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Louis sighed as he sat down at the table of his favourite café. It had been quite a long time since he had last been there and a lot had happened in the meantime. Louis was just happy that he could have some time on his own even if it was only for a few minutes, because his afternoon lessons were cancelled. As he sipped his tea, he let his mind wander to what could have been had he not ended up like this at only 23.
His mum had never been a particularly strong woman, always depending on a man being there, not capable of being alone. She was always betrayed and left to deal with a bunch of kids on her own, and of course it was never easy on her. Louis doesn’t really blame her, but still he can’t help but wish that he would have had the chance to do whatever he wants in his life.
He’s pretty sure that Dan was probably his mum’s last hope for her happily ever after. When he died in a car accident almost a year ago, she fell into depression and even tried to kill herself. It was like her brain just stopped working, talking to her became nearly impossible, and she was constantly in some kind of delirium.
Long story short, she was absolutely incapable of looking after her kids. She was admitted to a mental institution. Lottie and Fizzy were sent to live with their father, Mark, but because the man had serious financial issues, he couldn’t take all four of his children.
And that’s how Louis ended up with two eleven, and two one year olds to look after – Possibly forever, because the doctors say it is very likely that Jay might never go back to the way she was before. And he certainly did not want his siblings to grow up with a mentally unstable mother or in an orphanage.
Still, as much as he loved them, it was hard feeding four extra mouths, paying for day-care and new clothes (because who the hell knew how fast little kids grow?) with his modest salary from being a drama teacher. In addition to that, his social life was now limited to Liam, the headmaster, Zayn, the art teacher who had been his best friend all his life, and Niall, who worked at the day-care. And maybe also one certain Harry Styles, the main characters in far too many of Louis' (wet) dreams.
But, don’t even get Louis started on his love life thank you very much. He’s accepted long ago that he would only be able to start dating again when Ernest and Doris are at least 18. And if he’s also suffering from a severe case of blue balls, well no one has to know.
But worst of all, he was extremely exhausted. He was working all day and then picking u the kids and trying to feed them something that could almost be considered a healthy meal and getting the babies into bed while helping the girls with their homework. After, he usually has to clean, do laundry and all that other shit that adults need to do and then fall into bed completely worn out. He never really gets more than 5 hours of sleep.
In the eight months that he had been taking care of the kids, he had not once had a quiet minute so he was really appreciating the silence and being alone for once, even though he knew that he had to pick them up in only 15 minutes. He’d probably have to get going.
When he arrived at the day-care, he was greeted by a very distressed looking Niall holding a coughing and crying Ernest on his arms.
“He’s been doing that all day, won’t stop crying, won’t stop coughing ‘n’ fussin’ dunno what’s wrong. Probably got a cold.” He informed Louis.
Well, that was just absolutely totally completely brilliant. Louis couldn’t afford to stay home the next day, the summer production was nearing and his pupils were frankly still shit at remembering their lines. He just hoped it was nothing serious so he could send his brother to day-care.
He strapped the two toddlers into their seats and drove off to collect their older sisters from their yoga class. The only reason he let them take yoga twice a week was because he needed them to get out of the house so they wouldn’t cause even more trouble than they do already. Also, it was free because the school was offering it, which Louis definitely didn’t mind.
I mean why the hell were those two taking yoga of all things? Why not ballets like a normal eleven-year-old girl? Or horse riding? Footie? Hell, even karate would be fine but yoga? Yoga was literally only for pregnant women. Not for young girls. And most ridiculously, the class was taught by a lanky, long-haired man in his early twenties parading about in his yoga pants. Louis was not sure that was 100% appropriate.
But most certainly that had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he found said yoga teacher smoking hot and would not mind ripping these ridiculous yoga pants off the boys body. With his teeth. No. Nope. Definitely not. And even if, it’s not like Louis had time for that. He had to focus on the kids.
(And also he knew that Harry Styles was WAY out of his league but he would never, never ever admit that to anyone. Because Louis Tomlinson might have four kids to look after, but he was most certainly still desirable. At least that’s what he’d tell Liam. The lad doesn’t need to know about his dry spell thank you very much)
He parked the car in front of school and waited. Usually he would go in to pick them up (Because they could get kidnapped on the way to the car obviously, not because he wanted to stare at the teachers’ V-lines) but at the moment, he felt like falling asleep while standing up so he figured the girls would get the hint and come look for his car outside.
~~
HONK
“Whoa! Warn a man!”
Louis was rudely awakened by – well by himself crashing his head onto the steering wheel and thereby hitting the horn like an idiot. He blinked his eyes open looking for the voice that had just yelled at him, but he couldn’t see anyone. But to make up for it, the honking had woken Ernest who was now back to crying and coughing while Doris was babbling and blowing spit bubbles in her seat.
Louis sighed and turned to get out and collect his sisters. He was so tired, he just wanted to get them home and in bed. He opened the door and stepped out the car only to be met with a dishevelled Harry Styles in fucking yoga pants blinking up at him from the ground.
“Ummm… hi? What exactly are you doing down here?” Louis asked confused.
“Well basically I decided to be a good person and not let your sisters be kidnapped, so I waited in there with them but when you didn’t turn up after half an hour I thought I would go look for you and then you just honked your horn in my face and I was not prepared for that because you were asleep, right? So I fell over and-“
“Calm down mate, I’m sorry for scaring you, it wasn’t on purpose please stop talking so fast I’ve got a headache” Louis said sheepishly. “And sorry for not coming in, I must have fallen asleep.”
“Oh no, no, it’s okay! But are you alright? You look like shit to be honest!”
“Thanks man I really appreciate the compliment. Really.” Louis turned to get a wailing Ernest out of the car and set him on his hip.
“Ohmygod no I didn’t mean to offend you I mean you just look really pale and tired and I know you never get a break but I swear you look absolutely gorgeous I mean you could be a model. Like if you were a model and I saw a picture of you in a magazine I would probably get off to it-“ the yoga teacher broke off while Louis was barely containing his laughter.
“What the fuck Harry he didn’t need to know that what the hell? I’m so sorry Louis just please forget I said that what the hell where did my filter go??!” Louis was chuckling by the time the boy finished his rant. Usually, Harry seemed way more confident than Louis but maybe his fall had messed with his head.
“What is it with you talking so much today, love? I think the question is if YOU are alright, not me. But if it makes you feel any better, if you were a model I’d pay to lick your V-Lines” Louis teased.
Harry huffed, regaining his composure. “Don’t change the topic you really don’t look all that well. Are you coming down with something or are you simply overworking yourself? You know I can help. I could come with you and entertain the kids so you could get some sleep. You DO look like you need it”
“It’s fine. Little Ernie here just has a bit of a cold which is stressing me out a bit, but it’s nothing we can’t handle. Besides, I wouldn’t want you to get sick too” Louis said attempting a smile.
As if on cue, Ernest scrunched his nose and started wailing even louder and-
Threw up all over Harry. Louis wanted to cry. So much about that cold.
“A cold you say…? I don’t think vomiting is a symptom of a simple cold. And now that I’ve seen that I’m most definitely not letting you take all of your siblings on your own tonight because you are already tired and stressed and your immune system is probably shit right now. You’ll catch the flu as well and then you won’t be able to take care of your siblings. Just think of what’s best for them. Either I’m coming with you or you let me take the kids and go home on your own.”
Actually, that did sound heavenly. And Harry’s reasoning did make sense. “You can come with” he said in defeat and made a move to strap his brother back in the car.
“Don’t!” Harry screamed. “Don’t put him in the seat like this! You’ll get vomit everywhere and then you’ll have to clean your car. The older twins are inside playing scrabble, and I’m sure they could entertain Doris for a few minutes. And I’m gonna have to take a shower anyway and get changed, I’ll take Ernest and clean him up. You don’t happen to have a change of clothes, do you?”
Louis did happen to have one. He had learnt the hard way that you always need to have a change of clothes for toddlers. (The incident involved diarrhoea and not enough nappies, a very, very smelly car and a shitload of wash. So no, Louis never wants to repeat that experience)
~~
The school had put a couch for waiting parents in front of the yoga rooms. It was really comfortable and Louis was just so tired. He was just going to lie on it for a minute to rest his eyes so that he’ll be capable of driving without those annoying spots in his vision that he kept getting lately.
But who was he kidding, he fell asleep anyway. But this time, for the very first time in months, he didn’t wake because of the beeping of his alarm clock or the kids screaming or some other annoying sound. No, he woke up to his stomach growling and the smell of food invading his nose.
Also, he was in a bed that was way softer than his own (were those silk sheets?) in a room that was not nearly messy enough to be his own.
He creaked the door open and followed the delicious smell of food while asking himself if he should be feeling scared after waking up in a house that isn’t his and without his siblings. Then again, he had a feeling that a kidnapper would not lay him in a fucking silk bed, so he thought he didn’t have to worry too much.
As it turned out, the place was quite big but not in an intimidating way. It was just the kind of house Louis used to dream of when thinking about his future with a nice husband and kids. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he turned right and entered what he thought to be the kitchen, because of the delicious smell was flowing out from there.
He creaked open the door and was met by the one and only Harry Styles with flour all over his face and a giggling and squeaking Earnest.
Harry looked up and smiled. “Well good morning, did you have a nice sleep?”
“It was heavenly, thank you so much! You didn’t have to do that, I’m so sorry for bothering you! Oh my god, I fell asleep on that couch, didn’t I? Did you carry me? I’m so sorry, that’s so embarrassing, please don’t tell anyone I’m not a responsible guardian for the kids, I can’t lose them!”
“Hey, hey, it’s okay!” Harry took one step forward, pulling Louis in an embrace. “You are so great with the kids, you are in no way an irresponsible guardian. You are only a bit irresponsible when it comes to taking care of yourself. That’s why I called the headmaster and told him you were sick today. I mean you kind of were, you just kind of collapsed in the car yesterday from being so tired. The girls are already at school and Doris is at day-care. OH! And also, I made you some breakfast.”
SOME breakfast was and understatement, Louis thought as Harry handed him a plate on which he had a pile of scrambled eggs, two slices of toast, bacon, roasted mushrooms, a tomato and to top it off, Harry also handed him a separate plate with a stack of pancakes and syrup.
As Louis dug into his supersized meal, he realised that he would have been angry at anyone for letting him sleep till 12 and making him miss school without asking him first, but with Harry, he didn’t mind one bit. Harry was so nice and beautiful and Louis was well and truly fucked.
“What about your work?” Louis finally asked between two bites.
“I’m actually a lawyer and I love kids so I leave work earlier on Tuesdays and Thursdays to teach them yoga. I also teach some ballets classes on Saturdays, because you need to have some balance in your life.” Harry answered.
So that explains how Harry could afford the house and the fancy furniture.
“Isn’t it a problem that you’re not coming in today? I’ve already caused you enough trouble as it is and I cannot thank you enough!”
Harry just smiled. “I’m my own boss, I can come in when I want and even work from home, so it’s fine, really. I felt like you could use someone to take care of you for once.”
Next to him, Ernest started coughing and Harry quickly got up, pouring half a glass of orange juice and putting in some droplets of cough mixture. Then he fed it to the toddler through a drinking straw, and to Louis’ amazement, the boy drank it all. (He wasn’t entirely sure if it was because Ernest loved Harry as much as Louis did or because it was all the power of the drinking straw.
“I bought the house when I was still with my ex.” Harry offered after a while. “We were planning on getting married and having kids but then he cheated. Turns out he only wanted the money. It’s okay now, at least I realised he was an arse early enough, but I’m a little bitter about being all alone in such a big house. I really just want a family. The bigger the better, you know?”
“Well I guess if you’ve got the money for it…” Louis grimaced at the ground self-depreciating, then scrambled to correct himself when he realised what this might have sounded like to Harry. “I mean don’t get me wrong I love my siblings to death but they just turned my life upside down. I feel like one minute the only thing I was worrying about was if the week-old pizza in my fridge was still edible and the next I was taking care of four kids. I was hardly capable of taking care of myself before but look at me now…”
“Move in with me!” Harry blurted, surprising himself just as much as Louis.
“What? You realise I have my four siblings to take care of and I’m sure when you come home from work you don’t want to deal with screaming kids!” Louis exclaimed.
“No, I wouldn’t mind that at all. I’ve told you before, I want nothing more than to see kids live in this house. And even if your siblings might not be my own children, I can still provide them a safe and happy home. On your own, you are working yourself to death and then they will go to an orphanage or something!
And Louis, I’m not doing this because I think you’re a charity case or something like that. I truly care about you…Like, even back when we first met eight months ago, I admired you so much. You always put your siblings first even if it meant that you will be exhausted and with no social life. I know you’re trying to make ends meet and you’re working until you’re at the edge of having a breakdown. Don’t deny it, I’m friends with Niall and he has the same impression. My house is way too big for me anyway. And you wouldn’t have to mind about paying rent, and I could also help with other bills and shopping and stuff!”
“What will you get out of it? I don’t understand why you would want that.”
“Umm, just like, don’t freak out okay? Cause you’re amazingandprettyandiminlovewithyou.” Harry mumbled, embarrassed.
“I’m sorry what?” Louis asked.
I’ve always admired you and your dedication to the kids. And when you started talking to me, I just… I fell in love with you. And at first I was really scared because you have a family to care for. But I’ve thought about it because I know you guys are a package deal and to be honest I really want to raise the kids with you. If you’ll have me I’d love to date you and be apart of your family.”
Louis just stared at him, completely stunned. He had not expected anyone, let alone Harry, amazing, gorgeous, lovely Harry to fall in love with him.
Harry however took Louis’ silence as a rejection and tried to save himself from embarrassment: “I mean, if you don’t want to date me it’s okay, you can still move in with me just as friends I mean…It’d probably hurt at first to always see you especially if you start going out with other guys… Wait what the fuck are you even into men? Oh my god I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable and I’mmm-”
Harry was cut off by lips softly grazing his own. “No I’m not into men.” When Harry’s face fell, Louis just smirked and added. “I’m only into lawyers slash yoga teachers with V-lines I’d like to lick.”
Then he leaned in for another peck.
“I’ll need for us to take it slow,” he stated. “First the girl’s dad left, then Dan died and mum…well I mean she’s not really around either and I just… Like I know the little ones don’t get it yet but Daisy and Phoebe do. I mean it’s not you but I really don’t want them to get attached to you and suddenly you’ll leave because we break up you know?”
Harry smiled and pulled Louis towards him, resting his head on top of the smaller boy’s. “They will always be your first priority and I understand that. But I also want you to know that I’m not planning on leaving. I want to be part of their lives as well. We’ll take it as slow as you want.”
“Baby steps?”
“Baby steps.” Harry confirmed, smiling down at Louis.