Chapter Text
Harry felt the breath leave his body when Louis stepped into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. They always closed the door before going to bed, but this time it was different. There was a much different mood in the air, and it made Harry’s heart stutter.
Louis closed the door with a click, before pressing onto the handle to lock it closed. He then turned, his movement accentuated, as he sashayed across the room with ease, walking straight over to Harry, who was standing on the other end of the room.
“Hey,” he said in a low voice, his hand coming up to cup Harry’s face in between them. Harry’s eyes looked up at him tentatively, his heart hammering inside of his chest as he looked into the deep blue eyes. Louis’ eyes were darker than usual, full of heat and lust. Harry could feel the heat radiating off of him already. They were so close as well, their bodies only an inch apart- barely grazing one another.
Harry swallowed thickly. “Hey,” he answered back, his voice sounding much different than usual. It was shaky with anticipation and nervousness. And it reflected just how he felt as well. Nervous and excited at the same time. Louis picked up on it and his expression softened a little bit.
“Do you want to do this?” He asked in a gentle voice, his hands starting to play with the hem of Harry’s shirt almost like he was waiting for the ‘ok’ to take it off. Despite him trying to be gentle and caring, it just sent even more chills down Harry’s spine.
“Please,” he said softly, his voice coming out a sort of rasp. He must have sounded incredibly needy, but he couldn’t help it. After what Louis had pulled downstairs, he was incredibly horny and needy. He had a tent in his pants already and didn’t want anything else but to finally finally get his hands on Louis. And not just kissing in secret like they usually did. He wanted to actually kiss Louis and touch him and feel him for real this time.
Louis smiled at that. “Perfect,” he said lowly as he took a step even closer until their bodies were now touching with Harry pinned against the wall. Harry’s breath hitched when they touched, being able to feel Louis’ hardon brushing against his own. Louis seemed to bite back a moan.
Harry was completely pinned where he was standing, stuck in between Louis’ body and the wall. He could barely move. But he did manage to free his arms, and reach them upwards to interlock behind the other man’s neck, his fingers playing with his hair.
“Tell me when to stop,” Louis said breathlessly. Harry only had enough time to process his words, before two lips were capturing his own and pressing into a kiss. He opened his mouth immediately, falling pliant to the other man’s mouth. He couldn’t help it as he moaned a little, feeling Louis’ mouth start to take over his mind. The taste, the feel, the- everything. It was just Louis who was clouding his brain and he loved it. He couldn’t get enough of it. Just Louis, Louis, Louis, Louis. It was all he could focus on.
Louis started sucking on his bottom lip, while Harry just went along with him. Their mouths moved along in perfect sync, like they had been made just for each other. It was like Harry’s lips would never feel right on anyone else’s. Only Louis, who he had been made for.
His mind had gone hazy, all that he cared about was that he wanted more. He needed more of Louis and he didn’t care about anything else right now. Harry moaned again, as he rutted down on Louis’ leg that was pinned between his thighs. The friction lept straight up to his dick, only making him harder. He moaned again, but this time Louis’ moans mixed in with him.
“God Hazza,” Louis gasped between kisses, his hands clenched into fists against the wall. He looked like he was barely containing himself at this point, his erection sticking straight out and poking against Harry. “You... you’re driving me crazy...”
Harry gasped, rutting down even harder and feeling pleasure shoot straight to his spine. “That’s the point,” he managed to choke out breathlessly. He definitely was a lot bolder than he usually was. He was just going to blame it on the fact that he was incredibly horny and Louis was right there. The two usually went hand in hand anyways.
Louis managed to tear his mouth off of Harry’s, his face dropping down to his neck. He pressed his lips there instead, starting to kiss and nip at it. And that only prompted Harry to keep going, dry humping his leg while several hickeys were being sucked onto his neck. If he hadn’t been completely lost in the pleasure before, he certainly was now.
He was so lost that he barely even realized Louis’ hand shaking around to the front of his shirt, until a hand was tugging at the bottom of it. He stopped his movements briefly, only to look Louis in the eyes. Two blue orbs were staring back at him, questionably. “Can I?” He asked softly, genuine patience in his eyes. Harry nodded, before stopping.
“Wait,” he said, before Louis could make a move to remove the shirt. Louis stopped, glancing up at him in concern for a moment. Harry swallowed thickly, looking him dead in the eyes. His heart was hammering like a drum. “Pants too.”
Louis stared at him for what felt like a lifetime, before letting out a shuddery breath. “Fuck,” he mumbled, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swalllowed thickly. “That’s hot. You’re so hot.”
Please,” the younger whispered, the anticipation starting to kill him on the inside. His member was throbbing inside of his pants, willing to be free. And his clothes were so hot around his body.
Louis nodded hastily, taking a step closer again. Tentatively, his hands found their way to the bottom of Harry’s shirt. He fiddled with the fabric for a second, before slowly starting to peel it upwards. He ever so carefully lifted it, his eyes wide and staring the entire time. Harry just stood patiently, but itching on the inside. Louis then pulled the shirt over his head until he wed completely free, before throwing it away.
Harry stood as still as he could handle while Louis eyed up his body hungrily. His eyes raked over the curly haired man’s torso like it was a piece of meat that he was waiting to devour. His hands moved to grasp at his hips as his thumbs thumbed over the fern leaves that were tattooed onto his skin. “So beautiful,” Louis mumbled to himself, his gaze dropping down. Harry would have blushed if he weren't already so flustered.
As if he sensed how restless Harry was getting, Louis started moving his hands down to the waistband of the pants he had been wearing. He grasped at them, before slowly tugging them downwards as if to tease Harry. The only issue was when he got lower and felt the lace fabric of something else. Louis stopped, and his eyes widened. “Harry,” he said breathlessly. “Is this... are these the panties I gave you?”
“Pull them down a little lower and find out,” Harry managed to gasp, feeling a smirk start to tug at his lips. He didn’t think Louis had ever ripped off his clothes faster than just then. It was less than a second until Harry was standing there, exposed with his pants halfway across the room. He didn’t even blink until he was completely naked except for the red, lace panties that were still clinging to his hips.
This time, Louis didn’t even wait before diving in for another kiss. It was like something inside of him had been awoken by the sight of Harry, almost completely undressed in lingerie, that had made his mind snap. His lips smashed against Harry’s and his nimble hands slipped into the back of the undergarment. Harry gasped loudly when Louis’ hands cupped at his cheeks. The feeling was so familiar and intense. But he muffled his moans with Louis’ lips.
Louis’ hands squeezed his cheeks a few more times, before tapping meaningfully at them, signalling for Harry to jump. And Harry had done this enough times with Louis to know what to do already. He hopped up wrapping his legs around the other man’s waist while Louis lifted him up and placed him against the wall while supporting most of his weight. They then continued making out heatedly, nipping and tugging at each other’s lips while moaning shamelessly.
It wasn’t until Louis’ fingers had started to prod Harry’s cheeks apart to poke at his hole a little that Harry decided to break the kiss. Louis looked at him, blinking doely at him in confusion, concern on his lips. But Harry simply tugged at his shirt like he had a hatred for it. “Off,” he stated, gasping. “I’m not going to be the only naked one here.”
“Yeah?” Louis said, his voice rough and ragged from the kissing, as he placed Harry onto the ground. He then started pulling off his shirt dutifully. “Technically you’re not even naked.”
“I don’t hear you complaining,” the curly haired singer stated, trying his best to keep his eyes from gluing themselves onto the older man’s skin as his shirt lifted to reveal his toned abs. He had been working out. Harry’s mouth started watering.
Louis let out a small, breathless laugh. “If you think I’m going to be complaining about this,” he reached over to the waistband of the panties, pulling them away an inch before letting them snap back onto the other’s bare skin. “You’re insane.”
Harry opened his mouth to reply, but that was when Louis decided to start taking off his pants. His mouth snapped shut immediately, and his eyes found their way down to track the movements of his hands. His heart felt like it was going to explode, similar to the way his dick was feeling right about now as well. Only, Louis didn’t just take off his pants. As he tugged them down, it soon became clear that he wasn’t wearing any boxers underneath. Harry felt his mouth run dry. “You’re not wearing boxers,” he whispered as Louis tugged his pants to the ground. His dick, almost fully erect was standing up, huge as ever and throbbing. The sight of it only made Harry feel weak in the knees.
Louis froze his movements. His eyes scanned Harry’s face, looking for any sign of discomfort. He must have seen something flicker across the younger’s face, and he immediately started reaching back down for his pants again as if he had done something wrong. “Is that a problem?” He asked, his eyes widening. “Shit Harry, we don’t have to do anything. I just thought after what had happened downstairs and since you were wearing that I just thought you wanted to-”
“I do,” Harry said breathlessly, his eyes managing to tear away from the bulge Louis was sporting to look into his eyes. He was certain his eyes had gone several shades darker with want. “I want you to fuck me, Louis.”
Something in Louis’ face seemed to change. His Adam’s apple bobbed again. “Are you sure?” He asked, his voice much lower than it had been before. “Harry, are you one hundred percent sure?”
“Yes,” Harry answered back, his voice soft. His gaze flickered down his body again. “I’ve wanted to for so long that it hurts. You have no idea- no idea how much I’ve wanted to do this with you. It’s been years, Louis. I just need you now, please. Please make love to me, Louis.”
“Of course, baby,” Louis said gently, but there was still an edge of lust that crept into his voice as he said it. The pants dropped again, falling to the ground and this time he stepped out of them. “I’ve wanted to see you like this for years too. Wanted to touch you. Get on the bed, Hazza.”
Harry swallowed, before nodding. His heart was racing with both want and anticipation as he walked to the bed and slid onto it, Louis watching him do so. It was like being watched by a hawk, and you’re it’s prey. Exciting. He climbed onto the bed, before shifting down until he was lying on his back, completely exposed.
Louis walked over to him, his eyes darkening as he slowly climbed onto the bed as well. He crawled over until he was completely hovering overtop of Harry. His eyes were dark and lustful as they raked over his body. “You sure about this, Haz?” He asked once more, his tone quivering. Their bodies were so close, practically touching one another.
Harry shivered. “Yes,” he whispered.
***
It was barely even 5 in the morning when the kids decided that it was time to get up. Thankfully Liam was a light sleeper and managed to catch them before they could wake everyone up before the sun was even up. Then at 6 in the morning, they were up again. And this time it was just easier to get up with them rather than try to put it off any longer.
Harry woke up to the sound of several fists banging on the door as loud as they could. “DADDY!” Someone yelled from the other end of the door. It sounded like Allie, but it was muffled so really it would easily have been either of the twins. “DADDY COME ON! WAKE UP! IT’S CHRISTMAS!”
He groaned a little as he woke up, feeling like his entire body was weighted down on the bed and he couldn’t move. It took him a few moments to realize that it was because another body was lying over him. Then it clicked that it was Louis, his arms wrapped completely around Harry, holding him close to his chest. He couldn’t get free from the strong, death grip.
“Daddy?” Another voice asked, this one sounded a lot more like Robbie. He sounded concerned. The door handle jiggled a little as he tried to open it. “Daddy? Why’s the door locked? Daddy, are you in there?”
“Yeah, I’m in here,” Harry answered as to not worry his kids, wincing at the croaking sound of his voice. Mixed with both his usual morning rasp and the damage Louis had done to his throat last night. He then looked down at himself, seeing that he was still completely naked, and in no shape to go downstairs yet. “I’ll be out in a minute, okay? Why don’t you head downstairs with the other kids. Me and Lou will be down in one sec, okay?”
The jiggling stopped. “Okay,” Allie said easily, sounding a lot more reassured than a second ago. “We won’t start without you, so hurry.”
“I’ll hurry,” the curly haired man called back, wincing at his voice again. He just hoped that the door muffled it enough so that they couldn’t hear how screwed he sounded. But, after a moment, he heard the sound of the two of them shuffling away again and heading downstairs, much to his relief. He even let out a small sigh as they left.
He felt the two strong arms around him shift a little, followed by a long sigh of air. Breath fanned over Harry’s neck, causing him to smile a little. He turned around, trying not to move Louis around too much, as he turned to face the other man.
Louis was fast asleep still, his mouth parted open enough to let the sound of soft snores escape. His face was completely relaxed and peaceful. His forehead wrinkles and eye crinkles were smoothed out as he slept. He just looked so soft, and it made Harry’s heart swell a little. He slowly leaned in to press a small kiss to his jawline, unable to help himself. “Louis,” he said gently, prodding him a little. “Louis, wake up. It’s Christmas.”
Louis groaned a little as his eyelids fluttered a little bit. His brows crinkled, which only made Harry smile even more. Despite Louis always saying that Harry was the cute one when he woke up, he couldn’t help but think that was wrong. He didn’t think there would ever be anything better than watching Louis wake up. His face scrunched up in discomfort, before relaxing again as his eyes slowly blinked open. He blinked a few times as his eyes seemed to focus. Then he smiled. “Hey,” he rasped.
Harry smiled, snuggling in closer to the other man. “Hey,” he replied softly, leaning up to press another kiss to his face. “Goodmorning.”
Louis hummed in contentement, smiling at Harry. “Merry Christmas, Hazza,” he said, his voice in it’s usual morning rasp. It was deeper and rougher than usual, and it was probably one of Harry’s favourite sounds in the world. It just made him feel so soft and familiar. Plus, it was hot.
“Merry Christmas, Lou,” the younger answered, tucking himself into Louis’ arms again. He laid his head down onto his bare chest, feeling the steady rise and fall of it as he breathed along with the sound of his heartbeat. He sighed again, closing his eyes. “We had sex.”
Louis hummed. “I know,” he answers softly, his fingers coming up to massage themselves through Harry’s hair. His fingers got caught in his curls a little from where it was already messed up, but he just thread through them without pulling at the knots. It was relaxing and made Harry hum a little. “Are you okay?”
Harry smiled. He really loved Louis at times like this. Times when he was just so soft and caring, the only concern on his mind was Harry’s wellbeing. “My ass hurts,” he answered. “But yeah.”
“Want me to kiss it better?” He offered, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Harry giggled, smacking him on the stomach in response. “You creep,” he commented lightly. “You got enough of that last night, perv.”
“Yeah right, like I could ever get enough of you,” Louis stated, nosing his hair lovingly. “Or your ass,” He added after a second of thought. Harry hit him lightly again, causing him to bark out a laugh.
“Pervert,” Harry commented again, sitting up and stretching his arms over his head, fully aware of the fact that he was completely naked and that it was cold. “We have to get up now, the kids are all already awake and ready to open some presents. Allie and Robbie already tried to come in here and wake us up.”
“Thank god I locked the door or else they would be scarred for life,” Louis said with a small shudder. “I’d hate to see my dad in a bed naked from- you know what, I’m just going to stop myself right there before I finish that sentence.”
Harry giggled a little, scrunching up his nose. He didn’t want to picture that either. “Good call,” he said. “And I wouldn’t want them to have to see their dads naked in bed together because that would probably terrify-” Louis inhaled sharply, his eyes bugging out of his head. Harry frowned. “What?” He asked, furrowing his brows.
Louis let the air out in a slow, thin line. “You said dads. As in, plural,” he said slowly, now much more awake than he had been just a second ago. He was now sitting up straighter, a serious and anxious expression on his face.
“Oh,” Harry said, blinking. “Did I?”
Louis nodded his head slowly. “Yeah, you did,” he stated slowly, his eyes wide. Harry blinked again, he hadn't even realized. But Louis was not so passive. He reached over to touch Harry on the arm. “Haz, did you mean it? I know that shirt yesterday was, well, one thing. But are you serious about this? You want to tell them the truth?”
“Not the whole truth,” the twenty four year old said, lifting his eyes to look Louis in the face. “I don’t want to tell them about Eleanor or Simon or anything like that. And I don’t really want to get into why I kept it a secret either. Not that until they’re older and can maybe understand it better. But yeah, I want to tell them part of the truth. Like I want to tell them about you.”
Louis’ eyes softened, and he reached up to cup the younger man’s face in his hands. He ran the pads of his thumbs over his cheeks gently, his gaze gentle. “Only if you’re sure, love,” he said sweetly. “But I would love that.”
“I want to,” Harry insisted, leaning into the touch of the other man’s rougher hands. “I want to tell them and just be honest. That way we don’t have to sneak around anymore with… well, whatever this is. I just don’t want to have to hide it- hide you- from them anymore. Not when this is something they should have known from the beginning. And they really love you, Lou, and they want you in their lives. So… I want to tell them the truth.”
While he had said all of that, Louis had inched closer. His face was now looking at him softly. He was silent for a few moments, before leaning in to capture Harry’s lips in his own. He then kissed him softly and gently, before pulling away. “You’re amazing, you know that right?” He said softly, causing Harry to blush and look down at the bed.
“I’m just doing the right thing,” Harry said softly, biting onto his bottom lip that still tasted like Louis.
“So amazing,” Louis repeated as if he hadn’t even heard him at all. “Now come on, I don’t think those kids are going to be able to wait if we take any longer.”
***
Allie squealed as she ripped open her present, revealing the latest Barbie she had been wanting. She ripped the doll out of the wrapping and clutched it to her chest, her face splitting into a huge smile. “Yay!” She shrieked happily. “It’s just what I wanted!”
Robbie, who had been watching his sister, turned to the matching present in his own hands. Without wasting another moment, he ripped his open as well. And sure enough, it was a similar Barbie that he had also been wanting. His face lit up immediately. “Yes!” He exclaimed. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“It’s from grandma and grandpa,” Harry said, smiling as he watched the two of them start comparing the dolls happily. “You’ll have to tell them thank you when we go see them later.”
They had been at it for about an hour, all twelve of them gathered around the tree to open presents. There hadn’t been much order to it at all, since the kids pretty much dove into the presents after they had done stockings, but it was fine since it was Christmas. The adults liked watching them open the presents more than opening it themselves anyways.
One of the most memorable moments had been when Niall had passed Harry and Louis a shared present, claiming that they needed it more than him. They had opened the box, only to reveal that it was a full box to brand new condoms. That had caused them both to turn beet red and shove the box somewhere behind them, out of sight from the kids while Niall raised an eyebrow at them.
The pile under the tree had been getting smaller and smaller as everyone continued opening presents, until there weren't many left to open. Just the occasional present that they found under all of the wrapping paper that had been scattered on the floor and couch, pretty much covering everything in sight.
“Are we ready to go eat some breakfast then?” Ollie asked, as everyone started to get more restless. All the presents seemed to be opened already, and it was clear that everyone was starting to get hungry for some food as well. “I’m starving.”
“Yeah, let’s go eat,” Freddie agreed, standing up and rubbing his stomach. “I’m hungry and I want to eat food now. Besides, there’s no more presents.”
“Wait,” Christle said, before anyone could get up to leave. She was tucked almost completely under the tree, the only thing visible was her legs with the rest of her upper body hiding behind the pines. She shimmied around a little bit to get out, before crawling back out. “Look what I found! Two more presents!” She exclaimed, pulling out two small, wrapped presents.
Gigi’s eyes widened and she clapped her hands together. “Oh right!” She exclaimed excitedly, scooching closer from where she was sitting on the couch. “That’s from your daddy and I. Go on, open it up!”
Christle then started ripping the wrapping paper off piece by piece in excitement. She then pulled out a small, white velvet box. Her eyes widened in interest, while everyone watched closely as she gently pulled off the top of the box. The little girl gasped. “It’s so pretty!” She exclaimed, holding up a small, charm bracelet, just small enough to fit her tiny wrist.
“We thought you’d like it,” Zayn said, watching his daughter softly as she admired the precious bracelet. “That way you can collect charms to add to it for a special occasion. See, there’s already one of them on there that your mommy and I got you.”
The five year old looked like she was going to start crying. “I love it!” She exclaimed, placing it gently on the coffee table, before running over to jump into her parents’ arms. “Thank you so much mommy and daddy! I love it!”
Gigi pressed a kiss to her head, while Zayn pulled her into a hug. “You’re welcome sweetheart,” the woman cooed.
Really, it was great to see how grounded the kids were. Like, they were growing up being millionaires with their parents as literal celebrities. It was easier for Harry, Louis, Liam, Niall and Zayn- because they had already gone to school and even had jobs before they were famous. But all their kids had ever known was being famous and living the rich, celebrity life. But they had still remained very grounded and grateful despite all of that, which was something that a lot of celebrity children couldn’t say for themselves. It was probably something having to do with their parents all being so hard-working and grounded themselves.
Bear popped his head up. “Didn’t you say there were two more presents?” He asked the younger girl. She nodded, passing him the second present. Bear walked over and took it, squinting as he read the name. “It’s for uncle Harry,” he said, passing it over to Harry.
Harry furrowed his brow as the small present was passed over to him. “For me?” He repeated in confusion as he took the present into his hand. It was small enough to fit in his palm, but it was kind of heavy for such a small present. He was surprised that it was for him, considering that he thought he had already opened all the presents for him. But sure enough, there was his name on the tag, written in fancy calligraphy.
Liam hummed, looking at it dubiously. “Who’s it from?”
Harry shrugged, looking over the present again for a name. “It doesn’t say,” he responded after a moment of searching, frowning in confusion. “There’s no name. It just says ‘Harry.’”
“Open it up then,” Niall said, shifting closer to Harry to get a better look, so that he was pretty much hovering over his shoulder. He nudged Harry a little. “Come on, Haz. Now we all want to see what’s in there. Come on and open it already.”
Harry shoved him a little in response. “I’m opening it, I’m opening it,” he said. It felt fragile just from the feeling of it, so he was careful as he took off the wrapping paper. He threw it into the ground with the rest of the paper, before holding up a small box. It was similar to Christle’s box, only this one looked much more expensive, with the name ‘Argintie’ on the box.
Harry knew enough about jewelry to know that the Argintie was one of the world’s most expensive jewelry stores in the US- maybe in the world. Harry had always liked the pieces that they sold there, and had always wanted to get one, but had never actually bought anything. His eyes widened. “Oh my god…” he breathed, his hands trembling as they reached down to open up the small box.
Gigi, who had seen the cover of the box, stood up to look inside as well. Her eyes then seemed to bug out of her head once she got a closer look. “Oh my god!” She exclaimed, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. “Are those pearls!?”
Sure enough, they were. Inside the box was a carefully beaded pearl necklace. Harry reached down with trembling fingers to touch one of the pearls carefully, as if it would break, in complete shock. They were beautiful. Probably the most beautiful pair he had ever seen. It was exactly the pair he had been wanting for years, only they looked so much prettier in person. They were so precious and stunning that he found he couldn’t look away.
Niall looked over again. “Holy shit,” he said, his eyes widening. He didn’t even know anything about jewelry and he was awestruck by the pearls. It was how you could tell that they really were that big of a deal. “Who got you that?”
“I don’t know,” Harry said, his voice coming off as breathy. He was still in shock, completely entranced by the beautiful necklace. “It doesn’t have a name on it.”
“Well look at that,” Niall said, reaching over to point at a small paper label that was underneath the necklace. Harry hadn’t even seen it before, since he had been so entranced by the actual pearls. “That has some words on it. Look at what that says.”
So Harry reached down for the paper, picking the pearls up in his hand. They were kind of heavy, but they felt right in his hands. He then picked up the label, being careful not to fold it over and wrinkle it. He then picked it up, seeing small letters written in the middle of the page. It was a neat calligraphy font with three words written on it.
Only The Brave.
***
It was later on in the day when Harry finally managed to get Louis alone. It was just past lunch and everyone was doing something. Gigi and Zayn were cleaning the dishes, since it was their turn. Niall was teaching Ollie how to play No Judgement on the guitar since Ollie had decided to learn and Niall had gotten a new one for Christmas. Liam was going through the wrapping paper, trying to find what could and couldn’t be salvaged for next year. Then the kids were off playing with their new toys, completely occupying themselves for a few hours. The only people not doing something was Harry and Louis, which gave Harry the perfect opportunity to pull the other man to the side.
Harry grabbed Louis by the arm, before pulling him towards the extra living room around the corner. It was smaller and more secluded and hardly anyone ever went in there. The curly haired man tugged Louis over there, before closing the door behind him.
Louis furrowed his brow. “What are you doing, Haz?” He asked in confusion. “If you wanted to go again, all you needed to do was ask. If I had known that you wanted to do this, I would have brought that box of protection that Niall so graciously got us.”
“Wait what, no-“ Harry said, blinking a few times as he shook his head. “No, that’s not what- no. I just wanted to ask you if, um, if you were the one who got me those pearls.”
Louis raised a single eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall with a smile. “Maybe it was me, maybe it wasn’t,” he answered simply and mysteriously. “Why? Do you like them?”
“Of course I like them, they’re beautiful,” Harry said, shaking his head and trying to remain focused. “They’re like, the best gift I’ve ever gotten from anyone. But I can’t take them.”
Louis’ smile dropped from his face, morphing into a frown instead as he stood back up. “Why not?” He asked, a crease coming between his brows.
He looked genuinely upset, so Harry was quick to continue. “Because they’re so expensive. They’re like, a million dollars at least, maybe even more, I don’t know how much they were. But they were too expensive and I can’t accept a gift like that when I got you almost nothing.”
“You bought me a Gucci watch, Harry,” the older man stated, raising an eyebrow. “That’s not almost nothing. And, like I said before, it might not even have been me who bought them for you. You have no proof, so really I wouldn’t be able to take them back even if you wanted me to.”
Harry frowned, and pulled out the box from behind him. He opened it up before placing the label in Louis’ hands. “Louis, the name of the pearls is Only The Brave,” he stated, crossing his arms over his chest. “Which happens to be the name of the last song on Walls. Besides, Niall wouldn’t get them for me in a million years since he doesn’t care about that stuff or even know what to buy. And everyone else either wouldn’t think of it, wouldn’t spend that much on me ever or couldn’t afford it.”
Louis hummed again, his eyes looking at the label. “You have no proof,” he said simply, handing it back to Harry. “Maybe you’ve got an admirer who saw those and thought they could only ever look good on you, and it would have been cruel to see them on anyone else.”
Harry didn’t say anything as Louis reached for the box. He then opened it up and took the necklace into his hands. He then reached behind Harry, clipping the pearls together at the back of his neck. The necklace was cold and heavy on his neck, but it felt right there. Harry didn’t move as the other man clipped them on delicately.
“Beautiful,” Louis said, taking a step back and smiling softly at Harry. He then pressed a quick kiss to Harry’s lips. “It was a gift, Hazza. Accept it. Clearly someone wanted you to have them.”
***
It was getting later, and Christmas was almost over. They had already eaten, and even had some desert that Liam and Harry had made together earlier in the day. It was apple crumble, which everyone had seemed to enjoy because it was gone within minutes.
Now everyone was just going their thing when Harry decided that it was time. Time for the moment of truth. The moment he had been anxious about for the whole day. It was time that he and Louis were going to tell the twins the truth. Everyone was doing their own thing, so Harry looked over at Louis. The older man also seemed to sense that the time was coming, and he nodded.
Harry stood up silently from the table. Nobody really noticed since they were all busy, so he had the chance to walk into the playroom, where the twins were sitting and playing with their toys. Harry smiled as he walked over to the two of them. “Hey loves,” he said softly, sitting down on the ground with them. “Did you have a good Christmas?”
Allie nodded, never taking her eyes off of the toy she was playing with in her hands. “Yup,” she answered easily, not even looking up. “It was super duper fun.”
Louis walked in silently as well, closing the door behind him and standing against it. He shot Harry a small nod. It was time.
Harry cleared his throat, sitting up straighter. His heart was beating wildly inside of his chest, but he did his best to remain as neutral as he could for the kids as to not freak them out. “Here, can we put the toys down now please,” he said, reaching over to put the toys on the ground. He was going to need their full attention for this. “There’s something Lou and I need to talk to you about.”
Robbie put his toys down slowly, looking up at them with big eyes. “Are we in trouble?” He asked nervously, looking between the two men with wide eyes.
Harry’s face softened, and he reached over to pull the small boy into his lap. “No, you’re not in trouble baby,” he said softly, pressing a kiss to the side of the boy’s head. “We just need to tell you both something serious, okay?”
Usually Robbie was the one to get nervous with things like this, but this time Allie was the one who seemed more panicky. Her head snapped up and her eyes flashed with anxiousness. “What?” she asked, blinking at the two of them nervously. “Why’s it serious? Is it bad?”
Louis came and sat down on the ground with them as well, crossing his legs and pulling the young girl to sit on his lap as well. “It’s not bad, love,” he said softly to her, wrapping his arms around Allie and letting her sink into the embrace. “It’s just kind of serious that your daddy and I need to talk to you about. Is that okay?”
The girl nodded. “Um, yeah…” she said slowly, but she still looked concerned and confused.
“Okay then,” Louis said gently. He then looked over at Harry, nodding for him to continue and take the lead with the conversation.
Harry nodded at him as well, before taking a deep breath. He was actually a little nervous about this as well, but he knew that it was something he needed to do. Something he wanted to do. “Well,” he said, letting out a deep exhale. “You know how a little while ago you asked me where babies come from?” The two of them nodded.
“You said it comes from their parents loving each other,” Robbie piped up quietly.
Harry nodded, remembering when he needed to give them that talk. It had been a year ago, before Louis was back in his life. That had been a hard talk to have by himself with the two of them. “Yeah, that’s right. And remember how I said that you need to have two parents to make a baby, right?”
“Yeah, but we don’t have two. I remember how you said that we don’t have another mommy or daddy,” Allie stated, nodding along. She was looking at Harry with a small confused, frown on her face. “But that doesn’t really make sense, daddy.”
Harry shot her a small, tight smile. “It doesn’t really make sense, does it?” He said, his eyes flickering up to meet Louis’. Louis was watching him carefully, his own blue eyes saddened. But Harry couldn’t focus on Louis right now or else he would start to feel bad all over again and wouldn’t be able to get through this. “Well, the truth is that you do have another dad.”
It took all but three seconds for their eyes to practically bug out of their heads. Their jaws dropped as well. They were in complete shock by the looks of it. “What!?” Robbie yelled, which was a testimony to how shocked they were considering that he almost never yelled.
“We have another daddy!?” Allie shrieked, her eyes popping out of her head. “Since when!?”
Harry couldn’t tell if they were happy or upset by this, so he continued hastily. “Well, you’ve always had another dad. It’s just… he didn’t know about you for a long time because we weren’t together anymore,” he said, trying to make it as simple as possible.
“Not together anymore?” Repeated Robbie, lowering his voice like it was a secret. “Like… divorce?”
“Uh, kind of,” Harry said, trying to find the right words. It was harder to explain the entire situation to two five year olds when so much of it was about things that they wouldn’t even understand yet. “We weren’t married, but yes, we stopped loving each other and separated. Which was why, when I found out that I was having you two, your other dad didn’t know.”
“How come he didn’t know?” Robbie asked, his brow furrowing as he struggled to understand everything. “How come you stopped loving each other?”
The twenty four year old hesitated. “Well,” he said, racking his brain for an answer. It wasn’t like he was going to tell them about Eleanor, or being forced into a closet, or about management just yet. “Sometimes things just get in the way and you stop trying-” Louis looked down at the ground “- but that’s not the important thing. The important thing is that now he’s back.”
Allie blinked. “He is?” She asked. Without warning, she turned around and looked at Louis. “Are you our dad, Lou?”
Louis blinked, completely caught off guard. Harry was too for that matter. He had not been expecting that to come out of the girl’s mouth. “Uh,” Louis stammered, blinking as he looked up at Harry for guidance. “How- why do you think that?”
Allie shrugged easily, like it was obvious. “Because you look like Robbie,” she stated. “And you’re always around. And I saw you kissing my daddy.”
“You did?” Harry asked, his eyes popping out of his head. They had been so careful for so long, either sneaking out to cars where they were in private or doing it when no one else was in sight. Harry didn’t think anyone, let alone his daughter, had seen them.
“Yeah,” the five year old stated, nodding her head up and down. She then stopped, and looked at Louis again, her eyes wide. “So does that mean you’re our dad too now, Lou?”
Louis looked up at Harry, who was watching him just as anxiously. He then looked over at Robbie, who had his eyes trained carefully on Louis as if watching his every move. Then he looked down at Allie, who looked like she was itching for an answer. Then he smiled. “Yes angel,” he said softly, biting onto his lip. “I’m your dad now too.”
In a second, Robbie was launching himself across the room and directly into Louis. Allie squealed and jumped up as well, grabbing onto his neck and pulling herself into a hug. Louis gasped a little as they collided with him, but brushed it off immediately to wrap his arms around the twins. He pressed a kiss to both of their heads, before squeezing them into his chest. His eyes were glassy with tears, but he was smiling brighter than Harry had seen him smile in a long time.
That was when Harry started crying. The emotions that had been building up inside of him for the entire day, all just spilled out at once. But it wasn’t just those emotions. It was all the times when he saw Robbie’s face and saw Louis looking back at him. It was those times when Allie would binge watch Grease and he wished Louis was there to be the Danny to her Sandy. It was all those times when he wished with all his heart that Louis had given their family a chance. All those times that he had wanted Louis to be there with them. It was how incomplete their family had been without him. And now he was there.
“Oh baby,” Louis mumbled, scooching towards the other man. He held out his arms again, so that there was room for Harry right in the middle of their group hug. “Come here, love.” Harry threw himself into Louis’ arms, feeling them wrap around him.
He shuddered a little as he felt three pairs of arms wrap around him, before letting out a small sigh past his lips. He felt happy. And it was then, for the first time, that their family was whole again.