The first couple of months are all about adjusting.
To say it's hard is an understatement. Most parents have to deal with one kid. Louis and Harry, however, have two, which means twice as much work. Plus Louis still feels whacked out from the childbirth. His hormones are all over the place and all he wants to do is cry and sleep; (Although sleeping is sort of impossible, what with two newborns.)
Harry and Louis work well together, though. If Louis is feeling particularly emotional or exhausted, Harry will check on the children. Louis doesn't even have to ask; the only thing Harry has to do is take one look at him and that's it. Louis thinks that if he didn't have a partner as amazing as Harry, he wouldn't be able to do this. He honestly felt so much sympathy for single parents (his mum included).
Still, Louis helps out, because he has to. He wants to. It wouldn't be fair to make Harry do all the work, even though he probably would, if Louis asked it of him. But Louis isn't like that. He tries to the best of his ability to stick to their whole 'switch up' plan, which means Louis wakes up with Natalie and Thomas one night and Harry wakes up with them the next. Sometimes, when Louis feels rested enough, he'll follow Harry into the nursery. He watches as he rocks their babies and his heart aches, every single time. Harry sings to them, too, sweet and soft like he occasionally does to Louis when he's feeling down. At that point Louis makes himself visible to Harry, walking up to him and placing the now sleeping Natalie and Thomas into their respective cribs. He'll then go back to Harry, wrapping his arms around his waist in a hug. "Love you," he'll whisper, and Harry makes sure to say the words back, his face filled with fondness. Harry will carry him to the bedroom after that, where they never do more than snog; albeit, it's hot and heavy snogging, but Louis isn't ready to go farther. He's insecure about the baby weight he's still carrying and just about sex in general. He's doesn't want it yet, and Harry understands that.
They make pretty good team.
***
Natalie gets sick only a couple weeks after Jay and Anne leave. Dr. Loren told Louis when he first left the hospital to keep a close eye on her. Her immune system had been weakened from being premature and if she got sick, it could be deadly. That's why Louis and Harry go out of their mind with worry when she develops a cough.
It starts off mild. She's a little sleepier than usual and she's less active. Louis and Harry both shrug it off; blame it on how busy they've been keeping her these past couple of days. They take her and Thomas to the park, where they meet up with Liam, Niall, and Zayn. Liam and Louis run laps (Louis claims he has to get back in shape, lose the baby weight), Zayn and Harry play with Thomas on the playground (which means they take turns carrying him in their laps as they go down various slides that are way too big for him to go on himself), and Niall brings his guitar so he can sing to Natalie. The little girl had Niall wrapped around her tiny finger as soon as they had met. From that day on, Niall would constantly stop by the house to see her and bring her presents. Harry and Louis insist that she does not need so many gifts, but both Natalie's and Niall's expressions brighten so much when they see each other. Niall likes to call her his little princess, and Natalie makes the closest thing to a giggle she can.
Once they all drive back to Louis's and Harry's house, Louis breast feeds the babies while Harry makes spaghetti with meat sauce and a salad. The lads rent a superhero movie while they wait for the food to be done.
As Harry drains the water out of the noodles, there's a tap on his shoulder. He looks back and it's Niall, biting his lip. He seems a bit nervous. "What is it?" Harry asks, turning his attention towards his homemade sauce.
Niall frowns. "It's just...I think something might be wrong with Natalie," he mutters in response.
Harry's eyes dart back to the Irish lad and he raises an eyebrow. He won't start worrying unless he knows for sure, Harry says in his mind. "What makes you think that?"
"Well, when I was singing to her today at the park, she fell fast asleep. And you said she had just woken up from a nap in the car when you drove there, right? That's a lot of sleep."
Harry shrugs, mixing the hamburger in with the tomato sauce. "Babies like to sleep, Ni. It's healthy," he assures. "When I first brought Thomas home from the hospital, all he ever did was sleep."
Niall shakes his head. He seems to have it set in his mind that something is wrong with Natalie. "I'm telling you, mate. There's something not right about her. Check her temp, at least?"
Harry lets out a small sigh and hands Niall a large wooden spoon. "Stir the sauce. I'm gonna go tell Lou," he murmurs. He walks up the stairs to the nursery, where Louis is sat in the rocking chair, both Thomas and Natalie sucking greedily at his nipples. Harry's mouth gets a little dry at that, because it's such a beautiful moment. Louis's biting on his bottom lip and staring down lovingly at their children.
Harry has to clear his throat before he forgets what he was going to say. That was Louis, with his crazy affect on him.
Louis looks up and smiles softly when he sees Harry. "Hey, Haz," he murmurs. "I think these two are just about done." Sure enough, Natalie and Thomas have both disconnected their tiny mouths from Louis's chest. Thomas still has his eyes open while Natalie's are starting to close again. Maybe Niall has a point; she didn't used to sleep this much before.
"Could we talk? It's important," Harry says.
Louis nods. "I just have to burp them, love, and then I'll be right out," he answers.
Harry uses the loo while he waits and plays with his hair. He styles it to the side and then makes it stand up; how he used to wear it when he was a teenager. He chuckles at that and shakes it out, going back to his regular style.
Louis peaks his head in the bathroom door with a smile. "What'd you want to talk about?" He questions.
First off, Harry grips Louis by the waist and nuzzles his nose against his, kissing it afterwards. "I love you," he breathes. "And also, the sight of you and our children almost killed me."
Louis giggles, scrunching up his nose. "Why'd it almost kill you?" He ponders. He tugs on one of Harry's curls and Harry leans into the touch without even thinking about it.
"'S cause you're so beautiful, Louis; and then I see you with our kids and it's like...this is my family. I'm going to be married soon to the man I love, I have two perfect children. I'm the happiest I've ever been," Harry whispers sincerely.
Louis practically bursts into tears at that. Harry thinks it's cute, how hormonal he still is from giving birth. Louis must see Harry's smile because he smacks him on the bicep before slamming into him in a hug. "Why would you say that?" He moans. "You know I'm bloody emotional."
"Mm, I'm sorry, baby," Harry whispers as he rubs up and down Louis's back. He's totally not sorry, but it's not like Louis has to know that. "But that's not what I wanted to talk with you about. It's, um, it's Natalie."
Louis wipes a tear away as he looks up at Harry, his eyebrows crinkling in confusion. "What about Natalie? Is she okay?" He asks worriedly, already making his way back to the nursery. Harry follows him and that's when they hear it; a small, awful sounding cough. Louis coos and scoops their baby girl in his arms, rocking her back and forth. "It's alright, I've got you now. You're okay."
"Louis, she-"
"Shush, she's fine," Louis interrupts. He smiles once he sees that Natalie has gone back to sleep and shows her off to Harry. "See? Perfectly fine..."
But then her features are crinkling up and she's letting out another wretched cough, longer this time. She cries once it's over and Louis looks so filled with worry once again. He positions her so that she's no longer lying down in his arms and pats gently at her back.
"Get her binky," Louis tells Harry, humming softly to the crying baby in his arms. The sobs have quieted down to whimpers now, but they're still enough to break Harry's heart to pieces. He grabs Natalie's butterfly binky and hands it to Louis, who gingerly positions it in her mouth. She sucks on it for a few minutes before her eyes are slipped closed, fast asleep.
Louis keeps their daughter wrapped up in his arms, staring down at her sleeping face before looking up at Harry. "What do we do?" He asks, stroking Natalie's pretty brown curls. "Take her to see Dr. Loren?"
Harry shrugs, walking over to Louis. He takes Natalie from him and cradles her, holding her close to his heart. He then lightly places a giant hand on her tiny forehead and frowns. "She's warm. Like, really warm," he whispers. "I don't see what else we could do for her."
Louis sighs and nods at Harry's words. He's undoubtedly thinking about everything his little girl is going to have to go through the next couple of days; or at least that's what Harry is thinking. He then lightly places Natalie back into Louis's willing arms and kisses his cheek, nuzzling into him. "I have to go check on dinner. Call Dr. Loren, alright? And book Natalie an appointment."
"I will," Louis responds.
Harry watches him get his phone out while he holds Natalie and then he walks back downstairs. He sees Niall stirring the sauce still and chuckles, taking the spoon from him. "You were right. Natalie has a fever and she started, like, choking," he murmured, wincing at the memory.
Niall's eyes widen. Harry turns the burner off and dips five plates of spaghetti. "That's awful! What're you going to do?" questions Niall.
Harry hands Niall a bowl as he walks into the living room, handing Liam and Zayn there's. They'd been cuddling and giggling on the couch, sharing little kisses in between. Harry wanted to puke from the sweetness, to be honest. "We're going to take her to Dr. Loren's. Since she was so premature, Dr. Loren says she's not going to have a very strong immune system, so...I guess they're going to give her medicine and stuff, I don't know."
Niall listens carefully before getting a beer out of the fridge and nodding along. "Alright, just let me know if you need some help with her. I could watch Thomas while you're at the doctor's or I could take Natalie."
Harry shakes his head with a fond smile. "Nah, I don't think Louis would let you do that. He's protective of his little girl," he remarks.
"We could go together, then. You could watch Thomas," Niall says excitedly.
"We'll see," Harry tells him, and that's really all he can say. Louis's the one who makes the final decisions. Harry has even taken to calling him wifey. (Louis loathes the nickname with a passion but it's so cute to see him pout and whine and that's why Harry keeps calling him it.)
Niall goes to sit down in the living room with Liam and Zayn and Harry waits in the kitchen for Louis. He busies himself cleaning up the kitchen while he waits, doing the dishes and putting away the leftover spaghetti in the fridge. It's only a few minutes later when Louis comes downstairs, dressed in checkered pyjama pants and a black t-shirt. He looks so good Harry wants to kiss him all over.
"I booked an appointment," Louis says, eyeing the spaghetti hungrily. "It's tomorrow at one."
Harry wraps Louis up in another hug because he likes the way Louis seems to melt into it, how his entire body just seems to relax. "Good," he murmurs. "Oh, and Niall wanted to know if he could come while I stay at home and watch Thomas?"
Harry feels Louis shrug against his chest. "I could probably use the extra help, and someone needs to stay home with Thomas, so sure."
Before they can go into the living room with the others, Harry leans down to press a kiss to Louis's lips. He's surprised when Louis leans into it to deepen it and squeeze at Harry's waist, cautiously licking into Harry's mouth. Harry licks back roughly because he hasn't done this in two months. Well, he's done this, yes, but he hasn't gone any farther. He wants that. He wants to be intimate with Louis again, and he thinks maybe Louis would want to be too, if-
Louis backs away with a soft blush and then takes his bowl with him as he scurries off to the living room. Harry groans, watching his arse jiggle as he walks away. It's extra full and plump from baby weight and, like, Harry is definitely wanking tonight.
There is no doubt about it.
***
Louis clings to him all night.
It's a little ridiculous how much he clings. It's not even in the normal way, either. Usually they'll cuddle and occasionally kiss each other but tonight...tonight was different. Louis snuggles up into him and strokes his curls and kisses his neck. By the time Niall, Liam, and Zayn are leaving, Harry's so turned on he can hardly think straight. He blames it on lack of sexual activity as of late.
Louis isn't helping, either. He stays with Harry on the couch even after the boys have left, stroking his inner thigh and pressing kiss after kiss to his neck. It's so unlike him to act like this, at least lately. His hand then crawls up to Harry's crotch and he hums when he feels the bulge against his trousers; "Mm, baby, you're hard," he whispers into his ear as he strokes his erection expertly.
Harry moans at that because the only person who has touched his cock during the past couple of months is himself. He leans into the touch and then crinkles his eyebrows when Louis draws his hand away.
"That's too bad. I'm going to take a bath," Louis says, standing up and walking up the stairs to the bathroom.
And, like...Harry knew Louis was a tease, but he didn't realise he was fucking cruel.
Its then that Harry realises he's the dominant one, not Louis (which is kind of a lie because Louis can be really dominant when he wants to be, but still. Harry wouldn't ever let him top, that's just his thing). He stands up and hurries upstairs to the bathroom, where Louis is already undressed. He's about to get into the bath but Harry stops him, wrapping his arms around his waist. Louis tenses a little but doesn't say anything.
"What was that?" Harry asks.
Louis shifts a bit so he can face Harry and he shrugs. "I don't know what you're talking about," he claims.
Harry shakes his head. "Mm, no, you know exactly what I'm talking about," he breathes, pushing Louis up against the wall. Louis's breathing audibly hitches and Harry thinks, 'good'.
"I was just-I was just playing," Louis assures.
Harry shakes his head, tilting his head to the side to press wet, open-mouthed kisses all down Louis's neck. "No, you weren't. You were being a tease. Now you're going to be punished." He scoops Louis up and walks him to the bedroom, laying him down onto it. He then strips himself to his boxers and hovers over Louis's body, kissing him languidly.
Louis breaks away to look at Harry and his eyes are wide, but Harry can tell there isn't just surprise in his eyes. He's aroused, and when Harry's eyes travel downwards, his thoughts are only confirmed.
"Harry," Louis whispers, his mouth closing again when Harry starts kissing all over his body, not just his neck or lips.
Harry hums deep in his throat as he licks up Louis's stomach, nuzzling into the little bit of baby weight he still has there. "Why'd you make me wait so long?" He questions. "I mean, I understand sex, but you wouldn't even touch me."
Louis tugs at Harry's curls, pulling him upwards to kiss him gently, cupping his face in both hands as he does so. "I'm sorry," he whispers against Harry's lips. "I wanted to, I just...I was scared you wouldn't like what you saw, you know? I haven't shed all my baby weight yet and-"
Harry shakes his head at Louis's words. "I wouldn't ever think that. You're cute like this, with a little bit of chub on you," he tells him.
"You're awful!" Louis exclaims, smacking Harry's chest with a giggle. "Of course you'd say that, with your abs and v-line and strong, toned arms," he murmurs, stroking across Harry's abs.
Louis licks his lips and Harry chuckles, flipping them over again so he's on top. He tilts his head down and licks at one of Louis's nipples, smirking when Louis lets out a cry.
"Baby, they're-they're too sensitive. You can't," Louis breathes, arching his back into the touch against his will when Harry slowly latches his mouth onto one of them. "Fuck, Haz."
"Don't care, want to anyway," Harry mumbles. He squeezes Louis's left nub that he currently isn't suckling on and Louis keens, biting into the sheets. Harry can tell that his tiny body is going to be over-sensitised and he moans at the thought, sucking harder. "God, you're so beautiful like this, Lou."
And it's true, his cheeks are flushed bright pink and his eyes are closed, but Harry can see the moisture gathering on his eyelashes. Harry fondles Louis's nipples as he reaches into his night stand, getting out the lube he has in there. Louis's body trembles because he's still sensitised and Harry won't even think about going easy on him; he wants to see Louis's nipples red and hard for him.
Louis opens his eyes and a little whine gets stuck in his throat.
"'S kind of hot, though, isn't it?" He questions. He lubes up three of his fingers as he squeezes Louis's nipple experimentally, watching in awe as Louis chokes out a gasp. Fuck, yeah, it's definitely hot," he mutters. "Now I wanna finger you. Get on your back, love."
Louis's still shaking slightly as he flips onto his back, and Harry presses kisses down his back to soothe him. He gently coaxes one finger into him until he's to the knuckle, making Louis whimper quietly.
"Love your fingers, always so good with them," he says, his voice muffled from where he's burying his face in his pillow.
Harry takes that as his cue to add another finger into Louis. He scissors him open carefully because he knows it's been awhile and Louis needs to be properly prepped. Soon, though, Louis's making impatient noises and rocking his hips down onto Harry's fingers.
"Mm, you're so needy for me, aren't you?" Harry muses, slipping another finger inside of him. He thrusts all three fingers in and out roughly this time, enjoying the way Louis's already wrecked body falls apart even more. "Bet you can't wait to have my cock in you."
Louis shakes his head frantically, thrusting his hips against the mattress in the hopes of finding the friction he desires. "I can't, Haz, please," he pleads.
Harry removes his fingers and flips Louis around, kissing him as he pulls a condom out of his drawer. He places it on himself and then trickles the lube on himself, too, before lining himself up with Louis's entrance. "Can't wait to be inside you, it's been too long," he whispers as he slowly enters his fiancé. He takes his time, letting Louis adjust to his size before filling him up completely.
Louis moans at the feeling of being filled and he grasps at Harry's back, clawing at the skin there. "Move," he orders softly, sighing contentedly when Harry complies. He fucks into him with slow, deep thrusts, ones that make Louis right on the edge of overwhelming pleasure and not quite enough. "Harry, Harry, faster, fuck," curses Louis. He shifts slightly so he's in a sitting position and rides Harry's cock, letting out breathy little 'ah's every time he goes down.
Harry thrusts into Louis faster after that, grasping onto his hips tightly as he does so. He purposely rocks into his prostate with each thrust, enjoying the way Louis turns into a shivering, sweating, absolute writhing mess on top of him. "God, you love it so much, don't you? You just love having my cock in you."
"Yes, oh, love it," Louis responds, and he's so far gone that it's cute. "Haz, babe, I'm close, can I...can I come? Please, need to come," Louis says, pausing every so often to let out these adorable airy pants from his parted lips.
Harry nods and one of his hands moves to Louis's cock, straining against his stomach and leaking with pre come. "You can come, lovely," he murmurs affectionately. "I'm close too. I just want you to come first. I want to feel you all hot and tight around me."
Louis gasps and thrusts into Harry's hand once, twice, and then he's coming hard in Harry's hand and on his stomach. Harry grunts at the feeling of Louis clenching around him and he comes, too, the hardest he has in awhile. For a second he just stays inside of Louis, trying to catch his breath as Louis does the same atop of him.
"God, that was..." Louis murmurs, "That was amazing, as always. Thank you for convincing me to do that."
Harry slowly pulls out of Louis and the elder lad hisses slightly at the sensitivity. "Thank you for being a tease so that I could convince you," Harry counters as he pulls the condom off and tosses it into the bin. "I'll be back after a wash with a flannel," he says once he sees the mess on his chest and hand. He goes to the bathroom and hurriedly cleans himself off, not wanting to miss Louis when he's cuddly and sated and sleepy. He's always like that post sex, and Harry thinks he might like that just as much as the sex, really.
When he's all cleaned up, he walks back into the bedroom and quickly lies down next to Louis. "Babe," he whispers, and almost as if on cue, Louis cuddles up closely next to him. Harry wraps his strong arms around his tiny waist and Louis rests his palms on Harry's bare chest.
"I love you," Louis breathes, his eyes already slipping closed.
"I love you too, darling. Get some rest, you deserve it."
Louis obeys almost immediately, Harry can tell because he lets out these cute little snuffles that could almost be snores, but not quite. Harry admires him sleeping until his own eyes begin slipping shut. He's almost asleep, probably only a few minutes away from it, when he hears a shrill cry. He looks over at Louis to see if he's awake and when he sees that he's not, Harry gets up to check on the babies instead; even if it technically is Louis's turn.
***
Dr. Loren prescribes Natalie a cough medicine that is okay for her to take and by the next two weeks, she's all cleared up. Dr. Loren said it would've been able to clear itself up after only a few days, but since Natalie's immune system was so weak it took longer.
Currently, Louis is strapping both Thomas and Natalie into their combined stroller. He fusses over their safety straps for a while before Harry leans down and gives his shoulder a squeeze. "Think they're strapped in properly, love," he tells him quietly.
Louis lets out a breath and nods. "Okay, right," he answers, standing up so he can look at Harry. "So we're doing this, then?" He questions, and Harry can see the worry on his face and in his voice.
"Yeah, we're doing this," he agrees softly. He couldn't be more excited.
Louis nods in confirmation and stands up on tip toes to kiss Harry softly. "I love you so much," he whispers.
Harry's eyes soften as he repeats the words and soon they're walking, hand in hand down the streets of London. Occasionally Louis will tense when he sees a girl (most likely a fan of One Direction) with a wide mouth and even wider eyes, but Harry just presses a kiss to his cheek to soothe him.
They go to lots of places, mostly just to be seen. By the end of the day both Natalie and Thomas are asleep and Harry and Louis's legs are sore from walking. On the drive home, Louis sleepily nuzzles into his boyfriend's shoulder. "Think everyone noticed, Haz?" He asks.
Harry smiles, hums. "I think so, yeah. We're gonna be the next biggest celebrity couple out there," he teases.
Sure enough, the next morning when Louis opens 'The Sun', there's a picture of the four of them on the front page; Natalie and Thomas are both in their stroller, looking adorable as ever. Louis's breath then hitches a little at the sight of him and Harry. Harry's pressing a kiss to Louis's cheek, their hands intertwined, and Louis's smiling widely, looking so in love.
The headline reads, "Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles + Two!" and Louis reads all through it, his eyes even tearing up when he reads the last sentences.
"What do you think? Will 'Larry Stylinson' last forever?" And it's cheesy, but Louis can't help thinking that it will.