on the dummy and frowning.
He couldn't figure out why he'd cried so easily, and began to panic when Harry wouldn't come to him and comfort him.
"Hm?" Harry hummed, rubbing Zayn's back.
Zayn took the dummy out of his mouth, stepping back and looking up at Harry.
"I don't like the crib. I want to sleep with you."
"I know, baby. You can some nights, but I want you to get used to the your crib. I put plenty of stuffed animals in there for you so you wouldn't feel lonely." Harry said.
"I hate them." Zayn said in a grumpy way.
"Why'd you put me in a nappy already?" He made himself ask, blushing from embarrassment.
"In case you had an accident, baby." Harry said, kissing Zayn's forehead.
"Time for breakfast, yeah?"
Zayn sighed. "Can I get dressed and take the nappy off?"
"Why get dressed? It's Saturday and it's been raining since dawn. I'm not getting dressed. It's a lazy day. An inside day." Harry said.
"But-"
"Now c'mon." He said, scooping Zayn off of his feet.
"I'm sorry you woke up unhappy but I want you to cheer up okay? Today's going to be fun." Harry said.
Zayn didn't reply, not too sure about that.
Harry noticed this, and put him down when they got to the kitchen.
"Let me see that smile." He said, tickling Zayn's sides.
"Quit." Zayn chuckled, fighting back a smile and pushing Harry's hands away.
"C'mon." Harry pressed, tickling him some more.
"Don't!" Zayn said, beginning to laugh.
Harry didn't let him get away, tickling him so much his face turned pink from laughing so much.
"There we go." Harry smiled, pulling him close and leaving little kisses all over his face.
Zayn smiled, chuckling some and trying to push him away.
"Can daddy have a kiss?" Harry smiled.
Zayn blushed, gladly kissing Harry's lips.
Harry kept it short, kissing Zayn's nose afterwards.
He then let him go, and Zayn turned and saw it.
A highchair.
He was about to open his mouth to whine in protest, but he remembered he lost the bet fair and square.
But Zayn promised himself then that one day he'd make another bet with Harry, and that time he'd win.
"Up you go." Harry said, putting him in it and closing the tray.
"For future reference, I'd much rather eat at the table." Zayn said, oddly feeling like he was on display.
"Noted." Harry said.
"You promise?" Zayn asked.
Harry smiled at him. "Of course. I'm never going to force you into anything you really don't want, baby."
"But, as you know today is a little different."
"I know." Zayn said quietly, playing with his fingers.
Harry served him a small bowl of cereal, and a bowl of various fruits all cut into bite sized pieces.
He gave him a juice box last before settling in in front of him with a spoon.
"I'm capable of feeding myself." Zayn said flatly, staring at him.
"Not today." Harry smiled, lifting a spoonful of cereal to his mouth.
Zayn reluctantly let Harry feed him, wishing he wouldn't do it so slow.
Zayn was hungry after his traumatic morning.
"Can I eat the fruit on my own?" Zayn asked when he finished the cereal.
"Mhmm." Harry hummed, taking the bowl over to the sink.
Zayn began to eat the fruit with his fingers, enjoying every piece.
"Where do you get your fruit?" He decided to ask when he finished and began to drain his juice box.
"Just the market. Why?" Harry asked.
"It always tastes really fresh and ripe." Zayn admitted. "I like it."
Harry smiled. "Me too. I've always loved fruit."
"Why didn't you have some?" Zayn frowned.
"I had some before you got up, sleepy head." Harry said, walking over and fixing Zayn's hair.
"Now, ready to come colour and play?"
Zayn held in another sigh, trying to convince himself it wouldn't be so boring.
"Yes daddy."