Chapter Text
"I'm getting really worried about him, Perrie," murmured Zayn to his fiancee over the phone. "Harry's not acting like himself anymore; he hardly eats, sleeps, or drink, and when he does it's usually because we forced him to. He even dug out that old stuffed animal he had when he was sixteen. You know, the stuffed lion? That one. And not only that...but I've caught him sucking his thumb a few times. Do you think it's the stress?"
"Take a breath, love," said Perrie, amused yet slightly worried at Zayn's rant. "It most likely is the stress. You have a major tour coming up and you're going to have to start the new recordings soon. Not only that, but none of you are able to go home during the times they said you could. That must be hard on you all, but especially him, since he's the youngest."
"I suppose so...I just hate seeing him like this," Zayn sighed, running a hand through his hair tiredly.
"Oh really? As I remember, you had a lot of fun being a Dad to him, you big protective Papa Bear," teased Perrie, laughing at the blush she could imagine on the Bradford man's face. Zayn blushed and huffed, not even trying to deny it. It always brought a warm feeling to his heart every time he could help the youngest boy with something, even if it was as trivial as tying a shoelace that Harry had forgotten about. Though it didn't seem like Harry was complaining, so it wasn't exactly one-sided. They talked for a while more before a humongous BANG! sounded throughout the tour bus and the wailing of a boy in pain sounded out. Zayn cursed and hung up swiftly, running to where the noise was coming from and his heart broke at the sight. Poor Harry was sitting in a puddle of water on the kitchen floor, surrounded by various pots and pans and crying his little heart out. Zayn sighed and scooped the younger boy up, setting him on his hip and carrying him out toward the sofa area. Thank God none of the other boys where here, or they would’ve added to the general cacophony.
"Hey sugar, you wanna tell me whats going on?" cooed Zayn as he bounced Harry on his knee gently. "Why are you crying so hard, sweet boy?" The younger man couldn't even answer, he was crying so hard. He simply buried his face in the tattooed mans' neck and gripped his tank top in both hands, trying to burrow as far into the man as Harry could get. Zayn simply shushed him and rocked him gently, brushing away tears as they came and cradling the fragile boy closer.
“How about we watch our favorite movie, yeah? And if there’s time, next week Perrie will visit and I don’t think she would want to see her little baby cry like this,” he said softly, almost hating the warm feeling the words brought him. Surely, if Harry was in his right mind, he wouldn't approve of the baby-ish words. Harry, however, seemed to perk up.
“Perrie?” he asked softly, rubbing his emerald eyes cutely. He sniffled and looked around eagerly, trying to spot the woman who was so much like a mother to him. Zayn laughed quietly, turning the younger boys’ face to him.
“She’s not here right now, love, but she’ll be here next week, remember? We have a whole two weeks to ourselves and Perrie will be here with us!” exclaimed Zayn over enthusiastically, trying to get Harry to perk up. It worked a bit-the Cheshire boy was still tired from him crying fit earlier. Harry laid his head on Zayn’s chest, gripping the older boys shirt next to his face. He nuzzled into the warmth, inhaling the comforting scent of cigarettes and cologne that was Zayn.
“There’s a good lad, just go to sleep now. I’ve got you,” murmured Zayn, rubbing Harry’s back gently. Harry snuffled, falling asleep easily in the protective embrace of his older bandmate. Zayn waited a few more minutes to make sure he was completely asleep before easing himself quietly from under Harry, tucking the younger lad into the couch and spreading a soft fleece blanket over him.
The Bradford man yawned, scratching his head and making his way to the kitchen, preparing dinner for when the other boys would get back from their shopping trip and Harry would undoubtedly wake up. He hummed softly, swaying back and forth as he mixed ingredients together and turned the stove on.
An hour passed and dinner was almost done when the other boys came tumbling into the bus, laughing loudly about some joke that Louis probably told. Their noises in turn began to wake Harry, who snuffled and whined about being woken. Zayns eyes widened as he rushed into the living room, shushing the three boys frantically.
“Be quiet you lot! I just got him down an hour ago, and he needs all the sleep he can get,” whispered Zayn in a strained voice. Liam and Louis sheepishly nodded while Niall looked worried.
“Is he still not sleeping well?” he asked, concerned for their youngest bandmate. Zayn smiled tiredly, looping his arm around the Irishmans shoulders.
“No, not really. The stress must be really getting to him...he’s been clingier than normal, and he’s become forgetful of everyday things. I even had to remind him to go to the bathroom yesterday,” sighed Zayn, scrubbing his forehead. Nialls face crumpled in distress, wanting to go soothe the boy that was like a little brother to him. A beat of silence passed and Louis spoke up.
“You know, he didn't want me to tell you guys this, but he wet his bunk a few nights ago.”
Shocked gasps sounded throughout the bus.
“Yeah,” sighed Louis, defeated. “I promised him I wouldn't, but this is more serious than we thought. What if he forgets where he is? He’s acting like a little kid, and it’s really worrying me.”
“There’s got to be something for this...maybe we could try searching the internet? There’s got to be somebody else that has gone through this,” spoke up Liam, biting his thumbnails in thought.
“That sounds good, actually. But we should wait to look until Harry is asleep, I really don’t want to upset him any further, and this might be one of those things that would send him into a crying fit,” agreed Zayn. The other boys unanimously agreed and set off to put their shopping bags away, and Zayn walked to the couch, kneeling by Harry’s sleeping form.
“Hey Har-bear, time for you to wake up,” he cooed gently, shaking the boys’ shoulder. Harry groaned, rolling over to face Zayn. He blearily opened one eye, making a grumpy face at the older boy.
“None of that now, we’re having Shepherds Pie for dinner, its going to be very yummy!” said Zayn excitedly, lifting the younger boy from the couch and setting him on his feet. Harry yawned and took Zayns hand in his, a silent demand for affection. The Bradford lad just smiled and led the curly haired boy to the table, setting him down and handing him a full plate.
“I want you to eat all of that now, even the vegetables,” said Zayn sternly. Harry nodded sullenly and ate the food without much fuss as Zayn tidied the kitchen, handing Louis, Niall, and Liam their plates as the walked in.
Dinner passed without much fuss since it was one of Harry’s favorite meals, and Zayn walked the boy from his chair to the bathroom.
“Go get cleaned up, babe, I put a change of clothes in their for you already” said Zayn, kissing the younger boys temple and ushering him to the bathroom.
“Mmmkay,” said Harry sleepily, stripping off his shirt and closing the door behind him. Zayn just waited outside the door, knowing Harry would be quick. Ten minutes later, the curly haired boy walked out and Zayn grabbed his hand, leading him to his bunk.
“You wanna sleep in my bunk or yours tonight, bud?” said Zayn. Harry’s eyebrows scrunched in thought.
“Yours,” he muttered decisively. Zayn nodded, helping the younger boy into Zayns own bunk, but frowning on the inside. Harry was not usually this quiet, always telling them some ridiculous joke or fact of some sort. Zayn left the hallway light on for Harry and walked back to the living room where the other three boys were waiting.
“Are you ready for this? We might find some weird stuff,” reasoned Liam.
“I just want to find something to help Harry. I don’t care if I have to change his fucking diaper, but he just cant go on like this,” said Zayn determinedly. The boys nodded, opening their respective laptops and typing different phrases into Google.
It was hours later when Niall piped up.
“Hey lads? I think i might’ve found something,” he said, staring wide-eyed at the screen. The other men, intrigued, leaned over to stare at the screen.
“What is it?” asked Louis, craning his neck to get a better look.
“From what I’ve seen, Harry’s been acting a lot like a little kid. A baby, even. So I typed in some stuff about adults acting like babies and it came up with this. Its a whole different lifestyle.”
“Wait...you mean people willingly wet the bed? And act like kids?” questioned Liam, perplexed.
“It’s not just that,” said Niall. “People find a lot of comfort in it. They get to relieve their childhoods, and this guy right here says he does it to take off the stress of everyday life. He said that it gives him a sense of security to have someone that will be there for him to help him with bathing, or changing his nappy, or playing with him when he’s bored. He says he feels safe and protected,” described Niall.
Zayn hummed, creasing his eyebrows in thought. That sounded an awful lot like what Harry was going through, with the stress and needing to feel protected by cuddling up to Zayn.
“Is there anything about him doing this willingly?” Liam asked, steepling his fingers together. Niall scrolled through a few more of the man’s posts before he found his biography at the bottom.
“He says it was forced on him at first. Apparently, he wasn't talking to people and not eating or sleeping very much, and generally withdrawing. His friend was concerned and decided to treat him like the child he was acting like, and imposed a bedtime, and made him wear nappies, and he says that he’s never been happier.”
“That really does sound like Harry,” said Louis in awe. Niall nodded, eyes wide as he leaned back in the sofa. The three boys looked to Zayn, whom Harry had grown the most attached to. The scruffy man scratched his chin in contemplation for a few minutes, seriously thinking over the situation.
“It’s really the only logical way to go, boys,” he said at last.
“But what if Harry doesn't like it at all? What if he hates us for it?” questioned Niall worriedly.
“He wont, but just in case...we can talk more about this in the morning. We cant just make a snap decision about him,” said Liam, getting up and stretching his arms. The other boys agreed, shutting off the computers and crawling into their respective bunks.
Zayn walked to his, curling around Harry and shutting the curtain behind him. He tried to shut his brain off from the images of Harry in a diaper, or Harry with a dummy and tried to focus on the present.
Tomorrow could wait.