ᑕᕼᗩᑭTEᖇ 144
[Louis]
They sat in the living room that night, gathered around the television and fireplace. Louis sat on one of the armchairs with a cup of coffee in his hands as Felicite brought a couple of dvd's to them. "Which one should we watch?"
Zayn, who was sitting beside Daisy on the couch, perked up. He'd been a little quiet once they returned home, and Louis guessed it was the exhaustion of the day. He himself felt a little tired, but the coffee kept him wake.
"We watched Home Alone, wight Louis?" he said, pointing to the DVD on the top of the bunch in Felicite's arms. Surprised that he had recognised the cover, Louis smiled and nodded. "Except we also have Home Alone 3, I think."
"We do, and it's one of the best ones ever," Daisy said excitedly. Phoebe looked up at her from where she was sitting on the carpet, Ernest in her lap. "Sure, but what about the Parent Trap? I hear that one's good."
"Let's watch Getaway," Felicite suggested instead. "Has anyone watched it?"
"I have and there's too much action for the twins and Zayn," Lottie said, munching on a packet of crisps with Zayn. Upon hearing his name, Zayn looked up. "Me like akshon."
"Sure you do," Daisy said, ruffling his hair. "But I think Home Alone will be perfect,"
"And I think the Parent Trap will since we haven't watched it," Phoebe argued. "We watch Home Alone too much."
"Okay, okay, let's settle this with a vote," Louis said, putting his cup on the coffee table. "The ones in favour of Home Alone?"
Daisy, Johannah, Charlotte and Doris raised their hands. Zayn, looking at them, raised his hand as well, making Louis smile.
"Those in favor of The Parent Trap?" Louis questioned to which Dan, Felicite, Phoebe and Ernest raised their hands, Ernest following Phoebe's lead.
"Yes," Daisy said smugly, but Phoebe shook her head. "It's a tie. Louis has to break it."
Louis' eyes widened as everyone turned to look at him. Great. He thought about who would be more disappointed, Phoebe or Daisy, and he countered their trained gazes with a smile. "Uh I'm passive, both of them-"
"You have to choose one," Lottie said with a grin. "Whether it upsets the other or not."
"I won't be upset, Louis," Phoebe told him, leaning on the edge of the couch in await of his response. Daisy nodded in agrement. "Yeah, she won't be upset when you choose Home Alone."
Phoebe sent her sister a death glare that reminded Louis of his own childhood. He sighed, raising his hands in surrender. "I choose..."
"Me, choose me," Zayn urged and Louis shrugged. "Home Alone 3 it is then."
"Dammit," Phoebe cursed, Daisy sending her a smug look.
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Louis walked out of the bathroom, ruffling his wet hair. He frowned at the lump on the bed as he tied his bathrobe around him. "Sleepy?"
Zayn lifted his head with groggy eyes, his hair disheveled. His cheeks were slightly flushed and the boy blinked slowly. "My thwoat huwts."
Frowning, Louis sat down beside him, reaching out a hand to place on Zayn's forehead. "Well, you don't have a fever." He patted his cheek lightly. "Let's get you some tea for your throat, okay?"
Zayn nodded slightly, letting out a cough. He covered his mouth with his small hands and grimaced. "But tea yuck, Louis." Louis sent him a look over his shoulder as he started to get dressed. "But tea is good for the throat, and I did tell you not to eat ice cream," he said sternly. He turned back to the closet, smiling a little at himself. My parenting voice is on spot!
He heard Zayn shuffle and as he pulled his shirt down his head, he noticed the other boy drag himself to the toys in the suitcase. "I miss Jiam," he whined.
Dammit. Louis buttoned his trousers and walked over to Zayn, picking him up. The little boy had a small pout on his face, eyelashes moving as he blinked slowly. "You have me, right? And the boys. Want to talk to them?"
Sighing, Zayn placed his head on Louis' shoulder. "Yes."
Kissing the top of his head, Louis moved to the bed, sitting with his back against the headboard and pulled the iPad out of the drawer. Zayn turned in his lap like a kitten, head lazily tilted. "I'm cold," he stated as Louis group called the boys. He frowned worriedly and pulled the duvet over them. He then fished out his phone from his pocket and shot Felicite, whom he knew was downstairs, a quick text to make some tea.
The screen was filled with blonde hair suddenly, and then the iPad screen was divided as Harry appeared too. Niall grinned widely, waving a hand. "Zayn!"
Louis looked down to see Zayn smile a little, the duvet clutched in his small hands. "Hi Niall and Hawwy."
Harry seemed to be out, a beanie covering his brown locks and a scarf wrapped around his neck. He waved, his red nose scrunching as he smiled. "Hello!"
Louis smiled and greeted them both, his heart aching a little. He couldn't wait for Harry to come to Doncaster. Looking down at the boy in his lap, Louis also couldn't wait to surprise Zayn with Harry's arrival. They had, playfully, mentioned it to the boy once, but he was unaware that Harry was actually visiting before the others. Louis raised an eyebrow at the declined call from the third person.
"Whewe Liam?" Zayn asked, wondering the same as him. Niall and Harry shrugged. Niall's eyes were bright as he leaned his chin on his hand. "Did you have fun yesterday, Zayn?"
"How you know?" Zayn said with a small gasp; he seemed to be feeling better, a little back to normal. Louis chuckled. "I sent them all the pictures. Gotta keep the rest of them updated."
Harry laughed, the camera only capturing his scarf and chin. "And you won too. Over Louis!"
"Yes. I did," Zayn said proudly, making Niall wink at him. "That's our Zayn. One day, he'll beat you at FIFA too, Lou."
Louis snorted at that. "I'll let him try."
"I will," Zayn said confidentially, grinning up at him with sparkling eyes. Louis gasped dramatically and tickled the boy's sides. "What did I just hear?"
Zayn squealed in surprise, the sound mixing with his childish laughter. The boys smiled on screen and Zayn panted, kicking out. He let out another laugh. "Sowwy!"
"Say I'm the best," Louis said with a grin. Zayn gasped as he crawled away, standing up on the bed. He tried to tickle Louis, but his small tickles merely felt like taps to Louis' hips. The older boy laughed evilly. "Nice try, Batman. Say I'm the best."
Zayn giggled as Louis tickled under his armpits; his tickle-weak point. "Hawwyyy, Niaaall, help me!"
"Oh just admit he's best!" Niall called out, shaking his head with a smile. Harry looked down at the camera with a furious shake of the head, a smile twitching on his lips. "No! Don't give up Zayn, you're a superhero!"
"I'm...a supewhewo!" Zayn said happily between gasps of breaths, and he coughed a few times. Louis pushed his fringe out of his eyes and stopped the tickle torture for a minute. "Am I the best?"
Zayn's eyes sparkled with mischief and he nodded, starting to stand up. Louis let him, sitting back with a proud grin. He sent Harry a smug grin. "Zayn, say I'm the best and I'll stop."
"Zayn the best," Zayn said, grinning mesichiviosly. Before Louis could even react dramatically, Zayn slid off the bed and hurried out of the room. "I win! Jonannah, I win ovew Louis again!"
Louis laughed at the whole scene and he slumped back against the pillow, the boys mirrioring his smile.
"How's it been?" Niall wondered once their laughter ceased. "He's having fun, right?"
"Yeah as far as I can tell. Only thing bad is the whole Ziam thing," Louis muttered with a shrug. He raised an eyebrow at Harry, leaning his weight on his elbow. "Where are you going, Mr. Don't-give-up?"
Harry smiled teasingly. "Someone had to give him hope since Niall didn't."
Niall raised his hands defensively, and Harry stopped walking, and it looked like he was opening a door. "I'm baking cupcakes for the guests tonight and we ran out of sugar." He looked around, green eyes flitting around what Louis assumed were store aisles. "Friends and family are coming to meet."
"Ah, yeah, everyone's been visiting here as well. I'm going to Greg's tomorrow," Niall said with a smile. "Man, Theo has grown up a bunch."
Louis smiled at that, remembering the little-Niall, as he called him, running around in his diapers. "Where's Liam though? Everything okay with Ruth?"
"Yeah, she's in recovery and she was discharged from the hospital and they brought her home yesterday," Harry informed them as he picked something up. "How's Johannah?" he asked worriedly, brows furrowing. Niall's only smile dimmed and he stared at Louis. Louis shrugged, heart clenching a little. "We're hoping it's nothing serious, but the headaches are starting to get more frequent. I talked to Dan and he's thinking of checking her up."
"That's good, at least we will know if it's anything serious," Harry said softly, and Niall nodded. "No need to worry, she's a strong woman, it's probably a little flu."
"Yeah," Louis said with a sigh. "And talking about fly, I'm worried Zayn might catch it. He seems lazy and tired lately. And his throat hurts." He ran a hand through his wet hair. "I don't think I can look after a sick kid, alone," he told them with a pointed look.
"You'll be fine," Harry assured him just as Niall said, "He'll be fine."
Smiling, Louis shook his head. "Talk to you later."
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When Louis walked downstairs, Zayn was drinking something out of one of Ernest's sippy cups, his face scrunched in an adorable and frowny pout. "Yuck."
Smirking, Louis plopped down on the couch beside him, joining his family in watching whatever it was they were watching. "Serves you right for eating ice cream," he said and Zayn set the cup down with a sad look. Louis felt his heart itch. Kids, he thought with a shake of the head. He turned to his sisters who were so engrossed with the movie on TV, or at least Louis assumed it was a movie. "Let's do something fun!"
"Like what?" Phoebe asked, watching TV upside down on the couch. They all looked bored out of their minds, and Louis turned to his mother who was sitting in the armchair by the fireplace. "It's snowing heavily outside," she explained with a shake of the head. "Why don't you girls play a board game?"
"Boring," Felicite murmured, eyes glued to the screen. Her phone chimed and she pulled it out of her pocket with a sigh. "Lottie's stuck at Tommy's, she said she'll head home once the storm's cleared."
Ernest looked up from the car he was playing with. "Lottie okay?"
Doris was too busy with her lego blocks to have even noticed the conversation. Louis smiled at his little brother. "She's fine, Ernie." He looked at Zayn worriedly; upstairs the boy had seemed better, when he had something to keep him busy. "Wanna play lego with Doris?" he asked with a nudge. "You can show her your awesome skills."
Zayn shook his head, his hazel eyes filling with tears. Louis frowned, pulling him in a hug. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Zayn, is everything okay, sweetheart?" Johannah asked, standing up from the armchair. Zayn sniffed, and his nose seemed a little congested. "I not feel good. I want Jiam."
Louis pursed his lips as he rubbed his back. "You'll meet him soon."
Johannah sat on Zayn's other side, a small bright smile on her face. Louis couldn't help but be mesmerised. He remembered this woman comfort him with that same smile, being the optimistic light in dark days. She lifted Zayn's chin and gave him a look. "You're making Ziam sad by crying. He doesn't want you to cry."
"But I miss him," Zayn sobbed, tears sliding down his cheek. He coughed a little and Johannah frowned, placing a hand on his forehead. Her frown disappeared and she hugged Zayn. "Oh well, then we have to busy ourselves. Girls, Zayn's bored. Let's put on something everyone can watch."
Phoebe grabbed the remote and started changing channels while Ernest stood up, waddling over to them. He patted Zayn's knee, giving him his car. "It okay, Zayn."
Louis smiled a little, relieved that everyone around him was available to help. Soon, Daisy was pulling out all kinds of movies they had and she spread them out on the carpet. "Okay so we have the Lion King, we have Aladdin, Peter Pan, Frozen, Brother Bear and Brave."
"Ooh Peter Pan's always been my favourite," Louis said happily and Johannah rolled her eyes playfully. She pushed her hair out of her face and looked down at Zayn, whom she had encased in her arms. "Which one do you want?" She wiped his tear stained cheeks and he studied the covers of the movies. He then pointed at Brother Bear and Daisy brightened. "Nice choice Zayn-o."
Zayn tugged at Louis' sleeve and Louis leaned down. "Is Zayn-o my nickname?" Zayn wondered curiously, sniffing a little. Louis smiled half-heartedly and nodded. "There you go, now you have another one."
Instead of smiling, Zayn nodded, satisfied. He then, to Louis' surprise and amazement, snuggled in Johannah's arms.
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It was hard getting Zayn to sleep. He had enjoyed watching Brother Bear, but his eyes had been drooping. He jerked awake once he noticed he was sleeping though, so it had been a struggle. But then he finally dozed off in Johannah's arms. Johannah said she could lay him down and Louis followed her upstairs. The twins had already gone to bed, and Jo set Zayn down in the bed beside them. Louis changed the boy's clothes quickly, and while he pulled off his socks, tucking him in, Johannah ruffled his hair. "I think he's coming down with something."
"I'm scared of that too," Louis muttered, watching as Zayn breathed evenly, lips parted.
"Why is he so attached to Ziam?" his mother asked quietly. "Ernest is attached to Lamlam, but not so extensively."
"He always has it with him. When we adopted him, he already had Ziam, and he was the first thing Zayn looked for," Louis remembered with a sad smile. "I screwed up not making sure we had him."
Jo squeezed his shoulder. "Oh it's okay, he'll be fine. I see how he looks at you, like a child looking at a parent, with admiration and sense of protection."
Louis smiled a little at that. "Really?"
Jo chuckled and pulled him up. "Yes, now let's go before all three of them wake up."
An hour after that, when Louis was about to head to bed, Zayn walked into his room, his barefoot feet padding against the floor as he quietly climbed on the bed, grabbing his action figure. Closing the door, Louis walked over to him worriedly. "You okay? Why are you awake?"
"Can't sleep," Zayn murmured, slipping under the duvet, eyes half open. "I want Jiam."
Louis slipped under the duvet as well, letting out a soft sigh. "I know, Zayn. I'm sorry for forgetting him. But you need to rest, mum gave you medicine so you're a little drowsy."
"I like youw mum, Louis," Zayn said matter-of-factly, his eyes half closed, the hazel looking like chocolate brown. He looked up at him through his eyelashes, Batman figure clutched in hand. Louis smiled, brushing his hair from his forehead. "I've noticed. She likes you too. Said you're a great kid." He turned off the lamp, bathing the room in darkness
"Weally?" Zayn said in surprised, voice small and sleepy. "Yup," Louis said, shutting off the lamp. "Now go to sleep," he said softly. "Good night."
"I miss Matt and Mel too," Zayn told him. "But I like Daisy and Ewnest and Dowis. And Febe."
"That's good," Louis said with a quick yawn, and he closed his eyes, hoping Zayn was doing the same. But the boy was constantly moving positions, and Louis' eyes reopened. "Your Batman figure is poking me, can you put it aside?" he asked gently, rubbing at his chest.
"No," Zayn said, sounding offended. Louis chuckled. "Is he your new favourite? What about Green Lantern?"
"Batman not have mum and dad," Zayn said sadly. "They say that on Young Justis. I not have mum and dad too."
Louis tried to remember the last time Zayn was sick, that was one of the main reasons Zayn had warmed up to them so quickly. He had been cuddly and small, vulnerable. He'd been clutching Ziam all day, and at night he had fallen asleep with them. Swallowing, Louis wrapped an arm around the boy. "Batman doesn't have me and Harry and Liam and Niall. You do. We're your family now."
"Zayn know," Zayn said. "Can Jonannah and cookie buddy be family too?"
Louis chuckled, unable to help himself; he noticed Zayn had just spoken his own name clearly. "Who, Gemma?"
Zayn nodded against him, the darkness covering his face, but Louis felt him tilt his head. "And Mawia?"
"Yeah, we're all your family," Louis said with a kiss to the forehead. "Now, close your eyes and try to go to sleep again, it's quite late."
"Okay," Zayn said, and Louis' eyes drooped. But while he fell asleep, the boy beside him didn't. So when Zayn slipped out of bed, Louis didn't notice, and nor did he notice that Zayn grabbed something from his side table before he left the room.
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QOTC: any ideas for Christmas presents? 🤔