"Pop could you make me a tea please?" Alexis asked as she walked into the kitchen from the front door.
"Sure sweetheart. You alright?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, it's just abnormally cold out of October, and I didn't bring enough layers to walk around campus." Alexis explained as she sat at the kitchen table.
Harry chuckled to himself as he walked over to the table with Alexis' tea and sat across from her at the table. "So your classes are going well? You like all of them?" He asked.
"Yeah I really like my one illustrating class, but my favorite is my English class." Alexis said happily.
Harry smiled at her. "Well you're gonna make a great author and illustrator some day love." He said softly.
"Thanks pop." She before she took a sip of her tea. "Any plans tonight?"
"I have to drive Cody, Emma, Josh and Zaria to the mall, but after that your dad and I are just gonna hang out with the kiddos."
Alexis thought about that, her little brother going out with his girlfriend on a double date. "When was the last time you and dad went out?" She asked.
"Uhm maybe a month ago. We didn't really do anything though." Harry said, remembering the night he and Louis did it in the car. "We wanted to go out for our anniversary but with Lou's schedule, my schedule, and all you guys getting back to the school schedule we just didn't have time." He said sadly.
"But pop it was your 20 year anniversary!!!" Alexis nearly yelled.
"I know we just didn't have time to do anything." Harry said looking at his hands.
"Well I'm sure thats not true." Alexis said through a smirk as she sent a wink at her dad.
"Shut up." Harry muttered through a smile.
"But still!! Why don't you guys do something?!" She asked.
"We don't have the time sweetheart. Your dad isn't coming back until 7 or so tonight and thats when I'm taking the kids out. He's just busy coaching the national team right now." Harry explained.
Alexis thought for a second. "Wait what time are you taking the kids to the mall?" She asked.
"Uhm around 5:30. But I have to pick some things up so I won't be home until around 7."
Alexis nodded and got a sly smile across her face. Harry eyed her from across the table and she just nodded again before getting up and walking to her room.
"Okay then..." Harry muttered to himself before looking at the clock. He figured he should probably make sure Cody is almost ready to go.
Harry got up from his chair and jogged up the stairs to Cody's room. He pushed his number and waited patiently for him to answer the door. When the door swung open Harry saw Cody dressed nicely for his double date.
Can you help me with my hair? Cody asked sheepishly.
Harry nodded and smiled to himself as he walked into his room and had Cody sit on the bed. As Harry ran his fingers through Cody's hair it was all too familiar.
There buddy, all set. Harry signed once he finished doing Cody's hair like he used to when he was that age.
"Thanks pop. Is it time to go?" Cody asked as he grabbed his fall jacket.
Harry nodded at him and Cody followed him to Alexis' room. Harry knocked on the door and waited for it to open.
"Hey I'm taking your brother now, can you watch the kids? Charlie should still be napping but Rosie and the twins are in the playroom downstairs." Harry said once Alexis opened the door.
"Yeah, no problem. So you'll be back at 7?" She asked.
"I should be, yeah. If you guys get hungry I'll leave money on the counter so you can order something."
"Okay, see you later pop." Good luck lady killer. Alexis signed to her baby brother.
Cody rolled his eyes before pulling on his dads arm and dragging him out of the house. When the pair got to the car they buckled up and Harry backed out of the driveway and drove to Emma's house first. The drive was silent as Harry couldn't sign while he was driving and Cody couldn't read his lips. When they pulled up to Emma's house Cody hopped out quickly and walked up to the door before ringing the bell.
The door swung open and Cody saw Emma's dad standing there looking in the driveway. "Uh hello sir." He said confused as to why Ben was looking at his dads car.
Ben looked down and smiled at Cody before speaking. "Hey Cody, who's driving you guys?" He asked glancing over at the car again.
"My pop, Harry." Cody clarified.
"Oh, what's Louis doing?" He asked a bit disappointed.
"He's training the national team right now. I think their first game is next month so he's been with them a lot lately." Cody said.
"Oh that's right I forgot he's coaching them, thats awesome!" Ben said excitedly.
"You must be a pretty big fan of his." Cody said noticing how happy Ben was.
"Huge fan!" He said.
"Right... Well is Emma here?" Cody asked.
Ben nodded and Cody figured he called for her as a second later she came to the door and smiled at Cody. Cody smiled back and politely said goodbye to Ben before taking Emma's hand and leading her to the car. He opened the door for her and after she got in he did.
"Hello Emma, you look lovely." Harry said as he turned around and reversed out of the driveway.
"Thanks Harry." She said sweetly.
Harry made his way to Josh's house and the boy nearly ran to the car as soon as it pulled into the driveway.
"Hello everyone!" He said as he hopped into the car.
"Hey buddy, you excited?" Harry asked, noticing Josh was basically jumping in his seat.
"You have no idea! This is gonna be so fun!!" He said happily.
Harry smiled, looking into the rear view mirror before making the short drive to Zayn's house. When he pulled up to the familiar house Josh quickly got out of the car and jogged up to the front door.
When the door swung open Josh saw Zayn standing there with Zaria behind him. "Hey Zayn!" He said happily.
"Hey big guy, you ready for tonight?" Zayn asked through a soft smile.
"You know it! It's gonna be really fun!" He said.
Zayn nodded and then looked back at Zaria before bending down to Josh's height. "So Lou told me what happened last month, and I just want to tell you that you didn't deserve any of that... Don't believe the shit those kind of people say, none of it's true. Anyone bugs you again you call me and I'll be there within minutes." Zayn said quietly as he passed Josh a piece of paper with his phone number on it.
Josh looked down at the paper and shoved it in his pocket before smiling gently at Zayn. "Thanks." He said quietly before wrapping his arms around the older lads neck.
Zayn smiled down at him and hugged him quickly before stepping away and letting Zaria out the door.
"Alright either of me call for anything, by sweetheart I love you!" Zayn yelled as Zaria and Josh walked down the walkway and to the car.
"Hi uncle Harry." Zaria said as she got into the car.
"Hey love." Harry said as he turned around and saw everyone buckled and ready to go. "Alright kiddos, lets go." He said as he pulled out of the driveway and on the way to the mall.
*~*
"Alright Rosie did you set the table?" Alexis asked as she stirred the gravy on the stove.
"Yeah! And Rory and Cam are getting dressed now!" She said happily.
"Perfect... Well this is almost done. Did you pack a bag for tonight?" Alexis asked turning to her little sister.
"No not yet."
"Okay, so do that now. Could you pack a bag for the twins too?" She asked.
"Sure! I'll be fast!" Rosie said as she ran out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.
"Al I need help." Rory whined.
Alexis turned around and saw her twin brothers in their nice dress shirt and pants, but their ties were crooked around their necks. Alexis laughed to herself before telling the boys to come over to her.
"Alright boys, you look very handsome." Alexis said as she fixed both of their ties. "Now pop and dad should be here any second so I need you two to go outside and stand by the door. Remember don't let them in until they're both here okay?"
The twins nodded before running to the foyer and standing outside at the front door like bodyguards.
Louis was the first to pull up into the driveway. When he saw Rory and Cam standing at the door wearing a nice shirt, pants and tie he chuckled to himself before climbing out of the car. "What are you two monsters doing?" He asked as he approached the door.
"No daddy, you can't go in." Rory said as he held his hand up to stop his father from moving closer to the door.
"And why not?" Louis asked through a smile.
"Because." Cameron said.
"Well that is a very bad reason. Can I go inside and put my bag down?" Louis asked as he shifted the sling of his bag.
"No, not yet." Rory said.
"Boys c'mon, just let me in." Louis said.
"No!" Cam said.
Louis looked down at the two of them before walking closer to the boys and they quickly sprung into action. Rory grabbed onto Louis' left leg while Cam jumped on his back.
"Boys!" Louis yelled as they pushed him away from the door.
"Daddy stop!!" Cam yelled as tightened his grip on Louis' neck and Rory pushed on Louis' leg to get him away from the door.
"Boys stop it right now!" Louis said as he tried to release their grip on him.
Rory and Cam only held on tighter to him and they screamed at him that he couldn't go inside.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa boys get off your dad right now!" Harry said angered as he jogged over to his struggling husband. Harry pulled Cameron off Louis' neck and Louis gasped for air as he could actually breathe again.
Rory pulled away from Louis as Harry placed Cameron down next to his brother.
"I just wanted to go inside! What was that all about?!" Louis asked as he stood up and straightened his outfit.
"We said you couldn't go in yet!" Cam said.
Harry then got a good look at the boys and he eyed them. "What's up with the ties?" He asked.
"Well you're both here now so you can go inside. We have a surprise." Rory said as he led his dads to the door.
The twins opened the door and led a very confused Louis and Harry to the kitchen.
"Why did my sons just try to kill me?" Louis asked as he saw Rosie and Alexis who held Charlie in her arms standing in the kitchen.
Alexis eyed her brothers and they shrugged at her as she rolled her eyes. "We have a surprise for you, follow me into the dining room." She said through a small smile.
Louis and Harry followed their kids extremely confused, but when they walked into the dim lit dining room their breath was taken away.
"What's all this?" Louis asked quietly as he pointed to the food and candles on the table.
"Well you and pop didn't have time to celebrate your 20 year anniversary, so the kiddos and I put something together. I made lemon pepper chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy and green beans." Alexis said proudly as she smiled over at her dads.
Harry felt tears well up in eyes at the thought that their kids would do something like this for them. He quickly walked over and hugged Alexis and kissed her and Charlies head before doing the same to all the other kids.
"I love you guys so much, this is amazing." Harry said looking over the table.
Louis smiled at all of his kids before doing what Harry had just done, kissing and hugging each of them.
"Also we're staying at uncle Niall's and aunt Gemma's tonight so you guys have the house to yourself. And don't worry I'm picking up Cody and his little friends." Alexis said.
Harry chuckled at her before reaching into his pocket and passing his keys to Alexis. "You'll need my car then." He said happily.
Alexis gathered the kids and their overnight bags and put them in the car after saying goodnight to her dads. She winked at them as she left the house and felt very proud at what she had done.
Harry and Louis looked at each other in awe as they thought about what the kids had done.
"Well happy 20th anniversary then." Louis said through a smile.
"Happy 20th anniversary." Harry said with his own smile forming as he closed the distance between him and Louis, connecting their lips together sweetly.
"Alright lets eat, I'm starved." Louis said through a chuckle as they released the kiss.
Harry smiled over at Louis before taking a seat next to him at the table.
"So how was practice today?" Harry asked once they both had food on their plates.
"Pretty good. The boys are really doing amazing, I'll think they'll do really well in the upcoming matches." Louis said happily.
"That's great love. Do you have any home games?"
"Yeah, we have two out of the five at home. For the other matches though I should only be gone for the weekend at most." Louis said as he cut up his chicken.
"We should invite Emma's family to one of the ones you have at home. I'm pretty sure when I went to pick up Emma he was looking for you. He kept looking at the car." Harry said through a small chuckle.
"Yeah, Cody said he's a huge fan. He even asked for my autograph on his football jersey." Louis said through his own smile. "I mean did you see him when he came over here for the barbecue?"
Harry nodded. "When I lead him outside he asked why Louis Tomlinson was at my house. I said you were my husband and he looked like he was about to cry he was so excited." He said before taking a bite of his chicken. "When did Al learn to cook like this?" Harry asked as he tasted the chicken.
"Shit, I know this is awesome." Louis said with his mouth full. "You have to remember all the times she was in the kitchen with you when she was younger. I couldn't keep her out of there." He said as a small smile formed on his lips at the memory.
*Flashback*
Louis was lost in the darkness as he was heavily sleeping with Cody on his chest. He felt a light tap on his cheek and grumbled, wrapping his arm tighter around his sleeping son. He felt another tap, this one harder than the last, and Louis peaked his eye open to see 4-year-old Alexis standing above him.
"Go away I'm sleeping." He mumbled.
"Daddy I need your order." She whispered as Cody was still sleeping on her fathers chest, forgetting that with Cody she didn't need to be quiet.
"My order for what?" He asked as he kept his eyes closed.
"For dinner. Papa and I are making dinner, I need to know what you want." She said.
"Why don't you guys make pasta or something." Louis said tiredly.
"No daddy, thats too easy." She said annoyed at her father.
"Then make that breaded chicken thing with it, I don't know." Louis huffed as he tried to get back to sleep.
"Papa!! Daddy wants pasta with that fried chicken stuff!!!" Alexis screamed.
Louis' eyes shot open as his ears were now ringing at how loud she screamed. At that moment Harry walked into the small living room and saw Louis awake with his eyes wide open.
"Al I told you not to wake up your dad." Harry said.
"Oh... Sorry daddy." Alexis said quietly.
Harry rolled his eyes and walked over to Louis and stood above him. "Sorry babe, you want chicken parm for dinner?" He asked quietly.
Louis nodded as he yawned and shifted the still sleeping Cody on his chest to get more comfortable.
"Okay love, I'm sorry again, go back to sleep." Harry said as he leaned down and kissed Louis' forehead sweetly.
Once Harry stood back up as he ushered Alexis to the kitchen quickly. "Sweetheart your daddy has been working really hard this past week at practice, he's needs to sleep." Harry explained as he got Alexis her small apron.
"Right, I know papa, I'm sorry." She said upset.
"It's okay love, just remember he has a really big game coming up so he needs rest."
Alexis nodded as she walked over to the small table near their kitchen and grabbed a chair, pushing it to where her papa was standing at the counter.
"Alright." Harry said clapping his hands together. "First we..?"
"We boil the water!" Alexis said.
"Right! So get the pot out for me while I get everything situated." Harry said as he grabbed everything they needed to make dinner.
Alexis got the pot out for the water and Harry filled it with water before placing it on their small stove.
"Can I put the bread on the chicken?" Alexis asked.
"Sure, I just need to cut it really quick okay? Watch your fingers." Harry said as he sliced the thick chicken cutlets in half.
Once the chicken was cut Harry put it in front of Alexis and she immediately went to work. Alexis grabbed the chicken Harry had cut and placed it in the egg before dredging it in the panko bread crumbs. When she was done with the piece of chicken she passed it to Harry who placed it onto the pan with hot oil in it.
"Papa the waters boiling." Alexis said.
Harry stopped what he was doing and looked over to the boiling water. He picked up the spaghetti and put it into the water, and put the timer on the microwave before moving back over to the stove to finish his sauce.
"Al do you want to try to flip the chicken?" Harry asked.
Alexis nodded happily and picked up the tongs carefully before reaching for the first piece of chicken.
"Ow!" She said as she pulled her hand back.
Harry quickly looked over to her and saw she clutching her hand. "What happened sweetheart?" He asked nervously as he tried to remove her hand from clutching the other to see what was wrong.
"The oil got on my hand." Alexis said as a few soft tears escaped her.
"Oh I'm sorry." Harry said sympathetically as he bent down and kissed her hand. "All better?" He asked.
Alexis nodded and wiped away her few tears as Harry kissed her head sweetly.
"Okay, I'll show you how to do it." Harry said as he picked up the tongs. "Put your hand over mine."
Alexis did as she was told and placed her tiny hand over her dads much larger hand. Harry showed her how to pick up the chicken carefully and flip it over gently so the oil wouldn't spurt up.
"I did it!" Alexis said happily.
Harry smiled down at her, happy at how excited she was. "Alright why don't you carefully stir the sauce while I flip the rest of these?"
Alexis nodded and moved the chair to the other side of the stove and climbed up it as Harry passed her a wooden spoon.
The pair worked together, chatting happily as they finished up dinner. When it was almost done Harry sent Alexis to set the table with three plates, cups and forks. When everything was set Harry made the short journey to the living room. He looked down and saw Cody still sleeping and Louis past out again too. Harry chuckled to himself as he picked up the 6 month old baby and carried him to his mechanical swing, and turning it on. He walked back over to Louis once he knew Cody was situated in the swing and shook Louis gently. The older man didn't even flinch as he was shaken so Harry bent down and connected their lips together tenderly. Harry smiled to himself as he felt Louis kiss back, and he slowly pulled away.
"Why'd you stop?" Louis whined quietly.
"Because dinner is ready." Harry said before he dipped down and kissed Louis one more time and leading him to the table.
"Miss Alexis did you make all of this?" Louis asked as he took a seat at the table and saw the pasta with sauce and chicken.
"Papa helped!" She said happily before eating some of her food.
"But I'm sure you did most of the work, this is too delicious for papa to have made it." Louis said as he winked over at Harry.
"I guess I did most of it." Alexis said through a smile and a shrug.
Louis laughed over at her before leaning towards Harry to whisper in his ear. "This is great love, thank you." He said before kissing Harry quickly.
Harry smiled into the kiss and Louis pulled away slowly as Alexis yelled at them to stop because she was eating and it was gross to watch.
"So I've been meaning to talk to both of you about something." Louis said after he took a bite of pasta.
Harry looked at him confused and nodded, urging him to continue.
"I was thinking that after my game this weekend we could look around for a bigger flat." Louis said.
Harry looked at Louis and then looked around the flat. It wasn't like the flat they lived in was small. There was a decent sized living room and two bedrooms, the master bedroom had it's own bathroom that was an okay size for two people and there was another half bathroom. The kitchen wasn't as big as Harry would like but it worked for him.
"Uhm alright..." Harry said, still thinking about it.
Louis saw his hesitance and immediately spoke up. "It's just that I've been in the pros for a year and I have a shot at being captain next year. I'm already making great money and you guys deserve more room, you deserve something better than this. Cody should have his own room, and you know we're growing as a family, so I think we just need more space." He explained.
Harry nodded and thought it over. He would like if Cody had his own room and he and Louis actually had privacy again. "Yeah, you're right we could definitely use some more room. But it's not like we deserve it." Harry said.
Louis shook his head as he swallowed his food. "Yes you guys do." Louis said giving Harry a look that he hoped would pass along the message that Harry deserved it. After having a baby and him still going to school while Louis was at Uni and everything Harry sacrificed as a teenager to become a father.
"I want to move! Papa we could get a bigger kitchen!" Alexis said excitedly.
"That we could bug." Harry said as he smiled over at her. "Alright, after your game we can go looking for flats." He said.
Little did Harry know that what Louis had in mind as a "flat" was actually a loft that took up an entire floor of the building. The living room was the size of their entire old flat and the kitchen was one a professional would use. There were four bedrooms, and the master bedroom had a complete wall of windows to look over the city of Manchester. Harry didn't seem to mind though.
*End Flashback*
"I remember your face when I showed you that loft, you thought I had gone mad." Louis said through a laugh.
"You said flat, I didn't expect an entire floor of the building!" Harry said, defending himself.
Louis hummed before picking up his glass of wine and taking a sip. "Well you and Al got really good use out of that kitchen."
"Thats true. I think it was a year later I opened the bakery." Harry said, trying his best to remember.
"Thats true you did." Louis said nodding his agreement.
Harry hummed and looked at his and Louis' empty plate. "So the house is empty, and will be until tomorrow... You have a long night ahead of you." Harry said quietly as he moved his hand to Louis' thigh.
Louis looked at him shocked and nodded slightly as he gulped. "Y-yeah, okay." He nearly whispered.
"Well c'mon then." Harry said with a slight smirk as he got up from the table and started walking towards their bedroom.
Louis quickly nodded even though Harry couldn't see him and followed behind him to the bedroom.
*~*
"Hey guys, you have fun?" Alexis asked as Cody, Emma, Josh and Zaria climbed into the back of the car.
"The best! Did you know there's a laser tag place in there?!" Josh asked.
Alexis laughed to herself as she nodded and started the car. "Yeah I walked past it a couple times."
As Alexis drove the kids in the back talked happily, clearly high on sugar or something as they couldn't stop laughing and Josh was nearly screaming everything he said.
She dropped them off one by one. Zaria first, and Josh walked her to the door. By the look on his face it looked like he got a kiss and Alexis' assumptions were proven correct when Cody started teasing him about it and Josh only got more red and started stuttering everything he said. Josh was next to get dropped off and he was grateful to finally get out of the car and away from Cody's constant teasing.
"Alright Emma it was good to see you again." Alexis said sweetly once she parked in Emma's driveway.
"Thanks for the ride Alexis, see you soon!" Emma said happily before Cody followed her out of the car.
"What'd you think about Zaria and Josh?" Cody asked as he walked Emma to the door.
"I think they're cute. I think it's funny how Josh is like loud and hyper while Zaria is kind of quiet. They balance each other out." Emma said through a smile.
"It's so weird... Like she's my cousin."
"Oh get over it, she's not you real cousin. If I were Josh's cousin would that stop you from asking me out?" Emma asked slyly as they got to the door.
"No." Cody said quietly as he smiled softly down at her.
"Exactly." Emma almost whispered as she got on her toes to kiss Cody.
Cody smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her impossibly closer to him. The all too familiar butterflies erupted in him, and Cody never thought he could get tired of feeling this way. When he released the kiss the smile didn't come off his face, and he saw Emma was wearing one of her own.
I'll talk to you later. Emma signed.
Cody nodded and pecked her lips one more time before she walked inside her house. He let out a deep breath as he began to walk back to the car and mentally prepared himself for the conversation he was about to have with his sister.
When Cody got into the front seat of the car and buckled his seatbelt he looked up and saw his sister looking at him with her eyebrows raised.
That was quite the kiss. Alexis signed with a smirk on her face.
"Why were you watching?!" Cody huffed.
Make sure you were you being a good boyfriend and all. She signed with a wink.
Cody groaned as he sat back in his seat. "I don't watch you and Hayden, thats really weird Al."
Oh shut up I wasn't watching you like that you little weirdo. I was just making sure you were being polite.
"I'm always polite." Cody scoffed as Alexis began to back out of the driveway. "Josh was telling me that Hayden really likes his school and classes and everything." He said slowly.
Alexis nodded slightly as she drove and glanced over at Cody with a sad smile.
"He misses you like crazy..." Cody said quietly. "Dad told me that Haydens always texting him and asking how you're doing because he's scared you aren't telling him the truth when you say you're fine."
At that Alexis laughed quietly to herself and smiled gently at Cody.
"Are you fine?" He asked even quieter.
Alexis opened and closed her mouth and then looked over to Cody. She began to nod but she couldn't hide it anymore. Alexis shook her head and kept her eyes focused on the road, scared that if she looked over at Cody she might start to cry. All of a sudden Alexis felt Cody's hand on her free hand and squeeze it gently. She looked up and saw Cody offering her a shy smile.
"One more month." He said before taking his hands off hers.