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Harry had a secret. A secret that he refused to tell his best friend--his lover. He knew something like this could happen, he just didn't think it'd actually happen to him. Now the Cheshire boy stood in front of the mirror staring at the rather noticeable bump that replaced his toned stomach eight months ago. Truth be told, his bump was as large as a woman should be in her 20th week versus her 32nd, but he assumed it was just his figure or the baby was in an awkward position. Harry let out a shaky sigh as he grabbed his over-sized jumper and slipped it over his lanky form. He had to admit that hiding his pregnancy for the last eight months was a miracle considering nothing ever got past Louis.
A knock sounded at the door and Harry practically jumped. "Haz? You okay in there?"
"Yeah, Lou, just getting dressed," Harry replied as he checked his appearance once more before opening the door to an apprehensive Louis. Harry couldn't resist the sympathetic smile that painted his lips as he walked up to his boyfriend and pulled him into his body, careful that his belly didn't touch Louis'. "Why do you look so worried?"
"I've been worried about you, babe," Louis whispers, pulling away to gaze up at Harry with concerned eyes. His hands cupped either side of Harry's face as he explored his features before bringing Harry's lips down to Louis' and captured them in a tender kiss.
"What are you talking about, Lou?" Harry asked, furrowing his brows. "I've been fine."
"Well, it's a few things, actually," Louis began, dropping his hands from his lover's face to rest possessively on his hips. Harry instantly cowered away and Louis immediately released his grasp, narrowing his eyes at the Cheshire boy. "You've been vomiting the last few months, not mention the most random cravings I've seen and you won't let me touch you anymore," Louis explained, his voice cracking at the end. Harry swore he could see his boyfriend's eyes well up with tears.
Guilt struck Harry like a slap to the face. How could he have kept this from Louis? How could he have kept this from his boyfriend--the love of his life, his soul mate, the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with? Louis would understand right? He would have to, considering there was no turning back now. What's the worst that could happen? Oh, that's right. Louis would tell Harry what an arsehole he was for keeping something so huge as a baby from him for nine months and leave him. Harry couldn't handle that--couldn't live his life without Louis. And that's why he had refrained from telling the Doncaster boy he was pregnant with their child.
"It's not like that, Louis, I promise," Harry tried to assure, reaching out to caress Louis' cheek. Louis flinched back and shook his head. Harry's breathing hitched at the way Louis rejected him and could feel his own tears pooling in his eyes.
"Do you...do you not want to be with me anymore?" Louis whispered as the tears finally broke through the barricade. "Is that what you've been trying to tell me all along and I've just been oblivious to it all?"
"No!" Harry cried, eyes going wide in fear. He couldn't lose Louis and prayed to whatever deity there was that Louis would understand and stay with the pregnant lad. "That's not it, Louis, I swear, It's just..." Harry couldn't finish his sentence because Liam and Zayn rapped against the door before bursting in.
Louis couldn't have been more irritated at the moment. He pinched the bridge of his nose before turning to his two best friends, practically glaring at them. "What do you want?"
"Simon needs to speak with us," Zayn informed.
"They changed our order and we have to go over the set list," Liam added.
At this point, Harry couldn't have been more grateful for Zayn and Liam's interruption. It gave Harry the chance to properly find the best way to tell Louis he was going to be a father in less than a month. "Thanks, guys," Harry smiled briefly before turning to Louis. "We should get going."
Louis gave an exasperated sigh before running his fingers through his hair and nodding reluctantly. "Right, yeah, let's go." Louis didn't even wait for Harry and that was like a blow to the chest. Harry sighed and found himself subconsciously rubbing his belly. He quickly stopped the affection fearing someone noticed and continued down the hall.
As the group entered the empty auditorium, a sharp pain pierced Harry's abdomen causing the lad to halt and hunch over as he gripped the edge of the wall. Harry gasped quietly as his other hand flew to his stomach. Not now, little one, can't it wait? He whispered to the baby. Harry had read somewhere that Braxton Hicks contractions were common in the last two months but this contraction felt like the real thing.
"Harry?" Liam asked, voice laced with worry as he found Harry still hunched over with his hand on his stomach. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, um...just a stomachache, Li, nothing to worry about," Harry smiled, quickly standing upright again. The Cheshire lad hoped his smile was reassuring enough for Daddy Direction to just drop it.
"You sure? I can talk to Simon and see if we can postpone the meeting."
Harry shook his head, placing his hand on Liam's shoulder and feigning a grin. "I'm fine, Liam, really." He always appreciated Liam for his parental concern. He was Daddy Direction after all. When Harry looked over to the rest of the boys, his eyes caught Louis' anxious ones. Under the anxiousness, Harry swore he saw a bit of...betrayal? Could Louis really believe that Harry didn't want him anymore? From the beginning it was always them. They were compatible from the start. Harry knew Louis was his the first night they shared a bed in the X-factor house. The Cheshire boy even knew Louis was going to be his forever when Louis took his virginity two weeks later. It pained Harry to know that he was keeping this secret from the love of his life. Harry was afraid that Larry Stylinson would be no more if Louis found out he was pregnant. He just couldn't bear the thought of raising a child alone.
If only he knew what was really going on beneath the layers of clothes, then maybe he'd understand. Maybe everything would go as planned. Maybe his career would still run strong. Maybe just maybe...there'd be hope for the curly-headed boy. Only Harry couldn't take that risk of telling his boyfriend of one year that they were going to be parents. For Christ's sake, Harry was only seventeen and Louis, nineteen. Not to mention their career just launched and a baby would definitely fuck it up. He didn't have the heart to ruin his lover's career, let alone the rest of the boys.
"Alright, boys, I've arranged all of you, so listen clearly. Zayn you're going to be on the far right, Liam, the far left. Niall I want you next to Zayn and Louis next to Liam. Harry, you're going to be in the middle, clear?" Simon instructed, waving his hands around in said directions.
All the boys nodded and arranged themselves into the correct order and looked to Simon for further instructions. Harry tried to ignore the constant pain racking through his stomach. The contractions were too strong for Braxton Hicks and he had a feeling telling Louis about the baby was out of his jurisdiction now. He managed to get through three of the songs and right before he was about to belt out his solo, the sharpest contraction shot through Harry's body and he yelped, dropping the mic, the sound startling all of the boys as Harry dropped to his knees and clutched his stomach tightly
"Harry!" Louis screamed as he set his mic in its holder and rushed over to his boyfriend, dropping to his knees and placing a tanned hand on the younger lad's back. "Hazza, what's the matter? Baby, tell me what's wrong."
"Baby..." Harry groaned, blindly reaching for Louis' hand as the pain had reached the point of intolerable. Louis immediately took his hand and winced when Harry squeezed it mercilessly.
"Yes, baby, I'm here, what's wrong? What's wrong?" Louis asked frantically, wanting to do anything and everything to make whatever his Hazza was experiencing disappear.
By now, the rest of the boys crowded around Harry trying to convince the Cheshire lad to tell them what was wrong. The pain was so severe, tears leaked from Harry's eyes as he peered up at his boyfriend with glassy, emerald eyes. "The baby....baby is coming."
"What?" Louis whispered, furrowing his brows at Harry. Surely, he had heard his boyfriend wrong. "Baby? What baby?"
"The...baby...is coming, Louis!" Harry cried out as he felt another contraction rip through his body and squeezed Louis' hand so tightly, he was sure it would lose circulation.
It was then that everything clicked between the four boys and their eyes widened in shock and horror. Louis fumbled for the hem of Harry's jumper and pulled it up enough to reveal the noticeable bump, his eyes widening more at the evidence. "Oh, my god, Harry...y-you've been pregnant this entire time a-and never told me?" Louis' voice was broken and weak as he stared at the visible bump. The Doncaster boy's lover had been carrying their child this entire time and Louis felt like he let Harry down not noticing this earlier.
Harry stared up at his boyfriend with wide, panicked eyes. "I'm s-so sorry, Louis, pl-please don't leave me!"
Louis shook his head and swallowed the dry lump in his throat as his mind tried to replay the last eight months. Everything was starting to make sense. The vomiting, random cravings, Harry's refusal of sex. Those were the components to Harry's secret. It was insane how well Harry hid his pregnancy and as much as he wanted to be upset at the Cheshire boy, every fiber in his being refused.
"Why did you keep this from me, Harry?" Louis whispered, staring down at his pregnant boyfriend with an agonized, almost furious expression. "Why?"
Harry shook his head, tears streaming down his cheeks as Zayn and Liam helped Harry off the floor. The pregnant lad was only on his feet for a few seconds at most before he collapsed to the ground again when another contraction ripped through his body. "Ahhh!"
"You two can discuss this later, we need to get Harry to the hospital," Liam piped in as he and Zayn hoisted Harry to his feet again. They kept his arms around his back in fear he'd fall if he had another contraction.
Louis couldn't move. It was as if this newfound information pulled him into a different world. It was all of his senses were suddenly gone. Niall dialed the ambulance before he grabbed Louis' arm and practically dragged him after the other boys. In the back of Louis' mind, he knew there would definitely have to be an explanation for all of this, but right now, all he could think about was the fact that his boyfriend was pregnant and he had kept such a monstrous secret from him.
It was the sound of his boyfriend's cries for Louis that pulled him out of his trance. "Louis! Louis!" Harry called to his boyfriend. "Please...Louis, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Was the last thing Harry choked out before the doors closed, separating the two lovers as the car drove off to the nearest hospital. The terrified look on Harry's face was like a blade piercing Louis' heart. It hurt to see the Cheshire boy in pain and it was worse that Louis was the cause of that..
"Oi, Louis!" Liam snapped his fingers trying to get the older boy's attention. "What the hell is wrong with you? The one time Harry really needs you and you clam up, mate? The boy is frightened and you've done nothing!"
"I know," Louis sighed, running his fingers through his hair exasperatedly. He fumbled around his pockets, having not realized just how much his hands were shaking. He left his boyfriend. Left Harry to handle this on his own. Despite that all this had just happened in the twenty minutes, he truly felt like a dick for leaving his boyfriend to fend for himself. Of all people, Harry counted on Louis--trusted him with every fiber of his being. Louis knew that Harry was weak without him and he just watched his expectant boyfriend get carried away on a stretcher, in pain and all alone.
While the Doncaster boy pondered all this, he knew he had to get to the hospital--needed to be there for his boyfriend and unborn child. Louis could only imagine the thoughts running through Harry's distraught mind. He left me. He doesn't want me. I should have never told him. I should have aborted the baby. What was I thinking in believing he'd ever want me? Louis' eyes widened as his mind nearly screamed those words at him.
"I've got to get to him, Liam!" Louis panicked, finally retrieving his keys only to have them ripped out of his hands by the younger boy.
***
Harry lay in the hospital bed with a tear-streaked face as he stared at the monitor to the left. It mimicked his heartbeat as well as the baby's. He closed his eyes as another rush of tears threatened to spill from his eyes. Of course Louis wouldn't be here. How could he have been so stupid? His eyes opened before they dropped to the small bump encasing his and Louis' unborn child and wanted to mentally curse it for fucking up his relationship and career. He shouldn't be thinking like this considering it wasn't the baby's fault. It was his and Louis' fault. At this point, he wished he wasn't such a sex-crazed teenager because none of this would have happened. He'd still have his boyfriend. He'd be rehearsing for their show that was supposed to be tonight. Everything would have been fine. Only it wasn't because he was knocked up.
"Even if it's just you and me, peanut, I'll always take care of you," Harry whispered to the bump as he raised the hospital gown to reveal stretched pale skin and ran his hand across it.
"It's not going to just be you two, Hazza," a voice countered from the doorway and Harry's head snapped up, eyes going wide at the boy leaning in the doorway.
"Louis," Harry croaked, his voice raspy from crying. "Y-You're still here..."
Louis kicked off from the doorway and padded over to his boyfriend. He weaved his right hand through Harry's unruly hair and pulled him into a tender yet passionate kiss. "I never left."
Harry laughed in disbelief through his tears and brought his hand up to cup Louis' cheek. "I thought you left me for good."
"Oh, Haz," Louis frowned running his fingers through Harry's hair. "I would never leave you."
"Even if we're having a baby?"
"Even that," Lou confirmed, pecking Harry's lips before pulling away and grabbing a chair. The Doncaster boy immediately grabbed Harry's hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing his knuckles. "I love you, you know. I'm sorry if I made you think any differently."
"I wanted to tell you, Lou, I really did," Harry whispered, feeling his eyes well again. "I was just... afraid that--ahh!" Harry cried out, squeezing his boyfriend's hand as he tried to breathe through the contraction. "God...fuck, this hurts!"
"Deep breaths, babe," Louis tried to coach, raking his fingers through his hair with his free hand in attempt to soothe him. "That's it...you've got it. Better?"
Harry nodded, trying to get his breathing back under control. He closed his eyes before opening them and staring back at his boyfriend when the pain subsided. The pregnant teen smiled slightly and caressed his boyfriend's hand in thanks. "I love you, Lou, so much. I hope you know that."
"I love you, too, Hazza. I'll never stop loving you or our baby," Louis murmured placing his free hand over Harry's stomach. The Cheshire's smile only widened at that as he felt their child kick against Louis' hand.
Harry giggled, enjoying the adorable moment. "Peanut knows your voice. It knows your its father."
"Peanut?" Lou smirked with a raised brow causing Harry's cheeks to flush.
"Y-Yeah, peanut. I don't know the gender and I didn't want to keep calling the baby 'It' so I thought of peanut," Harry explained, giggling when it kicked against Louis' hand again.
"I wish I knew about peanut earlier," Louis murmured, peering up at his boyfriend. Harry's eyes dropped from the Doncaster boy's, feeling his eyes pool with tears again.
"I was afraid of how you would react. We're teenagers, Louis and we're about to be parents. We're supposed to go on tour in the next few months but I don't know how we're going to do that now. Shit, Louis, I've fucked this all up, I--
Louis grabbed either side of Harry's face and pulled Harry into breathless kiss, silencing his lover's ranting. Harry visibly relaxed and deepened the kiss before pulling away slightly and resting his forehead against Louis'. "You didn't fuck up anything. We've created another life, babe, and I wouldn't change it for the world."
Harry gave a relieved smile and he couldn't be more happier that Louis wanted this baby just as much as he did. The pregnant lad felt like everything would be okay now that Louis knew of the secret he had been harboring for eight months. They were going to be a family. Every negative thought he had about having this child washed away at the sight of his boyfriend rubbing his stomach and murmuring to their unborn child.
"I've only known about this baby for nearly an hour and I already love it so much. I love it because it's a creation of both of us. Half me and half you," Louis whispered, peering up at Harry through his long lashes. Harry smiled and pet Louis' hair as his boyfriend continued to rub and murmur to his stomach. "So, what did the doctor's say?"
"That I've gone into active labor. I'm only dilated four centimeters and it could be awhile before I deliver."
Louis hummed and sat up when his phone buzzed in his back pocket. Harry's still amazed that Louis' managed to fit anything in those tight jeans. Lou swiped at his phone and smiled before peering up at his boyfriend. "You up for any company?"
"The boys?" Harry inquired, pushing the fringe out of his green eyes. Louis nodded and Harry smiled in confirmation. "For a little bit. These contractions like to come at ran-FUCK!" Harry screeched just as another contraction racked through his body. Harry instantly clutched his boyfriend's hand, staring at Louis with pleading eyes. "K-Kiss me..." Louis furrowed his brows but fulfilled his lover's request, leaning in and capturing Harry's lips. Harry groaned into the kiss as the contraction racked through his body. The pregnant boy pulled away after the contraction subsided and turned to look at Louis. "Your kiss distracted me from the contraction."
Louis' grin widened and he stroked Harry's hair out of his face. "Yeah? I wouldn't mind kissing you through every contraction."
***
"I just want this to be over!" Harry cried, his eyes swollen and red. Harry had been in labor for nearly seven hours now and he had just about had it with everything. Every time the doctor came in to check him for dilation, it was always a number he didn't want to hear. He was so close to just telling the doctor to do a c-section instead. Harry was sweating, in pain, and uncomfortable. His hair was matted to his forehead and his hospital gown was sticking to his back. He just wanted this baby out and in his arms.
"It will soon, babes, you heard the doctor. You're dilated seven centimeters. Just three more and our baby will be here."
"Fuck you!" Harry growled. "This is all your fault. If we never had sex, I wouldn't be in this mess!"
Louis sighed, knowing it was just the pain talking. As soon as the baby was born, all negativity would be replaced with the joy of holding their brand new baby. "I'm going to go grab some coffee."
Harry's eyes instantly widened and his hand shot out to grab Louis'. "No! Don't go. I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I said. Please don't leave me."
Louis could feel his heart break at Harry's pleading tone. It was nearly two in the morning and the Doncaster boy was exhausted. Waking up six this morning for an interview and then partying it up afterward before rehearsals sounded great at the time thinking he'd be able to crash after they performed. So now that he'd been up for nearly twenty-four hours, he was beginning to regret their fun.
"Baby, I need caffeine in my system," Lou tried to explain, caressing his boyfriend's cheek before leaning down and pecking his lips. Harry's hand cupped the back of his neck, deepening the kiss momentarily--anything to keep his boyfriend close before Lou pulled away. "I want to be awake to see the birth of our child."
Harry nodded at that and dropped his hand from his boyfriend's neck. "Okay. Hurry back, please?"
"Of course," Lou smiled before pecking his boyfriend's lips again and ruffling his hair. "I love you."
"I love you, too, Lou," Harry murmured as he watched his boyfriend exit only to have Liam walk in the room with a tired grin plastered on his face. "You should be home with Niall and Zayn sleeping.
"Yeah, well who's going to hold your hand when Louis passes out?" Liam teased.
Harry's grin immediately dropped and panic replaced his discomforted features. "You think he'll pass out? He can't miss the birth, Liam! I can't do this alone!"
"Whoa, mate, calm down," Liam tried to soothe Harry. "Louis' was there for the birth of his sisters so I think he'll be able to handle the birth of his own child."
"He better or I'll kill him," Harry mumbled.
***
Louis tapped his foot impatiently as he stood in line in the hospital cafeteria. For it nearing 3 am, the hospital was pretty busy. The Doncaster lad couldn't understand why exactly but all he could think about was getting back to Harry. He had been standing in line for twenty minutes now and he was debating just running out of the cafeteria with the coffee in hand and paying for it later. It made Louis antsy leaving Harry by himself when he was so close to delivering.
Just as Louis had made the decision to set the coffee down and return to the room seeing as the line didn't seem to move any further, the twenty-one year old's phone rang and he nearly panicked when the caller ID read LEEYUM across the screen.
"What's wrong, Liam? Is Harry okay? What happened?" Louis rapid fired questions at the younger boy.
"Harry's having the baby. Apparently the doctor misjudged his dilation. He refuses to deliver until you're here."
"I'm on my way!" Louis informed before setting the Styrofoam cup on the nearest table and darting out of the cafeteria, taking the stairs two at a time until he reached the third floor, nearly running into Liam as the boy exited the room. "Shit, Liam, I'm sorry."
"It's okay, how's he--
"LOUIS! I need you!" Harry cried out and Louis cringed at how desperate and in pain his lover sounded.
"I'll call the boys and we'll be here when the newest edition of One Direction arrives, yeah?" Liam grinned.
"Great, yeah, thanks, mate!" Louis nodded, mainly focused on getting to Harry as he pushed past Liam and entered the room.
Harry's legs were already placed in stirrups, a thin blue sheet covering his lower half, a few pillows propping him up. The Cheshire boy was already sweating, beads of sweat dripping down the sides of his flushed face. Harry's eyes found Louis' and outstretched his hand for his lover to take. Louis immediately took his boyfriend's hand, running his fingers through his damp curls with the other.
"Alright, Harry," the doctor began, plopping down on the stool as she placed her gloved hands on his knees. "Nice big push for me, here we go."
Harry took a deep breath and hunched forward, bearing down as he felt the baby move through the birth canal, his eyes scrunched in concentration. Louis stood there, whispering comforting and encouraging words into his ear, telling him how great he was doing, how proud he was to be the father of their baby, how much he couldn't wait to meet their newborn child.
"Fuck!" Harry gasped, trying to regain his breath. He felt like his pushing wasn't doing anything. He could feel the baby pass through the birth canal but that was all. "This...this is hard. I can't do this, Louis...I can't."
"Yes you can, baby. You're doing so good, love, I'm right here," Louis murmured, pushing the fringe off his sweaty forehead.
"You're doing great, Harry," the doctor complimented. "A few more pushes like that and you'll have your baby before you know it."
Harry nodded and bore down again, holding his push longer this time only to feel the head start crown. "Ahh! Holy fuck, this hurts! Oh my, God!"
Louis glanced over the blue sheet and smiled wide. "Peanut is almost here, babe! Come on, keep going!"
Harry panted as he screwed his eyes shut again and bore harder, crying out when the head stretched him further. "I fucking hate you, Louis! You did this to me, you sadistic fuck!" If Harry hadn't been in so much pain, he would have never let those words leave his lips but, hell, giving birth wasn't easy and he certainly wasn't going to censor what he was feeling at the moment.
Louis ignored his lover's insulting words and continued brushing his hair back, feeling Harry squeeze his hand mercilessly. "Almost there, Hazza, you're doing so good, babe. I'm so proud of you."
"Head is crowning," The doctor commented as she took hold of the baby's head and began to slowly ease the baby out causing Harry to cry out in pain.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, this hurts!" Harry cried, tears streaming down his face as he stared up at his boyfriend with pleading, glassy eyes. Louis felt guilty, absolutely useless. He wished he could take the pain away from his lover but it was too late now. "FUCK!" Harry gasped loudly when the head was out, collapsing against the pillows and panting heavily. By now his hair was soaked with sweat, his face flushed red from exertion while tears continued to stream down his face. Next was the shoulders and Harry knew that was going to a bitch.
"Now, it's just the shoulders, Harry, you can do this."
"Come on, love, you can do this. You've done so well already. I'm so proud of you, Haz," Louis encouraged, smiling down at his already exhausted boyfriend and father of his child. "You ready?"
Not really, Harry thought to himself but nodded to Louis as he took in another deep breath and bore down, pushing with what strength he had left, screaming when the shoulders tore their way through and the baby left his body with one fluid pull from the doctor. Harry let out one final scream before he collapsed against the bed, exhausted from delivering their baby.
It was only a moment before the loud wailing of a baby pierced the quiet room and Harry's eyes widened in amazement when the doctor placed the bloodied baby on his chest. "Congratulations, you two, it's a boy!"
"Louis, look at him!" Harry sobbed as he gently wiped off their son's face. "Hi, peanut," Harry croaked, down at their new addition. "We're your daddies."
"Oh my god," Louis whispered in astonishment as he leaned in closer to glance at his new son. "Hi, baby boy, hi peanut. Haz, he's beautiful." A few tears trickled down his face as he stared at this new life-- a life that was half Louis and half Harry.
"Lou, he's perfect. He's ours," Harry choked through tears, admiring their precious baby. He peered up at Louis through glassy eyes as Louis stared back at him before leaning and capturing his lips in a tender kiss. "I love you, Boobear. Thank you for him, Lou."
"No, Harry, thank you. I love you too," Louis smiled as he pecked his lover's lips again, admiring their son. "What are we going to name him?"
"I was thinking Elijah Cyrus Tomlinson," Harry spoke up after a moment, rubbing their son's cheek with the tip of his index finger. "He looks like an Elijah."
"I love it. It's strong and unique, just like him."
"Alright, we've got to weigh and clean up this little man," the nurse interrupted the happy couple. "We'll bring him back when we're finished." Harry handed their tiny baby to the nurse and smiled tiredly at Louis.
"Sleep, love, I'll be here when you wake up."
"Only if you sleep with me," Harry mumbled, his eyes already falling heavy.
"You know I can't do that," Louis admonished lightly but plopped himself down in the chair next to Harry and grabbed his hand. "I'll sleep right here and I won't let go, how's that?"
"Deal," Harry hummed before his eyes finally shut and the light snoring began. Louis watched his boyfriend sleep peacefully for a few minutes before he, too, felt his eyes grow heavy and before he knew it he had passed out as well.
***
When Louis woke, he flinched at the bright light cascading through the open curtains. His neck was stiff and he had to blink a few times to clear his vision. He vaguely remembered last night’s events, wondering why the hell he was in a hospital room when the sound of a baby fussing brought his memory back in full force. Louis' grin only widened when he caught sight of Harry cradling their new bundle of joy while the rest of the members of One Direction cooed over their son. Harry looked better, Louis noticed. His hair was pushed back by the toothed headband he always used and his eyes weren't as puffy anymore.
"Morning, babe," Harry greeted in that raspy voice that would only indicate that he had just woken up not too long ago.
"Oi! He lives!" Niall laughed. "You two make one hell of a cute kid, mate!"
Louis rolled his eyes and sat up, stretching in every which way feeling his muscles crack and pop from sleeping in one position. "You think so?"
"Damn right, I do," Zayn piped in. "Elijah's pretty cute. He may end up cuter than you."
"Bugger off," Louis hissed playfully as he leaned over and pecked his boyfriend on the lips. "Did you get any sleep, love?"
"Quite a bit, actually," Harry nodded, his eyes never leaving their son's. "I fed him his first bottle a few minutes ago."
Louis smiled and caressed Elijah's cheek with the tip of his finger as he stared at the infant. He couldn't believe that he and Harry had created something so perfect, so precious. He would protect his son with his life and he knew this new addition was for the better.
"Do you want to hold him?"
"Yes," Louis nodded immediately as he carefully scooped Elijah into his arms and sat down on the edge of the bed near Harry's feet. The baby squirmed in Louis' arms and his father gently rocked him until the baby's fussing subsided. "Hi, peanut, I'm your daddy. I promise I'll never let anyone hurt you."
Elijah gurgled in his sleep and stretched his tiny little hand out and Louis couldn't help but giggle at his son's adorable antics. Elijah took hold of Louis' finger, making a fist around it and bringing it toward his body. It was then that Louis knew he could never live without Harry or their son and he wouldn't change this moment for the world.