Archive of Our Own ^beta

Jamaica, 2023

Rain pelted the windshield of the car as it pulled up the drive of the house Harry had now owned for almost ten years. It was a whitewashed stucco building with a slightly more modern shape. The bottom level at the back of the house stepped right out onto the beach, and when he was there he did his best to keep the doors and windows open as much as possible for the island breeze to flow through.

He probably wouldn’t be able to do that today.

Harry tipped the driver before the man hopped out of the front seat to assist him with his luggage. He hadn’t brought much this time, but it was enough that he appreciated the help.

Rain soaked through the soft cotton of his worn t-shirt, adhering the fabric to his skin almost immediately. He was going directly inside, so he didn’t bother trying to shield himself from the torrent, and dismissed the driver immediately with a yelled “Thanks,” that he wasn’t sure carried over the heavy pounding on the pavement. It couldn’t be comfortable for the man to sit in his sodden clothing for the rest of the day, especially on leather seats in a luxury car.

They had managed to get his two bags under the overhang that shielded the front door, and he took a moment to dig through his carry on bag to find the right set of keys. The first bundle he pulled out was entirely too shiny, meant for a penthouse in Tribeca. Definitely not. He rummaged again before he felt his fingers brush a rough knot. Grabbing hold of the fabric, he yanked, dislodging the correct keys from the bundle.

That was it.

He smiled to himself as he plucked a loose cotton fiber off the fraying strip of what used to be a pastel blue and orange material tied around his key ring. Now, nine years later, it was mostly gray. They really needed to cut it off the ring, but he couldn’t bear to get rid of it. His mother-in-law’s wedding had been one of the best days of his life. His own security bracelet was long gone because he had refused to take it off his wrist for weeks after. Louis’, though, they had tied to the key ring immediately and it had lasted much longer.

Harry finally let himself into the house and grabbed his bags before promptly abandoning them in the entry way. His visit this time was bittersweet, because it was solitary. The walls of the house held so many memories; with Louis, with their family, with his band and producers from writing his first solo album all those years ago. It was a house that begged to be enjoyed by as many people as possible.

Or maybe that was just Harry. He loved hosting, loved taking care of everyone. Their early days in the X-Factor house were important to him, because it was his first time away from home for an extended period of time. He got to be domestic, he took care of his bandmates. Really, he had taken care of Louis, and it was a dream.

Harry had been so gone for Louis back then. Well, he smirked. He was still pretty gone for him. Louis actively refused to watch any footage from their old X-Factor video diaries because he would get embarrassed about how obvious his crush on Harry was.

There weren’t any pictures in the front entryway of the house, but as he moved into the kitchen, his gaze caught on the bulletin board he had put together when he had been secluded writing his album all those years ago. Louis had only been able to come and visit him twice during the process, so Harry kept himself sane by printing out the picture updates Louis sent, tacking them to an old piece of cork board.

Now, it was a tradition that they added to it every time they stayed there. Even if it was something little like an airline ticket stub, they did their best.

Louis wouldn’t have a matching stub to add this time, though. He was being forced to stay in London for the entire three weeks they had planned to visit.

The demand on their time had vastly decreased in the last six months or so after the end of their last world tour. While in the past the band would record their next album during the tour, now that their schedule had mellowed out, they decided to go the more traditional route and take their time with the next one.

They knew One Direction had lasting power, that had been proven. They could finally give themselves breathing room.

With so much free time ahead of them, he and Louis had been excited to plan a prolonged getaway for just the two of them, but life had gotten in the way, as it always did.

The organisers of Soccer Aid had called at the last minute, asking Louis to sub in again, and Louis was nothing if not a softie for a charitable cause, so he agreed. Harry understood, and would never prioritise himself over football or charity - two things Louis adored - he was just a bit disappointed. And lonely.

He sighed as he made his way to their master bedroom. The property manager had prepared everything, so their bed was entirely done up with their favorite crisp white linens. Of all the beds they slept in, this was his second favorite after their master bedroom in London. He wasn’t sure why, there was just something about this one in particular.

Stripping his travel clothes off, he padded into the bathroom, and turned the shower taps on to let the water run for a moment. They always kept toiletries on hand, so he gave himself a quick rinse and a scrub before wrapping a fluffy white towel around his middle and heading back to retrieve his phone.

Flopping back onto the covers, he sent a quick text to Louis letting him know he had arrived in one piece, but based on the time difference he didn’t expect a response. He began to scroll his Instagram feed but didn’t get far before the softness of the bed and the steady rhythm of the falling rain lulled him into a late afternoon doze.

- - -

Louis pushed the still damp front door open. It was unlocked. He rolled his eyes at Harry’s trusting soul. He loved him for it, but there was also safety to consider.

The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon when he had parked the rental car out front.  The entryway was dark still and he wasn’t paying much attention to where he was going, so he immediately tripped over a lump that looked suspiciously like Harry’s favorite brown leather carry on.

“Really, Hazza?” he said outloud to the entry walls. Door unlocked, bags strewn everywhere. Clearly everything had gone to shit without him there to supervise.

Louis followed the path of Harry’s discarded things to the kitchen. The silver lining to surprising Harry was that he had probably already gone shopping. Louis’ stomach growled as wrenched open the doors of the fridge.

Empty.

While before he had found the remnants of Harry’s arrival endearing, he was beginning to grow concerned. It wasn’t like Harry to both not pick up after himself, and not go shopping for food as soon as he arrived.

He abandoned his own bags and went to seek Harry out.

His search ended as quickly as it began when he rounded the corner into their bedroom. There, sprawled out in the middle of the bed with damp curls and a towel underneath him, was his husband. Face down. Buck ass naked.

Louis brought his hand up to cover his mouth and hold in the laugh that was threatening to escape.

What to do, what to do?

He toed off his shoes and climbed up onto the bed next to Harry before he laid down so that his body was parallel to Harry’s. All that was left was deciding how to wake Harry up.

Leaning over, very carefully, Louis pursed his lips and blew on Harry’s ear. There was no immediate reaction, so he blew with a little more force. This time, Harry’s nose scrunched up and his head twitched a bit before he snuffled into the pillow.

Louis got close enough that he could feel the terry cloth from the towel under the thin cotton of his joggers and tried one more time. This time when he blew, it was one hard quick burst.

Harry startled and his eyes shot open, unseeing, before he blinked a few times and twisted his neck to look back towards the room. When he saw Louis instead of an open room he blinked a few more times.

“Lou?” he croaked, voice hoarse from his heavy snores.

“Yeah, baby?”

“Am I in London?” Louis stifled a giggle as he watched Harry’s eyes slip closed and his head settle back into the pillow.

“Yeah, you’re in London. Never left.”

“Mm… That’s nice,” Harry replied. Louis was certain he would combust from holding in his laughter. Surely that was a thing.

He couldn’t help but take advantage of the situation. “Baby, we have to go. Train to Donny is in a bit, have to get to the station.”

“Okay, let me pack a bag. You’re rubbish at it,” Harry replied, still half asleep, before he snuggled deeper.

“Don’t forget the surf boards, I don’t think they’ll fit in the carry on.”

“Nonsense,” Harry mumbled.

His husband was adorable, but Louis was sick of not having his full attention. He leaned down once more and scraped his teeth against the little hollow between Harry’s ear and his jawline. He roamed up to his earlobe and played with it for a moment, and that was what finally did it.

“Lou?” Harry asked, again.

“Yeah, baby?” He answered, again. This was fun.

“You’re here?” Confusion clouded his eyes before it finally clicked, “You’re here!”

Louis let loose a cackle, “Yes, I am!” he replied, matching his husband’s excited tone.

“What are you doing here?”

“They didn’t need me for the game after all. I did a little schmoozing, a little bribing, and they used the other sub instead. We owe Niall, though.”

“We owe Niall what?” Harry asked, puzzled.

“I don’t know yet, which is what scares me. He was the one who made it happen, called in a few favors. Then he blathered on with a lot of bullshit about Irish mysticism and owing him our first born child, but I mostly ignored that part because I was too excited.” He decided to illustrate just how excited he was by leaning in and kissing Harry full on.

Harry hummed into his mouth before pulling back, “I missed you,” he murmured.

“Baby, we weren’t even apart for all that long this time,” Louis reminded.

“Doesn’t matter, still did.”

Louis heart melted even more than usual, and with Harry that was saying something. The boys always ribbed him for having such a soft spot for Harry, but what could he say? That was why he married him. Would have married him the first day they met, right there in the loos at the convention center, if he could have.

He kissed Harry a bit deeper and brought his hand up to nudge at Harry’s shoulder forcing him to flip over. While he definitely wanted Harry to adjust, he also didn’t want to stop kissing him. It was a conundrum, but Harry was a smart boy.

Eventually, Harry did end up flat on his back. Louis went to drape himself across Harry’s front when he glanced down and saw his cock, already hard and throbbing, standing up from his body. Harry had to have been hard already pressed against the mattress the way he was.

“Ready and willing were we, Hazza?”

Harry blushed, and Louis knew it was because the teasing was only making his situation worse. And by worse, he meant better.

“I can’t help it Lou, I was sleeping so I was probably already ready to go and then when I woke up you were there, and it’s not like it’s going to go down after that.”

“Well, it looks like you need to help me catch up then,” he replied, with a demanding edge to his tone.

Harry immediately reached out a hand to curl around Louis’ bicep and draw him in closer. Despite the interruption before, Louis did want to drape himself over Harry’s body, so he followed his instincts. He climbed over Harry, lowering his still clothed cock so that it aligned perfectly with Harry’s naked one.

Harry groaned deeply at the friction, and grazed his hands down Louis’ spine until he reached the hem of his t-shirt. “Off, off, off!”

Louis sat back a bit on Harry’s legs before lifting the offending garment off his body. “Happy, now? Pushy,” he joked. He leaned back down so their chests were pressed together, and kept kissing Harry as deeply as he possibly could.

Despite his teasing earlier, he knew what Harry meant. They had only been apart for twenty four hours, but Louis did miss him. It was a feeling that lived deep in his chest, it was like a persistent ache when Harry was away from him. It was the kind of ache he could ignore if he had to, but he was constantly aware of it, and it was tender when he pressed on it. Thought about it too much.

A lot of times, especially when they were young and desperately in love - well, definitely more desperate, but just as in love - the ache didn’t go away until he had buried himself deep inside Harry, as intimately as possible. And even the physical connection didn’t feel deep enough. He always creeped himself out a bit when he thought about it, but he couldn’t help it. He would never be close enough to Harry.

The need ebbed and flowed inside him, tide coming in, growing in intensity. He could feel the rhythm of it and that was what he concentrated on, like a talisman, as he opened Harry up underneath him. When Louis finally did enter Harry, he pushed himself harder and harder, the way Harry relished.

Louis just wanted to give Harry everything, even after twelve years together. He couldn’t help it. He had resigned himself years ago to the idea that that particular need would never be fulfilled because it never felt like enough. Harry always deserved more.

Louis could feel his release building, shooting sparks up his spine, heat pooling in his groin. When he finally let loose, he leaned down and brought their lips together again.

“God, I love you so much, baby,” he whispered.

Harry whimpered, nails digging into Louis’ back, and if Louis hadn’t been so mind blown by his own orgasm, he would have enjoyed how just telling Harry how much he loved him turned him on. Sometimes it even helped him finish. Not always, but sometimes. This was definitely one of those times.

“You’re so beautiful, so perfect.” He was breathing heavily, and probably barely getting out the words, his cock was still deep in Harry, sensitive, but Harry had clenched down on him hard and wasn’t letting go. Reaching down between their bodies to get a hand on Harry’s cock, he dragged his fingers up the length of him, teasing, before spreading some of Harry’s precome down his shaft for the extra glide. Harry was moaning and whimpering so loud, Louis hoped Harry could even hear what Louis was saying to him.

He alternated the pressure of his strokes between teasing and rough. He leaned down to whisper in Harry’s ear again, dragging his teeth across his jaw just as he had to wake him up.

“I can’t believe you’re mine. There will never be anyone else for me, how could there be? I’m yours, totally and completely. Married you so I never had to let you go.”

Harry cried out one last time before arching his back and spilling across his abdomen. Louis slipped out, and brought his messy hand up for Harry to taste. When they were younger and he discovered how much Harry loved the taste of come, they didn’t leave their hotel room for two days.  

Harry pouted a bit when he realised it was his come and not Louis’ but there wasn’t anything Louis could do about that. His dick twitched a little again in interest as Harry’s tongue snaked across the back of his hand.

It wasn’t until he let it out in a whoosh that he realised he had been holding his breath. Before he let himself collapse, he pushed himself up and off the bed, avoiding temptation.

As quickly as he could he threw the balcony doors open because the rain had finally stopped. He went and grabbed a flannel - ignoring the ache in his own muscles - so that he could clean Harry up. The last step was manoeuvering around his husband’s now lifeless body so that they could cuddle underneath the quilt.

Business finished, he dove back into bed with Harry and gathered him up in his arms, drawing him in close to his body.

“How long are you staying?” Harry asked, voice quiet against the distant crash of the ocean waves.

“The whole time, as long as you are. I could never be anywhere else.”

Harry’s face was tucked into his shoulder and Louis could feel his eyes squeeze shut, “It feels too good to be true,” he replied.

“Nope, not this time. I promise.”

- - -

The past two and a half weeks had been some of the best of Harry’s life. He and Louis had done nothing but eat, drink, swim, and have sex. Lots and lots of sex.

It had been forever since they had a chance to be wrapped up in each other like this for such an extended period of time. Probably since the first hiatus the band took before they started to release their solo material. Even then, though, it felt much less freeing than this vacation did.

He plopped the frozen banana chunks into the blender with the rest of the fruit and hit the button. Louis liked frozen banana in his smoothies because he claimed it tasted much more like ice cream, and declared it even better when they added some rum to them.

He wasn’t sure what Louis was doing on his phone, but it had been a work thing. Probably a pre-drafted sponsorship post or something like that.

Picking up both drinks he made his way back to their living room where Louis was sprawled across the end of one couch. His legs were spread invitingly, so Harry plopped the drinks on the coffee table and made himself at home, leaning his back against Louis’ chest.

“Thanks, babe.”

“Course,” he mumbled, nuzzling his nose into Louis’ forearm where it rested over his shoulder. They were quiet for awhile, Harry content to just sit in Louis’ arms while he messed around on his phone.

Harry saw a couple emails from other writers littered amongst the piles of messages and he couldn’t help but smile to himself. Louis was such a talented songwriter, it was hard to contain how proud he was most of the time when he was younger. All he ever wanted to do was stand on the end of the concert stage catwalk and say, “Shut up and listen to this amazing song he wrote for me!”

There were some nights when he came very close to doing just that. He managed to hold out, but just barely. He was able to say it now, though, and it felt as amazing as he always thought it would.

Louis leaned down a bit to press a kiss to the top of Harry’s head. “The real world beckons, baby.”

Harry sighed heavily, “What time is the flight tomorrow?”

“Mmm, I think in the afternoon. Not sure though.”

“We definitely have time for you to fuck me on the beach again before we leave, then.” He tried to keep his voice casual, but there was no point, really. Louis knew how gone he was for him.

“That is very true. Or, we have time for you to fuck me on the beach. But we definitely need a towel this time, because the sand situation was not cute the other day.”

Harry’s brain had tripped over into white noise as soon as Louis mentioned bottoming, and he surged to his feet before he grabbed Louis’ arm and bodily dragged him off the couch.

“Harold! What the fuck!” Louis yelled indignantly from his place on the floor.

“Let’s go. No time to waste!” Harry took off for their downstairs linen closet that had the biggest, fluffiest towels in the whole house.

As his feet slammed on the stairs he could hear Louis behind him, still cackling. Harry was eager, but he couldn’t help it. Louis didn’t always enjoy bottoming, and it worked out well because Harry loved it, but sometimes it was nice to flip around their dynamic. They saved it for special occasions, which did indeed make it feel more special.

A little more than twenty four hours later, Harry entered their London apartment. He smiled when he thought about how he and Louis could travel together now without causing an international incident, and Harry could kiss him goodbye in public when they had to part ways so Louis could head off to a meeting.

Harry had lucked out and didn’t have to get back to work right away, he had an extra day or so to unwind, which he preferred. Louis never minded getting right back into the swing of things, though.

Harry picked up the pile of mail his assistant had left for him; letters, packages, the usual. Dropping it on the counter in the kitchen, he made his way to the bedroom and began unpacking.

It wasn’t until much later, when he decided to get up and do something about cooking dinner, that he remembered he needed to go through all the mail or his assistant would probably kill him the next day.

Harry set the chicken out to thaw before he began. Bill. Bill. Promotional material. Bill. Rolling his eyes, he reached for the packages, surely those were more interesting. The largest box was a new pair of boots from Gucci that were a soft buttery leather, and he was already salivating over them. Setting them aside, he reminded himself to not start with the biggest package next time because they were always more fun.

He was about halfway through the rest of the boxes, still laughing at his own ‘big package’ joke in his head, when something caught his eye that made his heart stop in his chest.

A white cardboard box with dark blue sides sat unassuming amongst the packaging debris. His assistant had slapped a yellow sticky note on top that read, “Don’t forget! ASAP!”

He definitely had forgotten.

He had forgotten to replace his birth control patch before he left for Jamaica. He had forgotten to call his assistant from the airport to have her mail the new one to him there. In his defense, he had brushed it aside because he figured Louis wasn’t going to be with him.

But, God, had Louis been with him. Many, many times.

Fuck.

Harry lifted his arm and pulled the old patch off the inside of his bicep to throw it in the trash.

He immediately began ripping open the box, tossing the informational packet aside. The foil of the sealed pouch on the new patch was about to give way under his fingers when he paused.

At this point, after having sex for almost three weeks straight multiple times a day, there was a slim chance that he wasn’t pregnant. A very, very, slim chance.

He could very well not be pregnant. But, if he was, it was probably dangerous to put a new patch on. Those scary adds on American television always said “Don’t take this if you are pregnant or may become pregnant,” and Harry was definitely sitting in that grey area right now.

On the other hand, if he didn’t put his new patch on, and had sex with Louis again, which he had been planning on doing in about - he checked his phone - four hours, he was just increasing his chances.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to tell Louis about this just yet because he didn’t want to alarm him, or get his hopes up.

Harry was so shocked, he couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea of actually being ready to be pregnant.

Well, his body may have already decided for him. But on the off chance that it hadn’t happened yet, the decision he was making right now to wear the new patch or not wear the new patch, was monumental.

He had been the hold out in their relationship so far. Louis had never pressured him or anything, and Harry adored babies, but Harry could tell Louis wanted one.

Having a baby was a pretty permanent decision, though. Once you had a baby then you had a child, and then you had a teenager. There were no breaks. Between having a solo career, and then reuniting the band, they had a bit of an unspoken understanding that they would wait. But they definitely did want to start a family.

Taking the time to think about it, Harry realised that now  would be the best time. He had just turned twenty-nine, Louis would be turning thirty-two. They were about to have a much more subdued lifestyle for the next two years or so while they wrote and recorded the new album with the boys. It wouldn’t be difficult for him to pull out of the few things he had already been planning.

Suddenly, sitting there in his and Louis’ breakfast nook, he burst into tears. They were going to have a baby!

Maybe.

By the time he cried himself out, and cleaned up his mess, the chicken had defrosted and he forced himself to concentrate on that and ignore everything else for now.

If it was possible, Louis loved babies even more than Harry did, so again, Harry didn’t want to get Louis’ hopes up before it was definite that he really was pregnant. It didn’t sit well with Harry, the idea of keeping something so monumental from Louis. Harry downright hated that he had basically decided to conceive without consulting him, but he also did want to put the patch on and potentially harm the baby that may or may not already exist.

Harry was tying himself up in knots.

For now, he just had to carry on like normal, and play the waiting game.

Three weeks later, sat around the kitchen in Holmes Chapel having tea with his mum and Gemma, Harry felt it for the first time. An overwhelming sense of nausea.

He had been wondering when he would really know if he was pregnant or not, or if he ever would. Also, he had been waiting, not sure he wanted to go to a doctor immediately. There was no sense in involving an unknown variable in the equation, even if it was a private physician that he had known for years, and who signed an NDA ages ago.

The last thing he needed was some gossip rag getting ahold of the visit to spread the story that he was having an affair and was pregnant by another man. Why they always jumped right past the logical conclusion, he would never know.

But when the scent of Gemma’s soup hit his nose, and it made him stand up abruptly - interrupting a story his mum was telling about some cousin or other - to head straight for the toilet, he knew it was time.

After he upended the contents of his stomach, rinsed his mouth out, and walked back into the kitchen, he calmly sat back down and took a sip of tea, intentionally not saying anything.

His mum and Gemma stared at him for a moment, waiting.

“You’re pregnant!” Anne yelled. The legs of her chair scraped against the floor as she stood up to drag him into her embrace.

“What? Mum, no! I don’t know? I could just be sick.” It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell his mum, he just wanted to tell Louis first. Or, maybe, figure it out for sure. He wasn’t lying, it really could just be a bug. Even though he felt fine otherwise.

“Nonsense, a mother knows these things. You are definitely pregnant.” She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. She was already crying and it wasn’t even certain yet.

“I didn’t even know you and Louis were trying!” Gemma pointed a finger at him accusingly.

Harry sighed. “Alright, here’s the thing. When I was in Jamaica, I didn’t expect Louis to surprise me, so I wasn’t strict about my birth control, and forgot to replace it. That was five and a half weeks ago give or take. I didn’t want to harm the baby so I just sort of waited to see if I would get any symptoms, and so far that’s my first one.”

Gemma’s brow furrowed, “So you weren’t trying?”

“Well, we do want children, but we weren’t actively trying at the time, no.”

Anne rolled her eyes, “Give me a break, you and Louis are actively trying at least once a day.”

It took a moment for what she said to sink in, but once he understood he buried his bright red face in his hands, “Oh my God, mum.”

Gemma just snorted unhelpfully.

“I didn’t want to call the doctor before I was certain,” he replied, surprising himself with his own vulnerability.

His mum reached over and took his hand, “I think it’s time, my love. Do you want them to come here? I don’t mind.”

That was probably the best course of action if he wanted to get an answer without Louis around to worry, so he nodded and reached for his phone.

The first text he sent was to his assistant, asking her to send the physician to Holmes Chapel for the following day. The second text was more difficult because he would be actively lying to Louis.

Harry : Boo, staying with mum overnight.

Louis : Ok bb, everything alright?

Harry : Fine :) Just tired.

Louis : See you tomorrow night, love you

Harry : Love you too xx

“Well, I guess that’s it, then,” Anne said definitively.

- - -

Louis blew out a deep breath and tried to flip his fringe without having to reach a hand out from under the blanket. He was freezing.

Harry was his regular furnace, but he was still on his way back from Holmes Chapel. Louis pouted for a moment, not loving that he was away from Harry when he didn’t have to be.

Almost as soon as the thought entered his head, he heard the key turn in the lock. Even after twelve years, he still felt like the same eighteen-year-old that used to launch himself into Harry’s arms as soon as he got home. He managed to stay on the couch. This time. But only because he was still cold.

“Lou?”

“Yeah, baby I’m in the living room,” he called out. From underneath the blanket, he pointed the remote at the telly to mute the cooking program he was watching. Harry watched these kinds of shows for the recipes, Louis watched them for how ridiculous everyone was.

“Ooh, Bake Off!” Harry put his bag down next to the couch.

Furnace in sight, Louis brought his arms out from underneath the blanket and held it open so Harry would get the message.

Harry climbed on top of him, taking care to watch his knees and elbows around Louis’ more sensitive parts, before Louis pulled the blanket back over to cover both of them.

Harry’s nose was pressed deep into the curve of Louis’ neck, seeking comfort, which he only did when something really big was bothering him. Louis knew Harry would tell him what it was eventually, but he also knew Harry might not be ready, so Louis had to ease into it.

“How’s your mum?” Louis asked, bringing his hand up to run down the length of Harry’s spine. Drawing out Harry’s issues was an art form and Louis was the master.

“I’m pregnant,” Harry mumbled into his neck.

Louis froze. Did Harry just--? Was he really--? They were going to--?

“You’re what?” Louis wheezed out, voice barely recognisable. He cleared his throat.

Harry finally lifted his face to look Louis in the eye, “I’m pregnant,” he whispered, eyes misty.

Solid thoughts were slipping through Louis’ fingers as his brain ran a mile a minute. Harry was pregnant. Harry was pregnant .

“Like, with a child?” Louis blurted out before he could stop himself.

Harry stared at him, incredulous, “Of course with a child, you idiot.”

“Right! Sorry, sorry. Oh my God.”

“Lou, it’s okay to need a minute to catch up,” Harry giggled. His eyes were still wet with unshed tears, but he managed to make it very clear that he was laughing at Louis.

“I’m fine. Just dandy. Really. Okay,” Louis was just letting his mouth run, which always ended well for him. “How are you, though, Hazza? Are you...” he wasn’t sure how to ask the question while trying to remain neutral, “Excited?”

“Well, I feel a little bad that it was my fault, and I kind of made the decision without you? A little bit?” Harry looked upset by that, but he still hadn’t really shown Louis if he was excited about the baby or not.

“What do you mean by your fault?” The last thing Louis wanted was for Harry to blame himself for something so wonderful.

“I forgot a new patch in Jamaica which wasn’t a problem until you showed up.”

Mmm… Jamaica. That was fun. Three weeks, just the two of them. No outside world, no publicists, no boys “just dropping in” because they had managed to weasel out what Harry was making for dinner. No one but them.

Once the haze of memory cleared, Louis realised what Harry meant. There was no way they escaped that vacation baby-free if Harry’s birth control was faulty.

“That’s what I said, too.”

Whoops, he must have said that outloud. If he was being honest with himself, he was over-the-moon excited, but if Harry was upset, he didn’t want to seem too eager lest he pressure him into something he wasn’t ready for; after all, it was Harry’s body they were talking about.

“But, Harry, are you happy?”

A grin dawned across Harry’s face and his dimple deepened. “Yeah, I really am. But only if you are too.”

Oh thank God , Louis thought to himself. He didn’t know what he would have done if Harry hadn’t wanted the baby.

Now that he was thinking about it, Harry’s not wanting a child didn’t seem remotely plausible given how much Harry absolutely adored babies, but surely Louis could have a pass for thinking irrationally in this situation. The elation he had kept a tight lid on began leaking out.

“We’re going to have a baby. We’re going to have a baby , baby!” Louis squeezed his arms around Harry’s shoulders as hard as he could, forcing Harry’s face back down into his neck.

“Mrrmph--” Harry gurgled.

“What was that?” Louis teased.

Harry wiggled in his grip until he was able to lift himself up once again. “I already called the physician, she came to my mum’s house today and did the test. Mum and Gemma know. They guessed.”

“Your mother and Gemma got to know before I did?!” Louis was trying very hard not to let jealousy cloud over his previous excitement.

“Only because I got sick for the first time while we were all having tea.”

“You got sick?!” Worry pulsed through Louis. He was experiencing too many emotions all at once. He needed to lay down. Wait. He was already laying down. “Are you alright? How long did the sickness last? Have you eaten?” He began to buck his body so that Harry would lift his weight off him and he could get to the kitchen. All Louis could really make well was a grilled cheese, but surely that was plain enough if Harry couldn’t keep anything down.

“Lou, calm down. I’m fine. I threw up once, was fine after, and had crackers and other stuff on and off all day.”

He heard Harry, but the actual words weren’t really sinking in; he was too busy trying to remember back to his mum’s pregnancies. “I think we have some fruit in the fridge, you need to get your blood sugar up. A few crackers is not enough nutrients for the baby.”

“Lou!” Harry yelled as Louis was still trying to twist his way out of the blankets.

“What, Harry?”

“Calm. The fuck. Down.”

Harry’s forceful tone was what finally made Louis stop moving. He was probably being a bit ridiculous.

Laying back down, Louis gathered Harry back into his body. He ducked down so he could nose at Harry’s temple, inhaling the familiar honey smell of his shampoo. “I’m sorry, I got too excited.”

Harry snorted out a laugh, “That’s okay, Lou. I promise to always reel you back in from the brink of insanity.”

“Thanks, baby.” Louis went back to rubbing Harry’s back as they lay there in silence, both thinking.

Louis couldn’t believe Harry was pregnant. They were going to have a child. He was again reminded of the days when he had to help raise his younger siblings; he was so ready for this dad thing.

“Who do we tell first?” Harry mumbled into his shirt.

“Well, your mum and Gemma already know,” he tried to hide the slight bitterness in his voice. He wasn’t upset. Really.

Harry pinched his side; “I think we should wait. Everything says start telling people at the end of your first trimester, and I don’t think it should be any different just because we’re us.”

Louis mulled that over in his head, “You’re definitely right. Management is going to kill us, though.” He paused for a moment, “It’s been awhile since we kept them on their toes.”

Harry groaned, “Lou. This is our baby. You will not use them as a pawn.”

“Our baby. I like the sound of that.” He wasn’t sure what kind of caveman instinct had taken over, but the sheer possessiveness that was flowing through him right now was impressive. Harry was carrying his child.

“Our baby,” Harry repeated. He sounded much more wistful and wholesome than Louis felt. “They’re going to be so cute. And squishy. And look like us.”

“Yeah, sure. That too.” Louis joked.

“What do you mean-- Lou. Were you getting hot thinking about our baby?” Harry sounded so indignant, Louis couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh my God, Harry. No. Not like that.”

“What was it then?”

Louis blushed a bit, thankful Harry couldn’t see him. “It was nothing.”

“Bullshit, it was not nothing.”

He blew out a breath. Why was Harry forcing him to have this conversation? He definitely should have kept his own mouth shut.

“Well,” he drew the word out, stalling for time. “See it’s just that--”

“Spit it out, Lou.”

“I think the fact that you’re having my baby is really hot,” Louis lifted his hand off Harry’s back to hide his eyes.

Harry pushed his torso up and crossed his arms over Louis’ chest. “Like a pregnancy thing? You have a pregnancy kink?”

Louis choked, “No! At least I don’t think so. It’s like a you thing.”

Harry flipped his hair dramatically over his shoulder, “I know, it’s always a me thing.”

“Remind me why I married you?” Louis deadpanned.

Harry pouted exaggeratedly, “Because you love me, now tell me what you mean.”

“I mean that I kind of like that you’re carrying my baby.”

“You said that already.”

“No. That it’s my baby.”

Harry’s brow furrowed in confusion until Louis watched as his whole face cleared and his smile broadened.

“Ooh. I get it now. It’s because that makes me yours.” Harry’s smile continued to grow as he teased Louis.

“Okay, alright. Stop laughing at me. I can’t help it,” It was Louis’ turn to pout.

“It’s not enough that I wear eighteen rings you bought me, or more often than not you still feel the need to leave little bites and bruises on my jaw, or that I have tattoos for and about you all over my body… You know now that I’m thinking about it, this makes total sense,” he shrugged, “I don’t know how I didn’t see it sooner.”

When he put it like that, Louis felt his blush grow deeper. “You’re the worst and I hate you.”

“No you don’t. You love me.”

“Nope not anymore. I changed my mind.”

Harry surged up and began teasing kisses along Louis’ jaw. For all that Louis was embarrassed, and Harry had teased him, he did love that they could talk about things like this. It was a little awkward, but it was out there now. His pulse jumped under Harry’s ministrations.

There was a small part of Louis that was always amazed every time he said or did something odd and Harry never wavered. Maybe one day Louis would get used to the wonder he felt when he was around Harry. Maybe.

Louis brought his hand up to turn Harry’s jaw so he could kiss him more deeply, while simultaneously shifting his hips until he could feel the ridge of Harry’s cock in his trousers.

Harry hummed, “Why, Mr. Tomlinson, I do believe you’re coming on to me.” He had pitched his voice so that it was high and breathy.

“That I am, Mr. Tomlinson. Care to move this somewhere more comfortable?” Louis replied, already starting to try an get up again.

“No. Here.” Harry leaned down again to scrape his teeth along Louis’ neck.

“Baby,” Louis sucked in a breath as the little pricks of pain went straight to his dick, “I’m all for spontaneity, but it will hurt your back.” The last time they had tried to have sex on the couch and Louis tried to flip them over, their limbs had gotten tangled, and not in the good way.

Harry grunted. “I know you’re right, but we used to do this all the time when we were eighteen.”

“Well, we’re getting older.” Louis said, grimly.

Harry lifted himself up; “Sex in the bedroom. I’m having your baby,” he ticked off on his fingers, “These are all boring adult things.”

Louis’ brain had shorted out again thinking about Harry in a few months. When he was showing.

“Really? This is really going to be a thing for you?” Harry asked. Louis could only nod. “Alright then,” Harry stood up completely, “Come on.”

He took Louis by the hand and led him down the hallway.

Halfway to their final destination, Harry turned around so that he was walking backwards, looking particularly smug. “I only do this because I love you.”

Louis rolled his eyes at Harry before following him into their bedroom. Honestly. This boy.

Six Months Later

Harry rubbed his protruding stomach as he surveyed their London flat. Chaos. Utter chaos. There were pennant banners in multiple pastel colors hanging from every shelf, every banister, every chair. They were everywhere.

Maybe he shouldn’t have lured Louis’ sisters into helping make them in the first place, much less help put them up.

He and Louis were hosting their baby shower at their flat today, and all of their friends and family were supposed to show up. It was going to be so many people. Harry groaned.

Just as he was beginning to feel overwhelmed, Doris came running down the stairs with another banner streaming through the air behind her.

“Stop!” Harry yelled, scared to death that she would trip on the loose end and go tumbling down the wood stairs. There would be no hospital trips today, if it was the last thing he did.

Doris froze with her hands above her head as the banner fell limply, pooling around her feet halfway down the steps. He waddled over to meet her at the bottom of the staircase, not saying anything, just attempting to glare sternly.

She walked down the rest of the steps calmly, grinning at him impishly in the face of his concern.

“Here you go, Harry,” she said handing him one end of the banner before taking off again at a dead run yelling for her twin brother Ernest the whole way. He catalogued each and every sharp corner she passed by with his eyes.

“Good job, baby. Your stare was very intimidating.” Louis was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, looking absolutely edible in a cream cable knit jumper that was at least two sizes too big for him. Harry knew because he was the one who bought it three years ago.

“Louis we’re going to be horrible parents and the baby is going to brain themselves on a piece of furniture because I insisted on ‘Scandinavian modern,’” he whined. Harry knew he was being irrational but he couldn’t help it.

Louis rushed over to wrap Harry up in his arms, “Harry. Take a breath. Come on. You can do it.”

Harry felt Louis’ chest beat against his in a steadying rhythm, allowing Harry to match his inhales and exhales breath for breath.

“Today is about you. About how well you’re doing, about the baby we’ll have in a few months, and about how much our friends and family love us. We are going to have so much help. This kid is going to be so spoiled, I doubt their feet will even touch the ground for the first two years of their life so many people will want to hold them and love them.” Louis continued to murmur in Harry’s ear as his breathing evened out.

“Thank you,” he whispered into Louis shoulder. He could hear the various noises of their family spread out around the flat. His mum and Gemma were in the kitchen banging around pots and pans, Doris and Ernest were arguing about something, but it all faded away into white noise when Louis held him.

“Come on, love. Do you want to lie down for a few minutes before everyone else arrives? You’ve been on your feet all day.” Louis rubbed his hand up and down Harry’s back.

Harry lifted his head up in contemplation. He could lie down, definitely, but it might be better if he stayed on the lower level, just to make sure everything was going smoothly.

“No, just the chair I think,” Louis grinned at him. He loved to tease Harry for how much he loved their giant plush armchair. Before Harry was pregnant he loved to curl up in it. After he started growing, the extra weight on his front began to exacerbate Harry’s existing back problems, and it was the only place he could curl up with any comfort. Louis had been a bit stroppy about it in the beginning, because he missed laying on the couch with Harry, until they managed to figure out a way they could both curl up in the chair together. Once they had, Louis had become just as attached.

Now, though, Louis always had to help Harry in and out of the chair, which became increasingly more difficult and annoying for both of them when Harry had to pee all the time.

Today Louis helped him without complaint, then began to rearrange the pillows around him in the way he knew would keep Harry upright and comfortable.

Louis had always had a protective streak a mile wide, but since Harry had gotten pregnant, his hovering and worrying had increased tenfold. Some days Harry got annoyed with it quickly, wanting some time to himself, but that was only the hormones talking.

Most days it just made everything in him feel warm and fuzzy. After Louis placed the last pillow, Harry fisted a hand in his shirt and pulled him down to capture Louis’ lips. Harry kissed him deeply, licking into him and savouring the feel of his mouth. It was the kind of kiss that they both knew couldn’t go anywhere in particular; Harry just really wanted to kiss his husband.

Pulling back, and releasing his grip on Louis shirt, Harry felt a little breathless again in an entirely different way.

“Wow. What was that for?” Louis asked, stars in his eyes.

Harry shrugged, “Just for being you.”

Louis leaned down and kissed Harry’s temple. Lingering. “Thanks, baby. Needed that. I have to go back to sort out the twins, though. Are you sure you’re alright here? Want some apple juice?”

Harry shook his head, “No, Lou. I’m alright.”

Louis took off to the other side of the flat to try and play mediator and Harry pulled out his phone to check his messages, but it wasn’t long before Anne and Gemma began yelling out questions about the appetizers, that he happily answered from his “throne” as Gemma liked to call it.

Eventually the rest of their friends and family arrived, and Harry and Louis felt extremely doted upon. It was all Harry had asked for, just a nice brunch with everyone they loved.

The only slight hiccup came when Niall stood up to make a toast.

“This has been a lovely afternoon, but all I’m going to say is: When do I get to come pick up the baby?”

Harry watched on, confused, as Louis’ immediate reaction was to burst out laughing. Niall didn’t join him.

“You promised me your first born child if I could get you out of Soccer Aid so you could go to Jamaica with Harry. Now, I can do the math, I know what happened in Jamaica.” He leered at Louis.

“What happened in Jamaica?” Doris piped up from the kids’ table.

“O-kay!” Anne exclaimed as the first of the adults to regain her wits. “How about some cake and ice cream!” Her forced cheer and promise of sugar was a good enough distraction to keep Doris from asking any more questions.

Everyone else busied themselves clearing the table, but Niall wouldn’t let it go. “I’m telling you Lou, you really don’t want to go back on a promise like this. My Irish ancestors--”

Louis cut him off, having heard that speech before. “I’m not giving you my first born child, Neil.”

Niall crossed his arms over his chest in an attempt to be intimidating. Louis, never one to be cowed once he had dug his heels in, matched his stance and met him stare for stare. Harry didn’t want to get involved in the argument, so he did his best to hold in his laughter, but he did manage to discreetly snap a picture of them with his phone.

Eventually, after everyone else at the party had moved onto other things, Niall finally broke.

“Alright fine, but you have to come to a Derby match with me. And you’re buying a box,” Niall tacked on, holding out his hand.

Louis held Niall’s stare for a beat longer before he nodded and held his hand out as well. They shook on it, and moved on.

Louis, looking as smug as Harry had ever seen him, made his way over to where Harry was supervising the cleanup of the kitchen.

Harry couldn’t tamp down his wide smile, “Are you proud of yourself?”

“Quite proud, thank you, Harold.” Louis didn’t call him Harold much anymore; it was usually Hazza, Baby, or something of that ilk. Harry liked it, and almost enjoyed that Louis only occasionally when he was feeling extra playful. The nickname reminded Harry of when they were younger, in the height of the band’s craziness and popularity.

Come to think of it, the last time he could remember Louis calling him Harold was in Jamaica. Harry’s thoughts trailed off as he remembered their last night spent on the beach. His blood began to heat up, and he very subtly moved behind the counter so he wouldn’t be so obviously hard in front of his friends and family.

It wasn’t Harry’s fault that one of the most prominent side effects from his pregnancy was unending horniness. The worst had been in his fourth and fifth month, but that was also just as his stomach started to really show, which meant that Louis had suffered the exact same side effect as a result.

Harry chuckled and shook his head; he couldn’t believe that his pregnancy was such a thing for Louis. Harry had never really needed any assistance turning Louis on, but it was an unexpected benefit.

Under the guise of cleaning up, Harry took a few calming breaths and ran his hands under ice cold water, hoping that the shock to his system would help cool the rest of him off. It was going to be a few hours before he would be able to corner his husband.

An hour later, because he was seven months pregnant, he ran out of steam and Louis helped set him up in his chair again. Harry couldn’t tell if it was on purpose or not, but as Louis rearranged the cushions around him, he managed to brush Harry’s incredibly sensitive nipples through his silk blouse at least twice, and Louis knew full well what that did to Harry.

Louis was the picture of innocence, but the way he was fanning the flames of Harry’s already perpetual horniness - with no clear indication of doing something about it - was pissing Harry off. Louis was being purposefully rude, and Harry now had to drape a blanket across his lap to hide that he was hard. Again.

When Louis leaned down to give him a kiss, Harry teased him back, moaning a bit into Louis mouth the way he usually did when he was about to go down on him, just loud enough so that Louis would be able to hear it.

Louis retreated quickly without sparing another glance at Harry.

Harry would wait until their friends and family were gone, and then he would get his full revenge.

Their guests all left after another hour or so, and Harry could hear Louis in their foyer talking to Dan and saying goodbye. He threw off the blanket, glad to be rid of the unnecessary stuffy feeling, and then made sure to undo the bottom two buttons on his blouse, letting the fabric split open a bit to show some of the skin of his bump. Once Harry was prepared he grabbed one of the decorative magazines - that was at least three years old - off the table and began pretending to read it.

Louis fiddled about with some things on his way back to Harry before throwing himself down on the couch. Harry continued his non-reading, knowing it was only a matter of time.

Over the top edge of the magazine, Harry could see as Louis’ head turned towards him. He pretended to flip a page and read a little bit more before he looked up at Louis again under his eyelashes.

This time, he expected to make eye contact with Louis, but instead he saw Louis’ teeth biting at his upper lip as he stared at Harry's bump. Harry tracked down Louis’ body to where he could clearly see the line of Louis’ hard cock along his thigh in his jeans.

“You have got to be kidding,” Harry sputtered.

“What?” Louis looked a little startled as his gaze shot up to Harry’s.

“I can’t believe you were really that easy. I had a whole plan, and all it took was a few buttons.”

Louis blushed, “What do you mean you had a plan?

“I was going to tease you and stuff because you teased me earlier.”

“Aw, I’m sorry I ruined your revenge plan, baby.”

Sometimes Harry thought they knew each other a little too well. Louis did at least look a little sheepish as he sat up, facing Harry fully now.

“I forgive you, wanna make out?” Whatever. Harry was too turned on; real revenge could come later.

Louis threw his head back and laughed as Harry wiggled around until he could push himself out of his chair. He tried to keep his constantly worsening waddle to a minimum as he made his way across the carpet to stand in front of Louis.

Louis’ hands were splayed over Harry’s bump in an instant, and he delicately undid the rest of the buttons on Harry’s blouse so that he could push the fabric away. Honestly, Harry wasn’t even sure why he was there. Louis obviously just needed some alone time with Harry’s bump.

“Eyes up here, thank you,” Harry said. The petulance in Harry’s tone did actually manage to distract Louis from the newly taut skin of Harry’s stomach. For a minute.

“I’m sorry, baby,” Louis said as he leaned forward to pepper kisses across Harry’s belly. The intimacy of the moment had Harry melting a bit.

“That’s okay, Lou. Just as long as you remember that there’s a person attached to this thing,” Harry replied.

Louis leaned forward once again, latching his mouth onto an little patch of skin and sucking in a bruise.

“God, I know,” Louis said reverently. “You’re so beautiful. Glowing. I swear to you, the only reason the bump gets me so hot is because it’s attached to you. I’m not sure how else I can convince you.”

Harry reached down to run his fingers through Louis hair, “You’ve convinced me more than enough these last few months, I promise. I’m just feeling extra needy.” He smiled down at Louis, “And we still haven’t made out yet.”

Louis grinned as he held his hands up for Harry to take, knowing exactly what to do, having been through this before. Harry did his best to get his knees up enough to settle over Louis’ lap, but he was definitely breathing a little heavier by the time he was completely seated.

Wrapping his arms around Louis’ neck, Harry leaned down to capture his mouth in a kiss. Sparks flew up his spine as Louis parted his lips slightly and Harry was able to kiss him even deeper. Harry could taste the heady remnants of the chocolate cake from earlier on Louis’ tongue.

Warmth spread over Harry’s skin where Louis had reached up to grab ahold of his hips. His very large hips. Whenever Harry felt insecure, he reminded himself how much Louis absolutely loved his pregnant body. It was helpful that Louis was so obvious about it.

Harry smiled into their kiss, pulling back a bit. Before he could even take a breath, Louis had latched on to the sensitive skin of his neck, placing even more bruises. Harry had asked him to not make marks before the baby shower so they wouldn’t show up in pictures. Louis had grumbled but done what he asked, and was now making up for lost time.

Louis’ hands began to tug at the fabric of Harry’s shirt insistently, and Harry leaned his body back even farther, without dislodging Louis’ mouth, to let Louis push it off of his shoulders, before he reached down and started tugging at the hem of Louis’ jumper with the same sense of urgency.

Instead of letting Harry pull his jumper off, Louis wrapped his arm around Harry’s waist and pushed up, forcing Harry to get off his lap.

“What did you do that for?” Harry pouted, licking over his lips, tasting traces of Louis.

“Well, we could have a quickie on the couch, or we can go upstairs where I can really take you apart properly,” Louis replied.

Harry’s heart stopped for a moment, and he could feel his cock twitching in his jeans. His tongue felt lodged in his throat, so he nodded, letting Louis take his hand.

As soon as Harry took his first step he could feel that the stretch panel of his maternity jeans had been pushed all the way down and his trousers were beginning to sag. Harry shook his head, Louis was fast and stealthy when he knew what he wanted.

By the time they made it up to the bedroom, Louis had managed to get Harry completely undressed while he stayed fully clothed.

Louis was exceedingly gentle as he lowered Harry onto the bed, setting up the pillow and body pillow so that they wrapped around Harry, propping his torso up a bit. It was so thoughtful and so wonderful that Harry couldn’t help it, and he began to cry.

In the middle of undressing himself, Louis didn’t notice Harry’s tears until he had pulled his jumper over his head, hair staticky, sticking up at all angles.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Is something happening?” Panic seeped into the edges of Louis’ voice, which only made Harry’s snuffling more pronounced.

“No, no I-- I’m okay. You just-- you’re so wonderful. And you hel-- help me so much,” he was trying to hold in the rest of his tears but they kept leaking out. “I’m sorry-- I still want you-- want you to fuck me. I’m just a little emotional right now. It’ll pass.”

Louis froze, “Are you sure? If you’re not feeling up to it baby, that’s okay too.”

“No! Louuu, I’m so hard. You teased me all day. Please .” Harry was hard enough that his cock was standing away from his body, and he could just see the tip, leaking with precome over the top of his belly. He could see it because Louis had propped him up. Harry sniffed again loudly, but managed to hold in the tears if he scrunched his nose hard enough.

Cautiously, as if he was ready for Harry to change his mind in an instant, Louis reached his hands down to unbutton his own jeans.

Harry leaned back a bit and stared at the ceiling, afraid he would get even more overwhelmed if he kept watching his husband.

The mattress dipped near his feet, and he felt more than saw Louis climb up from the foot of the bed. Harry finally made eye contact with him when Louis lifted a hand up to push Harry’s hair out of his eyes.

“Still okay?” Louis whispered.

Harry nodded quickly as he felt Louis’ cock lower down onto his. The friction was intense and the pressure pushed both of them against the taut skin of the lower part of Harry’s stomach.

Louis began to move his hips back and forth rubbing his cock against Harry’s bump. Harry loved the attention Louis was paying him, he did, but he felt empty. He needed something, and he needed it now. He wasn’t above begging for what he wanted.

“Lou,” he breathed, “Fuck my mouth.”

Louis’ elbow went weak underneath him where he was holding himself up over Harry, and he lowered himself completely on top of Harry, tilting to the side so the majority of his weight was on the mattress instead of Harry’s bump.

“Baby, fuck, you’ve got to give me some warning before you say something like that.” Louis’ warmth moved away from Harry, hopefully so that he could position himself more comfortably.

Normally Louis would straddle Harry’s chest, but because he was propped up, Louis kneed up the bed so that he was next to Harry.

Harry’s hand curled around Louis’ bum drawing him in closer. With his free hand Harry reached across his body and steadied Louis cock, bringing the head to his lips so he could tease it a bit before he took Louis into his mouth. His advancing pregnancy had made going down on Louis more difficult, and eliminated a lot of their favorite positions, but there was nothing like the taste of his husband’s cock or the overwhelming feeling Harry got from being so full of him in any way.

Louis let Harry get used to the stretch of his jaw for a moment before he reached down to brush Harry’s cheekbone with his thumb, asking for permission. Harry pulled off of him a bit to look up and make eye contact, granting it.

Harry closed his eyes, overloading the rest of his senses with Louis’ taste and smell. He let himself settle into a comfortable position before tapping on Louis’ hip.

When the message was received, Louis began to thrust slowly into Harry’s waiting mouth. Harry was addicted to the burning feeling he always got in his throat whenever Louis fucked his mouth. He always felt it for days afterwards.

Louis groaned. “Shit, that feels so fucking good, baby. You take me so deep.”

Harry hummed around Louis’ cock.

Once Harry was a little more accustomed to the stretch, he let his fingers wander, reaching down to tease the sensitive skin around Louis’ hole. Harry brushed over Louis’ entrance with the tip of his dry finger, causing Louis’ hips to stutter and Harry to gag a bit around the unexpected thrust.

Louis pulled back to let Harry draw a few deep breaths into his burning lungs, and tangled his fingers more deeply into Harry's curls.

Louis used his hold to tug on the strands when Harry tried to take him back in his mouth.

“Not yet, don't want to come.”

Harry whined a little, but loosened his grip on Louis so that he could move back down the bed.

As soon as Louis settled himself between Harry’s legs, he brought his hand up to stroke his fist over Harry’s aching cock. Unprepared for the influx of sensation, Harry’s hips shot up seeking the source of his pleasure.

Louis teased him a bit more before pressing a kiss to the head of Harry’s cock. His tongue darted out to lap up a drop of precome that was beginning to drip, and he continued to press more kisses along Harry’s length, making his way down, over Harry’s balls, and onto the sensitive skin of his inner thighs.

As soon as Louis was past the midway point down Harry’s cock, all Harry could see was the top of his head. The anticipation that came with not being able to see what Louis was doing, only served to heighten his arousal.

There were a few fading bruises on Harry’s thighs, and Louis made sure to press down on each one forcefully with his mouth before sucking over it to deepen the color and freshen them up a bit.

The repetitive dull ache of pain followed by a slightly sharper pain had Harry’s cock twitching uncontrollably in Louis’ loose grip.

“Lou,” he begged. “Please. Do something.” His last word got cut off as Louis reached down to spread Harry’s legs even further.

Harry jumped a bit when he felt a finger, cold with lube at his entrance. He had no idea when Louis had gotten the lube out of the drawer. Probably while Harry was crying earlier.

He could hear himself whimpering as Louis began to drag his finger back and forth inside of him, opening him up. The pressure felt so good, he began to grow impatient and started to squirm as Louis added a second finger.

Louis kept pressing deeper and deeper inside him until Harry cried out as he felt Louis’ fingers brush his prostate.

“Fuck, Louis, please. Ready. Need you now ,” Harry begged.

Harry heard the click of the lube as Louis coated his own cock, and he almost sobbed with relief when he felt Louis press against his entrance.

In one smooth motion, Louis buried himself inside Harry. “Baby, you feel so good on my cock. Nothing feels as good as you, so tight.”

Louis groaned as he began to move, the drag against Harry’s walls was exquisite. Harry curled his fingers into the plush fabric that covered the body pillow to anchor himself as Louis began his harder, more steady thrusts.

Everything was amazing, as it always was, but now that he was bigger, he couldn’t feel Louis as much. He wanted-- No. He needed to taste Louis, loved the way he was able to swallow Louis’ moans. Loved the way Louis would bite at Harry’s lower lip as he picked up the speed of his thrusts. Also, the angle wasn’t quite as deep in this position.

Harry tried to reach up and pull Louis down, while simultaneously trying to meet his hips, but Harry wasn’t getting very far and began to grow frustrated.

Louis pulled almost all the way out and paused, “What’s wrong, love?” he panted.

Harry almost began crying again when he thought about how in sync they were.

“Need you,” Harry whined.

“I’m right here, baby, what do you need,” Louis reached his hand up to push back Harry’s sweaty curls again.

“Want to feel you,” Harry ground out. Louis studied him for a moment before he nodded. He pulled all the way out and got a grip on the base of his cock. Harry hadn’t realised he was that close. He opened his mouth to apologize, but stopped when he felt Louis begin to roll him over onto his side. Louis adjusted the body pillow so that his stomach was nestled on top of it before laying himself out behind Harry.

Instead of spooning him completely, Louis lined himself up and began to enter Harry from behind before curling himself protectively over Harry’s body.

Louis pushed in deep, far deeper than he had been before, and reached around to tilt Harry’s face up towards his. The angle was awkward, but Harry was able to feel Louis hitting his prostate and kiss him at the same time, which was everything Harry had wanted.

Louis couldn’t pound into him the way they usually preferred, but he began slow, steady thrusts that Harry could feel deep inside him setting his nerve endings on fire.

Once he was sure Harry wouldn’t turn away, Louis kept kissing him, but began to trail his free hand down, stopping to scrape the side of his thumb against Harry’s nipple, which had Harry keening and pushing his hips back forcefully to meet Louis’ thrust.

Louis continued down until his hand was gently cradling Harry’s stomach. He left it there for awhile rubbing large circles into Harry’s skin as he thrust into Harry from behind.

A multitude of sensations crashed over Harry as he felt himself be pushed to the brink. Heat pooled in his groin, and he began to nip blindly at Louis’ mouth in his desperation to come.

Sensing Harry’s frustration, Louis reached down even further to take Harry’s cock in hand. He began to stroke over Harry in counterpoint to his thrusts.

“That’s it, baby. I’ve got you. Can feel how close you are,” Louis grunted as his movements became more and more erratic. He flattened his hand against Harry’s skin curling his fingers around Harry so that he could hold both Harry’s stomach and his cock at the same time. Louis breathed heavily against the side of Harry’s neck, biting the skin with his teeth, sending sharp little pricks of pain coursing through Harry’s body.

At any other time it wouldn’t have been enough pressure, but Harry was so close to the edge that it was just the right amount of teasing he needed to push him over. Harry squeezed his eyes shut against the force of his orgasm and saw stars behind his eyelids as he felt Louis come deep inside of him.

Louis pulled out gently before collapsing behind Harry. Because Harry was so specifically positioned, he couldn’t get to Louis, and after his body had so thoroughly been blown apart, he wanted to hold Louis or have Louis hold him, in the worst way.

“Lou,” Harry whined. He sometimes felt like he was in a constant state of neediness around Louis.

“Yeah, here I am. That was pretty fucking amazing.” Harry felt Louis turn towards him and rest his forehead against the nape of his neck, huffing out a laugh.

Harry chuckled lowly, “Yeah, it was.” Just then, the baby gave a sharp kick to his lower abdomen, and he gasped in a breath from the surprise more than the pain.

Louis reached his arm around Harry again, and began to rub his stomach. This was Harry’s favorite position to lay in because resting his bump against the pillow took some of the pressure and weight off of his back that had caused him issues even before the added strain on his body. Harry also loved being the little spoon, and loved it when Louis comforted him like this.

After tonight, Harry definitely loved it for an entirely different reason. He could still feel the ghost of Louis inside of him as he drifted off to sleep, and Louis’ soothing circles never stopped.

- - -

Two months later, Louis was hiding out in the space above their converted carriage house that they had outfitted to be a fully working recording studio.

Harry was on the warpath. It was a much slower and more awkwardly waddling warpath than anything, but it was still dangerous for Louis out there in the world.

Harry was six days, three hours, twenty nine minutes, and four seconds overdue. Louis knew, because Harry had been counting, and making sure Louis was aware of just how overdue he was.

That morning, Louis had woken up to Harry slapping his arm and begging Louis to have sex with him. Louis was normally more than happy to help Harry through any and all bouts of horniness, but it hadn’t been about attraction, it had been about strategy. Apparently, Harry had read somewhere that having sex was supposed to help induce labor (Louis knew that Harry had actually learned it from the episode of Friends where Rachel was also struggling with being overdue).

Louis had slept with Harry at least twice a day for the past three days. He was tired. He needed this baby to come so he could get some rest . He needed to recover.

Harry was frustrated, and understandably so, because he had been carrying around this extra burden for almost nine and a half months.

Louis thought it was so beautiful that any day now, Harry was going to give birth to their child, give them life .

He was still going to hide in the studio with Liam, though.

Liam was playing around with a few different variations on a melody for their new song when Louis’ phone buzzed for the fourth time in as many minutes.

Hazza : Lou will you bring me some tea

Hazza : Nevermind I’m too hot will you bring me some ice water

Hazza : Lou where are you

Hazza : I know you’re in the studio, Lou

Louis put his phone face down on the couch.

“You better answer him,” Liam was still plucking at notes while he gave Louis a knowing look. Prat.

“This is Harry. I know Harry, I just need to wait him out. He’ll calm down.” Louis’ phone buzzed again.

Hazza : ARE YOU AVOIDING ME

Hazza : You are never putting your cock in me ever again THIS IS SO UNCOMFORTABLE

Louis sighed.

“Go to him. I’ll be fine. We can pick it up again later,” Liam said, kindly. More kindly than Louis deserved. Louis was just grumpy because Harry was both grumpy and uncomfortable, and there was nothing Louis could do about it.

“Later will be in two, three months Lima,” Louis reminded him.

“I know. But that’s alright. We aren’t in any rush with this record. Who even knows where Niall is.”

Louis chuckled. Niall was on his way over with sushi, and they both knew it. Harry hated when they got sushi because he couldn’t have any, but Harry also had a newfound love of the dumplings from the place Niall liked to go, so he was easily appeased.

They continued to work for a bit before they saw Niall’s car pull up. Figuring it was time to face Harry, Louis led the way downstairs.

“Thanks for getting lunch, Ni.” Louis took one of the heavy brown take out bags from him.

“Yeah, no problem. How’s Harry?”

“Uncomfortable. Grousing a bit.”

Niall nodded, “Understood. I brought him twice his order of dumplings, so maybe that will help.”

Louis unlocked his phone, realising he hadn’t heard from Harry in at least ten minutes.

When they entered the back door, Louis could see through the kitchen to the living room where Harry was in his special oversized chair sitting arse over elbows.

“Hazza, what the hell are you doing?” Louis yelled across the flat. When he finally got close enough, he could see Harry’s face beginning to turn red from all the excess blood flow. “Baby, let me help you,” he rushed, trying to position Harry so that he was upright.

“No!” Harry pouted, but Louis insisted, and eventually he got Harry’s legs swung around so that he was sitting normally with his head above his body. Where it should be. “I just want this baby ooooout,” Harry groaned.

“I know,” Louis whispered as he rounded the back of the chair to begin massaging Harry’s shoulder blades to try and reduce the tension building up there.

Harry squeezed his eyes shut and his head lolled to the side as he began to moan with the rhythm of Louis’ hands before he sat up straight.

“Wait! I’m still mad at you for avoiding me. You and your angelic hands can just go hang!”

Louis stifled a laugh, knowing it would surely get him banished to the couch later, and did his best to continue massaging Harry anyway.

“Would it help if I told you Niall brought dumplings?”

One of Harry’s eyes opened slightly, “Maybe,” he murmured.

Louis flapped his hands at Harry, “Come on, up, up. Let’s go have some dumplings.”

Harry grumbled the whole time Louis tried to help him out of the chair. “I might let you have one,” he conceded.

“Thank you, baby,” Louis demurred.

Harry pushed past him to make his way to the kitchen, “Don’t be patronising, you asshat.”

“Love you too!” Louis called after him.

Half an hour later, Louis had successfully stolen a dumpling, and Harry had only looked at his salmon maki with pathetic longing three times instead of the usual ten.

Harry leaned back in his chair and stretched like a cat. The midafternoon sun was coming in the window at just the right angle to give him a cute little golden halo. Niall’s absurd storytelling faded into the background as Louis admired his husband’s profile.

Louis followed the movements as Harry brought his arms down. Harry’s right hand naturally fell to his bump, and he rubbed a few circles over his shirt, presumably trying to calm the baby down. They must have been kicking hard. Louis’ chest tightened as he watched the protective way Harry caressed his bump. There were some moments like this in his life where he couldn’t believe that this was his reality, and they always took him by surprise.

Harry’s face pinched a bit, and the crease between his eyebrows deepened. Louis knew that look.

“Is everything alright, Harry?” he asked, interrupting Niall. Niall’s mouth hung open in limbo as he waited for Harry’s answer before he continued his story. Louis spared another passing thought for how lucky he was that he had friends who understood that his focus was Harry. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to hear Niall’s story about Bressie, or that he was ignoring Niall (it may have been that a little bit); it was that Harry was always the priority. Even if he had been a brat all day.

“Yeah, I’m alright, I think I just ate too many dumplings,” he winced again.

Louis went to respond, but Niall interjected first; “Not possible. It must be something else.”

“Dumplings are not infallible, Niall. I think they’ve given me stomach pains. It’s going away now, though.” He let out a deep breath, discomfort having passed.

Louis’ heart rate had jumped and he thought for sure the organ would fly out of his chest. He was pretty sure Harry just had a contraction. He began to panic. Harry was having contractions. The baby was coming.

For someone who had probably just gone into labour, Harry was looking surprisingly calm and unaffected.

Niall, Liam, and Louis all began to make eye contact with each other as if to say, “ Is he really not aware? ” Both Niall and Liam urged him with their eyes, directing him to say something.

“Hazza,” Louis began gently, “What kind of stomach pains?” He reached across the table to take one of Harry’s hands in his. He traced the pad of his thumb across the top of Harry’s knuckles.

“I don’t know, Lou, kind of like a cramp. I had some earlier which was why I was sitting in the chair like that,” he shrugged, “Thought it would help. Dumplings must have made it worse, though.”

Tears began to prick at the corners of Louis’ eyes, and he could feel the smile spread across his face.

“Lou, why are you looking at me like that?”

Louis squeezed Harry’s hand. “Baby, I think you’re going into labour.”

Harry stared at him for a moment, and the entire room was silent. Niall and Liam were sitting very still, almost comically frozen, not wanting to interrupt.

“What?” Harry asked, breathless.

“Regular abdominal cramps that come and go in waves, spaced about thirty minutes apart. That sounds like contractions.”

Harry’s stare softened, “I forget how many times you’ve been on the other end of this before. I don’t know how your mum did this so many times. And with twins! Twice!” He was making no move to get up, and Louis was beginning to get impatient.

“That’s cute, honey, and I’m sure she appreciates it, but did you miss the part where you’re going into labour and we should probably grab the bags and go?” Louis stayed seated, trying to take his cues from Harry.

“No, I heard you, and we should definitely go, but I’m feeling very zen about it right now.”

Louis laughed, “Okay. Whatever you say, you’re the boss today.”

“Please, Lou, I’m the boss every day.”

“I’m aware,” Louis replied while pursing his lips in an attempt to keep himself from smiling. He stood up and pushed his chair back to help Harry up, which finally set everyone else in the room in motion.

Niall and Liam both immediately pulled out their phones to begin calling Harry and Louis’ families. After Harry was up, Louis led him to the bench in their foyer and made sure he sat down and was settled in place to wait by the front door.

“You call the hospital and tell them we’re on our way, I’ll grab the bags. You sure you’re doing okay?” When Harry nodded, Louis breathed another sigh of relief.

Harry began to search through his phone for the delivery suite’s  concierge line while he waved Louis off with his free hand, “I’m fine! I’m fine.”

Louis’ pulse pounded in his ears as he ran up the stairs to the master bedroom. They really should have left the bags downstairs in case Harry had been home alone, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Even if they forgot something, the hospital would probably be able to provide it. There certainly were benefits to the hospital having a private luxury wing just for expectant parents like them. Because Louis could afford it, there was no way his husband and baby would have anything less than the best.

After Louis had grabbed everything, plus Harry’s favorite fleece throw, he made his way back to Harry.

Niall and Liam were already standing in the entryway with Harry, waiting on Louis.

“I’m going to drive you guys,” Liam called across the living room, and Louis’ heart stopped. Of course . They needed to actually get to the hospital. He had forgotten about that part. That also meant at some point they had to come home. Except, with a baby.

Some of his panic must have been plastered across his face because the three of them started laughing. “It’s fine, mate, I promise. I’ll drive all of us over there, and then at some point Niall and I will come back and get your car,” Liam slapped a hand down on Louis’ shoulder and gave it a shake. “It will all be okay,” he added exaggeratedly.

Louis rolled his eyes, “Shut up, Payno. Let’s get moving.” He shoved the bags at Niall and Liam - if they were going to be involved in this process they may as well be useful - and ignored their grunts behind him as he turned to take Harry’s hands in his.

“You still doing okay, baby?” Louis asked.

“Yeah, Lou. Are you?” When Louis looked up from the front steps, Harry was scrutinising him.

“I’m fine! Never better!”

Harry halted on the steps, refusing to budge. “I don’t believe you.”

Louis paused before he spoke. He didn’t really know quite how to describe what he was feeling, mostly because the feelings had hit him like a frieght train in the last twenty minutes.

“I promise, I’m beyond excited for you to have this baby. But there’s always the possibility that something could go wrong. And I also know that you’ll say that it’s not my job to protect you and there’s nothing I can do about it, blah blah blah. But… that is my job. More than anything in the world, my purpose in life is to make sure that you’re okay. And this baby is okay. We’re about to enter into a very high stress situation that I can’t really control. High risk leads to high reward, yes, but that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about the risk.” Louis waved his hands around helplessly before dropping them back down to his sides.

When Louis looked back up at Harry, his heart broke. Harry’s face was covered in tear tracks.

“You can’t just say shit like that,” Harry yelled at Louis, pushing on his shoulders.

Louis opened his mouth to reply, but Harry reached his hands up to cup Louis’ face, and drew him into a deep kiss. Much deeper than they had time for at the moment. Nothing could have dragged Louis away, though.

“Oi! You two! You can’t make a new baby before this one gets here!” Niall called from the driveway.

Harry reached his hand down and cupped Louis’ cock through his jeans.

“Hazza!” Louis blushed bright red and tried not to let Harry’s touch affect him.

“I’m not going to be able to show you how much I appreciate you for awhile, so I just want to make sure you know before we go,” Harry said cheekily before kissing Louis deep again.

From the driveway, Liam honked the horn, and Louis regretfully pulled away. He stood back and admired his beautiful glowing husband who he couldn’t believe was being incredibly calm under the pressure of his impending labor.

Louis watched as Harry started to waddle down the steps, and rushed to help him.

Harry turned back and winked at Louis; “Come on, Lou, let’s go have a baby.”

Two Years Later

It was always a gamble when they came off the stage every night. Either it was a good night, and Imogen had behaved for her aunts while Louis and Harry were on stage, or she didn’t.

Tonight, still riding the post show high, they returned to see Daisy and Phoebe both spread out relaxing on the couches in the dressing room. Louis’ eyes immediately tracked to Imogen in her cot, fast asleep, dummy half hanging out of her mouth.

At two years old, she could be a handful, which was part of the reason why they had chosen to employ both Daisy and Phoebe. The two of them served as his and Harry’s makeup artists and hairstylists, or, on alternating tour stops, as a babysitter. Lottie also worked with Niall and Liam and could help out in a pinch.

Louis and Harry had offered Daisy and Phoebe the position, but also told them they could work out an arrangement amongst themselves. They were twenty, more mature now, and they didn’t need Louis to dictate what their specific jobs were.

Also, Louis was afraid of getting in between them in a disagreement. He shuddered at the thought.

“Come on, MoMo,” Harry whispered as he lifted the sleeping toddler. “Time to go back to the hotel.”

Louis gathered the rest of their things as Harry strapped their daughter into her carrier with minimal jostling in the hopes that she would stay asleep long enough to make it to the car. If they could get her into the car without her waking, they were relatively homefree.

Louis loved watching the two of them interact, and loved it when Harry called her MoMo. Imogen had responded to the nickname early on when she was first connecting sights and sounds. The name was definitely something that was just for her and Harry, though. They shared a special connection that Louis would never understand, and Louis thought that it was incredibly beautiful.

Early on they had questioned what they should do about raising Imogen. In their younger days, at the height of their success with the band, their makeup artist Lou had brought their goddaughter Lux along on tour and it had been fine. They loved Lux and she had been so spoiled by the entire crew, but they struggled with what was right for them. In the end it became clear that they wouldn’t be able to part with their daughter anyway, so they brought her along.

The lurkers of the internet loved to judge them for how they were raising their daughter on the road, but Louis did his best to ignore it.

Louis wished he could set them straight, though. All he would need to do was show them a picture of Harry, in the wee hours of the morning, rocking Imogen back and forth inside their makeshift recording booth as he tried to record his parts for a song off their upcoming EP.

She looked so peaceful draped over Harry’s arms, safe and comfortable in her favorite place in the world; being held by Harry.

Louis tried to hide how misty his eyes had gotten as they climbed into the waiting car.

Once Harry had Imogen’s carrier buckled in between them, he turned to Louis; “What’s wrong, Lou?”

“Nothing, baby,” Louis replied, reaching so that he could take Harry’s hand over the carrier.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, if you want to take a nap you can. Shouldn’t be too much longer to the hotel, but you never know how bad post show traffic will be.” Boston, where they were on this particular stop, was notorious for it.

There was an urge Louis had been having lately. He wasn’t quite sure when it had taken root, but it was always there at the back of his mind. Taunting him. But, he wasn’t in this alone.

Harry’s eyes had just started to slip closed when Louis broke, unable to hold it in for a moment longer. “Hey, Harold?”

The nickname made Harry’s eyes shoot open. “Yes, Lewis?”

“I was just thinking...”

“Uh oh,” Harry replied as Louis trailed off.

“Ha. Ha. No, I was kind of thinking that maybe we should go to Jamaica. Next big break in the tour.”

“I mean sure, Lou, but we were just in Jamaica two months ago. We would probably need to bring one of your sisters with us to watch MoMo. I’m not choosing who this time.” Harry’s frightened look was a direct result of their last vacation where a fight had erupted for the babysitter position. Louis suspected the fight was more about the free vacation in Jamaica than it was about babysitting Imogen.

“Well, Fizzy has been offering to take Imogen for more extended periods of time. And I was kind of thinking we could go to Jamaica just the two of us.” Louis watched as Harry turned the idea over in his mind.

Harry’s smirk turned filthy as he began to get closer to understanding what Louis was getting at, “You know last time we went to Jamaica alone, MoMo happened.” Harry giggled to himself as he admired her sleeping form in her carrier.

Louis rolled his lips together and continued to stare at Harry, waiting for him to make the connection.

Harry was halfway through fixing one of the buttons on Imogen’s jumper when it clicked. His eyebrows raised to his hairline and his mouth popped open in shock. “Really, Lou? You want to try and get pregnant again?”

“Of course I do, I love Imogen, she’s perfect. Your curly hair, my eyes and nose. If we have the chance to make another one, we should take it. But it’s also not my body that will go through another nine months of torture. Are you sure you’re up for it, love?” Louis waited with bated breath. He wouldn’t be disappointed if Harry wanted to wait, but he was excited about the prospect of having another baby. And Harry being pregnant again.

Harry played with Imogen’s spare dummy as he looked back and forth between Louis and their sleeping child.

When his dimples finally popped, Louis let go of the breath he had been holding.

“Yeah, Lou. Let’s do it. Let’s go to Jamaica in a few weeks.”

Louis leaned around Imogen’s carrier to kiss Harry even though the angle was all wrong and he was definitely going to get a crick in his neck. It was totally worth it.